Yancheng's government office is not a strange place to Gong Sheng, but compared to previous visits, the government office is quiet at this moment, which does reveal something strange.
Entering the inner hall, a pungent smell hit your face.
Gong Sheng couldn't help but frown. This smell was familiar to him—the corpse would emit a similar odor after being placed for a few days. When it turned into a foul smell, it also meant that the source had begun to decay.
When the white cloth spread on the ground was lifted, the captain's heart suddenly sank to the bottom.
The row of corpses lying on the ground were indeed faces he was familiar with, and the one at the top of the list was none other than Prefect Xiao himself.
He winked at the adjutant.
The latter squatted down and carefully inspected the prefect's nose and lips, "Sir... you are not pretending."
Damn it! He cursed hard in his heart, now the whole Shenzhou might change.
"Your Highness, what on earth is going on here?"
"Go and talk next door. I just need to report this to the Holy Mountain."
…
In the court, Ning Wanjun told the complete story compiled by Xia Fan. In the final analysis, everything started because of the greed of the Wang family.
"Are you sure that Wang Yi'an planned this? Just because the prefect found out that he was selling salt overseas privately?" Gong Sheng rubbed his forehead after hearing this. The Wang family has always been the dominant one in Jinxia. It is usually difficult to meet Wang Yi'an. Only General Qing can be his guest, so Gong Sheng has not had much dealings with him. But he had made friends with Taishou Xiao several times - according to his impression, the Taishou did not seem to be the kind of upright and self-denying person.
Will he really go against the Wang family openly for the sake of personal love
And... Jinxia City's coastal defense has not had any problems for nearly a hundred years. Why did the pirates suddenly get in touch with the gangs
"Are you doubting Her Highness the Princess?" Qiuyue couldn't help but scolded.
"I don't dare, I just want to-"
"You don't need to explain. I know you didn't mean it that way." Ning Wanjun stretched out her hand to stop Qiuyue's attack. "In the past two days, we have collected all the evidence related to this incident. Naturally, it is not empty talk. Who is here? , Submit the account books!”
"yes!"
Immediately, two attendants walked into the hall carrying a pile of books.
"These are all irrefutable evidence found in the Wang family's study - it records every amount of sea salt that was not declared to the court, and the amount is quite astonishing."
Gong Sheng didn't look.
Although he was literate, he was limited to simple letters. Even if he looked at such account books, he could not find any problems.
There were still only two thoughts in the captain's mind, but the content had changed drastically - one was that the military exploits that were so close to him were lost, and the other was that the Shenzhou Army arrived two days late, which led to the destruction of the Jinxia City government. Who would be responsible for this? responsibility.
"In addition... we also captured Wang Yi'an himself." The princess said leisurely, "As the culprit of this matter, I think it is necessary to send him to Shangyuan for trial."
Gong Sheng's heart skipped a beat, "He... is still alive?"
"good."
"Did he plead guilty?"
Ning Wanjun shrugged, "At least I didn't complain."
An idea suddenly popped into Gong Sheng's mind, "Your Highness, the pirate attack on the city you mentioned is very important, so I think... this person is very important."
"Of course."
"I have a suggestion." He suppressed his heartbeat. While cupping his hands, he said, "It's a long way from Shenzhou to Gyeonggi? What if something goes wrong? Your people may not be able to deal with it. Why not... let our Shenzhou Army be responsible for escorting us to ensure that the whole process is foolproof."
Ning Wanjun didn't answer immediately? After she looked at him with interest for a moment, she chuckled? "I guess the escort is fake? Taking credit is the real thing."
Gong Sheng didn't expect the princess to point it out so directly? He suddenly became stiff, "Uh, no... this, Your Highness..."
"Okay." Ning Wanjun leaned back a little? Said in a relaxed tone? "After all, this bandit disaster occurred within the territory where the Shenzhou Army was stationed. If nothing was done and a number of officials lost their heads, I'm afraid the commander-in-chief would also be worried, right? Did I mention that I served in the border army? Naturally, I know that the function is enough. What if the Shenzhou Army stepped in to solve the problem of pacifying the invaders? Maybe it can even become a great achievement."
This sentence simply hit Gong Sheng’s heart!
The pirates were seduced by the Wang family, and the prefect and others were killed by the Wang family. No one can change this. But as the princess said, as long as the pirates are suppressed by the Shenzhou Army, then not only do they have no fault, but they have merit, and with a little manipulation, the credit can be magnified several times! Originally, he planned to do something to Wang Yi'an on the way to escort, such as using torture to force him to change his confession, and adding Shenzhou Jun to the confession, but he did not expect that the princess would be so understanding!
"But I have no intention of sharing this credit with you in vain."
"Please tell me." Gong Sheng naturally knew that there is no such thing as a free pie in the world, "As long as it is something within the power of Shenzhou's military..."
"It's not that difficult." Ning Wanjun said slowly, "Jinxia City can resist this attack on its own, and it will definitely be the same next time. I don't want Shenzhou's garrison form to change too much to maintain the current situation. In best condition…”
Does the current situation mean that the princess herself is responsible for the guards on the city walls and the beacon sentries? Although it is somewhat unruly, the Shenzhou Army will not actually suffer any losses. Gong Sheng did not hesitate for too long, "As long as you can convince the new governor."
"Also, this achievement cannot be exclusively reserved for the Shenzhou Army. I don't need the Holy Emperor's reward, but the Privy Council does. Especially the commander-in-chief - he played a vital role in this incident."
"Your Majesty can slowly discuss these details with His Highness." Gong Sheng rubbed his hands eagerly, "As far as I'm concerned, there are still many areas where your memorial can be slightly improved."
"Oh? You said."
"For example, when the prefect discovered the salt smuggling and the Wang family became murderous, you can add a paragraph where Mr. Xiao wanted to blackmail Wang Yi'an, but the two failed to reach an agreement in the end. Of course, this is just the official's personal opinion, not yours. The investigation was wrong. I think this memorial should be based on the facts, but sometimes adding something can be more convincing than the facts... "
Ning Wanjun raised her lips, "Shenzhou Army has sent a good candidate."
"Your Highness is so complimentary." Gong Sheng saluted again, "What concerns me most is the safety of Shenzhou."
…
In the evening, the captain left from the west gate.
As soon as they left the city, some guards immediately approached, "Sir, I have checked everything you asked me to check. On one side of the north city wall, I saw part of the wall collapsed, and at the same time, it was overturning near the entrance to the sea. A big ship. The ship was much bigger than the navy's turtle-shell ship, and it was definitely not something a pirate could own. And near the east coast—"
Just in the middle of speaking, Gong Sheng reached out and interrupted his report, "No, these are pirates."
"Sir?" The guard was stunned.
"Didn't you hear what I said? The signs you saw were all caused by pirates." Gong Sheng patted him on the shoulder, "Notify everyone that we will go home tonight."
"Why don't we stay in Jinxia for one night before setting off?" the other party said in great surprise, "Brothers are holding back a lot of anger."
"What are you talking about! The princess loves the people and doesn't want them to be disturbed. How can we not disobey her? Stop being so nagging and call the teams to get ready!"
"Yes, my subordinates take orders!"
"Sir Captain," Lu Honghua said with a little worry when she saw the personal guard passing the order, "I'm afraid doing this will damage your prestige."
"So what, leave as early as possible to reach the station before the vanguard army can react. If other generals were to share the credit, wouldn't we have less in our hands?" the captain said disapprovingly, "As for prestige? If you stay in the military for a long time, you will naturally understand that only merit and rewards are truly outstanding things."