Jinting Han people

Chapter 64: First Plan (4k)

"This is it."

When the group arrived at a courtyard three miles west of the White Horse Temple, Liu Cong pulled the reins to stop his horse and turned back to call out to Liu Xian, Afule and others.

It was already afternoon, the sky was bright, and the streets were crowded with people. Although it was not as prosperous as the most prosperous Luoyang Horse Market, it also had its own unique characteristics.

A Hu merchant caravan was leading camels in front, and behind them were Hu slaves tied up in a row. In the square in the suburbs, Indian monks were preaching Buddhism, and the sound of the bells from the White Horse Temple was faintly echoing in the sky, which was quite exotic.

In such an environment, Liu Xian and his group were naturally inconspicuous, and the courtyard they were standing in front of was also inconspicuous.

To maintain their business in the capital, merchants needed to build settlements and houses in Luoyang to store goods and rest. Land prices were lowest in the western suburbs of Luoyang, and merchants mostly came from the northwest. The White Horse Temple, a Buddhist shrine that resonated with the Hu people, was also located in the western suburbs.

Therefore, the Hu merchants all bought land here without any prior agreement. After decades of accumulation, the most densely populated Hu merchant settlement was formed in the western suburbs of Luoyang.

But this also brought certain troubles. Because there were a lot of people coming and going here and a huge amount of goods flowing in and out, people like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jiehu, Di, Qiang, and even the Wusun, Shache, and Kucha people from the Western Regions all frequently came and went here. It was a mixed crowd, resulting in extremely high management costs.

Several successive Luoyang magistrates attempted to clean up the area, only to find it in ruins. Eventually, they gave up and allowed it to become a lawless zone. This only further fueled the prosperity of the Hu merchant settlements, with knights, gangs, and black markets everywhere, if not everywhere.

Liu Cong's courtyard was located in the southwest corner of the settlement. Of course, nominally, it was a warehouse for a Tuge Hu merchant.

The courtyard wasn't ornately decorated, unpainted. It simply consisted of a few makeshift thatched huts, which could accommodate dozens of people. But the central area was vast, housing a large stable that could hold two hundred horses, a sheep pen that held five hundred racing sheep, and two warehouses filled with furs and mountain products.

When Liu Xian followed Liu Cong in, he frowned at the fishy and muttony smells, but Liu Cong, Afule and others remained calm. After all, they had been living with sheep and horses since they were young and were used to it.

After entering, he saw dozens of people busy handling and moving goods. It was clearly a busy time. Occasionally, someone would greet Liu Cong before quickly leaving. It looked like a batch of goods was about to be sold.

Liu Cong was not surprised. He just called a servant and led them to the inner courtyard.

Liu Xian looked at the crowd in the courtyard and found that there were not only Huns here. Judging from their attire, there were also Jie people, Han people, and so on.

Liu Cong noticed Liu Xian's surprise and introduced himself to him, "I have about 300 men under my command, mostly Xiongnu, but not exclusively. During famines in Bingzhou, Han people often find themselves unable to make ends meet and unwilling to become tenant farmers among the nobles, so they flee to our tribe. Over the decades, our total has reached over 10,000 people."

"Even so, Bingzhou still struggled due to severe natural disasters in recent years. So, ever since my lord's generation, our tribe has been discussing forming a caravan to trade in Luoyang and buy cheap grain to support themselves. Currently, our tribe has six such warehouses in Luoyang, and this is just one of them. We also have about seven other Hu merchants who have a good relationship with our tribe. Asking them for help could help us get more people."

Liu Xian glanced at Afule, because this was actually exactly what the Afule people thought. It seemed that their situation was very common in Bingzhou, so they wanted to follow suit and set up such a caravan. But unfortunately, he did not have Liu Yuan's connections in Luoyang, so he ended up learning to walk by imitating others.

But Afule didn't feel anything. He just looked around curiously with his eyes shining.

Liu Xian asked, "How much profit have you made from trading over the years?"

"It's actually not ideal," Liu Cong sighed. "Merchants have always had a low status. Emperor Shizong of the Former Han Dynasty strictly guarded against them. Now, the nobles are becoming more and more rampant, and open robberies of merchants are common. Even though my master has made many friends, he still can't save money. Although our business is growing, we are actually losing money year after year. In years of great disasters, we can only do things that are unkind."

"Something you can't bear?"

"For those who the tribe can't afford to support, we will sell them as slaves in the Luoyang market. If they find a good family, they will have enough to eat. We can use the money to buy food back to Bingzhou for disaster relief, and there won't be so much trouble."

Liu Cong only said half of his words, but Liu Xian knew what the rest meant: If he couldn't find a good family, he would just die, whether he starved to death or was tortured to death.

This is also a very common thing. It is not just the Huns who do this. The people in the Central Plains are desperate and have no other choice but to do this. Wasn't Miss Lu Zhu sold to Shi Chong in this way?

Chen Shou had also told Liu Xian that if life became too hard, the people of Jiangdong would even drown their babies. But no matter when, Liu Xian could not remain calm when he heard of such tragedies.

By now they had arrived at the place. It turned out that there was a small secret room between the two large warehouses in the courtyard. It was covered by furs and goods and could not be seen at all without a careful search.

Liu Cong sat down at the table with a rather pleased look on his face, and then smiled at Liu Xian, "What do you think of my place, Huai Chong?"

Liu Xian nodded and said, "The small hermit hides in the mountains and forests, the great hermit hides in the city. If Xuanming hides here, it will be difficult to find him."

Liu Cong knocked on the table and said, "So within the time limit, I can temporarily lend this place to you."

A Fule's eyes widened as he asked, "But didn't the Fourth Young Master bring us here to see someone? Where is the person?"

"Don't be so anxious." Liu Cong clapped his hands, and a middle-aged man immediately walked to the door. He was tall and burly, with a face tanned by the sun. He looked like a very reliable person.

Liu Cong said, "This is my subordinate Guo Yi, the leader here. The eighty-seven men in this courtyard are all at your disposal. I will also transfer the remaining thirteen men tomorrow morning."

"So," Liu Cong paused deliberately, gazing at Afule and Liu Xian with a playful look, and said slowly, "Huai Chong, and you, you troublemaking Jiehu kid, tell me, what are you planning to do?"

"How would I know?" A Fule was quite honest. He turned around and looked at Liu Xian and said, "Hey, Liu Xian, it's your turn to speak."

"Me?" Although he had expected this, Liu Xian still felt overwhelmed when he heard this. He said, "You're the one who wants revenge, and you come to ask me?"

"Yes, otherwise why would I look for you? You're a student at the Imperial Academy, and a companion to the King of Shiping. You're not likely to engage in violence. I asked you to come here to be my advisor. You plan and I'll execute. I guarantee success!"

It turns out I don't have to fight or kill. Liu Xian didn't know whether to be relieved or regretful. Finally, he laughed and scolded: "What a lame horse!"

Everyone present burst into laughter. After a moment of laughter, Liu Xian cheered up and said, "I can plan it, but how far I want to go depends on your opinion."

"What do you mean?" "Last time I told you that if you wanted to kill Shi Chong, it would be impossible to do so. But it is still possible to make him lose money and be disappointed. But whether the loss of money or the disappointment is more important, you need to make up your mind."

In Liu Xian's opinion, he wanted to expose all of Shi Chong's ugly deeds and embarrass the Shi family.

But reason told him that it was useless. After all, no matter how embarrassing it was, it could not be more embarrassing than Jia Chong who killed the king. Besides, he was not the only one who killed innocent people in the world. It would only add a few more rumors.

Afule also thought so. He said bluntly, "The master is already like this, why would he care about his reputation? If it were me, I would give him a huge sum of money, so that he would feel painful! Make him feel like he has lost his parents and is in agony! Besides, our department is still short of food! Getting some money to buy food is more practical than anything else!"

Apparently, he had said the same thing to Liu Cong before, which was why Liu Cong asked for 60% of the spoils. Sure enough, Liu Cong shrugged and said, "I won't do anything that doesn't benefit me."

Well, now they really became a criminal gang. Liu Xian had nothing to complain about, as he had expected this situation a long time ago.

He continued, "Since we all agree that robbery is the main goal, we must first decide on a location. Shi Chong has accumulated wealth for many years, and his wealth is concentrated in two places: one is the Leling Mansion east of Luoyang City, and the other is his Golden Valley Garden villa. My suggestion is to set the location in Golden Valley Garden."

Afule said, "But the Jingu Garden covers over a thousand acres, so it's not easy to grab it."

Liu Cong nodded and said, "Although I haven't been there, I've heard from my classmates at the Imperial College that there are at least a hundred pavilions and towers in the Golden Valley Garden, as well as a large number of servants, maids, and guards. A conservative estimate is that there are at least several hundred people, and possibly thousands at most."

"Judging from the Jiehu kid's previous robbery and murder, his guards might even be equipped with crossbows. He's probably a tough nut to crack. If we're not careful, let alone stealing anything, we might even find everyone dead before we even find the treasure."

"But it can only be Jingu Garden," Liu Xian said. "Although the Leling Mansion is poorly guarded, it's located in a busy city. It's impossible to take people there without leaving a trace. If there's murder, arson, or any other chaos, all the surrounding mansions will know about it, and it will be difficult to escape. There's also a night curfew, with guards patrolling every hour. What if we run into them? If that happens, it will become a major crime, and our entire clan will be exterminated."

"On the other hand, Shi Chong built Jingu Garden at the foot of Mang Mountain. It's sparsely populated, making it easy for us to hide. There's no curfew either. We only need to deal with the guards in the garden. Even if our attack goes badly, we can just spurt our horses and scatter. As long as we've explored the route beforehand, at least we shouldn't have any problems escaping."

"Although there are many people in Jingu Garden, their manpower will inevitably be dispersed due to its vast area and numerous buildings. As long as we seize the opportunity and move in and out quickly, we don't have to confront them head-on."

Having said that, Liu Xian let out a breath and looked at the people in the room: Afule nodded repeatedly, Liu Yao remained silent, and Liu Cong was playing with a jade pendant in his hand, looking up at the ceiling.

Liu Yao questioned, "That's true, but we don't know the layout of Jingu Garden, nor do we know where the treasury is. If we want to start, we have no idea where to begin, right?"

This is also true. Throughout history, any victory over a larger force with a smaller one, or against a larger one with a smaller force, has always relied on the advantages of time and place. In battles like the Battle of Kunyang, the Battle of Hefei, and the Battle of Xiangfan, the weaker side was able to achieve decisive victories by leveraging its geographical advantages. It's unheard of for a weaker side to achieve success without the advantages of location.

But Liu Xian had already considered this issue. He said to Liu Cong, "Xuanming, why don't you lend me your brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?"

Liu Cong couldn't help but frown. He didn't quite understand the deep meaning of Liu Xian's move, but this was not an excessive request, and he had no reason to refuse.

He clapped his hands, asked Guo Yi to bring pen and paper, and then said with a smile: "I'll grind ink for Huai Chong!"

Liu Xian wasn't shy. He flattened the paper and waited a moment, reflecting on his memories. Once the ink was ground, he dipped the tip of his brush into the ink and began to write: the passageway and lotus pond he had entered that day in Jingu Garden, the orchard and rockery he had seen, the small bridge and high platform Shi Chao had swum on, the attic and hall leaning against the Jingu Cave...

At first, everyone was confused, but as Liu Xian drew more and more, they couldn't help but realize: this was the layout of Shi Chong's Golden Valley Garden! Liu Xian had not only roughly marked the locations of the garden's hundreds of pavilions, but even pointed out the details of several streams and several forking paths in the garden. The content was so detailed and the annotations were so accurate that even Shi Chong, the architect of the Golden Valley Garden, would have found it difficult to replicate.

Liu Xian put down his pen, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at everyone, "I visited Jingu Garden a year ago, but I only had a rough tour back then, so it's inevitable I've forgotten some things. This map shows just the most basic details of Jingu Garden. While I can't say the details are completely accurate, the general layout is correct."

After hearing this, everyone was even more amazed. A Fule couldn't help but sigh, "Liu Xian, you actually have a photographic memory. Doesn't it mean that even if I become rich in the future, you will still remember how poor I looked today?"

Liu Xian replied, "What's the big deal? Brat, you should be afraid that I'll come after you one day. You've taken so much from me now, and you've used so much of me. Even if I don't care now, decades from now, I'll want you back with interest!"

"Stingy! How can you accomplish anything big if you're so particular about little things?"

At this point, everyone burst into laughter. With this map, the plan to rob the garden was still difficult, but at least it was no longer a castle in the air, and everyone naturally felt more confident.

"But don't be too happy too soon."

Liu Xian picked up his drawing of the Golden Valley Garden, shook it slightly, and then analyzed it, "My drawing still has many shortcomings, at least one crucial omission. I still don't know where the Golden Valley Garden's treasure trove is hidden. If I can't figure this out, there's no way to rob the garden."

He turned to Liu Cong and said, "We still need people, people who can sneak into the Golden Valley Garden. First, we need to verify how many errors and omissions there are in my map, and second, we need to find out where Shi Chong hid the treasure."

This was a serious problem. If they couldn't even find the treasury, they couldn't just go in and loot and smash everything, hoping to find the treasures. They could certainly get some things like coral and gold jewelry, but it was inefficient, and even if they did, they wouldn't necessarily be able to take them away. Even if they did, it would only annoy Shi Chong, not achieve any revenge.

Afule asked, "Since you've been there once, can't you go again?"

Liu Xian smiled bitterly and said, "I've already told you that the last time I went to Jingu Garden was a year ago. If you suddenly come this time without a good reason, and then Jingu Garden gets robbed a few days later, it's easy for them to suspect me. Then, if they can follow the clues, none of you will be able to escape."

"So," Liu Xian said carefully, "we have to find someone who has never been to Jingu Garden, who will not arouse suspicion when visiting, and who is also smart enough to do the job."

"That's too much trouble?" A Fule thought for a moment and decided to volunteer. "How about I disguise myself as a merchant and go to Jingu Garden to sell horses?"

"At your age, pretending to be a businessman would only arouse suspicion." Liu Cong rejected the idea. He then pondered for a moment, a smile on his face, and said, "I have two candidates who might be useful."

What kind of person could win Liu Cong's favor? Liu Xian asked curiously, "Who?"

"He is not only a scholar, but also a knight-errant and a genius."

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(End of this chapter)