From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 1204

Zhou Yuan had made no progress. It had been three days since they entered Yining City. They began to look for the whereabouts of the secret agent of the Inner Court, but this search was passive. They could only release news and wait for the secret agent to contact them.

But the secret agent had a real identity and a disguised environment. They also needed to judge the authenticity of the news and determine whether it was safe, so they might not contact them at the first time.

So Zhou Yuan and others could only wait with peace of mind.

"Could it be that there are no secret agents anymore, and they are all surrounded in Jinding Temple?"

Zhang Fei frowned and expressed doubts.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "It's impossible. No intelligence organization can put all its eggs in one basket. This is a necessary redundant mechanism and the last line of defense to prevent infiltration and mistakes."

"Ye Qingying is an excellent intelligence worker. From Shuixi to Dongfan Island and even the Tsarist Kingdom, she has proved this."

"There must be secret agents, but they are buried deep and cautious. We still need to wait patiently."

As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Lu ran in from outside in a hurry.

"Something is wrong!"

His four words made Zhou Yuan and others nervous.

"Too many people went in and out of the palace today, and the soldiers on the Yining city defense side were also deployed, as if they were going to seal the city."

"I suspect Sima Yi has returned to Yining City and plans to dig deep to find us."

"According to this movement, all Han people should be gathered together and searched one by one."

"Such an old-fashioned method will have a miraculous effect. There are only 20,000 Han people in Yining City. They may really clear us out."

Zhou Yuan frowned immediately.

He immediately asked: "How many of us are here in Shenque?"

Guan Lu said: "Zhang Fei brought more than 60 people, I brought more than 10 people, plus more than 10 elites infiltrated before, about 100 people."

"Don't worry about the people who infiltrated before, they have already covered their identities well, but our more than 80 people... The foundation of their identities is too weak and it is easy to be discovered."

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and couldn't help laughing: "Sima Yi is really willing to go all out. In order to win, he actually thought of such a laborious method."

"In an instant, we were almost in a desperate situation."

"Is it too late to leave the city now?"

Guan Lu shook his head and said: "It's definitely too late. Before the enemy army started, there must be a large number of secret guards lurking at the city gate, staring at every group of people who wanted to leave the city temporarily. If we go out now, we will fall into a trap."

Zhou Yuan fell into deep thought.

He tapped the table lightly and said slowly: "The most troublesome thing about infiltration from a different place is here. Different races make it impossible to disguise perfectly."

Zhang Fei immediately said: "We have enough clothes, beards, and curly hair, and we can dress up exactly like the locals."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said: "It doesn't stand up to scrutiny. If Sima Yi fails to find us, he will definitely think of new ways, such as the system of collective responsibility and the system of mutual reporting."

"When the locals dare to shelter us, they will be guilty, but if they report us, they will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver."

"Everyone will send us out... We can't hide at all."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan paused slightly and said: "Guan Lu, go and call the Han merchant boss."

Guan Lu immediately did it, and soon, the Han merchant boss of the silk workshop hurried over.

Seeing Zhou Yuan, he immediately knelt down and said respectfully: "I am Jiang Jianfeng, a humble citizen, to see His Royal Highness the King of Wei."

Zhou Yuan helped him up and smiled gently: "Boss Jiang, it must be difficult to do such a big business in the Western Regions, right?"

Jiang Jianfeng smiled bitterly: "For Han people, it is more difficult here. In name, everything is the same, but in fact, there are many prejudices. We have to spend more money to manage in order to do business normally. Anyone can step on us."

"So we Han merchants... are eager for the Western Regions to return to the Great Jin. Even if we pay more taxes at that time, it is much better than being deducted and intercepted like this."

Zhou Yuan said: "Now the Yarkand Palace is closing the city. Are the identities of my brothers who arrived early reliable enough and can they stand up to scrutiny?"

"The current situation is that all Han people must be examined one by one. Once there is a clue, they will be arrested."

Jiang Jianfeng immediately said: "Your Majesty, let me handle this matter. At least there is a place for the more than 60 people brought by Lord Guan."

"We Han merchants are very united here. Each merchant arranges ten people and says that they are illegal residents. Others cannot be found."

"It's just that Your Majesty..."

Guan Lu added: "That Hu Biao has seen more than ten of us. We can't hide."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "No need. As long as Zhang Fei and the others can hide, Guan Lu and I will naturally have a place to go."

Jiang Jianfeng was relieved and said: "Your Majesty, I will arrange it immediately."

Zhou Yuan gave Zhang FeiAfter winking, Zhang Fei nodded and led his men to leave with Jiang Jianfeng.

Guan Lu looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Where are we going? Should we go directly to the palace? Only there will be no inspection."

Zhou Yuan said, "We can't go in. It's too risky. We have to think of other ways."

"You should have already mastered the basic local intelligence. Which aristocratic families are the Black Mountain Sect and the palace unwilling to offend easily?"

"We have to seek help."

Guan Lu thought for a while, and then whispered, "There is indeed one, the Yier family, in the manor at the end of the North Street in the city."

"There is a very interesting thing here. The current head of the Yier family is Xuesang Yier, who is the mother and princess of the current Yarkand Khan Sima Yi."

At this moment, Zhou Yuan's cerebellum was almost burned out.

He was stunned for a moment, then glared and said: "What did you say?"

Guan Lu said: "Xue Sang Yi'er was the concubine of the former king of Yarkand, but at that time, there was no cultural reform here. There was a custom that sons inherited their father's wife and younger brothers inherited their elder brothers' wives. So after the former king of Yarkand died, Xue Sang Yi'er belonged to the current Sima Yi."

"The two were sweet for many years. Later, Sima Yi started the cultural reform and let Xue Sang Yi'er return to her parents' home, which was a good start for the cultural reform."

"But Sima Yi still missed the old feelings. He thought Xue Sang Yi'er gave him a lot of tenderness and taught him a lot of things, so he felt guilty and sent a lot of things every year. Just to avoid criticism, he didn't dare to go there."

"With the blessing of various reasons, the Yi'er family became a very special existence in Yining City. They had no power, but no one dared to provoke them. ”

“Because if you provoke them, Sima Yi will go berserk.”

“After all, that woman is Sima Yi’s wife and mother.”

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and said, “It’s really complicated, but it’s also quite simple.”

“Song Wu has a woman who is also his wife and mother… but she’s not in the open.”

“It’s settled, let’s go visit her and ask for help.”

Guan Lu was startled and said, “My lord… she won’t help us… she’s a diehard of the Yarkand Dynasty…”

Zhou Yuan took out the letter flintlock gun from his arms and asked in confusion, “You mean, she won’t help us?”

Guan Lu swallowed and said, “It’s probably difficult, but she should help.”

“That’s it.”

Zhou Yuan laughed and said, “Disguise, let’s deliver silk to Madam Xue Sang.”