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The prison of the Ministry of punishment.
This is the second time for Xue Poye to come to this eerie place. It still smells of rancidity, and the groans of prisoners in the prison can be clearly heard in the cold air.
Xuan Yang and Yang Yao were serious offenders, so they were locked in a cell alone, guarded by heavy soldiers, and the prisoners could hardly fly.
Opening the heavy iron door, Xue Poye saw Yang Yao.
Yang Yao obviously went through a bloody battle last night. Even though he had changed into a prison uniform, his body was still covered in blood. Under the cover of the prison uniform, he was definitely full of scars.
Xue Poye knew that it was Qin Wuhen who took down Yang Yao in the end, and unceremoniously crippled his martial arts. At this moment, Xuan Yang and Yang Yao are actually two useless people.
Xuan Yang was locked in the prison next door, so there was only Yang Yao in this prison.
Yang Yao, whose limbs were bound by heavy shackles, watched Xue Poye's arrival calmly, without any expression on his face, but said indifferently: "Has he already run away?"
"He?" Xue Poye was taken aback for a moment, but soon realized that the "he" Yang Yao mentioned must be referring to the Moon King.
Xue Poye put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "So you know."
Yang Yao smiled coldly and asked, "Did Zuo Zixuan recruit you out? I'm a little surprised that you can still come here."
"Zuo Zixuan...is dead!" Xue Poye's voice was very calm.
Yang Yao was slightly taken aback, his face was extremely stiff, and after a while, he suddenly burst into laughter: "Good death, good death, he... should have died a long time ago."
Xue Poye touched his nose and said calmly: "Yang Yao, are you very disappointed now!"
"Lost?"
"That's right." Xue Poye said with a strange smile: "Your martial arts path that you have rested for many years is gone. I am afraid that not many people will recognize your position as the chief rudder of Qinglianzhao. Your ideal of restoring the country , is just a joke made by Zuo Zixuan for you, and your life will be trampled to death like an ant at any time... I can't find a reason why you don't feel lost."
Although he knew that Yang Yao's willpower must be very tenacious, but he also knew that he had to break Yang Yao's willpower, otherwise, he would definitely not be able to get the roster.
Now that King Mingyue has fled and the Great Chu court is preparing for battle, those nails lurking around the generals of the states must be removed as soon as possible.
"Should I be disappointed?" There was a trace of anger and sadness in Yang Yao's eyes.
"If it were me, I would be very disappointed. Because I see that my life is not long, but there are still a large group of brothers who will be buried with me... At least if I still have a conscience, I will feel very disturbed." Xue Poye sarcastically said.
The muscles on Yang Yao's face twitched, but he immediately sneered and said, "So you still want a roster when you come here."
Xue Poye said seriously: "I don't want the roster like a trap." He leaned closer to Yang Yao and said fiercely: "Yang Yao, let me tell you, I want the lives of those brothers, I don't want them to die unknown Bai, they think they died for their ideals, but how do they know that they are just your tools to collude with King Mingyue... I want to make your crime lighter."
The corner of Yang Yao's mouth twitched, and he closed his eyes.
"Yang Yao, I've always wondered that your majestic Qing Lianzhao, the chief helmsman, would be manipulated by Hua Xian, even like an unworldly child who easily believed in Zuo Zixuan's promise. A real Yang Yao. In my memory, Yang Yao is a hero who can usurp the position of chief helmsman. If he is not deeply scheming, if he is not well-planned, and if he is not courageous, it will be very difficult to do."
Xue Poye said leisurely and complacently, he could clearly see that the muscles of Yang Yao's entire face were twisting.
…
"More than half a year ago, under Hua Xian's persuasion, I went to the Northwest." Yang Yao leaned against the wall, and Xue Poye said unexpectedly: "That time, Hua Xian said that he was invited by King Mingyue. Let's go."
Xue Poye nodded. Without a doubt, Yang Yao seemed to be about to reveal some secrets.
"We haven't seen King Mingyue. Zuo Zixuan is responsible for welcoming and receiving us. Maybe I'm too confused, maybe I trust Hua Xian too much, or maybe it's the powerful troops in the northwest that shocked me. Huaxian stayed in Yongzhou for five days, and he clearly felt that the generals of Yongzhou were dissatisfied with the imperial court. They were making preparations. Under Huaxian's bewitching, I unexpectedly reached an agreement with Zuo Zixuan. My task It is to place nails around the generals of the prefectures of the states, and to stir up troubles in the states to attract the attention of the court. Once the army rises in the northwest, Qinglianzhao will cooperate with the inside and outside to overthrow the Great Chu. Establishing the Kingdom of Shu... It’s a pity that I didn’t realize it at the time, and with Hua Xian bewitching me, I really thought that there was hope for the restoration of the country.” Yang Yao’s face was haggard, and he let out a long sigh when he said this, in desperation, he was full of despondency .
Xue Poye rubbed his nose and said with a sneer: "You know, because of your ignorance, the brothers of Qinglianzhao's states exposed themselves greatly in order to stir up trouble, and the entire army of the Song Dynasty was wiped out... other states also suffered casualties. Even my Hangzhou sub-helm has lost the seventh junior sister and many brothers."
Xue Poye clearly saw that when he said "Seventh Junior Sister", Yang Yao's body trembled uncontrollably.
At that moment, Yang Yao's face showed pain.
Xue Poye frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Why did you get involved in the silver theft incident again? I'm still surprised that this operation was done so secretly that the court didn't even notice it. It's really strange. It stands to reason To put it bluntly, even if your hands and feet are quick, if you want to hide tens of millions of taels of official silver in the walls and underground, it can't be done in a day or two. The bank of the household department is inspected every day , could it be that you didn't see the flaw?"
Yang Yao snorted coldly and said, "You should remember Chen Shangting, right?"
"Chen Shangting?" Xue Poye frowned, the name was extremely familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.
"The former Minister of the Household Department, the one who committed suicide by taking poison after the treasury was stolen." Yang Yao reminded lightly.
Xue Poye was stunned, and suddenly remembered that this Chen Shangting was indeed the former Minister of the Household Department. He committed suicide immediately after the bank was stolen. Wei Shantai found a piece of paper from his body, which read " The word "Tian Dao" has not yet been able to solve the mystery in it.
In addition to being the Minister of the Household Department, Chen Shangting also has another identity, that is, the father-in-law of Princess Yi.
It's just that Chen Qian, the son of Chen Shangshu, drank too much alcohol and died on the day of his wedding, so Princess Yi became a widow on the first day of his wedding.
"You mean, Chen Shangting belongs to you?"
Yang Yao said indifferently: "Without Chen Shangting, the secretary of the household department, how could such a big movement in the bank go unnoticed? People in the court thought that there were people patrolling the household bank's bank every day, but they I don’t know, since the tunnel was dug, Chen Shangting has privately prohibited Dali treasury officials from entering the treasury for inspection, and strictly prohibited anyone from entering the treasury compound of the Ministry of Households, so they have enough time to hide the official bank.”
"So that's how it is." Xue Poye sighed, "But...how did you persuade Chen Shangting?"
"You want to know?" Yang Yao looked at Xue Poye with a strange look.
Xue Poye nodded: "Yes, I want to know."
"Okay, I'll tell you." Yang Yao said lightly, "For his son!"
Xue Poye thought for a while and said, "Chen Qian?"
"That's right. Do you know how Chen Qian died? It's said that he died of drinking too much on the wedding night. That's a lie... The one who really killed Chen Qian was the eldest princess with a heart of snakes and scorpions...! "Yang Yao sneered and said word by word: "In other words, it was the mother-in-law who killed the son-in-law."
Xue Poye was stunned for a moment, unable to speak for a while.
He had guessed a long time ago, knowing that Chen Qian's death was full of doubts, and the so-called "sudden death from excessive drinking" was just an official statement. , How can you drink too much and die suddenly? Even if the bridegroom was full of joy that day, the groom was overly excited and drank a few more glasses, but others would definitely dissuade the groom when he was drinking too much, and he would definitely not drink too much.
But he never expected that Chen Qian would die at the hands of the eldest princess.
He couldn't believe it.
Yang Yao seemed to see disbelief from his expression, and said lightly: "Believe it or not, at this point, I, Yang Yao, don't have to lie to you."
"Reason!" Xue Poye said slowly, "Why did the eldest princess do anything to Chen Qian?"
Yang Yao sneered and said: "Master Xue, it seems that although you have been in court, the news is really not good. Surely you don't know about such a big matter?" After a pause, he said: "Chen Shangting's family, It rose during the time of Emperor Yangwu, so from a certain point of view, the Chen family has a very deep relationship with King Mingyue. That time betrothed Princess Yi to Chen Qian, it was actually Deqing's little brother to appease the Chen family. The method is just to win King Mingyue's heart."
"Then why did the eldest princess intervene?"
"Because the eldest princess and King Mingyue have always had a grudge, she always thought that King Mingyue was deceiving Deqing, but in fact, she has been resenting the court with ulterior motives." Yang Yao sighed: "She is a smart woman, I am afraid she has already guessed Sooner or later there will be a battle between the imperial court and King Mingyue, and the Chen family will most likely seek refuge with King Mingyue, and at that time, her daughter will also be involved in disputes."
Xue Poye frowned: "You mean, the eldest princess has been guarding against King Mingyue?"
"The meaning of Zuo Zixuan's words is the truth. Zuo Zixuan is also very jealous of that woman. Zuo Zixuan also said that although Deqing is very affectionate to King Mingyue, it is because King Mingyue made him If Deqing takes action against King Mingyue again, people all over the world will call Deqing a despicable and shameless villain, and his throne will not be stable at that time. In fact, why does Deqing not want to deal with Yongzhou? It's just that the time has not come. He wants to leave it to his successor king to solve Yongzhou... And King Mingyue's subordinates are waiting for the opportunity to appear... When they learned that Deqing was seriously ill, they started to deal with it. I am ready to march eastward." Yang Yao said slowly, "The eldest princess is also very clear about all this, so she doesn't want her daughter to be involved, but Deqing's imperial decree has been issued, so it is difficult to change it. Therefore, she could only send someone to pour a colorless and odorless poison into Chen Qian's wine glass on the day of her wedding."
"She's not afraid of being found out?" Xue Poye frowned.
"Afraid?" Yang Yao snorted coldly: "Chen Shangting saw it that night...but what can he do? Is he going to confront the eldest princess in court? Although he knows it well, he has no evidence at hand. How dare he fight the eldest princess? Challenge?"
Xue Poye touched his nose and sighed: "That is to say, Chen Shangting was bought by you because of the loss of his beloved son to deal with the court together?"
Yang Yao glanced at Xue Poye, and said calmly: "When a person loses his son, the pain in his heart is definitely beyond the comprehension of outsiders. As long as there is a chance to avenge his beloved son, he will never let it go. .”
Xue Poye shook his head and asked, "Then how did Xuanyang and Gongsuncheng take refuge in King Mingyue's hands?"
"Grace!" Yang Yao said lightly: "They repay Yang Wu's kindness to King Mingyue... Although I don't know what kind of kindness is in it, but it can make Xuanyang abandon the national teacher and the eight-way warrior. As a subordinate of King Mingyue, Yangwu must have given Xuanyang a great favor."
…
After a moment of silence in the prison, Xue Poye said lightly: "Since you don't want to hand over the roster, I won't say much." After a pause, he said: "But I want you to know that if the court makes the people die If it continues, people will naturally come to overthrow it, but if the people can live in peace, then no matter how capable Qinglianzhao is, she will not accomplish any great things in the end... only people will die, and many people will die meaninglessly. Maybe in the future Before long, those nails you arranged... will all die...!"
Having said that, Xue Poye sighed, said nothing more, put his hands behind his back, turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
Yang Yao said suddenly.
Xue Poye stopped and asked, "What else do you want to say?"
Yang Yao said slowly: "I can hand over the roster to you!"
Xue Poye turned around and looked at Yang Yao: "After all, you are not beyond hopeless."
Yang Yao looked serious: "Do you know why I told you so much? Do you know why I handed over the roster?"
"Isn't it for Qinglianzhao to save some people from dying? Isn't it for those loyal subordinates not to die in vain?" Xue Poye asked coldly.
Yang Yao said calmly: "Maybe. But I hand over the roster, and you have to promise me one thing."
"I'm not here to negotiate terms with you." Xue Poye said indifferently.
Yang Yao seemed a little angry, but still sighed: "It's just a request before I die... You are also Qinglianzhao's person."
Xue Poye pondered for a moment before asking, "What request?"
"Help me take care of the little fairy!" Yang Yao looked extremely sad: "Now that Qinglianzhao is torn apart, and her future is uncertain, maybe you are the only one who can take good care of her."
"Little Fairy?" Xue Poye frowned, wondering why Yang Yao mentioned Little Fairy at this moment.
Yang Yao seemed to be much older all of a sudden, leaning against the wall, his voice became extremely soft: "She is still a child, I hope you can keep her away from those grievances... Her sister is gone, and I am leaving soon , she has no relatives... So, you must take good care of her, otherwise, I, Yang Yao, will not let you go even if I am a ghost."
Xue Poye was stunned for a moment, blinked his eyes, he suddenly understood something, and sighed: "You...why bother!"
Yang Yao closed his eyes and said calmly, "Come here, I will tell you the whereabouts of the list!"
…
…
Coming out of the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Xue Poye already knew the whereabouts of the roster.
He quickly found the roster according to the location Yang Yao said. The content in the roster is very clear. The person's real name, pseudonym, and current identity are all recorded in it, and there are also contact codes.
Xue Poye knew. If this roster is handed over to the court, even if he wants to save the lives of those nails, the officials of the court will not agree. These are the thorns in the court's eyes, and it is absolutely impossible to allow these people to live.
The people on the list are twenty-one of the thirty-six prefectures in the Great Chu. There are a total of hundreds of people, which can be said to be powerful, and many of them have served as some local officials.
If these nails were to retreat quietly, someone from Qinglianzhao would be needed. After much deliberation, Miss Lv was definitely the most suitable candidate, but she still doesn't know if she is still in that small village.
The top priority is that the nails in Qingzhou, Yizhou and Huizhou must be pulled out. After thinking twice, Xue Poye found Wei Shantai again, borrowed more than ten purple clothes from Xu Ping, and sent them to the three states to contact the people lurking there through codes. Nails, so they quickly evacuated.
The less people know about this matter, the better. The purple clothes are all masters of the dark, and they do the best job of keeping secrets.
Before leaving, Xue Poye repeatedly explained that he should not confront those nails head-on, let alone reveal his identity as Ziyi, but appeared as a messenger and ordered the nails to evacuate.
The purple clothes are naturally obeying the order.
For more than ten days in a row, apart from ordering the army to prepare for war, the most important thing for the imperial court was to send people to inquire about news from Yongzhou to determine whether Yongzhou had taken any action.
Although a document was issued ordering the states to track down the traces of King Mingyue, King Mingyue seemed to have disappeared from the world suddenly. Although the states sent people to patrol openly and secretly, there was no news at all.
The imperial court also understood that with the ability of King Mingyue's subordinates, it would not be very difficult to escort King Mingyue back to Yongzhou without being noticed.
After half a month, news suddenly came from various states, not good news, but bad news.
In the streets and alleys of the state capitals, countless notices were suddenly posted overnight. These notices were not made by the government, and they were not even signed, but the content was surprisingly consistent.
The content is very simple, claiming that King Mingyue traveled all the way to Kyoto in order to worship the late emperor, but was treated unfairly by the court and imprisoned. Not only that, because the imperial court was afraid of Mingyue King's prestige, they wanted to kill Mingyue King, fabricated false evidence, and slandered Mingyue King. A group of righteous men in the rivers and lakes rescued the Mingyue King from the claws of the court angrily, and escorted him back to the northwest.
At the end of the notice, it was proclaimed: "The imperial court is corrupt, the officials are stupid, and the loyal and good people are framed. The heaven and the earth will not tolerate it. We are willing to support the Mingyue King and reorganize the government!"
The rebellious words in this announcement turned out to be shocking, and the people in all states immediately talked about it.
Although the government tried its best to track down and confiscated the notice leaflets, not only failed to catch a rebel, but these leaflets seemed to have fallen from the sky, and they were not restrained because of the government's confiscation.
In the Great Chu Empire, people's hearts are floating!