The drizzle was still falling, and there were dots of firelight in the camp. Although there were many people gathered on the hillside, the guards and officers were well organized and doing their own thing, and they did not seem noisy. It was obvious that Tie Tianying was under control.
The camp rules are strict.
The lights in the shack flickered, and when the young scholar named Cheng Zhouhai walked in, Tie Tianying pretended to be handling official business. Tie Tianying would not ignore the people in the Secret Investigation Department, but he would not ignore them either.
You will pay too much attention to it. If you meet it in person, your posture will be enough. As for what the other party says, you can listen to it, but there is no need to do it. It is best if the other party can leave contentedly after what they have said, and there will be no hurt feelings.
.
When you look carefully, you can see that although the man is not very old, he seems to have a calm demeanor. His robe is half wet, and he seems to be in a hurry, as if he is here to do some business. Tie Tianying prefers people with this kind of temperament.
But he hated that the other party came to him to "do" something. On the surface, he greeted him naturally and kindly, but he didn't expect that this young man would let him down in less than a few words.
The conversation after the formal greeting was actually a bit simple, because although the young man himself remained polite, his words were not fast and his meaning was straight to the point.
"...The Criminal Department is working on escorting the gangsters to Beijing. Logically speaking, the Secret Investigation Department should not be involved." The young man held his hands and smiled to express his apology, "But this time, Cheng Mou heard about it on his way south.
Some things... uh... I have to come over and check with Master Tie."
Tie Tianying looked indifferent: "Oh? I don't know what it is."
Cheng Zhouhai lowered his head and considered for a moment before speaking: "This time Master Tie and Master Zong are chasing Fang Baihua. There was no problem at all. Even the layout, Cheng had to applaud and admire, but in the middle... something happened
The Secret Investigation Department investigated some people with special identities. If some of these names were released to the north, they might worry Prime Minister Qin, Mr. Ning and others, so Cheng came here at night to see where the Criminal Department was.
Attitude in matters."
Tie Tianying frowned: "...I don't know who these people with questionable identities are exactly?"
"The matter has not yet been determined. Cheng does not want to say that there is a problem with the identity of these people..."
"Then Tie Mou doesn't quite understand."
The light in the room was relatively dim. Except for the relatively quick greeting at the beginning, the conversation between the two seemed a bit slow at this time. The young man smiled simply and thought about it for a while.
"These things... the Secret Investigation Department doesn't want to be directly involved. In fact, the Iron Head has been in office for so many years. You should be careful. Cheng came here with sincerity."
"Mr. Cheng, please make it clear."
Cheng Zhouhai glanced at him. He spoke quickly and said sternly: "In the past two years, the Fang clan's banditry has shaken Tiannan. The root cause of this must be very clear to the iron catcher." Cheng said bluntly, "Mo
The Ni sect developed rapidly in Jiangnan. Although it had been bewitching a large number of ignorant people at the bottom, the real reason for its spread was that it also bewitched many wealthy households in Jiangnan, such as Jiangnan who had lost millions of their wealth to the Manichaean rebellion.
During the rebellion, the Tang family had used powerful swordsmen, the Liu family, Chen, Lu, Fang, He... Although it was the generals of the Ministry of War who defeated the Fang bandits, after that, it was the Ministry of Punishment that would handle the investigation of the matter. Tie
Does the head catcher know exactly how many people were killed?"
Tie Tianying looked at him with a smile, but did not speak. The anger in his heart gradually gathered. Although this young man seemed calm, in fact, he was quite arrogant and arrogant inside, which was not the content of his words.
There is something wrong with it, but cumulatively, it seems that every word he says contains a condescending attitude.
"I have to come here to take note of it." He kept making excuses and half-talking his words. Although he said that he was quite sophisticated in officialdom, but people were not familiar with him, so he said it "tacitly", more than 80% of the time.
Maybe they were all trying to find out. Cheng Zhouhai's words were accurate and not blunt. Ordinary people might be deceived. Tie Tianying has been around for many years, so how could he be tricked by this kind of trick?
He didn't speak, but the young man looked at him and smiled again: "The Secret Investigation Department and the Criminal Department both work for the imperial court, but they have their own responsibilities, and the Iron Capsule understands that. Now the Northern Expedition is a real major event,
A grand event that has not been seen in hundreds of years. The Prime Minister's Office is now responsible for integration and logistics. There must be no chaos in the rear... When the troops were raised to deal with the Fang bandits, the Secret Investigation Department spent a lot of effort on it. How about Fang Qifu and Fang Baihua?
No matter what, it's all a trivial matter to me in the Secret Investigation Department now, but Manichaeism can't rise again."
As Cheng Zhouhai spoke, he stood at the table, pointed his fingers on the table, stared into his eyes, and at the moment when his pupils shrank slightly, he said word by word: "Sikong Nan, you can't get up again!"
Tie Tianying's face darkened, and he slowly stood up from there. At this time, he understood that the other party had indeed discovered something. After a moment, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Tie... no
I know very well what Mr. Cheng means specifically, and I don’t know who Si Kongnan is. It is true that not only the Ministry of Punishment is involved in the roundup of Fang Baihua and his family, but the specific identity of the person involved, Mr. Cheng
Have you ever..."
"I don't care who it is!" The flames shook, and Cheng Zhouhai slapped the table. Tie Tianying's eyes narrowed, and the young man took a step back and waved his hand, "Of course I know that
Who is it! But no one can do this. There are not many wealthy families who supported Manichaeism and were later implicated. Now there are fewer beheadings. How many of them are determined to rebel?
The Manichaeans were deceived by the Manichaeans. Could it be that those people above... would not be deceived? If the Manichaeans resurrect themselves from the dead, who can bear this responsibility?"
Naturally, I am not the one to take on this responsibility... Tie Tianying sneered in his heart. The young man over there cupped his hand.
"Cheng was furious at the moment. Please forgive me for offending Mr. Tie. As Cheng said, the Secret Investigation Department is currently responsible for this area. This matter is big or small. Cheng has to come and see him first.
Lord Iron..."
Tie Tianying laughed: "Tie still doesn't know what Mr. Cheng means specifically. There are some things. I'm afraid Mr. Cheng has made a mistake."
"Whether it's right or wrong, Cheng also hopes that he has made a mistake. In short, the words have been said." The expression on Cheng Zhouhai's face had calmed down, and he cupped his hands again, "Of course, no matter whether he is right or wrong,
It’s okay, it has nothing to do with the Ministry of Punishment at this time. I just hope that if Master Tie discovers any clues in the future, he can consider the pros and cons as much as possible for the sake of the world’s livelihood.”
He paused: "As for the Secret Investigation Department, there are not many manpower available here. But if we find useful information, we should also communicate with the Iron Capsule. To be honest, we... now hope that this matter can be solved
Resolve it as soon as possible without causing unnecessary problems."
Tie Tianying smiled and nodded. He was already quite displeased with the young man who came to give advice. But in officialdom, polite refusal and not giving the other person anything substantial are often the sign of a big shot.
Displeased way.
Therefore, after a while, the other party said: "Cheng Mou once observed the record of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Although Fang Qifu was a gangster, he was worthy of being a hero. He has been locked up here. I'm afraid there will be something wrong.
I hope Tie Captou can send him north as soon as possible... In addition, I don’t know if Cheng can meet this person, what he looks like, or I am just curious. If Tie Captou can agree, I will just stay away.
Just take one look at it."
Tie Tianying rejected him very kindly: "The Punishment Department has its rules. After all, Fang Qifu is one of the bandit leaders. These things cannot be accommodated. Please forgive me, Mr. Cheng."
These bookish people usually focus on giving advice and are quite curious about some celebrities. After all, they have met once, so they will have something to brag about in the future. After Tie Tianying refused, the other party's face was obviously disappointed.
But then he suppressed his dissatisfaction and talked about other things.
"...Tie Capt's roundup of Fang Baihua's family this time was quite effective. However, after all, Fang's bandits have some background and will never die. Some bandits are extremely vicious. Cheng has also heard of it. What are the He's twins?
The man who used the bronze hammer is probably not dead yet..."
"But judging from the news this afternoon, a group of people may have gone to Yu Town... In addition, there seems to be a loophole in the search in Qicun..."
"The group of people in Ba Dao camp are also a problem. The martial arts of Du Sha and others of the towering sword have reached the highest level. That woman Liu Xigua...I heard that her sword has been left behind by you, but she herself is not dead, so she is still not good.
Deal with..."
"Moreover……"
As if he wanted to show his sincerity to the greatest extent, what the young man said afterwards was still somewhat valuable. Of course, among these words, due to the limited intelligence collected by the Secret Investigation Department, Tie Tianying still didn't bother to listen to a lot of information, and occasionally said it casually.
Being perfunctory is also the opposite.
"I'm afraid Yu Zhen is clean...but we overlooked this..."
"Shentian Sword Du Sha...well, he is still powerful..."
"Liu Xigua's knife is here, so she is naturally dead."
The person on the other side looked over with a smile: "Don't be ridiculous, Iron Catcher. Although she didn't have a knife, she still escaped..."
Tie Tianying smiled, without refuting or confirming. This kind of thing itself is not important, and there is no need to say more. The other party stared at him for a while, then waved his hand: "Whatever." Then he said a few other things,
He just handed over and said goodbye.
******************
In the swaying firelight, he walked quickly through the camp. The splashed mud wet the hem of his robe, and Zhu Biao followed from behind.
Due to Ning Yi's arrangement, Zhu Biao was the only person who accompanied him here today. After finding out the news here in the afternoon, Ning Yi hurried over. It didn't take too long to go in, and at this time he hurriedly
He came out and didn't stop until he was out of the camp entrance and sighed. Zhu Biao frowned and asked from behind: "That watermelon..."
"She's not dead yet." Ning Yi stood there holding an umbrella and exhaled, "Besides, it's really Sikong Nan behind..."
Zhu Biao nodded, but for a moment he didn't understand why the other party was okay and he still had this attitude.
Ning Yi held an umbrella and stood in the darkness outside the camp. He lowered his head and thought for a while. When he looked into the distance, his eyes were slightly solemn.
Under the current situation, there is no doubt that this is a life and death situation. It is certain that Xigua was not killed because of missing the knife, and it cannot prove that she is alive. He has been quite a gambler since he was a child, but he has seen more and experienced more step by step.
He has been involved in many things, and he has gradually been able to grasp the development of many events, and has a good understanding of all operations. However, in the situation like this, he can only sigh for the first time.
Of course, he was not sure, and he didn't even know where to look for luck. Even though all he hoped for was that Xigua and Chen Fan could survive - of course, maybe with a few Ba Dao people, but... this was basically a
What happened, and now he couldn't even see the whole situation. Just as he was thinking about this, when Chen Fan was going to get the carriage, someone suddenly came on a galloping horse. It was a subordinate of the Secret Investigation Department, obviously...
If you have important information, come find him.
"...I just found out the news. Among the remnants of the Fang bandit, the group carrying the account books went all the way north. Now they have entered within two hundred miles of the area. The Criminal Department and the people on the other side may be searching with all their strength. There are some casualties... Look
This person is here to save Fang Baihua and the others..."
Ning Yi thought for a while and nodded: "Go back."
On the other hand, in the hut of the camp, Tie Tianying had been pacing back and forth for a while with his hands behind his back. After a while, a subordinate came in.
"Contact the capital... to check on a person." He frowned, "The guest of the right prime minister's residence is Cheng Fang Cheng Zhouhai. I want to know who this person is." (To be continued...) t