Not long after they camped at Mao's Village, the envoy sent by Li Tai to Yong'an City caught up and brought a letter from Wang Qingde, the governor of Jianzhong County.
Li Tai opened the letter and glanced at it, a sneer suddenly appeared on his lips.
Wang Qingde's words in the letter were very rude. He first asked Li Tai why he didn't let the envoy send the order to the county government since he had received the execution order. Then he said that even if he was ordered to inspect the Zhengguo Canal, there was no reason for him to enter the county and station in Bailuyuan.
To sum it up, in one sentence, you are not welcome here, get out of here!
These two questions are fair and reasonable. The use of written orders is an important evidence for the envoy to contact the local government. Without this certificate, the local government may not receive the reception or even arrest him directly. However, the distance between the main stream of Zhengguo Canal is
Bailuyuan is a hundred miles away, and no matter how crooked Li Tai's journey is, he really won't be able to reach here.
But is Li Tai, as a newly wealthy man who has achieved success since he was a villain, here to reason?
After reading this letter, he was not ashamed because he was being unreasonable, but he felt that Wang Qingde was a bit ignorant. Can't everyone just talk about this and let it go? Are you so serious?
Even Xin Wei, the governor of Fangcheng, who is so big, didn't even bother to check my mission letter. After taking care of the meal, he even gave me a business deal. I'm not here to eat or drink your food, so why don't you just stop by and have a rest? Your uncle would like to congratulate me.
Liuhun is so cool that he has no temper. I still have elders to warm Queen Mother Feng’s bed!
He simply threw the letter aside and did not take the other party's warning to leave the country within a time limit at all.
There were also loyal and honest ministers in the Western Wei Dynasty, but in this situation, if the other party spoke so openly, he either had a guilty conscience and was involved in the affair, or he mistakenly thought that he was here to support Mao and was dissatisfied.
If he really is neither of the two, then Wang Qingde is really a loyal and meticulous minister. At worst, he can just apologize afterwards. Why is he so mouthy?
Anyway, I won’t leave. Although I am shameless, you can’t help but give me face. The reprimand is so reasonable, how can I step down? If it is found that the crime occurred in Jianzhong County, I will not spare you!
Mao Shijian mobilized his tribe and friendly villagers to inspect the area around this area, and first targeted the casting of Buddha statues that were easier to obtain. However, after two days in a row, no obvious clues were found. However, he did get back a few statues of Li Tai.
A bronze Buddha statue intended to be used as a frame-up.
As for Jianzhong County, apart from that letter, there was no further action.
At least Wang Qingde, the governor of the county, did not dare to send troops directly to Bailu to expel Li Tai and his party. Although there were rural soldiers stationed at Hongbinzha, there were only more than a thousand of them, and their numbers and combat effectiveness were no match for Li Tai's troops.
Even though Wang Qingde was not angry, he could only endure it. He might have reported it to the Chang'an court and the Huazhou Bafu, but at least he could not control Li Tai now. This inevitably made Li Tai feel more and more like a domineering military leader.
Happy, I really got rich too late!
It was not until the evening of the third day that things finally made a breakthrough.
A few days ago, a fellow Mao family member bought a low-priced sick horse at the Menghou Grassland Market in the west. The characteristics were somewhat in line with what Liu Min said about his horse. After Mao Shijian heard the news, he immediately went to the house to buy the horse.
Bring the horse back.
"Yes, this, this is exactly my horse! Since it appears here, the missing person must not be far away!"
Liu Min took a closer look at the marks behind the sick horse's ears and ankles, and said with excitement that he had been restless for the past few days. Fortunately, the matter finally had a clue.
Mao Shijian pointed at the dull-colored and listless horse and said: "This horse is not suffering from a common epidemic, but has been fed with poisonous herbs and poisonous weeds. It has diarrhea and blood, convulsions and restlessness, and is unable to walk. If it is not relieved by a magical method, it will soon...
You will soon suffer to death."
Liu Min was heartbroken after hearing this, and gritted her teeth and said: "Yes, it must be a plot by a traitor in the army. They poisoned the horse first, making it difficult for me to move, and then rounded up and kidnapped me. No news came out at all."
…”
Li Tai also agreed with Liu Min's guess. If hundreds of cavalry could not control the strength of their mounts, it would be difficult to surround them in the countryside. In the past, when more than ten thousand soldiers were pursued by Hu, Li Tai was able to lead his troops to the border of Xi'an Prefecture. It can be seen that
The importance of mobility.
Once it is determined that the horses were drugged and plotted, a new clue can be derived. There must be internal agents among the rural regiments or soldiers in that team, and the number must not be small.
Horsepower is the most important thing during the trip, and grass and grain feed must be carefully prepared to prevent accidental eating in the wild. If this happens, there must be a problem with the feed and feeding.
Before Li Tai and his party arrived, Mao Shijian's villagers went to the market to buy horses. According to his recollection, the people selling horses were not locals, but travelers from other places. Even if he thought about it again, he could not remember any valid information. The only way to confirm
Yes, that means this group of people must have passed through Sanyuan.
With this conclusive clue, there was no need to look for a needle in a haystack like before. So Mao Shijian went with the villagers to check whether there were any similarly sick horses around the area, and even carefully inspected the horse hides that had recently entered the market and the butchers who killed the horses.
.
Of course, tracing the team from the Xianyang Township Corps and the troops sent by the counties is also a clue. After all, the discovery of Liu Min Buqu's sick horse can basically confirm that this is a crime of self-inflicted theft.
But in this case, they would inevitably have to go to Xianyang to inquire with the officials. However, Li Tai and others did not know how deeply the official figures there were involved, so it would be unwise to go there rashly, and they would also alert the enemy.
On this day, Li Tai and others were still waiting for new news in the Bailuyuan camp. A Mao clan member who had followed Mao Shijian out to inquire about the news hurriedly rushed into the camp: "Captain, it's not good! My family, Alang, has been envoyed by the county magistrate.
People arrested..."
Li Tai frowned immediately after hearing this. While ordering the soldiers in the camp to put on armor and prepare for battle, he asked in a deep voice: "Does your investigation of crimes involve the county government?"
After hearing this, the Mao clan member shook his head and said: "The arrest of people in the county should have nothing to do with it. Today Alang went to Yong'an City to visit his old relatives. He happened to meet the county governor Yi Jia on the street and asked the governor how long he would be waiting.
Leaving his hometown, Alang was arrested for angering him with his reply..."
When Li Tai heard this, his face suddenly darkened. Is this his fault for his feelings?
"Before Alang was arrested, he sent this letter to me and delivered it to the Grand Governor. He said that he had made a latest discovery and could roughly know the whereabouts of the thief. He still kept his orders in the face of danger and begged the Grand Governor to rescue Alang..."
The Mao clan member handed over a letter and said with a pleading look on his face.
Li Tai took the letter and opened it. It recorded the latest clues that Mao Shijian had investigated. It specifically mentioned that a local tycoon named Lei from Yunyang County in the western border had recently appointed a domestic slave to sell a batch of sick horses at the Zuojin Grass Market.
The symptoms are similar to those found before, but the sales are scattered and cannot be traced in detail.
This Lei is also the Bodhisattva master of the Buddhist cave of Hongfa Temple in Yunyang County. Recently, he went out with the monks and novices of Hongfa Temple to preach the Dharma, and was followed by several powerful families and their families. The number of members once reached thousands, but his whereabouts are often shady.
Hui. This Lei family has a son-in-law who serves as the commander of the township regiment in Xianyang County. There is another family in the area who serves as the county captain in Ganquan County in the north of Xianyang.
When Li Tai pointed out the name of the commander of the army recorded in the letter to Liu Min, Liu Min's expression suddenly changed and he said in a deep voice: "This person is the leader of the Xianyang envoy! These local thieves
, to be so bold and reckless, it’s really not a pity to die!”
Although what he said made sense, Li Tai always felt a little weird when he said it from Liu Min's mouth. The local tycoons are bold and reckless. It is true that death is not a pity, but where do you Hedong tycoons have the position to say this?
You are disobedient in the territory, and you dominate the salt pond and surrender to the Western Wei Dynasty. Gao Huan also wants to kill you alive. If you come out to fool around, you will pay back. Why can't you accept it?
If there are no accidents, the Hongfa Temple located in Yunyang County should be the real target of this trip. Of course, even if there is an accident, Li Tai can make it happen.
However, Li Tai was not sure whether Wang Qingde, the governor of Jianzhong County, who jumped out to stir up trouble, was just a coincidence, simply retaliating against himself and attacking the Mao family, or was also involved in the matter, intending to obstruct and cover it up.
If it's the latter, it means that the other party is already on alert and is afraid of jumping over the wall. If it's the former, even if Li Tai goes to argue now, he will be at a loss without actual evidence and can only fight.
Li Tai asked the Mao clan members carefully about the local situation and topography of Yunyang County, and decided to get down to business first.
The Hongfa Temple is located in Chentou Mountain in the north and borders Ziwu Ridge to the north. If these thieves were alerted and fled into the mountains, it would be difficult for his men and horses to pursue, intercept, and suppress them.
Moreover, there may be many local powerful people involved in this matter. If they are given enough time to instigate a popular uprising, and Li Tai does not have conclusive evidence of the other party's crime, it will be really fun.
He briefly communicated his thoughts with Liu Min, and Liu Min nodded in agreement. Although he was not sure whether Wang Qingde was involved, the most important thing at the moment was to first grasp the facts of the crime of stolen goods.
"Go and tell Jianzhong County Governor that our department has entered the country to investigate the robbery of Taiwan government's property. We have obtained conclusive evidence and will suppress the bandits immediately. Keep them strictly guarded and don't let the thieves' feelings get corrupted. If you dare to hurt our family,
Subordinates, you will pay with your blood when you return!"
Li Tailuo pondered for a moment and then gave the order. He took out a Buddha statue that had been planned to be framed as evidence of crime, and sent his officers to Jianzhong County City.
Now that it has been decided to attack immediately, there is no need to hide the matter anymore. It is impossible for everyone in the Jianzhong County Prefecture to join in the conspiracy. The topic is made clear, and even if someone is involved, they must be treated with caution.
Wang Qingde, a member of a well-known family, had many family members involved in the pass. Even if he was involved in the worst case scenario, he would not dare to openly rebel against the county and harm Mao Shijian.
If this thing is done well, the credit will naturally be mine. If it is not done well, I will tell you. You local officials are still making a mess. You are really mediocre officials and cowardly officials!
After explaining this, Li Tai ordered to break camp immediately and attack Hongfa Temple in the north.
There are no particularly powerful local tycoons in the Yunyang Realm. To bring them together to work together, one must have a transcendent appeal. The big temple in this realm is the most likely hub. Of course, it will take a lot of effort. Even if
You guessed it wrong. According to Li Tai's practical experience, building a Buddhist temple is much more profitable than building a powerful one.