Chapter 117 Guess
Seeing that Zhao Xing neither denied nor admitted it, Li Ge smiled and said, "Since your status is different, my purpose is naturally different as well."
"Sheng Wei, please see the guest off!" Zhao Xing said indifferently.
"Yes."
Sheng Wei looked at Li Ge and stretched out his hand, saying, "Please!"
Li Ge was stunned. He didn't expect Zhao Xing to have such a bad temper and wanted to drive him away if they disagreed.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Sheng Wei urged him again, and only then did he come back to his senses. He hurriedly said, "Sir, I have a big deal to discuss with you, but I must know your identity."
"It would have been better if it had been like this earlier." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Tell me, what's the deal? No matter what it is, I can handle it with my status."
He didn't reveal his identity before in order to intimidate Li Ge. Saying this now is tantamount to admitting that he is the Crown Prince of Song Dynasty.
Li Ge bowed and said, "I wonder if Your Highness is interested in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?"
Zhao Xing did not correct Li Ge's address. He looked at him deeply and said, "I am very interested in this deal. Sit down and talk about it."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" After Li Ge thanked him, he sat down.
"Tell me in detail." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness should know the identity of the person behind me. I came here this time to discuss business with Your Highness on behalf of that person. The Song Dynasty sent troops to attack the border of Liao at a critical moment. After the success, we are willing to hand over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!" said Li Ge.
Zhao Xing remained silent after hearing this. After a long while, he said, "How can I convince myself of your identity?"
"How can Your Highness believe it?" Li Ge asked back.
He understood that what Zhao Xing meant when he asked how people could trust his identity was actually how the people behind him could guarantee their promises.
"I need the person behind you to write a contract in person, promising to return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Song Dynasty after the matter is accomplished." Zhao Xing said.
"That's impossible!" Li Ge refused without even thinking: "Your Highness should understand why I dare to tell you this directly. A handwritten contract is absolutely impossible. Your Highness can make other requests."
He dared to say it directly because Zhao Xing had no evidence.
Even if Zhao Xing spread this news, the Liao Kingdom would think it was a divisive tactic.
But if the contract is written in person, it would be equivalent to giving the Song Dynasty a handle.
If the Song Dynasty fails to keep its promise and makes use of this incident, the people behind him will be in big trouble.
As for faking it, he had never even thought about it. Since Zhao Xing had made such a request, there must be a way to confirm it.
"You all don't trust me, so how can I trust you? Moreover, my father and all the civil and military officials in the court are unwilling to provoke a war. I don't have strong evidence in my hand. How can I convince them?" Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness, you should know that the so-called contract is not necessarily reliable. If the Song Dynasty sends troops at the critical moment, it can directly seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun." Li Ge said with a smile.
Zhao Xing was thoughtful when he heard this and said, "I need to think about this matter carefully, so I can't give you an answer for now."
"Haha, Bianjing is prosperous, I also plan to take a good look around it." Li Ge said with a smile.
"Since you have such a refined temperament, let Sheng Wei take you for a good tour." Zhao Xing said.
"Then I'll take my leave first!" Li Ge stood up and saluted.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing nodded slightly, and after Li Ge and Sheng Wei left, he said, "Zhong Huai, what do you think about this?"
"Your Highness, I have also heard some rumors. When the current Liao Emperor first ascended the throne a few years ago, he was afraid of Yelu Chongyuan's strength, so in order to appease him, he appointed him as the Grand Uncle and the Grand Marshal of the Army. However, this Liao Emperor is quite resourceful. In just a few years, he has won over many people to pledge their loyalty, and his strength has already surpassed Yelu Chongyuan.
However, whether this person is Yelu Chongyuan's man remains to be discussed." Gu Tingye said.
"There is no doubt about this. I have already confirmed it." Zhao Xing said.
He naturally couldn't believe Li Ge's one-sided words. Since Yin Hanzhang set up the intelligence system, Liao and Xixia have been the top priorities.
Whether it is the Liao Dynasty or the Western Xia, there are many Han people, so it is not difficult to plant spies.
However, the spies planted here were not of high status and could not find out any secret information.
However, Li Ge still found out a lot of information and found out that this person was indeed one of the businessmen who made money for Yelu Chongyuan.
There are many such people under Yelu Chongyuan. Because Li Ge is a Han Chinese, he is not highly valued by Yelu Chongyuan.
Over the years, I have been able to obtain a batch of fine wines through transactions with Shengwei.
With these fine wines, Yelu Chongyuan not only exchanged them for a large amount of wealth, but also won over many Liao nobles.
Li Ge's status also rose as a result, and his sister is now the concubine of Yelu Chongyuan's eldest son.
Gu Tingye didn't know this, but seeing Zhao Xing so confident, he could guess a little bit, so he wisely didn't ask, and said: "In this case, there are only two possible purposes for this person to come this time. One is to use the Song Dynasty to tie down part of the Liao Kingdom's troops at a critical moment to facilitate Yelu Chongyuan's actions. The other possibility is to test the attitude of the Song Dynasty and whether it will send troops when the Liao Kingdom is in civil strife. But no matter which possibility it is, I think the Liao Kingdom will never return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."
"Your idea coincides with mine." Zhao Xing nodded and said, "Do you think there is anything that can be used? Or in other words, during the civil unrest in Liao, is there a chance to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?"
"There is definitely a chance, but I'm afraid the emperor and the officials in the court will not agree to send troops." Gu Tingye said.
"Yeah." Zhao Xing sighed with a headache when he heard that.
In fact, no matter what Yelu Chongyuan’s purpose was, sending troops would be more beneficial to the Song Dynasty.
It would be best if there was a chance to seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Even if we can't take them back, it would also be good if Yelu Chongyuan's rebellion succeeds.
If Yelu Chongyuan had succeeded, the Liao Kingdom would have been in chaos for a long time.
Unfortunately, his father and the officials in the court would probably not agree.
This is also the reason why Zhao Xing did not tell his father when he learned that Li Ge was coming to see him.
"Your Highness, whether to send troops or not, you cannot respond directly. It is best to be ambiguous. However, you can provide some help to Yelu Chongyuan as much as possible." Gu Tingye said.
"I understand." Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "But we can't rush this matter. Let's leave him alone for now. By the way, how is your matter going? Did you get any useful information?"
The slaves that the Gu family sold more than ten years ago have been sent back to Bian Jing.
Zhao Xing directly threw the person to Gu Tingye.
Gu Tingye shook his head sadly and said, "There is no substantial evidence."
Zhao Xing was not surprised to hear this. These people could only prove that Xiao Qin had been to Gu's house during that period of time, but they could not prove that she did so intentionally to harm Bai.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be as simple as just selling these people out.
In fact, if we just tie up the old maid next to Xiao Qin and interrogate her, we will definitely be able to get some useful information out of her.
However, according to the laws of the Song Dynasty, slaves were not allowed to sue their masters except for the crime of treason, and even if they did, the evidence they provided would not be accepted.
"But I have thought of a way, maybe we can give it a try." Gu Tingye said.
"What method?" Zhao Xing asked.
"As the saying goes, a guilty conscience is the first sign of a thief's guilt. If the existence of those servants is exposed, my stepmother might very well want to kill them to silence them. In this way, we might be able to get evidence." Gu Tingye said.
"You can give it a try, but don't be impatient. After the imperial examination is over, I will take over as the prefect of Kaifeng, and then you can take action." Zhao Xing said.
If he could help Gu Tingye get revenge, not only would Gu Tingye not be dragged down by family matters, he would also serve him wholeheartedly.
(End of this chapter)