"There should be no rebellion. Li Ji and the old general are still stationed in Fengqiu with the left wing of the Suppressing Army. If anyone dares to rebel, the old general can come back to Bianliang within a day and crush him to ashes!" He was so nervous!
Somewhat breathless, Zhang Fan gasped and comforted himself.
This sentence made Yang Wenguang, Yang Xu and Han Qing feel relieved at the same time.
Although half of the suppressing army was transferred away to escort them, the remaining half of the troops were still able to easily crush the Divine Guards who had never been on the battlefield.
However, before the three of them could breathe a sigh of relief, Xiao Huaien muttered in a hoarse voice, "Li Jihe has been sick for a long time and cannot get out of bed. Otherwise, how could the capital be in such chaos..."
"When? What happened to General Li?" Han Qing was shocked. He turned his head and asked with his eyes widened. It was not about whether there was a rebellion in Bianliang City, but about Li Jihe's condition.
He was a man who knew both warmth and cold. On the day he returned to Bianliang, he wrote a letter to Li Jihe, asking about his condition and hoping to make an appointment with the old general to visit him.
Although the old general did not agree to his request for a visit in order to avoid suspicion, he responded to him very enthusiastically, saying that his health was not serious, and in the tone of an elder, he encouraged him not to be troubled by rumors and to serve the country with loyalty.
Therefore, Han Qing originally thought that the old general's condition had improved and he would recover soon. However, he never expected that the old general was so ill that he could not even get up and walk.
"Li, General Li has been ill for more than half a year." Shocked by the expression on Han Qing's face, Xiao Huaien opened his eyes and considered his response, "When the Liao soldiers went south, he asked for a tassel to lead the town.
The Rong army faced the battle, but after being dismissed by the officials, he fell ill. Later, the imperial court allowed him to be stationed in Fengqiu, where he took turns training various forbidden troops. He was overworked and his condition became increasingly serious. Therefore, the officials took him away during the expedition in person.
He captured the left wing of the Zhenrong Army and left his old man and his right wing in Fengqiu, recovering from his illness while frightening the ambitious people."
"Then he shouldn't be unable to get out of bed. He has been practicing martial arts all his life!" Yang Xu was also anxious and retorted in a low voice beside him.
"Well, I don't know that. It's been rumored outside. In addition, if the old man is in good health, those people who forced me to rebel with them will definitely not dare to act rashly." Xiao Huaien did not dare to argue, lowering his head.
Head, added in a low voice.
"Who are those people you are talking about?" Yang Wenguang felt more and more uncomfortable as he listened and asked with a frown.
"I don't know." Xiao Huaien had been prepared for a long time and gave the answer immediately without thinking. "The person they originally sent to contact me was a military commander named Jiao, and Huang Liang, the patrol captain, did it for him.
It was recommended. He didn’t explicitly say that he wanted to rebel. He just asked the Paiwan Department to help him unload several private cargoes carried in grain ships to the Daxiangguo Temple Pier next to the Bian River in the city. At first, I thought it was ordinary cargo, so I
I agreed. Unexpectedly, when I was unloading the goods on the night of May 29, a box fell into the river, and the steward of the owner was unwilling to let my brothers salvage it. I was more careful, and spent the rest of the night
I quietly dived under the water and took a look, but I never expected that there was a whole box of crossbow arrows inside..."
With a population of over one million, Kaifeng Prefecture was unable to provide itself with food, vegetables, meat and all kinds of daily necessities, so the imperial court had to arrange for ships to be transported long distances from the canal and the Bianhe River.
According to the rules, these materials do not need to pay taxes, nor will they be inspected or made difficult by checkpoints along the way. Therefore, using the official fleet to transport materials and transporting private goods to evade taxes and official exploitation has become a shortcut for relevant departments to make a fortune.
.
As the last step in the arrival of goods, the docking department responsible for ship allocation and cargo loading and unloading is of course impossible not to be involved in smuggling and dividing the stolen goods.
Therefore, Xiao Huaien, the Marquis of Duyu, although he was only a ninth-grade sesame official, lived a very comfortable life. There were officials who were five ranks higher than him. Taking advantage of the benefits, he asked him to arrange for his brothers to unload the private goods to the Daxiangguo Temple.
Pier, he agreed without hesitation.
However, after discovering that what he was transporting was actually a crossbow arrow, Xiao Huaien was immediately frightened out of his mind.
The food, fodder, and equipment of the Divine Guard Army are exclusively provided by the imperial court. Logically speaking, there is no need to purchase crossbows from outside. There is no need to secretly transport crossbows to the Daxiangguo Temple Pier that has nothing to do with the Divine Guard Army Camp!
Therefore, the purpose of the commander named Jiao has become clear!
Beware of what Xiao Huaien had noticed, this person specially sent Huang Liang and several subordinates to hold a banquet to win over this person, and tested Xiao Huaien's tone at the banquet.
Xiao Huaien did not dare to surrender, saying that he had participated in transporting materials for the rebellion. He was also afraid of being silenced by Jiao Du's commander. After handling Huang Liang and others at the banquet, he simply performed a trick of drinking too much and falling into the water and drowning.
.Then with his skillful water skills, he dived several miles under the river surface and escaped.
However, he never expected that his wife Wang, in order to avenge him, would risk the revenge of the Divine Guards and report the river patrol captain Huang Liang to Kaifeng Mansion.
He didn't even expect that three months after his wife agreed to withdraw the case, the Kaifeng Mansion and the Divine Guards had not forgotten him. They came to the door on the same night!
"Did Shi Gandang know that you were helping people transport ordnance? Why did he stop the Kaifeng Mansion from continuing to investigate the cause of your death?" The mystery that had plagued the Kaifeng Mansion for several months was finally revealed at this moment, but Yang Wenguang had no idea at all.
Feeling relieved, I continued to investigate with my eyes wide open.
"Boss Shi knew that I was good at water and didn't believe that I would drown. He sent people to look for me everywhere. I had no choice but to secretly find him and tell him the truth." Xiao Huaien did not dare to hide it, and quickly added as he walked, "
Boss Shi felt that there must be bigger officials above the Jiaodu commander who were involved in the rebellion. If the Pai'an Division got involved in this matter, I don't know how many people would be shattered to pieces. So, he asked me to hide first. And then he
I tried my best to inform my wife and arranged for her to withdraw the lawsuit on the pretext of misunderstanding."
"This guy is really an old fool!" Yang Wenguang became angrier as he listened and couldn't help but curse in a low voice.
"If it had been someone else, I'm afraid it would have been the same." Yang Xu was far more experienced than him. He sighed and defended Shi Gandang in a low voice, "Even if he brought Xiao Huai'en to surrender, he would still escape the charge of lax control.
The matter of Pai'an Division, Patrolling River Camp, and other departments of the Third Division Envoy Yamen making money with the help of official ship smuggling may also have to be turned upside down. Those who were implicated and cut off their financial path may not be able to do so.
He doesn't care who rebels, but he will definitely vent his grievances on the chief officials of Pai'an Division! By then, even if the court pardons him and Xiao Huaien, they will not escape death!"
This is the current situation in the officialdom. In addition to the laws of the court, there is also another set of unspoken rules operating. If you violate the laws of the court, there are many ways to get away with it. If you violate the unspoken rules, you will die without a burial place!
Xiao Huaien felt a great sense of closeness in his heart, and with tears in his eyes, he cupped his hands towards Yang Xu. But the latter sighed and shook his head, "You don't have to thank me. If I had known it was such a bad thing, I wouldn't have gone to your house tonight."
Wading in troubled waters. Think about it quickly and see if there are any details that are missing. After arriving at Kaifeng Mansion, write them all down truthfully. It would be best if you can directly force the person named Jiao to be silenced by his superiors. Otherwise, the few of us can protect you today.
It’s too late, I can’t guarantee you tomorrow…”
Before he finished speaking, the rapid sound of horse hooves could be heard behind him. Immediately afterwards, someone shouted loudly: "Stop, stop, the brothers in Kaifeng Mansion in front of you, please take a step to speak. In your hands
We must take him back for interrogation in order to catch all the Liao soldiers who have sneaked into Bianliang!"
