In order to protect himself, Chu Yan sold two of his colleagues. He told Wang Xian that Du Sima Zhong was the King of Han's best friend and had fought with the King of Han in the north and south. Although the King of Han became a vassal, Ma Zhong tried his best to distance himself from the relationship.
However, in his opinion, this was a deliberate superficial effort. Privately, Ma Zhong still obeyed the King of Han, otherwise the power of the King of Han in Shandong would not have developed so fast!
Chu Yan also told Wang Xian that although there was only one guard and horse in the registered guard of the Han Dynasty, judging from the military rations provided to him by Shandong, the king of Han had at least 20,000 soldiers and horses! Moreover, among the 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses under the jurisdiction of Shandong Dusi, there were
How many of them were loyal to the King of Han is still unknown.
Wang Xian was convinced of this. Just looking at the soldiers and horses ready to move last time already showed the extent to which the King of Han had penetrated the Shandong army.
"Let's talk about Liu Ben again?" After talking about the King of Han and Ma Zhong, Wang Xian's question turned to Liu Ben.
"Liu Ben is a very gloomy person. He has always been a clean official, and his official reputation is the best among the three of us." Chu Yan said in a low voice: "But after getting along for a long time, you can also find his abnormality.
.For example, as an agent, it is his duty to investigate and arrest the White Lotus Cult. However, over the past few years, he has been very protective of the White Lotus Cult and has never caught any of its real backbones. Most of the people he has arrested under the guise of the White Lotus Cult are
Some bandits, local tyrants and the like! These powerful gangs and the White Lotus Sect are actually in a competitive relationship. If these dominant forces are eliminated, the development of the White Lotus Sect will be much smoother!"
"You mean, Liu Ben is the protector of the White Lotus Sect?" Wang Xian asked softly.
"My subordinates thought that he was not just a protector," Chu Yan lowered his voice and said, "He is probably the backbone of the White Lotus Sect! His father used to be a Red Scarf Army, and then he followed Emperor Taizu after King Xiao Ming died.
, who knows if he has some ulterior motive!"
"Do you have any evidence?" Wang Xian said slowly, "If so, I can consider keeping you alive!"
"Yes! There must be!" Chu Yan said without hesitation: "No matter the witnesses or physical evidence, whatever you want, you will have!"
"Haha..." Wang Xian naturally understood that Chu Yan was referring to fabricated evidence, so he pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Then I will trouble your lord to report and expose Liu Ben, and then I will temporarily detain Liu at your request."
Ben, in order to prevent the destruction of evidence, we had to seal off the Zhetai Yamen. Mr. Chu, do you think this is a good thing?"
"This..." Chu Yan cursed in his heart, you Wang Xian, let me support you! Now it's all my responsibility, and you are cooperating. But the situation is stronger than others, you still have to count on yourself
Wang Xian was trying to save his life, but there was no room for bargaining. He had to swallow his broken teeth and blood and nodded in agreement.
"Okay!" Wang Xian smiled happily, helped Chu Yan up and said, "Master Chu really understands justice, and I will work with you in the future."
"Yes, yes," Chu Yan nodded vigorously and said, "I will be willing to be a pawn of the great army, and I will not hesitate to be smashed to pieces."
"Hey, don't be emotional." Wang Xian smiled and patted Chu Yan on the back: "It's all for the plan of suppressing bandits."
"No emotions, no..." Chu Yan felt depressed. This Wang Xian was too overbearing, and he didn't even care what I thought.
The two of them also discussed how to frame Liu Ben so that his guilt would be confirmed and his death would be certain. For a leader of the Jinyi Guards and an official veteran who had been in high and low positions for many years, this was a very familiar thing.
After Liu Ben left, Wang Xian slowly closed his eyes. He felt a little tired and uncomfortable. Gu Xiaolian stood behind him and gently massaged his head. Her technique was very superb, which greatly relieved Wang Xian's discomfort.
The two of them stayed quietly in the pavilion for a while. Wang Xian then opened his eyes and asked softly: "Are you worried? But you don't know what to say." He knew that if Gu Xiaolian thought about how to persuade him,
You will definitely not just massage yourself in silence.
"Yes." Gu Xiaolian nodded. She was happy that Wang Xian could understand her, so she no longer hesitated and spoke out her worries: "Officials are always very particular about what they do. Why this time..." After a pause
, Gu Xiaolian thought about the wording and said: "But it's a bit reckless? Then since Liu Ben has obviously colluded with the White Lotus Sect, just investigate carefully and find the evidence of the crime? Why would the officials bother to fabricate it?"
"I don't know that there are risks in doing this, but I don't have time to investigate!" Wang Xian sighed and said: "Liu Ben was a police officer and was cautious and meticulous. He wanted to confirm his charges step by step. It took more than a year and a half without him.
Possible.? Before then, Shandong will be in chaos! I must kill him immediately. Even if it is a fabricated charge, I must have the Anchor Division in my hands. Otherwise, in the face of this chaos in Shandong, I, the imperial envoy
There’s always one layer between us, so there’s no way to start!”
"I see. If this is the case, is it enough to just press the Chasi button?" Gu Xiaolian asked softly.
"Of course it's not enough, but it's unrealistic to remove the three divisions at the same time. I can only treat them separately. The Chief Secretary is of little use in this matter, and Chu Yan is a greedy person, so I try my best to subdue him and make do with it.
"Wang Xian sighed softly, then paused and said: "As for Ma Zhong, his position is too crucial, I must take it down!"
"Does the official want to impeach both the Inspector and the Dusi at the same time?" Gu Xiaolian said in surprise.
"No, I want Ma Zhong to take the initiative to resign." Wang Xian said lightly.
"Isn't this unrealistic?" Gu Xiaolian couldn't believe it.
"It all depends on man-made things."
In the afternoon of that day, Ma Zhong was invited by Wang Xian to the camp, which was still on the bank of Zhuoying Lake, but it was not a pavilion in the center of the lake, but a small boat on the bank of the lake.
Wang Xian personally operated the boat and asked Ma Zhong to get on the boat. Ma Zhong had already noticed some signs and looked a little uneasy, but he still followed the instructions and sat in the boat. Wang Xian then rowed the oar and went boating with Ma Zhong on the lake.
In early summer, the little lotus has just revealed its sharp horns, and dragonflies have already stood on it. Wang Xian was humming a tune while rowing, and he was wearing a straw hat on his head, looking very comfortable.
The more he behaved like this, the more unsure Ma Zhong felt. He was really frightened by this elusive guy. Finally he couldn't help but ask: "My lord, I'm sure you're not just looking for me for rowing. If you have any questions, just ask me directly."
Tell me."
"How can you be sure?" Wang Xian asked with a smile.
"Needless to say, if you really want to row a boat, you have to find a beautiful woman to accompany you. For a rough guy like me with a bad beard, all your pleasures will be ruined." Ma Zhong also laughed, thinking that I would do it again.
You're an idiot.
"Clever!" Wang Xian stopped the oar and let the boat wander freely in the middle of the lake. He picked up the wine bottle he carried with him, took a pleasant sip, and said with a smile: "I really have something to say. I want to talk to Lord Dusi alone."
Looking at the vast blue lake, Ma Zhong smiled and said, "You really know how to choose a place. You don't have to worry about being heard when you speak here."
"Then I will open the skylight and speak frankly," Wang Xian handed the wine bottle to Ma Zhong and said with a smile, "Old Ma, you must also be honest."
"Okay!" Ma Zhong took the wine bottle, took a swig, nodded heavily and said, "Sir, please speak!"
"Lao Ma, what do you think of the next situation in Shandong?" Wang Xian said slowly.
"I'm afraid a great chaos is imminent." Ma Zhong also said slowly: "The White Lotus Sect is already overwhelming. If we don't suppress it, sooner or later there will be a counterattack. If we suppress it, the counterattack will happen sooner."
"Sure enough, heroes think alike." Wang Xian nodded and said, "Then do you think we have hope of annihilating them?"
"Difficult!" Ma Zhong said cheerfully: "The winner is nothing more than the right time, the right place, the right people, and the White Lotus Cult. These three factors are all attributable to the White Lotus Sect. Although we are officers and soldiers, we actually have very little help. Once a fight starts, we will probably fall into disgrace..."
"Then you mean, our situation is very dangerous?" Wang Xian asked softly.
"Yes." Ma Zhong took another sip of strong wine from the pot and looked at Wang Xiandao with sympathy: "To be honest, when you come to Shandong at this time, you are jumping into a pit of fire."
"Then you guys, haven't you been in the fire pit for a long time?" Wang Xian smiled.
"Hehe, who says it's not the case?" Ma Zhong grinned and said, "To be honest with you, I have never dreamed of leaving this ghost place!"
"Oh, Lao Ma really has this idea," Wang Xian said with a half-smile, "I'm afraid your prince won't let you go."
"Uh..." Ma Zhong was stunned for a moment, looking at Wang Xian with an inscrutable expression. After a while, he laughed loudly, "Sir, you are trying to make money with me."
"Old Ma, didn't we agree to be honest with each other?" Wang Xian said calmly: "I am also a military general, and I have close friendship with Duke Cheng and the Duke of England. I want to find out about your relationship with His Highness the King of Han, but it seems that I have no idea.
It must be so difficult.”
"Yes, the general and His Highness the King of Han had some old friendship during the Jingnan period," Ma Zhong said angrily: "But that was all in the old Huangli calendar. In the Yongle Dynasty, the prince and I lost contact, and now it is even more serious.
Everyone go their separate ways!"
"Then why did you send someone to deliver a message to the King of Han last night?" Wang Xian asked quietly.
"Uh..." Ma Zhongxin made a sound. Knowing that Wang Xian had intercepted his messenger, he took a swig of strong wine, wiped his mouth violently, and said like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water: "Okay, I just want to talk to the King of Han.
Ventilation, for such a big matter, I would like to ask the prince to make a decision. If your Excellency feels that I have done something wrong, just impeach me."
Wang Xian frowned slightly. He had read it right. Ma Zhong, who seemed rough and arrogant, was actually the most difficult to deal with among the three people! This was not difficult to understand, because Ma Zhong had military power and the King of Han as his backer.
, the situation is much better than that of Chu Yan, and the space for movement is much larger, so he will not be intimidated by Wang Xian at all!
"Old Ma, it's boring for you to talk like this. Just now you said it has nothing to do with the King of Han." Wang Xian sighed.
"Hey, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy," Ma Zhong stopped trying to deal with Wang Xian. He pulled his face and said in a deep voice, "I know you have an idea for me, the Shandong Dusi. I'm sorry, there's no way!"
"Don't you want to jump out of the fire pit for a long time?" Wang Xian said earnestly: "The imperial court is going to add a first-class Nanjing garrison post. I am going to recommend you to go there. Why wait to die in Shandong?"
"Thank you for your kindness, sir!" Ma Zhong said with a straight face: "But I have already made up my mind, even if I die, I will die while serving as the capital of Shandong!"