On the way back to the city, Wen Qingzhu met Lei Yan who was coming over.
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
Wen Qingzhu shook his head: "It's okay, let's go back first."
Lei Yan felt relieved when he saw her calm expression. When he turned to look at Lei Shuo, he found that something was wrong with her expression.
He rode over and walked side by side with her. No matter how he asked, Lei Shuo just wouldn't say anything.
Not long after leaving, Gu Kuo rode his horse to Wen Qingzhu's side and said goodbye: "Since Mr. Lei is here, I still have something to do here, so I'll take my leave for now."
Wen Qingzhu looked at him sideways: "You come back to the Lu family with me first. There are some things I need to know in detail. Dingyuan... is worse than I thought."
Gu Kuo wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He asked a subordinate to go to the military camp to reply. He followed Wen Qingzhu all the way back to the Lu family.
At the door of Lu's house, they happened to meet Lu Chengen and a man with a square face and triangular eyes.
This man was wearing black iron armor. Judging from the feathers on his hat, he was only one grade lower than Lu Chengen.
After thinking for a moment, Wen Qingzhu understood who this person was.
Nodding at them, she turned and walked back into the house.
Seeing this, Lu Chengen quickly stepped forward and called her: "My lord, please stay."
Wen Qingzhu looked back at them: "I have something to do now. If you just introduce someone to me, then come back in an hour."
Lu Chengen could only reply: "Then Sir, please do your business first."
Wen Qingzhu led everyone into the mansion, but soon disappeared.
At the door, the man behind Lu Chengen stepped forward, clasped his hands behind his back, looked at the direction Wen Qingzhu left and said, "Who is this gentleman? He actually made the general give in like this."
Lu Chengen thought about it in his mind, then turned to him and said, "General Zhao, it is better not to act without authorization in the future. This gentleman's surname is Wen, and he is a person sent by the emperor."
"Wen?" General Zhao was confused for a moment and didn't even remember who it was.
Suddenly, he remembered that powerful woman!
But the person who just entered was clearly a man, not a woman!
Could it be her brother or cousin
According to the information he got, Wen Qingzhu did send one of her cousins away in person. No matter how they inquired, they couldn't get any information.
Wen Qingzhu arrived in his small courtyard and asked Jasmine to take Tudan down to rest. Lu Tao took Lei Yan to dispose of the uncle's body and at the same time investigate the specific situation of the massacred village.
Things were arranged, and apart from Yang Liu, the only people left in the room were Lei Shuo and Gu Kuo.
Wen Qingzhu poured the tea himself and asked them all to sit down.
Lei Shuo and Yang Liu did as they were told, but Gu Kuo subconsciously resigned: "Sir, this subordinate—"
Before he finished speaking, he noticed that the other three people in the room were staring straight at him and swallowed back his words in mid-sentence.
Wen Qingzhu pointed to the remaining empty seat: "Sit down, I don't just pay attention to these formalities here."
Only then did Gu Kuo sit down uneasily.
After waiting for a while, she slowly spoke: "Yesterday, Yang Liu probably told me all the news, but Sister Shuo hid something. Let's start from Sister Shuo's side."
"I... I shouldn't have given the gold to the uncle. It's all my fault, my fault..." Lei Shuo grabbed his right hand with his left hand, obviously his emotions had not recovered yet.
Gu Kuo looked at Yu and couldn't bear it. He was in the village just now, and he probably knew the reason. He knew that Lei Shuo also wanted to repay the uncle, and it was not intentional.
So he couldn't help but help explain: "Miss Lei just came to Dingyuan. She doesn't understand many things. She doesn't know that doing this will harm the uncle. What's more, we didn't expect the Huns to massacre the village."
"I understand what you mean, but Sister Shuo also made her own mistakes. If she can't face it and face it directly, guilt and self-blame will accompany her throughout her life."
Wen Qingzhu was very patient. Looking at Lei Shuo in front of him, he seemed to see himself in his previous life.
After Jiang Yuancheng revealed his true face, she was once like Lei Shuo, or even worse.
The events of that year flashed through his mind, and Wen Qingzhu was now able to face them very calmly.
She signaled Gu Kuo not to interrupt for the time being, and then said to Lei Shuo: "I know you feel bad now, but think about it, if the Huns had not sneaked into Daqi, the villagers would have lived a stable life. Even if you helped the uncle, you would not It will cause some conflicts between the uncle and his son-in-law's family, but that's all."
"I know, but if I hadn't made my own decisions, I wouldn't have died so miserably." When Lei Shuo thought of the previous scene, he couldn't help but fold his arms and tremble.
Wen Qingzhu reached over, held her hand, and said in a gentle and powerful voice: "Lei Shuo, you are just the smallest link in this matter. You cannot determine the fact that the uncle was killed at all."
"So is everything the Xiongnu's fault?" Lei Shuo knew that Qingzhu was smarter than him and could see farther and clearer than himself, so his heart gradually stabilized.
Wen Qingzhu shook his head firmly: "No."
Lei Shuo had doubts in his eyes and opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.
"This matter has two aspects. One is the responsibility of the government, and the other is your or Gu Kuo's responsibility."
Seeing Wen Qingzhu mentioning him, Gu Kuo's heart tightened, but he clearly felt that Wen Qingzhu was only analyzing the facts objectively.
Wen Qingzhu continued: "You are wrong, but your fault is not the main reason. The murderer was a Huns soldier, but why can the Huns soldiers be left alone in the land of Daqi?"
"They didn't protect the people." The tears on Lei Shuo's face dried up, and she slowly speculated back following Wen Qingzhu's thoughts.
Wen Qingzhu nodded happily: "Yes, if the government and Daqi's army had protected the border, this kind of thing would never happen!"
"So there is a problem with the government, and there is more than one problem!" Lei Shuo clenched his fists.
"The problem is huge." Wen Qingzhu said calmly. According to the news she got from Lu Tao Jasmine yesterday, the Lu family's power has been completely deprived!
If it weren't for the Lu family's influence that lasted for hundreds of years, Dingyuan would have changed hands.
Wen Qingzhu's first impression of Lu Chengen was not good, but it was definitely not bad.
At least he was better than the Zhao Qing who was next to Lu Chengen just now.
Thinking of Zhao Ke who died in the capital, Wen Qingzhu was almost certain that there was definitely collusion between the Zhao family and the Huns!
She raised her tea cup and took a sip of tea, moistened her throat and then said: "Twenty years ago, it was almost impossible to see the Huns in Da Qi, but now things have changed drastically. Whether it is the prefect of Dingyuan or Mr. Zuo, Including the Lu family and the Zhao family, there are problems, and the emperor may need to take action on this matter."
"What are you going to do?" Lei Shuo became excited, "Can you take revenge immediately? Since the Huns are coming, why don't we just fight back!"
Wen Qingzhu explained helplessly: "War is not such a simple thing. The pressure on the emperor is also great, and Yunzhou is even more -"
Thinking of what she saw when she passed by Yunzhou, Wen Qingzhu's heart became heavier and heavier.
She turned to look at Gu Kuo: "You have been patrolling at the grassroots level, and the Dingyuan you have seen is more real. Tell me, what are the problems in Dingyuan? Although, this is a good opportunity!"
"Can you really say that?" Gu Kuo was a little flustered. He really didn't know who Wen Qingzhu was.
I thought she was an imperial envoy sent secretly, but she is a woman and cannot be an imperial envoy.
Wen Qingzhu nodded, but Gu Kuo was still struggling in his heart.
But over the years, he has suffered for more than ten years and watched Dingyuan step by step get to where it is today.
After gritting his teeth and struggling for a long time, Gu Kuo finally said it: "That's what my subordinates said! First, the prefect's Yamen kept reducing the pay and number of patrol soldiers. Later, it even appeared that one person needed to work for twelve hours a day. During the first three to five years when we were on duty, we were even owed several months of wages. Later, the Lu family stepped in and accepted our patrols, and life gradually became easier, but the wages are still less than before, and the work is more!"
At this point, Gu Kuo was very angry: "If it weren't for the sake of the people, we wouldn't be able to survive at all!"
Wen Qingzhu had never been to the northwest before and didn't know much about things here: "Were the previous patrols under the jurisdiction of the prefect's Yamen?"
"No! But this is not to blame, Mr. Zhifu. It is because the money allocated from the national treasury is too little to support it. In peaceful times, the daily patrol army gradually turned into an existence that solves various trivial matters for the people. This Maybe that’s the reason.”
After getting angry, Gu Kuo slowly calmed down and his tone became much better.
Wen Qingzhu roughly understood the situation of their patrol force. After careful analysis, they could quickly transmit news and discover the enemy's situation, but the cost was still very high.
"Then will the salary accounts of your patrol army be returned to the Yamen?" Wen Qingzhu wanted to see for himself what was going on.
Gu Kuo was startled: "There are yamen, but the wages are always escorted by people from the capital. The real accounts are in the hands of the second general of the Zhao family."
"I remember that General Zhao came here more than 20 years ago. Where was his previous salary?" Wen Qingzhu asked again.
Gu Kuo was a little unsure: "It should be the Lu family who is responsible for the handover."
Wen Qingzhu nodded and asked him again: "Do you have any other questions?"
"Yes!" Gu Kuo's expression was very serious, "In recent years, more and more Huns have sneaked into Daqi. Dingyuan is guarded by a large army. They dare not move rashly. However, Yunzhou, which is the closest to here, suffered a lot. No more trouble. The problem in Yunzhou now is—"
Halfway through, he seemed to think that Wen Qingzhu was coming from the capital, and he stopped with some scruples.
Seeing Wen Qingzhu motioning for him to continue, he thought carefully and said: "A lot of the food in Dingyuan was donated by wealthy merchants in Yunzhou. Now let alone wealthy merchants, there are only a few ordinary people. The national treasury has been reducing military pay. No. It’s just that the Lu family, the Zhao family and the government are all having a hard time. It’s hard for them, and the people’s life will naturally be even more miserable.”
He said these words in a vague way, but Wen Qingzhu heard them clearly and understood them very clearly.
Wen Qingzhu nodded and said nothing else. He just asked, "Do you have any questions?"
"These are all big things. I figured them out myself. There's no need to tell adults about small things." Gu Kuo didn't dare to say any more. If he said too much, he would be blaming the superiors.
Gu Kuo was speechless, and Wen Qingzhu probably knew what was going on, so he got up and sent him out.
When he arrived at the door, Gu Kuo quickly bowed and saluted: "My lord, please do not send me off! This is Zhe Sha's subordinate! If you have anything you need to know in the future, just come to me."
"Okay!" Wen Qingzhu agreed. After these two days of contact, she had a very good impression of Gu Kuo.
After he left, Wen Qingzhu turned back to the house.
After sitting down again, she asked Yang Liu: "You have just come to the northwest and don't know much about things here, but you have been to Ganzhou and Youzhou before. What do you think of Gu Kuo's words?"
After thinking for a long time, Yang Liu carefully organized his words: "I think what he said is basically correct. The Lu Family Army is well-known throughout Daqi and even the surrounding small countries. The patrol army system was originally a branch of the Lu Family Army. Team!"
"Split from the Lu Family Army? Why didn't Gu Kuo say anything just now?" Wen Qingzhu was very confused.