Wutong Garden.
In the small stone pavilion.
Qin Ying brewed a pot of good tea, poured out a cup and pushed it in front of Cai Jingzhong, smiling: "Master Cai, just say whatever you want to say."
Cai Jingzhong's face was solemn, "The Ninth Prince is not curious, why does the eldest prince want to take me away?"
Qin Ying said lightly, "I'm not curious."
Cai Jingzhong raised his head, his expression serious: "If you know the secret behind this, you might be curious."
"Then tell me?" Qin Ying said with a smile.
Cai Jingzhong's expression was serious, "Treasure."
Qin Ying raised his eyebrows and asked: "What treasure?"
Cai Jingzhong said bluntly: "This treasure was obtained by my Cai family's ancestor in an accident. In order to support your father, Emperor Qin Mu, the Cai family took out half of it and lied that it was all the property. In fact, the other half was hidden in the mountains."
Qin Ying was stunned, but he really didn't expect it.
Cai Jingzhong continued:
"When the Cai family was confiscated and exterminated, I was the only one who survived. It was not because of your father's mercy, but because the eldest prince Qin Dang pleaded for me, so I was spared from death."
"And he did this just to take the remaining half of the treasure in my hands. Alas, the news of this treasure is only known to heaven and earth, and I don't know where he got the news from, but it is precisely because of this that I am still alive today."
Qin Ying became interested.
"Since Qin Dang saved you in order to get your treasure, why didn't he arrest you, torture you, and interrogate you directly?"
Qin Ying asked his doubts.
The first time I met Cai Jingzhong, although he was a criminal.
But he was also free, making a living by forging iron in his own shop.
"Do you think he hasn't tried it?"
Cai Jingzhong sneered and ripped open his clothes.
"Qin Dang secretly locked me up in the prison and tortured me every day, trying to force me to tell him where the treasure was." At this moment, Qin Ying's pupils shrank slightly. Cai Jingzhong's chest was actually covered with burns, knife wounds, and countless scars of various sizes. Qin Ying took a deep breath. From these scars, it was not difficult to see that Cai Jingzhong had suffered unimaginable torture. "Then why did he let you go?" Qin Ying asked. "I have to thank the Marquis of Bravery for this." Cai Jingzhong recalled the past and sighed, "He used his connections to rescue me from the prison." "For so many years, I have never had the chance to thank him." Qin Ying raised his eyebrows slightly, "Marquis of Bravery, Ning Lushan?" He remembered that Ning Lushan had praised him on the day of the fight. "After I was released from prison, Qin Dang left the imperial capital due to busy border affairs, but he still secretly left people to keep an eye on me."
Qin Ying nodded and said: "Master Cai, you don't want Qin Dang to get the treasure, but you want me to get it?"
Cai Jingzhong smiled helplessly, "I am old and weak, what can I do with this treasure? Since you are willing to overturn my case, it is natural to give this treasure to you."
"Although you are not a good person, you can even be said to be a treacherous maniac, but you are different from other princes in one thing, you have a sincere heart."
Cai Jingzhong's words were not polite, but Qin Ying did not feel hostility.
"What are the treasures?" Qin Ying asked with interest.
"Gold."
Hearing this, Qin Ying was excited, "How much is the total?"
"It's been too long, I don't remember clearly, about one million taels."
Qin Ying's eyes flashed, one million taels.
This is not a small amount.
He had just formed his own guard, and it was a stage that required a lot of investment. This money was enough to solve the urgent problem.
"Where is the treasure?" Qin Ying asked impatiently.
"Jiangnan." Cai Jingzhong said two words lightly.
"Jiangnan?" Qin Ying's mouth curled up slightly.
Wu Qingqiu was also from Jiangnan. After dealing with the assassination in the palace, he would go to Jiangnan to propose marriage and bring the treasure back by the way.
"Ninth Prince, do you have any clues about my overturning the case?" Cai Jingzhong suddenly changed the subject.
"There are clues, but we can't be impatient yet." Qin Ying had a headache when he thought of this.
Overturning the case for Cai Jingzhong is equivalent to slapping the emperor in the face.
There are two things that cannot be done in this world.
You can't touch the tiger's butt.
You can't slap the emperor's face.
But since he promised, Qin Ying will definitely do it.
It's just that the time is not ripe yet.
At this time.
Old Huang suddenly climbed over the high wall like a gust of wind.
"Your Highness, the Emperor invites you."
Qin Ying raised his head, "Father?"
"Eunuch Cao is waiting outside." Old Huang lowered his head and said.
"Master Cai, wait for me to come back and we will continue to talk."
Qin Ying said, and then quickly left the stone pavilion.
Outside Wutong Garden, Cao Wanchun was indeed standing there like a wooden stake. When he saw Qin Ying, he quickly walked over and saluted, "Greetings to His Highness the Ninth Prince."
Since he received Qin Ying's benefits last time, his attitude has been particularly good. When he met him, his face smiled as bright as a chrysanthemum.
"Why did the Emperor summon me?" Qin Ying asked quietly on the way to the Yangxin Palace.
"Urgent matter."
Hearing this, Cao Wanchun stopped smiling, "The governor of Jiangnan sent an urgent letter, Wei State mobilized 100,000 troops, and blocked the water and land transportation in Jiangnan."
"Wei State sent troops to Jiangnan? When did it happen?" Qin Ying was shocked.
"Your Highness, you win
On the day of Ling Daoxuan, Wei State sent troops overnight. The governor of Jiangnan sent out more than a dozen messengers, but only one came to the imperial capital. It is said that three horses were killed."
Cao Wanchun's voice was quite solemn, and he sighed deeply.
The fifteen cities in the Jiangnan area have been known as water towns since ancient times. They have developed water and land transportation and trade in all directions. They are extremely prosperous provinces and counties in the Han Dynasty.
The Wei State blocked the water and land transportation in Jiangnan, which undoubtedly strangled the necks of the fifteen cities in Jiangnan.
Qin Ying was in a heavy mood and his pace quickened a lot.
Soon, he came to the Yangxin Palace.
Qin Ying pushed the door open.
In the Yangxin Palace, Qin Dang and Qin Zhou had already arrived.
Seeing Qin Ying come in, the two turned their heads to look.
"Okay, everyone is here!"
The Han Emperor looked at Qin Ying and said, "Did Cao Wanchun tell you on the way?"
Qin Ying nodded, anger in his eyes, "I know everything. It seems that the King of Wei does not want to pay the ransom, but wants to force it by force. It's simply shameless."
The Han Emperor nodded, but did not respond. Instead, he stared at the three people with deep eyes and said in a deep voice,
"I have nine sons. In terms of talent and virtue, you three are the most outstanding, and only you three are by my side. The other six are in various provinces and counties."
"For this matter, I want to choose one of you three brothers to deal with it, and it's also a good opportunity to see your abilities."
Hearing this, Qin Zhou said: "Father, do you want Wei to withdraw its troops or fight?"
"Withdrawal is the best policy!" The Han Emperor said without hesitation.
But after a pause, he continued: "If it comes to the point where we have to fight, I will also take his 100,000 soldiers."
Obviously, the Han emperor did not want to suffer any loss in this matter.
The Han Dynasty won the literary battle.
The princess of Wei promised to give 10 million taels of gold
, but the King of Wei did not want to fulfill it, but sent troops to the south of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, this matter must be handled beautifully.
Otherwise, the Han Dynasty would be trampled on the ground in both face and substance, and completely become the laughing stock of the seven countries.
"Father, I am willing to go." Qin Dang was the first to stand up, and said in a sonorous and powerful voice: "I have practiced martial arts since I was a child and am proficient in military tactics. I am sure that I can kill the 100,000 soldiers of Wei State."
Qin Zhou was not to be outdone, and also said: "Although I have never led troops, I have read a lot of military books, and I am not weak in martial arts. I am willing to share the worries for you."
Qin Ying looked at the two coldly, he was really a big fool with muscles all over his head.
He didn't understand his father's meaning at all.
Didn't he hear him say that retreating was the best strategy?
Then fighting was naturally the worst strategy.
Thinking of this, Qin Ying stood up and said, "I have never led troops, nor do I have such high martial arts as my two brothers, but I have a good strategy to retreat."
"Old Nine, forget it." Qin Dang glanced at him and sneered, "You were assassinated and have injuries, so don't go."
Qin Ying asked back, "Can't you go if you have injuries? Brother, don't you want to go even if your hand is broken?"
Hearing Qin Ying mention his broken arm again, Qin Dang was immediately angry, "You dare to mention this again!"
"What if I mention it!" Qin Ying did not retreat a step, and his momentum exploded.
"Enough!" The Han Emperor shouted.
"What do you look like? Did I ask you to quarrel?" The Han Emperor stopped the two from quarreling and turned around to pick up three wooden sticks from the table.
"To be fair, the three of you draw lots."
The Han Emperor grabbed the lot in his hand, glanced at the faces of the three people, and said: "Among the three lots, one is the best lot, and the person who draws it will go to Jiangnan."
"Qin Dang, you are the eldest brother, you go first."