Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 117 Question

Two days later, Huan Hong, Huan Daozhen and Yuan He returned in a hurry.

The documents from Jiankang were also sent to the General Zhenglu's Mansion.

Yandu belongs to Guangling and is under the jurisdiction of the Zhenglu Army.

Jingkou also issued a sternly worded document, requiring the arrest of the criminal within ten days.

Inside the General's Mansion, Huan Hong's pale face was extremely grim. "Who is so bold as to rob the salt pond in broad daylight? Is there still law? Is there still order?"

He was the General of Conquering the Enemy and a member of the Huan family. Now all the pressure from Sima Daozi and Wang Gong was put on him alone, so he was also affected.

If the real culprit is not found, he will become a scapegoat and will definitely lose his position as the General of Conquering the Enemy.

Liu Yi was the first to step forward as usual, cupping his hands and saying, "Yandu has always been a den of evil thieves. This must be the work of the Heavenly Master Dao. Why not order the arrest of all the Heavenly Master Daoists in the county and interrogate them one by one? We will surely get to the bottom of this!"

This kind of nonsense is the same as saying nothing. Everyone knows that Yandu is the nest of Tianshi Dao, but they occupy the salt field so openly. No one dares to touch them for so many years. There must be someone protecting them from above.

Huan Hong did not dare to provoke Sima Daozi and Wang Gong, nor did he dare to provoke Tianshi Dao.

If this group of people start making trouble, he will be in even bigger trouble.

Huan Hong's face twitched, and his eyes became complicated as he looked at Liu Yi.

But Liu Yi had defected to Sima Daozi, and the Huan family was on the decline, so for a while, there was really nothing they could do to him.

At this time, a man came out with his hands clasped, "The thieves have taken away a considerable amount of money and silk, and they can operate ships. They must be from Jiangzuo. We only need to search the major ports along the coast for any traces of ships and large amounts of wealth entering or leaving, and we will know everything clearly!"

Liu Daogui looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Meng Chang, the chief clerk of Qingzhou.

His suggestion was very reliable. The ship would eventually reach the shore, and such a large target would definitely be discovered.

"Coastal port?" Huan Hong's expression softened a little.

"From Langya Port to Kuaiji, Guangling, Dantu, and other ports, leave no one untouched. We must also send people to search the ports of Guangzhou and Jiaozhou. The thieves will surely leave behind any clues."

There were so many treasures on the ship that it needed a port to load and unload. Meng Chang's move was accurate and ruthless.

Liu Daogui also felt a tightness in his heart. Langya happened to be his retreat route. With so many ships entering and leaving the port, they would definitely be noticed by someone with ulterior motives.

However, although this plan is good, the resources it mobilizes are beyond the capacity of a General's Mansion.

Huan Hong looked troubled again, "This will involve so many people, it's beyond the control of the military government."

Meng Chang said, "Then submit a petition to the court and let Prince Xiang and Lord Wang make the final decision."

Hearing this, Liu Daogui felt relieved. Meng Chang was not really trying to solve the problem, but was exaggerating the matter and shifting the blame.

clever!

Liu Daogui secretly praised in his heart that this person was no ordinary person.

If you want to get into officialdom, you can't be too honest.

To put it bluntly, even if they found out who did it, Huan Hong would not get any benefit. If he helped Sima Daozi, he would be in trouble with Wang Gong.

The reason why Wang Gong participated so actively was not to investigate the case, but to obtain evidence of collusion between Sima Daozi and the Tianshi Dao...

Internal strife is more important than anything else.

Nowadays, when anything happens, the first thing to consider is not how to solve the problem, but to use it to suppress the other party.

Yuan He, who had been pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, squinted and glanced at Meng Chang.

Huan Hong also came to his senses, and the anger on his face disappeared. "Yanda is extremely talented and intelligent. He is truly my right-hand man."

"I will write two memorials right away and send them to Jingkou and Jiankang by express horses." Meng Chang had thought of everything he should have thought of.

"Very good, very good." Huan Hong stretched lazily, looking listless.

We chatted about some trivial matters and were about to leave.

A minor official came running over. "Report, Haiyang has discovered traces of a tower ship, and it's the imperial navy's tower ship!"

Liu Daogui's heart, which had just calmed down, became nervous again, not knowing whether it was Li Damu or Kuai En who was discovered.

Huan Hong's spirits lifted. "Great goodness, can you see who did this?"

The clerk said, "I only saw that the boats were full of Taoist priests!"

"You are so bold! It would have been fine if you just robbed the saltworks, but you even dared to show off right under my nose!" Huan Hong's face flushed red.

Liu Daogui was delighted, thinking that it must be Li Damu's ship that was discovered by the Tianshidao.

The hall was silent, and no one responded to Huan Hong's words.

There were too many strange things going on here, and no one present was stupid; no one wanted to get involved. Meng Chang said, "If it was the work of the Heavenly Master, why would they have come all the way to Haiyang? I believe this must have been a maze set by the thieves."

In fact, what he said was still helping Huan Hong.

The Tianshi Sect is not something that the Zhenglu Army can deal with, and it needs the approval of the people above.

"Well, I will report this matter to the court and wait for the court's decision. That's all for today." Huan Hong yawned several times, his face full of fatigue.

After the military meeting ended, a group of people gathered around Liu Yi and were still discussing countermeasures.

When Liu Daogui and Gao Xun were walking by, they overheard a few words.

"The Tianshi Dao will definitely rebel sooner or later, and we can use this incident to force them to rebel!"

"The imperial court wants to suppress the Tianshi Dao, and will certainly use the Northern Palace Army. We have a place to use our skills..."

Seeing Liu Daogui passing by, they remained silent again.

The two factions in the court are fighting internally, the Tianshi Dao has ulterior motives, and these humble warriors also want to take advantage of the opportunity to rise up. Jiangzuo is becoming more and more lively.

In essence, Liu Daogui was the same kind of person as them, but his relationship with Liu Yi was not very harmonious at the beginning, and he had always been at odds with this group of people.

Liu Daogui also focused on the ordinary soldiers at the lower levels of the army, and was even more incompatible with them.

As he walked out of the government office, someone behind him called out, "Stay put."

Liu Daogui turned around and saw Yuan He and a few others walking towards him quickly.

"What's the matter, Sima?"

Coming to him at this time is certainly not a simple matter. Liu Daogui remained calm but became secretly alert in his heart.

"During the time that Envoy Huan and I were away, Dao Ze was able to take care of all the military affairs, big and small."

"This is my responsibility."

There were many troubles in the military office. Liu Daogui followed the usual practice and did what he could, and reported the things that he could not do to his superiors.

"I heard that your brother is working in Jingkou?" Yuan He chatted intermittently.

Liu Daogui did not relax his vigilance, "How did Sima know?"

Yuan He seemed to be smiling, but suddenly changed the subject, "Daozhe, who do you think was responsible for the robbery of Yandu?"

The first few sentences about family matters were all preparation, all to make Liu Daogui relax his vigilance.

"I just received the news too, and I really don't know who did it." Liu Daogui answered without a single mistake.

Yuan He smiled and said, "Daozhe seems to be away from Guangling these three days."

If there is anyone in the entire Zhenglu Army who cares most about the truth, it must be him. He is Sima Daozi's confidant and also a nail that Sima Daozi has inserted into the Northern Palace Army.

This seemingly casual sentence actually hides great danger.

Since he knew that Liu Daogui was not in Guangling for the past three days, he must have secretly investigated.

Liu Daogui suddenly felt a chill down his spine. The last time Huan Chengzhi was robbed and killed in Yandu, Yuan He was also involved. This time when Yandu happened, it was natural that he would think of himself.

Yuan He had spies planted throughout the military headquarters, so he could keep track of any movement...

You must not feel guilty at this time, otherwise you will be doomed.

Liu Daogui dared to do this because he had already disregarded his life and death, and he just didn't want to implicate his family.

After so many murders and arson, his mentality had long been as steady as a rock. He looked at Yuan He calmly and said, "To be honest, I... missed my beloved wife, so after finishing my military duties, I rushed to... Lanling. I hope Sima will forgive me."

Yuan He stared at Liu Daogui's face, not missing any subtle expression.

Liu Daogui's expression didn't change at all, but he was certain in his heart that if he really found out something, he wouldn't waste his time talking to him.

"Ha, young people are just wonderful. When I got married, we were in love. I took Wushisan and didn't get out of bed for three days. In my opinion, we should take her back to the Liu family in Jingkou and reunite with her. Jingkou and Guangling are separated by a river, so travel is more convenient and I can take care of her in the future."

Yuan He's expression relaxed, as if he was really chatting about family matters.

But Liu Daogui was shocked. The implication of his words was obviously that he had checked the Liu family in Jingkou. If his family was not in Jingkou, today would not be so simple.

So many families of the Northern Palace generals stayed in Jingkou, but a small soldier did the opposite and brought his family to the border. This must have been seen by these people.

There is no need to doubt the talents and abilities of these people; they are all experts in intrigue.

"Sima is right. I will take him back in a few days."

Liu Daogui's momentary thought saved him from the disaster he faced today...

(End of this chapter)