Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 618 Who is the mastermind behind the scenes
Overnight, explosive news spread throughout Yecheng.

The great general who led Jizhou Shepherd Yuan Shao was assassinated by an assassin at the wedding of his second son Yuan Xi!

Of course, Yuan Shao didn't want to publicize this matter, but there were too many guests present, even if everyone deliberately didn't talk nonsense, the news still leaked out quickly. There are also people who suspect that the subsequent blockade of the city gates, strict access, and even a city-wide search are sufficient proof of this.

All of a sudden, all kinds of analysis and speculation were rampant, not only within the scope of Yecheng, but quickly spread to the nine counties and Baiyi of Jizhou.

Of course, the focus of everyone's attention at this time is not just a mere assassin, but who is the mastermind behind it!

In the end, is it a famous family in the territory, civil and military officials, or the princes of the world outside the country.

In contrast, in the eyes of most people, the latter is more likely. After all, Yuan Shao had just defeated Gongsun Zan at the beginning of the year and became the Lord of the Northern Territory. It is also very normal.

It's a pity that the female assassin who committed the assassination took the poison in advance, and died of poison on the way back from the escort, which added a bit of confusion to the case.

This is also expected. To assassinate a prince like Yuan Shao and a direct descendant of a behemoth like the Yuan family in Runan, no matter whether he succeeds or fails, he must not reveal the identity of the person behind the scenes, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. It should be a dead man, because only the dead man's mouth is the tightest, so that the possibility of leaking secrets can be completely eliminated!

When Fujun Xiaowei Pang Ji of the "Jianjun Division" accepted the case, he encountered such a situation where all clues were cut off.

The Jian Junsi, like Wang Zheng's Benming Division, is Yuan Shao's intelligence agency. However, the functions of the two are actually quite different. They are all in the team, and there is no problem with their loyalty. Therefore, although the Benming Division is nominally arresting both inside and outside, in fact, it is mainly aimed at spying on the enemy, such as fighting Sun Ce, seizing life spring, and even the recent intention to go south. Mi Fang of the company arranged staff to prepare the layout in advance.

However, Yuan Shao's interim military commander is similar to Cao Cao's school affairs division and the intelligence systems of other princes. The main responsibility is to monitor officials and noble families internally. The captain of the guard army arranged sentry cavalry to collect them.

For such an important position, Feng Ji can become the top leader, which shows Yuan Shao's trust in him.

It's normal, after all, he and Xu You have the same qualifications among the eight great counselors. They were all servants of the dragon who served Yuan Shao as the leader in the sixth year of Zhongping (AD 189). Fu Zige was in a difficult situation. It was precisely because of Feng Ji's contribution that Yuan Shao was able to turn against the host and occupy Jizhou.

He has deep qualifications, great achievements, and resourcefulness, so Yuan Shao, as the posthumous minister of Jizhou, put a lot of emphasis on Pang Ji, and made him personally in charge of the military commander, as his intelligence chief, and it has been eight years.

And he did not disappoint Yuan Shao's trust. Even though the assassin was dead and her accomplices were not found in the city, Pang Ji still obtained some extremely important information through some clues.

Within half a day, Yuan Shao received a report from Pang Ji, "My lord, although we haven't found out who is behind the scenes yet, I have confirmed the identity of the assassin."

"Oh?"

A haze appeared on Yuan Shao's face, and he asked in a deep voice, "Which family is the thief, the Han family or the Gongsun family?"

Yuan Shao, like most people, doesn't really care about an assassin or a dead assassin, but since Pang Ji said so, maybe the identity of the other party can explain a lot of things, so he asked this question.

"neither."

Pang Ji shook his head: "This assassin should not come from a high school, but after I searched her previous living place and asked the two generals Zhu and Zhang about the process of fighting with her, I came to a conclusion that this person should be from a noble family. Disciple of Guanrimen!"

"Guan Ri Men?" Yuan Shao was taken aback when he heard the words, "Why does this name sound familiar?"

After recalling it in his mind for a while, he said with some uncertainty: "When I was young, I made friends with some knight-errants. I vaguely remember that this sect seemed to be founded by Nie Zheng, one of the four great assassins of the Warring States Period?"

Pang Ji nodded slightly: "My lord, Bo Wen has a strong memory, that's exactly the case."

"That's just a killer organization, what's so unusual?"

"otherwise."

Pang Ji said solemnly: "My lord, I don't know. Although Nie Zheng is one of the four great assassins, he is different from the other three Zhuan Zhu, Yu Rang, and Jing Ke. , is to enter the Han capital Yangzhai alone with a sword, enter in a grand manner, first kill dozens of his guards, and then with the momentum of the white rainbow penetrating the sun, the hero is exhausted on the steps!"

"Nie Zheng is more like a swordsman than an assassin, so Guanrimen itself should be said to be a sect that teaches martial arts rather than an organization of assassins. Of course, I have heard that the disciples of Guanrimen occasionally commit assassinations, but Basically, they all have a very obvious characteristic, completely different from other killer organizations!"

Yuan Shao cast his eyes on Pang Ji, knowing the important point, "What characteristics?"

"Only entrusted by friends." Pang Ji paused every word: "Never be tempted by profit!"

"Just like their ancestor Nie Zheng, when he assassinated Han Xiangxialei, he just wanted to avenge his friend Yan Zhongzi."

"The implication is that this lowly maid assassinated this general, and she was not bribed by others."

Yuan Shao stared out of the window thoughtfully, his eyes sparkling: "Is it entrusted by an acquaintance?"

"That's what's weird about it, too."

Pang Jidao: "Although Guanrimen has been handed down for a long time, it has never recruited many disciples. It is quite independent, and the scope of activities is more concentrated in the land of Jingchu, and it is rarely seen in our northern border."

"Does it mean that the inside can be ruled out?" Yuan Shao asked in a deep voice, "In the land of Jingchu, you mean that Liu Jingsheng is behind the assassination of the assassination?"

"Liu Biao should be unlikely, but someone else."

Having said that, Pang Ji raised his head and glanced at His Majesty, hesitant to speak.

Yuan Shao realized that there might be other secrets in this case, he waved his hand and said, "If you have any guesses, just speak up."

"Yes."

Pang Ji cupped his hands and said, "Master, have you heard that Wang Zheng of Xuzhou just got married not long ago?"

"Naturally know."

Hearing Wang Zheng's name, Yuan Shao was startled for a moment, and then he couldn't help laughing: "The general also heard that this scorpion took in six brides in one go, that's all, the key is to let a maidservant and Lu Bu's daughter be the same wife, regardless of the difference. High and low, hey, it's really vulgar and unruly!"

"Leave aside the two wives for the time being." Pang Ji said: "What I want to say is that among the concubines taken by Wang Zheng, there is a person named Qiao Wan, who was born in the Qiao family in Wancheng."

"So what?" Yuan Shao waved his hand casually: "The Qiao family is not a famous family."

"Her background is not worth mentioning in the eyes of the lord, but according to the report from the front sentry, this Qiao Wan is not comparable to an ordinary woman. After serving in the Xuzhou army for a long time, beating the generals and capturing the flag, and being the first to fall into the battle is nothing to worry about!"

Speaking of this, Pang Ji glanced at Yuan Shao, and said with a bit of emphasis: "I heard that Qiao Wan is skilled in swordsmanship, and is even better at bow shooting, and Guanrimen is not only a rare school in the Jianghu that accepts both men and women, but also The female disciples in the sect are naturally the best at using knives, either double knives, single knives, or even some short daggers."

Pang Ji's words were all about this, Yuan Shao couldn't hear the meaning, and couldn't help being shocked: "You mean Wang Zheng's wife is also a disciple of Guanrimen?"

"That's right, if Wang Zheng's wife is from Guanrimen, then he naturally has the qualifications to invite the other party to take action."

Pang Ji caressed the thin beard under his lips, squinted his eyes slightly and said, "The key is, this son's motives and suspicions are far better than Liu Biao's!"

This is quite right, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao do not have any borders at present, so there is no possibility of conflict, and there is no direct threat to each other, so Liu Biao's reason for assassinating Yuan Shao is untenable.

But Wangzheng is very different, because Linzi, where Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan is stationed, can pose a direct threat to Langya and Mount Tai in his territory!
"It's still not possible!"

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Shao shook his head: "This son has shown his friendship repeatedly before. He wanted to form an alliance with this general. He even gave up the Chuanguo Yuxi. If he has the heart to assassinate this general, why bother?"

"My lord's words, I don't agree with them. Compared with forming an alliance, if the assassination is successful, wouldn't it be more difficult for me to go south in a short time?"

Pang Ji said disapprovingly: "Perhaps he gave up the jade seal just to cover up his actions and get rid of suspicion?"

"No matter what, it's not good to conclude that Mrs. Wang Zheng is the mastermind just because of her background."

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, but still did not agree: "Besides, whether his wife is a disciple of Guanrimen or not, it is impossible to draw a conclusion at this time, and it needs to be investigated clearly."

Seeing that Pang Ji was still waiting to talk, Yuan Shao directly cut off his words: "Apart from the Guanri Gate, what else have we found?"

"How and when did this assassin sneak into Xi'er's mansion?"

"My lord, this assassin entered the Young Master's mansion a month ago."

"A month ago?"

Yuan Shao frowned, vaguely guessing in his heart, and couldn't help but look at Pang Ji's face: "Isn't that about the same time as the Zhen family's sending off team?"

Seeing Yuan Shao urging himself with stern eyes, Pang Ji took a deep breath, and finally said: "The lord sees Wanli clearly, this assassin is the slave of the Zhen family, and this time he is also in the procession of seeing off the relatives, so he just got a chance Infiltrated the residence of the major general!"

Yuan Shao's complexion changed, Pang Ji's words were equivalent to leaving most of Yuan Xi's suspicion and guilt at the same time, but in fact Yuan Shao had never doubted his own son, but if it was a daughter-in-law, it was a daughter-in-law who had just passed the family.
There is not much trust in that!
Yuan Shao bowed his head and fell into silence. Pang Ji on the side just stood respectfully, and he didn't dare to take a breath. For a while, the whole study fell into a silence that could be heard falling into needles, as if the air had become stagnant.

After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Shao raised his head again and asked calmly: "Then you can go and question Zhen Mi, when did this assassin enter her house?"

"Forehead"

Pang Ji's face turned bitter, and he said embarrassingly: "My lord, the wedding date is not over yet, if I come to disturb you now, will you?"

"I forgot about this." Yuan Shao smiled, and asked again: "What about the others? Those who accompanied relatives, and the Zhen family members who came to congratulate him this time, can we go and question them?"

"This"

Pang Ji opened his mouth, but failed to answer, realizing that he had overlooked an important detail.

When Zhen Mi and Yuan Xi got married, they could be considered as members of the Yuan family, and they could be regarded as one of their own. Even if there were suspicions, the good-looking Yuan Shao would not choose to interrogate her at this time, even after the wedding period. Immediate action, it is estimated that things will calm down for a period of time, when everyone no longer pays attention, then go to use their hands and feet.

But other slaves, clansmen and so on, it is impossible to enjoy this kind of treatment!

In normal times, with Pang Ji's ability, he would definitely be able to think of this point. The key is that the assassination case had too much impact. He was eager to investigate a result and reply to Yuan Shao. After verifying most of the information, he hurried to come over.

"The minister will go to deal with this matter immediately."

"Go."

Yuan Shao's expression was still very calm: "Be careful, don't make too much noise."

"In addition, Wang Zheng's wife's identity, whether it is a disciple of Guanrimen, and other princes, such as Cao Cao, Ma Teng, who has intersected with Guanrimen, should be investigated as soon as possible."

"promise!"

A more detailed report was sent back a day later.

Just this astonishingly high efficiency is enough to show that Pang Ji's hard work over the years has not been in vain.

After meeting Yuan Shao again, Pang Ji reported the latest information: "According to the investigation, this assassin was Zhen Mi who entered three months ago with the pretext of prostitution. In the eyes of the young lady Zhen Mi, she was promoted to one of the close maids."

"Three months ago."

Yuan Shao frowned slightly. At that time, he was still besieging Yanjing in Youzhou, intending to kill the great enemy Gongsun Zan, but the news of the marriage between the Yuan family and the Zhen family happened to be announced to the world not long ago. This assassin could infiltrate the Zhen family in advance and choose to defend himself It is quite clever to use the less strict side as the entry point.

He raised his head and asked, "Since you sold your body to enter the government, who is the steward in charge of selecting? But in the city?"

"The steward's name is Wu Cong, and he was originally in the sending-off team, but the day before yesterday, he suddenly left the city under the pretext of visiting friends, and he hasn't returned yet."

Pang Ji said: "When I took people to his residence, I found that some things were packed away in advance."

Now that he has packed his things, he is not a visitor at all, but he is afraid of absconding, right?
"This dog must know!"

Yuan Shao was furious, and shouted: "Send people out of the city immediately to arrest him!"

"promise!"

Pang Ji bowed in response, and presented another booklet: "My lord, this is some information about Wu Cong."

"What's so nice about a slave."

Yuan Shao snorted coldly, but still took it, his expression suddenly changed after not seeing for a moment: "What?"

"Is he from Qingzhou Qi County?"

(End of this chapter)