Shipin Dalizheng

This "south" has a very large scope, it can be southern Xinjiang or Jiangnan, Rong Tang responded vaguely.

Taifu Xie clapped his hands, and a short, dark and thin old man came out from the inner room. He bowed to Taifu Xie, turned around and said a lot of words to Rong Tang, and then repeated the last sentence again and again.

Rong Zhan felt something was wrong and reached for his lower back. The guard of Master Xie on his other side also became alert.

Rong Tang gestured to stop him and said to the old man, "Your pronunciation is not standard. My guards suspect that you are normal. Old man, you are not a native of Southern Xinjiang, right? You lived there for a few years and learned to imitate the language like a parrot, but you are not a good person, right?"

The old man was very surprised, "How did you know..."

He spoke halfway and then used non-standard southern Xinjiang dialect to trick Rong Tang.

Rong Tang smiled and first spoke to him a passage in Miao language, which was similar to the old man's pronunciation, but much more fluent.

The old man only had a vague understanding and could barely understand two or three words.

Rong Tang spoke Sichuan dialect again, and the old man was dizzy and could only barely understand a few words.

Rong Tang continued speaking Yunnan dialect, Burmese dialect, Minnan dialect, and Hakka dialect, which made the old man feel sick. He tried his best to understand but couldn't, and he broke out in a sweat.

Rong Tang spread his hands and said, "Father-in-law, you don't understand any of the Nine Divisions of Southern Xinjiang, so how can you have a conversation?"

"I'm ashamed, Prince Rong. As you said, I've only been around Southern Xinjiang for a few years and haven't really entered the core area of ​​the Nine Tribes. Those from the Southern Xinjiang tribes, please try to accommodate my hearing. Let's communicate using gestures."

Rong Tang suddenly understood and accommodated him, using the words from his previous conversation and speaking a few words to him with gestures. This time the old man understood about 70% of what he said and was extremely happy.

"That's right, Master Taifu, Prince Rong is from Southern Xinjiang."

Rong Tang pretended to be surprised, "Taifu Xie, do you doubt me?"

Taifu Xie laughed. "That's not true. This is a serious matter, so it's always better to be cautious. However, I have received news that the Chatakebu, one of the nine tribes in southern Xinjiang, have been exterminated. I don't know whether it's true or not, so I would like to ask Prince Rong for clarification."

Rong Tang looked odd, but he wasn't surprised. Although the North and South were divided, the great river wasn't completely impassable. He had pointed out that some merchants could trade goods like salt, sugar, and tea with permits, mostly produced in the South. If trade were prohibited, the Northern Dynasty would face chaos.

I heard that more than ten years ago, the Southern Emperor banned merchants from transporting supplies to the Northern Dynasty. The direct consequence was that hundreds of thousands of troops almost forced their way across the Yangtze River and opened a passage by brute force. Since then, the Southern Emperor has not dared to say anything again.

The real Rong Tang took advantage of the chaotic management in those two years and was said to have successfully smuggled himself out of the country by sealing himself in a cargo box. Of course, the specific details are now impossible to verify.

Of course, the merchants responsible for the exchange of materials between the two sides each have a fatal handle in the hands of the royal family and will not take risks easily unless the benefits are great enough.

From this, we can infer that Madam Rong has a way to send her son across the river, and it is not impossible for Lord Xie, the Grand Tutor, to pass on a message.

What made him look strange was that the news was delayed for almost a year and had long become old news.

"Master, you're right, but that happened nine... ten months ago."

I wonder what Taifu Xie would think if he knew that "Rong Tang" was the prince of Southern Xinjiang.

As expected, Master Xie felt a little embarrassed and waved his hand to let the old man go out.

"Prince Rong, I heard that you only set foot on Northern Dynasty soil more than two months ago. Did you stay in the Southern Dynasty's capital before crossing the river?"

Rong Tang thought to himself, "Here they come! Someone finally realized and asked."

He once confessed to Emperor Xuan Ning that he was from southern Xinjiang, and it was impossible for him to fly across the Yangtze River on his way north. However, no one asked him what he had experienced and seen along the way, how much he knew about the Southern Dynasty, and whether he knew part of the Southern Dynasty's political situation.

After asking all these questions thoroughly, you will always get much more than just a few words obtained through extremely dangerous means.

Of course, the main reason for this was that he used rhetoric to weaken other people's desire to ask. Even Emperor Xuan Ning now only thought that he had been hunted all the way, hiding everywhere, and came to the Northern Dynasty with untold hardships. He did not think deeply about whether he had stayed in the capital of the Southern Dynasty.

When Master Xie asked him the question, he could only delay time slowly while thinking about how to answer.

"It's been more than two months. Including the time I spent on the road, I've been away from the South for over three months. I don't know what the current situation is like."

He took a few sips of tea and pretended to be deep in thought. "On the way, I was stranded in the capital of the Southern Dynasty for some time. I'm unfamiliar with the place, so I wonder if I can help Lord Xie with his doubts."

Taifu Xie carefully observed Rong Tang's expression and judged that he was holding back, but it was normal to be reserved. After all, no one could open up completely to someone they were not close to.

"Don't be nervous, Prince Rong. I have no ill will towards you. In fact, our Xie family has close relatives in the Southern Dynasty, and I would like to inquire about their current situation."

"I wonder which family Master Xie is asking about?"

"Of course, his surname is Xie. He is my cousin. I learned a few years ago that he was serving as an imperial censor in the Southern Dynasty."

Rong Shi sighed, "I've heard of Censor Xie, but I don't know much about him. At least my family was safe before I came."

Taifu Xie frowned. He was a censor many years ago and he is still a censor now. His cousin is not doing very well.

"I have another question for you. In his family, there's a cousin named Xie Wan. I heard she married into the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion. I wonder how she's doing now?"

Rong Tang's hand holding the teacup paused. He mentioned that Xie Wan married into the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion. This information was at least ten years ago. I wonder if it was really so difficult for the Xie family to obtain information about the Southern Dynasty, or if they were pretending to be confused.

But he didn't allow himself to ponder further, and quickly replied, "Thank you, sir, for asking about other families. I might not know. The Feng family of the Marquis of Jing'an is the site of the most scandals in the imperial capital."

Taifu Xie frowned, "Where did the scandal break out?"

Rong Tang coughed lightly. "These are all private matters. Talking too much will only damage one's moral character. Since Lord Xie only asked about Xie Wan, I'll just talk about things related to her. Mrs. Xie has been dead for almost eleven years. Her dowry was seized by her husband's family, and her daughter lives a miserable life, facing life and death several times. Before I came here, she was also suffering in dire straits. I don't know if she is still alive now."

Master Xie's eyes narrowed suddenly.

Just when Rong Tang thought he would ask a few more questions, hurried footsteps were heard outside. Taifu Xie changed the subject, "I wonder what the situation is like in the Southern Dynasty?"

Rong Tang curled his lips. "It's not good. There are floods everywhere. The disaster is serious. The court has no money for disaster relief. Not to mention me, any ordinary citizen can see the current situation clearly."

What he said was both true and nonsense. This answer was similar to what Master Xie had learned about the current situation in the Southern Dynasty.

The two brothers each managed half of the country. There were severe floods on one side, and there were constant droughts on this side. It was the same natural disaster, the same lack of money, and one was more miserable than the other.

This is also one of the reasons why Emperor Xuanning did not ask Rong Tang specifically. As an emperor, if he did not have spies to gather information on a daily basis, he would not be considered a qualified emperor. It's just that the focus of the inquiries is different, and there is a huge time difference.

For example, the Chatak tribe in southern Xinjiang was exterminated, and Emperor Xuan Ning had just confirmed the news.

The scene before my eyes darkened, and a lady dressed in a deep purple Shu brocade embroidered with hibiscus flowers stepped into the study. "Master, the imperial concubine is here. She is waiting for you in Jinque Tower."

Jinlan Tower was the residence of Concubine Xie before she entered the palace. She would still live there when she occasionally returned to the Xie Mansion to visit her relatives.

Seeing that others were busy, Rong Tang took the opportunity to say goodbye. He seriously suspected that the fundamental reason why the Xie family sent him the invitation was to ask these questions.