Xu Zheng provided two strongholds, one in Chunying Lane and one in Chunhe Lane. Xuying and Zhang Bi led the county troops to Chunying Lane, while Xu Ting and Xu Fei led the capital army to Chunhe Lane.
Not long after, news from both sides came back one after another. Xuying's side encountered strong resistance from Xizuo, but Xuting and Xufei did not encounter any resistance, and successfully captured all Xizuo in the stronghold.
.
When Xu Ting and Xu Fei brought back the captured details, the battle on Xu Ying's side came to an end.
Xu Ting, Xu Fei captured more than ten people, but Xu Ying only captured two alive. The carefully prepared corpses brought back more than ten people, most of whom died from trauma, and several others committed suicide by taking poison.
Dong Xuan and Zhang Bi interrogated these captured Xizuo. The two people captured by Xuying were so tough-mouthed that they refused to say a word. Xuting and Xufei captured Xizuo, but they confessed everything.
They are not Gongsun Shu's detailed work, but the hidden stakes installed by Kuai Xiao in Luoyang. Their daily job is to record some decrees issued by the Luoyang court and the measures implemented, and then report to Liangzhou regularly.
After hearing the results of Dong Xuan's interrogation, Liu Xiu frowned. Hua Feiyan looked at Xu Zheng and asked, "Xu Zheng, didn't you say that these two strongholds were the work of Gongsun Shu?" Why are they involved now?
Kwai Xiao?
Xu Zheng grinned secretly, and he carefully explained: "Your Majesty, Hua Meiren, I can only judge that these two places are the strongholds of Xizuo, but as for who is Xizuo, I... I really can't judge.
.”
Liu Xiu nodded. What Xu Zheng said was reasonable and reasonable. He said to Dong Xuan: "Bring over the leader of Wei Xiao Xingzuo."
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Not long after, Dong Xuan led a middle-aged man to the box where Liu Xiu was.
After the middle-aged man entered the box, he didn't even see clearly who was in the box. He knelt down with a bang, kowtowed forward, and said in a trembling voice: "The villain is guilty, and the villain deserves to die..."
Looking at the middle-aged man who was kowtowing like a fool, Liu Xiu slowly said, "Do you know me?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man stiffened, then slowly raised his head and looked at Liu Xiu. Seeing Liu Xiu's face clearly, the middle-aged man looked confused and asked stammering: "This... this
Young Master is...is..."
"I'm Liu Xiu." Liu Xiu had nothing to hide and simply stated his name.
When the middle-aged man heard this, his head buzzed and he almost fainted from fright. He was just an insignificant person, how could he attract the emperor? He kowtowed forward repeatedly and said in a trembling voice: "The villain deserves to die, the villain deserves to die.
Ten thousand deaths.”
Liu Xiu smiled calmly, raised his head and asked, "Tell me, what is your crime?"
His words stunned the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man looked at Liu Xiu, calmed down and thought about it carefully. Although the general had a disobedient heart, Liu Xiu didn't know it, and now the two sides have not fallen out.
, the general is still Liu Xiu’s minister. As a subordinate of the general, strictly speaking, he is also Liu Xiu’s minister.
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man felt a little more at ease. He cleared his throat, adjusted his clothes, kowtowed forward again in a formal manner, and said loudly: "The humble minister Li Ming, kowtow to Your Majesty!"
Just by looking at the change in the expression on the middle-aged man's face, Liu Xiu could guess the change in his mentality. He smiled slightly and said, "Your name is Li Ming?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Are you a subordinate of General Wei?"
"Exactly!"
"Why are you in Luoyang?"
"My subordinate came to Luoyang to study on the order of the general."
"What?" Liu Xiu was almost angry and asked with a smile: "Study?"
"Yes, the general has ordered the ministers to go to Luoyang to learn the laws and policies enacted by His Majesty, and then implement them in Liangzhou. The general has always respected the emperor, and he will imitate all laws and policies implemented by the emperor.
"
"Haha!" Liu Xiu looked up and laughed. How come he never knew that Wei Xiao was so loyal to him?! He raised his finger and pointed at Li Ming and said, "A clever tongue with ulterior motives."
Li Ming's expression changed, he kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Wei Chen doesn't dare, Wei Chen doesn't dare!"
"Li Ming, tell me, apart from you, how many hidden stakes does General Wei have in Luoyang?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, Wei Chen... Wei Chen is not a hidden stake, Wei Chen came to Luoyang to study..."
Liu Xiu was too lazy to ask any more questions. He turned to look at Dong Xuan and said, "Take him down and interrogate him rigorously. As long as he can get him to talk, we will live or die."
"I obey my orders!" Dong Xuan agreed and shook his head to the county soldiers on the side. Two county soldiers stepped forward, grabbed Li Ming's arm, and dragged him out.
Li Ming's face suddenly changed with fright, and he screamed: "Your Majesty, spare your life, Your Majesty, please spare your life..."
Liu Xiu asked: "Where are the two people Xuying brought back now?"
"Locked in the woodshed." Xu Ting said.
"I'm going to take a look." Liu Xiu got up and went to the firewood shed. The firewood shed in the backyard of Qiwanlou was very large, with a lot of firewood and various sundries piled in it. When Liu Xiu came in, Zhang Bi and Xu
Fei was in the process of torturing two captured soldiers.
One person was tied to a wooden frame, his clothes were stripped off, and his chest was covered in blood and flesh. The other person was pushed to his knees by two county soldiers, and his head was immersed in a bucket filled with water.
With bubbles.
Seeing Liu Xiu approaching, everyone in the woodshed stopped. The county soldiers also pulled Xizuo's head out of the bucket. The latter was lying on the ground, coughing non-stop, and the water stains on his face, nasal mucus, and tears had melted away.
Together.
Liu Xiu glanced briefly, looked at Zhang Bi and Xu Fei, and asked, "How was the trial?"
Xu Fei shook his head at Liu Xiu, indicating that there was no progress yet. Zhang Bi took a few deep breaths, put down his rolled-up sleeves, walked up to Liu Xiu, bowed respectfully, and said, "Gongsun Shu's meticulous work has always been like this."
, their bones are hard and their mouths are tight, they won’t open their mouths for a while, but your Majesty, don’t worry, I will definitely be able to open their mouths!”
Zhang Bi has fought against Gongsun Shuxizuo many times, and he has become more and more experienced in interrogating these tough cases.
Liu Xiu pondered for a moment and said: "Don't waste time on them. Afterwards, you can take them back to the county government for trial slowly. Now, continue to investigate Guo District."
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Zhang Bi and Xu Fei responded together.
Liu Xiu looked at the two craftsmen again. He walked up to the craftsman who was tied to the wooden frame and looked at his chest. There were cuts and burns, and he could vaguely see salt foam around the wounds.
Liu Xiu's eyes flashed and he said: "You are quite capable. You were able to dig a secret tunnel in Guo District without anyone noticing."
You must know that at that time, every household needed to report to the mayor if they wanted to carry out construction work. The secret passage in Qiwan Tower was not a small project. Let’s not talk about how they did not alert other people and took this secret passage.
If it is successfully excavated, the excavated earth and rocks alone are not easy to handle.
This is not one or two baskets of earth and rocks, nor one or two carts of earth and rocks, but at least dozens or hundreds of carts of earth and rocks. Gongsun Shu's meticulous work can secretly handle these without arousing anyone's suspicion. It is really impressive.
People feel incredible.
The craftsman's originally drooped head slowly raised, and his scarlet eyes stared at Liu Xiu without blinking. The corners of his mouth twitched a few times, as if he were laughing. He said feebly and intermittently: "Our ability, we must
It’s much bigger than you think.”
"Oh? So you have more than just this secret passage in Guo District?" Liu Xiuxiao asked.
Hosaku chuckled, closed his eyes, and said no more.
Liu Xiu's eyes flashed and she said: "You only have this little ability left. You are as sneaky as a mouse. Besides being able to dig holes in the ground to escape, what else can you do?"
Xizuo's closed eyes suddenly opened, he glared at Liu Xiu, gritted his teeth and said: "Our tunnel can also be used to take your life!"
Liu Xiu immediately asked: "How can you take my life?"
The craftsman's heart trembled, and he looked straight at Liu Xiu. After a moment, he closed his eyes again, lowered his head, and did not say a word again.
Liu Xiu stared at him for a while, then turned and walked out of the woodshed. Outside, he asked softly: "Feiyan, did you hear what he said?"
Hua Feiyan did not enter the woodshed, but stood at the door of the woodshed. She nodded and said, "Feiyan heard it."
"What do you think?"
"It sounds like the other party has more than one secret tunnel in Guo District, Northeast China, and... Moreover, Feiyan wonders if they want to dig a secret tunnel from Guo District all the way into the city?" Hua Feiyan said in a low voice.
Liu Xiu's heart suddenly moved, her eyes were dazzled, and she fell into deep thought.
He and Hua Feiyan had exactly the same idea. The other party said that their secret tunnel could not only be used to escape, but also to kill themselves. But how could they kill themselves? Unless they dug the secret tunnel into the city and into the palace.
Thinking of this, Liu Xiu frowned deeper and murmured: "How did they get rid of the earth and rocks?"
Xu Zheng on the side suddenly said: "Your Majesty, there are large-scale construction projects in various parts of Luoyang now, especially in Guo District. There are many places where construction projects are being carried out. It is necessary to deal with the excess earth and rocks caused by digging secret tunnels without revealing the mountains and water.
, it’s not difficult.”
The buildings in the city are basically saturated, but Guo District has just begun to develop. There are many people building and renovating houses. Now Luoyang transports a large amount of civil engineering from outside the city every day. It is estimated that the detailed construction is taking advantage of this convenient condition to dig out houses.
The extra earth and rocks from the secret passage were quietly mixed into it.
Liu Xiu nodded thoughtfully and said: "If Xizuo really plans to dig a secret tunnel into the city, a large amount of earth and rocks will need to be disposed of. In the recent period, we can focus on this point."
Xu Zheng nodded and responded: "I remember. I will arrange for brothers to pay careful attention."
Liu Xiu turned around and asked, "Is there any news from Juan?"
Xu Zheng shook his head and said seriously: "We can't get out of the secret passage yet. There are too many mechanisms in the secret passage, which are both hidden and vicious. It's hard to guard against. If you're not careful, your life will be at risk."
Liu Xiu took a deep breath. He didn't know if he didn't investigate. This in-depth investigation was really shocking. This was only what was found. What was not found, there are still many scandals.
When the time came, Liu Xiu could no longer stay here. He left the remaining matters to Hua Feiyan, Deng Yu, Dong Xuan and others to handle. He took Xu Ying, Xu Ting, Xu Fei and Luo You with him.
, return to the palace.
On the way back, Luo You said worriedly: "Your Majesty, I never thought that the situation in Northeast Guo District would be so complicated."
Here are not only the fine works of Gongsun Shu, but also the fine works of Wei Xiao, as well as the remnants of the rebel army like Xu Zheng, as well as criminals who fled to Luoyang, etc. It is really a mixture of dragons and snakes, all kinds of people