Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 166: Master, Time Waits for No One

Zhang Quwei was the last one to leave. He closed the palace gate, turned his back, and stood guard outside himself.

This matter involves intelligence secrets and no one else is allowed to be involved.

This is also the system summarized from the blood and tears lessons in the long-term spy war between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty.

Although the Imperial City Department where Mu En worked was ranked below the Privy Council's Machine Room in terms of status.

But the Imperial City Bureau is responsible for matters concerning the imperial city and the emperor's safety, and it was also involved in this matter.

As the boss of the Imperial City Bureau, there was nothing wrong with him reporting the matter.

Seeing that everyone in the hall had left, Mu En said, "Your Majesty! Ten years ago, the Jisufang sent a secret agent to the Kingdom of Jin, nicknamed 'Song Ci'.

A year ago, a major discovery was made, but because there was no time to alert our dynasty, he gave up his undercover mission and followed the Jin spy back to the Song Dynasty, and has been investigating secretly ever since.

The day before yesterday, that "Song Ci" finally learned that the Jin people bribed several palace guards and wanted to deliver items to the palace.

Song Ci was afraid that the Jin people wanted to harm Your Majesty, so he secretly reported it to his superiors. The Speed ​​​​Room contacted our Imperial City Department to make a joint plan, and the collusion between the inside and the outside to deliver the items was caught red-handed last night. "

As he spoke, he placed the cowhide letter that he had been holding in his hands on the emperor's desk with both hands.

"Your Majesty, this is what the Jin people tried every means to sneak into the palace."

Zhao Gou looked at the wrinkled secret note and did not recognize it as a letter at first.

Mu En explained: "Ouyang Lun, the commander of the Imperial Guards who delivered the item, saw that his plan was exposed and wanted to swallow the secret letter.

But this secret letter from the Jin people is made of cowhide, which is tough and waterproof, and extremely difficult to chew and swallow, so I was able to take it away."

Zhao Gou suddenly realized that it was a letter. He looked at the letter and asked, "Who is this secret letter written to? What does it say?"

Mu En bowed his head and said, "I was only concerned with capturing the thief last night and had no time to question the person I captured alive. As for the contents of this secret letter, no one has read it, so I don't know what it contains."

Zhao Gou looked at the letter in doubt, took it in his hand, examined it carefully, and took a jade-handled "writing knife" from the imperial desk.

Although the "writing knife" was sharp, it took several cuts to cut through the cowhide and take out the secret letter.

Zhao Gou unfolded the letter, glanced at it for two seconds, then stood up suddenly. His chest was pumping like a bellows and his face turned purple.

Mu En exclaimed in surprise: "Your Majesty!"

"Get out!"

Zhao Gou shouted sternly, and Mu En quickly lowered his hands and stepped back two steps to stand still.

Zhao Gou panted for a long while before slowly sitting down on the imperial desk. After a long silence, he opened the letter again with trembling hands.

The Qinzheng Hall was silent for a long time before Zhao Gou's weak voice could be heard: "Mu En."

"Chen is here!"

"In the inner court, we have captured some people who colluded with the messenger. Take them away and take them, along with the people captured in the outer court, to your Imperial City Department.

You will preside over the trial of all the people, one by one! Anyone who is involved in this case, no matter who it is, will be investigated thoroughly, no need to ask for permission, arrest them all!"

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhao Gou narrowed his eyes, and there was still a hint of shame and anger in his eyes.

"The man who intercepted the Jin people's treacherous plot was named Song Ci?"

"Yes! This is the nickname given to him by the Privy Council's Speed ​​Office. His real name is Yang Yuan, Wu Xiulang of the Privy Council's Fish Office.

His brother Yang Che was a member of our Imperial City Division. Not long ago, he died for his country in the Longshan Warehouse Massacre."

Zhao Gou's expression eased a little: "My elder brother is a soldier in the imperial city, guarding the palace. My younger brother is a military officer, hiding in another world, and his family is full of loyal heroes! Where are the others?"

"This man captured the thief last night and led the way. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured and is now recuperating."

"Well, this is a loyal and righteous man of our Song Dynasty, he should be rewarded!"

"Your Majesty, I will pass on the message to the Aircraft Speed ​​Room."

"Ok!"

Zhao Gou waved his hand, and Mu En bowed and left.

"Someone, turn on the lights!"

When Zhang Quwei heard the emperor's order from the hall, he hurriedly took the match and flint from the eunuch, rushed to the Qinzheng Hall himself, and lit a lamp.

Zhao Gou brought the letter close to the lamp and lit it, then held it in his hand until the fire grew bigger and only a small piece remained on his hand, burning his skin painfully. Only then did he let go and watched it slowly float to the ground.

"This matter ends here. No more discussion is allowed in the palace, and no news is allowed outside the palace. Anyone who disobeys my order will be beaten to death!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Zhang Quwei leaned over hurriedly, but still looked at Zhao Gou out of the corner of his eye.

Zhao Gou walked down from the imperial desk and stood beside the still burning letter for a while. He watched the last corner of the letter burn to ashes before he walked out.

Zhang Quwei narrowed his eyes. What happened? Is it really over? In all these years, we have rarely seen His Majesty get so angry.

……

This shocking change in the palace was not spread out.

Since those who communicated with the insiders and the outsiders acted in secret, the ones who caught them all in one fell swoop were the behind-the-scenes actions of the Imperial Guards, the Imperial City Bureau, and the Privy Council's Speed ​​​​Room.

The incident took place in the palace late at night, there were no residential houses nearby, and it was impossible for passers-by to hear the noise. Therefore, under the emperor's strict order, this incident was only recorded in the royal secret files.

As if, it never happened.

But the aftermath did not end there.

On the fifth day after the Chuigong Palace incident, Yang Yuan, leaning on a bamboo stick, walked with Li Shishi on Gushan Mountain.

In a corner of their hermitage, near the West Lake, there is a tidal flat.

The tidal flats have obviously been artificially transformed, so they are covered with green grass and wild flowers, which is very different from the reed marsh farther away near the lake.

However, because there is a lake on one side, a small monastery on the other side, and reed marshes on both sides, a relatively closed space is formed here.

In Yang Yuan's opinion, this place is quite suitable to be transformed into a golf course, with rolling hills, green fields and wild flowers.

Yang Yuan recovered very quickly, and Li Shishi was secretly amazed at his speed of recovery.

After all, he is a young man with strong vitality. Although his ribs and internal organs were injured, he can now walk with the help of a cane.

These days, Yang Yuan has been resting, reading the Jia calendar, and practicing martial arts.

Zhao Qu didn't come to harass him every day. Zhao Qu was very busy these days. No one knew what he was doing and he had to leave the island every day.

When Yang Yuan was walking on the island, he often saw his majestic royal pleasure boat coming and going.

"According to what Erlang said, it was Prince Enping who helped you get a position in the Privy Council's Speed ​​Room?" "Yes."

Li Shishi recalled the common sense she knew and said, "The court established the Jisu Room for two reasons. One was that border affairs were urgent, but if we followed the usual practice of reporting and then waiting for processing, it would often delay military affairs.

"So we set up a special room to handle urgent military affairs in all parts of the country. For urgent border affairs, we can do it first and report it later. The same applies to rewards and punishments. And if there is something, we can report it directly to the emperor. Therefore, the power is very heavy, and the Privy Councilor cannot control it!"

Yang Yuan was slightly startled. Zhao Qu, that weird guy, just threw a calendar at him and asked him to memorize it, and then he didn't know what he was busy with.

Yang Yuan only thought that the Privy Council's Intelligence Room was the intelligence department of the highest military institution of the Song Dynasty. But after hearing what Li Shishi said, wasn't this the Privy Council of the Privy Council?
Li Shishi smiled slightly: "Military power is the last line of defense for the emperor to control the power of the prime minister, what do you think?

The emperor has already let Qin Changjiao take control of the power of prime minister, so how dare he hand over the military power to his son Qin Hui?
This Jisu Room is used by the government to control Qin Hui, the Privy Councilor."

At this point, she glanced at Yang Yuan and said, "Come to think of it, you will be working under him in the future."

Yang Yuan said, "Don't be afraid. Didn't Madam say that? The Jisufang is directly under the Emperor, and the Privy Councilor cannot control me."

Li Shishi smiled and said, "What the Privy Councilor cannot control is the authority of the Speed ​​Control Room, but that doesn't mean he can't discipline a minor official in the Speed ​​Control Room."

"Then..., he'd better not mess with me."

Yang Yuan's smile turned a little cold.

Yang Yuan and Zhao Qu adopted a tacit understanding in many matters.

Zhao Qu knew what he had done, but no matter how right his motives were, it was against the law, so Zhao Qu did not force him to admit it, nor did he want him to admit it.

Qin Hui has always been regarded as a cancer of the Song Dynasty in the eyes of the royal family.

Since Yang Yuan was determined to deal with Qin Hui, Zhao Qu transferred him to the Privy Council's Machine Room, which was obviously also to strengthen the anti-Qin forces.

So, even though this guy doesn't seem to be doing things in a very orderly manner, he actually has his own method behind it.

Although Yang Yuan's final blow was aimed directly at Qin Hui, he did not intend to kill his family.

Because of General Yue Fei, Qin Hui stood out from the corrupt officials of many dynasties and is well known to later generations.

So Yang Yuan knew that Qin Hui's grandson Qin Ju, and great-grandsons Qin Jun and Qin Yan, all died fighting for the Song Dynasty.

At that time, the Jin army attacked Qizhou. Qin Ju and the county magistrate Li Chengzhi led more than 3,000 people to fight against 100,000 Jin soldiers.

After Li Cheng died in the battle, the Jin soldiers had a good impression of Qin Ju because he was a descendant of Qin Hui and wanted to recruit him.

As a result, Qin Ju vowed to die rather than surrender. When he saw the city fall, he was afraid that the money and grain in the treasury would fall into the hands of the Jin people, which would encourage the Jin soldiers to continue their invasion of the south. Qin Ju hurried back, set fire to the treasury, and then he himself was burned in the treasury and died heroically.

His two sons and the women in his family all died, truly proving the saying "good bamboo shoots come from bad bamboo."

Therefore, Yang Yuan, without having heard of any bad deeds done by Qin Hui, did not want to sharpen his knife against him just because his surname was Qin.

However, if this Qin Hui is wholeheartedly loyal to his adoptive father Qin Hui, then don't blame me for being rude.

Anyway, Qin Hui had already given birth to a father named Qin Xun for that loyal and brave family. Now that his mission was completed, he was of no use to them anymore.

Yang Yuan never thought that this official position that came out of nowhere could restrain his thoughts and behaviors and turn him into an old official who abides by the rules.

Li Shishi intentionally reminded him because she knew his hatred for Qin Hui.

At this time, she said, "This Qin Hui doesn't know your hostility towards Qin Changjiao. I am just reminding you to be careful. You don't have to worry about being targeted by him once you go to the Privy Council."

Li Shishi added: "There are many people in the Privy Council and many of them have different eyes. In the past, military affairs, border reports, and intelligence reports were often leaked.

Therefore, a new Jisu Room was established, and even other people in the Privy Council were not allowed to interfere in internal and external military intelligence affairs. Your visit should be related to this aspect. "

Yang Yuan nodded and said, "That should be the case. Prince Enping may seem unreliable, but he actually has his own standards.

He will not transfer me, who has never served a day in the military, to be the military counselor who makes decisions on national military affairs."

Li Shishi said: "No matter what, at least you started out as a martial arts master. Many people have gone through life and death all their lives and still cannot achieve your current achievements, let alone your future prospects. I, the concubine, would like to congratulate you."

Yang Yuan sighed, "But I don't feel anything in my heart. I originally planned to...become a unique and big merchant."

Li Shishi smiled faintly and said, "Qin Changjiao's original ambition was just to have 300 acres of paddy fields to support his family."

Yang Yuan frowned and said, "Madam, please don't compare me with him. It's offensive."

Li Shishi covered her mouth and laughed: "When I was in Lin'an, Liang Shicheng, that old villain, provoked me. Ha, then I killed him! Although I didn't succeed.

Erlang today has quite a bit of my demeanor in my youth, and I am very happy to see him."

Yang Yuan also smiled and waved his hand, saying, "If Qin Hui embezzled my money for rewarding the troops, I think...

I will endure it. I have to take revenge for blood grudges. I can't compare with you, Madam. You are still the best."

"Tiger?"

Li Shishi had never heard of this word, but her eyes rolled slightly, and she probably understood the meaning of the word, and she couldn't help but smile: "Thank you for the compliment."

The two smiled at each other, and for a moment they felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

Yang Yuan stood on a grassy slope covered with soft green grass, looked at the sparkling lake, and let out a long sigh.

Li Shishi stood behind him, stared at his back, then slowly walked to his side and asked, "When do you plan to report to the Privy Council, Erlang?"

Yang Yuan said: "I think, in five days at most, it shouldn't delay the action, we can go then."

"Oh... five days..."

Li Shishi's eyes flickered, she raised her hand to smooth her hair that was messed up by the wind, and said nonchalantly: "Besides reporting to the Privy Council, Erlang...is there anything else that needs to be resolved?"

"Other things?"

Yang Yuan looked at Li Shishi inquiringly.

Li Shishi looked away, looked at the lotus leaves by the lake, and chuckled, "For example, the engagement that you broke off, shouldn't you go see her first, let the ice melt, and reconcile?"

Luxi, do I need someone to remind me of this? I've been thinking about it all the time.

Ever since he got the first calendar of the Privy Council in Chuigong Hall and knew that he was not only safe but also could appear in public, he had been thinking about appearing in front of her immediately.

However, although he cancelled the engagement that day because of the unreasonable system of collective punishment, Luxi's sadness at that time made him feel distressed.

He was not a man who cared about formalities, but this time, he could not use a flower or a sweet word to coax the easily wooed Xiao Luxi into changing her mind.

Therefore, he had to report to the Privy Council first.

He said that he wanted to make Luxi the most beautiful girl in the bluestone alley.

This time, he had to understand the meaning.

Yang Yuan thought about it and couldn't help but chuckle.

Li Shishi looked at Yang Yuan who was smiling at Wang Pinghu Lake and thought to herself, this little thief looks really good when he smiles. I never noticed that before.

Of course we can’t let go of such a cute boy!

(End of this chapter)