"PS: Thanks to book friend "LDG Flower Demon" for the reward of 50,000 coins, and thanks to book friend "Yun Ruohong" for the reward of 230,000 starting coins. Both of them gave rewards after the event. This..."
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"Envoy Cui, Deputy Envoy Zhang, Duke Chang and his family, as well as the Ding family and the Tao family, are they really being harmed by the Beibo Army?"
Two hours later, in the study room of the Changyi County government office, the old head of the "Jian clan" in Changyi County, "Jian Tiao (Tong Tiao)", looked tense and asked Cui Yong and him in an almost questioning tone. Zhang Qigong and two others.
At this time, in the house, the heads of the various families in Changyi County also cast their eyes on Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong, as if they wanted to get some clues from their faces.
Under these gazes, Zhang Qigong's face darkened and he said coldly: "What do you mean by Mr. Jian's words?"
Jian Tiao snorted softly and said meaningfully: "I am worried that someone may frame the fault..."
Hearing this, Zhang Qigong snorted heavily and said expressionlessly: "Mr. Jian, why don't you just say that we asked people to kill Mr. Chang!"
"..." Seeing Zhang Qigong clarifying his meaning so straightforwardly, Jian Tiao couldn't help but be speechless.
At this time, Zhang Qigong glanced at the heads of all the aristocratic families in the room and said coldly: "Do you think so too?"
"..."
The heads of the aristocratic families in the room looked at each other for a few times and remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhang Qigong snorted and said angrily: "This is too ridiculous!... Duke Chang is a loyal person who supports us. We are eager for him to come forward and work with the court to appease public opinion. Besides, in the future, Duke Chang will also need to come forward to contact us." Among the famous families in Song County, what reason do we have to harm Duke Chang?" After that, he pointed at Cui Yong, who looked gloomy next to him, and said loudly: "Yesterday, the envoy, in front of countless people in Changyi County, On behalf of the imperial court, the Duke of Chang was conferred the title of Duke of Changyi County. I believe you all heard it clearly at that time..."
Before he finished speaking, Jian Tiao interrupted: "Deputy Envoy Zhang, there is no need to mention what happened yesterday. Although Duke Chang is highly virtuous and highly respected, what he said yesterday about criticizing the Beibo Army was unfair... ...I have lived in Song County for a long time. Although I have never dealt with the Beibo Army, I have heard more or less about the deeds of the Beibo Army. It is very clear that this army is not what Chang Gong said. Unbearable..." At this point, he paused deliberately, looked at the faces of Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong, and continued: "However, yesterday, Duke Chang made groundless rebuke to the Beibo Army. I believe there must be something in this. What kind of mystery is it? Perhaps this mystery is the purpose of Vice Envoy Zhang to blame the Beibo Army."
"This Jian Tiao..."
Cui Yong glanced at Jian Tiao calmly, and then looked at Zhang Qigong. He wanted to see how Zhang Qigong would respond.
Under the gaze of everyone in the room, Zhang Qigong stared at Jian Tiao for a moment, and suddenly said: "I'm sorry Zhang doesn't understand what Mr. Jian means. Can Mr. Jian make it more clear?"
Looking at Zhang Qigong's cold eyes, Jian Tiao felt a faint chill behind her and did not dare to say anything.
Seeing this, Zhang Qigong stared at Jian Tiao for a long time, and suddenly cursed: "Envoy Cui, has sent a letter of recommendation recommending Duke Chang as the Duke of Changyi County to Daliang. I believe that in the near future, the imperial court will definitely send someone to issue it. How stupid are you to issue an edict, to think that while we are reporting to the imperial court, we secretly send people to kill Duke Chang? Do you think that the imperial edict can be so casual?"
"..."
The heads of all the aristocratic families in the room looked at each other in shock.
It cannot be denied that what Zhang Qigong said does have some truth to it.
Even Cui Yong looked ugly and looked like he was gnashing his teeth.
He wasn't pretending.
He is really angry!
However, he was angry with Zhang Qigong, because the recommendation letter recommending Changzhi was written by him himself - Zhang Qigong, and even Cui Yong, the chief envoy this time, was kept in the dark.
The room suddenly became silent.
I don't know how long it took, but I heard Zhang Qigong sigh and say: "Now that things have happened, we can only find ways to make up for it as much as possible."
After that, he seemed to have thought of something, and turned to Cui Yong and asked: "Master Cui, if you send out the fast cavalry of the Jun Shui Army at this time, can you intercept the memorial?"
"..."
Cui Yong took a deep look at Zhang Qigong. Although he was dissatisfied with the latter, at this moment, considering the overall situation, he still adopted a cooperative attitude.
He frowned and said solemnly: "Master Zhang, what you are referring to is the memorial recommending Duke Chang? This, I'm afraid... I'm afraid it's too late to recover..."
"We must recover that letter of recommendation!" Zhang Qigong gritted his teeth and said, "The court needs to set an example. Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince will definitely issue an edict and personally send people to Changyi to confer the title of Duke Chang. When the time comes, the angel arrives, but he has to
I know that Duke Chang has been harmed by thieves, and none of us can escape the involvement... This is no less than a crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Cui Yong was very cooperative and nodded solemnly. Then, he deliberately said with a worried face: "But... what if I can't catch up?"
"Then there's only..."
Zhang Qigong glanced at the heads of various families in the room with a gloomy expression.
Seeing his sinister expression, the heads of the aristocratic families in the room felt uneasy, and some people hurriedly said: "Deputy Ambassador Zhang, we have nothing to do with the death of Duke Chang."
"Yes, we and the Bei Bo Army... have nothing to do with the Bei Bo rebellion." Another person quickly agreed.
Listening to the heads of these aristocratic families expressing their innocence one by one, Zhang Qigong waved his hands, put on a strange smile on his face, and said with a smile: "All the gentlemen are highly respected people in Changyi County. Of course Zhang
I don’t think that the Dukes have anything to do with the rebellion of the Beibo Army, and I don’t think that the Dukes have anything to do with the tragedies of the Chang family, the Ding family, and the Tao family. But... Zhang believes that the Dukes will definitely harm Duke Chang.
All the murderers must be captured and brought to justice, right?"
The heads of the various families looked at each other, or one of them said with a wry smile: "Deputy Envoy Zhang, I think the murderer who killed Duke Chang and the others has escaped long ago. How do you want us to find him?"
"No, no, no." Zhang Qigong waved his hands repeatedly and said firmly without any basis: "Those murderers must still be hiding in the county, hiding... among the people in the county. As for the number of people... I estimate that there must be at least a hundred.
The remaining people?”
The heads of the families in the house were not fools. How could they not hear Zhang Qigong's hint? This was obviously asking him to find a hundred scapegoats to deal with future accusations from the court.
"Jian Gong, I leave this matter to you." Zhang Qigong said with a smile: "If you can catch the murderer in time, Zhang is willing to recommend you to become the county magistrate of Changyi County..."
Hearing this, Jian Tiao broke into a cold sweat and said with a wry smile: "Deputy Envoy Zhang, Jian is incompetent, so I'm afraid he won't be able to take on this important task..." At this point, he seemed to have thought of something, and said quickly: "Why don't you block the whole city, please."
Fang's soldiers captured the murderer."
"No, no, no." Zhang Qigong shook his head repeatedly and said, "The soldiers outside the city have other important matters and cannot come forward. I can only ask you..."
"What else is important? Isn't it because I don't want to get involved for fear of causing public outrage?"
Jian Tiao cursed loudly in her heart.
Immediately, he reluctantly declined and said: "Deputy Envoy Zhang, it's really..."
Seeing this, Zhang Qigong suddenly turned cold and said coldly: "Mr. Jian, if you refuse in every possible way, does it mean that you have something to do with the Bei Bo Army?"
"Well done to you Zhang Qigong!"
Jian Tiao cursed secretly in his heart. He knew very well that as long as he dared to continue to refuse, Zhang Qigong in front of him would dare to falsely accuse him. Jian Tiao united with the Beibo Army to kill the Chang family - after all, the whole Chang family was punished. , someone must be held accountable.
Thinking of this, he could only grit his teeth and swallow: "Then... then Jian will do his best."
After hearing this, Zhang Qigong's face brightened slightly, and he said with relief: "Zhang believes that Mr. Jian will be able to catch the murderer... By the way, I hope you can also help Mr. Jian."
The heads of the families in the room looked at each other, but they did not dare to refuse, so they could only agree to the matter.
After Jian Tiao and the other heads of the aristocratic families left, Zhang Qigong sneered and said: "Among these people, there must be people who are secretly liaising with the Bei Bo Army, but it doesn't matter, it won't be long before these people can no longer gain a foothold in the Song Dynasty. No matter whether you are willing or not, you can only surrender to the imperial court..."
At this point, he didn't see Cui Yong respond, so he turned his head in confusion, but suddenly he saw Cui Yong coming behind him at some point, raising his fist and swinging towards him.
"Bang--"
Cui Yong's fist hit Zhang Qigong's jaw, causing the latter to take several steps back, and then he finally managed to steady his body while holding on to a wooden frame.
"Bang--"
An earthen jar on a wooden stand was knocked to the ground by Zhang Qigong and shattered into pieces.
Perhaps hearing the noise inside the house, the Wei soldiers guarding outside the house immediately rushed in and exclaimed: "Master Cui, Master Zhang, what happened?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Wei soldiers were stunned when they saw clearly what was going on in the room.
Cui Yong stared at Zhang Qigong and said expressionlessly: "It's okay... I am discussing important matters with Deputy Envoy Zhang. Please step back. You are not allowed to enter without permission."
"...obey."
After looking at each other for a while, the Wei soldiers exited the room one after another.
At this time, looking at Cui Yong with a faint scowl on his face, Zhang Qigong smiled, raised his hand, and gently wiped the left corner of his mouth. He felt a twinge of pain coming from there.
Looking at his fingers again, there were faint traces of blood on them.
"Ha." Sun smiled and shook his head. Zhang Qigong looked up at Cui Yong and said lightly: "Have you been holding on for a long time?... When did you see through it?"
He never thought that he could hide it from Cui Yong. After all, Cui Yong seemed cynical, but he was quick-thinking and could see through Zhang Qigong's plan. Zhang Qigong was not surprised.
After listening to Zhang Qigong's inquiry, Cui Yong did not hide anything and said coldly: "When I saw the four words "Those who surrender to Wei" on the wall of the Chang family's house, I guessed that it was you who sent someone to kill the Chang family. Door!"
"...There is also the Ding family and the Tao family." Zhang Qigong added calmly.
"You bastard!" Cui Yong was furious when he heard this, rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward.
Although Zhang Qigong is more than eight feet tall and is a head taller than Cui Yong, don't forget that Cui Yong has been hanging out with a group of bad friends since he was a child, and often fights with noble children from other families. This once made Princess Yong's Princess Cui quite worried. The future of this little brother - In terms of fighting, to be honest, Zhang Qigong is really no match for Cui Yong.
Listening to the sound of ping-pong in the house, Wei soldiers of the dredging army who were guarding outside the house looked at each other.
However, because Cui Yong, the chief envoy, had just issued an order not to enter the house without permission, they did not dare to enter the house. They only dared to peek into the house secretly through the crack in the window.
When they saw the two envoys Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong fighting in the house, several Wei soldiers were secretly stunned: It turned out that these two literati had such hot tempers.
After much deliberation, they had no choice but to report it to General Li Qian immediately.
At this time, in another wing of the county government office, Zongwei Gao Kuo was drinking with Li Qi, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu. Suddenly, he heard that Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong were fighting, and all four of them were drinking.
Feeling very surprised, he quickly came to the study room where Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong were.
"Stop!" Waiting for Gao Kuo to push open the door and walk into the study, he saw Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong wrestling on the ground. He couldn't laugh or cry, so he quickly stopped.
Even though Gao Kuo's position is far inferior to everyone present, with his status as Zongwei, he is the only one who can stabilize the situation at this time.
Sure enough, after hearing Gao Kuo's shouting, Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong stopped fighting and stood up one after another.
At this time, looking at Cui Yong, the imperial envoy, his hair was messed up, his clothes were torn, and there were some bruises on the cheekbone on the right side. In comparison, Zhang Qigong looked even worse, and his lips were oozing.
There was blood, and the socket of his right eye was black, as if Cui Yong had punched him in the eye, and he was very embarrassed.
Seeing this scene, Li Qi, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu couldn't help laughing. Even Gao Kuo was holding back his laughter and it was very hard to hold it in.
"Everyone, stand down. No one is allowed to tell anyone what happened today!"
After ordering the Wei soldiers to retreat, Gao Kuo, Li Qian, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu walked into the study and closed the door.
"Two adults..."
Glancing at Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong who were arranging their clothes, Gao Kuo asked with a bit of laughter and tears: "Both of them are worthy ministers appointed by His Royal Highness, and will be important ministers in the court in the future. Why..."
"Master Zongwei, go ask him!" Cui Yong glared at Zhang Qigong and cursed in a low voice: "What did you do!"
Hearing this, Zhang Qigong covered his eyes and said calmly: "Zhang doesn't think there is anything wrong. On the contrary, Mr. Cui. Although Zhang is your deputy envoy, he was appointed by the court after all. Mr. Cui openly beat the subordinate. This
Regarding this matter, I will truthfully report it to His Highness the Crown Prince in the future..."
Seeing that Cui Yong's face was even more angry, Gao Kuo rushed forward and pulled Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong away, trying to smooth things over and said: "You two, you two, please don't act out of anger. Why don't you sit down and explain it clearly?"
.”
After hearing this, Cui Yong found a chair in the house, sat down, and told Gao Kuo everything that had happened, including the fact that Zhang Qigong secretly sent people to kill the Chang family, the Ding family, and the Tao family.
"Zhang Qigong sent people to kill the Chang family, the Ding family, and the Tao family?"
Gao Kuo was stunned when he heard this.
He suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Zhang Qigong had expressed his wish to use his black crows.
At that time, Gao Kuo was still wondering what Zhang Qigong wanted those murderers to do, but he didn't expect that Zhang Qigong would play such a big role.
"Master Zhang, is this really the case?" Gao Kuo asked.
Zhang Qigong thought for a while and felt that now that the overall situation had been decided, he simply no longer wanted to hide anything, so he said truthfully: "Yes, it was Zhang who did it."
"Why?" Gao Kuo asked calmly.
"Because of Changzhen, there is a high probability that he has close contact with the Beibo Army." At this point, Zhang Qigong turned to look at Cui Yong and asked: "Master Cui can't refute this, right?"
"..." Cui Yong remained silent.
Of course he knew that Zhang Qigong was right, but just to mention one thing - he remembered that when they first visited the Chang family, they came as special envoys from the Wei court, and at that time, Changyi was already under the control of the Beibo Army.
In other words, under the nose of the Beibo Army, they reached various agreements with Changzhi on "Song County Autonomy", which also included that the Beibo Army must withdraw from Changyi County.
And the Beibo Army had no idea about this. Even when the Wei army attacked Changyi yesterday, the Chang family actually sent people to sneak attack the city gate and let the Wei army in. How powerful was the Beibo Army?
How stupid can you get to this point?
It is no exaggeration to say that if the Beibo Army were all this kind of people, why would the imperial court bother to encircle and suppress them?
Therefore, Changyi actually had a close relationship with the Beibo Army. In fact, the Beibo Army also recognized the agreement on "Song County Autonomy", so it took the initiative to withdraw from Changyi County.
Thinking of this, Cui Yong said sternly: "Chang'an, the Chang family, may have a close relationship with the Bei'an Army, but yesterday, Chang'an had distanced himself from the Bei'an Army outside the county office in public..."
"This is meaningless." Zhang Qigong interrupted: "On the surface, we distance ourselves from each other, but behind the scenes, we are disconnected. Keeping such people around is a disaster!"
"But Changzhen can become a role model for the imperial court." Cui Yong said seriously.
"A role model?" Zhang Qigong sneered and said, "There are as many role models as you want, so why choose a traitor who is different from what he looks like?"
"You can't deny Chang's prestige in Song County!"
"That's why we want to use him to discredit the Beibo Army!" Zhang Qigong snorted.
Cui Yong was furious. You must know that these days, he spared no effort to win over Chang Yan, Chang Man and his son. In his opinion, even though the Chang family has a close relationship with the Beibo Army, Chang Yan's reputation and prestige in Song County
, even if he only superficially draws a clear line with the Beibo Army, he can still greatly affect the hearts and minds of the people in Song Dynasty.
Even if the Chang clan is still secretly connected with the Bei Bo Army in the future, so what? Can the Chang clan still jump out and openly support the Bei Bo Army?
It's simply impossible!
To put it bluntly, Cui Yong only needs to use Chang's mouth to promote the good of the imperial court and the bad of the Beibo Army. As for what Chang's own thoughts, Cui Yong doesn't care at all - because it will not affect the overall situation of Song County at all.
However, Zhang Qigong sent someone to kill Chang Xi. Although he successfully put the blame on the Bei Bo Army, the court also lost such a powerful chess piece as Chang Xi.
What's more, because of Zhang Qigong's provocative behavior, some of Cui Yong's considerations about the Changs and his son, as well as some subsequent operations, all came to naught.
Looking at Cui Yong's livid face, Zhang Qigong said calmly: "Master Cui, doesn't he think the current situation is more beneficial to the court?... The highly respected Chang Yan came forward to expose the true face of the Beibo Army, and was later arrested.
The brutal killings of the Beibo Army further confirmed the rebellious evil deeds of the Beibo Army, but Changyi is still under our control. You and I can still choose a Song Dynasty person who loves the court and make him a Changyi.
The county magistrate of the city..."
Cui Yong sneered twice and said nothing.
To be fair, Zhang Qigong's strategy was actually good, and Cui Yong's strategy was even more effective. However, Cui Yong could not accept Zhang Qigong's behavior.
In his opinion, this is a crooked way!
If it is exposed in the future and someone takes advantage of it, the court will pay an immeasurable price for it!
What's more important is that Cui Yong is very shameless towards Zhang Qigong's behavior.
Especially when he recalled the tragedy in the Chang Mansion, when he recalled that the whole family of the Chang family was slaughtered, and even the infant babies were brutally nailed to wooden pillars with blades, he was very disappointed with Zhang Qigong's methods.
I feel extremely disgusted - so unbecoming of a human being!
Li Qi, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu also felt that they were shying away from Zhang Qigong.
Only Gao Kuo didn't feel much about Zhang Qigong's various methods.
In his opinion, as long as Zhang Qigong is loyal to Prince Zhao Run and can properly solve the problem, then he can choose to turn a blind eye to some of Zhang Qigong's behaviors.
After all, Gao Kuo always believed that a king needs people like Zhang Qigong, even if this person is sometimes shameful.
Thinking of this, Gao Kuo coughed and smoothed things over by saying: "Master Zhang's plan, although it is a bit ruthless, but as the saying goes, extraordinary time, extraordinary means, Gao can still... Well, it's understandable, but well, Gao thinks
, Mr. Zhang should discuss such important matters with Mr. Cui in advance..."
Perhaps because of Gao Kuo's sake, Cui Yong did not argue with Zhang Qigong anymore, but said coldly: "Anyway, Cui will report this matter to His Highness the Crown Prince truthfully... Mr. Zhang, please take care of yourself!"
"Heh." Zhang Qigong smiled lightly.
Three days later, the secret letters from Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong were sent to Daliang at almost the same time and delivered to the hands of Prince Zhao Run.
After reading these two secret letters, Zhao Hongrun really felt a little headache.
Cui Yong's considerations are certainly biased. In fact, Zhao Hongrun also believed that a living Chang Xi would be more beneficial to the court.
But on the other hand, Zhang Qigong first asked Chang Yan to criticize the Bei Bo Army in public, and then sent people to secretly get rid of the Song County magnate who was interested in the Bei Bo Army, framed the Bei Bo Army, and cleverly put the Bei Bo Army into trouble.
In the situation of double slander, I can't defend myself... I have to say that it is extremely clever to eliminate the chilling method.
Then the problem comes.
As the crown prince and crown prince, which side should he support?
"Well..."
Enjoying the service of his concubine Zhao Que, who was squeezing his shoulders, Zhao Hongrun was lying on a lounge chair, bathing in the spring sunshine, thinking about how to respond to Cui Yong and Zhang Qigong's mutual impeachment.
Suddenly, he faintly heard the sound of footsteps.
He opened his eyes and immediately saw Du You, the Minister of Rites, leading the inner court ministers Xu Guan, Li Liang, Lin Yuyang, and Feng Yu, walking towards him with a straight face.
"It's coming fiercely..."
Zhao Hongrun flattened his mouth and showed a somewhat strange expression on his face.