Since ancient times, only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win a hundred battles. To defeat your enemy, you must first understand your enemy. In order to complete the task of collecting evidence, Ang Lee had temporarily placed spies in Nanzhao's Royal City. These spies could not only play a role in this task, but also in the future operation to destroy Nanzhao. They could provide useful information at any time.
Soon, the soldier at the front line came out and whispered something in Chen Long's ear. Chen Long nodded and led the team out of Nanzhao's Royal City.
They chose a location that was neither too high nor too low. It was neither too high nor too low. It was not outstanding in any aspect and was the least likely to attract attention. It was easy to attract attention in places with too much traffic. It was also easy to attract attention in places with too few people.
In addition, for ease of movement, the location of their shop was relatively close to Duan Jianwei's residence. It was only a few streets away. They did not dare to get too close. Otherwise, if something happened, they would be suspected.
"General, what do you think of this location?"
The soldier asked.
Chen Long nodded and said, "It's not bad. This location just meets the requirements. You should quickly settle down. Also, hurry up and go to Duan Jianwei's residence to find out the situation."
"General, I've already sent people there. They seem to be dismantling something in the residence. Should we sneak in?"
A soldier asked.
For a wealthy family like this, because the residence was relatively large, there would often be people going in to do construction work. Just building a garden would require a lot of labor, not to mention tearing down a house.
However, it did not seem easy to sneak in. After all, Chen Long and the soldiers under his command were all soldiers. They did not have much work experience and were not locals. It was very easy for them to be exposed. The best way was to rope in the locals to serve them.
Chen Long said, "No, it's too risky. Our accent is not local. Let's not be anxious now. First, send people to inquire about the Duan family's situation. Give them more benefits. Don't be stingy with money. Money warms people's hearts. As long as we spend more money and inquire more, we will definitely find out what we need."
"Yes, I'll do it right away."
The soldiers quickly split up to inquire. Of course, they did it quietly and did not reveal their intentions. For example, they asked if the Duan family needed guards, did they need manual labor, if they needed wood or large furniture. They also chatted and asked people who had been to the Duan family's residence about the situation inside and how many guards were there.
Soon, the soldiers under Chen Long's command had a rough understanding of the situation in the Duan Residence. They had a rough idea of the situation.
The Duan family was not what it used to be. Although Duan Jianwei had just died, the Duan family's decline had already begun. Gelofeng was no longer taking care of the Duan family. Those who had offended the Duan family in the past had begun to take revenge on the Duan family. There was an endless stream of people who reported that the Duan family had filled their pockets. Many of the Duan family's minor officials had been removed from their positions. Many people had even set their sights on Inspector Duan's residence. After all, the Duan family's area was large enough. Now that there was no one in the Duan family who could hold the fort, it was obviously too eye-catching to let the Duan family continue to have such a large residence.
Many people of high status had already set their sights on the Duan family's residence. Perhaps it would not be long before the Duan family no longer lived in the Duan family's residence. Once that happened, the Duan family's secret might be leaked. Therefore, the Duan family was very likely to get rid of everything they needed to get rid of in advance. At this moment, tearing down the house might be one of their methods. As such, Chen Long and the others naturally had to act quickly. They had to obtain these letters before the Duan family destroyed them. Then, their mission would be completed.
"General, we found someone we can make use of. He's a small steward of the Duan family. This person is especially fond of gambling. This morning, he lost a lot of money at the gambling house and also owes a lot of debts. Among them, there are debts from the gambling house."
A soldier reported a more important piece of news.
Hearing this, Chen Long smiled slightly and said happily, "That's great. We'll use this person to open a gap and let our people infiltrate the Duan family as soon as possible."
"Yes, General. We'll make the arrangements right away."
After saying that, the soldier went to make the arrangements.
After dark at night, the small steward of the Duan family walked back with a sad face. In the afternoon, he went to try again and did not expect to lose again. Fortunately, he met a kind person who was willing to lend him money to recoup his losses. However, not only did he not recoup his losses after borrowing the money, but he also lost the money. Needless to say, he was very depressed.
"You borrowed the money. When are you going to pay it back?"
On the way back, the small steward of the Duan family was stopped by Chen Long and the others. One of them was the soldier of the Tang dynasty who lent him money to recoup his losses.
"You, what do you want?"
Suddenly seeing the burly man who lent him money in the afternoon, the small steward of the Duan family seemed to understand something. It seemed that he was being used. However, he was willing to do so. No one forced him. He owed someone money, so he naturally had to pay it back. Who asked him to be so addicted to gambling?
"It's a matter of course to repay a debt. What do you think we want?"
Chen Long said faintly.
The small steward of the Duan family had also been through a lot. He could not take out the money at the moment, and it was obvious that the other party did not really want the money. They must have other purposes. He only had a good-for-nothing son at home, and his wife was very ugly. Naturally, he was not the target of these people. In this way, the purpose of these people targeting him was most likely related to his position. He was the small steward of the Duan family, so he might be able to help these people in some small way.
"Heroes, if there is anything I can help with, I will do my best."
The steward of the Duan family, surnamed Liu, quickly expressed his attitude in an extremely respectful manner.
"Humph, at least you know what's good for you."
Chen Long nodded with satisfaction. He took out a sum of money from his pocket and put it in the steward's hand. He said, "We want to enter the Duan family as servants. You are the steward. Help us think of a way."
"This …"
Although the steward surnamed Liu had already guessed that what Chen Long and the others wanted to do was definitely related to the Duan family, if these people caused a huge commotion in the Duan family, he might be in trouble as the person who introduced them. Therefore, he naturally appeared to be rather hesitant.
"What, you don't agree?"
Chen Long reprimanded angrily.
The steward hurriedly said, "Heroes, please calm down. This humble one can do this. However, what exactly are you guys trying to do? Can you reveal a little? Perhaps this humble one can help."
Obviously, if Chen Long and the others did not say anything, he would not be confident and was very afraid that he would be implicated.
Chen Long smiled and said, "I'm not afraid to tell you that we are looking for a few confidential letters that only Duan Jianwei has seen. They should be in a secret room in the Duan family. As long as we find the letters, we will leave immediately without any delay."
"Oh, just a few letters! Then I'm relieved. "
Although the steward did not particularly believe Chen Long's words, he believed most of it. After all, this was the capital of Nanzhao. No matter how bold these people were, they would not dare to go to the Duan residence to kill people. As for plundering large amounts of treasures, that was even more impossible. A large amount of treasures needed to be transported by vehicles. They would be too big of a target and would be easily discovered.
As for looking for confidential letters, the credibility was relatively high. As for what letters they were looking for, the steward did not care at all. This was not something he should be concerned about. Now that the Duan family had begun to decline, it was very normal for someone to keep an eye on the Duan family. This person knew everything.
"Oh right, heroes, how many people do you want to arrange for to go in and work? Too many definitely won't do. We will definitely be suspected."
The steward asked.
Chen Long pointed at the two people behind him and said, "Just the two of them will do. If you can provide help and let us get this done, you will be rewarded handsomely."
"Yes, thank you heroes. This humble one will definitely get this done."
The steward said excitedly.
For the steward, it was not too difficult to do such a thing. He had been in the Duan family for decades and knew everything about the Duan family like the back of his hand. He usually did things well and rarely made mistakes. However, in the past six months, due to carelessness in making friends, he had become addicted to gambling. Since then, things had gotten out of hand. Not only had he gambled away all the family property, but at the same time, he had a huge debt. It was almost impossible to live like this.
For people like this, since they could not live like this, they would naturally become very bold. They would be able to do anything. Betraying their master was not a big deal at all.
At night, the two soldiers under Chen Long's command successfully infiltrated the Duan residence and quickly found the secret chamber of the Duan residence.
The secret chamber of the Duan residence was very hidden. It was behind the rockery in the backyard. Ordinary people would not be able to find it. Usually, very few people would come here. It was well hidden.
If Duan Chu did not say that there was a secret chamber here, it would not be easy to find it. Even the steward who had been in the Duan residence all his life did not know that there was a secret chamber in the rockery in the backyard. After all, his duties were in the front yard. The rockery in the backyard was a forbidden area. They had no right to enter. Usually, only Duan Jianwei had the right to enter.
In order to prevent being discovered, the two soldiers called the steward. If they were discovered, it would be easier to deal with it.
The three of them quietly walked to the rockery in the backyard. The steward was very surprised. He really did not know that there was a secret chamber here.
"Steward Liu, do you have the key?"
One of the soldiers asked.
"I dare not lie to you heroes. This is the first time I have seen this secret chamber. This is the master's place. We servants are not allowed to enter casually. I'm afraid that not many people in the entire Duan family know of the existence of this secret chamber, let alone have the key."
Steward Liu said.
The two soldiers looked at each other and quickly took out their lockpicking tools. They had expected this to happen, so they had already prepared the tools. The Dragon Martial Army was full of talents. There were all kinds of talents. Naturally, there was no shortage of lockpicking talents.
Because they were worried that they would be discovered by the people patrolling the mansion at night, their movements were very light. They did not dare to move too much to avoid being discovered.
It was also the first time steward Liu did this kind of thing. His heart was pounding and he was very nervous.
"Kacha"
The two soldiers spent a lot of effort and finally opened the door of the secret chamber. After they entered the secret chamber, they lit the candles on the wall and gently closed the door of the secret chamber.
Although the candles were lit, the light in the secret chamber was still very dim. It looked a little depressing.
Because it was Duan Jianwei's room, it was inevitable that there would be some valuable things in it. When steward Liu saw these valuable things, his eyes lit up. He took a few and put them in his pocket. He planned to exchange them for money for his gambling.
"Come here and help us find it."
One of the soldiers shouted and asked steward Liu to help find the letters.
Steward Liu did not dare to disobey and helped to find the letters. Soon, they found many letters.
With so many letters, it was very unrealistic to take all of them away. It would be easy to be discovered if their pockets were bulging. However, there were so many letters that they could not just take some of them away! Their mission was to take all the letters away, not leaving a single one behind. For this reason, they had to take the letters away in batches. However, the risk of taking the letters away in batches was very high. Who knew when the Duan Clan would suddenly enter the secret room and destroy everything?
"Is there any good way to take all of these letters away?"
One of the soldiers looked at steward Liu and asked.
After all, steward Liu was a member of the Duan family and was very familiar with everything in the Duan family. If they asked steward Liu for help, there might be a way to deal with the current situation.
Steward Liu thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we put them in the swill cart and transport them away? The swill cart in the mansion has to be transported away every night. No one will know if we put them in the cart. However, we will have to trouble the two of you. The smell is very strong and most people are not willing to do it. "
"Okay, let's do it. As long as we can complete the mission, this is nothing."
The two soldiers said.
Not long after, steward Liu brought over a few very smelly swill buckets. Then, he put all the letters in them. For these letters, they filled two large buckets. Then, the two soldiers each carried a bucket and walked on the road, waiting for the swill cart to pass by.
"Old Li, you're in charge of pouring the swill today! How about this, you can go back and rest! These two are new here, just let them do it. "
Steward Liu said without any doubt.
Obviously, he did not need to explain anything to Old Li. He was the steward, so he had the final say. Moreover, this was also in line with the rules. New servants had to be given some difficult tasks. It was beneficial for their future work to temper their temper.
The servant called Old Li went back happily. No one liked this job, and they took turns to do it.
Under Steward Liu's command, the two soldiers transported the swill buckets away and quickly left the Duan residence.
However, they naturally did not go to the swill dumping area. They went directly to the meeting point, took out the two buckets of letters, and handed them to the other soldiers to transport away. Then, they sent the swill cart to the designated location and returned to the Duan residence. After handing the swill cart to the Duan residence, they found an opportunity to leave.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
