Asking for help from the palace? Liu Han has been thinking about it since he climbed the cliff, but he hasn't thought about it until now, there are advantages and disadvantages to asking for help from the palace, and the advantage is that the palace may launch a comprehensive investigation of the Hundred Workshops because of this, but what are the disadvantages?

If you can't make a decision, this is already his habit, Lin Huai saw what he meant, he was very puzzled, and asked in a low voice: "My lord, have you been to the back mountain?"

Liu Han shook his head, hesitated and whispered: "Our opponent is stronger than I imagined, the day before yesterday, I was attacked, and it was easy to escape, if the lair of the hundred workshops is really in the back mountain, with your cultivation before you can enter, you were discovered, and you lost your life in vain, oh, by the way, do you have any contact with the palace?"

Lin Huai was shocked in his heart, but he didn't show it, and nodded without hesitation: "Yes." ”

"Well, you report to the palace, I was assassinated, I escaped by luck, Gu Shuo was wiped out, and the internal guards in Yangzhou may have all been infiltrated or mastered. Liu Han considered the words, but Lin Huai's face had already lost color, although Liu Han had already told him that the Yangzhou internal security system might be infiltrated, but it really happened, he was still very shocked, not to mention, the other party openly killed Gu Shuo, doesn't this clearly provoke the palace!

This 100 workshops are really bold!

"Yes, my subordinates obey orders!" Lin Huai responded, and after a while, he asked cautiously: "My lord was attacked yesterday, can you be sure that it is a hundred workshops?"

"The person who used it is a person from the internal guard," Liu Han said: "I followed the vine and caught the main messenger of the internal guard first, but then I was attacked by the other party." ”

Lin Huai was even more shocked, it was actually a person from the internal guard, and after a moment of silence, he gradually understood that the way the internal guard operated, as long as there was a problem in the middle link, the subordinates had to implement it.

After being silent for a while, he asked cautiously, "Who is the other party?"

Liu Han shook his head: "No, however, the cultivation is very high, and they are all dead soldiers." ”

Lin Huai nodded silently: "Then I'll report to the top." ”

Liu Han shook his head: "Gu Shuo is dead, I must report it, as for my assassination, don't report it for the time being." Oh, tell the above, Gu Shuo's matter, I'm investigating. ”

Lin Huai didn't say anything, nodded and agreed, Liu Han suddenly remembered something: "Didn't you say that you didn't have subordinates last time, what are those two people?"

Lin Huai laughed dryly, Liu Han understood, stared at him sternly, and said in a deep voice: "I will not let my subordinates die in confusion, but I will never accept deception, if such a thing happens again, I will not spare it!"

Lin Huai hurriedly agreed, promising that there would never be a next time, Liu Han nodded: "You are doing things under me for the first time, I will allow you once, but remember, there is no second time." ”

"Don't worry, my subordinates will never dare to do it again. Lin Huai once again assured that the palace would put him in Yangzhou, and after so many years, even if there was no manpower at the beginning, he could develop a few, and these two people were subordinates who he personally developed over the years.

"Now, how many people do you have?" asked Liu Han again.

Lin Huai sighed: "There are not many people, there are only five in Yangzhou City, there are two more in Jiankang, and the others are really gone." ”

"Do the palace know their identities except for you?"

"I don't know," Lin Huai said, "I didn't report it, but the palace should know." ”

"Why?" Liu Han was a little puzzled, Lin Huai smiled bitterly: "Maintaining the activities of internal guards, how can it be lighter, I have to apply for funds every year, and the above secretly allocates them, and the above can know whether I have subordinates through the change of funds." ”

"Does every internal guard have to be funded?" Liu Han asked again.

Lin Huai sighed: "Internal guards need funds, otherwise who will work for you, but the funds of internal guards are also divided, and there is not much silver in the palace, and it is difficult to raise such a large number of internal security personnel, so the silver of internal guards is generally divided into two kinds, the top gives a part, and earns a part by yourself, at the beginning, mainly by the top, but after that, I mainly rely on myself, to be honest, my lord, I haven't gotten the silver from above for two years." ”

Liu Han was slightly surprised, and then sighed softly, the internal guards are huge, how many people are at the bottom, I'm afraid it is not even clear in the palace, how many gate valve families are in the world, how many vassal kings, and generals in the army, the Jianghu Gang, the Seven Stars and Eight Generals of the Wind and Rain Building, there are three internal guards, how many will there be in the Cao Gang?

With such a huge system, how much silver is needed to operate, it is certainly not a small amount, and it is not easy enough to maintain it with the embarrassment of the imperial court over the years.

Liu Han thought about it, took out a silver ticket from his arms and put it in front of Lin Huai, Lin Huai picked it up and saw that it was two thousand taels of silver, his heart moved slightly, Liu Han said: "This time I came to Yangzhou, the palace gave some funds, take these two thousand first, let's do this, we want to get information, it is absolutely impossible without silver." ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly understood why Song's sister-in-law and daughter would sell skin and meat on Changchun Lake, it is estimated that they have few funds, and they don't dare to break away from the internal guard, so they have to make a living from it, it seems that the internal guard is also very poor.

However, the two thousand silver were not given by the palace, but he paid out of his own pocket, and the reason why he didn't fall into this is just in case.

"My lord, since the Baigongfang is in the back mountain, do you still need to go to Changchun Lake?" Lin Huai put the silver ticket into his pocket, and asked suspiciously.

"I suspect that the Hundred Workshops are not in the back mountain," Liu Han pondered and said: "I looked at this Zizhu Courtyard, you said, if the Hundred Workshops are in the back mountain, how much food will be needed every day, how much meat, but this Zizhu Courtyard, okay?"

Lin Huai looked up and looked around, and after being silent for a while, he said tentatively: "You can do it through Zizhu Courtyard." ”

Liu Han shook his head: "I have seen this Zizhu Courtyard, none of the Taoists in the courtyard know martial arts, and besides, the Hundred Workshops are famous for KitKat utensils, let me ask you, how many materials are needed to make such utensils? Where did those materials come from? In addition, they always have to eat, this Zizhu Courtyard can help them buy food, but there are not only men in the Hundred Workshops, are there women?

Liu Han found some reasons and reluctantly relieved Lin Huai's suspicions, but the real reason was that most of the mountains behind Zizhu were related to the Hidden Immortal Gate, and it was impossible for the Hundred Workshops to be located in the Hidden Immortal Gate.

Without last night's discovery, he would not have thought that Zizhu Courtyard was related to the Hidden Immortal Gate, the people or things in that cave were very terrifying, and their divine sense alone far surpassed him, even the head of the sect did not give him such a feeling.

Lin Huai looked at Liu Han who was deep in thought, and wanted to ask, but he didn't know what to ask, although he didn't say a few words, he felt that this Shangguan was very talkative, and he was also very generous, two thousand taels of silver, he had never received such a large sum of silver before.

After a long time, Liu Han raised his head and ordered: "You go back first, remember my words," and after a pause, he added: "We are working together for the first time, and you will slowly know me as a person." ”

"Yes, sir. Lin Huai got up and said with a smile: "Brother Guan, the old man can't do it, I'll leave first." ”

Liu Han also got up and sent him off with a smile, after Lin Huai left, he still sat under the bamboo and drank tea for a while, and then got up and went back to the house, and the tea set on the stone table was confiscated, so he left it there.

Closing the door, Liu Han didn't take off his clothes, he just lay on the bed, he had a desire in his heart, he wanted to go to the back mountain to have a look, but reason told him that it couldn't be like this, the aura of Zizhu Courtyard was not lost, as long as there was a person like Qingling inside, he couldn't escape.

After thinking for a while, he still didn't move, and fell asleep in a daze.

The next day, Lin Huai said goodbye and went down the mountain, Liu Han and Zhou Wei still stayed in Zizhu Courtyard, and continued to play in the nearby Taoist temple, Zizhu Mountain is not only a Taoist temple on the top of the mountain, there are seven or eight Taoist temples around Zizhu Mountain, these Taoist temples are not dedicated to Zizhu Shengjun, but other gods.

What made Liu Han a little puzzled was how Zizhu Courtyard could allow these Taoist temples to exist here, but Zhou Wei knew more about it, and told him that this was Zizhu Courtyard's tolerance.

"These lands are actually the land of Zizhuyuan, and they were sold to them very cheaply, to be honest, Zizhuyuan's move has gained a very high reputation in the Daomen faction, and the Daozun of Zizhuyuan, who set this rule back then, has an admirable mind. ”

Zhou Wei admired, and turned back to the Zizhu Courtyard on the top of the mountain to salute slightly, as a sign of reverence.

The four of them returned to Yangzhou together, and halfway through, Liu Han said goodbye to the three, and Zhou Wei and the three of them were very sorry, leaving their address in Yangzhou City to say goodbye to Liu Han.

After seeing the three of them leave, Liu Han turned around and walked towards the south of the city, took a small boat halfway, and came to Wujiazhuang very leisurely by boat.

On Zizhu Mountain, the white-bearded old man came to the courtyard, looked in the courtyard, and then went to the room where Liu Han lived, sat at the table, looked at the teacup that had barely touched for a while, and then left abruptly.

The guest of the Lay House respectfully sent the old way away, still very confused, not knowing why this uncle suddenly came here.

The white-bearded old man returned to his quiet room, his quiet room was very simple, a futon, a wooden bed, a low square table, there were a few yellowed books on the side of the wooden bed, Lao Dao sat cross-legged on the futon, looking at the books on the table.

After a while, Lao Dao got up and took out a box from under the low square table, took out three copper coins, was silent for a while, and made a peculiar movement, a bit like plum blossoms, and a little like praying to the heavens, half a ring, three copper coins fell on the table, two quickly settled down, and the other kept spinning on the table, and after a while, it actually turned out of the table and fell to the ground.

Lao Dao stared at the copper coin, and muttered to himself after half a sound: "Providence, alas, providence." ”

After saying that, he picked up the copper coin and put it in the box.

Another day is almost gone, and they haven't seen Liu Han's shadow yet, Niu Fu and Sister-in-law Song are nervous, not knowing if Liu Han will come, which is closely related to their fate, Mo Kun was put on a bed, and Xiuniang and Zhen'er were not in the room.

Looking at the sky, both of them were a little deflated, they felt the same as Lin Huai, both of them felt very good about Liu Han, and felt that this person was more humane than those previous officials, and was not so ruthless.

After working in the internal guard for a long time, their hearts have gradually hardened, and in the internal guard, it is rare to see someone like Liu Han.

Sister-in-law Song looked at the sky, sighed, turned around and took out a handful of vegetables, and began to pick vegetables by the door, while Niu Fu sat next to Mo Kun, who was not noisy, and lay on the bed honestly.

After a while, Sister-in-law Song washed the vegetables, and the sound of chopping vegetables sounded in the kitchen, Niu Fu got up and looked at the door, sighed, turned back, and suddenly he turned around again and looked at a figure on the path.