The rain was gradually decreasing, and the fire was raging. Outside the house where the goods were stacked, the three floors inside and three floors were already surrounded by Yulin soldiers. Archers sealed the front and rear windows. Other Yulin soldiers held long spears and swords and surrounded the house tightly. Without ventilation, people inside the house would find it difficult to fly even with wings.
Qi Ning stood not far from the house with his hands behind his back, looking coldly at the house in flames with a cold gaze. Behind him, on the left and right were Wu Dalin and Qi Feng, and Hu Bowen was tied up like a rice dumpling. His face was pale, and he stood not far behind Qi Ning. Two Yulin warriors were holding him, and the knife in one of his hands was placed on Hu Bowen's neck.
There were continuous screams in the house, and some people were shot dead. Although the remaining people wanted to rush from the door to the main hall, there were soldiers on the other side of the main hall, and Li Tang personally led people to guard the door. Want to come out but can't.
"The Marquis knows things like a god." Wu Dalin looked solemn: "If the Marquis hadn't seen the treacherous plot of Hu Bowen, the goods would have been destroyed, and the mission to Dong Qi to propose marriage would have been aborted."
"Leader Wu, is the cargo safe and sound?" Qi Ning turned slightly and asked.
Wu Dalin said: "According to the instructions of the Marquis, all the goods have been moved and heavy troops have been sent to guard them. There will never be any problems."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, and Qi Feng asked from the side: "Master Hou, do you want to arrest two people alive and interrogate their confessions?"
"They don't know much." Qi Ning said: "In fact, Mr. Hu knows exactly who is behind the scenes." He turned around, walked up to Hu Bowen, and said lightly: "Mr. Hu, I don't know if you are still here. What do you have to say?”
Hu Bowen raised his neck slightly, closed his eyes, and said nothing.
"Actually, you have made a great contribution." Qi Ning smiled faintly, "If you hadn't cooperated with them inside and outside, and I had set this trap, they might not have been able to get in."
Hu Bowen let out a long sigh and said: "Little Marquis, I really underestimated you. I didn't expect that you are so young and so scheming."
"If I hadn't been more thoughtful and eaten by others, I might not even know how I died." Qi Ning also sighed: "Master Hu, the emperor has shown you great love by letting you serve as deputy envoy. You don’t want to serve the emperor, but you want to sabotage the mission to propose marriage. You should know what will happen to you if you report this matter to the court."
Hu Bowen looked at Qi Ning, smiled faintly and said: "Now that things have happened, I have nothing to say. If the Marquis wants to kill or behead him, it is up to you."
"If you want to kill or behead, naturally the emperor will make the decision." Qining said: "Master Hu, you may not have to die. I believe that you are just a pawn being used in this matter. To put it bluntly, you are just a mere pawn." Even if a minister of the Ministry of Rites has such a heart, he does not have the courage. And I am very surprised. If this mission is successful, you will have made a great contribution, but why do you listen to others and deliberately sabotage the mission? "
Hu Bowen smiled and said, "Does the Marquis want to interrogate me?"
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "Don't worry, I will not abuse lynching. When it is time to interrogate, someone will naturally interrogate you." He put his hands behind his back and smiled lightly: "Actually, Liang Xiong is much smarter than you. If he hadn't confessed, how would you have done it? We are planning to lure the wolf into the house, I am only afraid that there are still loopholes in the trap we have set, and these people will see through it."
"This man looks brave, but he is a coward." Hu Bowen sneered: "Master Marquis, do you think anyone would trust this kind of person?"
"What do you mean?"
Hu Bowen smiled and said: "It doesn't mean anything, but I don't know what else the Marquis asked from him?"
Qining asked: "What do you think I will ask him?"
"Of course the Marquis will ask who was behind the mission to destroy the mission to propose marriage." Although Hu Bowen's face was a little pale, his voice was calm: "Liang Xiong must have confessed truthfully."
Qi Ning said: "Since he has confessed, you, Mr. Hu, should not bite the bullet and hold on. This is meaningless."
However, Hu Bowen raised his head and laughed. Qining frowned and asked, "Do you think this is funny?"
"I just lamented that Mr. Hou is so shrewd that he can even understand our plans clearly, but in the end, I am afraid that I will still be deceived by Liang Xiong."
Qining smiled and said, "How do you know that I was deceived by him?"
"Since the Marquis knows that Liang Xiong is just a chess piece, how much truth do you think he can know?" Hu Bowen said with a smile: "I have never trusted this kind of person from the beginning. The Marquis should believe that Xiaguan has been in the officialdom for many years. Now in his early fifties, it is not difficult to play with little Liang Xiong."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "I believe that Liang Xiong was played by you, and you were also played by others."
Hu Bowen said: "Master Hou is looking down on Xiaguan now. Liang Xiong is being played by Xiaguan, and he doesn't know it, but he knows very well that Xiagong is being played by others. The two are very different. Master Hou must not put it into his head." I'm on par with that little guy."
Qi Feng stood next to Qi Ning. Seeing that Hu Bowen still looked unpredictable at such a time, he felt a little displeased and said coldly: "Hu, please stop pretending here. Even if you are about to die, you are still here." You have a tough mouth, if you don’t confess honestly, I will throw you into the fire now.”
The fire was raging, and the archers sealed the front and rear windows. As long as someone approached the window, they would shoot arrows immediately. The cargo room had already been enveloped in fire, and heart-rending screams came from the room. The screams were like the screams of the innocent ghosts from the eighteenth level of hell.
When Hu Bowen heard the shrill howl, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, but Qi Ning remained calm and calm, as if he didn't hear any sound.
Qining never shows sympathy or mercy to his opponents.
"If the Marquis wants to kill me, he can do it now." Hu Bowen sighed: "When you go down this road, you will know that it is extremely dangerous. If you are not careful, your wealth and life will not be saved. But sometimes, you know that the road is dangerous, but you don't know it. I have to go up. The Marquis is young and may not be able to understand this state of mind. Maybe one day, you will also understand the difficulties of the official." He closed his eyes and said no more.
Seeing this situation, Qi Ning knew that Hu Bowen had made up his mind not to say another word, and was not in a hurry to ask questions. He winked and the soldiers immediately took Hu Bowen away.
"Master Marquis, do you want to send someone to escort him back to Beijing?" Wu Dalin said softly: "Or execute him on the spot?"
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "Although he has committed a heinous crime, he is an official of the imperial court after all. It is still up to the emperor to make a decision. However, we cannot send him back now."
"Oh?" Wu Dalin frowned and said, "Are we going to take them to Dong Qi?"
Qin Ning smiled and said: "We can arrive at the Huaihe River tomorrow. The Qinhuai Army must have a garrison camp on the bank of the Huaihe River. Before crossing the river, these two people will be temporarily detained in the Qinhuai Army's camp until we return from Dong Qi. Personally escort him back to Beijing."
Wu Dalin said: "Is the Marquis worried that sending them back to the capital first will cause trouble?"
Qi Ning said: "The dignified deputy envoy of the Chu State was escorted back to the capital before leaving the country. Once this matter spreads, it will definitely cause criticism and even affect the current envoy to Eastern Qi." He chuckled, Said: "And now they are being escorted back to Beijing, but you and I are going to Dongqi. Who knows whether new changes will happen after Hu Bowen returns to Beijing. Don't forget that he can instruct the Minister of Rites to take dangerous risks behind his back." , not everyone can do it, the overall situation is the most important thing, don’t worry.”
Wu Dalin thought that Jin Yihou was young, but he had a really good brain and was thoughtful and thoughtful. He felt a hint of admiration in his heart, and he cupped his hands and said, "Everything will be done according to the Marquis's instructions."
At this time, the miserable howling in the house had stopped, and Li Tang and Yu Lin's soldiers had also exited the house. The entire house had been completely swallowed up by the flames. The rain had weakened a lot, but the fierce fire But it was not extinguished by the rain. Wu Dalin stepped forward and did not let the soldiers retreat.
Qi Feng approached Qi Ning and whispered: "Master Hou, you don't need to guess who the real culprit is behind the scenes, and there is no need to interrogate him."
"Oh?" Qi Ning glanced at Qi Feng and said, "Could it be that Qi's guard has learned fortune telling?"
Qi Feng was a little embarrassed, smiled coquettishly, but still said in a low voice: "Master Hou, who else can there be except the old thief Sima? His granddaughter cannot enter the palace and become the queen, so she tried every means to sabotage Xiang Dongqi's proposal of marriage."
"Don't talk nonsense." Qi Ning frowned and said in a deep voice: "There is currently no evidence to prove that it was the Sima family. If there is no evidence, don't talk nonsense."
Qi Feng saw that the young Marquis seemed a little angry and did not dare to say anything.
After a while, a clicking sound was heard, and the house collapsed in the fierce fire. The people in the house had already made no sound. They were either shot to death by bows and arrows, or were buried in the sea of fire, leaving no trace behind. A living mouth.
After the house collapsed, not long after, the fire gradually extinguished in the night rain. After the fire was completely extinguished, the Yulin soldiers found seven charred corpses from the ruins. Four of them were They were killed with bows and arrows, and the remaining three were burned alive by fire.
There was only one man in black who was left guarding the rear window. He had already been killed by an archer with excellent archery skills among the Yulin soldiers. There were eight corpses, many of them.
Qi Ning knew that even if these corpses were left here, not many people would come to this deserted village and they might not be discovered. However, he was worried that diseases would spread after the corpses rotted, so he ordered his soldiers to dig holes and bury them near the village.
Tonight we were catching turtles in the urn, but there were no casualties in the Yulin Camp. After the bodies were buried and everything was packed away, the sky was getting slightly brighter, and the heavy rain that had fallen all night finally stopped. Wu Dalin ordered the soldiers to move the goods Reload the car and get ready to go.
Before dawn, the mission set off again, and Hu Bowen and Liang Xiong were also escorted on the road. From beginning to end, Hu Bowen did not say another word, but Liang Xiong was quite uneasy and talked to the soldiers guarding him from time to time. However, Wu Dalin had given instructions and prohibited any No one said a word to these two people, so no one paid attention to Liang Xiong.
The air after the rain is mixed with the smell of green grass and earth, and the eyes are full of green mountains and green grass, beautiful and peaceful.
Although the biggest crisis facing the mission was discovered and solved, Qining was really not happy when he thought that the deputy envoy and deputy leader of the mission were both detained before leaving the country.
At dusk, Wu Dalin rode up to Qining's side, raised his hand and pointed forward: "Master Marquis, in front is the camp of the Qinhuai Army, and more than twenty miles away is the Huai River." Qining looked up and looked over. , under the sky, I saw a camp in front of me, and vaguely saw a group of people riding towards them, with flags fluttering and fluttering in the wind.