Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

The tall buildings in the northwest of Yingtian?

Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce looked at each other.

The king of Xiangyang hid the gold million in the city so carelessly?

Gongsun Ce said: "There are many tall buildings in the northwest of Yingtian, which one is it, and where is the gold in the building, Mr. Pei should explain more clearly."

Pei Yuandao: "That building is in the city, not far from the northwest city gate. If you stand near the city gate and look out, it will be the tallest building. As for where the gold is inside the building..."

He sighed: "I don't know either. The King of Xiangyang never lets anyone enter that building. Only he and his most trusted transfer envoy, Mr. Huo, can enter. There are royal guards guarding the building day and night. I don't know what the inside of the building looks like, I only know that the King of Xiangyang will definitely hide the gold in the tower to keep things safe."

"Chongxiao Tower?" Gongsun Ce raised his eyebrows: "The name of this building is quite impressive."

Pei Yuandao: "Naturally, it has boldness. This building was originally built to enshrine the Book of Heaven. As a result, the late emperor died a few years ago, and no one mentioned the Book of Heaven again. The Chongxiao Tower became the place where King Xiangyang hid his gold."

In order to flaunt the sanctity of the Zhao family dynasty, Song Zhenzong claimed that he had obtained a heavenly book, and carried out a series of fanciful feudal superstition activities around this heavenly book, including the famous Taishan Fengchan.After enshrining Zen, Zhenzong was still not satisfied, and ordered people to build high-rise buildings in Bianliang, Yingtian, Luoyang and other places to enshrine the scriptures in turn, and spread this oracle to all parts of the country.

As a result, he died before the building was completed.After Zhenzong's death, Liu E acted decisively and buried the Heavenly Book with him, finally ending this years-long political farce that swept across the country, the ruling and the opposition.

The heavenly scriptures are all buried, so there is no need to continue to build tall buildings dedicated to the heavenly scriptures.

Yingtian Mansion's Chongxiao Tower has since become an unfinished building.

Zhao Jue, King of Xiangyang, took over the unfinished building and drastically rebuilt it into what it is today.

"It is said that the King of Xiangyang invited all the masters in the world who are proficient in Qimen Dunjia to set up ninety-nine and eighty-one traps in the tower, each of which is extremely dangerous and enough to kill people. And there are 81 variations , endless, unpredictable. After the Chongxiao Tower was completed, the King of Xiangyang killed all these high-level people in the tower. Now in the world, he is the only one who knows how to enter and exit the Chongxiao Tower safely. Even Huo My lord, the King of Xiangyang only told him how to enter the building for a moment, and for the rest of the time, even the Heavenly King Lao Tzu can't enter that building."

Gongsun Ce nodded: "The king of Xiangyang is indeed cautious, and he will not give anyone any clues."

If you want to seize the lifeblood of King Xiangyang, you can only find this 100 million taels of gold.

These golds are evidence of King Xiangyang's embezzlement of public funds, misappropriation of disaster relief funds and food, and his evil intentions for many years.

But the gold is now in the skyscraper. It seems that this skyscraper is not accessible to ordinary people.

Pei Yuandao: "If you want to find gold, you go. Anyway, I'm just a pawn, and I've told you everything I know."

He sat dejectedly on the chair.

After anyone's dream of prosperity is shattered, he will have such a reaction.

Gongsun Ce patted him on the shoulder: "Master Pei, don't be discouraged. You are turning your back on the dark and turning to the bright, and then you will have something to say in front of the officials. At most, you will be demoted to Leizhou to join the army as a household secretary, or an official. Look at me , even if you want to join the army as a Sihu, you won’t be able to do so.”

Pei Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Cheng Gongsun said auspiciously."

Gongsun Ce looked at the sky: "Oh, it's getting late, it's time for dinner."

Bao Zheng stood up and said, "Go back to the station."

Gongsun Ce smiled and said: "Not busy. Please also invite Mr. Pei to entertain us for one night."

Although Pei Yuan had already revealed the secrets of King Xiangyang to them, there was no guarantee that he would turn against him and sell them to King Xiangyang again.

Before Zhan Zhao returns with a new imperial decree, it's better to keep Pei Yuan steady and not give him a chance to betray him.

Pei Yuan hurriedly said, "Yes, yes."

He stood up: "I'll ask them to prepare dinner for you two and clean up the guest room."

Bao Zheng also figured out the joints, and nodded: "Thank you, Mr. Pei."

"No trouble, no trouble."

Pei Yuan is the magistrate of Yingtian Mansion, and his official residence is in the back office of Yingtian Mansion.

After dinner, Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce stayed in the guest room in Pei Yuan's mansion.

Pei Yuan personally led them to the guest room, and two maidservants holding lanterns illuminated the path ahead for them.

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "Your Excellency Pei is really magnificent, look at this good candle, it illuminates the house as bright as day."

Pei Yuandao: "They are all worthless things."

Gongsun Ce said: "Since it's worthless, the students will not be polite. Please Mr. Pei prepare a few more candles for the students' room. The students will study by candles tonight."

Pei Yuan said with a smile: "Reading at night is exhausting and hurts the eyes. Even if you work hard, you don't have to wait for a moment."

Gongsun Ce shook his head: "Master Pei has a great reputation and a high salary, so naturally he doesn't like this moment. The student year will be established, but he can't even pass the exam. I'm really anxious. Don't take advantage of Mr. Pei's house. It’s a pity to read a few more volumes with the lights on.”

The implication is that I will not sleep all night, if you want to do something while we are asleep, you are doomed to fail.

Pei Yuandao: "Mr. Gongsun is so hardworking, he will be named on the gold list in the future, ranking first."

"I don't dare to think about it, I will be satisfied at the end of the second."

Gongsun Ce said with a smile: "Even if you get the last place in the imperial examination, it doesn't matter. Like Mr. Pei, to be a magistrate of a place is also an official ordered by the court."

The guest room has arrived.A maidservant had already cleaned the guest room, and the maidservant who carried the lamp temporarily put the lantern in one place, reached out and took out matches and new wax from under the window, struck the matches, lit the candles, and placed them on the table in the middle of the room.

This place is a suite with a hall on one side and two bedrooms on both sides.

Pei Yuandao: "You two, please do what you want, do you want to leave some people to serve?"

Gongsun Ce shook his head: "Thank you, Mr. Pei, for your kindness, but there is no need. The candles are all under the window, I have already seen them."

Pei Yuan then left, Bao Zheng sat at the table, and Gongsun Ce sat at the bottom, rubbing his temples.

"Thank you sir today."

Bao Zheng said.

If Gongsun Ce hadn't calculated the exact number of Xiangyang King's greed for ink and gold over the years, Pei Yuan would not have fallen to them so easily.

Gongsun Ce said: "My lord is too serious. If there is no lord, what is the use of the students even if they can settle accounts again?"

Bao Zheng said: "I don't know tomorrow, what will the master plan?"

Gongsun Ce murmured, "I don't know when Zhan Yishi will come back?"

Bao Zheng said: "In order to show the footsteps of a martyr, from Yingtian to Bianliang, ask for an imperial edict, and then return to Yingtian, if you travel both starry and night, you will arrive at noon tomorrow at the earliest."

Yingtianfu is three hundred miles away from Bianliang, and the round trip is six hundred miles.Zhan Zhao walked away last night, riding a fast horse. He should have arrived in Bianliang by this time. He has asked for an imperial decree and is on his way to Huitian.

Gongsun Ce nodded: "That's just right. Tomorrow we will have breakfast at Pei Yuan's mansion, and stay until noon. When the Zhan guards come back with the imperial decree, we can turn passive into active. First ask the King of Xiangyang to obey the decree and not interfere with official duties. Then make public the fact that Ying Tian Mansion has been in deficit over the years, tell him to open the Sky Tower, and the million taels of gold will be the evidence of his crime. When the evidence is convincing, he can be escorted back to Beijing to wait for the officials to deal with it."

Bao Zheng nodded: "That's the best."

"But if the King of Xiangyang is stubbornly resisting and refuses to open the tower, what should we do?"

Gongsun Ce smiled: "Master, do you know why Chongxiao Tower is not called Chongxiao Tower?"

Bao Zheng said: "Why?"

Gongsun Ce said: "It's getting late, my lord, please rest. The students will watch the night for your lord. There is still a tough battle to be fought tomorrow, your lord must recharge your batteries to win this battle."

He picked up the candlestick on the table: "My lord, please go back to your room."

The flickering candlelight reflected his eyebrows and eyes.Suddenly, Bao Zheng suddenly realized.

"So that's the case... I am relieved."

He stood up: "Mr. Gongsun, thank you, is keeping watch for this officer."

Gongsun Ce said: "This is the responsibility of the students."

Bao Zheng returned to the room, Gongsun Ce put the candlestick back to its original place, walked to the window, opened the window, and looked at the night sky.

Tonight the sky is clear and the moon and stars are sparse.Gongsun Ce squinted his eyes to identify carefully, and finally found the Polaris in the sky.

"I really can't read night books anymore... My eyes are blurred, so I can't see the stars clearly."

Yan Shu was dissatisfied with the previous article on the rhythm of Yan Gong's writing, and wanted to take advantage of the winter to collect wind and compose a supplement to the rhythm.In fact, he wasn't very satisfied with the later chapters. Yan Shu was too hasty in urging the manuscript, and he hadn't had time to calculate the trajectories of many stars.

"I hope that after returning to Beijing this time, I can have more free time, so that I can finish counting the stars."

Gongsun Ce murmured: "People are changing, and the number of stars is also changing. Today's astrology is different from what it was 1000 years ago. If I don't calculate it quickly, if it changes again, how will I know? "

He stared at the starry sky and stayed up all night.

After the cock crowed, Bao Zheng got up and changed his clothes, and went to the dining room with Gongsun Ce to meet Pei Yuan.

Gongsun Ce hadn't slept all night, and Pei Yuan looked like he hadn't slept all night, dejected and sluggish.

After seeing Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, he nodded slightly: "You two, please have breakfast."

Gongsun Ce comforted: "Lord Pei, don't be so alarmed. You have to think this way, now the entire Yingtian Mansion is the King of Xiangyang's henchmen, only you are not. In the future, the officials will liquidate the King of Xiangyang's party and find that you are the only one in Yingtian. People who abandon the dark and turn to the bright will definitely be lenient towards you. Even if you are temporarily relegated to Leizhou, you still have a chance to regain the favor."

Pei Yuan sighed, "I hope so."

As soon as he finished speaking, he could faintly hear a commotion in the street.

Pei Yuan frowned: "What's going on? Why are you making such a noise outside the government office?"

He said to a servant: "Go outside and see what's going on."

The servant took the order to leave, and after a while, came back in a hurry: "My lord, Master Huo, the transfer envoy, asked to see Master Bao outside the mansion."

"What?" Pei Yuan was startled: "What is he doing here... How does he know that Mr. Bao is in my mansion?"

He also thought that Bao Zheng checked the accounts in the government office yesterday, and he never went out again, so he knew that Bao Zheng was at his house.

But why did Huo Fang want to see Lord Bao?

Huo Fang is the confidant of King Xiangyang, and he is different from a fringe figure like him.Just yesterday, Huo Fang had a banquet with King Xiangyang at the palace.

Could it be that the King of Xiangyang is going to attack Bao Zheng?

His face was pale: "Master Bao, look..."

He just revealed the secret of King Xiangyang to Bao Zheng. If King Xiangyang catches Bao Zheng at this time, Bao Zheng will confess him...

Bao Zheng said: "No hurry."

"It means that the government has not yet got up."

It was still early at this time, and it was still possible to prevaricate like this.

Even if Huo Fang wanted to force his way in, the Yamen servants of Yingtian Mansion would be able to resist for a while.As long as Zhan Zhao comes back with the imperial edict until noon...

The servant shook his head violently: "Master Huo, Mr. Huo said that he must see Mr. Bao. If Mr. Bao doesn't see him, he will force his way in."

Bao Zheng frowned: "Then ask him to break in! If I don't see him, I just don't see him!"

Huo Fang is the minion of King Xiangyang, seeing him must have bad intentions.

"But, he has soldiers with him!"

The servant was about to cry: "A lot of soldiers surrounded the entire government office. Mr. Huo said, no matter what, he must see Mr. Bao today."

Bao Zheng was also surprised. Could it be that these are the private soldiers supported by King Xiangyang?Immediately, it occurred to Huo Fang that, as a transit envoy, he was already in command of some soldiers.But Huo Fang is the confidant of the King of Xiangyang, what is the difference between these soldiers and the private soldiers of the King of Xiangyang?

Gongsun Ce said to the servant: "Don't be in a hurry, remember carefully, how many people are there outside?"

The servant was so anxious that he couldn't speak, he stretched out his hand and gestured: "So many! So many!"

Gongsun Ce smiled: "Don't worry. When you leave the gate of the mansion, Master Huo must be standing outside. Did those soldiers surround Master Huo?"

The servant shook his head: "No. They are standing behind Mr. Huo. They still have torches in their hands."

torch?

Gongsun Ce said: "Look at those soldiers, how many rows are they standing in?"

The servant said: "There is only one row, but everyone has a torch in their hands. They are also pulling a huge cart, and the cart is full of firewood."

Pei Yuan wondered: "This Huo Fang, what is he going to do? In broad daylight, what kind of torch should he use? Is he going to burn us alive in the mansion?"

Gongsun Ce asked, "Is the torch lit or unlit?"

The servant said, "It wasn't lit."

Gongsun Ce smiled: "Lord Pei, don't panic. If Master Huo wants to burn us to death, why don't you light the torch to make it look more terrifying?"

Pei Yuan was sweating profusely: "But Huo Fang is acting strangely..."

Gongsun Ce said: "According to the students, there are not many soldiers outside the mansion, at most there are only three to five hundred soldiers. This servant must have never seen the world before, so he described the scene so horribly. How about it, Mr. Pei, since Huo If my lord wants to see Mr. Bao, let him imitate the story of Guan Yunchang going to the meeting alone, without any entourage, and walk into the government office by himself, how about it? There are servants in the government office, and Huo Fang is a scholar, so don't worry about him having any problems with Mr. Bao and Mr. Pei. What a disadvantage."

Pei Yuan gritted his teeth: "That's fine. You," he pointed at the servant who just came back: "Go outside and tell Huo Fang that if you want to see Lord Bao, you can enter the mansion by yourself. You are not allowed to bring anyone in, otherwise you will be sent to the house." He blasts out!"

The servant grimaced and went out slowly.

Not long after, he brought back a young man dressed as a Confucian scholar, holding a box in his hand.

This person looked to be in his thirties, with a bookish air, like a great Confucian who had read poetry and books.

Seeing Bao Zheng, he couldn't afford to pay homage: "Criminal Huo Fang, I met imperial envoy Bao Yushi."

Bao Zheng's face was calm: "Master Huo, please get up."

Pei Yuan almost jumped up from the stool: "You, why do you..."

Huo Fang turned to look at him, sighed, and burst into tears: "Master Pei, you and I are looking forward to Master Bao's arrival, it's so hard to look forward to!"

Go forward, put the box on the table, and cry with Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan didn't dare to struggle, and was hugged upright.Huo Fang hugged him, crying: "The King of Xiangyang covets the great treasure, and holds the entire Yingtian Mansion in his hands. The two of us have to succumb to his power and work for him, but in our hearts, we have always been looking forward to the official family's death." If you can send imperial envoys to capture this person, it will be a bright future for Tianfu!"

Gongsun Ce said: "Master Huo, I am very impressed by the loyalty and patriotism that moves the world."

Huo Fang wiped away tears: "This is Mr. Gongsun, right? I have already heard that Mr. Ying found the evidence of King Xiangyang's embezzlement and perverting the law from Yingtian Mansion's account books over the years. You really have made great contributions to the community!"

Gongsun Ce said: "Thank you for your compliment."

He just finished checking Ying Tian Mansion's accounts last night, and then he rested in Pei Yuan Mansion without going anywhere, how did Huo Fang know?

He looked at Pei Yuan, who was shaking his head frantically behind Huo Fang.

It wasn't revealed by Pei Yuan, it can only be that Huo Fang's eyeliner has spread all over Yingtian Mansion.

"Oh, right."

Huo Fang picked up the box on the table: "This is a meeting gift from this officer to Mr. Bao."

Bao Zheng said in a deep voice, "I don't accept gifts."

Huo Fang shook his head: "Master Bao must accept this gift."

He opened the box, and a bloody smell rushed out of the box in an instant, permeating the entire room.

In that box, there was a human head with eyes wide open.

Huo Fang said: "This is the head of the Jiangyang thief Deng Che who stole Lord Bao's imperial decree outside the city gate the day before yesterday."

He handed the box forward: "I will use this as a meeting gift for Mr. Bao."

Bao Zheng said: "Since the thieves have already been killed, what about the official's imperial edict?"

Huo Fang shook his head: "Unfortunately, the imperial decree has been dedicated to King Xiangyang by this thief."

Bao Zheng sneered: "As expected."

Huo Fang closed the box and put it aside: "Master Bao must be able to see the sincerity of the officials."

Gongsun Ce said: "My lord's sincerity is obvious to all, but..."

He pondered and said, "Now that we only have the accounts, it is difficult to convict King Xiangyang."

Gongsun Ce sighed: "The King of Xiangyang is a nobleman of the emperor, it is even more difficult to get him to confess this crime!"

Huo Fang hurriedly said, "It's not difficult."

Gongsun Ce asked, "Why is it not difficult?"

Huo Fang said: "I know where the king of Xiangyang hides the gold obtained from corruption over the years."

Bao Zheng said: "Is it the Sky Tower?"

Huo Fang smiled: "Sure enough, Prefect Pei has already told you."

He patted Pei Yuan on the shoulder: "The one who knows me is the prefect of Pei! Brother Pei, the two of us really have a good understanding."

Pei Yuan smiled, sweating coldly.

Bao Zheng said: "Master Huo must also know that there are so many traps in the Sky Tower, no one can enter except the King of Xiangyang himself. Is there a way for Master Huo to enter the Sky Tower, take out the gold, and convict the King of Xiangyang?"

Huo Fang shook his head: "I don't know how to enter the Chongxiao Tower, but I know how to obtain the criminal evidence of King Xiangyang."

Bao Zheng asked: "How is Master Huo doing?"

Huo Fang smiled and said: "Master Bao should know that Chongxiao Tower is a tall building built by the late emperor to enshrine the heavenly scriptures. The place where Buddhist scriptures are stored is called a pagoda, and the place where Taoist scriptures are stored is called a tower. The tower is built of bricks and stones." , while the building is made of wood.”

"I remember that the official responsible for the construction of the Sky Tower was the original Ding Wei, Mr. Ding. At that time, Master Ding transported giant logs from Guanzhong from the water as pillars, and then built the skeleton of the Sky Tower."

Then Ding Wei was demoted, Song Zhenzong fell ill, and the construction period of Chongxiao Tower was postponed indefinitely.After Song Zhenzong died, it was simply unfinished.

"As long as it is wood, it is afraid of fire. But real gold is not afraid of fire."

Huo Fang said: "As long as the tower is burned down by a fire, all the organs in it will be reduced to ashes. After the fire is extinguished, the gold left in it is the evidence of King Xiangyang's intention to rebel."

Bao Zheng said slowly: "Lord Huo is a good planner."

Huo Fang nodded: "Thank you."

Bao Zheng looked at him and said: "In fact, last night, Mr. Gongsun had already suggested to the government that if it is really impossible to enter the Skyscraper Tower, it is better to set it on fire. Anyway, the gold will not be destroyed by fire, and the evidence of the King of Xiangyang will definitely be destroyed by fire." exposed to the eyes of the world."

Huo Fang nodded happily: "Heroes see the same thing."

Bao Zheng said: "Last night, after listening to what Mr. Gongsun said, the mansion actually agrees with this strategy."

Huo Fang said: "Because this is a clever plan, Master Bao will agree."

Bao Zheng sternly said: "Wrong! Because this is the plan offered by Mr. Gongsun, so I will agree. Mr. Gongsun is innocent and has nothing to do with you, Ying Tianfu and King Xiangyang, so the plan he offered, This government does not have any doubts. But you are different! Huo Fang, you are a henchman of the King of Xiangyang. According to what Pei Zhifu said, you are quite trusted by the King of Xiangyang, and you can even go in and out of the Sky Tower occasionally. There is evidence of King Xiangyang’s crime in the building, how can you know that there is no evidence of your crime? The evidence of King Xiangyang’s crime is gold, what is your evidence of crime?”

He presses on step by step: "Mr. Gongsun's plan to burn down the skyscrapers is the last move when King Xiangyang resists and refuses to obey the imperial decree. Now the imperial decree is on the way, and you can reach Yingtian Mansion before noon. You As the confidant of the King of Xiangyang, if you really want to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, why not stay in the palace and advise the King of Xiangyang, and when the imperial decree arrives, you will go out of the mansion to plead guilty? Even if the King of Xiangyang does not listen to your advice, you can still bind him Get up and let me deal with it. When the time comes, I will have the imperial decree and capture the King of Xiangyang, are you afraid that I can't ask him to tell the way to enter and exit the Sky Tower?"

"Even if all of the above are useless, you should try it first. But you actually directly killed the thief who stole the imperial decree, and urged the official to set fire to the skyscraper. Huo Fang! How many shady evidences of you are there in the skyscraper ?”