There should be another chapter today, please help me collect it, and I also want red tickets, haha!——
The Ministry of Punishment Prison.
This was the second time Xue Poye came to this eerie and terrifying place. The smell of rancidity was still there, and the moans of the prisoners in the prison could be heard clearly in the cold air.
Xuanyang and Yang Yao were repeat offenders, so they were locked up in a separate cell. They were heavily guarded here, and the prisoners could hardly fly.
Opening the heavy iron door, Xue Poye saw Yang Yao.
Yang Yao had obviously gone through a bloody battle last night. Although he had put on prison clothes, his body was still covered in blood. Under the cover of the prison clothes, he must also be full of scars.
Xue Poye knew that it was Qin Wuhen who took down Yang Yao in the end and unceremoniously disabled his martial arts. Xuanyang and Yang Yao were actually two useless people at this moment.
Xuanyang was imprisoned in the cell next door, so Yang Yao was the only one in this cell.
Yang Yao, whose limbs were chained by heavy shackles and hand shackles, calmly watched Xue Poye's arrival without any expression on his face. He just said calmly: "Has he run away already?"
"He?" Xue Poye was stunned, but soon understood that the "him" in Yang Yao's mouth must be the Moon King.
Xue Poye put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "So you know."
Yang Yao smiled coldly and asked, "Did Zuo Zixuan reveal your identity? I'm a little surprised that you can still come here."
"Zuo Zixuan...is dead!" Xue Poye's voice was calm.
Yang Yao was slightly startled, his facial expression was unusually stiff, and after a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter: "He died well, he died well, he... should have died long ago."
Xue Poye touched his nose and said calmly: "Yang Yao, are you feeling very lost now?"
"Lost?"
"That's right." Xue Poye said with a strange smile: "The martial arts path that you have rested for many years is gone. I am afraid that not many people will recognize your position as the chief helmsman of Qinglianzhao. Your ideal of restoring the country is gone.
, it’s just a joke made by Zuo Zixuan for you, and your life will be trampled to death like an ant at any time... I can’t find a reason why you don’t feel lost.”
Although he knew that Yang Yao's willpower must be very tenacious, he also knew that he had to destroy Yang Yao's will, otherwise, he would definitely not be able to get the roster.
Now that King Mingyue has escaped and the Chu court has begun preparations for war, those nails lurking around the generals in various states must be removed as soon as possible.
"Should I be disappointed?" A trace of anger and a trace of sadness flashed in Yang Yao's eyes.
"If it were me, I would be very disappointed. Because I see that my life is not long, but there are a large group of brothers who have to be buried with me... At least if I still have a trace of conscience, I will feel very uneasy." Xue Poye said sarcastically.
The muscles on Yang Yao's face twitched, but he quickly sneered: "So you still want a roster when you come here."
Xue Poye said sternly: "I don't want that trap-like roster." He approached Yang Yao and said harshly: "Yang Yao, I tell you, I want the lives of those brothers, I don't want them to die unknown.
Bai, they thought they died for their ideals, but how did they know that they were just your tools to collude with King Mingyue... I just want your sin to be lighter."
The corners of Yang Yao's mouth twitched and he closed his eyes.
"Yang Yao, I've always been surprised that your majestic Chief Qinglianzhao could be manipulated by Hua Xian, and even believed in Zuo Zixuan's promise easily like an unexperienced child. This doesn't seem to be the case.
A real Yang Yao. In my memory, Yang Yao is a hero who can usurp the position of chief helmsman. If the scheming is not deep, the plan is not thorough, and the courage is not as good as others, it will be difficult to do so."
Xue Poye said leisurely and contentedly, and he could clearly see the muscles on Yang Yao's entire face twisting.
…
"More than half a year ago, I went to the northwest under Hua Xian's persuasion." Yang Yao leaned against the wall and said to Xue Poye's surprise: "That time, Hua Xian said it was an invitation from King Mingyue.
Let’s go.”
Xue Poye nodded. There was no doubt that Yang Yao seemed to be telling some secrets.
"We haven't seen Mingyue King. The person responsible for welcoming and receiving us is Zuo Zixuan. Maybe I am too confused, maybe I trust Hua Xian too much, or maybe I am shocked by the powerful soldiers and horses in the northwest. I and I
Hua Xian stayed in Yongzhou for five days, and he clearly felt that the Yongzhou soldiers were dissatisfied with the imperial court, and they were making preparations. Under Hua Xian's temptation, I unexpectedly reached an agreement with Zuo Zixuan, and my mission
It is to plant nails around the governors of various states, and to stir up troubles in various states to attract the attention of the imperial court. Once the troops in the northwest are raised, Qinglianzhao will cooperate with the outsiders to overthrow the Chu. After this is accomplished, the central Sichuan general will be placed under our Qinglianzhao.
Establishing the Kingdom of Shu... It's a pity that I didn't react at the time, and with Hua Xian being there to confuse me, I really thought that there was a chance of restoring the country." Yang Yao looked haggard, and when he said this, he sighed, feeling helpless.
Liao.
Xue Poye touched his nose and sneered: "Did you know that because of your confusion, the brothers from Qinglianzhao Prefecture exposed themselves greatly in order to stir up trouble, and the entire army of the Song Dynasty's sub-rudder was annihilated... and other prefectures also suffered casualties.
, even my Hangzhou branch lost seven junior sisters and many brothers."
Xue Poye clearly saw that when he mentioned "Seventh Junior Sister", Yang Yao's body could not help but tremble.
At that moment, Yang Yao's face actually showed pain.
Xue Poye frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Why are you involved in the silver theft incident again? I'm still surprised that this operation was done so secretly, and the court didn't even notice it. It's really strange. It stands to reason.
For example, even if you are quick and agile, hiding tens of millions of official silver under the walls and underground cannot be done in a day or two. The Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue is inspected every day.
, could it be that you didn’t see the flaw?”
Yang Yao snorted coldly and said, "You should remember Chen Shangting?"
"Chen Shangting?" Xue Poye frowned. This name was very familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for the moment.
"The former Minister of Household Affairs, the one who committed suicide by taking poison after the bank was stolen." Yang Yao reminded lightly.
Xue Poye was startled and suddenly remembered that Chen Shangting was indeed the former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He committed suicide shortly after the bank was stolen. Wei Shantai found a piece of paper from his body, which said "Tiandao"
"The two words, still can't solve the mystery.
In addition to being the Minister of Household Affairs, Chen Shangting also has another identity, that is, he is the father-in-law of Princess Yi.
It's just that Chen Qian, the son of Chen Shangshu, died of excessive drinking on the wedding day, so Princess Yi became a widow on the wedding day. The relationship between Princess Yi and Chen Shangting's daughter-in-law was only in name only.
"You mean, Chen Shangting is one of your people?"
Yang Yao said calmly: "Without Chen Shangting, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, how could such a big movement in the bank not be noticed? Everyone in the court thought that there were people inspecting the bank of the Ministry of Finance every day, but they
I don’t know, but since the tunnel was dug, Chen Shangting has privately banned the powerful treasury officials from entering the treasury for inspection, and has strictly prohibited anyone from entering the bank compound of the Ministry of Revenue. It is precisely because of this that they can have enough time to hide the official silver."
"I see." Xue Poye sighed: "But...how did Chen Shangting get persuaded by you?"
"You want to know?" Yang Yao looked at Xue Poye with a strange look.
Xue Poye nodded: "Yes, I want to know."
"Okay, I'll tell you." Yang Yao said calmly: "For his son!"
Xue Poye thought for a moment and said, "Chen Qian?"
"That's right. Do you know how Chen Qian died? They say he died from excessive drinking on his wedding night. That's a lie... The person who really killed Chen Qian was the eldest princess with the heart of a snake...
...!" Yang Yao sneered and said word by word: "In other words, it was the mother-in-law who killed the son-in-law."
Xue Poye was stunned for a moment, speechless for a moment.
He had made a guess a long time ago and knew that Chen Qian's death was full of doubts. The so-called "sudden death due to excessive drinking" was just official language. Imagine that a strong and strong general would die on his wedding day.
, how can one die suddenly from excessive drinking? Even if the groom is in a happy mood that day and the groom is overly excited and drinks a few more drinks, others will definitely dissuade the groom from drinking too much, and he will never drink too much.
But he never expected that Chen Qian would die in the hands of the eldest princess.
He didn't quite believe it.
Yang Yao seemed to see disbelief from his expression, and said calmly: "It's up to you to believe it or not. At this point, I, Yang Yao, don't have to lie to you."
"Reason!" Xue Poye said slowly: "Why did the eldest princess attack Chen Qian?"
Yang Yao sneered and said: "Mr.
It was established during the reign of Emperor Yangwu, so from a certain perspective, the Chen family has a very deep connection with King Mingyue. That time when Princess Yi was betrothed to Chen Qian, it was actually Deqing's attempt to appease the Chen family.
The method is just to win the heart of Mingyue King."
"Then why did the eldest princess intervene?"
"Because the eldest princess and King Mingyue have always had a grudge, she always thought that King Mingyue was deceiving Deqing. In fact, she always resented the court and had ulterior motives." Yang Yao sighed: "She is a smart woman, I am afraid she has guessed it long ago.
Sooner or later there will be a fight between the imperial court and King Mingyue, and then the Chen family is likely to take refuge with King Mingyue, and at that time, her daughter will also be involved in right and wrong."
Xue Poye frowned: "You mean, the eldest princess has been wary of King Mingyue?"
"This is the meaning of what Zuo Zixuan said. Zuo Zixuan was also very afraid of that woman. Zuo Zixuan also said that even though Deqing was very affectionate to King Mingyue, it was because King Mingyue let him
After leaving the throne, if Deqing takes action against Mingyue King again, I am afraid that everyone in the world will call Deqing a despicable and shameless villain, and his throne will be unstable. In fact, Deqing does not want to solve Yongzhou in his heart.
It's just that the time has not come yet. He wants to leave it to his successor to solve Yongzhou... And Mingyue King's subordinates are waiting for the opportunity to appear... They learned that Deqing was seriously ill,
Then she began to make preparations to march eastward." Yang Yao said slowly: "And the eldest princess is naturally aware of all this, so she doesn't want her daughter to be involved, but Deqing's imperial edict has been issued, no matter what
It was easy to change, so she had no choice but to send someone to put a colorless and odorless poison in Chen Qian's wine glass on the wedding day."
"She's not afraid of people finding out?" Xue Poye frowned.
"Afraid?" Yang Yao snorted coldly: "Chen Shangting saw it that night... But what can he do? Are he going to confront the eldest princess in court? Although he knows it well, he has no evidence at hand. How can he dare to confront the eldest princess?
The princess is challenging?"
Xue Poye touched his nose and sighed: "In other words, Chen Shangting was bribed by you to deal with the imperial court because he lost his beloved son?"
Yang Yao glanced at Xue Poye and said calmly: "When a man loses his son, the pain in his heart cannot be understood by outsiders. As long as there is a chance to avenge his beloved son, he will never let it go.
.”
Xue Poye shook his head and asked: "Then how did Xuanyang and Gongsun City take refuge in the hands of King Mingyue?"
"Favour!" Yang Yao said calmly: "They repaid Yang Wu's kindness to King Mingyue... Although I don't know what kind of favor there is, it can make Xuanyang abandon the national master and the eight-path warrior.
As a subordinate of Mingyue King, Yangwu must have given Xuanyang a great favor."
…
There was silence in the prison for a moment, and Xue Poye said calmly: "Since you don't want to hand over the name list, I won't say anything more." After a pause, he said: "But I want you to know that if the imperial court allows the people to live, they will not survive.
If it goes on, people will naturally come to overthrow it, but if the people can live peacefully, then no matter how capable Qinglianzhao is, he will not accomplish anything big in the end...only people will die, and many people will die without any meaning. Maybe.
Before long, those nails you arranged... will all die...!"
Having said this, Xue Poye sighed, without saying another word, put his hands behind his back, turned around and left.
"Wait a moment!"
Yang Yao suddenly said.
Xue Poye stopped and asked, "What else do you want to say?"
Yang Yao said slowly: "I can give you the roster!"
Xue Poye turned around and looked at Yang Yao: "After all, you are not hopelessly confused."
Yang Yao looked serious: "Do you know why I have to tell you so much? Do you know why I have to hand over the roster?"
"Isn't it because Qinglianzhao saves the lives of some people? Isn't it because those subordinates who are loyal to you don't die in vain?" Xue Poye asked coldly.
Yang Yao said calmly: "Maybe. But I hand over the roster, and you have to promise me something."
"I'm not here to negotiate terms with you." Xue Poye said calmly.
Yang Yao seemed a little angry, but still sighed: "It's just a request before I die... You are also a member of Qinglianzhao after all."
Xue Poye pondered for a moment and then said: "What request?"
"Help me take good care of the little fairy!" Yang Yao looked very sad: "Now Qinglianzhao is torn apart and the future is uncertain. Maybe you are the only one who can take good care of her."
"Little Fairy?" Xue Poye frowned. He was surprised why Yang Yao mentioned Little Fairy at this time.
Yang Yao suddenly seemed much older. He leaned against the wall and his voice became extremely soft: "She is still a child. I hope you can keep her away from those grudges... Her sister is gone and I am leaving soon."
She has no relatives anymore... So you must take good care of her, otherwise, even if I am a ghost, I, Yang Yao, will not let you go."
Xue Poye was stunned for a moment, blinked his eyes, and suddenly understood something, and sighed: "You...why bother!"
Yang Yao closed his eyes and said calmly: "Come here and I will tell you the whereabouts of the list!"
…
…
After coming out of the Penal Department Prison, Xue Poye already knew the whereabouts of the roster.
He quickly found the roster according to the location mentioned by Yang Yao. The contents of the roster were very clear. The person's real name, pseudonym, and current identity were all recorded in it, as well as the password for contact.
Xue Poye knew that if this list was handed over to the imperial court, even if he wanted to save the lives of those nails, the officials of the imperial court would not agree. These were thorns in the imperial court's side and it was absolutely impossible to allow these people to live.
The people on the list are twenty-one of the thirty-six states of Dachu. There are hundreds of people in total. They can be said to be powerful, and many of them have already served as local officials.
If you want these nails to retreat quietly, you will naturally need someone from Qinglianzhao. After much deliberation, Green Lady is definitely the most suitable candidate, but now I don’t know if Green Lady is still in that small village.
The top priority was that the nails in Qingzhou, Yizhou and Huizhou must be removed. After thinking over and over again, Xue Poye found Wei Shantai again, borrowed more than ten purple clothes from Xu Ping, and sent them to the three states to contact the people lurking there through secret codes.
Nails, causing them to evacuate quickly.
The fewer people know about this matter, the better. The Ziyi people are all dark masters, and they are the best at keeping secrets.
Before leaving, Xue Poye repeatedly warned not to confront those nails, let alone reveal his identity as Ziyi, and only appeared as a messenger to order the nails to evacuate.
The people in purple naturally obeyed the order.
For more than ten consecutive days, in addition to issuing orders to marshal the army and prepare for war, the most important thing the imperial court did was to send people to inquire about news from Yongzhou and determine whether Yongzhou had taken any action.
Although Wen Wen ordered all states to track down Mingyue King, Mingyue King seemed to have suddenly evaporated from the world. Although the states sent people to patrol openly and covertly, there was no news at all.
The imperial court also understood that with the abilities of Mingyue King's subordinates, it would not be very difficult to successfully escort Mingyue King back to Yongzhou without being noticed.
Half a month later, news suddenly came from various states. It was not good news, but bad news.
Countless notices were suddenly posted in the streets and alleys of various state capitals overnight. These notices were not written by the government and did not even have signatures, but the contents were surprisingly consistent.
The content is very simple. It states that King Mingyue traveled all the way to Kyoto in order to pay homage to the late emperor, but was treated unfairly by the court and was imprisoned. Not only that, the court was afraid of King Mingyue's prestige and wanted to kill King Mingyue.
They created false evidence and slandered King Mingyue. Several of King Mingyue's subordinates had died tragically at the hands of the imperial court. A group of righteous men and women angrily rescued King Mingyue from the clutches of the imperial court and escorted him back to the northwest.
At the end of the notice, he loudly announced: "The imperial court is corrupt, all officials are incompetent, and the loyal and good people are falsely accused, and heaven and earth will not tolerate it. We are willing to support King Mingyue and reorganize the imperial court!"
The rebellious words of this notice were shockingly naked, and people in various states immediately started talking about it.
Although the government tried their best to track down and confiscated the notice leaflets, not only were they unable to catch a single rebel, but the leaflets seemed to fall from the sky and were not restrained by the government's collection.
In the Great Chu Empire, people's hearts are floating!dd