Chapter 36 Bribery
After Li Heng and Gao Xianzhi finished speaking, they glanced at Feng Changqing beside them and said to him, "General Feng and General Gao will work together to accomplish this."

Feng Changqing said: "Your Highness, I am only General Gao's attendant, I don't dare to call myself a general."

Li Ying said: "The politics of our Tang Dynasty is clear and bright. A pearl can be covered in dust for a while, but how can it be covered in dust for a lifetime? We should do this well with all our heart."

"Here."

Feng Changqing bowed to Li Heng, tears faintly in his eyes.

Because of his appearance, Feng Changqing was looked down upon wherever he went. Now that he had been recognized by Gao Xianzhi, he was only able to become an attendant.

However, Li Heng, the emperor's most favored prince, not only did not look down on him when they met for the first time, but also entrusted him with important tasks. How could one not be moved by such a kindness?

Li Ying added: "We must act quickly on this matter, and it is a military secret and must not be leaked."

"Here."

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing accepted the order and waited for Li Heng to write the approval document for them. Then they bowed to Li Heng and left.

After the two walked away, Yang Yuhuan asked curiously, "My dear, this is the first time you have met these two people. Is it really feasible to entrust them with such an important task?"

"Of course." Li Ying nodded.

Li Heng's appointment of them was not without purpose.

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing had served as soldiers in Anxi for many years. They had fought against Tubo, Turks, and Arabs, had experience in fighting, and understood the situations of these countries. What they lacked was not ability, but opportunity.

So later, after Gai Jiayun was removed from his position, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing began to rise.

More importantly, they understand the languages ​​and cultures of these ethnic groups and know how to communicate with them.

In fact, this is also the reason why Li Longji appointed many Hu border generals. This can be regarded as a strategy of "using Hu to rule Hu".

Moreover, Li Heng also had another way to ask Gai Jiayun to do it personally, which was to send money to Gai Jiayun.

Gai Jiayun lives an extravagant life and has poor moral character. As long as he is given enough money, he will definitely be willing to help.

But Li Heng did not choose to do so.

This was not because Li Heng was short of the money or was being aloof. After all, Li Heng had given money to his guards and eunuchs before.

This is because Li Heng has his considerations.

Some people need money to win their hearts, such as his guards and the eunuch who delivered the message, some people need to be treated with courtesy, such as Wang Zhongsi, some people need appreciation and favor, such as Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, and some people need to be taken away, such as Huangfu Weiming and Gai Jiayun.

……

……

……

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing went all the way to Hexi, found Wang Zhongsi, and conveyed Li Heng's intention.

After hearing this, Wang Zhongsi immediately asked his attendants to take out the map. He looked at the map and pondered for a while before saying, "Don't worry. After you reach Daqin, it won't take a few days for this general to send his victory report."

Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing didn't expect Wang Zhongsi to be so straightforward, because when Niu Xianke was in charge before, he mainly focused on defense and counterattack.

This straightforwardness actually made Gao Xianzhi somewhat suspicious.

Gao Xianzhi said: "General Wang, the preparation time for a war is at least one month, and as long as a year. How can you win a great victory in such a short time?" Seeing Gao Xianzhi's suspicion, Wang Zhongsi smiled and said: "To be honest with you, in the past few years, Tubo has entered our Hexi through many passages in the Qilian Mountains, and often harassed our Gua and Sha states, trying to cut off the connection between our Tang Dynasty and the West. I have long wanted to fight them back from these passages. They are used to being arrogant in Hexi, and they are careless and rarely defend themselves. Now that I have just been appointed as the governor, they want to take advantage of my new position and not have a stable foothold, and harass my Gua and Sha states again. Even if His Royal Highness Shou Wang doesn't say it, I will fight this battle."

"I see." Gao Xianzhi bowed to Wang Zhongsi and said, "Thank you, General Wang, for your honesty."

Wang Zhongsi said, "This is a military secret. I didn't intend to disclose it, but you two were entrusted by His Royal Highness Prince Shou. Since His Royal Highness Prince Shou trusts you, I naturally trust you as well."

Since Wang Zhongsi said so, Gao Xianzhi naturally no longer had any doubts and left with Feng Changqing.

After Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing walked away, Wang Zhongsi's military commander came in and whispered, "General, Lü Dewen wants to see you."

"Lv Dewen?" Wang Zhongsi was slightly surprised.

Lu Dewen is Lu Xiang's cousin, and is also Li Heng's man.

Now that Lu Dewen came to approach him, his purpose was self-evident.

After Wang Zhongsi entered the palace at a young age, he became a companion to the prince and followed Li Heng for a period of time, and they had a pretty good relationship.

Wang Zhongsi thought for a moment and said, "Please ask him to come in."

After a while, Lu Dewen came in with the military commander.

When Wang Zhongsi saw Lv Dewen, he laughed and said, "Mr. Lv, how come you have time to come to this border area?"

Lu Dewen said, "To be honest with you, General Wang, I know that you have been promoted, so I came to congratulate you."

After that, he asked someone to bring in two boxes.
Lu De continued, "These are some local specialties from my hometown. I hope General Wang won't dislike them."

Wang Zhongsi took a look at the two boxes and said, "Since they are special products, I will share them with you brothers so that you can share Mr. Lu's kindness. What do you think, Mr. Lu?"

"This..." Lu Dewen was stunned, then smiled and said, "Of course."

After saying that, he opened one of them himself, and it was full of loquats.

Lu Dewen continued, "General Wang, this is a specialty of my hometown."

"Loquat, this general knows about it." Wang Zhongsi walked over, picked up one, wiped it on his clothes, put it directly into his mouth, chewed it, and said, "It tastes good, share it with your brothers, and share this box with them as well."

When the soldier at the door heard this, he happily came in to carry the box.

"Wait." Lu Dewen held down the unopened box and said, "General Wang loves his soldiers like his own sons. I admire that. But this is just a small token of my appreciation. Why don't you give half to him and keep the other half for yourself?"

After hearing this and seeing Lu Dewen's expression, Wang Zhongsi guessed what was inside.

This is the art of gift-giving, half of which is a genuine specialty, and the other half is a priceless valuable item.

Wang Zhongsi looked at Lv Dewen and asked, "Does His Royal Highness Prince Zhong know you're coming?"

"I don't know." Lu Dewen rejected it outright. "Your Highness Prince Zhong is not my superior. I don't need to tell Your Highness Prince Zhong about these things."

"Really?" Wang Zhongsi smiled, "But His Royal Highness Prince Zhong and I are quite friendly. How about this? I will not share this box of loquats with my brothers, nor will I keep it for myself. Please give it to His Royal Highness Prince Zhong. What do you think?"

"This..." Lu Dewen didn't know what to do for a moment.

Wang Zhongsi saw that Lu Dewen was hesitant, and continued, "Why? If you are unwilling to help me, I will have no choice but to divide it."

(End of this chapter)