Jiang Yanyi said slowly, "Jianjia, how about handing this sheepskin scroll over to the government to deal with?"
Huo Jianjia nodded: "If this thing falls into the hands of others, it may cause disaster. It would be best to hand it over to the government."
She touched the handle of the big knife behind her back, her eyes like a little wolf: "I only have one request. If the group of people who killed my father are caught, and there is a female itinerant doctor among them, I will chop off her head myself!"
"Female traveling doctor?" Jiang Yanyi paused while holding the parchment scroll.
The loose hair hanging down from Huo Jianjia's forehead blocked her eyes. Only the corners of her mouth were tightly pursed, revealing a bit of stubbornness: "That itinerant doctor is good at making incense and smoke, and my father was fooled by her!"
Jiang Yanyi asked hurriedly, "What does the female itinerant doctor you mentioned look like?"
Huo Jianjia gestured with her hands: "She is a woman in her late 40s, half a head shorter than you, about this tall, of medium build."
What Huo Jianjia described was consistent with what Jiang Yanyi had met before, and she had just heard Xing Yao say that someone had taken advantage of the fire to burn a large amount of smoke when there was an attack in Pipa Lane.
I also met a female itinerant doctor at the market before and she bought food for several people...
Jiang Yanyi's expression changed slightly: "We will catch the murderer."
She looked at Huo Jianjia's bloodstained clothes and said, "Go to next door to find Qiu Kui first, wash up and change into clean clothes."
Huo Jianjia wiped the blood off her face and went back obediently.
Jiang Yanyi walked out of the flower hall quickly, and after asking the servants of Feng Mansion, he learned that he was in the study. After going over to tell Feng Shuo about the sheepskin scroll, he said, "There is a female itinerant doctor named Fang in the city. She should have accomplices hiding in her residence. They are most likely the remnants of the previous dynasty who kidnapped Jiang Yanxi."
In the original book, the person who recognized Jiang Yanxi as a princess of the previous dynasty in the village outside the Great Wall was a female physician named Fang.
Jiang Yanyi had never thought about the former dynasty's old subordinates outside the Great Wall before. After all, in the original book, the plot was triggered when the hero and heroine arrived outside the Great Wall.
But based on the current clues, the female itinerant doctor named Fang is undoubtedly the female doctor who prescribed medicine for the heroine in the original book and almost caused the heroine to poison Emperor Feng Shiyan.
A group of female traveling doctors robbed the sheepskin scroll that Huo Jianjia and her father used as escort, apparently intending to use it as a bargaining chip to cooperate with the Marquis of Xing'an.
When war breaks out, it is always the people at the bottom who suffer. Currently, the world is divided into three parts. In the southeast is the faction of Fan Wei and Prince of Xinyang, in the northwest is Feng Shuo, and in the center is the power of the new emperor Feng Shiyan.
The three parties each have their own constraints. Although there has never been peace, they dare not fight hard in order to preserve their strength. The spread of war is limited and will not harm more innocent people.
She and Feng Shuo both intended not to let people from the previous dynasty get involved and muddy the waters. After all, the old ministers of the previous dynasty wanted to restore their country, so they wished the world would be more chaotic. The more miserable the people's lives were, the more support they would get if they jumped out to make big promises.
Now that people from the previous dynasty suddenly popped up, it was obvious that someone was deliberately pulling this line.
Calculating the time, the last time she caught a cold, the female traveling doctor had already come to Xizhou. Wasn’t it after Jiang Yanxi was arrested
Feng Shuo asked Xing Yao to find Lu Linyuan, most likely because he suspected Lu Linyuan.
Although they had already locked onto Jiang Yanxi's location at the Jixiang Inn, the female traveling doctor's residence must also be a stronghold. Feng Shuo quickly ordered his trusted men to set up an ambush, and specifically told them not to alert the enemy.
Once the net is closed at Jixiang Inn, any escaped remnants of the previous dynasty who are looking for a hiding place will have to retreat there. Catching them all in one fell swoop is much easier than searching the entire city.
After making all these arrangements, Feng Shuo looked at the blank sheepskin scroll on the table and asked Jiang Yanyi: "Can you trust what your maid said?"
Jiang Yanyi said: "My people have been keeping an eye on her for a while, it's credible."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chi Qing came in from outside in a hurry: "Where is the treasure map of the previous dynasty?"
When he entered the room, he found Jiang Yanyi was also inside, and he quickly bowed: "Miss Chu."
Jiang Yanyi bowed in return.
Feng Shuo handed the treasure map to Chi Qing: "Can you see what's going on?"
"Blank?" Chi Qing muttered as he took the parchment scroll and flipped it over. He also rubbed the edge of the parchment scroll with his hand, but found no compartment inside. His interest was immediately lost. He curled his lips and said, "This parchment scroll is probably fake. It might be a play directed and performed by the former ministers, just to get Xing'an Marquis to join the game and help them save people."
He returned the parchment scroll to Feng Shuo and poured himself a cup of tea to quench his thirst. "It's a good thing I rushed here as soon as I heard the news. I thought I could use the money to buy some weapons for the soldiers and a whole army of heavy cavalry. I was so happy for nothing!"
Heavy cavalry was raised with countless silver coins and had an absolute advantage on the battlefield. Light cavalry was good at marching and carrying out some raids, but would be defeated if facing heavy cavalry on a frontal battlefield.
Heavy cavalry, from soldiers to horses, are heavily armored, so long-range arrows cannot hurt them at all, and they can only fight in close combat. When light cavalry fight against fully armed heavy cavalry at close range, the light cavalry may not be able to hurt the heavy cavalry even if they slash several times, while the heavy cavalry can kill or injure the light cavalry with just one strike.
On the battlefield, if there is a heavy cavalry, in a head-on confrontation, the heavy cavalry can crush the opponent's infantry camp, and the infantry behind can then clean up the mess and make the final blow, the chances of winning will be much greater.
However, it is extremely difficult to form a heavy cavalry. Almost all the best soldiers in the barracks are selected. After all, wearing heavy armor and wielding weapons requires both skills and physical fitness of the cavalry.
War horses also have to be of high quality. Not only do they have to carry heavily armored cavalry, but they also have to wear armor to protect themselves from being cut by swords. Inferior horses simply cannot run with these loads.
In order to prevent rebellion by their subjects, emperors of all dynasties did not allow their subjects to privately maintain heavy cavalry. Only the emperor had heavy cavalry troops.
There are many hills in the south of Xizhou, so the advantage of heavy cavalry cannot be brought into play, so they can hold out against the court. But outside the border of Xizhou, most of the terrain is flat, and sooner or later they will have to face the court head-on, and they cannot do without a heavy cavalry unit.
The more expectations Chi Qing had before he came, the more disappointed he is now.
Feng Shuo had not originally pinned his hopes on the treasure map, so he did not think this result was anything special. He glanced at Chi Qing and said, "Didn't I ask you to go and raise the money?"
This tough job was given to himself because Chi Qing had been talking nonsense a few days ago and had teased Feng Shuo about how he finally had the chance to have dinner at Jiang Yanyi's place in broad daylight but failed to go.
He said bitterly, "I have tried every possible way to get money from the merchants in Xizhou, but these merchants are also cunning. They are rich, but they are better than anyone else at crying poor and begging for mercy. If you don't care about your reputation, I can just take people to rob them."
Feng Shuo glared at him.
Chi Qing helplessly spread his hands: "Then I have no choice."
Jiang Yanyi had been silent until he heard this: "The wealthy businessmen in Xizhou have established a chamber of commerce. I will try to start with the chamber of commerce."
If Feng Shuo exerted pressure forcefully, he could make the wealthy businessmen bleed heavily, but by doing so, the reputation he had worked so hard to build up would be gone. He had to make the wealthy businessmen "willingly" pay out of their pockets.
Feng Shuo raised his eyelids and looked at her: "What do you want to do?"
Jiang Yanyi said: "Defeat them one by one."
She brought Ruyilou and the noodle shop to join the Chamber of Commerce, and the profit pie in the Chamber of Commerce had to be redistributed. Through the successful bidding for Ruyilou, people in the Chamber of Commerce also knew that Feng Shuo was behind her.
She tried to win over the merchants one by one, hinting that they could get a bigger piece of the pie by donating money to support military supplies. As long as one person no longer spoke in unison with the other merchants, the other merchants would become nervous, and in order to avoid being kicked out and keep the piece of the pie that originally belonged to them, they would have no choice but to follow suit and contribute.
Chi Qing's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands and said, "This is a good idea."
Feng Shuo thought about it for a moment and seemed to think that this idea was feasible. He nodded and said, "Let me know if you need the cooperation of the government office."
Jiang Yanyi went to paint a rosy picture for the merchants, and the government had to spread some rumors to scare off those old foxes.
Chi Qing held the teacup in both hands, looked at Jiang Yanyi and then at Feng Shuo, "Isn't this something I'm responsible for?"
Why do you need to inform Feng Shuo if you need cooperation
Feng Shuo said calmly: "I will personally supervise the construction. You go back and supervise the construction of the city defense."
Chi Qing: “…”
What about human nature
***
Since the beginning of winter, heavy snow has almost never stopped in Xizhou.
Lu Linyuan stood in the yard, looking at the dead branches covered with snow outside the wall, his eyes were like a dry well, calm and still. He looked thinner than before, with a sable brocade cape on his shoulders, and he would cough from time to time.
His servant came from the kitchen with a bowl of freshly boiled medicine: "Master, it's time to take the medicine."
There were two birds resting on the dead branches. Lu Linyuan looked at the birds and said, "Let's leave them alone for now."
The servant muttered, "I'm afraid your cough hasn't gotten better because of the last illness."
He was talking about the time when Lu Linyuan braved the wind and snow to look for Jiang Yanxi for a day and a night.
At this moment, the courtyard door was slammed twice, and the servant ran to open the door: "Come here, come here, who is it?"
As soon as the gate was opened, the servant saw a team of armored guards and fell silent instantly.
Xing Yao stepped into the courtyard and showed the token of Feng Mansion: "Mr. Lu, please accompany me."
Lu Linyuan just picked up the medicine bowl, and he was a little surprised that Xing Yao suddenly came to him. There was also a hint of hidden uneasiness on his face. He put down the medicine bowl and bowed and asked: "Excuse me, what happened? Where is Guard Xing taking me?"
Xing Yao said, "Mr. Lu will know when he sees the prince."
As soon as Xing Yao mentioned Feng Shuo, Lu Linyuan's feeling of uneasiness in his heart became even more severe.
After returning to Xizhou City, he has been very cautious and should not reveal his true identity.
**
When he arrived at the study in Feng Mansion, he still greeted Feng Shuo as before: "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
Feng Shuo sat at the desk, raised his eyelids and looked at the young man who was bowing below: "Do you remember what you said to me in this study that day?"
Feng Shuo didn't let him stand up, so Lu Linyuan kept bowing. These words without a beginning or an end implied a warning. His heart sank, and he replied respectfully: "I remember."
Feng Shuo said, "It's good that you remember it. Now tell me, who let the person who rescued Xipin into Xizhou City?"
Lu Linyuan was terrified, but his face showed just the right amount of surprise: "Xipin was rescued?"
Feng Shuo narrowed his eyes. Considering Lu Linyuan's meritorious service several times, he wanted to give him another chance, but Lu Linyuan's words made him lose his patience.
The sharpness in his eyes was like a knife tip, but he spoke slowly and leisurely: "Lu Linyuan, I didn't kill you not because you are Lu Mengxue's only son, but because I was afraid of being criticized by Confucian scholars. You are still alive now, but I remember that you saved hundreds of lives in Dingjia Village."
Lu Linyuan knelt down hurriedly, half frightened, half terrified, and a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty, calm down."
Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and righteous.
When he went to Yuzhou as an envoy to lobby Xing'an Hou, Chu Chengmao and his party were still hostages in the hands of Emperor Feng Shiyan. Jiang Yanxi became a bargaining chip in Feng Shuo's hands, and even nearly had a finger cut off to coerce Feng Shiyan.
After all, she was the person he had been obsessed with all his life, and Jiang Yanxi fell into the trap just to save him. How could he bear it!
Jiang Yanxi would not have an easy life whether in the hands of Feng Shuo or Feng Shiyan, so he contacted his old subordinates from the previous dynasty, wanting Jiang Yanxi to follow them to hide outside the Great Wall and stay away from the vortex of power.
The letter was written in Yuzhou, and no one else in the world knew about it except him. He didn't know why Feng Shuo suspected him. The fear of the unknown made him sweat coldly on his back, soaking his inner clothes in an instant.
Feng Shuo looked at him from above: "For the sake of those hundreds of lives, as long as you tell the truth, I will never pursue the matter. Did you have anything to do with the remnants of the previous dynasty who rescued Xipin?"
He was known as the "Living King of Hell" in the army, and his aura was indeed beyond the ability of a mere scholar like Lu Linyuan to withstand.
Lu Linyuan's hands were shaking unconsciously because of his kneeling posture. He kowtowed again to cover up the shaking in his hands: "I hope Your Majesty can understand that I know nothing about Concubine Xi being rescued!"
Feng Shuo narrowed his eyes and said, "I heard that Mr. Lu is having a very hard time in the capital now. You might as well go down and think about it carefully before deciding whether to tell the truth to me."
Lu Linyuan had made many contributions in the government office, and the only time he committed a serious mistake with evidence was last time. Although he suspected that the influx of former dynasty's old subordinates into Xizhou was related to Lu Linyuan, this was just a guess and there was no evidence.
Feng Shuo had long expected that it would be impossible to get anything out of Lu Linyuan easily, so he summoned him today, firstly to trick him to see if he could get any result out of him, and secondly to find a reason to lock him up first.
He was about to take action to deal with Marquis Xing'an. Even if the former dynasty's infiltration into Xizhou City had nothing to do with Lu Linyuan, given the friendship between the Lu family and Marquis Xing'an, and the fact that Marquis Xing'an was persuaded by Lu Linyuan to come here, in order to avoid any accidents, he had to make sure that Lu Linyuan would not tip off.
After Lu Linyuan was taken away by the palace soldiers and put under custody, Feng Shuo glanced at the sky outside the window, then looked away and continued to deal with official documents.
In another half an hour, there should be news coming from the Jixiang Inn.
***
Jixiang Inn is located in the east of the city and is the best inn in Xizhou City.
Ever since Xing'an Hou arrived in Xizhou, Jixiang Inn has been booked and never receives outsiders.
There is a main street at the entrance of the inn, and along the street there are vendors setting up stalls or peddlers carrying their goods on their shoulders and hawking their wares.
Although heavy snow was falling, the streets were bustling with people, and the accumulated snow was quickly trampled into pieces, exposing the blue stone slabs that paved the streets.
The sound of horse hooves came from afar, and the scarlet cloak behind the person riding the Lion Stallion fluttered in the cold wind. The reins of the Lion Stallion were pulled in when it reached the door of the inn, and then it was clearly seen that the person on the horse was a woman.
"The county lady is back!" The guard at the door of the inn hurried forward to lead the horse.
Yang Zheng turned over and got off the horse, and the eyebrow pendant hanging on her forehead swayed slightly a few times.
The pendant was made of agate, and its cinnabar red color made Yang Zheng's skin look as white as snow.
She glanced at the street and her eyes suddenly changed.
Something's wrong!
This afternoon, all the people doing business in the stalls and shopping on this street were strong men, but there were no women or children at all!
When Yang Zheng handed the reins to the guard who came over, he asked, "Where is my father?"
The guard found nothing unusual and said respectfully, "The Marquis is in the room."
Yang Zheng pushed aside the guards and went into the inn. As soon as he entered, he saw several unfamiliar faces. Yang Zheng frowned tightly.
Several former subordinates of the previous dynasty noticed the hostility in Yang Zheng's eyes and stared at her with eager eyes.
It was only after the attendant Chang Sui beside Marquis Xing'an came out and called out "County Princess" that those people calmed down their hostility.
Yang Zheng pursed his lips and asked, "Are these the new employees of the inn? They didn't even know how to greet me when they saw me. They have no manners at all!"
Her tone was arrogant, as if she was just a spoiled girl from a wealthy family.
The contact between Xing'an Hou and Fang Zhi had been kept secret from Yang Zheng. Chang Sui was worried about how to explain these people to her. When Yang Zheng asked, he followed her words and said, "Please calm down, my lady. I will deal with these servants."
Yang Zheng snorted and said to Chang Sui, "I'm hungry. Hurry and bring some food to my room!"
Several former subordinates downstairs had already regarded her as an arrogant and brainless young lady and did not take her seriously.
After going upstairs, Yang Zheng keenly noticed that there was someone guarding the door of a room. She didn't say anything and went straight back to her room.
Chang Sui quickly took the waiter of the inn to bring food upstairs to Yang Zheng. After Yang Zheng sent the waiter away, she asked her personal maid to close the door, pulled out a dagger and put it against Chang Sui's neck. Her cold and ruthless tone was completely different from her arrogant appearance downstairs in the inn: "What's going on with those people downstairs in the inn? Who is in the room opposite?"
Chang Sui was completely unprepared for Yang Zheng, and was frightened when a sharp knife was suddenly thrust at his neck. "County... County Master, please put down the knife first..."
Yang Zheng said in a low voice: "You bastard, if you want to live, tell me now! There are assassins everywhere outside the inn. Who else do you think can deploy these assassins in the land of Dizhou?"
Yang Zheng's words frightened Chang Sui out of his wits. He knew very well what Xing'an Marquis was planning. If the King of Liaonan knew that they had ulterior motives and wanted to take action against them, this was Xizhou, on the territory of the King of Liaonan. They would have no way out!
Chang Sui told all the plans of Xing'an Hou and his former subordinates.
After hearing this, Yang Zheng was so angry that she slammed the dagger on the table, "Father is really stupid!"
Chang Sui said: "The Marquis also wants to vent your anger for you..."
"I really hope that the King of Liaonan will marry someone else. Why should my father vent my anger for me?" Yang Zheng was so anxious that his head hurt.
Chang Sui was speechless. Xing'an Hou agreed to cooperate with his former subordinates, and he more or less had some thoughts of becoming king himself.
He said, "I will arrange a carriage to take you and the prince out of the city."
Yang Zheng sneered: "Those people outside are keeping a close eye on the inn. I'm afraid the carriage will be riddled with arrows before it even leaves this street!"
Chang Sui panicked: "This... What should I do..."
Yang Zheng said: "The only solution now is for us to capture these former rebels and hand them over! Ask the kitchen to prepare meals and put drugs in the food!"
Directly kidnapping someone would alert the enemy, so it would be quicker to use medicine.
Chang Sui went down immediately to arrange personnel.
It was dinner time and the kitchen in the inn had already started cooking. The former officials knew that Marquis Xing'an was now on the same side as them, so they were not on guard against Marquis Xing'an's men. When the food was served, they looked at the table full of fish and meat and ate heartily. Soon they were all mesmerized.
The two guards standing at the door of Jiang Yanxi's room saw their companions downstairs falling down one after another, and finally realized that something was wrong. However, they were outnumbered and were soon tied up by Yang Zheng's men.
When the door was kicked open, Jiang Yanxi, who was crying secretly because of her life experience, was also frightened and trembled. She looked at Yang Zheng, whose face was as cold as ice, and was afraid instinctively: "Who are you?"
Yang Zheng glanced at her and ordered his attendants: "Tie her up."
Soon someone came forward and tied up Jiang Yanxi. She wanted to shout for help, but her mouth was blocked again.
Marquis Xing'an, who had been in the room, heard the noise of two guards being tied up. When he walked out of the room, he saw Jiang Yanxi was also tied up.
Xing'an Hou's eyelids jumped: "Zheng'er, what are you doing?"
Yang Zheng was furious: "It's all your fault, father. If you don't hand him over, we'll probably die in Xizhou!"
Before Xing'an Hou could react to Yang Zheng's words, his attendant said with a look of impending disaster: "My Lord, the King of Liaonan has found out about us. There are assassins everywhere outside the inn! The King of Liaonan wants to kill you and take over Yuzhou!"
Xing'an Hou was also stunned by Feng Shuo's thunderous means, but he still had a glimmer of hope: "How is it possible? There are so many people in Xizhou City. Even if he checked every household, it would take several days..."
A few days would be enough for him to get the treasure map. At worst, if he couldn't hide it anymore, he would just turn around and sell out his former subordinates, then go back to look for the treasure.
He thought Feng Shuo would at least send someone to test the waters, and he had even thought of a Tai Chi excuse, but he didn't expect the other party to directly arrange a trap-like stranglehold.
How could he know that after the two previous searches, every five households in Xizhou City were divided into a group with a group leader, and every ten households were divided into a squad with a squad leader. Whenever the government investigated someone, the people would supervise and report on each other. If they knew something but did not report it, all ten families would be punished.
As long as a search order is issued, the results will be out in less than half a day.
Yang Zheng didn't want to waste any more words with Xing'an Hou, and said angrily: "Father, why don't you go out and take a look yourself, and you will know whether what I said is a lie or not!"
After all, Xing'an Hou had served in the army for many years. When he looked out from the door of the inn, he knew that what Yang Zheng said was true. He took a half step back in shock, and all the blood drained from his face.
He regretted it deeply and sighed: "I underestimated the King of Liaonan. I underestimated him! This time... even if we hand over the princess and her party, I'm afraid the King of Liaonan will not let us go..."
"Zheng'er, your father is sorry for you!"
Yang Zheng was surprisingly calm: "Hand over Yuzhou as well. Maybe there is still a glimmer of hope."
Surrendering Yuzhou is equivalent to surrendering military power, and they will no longer pose a threat to Feng Shuo.
Xing'an Hou was still dreaming of becoming a local emperor in the morning, but now he was forced to hand over his military power. He couldn't even catch his breath and vomited so hard that he fell ill and was bedridden.
***
When Xing Yao brought back the news, Feng Shuo was quite surprised.
Chi Qing clicked his tongue twice. "This Xing'an Marquis's wife is actually three times stronger than her father. Before you took action, she took the initiative to hand over the person, and put forward a scapegoat to say that Xing'an Marquis had been kept in the dark. Then she offered Yuzhou to you. What a good move to sacrifice the pawn to save the king."
If they confront Feng Shuo with force and lose their lives, they will lose everything.
Using this best of worst options, he could save his life without losing face, and he also thought of a reason for Feng Shuo not to pursue them.
Feng Shuo ignored Chi Qing and asked Xing Yao, "Have all the rebels from the previous dynasty been arrested?"
Xing Yao clasped his fists and said, "There is still a female itinerant doctor who has not been found. According to the people from Xing'an Marquis's side, the female itinerant doctor has not returned since she went out in the afternoon, and the people who were guarding near the female itinerant doctor's home did not see her anywhere."
Feng Shuo said: "Catch him as soon as possible."
"I obey your command." Xing Yao said and left in a hurry to continue looking for the female traveling doctor.
Several thorny matters were settled. Chi Qing was in a very good mood and took an orange from the fruit bowl. While peeling it, he asked, "How do you plan to deal with the princess of the former dynasty?"
Feng Shuo said in a calm voice: "I want to exchange her and the new emperor for 3,000 dan of grain. Do you think the new emperor is willing?"
The orange was a bit sour, and Chi Qing's nose and eyes were almost wrinkled together, but because of shock, his eyes were wide open, which was quite funny: "After blackmailing the new emperor, you also gave him a pillow knife?!"
He hissed, "As expected of you!"
The author has something to say: Chi Qing: Too insidious! Too treacherous!
Suddenly I found that the nutrient solution is 3w+, so I added another chapter and merged it and posted it (akimbo.jpg)
For the sake of my extra chapters, can you please humbly ask for a closing? qaq, click into the author's column and collect the author's bacteria~ I beg all the readers who have passed by to
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