Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 712 Another False Alarm

"Brother Wen, you said that this is the character of Marquis Luo Yun. It doesn't seem so bad! We don't know about the capital, but outside, the rumors are different. Some say he is arrogant, some say he is lustful, and some say he is ambitious."

Zhou Yewen, the prince of Song, stood by the window on the second floor, watching the team going away on the street. He had some questions and was a little confused. Marquis Luo Yun really wanted to take action just now, not to intimidate them. After all, those people downstairs could be killed at will. If it were anyone else, who would dare to act so wildly?

In addition, there were numerous rumors about Luo Yunhou, with both praise and criticism. Among the noble families, there was almost no good word about him, but among the civil officials and the common people, he was highly praised.
"Brother Fu, rumors are just rumors after all. Whether it is true or not, I am afraid you already have the answer in your mind. Luo Yunhou rose to prominence outside the Great Wall. It can be said that he started from humble beginnings. From a small garrison general to the current Luo Yunhou who is feared both inside and outside the Great Wall, it is not achieved by fighting alone. Skill and mind are both indispensable.

In what happened just now, even if it was my subordinates who bullied first, he was the only one who dared to kill him. It has always been the custom of using courtesy before force, but he used force before courtesy, so I am really enlightened."

The three of them were silent for a long time after hearing the leisurely words. Yes, since ancient times, people have always used courtesy before force. Now it's the other way around, use force before courtesy. In order to shock them, only this person dares to be so bold. In addition, how did Marquis Luo Yun train such elite soldiers? And these are the only soldiers he has, and they are all his subordinates outside the Shanhai Pass. If he has half of such an army, no one can do anything to him.

"That being said, Brother Wen, we can no longer hide the fact that we came to the capital. Marquis Luo Yun must have thought of this, otherwise he wouldn't have left in such a hurry. I wonder what His Majesty will think. After all, there are three princes in the palace. We are like being put in hot water. How we cook depends on their mood."

The Prince of Chen also made it clear that they came to the capital to pave the way for their father, to test the palace's attitude, and also to check the health of the retired emperor. If they wanted to keep their wealth and power, or even go further, all of these needed planning.

These things happened almost all among these princes and their sons. It was obvious, but as princes, they had no choice. Even though they knew the road ahead would be bumpy, they still had to go on it!
"Yes, there are still three princes, but there is always a thought, what if?"

Zhou Yewen, the prince of Song, laughed at himself and waved the folding fan in his hand, looking quite romantic and dashing. Unfortunately, they were of the same status and all these efforts were in vain.

The two of them had a conversation, and they were both testing each other. They both knew the purpose of this trip, but unfortunately the chances were slim, not to mention that the Imperial Guards and most of the Beijing Camp were now in the hands of His Majesty.

At the beginning of the month, the retired emperor was seriously ill. In front of the Meridian Gate, Marquis Luo Yun led his troops to join Marquis Baoning's imperial guards to suppress the left and right guards of the imperial guards. This news also spread. As expected of a powerful general from outside the Great Wall, he made the left and right guards of the imperial guards powerless to fight back, and even killed their vanguard general, leaving them unable to move.

Your Majesty, the purpose of keeping the most capable fighter by your side is self-evident.

"Yes, everyone thinks so, Brother Wen. Two days ago, the Beijing Camp army marched south. The commander, Wang Ziteng, has not returned home for nearly a month. He has also managed the Beijing Camp tightly.

You said that the Taiping Sect was rampant in the southern part of Beijing. In just two months, they were able to conquer most of the southern part of Beijing. Even the Linshan County City was in danger. I always felt that there was something strange and absurd inside. How could the rebel army be so powerful, comparable to the White Lotus Sect in the past. "

Prince Chen looked a little embarrassed. The rebellion in the south of the capital was such a big event, but he didn't let Marquis Luo Yun lead the troops, but let Prince Teng go. The commander of the imperial army, Marquis Baoning, also stayed by his side. It made people think a lot.
Another strange thing is Wang Ziteng, who is neither civil nor military. If he leads a large army south, and if he really has the ability to wipe out the Taiping Sect in a short period of time, then their trip to the capital would be in vain.

"Brother Fu, no matter what sect it is, as long as they start a rebellion in the south of Beijing, which one is easy to deal with? I also know that if the court wins the battle, we will have nothing to do. But think about it, it has always been the Taiping Sect that has been causing trouble, and there has been no news of the White Lotus Sect, which has been passed down for a hundred years. I always feel that it is a bit weird. There are some things that cannot be imagined."

The Prince of Song continued to wave his fan. Although what he said was unpleasant to hear, it made sense. The south of Beijing has been home to many bandits since ancient times, but there has been no fiefdom of a vassal king there so far, which explains the problem.

"Yes, I get scared when I think of those bandit troops in Jingnan. I heard that people from the Taiping Cult are lurking in Lingxi County. Also, I learned on the way here that General Gu Ping from Jingnan led 30,000 elite troops to rescue Linyuefu City. There has been no news since then. I'm afraid it's more dangerous than good. Oh, and Chenzhou City has changed hands."

The Prince of Wu made a bitter face and told the news he had heard. After all, Jingnan County was adjacent to Lingxi County, and with the back and forth communication, the news spread much faster than others.

However, the two brothers standing in front of him had complicated expressions on their faces. If it was true, the imperial court's army heading south would be in danger. Their hopes would be much greater, but how would the imperial court's majesty be protected?
"Brother Wen, what do you think?"

"What else can we do? We can only accept our fate. Wang Ziteng has 50,000 cavalrymen. It will be difficult for him to retreat."

The Prince of Song did not boast. After all, he had 50,000 cavalrymen. If he couldn't defeat them, he could run away.
Seeing the two brothers talking excitedly, but hearing the smell of blood coming from downstairs, he interrupted and asked;

"Brothers, let's talk about this later. What about the dead people downstairs?"

Zhou Lianghao swallowed his saliva. It was supposed to be a good day. He could have a leisurely meal, drink some tea, listen to some folk songs, and then go to Yanchun Tower for a stroll in the evening. How nice it would be. But who knew that a few guys who were more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything would cause trouble. He would have to worry about it even if he died.

Zhou Yunfu and Zhou Yewen looked at each other and said helplessly;
"What can we do? He's dead, and he died from a crossbow. Let's report it to the Shuntian Prefecture government. We're in a good situation. We're not going anywhere. We can just rest in this tavern and book the store. I think the palace will know about it."

"Well, okay, then who will report to the police?"

Zhou Lianghao, the crown prince of Wu, knew that good days were not far away.

Unexpectedly, the two brothers turned their heads at the same time and looked at him.

this.
"Kill."

"Hurry, don't let them get away."

Dongcheng,

In the three residential quarters, a large number of people from the Imperial City Bureau surrounded a courtyard and rushed in.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they were caught off guard by the men in black who were lying in ambush in the yard. Several brothers died on the spot.

The deputy captain Gu Xuanji behind him immediately waved his hand, and the Imperial City Guards holding crossbows immediately lined up and fired a covering fire at the courtyard.

Only a scream was heard, and in an instant, several corpses appeared in the yard.

Seeing that there was no movement in the courtyard, the people from the Imperial City Bureau rushed in with long swords in hand. When they encountered some resistance, they were killed on the spot by the large number of Imperial City Bureau guards. Almost no one was left alive. It was obvious that they were all dead soldiers.

After rushing into the yard, the people from the Imperial City Bureau immediately dispersed and searched the house in all directions, even checking the beams carefully, but unfortunately they found nothing.
Only the captain led his men to the study, where they saw a brazier on the ground with large pieces of ashes scattered inside. It was obvious that something had just been burned and there was no way to save it. They searched the surroundings in a hurry, but there were no clues on the bare bookshelves. They had no choice but to leave the house and go outside to report.

"Report, Lord Gu, the house has been controlled, there are no survivors, they are all dead soldiers,"

"What? There's not a single person alive. How can we find anything suspicious?"

Gu Xuanji frowned. He had spent so much time and effort on the arrangements today and captured many spies. Unfortunately, they were all secretly planted by some insignificant forces. He had not caught the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, the spies of those princes, and even the tails of those people from the Taiping Sect. It was obviously unexpected.
He thought that after a detailed discussion with Captain Liu, there would definitely be spies in the capital city who would spread the news while the Beijing army was marching south. However, a lot of carrier pigeons flew out, and according to the spies' tracking of the pigeons, they found that those caught were spies from small countries, not the ones they were looking for.

We finally found a place, but there was not a single survivor. It was obvious that they were a group of assassins.

"My Lord, the house has been cleaned up carefully, and there are not many clues left. However, there is a corridor in the backyard, where many pigeons were kept, but only the cages were left. The pigeons are long gone. The brothers also searched other places carefully, but only some silver was left. Nothing else was found. However, there is a brazier in the study, which is full of ashes. I checked the study and found nothing."

After the centurion's report, the deputy centurion Gu Xuanji's face became even uglier, so gloomy that water could drip out of it, and he said in a deep voice;
"Lead the way, let's go and have a look."

"Yes, my lord."

The captain clasped his fists, turned around and led the way into the courtyard.
The so-called study was just to the west of the main courtyard. It was a large room with its doors and windows wide open. The inside was in a mess, obviously caused by their people. As soon as Gu Xuanji stepped into the study, he immediately fixed his eyes on a brazier in the middle of the study, which was already filled with ashes.
He walked a few steps forward and immediately reached out his hand. As soon as he put his hand close to the brazier, he felt a little hot. It was obviously freshly used.
See here,

Gu Xuanji immediately drew out his long knife and gently searched in the brazier. Although there were a lot of ashes, because so much had been burned, there were still quite a few residues left that had not been completely burned.

After picking off some of the debris, Gu Xuanji reached in and fumbled around. He could vaguely see some scraps of paper in the corners. He picked them up and carefully examined them. There were faint handwriting on them. There were only a few words scattered on them: North, Secret Letter, etc.

North, should refer to the north, secret letter, is a written letter, etc. What does it mean? Gu Xuanji stared at the scraps of paper in his hand, the handwriting left, and pondered the meaning. Who in the capital can still be associated with the north? Does this north refer to the border, or to the outside of the pass, or to the Donghu people? Obviously, the remaining words have too deep a meaning. As for the other papers, they were all burned to ashes, and no useful information could be obtained. Helplessly, he stood up and looked around. There were only scattered tables and chairs, and even some books, there were not many books, and the edges could be seen at a glance. Obviously, nothing could be hidden.

This means that the people here were well prepared. In fact, they cleaned up the place when they heard the noise. As a result, there are not many letters that can be used. Will it be a waste of time?
"Someone, come and see what's in the yard. Take a shovel and start digging. I really don't believe it. There is no clue at all."

"Yes, my lord."

The hundred households behind him immediately took the order and left.

He brought a number of people with him, holding hoes and shovels, and stood in the middle of the yard. He also asked someone to bring in a chair and a square table and put them under the eaves of the main hall.
"Sir, please sit down and rest first. The brothers will start digging now. But sir, where should we start?"

The captain had tea brought and placed on the square table. Besides, the yard was so big that if they really wanted to dig it, it would take an unknown amount of time.

Gu Xuanji looked around the yard and immediately set his eyes on the old locust tree. Because there was only this big tree in such a big yard, he thought for a while and then gave the order;

"Divide into five groups and dig at the four corners of the yard, within ten steps of the wall. Also dig this tree. I want to see if there is anything hidden there."

"Yes, sir, please sit down first, have some tea and rest, and leave the rest to the brothers."

The captain clasped his fists and replied confidently, "Nowadays, the Imperial City Administration has a process for confiscating property, and not a single piece of dirty silver can be let go. This rule was set by Marquis Luo Yun. Since then, there have always been a lot of digging tools in the warehouse of the Imperial City Administration, as well as various methods of finding deposited silver, and they have become more and more sophisticated with use."

So, every time he went out, in addition to the knife, he also brought those digging tools. When the hundred and thousand households saw it, they did not stop him and tacitly accepted it.

At the call from the captain, many burly men from the Imperial City Department took off their coats, bare-chested, picked up their pickaxes and started digging. Some were digging, some were carrying the earth, and the work was clearly divided. I thought it would take a long time, but in less than half an hour,
Holes one person deep were dug in five places in the yard, especially under the old locust tree in the center, where the roots were tangled and dug deep.

suddenly,

Those in the southeast corner suddenly hit something hard and made a dinging sound, which was obviously something, and the little flag that was still digging shouted immediately;

"Report, sir, there is a discovery in the southeast corner,"

Then he quickly used a shovel to dig around and saw boxes hidden underneath. His face was immediately filled with joy.

The people above also jumped down and started digging together.

"Sir, there is a discovery in the southeast corner."

Upon hearing the news, the captain hurried over to report.

Gu Xuanji's eyes narrowed and he thought to himself, what a good opportunity, a sudden turn of events.

"Quick, gather some people, dig up all those boxes and carry them over here."

"Yes, my lord."

The captain's face was filled with excitement. Today's efforts were truly not in vain.

A group of people were called in to take turns digging. Even so, it took more than half an hour before they finally lifted the three boxes buried underground and placed them under the old locust tree in the middle of the yard.

At first glance, these three boxes are large boxes used to store silver. Not only are they nailed on top, but they are also painted red. However, after being buried underground for a long time, the red color has now turned into dark red. There is also a fishy smell coming from it, and there is also a hint of coldness.

At this time, the deputy captain Gu Xuanji had already put on his gloves and stood in front of the box. He silently touched the surface of the box. Although it had been a long time, it was still somewhat smooth. It was made of the best willow wood and used bronze nails, which was very rare.

As for those copper locks, they are also quite old, Zhuntou instructed;
"Someone, break the lock on the box."

"Yes, my lord."

With a reply, a strong man came over with an iron pickaxe and chopped the lock head, breaking it.

To be on the safe side, Gu Xuanji asked two people to pick open the box with long knives. Two small flags volunteered to walk over, insert their knives into the box, and then work together to open the box.

moment,

A strong stench of corpses came from inside, and there were actually several curled up corpses.
Everyone was so frightened that they took a few steps back. Even the two flag bearers who were opening the box could hardly hold the long swords in their hands and they fell down.

Gu Xuanji frowned and said nothing, but the captain next to him cursed;
"Why are you panicking? It's just a few dead bodies. Look how scared you two are."

The two flag bearers blushed. They had killed people before, so why were they afraid of death?
"Please punish me, sir."

"Okay, at first glance, anyone would be scared. Come, take a look. These corpses must be very old, and the clothes they are wearing are the finest Shu brocade. Who could it be?"

Gu Xuanji stopped the captain and scolded him, saying that the case was important and the people inside had long been invisible, leaving only clothes, embroidery and fabric on them. Gu Xuanji could tell at a glance that it was top-quality Shu brocade, which ordinary people could not afford. He suddenly felt a headache and that he had caused trouble for Lord Liu again.

The situation in the capital is very tense now. I think those people have already hidden themselves. Lord Liu has not achieved anything with them so far. He has not completed any of the tasks assigned by the supervisor. He has wasted so much time and his patience has run out.
I'm afraid that adults will be punished.

Looking at the other two boxes, I think the same is true.
"Come here, carry all the boxes back. Also, clean up the yard and seal it off. No one is allowed to come in. Go back and report."

Gu Xuanji was helpless. This case seemed to be a long time old. If they really wanted to investigate, it would take a long time. Besides, he hadn't heard of anyone from the nobles reporting the case.

Those who can wear Shu brocade must be high officials or wealthy merchants. He was at a loss for a moment. He looked back at the house. Although it was not big, it was expensive in the capital. Perhaps these people were the owners of the house, and those assassins were just occupying the house.
What a pity, the lives of this family.

"Sir, we didn't catch any useful spies today. Will Sir Liu catch any?"

Seeing people dispersing to clean up the yard, the captain next to him came over and whispered, with a bit of trepidation on his face. After all, if Captain Liu was punished, it would not be easy for them either.

"What? Take all the bodies of the men in black back and have the coroner examine them to see if they can find out where they are from. After all, we have investigated a lot of spies. Even if they have no credit, they have worked hard. The eunuch will know about it, so don't worry."

Gu Xuanji knew what the captain meant. Now that so much time had passed, every bit of work counted. However, with these corpses, there might be something he could do. Thinking of this, Gu Xuanji's heart moved, and he calmly explained;
"You will escort the things back to the yamen in person. Watch out, I will go find Lord Liu and discuss it. Tell the brothers to say what they should say and not say what they shouldn't say."

"Yes, sir, I understand."

(End of this chapter)