Chapter 282: The True Lord Erlang

"What did you say?!"

Le Luo Luo stared fixedly at Wang Yang, who smiled and remained silent.

Le Luo Luo sneered:

"The two Haye watched me grow up and treated me like their own child! They taught me everything about tribal affairs hand-in-hand! That I can be the Shao Zouye and live in the Nine-Headed Tent is entirely due to the support of my two uncles! My uncles' kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, and I respect them as if they were my own fathers! Where does this talk of 'getting rid of constraints' come from? Don't say my uncles haven't constrained me; even if they really had, I wouldn't have any thoughts of getting rid of them! If you want to sow discord between us to profit from it, I advise you to give up that idea!"

Wang Yang smiled and shook his head.

Le Luo Luo said coldly: "Do you not believe my words?"

Wang Yang looked at Le Luo Luo, revealing a hint of playful amusement:

"I just think you are quite interesting. You clearly don't want to be 'Ya Tutu Cha,' yet you insist on acting like him. Clearly, after hearing the conditions for submission, you secretly harbored the thought of using the opportunity of submission to get rid of your constraints. Now that I've laid it out, you refuse to admit it. Oh, this is to probe the source of my information..."

Le Luo Luo was greatly shocked, suddenly straightening up and looking at Wang Yang as if seeing a ghost:

"Are you... are you a mountain spirit transformed?"

Wang Yang laughed: "The depths of the human heart are a hundred times more complex than mountain spirits. If I were a mountain spirit, wouldn't I have been led around by you long ago?"

Le Luo Luo's gaze was nailed to Wang Yang's smiling face, as if wanting to see clearly what was hidden behind the smile. After looking for a while, he slumped his shoulders, sat back in his original position, his brows knitted into a tight knot. He lowered his head to think, then looked at Wang Yang again, asking with lingering unwillingness:

"Can you tell me how you knew the Left and Right Haye were constraining me? And how did you know I wanted to get rid of their constraints? Very few people know this, including Lema, and that brat Liu Cheng couldn't possibly know. The tribesmen all know the Left and Right Haye treat me like their own child, and I view them as my own fathers. Unless the Han court has the ability to plant spies among my trusted aides..." *Gali*, but they really did plant them among my trusted aides, didn't they...

How did I know?

I naturally know it now...

The art of probing the human heart is like fishing. Fishing uses bait, and probing the heart is the same.

Sometimes leave a loophole, waiting for them to fill it. Sometimes say something wrong, to provoke a rebuttal. Sometimes set up a heated debate, to probe their depth. Sometimes borrow rumors, to test their likes and dislikes. Sometimes act in reverse, to verify their true intent; sometimes pretend to believe their lies, to observe them when they are off guard. Sometimes deliberately show three parts of truth, to induce ten parts of speech; sometimes deliberately keep a point of doubt, to break through all their falsehoods.

Therefore, those who are good at observing do not rush, and those who are good at fishing do not struggle. Catching the fish lies in forgetting the trap, and observing the heart lies in silence.

Wang Yang had previously heard Liu Cheng say that after Le Luo Luo "took power," there were still things he needed to "discuss" with the Left and Right Haye. He had kept this in mind. Although according to Liu Cheng, this Le Luo Luo was very obedient to the two Haye, which sounded like reliance and trust, but when a young lord is in power and the country is suspicious, the word "discuss" is most worth pondering.

If a young lord relies on and trusts old ministers to stabilize people's hearts, that is common sense. But if he listens to them in everything, then they are not old ministers, but powerful ministers. Regardless of whether these powerful ministers want to take his place, as long as he truly wants to be the master, can he have no misgivings in his heart?

Moreover, Le Luo Luo spoke Han language so well, yet in front of outsiders, he tried his best to disguise it. Before speaking fluent Han, he would always send the guards out of the tent. The rough, reckless appearance he initially put on, including the "Ya Tutu Cha" act, might not have been aimed only at Wang Yang. If so, who was he guarding against?

That was why Wang Yang cast the bait to test him. Although Le Luo Luo tried his best to deny it, his words were too rushed, too full, and too deliberate, which instead revealed his flaws and further confirmed Wang Yang's guess. Moreover, hearing him say himself that he could be the Shao Zouye and live in the Nine-Headed Tent "entirely due to the support of my two uncles," this was perhaps the "result" of his disguising his true face. The old Zouye had been bedridden for more than ten years; if Le Luo Luo had shown himself to be shrewd and capable, he might not have been able to move into the Nine-Headed Tent (take power) so smoothly. Perhaps in the eyes of the Left and Right Haye, Le Luo Luo was easy to control and deal with, which was why there was the so-called "support."

Wang Yang naturally would not tell Le Luo Luo that this was something he had "fished" out, but instead smiled:

"I cannot say that, so don't make it difficult for me. What is important now is: do you really want to be the true Zouye?"

Le Luo Luo looked at Wang Yang, shocked and suspicious, his gaze wandering back and forth on Wang Yang's face. After a long silence, he said:

"What method do you have?"

Just after asking, he immediately added: "If your Han court wants to use this matter to interfere in my tribe's affairs, then I tell you, I would rather be constrained by my own family than open the door and let the wolves in!"

Wang Yang gave a disdainful smile:

"Who has the time to interfere in your tribe's affairs? How much money are you paying? I am doing this to reach a negotiation, promising you a condition, and this condition is also one you have already thought of in your heart. It is better to say it directly; why probe my intentions?"

Le Luo Luo stared fixedly at Wang Yang's eyes: "What have I thought of?"

"What you have thought of is that after submission, there must be an imperial investiture. If the imperial court also invests the Shao Zouye, then your position will no longer be just supported by the tribe, but will add a layer of recognition from the Heavenly Dynasty. In this way, even if the Left and Right Haye harbor different intentions and want to make a move, they will have to have more misgivings. In addition, with the imperial court backing you, you will be able to sit more securely when you inherit the position of Zouye in the future. In this way, you borrow the name and power of the imperial court without damaging even half of your actual power in Wenyang. Isn't that wonderful?"

【Image captured from Tan Qixiang's *Historical Atlas of China*, Volume 4. The lines were drawn by me; the red area is Jingzhou, and the blue circle is where the Wenyang barbarians are located.】

(Explanation of the image above: The north of the red territory, which is the north of Jingzhou, is a large strip of light green (the inside of the red is dark green), all of which is Southern Qi territory. I used yellow lines to make the division; west of the yellow line is Liangzhou territory, and east of the yellow line is Yongzhou. Further up from Yongzhou, it connects to Northern Wei, and the place where the black line is drawn is a corner of the Northern Dynasties territory. Actually, one can deduce many things just from the map, which can be verified with several foreshadowing points in the book. Interested friends can re-read Chapter 155 "Rebellion," Chapter 197 "In the Array," and Chapter 218 "Battle of the Two Foxes." Besides these three chapters, there are several others scattered throughout, so I won't list them one by one. Also, this map was originally taken in extremely high definition, but it was compressed several times until it was blurry before it could be uploaded. I'm also convinced; this is why I rarely upload images, because it is both troublesome and disappointing. Yes, last time I uploaded a photo of an ancient book, the backend deleted it directly...)

Since seeing Wang Yang, Le Luo Luo's hidden and disguised thoughts had been pointed out by Wang Yang several times. He could no longer muster the intention to be cunning and evasive, and sighed:

"If you were born in the Wenyang tribe, I would be willing to hand over my position as Shao Zouye."

When Wang Yang heard this, a look of worry appeared on his face, and he frowned:

"With my passion for drinking mountain berry juice, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to sit securely in your position, would I?"

The two looked at each other and then laughed heartily.

After laughing, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. Le Luo Luo no longer beat around the bush or probed with schemes, but said frankly:

"As long as the Han court invests me, and forever supports the orthodox Zouye succession, never recognizing rebels, while strictly observing the 'six non-interferences' agreement and carving a monument to establish the alliance, then I will handle the lobbying."

Wang Yang pretended to ponder for a moment, then said solemnly: "Good, I promise you."

Le Luo Luo's eyes suddenly became as sharp as knives, and ghostly flames seemed to be burning in the depths of his pupils:

"You and I shall strike palms as an oath. He who breaks the oath shall not ask the mountain gods to execute him, nor shall he labor for the heavenly thunder to strike him; I will personally wield a bone knife, regardless of the cost, and gouge out your heart to sacrifice to the Panhu God."

Wang Yang had seen his share of great storms and waves, but at this moment, he still felt a chill in his heart, as if this were not an empty promise without any binding force, but some ancient curse that had seeped into each other's blood. But it wouldn't be appropriate to curse only me, right?

"Good. If you break the oath, I will personally... I will personally send someone to wield a long spear, regardless of the cost, and pierce your heart to sacrifice to... the True Lord Erlang."

"The True Lord Er-lang?"

"A very powerful god; perhaps he even knows your Panhu God."

"Alright..."

The two straightened their expressions and struck palms three times.

After striking palms, Wang Yang added: "There is one more point. After trade begins, for every transaction, there must be a transaction tax, four percent—"

Le Luo Luo became anxious instantly, his expression turning fierce: "One of the six non-interferences is not to levy taxes. Do you dare break the oath?"

"Who broke the oath? The fourth of the six non-interferences is not to levy taxes! The *Discourses on Salt and Iron* says: 'In ancient times, the taxation of the people was based on what they were skilled at, not what they were clumsy at. Farmers paid their harvest, and women workers contributed their labor.' The so-called 'not levying taxes' refers to forced taxes like land rent and poll taxes. Transaction tax is generated along with the transaction; if there is no transaction, there is no tax. But as long as the transaction exceeds ten thousand coins, a transaction tax must be paid, also known as 'San Gu'—"

Le Luo Luo categorically refused:

"I don't know what 'Iron Salt San Gu' is. It was agreed not to pay taxes, so that means no taxes. You Han people are best at playing word games. Today you say 'transaction tax,' and tomorrow you might come up with 'tent tax' or 'meat and wine tax'—"

"Absolutely not! This is the only tax. Even when we trade within Qi territory, there is this tax, and the noble clans cannot be exempted."

"The noble clans can pay if they want to; we are not noble clans, so we won't pay taxes."

Le Luo Luo simply refused.

Wang Yang said: "Then how about this: I will bear half of this four percent tax for you. I will pay two percent, and you only need to pay the remaining two percent."

"You?"

"That's right. I will build the first warehouse to receive your goods in large batches and quantities, named the Wanshan Warehouse. Do you know what this means?"

Wang Yang looked at Le Luo Luo with deep meaning.

Le Luo Luo couldn't help but sit up a bit straighter and asked: "What does it mean?"

"I am the Gold Master."

Le Luo Luo:...

——————

Note: The usage of "Heavenly Dynasty" has long existed. When Jin destroyed Wu, Sun Hao sent an envoy to surrender, saying: "Daring to rely on the Heavenly Dynasty's inclusion and greatness, I respectfully send the private-appointed Taichang Zhang Kui and others to offer the seal and ribbon, entrusting my life and asking for orders, hoping only for trust and acceptance, to save the common people." (*Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Sun Hao*) ===== CHAPTER 283 =====