Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Looking at the fat man lying limply on the ground, Murong Miao knew that it would be useless to continue questioning him. He snorted and took out a piece of letter paper from his arms and said loudly: "This is a personal letter from the general, granting me full authority." The investigation of Liu Shilang's assassination must have results within a month! The cost is priceless! However, the general's letter did not say what to do with me if the real murderer cannot be found within a month!" At this point, he said a little. After a pause, he glanced at everyone present: "I, Murong Miao, don't need the general to punish me. I should give the general an explanation!"

Everyone in the hall has more or less contact with the underworld. Naturally, what does Murong Miao mean by "giving the general an explanation"? In this case, they have to give an explanation to General Murong. Everyone can't help but secretly complain, their brains He was spinning very fast, thinking about how to escape.

"Are you wondering if there is any way to escape and protect yourself?" Murong Miao sneered: "I advise you to give up this idea. Yes, you are all local snakes in Chang'an. If you find a place to hide, I will definitely hide for a while. I can’t hold you back, but have you ever thought about why the general is so anxious and only gives a month’s deadline? I’ll break it down today! When Liu Shilang was assassinated, people outside said it was the general. I sent someone to do it, but I can tell you that this matter has nothing to do with the general. It was done by someone else. The purpose was to sow discord between the general and the court, and then provoke a civil war to make profits. I It can also be concluded that as long as the mastermind behind the scenes is not caught, similar things will happen again until the imperial court and the general fight again. You are all sensible people and you should know that once the imperial court and the general fight, what will happen? What are the consequences! Even if you can go to the deep mountains and old forests to become savages, what will happen to your relatives, family members, friends and in-laws? They will die together with the city of Chang'an. Now do you understand what I mean? "

If everyone in the hall just now had the mentality of just watching the fun, Murong Miao's words just hit the spot. Whether it is the underworld or the heroes of the city, everyone in the hall is highly localized. They know very well that the current life in Chang'an is based on the universal peace within the empire. The war not long ago did not even affect the city of Chang'an. , just the skyrocketing price of food turned Chang'an City into a hell on earth. Just like Murong Mu said, you can escape Chang'an City and go to Zhongnan Mountain to become savages, but what will happen to your relatives and family members? What's more, Zhongnan Mountain is not a paradise, and helpless immigrants are likely to become prey to the local mountain people.

"General Murong, please don't worry. I will arrange manpower immediately after I return. Even if I don't eat or sleep, I will hand over the people behind the scenes to you within the deadline!" A middle-aged man stood up and said.

"Yes, we must not let the imperial court and Hebei fight again!"

"Yes, who can bear it if we fight for rice and thousands of dollars again!"

"This is not for others, but for ourselves and Chang'an City!"

Everyone in the hall expressed their opinions one after another, and their attitudes at this time were completely different from those just now. Murong Miao was about to announce that he would double the reward to boost morale, but he heard someone say: "Everyone, I think our thinking was wrong at the beginning, so we couldn't find the trace of the murderer!"

"Huh?" Murong Nao's eyes lit up and he asked the person who spoke, "What's your name? Why do you say that?"

"The villain's surname is Du. My family is born in the fifth generation and I have lived in the south of the city. So everyone calls me Nancheng Du Wu. Some of the people I know well also call me Du Wu, Lao Wu!" Du Wu smiled and said: "The general asked us to track down that gang. The assassin has been there for more than ten days, and the court is trying its best to trace it, but so far, there is no clue. Chang'an City is not big, and it is not small, but after so many days of tracing, it is still not found. There are only two possibilities: either this group of assassins are hiding in a place where no one dares to check and cannot find them! Or this group of people is already dead!"

Du Wu's words immediately caused an uproar in the hall. The first possibility he inferred was that many people had already thought of it. There were many noble people in Chang'an City, and there were many places that even people from the imperial court might not be able to investigate or dare to investigate. However, This means that the assassination of Liu Peiji is very deep. This is also the reason why these people did not work too hard before. After all, if something is really found that should not be found, then maybe he will die. They have seen a lot of similar things, so naturally they just deal with it if they can.

As for the second possibility, few people can think of it. After all, assassinating high-ranking officials in Chang'an at night must not involve outsiders, otherwise it will be all over once they are caught. The only ones that can be used are the dead soldiers that have been trained by the family for generations, and there are not too many dead soldiers like this anywhere. It would be too wasteful to deal with them all if they can't escape after one assassination attempt, right?
"Du Wu, are you saying that the assassins were killed by the mastermind after they escaped?" someone asked.

"If it's not hidden somewhere that neither we nor the government can find, it's very likely that it has been dealt with!" Du Wu replied.

"If this group of people is killed, it will be too difficult to find them!" Someone said with a bitter smile: "Just dig a hole somewhere and bury them. Where can we find them?"

"I have just said that if this group of people were killed, then the person behind them was probably an outsider. He felt that there was no place to hide his men, so he simply killed him! People like this, do you think they are the most likely to hide the body? Where is the place?" Du Wudao.

"You mean Yizhuang?" someone asked in an uncertain tone.

"Yes, there are temples and Taoist temples!" Du Wu said with a smile: "I think all places where outsiders' coffins can be temporarily parked should be carefully checked. Of course, it is also possible that the body has been buried somewhere at night, but if you want to It's not a small hole to bury more than a dozen corpses. You can only do it at night, and it's impossible not to reveal some traces. If you check carefully, you will definitely find clues!"

"Yes, yes! There are so many of us, even if we turn Chang'an City upside down, we still have to find this group of people!"

"Du Wu, I really belong to you! If we can really find this group of people, we will support you as our big brother!"

"Yes, for this kind of thing, I'm afraid I won't have anywhere to use my strength. As long as I know where to use my strength, it will be easier!"

Murong Miao was even more overjoyed. He immediately sent someone to get a map, divided the area with everyone, and assigned people to inspect the coffins and burial locations of the recently deceased. After the assignment was completed, he loudly said: "The general said in the letter, as long as we can No matter how much it costs to find out the real culprit behind the scenes, I will tell everyone the truth. As long as we can find the assassins, dead or alive, we will reward them with 20,000 yuan without any delay!"

Everyone in the hall said "Hey," and then dispersed. Murong Miao took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and returned to the study, ready to write a reply to Wang Wenzuo.

Facts have proved that when you choose the right direction, as long as you add a little luck, you will make progress quickly. On the evening of the third day after that meeting, Murong Miao got the news that the fat man named Li Cheng found more than ten ownerless coffins near a Taoist temple near Guiyifang in the south of the city, all of which were young and middle-aged people. corpse. After Murong Mu heard the news, he dropped his chopsticks and went to Guiyifang with more than ten followers.

When Murong Miao and his party arrived near Guiyifang, it was already mostly dark. Someone had already led them to the Taoist temple. Li Cheng brought the Taoist priest from that Taoist temple over. After asking, he found out that the Taoist temple was originally located there. It was donated and built by the Shu people in Chang'an. There is a courtyard next to it for the Shu people who died in Chang'an and were temporarily unable to transport the corpses back to their hometown, so they temporarily stored the coffins and corpses.

"So that's it!" Murong Miao was secretly happy and asked quickly: "Let me ask you, when more than a dozen coffins were delivered at once a few days ago, couldn't you be more suspicious and ask why so many people died at once? Don’t look at the condition of the body!”

"Reply to Mr. Huo!" The Taoist priest said with a bitter smile: "Why didn't I ask? The person who sent the coffin just said that the person in the coffin had an epidemic and died suddenly. The poor Taoist had no time to hide, so how could he go to the hospital to find out the details?" look?"

Murong Miao snorted coldly and was too lazy to argue with the Taoist priest. He ordered the coffin to be opened and the accompanying monks to check the cause of death. Since some time has passed, the corpses in the coffins have begun to decay. Once the coffins are opened, the smell of corpses is nauseating. However, it can be seen that the corpses inside are all young and middle-aged, and their bodies are strong. There are thick calluses on the palms and thumbs, most likely from warriors. "Do you remember the appearance of the person who brought the coffin?" Murong Miao asked the Huoju Taoist.

"This -" Taoist Huo Ju already knew that he might have been involved in a big trouble. Sweat was already pouring from his forehead. Murong Miao snorted coldly when he saw this and took off the silver fish from his waist. He waved the bag in front of the man and said, "Do you see clearly? Your life, death, wealth, and wealth depend on a certain family, so don't make any mistakes!"

"Yes, yes!" Taoist Huoju was shaking like chaff all over his body. He said in a trembling voice: "Xiaodao remembers that there were two people who contacted me at that time. One spoke with a Hebei accent, was about forty years old, was of medium build, and had Chinese characters. On the face, one eye is big and the other is small, but the other one is a colleague, about the same age as me, with a goatee, a Sichuan accent, and a green birthmark the size of a finger on his left cheek."

"You should remember carefully!" Murong Miao said with a smile, while instructing his men to record clearly: "If the thief is caught, you will also be a meritorious person!"

"I don't dare to think about the credit, as long as I don't involve the minor Taoists!" Taoist Huo Ju smiled bitterly and said: "By the way, that Taoist friend should be a member of the Tianshi Taoist and his status is not low!"

"Oh? How did you know?" Murong Mu asked curiously.

"Xiao Dao is also from Shu. The Celestial Master's Dao is extremely popular in Shu. Outsiders may not know the manners and demeanor of that Taoist friend, but a Taoist like me will know it at a glance!"

"Okay, okay!" Murong Miao said with a smile: "I will remember one more merit for you. If you recall carefully, no matter what you remember, you can tell my people. I will reward you heavily afterwards!" He asked the Taoist priest to step back. , he ordered his men to issue a wanted document according to the Taoist instructions and search for the two people inside and outside Chang'an City.

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Chang'an, Yongpingfang.

It was late at night, and the night wind blew through the locust trees in the yard, making a rustling sound. The shadows fell on the paper windows, like ghosts. Fan Changan put down the brush in his hand, stretched his right hand to the brazier on the side, and warmed his hands. After his hands were warm, he continued to write.

clap clap!

There were two slight knocks on the window. Fan Changan put down his brush, his right hand slipped into his sleeve, and he asked warily: "Who?"

"It's me, Mr. Fan!"

"Nephew Li Xian!" The tension on Fan Changan's face disappeared. He stood up and opened the door. A medium-sized Taoist came in, about thirty years old, with a goatee, an ordinary face, and a finger-sized lump on his left cheek. With a green birthmark, he bowed his hand to Fan Changan: "Mr. Fan, I just came from Hebei!"

"Well, what did they say?" Fan Changan asked.

"What they mean is to be steady!"

"Steady, what do you mean?"

"According to the poor Taoist, what these Hebei people say is just an excuse!" The Taoist sneered: "They are actually scared and want to get out!"

"Afraid? Get away?" Fan Changan smiled: "What do they want to do to get out? How can they get away after doing such a thing?"

"Yes!" The Taoist said with a smile: "So they are on both ends of the spectrum! It is already clear that under Wang Wenzuo, they will never be able to become the governor of Hebei, unless Wang Wenzuo and the court completely break up, and both sides After a fight, they had a chance to stand up. But they were scared to death of Wang Wenzuo. Once they failed to assassinate Liu Peiji, they were so scared that they wanted to get away. What a bunch of rats!"

"It's not a big deal to be afraid of Wang Wenzuo. There are really not many people in the world who are not afraid of this person. Knowing that they are afraid at least shows that they are not a bunch of idiots who don't know the heights of the world!" Fan Changan smiled: "Well, you go back and tell them, Since it’s okay if they don’t want to do it, then everyone should step aside, clean up the traces, and wait for the next suitable opportunity to cooperate again!”

"Fan Gong, are you going to let those guys go so easily?" The Taoist became anxious upon hearing this: "They have a lot of tricks in our hands. If we just throw them out casually, they will shed their skin even if they die!"

"Nephew Li Xian, you should understand the principle that you must first give to someone who takes something in advance!" Fan Changan said with a smile: "Some things cannot be done by force. Can you force them to do big things together? It would be harmful to force them. . Don’t worry, these Hebei people will definitely come back after they go back!”

"How do you know, Mr. Fan?" the Taoist asked.

"It's very simple. Why did these Hebei people secretly assassinate Liu Peiji? In the final analysis, they were dissatisfied with Wang Wenzuo! Do you think that after they took action this time, Wang Wenzuo would change his ways and satisfy them? Of course not, Wang Wenzuo is like this How decisive people act! Since dissatisfaction exists, they withdraw their hands only because of fear. Will they be afraid for a moment or for a lifetime? Will they take risks again because of dissatisfaction?" (End of Chapter)