Liu Xiu blinked his eyes and said: "The Han Tie matter is either smoke without smoke, or someone has ulterior motives."
Kong Xu looked solemn and listened attentively. Liu Xiu continued: "County Magistrate Kong also said that so many people came to Liyang after hearing the news, but no one harvested the cold iron. This shows that it is unlikely that there will be no storm without fire."
After hearing this, Kong Xu took a breath and asked: "Your Majesty, do you think someone has ulterior motives in this matter?"
Liu Xiu nodded and said: "Liu Yong was secretly supporting the army of the five schools who caused rebellion in Wei County. Only supporting the army of the five schools to cause rebellion in Wei County is probably not Liu Yong's ultimate goal."
Kong Xu's mind turned around and he said hurriedly: "Liu Yong deliberately spread the rumor that Han Tie was discovered in Li Yang to attract people to search for Han Tie in Li Yang. In this way, Liu Yong could arrange for his subordinates to break into pieces and sneak into Li Yang to wait for opportunities.
We will move forward and strive to capture Liyang in one fell swoop. By then, there will be five military forces within Weijun, and there will be Liu Yongjun in the south of Weijun using Liyang as a springboard. They will cooperate with each other inside and outside. What they want is...the entire Weijun!"
"Taking fire under the cauldron is extremely vicious!" Liu Xiu said word by word. Then, he smiled at Kong Xu and said, "County Magistrate Kong is worthy of being recommended by Governor Yao. He is astute and can tell the truth."
Cold sweat broke out on Kong Xu's forehead, and he hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is so complimentary that I, a humble minister, am ashamed to deserve it."
Kong Xu didn't really pay much attention to the cold iron incident that suddenly spread in Li Yang. Now that he heard Liu Xiu's analysis, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
If it is true as His Majesty said, all of this is Liu Yong's secret plan, then Liu Yong's plan is too powerful.
These two seemingly unrelated things are inextricably linked. Before the outbreak, everything was fine. Once it breaks out, it will be like a thunderous force, which is hard to resist.
.
Liu Xiu said quietly: "Wei County (Jizhou) and Dongjun (Yanzhou) are separated by a river, and they are natural dangers for each other. If Liu Yong wants to capture Wei County openly, he must first prepare a naval army. This is time-consuming, manpower and money-consuming.
, if a large number of subordinates can be quietly sent into Liyang City and attack from within, Liyang can be captured in one fell swoop. Capturing Liyang will mean that Liu Yong has opened the door to Wei County. At that time, Liu Yong can take his subordinates
Soldiers and horses are continuously sent into Liyang, and there are five internal forces in Weijun, so it is not impossible for Liu Yong to seize Weijun."
Kong Xu nodded as he listened, bowed and said, "This... this is an oversight by a humble minister. If His Majesty hadn't mentioned it, the consequences would have been... disastrous!"
Liu Xiu said calmly: "County Magistrate Kong, don't underestimate Liu Yong. When it comes to leading troops in war, he is an amateur, but when it comes to conspiracy, Liu Yong is the best."
He warned Kong Xu not to underestimate Liu Yong, but Liu Xiu himself did not take Liu Yong seriously. In today's troubled times, without real talent and learning, it is simply a joke to rely on such shady means and tricks to conquer the world.
.
Kong Xu said seriously: "Your Majesty, I will send people to conduct a comprehensive search of the people in the city tomorrow!"
Liu Xiu asked: "How many people are there in Liyang City now?"
"This..." Kong Xu was speechless, thought carefully, and said: "The original population of Liyang was less than 20,000. Your Majesty rolled back the benevolent government in Wei County and reduced taxes. The population of Liyang has exceeded 20,000. Recently, the population of Liyang has exceeded 20,000.
The number of people in Liyang City has increased sharply. It is conservatively estimated that there are no less than... no less than 40,000 or 50,000 people."
Liu Xiu said: "There are so many people, and many of them come from all over the world. If we want to check them one by one, County Magistrate Kong doesn't know how long it will take."
Kong Xu asked cautiously: "What does your Majesty mean?"
Liu Xiu looked at Kong Xu happily and said: "I just think that tens of thousands of people in the city need to be checked one by one. With the manpower of the county government, even if it takes a month or two, the verification can't be completed. As for whether there is a better way, then
It’s up to Magistrate Kong to come up with his own ideas.”
Kong Xu was stunned for a moment, then bowed quickly and said: "It's the incompetence of the humble minister that makes Your Majesty laugh."
Liu Xiu waved his hand disapprovingly and said: "Since Magistrate Kong is recommended by Prefect Yao, my trust in Magistrate Kong is the same as my trust in Prefect Yao."
Kong Xu secretly grinned bitterly, His Majesty was so powerful, he even exerted pressure without leaving any trace.
What does it mean to trust yourself as much as you trust Yao Taishou? If you can't achieve results, how can you trust yourself? If you don't handle this matter well, you will lose not only your own face, but also Yao Taishou's face.
.
Liu Xiu's understatement made Kong Xu feel only four words: great pressure!
That night, Liu Xiu and others stayed in the house provided by Kong Xu. The next morning, Liu Xiu, Yin Lihua, and Xu Xiling left the house and went to Dagong Mountain.
Dagong Mountain is not only a scenic spot, but also has very beautiful scenery. To the south of Dagong Mountain is the Yellow River, and there is a river flowing at the foot of the mountain. Looking around, you can see green mountains and green water, endless, like a fairyland on earth.
When they arrived outside the city, Liu Xiu, Yin Lihua, and Xu Xiling were no longer in the car, but were riding on horseback.
Long Yuan, Long Zhun, and Long Bo followed closely behind, followed by Kong Xu and several other accompanying county officials, then Yu Linwei and a large number of soldiers, government officials, and county soldiers.
Liu Xiu and the other three walked in front, looking at the towering mountain peaks and the crystal clear river water. Yin Lihua and Xu Xiling were in a good mood.
Urging the horse to come to the river, Xu Xiling took the lead in dismounting, squatted down by the river, picked up the river water, washed his face, then took another sip, turned around and smiled at Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua: "Your Majesty, Lord Yin, the river water is very
sweet!"
Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua smiled at each other, dismounted their horses, and walked to the river. The river was not deep, and even in the middle of the river, it could only reach people's knees. After wading through this small river, they reached Dagong Mountain.
Following Xu Xiling's example, Liu Xiu also held the river water and took a sip. It was cool and sweet, which really made people feel comfortable all over.
Kong Xu stepped forward quickly and introduced: "Your Majesty, Yin Guiren, Xu Meiren, this river is called Huanhe. It flows exactly in a circle around Dagong Mountain, and the name comes from this."
Xu Xiling smiled and asked: "Mr. Kong, where is the source of the river?"
Kong Xu bowed and replied: "It's the clear spring on the mountain!"
Xu Xiling smiled and said: "No wonder the water around the river is so sweet, it turns out to be the spring water of Dagong Mountain!"
"Exactly!" Kong Xu did not dare to look at the faces of Xu Xiling and Yin Lihua. When speaking in front of them, he always bowed his body, looking at his nose and mouth, looking at his heart with his mouth, and his eyes fell on the tips of his toes.
Xu Xiling took off the water bag from the horse and wanted to fill it with river water. Kong Xu lowered his head and reminded: "After all, the river water is not as clean as the mountain spring. Xu Meiren can go into the mountain and then collect the spring water."
She thought about it and felt that Kong Xu was right, so she put away the water bag. Kong Xu glanced into the river and asked suspiciously: "Your Majesty, what is that?"
Liu Xiu, Yin Lihua, and Xu Xiling heard this and looked in the direction of Kong Xu's finger. They saw a black stone in the clear river water. It was not very big, about the same as an adult's fist, but compared with the surrounding pebbles, it was
The shape of this stone is irregular, and the color of the pebbles is grayish-white, but this stone is inky black, which looks very abrupt in the river.
After looking at it for a moment, Xu Xiling said: "Your Majesty, I'll go get it and take a look!"
"I'd better go!" Liu Xiu took off his shoes and socks, lifted up his clothes, and walked into the river. When he came to the black stone, he lowered his head and looked carefully. He didn't see anything, so he held his arm again.
Sleeves, touch the bottom of the water.
When he touched the black stone, he immediately felt a cold feeling on his fingertips. Liu Xiu's mind moved and he kicked back his fingers to grab the black stone and take it out of the river.
Liu Xiu took out the black stone from the river with great effort and put it on his palm. It felt heavy. It was not a stone at all, it was just a lump of iron.
When Liu Xiu returned to the shore, Yin Lihua and Xu Xiling came forward curiously, looked at the iron lump in Liu Xiu's hand, and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, what is this?"
Liu Xiu did not speak immediately, but came to Kong Xu with the iron lump in his hand, handed it to him, and said with a half-smile: "County Magistrate Kong is well-informed, let's take a look at what this is!"
Kong Xu quickly took the iron knot. When Leng Buding took it, his palms sank down and he said in surprise: "It's so heavy! Your Majesty, this is not a stone. This... this should be the rumored Han Tie."
ah!"
"Oh?" Liu Xiu cooperated with Kong Xu's exaggeration, opened his mouth wide, and pretended to be surprised: "Is this Han Tie?"
Kong Xu said nothing more, knelt down in front of Liu Xiu, held the iron knot with both hands, raised it high, and said loudly: "Your Majesty has been blessed to the sky, and found the most precious cold iron in the world, which is really a sign of the rejuvenation of our great Han Dynasty!"
"
His voice was not quiet, and the county officials, Yulin guards, soldiers, government officials, and county soldiers behind him all heard it.
People were stunned for a moment when they looked at the iron knot that Kong Xu held high, and then they knelt down and kowtowed, saying in unison: "Your Majesty's blessings are as great as the heavens! Your Majesty's great blessings are as great as the heavens!"
Liu Xiu lowered his head and looked at the serious Kong Xu who was kneeling in front of him. He smiled leisurely, stretched out his hand, took the iron knot that Kong Xu held high, and rubbed the pad of his thumb on the iron knot. It was not bad, a little.
The color didn't fade.
He didn't believe that Han Tie, whom so many people had been searching for but had found nothing, would be discovered by him as soon as he walked by. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?
This can only mean that it was artificially arranged. So, whoever discovered it must have arranged it. Who else could be there except Kong Xu?
Liu Xiu was so smart that every strand of his hair was empty. He understood Kong Xu’s intentions almost immediately and was naturally willing to cooperate with him in this play. He waved to everyone and said: "Everyone, get up.
!”
Kong Xu thanked him. After getting up, he immediately ordered the government officials and county soldiers he brought to search nearby to see if they could find more Hantie.
When the government officials and county soldiers heard this, they immediately took off their shoes and socks and ran into the river one after another, looking for Han Tie everywhere.
It didn’t take long for people to fish out iron lumps one after another from the river and pile them on the bank. Yin Lihua and Xu Xiling watched with interest. Whenever someone found Han Tie, they were also excited.
The ground screamed out.
Seeing the nobles and beauties all beaming with joy, people became more active. Some government officials and county soldiers held their breath and went to the bottom of the river to search for Han Tie.
Kong Xu kept saying beside Liu Xiu: "Your Majesty is blessed! This is your Majesty's blessing!"
Liu Xiube looked at Kong Xu meaningfully and said: "When the flood recedes, no matter what kind of soldiers and generals, they will be exposed on the shore."
Kong Xu's eyes flashed, and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face. He bowed to Liu Xiu and said, "The humble minister's clumsy plan cannot be hidden from your majesty's discernment."
It is rumored that Han Tie appeared near Liyang and was accidentally found by Liu Xiu. This will not only greatly enhance Liu Xiu's prestige, but also, more importantly, will cause those people who come to Liyang to hunt for treasures to leave.
Now that the treasure hunters have left, there are only two types of people left in Liyang, one is the people of Liyang, and the other is those who sneak into Liyang and plot evil.
That's why Liu Xiucai said that when the flood recedes, all the shrimps, soldiers, crabs, generals, ghosts and monsters that should be revealed will also appear.
