Fenghou

Wang Hao handed him an envelope with a smile and said, "Your errand is done!"

The envelope was sealed by King Yong, and Zhong Huan was about to open it impatiently. Wang Hao waved his hand and said, "No hurry, there is something I need you to do right now."

"Please give orders!"

Wang Hao immediately said: "Bring it up!"

The soldiers brought up a middle-aged man who was Wang Kuang, the shopkeeper of Shanzhentang Pharmacy.

Shanzhentang Pharmacy was a branch of Wan Yanchang's intelligence leader Pi Xiangyang in Jingzhao City. At that time, it was a single-line contact, through the seat No. [-] of Xianquan Teahouse. The teahouse was used as bait, and three intelligence points were seized in a row, and Shanzhentang Pharmacy was one of them.

But Zhong Huan kept his hand and did not touch the Shanzhentang Pharmacy, which made the Shanzhentang Pharmacy slip through the net. At the same time, he turned against the shopkeeper Wang Kuang. It was used by Wan Yanchang again.

It's just that Shanzhentang Pharmacy is mainly responsible for collecting public information, which is basically relatively stable and there is no risk. The internal guards often give it some important public information. Shanzhentang Pharmacy is quite valued by Jin Guo.

Wang Hao smiled and said, "Treasurer Wang, please introduce to General Xiaozhong!"

Wang Kuang bowed and saluted, "General Xiaozhong, long time no see."

"Shopkeeper Wang, please tell me!"

"An assassin from the Kingdom of Jin came today and asked us about the residence of the former crown prince, Zhao Chen."

Chong Huan was taken aback, "Ex-Prince Zhao Chen? Then he should go to Bianliang, right?"

Wang Hao said with a smile: "General Xiaozhong doesn't know, Zhao Chen's family was sent back to Jingzhao three months ago."

Zhong Huan nodded: "What's the assassin's name?"

"He only said his surname was Guo, but he refused to say what his name was specifically!"

"Surname Guo?"

A name flashed across Zhong Huan's mind, Guo Changwu.

He asked anxiously: "Does this person have a big mole between his eyebrows, with three short hairs on it!"

Wang Kuang nodded, "That's right!"

Chong Huan slapped his hands, "It's really a narrow road to Yuanjia, he's finally back!"

The first thousand and 440 chapters and three borrowed knives

At noon the next day, Guo Changwu came to Shanzhentang Pharmacy again. Wang Kuang led him to the back hall and poured him a cup of hot tea, "I have heard about the former prince."

Guo Changwu lifted his spirits and asked, "Where does he live?"

"He lives in the Qujiang Bieyuan. If you want to assassinate him, you don't have to go to the Qujiang Bieyuan. You can go to Dayun Temple. He is a layman in the monastery, and his dharma name is Qingyang layman."

"Are you sure?" Guo Changwu was a little skeptical. How could it be possible to inquire in such detail in just one day?

Wang Kuang nodded, "There is nothing wrong, he is an important person that the emperor ordered us to pay attention to, and we have been following him."

Guo Changwu believed it, the emperor must be very concerned about this person, otherwise he would not allow himself to assassinate him.

"Where is the monastery? How can I find him?"

Wang Kuang took out a map, "Dayun Temple is located on the east bank of Qujiang Pond, and it is easy to find. This is the map of Dayun Temple. Have you seen it? The northwest corner is the layman's courtyard. You can find him there."

"How can I tell him?"

"It's easy. Laymen also have ranks. He is the second rank. He wears a dark brown layman's robe. There are only two people in the entire layman's house wearing dark brown layman's robes. The other is an old man with a white beard. He is in his 30s, with pale skin and a good physique. The thin man is he."

"Thank you!"

Guo Changwu took the map and walked away. Wang Kuang looked at his back with complicated eyes. He didn't understand why the inner guard wanted to make a fake show.Of course, he also knew that the inner defender could not decide this matter.

……

The inner guards deployed the most sophisticated tracking methods. They intercepted the ox carts and horse carts heading for Qinzhoumen Street. There were only three ox carts passing by the entrance of Shanzhen Hall. Guo Changwu stopped the second one. The driver was a bearded man. Bai's hunched old man made Guo Changwu lose his vigilance, and he went directly to the inn outside the city.

Back at the inn, Guo Changwu tidied up a bit and went out. Not long after he left for Dayun Temple, Chong Huan came to his guest room. He saw the side of Guo Changwu who had learned his lesson, locked his hands and feet, and tied a Hair, he knew any door was opened, and Zhong Huan entered the room directly through the window.

The house was tidy and there was nothing there, but a bag was found beside the bed, which contained laundry and a change of clothes, a testimonial from the Yanshan Prefecture Imperial Examination Scholars, dozens of taels of silver, a piece of identity silver medal, and a sword. There are saddles and bags.

Zhong Huan quickly judged that Guo Changwu had nothing on him, and even if he was shot, his identity could not be found out. If he wanted to leave Jingzhao, he would definitely return to the inn.

The Dayun Temple is very close to the inn, only two or three miles away. Guo Changwu bought a gray layman's robe with only one piece of silver in the shop outside the temple, pretended to be a layman, and walked straight into the Dayun Temple. The map, and soon found the Lay House in the northwest corner, where more than [-] lay people lived, participated in a month-long ritual, and ate fast and recited Buddha every day.

The former crown prince, Zhao Chen, was indeed among the monks. His dharma name was Qingyang layman. He was of a high rank and could wear dark brown layman robes.

There are also inner guards to protect the safety of their whole family, but the inner guards are several female guards who protect the safety of his wife and children in his mansion. There are no inner guards in Dayun Temple, and there is no need for them. Layman is top-secret information, only no more than five people know about it, even his wife only knows that he is a layman in a monastery, but they don't know which monastery he is in or what his name is. Only the abbot in the whole monastery knows his identity.

Guo Changwu walked into the layman's courtyard and saw dozens of laymen sitting in the lobby chanting scriptures. He saw his target at a glance, a male layman sitting on the farthest side, in his thirties, with a pale face and a thin body. Wearing a dark brown lay robe, with his eyes slightly closed, he knocked on the wooden fish and chanted devoutly.

With his left hand chanting sutras and his right hand holding the short crossbow in his robe, he walked slowly, sat down behind Zhao Chen, and asked in a low voice, "Are you Master Qingyang?"

Zhao Chen leaned slightly and said, "I'm Qingyang Layman, I dare not call him a mage!"

"it is good!"

Guo Changwu covered Zhao Chen's mouth with one hand, and pulled the hanging knife, 'Puff! ’A poisonous arrow hit Zhao Chen in the back.

Zhao Chen grunted and fell limply.

Guo Changwu got up and walked quickly, walked out of the residence, only to hear a commotion inside, someone shouted: "Go find the abbot!"

He quickly left Dayun Temple without looking back, no one was following him, which made him feel very relieved, he did not expect to succeed so easily.

As an assassin, Guo Changwu is still unqualified, and even his IQ has not passed the test. If Zhao Chen is so easy to assassinate, why would the emperor of Jin send him?Just let the people at the intelligence station do it.

Assassinating Zhao Chen itself is easy, but finding him is difficult, like finding a needle in a haystack, unless it is to instigate Wang Hao, but Guo Changwu obviously did not think of this.

After completing the task, he was eager to leave Jingzhao City.

Guo Changwu hurried back to the inn. For the convenience of the assassination, he didn't carry anything with him. Although the assassination was convenient, it was inconvenient to leave. His wallet, sword, scholar certificate, identity certificate, and horses were all in the inn.

He came to the door of his room and touched the lock with his hand. His hair was still there. He opened the door with confidence. As soon as he entered the door, an inner guard soldier fell from the sky and threw him down from behind. Four inner guards rushed up, pinned him tightly, tied his hands and feet, tied his mouth with a rope, so that he could not chew his tongue, covered his head with a black cloth bag, and carried him directly downstairs.

It wasn't until this moment that Guo Changwu faintly realized that he had fallen into the opponent's trap.

……

Wang Hao and Zhong Huan hurried to King Yong's office and reported the details to Chen Qing. Chen Qing asked, "How is the situation of the former crown prince?"

Chong Huan said sadly: "The opponent's poisonous arrow is very overbearing, the former prince died on the spot, there is no way to save him!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Let the "Beijing News" report this matter immediately, we must let this Guo Changwu speak up, explain everything, kill this case, and then send someone to take Shanzhentang, explain it clearly to Wang Kuang, and give him My son has title and wealth, he must take this responsibility for me."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Chen Qing said coldly again: "Remember, apart from the three of us, no fourth person will know the truth!"

……

At noon the next day, the "Beijing News" published important news on the front page. The former prince Zhao Chen was assassinated by Jin Guo assassins at the age of 34. At present, both the assassin and the Jin Guo intelligence spies were arrested by the inner guards. They confessed and confessed. The assassination plan was originally to assassinate King Yong, but King Yong's defenses were tight, and they were unable to strike. Instead, they attacked the former Song Dynasty prince who was lax in defense.

Even the assassin's background is fully introduced. Assassin Guo Changwu, the nephew of Guo Wei, a wealthy family in Jizhou on Yanshan Road, Guo Wei was suspected of rebellion and was suppressed. Guo Changwu escaped. , sneaked into Jingzhao again to carry out the assassination plan, and with the assistance of Jin Guo intelligence spies, assassinated the former prince Zhao Chen.

The inner guard even found the assassination order of the Emperor of Jin, with all the witnesses and material evidence, the crime is unforgivable, King Yong approved the public beheading.

Three days later, Guo Changwu was put on the guillotine and publicly beheaded in front of 10,000+ people on Zhuque Street in Jingzhao City.

Seven days later, Lin'an's "Beijing News" also reported in detail the news that the former prince Zhao Chen was assassinated by Jin Guo assassins, but this news did not cause a sensation in Lin'an. After all, there are not many people interested in an outdated prince. up.

The first thousand and 440 chapters and four rumors

In the imperial study room, Zhao Gou put down the newspaper and asked Xu Xiantu, "Could this be Chen Qing's scheme to plant the murderer on Jin Guo?"

Xu Xiantu shook his head, "I don't think it's necessary. Chen Qing wants to get rid of the prince, just let him die. Anyway, the former prince's health is not good, so he was chronically poisoned. It's normal for him to die in the end. Trouble, what if the Kingdom of Jin refuses to admit it? We need to prepare a lot of evidence, and we need to link each other. If you don't think carefully, something will happen."

Zhao Gou thought it made sense, and asked Qin Hui again, "What does Qin Xiangguo think?"

Qin Hui thought about it and said, "Whether the assassination case is true or not is hard for me to judge, but I just feel that the newspapers have said too much, and it feels a bit like trying to cover it up."

"It's not trying to cover up!"

Zhang Jun added from the side: "They want to clarify the matter so that no one will doubt it. As Xu Xiangguo said, there is really no need to make it so complicated when a glass of poisoned wine can solve the problem. I even met Lu Gang at noon. When asked about this, he said that the internal guards of the Western Army had seized the assassination order of the Emperor of Jin, so there would be no fakes."

Zhao Gou nodded and put the newspaper aside. He didn't have much interest in the death of the former prince Zhao Chen. He convened the Prime Minister today to expand the army, and he will expand the army by 20. He already has thousands of troops in his hands. Ten thousand coins is enough to support an army of more than [-].

But several prime ministers did not support his expansion of the army. The reason is very simple. They don't have that many people to support the army. There are more than 200 troops. It takes almost [-] million people to have so many young and strong. How many people are there in Jiangnan now?

All the young and able-bodied men go to serve as soldiers, who will farm the land?Who will mine?Who will do the various crafts?

"Your Majesty, if it was 20 years ago, we might have had enough population, but now many people have returned to the Central Plains, and the population in the south of the Yangtze River has dropped by half compared to 20 years ago. If Your Majesty recruited 20 troops, many things would not be done. , Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Zhao Gou said in displeasure: "Before you told me that all the big shops have closed down, a large number of employees have nothing to do, and it is a problem to support their families. They said that there was a job and several people scrambled for it. Now I let them join the army to earn money to support their families. Isn't it a good thing?"

Zhang Jundao: "Your Majesty, there are requirements for recruiting soldiers. They must be strong and tall. If anyone can join the army, they will be old and weak soldiers. Many soldiers are not suitable for joining the army."

"Then relax the conditions!"

Zhao Gou's tone became more and more dissatisfied, and he said to everyone: "I recruited more than 20 troops not to fight the Western Army, but to have enough troops so that Chen Qing dare not underestimate us. This kind of deterrence, I have made up my mind, I will recruit 16 troops, starting tomorrow, only age limit, over 40 years old, under [-] years old, no other restrictions!"

……

Xu Xiantu was the only one left in the imperial study room, and Zhao Gou asked again, "Has the Wenzhou Army found out who is in charge?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it should be Wang Jian of the capital!"

Zhao Gou frowned. He had a very good impression of Wang Jian and was very loyal to Song Dynasty. That's why he reused him and asked him to lead an army of [-] in Wenzhou. How could he betray him?

But then again, if it wasn't for Wang Jian, who would have the right to mobilize [-] troops to assemble?

Seeing that Zhao Gou hesitated a bit, Xu Xiantu said cautiously, "Your Majesty, Wang Jian's loyalty to Song Dynasty is true, but he may not be loyal to His Majesty!"

Zhao Gou was taken aback, "What do you mean by that?"

"Hasn't Your Majesty heard any rumors?"

Zhao Gou's eyes widened, "What rumors, have they been published in newspapers?"

Zhao Gou now knows that most of the outside world comes from the "Beijing News". Qin Hui tried to persuade him to seal up the "Beijing News" several times, but he refused. source.

"It's all rumors from the neighbors. Newspapers will not publish such unsubstantiated news."

"What are the rumors?" Zhao Gou was a little anxious.

"Your Majesty, there are two rumors. The first is that someone saw Xiang Desheng's nephew in Jingzhao."

"This is not necessarily a rumor, it is very possible, what about the second rumor?"

The first rumor was expected by Zhao Gou, not surprising at all, but the second rumor he was concerned about.

"Your Majesty, there are rumors that those dignitaries are contacting the descendants of Taizu!"

Zhao Gou's face suddenly changed. It can be said that this is the second most feared thing after his brother Zhao Huan. The brother Zhao Huan is dead, and the greatest threat to his throne is the descendants of Taizu.

He has no son himself, and the royal family of Taizong's lineage was all wiped out in the Jingkang Rebellion, but many descendants of Taizu lived in Yingtian Mansion, but survived. Those powerful people who came into contact with Taizu's descendants obviously wanted to overthrow him and establish a new one. Jun.

Zhao Gou immediately understood what Xu Xiantu said that Wang Jian was loyal to Song Dynasty, but not necessarily loyal to himself.

"In addition, I would like to remind Your Majesty that although the former crown prince was assassinated, he still has two young sons in Chen Qing's hands, which is also a big threat."

Zhao Gou nodded, "I know!"

"Wei Chen retire!"

Xu Xiantu bowed and retreated slowly.

Zhao Gou was really angry, and he was pacing back and forth in the imperial study with his hands behind his back. He knew Xu Xiantu very well, and he would not talk nonsense about rumors. He must have got some definite news. To overthrow myself and establish a new king, I really don't know how to write the dead word!

"Speech that Yan Xin is here to see me!"

Yan Xin, the commander of the Plum Blossom Guard, happened to be in the palace. When he heard the call, he immediately rushed to the imperial study room. After a short while, he was brought into the imperial study room. Yan Xin knelt down on one knee and saluted, "I see you, Your Majesty!"

"Yan Du is exempt from courtesy!"

Zhao Gou stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back and asked, "Do you have any news about the dignitaries of the Xiang family, the Cao family, the Gao family, and the Cai family?"

Yan Xin hesitated for a while and said, "Weichen didn't get any definite news."

How shrewd Zhao Gou was, he immediately heard the meaning of his words, and immediately asked: "Where are the rumors?"

"There are quite a few rumors!"

"Tell me about the rumors."

Yan Xin was a little confused: "I really don't have any evidence!"

"I don't want evidence, just say it!"

Yan Xin had no choice but to think for a while and said: "The first rumor is that they are transferring wealth in various ways, some to King Yong's territory, and some to the manor."