Survival countdown

Yan Bing was invited to the largest restaurant nearby, and exchanged glasses with Huo Zhaowen. He was half drunk and half awake, and basically answered whatever he asked, and his words were all tricked out——

Of course, Huo Zhaowen wanted to know if the quilt came out.

"So, it was you Wulang who rescued Yang, helped her write the pleadings, and sent her to sue the government? Do you Wulang not care about this case?"

"I can't control it!" Yan Bing blushed, gesticulating and said, "You don't know that Fang Xingwen's case was clearly caught by officials from the Yantie Division and the Cao Division, but... hiccup! Linmen One foot, was robbed by Shanqian and the procurator, and the case was closed so silently...Let me tell you, the collusion between officials and businessmen is endless, and officials and officials are protecting each other—it can’t be controlled, really can’t be controlled.”

Huo Zhaowen also drank some wine, but he was able to maintain a clear mind because of his capacity for alcohol.

"It is rumored that Zhao Baiyu, Cao Si envoy, is an official of Qingtian's parents. He knows this, so maybe he will take care of it to the end."

"He is a mud bodhisattva crossing the river, so he can't protect himself." Yan Bing patted his neck, "He almost got his head picked off! Sigh. But this is all right, the imperial envoy is in our Hongzhou mansion, he has the right to manage, and manages This case is also part of the matter."

"What if the imperial envoy also let go?"

Yan Bing stopped talking, waved his hand and said: "Goro said, he believes Your Majesty, the imperial envoy sent by His Majesty to Liangjiang must be a good official with outstanding ability, integrity, and dedication to the people, so the imperial envoy will definitely take care of the case of Yanjing in Jizhou .”

Huo Zhaowen stopped the wine glass he put to his lips, "Really? He really thinks so?"

Yan Bing nodded and nodded again, emphasizing that he did not lie.

Huo Zhaowen's tense expression eased a lot, with a smile on the corner of his lips, he offered three glasses of wine to Yan Bing, and he directly drank him down before saying softly: "Open a room and send him to rest."

The guard appeared.

Zhao Chongjin came up and said, "It seems that Zhao Baiyu encountered a lot of obstacles when he came to Liangjiang's officialdom. Those who dare to sue the imperial court will shrink back when they encounter Liangjiang's officialdom."

"He didn't retire. On the contrary, Zhao Baiyu took care of the case while protecting himself... He guessed the purpose of His Majesty's imperial envoy to Liangjiang, and he was sure that I would take care of this case, because it could break Liangjiang's officialdom, It was also because I didn't have a way to put my hand in to stir things up, so he sent the Jizhou case." Huo Zhaowen smiled heartily, "Smart. Zhao Baiyu lived up to my expectations of him."

Zhao Chongjin was a little wary. When did he expect Goro?What kind of expectations?

Huo Zhaowen: "Zhao Baiyu is a capable minister and good official. He is smart, knows how to advance and retreat, and likes to do practical things. The so-called emperor and minister, the emperor is like the father, and the minister should be such a minister."

He made no secret of his covetousness for the throne, as if admiring Zhao Baiyu as a courtier from the perspective of an emperor.

Zhao Chongjin: "Then...we will take care of the case?"

Huo Zhaowen: "I heard that when Zhao Baiyu went down to Huainan, he asked Huo Jingtang's disciples from the Cui family to pretend to be imperial envoys?"

Zhao Chongjin: "Yes."

"It's a good idea. I also find someone to pretend to be me, so I set up a suspicious battle to bluff the silverfish in Liangjiang." Huo Zhaowen knocked on the table and said: "My sage will come to the Yamen in my name to visit the unjust case of Yanjing in Jizhou. Check, you are working in the Yantie Division, help me get the identity of a Dingzhou businessman."

He has served in the army in Dingzhou for many years, and his northern accent can scare people away.

Zhao Chongjin took the order.

***

Yan Bing left the restaurant and went back to the house as soon as he regained consciousness, drank the hangover soup prepared by Zhao Baiyu early in the morning, his dizziness eased a lot, and he described the conversation between him and Huo Zhaowen.

"...The imperial envoy's drinking capacity almost knocked me down. Fortunately, there was special training from Wei Bo and the two big guards, otherwise the truth in my heart would have been caught out."

"You said that after I praised the imperial envoy, how did he react?"

"I didn't say anything, but I was in a good mood, and even opened a room to send me in, and didn't let me lie on the table outside to blow the air."

"Good mood?"

"Ah."

"It's good to be in a good mood, which means he has no doubts."

Wei Bo: "Then he will make a move?"

"I haven't had much conversation with this sixth prince, and I don't know what he is like, but if he is smart, he has to hide his identity. It's not an imperial envoy, not a prince, so you can see the interesting officialdom below."

The secret guard ran back at this time and said: "There is action! The imperial envoy sent a fourth-rank military attache next to him to Hongzhou government office this morning to inquire about Jizhou's case. When Qian heard that the imperial envoy was involved in the case, he suddenly stopped leaving and stayed at the post station thirty miles away from Hongzhou Mansion."

"Good thing." Zhao Baiyu smiled, and said with a slap in the face: "However, the sixth prince is still a little tender because he acted in a hurry. The local officialdom is not a military camp like a mountain of military orders. There are a group of ghosts who eat people without spitting bones. Watching the house. I guess there should be movement in the prison in Hongzhou tonight."

The hidden guard said: "Wu Duyu is watching, and won't let anything happen to Mrs. Yang."

Wu Duyu was one of the two hidden guards sent to protect Zhao Baiyu, from the fifth rank Du Yuhou.

Zhao Baiyu: "Yan Bing, next you need to get close to the imperial envoy, and slowly reveal to the imperial envoy a few words about the corpses of tide merchants near the quarry outside the city. That is a darker case."

***

The Yamen of the prefect of Hongzhou.

After sending away the fourth-rank military officer next to the imperial envoy, and looking back at the letters left by the people around Tang Tixing, Guan Wenbin was heartbroken, and repeatedly patted his forehead and said, "I can't offend anyone, are you trying to force me to death?"

"You said that the Yang family is very good, why did you come to me from Jizhou? Why did you throw the hot potato into my hand?"

Guan Wenbin was so anxious that he ordered the master to find a way quickly.

"Think about it... yes. Isn't Tang Tixing's intention to silence us? The person is dead, and the key witnesses of the case are gone. Even if the imperial envoy wants to intervene, they will not be able to investigate a case without a head."

"Aren't I afraid that this sudden murder will be too conspicuous?"

"Ms. Yang is a convict. She should have gone to the Underworld two or three years ago. Now that she has lived a few more years, she is picked up. Besides, she has nowhere to go. She is a worthless person. Who will seek justice for her after she dies? In this world, is there really Qingtian who overturned the case of a dead criminal woman and made the King of Hades release her to rehabilitate her, and even made enemies of Liangjiang officials? It’s not a folk tale.”

"It makes sense. It's still a common trick in the prison, and it's called on the prisoner surnamed Yang."

"Humble job, let's do it."

***

Hongzhou Government Yamen Prison.

In the middle of the night, the yamen guard knocked from cell to cell and asked, "Are you asleep?" After confirming that no one answered, he asked someone to carry the sack into the cell where Yang was held.

The master was outside the cell and looked inside: "Won't you wake up?"

The yamen servant nodded and bowed his waist: "I fed some medicine in the meal, and I'm sure I won't be able to wake up even if I'm breathless. If I come to test it tomorrow, it can only be said to be a sudden death."

Master: "Yes. Let's do it."

The yamen servant carried the sack in, and just as he put a sack on Yang's body, the oil lamp suddenly went out, and the surroundings fell into darkness, and the sky was starless and childless. Oops! Who hit me?" Followed by several screams of pain, and when the oil lamp was lit again, the two leaders of the yamen squad were fighting, and were horrified to find that three or two yamen servants were stacked on the ground, and four or five sacks were stacked on top of each other. Master.

On the other hand, Yang's complexion was ruddy, and he was soundly dreaming.

"Damn it." The squad leader muttered to himself.

Master is like a tortoise, struggling to pull his limbs: "Pull me up quickly—"

The yamen servant hurriedly pulled him up, the master asked what was going on, but the team leader didn't know, and said he had seen a ghost.

"Bastard! You don't talk about strange powers, where in the world do ghosts come from?" The master said viciously while supporting his painful waist, "I don't believe it's so evil! Go, pick up the sack and put it on top of it."

The yamen servant couldn't disobey the order, so he carried the sack tremblingly, but the light went out again, and what happened just now was repeated. With a sound of '咻', a large piece of sideburn hair was neatly shaved off.

Looking back tremblingly, both the master and the yamen servant saw a sharp black iron arrow piercing the wall, and a piece of gloomy and pale white paper hung from the arrow. It was not known whether it was blood or cinnabar, and there were a few large characters crookedly written on it:

Raise your head three feet and there is a god.

"—"

Taking a deep breath, the group of people suffocated, turned their heads and ran, and rushed out of the cell door before they dared to shout: "There is a ghost!"

***

"Bullshit! Have you read all the sages' books to the stomach? The government will screw your heads off now to see if you will turn into ghosts!" Guan Wenbin angrily said: "It's not enough to succeed, but it's more than failure. "

However, no matter how much he scolded, the master and the yamen servants did not dare to kill Mrs. Yang. As for Guan Wenbin, he was very talkative, and he wanted to find someone else to do this dirty work.

The problem is that killing people and killing people is not about picking Chinese cabbage, can you just find someone?

In the past, when I went to the ruined temple and yelled a few times, there would be a bunch of high-ranking and high-ranking scholars looking for money to pick up jobs, but a while ago Zhao Baiyu borrowed troops to sweep them by the way, and now the ranger's face changed when he heard about Hongzhou Mansion, and no one dared to come.

The ball kicked back and forth and returned to Guan Wenbin's hands. He was so worried that he started to lose his hair.

After tossing and turning all night, Guan Wenbin suddenly realized that he couldn't kill Mrs. Yang, wouldn't it be good to get rid of the other witness?

Immediately ordered someone to bring the case to the Criminal Division and brought the words to him. Tang Tixing, who was also involved, naturally hoped that the case would never see the light of day, so he ordered someone to kill Fang Xingwen by pressing a sack.

Fang Xingwen was unprotected and died quietly in prison.

***

Yang's life is saved for the time being, but the imperial envoy wants to investigate, but the criminal department is not allowed to investigate. Guan Wenbin is likely to be fooled by both sides and use dragging formulas, so Yan Bing went into battle at this time.

Zhao Baiyu, Wei Bo, and Yan Bing were at the corner of the market when they saw the sixth prince being driven out of the yamen gate by the guards and walking towards this side.

Wei Bo: "Did you go to the yamen to find out the news?"

"He is an ordinary businessman now, the best way is to go to the tooth shop with the fastest source of gossip or the Jiangxi Merchants Guild Hall to inquire about the news, go to the Yamen to inquire, let alone an official, he will not pay attention to him when he has a little fame .” Zhao Baiyu reminded Yan Bing: “Quick, we met in the past.”

Yan Bing tidied up her clothes, walked towards Huo Zhaowen, and when she passed by, she suddenly turned around and called him: "Isn't this Brother Zheng?"

Huo Zhaowen recognized him: "Brother Zhao?"

Yan Bing: "Just came out of the Yamen?"

Huo Zhaowen laughed: "No, I... I'm just curious about the murder case in Jizhou. The folks are arguing that it is the first of the top ten strange injustices since the beginning of the dynasty. It seems that nothing has disappeared, so I came to ask out of curiosity."

Yan Bing: "As expected."

Huo Zhaowen: "How to say?"

Yan Bing glanced at Huo Zhaowen, shut his mouth tightly, the meaning was very clear, and he didn't want to reveal too much to outsiders.

Huo Zhaowen understood, and it was not so easy for him to follow Zhao Baiyu's side.

"Brother Zhao lives near here?"

Yan Bing: "Ming people don't speak secretly, my purpose is the same as yours." Looking around, I found a relatively hidden teahouse nearby, invited the person in, and said in a low voice: "Don't look at it as an ordinary murder case, in fact It involves a lot.”

In a few words, he explained the intricate relationship between Liangjiang's officialdom.

"The current Guangdong comfort envoy is the former Jiangxi envoy who presided over the unjust case of Yanjing in Jizhou and personally sentenced Yang to death. You said that if the case is overturned, they will all be charged with 'crime of crime'?"

"But when the imperial envoy asks the case, Guan Wenbin dares to obey the law?"

"How do you know that the imperial envoy asked the case? You got under the imperial envoy's bed?"

"I..." Huo Zhaowen laughed, "There is someone I know who works beside the imperial envoy, listen to what he says."

"I can't tell that Brother Zheng still has this kind of relationship. The real person doesn't show his face." Yan Bing instantly expressed enthusiasm, "There are people up there who are good at handling things. Let me tell you the truth. I am indeed concerned about this murder case. Who do you think is a person with a sense of justice? Can you not be indignant when you hear Yang's tragic experience? Can you help me? Sigh, the adults around me don't want to care, so they can only investigate in private... I think you are quite interested in this unjust case, why don't we join hands? Investigate and get to the bottom of it?"

It turned out that Zhao Baiyu was investigating the case without telling it, no wonder the book boy paid special attention to the unjust case of Yanjing in Jizhou.

Huo Zhaowen was still a little suspicious of Yan Bing's overly familiar attitude, and he was relieved when he heard his reason, probably because there are many young men of the same age in Kyoto Prefecture who are as whimsical as Yan Bing, thinking all day long about making contributions behind the back of the adults in the family, and there is another Share the courage and chivalry learned from folk scripts.

However, Zhao Baiyu was too kind to the book boy beside him, did he really regard him as a relative?

If the person sitting opposite Yan Bing at this time is not the sixth prince who has marched and fought for many years and called brothers and sisters with soldiers from all over the world, but other nobles, I am afraid that Yan Bing's appearance is too coincidental and his attitude is too enthusiastic. Bing is not like a servant.

From the bottom of their hearts, they don't believe that the superiors will treat the slaves as relatives, and that people who are insane can do this.

"Okay." Huo Zhaowen responded, "May I ask what brother found out?"

Just as Yan Bing was about to speak, he caught a glimpse of someone in the yamen coming out to post a notice, motioning Huo Zhaowen to look over.

Huo Zhaowen rewarded the waiter in the teahouse and ordered him to go to the front to find out the content of the notice.

Xiao Er took the money to run errands and was very dedicated to his work. Soon he came back and said that Fang Xingwen, the president of the Salt Chamber of Commerce, committed suicide in fear of crime in the criminal prison.

"What a coincidence? The surname Fang was sentenced to death in the first place, so he died sooner or later, but why did he commit suicide in fear of crime after Yang sued the government?"

"It's tricky." Xiaoer was grateful for the nobleman's generosity, so he reminded: "The case that was closed a few years ago is unlikely to be brought to justice. When the imperial envoy leaves, Mrs. Yang will probably die in the prison cell. It's a pity, if it happens again Endure it for a few years, and when I meet another amnesty, I might be able to let her go home, just change her name and change her name to live again, why bother to confront the government head-on? I really think there is a master with a bright mirror hanging high in the sky!"

"What do you mean by being obedient, do you all think Mrs. Yang was wronged?"

"Really?" Xiaoer stared wide-eyed and said, "Who in Liangjiang doesn't know that the whole family of the young daughter-in-law surnamed Yang in Yanjing, Jizhou was killed, and she was tortured and falsely imprisoned?"

Huo Zhaowen clenched his fists unconsciously: "Is the collusion between government and businessmen really lawless?"

At this time, Xiao Er revealed something that even Zhao Baiyu didn't know: "On the surface, it is said that the salt merchants are interested in Yanjing, but in fact, most of the revenue of Yanjing falls into the pockets of corrupt officials. Otherwise, why would the salt merchants go to jail?" After being imprisoned, the salt well in Jizhou is still operating normally? With a private salt well, but still smuggling Zhejiang salt? At most, the president of the salt merchant is helping the tiger to eat and get some benefits."

He muttered: "Businessman, how can there be any reason to shit on the heads of high officials?"

Yan Bing heard something wrong: "Hongzhou is quite far from Jizhou, how do you know so clearly?"

Xiaoer slapped his mouth annoyed when he heard the words, causing Yinzi to get dizzy, and said everything out, and quickly apologized with a smile: "You two, don't blame me, the younger one likes to brag and talk nonsense..." Cautiously glanced at the boss, bent Waist said in a low voice: "My little uncle works in Jizhou, and he talks big when he's drunk, so he can't really believe it."

After saying that, he backed away in a hurry, for fear of saying something wrong and causing trouble to his upper body.

Yan Bing looked as expected: "Look, it's easy to turn black and white upside down. Time has passed, the previous evidence has been destroyed, and Fang Xingwen, the only one who can prove Yang's innocence, has also been killed. How can I make it round and flat again?" Let them say it? The imperial envoys have to talk about the evidence to decide the case, and in front of the 'iron evidence' presented by the government, they know that Yang is innocent, so they still have to sentence her to death."

Rao had been mentally prepared for a long time. Huo Zhaowen, who knew that Liangjiang was corrupt and wanted to get rid of Liangjiang's officialdom, was still indignant.

Soldiers go through life and death to ensure the stability of the rear, so they are actually fattening up this group of silverfish and rats?

He thought that the worst suffering for the people was the broken mountains and rivers, trampled by iron hoofs, and although the officialdom was turbid, it was not all black to the end. He never imagined that living in the fertile soil would still suffer such oppression that turned right and wrong into black and white.

Huo Zhaowen: "Brother Zhao expected everything, but seeing that Brother Zhao is used to it, neither startled nor angry, it seems that he has a well-thought-out plan. Could it be that there is a way to save people?"

"How can I have supernatural powers? It's not as good as Brother Zheng, you even have people around the imperial envoy." Yan Bing changed the subject, "However, the imperial envoy has the power of life and death, and both big officials and small officials are afraid, so we can let them fight among themselves first... ..." He leaned over and whispered a few words in a very low voice.

Huo Zhaowen's expression showed a trace of shock: "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, take someone to dig a few holes on the bank of a river near the quarry on the outskirts of the city. It was Wei Bo...my elders saw it with their own eyes, and everyone was buried there." Yan Bing scratched his nails Said: "The eldest brother in the family does not allow me to investigate the murder case, but only makes me study hard. Alas, they don't want to take care of it, so they should turn a blind eye and close their eyes, and let it be if they don't know about it."

"Why don't you?"

It's not like Zhao Baiyu's style.

Yan Bing showed hesitation: "It seems to be related to the quarry? I don't know very well."

Huo Zhaowen nodded, expressing his understanding, and it is not appropriate to ask in depth to avoid Yan Bing's suspicion, and it seems that there are many things he doesn't know.

The two replaced wine with tea, and each had their own ghosts, but they also talked happily.

After parting, Yan Bing turned into the alley and went back to the teahouse just now, sitting in a hidden corner and repeating the conversation just now.

"The murder of the Chaozhou merchants was revealed, and people were led to the quarry. Everything went well."

Yan Bing: "Why didn't you tell the imperial envoy that the quarry belongs to Princess Changping?"

"Too much, he knows how to do it."

"Speaking of which, Liangjiang is quite interesting. Sometimes it is Gan merchants riding on top of officials to act wildly, and sometimes it is the merchants who are used up. They don't say anything about taking the blame for others.

"Silver can turn a person into a ghost, and a ghost into a person, and an official hat can turn a person into a dog, and it can also turn a dog into a person." Zhao Baiyu's simple comment was extremely pungent and ironic.

"Fang Xingwen is the only witness in the Yanjing case in Jizhou. If he is dead, won't Yang's case be overturned?"

"He can't open his mouth even if he is alive, but he can be understood by the imperial envoy when he is dead."

Zhao Baiyu never worried about Fang Xingwen's life and death. What he had to do was to let the sixth prince, who was hunting on behalf of the sky, understand the darkness of Liangjiang's officialdom.

Since he intends to be the crown prince, the sixth prince will not be indifferent whether it is the most important responsibility of the country or wanting to clean it up and let his own people in.

Zhao Baiyu stroked the Buddhist beads on his wrist, and said with a smile, "It would be interesting if the imperial envoy personally sued the officials and exposed the case of the Chaozhou businessman's murder."

***

Zhao Chongjin entered the hotel, took off his bamboo hat and said, "I found out, the quarry was recorded under the name of Li Deshou, the eunuch close to Princess Changping. According to Zhao Baiyu and his book boy, three corpses of tide merchants were indeed dug up. Ya Xing Killing people, just because the tide merchants said a few wrong words? Everyone knows that Jiangxi merchants and Changping are incompatible, and they deliberately buried them near the quarry to frame them? Or is there a problem with the quarry?"

The fourth-rank military officer next to Huo Zhaowen was surnamed Yan, and he served as the captain of Qingche.

Yan Duwei said: "Go and arrest people now and torture them."

Huo Zhaowen: "Don't startle the snake with grass." He fell into deep thought, and said after a while: "One case is to be investigated, and the two cases are also to be investigated. The body is buried and handed over to Guan Wenbin for investigation."

Zhao Chongjin: "The case of Yanjing in Jizhou is still perfunctory. It is hard to guarantee that the case of the murder of a tide merchant will not be hastily closed."

"On the contrary, Guan Wenbin wished that there would be a new murder case that would cause him to delay the handling of the Yanjing case in Jizhou, while Jiangxi merchants suffered one after another, losing their face and losing their prestige. There was not much smuggling by water transport in the past year, and the money did not go to Guan Wenbin. pockets, naturally they won’t give Jiangxi merchants face.”

"Then..." Zhao Chongjin: "Am I going to send someone a post?"

"No, I will sue the officer myself."

***

The grievance drum of the Hongzhou Government Yamen was sounded, and Guan Wenbin, who was eating, almost smashed the bowl in his hand, and hurriedly put on his official hat and complained: "Is it a bad year recently? Why are so many people suing the government? Don't make another incident." Murder."

When he arrived at the court, Guan Wenbin patted the gavel and asked the case according to the procedure. Huo Zhaowen had just reported his family name, but Guan Wenbin, who was in a bad mood, scolded him: "Why didn't you kneel when you saw me?"

"I have fame and fame, and I don't kneel when I see an official."

"The birthplace on the pleadings says that you are clearly a businessman. Why did you pass the exam and not go to the examination room, but got into yellow and white vulgar things instead?"

"The family has fallen, so I had to come out to beg for food."

"Huh. It's insulting to the gentleman." After reading the pleadings, Guan Wenbin didn't want to accept the case, so he wanted to use the topic to teach the poor businessman who didn't know the heights of heaven and earth, but the master grabbed him and whispered a few words, saying that he was using this case to delay Yang's case , Immediately excited: "It makes sense. It's God helping me."

Turning around, he said: "I can't see that although you are a businessman, you spend all your time working on the things of Adu, but you don't forget the teachings of the sages. You are still a bit chivalrous. Since you found out under the rule of the government Human life, this government should work hard to restore the people's clean and benevolent social atmosphere."

Guan Wenbin slapped the gavel: "Come on! Follow the government to send troops to dig up the corpse!"