The red door facing the street slowly opened, and the leader of the Gu family who came out was an old man wearing a red official robe. Although he faced hundreds of forbidden soldiers with guns and swords, there was no fear on his face. After a salute, he said: "I, Gu Youzhi, I don't know where you are from the forbidden army."
From the door facing the street, Sun Tu had already guessed that the identity of the Gu family was more than just businessmen. Sure enough, the answer was revealed now. Gu Youzhi's official uniform was of the fourth rank. Even though he was only an official with no real power, he was still considered an official of the imperial court. It was hard to treat him like an ordinary citizen.
In fact, his official position is really just an official to enhance his status, but he has no errand, but he spent a lot of real money to buy it over the years. On weekdays, Gu Youzhi often relied on this official position to establish relationships with some figures in the court, thereby attracting more business for his own firm and making the business run more smoothly.
Sun Tu also vaguely guessed the whole story, so he quickly took a step forward and announced his official status tit for tat: "Marquis Yu, the governor of the palace, the general of the Huben Army, and the Marquis of Yue Sun Tu!" As soon as the name was announced, he The old man's face changed slightly, and his expression became more solemn: "It turns out that it was the Marquis of Yue who was in front of you. I didn't know you..."
"There's no need to go around in circles anymore. There's no way you don't know the purpose of our visit, otherwise you wouldn't have put on official robes to see me." Sun Tu, however, did not have any friendship with him like other officials, and said straight to the point: "You care about the family The trading company was found to be secretly transporting and selling prohibited items such as bows and crossbows, wound medicine, etc. out of the city. Since I was captured on the spot, I should investigate to the end. I will lead my subordinates to search!"
What he said was so direct and there was no room for maneuver. This made Gu Youzhi, who had already thought about how to respond, a little confused as to how to answer the question. The servants behind him were even more frightened. Some of the bold ones even shouted anxiously: "This is unreasonable. Someone must be framing my Gu family. My Gu family has been doing business in Tokyo for many years and has always abided by the law. How could this happen?" Do such a treasonous thing!"
"How does your behavior back then have anything to do with what you are doing today? Moreover, you can only know what happened to your Gu family by investigating." Sun Tu didn't give them any excuse to delay, and directly raised his hand: "Let me go in and search. Don’t let any corner go. Also, everyone is watching closely, don’t let anyone go!”
"Marquis Yue, you are going too far. I am also an official of the court. Before the official department has made a decision and the court has not taken away my official position, how dare you act like this?" Gu Youzhi finally came to his senses and shouted loudly. Back then, he spent hundreds of thousands of gold and silver to buy this fourth-grade crown and belt, just to protect his family's safety one day. How could he let Sun Tu succeed so easily
But what he got in exchange was a sneer from Sun Tu: "This is a major case of treason and collaboration with the enemy. I am doing it at my own convenience to protect the safety of the capital. Besides, if there is nothing wrong with your Gu family, why are you so afraid of being searched?" Someone come!”
Following his greeting, the soldiers behind him stepped forward with a bang. Dozens of archers had already aimed their arrows with shimmering cold light. But if there was any movement, they could shoot everyone in front of them as soon as they loosen their fingers. prick
Hedgehog look.
This time, in addition to the Shandong veterans he brought back to Tokyo, most of the people standing behind Sun Tu were officers and soldiers of the Huben Army. Although these people had only been practicing in the camp for half a month, their whole spirit and energy were completely different. Just the powerful momentum of the bows ready to go had already suppressed the scene, making the Gu family unable to wait. He dared to act rashly and couldn't even say a harsh word.
Even Gu Youzhi's face turned pale at this moment, his body trembled slightly, and his tone became weaker. He seemed to be pleading: "Marquis Yue, there must be some misunderstanding. Please be patient and let me speak." Understood, I will be very grateful when the time comes..."
"No need, I only believe in the evidence!" Sun Tu looked so upright at this time. Without looking at the other party's begging look, he strode towards the door: "Anyone who obstructs them will be punished as having evil intentions and will be killed without mercy!"
I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but his words of "kill without leaving his mouth" put a lot more pressure on everyone present, so that no one dared to stop him. If he said another word, they could only get out of the way hastily and let them go. Sun Tu led the people to drive in, and they wanted to search the Gu family's mansion.
At this moment, a group of people on the long street behind had hurried over. Seeing that Sun Tu and the others were about to enter, the leader immediately shouted: "Wait! I, Kaifeng Prefecture General Judge Zhong Yang, wait. Why do the soldiers dare to break into the people's mansion without permission? Do you still follow the king's laws?" As the shouts fell, people rushed in, but it was a middle-aged official who led twenty or thirty government officials to kill him.
Sun Tu stopped suddenly when he heard the sound, and turned to look over again. This Zhong Yang is in his forties, and his appearance is quite upright. However, the two decree lines on his face give people a sinister feeling, and his aura is not small. He is actually facing the situation of so many army lieutenants. He didn't even mean to show weakness at all. He just strode forward, met Sun Tu's eyes and said: "When did your imperial army have such authority? Why don't you retreat quickly?"
Sun Tu's eyes suddenly became focused, and he remembered what Cui Lueshang had mentioned that day, that Zhou Xiong was in the prison under his control, so it seemed that the master's death might be inseparable from this person. This made the hostility in his eyes suddenly increase, and his gaze was like a knife, directed at the opponent. At this time, Zhong Yang was a little unable to resist, and his steps forward suddenly stopped: "You... how are you doing?"
"Zhong Tongpan, you really have good eyes and ears. I just arrived here and you led the people here." Sun Tu sighed as if mockingly, and then said: "It seems that you have a close relationship with the Gu family. Ah. In that case, I might as well tell you the truth. I caught the Gu family on the spot transporting and selling bows and crossbows out of the capital. Do you want to protect them from such a serious crime? "
Zhong Yang really didn't know about this. After all, his identity was not enough, and the information was far less informed than Gao Qiu and others. Today, he was on duty at the Yamen, but he was informed that the imperial army suddenly surrounded the Gu family. Because he had benefited from the Gu family a lot over the years, he came immediately. After all, in his opinion, the Forbidden Army and the like are just little people who are easy to get rid of. As long as he is tough enough, he can not only sell well in front of the Gu family and get some real benefits, but he can also use them to climb the big tree behind them. .
Unexpectedly, this kick hit the iron plate directly, which made
Zhong Yang suddenly felt uneasy: "This... and such a thing? I, I really don't know."
"Hmph, it seems that you have an unusual relationship with the Gu family. In that case, you don't have to leave." Sun Tuzheng was worried that he couldn't handle this guy. How could he let him go now that he had brought him to his door? With a glance, soldiers surrounded Zhong Yang and captured Zhong Yang and the officials he brought with him.
"You... what do you want to do?" Zhong Yang panicked immediately. Such a big case was not something his little arms and legs could handle.
Sun Tu ignored him at this time and just waved his hand: "Search for me!"
Not even the hoped-for savior could stop the imperial army's search. Looking back, the entire family was completely dejected. They could only let a large number of officers and soldiers rush into their homes and conduct extensive searches, full of anxiety and frustration.
The Gu family's mansion occupies an area no smaller than that of Sun Tu's Marquis Mansion, and its decorations are even more luxurious. Once entering the courtyard, there are pavilions, pavilions, and rooms everywhere. The search work is indeed sufficient. Even if there are more than 500 imperial troops here, half of them will be left to guard outside if necessary, and the remaining half will have to search one or two houses alone. It was not an empty room. It was filled with all kinds of furniture, ornaments and books. It was really difficult for them to search out things from them.
Sun Tu glanced at it casually and knew that such an aimless search would not be effective. He immediately said: "First search Gu Youzhi and Gu Hui's residence and study. If there is relevant evidence, most of them will be found." It’s right there.”
Hearing this, Gu Youzhi, who had been arranged in the living room in the front yard, suddenly felt a shiver in his heart. There were many things in his study that were shady. If Sun Tu really let people take them away without hesitation and make them public, what else would happen? The blow to the Gu family was not as serious as smuggling bows and crossbows. But his change of expression also made Zhong Yang, who was also forcibly left behind, feel a chill in his heart. He really regretted his obsessive behavior just now.
Even though the scope of the search had been narrowed down, with the busy work of these soldiers who didn't know much about searching, it wasn't until after the third watch that some results were finally achieved. Some letters with strange contents were presented to Sun Tu, as well as some account books that could not be shown to anyone and could only be read by the Gu family and his son. In the end, they found two strange letters in a book on the shelf in Gu Hui's study. The letters written in the Song Dynasty completely confirmed his accusation of colluding with the enemy country.
When Sun Tu photographed these two letters in front of Gu Youzhi, the old man's face suddenly turned pale and his body was shaking like chaff: "This... how is this possible... I really don't know that there is such a thing, it must be a child." I was deceived, no, framed, so I wrote this letter..."
"As of now, the evidence is conclusive. No matter how you quibble, it will not change the fact that your Gu family is collaborating with the enemy." Sun Tu said, looking at the dark sky outside: "Soon, it will be dawn. I will report everything I discovered to His Majesty truthfully to find out what is going on. No matter who it is, as long as it is related to this case, I don’t think the court will let him go lightly." As he said this, he said thoughtfully Glancing at Zhong Yang who came to his door, he was so frightened that he slumped down on the seat.