"Duke, there is no wall in the world that is airtight."
"It's okay if you don't notice it. Once you notice it, you will search carefully and you will find all the clues."
"People have to live, weapons always have sources, and there are always traces of contacts. The Imperial City Division has determined that these strongholds have a close relationship with the country."
The young eunuch was young and answered respectfully, with a somewhat sinister tone in his voice, which seemed to be the temperament brought about by this line of work.
"Have you captured anyone?" Ma Shunde calmed down and his voice was calm.
"Master Governor, we have captured and killed many people, but the people they captured have not yet pried open their mouths..." The young eunuch said respectfully and coldly: "This is a flaw."
"Under the Five Trees, why can't you offer sacrifices? But now there are people who can bear it. Even if they will offer sacrifices in the future, it is extraordinary just now. If they are not Yingguo, they have no status, and there are no such dead men."
"Duke, we caught a big fish."
Ma Shunde said nothing, only nodded: "Cao Yiyan still hasn't been caught?"
"yes!"
Although Cao Yiyan himself was not caught, it may not be impossible to catch this person by removing Cao Yiyan's stronghold in the capital and following the clues.
In the past, Ma Shunde would have been very interested in such things.
When he went to capture Cao Yiyan, he personally supervised the formation and even ordered the killing of many people. Afterwards, the censor complained about this, but the emperor did not punish Ma Shunde for this.
But now, how can I still be in the mood to care about this matter?
Ma Shunde frowned, seemingly deep in thought, but in reality he was still thinking about what he had just done.
Even though he was almost killed by His Majesty, he felt the emperor's murderous intent just now, but he still couldn't help but think: "This is wrong!"
Why, why did Your Majesty appoint the acting king as his grandson?
No matter how you think about it, this is unreasonable and unreasonable!
Ma Shunde couldn't figure out what was going on no matter how hard he tried. The more he couldn't figure it out, the more he held his breath and felt depressed.
The little eunuch next to him was still talking nonstop. Ma Shunde felt that his brain was hurting. He raised his hand, stopped what he was going to say, and said impatiently: "Our family knows about this.
, keep checking for me!”
"Yes!" the little eunuch responded immediately.
Ma Shunde asked again: "Who else is on duty now? We are asking, the Cabinet and the Hanlin Academy."
The young eunuch really knew this, and said hurriedly: "Duke, at this time, the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy have already dispersed."
When did this happen?
It's already past time, and if I don't leave, I'm afraid the palace gate will be unlocked.
Even if there are officials who are still working and have not left yet, their home must be close to the palace and the palace gate.
In this way, when someone wants to deliver the key to the palace gate, they usually pass by the office first and inform the officials to let them go quickly.
Moreover, in the previous dynasty, one or two civil servants were usually on duty all night, but in this dynasty, there is no such requirement.
When the time comes, you have to go.
Not only was the emperor less oppressive on his ministers, but also because the emperor would not trust outsiders to stay in the palace overnight.
If something really happened, he would be called into the palace.
For example, this time, the emperor suddenly issued a decree to appoint the king as his grandson. This was a major matter concerning who the heir apparent was, and everything had to go through procedures.
It’s not just about writing an imperial edict, stamping it, and then taking it out directly.
First of all, Wei Shizu established the Hanlin Academy as a place for cultivating talents and was responsible for compiling books and writing histories, drafting edicts, serving as readers for members of the royal family, and serving as imperial examiners.
After the Middle Wei Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy evolved into an important institution specializing in drafting confidential edicts, becoming a stepping stone for local officials and senior ministers, and was known as the "future prime minister."
Dazheng followed this system, so the imperial edict needed to be drafted by a Hanlin scholar, "filed" with the cabinet, signed by the cabinet, and passed the court meeting to be considered legal and compliant.
Even if it is a private edict, it must be drafted by a Hanlin bachelor.
Ma Shunde frowned and continued to ask: "Who is the Hanlin bachelor who lives closest to the palace?"
Upon hearing this, the little eunuch immediately understood.
It seems like something is going on tonight!
Generally speaking, when it is snowing again at this time, unless necessary, people will not draft or deliver the edict at this moment.
But as an emperor, as long as he has the power, why would he wait for dawn before issuing an edict?
Therefore, whenever something urgent happens at night, they will call the Hanlin bachelor who lives nearby. Generally, the little eunuchs who serve in front of the emperor will keep it in mind, just to guard against such big eunuchs.
When asking.
The little eunuch knew that something was going on, and it was a major matter. His slightly discouraged mood immediately improved and he replied: "It's Bachelor Liang, a bachelor's degree student, from the fifth rank. He lives in Pilgrimage Lane, about two or three miles away from the palace..."
"Do you know him? Go out with our family, take the token, and tell the emperor that he has something to do, and ask the palace gate to issue the key later." The eunuch beside him immediately responded, and after Ma Shunde finished speaking, he left with the token.
The palace gate opens during the Yin hour, but closes during the You hour. In case of emergency, the memorial is usually passed through the crack of the palace door instead of opening it.
But with the emperor's will, the key release time can be changed, but you must hold the token. This is the situation now.
Shimafang
A mansion located in an alley is completely dark. If someone looks in from the outside, they will only feel that the people inside have fallen asleep or are locked up in the air.
But at this time, there were more than twenty people in the mansion, all wearing raincoats, standing in the backyard, among the snow, with evil looks on their faces.
It's not very far from the palace gate, and it only takes less than a stick of incense to ride a horse.
Among the people wearing coir raincoats, the leader was Cao Yiyan, whom Ma Shunde just mentioned.
Cao Yiyan had a gloomy face, and his whole person seemed to be enveloped in gloomy emotions. With broad shoulders and a thin waist, he looked like a sharp sword about to be unsheathed. He looked very different from the outstanding scholar back then, and he had a different demeanor.
.
His eyes fell on several corpses on the ground.
In addition to these corpses, most of the people who escaped from other places were injured. The least injured one had a knife on his arm and had just been bandaged, standing under the eaves.
"Report!" At this moment, another person came in from outside. Since there was someone guarding the door, the people who could pass the code and enter were naturally their own.
This man was also injured. As soon as he arrived at the scene, he immediately knelt down on one knee and said: "Sir! The stronghold of Zhuangyuanfang was broken. Those who broke out fled to the east gate, planning to break out from there!
"
"Report! The stronghold in Jiangjun Lane has been breached, and everyone inside has been captured and killed!" After a moment, someone else ran in and knelt down to report.
The news brought back by these two people made the already low morale sink even further.
After they finished speaking, no one spoke in the entire field.
The snow was originally fluttering, but now it feels like it is hitting the ground, hitting the raincoat, and hitting the oil-paper umbrella, which makes people feel upset.
The dark colors in the sky give people a depressing feeling.