Rouge wrong

"Master Wen, all the case files are here, but there are not many useful clues about the accidental or bizarre deaths of the five officials earlier.

It was not until the sixth case that we realized that it was an organized and large-scale assassination case. "

There are thick case files piled up in front of Wen Shi, and while she is looking at the files in her hand, she is listening to the Yanzhou magistrate's report on the current known situation.

Yanzhou is located in the center of the Jiangnan river transport hub, so it is in charge of a large number of water transport exchanges, and has a very important geographical position——

This is also the reason why the emperor listed Yanzhou as the area that must be controlled first.

As for the use of Yanzhou Mansion instead of the provincial capital as the base of the Wenzhi operation this time, on the one hand, it was because there was an assassination against the Yanzhou magistrate not long ago, and on the other hand, it was because Shen was wrong here.

The emperor specially sent Wen Shi here, and naturally hoped to get her assistance.

"According to Jin Yiwei's investigation, there have been as many as 23 assassinations confirmed so far, resulting in the death of more than ten officials, and even a chief envoy from the second rank was involved."

Before Wen Shi came here, he had sorted out the known information in detail, "But so far, we still have no conclusive evidence to prove that these assassinations are related to these local wealthy families, have we?"

"That's right, I was lucky enough to be rescued by the Princess, and I was able to capture the assassin for the first time.

However, these assassins regarded death as home, hid the poison in their teeth, and committed suicide by taking the poison on the spot, so there was no chance to torture them. "

"Even if you torture him, there won't be any results." Wen Shi sighed, "The family of this kind of dead man is under the control of the organization, and he will never betray the organization."

The magistrate sighed: "The purpose of these people is undoubtedly to cause panic in the officialdom, causing everyone to be in danger, and dare not fight against them in order to save the lives of themselves and their families.

It's really abominable for the villains to disturb Chaogang. It's a pity that so many excellent colleagues died before their ambitions were paid. "

"The sage is wise, now the country is rich and the people are strong, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. From ancient times to the present, I have never heard of someone who can stir up trouble at a grand event and turn the court upside down.

Now all the officials in Jiangnan, big and small, are protected by at least one Jinyiwei. If the other party wants to continue to act, they will inevitably reveal greater flaws. "

"Does your lord mean that we should sit on the sidelines now?"

Wen Shi's face was serious, and he slowly shook his head: "If I just waited on the sidelines, the emperor would not have specially sent me here... I want to reopen the corruption case a few years ago."

"This... But the case was closed at the beginning. Most of the officials in office were punished, and those who could be implicated were not let go. The other is the lack of physical evidence. Even if it is restarted now, how can they be arrested?" Conviction?"

"At the beginning, the imperial court mainly investigated corruption, so it ignored a very important clue."

The magistrate personally participated in the process, and he thought that everything that could be thoroughly investigated had been thoroughly investigated, and it was impossible to change the roots that could not be changed by manpower.

"Which aspect are you referring to?"

"Buying and selling people, raising skinny horses for prostitutes, and giving each other women from good families as items."

"I remember it was a criminal offense at the time."

"But the imperial court didn't get to the bottom of it after all, so they didn't find out the connection between these powerful families and this assassination organization."

Although the imperial court condemns the crime of trespassers, it also strictly prohibits the trafficking of lovers, but this is only for human traffickers.

Like selling oneself, or children being sold by their parents, most places don't care about it, and the imperial court did not strictly prohibit the existence of romantic places, only prohibiting officials from whoring.

Therefore, the investigation in this area was not thorough at the beginning. After all, compared with serious crimes such as corruption and homicide, this is really not worthy of too much attention.

Moreover, no one realized that Baiyun Villa was involved in it before, and only regarded these prostitution halls as romantic places to survive on the decadence of local officials.

The magistrate was surprised and said: "You mean, are they involved in the beginning? Then why did they take action in the past few years?"

"It's very simple, the purpose of the two parties is not completely consistent, so the previous cooperation has not been in-depth.

The so-called aristocratic families are all rooted in the local area, good at observing the situation, no matter how they change dynasties, they can remain invincible.

Their goal is simple and clear, which is to control part of the right to speak, to be attached to the imperial court but not to completely submit to the imperial power. "

The magistrate of Yanzhou was born in Linxia Academy, and Linxia Academy was established by the eldest princess and the emperor in their own territory before the restoration of the country. Regardless of their origin, most of the students recruited were not from aristocratic families, so they were called disciples of the Son of Heaven.

These people are the main force used by the emperor to fight against the aristocratic families, and it is also the reason why these Jiangnan aristocratic families will confront the imperial court in this way.

The existence of Linxia Academy will definitely shake the foundation of the aristocratic family.

"Then what is the purpose of this assassination organization?"

Wen Shi smiled slightly: "As I said before, their purpose...is naturally to subvert Chao Gang."

The magistrate was surprised, as if he couldn't believe it: "A mere Jianghu organization is so arrogant? It's not a troubled time now. Even if the Northwest was hit by such a catastrophe, the imperial court has brought the place back to life in just two years. How can these thieves easily overthrow it?" of?

No matter how good their martial arts are, two fists are no match for four hands. Aren't they afraid of our army of millions in Yan Dynasty? "

Wen Shi sighed softly: "This is the difference in the way people think. Xiaoxiao can only see the benefits, but he can't see the price that needs to be paid and the responsibility that he shoulders.

Since the birth of martial arts, it has been known as the way to change fate against the sky.Because of their own strength, some warriors gradually forget that they are just mere mortals, and then take their personal power too seriously. "

"They assassinated the officials, the eldest princess, and even the emperor in the future, thinking that they could replace them.

But the foundation of the Yan Dynasty was maintained by the law, the functions of the court were operated by officials, and the stability of the country was guarded by the army.

A wise sage is naturally important, but my sage is not the only one who is wise and wise? "

"The crown prince is stable, the other princes and princesses are also smart and alert, the brothers and sisters have a harmonious relationship, and there are queen mothers and eldest princesses in charge, that is..."

Wen Shi glanced at the magistrate with a smile on his lips, but he still didn't say this taboo, "The court will not be in chaos. The change of dynasties has its own rules, but it will never end because of mere assassination, let alone these things." People with short-sightedness sit in the country."

After hearing a few words, the magistrate spoke with enthusiasm.In fact, because he was assassinated some time ago, he was inevitably a little uneasy.

"My lord Wen's words are very true. Now that you are sitting in Yanzhou, the lower officials can rest assured. No matter what you plan to do, the lower officials will fully cooperate."

Wen Shi nodded and said: "I just said that I just wanted to express that the interests of the wealthy clan in the south of the Yangtze River and that organization are not completely consistent, so they seem to be in harmony with each other.

These gentry clans are all human beings, and they must understand that it is impossible to succeed in overthrowing Chao Gang, so they never want to be involved in it. "

"Corruption cannot uproot them, but treason and rebellion can. We only need to find out their connections and divide them, and their alliance will naturally fall apart.

I got news earlier that this organization is likely to be Baiyun Villa in Jiangnan. "

"Baiyun Villa?" The magistrate has been in the south of the Yangtze River for several years, so he naturally knows about Baiyun Villa, "My lord, do you have evidence?"

It's just that Baiyun Villa has a good reputation in the south of the Yangtze River, and they have always been kind and generous. When the Northwest was hit by the earthquake, they donated a lot of money and were rewarded by the court.

"Of course, there is no evidence to cause such trouble now, but if there is participation, there must be a connection. The reason why I can't find it is because it was ignored. So I want to restart the corruption case and follow the clue of the prostitution hall to investigate."

Wen Shi determined this line precisely because of the news brought by Bai Linqiu.

If Baiyun Villa had financial interests with these local wealthy families, it should have been found out a few years ago, so they must be connected in another way.

Shen Zheng needs a large number of women without good backgrounds to practice kung fu, and the Jiangnan officialdom is nourishing the atmosphere of prostitutes, so the two hit it off.

"The owner of this Baiyun Villa is very likely to use women to practice evil skills. He retrieved all the files and found the skinny horse whores who were housed and exiled at the beginning. He must try to find out every disappeared woman and their last whereabouts. I believe , there will always be clues pointing to them."

Even if they can't find it in the end, this battle is enough to make the Jiangnan wealthy family uneasy, and Baiyun Villa jumps over the wall in a hurry.If Shen Zheng could be forced to assassinate himself, the matter would be much simpler.

"Auntie, why don't we get off the boat at the next pier and rest for a few days?" Jing Cheng knelt in front of Liu Rongzhi, pinching her legs while worrying, "You were assassinated not long ago, and you came back to Beijing from the northwest for thousands of miles. I have never had a good rest, and now I have to take a boat all the way to Yanzhou, my body will not be able to hold on."

In just two years, Liu Rongzhi's long hair has turned white, and the wrinkles around his eyes have deepened a lot.

Although the emperor sent her the best imperial physician and used the best medicine, her eyes and legs were still disabled.

Her current eyesight is only barely enough to distinguish people, and it is even more inconvenient to move after being lame. Most of the time she can only rely on a wheelchair to move around.

Probably because of the boat ride for a few days, Liu Rongzhi's face was as pale as paper, and his voice was weak: "It's okay, we'll be there in two days, just in time for Wei Wuwang's birthday."

Jingcheng looks much more mature than two years ago, and the experience in the Northwest obviously made her complete some kind of transformation.

"Hmph, if you come to celebrate her birthday, maybe she won't appreciate it."

Liu Rongzhi patted her hand, shook his head and said: "Mother celebrates the child's birthday, how can I be ungrateful? This is my wishful thinking.

Aunt doesn't know how many years she still has to live, but after thinking about it carefully, there is nothing left for her. "

Liu Rongzhi has chosen Jingcheng to inherit his mantle, on the one hand, Shen Cuo is not interested in government affairs.

On the other hand, if her identity really took over the property left by Liu Rongzhi, it would bring about a disaster of death instead.

Therefore, Liu Rongzhi has been doing his best to cultivate Jingcheng for the past two years. On the one hand, this niece is indeed worthy of her, and on the other hand, she hopes that Shen Cuo will not be isolated and helpless in the future.

She did what she could do for the Liu family, the court, and the people in the end, and then she wanted to complete some personal affairs.

"Jingcheng, Auntie only has this one daughter. No matter what happens to her in the future, you must protect her. This is Auntie's last request to you."