Holy Bone

Chapter 1631 Another National Treasure: Gewu Xianding

"I wonder what the Divine Martial Marquis thinks of these cases?"

The change in King Zun Yi's attitude was quite big, from the initial attitude of accountability to an attitude of asking for advice.

One is active and the other is passive.

The magnitude of the change here is quite intriguing.

For generals who have been leading troops to guard the border for many years and whose style of action is swift and decisive and who are used to being strong, they should take the initiative everywhere and not like to be passive.

Is it because of that little girl?

  Is it because of the ancestral tomb in Feihe Mountain?

Jin An was multitasking, and he kept talking without pausing: "Before I answer your question, what do you think of my current position as the Commander of the Criminal Investigation Department and Supervisor of the Three Departments, and as the Imperial Commissioner to investigate the rebels in the capital?"

People like them who have reached the pinnacle of power are most likely to feel that it is lonely at the top and that the world will change if the wind blows.

His current situation, where he is in a high position but feels lonely, is similar to that of King Zun Yi.

King Zun Yi's answer was related to his subsequent evaluation of King Zun Yi, and involved how he should organize his language to answer the investigation into the bone-picking and cannibalism case.

Prince Zunyi looked calm, "I heard that the Marquis of Shenwu was so powerful this time that he not only rushed into the residence of the academician of the Imperial Hospital to arrest people, but also arrested the most popular nobles around the queen. The queen sent people to the Criminal Investigation Department several times to get the people but they were not received. Later, the emperor sent people to the Criminal Investigation Department but they were still not received."

"Now the people are saying that you are not only as good as a god in solving cases, but also fearless of the imperial power. If a prince breaks the law in your hands, he will be punished just like a commoner. People everywhere are praising you as a good story, and you are supported by the people."

Jin An silently evaluated King Zunyi's words in his heart, and said with a smile on his face: "Since I met the prince, the prince has mentioned the people's hearts many times. It seems that the prince attaches great importance to the words "people's hearts".

King Zunyi showed an intriguing smile on his face: "From what the Marquis of Shenwu said, my character has passed the test of the Marquis of Shenwu?"

Jin An said modestly, "I dare not. Your Highness has guarded the frontier for decades and repelled foreign invasions several times. He is revered by the people as an ever-victorious general. This time he also made contributions to the pacification of the grassland khanate and destroyed the grassland khanate in one fell swoop. He has made great achievements for generations to come. He is a god-given general and the guardian god of Kangding."

When talking about the battle of the Steppe Khanate, instead of seeing joy on King Zunyi's face, he saw a bit of worry: "There are three major merits in pacifying the Steppe Khanate this time. The first is the merit of the late emperor's creation of the Cavalry Firearms Battalion. In just over a decade, he trained superb cavalry for my Kangding Kingdom, breaking the thousand-year myth of the undefeated cavalry battle of the Steppe Khanate, which grew up on horseback. The second is the merit of the emperor's strategic planning. He lived far away in the capital but never forgot to be vigilant in times of peace, and won the victory thousands of miles away for a thousand years. The third is the merit of the Rakshasa Kingdom holding back the elite troops of the Steppe Khanate. The Steppe Khanate has always had several large tribes that have focused their energy on resisting the Rakshasa Kingdom on its border. There were only some small and medium-sized tribes on the Kangding side that harassed and looted some winter supplies. This time, there was no unusual movement from the Rakshasa Kingdom to tie down the energy of the Steppe Khanate and distract the Steppe Khanate. It will not be so smooth for me to lead my troops to the capital of the Steppe Khanate this time."

"Therefore, among the three great merits, only I have not made any. Marquis Shenwu, please do not call me the God of War who protects the country anymore. I cannot bear this responsibility and I feel guilty about it."

Seeing the worry that inadvertently appeared on Prince Zunyi's face, Jin An asked calmly: "Your Majesty looks worried, but are you worried?"

King Zunyi said nothing.

Jin An continued to ask: "Your Highness, are you worried that driving the tiger to devour the wolf has both advantages and disadvantages? When the wolf is swallowed by the tiger, without any obstacles, the tiger will turn around and hurt people?"

  Ah!

King Zun Yi's eyes flashed with brilliance and he sat up straight. When talking about marching and fighting, his whole spirit and energy changed completely.

Having spent his entire life in the military, he was not suited to the prosperity and comfort of the capital city. He was more suited to eating and sleeping with the horses in the barracks.

"Marquis Shenwu is not only proficient in both civil and military affairs, but also in military strategies?" When talking about marching and fighting, King Zunyi was particularly energetic, and the way he looked at Jin'an was different.

Jin An said modestly: "I don't claim to be proficient, I just know a little bit, I dare not show off in front of the prince."

King Zunyi waved his hand and said, "When the whole court was celebrating the fall of the Steppe Khanate, and everyone was intoxicated by the victory and celebrating the victory, it was rare to find a person with a clear mind among the civil and military officials who could see the pros and cons of driving a tiger to devour a wolf. Moreover, this person is the youngest among the civil and military officials, but has the broadest experience, which makes people look at him with admiration."

Prince Zunyi also cursed Emperor Kang Zhao.

Celebrating the success with great fanfare and being eager to have his golden statue enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, isn't this what Emperor Kang Zhao was doing at the time?

Neither Jin An nor Fatty Li responded, and King Zun Yi did not take it seriously, and continued, "Marquis Shenwu, if you are a scholar, you must be the incarnation of Wenquxing, if you are a warrior, you must be the incarnation of Wuquxing, if you are an official, you must be a good official who redresses the grievances of the people, and if you are a soldier, you must be the god of war who protects the country and is supported by the people. This king originally thought that you were just a clever judge who could only solve immediate problems, and this king is not as good as you, but marching and fighting is more about long-term planning, and making plans thousands of miles away. I didn't expect that you can handle both short-term and long-term concerns. This king still underestimated you."

"I can rest assured that this case can be handed over to you. It seems that the day will finally come when this unsolved case will see the light of day." King Zun Yi said this with a heavy tone.

Prince Zunyi seemed to realize that he had lost his composure and said something out of turn, so he changed the subject: "No wonder when Marquis Shenwu first took office, he said, 'From now on, the Criminal Investigation Department will solve any case that the Dali Temple Censorate dares not solve. The Criminal Investigation Department will arrest anyone that the Dali Temple Censorate dares not arrest. The Criminal Investigation Department will handle anything that the Dali Temple Censorate cannot handle, and the Criminal Investigation Department will handle anything that the Dali Temple Censorate dares to handle.' Today, after seeing Marquis Shenwu, I know that he is worthy of the responsibility."

Fatty Li actually nodded in empathy, expressing his agreement. King Zun Yi laughed out loud, and the more he looked at Jin An, the more admiring his expression became. Everyone present could see that King Zun Yi was in a very good mood at the moment.

Jin An then returned to the topic: "Speaking of the case of the academician of the Imperial Hospital, we have to go back to the case of picking up bones and cannibalizing people. The academician of the Imperial Hospital was another case that I accidentally implicated when I was investigating the case of picking up bones and cannibalizing people."

When it came to the point, King Zun Yi also put away his smile and asked solemnly, "Oh? It sounds like this case of picking up bones and eating people is quite involved. I would like to hear the details."

Fatty Li knew exactly what they were going to talk about next, and said with a nervous expression on his face, "Do we need to go to the prince's study to discuss it in detail?"

Prince Zunyi said indifferently, "It's okay to talk here. Before I came here, I ordered my trusted subordinates to clear the mansion. No one can enter the mansion privately without my order. Now there are only three of us in the entire Prince Zunyi's mansion."

Hearing this, Fatty Li sat down on his big butt with ease.

Next, Jin An started from the case of Liu Yun cooking and cannibalizing people, and then he told the story of how the bone collector trained the cannibal ghost to collect bones. Through the clues of the bone collector in Beijing, he traced Liu Lao Da and the bone shrinking master and his group, and then traced the client behind the scenes to the palace...

Jin An did not conceal the details of the case, not even the clue of the late emperor's succession. He admitted that he had been investigating this clue.

The only thing he chose to conceal was the clue that the previous emperor was a martial arts immortal. This clue was too far-reaching and was no longer a secular court dispute, but involved a confrontation between the secular world and the Shinto way.

The late emperor had always concealed his identity as a martial arts immortal and had never made it public, but people in the world knew that the late emperor was a martial arts immortal.

Regardless of whether King Zunyi knows the truth or not, at least for now, King Zunyi does not know.

If he brought this matter to the table today, it would be tantamount to breaking a tacit balance. Once the balance is broken, it might bring a catastrophic disaster to the entire Zunyi Palace.

As long as this tacit balance is not broken, the dispute between Emperor Kang Zhao and the previous Emperor Kang Heng is at most a power struggle among the royal family. But if he breaks this tacit balance that has been maintained for more than ten years, it is equivalent to putting the dispute between the secular world and the Shintoism on the surface. When that happens, it will no longer be a matter for the Zunyi Palace alone...

It was precisely because he realized that this matter had too many implications that he concealed this clue.

Jin'an: "The whole story of the case is like this. The tomb robbers who dug up Feihe Mountain were actually looking for the remains of a little girl buried in Gui'e Mountain or Feihe Mountain. The remains of that little girl should be the daughter of the late emperor." Not only Jin'an was staring at the changes in King Zunyi's facial expressions, but even Fatty Li was also nervously paying attention to the changes in King Zunyi's facial expressions.

Prince Zunyi was calm and his facial expression was normal.

But it is often this kind of excessive calmness, where nothing abnormal can be seen, that is even more abnormal.

More than ten years later, when people heard about the late emperor's daughter again, no one could remain calm and no one reacted. Not to mention the people in the court, even an ordinary person on the street could not remain calm.

That’s why King Zunyi’s performance attracted more attention from Jin’an and Fatty Li.

Jin An: "I heard that the three members of the late emperor's family died of illness, so they were considered ominous by the royal family. Emperor Kangheng was removed from the Imperial Ancestral Temple and could not even enter the Imperial Mausoleum. He was hastily buried. The body of the late emperor's daughter was abandoned in the mass grave of Guimo Mountain outside the capital by a few young eunuchs before it was even cold."

"Your Majesty, as a minister of two dynasties, knows more details. I hope Your Majesty can enlighten me. What disease did the late emperor's family of three die of?"

"But is it related to the cannibalism of the past and present?"

"What happened when Xian and Xian went to sea on the Shenzhou? Why did everyone on the ship die, and only Xian and Xian survived?"

Jinan used the word "heard" here instead of "verified", and there are many tricks involved.

The fact that the late emperor's family of three died suddenly of an illness is well documented in history books and the medical records of the Imperial Hospital. However, Jin An used the word "heard" to describe something that had already been verified, which is very intriguing.

It is said that……

It can mean that this is a rumor.

It could also mean that he never believed such words.

King Zunyi was a smart man, and of course he heard the hidden meaning in Jin'an's words. He couldn't help but look at Jin'an again, with a complicated look in his eyes.

King Zunyi seemed to have made a sudden decision, and said with a serious face: "The truth of that year is not only what Marquis Shenwu wants to know. When he was unconscious, he kept repeating the word "Xian Ding" in his mouth."

"The Immortal Cauldron is the only clue left to us. If Shenwu Hou wants to investigate the truth of that year, he can start from the Immortal Cauldron on the Shenzhou."

Jin An was curious: "Immortal Cauldron?"

King Zunyi said solemnly: "The immortal tripod mentioned by the predecessor should refer to the Immortal Cauldron of Gewu that sailed with the Shenzhou."

"That Gewu Xianding is a rare treasure offered by the people. It can be traced back to a vassal state called Dafeng during the Warring States Period."

"According to historical records, being born as a citizen of Dafeng State, you have a good harvest every year, and you have no worries about food and clothing every year, which makes many vassal states envious. There are even rumors that Dafeng State is the country closest to immortals. For example, when other vassal states are worried about food for the winter, only Dafeng State does not have to worry about food in the cold winter. In winter, they eat fruits, vegetables, and fresh livestock that are only available in summer. Everyone's complexion is ruddy in winter, and they are fat instead of thin, which is different from ordinary people. Historical records show that there were several serious droughts and floods during the Warring States Period. When other vassal states were starving and the people were hungry, only the people of Dafeng State had no worries about food and drink, and even the fruits, vegetables and livestock they ate were as fresh as usual. In spring and autumn, they could eat summer fruits that were out of season."

"As this incredible story spread, some people began to spread the rumor that Dafeng was a country living in the fairyland, closest to the immortals, so they could have no worries about food and clothing, and could eat fresh fruits, vegetables and meat all year round, without being affected by the weather and natural disasters. During the Warring States Period, wars were frequent and people were living in poverty. Many people could not afford to eat. When they heard that Dafeng was so magical, and that the people living there could have enough food and clothing, and had a good harvest every year, and did not have to endure hunger, a large number of refugees fled to Dafeng."

"Dafeng State also welcomes all these refugees. They take in as many as they want and distribute fresh food to them."

"When the refugees who fled to Dafeng saw that the rumors were true, Dafeng really was like the fairyland in the legend, where everyone had enough food and drink and had fresh food every day, more refugees flocked to Dafeng."

"When Dafeng Kingdom was at its peak, it is said that its population expanded more than tenfold."

"The reason why Dafeng has such a good harvest every year is because Dafeng has a national treasure, called the Gewu Xianding."

"The biggest use of this Gewu Xianding is that it can store food. No matter what kind of food is stored in the Gewu Xianding, it can be kept fresh without worrying about food spoiling. That's why we can eat off-season food all year round. It is precisely because of the habit of storing food that the Dafeng Kingdom has successfully avoided droughts and floods time and time again."

"But such a vassal state that was favored by everyone, had abundant food and grass, was considered the most promising to compete for the world, and was praised as the kingdom of immortals, was suddenly destroyed after its peak. The destruction was so sudden that even the history books did not record much about the truth of the destruction of the Dafeng Kingdom, and the truth of the destruction is impossible to investigate."

"Is there really such a magical Gewu Immortal Cauldron in this world? It seems that Xian Xian was attracted by the advantage of the Gewu Immortal Cauldron in storing food, so he took it on a long voyage at sea." Jin An said in surprise.

Prince Zunyi nodded and said, "It is for this reason that we sailed on the Shenzhou several years in advance and traveled around the vassal states overseas on behalf of the late emperor, promoting Kangding's first military achievement and its benevolent and righteous national policy."

Jin'an looked up at Prince Zunyi. He could hear some respect for the previous emperor in Prince Zunyi's tone, which was in stark contrast to his previous criticism of Emperor Kang Zhao for being ambitious.

Jin An listened silently, quietly paying attention to the details.

"So, the sudden destruction of Dafeng Kingdom should be related to this Gewu Immortal Cauldron." Fatty Li couldn't help but interrupt.

"From ancient times to the present, every dynasty has known the truth that 'food is the first necessity of the people'. Whoever obtains food controls the world. Dafeng State has this kind of divine weapon and attracts so many refugees to escape to Dafeng State every day. It is bound to arouse the anger and covetousness of neighboring countries. It is only a matter of time before it is jointly destroyed."

Jin An was not interested in the details of the fall of Dafeng. He was more concerned about the clue of Xianzhuo. He pondered and said, "What kind of accident did Xianzhuo encounter after he sailed on the Shenzhou? Since there was the Gewu Xianding on board, there was no need to worry about food spoilage. But why did the people on the ship still starve to the point of cannibalism?"

Facing Jin'an's question, King Zunyi mentioned another clue: "Before I was transferred to the border town due to job transfer, I left something at the Tianlong Taoist Temple. I ask the temple master to keep it for me. If Marquis Shenwu really wants to investigate the truth of that year, he can take my token and letter of introduction to the temple master to retrieve the things I left behind."

"What clues did the prince leave behind?" Jin An was very curious.

King Zunyi did not say it clearly, but stared at Jinan very seriously: "Marquis Shenwu is not the only one in this world who wants to know the truth of that year. Marquis Shenwu promised me that you will not betray my trust after you get the things."

Prince Zunyi kept staring at Jinan, hoping to get a personal promise from him. It seemed that if Jinan didn't give him a clear answer, no one would be able to leave Prince Zunyi's mansion today.

Jin An also put on a serious expression, clasped his fists and said, "I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Prince Zunyi smiled, his smile was open-minded and hearty, as if he had finally resolved a problem that had been bothering him for many years. His brows relaxed, giving people a feeling of clarity and enlightenment. After discussing official business and personal matters, Prince Zunyi said in a much more relaxed tone this time: "I have ordered someone to find Princess Hanyun and bring her back. Marquis Shenwu will stay for dinner and then go to the Tianlong Taoist Temple to get something."

  Ugh!

Fatty Li was excited that he could stay in Zunyi Palace for dinner.