Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 171 The First Level of the Privy Council

Qin Hui raised his eyelids and glanced at Yang Yuan who was sitting solemnly at the desk, then lowered his gaze again and gently stirred the tea leaves with the tea lid.

He had used his power as Privy Councilor to investigate Yang Yuan, who was nicknamed "Song Ci".

There is indeed such a person in the "Yu Zi Fang". Ten years ago, he was ordered to sneak into the Jin Kingdom and successfully obtained a lot of intelligence. The most recent commendation was two years ago, and it was a commendation order signed by him personally.

Therefore, Yang Yuan’s identity is beyond doubt.

He had indeed returned from the Kingdom of Jin a year ago.

After finding out this and reporting it to my father, his doubts about this person have been eliminated by 80%.

However, now that he has arrived at the Speed ​​​​Control Room to take up his post, there are some things he should touch upon and get clear.

However, this person was able to sneak behind enemy lines and mingle in the enemy camp at the age of thirteen, becoming an outstanding secret spy. His courage, insight and strategy must have far exceeded those of ordinary people.

For such a person, no matter what he says or does in front of you, I'm afraid... it may be that he deliberately wants you to hear and see it, so you have to be careful.

Thinking in his mind, Qin Hui cleared his throat and said, "Yang Yuan, your experiences in the past ten years are recorded in great detail in the Jia calendar. However, the information about the year since you returned from the Northern Kingdom is very brief. I am very curious about what you have done in the past year."

Yang Yuan quickly recovered from the annoyance of losing a huge business opportunity and calmly replied: "Captain, when I was in the Northern Kingdom, I was responsible for spying on their military and political intelligence. However, for a lot of information, I could only speculate and analyze from the suspicious aspects of some things, and then conduct further investigation after confirming that there was something wrong. Once..."

Yang Yuan briefly recounted his fabricated experience, saying that he discovered that the Jin people were carrying out a conspiracy that seemed to be directly aimed at the Song Dynasty court. This was naturally very important information.

However, because the Jin people acted in secret and activated smuggling channels to contact the Song Dynasty, this was not within the network he had built up over the years, so he was unable to obtain more accurate intelligence.

Considering that the matter involved the palace and was of great importance, he resolutely gave up the identity he had been maintaining for many years, returned to the Song Dynasty, and continued his investigation.

Since the person he wanted to investigate came through the maritime smuggling channel, and he didn't know the identity and name of the person he wanted to track in the Song Dynasty.

In order not to alert the enemy, after returning to the Song Dynasty, Yang Yuan only reported to the head of the Yuzi Room in the Privy Council's Machine Room, who was responsible for communicating with him. He then found his brother, disguised himself as a refugee from the south, worked as an idler, and wandered the streets and alleys, looking for possible clues.

Hard work pays off, and he finally discovered the great merchant Guan Hao not long ago.

Because the power of the Imperial City Bureau is omnipresent in Lin'an, it is more powerful than the Privy Council's Machine Room.

Moreover, when it comes to investigating Jin spies on the ground in Lin'an, the functions of the Machine Speed ​​Room and the Imperial City Department overlap.

The head of the Yuzifang contacted the Imperial Envoy Mu En, and asked the Imperial City Department to go to Longshan Wharf to track and investigate Guan Hao's actions.

Yang Yuan's remarks perfectly integrated the Imperial City Division's previous actions with his identity and performance over the past year.

However, he did not mention a word about the popularity of "Zhiweitang".

Prince Enping has already hinted to him that in order to avoid leaving any clues for others to use, this unsolved case should be left unsolved.

Even if Qin Hui suspected that he was the flying man of "Zhiweitang", without evidence, he could not do anything to him, who was currently a big shot in the Privy Council.

However, he did admit his identity as an intruder from the "Qiyun Society"!
When Yang Yuan was in Gushan, he repeatedly pondered whether he should say this paragraph and how he should say it.

According to his judgment, Qin Hui did not know that the conspiracy had been leaked at that time, otherwise he would not have continued with the subsequent actions.

So, as the only survivor, whatever he says now is the final word.

This kind of active and showy display of achievement is more likely to win people's trust.

And normally speaking, there was no need for Eunuch Li to tell the plan again to those people when he went to deliver the secret letter, so the most reasonable assumption is that the truth of the matter has not been revealed.

However, just because it makes sense doesn't mean it's necessarily the case.

Many things are feasible according to the rules, but the people who do them become unpredictable variables.

Because everyone has his own unique thoughts and personality, it is impossible for him to do things meticulously according to the requirements of the person who made the plan.

Eunuch Li believed that the meeting room in Qiyun Hall was absolutely safe and confidential. He also had the habit of "holding a feather as a token of authority" and liked to show off in front of others that he was the confidant of Prime Minister Qin. He really told them the plan, even though it was a secret that Di Jiuzhou and the others already knew.

Yang Yuan admitted to Qin Hui that he had sneaked into Qiyun Hall, but in his account, he did not hear the secret discussions of those people. He was discovered just as he approached the meeting hall, and began to break out with the help of the Imperial City Division.

However, he had already confirmed that Guan Hao was a spy for the Jin Kingdom, and when Guan Hao was fleeing Lin'an, it was the three-watch killer who ambushed the Imperial City Division, giving him the opportunity to escape.

Therefore, it is reasonable for Jisufang and Huangchengsi to regard the three-watch killers who appeared in Longshan Warehouse as "messenger" accomplices bribed by the Jin people.

In the palace, when annihilating these people, the Imperial Guards and the Imperial City Administration also regarded the "mantis" group of Shi Jiuxiao and Di Jiuzhou and the "cicada" group of Ouyang Lun and Li Defu as the same group.

In this way, Yang Yuan's statement formed a logical closed loop and made complete sense.

After listening to Yang Yuan's words, Qin Hui thought about it carefully and found that they were logically consistent and flawless.

Qin Hui clapped his hands and praised: "Although Wu Gonglang's words are brief, this envoy can already imagine how dangerous it is."

He stroked his beard and smiled, "Besides that, do you... have anything else to say to this Privy Councilor?"

Yang Yuan's heart suddenly moved. Although he didn't know why Qin Hui asked this, he subconsciously felt alert: He was testing me. What did he expect me to say? What did he want to know?
Yang Yuan had done a thorough simulation of today's "interview". If there was anything he hadn't explained, it would only be...

In just a moment, Yang Yuan came up with a set of rhetoric that was most suitable for the current situation among the several response plans he had simulated in advance.

"Yes, during this period, I also joined a company called 'Youqiusi'!"

"Oh?"

Qin Hui was excited: "What kind of company is this 'Youqiusi'?"

After hearing Yang Yuan frankly explain the existence of "Youqiusi", Qin Hui's suspicion of him became even smaller.

He had investigated "Song Ci". It was indeed a person with a ten-year resume. As a privy councilor, if he wanted to investigate, who could forge it? Who had the ability to forge it perfectly?

Therefore, Qin Hui believed that Yang Yuan had indeed discovered this secret while lurking in the Jin Kingdom: the Queen Mother's son contacted his mother.

Qin Hui had no idea of ​​his father's deeper purpose behind the Jin people's plan to send a letter: Prime Minister Qin wanted to take over the three yamen.

Not only Yang Yuan's resume, but also Yang Yuan's explanation proves this point.

The outcome of the Chuigong Hall incident a few days ago also supported his judgment.

At that time in the palace, Di Jiuzhou was the only person who knew the truth and survived.

Those generals who were let in through the palace gates were all captured alive, but they only knew the primary purpose of the action.

Those who knew the second purpose were all vying to gain merit behind the Chuigong Palace so that they could occupy high positions after the purge of the imperial guards.

As a result, they were almost wiped out by the elite imperial guards led by Luo Ke Di, except for the dying Di Jiuzhou.

Qin Hui also had spies in the prison, and they saw with their own eyes that the seriously injured Di Jiuzhou died after just a little torture.

He said nothing before he died.

In fact, even if he didn't die, it would be difficult to get him to confess anything.

Because his crimes were so serious, even if he confessed anything, he would definitely be put to death.

If he didn't confess, after a few years when the rumors died down, his exiled family would still be protected and cared for by Prime Minister Qin.

He didn't have to doubt this, because it had nothing to do with Qin Hui's character, but was something Qin Hui had to do.

Caring for the family members of the dead is done for the living to see.

If you don't do this, who will work hard for you wholeheartedly?
So, at this point in the conversation, Qin Hui had already believed that the failure of the entire plan was due to the carelessness of the Jin people.

This is normal. When a conspiracy against the Song people is being planned on the territory of the Jin Kingdom, who would be cautious?

However, there was also a Yang Yuan who was the "Youqiu Si" of the reception envoy, which made Qin Hui and his son suspicious.

Originally, Qin Hui did not take the "Youqiusi" seriously.

But Yang Yuan suddenly became a secret agent of the Privy Council's Speed ​​Room, so it was inevitable that people would be suspicious about what this "Youqiu Division" he had joined was.

Qin Hui was worried that this was a new secret spy agency secretly established by the government and he was not aware of it.

Therefore, he revealed the news to Qin Hui and asked Qin Hui to investigate it.

Qin Hui didn't believe that his father was the prime minister and he was the privy councilor, and that a new secret spy organization had been established that the highest military and political leaders didn't know about, but he still had to investigate it.

Yang Yuan said calmly: "This 'Youqiusi' should be a place where some high-ranking officials use their power to connect with people and make profits by facilitating connections for others."

"When I returned to Lin'an and secretly investigated Guan Hao, I was selected by them and became one of their guides."

"In fact, they are just errand brokers who do not have access to their core secrets and help them to attract business!"

"I thought I might be able to use them, and even suspected they might be related to the Jin people. But from what I have seen, they are a group of people who use their connections and background to make money."

A murderous look appeared on Yang Yuan's face: "Do you need me to find them out? Although I am only one of their peripheral personnel now, as long as I am given some more time and do more things for them, I will definitely be able to obtain their detailed information and catch them all in one fell swoop!"

"No need. This is not what our Privy Council should do. Just give them a perfunctory response. Maybe... it will be useful in the future."

Qin Hui agreed casually. He didn't find anything wrong in Yang Yuan's explanation. He no longer had any interest in this person.

Qin Hui took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and the court will be dismissed in the afternoon. If you go too late, I'm afraid you won't be able to see your superior today. You, report to the speed room now."

"I resign from my humble position!"

Yang Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his fists and bowed to Qin Hui, then slowly retreated.

(End of this chapter)