pdf-ebookys Chapter 459: Using Jianghu People
Chapter 459: Using Jianghu People
"The prince is right. Now that the news has leaked, we must change our strategy.
People in the underworld, especially some desperate criminals, are willing to risk their lives for money.
If we forcibly prevent them from entering the mountains to search for treasure, it will appear that we want to monopolize the treasure. They will most likely unite to deal with us." The prince nodded in agreement.
Prince Jing pondered for a moment and came up with a bold idea.
“Since the Jianghu people are here, why don’t we take advantage of them?
We can spread the word that the entrance to the treasure requires a key, and the key is in our hands.
That way, they will come to us to work with us, not to fight against us.”
A hint of admiration flashed in Shangguan Ziqi's eyes.
"Uncle Jing's suggestion is a good one. We can use the power of the Jianghu people and let them explore the way for us.
After all, they may have a deeper understanding of the terrain and mechanisms than we do.
Moreover, we have been searching for so long but we haven't even found the entrance to the treasure, let alone the treasure.
If we get some gangsters involved, we might be able to find the entrance faster.
These people have been wandering around the world for many years and are more knowledgeable than us in the court.
If the people in the underworld really found the entrance, they would report to us as soon as they knew that the key to the treasure was in our hands.
All we need to do is give a little profit to these gangsters we find.
If they want to cause trouble, our army is not a pushover and we have bombs."
Shangguan Ziqi thought more carefully.
After listening to Shangguan Ziqi's words, Yu Yuanzheng nodded in agreement, and she also added some personal thoughts.
"Not only that, we can also use this treasure hunt to identify which people in the Jianghu are upright and which are desperate criminals who harm the world. We can take this opportunity to eliminate them all, eliminate some of the scum in the Wei Dynasty, and restore peace to the Jianghu and the people."
After hearing this, the prince showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"Your ideas are excellent. In that case, we will proceed according to this plan.
First, we need to release some news that is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and guide people in the underworld to act according to our ideas.
Secondly, we must observe secretly and identify those who are truly capable and willing to cooperate, accept their kindness, and use them for our own benefit.”
"Another point is that we must ensure our own safety. There are many masters among the martial arts world. Once they realize our intentions, they may do something bad to us. We need to be more vigilant." The prince also agreed with this method.
Shangguan Ziqi nodded. "I'll arrange for more personnel to strengthen the inn's security. At the same time, we must also prepare a retreat route, just in case."
"Next, it depends on how we perform this scene well. I'd better change the news that I just said that the key is in our hands. Just say that the method to open the treasure is in our hands, otherwise it will soon attract people from all walks of life to steal it." Prince Jing made a better suggestion.
"Uncle Wang is right. Let's do it." The prince nodded.
Yu Yuanzheng gently patted Shangguan Ziqi's hand and said softly, "Husband, you must be careful. People in the martial arts world are cunning and treacherous, so you must be on guard."
Shangguan Ziqi held her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. You must also take good care of yourself and the children. The guards must not leave your side. Try to reduce going out as much as possible."
"Ah."
"By the way, how did the Jianghu people get the news and come so quickly? This matter must be investigated thoroughly.
Those who spread the news have ulterior motives and cannot be tolerated," said the prince.
"Yes, it's obvious that someone did this intentionally, and their purpose remains to be verified. Ziqi, I'll leave this matter to you to investigate as well, and make sure you get to the bottom of it as soon as possible." The prince ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
After discussing it, they decided to split up. The Crown Prince was responsible for communicating with General Chen, asking him to bring more troops here in case they were not needed.
Prince Rong and Prince Jing were responsible for contacting people in the martial arts world and spreading the news.
Shangguan Ziqi is responsible for arranging personnel and ensuring everyone's safety.
The next day, new news began to spread in Fengrong City: the entrance to the treasure of Jiulong Mountain requires a specific method to open, and this method is in the hands of the prince.
If the people in the martial arts world want to get a piece of the pie, they must cooperate with the court, otherwise they will not be able to enter the treasure at all.
As soon as the news came out, people in the world started talking about it.
Some people began to waver, thinking that it would be better to cooperate than to be an enemy of the court.
Others, however, have ulterior motives and are secretly plotting how to obtain this method.
They felt that cooperating with the court meant working for them and they would not get any benefits at all.
Moreover, the imperial court is now even poorer than they are, so how could it be willing to give them benefits?
At the same time, Prince Rong and Prince Jing began to contact some prestigious martial arts sects in the city to test their attitudes.
They discovered that although many sects were interested in the treasure, they were unwilling to confront the imperial court head-on, which gave them hope for cooperation.
A few days later, the people in the martial arts world gradually split into two factions: one faction was willing to cooperate with the court to search for the treasure together, while the other faction still insisted on acting independently and even planned to seize it by force.
When the prince and others saw this, they already had an idea in their minds.
They decided to first reach an agreement with the sects that were willing to cooperate and search for the treasure together.
As for those people in the underworld with evil intentions, we don't care about them.
If those people really found the entrance, they could go in whenever they wanted, which would be a good opportunity for them to test the mechanisms inside.
The imperial seal is needed to open the treasure, so they can't get in at all.
In this way, the court still benefits.
Once those people are found and suffer losses inside, they can be caught in one fell swoop when they come out.
Maybe they both want to monopolize it, so they start killing each other.
A battle of open and covert struggles begins.
The prince led his men to continue searching, and those martial arts sects willing to cooperate also took action separately.
The entire Jiulong Mountain is dozens of miles in radius, and each of them is looking for a place to expand the scope.
Shangguan Ziqi and his secret guards were also conducting a secret investigation in Fengrong City.
Who exactly brought these people here? What was their purpose?
I only checked for three days and still found no results.
It is difficult to screen strangers coming to Fengrong City due to the influx of people from the underworld.
Moreover, their secret visits would also alert the locals. After all, they were only asking local people privately, and if they asked too many people, it would arouse their vigilance.
If the prefect were to step in and investigate the entire city, it would only make those people hide deeper or leave Fengrong City directly.
The reason why he thought those people had not left was because the treasure had not been found yet, and those people must be waiting to see the result.
This is clearly an act that causes trouble for others.
"Didn't you find any clues today?" Yu Yuanzheng asked with concern when she saw Shangguan Ziqi coming back with an expressionless face.
"Ah."
"Sit down, let's analyze carefully what kind of person would have such an idea." Yu Yuanzheng took the initiative to pour him a cup of tea and pushed him to sit on the chair.