Exclusive golden branch

Chapter 494 Two things

Zhuang Haoran was instinctively not used to such a secret room.Most people's study rooms are as bright as possible. After all, reading is for your eyes, and bright doors and windows make people feel more comfortable.

Right now there is still business to talk about, so Zhuang Haoran suppressed the discomfort in his heart, looked up at Yang Yan, and was about to ask a question.

The two clusters of weak and flickering faint candle lights in the corners on both sides of the desk case illuminated Yang Yan, who was drawing with a brush at this time, and his elegant face was illuminated by the candle lights on both sides of the desk case respectively. , separated by the line of the nose and lips, interlaced with light and dark, inexplicably weird.

Looking at the face that seemed to be wearing a yin and yang mask, Zhuang Haoran turned his gaze away and asked, "How did those rich businessmen die?"

Yang Yan was still leaning over to paint, but at this time he didn't lift his head when he heard the words, and the brush in his hand was steady and didn't even tremble: "What rich businessman?"

"There's no one else here, and it's still your Yang family's site. Why are you pretending?" Zhuang Haoran looked at Yang Yan, who was leaning over to paint, and sneered twice, and opened his mouth to expose the reason why he came to him today, "That picture Although I got the list and sent it to you, I still remember the names on it. The few wealthy businessmen who have died one after another in recent days are all on the list. Are you telling me that this is a coincidence? "

Speaking of this matter, Zhuang Haoran became angry and furious: Yang Yan was indeed given the list by him, after all, in his opinion, Yang Yan couldn't find anything wrong with checking the Mid-Autumn Festival in August last year.

The Yang family mansion has been messed up like this, if they don't even have a backhand, why are they still standing in the court?Pack up your things early and go home to sell sweet potatoes.

There is no problem in checking people, but he originally thought that Yang Yan would go to check in private after taking this list, which is unexpected...

"Master Yang, is it okay to disregard human life?" Zhuang Haoran asked Yang Yan with cold eyes.

Yang Yan didn't even raise his eyelids when he heard the words, he was still drawing the clouds and mist around the mountain seriously, and said in a calm voice, "Is there any evidence?"

Zhuang Haoran sneered: "Yang Yan, I know what you want to say. Why do you need to kill someone yourself? Once you give an order, there will be someone to do it for you!"

"You have no evidence, why are you looking for me?" Yang Yan seemed to have not seen Zhuang Haoran's anger, but said calmly, "Even if the three divisions interrogate, you can't sue me if you don't catch the evidence that I killed myself. !"

Zhuang Haoran looked at him coldly: this gentle and refined literati had completely torn off a corner of his disguise in front of him: hypocrisy, indifference, selfishness, regards human life as nothing, like a vicious poisonous snake Generally waiting for the opportunity, ready to jump out at any time to bite the target.

The dim candlelight made people's eyes uncomfortable, and the study room with the door closed was very dark, and because of the rainy Jiangnan Road, there was an inexplicable damp, moldy and decaying smell.

Zhuang Haoran rubbed his nose uncomfortably, annoyed in his heart, but he was not surprised by Yang Yan's denial. After all, he had been dating for so long. I have been taught.

He didn't expect Yang Yan to be responsible for the dead rich merchants when he broke into Yang's house today, but...

"It's not surprising that you don't admit it!" Zhuang Haoran lowered his eyes, suppressed the anger in his heart, calmed down and looked at Yang Yan, "There are more than a dozen people on the list. I came today to ask you to stop."

The few wealthy businessmen who died were just the beginning. If they acted according to the people on the list, there would be more than a dozen dead.Although he knew that Yang Yan did this, what evidence is there to arrest Yang Yan?What kind of evidence is that list?
He is no longer a child who is naive and ignorant of the world. Zhuang Haoran, who lost his father when he was young, not only reads well, but also understands certain truths early on.

This world is never black and white. For an important court official like Yang Yan, if there is no sufficient evidence to overthrow him, a list of insinuations will not be able to deal with him.

What's more, Yang Yan would not do such a thing as murder himself, and some of his subordinates were "willing" to take on this trouble.

The bad debt of this life lawsuit cannot be resolved now at all, so it can only be recorded temporarily.

All he can do now is to ask Yang Yan to stop, lest more people die.

If Yang Yan was really asked to kill all the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan Province on the list, then nearly twenty wealthy merchants in Jiangnan Province would die in a row, and it would no longer be just a matter of Jiangnan Province, and the whole Zhou Dynasty would pay attention to it.

At that time, let alone him who took over the matter, if it is not him, but someone else, how will this matter be resolved?Yang Yan, the mastermind behind the scenes, knew it but couldn't move it. Could it be that he could just ignore human lives and just find someone to replace him?The world is not a fool, how can a "murderer" found at random convince the public?
Coupled with the intricate power game between the DPRK and China, it is really confusing to create a "murderer", and the hostile political parties will not let him go.

So no matter what happened to this matter, in the end they, the case-handling officials, would be implicated.

If it wasn't him, it would be someone else.

Zhuang Haoran had already weighed the pros and cons clearly in his heart, he took a deep breath and looked at Yang Yan: "Master Yang is so clever, you can guess that I will come today to ask you to stop, since you let me in ..." Zhuang Haoran clenched his fists subconsciously when he said this, but quickly released them, and said, "Tell me about the conditions!"

If Yang Yan really refused to let go of the remaining rich merchants, he would not need to meet him at all. Since he would come to see him, it can be seen that he was willing to exchange the lives of the dozen or so rich merchants for something.

From the beginning when Yang Yan bought out people's lives with money in front of the Yang family's mansion, to using his past weaknesses in the yamen to force him to today...

He has learned more and more about the insidious and difficult tactics of this scribe under his elegant and easy-going appearance.

Those who can make Wang San and others feel like they are facing the enemy will not be easy to deal with. Yang Yan is more powerful than he thought, and also more... unscrupulous.

"I don't like killing people, and killing people can't solve the problem." Yang Yan was still serious about covering his landscape paintings, and said lightly.

Zhuang Haoran listened with mockery in his eyes: Yang Yan's dislike of killing people is not because he cherishes human life, but just doesn't care about these human lives, and regards human life as an insignificant pawn.Just like when he was using money to count people's lives when he returned to Gusu, this pawn was useful to Zhuang Haoran, so he used it unceremoniously.

After a faint "oh", Zhuang Haoran looked at Yang Yan and waited for his next words.

"As long as you investigate carefully and find the man behind the scenes for me, nothing will happen to anyone again," Yang Yan said.

"I will do my best!" Zhuang Haoran said with a sneer in his heart.

So this is what Yang Yan wanted?He is a member of Wang San's faction, Yang Yan felt that the past alone was not enough to make him do this with all his heart, so he added more than a dozen chips of life! ·
"There is no way to see things like trying your best," Yang Yan said lightly while drawing, "What I want is the result, and whether you try your best or not has nothing to do with me."

Hearing this, Zhuang Haoran couldn't help frowning: "I'm sorry Zhuang can't guarantee this." He said, "What Master Yang wants is a real mastermind behind the scenes, not Zhuang who uses just anyone to fool you! "

If Yang Yan could fool him casually, he wouldn't be so troublesome.

That being the case, who can guarantee that the mastermind behind the scenes will be caught?You know, since the black hand behind the scenes can force Yang Yan to rush back to Gusu all the way, he must not be an ordinary person. How can he guarantee that he will catch the murderer?

At this time, Yang Yan finished adding the last stroke of cloud and mist in the painting. He put down the pen in his hand and looked up at Zhuang Haoran: "I can't guarantee that I can do my best!"

Zhuang Haoran heard the words, but there was no joy on his face: Yang Yan is not a good talker, and he suddenly let go at this time, he must have other plans.

"Since you want to investigate the rich merchants, you should also investigate the remaining wealthy merchants in Jiangnan Road!" Yang Yan looked at Zhuang Haoran, and finally expressed his real intention: "I want you to investigate for me. thing."

Zhuang Haoran's expression became more serious, he looked at Yang Yan: "What's the matter?"

……

……

"My lord, can you go to Wu's house and have a look?"

The officers who have been promoted in recent days are good at martial arts, and although their resourcefulness is not great, they are not stupid either. Seeing Zhuang Haoran's cold face and silence, he couldn't help but ask.

The lord has always had this expression since he came out of the Yang family's mansion, obviously it was because he had encountered something unsatisfactory in the Yang family.

Zhuang Haoran shook his head: "No need, let's go back to the yamen!"

It's useless to go to Wu's house at this time... It's just that even though he stopped going to Wu's house and changed back to the yamen, what Yang Yan said earlier in Yang Yan's secret room-like study appeared in his mind involuntarily.

"You finish the matter for me, and I will hand over the murderer who killed those wealthy businessmen to you!" Yang Yan said.

Zhuang Haoran only sneered and said nothing about it: Yang Yan's friend would naturally be the real murderer, but what's the use of that?The knife used to kill people is just a murder weapon. The problem has always been the person in front of him, not the knife.

But right now...he has no choice.

"What do you want me to do?" Zhuang Haoran's voice was rough when he said this.

Being at the mercy of others like a pawn has always been something he resisted and hated, but at this time he had to do it.

"Two things." Yang Yan said, "One is to find the person who attacked my Yang family during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year..."

This matter is not surprising, it was also what he was going to do, Zhuang Haoran nodded and asked Yang Yan: "Is there one more thing?"

Yang Yandao: "At the turn of Jing and Zhou Dynasties, millions of soldiers were recruited. When the Great Zhou was established, the remaining soldiers would be only hundreds of thousands. Many of them died on the battlefield, and some of them never disappeared."

Zhuang Haoran is a literati who read books, although he also has the youthful spirit of giving advice, but he never thought of taking the road of a military general, so he is not good at military generals.

But...he didn't find it strange.

"At that time, the world was so chaotic, and there were many righteous men who died in battle, shrouded in horse leather, and with no bones left. What's the problem?"

It is not surprising that when the war broke out, there were many generals whose whereabouts were unknown.

Yang Yan ignored Zhuang Haoran's words, and continued on his own: "I received news that 20 years ago, a group of deserters fled to Jiangnan Road, and there were a lot of them. The deserters have been staying in Jiangnan Road these years, taking the opportunity to recuperate , wanting to plan to overthrow the emperor and make a comeback!"

Zhuang Haoran couldn't help but be surprised when he said something in one sentence: "Master Yang, what are you kidding? You mean that there are deserters here in Jiangnan Road?"

Jiangnan Road is rich in water and soil, and there are many plains and fields, unlike some places where valleys are everywhere, surrounded by clouds and mist, and it is very easy for people to hide.

Since it is a soldier and horse, there must be a lot of people. Where can a deserter from 20 years ago be hidden in Jiangnan Road?

Not to mention...

"Jiangnan Road is rich, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. As far as I know, life is hard, and the people will think of rebellion. In places like Jiangnan Road, there are very few rebels." Zhuang Haoran said.

For a small number of anti-thief leaders, the rebellion may be for power, but for the majority of rebellious people, the original intention of the rebellion is probably very simple-the life can't go on!That's all.

Yang Yan was noncommittal to Zhuang Haoran's words, but continued: "Those deserters fled to Jiangnan Road to live on their last breaths, and their thieves are not dead. They can exist for so many years, and they must have the support of wealthy businessmen behind them."

Scholars, farmers, businessmen, merchants have always been inferior existences in the eyes of the aristocracy.The theory of treating money like dung has been praised as a model of "nobility and dignity".

But money is a vulgar thing, but it is really useful, and most things are inseparable from the support of money.Feeding so many people for 20 years is not something ordinary people can do. There must be wealthy businessmen, or even several wealthy businessmen behind the scenes.

"It takes money to support the formation of an army. Ordinary people will never join forces with those people, and those people will not cooperate with ordinary people." Yang Yan said, "I want you to take this opportunity to find out for me the rich businessmen who secretly cooperated with those deserters. .”

This matter... is no small matter.Zhuang Haoran didn't say a word, and many thoughts flashed through his mind.

Looking at Zhuang Haoran who was silent and clearly thinking about it, Yang Yan didn't take it seriously: the person in front of him was not his, and he would never regard this person as his own.But there are some things that he really needs someone to do. There are not many people in Jiangnan who have the means to afford it, and this one is one of them.

Since the tool is in his hand, he doesn't mind using it, it doesn't matter who the owner is, whether the tool is willing or not, as long as he can use it.

"I know you are worried about this matter, and you dare not make a private decision on this matter." Yang Yan paused after saying this, "You can do your best for two things, and I can see it myself."

Whether Zhuang Haoran is doing his best to do this matter, naturally he cannot hide it from Yang Yan.

Such a good way of speaking without seeking results... Zhuang Haoran didn't show any slack on his face.

The former is fine, it is not an exaggeration for that person to say that it is Yang Yan's private matter to the Yang family.But the latter... The talk of deserters is obviously not a trivial matter, and it involves the court.

Thoughts were chaotic in his mind, and his mind was a little chaotic for a while, but it was his nature, he was not a dawdler, and he could think about some things later, after all, he didn't have the habit of thinking about things in this secret room-like study.

Since they don't plan to stay longer and don't like to see Yang Yan's face, it's best for the Yang family to come as little as possible.

So... I have to ask everything clearly before leaving.

So Zhuang Haoran thought for a while, and then asked: "Since you want me to help you find out about the wealthy businessmen who had contact with the deserters, you have to clarify the past of those deserters."

"Which branch did they belong to?"

"Is it Dajing's people or the civil rebels?"

"Who led it back then? Who is the main general?"

……

Zhuang Haoran asked a lot of questions in one breath, and if he knew the character of the general, whether he was rough or meticulous, it would be easier to guess where these people were hiding.

"You don't need to know these things." After Zhuang Haoran finished asking one by one, Yang Yan opened his mouth and said, "I just need you to find out a rich businessman who has a large amount of money that has been unaccounted for."

(End of this chapter)