The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 93

"The villain Tao Wenju, pays homage to Mr. Zhu Shaolang!"

Ma San led a sneaky guy with a deer head and rat eyes into the house. As soon as he entered, the guy knelt down and kowtowed respectfully.

Zhu Xiuduan sat behind the desk, looked at him and frowned.

This man was disheveled, his eyes were wandering around, and he exuded a cunning air from the inside out, which made him very unhappy.

"Are you really Tao Wenju?" Zhu Xiu stared at him closely, and once again complained crazily about the portraits of this era.

Except for the similar temperament with sly eyebrows and ratty eyes, the face shape and facial features of the guy in front of him are completely different from the sketch on the wanted document posted throughout the county!
The painter was found by Guan Tieshi. It is said that he once made a living selling calligraphy and paintings in Chang'an.

According to the descriptions of Chen An and several tooth soldiers, the painter made the painting and asked them to identify it after it was painted. They all said that the painting was very similar!

Zhu Xiu's face was dark, and she couldn't help scolding Guan Tieshi and Chen An in her heart. Who the hell could tell they looked alike?

No wonder the wanted poster has been posted for nearly a month without any reliable clues.

Even if Tao Wenju showed up in the county town with such swagger, no one would recognize him in the painting!
"I don't dare to deceive you, Young Master! Besides. Besides, I have made a big mistake. I'm afraid no one will dare to pretend to admit it."

Tao Wenju knelt on the ground with a flattering smile on his face.

"Big mistake?" Zhu Xiu slapped the table and shouted: "You will excuse yourself! You poisoned Li Guangbo with mercury and put the blame on me. How dare you say it was just a mistake?"

Tao Wen raised his face and cried mournfully: "The Xue family forced the villain to do this! Young Master clearly knows that the villain is also a victim, and the real culprit is the Xue family!"

Zhu Xiu snorted coldly and said to Ma San: "Go and call Chen An."

Ma San took the order and left. After a while, he called Chen An.

When Chen An saw Tao Wenju, his eyes turned red and he gnashed his teeth: "It's you, you thief! Little official, he was the one who went to deliver water to Li Guangbo that day, and then Li Guangbo was poisoned to death! It was him!"

Chen An was furious, clenching his fists and about to pounce, but Zhu Xiu stopped him in time.

"Young official, I'm going to beat him to death!~" Chen An was filled with anger. Over the past month, he had often blamed himself deeply. Because of his poor guarding, Li Guangbo was poisoned, which caused great trouble and made Zhu Xiu bear the crime. .

If this angered the troops in the north and caused the party members to send troops to attack, he would probably wipe his neck and kill himself in regret.

When he saw Tao Wenju today, Chen An finally found an outlet for his anger and resentment, and wished he could beat him to death.

Zhu Xiu knew that he was under great psychological pressure, and said in a deep voice: "I asked you to come here to confirm that this is the person you saw that day, and I didn't let you take action!"

Chen An's face was full of anger, his fists were clenched tightly, and he glared at Tao Wenju fiercely, but he did not dare to disobey Zhu Xiu's words.

Tao Wenju was so frightened that he lay on the ground with his head in his hands.

"Okay, please stand aside." Zhu Xiu waved his hand and shouted to Tao Wenju: "Get up and answer."

"Hey~" Tao Wenju hurriedly responded, standing up on his hands and knees, hunched over: "Young Master, just ask, I will definitely tell you everything I know!"

Zhu Xiu said coldly: "First tell me the story before and after poisoning Li Guangbo."

Tao Wenju swallowed his saliva, glanced at Chen An cautiously, and began to talk hesitantly about the situation that day.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Xiu asked: "Chen An, is there any discrepancy?"

Chen An glared at Tao Wenju and said bitterly: "Basically, it's not bad."

Tao Wenju grinned and Zhu Xiu nodded: "You must be honest."

"What do you think about this matter?" Zhu Xiu stared at him and asked again after the conversation changed.

Tao Wenju was startled, his eyes rolled, and he whispered: "Xue Xiuming designed to trick Shaolangjun into Liangyuan. He knew that Li Guangbo had the habit of taking elixirs, so he sent someone to deliver some to him. Li Guangbo knew that Li Guangbo had the habit of taking pills. Guangbo took a large amount of pills that day and was a little crazy. It would be best if he could lead his army to kill Shaolangjun at the county government office. If not, then let the villain take action.
Mr. Xue, Xue Xiuming is a cunning and cunning person. He did not hesitate to poison his brother-in-law in order to lure the army to put pressure on Commander Shi Jie."

Zhu Xiu said coldly: "How did the Xue family report this matter to the Dingnan Army? How did the Dingnan Army react?"

"Xue Xiuming asked his wife Li to write a letter back to Xiazhou, crying about the matter to her parents' family and Li Yiyin, and asked the Dingnan Army to sue Shi Jieshuai at the court for allowing his subordinates to commit murder and kill Li's children.
In addition, Xue Xiuming also wrote to Li Yiyin, seemingly wanting to ask him to support him in serving as the governor of the Changyi Army. Xue Xiuming also promised that after the event is completed, the Yuanzhou Racecourse will be given to the Dingnan Army."

Tao Wenju answered honestly.

"What?" Zhu Xiu stood up, shocked and angry. The Xue family actually used the Yuanzhou Racecourse as a condition to ask Li Yiyin to support him in governing Zhangyi!

Since the establishment of Changyi Town, there have been two most important economic sources, one is Weizhou Salt Well, and the other is Yuanzhou Racecourse.

Now the entire Weizhou has fallen, and the salt wells have fallen into the hands of the Tubo people.

If they lose the racecourse again, the Changyi Army will not only lose an important financial income, but also lose an important strategic material - war horses!
Since the early Tang Dynasty, the imperial court has set up pastoral supervisors in Hexi, Longxi, and Hetao, selected pastoral supervisors, and trained war horses on a large scale.

Ma Zheng has always been the top priority in the military affairs of the imperial court.Since the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty, dynasties in the Central Plains have changed frequently. Most of the horse ranches under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court were set up near Luoyang and Kaifeng, and were run by local farmers. The number of war horses was limited, and the horse breeds were not as good as those of the Khitans.

The vassal towns that have the conditions will set up their own horse farms. The northern part of Yuanzhou has flat terrain and luxuriant water and grass. It used to be part of the jurisdiction of Pingliang Shepherd Supervision.

The Changyi Army set up a horse farm here. After several years of development, it has achieved some success and can produce nearly a thousand war horses every year.

Zhu Xiu had already discussed with Shi Kuangwei that the next focus of the work was to expand the scale of the racecourse and strive to build the Yuanzhou Racecourse into the second golden sign of Changyi Town after the salt factory.

In order to seize power, the Xue family even promised to cede the racecourse to the Dingnan Army?

Tao Wenju saw that Zhu Xiu was furious and said in panic: "Young Master, please calm down. I heard this accidentally and don't know what the truth is."

Zhu Xiu said in a deep voice: "Do you know how the Dingnan Army responded to the Xue family?"

Tao Wenju shook his head hurriedly: "This villain doesn't know. Xiazhou is far away, and maybe the messenger is still on the way. However, according to the villain's speculation, now that the new emperor of Kaifeng has succeeded, Li Yiyin may have to come to Kaifeng in person, Zhangyi Town. Maybe it’s too late to intervene.”

Zhu Xiu's face was gloomy. The party members always listened to the instructions and did not listen to the announcement. Li Yiyin would most likely not go to Beijing. He would only send Li's children as representatives to Kaifeng to congratulate Liu Chengyou who had just succeeded to the throne.

Wonju Racecourse is the only fat left in Changyi Town. If the Dangxiang people enter from Yanzhou, it will not be difficult to control the racecourse.

This matter needs to be discussed with Shi Kuangwei as soon as possible to take precautions early.

Zhu Xiu was pacing with his hands behind his hands, while Tao Wenju looked at him breathlessly.

"Who else knows the truth about Li Guangbo's death?"

Tao Wenju said: "Xue Xiuming, Xue Xiuliang, and the villain, the rest should be gone. But there is one person, and the villain is not sure whether she knows about it!"

"Who?" Zhu Xiu asked.

"Xue Xiuming's wife, Mrs. Li! Li Guangbo's biological sister!"

Zhu Xiu said in surprise: "You mean, Mr. Li has doubts about Li Guangbo's death?"

Tao Wenju stammered and told Zhu Xiu a small part of the conversation he overheard in front of Xue's house that day.

"Because of this, I desperately escaped from Xue's house. After much deliberation, only Mr. Shao Lang can save my life!" Tao Wenju knelt down and begged in tears.

Zhu Xiu ignored him and fell into deep thought with a sullen face.

Chen An grabbed the collar of his neck and pulled him up. Tao Wenju did not dare to cry anymore and wiped his tears pitifully.

According to Tao Wenju's statement, Li was very likely to have doubts about Li Guangbo's death.

If Li could come forward to identify Xue Xiuming, it might be possible to ease the relationship with the Dingnan Army.

"What would Ms. Li do if she knew the truth?" Zhu Xiu suddenly asked.

Tao Wenju whispered: "Li is usually quite gentle, but her temper is rather stubborn, and it is difficult to change her mind once she has made up her mind. Xue Xiuming usually respects her, and the relationship between husband and wife is harmonious.

However, since Li Guangbo's death, Mrs. Li has been extremely sad and resentful. As rumors spread, she seemed to have doubts about Xue Xiuming.

If she learns the truth, once it is verified, she will never swallow her anger and will definitely seek justice for Li Guangbo."

Zhu Xiu nodded, looked at him and said coldly: "If you want to survive now, you only have one chance. See Mrs. Li, tell her the truth, and make her believe you!"

Tao Wenju's eyes widened in horror: "How could Mrs. Li let the villain go if she knew the truth?"

"You don't need to worry about this. I will ask Shi Jieshuai to intercede with Mr. Li and spare your life!"

Tao Wenju swallowed his saliva and thought: "The villain has followed Xue Xiuming for many years and knows many of his secrets. Li should believe what the villain says! But how can I invite her here when Li is in the Xue family mansion?"

Zhu Xiu snorted and ignored him. How to invite him?Of course, they sent troops to surround the Xue family and forcefully ask for it!
"What else did you hear about the conversation between Xue Xiuming and Xue Xiuliang?"

Tao Wenju thought hard for a while and then said with a sad face: "I dare not hide the fact that Young Master is gone! The villain was very frightened that day and was thinking about how to escape. I really didn't hear much of the conversation between the two!"

Zhu Xiu stared at him for a while, making sure that this guy didn't dare to lie.

"Chen An, take him down and guard him personally! If he makes any move, he will be killed without mercy!"

Chen An clasped his fists and loudly accepted the order, grabbed Tao Wenju's arm, and dragged him away without any explanation.

Zhu Xiu held up the hem of her robe and trotted to Shi Kuangwei for discussion.

(End of this chapter)