Chapter 164

Qu Dubian referred to Emperor Chongzhao as his father in his memorial.

In fact, it was considered a slight concession, and he played the family card.

This was a unique system of addressing each other between him and Emperor Chongzhao. Since he was fourteen years old, he had always called Lao Deng "Your Majesty". He could sense that Lao Deng was a little bothered by this.

The pressure of impeachment in the court was too great for Prince Ming to stop it. However, the words in his memorial and the father-son affection between him and Lao Deng could still stop it.

But the Supervisory Office must also act as soon as possible. The family card can be used, but it won't work if it happens too many times.

Qu Dubian found Yi Twelve and for the first time set a time limit for him, asking him to do whatever it takes.

Some of the torture methods used by the secret guards are against the principles of nature and human nature, and Yi Twelve does not want to use them on humans unless it is absolutely necessary.

He is not soft-hearted towards everyone, but he has an inexplicable chivalrous heart, otherwise he would not have saved Qu Watanabe who was only two years old.

Qu Watanabe knew Liu Liu's character, which was unique among the secret guards.

But we can't delay any longer.

After Yi Twelve agreed, he locked the captured Northern Xinjiang man into a smaller, solitary cell that night and never let him out again.

Three days later.

The Northern Frontier man looked unharmed, and there was no blood on Yi Twelve's clothes, but he presented the Northern Frontier man's confession, which mentioned that there was a traitor in the Supervisory Department.

This time, there was finally a reason to conduct the trial openly. Qu Dubian immediately summoned the people from the Supervisory Department who were detained in the prison and interrogated them one by one.

Soon, the matter came to fruition.

Some people are truly innocent, but some have ulterior motives.

The person with a guilty conscience has been locked up for so long that his mind has become extremely tense.

After a few interrogations, someone couldn't stand it anymore and revealed his superior: "It's the people above! We are just following the orders of the people above, but we don't know how to contact or pass on the information!"

Yi Twelve had been tracking them for some time. When he got some clues, he acted quickly and captured a middle-aged man who could imitate handwriting in the main city.

This man was called Wu Kewei, and he was one of Feng Bing's informants on the border. He was responsible for tampering with letters and imitating handwriting.

It was also he who changed Princess Xiang's last letter.

He had a good memory, better than Ah Hanli, and could even repeat the contents of the original letter. Yi Twelve brought him to Qu Watanabe.

Wu Kewei knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, and repeated the last paragraph of the original letter:

"...Please tell my brother that after my death, Ah Xiang wants my ashes to return to the Xiang River and my hometown."

"Ah Xiang will hold on for a few more days...waiting for the emperor's order."

"That's probably it," he said sadly. "I was forced to do this. I really had no other choice but to fake the letter. Please, sir, give me a chance to live!"

Qu Dubian sat in the tent, supporting his head with one hand, and slowly pressed the solar plexus.

Ye Lianyang glanced at him secretly, swallowed his saliva, and quickly lowered his head.

The atmosphere in the tent was like an ice cellar.

Qu Watanabe has always had a good personality, with tolerant and stable emotions, and he rarely gets really angry. This is especially true during this period, because his emotions fluctuate too much and he gets a headache.

But at this moment, there was a fire burning in his heart, and no matter how hard he tried to control his emotions, the flames would still come out.

It was one thing to listen to what Ah Hanli said, but it was another thing entirely to actually catch the traitor and hear him tell us how he tampered with the letters.

Qu Watanabe ignored his pleas for mercy and said, "Press it down."

Wu Kewei was taken away for detailed interrogation and was required to confess everything he had done under Feng Bing.

"Which prison is Feng Bing in now?"

"Boss, you said some time ago that they should move to a bigger prison. Now they are all in the big prison in the city."

Qu Dubian stood up and said, "I'll go see him."

-

Prisoner of war prison.

Feng Bing and several other eunuchs from the Eastern Depot were imprisoned in solitary confinement in a cell.

The prison was equipped with pens, ink, paper, inkstone, good wine and food, beds, bathtubs, and everything else you need.

They were held in solitary confinement, isolated from the outside world, and the only way they could communicate with the outside world was the impeachment memorials in their hands.

So I am not aware of the noise outside.

They didn't even know that the person sent by Northern Xinjiang to contact them had been arrested and interrogated, and the case was linked to them.

At this time, they were considering their words, thinking about how to use a more resentful and pitiful tone to report the Seventh Prince to Emperor Chongzhao.

"Eunuch Wang, let's change this sentence. It's a bit too euphemistic. The euphemistic impeachment memorial we submitted before is useless." Feng Bing suggested in a low voice, "Change 'uncomfortable' to 'extremely painful'..."

“Sure, sure.”

"And this..."

After several discussions, a warning cough was heard outside the cell.

The hairs on their backs suddenly stood up.

Feng Bing and the others turned around and saw a young man in a light crimson collared robe standing outside the prison. He had dark eyes and a calm expression.

Feng Bing: "Seventh Prince?"

He glanced at Ye Lianyang and several other soldiers standing behind Qu Dubian, and smiled hesitantly, "I wonder what your Highness wants to do?"

Qu Dubian had the prison door opened and walked in slowly.

The cell was very clean, without even any dry grass or straw. There was wine on the table, as well as some peanuts and snacks.

What a comfortable life.

He has been so sleep deprived during this period that he wants to live in jail.

After looking at him for a while, Qu Dubian said, "Of course, I'm here to pick up Eunuch Feng, and there are several other eunuchs going out together."

Feng Bing was delighted, thinking that their impeachment memorial had finally worked, and that the Seventh Prince could no longer bear the pressure and was about to let them go. He hurriedly asked, "How dare you trouble Your Highness to come in person?"

"Alas, it is also due to our negligence in the supervision department. I promise that from now on, your highness' orders will be passed up and down, and there will be absolutely no loopholes!"

He missed so much all the gold, silver and treasures he had accumulated over the years!

When he got back, he would hold them in his arms and have a good sleep.

Then I thought again.

The Seventh Prince came to pick them up personally, which might be a sign of surrender. After all, he would have to stay at the border in the future, and it would not be good for him if he offended their Supervisory Office.

You are still young. You can hold on for a few days, but you can’t bear it anymore.

Of course, all these little thoughts were in his mind. He was very smooth in his words and appeared to be extremely sincere.

Qu Dubian looked at his smiling face and couldn't help twisting his fingers behind his back.

"Feng Bing, is the wine here good?"

Feng Bing was stunned: "Uh, it's okay."

Qu Dubian picked up the half-drunk wine bowl on the table, smiled, then turned around and suddenly smashed it on Feng Bing's head!

With a bang, the wine bowl shattered above Feng Bing's head.

Ye Lianyang opened his eyes wide in shock.

The boss beat someone up. This is the first time I’ve seen this, other than in a sparring match!

A stream of warm blood flowed down Feng Bing's forehead. Qu Duan grabbed his collar and punched him in the face: "Are you okay?"

He threw the stunned Feng Bing to the ground and punched him again and again.

"So when you secretly replaced Aunt Xiang's letter and prevented her from returning home, did you think it was okay?"

"When doing business with Northern Frontier, did you feel it was okay?"

“When I saw a city on the border being trampled by the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry and the blood of the soldiers spilled all over the wilderness, I still felt, it’s okay?!”

Feng Bing's mouth was already full of blood foam. He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Qu Duanbian in horror, struggling to back away. "I didn't! This... this is slander!"

"I don't!"

"No?" Qu Dubian let go of him, stood up, and took two steps back.

He glanced at the blood on the back of his left hand and the knuckles, shook it off in disgust, and then stretched out his right hand.

Ye Lianyang handed him a copy of the confession.

Qu Dubian fell on Feng Bing's face, and the papers scattered all over the floor. He glanced at the eunuchs next to him and said coldly, "You guys should take a look too, maybe there will be a surprise."

Their faces turned pale.

Feng Bing read through several sheets of paper tremblingly.

In fact, among the top leaders of the Supervisory Department, he is the one who has the most and deepest connections with Northern Xinjiang.

The others might have had some idea of ​​it, but since Feng Bing occasionally gave them gifts, they just turned a blind eye and pretended to know nothing.

If the other people were covering up treason, then Feng Bing was definitely guilty of treason.

There is no escape from the death penalty.

Feng Bing: "Impossible... Impossible..."

He went to jail suddenly, but his men were hiding secretly and could not be easily found.

"He confessed under torture! Yes, he must have confessed under torture! I don't accept it, I...ah!"

Ye Lianyang removed his jaw.

He saw that the boss's brows were getting deeper and deeper as he listened to the old eunuch's roar.

He was afraid that the boss would lose control of his temper and kill the old eunuch. After all, the boss had promised Ah Hanli that after confirming the murderer, he would wait for him to come back and execute him personally.

Qu Dubian: "The Supervisory Department conducted a thorough investigation. They turned over the floor tiles of all the residences and places frequented by people who had connections with Northern Xinjiang."

"Call Uncle Ming from the Second City and let him see what the Supervisory Office is all about!"

Ye Lianyang: "Okay, Boss!"

Qu Dubian left the prison and as soon as he walked out the door, he ran into Xia Fuyang who came after hearing the news.

Xia Fuyang glanced at his hands.

"Let's go."

He pulled Qu Dubian to the well, drew a bucket of water, and used a ladle to pour water for him to wash his hands.

The bloodstain was difficult to clean, and Qu Dubian had to wash it several times before he could finally get it clean.

The two men sat on the rocks beside the well.

Xia Fuyang: "He beat someone up, but he didn't kill him, did he?"

Qu Watanabe: “Yeah.”

Xia Fuyang: "I'm not surprised that you hit someone, but I feel that you are not in a good mood." He leaned over to look into Qu Duanbian's eyes, "What are you enduring?"

The nerves in his head were throbbing with pain. Qu Dubian avoided Xia Fuyang and washed his face with cold water. "I was mad at Feng Bing. I was very unhappy and wanted to beat him up again, but I had to save it for Ah Hanli."

Xia Fuyang slowly figured out something was wrong.

Xiaoqi hasn't said much these days.

A few days ago, a memorial was submitted to His Majesty in a mysterious manner. Soon, His Majesty stopped blaming the Supervisory Office and suppressed the voices in the court opposing impeachment.

He was really curious and wanted to ask what was written on the small note.

Of course Qu Watanabe didn't tell him.

The word "Father Emperor" on the memorial is equivalent to surrender. It's enough for him and Lao Deng to know about it, and the others should just forget about it.

The less he said, the more Xia Fuyang felt that the memorial was unusual. He also attributed his recent silence due to headaches to that memorial.

Xia Fuyang pondered.

What exactly was written on the memorial?

-

The news that the Supervisory Office was colluding with the enemy soon broke out.

Prince Ming came to the first city from the second city. After seeing the confession, his face turned pale.

I never dreamed that there would be a traitor among the people sent by my royal brother to monitor the border troops.

Feng Bing didn't hold on for long before he confessed everything.

He was the one who revealed the defense map of Zhongyi City to Beijiang, so they were able to break through the city defenses so quickly.

As for how it was revealed——

The number of people from the Supervisory Office who patrol the city walls every day is different, and the different combinations of three or two represent the number of city defenders and defense methods in different directions.

Deliver a little bit every day.

People from the northern border are responsible for observation and record.

Over time, the complete city defense map fell into the hands of the people in the northern border.

Therefore, even though they could not leave the city, and even though they would return to their fixed rooms after patrolling every day, they still successfully committed the act of treason under the noses of the Great Zhou soldiers.

The soldiers of Zhongyi City were so angry that they almost rushed into the prison and wanted to eat the people from the Supervisory Office alive.

They can die in battle.

It is acceptable for comrades to die because of inferior weapons and kung fu.

You can accept being used as bait to lure the enemy into taking the bait and sacrificing yourself.

The only thing I cannot accept is betrayal.

Why!

The crowd was excited.

After Qu Dubian collected the names of all the people in the Supervisory Office who had direct or indirect contact with Northern Xinjiang and listed their crimes, he selected ten people first.

According to military regulations, sentenced to death by stoning -

That is, being stoned to death.

The executioners are all the soldiers.

These ten people were smashed into pulp and could not be contained.

Only then did the soldiers' anger ease a little.

Qu Watanabe and Prince Ming compiled all the evidence of treason, the list of personnel, and the deeds done by the Supervisory Office and sent them to the capital.

Emperor Chongzhao was furious.

He ordered the execution of all the personnel involved in the Supervisory Office, and sentenced them to death for the crime of harboring and treason. He wrote in red ink that all those who had any connection with the Supervisory Office would be put on the list of the dead.

When the emperor is angry, millions of people die.

Every stroke of the pen is paved with the red color of human lives.

This was far more deaths than Qu Watanabe had expected.

After the order to execute was issued, Emperor Chongzhao immediately issued an official decree to bring Princess Axiang home. The decree also said that if Princess Axiang's son Ahanli was willing, he could be granted the title of a prince and return to the Great Zhou.

Although the decree came too late because the letter was stolen.

But it finally came.

Qu Dubian sighed and put away the imperial edict.

Emperor Chongzhao agreed with A Hanli's decision to deal with Feng Bing alone. Feng Bing was imprisoned, and the other people involved were executed according to Emperor Chongzhao's order.

No one in the court dared to say that the Supervisory Office was innocent or to release the Supervisory Office.

The matter of the Supervisory Office came to an end here.

-

Northern Xinjiang Station.

Jizhigla wanted to contact Feng Bing, but his plan to steal the new gunpowder formula was completely ruined.

He even personally provided the breakthrough to Da Zhou.

After hearing the news of the execution by the Supervisory Office, Jizhigla couldn't help but wonder if the gods had left his dream and stood on the side of the Great Zhou.

He looked at the brightly lit city of Great Zhou in the distance, and felt that the approaching line of troops of Great Zhou was like a sharp sword gradually piercing into the heart of Northern Frontier.

If it weren't for the shield provided by Nanning, there would probably be more casualties on their side.

Now no tribal leader is willing to charge to the front and confront the Zhou's gunpowder head-on, so the only option is to stay in a stalemate.

Jizhigla murmured, "I hope the Emperor of Nanning is right."

The Great Zhou is empty inside and its food and grass won’t last long.

When the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty could not even get enough to eat, it was time for them to counterattack.

-

The reason why Qu Dubian and Xia Fuyang did not continue the attack was that they were waiting for news from Xu Tingfeng.

When the connection between the two countries was severed, the smoke rising from the chasm was the clarion call for them to attack the royal court.

However, before they could receive good news from Xu Tingfeng, they heard bad news first.

When the officials who came to deliver the grain came to hand it in, they sighed and said, "The amount delivered this time is full, but next month, the amount of grain will probably be reduced."

Qu Duanbian knew that the domestic treasury was empty, but he didn't expect it to be so soon: "Is it not enough now?"

The official replied: "The warehouses where military rations are stored are almost empty, and no new grain has been replenished."

Qu Dubian felt a little depressed.

The lessons of history are here. If there is insufficient food and fodder, the soldiers’ combat effectiveness will be insufficient. If they are hungry for too long, there will even be large-scale casualties, and the corpses will cause a series of chain consequences such as epidemics.

But the war situation has come to this point, how can we retreat?

-

The Imperial City of Great Zhou.

Lord Lin Zongping, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, almost fainted from heartache after he finished calculating on the abacus.

He pinched his philtrum, without looking back, holding the grain and financial books, and rushed into the Purple Palace crying.

Lord Lin knelt on the ground, weeping:

"Your Majesty! We really can't fight anymore. We're running out of food supplies!"

The grain in the Great Zhou granary is divided into several parts, including military and civilian emergency reserves, that is, charity granaries, and grain for daily commercial transactions.

But each part has a fixed number.

Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.

Even an emperor has to live frugally.

The Great Zhou had been having a hard time in the past few years, with each year's expenditure exceeding its income, and all the money saved from previous years was consumed.

If the war is only dealt with on one side, it can still be sustained.

But after the war broke out in Nanning, the consumption at Zhennan Pass and the northern border was simply horrific.

Money is needed everywhere and food is needed every day.

Even if the Great Zhou was at its peak, a battle like this would have seriously damaged its vitality, not to mention that it was already in a trough period.

Emperor Chongzhao was troubled: "...Have we used all the resources that can be used?"

Lord Lin said, "You can't just uproot it, Your Majesty. If you keep squeezing it, you won't be able to pay the rice salary by the end of next year."

Emperor Chongzhao said nothing and just listened to him howling.

Lord Lin howled for a long time, then opened his crying eyes a little and looked up furtively at Emperor Chongzhao.

The king and his minister looked at each other: "..."

Emperor Chongzhao was speechless and slapped the table: "Lin Zongping, please be serious! How long can you hold on?"

Lord Lin felt embarrassed for a second, and then he stopped kneeling. He sat cross-legged on the ground, sighed dejectedly, and clasped his hands to settle the account with Emperor Chongzhao.

"I'm not lying. Even if we drain all the existing food and grass reserves, they can only last for half a month."

Either we fight a quick battle and end it quickly, or we make peace with Nanning and Northern Xinjiang.

But in the current war situation, Nanning and Da Zhou have no intention of making peace? Taking advantage of the country's crisis, they came here just to consume Da Zhou to death.

The soldiers are fighting hard on the front lines, and those who are in charge of logistics are losing their hair every day due to worry.

Emperor Chongzhao nodded in understanding: "That means it can last for more than a month."

He knew his miserly old minister very well. Since Lin Zongping said there was no food and no money, he would have to double or triple the remaining figure he gave.

The old man Lin Zongping was a little annoyed when he was exposed, and fluttered his sleeves: "Your Majesty, it won't be long!"

He was right, the situation was critical.

Emperor Chongzhao's heart began to ache again. He chewed a pill made by Imperial Physician Yang and a bitter taste spread in his mouth.

He looked through the financial and grain records of various states and counties over the years and marked some states and counties with good harvests that could afford forced grain collection.

"Inform the officials in these places to compulsorily collect grain. If the first collection is not enough, collect twice."

Lin Zongping sighed again: "I'm afraid there will be some chaos."

"If there is rebellion, suppress it," Emperor Chongzhao said. "Nanning and Northern Xinjiang want to exploit the Great Zhou and swallow it up. Let's see whether the Great Zhou dies first or they retreat first."

-

The states and counties named began to collect grain.

Food and fodder refer to the grain for people to eat and the fodder for horses to eat. The latter is secondary. The most important thing is food.

But under the current circumstances, it is difficult to collect grain.

Those who are conscripted will feel unbalanced, thinking why are we conscripted while other places are not?

The dumbest people in the world are the common people, and the smartest people are also the common people.

They knew that the Great Zhou was at war and the situation was extremely unstable, with grain prices soaring, but nothing was more important than a bite of food, and those who heard the news had already started hoarding grain and salt.

Like a little hamster, it hoards a little here and a little there, and even buries rotten vegetable leaves in the ground.

The more you stock up, the more at ease you feel.

When the government handed over part of the grain in the charity granary and took the yamen runners everywhere to collect grain with the sound of gongs and drums, all they saw were the people crying and the empty rice jars.

Those with slightly better results will hand in some, one handful, two handfuls, or half a bag.

There is no more, I would rather fight with the yamen runners until I bang my head against the wall.

Although grain was collected, no one wanted to cause loss of life, and there were many trivial matters, and as a result, progress was slow.

When the superiors give an order, the officials below run around like crazy.

Grain collection was slow, and the pressure on state and county governors increased. Some local officials began to collect grain by force.

-

Xianghe County.

Le'an County.

Early in the morning, Magistrate Hua was woken up by his lawyer, "What are you doing?"

The lawyer pointed to the outside of the county government office with excitement and said, "Go, go, go and see!"

Magistrate Hua was so frightened that he thought some serious crime had happened outside, so he quickly put on his shoes and ran out.

Unexpectedly, when they opened the door of the county government office, they saw piles of grain piled up at the entrance.

When he opened the door, a bag filled with food even slipped down and hit his feet.

The people of Le'an County were moving food here one after another.

Some were carrying beans, some were carrying rice, some were carrying wheat flour... There were all kinds of grains, even ready-made pancakes, which was dazzling.

Some were rich families who brought in a cart or two. Some poor families tightened their belts and squeezed out two handfuls of food, which they put in small cloth bags.

After they put the food away, they stood outside awkwardly, rubbing their hands.

Magistrate Hua was stunned.

"You...what are you doing?"

Someone in the crowd said, "We heard that we need to donate food, so we came to donate some."

Magistrate Hua quickly said, "Our Xianghe three counties have suffered a disaster and are still recuperating. We are not subject to grain collection! I just said this a few days ago, everyone should know it."

"Yes. But we also want to give some money. My benefactor is fighting in the northern border, and I heard that he won a great victory! Don't let him lose in the end because of lack of food."

"Yes, yes, we all know that the little benefactor came to give us food because he needed it..."

The little benefactor they are talking about is the Seventh Prince.

It had only been three years since the plague drug trial, and they had not forgotten that young boy.

Among the common people, Geng Da said: "I was reluctant to give it to you at first, but if I give it to His Highness the Seventh Prince, I will give it all to you."

Someone coughed and said, "We originally wanted to put the grain in the Changsheng Temple to show that it was for the Seventh Prince. But several Changsheng Temples in the county were full, so we came here..."

"Isn't there also a war going on at Zhennan Pass? I heard that the one leading the troops is the uncle of the Seventh Prince. I think it's OK to give the food to the little benefactor or to his uncle."

"The war is also for us, so donating a little is nothing."

In fact, many people do not understand the current situation of the Great Zhou at all. They just heard that the benefactor needed food, so they carried food here.

If you need it, I will give it to you.

The Magistrate of Hua County remained silent for a long time.

After a while, he said to the people: "Thank you everyone, I will definitely report your wishes to you!"

The grain for one county was certainly not enough, but what Magistrate Hua did not expect was that the grain donation from the people of Le'an County was just the beginning.

With Le'an County as the center, the grain donation campaign quickly spread to several surrounding counties, then gradually expanded to the entire Xianghe County, and finally swept through the two major grain-producing counties next to the Xiang River.

After the plague ended three years ago, the people of the three counties piled up grain in front of the shrine built for the Seventh Prince.

At the county government office, prefectural government office, governor's office and other government offices, the people put down their grain and left without looking back. On the way back, they would pick Cangyan flowers and place them in front of the Changsheng Temple.

True gratitude is not something that is expressed with words, but is kept in the heart, just like the Seventh Prince likes the Cang Yan flower, so this small blue flower gradually and silently bloomed throughout the three counties.

The first phase of the imperial court's grain-collecting mission was pushed to the limit in just a few days by these three weak large counties that were still in the recovery stage.

Officials from other states and counties did not believe it, but when they saw the grain with their own eyes, they finally believed it. They were so shocked that they did not know what to say.

The news spread quickly.

Some businessmen were moved and began to donate grain on their own initiative.

When scholars and writers talked about this, they were so excited that they wrote:

During wartime, people were starving and had no food to eat, so officials had to collect food from the people.

Why do we need to look like a bad person when collecting taxes? We can only raise our old face in front of the Temple of Eternal Life.

What is the will of the people in the three counties?

This is the will of the people.