Chapter 26: Two Groups

Suzhou Governor's Office.

In the large study in the front yard, Xun Xun was sitting on the armchair behind the huge nanmu desk.

Bookshelves stood in a row, and the eternal candle beside them was unlit, making the study somewhat dim. Xun Xun sat for a long time with a frown on his face, then stood up and paced around a few times. Finally, he ordered, "Send the messenger eagle."

He quickly returned to the large desk and wrote rapidly. Xun Xun finally decided to write in detail about the recent Suzhou incident.

Of course, it was necessary to inform, but unless it was a great victory, most people would not be willing to write too much details, so as to reduce their own prestige. However, after weighing the pros and cons, Xun Xun decided to describe the process of Xun Rongbi's murder in the most detailed way.

The thanks were somewhat unexpected to him. Xun Xun was worried that it would have a negative impact on their ongoing action plan and the situation that would be formed in the entire northern border after the plan, causing endless troubles. So after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to tell the other party he was cooperating with the details of the process truthfully.

He stuffed the letter into the silver tube on the ankle of the eagle and placed it on the wide-open window. The eagle let out a fierce cry, suddenly flapped its wings, soared into the sky, flew towards the east, and soon disappeared into the blue sky.

The carrier eagle arrived at Andong Protectorate a day later.

"Grand Commander, there's news from Suzhou."

A middle-aged man was writing at his desk when Sima walked in quickly.

The Andong Protectorate was in charge of the military power of the three towns of Fanyang, Fangzhou and Luchuan. The second-rank Grand Protector was also the Jiedushi of Fanyang and Luchuan, the Transport Commissioner and the Governor of Fangzhou. Lu Xinyi was wearing a dark blue round-collared casual robe. He was not very tall, but very agile. He had a dignified appearance, sharp eyebrows and eyes, and was extremely majestic.

Lu Xinyi raised his head, took the letter box, opened it, and frowned immediately: "Useless thing, it can't even kill a child!"

Xun Xun stepped in to deal with the aftermath, but who would have thought that he couldn't even handle an underage child, and now this has happened.

Lu Xinyi immediately ordered, in a deep voice: "Speed up, deal with the Qin family's affairs immediately, don't delay any longer! Go and deliver the message!"

"Also, you must find the thank you letter. Go there in person!"

Sima responded hurriedly, then hurried out to deliver the message and set off.

…

At this time, Xie Ci and Gu Guan were on their way to Lingzhou, and they had spent almost the entire year on the road.

Gu Wan actually knew why the Xie family was framed. Xie Xinzhong was so brave and righteous, and as a general, he was so convincing. The sons of the Xie family were all strong and unyielding.

But based on what he saw and heard after arriving in the Northwest, combined with the brief conclusion in the original book, Gu Guan thought that Xie Xinzhong must have blocked everyone's interests.

There were local recruitment orders, governor's offices, and military governors. Even after the "Mi Liang Rebellion", military governors were set up in the inland areas.

The military service system was coming to an end, and the recruitment order came into being. Due to various reasons, this recruitment order was officially controlled by the border generals and governors. As a result, in order to provide logistical supplies for the soldiers, military pay and food, the civil and financial affairs of these military governors were gradually involved, and some even officially served as local governors.

These border generals gradually developed a posture of self-reliance in their own troops.

For example, in Suzhou, Xun Xun dared to take action against Xun Rongbi based on this. He had opened up the connections and was confident that he could inherit his father's business.

After so many years of life and death, how many people want to hold on to power and continue to manage it?

Xie Xinzhong was loyal to the country and knew that it was inappropriate. He saw it with his own eyes and was anxious in his heart. He repeatedly made suggestions and repeatedly restricted it with both soft and hard methods. In the end, he got in everyone's way.

No, no, that's not right.

Birds of a feather flock together. Xie Xinzhong still has a group of loyal generals and confidants under his command, who are still holding on to their beliefs and loyalty.

Xun Xiao said: "The Xie family's old members and those people should still be evenly matched."

Apart from those who were silent, neutral or indifferent in the Northern Army, there were still some old members of the Xie family who were still holding on or could be won over. But if Xie resigned not quickly, the result would be different!

If the Qin family is eliminated, the old members of the Xie family will soon be completely defeated and dispersed.

Only then will we truly be starting from scratch.

Xun Xiao smiled coldly with sarcasm in his eyes, but Gu Wan knew that what he said was true. If the Guo Dynasty had not been destroyed in the end of the original trajectory, Xie Ci would have had a hard time getting another chance to reorganize the Northern Army.

Gu Guan thought about it for a while, but finally did not tell Xie Ci about his guess. Forcing things to happen would only do more harm than good.

When she recalled the original book, her heart tightened, because she discovered that among the generals with names and surnames under Xie Ci's command in the original book, there didn't seem to be anyone with the surname Qin!

"Hurry! Let's hurry up--"

The howling north wind and the snow blew all over his face and mouth, making him feel cold all over. Gu Wan was so anxious that he was afraid he would miss the trip!

The group rode at full speed without even taking a rest. They galloped through the snow and ice for four days and three nights. On the afternoon of the fourth day, they finally arrived in Lingzhou.

The Wei Dynasty was a powerful country with many nations coming to pay tribute for so many years. The trade routes to the west and north were very prosperous. Although it is a little inferior now, traces of the past can still be seen in the majestic Lingzhou City.

The city walls are high and the moat is deep, with arrow towers standing tall. The city is densely populated with houses standing like a comb of different heights. Outside the city, the houses extend all the way to a very far place. There are villas and farmhouses in the suburbs of all sizes, with the grandeur of northern architecture and the exquisiteness of southern architecture. When people are in it, they feel like they are back in the Central Plains, not in a border town.

When the four of them arrived in Lingzhou, the Qin family's case of smuggling and suspected treason had entered the most critical moment.

The Lingzhou Governor's Mansion and government offices have been temporarily sealed, and the special envoy sent by the court arrived yesterday. If the evidence in the preliminary trial is conclusive and there is no doubt, the Qin family will be preliminarily convicted and escorted back to Beijing for trial in court. They will follow the same route as the Xie family did in the past, and even the charges are almost the same!

The entire Lingzhou City was in an uproar, and people were discussing this matter in the streets and alleys inside and outside the city.

So Gu Wan and the others soon found out that the women of the Qin family had been forced to move out of the Governor's Mansion and moved into an old two-story house in the west city. Mrs. Qin knelt down with her daughter and son at the headquarters where the special envoy was staying last night, crying and complaining about her grievances. However, before she could get close to the headquarters, she was dragged away on the grounds that she did not want to disturb the emperor and disrupt the special envoy's judgment. During the struggle, Mrs. Qin was hit and was said to have a bleeding head and was unconscious.

The people of Lingzhou were shocked and confused, and some mentioned the old Xie family, saying that the Xie family was like this, and Qin Xian was their trusted general, so the Qin family must not be clean either!

Xie Ci's hands, which were placed at his sides, suddenly clenched.

Gu Wan quickly grabbed his fist, wrapped it around his fist and squeezed it hard.

"What should we do now? We need to contact the female members of the Xie family first, right?"

This is the fastest, best, and safest way to get the whole story and all the nuances.

They hurried out of the tea stall, and Gu Wan spoke in a low voice.

There were bits of snow on the branches and treetops, and the road under his feet was muddy. Xie Ci pursed his lips and nodded. It was indeed so!

"Thank you for your hard work."

Gu Wan said, "What's so hard about this?"

The two of them took the lead and climbed onto their horses. Gu Guan carried the makeup and powder tools he had gotten in Suzhou with him. Xie Ci pressed down his hat and glanced around like lightning.

They left Suzhou and are now heading towards Lingzhou. I think the person behind the scenes must have some guesses.

So the four of them kept changing their disguises, starting from when they left Ping County.

They didn't even open the guest room, but found a vacant house, climbed out, and used a small space at the base of the backyard wall to start readjusting their disguise.

Gu Guan poured out all the things she had bought along the way, looked at them for a moment, and began to adjust the adhesive. She carefully trimmed the dyed lambskin fur and stuck a short piece of it on Xie Ci's upper lip. After adjusting it, she let it air dry slightly to strengthen it. Then she began to use makeup powder to adjust the skin color. Soon it became a seamless whole and could not be pulled off even with a slight pull.

She started to put on her eye and face makeup again.

Xun Xiao also climbed over the wall and came in, watching with his arms folded. Even though he had seen it many times, it was rare for him to pay any attention to other things now, so he just watched coldly from the sidelines.

Gu Guan didn't bother to pay attention to him. She knew that the other party would not help her again.

Soon, Xie Ci turned into a haggard fifty-year-old farmer. He changed his clothes and put on a bamboo hat. He adjusted himself several times and his steps were fast and lifelike.

Gu Guan dressed himself up as a farm boy. After he finished his preparations, he waited at the fork in the post road for a while and bought a cart of freshly burned charcoal from a farmer who was pushing a cart into the city.

The grandfather and grandson pushed the charcoal cart into the city and headed west, walking through the streets and alleys, selling their goods all the way.

When only half a cart of charcoal was left, they knocked on the back door of the Qin family's old house.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang."

Gu Wan lowered his voice, and the young man shouted in a clear and androgynous voice with a hint of simplicity: "Newly burned good charcoal, out of the kiln this morning! All burned with big and good wood -"

Xie Ci knocked on the door very loudly, and the door opened quickly. A young girl with eyes as red and swollen as a rabbit opened the back door and said in a hoarse voice: "I don't want you at my house, please leave quickly."

Her hair was a little messy and covered with stove ash. She was holding a bowl of medicine in her hand. The half-open medicine stove in the kitchen behind her was smoking and looked messy.

This is Qin Xian's second daughter, Xie Ersao's cousin, her maiden name is Qin Wenxuan, she has pretty eyes and a quiet temperament, but now she is disheveled and in a state of panic. She cried until her voice was hoarse, but she was trying hard to hold on. The loyal servants and guards in the family were out running around, and she personally took care of her mother's injuries.

Xie Ersao's father had passed away over a decade earlier. Qin Xian was her uncle, now in his forties. Xie Ersao's brother, Qin Wenxuan's cousin, and her own brother—father, son, uncle, and nephew—were all detained in the Lingzhou camp.

The loyal servants and family guards tried their best but to no avail. Yesterday, their mother took her and her brother to the special envoy's headquarters, but they returned injured. The siblings' eyes were red with tears and their hearts were burning with anxiety.

Qin Wenxuan suppressed her anxiety and opened the back door, but when the old man raised his eyes, she was met with a pair of eyes as sharp as lightning.

Qin Wenxuan was stunned.

Xie Ci quickly pulled out the handwritten letter from Xie Ersao from his arms, tore off the address, and stuffed it into Qin Wenxuan's hand.

Qin Wenxuan looked down, her heart trembling. She glanced around hurriedly, opened the back door, and pulled away the threshold: "Come in quickly."

Xie Ci and Gu Guan's attire made Qin Wenxuan nervous. It only took her two or three breaths to complete the action, and she looked up hurriedly again.

But the Qin family was a military family, so even though this was an old house, they would subconsciously choose one without a high lookout point nearby.

Xie Ci lifted his bamboo hat, tore off his beard, and wiped his face with cold water. Qin Wenxuan recognized him immediately, "Ah, it's Xie Ci! You, you are Sister Gu."

"Tell us quickly, what happened? What's the situation now?!"

Now was not the time to reminisce about the past, so the group of four walked quickly towards the back corridor. A little boy of seven or eight years old rushed out from the main room upon hearing the noise, threw himself beside his sister and held her hand tightly. Both the brother and sister had red eyes from crying, and their mother was still unconscious in the main room.

"Ever since Uncle Xie's family, your family, got into trouble, my father and brothers have been anxious and angry, saying it's absolutely impossible!"

After the verdict on the Xie family came out, the Qin family hurriedly made arrangements in Tieling, and arranged to transfer their subordinate Zhu Mingyou to Tieling as the military garrison commander, and then went to the capital to make arrangements. However, the Qin family had been stationed at the border for a long time, and they were somewhat unable to handle the emperor's judgment. At this time, news came that Xie Ci had escaped from prison, and then all the members of the Xie family were kidnapped.

The Qin family was also under a heavy burden. The Xie family was accused of collaborating with the enemy and was completely overthrown. Everything fell on Qin Xian and another general, Zhao Heng. The case of collaborating with the enemy was not over yet. The other party had been planning for a long time and of course they wanted to catch all the stubborn main military leaders of the Xie family army in one fell swoop.

At that time, the unrest in Beirong happened again and has continued intermittently until now. Qin Xian was handling the official military affairs while taking care of the Xie family. He was anxious to find out the truth, overturn the verdict for the Xie family, and deal with the plans of those with bad intentions.

Without the Northern Army's commander Xie Xinzhong, they were no longer in a dominant position. The enemy was acting in secret while they were in the open. Qin Xian had defeated several of the other side's opponents who were acting in the open, and had also withstood several waves of open and covert attacks. However, when the smuggling branch line last month was finally traced back to Qin Xian.

"The patrol team that left the border all perished in the Great Camp. Ruts and dents from the hastily retreating carts were found at the scene, as well as hoof prints from the cavalry's hasty response. The patrols stumbled upon the smuggling operation, only to be killed and their bodies burned by the Lingzhou cavalry who arrived to respond! The evidence now points to my father and brother, or two other Lingzhou generals. They've all been detained, but my father and brother are the most likely suspects! The special envoy will enter the camp tomorrow for a preliminary investigation!"

Qin Wenxuan heard about the previous events from her father and brother, and it was obvious that this matter was aimed at the Qin family.

Qin Xian and his wife had two sons and two daughters, as well as Xie Ersao's brother and sister. However, when his brother died in the war, his nephews and nieces were all grown up, and the couple could not raise their first daughter. They had a second daughter several years later. They loved Qin Wenxuan very much, holding her in their mouths for fear that she would melt, and holding her in their hands for fear that she would fall. Qin Wenxuan had always been delicate, lively, bright and radiant, but now that she had suffered an accident, she cried until her eyes were red and her voice was hoarse. She had to do all the decocting and boiling of medicine. She was not afraid of hardship, she was only afraid that no matter how much hardship she endured, she could not save her father and brother.

She was almost in despair, when Xie Ci and Gu Wan appeared.

She looked at the two of them with eyes filled with hope.

"Don't worry, don't worry, hurry up and apply ice water to your eyes to get rid of the redness and swelling!"

When the two heard this, they realized the situation was a little better than they had expected. There were at least three suspects, and the preliminary trial would be tomorrow.

As long as they are cleared of suspicion, the special envoy has the right to release the two innocent people back to their positions.

Gu Guan quickly asked Qin Wenxuan to apply the ointment to her red and swollen eyes as much as possible. Qin Wenxuan had no other choice but to run away in a hurry.

Xie Ci and Gu Guan discussed it and finally decided to split the troops into two groups.

First of all, no matter what, the patrol team cannot pin the blame on the Qin father and son during tomorrow’s preliminary trial!

Leave this to Gu Wan.

As for Xie Ci, it will be his responsibility to find the real smuggler, the person who put the blame on the Qin father and son.

The author has something to say:

Coming, coming, (*^▽^*)

I'll be a little thinner today, and fatter tomorrow, haha, I love you guys~ I'm giving you a huge kiss!! Haha, see you guys tomorrow~ (づ￣3￣)づ╭

Finally, I also want to thank "47511483" for throwing the mine, pen refills, pen refills~

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And to all the big babies who watered Wenwen, kiss!