Broken Iron Clothes

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At night, the mountain road was dark, with only a little open fire and the jolting carriages, all the way from Jiang Yu's residence to the inn.Xu Bing was sitting in the car, his clothes were still soaked in the smell of alcohol, he read the letter delivered today carefully by the light lit by the fire pocket.

The letter was sent by Xu Yixu a few days ago, and it was written about the bombing of the Yellow Book Vault, but the statement is that Peng Yan insisted on going his own way, using gunpowder in advance without permission, and wanted to take the opportunity of blowing up the Yellow Book Vault to destroy the evidence. Then put the blame on Yuan Mucheng.

I don't know if it's the alcohol that burns my heart or the fire that dazzles my eyes, but the words on the paper float with my mood, no matter how I look at it, I don't like it, the more Xu Bin looks down, the more anger boils uncontrollably.

Before he left, he told Xu Yixu that he could discuss with Peng Yan about burning the books, but he had to discuss it after his return, because taxation and corvee had to be carried out together with the books, and the books were not as important. It is self-evident, so it is necessary to come up with a perfect method, so as to destroy the evidence and avoid re-recording the books.But now there is a change, the yellow book library is blown up, if the book is to be re-registered, one mistake will implicate Sand Snake, and it will be a matter of time before Feng Ruoping and others are convicted of treason.

The wheel hit the gravel, causing the body to shake, Xu Bin's hands trembled, and the paper caught fire and ignited.He looked at the fire that was gradually jumping towards his fingertips, he was in a trance for a while, the pain that came out after being burned made his mind clear for a while, and he let go of his hand.

The burning paper fell and gradually curled up into a ball of scorched black in the fireworks. Xu Bing raised his boots and stepped on it, crushing the things under his feet into a pile of ashes. He didn't remove the soles until the car stopped.

He lifted the curtain to show up, and got out of the car with the shoulder of the man driving the car.The man's name was Zhang Ling, he was in his early twenties, and like Lu Xiu, he was a dead man raised under Xu Yixu's name.

Zhang Ling was brought back from the Northwest by Xu Bing himself, and he has been kept by his side for nearly ten years, and the weather is uncertain on weekdays. He recognizes the Lord but never bows his head. When he came to Aozhou this time, he only brought Zhang Ling by his side.

"Prepare the things I want tomorrow, and we'll go back to the city immediately after we're done." Xu Bin said to Zhang Ling after landing.

"clear."

Zhang Ling smiled, then jumped back into the car, whipped his horse and drove the car away.

-

The next day, the cabinet gathered in the Yingchen Hall. Among the six ministries, only Zhuo Wei from the Ministry of Punishment and Gao Li from the Ministry of Housing were present.Among the civilian officials, only Yuan Mucheng, a military officer, was standing alone, and when he was serious, he exuded a faint evil spirit, which made people daunting.

Not long after, a small eunuch came into the hall to inform the audience, everyone's voices fell, and only the sound of Yujiao colliding with each other was left in the silence.Liu Zhaoyu entered the hall stepping on red boats, and everyone backed away to welcome him into the upper steps of the hall.

Liu Zhaoyu lifted his robe and sat down, deliberately glanced at Yuan Mucheng, and said directly: "What does the Ministry of Criminal Justice say about the yellow book library?"

Zhuo Wei, the servant of the Ministry of Justice, stepped forward and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, after investigation, on the day when the incident in the yellow book library happened, a grain and grass team came to the Ministry of Households early in the morning to report the fall of grain and grass into the river. , went to Prince Jingping’s mansion to send a letter to inform of this matter, and claimed that Peng Yan made an appointment to meet with the general. The warehouse guards had been dispatched to Yusi to assist in the verification of the fall of grain and grass into the river, and within less than a stick of incense, the gunpowder around the yellow book warehouse was ignited, and the parachutist escaped from the secret passage inside the yellow book warehouse, and survived. Afterwards, the Ministry of Criminal Justice found the charred corpses and body parts from the ruins of Huangceku, which were assembled into a total of eight male corpses, six of which could not be identified, and the other two belonged to Ambassador Huangceku and Peng Yan."

Liu Zhaoyu looked down, and after rubbing his chest with his hands, he asked, "Have you found out anything?"

Zhuo Wei went on to say: "The identities of the six male corpses are still unknown, but the guards who were dispatched all said that they had received Peng Yan's orders, and the minister also searched Peng Yan's mansion and found two secret passages. It is confirmed that the secret passage in the yellow book library was dug by Peng Yan. In addition, two days ago, Deputy General He handed over the person who took the role of deputy Yu Si to the Ministry of Punishment. The envoy was committed by the same person, but the prisoner committed suicide during the interrogation, and it is not known who instructed him, but I still have some questions, and I hope His Majesty will allow General Yun to answer them face to face."

Liu Zhaoyu said concisely: "Ask."

Zhuo Wei turned slightly to Yuan Mucheng, and asked, "According to the results of the autopsy, the six unidentified corpses in the yellow book warehouse were all killed before the fire. I don't know if the parachutist met or fought against these people. ?”

Yuan Mucheng walked up to the steps and saluted Liu Zhaoyu, and then said calmly: "There are eight people pretending to be guards outside the Yellow Book Vault, two of them escaped, and the other six died at my hands."

Zhuo Wei said, "General, can you tell me the details?"

Yuan Mucheng nodded, and said: "That day I was led to the yellow book library, and when I saw the guards had some clues, I tried to say a few words, and those people couldn't hold back and killed me. Out of self-protection, I didn't have any subordinates. Be merciful, and later they locked me in the yellow book library together, and took the opportunity to ignite the gunpowder."

Zhuo Wei asked again: "After the gunpowder was ignited, everyone present was stunned by the air wave. How did the general wake up in time and leave through the secret passage dug by Peng Yan?"

Yuan Mucheng looked calm, and replied calmly: "Peng Yan opened the secret passage before the gunpowder ignited and tried to escape. After I dealt with the guards beside me, I dragged Peng Yan back. It happened that the gunpowder exploded after walking down the secret passage, so I was lucky." He escaped a catastrophe, he was not unconscious, and his body was only wounded by debris."

Yuan Mucheng's logic is self-consistent, and all kinds of evidence now point to the crime of Peng Yan alone, Zhuo Wei should not ask any more questions, and nodded his head, saying: "Thank you, General Yi, for your answer."

With that said, Zhuo Wei turned to Liu Zhaoyu, bowed his body and saluted, "Return to Your Majesty, I can conclude for the time being that Peng Yan did the Yellow Book Store, but the motive has not yet been confirmed, and further investigation is needed."

"Is Zhuo Shilang's words too arbitrary?" Feng Ruoping said, "Feng didn't deliberately target him, but what General Yun said has no evidence, how can it be convincing?"

Knowing that Feng Ruoping was not forgiving, Yuan Mucheng asked without turning his head, "What's your opinion, Marquis Yizhong?"

Feng Ruoping laughed: "It's an exaggeration to say that I have a good opinion, but I have seen many scenes of thieves shouting to catch the thief, and I feel that the general's heart is concerned with food and grass, and it is not impossible to rush to the Ministry of Households on impulse. Who knows if Peng Yan is his true allegiance?"

Zhuo Wei said: "Flying General Yi went to the yellow book library, and many people from the household department confirmed that the general's expression was calm, as usual, and he didn't seem to come to the door impulsively."

Feng Ruoping said: "Even so, only one parachutist, General Yi, survived in the yellow book library, and there is no way to verify what happened there that day, so it is not unreasonable to say that you are invited to enter the urn."

"So what if you invite me into the urn?" Yuan Mucheng turned to look at him without fear, with unfriendly smiles in his eyes, "I didn't change the guards, I didn't put the gunpowder, and I didn't dig the secret passages." , Peng Yan planned to put me to death, but he couldn't do it perfectly. I found a loophole and escaped. How could this crime be charged to me, the victim? Forgive me for being stupid, I don't know in the eyes of Yi Zhonghou , what is reasonable reasoning?"

Feng Ruoping was so choked that he couldn't talk for a while, but he didn't dare to express his dissatisfaction too clearly, so he could only look forward with a righteous air.

"Okay, this matter will continue to be investigated by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and Peng Yan's motives should be found out as soon as possible." Liu Zhaoyu clenched his fists to his mouth, paused, and said, "Next, Gao Shilang will talk about the register."

Gao Li walked out and said: "Return to Your Majesty, the register not only records people's affairs and property, but also the basis for tax collection. I think that the register should be re-recorded as soon as possible to ensure the stability of the national economy and people's livelihood."

"As soon as possible, I..." Liu Zhaoyu suddenly stopped speaking, bowed his head and remained silent for a long time.

"His Majesty……"

Realizing that something was wrong, Chang Yi took a closer look, but saw that his face was pale and he was sweating profusely.He just walked closer and took a few more glances, but Liu Zhaoyu immediately vomited, and when he stood up again, he almost lost his strength.

"Your Majesty!" Chang Yi was startled.

The faces of the ministers below all changed, Yuan Mucheng ignored the courtesy of the emperor and ministers, and rushed straight up the steps.After Liu Zhaoyu vomited, his expression became even more embarrassing. He supported the seat and lowered his knees. When he almost knelt down, Yuan Mucheng picked him up, and then slowly sat on the ground.

After serving Liu Zhaoyu for many years, Chang Yi has never seen him like this, so he hurriedly urged people to shout: "Hurry up! Go to the Imperial Hospital and call someone!"

Liu Zhaoyu was sent back to the bedroom, and the imperial doctor waited for nearly an hour before he came out. Yuan Mucheng asked to see him outside the bedroom, but was finally prevaricated by saying "Your Majesty's dragon body is not in good condition and needs to rest".

After leaving the palace, Yuan Mucheng rode his horse and walked slowly, thinking a lot all the way. He took a long detour as usual and turned into the alley.

"Good luck, General Yifei. Only with the help of noble people by his side can he survive the catastrophe." Xu Yixu still had that smiling face on his face, standing quietly in the middle of the road like last time, trying to block his way.

Yuan Mucheng glanced at him indifferently, and shook the reins neatly.

The horses didn't stop, they raised their hooves and charged forward, the approach was menacing, Xu Yixu's brows moved slightly, and he hesitated for a moment.

Just at this moment, an arm wrapped around his waist and led him to dodge sideways, and the horse's mane almost brushed against his hair.

"Catch up." Xu Yixu said to Lu Xiu behind him.

Without further ado, Lu Xiu took Xu Yixu onto the horse parked at the entrance of the alley, and chased after him.

If this road goes straight to the end, it will be the back door of Jiang's house. Yuan Mucheng self-consciously underestimated Xu Yixu's perseverance, and had no intention of leading people there, so he pulled the rein tightly and stopped the horse in displeasure.

Lu Xiu then stopped, Xu Yixu smiled and said, "If I hadn't come out from the secret passage and saw it that day, I would have believed the nonsense the general just said in the Yingchen Hall."

There was no expression on Yuan Mucheng's face, and his tone was as indifferent as his expression: "Xu Siye's ears are not in vain, but he can hear the news quickly enough."

Xu Yixu said: "If I had arrived one step earlier that day, do you think you would still be alive?"

"If you really have the ability to kill me, it's up to you, but since you don't have the ability," Yuan Mucheng turned to meet his eyes with sharp eyes, "Get out."

The official uniform seems to be unable to restrain Yuan Mucheng's cold body, he is the bloodthirsty beast in Yu Aoshuang, when he bared his teeth to declare his territory, even his eyes were showing power.

Xu Yixu became interested, his dark eyes were full of madness and stubbornness, maybe it was the desire to win or lose, the more incompatible he and Yuan Mucheng were, the more he wanted to take Jiang Shiqing as his own.

"It doesn't matter if I can't kill you, it's just something that got in the way." Xu Yixu said slowly.

Yuan Mucheng smiled coldly, with cold eyes: "This is the first time I've seen this kind of dog that barks at the door without the ability. Although it looks arrogant, I'm not interested in talking to it. But if you follow one more step, I will keep the dog behind you. Brother can't keep half of your life."

Seeing Yuan Mucheng holding the rein and about to ride away, Xu Yixu lost all smiles and shouted: "Yuan Mucheng!"

"How is he?" Xu Yixu asked.

Yuan Mucheng turned his head slightly, and said coldly: "You are worthy of asking my people."