Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 176 It’s okay

Although it was only half a month, Dai Qizhi learned a lot.

The small Lanling County actually owned fifteen seagoing ships, and together with Liu Muzhi, the chief clerk of Langya, privately opened a salt field and sold the salt to the northern Hu people. Just based on these two things, Liu Daogui was guilty of the death penalty.

There is no need to check these things. Lanling is not big. If you send your subordinates out to take a casual walk, you will find many clues.

The other party didn't want to hide, and couldn't hide at all.

Every day, salt ships come and go on the river, making it very lively.

However, Dai Qizhi wanted to attack not only Liu Daogui. As a nobleman who had been in officialdom for many years, he was best at internal fighting and knew best what the people above sent him for.

It would be best to involve the entire Pengcheng Liu family, and then use the Pengcheng Liu family to pinch the weak spot of Liu Laozhi, the governor of the Northern Palace.

He had sea vessels and also ran a private salt business. It was not difficult to infer that the thief who robbed Yan Du was Liu Daogui, and Liu Muzhi was an accomplice.

Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how such a humble family could become so prosperous in this remote and poor area in just two years.

And there are the "Eight Buildings" under his command. How could a small county with only five counties support three or four thousand private armies?
We will also drive out the barbarians and restore our land...

This is a serious crime of treason.

The brothers Zu Ti and Zu Yue are a lesson for us, as is Huan Wen. They all called for a Northern Expedition, but in the end, wasn’t it to seize power?

Dai Qizhi was so excited that his whole body was shaking. He would never believe that anyone would sincerely launch a Northern Expedition in his entire life.

I always felt that there was something wrong with Liu Daogui, and sure enough!

As long as these things in his hands are delivered to Sima Yuanxian, the prince of Langya, Liu Laozhi can be implicated, and then all the nobles will take advantage of the situation to deal with him.

Liu Laozhi's killing of Wang Gong broke the rules of the game, and the aristocratic families hated him to the core.

If Liu Laozhi had not had to rely on the Northern Army to deal with the Western Army, he would have been liquidated long ago.

Dai Qizhi happened to be Wang Gong's official, so it was natural for him to avenge his former master.

"Tonight at midnight, the three of you will follow me and leave quietly. Instead of going through Xia Pi, head south from Donghai County!"

"I'm afraid it won't be possible to bring down Liu Laozhi with just these specious things," said his cousin Dai Yuanzhi.

Dai Qizhi asked in return, "Are we here to solve a case?"

"of course not."

"That's right. His ships and saltworks are the evidence of his crimes, as well as those eight buildings. If we report this to the court, they will follow the clues and catch him in one fell swoop. Hehehe, the Liu family of Pengcheng is in danger of being exterminated this time. The court has always been wary of the refugee commander and the Northern Palace Army. This Liu Daogui has it all. Is there any hope for him to survive?"

With no outsiders around, Dai Qizhi's face was filled with viciousness, without a trace of his usual elegance.

"Reporting it to the prince will indeed be a great achievement. My Dai family will be able to prosper in the future..." Dai Yuanzhi became excited.

In Jiangzuo, every family wants to climb up the social ladder, and local tyrants like the Dai family are no exception.

Sima Yuanxian instigated Liu Laozhi to rebel and disintegrated the Western Palace armies. The talent he displayed impressed all the nobles. The key is that he is still so young, and it is not certain who will be the master of the Jin Dynasty one day.

The current emperor cannot even take care of himself, and is like a plant. If the current trend continues, Sima Yuanxian will sooner or later take the throne.

By then, his Dai family will be loyal followers of the emperor!

The greatest strength of Sima Daozi and Sima Yuanxian, father and son, is that they are never stingy when it comes to giving.

Liu Laozhi came from a humble family, but he rose to become the governor of the Northern Palace. In the past 100 years of the Jin Dynasty, only Tao Kan was able to do so.

This shows Sima Yuanxian's courage.

"Whether or not to punish Liu Laozhi is the Crown Prince's business. We only need to report the truth. We must leave now, without waiting until midnight. Delaying will only lead to more trouble. Head south immediately and contact Liu Yi. Have him send someone to Huaiyin to greet us!"

The more Dai Qizhi thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't wait any longer. However, he had also made sufficient preparations. As long as he crossed the Huai River and entered the territory of Guangling, it would be Liu Yi's territory.

There was nothing he could do even if Liu Daogui came after him.

"Brother still has the solution!" Dai Yuanzhi turned and left.

Dai Qizhi changed into a set of linen clothes worn by servants, and even grabbed a handful of ashes from the ground and smeared them on his face, making him look like a refugee.

To be on the safe side, he also selected a confidant of similar stature to stay in the county government office, and only took two confidants to sneak out of the county government office through the back door at dusk, and then leave the city through the north gate.

After leaving the city, he did not go south, but turned north, made a big circle, boarded a ship at Kaiyang in Langya County, and went down the Yi River to Donghai County.

He had planned this route for a long time, and the reason why he let Dai Yuanzhi go first was to attract Liu Daogui's eyes and ears.

Dai Qizhi was in high spirits as he boarded the passenger ship heading south. The journey was so easy that he did not encounter any obstructions or questioning.

There were only three or four elderly and weak passengers on the boat. They were old acquaintances of the boatman and kept chatting about family matters. Their accents were from the Huaibei area.

Dai Qizhi touched the ring-handled sword at his waist, looked at the two tall followers beside him, and felt quite confident.

As they were about to enter the Huai River, with green mountains and clear water on both sides, the scenery was pleasant. Dai Qizhi walked to the bow of the boat and felt a refreshing breeze on his face.

When they reached the middle of the river, the boatman suddenly shouted, "The cabin is leaking, it's going to sink..."

Then with a splash, he jumped directly into the water.

Dai Qizhi looked back and found that he was the only one left on the boat. Even his two followers had disappeared. There were also three or four old and weak passengers on the boat, but they disappeared out of thin air as if there was a ghost.

"This..." Dai Qizhi's eyes widened, and his expression was as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

The passenger ship sank slowly. The surroundings were eerily quiet, without a single ripple on the water.

Even the boatman disappeared.

A drop of cold sweat broke out on Dai Qizhi's forehead.

Fortunately, as a native of Guangling, he was a good swimmer. He dived into the water and prepared to swim to the shore.

But as soon as I jumped into the water, I felt something grabbing my feet and I kept sinking.

At this point, how could he not know what was happening?
"Leave me alive, I can still be useful—"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was dragged into the water and lost consciousness in the blink of an eye...

It was unknown how long it had been before Dai Qizhi opened his eyes and found himself back in the Changlv County Government Office. It was still the same room, and standing in front of him was his cousin Dai Yuanzhi, who also looked confused.

The two brothers stared at each other.

"What...what happened?" Dai Yuanzhi seemed to be still in a dream.

Dai Qizhi felt dizzy and had no idea what was going on.

Dai Yuanzhi said, "I remember now. Weren't we supposed to go south back to Jiankang? Why are we back again?"

The room was empty, and no one answered from outside. It was eerily quiet, without even the sound of the wind.

The county government office was still the same, except that no one responded.

Dai Yuanzhi was completely confused. "Are we alive or dead?"

Dai Qizhi realized something and hurried out. There were people outside the courtyard, many people, but they were all strangers. A military officer stepped forward and asked, "What are your orders, Governor Dai?"

Dai Qizhi looked at these people, his forehead covered in sweat, and retreated step by step back to the courtyard, "It's okay, everything will be fine from now on..."

(End of this chapter)