Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

The State of Chu, the Zhong Mansion.

Zhong Min did not enter the palace today. He was at home enjoying massages and being fed by his maids, and all he could think about was how to take advantage of the Zhou-Chu war to directly win the position of Prime Minister for himself.

Suddenly, a doorman rushed in to report:

"Sir, there is a merchant outside who wants to see you. He says he wants to do some business with you."

"I won't see you."

Zhong Min was enjoying himself when he heard this. He didn't even lift his eyelids and simply waved his hand to signal the merchant to leave.

But the gatekeeper, having accepted fifty taels of silver from Fan Changshan, couldn't just go back and try to regain his sight without doing anything. So, he gritted his teeth and made a conscious effort:

"Master, but... but the merchant said it was news related to General Xiong."

"Take the person to the front yard and wait."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Min stopped enjoying himself, pushed the maid aside, got up, straightened his clothes, and headed straight for the front yard.

His greatest pastime in life was taking revenge for what he had lost years ago.

Although to outsiders he was just being looked down upon by Xiong Zhao and then relentlessly attacked him, showing his pettiness, in his heart he considered it a life-or-death feud!

As long as Xiong Zhao is alive, he will fight him to the end!

Before long, Zhong Min arrived at the front yard and saw a young man in fine clothes with an extraordinary air about him leisurely enjoying tea.

After glancing at him a few times, he walked forward with a stern face:

"You're not from our Chu state, are you?"

"Your Excellency truly has keen insight!"

Fan Changshan was greatly alarmed to see that the man had seen through his origins at a glance, but he remained calm and rose to greet him.

"I come from the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"The Zhou people?"

"Heh, don't you know Zhou Chu is currently engaged in a major battle?"

Zhong Min suddenly became interested, since this week's man was quite bold and they could have a chat.

Fan Changshan responded with a smile:

"Of course I know, and that's precisely why I've come to you, sir, to make a deal."

"Oh? What kind of deal?"

He smiled slightly:

"My lord, I have been trading along the border between Zhou and Chu for many years. On this trip, I encountered Xiong Zhao and Lu Xiao having a secret rendezvous in the mountains!"

"These two men, one is the Marquis of Champion of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the other is a pillar of your country; both are renowned generals. What do you believe their actions represent, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Min's expression changed drastically. After a moment of stunned silence, he hurriedly dismissed those around him, then approached the other person and asked in a low voice:

Is this really true?

"Without solid evidence, how dare I trouble you, sir?"

Fan Changshan nodded and recounted how Lu Xiao and Xiong Zhao had met and shared drinks during this period. He then added that since Lu Xiao arrived at Ze Meng's camp and killed Shen Ting, he had only fought one battle with Xiong Zhao and had not made any further moves since.

Moreover, in that battle, Lu Xiao won against overwhelming odds, causing Xiong Zhao to flee in disarray!

"Sir, don't you find this strange?"

Looking into the other person's darting eyes, Fan Changshan continued to patiently persuade him:

"Even if Lu Xiao is incredibly brave, it's impossible for him to defeat Xiong Zhao's three thousand soldiers in such a rout with only three hundred Zhou men!"

"After all, Xiong Zhao is a renowned general of your country!"

"Moreover, since then, the two have not fought a single battle, and the generals of the two armies have been meeting every day to drink and make merry, and during this time, the twenty personal guards who accompanied them were not allowed to get close."

"Does anyone know what they secretly discussed?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Min's eyes narrowed to slits. After a moment of thought, he asked in surprise:

"You mean, that old scoundrel Xiong Zhao wants to defect to Zhou?"

"It's not impossible!"

Fan Changshan nodded eagerly:

"Ze Meng's camp has only 13,000 soldiers, while Xiong Zhao's army outnumbers them several times over. How could they be no match for him?"

"Then why did you report this to me?"

Zhong Min already suspected that Xiong Zhao had defected to the enemy, but he was even more suspicious of the man's motives.

After all, this guy is from Zhou, so regardless of his stance, it's right to be the first to suspect him.

Perhaps this is a scheme by the Zhou people to sow discord?

Upon hearing this, Fan Changshan immediately became indignant and said:

"Xiong Zhao has gone too far! Not only did he forcibly seize my goods when he saw me passing through as a merchant on the border, but he also planned to detain me in the army as well, and then send a letter to my family demanding a huge sum of money in compensation, so that my family would be ruined!"

"His actions, while undoubtedly aimed at preventing news of his defection to Zhou from leaking, were also, in effect, a way of planning for his own future."

"I ask for little, only that you, sir, can expose Xiong Zhao's true colors and ensure the smooth flow of trade routes along the border. In this way, I can survive."

"If this succeeds, I am willing to serve you as my master, and from now on, I will give you fifty percent of the profits from this business!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Min sneered and shook his head, saying:

"Putting aside the fact that you are from the Great Zhou, I am a colleague of General Xiong from the State of Chu. Your act of coming here to inform on others is quite suspicious."

Do you think I would harm a pillar of the nation for your paltry sums?

He wouldn't agree to this for such a small matter. After all, as long as he drove the man away, he could go to the palace and say a few words to the Emperor, and that old scoundrel Xiong Zhao would still be in trouble!

"Sir, my business is quite large."

When Fan Changshan saw that he was questioning his financial resources, he immediately clapped his hands.

The guards waiting in the courtyard immediately brought in a small wooden box, along with several large wooden crates.

He opened all the boxes in front of Zhong Min:

"This is just a small token of my appreciation!"

For a moment, Zhong Min's breathing became rapid.

Before him stood Fan Changshan, who was carrying a box full of jewelry, gold and silver artifacts, while the large box on the ground was filled with dazzling ingots of silver!

As he was still in shock, Fan Changshan continued:

"To be honest, sir, I have quite a bit of experience in doing business, and this is just my profit for half a year."

"But if there are greedy people like Xiong Zhao on the border, I might never have earned this much money in my lifetime."

"How much gold and silver do you think that old scoundrel Xiong Zhao has embezzled?"

"With such a greedy man as him entering the Great Zhou, how could anyone else possibly survive?"

goo-dong-

At this moment, Zhong Min couldn't help but swallow hard, wishing he could just lie down on all that gold and silver and laugh out loud.

However, he still managed to hold back, and after a long while, he nodded and said:

"It's not that I can't help you, but whether it will work out is another matter. After all, Xiong Zhao is a member of the royal family of my Chu Kingdom."

"By Xiong Zhao's generation, although his bloodline with the Emperor was faint and barely visible, they were still family."

"It's alright!"

Seeing that he had taken the bait, Fan Changshan immediately stood up and thanked him:

"I would be extremely grateful if you would be willing to expose the true colors of Xiong Zhao. The rest is up to fate."

"In that case, I will trust you this once."

Zhong Min nodded and stood up to return the greeting:

"I will go to the palace to pay my respects immediately. Please rest for a while and wait for my news."

"We will definitely give our esteemed guest an answer before sunset at the latest!"