Han Du thought of Lan Yu who died in the battle, and always felt that Lan Yu died too easily.
"Your Majesty, how was Jiayuguan captured and how did Duke Liang die?"
Faced with Han Du's question, Zhu Biao sighed and shook his head, "The news sent back by Marquis Changxing is so crude that I haven't had time to investigate."
As he spoke, he looked up at Han Du and said, "You just happened to be back. Why don't you come and find out what's going on?"
Zhu Biao didn't believe that Lan Yu would be defeated so quickly. He knew the tactics and knew that when Timur had just been defeated, even if Timur came back, Lan Yu would not be defeated so quickly.
And even if Lan Yu really couldn't stop it, he should have asked the court for help. With Lan Yu's long experience in battle, it's impossible for him to not even make this judgment.
Since Lan Yu did not ask for help, it meant that he was confident of resisting Timur's army.
"Okay." Han Du agreed immediately. He always felt that Lan Yu's defeat was too strange. Maybe there was something wrong here.
...
Han Du went directly to the cabinet and ordered the scribe, "Go and bring all the reports from Jiayuguan to me."
"yes."
After a while, two scribes came in carrying two thick stacks of reports.
"Put it on the table."
Han Du motioned to the two of them, then sat down and looked carefully in chronological order.
Everything was normal at first. Lan Yu would send a memorial back to Beijing every month, even if there was no war.
But when April came, there was no report from Lan Yu.
There was only one memorial from Lan Yu in May, but in June there was no more.
Han Du's heart was moved, he raised his head and asked the clerk: "Where is the report from Jiayuguan in April, May, and June? Is this the only one?"
The scribe hurriedly bowed and said, "In return, sir, yes."
Bang!
Han Du suddenly slapped his hand on the desk and said angrily: "Liang Guogong sends the report every month, except for April and June. Didn't you think that there was something wrong and didn't report it to the emperor?
"
The scribe was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and shouted, "My father-in-law has been wronged. I reported it to Mr. Qi at that time. But Mr. Qi said that since there was no report, it was nothing. So he ignored it."
.....”
Qitai?
Han Du then remembered that after he went to sea, Zhu Biao asked Qi Tai to take charge of the cabinet. It was reasonable for the scribe to report to him.
Thinking of this, the anger in Han Du's heart subsided slightly, and he waved his hand to ask the scribe to get up.
Then he opened the report sent by Lan Yu in May, and Han Du frowned after just one glance.
The report was very disorganized, without even basic logic. The first sentence was still talking about Timur's situation, and the next sentence turned into his great achievements in drinking.
The entire sentence in the report seemed to have been rubbed hard by someone.
If Han Du hadn't recognized Lan Yu's handwriting, he would have thought it was forged.
Suddenly, Han Du's heart moved. According to the encryption rules he once told Lan Yu, he picked out the words one by one from the chaotic sentences.
Sure enough, a sentence appeared in Han Du's eyes, "There is a lack of food and grass, please send it quickly!"
Seeing this sentence, Han Du understood everything.
It turned out that it wasn't that Lan Yu didn't ask for help, but that his request for help never reached the imperial court. Whatever the reason was, it showed that someone had intercepted the report from Jiayuguan.
Maybe Lan Yu also sensed something was wrong, so he sent this report in an encrypted way. He must have thought that he was still in the cabinet, and thought that this report could be sent to him without concealment, and that he would be able to understand his situation as long as he saw it. , will immediately send food and fodder to him.
The report was indeed hidden from the eyes of some people and reached the cabinet unharmed. But unfortunately, at this time, he was storming the Nusrato Ku Fortress.
"Brother! I hurt you, I hurt you..."
When the scribe saw the Duke of Zhen suddenly burst into tears, he was at a loss.
Han Du felt sad for a while, then took the memorial and cheered up.
After thinking for a moment, he walked straight towards Qianqing Palace without saying anything.
"What? You got a clue so quickly?" Zhu Biao looked at Han Du in surprise.
He knew that Han Du was very powerful. In the past, many mysterious cases about his father were left to Han Du to investigate. But it has only been half a day. Could it be that Han Du has found something?
Han Du handed the report to Zhu Biao and said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, it was this minister who killed Duke Liang..."
Zhu Biao was stunned. When Lan Yu died in the battle, Han Du had already gone to sea. How could he be the one responsible?
When he opened the memorial and looked at it, Zhu Biao immediately frowned. He had never seen this memorial before, but it was just the random things written on it. , it is reasonable that the cabinet did not send it.
"This is a secret report from Duke Liang. It needs to be decrypted to see the true meaning." With that, Han Du handed over the decryption method to Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao also knew this method, but the decrypted original books were different.
Soon Zhu Biao decrypted the hidden content of the report, and his expression changed instantly.
"Uncle, this is...this is..."
"The situation is so critical, why doesn't uncle report it directly?"
Seeing the decrypted content, Zhu Biao also knew why Han Du said that he was the one who killed Lan Yu. If Han Du had not gone to sea, he would have been able to see this report. With Han Du's intelligence, he would have been able to Decipher the true meaning of sapphire.
Then, as long as the imperial court sends food and grass there, Jiayuguan will not be breached at all, and Lan Yu will naturally not die in battle!
"Your Majesty, Duke Liang must have reported this many times before, but it must have been a long time since he received a response from the court, so he had no choice but to report it in an encrypted way."
Zhu Biao's expression darkened and he said sternly: "You mean, someone dares to intercept the imperial military report?"
"This is the only explanation, otherwise why would Duke Liang submit the memorial encrypted?"
Han Du paused, his voice was chilling to the bone, and he continued: "And this must have been done by someone from the imperial court."
"Why?" Zhu Biao did not refute Han Du, nor did he directly agree.
Han Du picked up the memorial and signaled: "Your Majesty, this memorial seems to be some nonsense on the surface, but it was sent to the cabinet. This shows that the person who intercepted Liang Guogong's memorial was not only literate, but also literate. They understand the importance of the report. This report seemed insignificant in their eyes, so they sneaked it through and sent it to the cabinet."
"My uncle's other reports directly asking for help were deliberately blocked by these people!" Without Han Du's explanation, Zhu Biao had already guessed it.
Han Du nodded solemnly.
Zhu Biao lowered his head and pondered for a while, then suddenly asked: "What are you going to do?"
Han Du's expression condensed, and he stared into Zhu Biao's eyes and replied: "Find out the truth and find out all these people. Deliberately intercepting the military report, which led to the breach of Jiayuguan Pass and the death of Liang Guogong, which is equivalent to treason. The nine tribes should be punished for their crimes!"
Zhu Biao didn't say a word after hearing this.
Han Du asked in a deep voice: "How does the emperor plan to deal with it?"
Zhu Biao raised his eyes and looked at Han Du, making up his mind at the next moment.
"I'll leave this matter to you. Investigate! Let me get to the bottom of it. No matter who is involved, kill! If you don't kill, it won't make the people angry. If you don't kill, it won't comfort the spirit of Duke Liang in heaven!"
"My lord, I obey!" Han Du took a deep breath and immediately bowed down.
...
Han Du took Zhu Biao's handwriting and was the first to come to Hubu.
"Find Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu for me!"
Not long after, Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu came together. Both of them were not in a good mood. Lan Yu was killed in the battle at Jiayuguan, and the major events that happened one after another in the DPRK also made them unhappy.
"I'm going to pay my respects to you..."
Han Du directly waved his hand to interrupt the two of them, and asked sharply: "What's going on with the grain and grass in Jiayuguan?"
"What, what food?"
Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu looked at each other and didn't understand why the young master wanted to investigate the crime as soon as he arrived.
"Why did the Liang Guoguo Council report that there was a lack of food and grass sent to Jiayuguan?"
Wang Yuanji's face turned aside, and he quickly handed over his hands and replied: "My lord, the grain and grass in Jiayuguan have been allocated to the Ministry of War for a long time. There has never been any shortage, and there is an accounting record.
As evidence.”
"Bring it!"
"yes."
Han Du also didn't believe that the Ministry of Husbandry would deduct Lan Yu's food and grass. Although he often did not come to the Ministry of Husbandry, he was still the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry. People in the Ministry of Hubu didn't know that he and Lan Yu were sworn brothers, so how could they deduct food and grass?
?
Wang Yuanji immediately ordered the clerk to bring the accounting records, holding them in both hands and placing them respectfully in front of Han Du.
Han Du opened it and took a quick look. It was true that food and grass were allocated to the Ministry of War every month, even in April, May and June.
"Master, please see, here is the signature of Mr. Yan from the Ministry of War."
Since Han Du became the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he has established a rule that all money and materials leaving the Ministry of Household Affairs must be signed by the recipient.
All the grain and grass allocated to Jiayuguan and the military deployment were named after Yan Sheng.
Han Du immediately stood up and said, "Take the person who will handle this matter and follow me to the Ministry of War."
"yes."
...
The Yamen of the Ministry of War is next to the Ministry of Household Affairs, facing Hongwumen, with a Ministry of Rites in the middle.
Han Du and his men arrived at the entrance of the military department in just a moment.
"Stop, don't trespass on the important military base."
The sergeant guarding the door saw a group of people about to rush into the military headquarters, and immediately stood up to block them.
Han Du stretched out his hand to push aside the scribe who was blocking him, and said sternly: "If you are blind, even I dare to stop you."
"Greetings to the Lord." The sergeant was suddenly startled when he saw Han Du and quickly knelt down.
"Get away!"
The sergeant quickly retreated to both sides, not daring to face the road again.
Han Du immediately rushed into the Ministry of War with his people. As soon as he entered, he stopped a clerk and asked:
"Where is Yan Sheng? Take me to find him."
"Yan Sheng? Master Yan is here..."
At this moment, an official came out.
Someone behind him immediately said in a distant voice: "Master Yan, please stay!"
Han Du immediately followed the sound and found out that this person was Yan Sheng? It was all in vain to find the person as soon as he came.
Yan Sheng was startled when he heard this and subconsciously raised his head. When he saw the crowd coming towards him with great force, he quickly lowered his head and turned back.