Yan Cigui

  Imperial study room.

Eunuch Cao led Xu Jian in.

Your Majesty, who had just changed into his regular clothes, said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, I see you have something to say."

"Yes," Xu Jian replied, "The escape of the King of Jin is related to his future whereabouts. I think it is better to be more cautious. There may be his accomplices in the court."

Seeing the Holy Master nodding, Xu Jian said again: "Do you remember the golden paper found in Chenmi Hutong?"

 “I remember it.”

 At that time, in order to resolve Shao'er's dilemma, Xu Jian proposed to hide two gold bricks in the house.

The Yamen went to search Dao Heng. Dao Heng was connected with Wang Liuliu and Li Mi. Using this line to direct the line of sight to Li Mi was a very good response method at the time.

To the Holy Emperor’s surprise, apart from the gold bricks hidden by Xu Jian, what was found inside was also a gold letter from the Gu Yue Mission.

 Suddenly the situation became more complicated and confusing.

In the end, the incident in Chenmi Hutong came to an end. The Liu family and his son were allotted their jobs, and those who had their fame were eliminated.

 But the Holy Spirit still cares about the "golden paper" to some extent.

 That is an unsolved mystery.

 In fact, Xu Jian secretly visited Chen Cang and hid the golden note in secret.

He used the gold paper to sense the mood of the King of Jin, and also used the gold paper to destroy the self-incrimination letter that Liu Jing had to consider every word, losing its effect.

To this day, it is impossible for Xu Jian to tell the emperor the inside story of Jin Jian, just as he would not expose Su Chang to the public.

 So, he mentioned the golden paper.

“Now it can be concluded that Dao Heng is a subordinate of King Jin,” Xu Jian said, “The house in Chenmi Hutong is also the work of King Jin.

 Liu Xun wanted to please His Highness with wine and flowers, but the King of Jin took advantage of Liu Xun's thoughts and gave him the opportunity to lead His Highness astray.

 The people who went in and out of there were also people from the Gu Yue Envoy.

How can ordinary merchants go to the place arranged by King Jin for His Highness?

 There is probably some other connection between the two parties. "

The Holy Emperor touched his chin and understood what Xu Jian meant: "You want to say that he colluded with Gu Yue? But we formed an alliance with Gu Yue and started business transactions, and we did not suffer any loss."

Xu Jian came well prepared and left everything to Liu Jing: "The person in charge of the reception was Honglu Temple, and it was Liu Jing who was in charge.

I once heard Liu Jing scold Su Yi. The general idea was that Su Yi was not a well-known figure in Gu Yue, but he quickly rose to prominence due to his first mission to Dashun during the reign of the late emperor.

Liu Jing had already met Su Yi at that time. This man was young and had little say in the envoys, but he loved to be in the limelight.

The imperial court was busy with internal affairs and wanted to rely on Gu Yue to contain Xiliang. The conditions given to them were very favorable, but Su Yi was not satisfied. He opened his mouth several times during the negotiation, but it was as if he had grasped our limits, which was painful. , it’s not that it’s unacceptable.

It is precisely because of this that Su Yi suddenly rose to prominence after returning to Guyue and became a big figure in the court.

Until the last time he came here, Su Yi wanted to cut him again, but Liu Jing refused to let go. He was angry again and scolded Su Yi frequently.

What I think is that although we did not suffer a loss, we did not get the extra profit that we could have made.

Su Yi knows our limits very well. It would make sense if the person he was dealing with privately was the King of Jin.

The King of Jin helped Su start a discussion, and Su Yi took some of the money to thank the King of Jin.

That money can be used in many ways to raise troops and store food.

If the two have been friends for so many years, and King Jin realizes something is going wrong, he will most likely contact Su Yi and ask for support. "

 His eyes darkened.

 He accepted the theory that Li Du and Su Yi might have colluded, but he had doubts about the support Su Yi could provide.

"Guyue is not the one who has the final say," said the Holy Master. "It will not be good for them to get involved in our internal affairs."

“You have to guard against them and Xiliang. No one knows what King Jin promised Su Yi,” Xu Jian said. “I think there is not much time left for King Jin.

If he is still a prince, he can slowly figure it out and win people's hearts with his status and money.

 But he escaped and lost the opportunity to stir up trouble in the center of the capital. It will not be easy for him to make a comeback. The people who originally followed him will also consider the pros and cons, and maybe gradually...

The longer the delay, the fewer subordinates King Jin can use and trust. Therefore, his best option is to make a quick decision. When the border is on fire, he will raise troops again, and you will be overwhelmed by the sawsaws in several directions. "

At this point, Xu Jian paused, and simply gave another dose of strong medicine: "The King of Jin has a personal relationship with the Guyue people, how can you say that he did not bury chess pieces in Xiliang? He worked so hard for this dragon chair After more than ten years of planning, there is so much he can do in such a long time.”

The Holy Emperor nodded in agreement: "Yes, I must be on guard against him. I will immediately order Yumen to be on guard, not only at Yumen, but also at other passes."

 After discussing long-term concerns, we naturally talked about immediate concerns.

 Throughout the morning, various news kept coming to the imperial study room.

 Different yamen perform their own duties according to the instructions of the early dynasty.

Thoroughly search the Jin Palace and the two connected houses, focusing on looking for documents such as account books and letters. Several elders in Qianbu Corridor who are best at calculating accounts are also ready to sort out the accounts carefully, regardless of whether they are true or false. , I found out after checking.

Shuntian Prefecture sent out some manpower to guard the Yamen and search every house in the city.

 Concubine Dong’s natal family has become increasingly silent after her death, and is now much worse than before. However, the origin of the poison recipe and the past events of their family’s assistance in Concubine Dong’s struggle with Li Du for the throne must also be investigated.

Xu Jian was ordered to go to the prison to interrogate Song Qian.

The guard who came to ask questions earlier whispered to Xu Jian in a low voice: "My lord, this man has a tough mouth and pushes everything away."

 Xu Jian nodded and looked at the man tied to the rack.

His hair is disheveled and he is particularly embarrassed. There is some blood on his face. It is not clear whether it is his own or the blood stained in the previous "melee".

“The year before last, Zhu Chang’s family was beheaded. Did you go to see it?”

Song Qianshi was stunned for a moment.

I thought the Auxiliary Guild asked about the escape of Wang Ye, and he had thought about a bunch of cars to deal with it.

 In short, I just can’t recognize it.

The Holy Shang was so angry that he wanted to kill him, and he admitted it, but even if he died, he would not be able to betray the prince.

Unexpectedly, the Duke of Fuguo asked Zhu Chang, the former British Duke's family.

Song Qianshi couldn't guess Xu Jian's intention, but he wanted to show his grievance rather than being stubborn and uncooperative, so he naturally said honestly: "Go and see."

"Zhu Chang is an accomplice of King Jin. The two have been colluding together since the late emperor's dynasty," Xu Jian said calmly, "This surprises me. After all, King Jin didn't think of any way to deal with Zhu Chang." The solution is that Zhu Chang knew that he was abandoned and his descendants were all dead, but he did not confess to the King of Jin..."

Song Qianshi gritted his teeth.

 What’s so surprising about this?

Since you have recognized your master, your life belongs to him. How can there be any reason to betray your master?

 Loyalty comes first.

 The Duke of Fuguo was obviously a military commander, how could he not understand?

Could it be that if he goes out to kill the enemy and is captured one day, he will betray Dashun?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Xu Jian say a few more words: "Forget about those few servants, they are all alone and have no descendants. What's going on with you and Zhu Chang?"

When Zhu Chang died, the king of Jin had not yet been exposed. It can be said that he was gambling to obtain the title after his death.

By the time we get to you, King Jin is already a prodigal dog. He was hiding in Tibet when he escaped. Do you still believe that he can come back? "

Song Qianshi subconsciously wanted to refute, but he didn't react until the words came to his lips. He couldn't be fooled by Duke Fu!

How could he argue with Duke Fu about whether the King of Jin could be killed? "You have misunderstood Xianguan," Song Qian said hurriedly, "Xiaguan definitely did not collude with the King of Jin. He was not released from prison by Xianguan. Besides, besides, the King of Jin died in the chaos!"

"Is he dead?" Xu Jian sneered and asked, "It's just a substitute. The sword you stabbed into his face had a good angle and strength."

Song Qianshi’s eyes widened!

Jin Chan’s plan to escape was actually seen through by Duke Fu?

Sure enough, the Duke of Guo had been squatting next to the scapegoat for so long, and he was really impressed by him.

 This is really bad!

 The prince’s escape plan went wrong.

 Fortunately, the person has left, which is a blessing among misfortunes.

How did Kefu Guogong figure it out?

Before the Holy One arrived, Song Qianshi himself had looked at that face carefully, and it was obvious that the face was fake!

 Think about it again, good guy!

 The Duke of Guo was defrauding him before! Once he did not question the statement of "escape", it was confirmed that he knew the inside story.

Song Qian said: "Don't scare me. How can there be a real king and a fake king? He is dead!"

"Okay," Xu Jian interrupted, "why are you the only one tied to the rack, while the other two are still in prison? Because they didn't know it and were dragged down by you, and you participated in the substitution and execution.

I just told you that you are different from the servants who followed King Jin. They had no descendants, but you have a son.

You can keep your mouth shut. I will have your son arrested and these instruments of torture used on him. See if you want to say anything. "

Song Qian was so horrified that his face turned completely pale: "It is appropriate for you to interrogate your subordinates, but it is wrong for you to torture the dog!"

"The Yamen follows rules when handling cases," Xu Jian said, "I don't need to, I will only give the explanation to the Holy One. This is a serious matter. The King of Jin has the intention to rebel and commits disobedient acts. As a comrade of the King of Jin, do you really think that you can die alone?" Is the whole family in peace?”

"If you want to impose a crime, why bother?" Song Qianshi said, "The whole family will die anyway, so what's the use of threatening the subordinate with a dog?"

"You work in a cell, don't you know the difference?" Xu Jian asked, "Should I behead him, or should you watch him try out the torture instruments here with your own eyes?"

Hearing this, Song Qianshi couldn't help but tremble.

 He was really scared at this time.

He himself is not afraid of torture, but how can he bear it for his son?

  Fu Guogong will not just talk.

This man has been on the battlefield and killed so many Xiliang soldiers. He sees blood every day.

Song Qianshi also heard about some of the "deeds" of Duke Fu, which could cause his biological father to be deprived of his honor and be sent back to his place of origin, and his younger brother, who had the same father and mother, to be exiled thousands of miles away. How could this be a good thing?

 "I'm a official, I'm a official..." Song Qianshi trembled and couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing that the defense line in his heart was destroyed, Xu Jian continued to ask: "When, where and how did he collude with King Jin? What have he done for him in these years? How did he escape last night and where did he go? Tell me one by one."

Song Qianshi was crying and answering confusedly.

 He was familiar with the King of Jin in the late years of the late emperor and supported the King of Jin, but it was a pity that the throne was eventually passed away.

The King of Jin has not arranged for him to do anything in these years, and he only conveys some news from the palace to the prince.

 A few years ago, when he was a young guard, his monthly salary was just enough to support his family. Unexpectedly, his father and son fell ill at the same time, and his life suddenly became unsustainable.

It was the King of Jin who gave him money to hire a good doctor and gave him a lot of useful medicinal materials, so that the family could tide over the difficulties.

With this kindness, he was naturally extremely loyal to the King of Jin.

 And such a Jin king was imprisoned.

He was unable to go on a business trip, and King Jin did not tell him all the plans. He only knew the part of what he had to do.

"I'll send him to the person who will take care of him, then come back here, and we'll start when the time is up." Song Qian said.

 Xu Jian asked: "What is the approximate time?"

"The time has been set. After the official comes back, he will sit down for a quarter and a half..." Song Qian said, "This is what the prince told me."

 “Who is the person who responds to him?” Xu Jian asked again.

"They are all wearing night clothes and without lanterns. The official has never seen their appearance clearly. He only knows that they are all servants." Song Qianshi said with a sad face, "Send them behind the Chaoyang Palace. Wherever they go, the official will take them seriously." I don’t know anymore, I’ve told you everything I know.”

 After that, other guards were responsible for asking him to sign and seal the matter, waiting for disposal.

Xu Jian came out of the prison, first went back to report to the Holy Emperor, and then asked Eunuch Cao to borrow some people with good water properties and went into the pond to check.

There is a living pool a short distance further north from Chaoyang Hall.

The water in the pool was not particularly deep. The servants carefully entered the water and observed the conditions at the bottom. Finally, they found some traces in the waterway leading to the moat.

 Xu Jian counted the time.

Li Du left the prison and ran straight here. When he left the palace and was in the moat, it was almost the time when Xu Jian rode his horse to the Nangong Gate.

 It is indeed a step too late.

Xu Jian went out of the palace and determined the location where Li Du landed. If he wanted to search again, he would be surrounded by a huge sea of ​​people.

For several days in a row, there was a trembling wind in Beijing.

Officials patrolled the streets intensively, and the city gates were strictly guarded.

 Wanted documents were sent out of the capital one after another and to various state capitals.

Officials who usually had some dealings with Li Du were also busy expressing their loyalty to the Holy One. They told everything they had heard and seen to avoid being implicated.

 It’s just that there is no news about Li Du himself.

 Night falls.

On West Street, two strings of red lanterns hung brightly at the door of the spice shop.

Shen Chen took a trip and brought back a note for Xu Jian.

 “He didn’t see the little one’s face.” Shen Chen said.

 Xu Jian was confident in Shen Chen's skills.

 Open the note, there are only two lines of words on it.

 One line is an address.

 Another lone word on the line: Tong.

Xu Jian asked Shen Chen to read the note: "Call Xuansu and go to guard the Yamen first."

Shen Chen asked: "Do you want to inform Mr. Wan?"

 “He searches for his,” Xu Jian said, “we arrest ours.”

 Not long after, he saw Wantang.

Master Wan asked in confusion: "Xiaoci Hutong? I checked it yesterday."

 “Then check again.” Xu Jian said.

 Thanks to the book friend’s small yard for the reward.