Volume 1: Storm in the Western Region Chapter 29: Clues
The head of the Investigation Department has three captains and six deputy captains.
Without exception, these nine people are all top experts in the investigation department, so they are called "Nine Levels of Heavenly Pass". As the saying goes, "There are nine levels of Heavenly Passage, and you can reach the sky one step at a time."
"What's your weight level?"
Yuan Mingkong was a little stunned by Zhao Rang's question. After reacting, he smiled and said:
"These are all rumors among the people! Where did the Tianguan come from? Doesn't that mean he has become a god?"
The Shadow Guard comes and goes without a trace. As time goes by, people spread rumors that it is becoming more and more outrageous, and it is not much different from gods and ghosts.
Zhao Rang had long guessed that Yuan Mingkong's identity was not simple, but he still didn't expect that Yuan Mingkong turned out to be the Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guards of the Investigation Department!
"Why don't you talk anymore?"
Yuan Mingkong saw Zhao Rang pursed his lips and said nothing, so he stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him.
"What about her? Is your sister also the vice-capital?"
Yuan Mingkong replied:
"She would like to be one, do you think she can do it?"
Zhao Rang said angrily:
"Why not? There are so many more people than you!"
Zhao Rang felt a little regretful... He felt that he should not have been too loyal and interfered in this matter.
There are no taboos in the Shadow Guard's work.
Even if he is a member of the Zhao family, if the shadow guards think he is in the way, they will definitely get rid of him mercilessly.
People who care about humanity cannot be a shadow guard at all. It can also be said that all shadow guards who care about humanity have already died long ago!
Zhao Rang calmed down, patted his cheeks with both hands, forced himself to put on an extremely flattering smile, and said to Yuan Mingkong:
"Brother!"
"No, sir! Lord Deputy Governor! Please give me a way to survive. When I come to the Western Regions, I just want to see more and open my eyes, but I don't want to risk my life!"
"Don't worry, sir! I will never reveal even a word of these things to anyone, not even my wife!"
Yuan Mingkong watched Zhao Rang's acting very calmly, but when he heard this last sentence, he couldn't help it anymore and laughed and cursed:
"How can you possibly have a wife if you're such a loser? Are you bringing this up to make a fuss?"
Zhao Rang put on a straight face and said very seriously:
"There is none now! But there will definitely be in the future!"
The implication is that you, Yuan Mingkong, can say that I have no future, but you can never say that I have no wife!
This is not something to be joked about casually.
If Yue Lao in the sky really listens to it, pulls his red thread, and fights for death, Zhao Rang will not know who he will cry to or scold at that time!
However, Yuan Mingkong still had more to say and continued to tease him:
"Yes, yes! Isn't there a spare one right in front of me?"
Yuan Ke knew that his brother was making fun of her, so he punched Yuan Mingkong on the back and said sweetly:
"Brother! What nonsense are you talking about..."
After saying that, he still blushed and glanced at Zhao Rang secretly.
Zhao Rang looked at him and immediately straightened his back and cleared his throat. He was truly a true gentleman who was calm and undisturbed!
The three of them joked for a while and felt a lot more relaxed.
Zhao Rang stopped pretending.
Although Yuan Mingkong's identity really shocked him, he didn't think much about it.
Because he believes that Yuan Mingkong is not the kind of person who burns down donkeys and crosses rivers.
This kind of trust is unwarranted.
If you ask Zhao Rang why, he probably won't be able to explain it, but he firmly believes it in his heart!
If we must find a reason for this, it is that these two people have become true friends after these incidents.
Friendship between men is so strange and sudden.
After a glass of wine and a good temper, two people can become friends.
This feeling is irreplaceable.
Love doesn’t work, and family affection doesn’t work either!
Because it is the purest, it is worth caring for and remembering with all your efforts.
So although Zhao Rang was afraid of the Chaji Division and the Shadow Guard, he was not afraid of Yuan Mingkong.
Just because in his heart, he already regards Yuan Mingkong as his friend!
Ever since he decided to come to Lanmo Country from the Merchant Alliance with the brothers and sisters, he had already made up his mind about this matter.
Seeing that Zhao Rang had returned to his normal form, Yuan Mingkong sat opposite him, stretched out his hand from his waist, and found a delicate small iron box in his hand.
This iron box is very familiar to Zhao Rang!
"Isn't this a map of the valley and surrounding areas?"
At that time, the news that Yuan Mingkong got was that the Admiralty Escort Bureau would bring 500,000 arrows for trading here, but now these arrows have disappeared. Zhao Rang didn't know that Yuan Mingkong took out this map again for a purpose.
do what.
"Shh!"
Yuan Mingkong put his right index finger in front of his mouth, making a silent gesture, which made Zhao Rang feel sick...
What he hates the most is that his friend is showing off!
Isn’t it good to speak openly about something?
You have to show off your ingenuity and act like you have everything under control.
The world is big, there are many people, and there are many things to do. Even if you are the Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guards of the Investigation Division, Zhao Rang does not believe that he can master them all. Unless Yuan Mingkong has the ability of clairvoyance and ears in the legends of immortals.
.
However, when Yuan Mingkong opened the iron box, Zhao Rang discovered that the iron box seemed a little different.
He saw that Yuan Mingkong was not familiar with this map at all, and it took him a full quarter of an hour to piece it together.
The way of viewing is exactly the same. You still use candlelight to shine through a hole smaller than the tip of a needle, letting the light and shadow fall on the table, forming a complete map from dots to lines.
Zhao Rang had seen the picture before. The topography outlined above was completely different from the one projected on the table now. They were two different places.
"This is where?"
Zhao Rang asked.
Yuan Mingkong asked Yuan Kexin to hold the candlestick, pointed to a mark north of the center, and asked:
"Do you know what this mark means?"
Zhao Rang shook his head.
He had never seen a map before.
Even when he leaves home and ventures out, the map is useless to him.
Anyway, we are going wherever we go, so we don’t care about the direction at all, so we just walk blindly. We really can’t find a place to eat or sleep. There is a mouth under the nose, so just open your mouth and ask people. Where do you need a map?
"This is the Gongchen tribe's big tent!"
Zhao Rang asked:
"Is that the tribe that the fourth prince is from?"
"Anzo!"
Yuan Mingkong added.
Zhao Rang leaned back.
The names of people from the Western Regions are too difficult to remember, and they are confusing.
I don't know much now, and I can barely remember it. If I stay here for a while longer, my brain will turn into a ball of mush.
"The big tent is his home?"
Yuan Mingkong smiled and said:
"You can also say that."
The father of the fourth prince Anzuo is the patriarch of the Gongchen tribe.
The tribal tent is the residence of the clan leader, which is equivalent to the "royal city" of the tribe.
Anzuo's father held an important position in the Lanmo Kingdom, so he basically lived in the royal city. Only Anzuo and his princess lived in the tribal tent.
"This guy actually has a wife!"
"He is a prince after all. Isn't it natural to have a daughter-in-law? What's more, there is more than one!"
Zhao Rang said unconvinced:
"You got the map of his house because you wanted to capture the thief first and capture the king first?"
Yuan Mingkong didn't answer, and moved his fingertips a few inches further to the north.
One inch on the map is thirty miles on flat ground.
Thirty miles north of the Gongchen tribe's tent, there were ripples on the map.
"What a guy! There is a lake in the Gobi Desert!"
Zhao Rang understood the mark and said in surprise.
The nomadic tribes in the Western Regions relied on farming differently from Dawei.
Nomads must rely on the weather and choose a suitable place to live according to different climates throughout the year.
From this aspect, the Westerners living on this land are also admirable!
For thousands of years, they still adhere to the way of life they have followed since their ancestors, working with herds of cattle, sheep and horses, migrating back and forth day after day, year after year, according to the growth cycle of pasture.
In the eyes of Dawei people, such an approach means that they have no fixed place to live, but they don't think so.
"Is this the summer pasture of the Gongchen tribe? Every time spring comes, the tribe will move here."
"Because of this lake?"
Zhao Rang asked.
Yuan Mingkong nodded.
On the Gobi Desert, as long as there is water, there will be grass.
There are only two ways to get water, rain and melting snow.
The hot summer melts the ice and snow, flowing down from the mountains and gathering here to form a body of water. This is the most beautiful place in the Gobi Desert, and people in the Western Regions call it an "oasis."
The oasis is rich in water and grass, enough for the entire tribe to spend the summer here safely.
The larger the oasis, the more cattle, sheep and horses it can breed, and it can also make the tribe's population prosperous.
The reason why the Gongchen tribe where the fourth prince Anzuo belongs has become the second largest tribe in Lanmo is because of these large and small oases in the tribe's territory.
"There is news from the shadow guards in the royal city that the fourth prince Anzuo has not been seen in the city for a long time, and it should be time to return to the tribe to arrange a summer transition."
"In addition to his bodyguards, there are also a few people dressed in weird costumes that Shadow Guard has never seen before."
"In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they did not follow too closely."
After hearing this, Zhao Rang said:
"Do you suspect that these people are from Yanyu Pavilion? Are they colluding with the fourth prince Anzuo?"
Yuan Mingkong nodded.
Zhao Rang raised his own questions:
"But it's not right!"
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong time!"
Mr. Wang San was poisoned this afternoon.
The news from the shadow guard said that the fourth prince Anzuo had left the royal city a few days ago.
If those people who left with him in weird costumes were people from Yanyu Pavilion, how did they come to poison him? Could it be that they left and came back again?
"You're thinking the same thing I'm thinking!"
Yuan Mingkong lightly clasped his knuckles on the tabletop, tapping rhythmically.
He would do this when he was thinking hard.
What Zhao Rang thought was actually very simple.
Either the information from the Shadow Guard was wrong, or someone else poisoned him.
This person must be very familiar with Mr. Wang San, and maybe he has deep trust and can often approach him without being suspected.
That is to say...
Inside Xiangtengju, there may be a traitor around Mr. Wang San!