48 Chapter 048

Internal strife in Bishan

According to the grain ship's transportation schedule, the next batch of grain will arrive the day after tomorrow.

Xie Mingzhuo wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to sneak into the grain transport team and enter Wugu Peak through the grain road.

Liu and Qian confessed everything they needed to confess. It was all gossip they heard from others. The information was not accurate, but it was not useless.

There were countless mosquitoes in the forest. Lin Fan lit a mosquito repellent incense made from medicinal powder. Light blue smoke rose slowly and lingered in the house.

Liu Hu sniffed and asked, "What is this for?"

"Repel mosquitoes."

"You pirates are so particular," he muttered, then thought, "I've also benefited from this, so I smiled and said, 'Be more particular, be more particular.'"

Qian Bao couldn't bear to see his stupid look, so he turned his back and closed his eyes.

Instead of thinking too much, it’s better to get some sleep.

"Master, I'll make a bed for you to rest." Jiang Qing took out the bag she was carrying, which contained clean linen.

"No need." Xie Mingzhuo refused.

Although she was not that picky about her living environment, this wooden house was not within her consideration.

With her current physical condition, staying up all night has no effect at all.

Just close your eyes and relax.

Unexpectedly, before my eyes closed, my ears moved.

She immediately stood up and made a gesture when Yang Yunkai and the other two looked over to indicate that someone had come to visit, and there were two people.

Yang Yunkai was more and more surprised. Before he even heard any movement, the princess had already tracked down the visitors and even identified their number.

The four of them immediately stood at the door.

Seeing them like this, Liu and Qian became nervous and sat on the bed, ready for action.

Soon, footsteps came closer.

The man knocked on the window without even entering the house, and shouted outside: "Lao Liu, Lao Qian, bring some wine quickly. I caught a few pheasants and rabbits today, and I want to exchange them for wine."

Qian Bao said directly: "The wine is gone, you can go back."

"You're kidding me! I don't know Lao Liu yet. He must have secretly kept the wine until the last day. Hurry up! If the two of us sneak out and the captain finds us, it will be terrible."

Qian Bao is helpless. You didn't even cherish the chance to escape.

None of these four people are simple, and you have to obey them.

Liu Hu stood by the bed, at a loss for a moment. He was thinking about how to get rid of them when he heard a familiar voice coming from the door.

"I'm too lazy to move. The door is not closed. Come in and get it yourself."

His eyes suddenly widened. Wasn't that his voice? Even the tone of voice was exactly the same.

But he clearly didn't say anything!

It was Lin Fan who spoke.

He only imitated Liu Hu's voice to about 40% of the original, but his tone was very accurate. Through the window, the other party could only hear vaguely, so naturally they didn't think much of it.

"Haha, Old Liu, aren't those jars of wine your most precious treasure? Why are you so generous today?"

The visitor walked to the door with a smile and reached out to push it open.

As soon as he came in, he was pushed to the ground by Lin Fan and Yang Yunkai and his mouth was covered.

Lin Fan's move was a stroke of genius, and even Xie Mingzhuo was surprised.

Are all the people trained by acrobatic troupes talented?

Then they fed the two guards the "poison pill" in the same way. After Liu Hu's persuasion, the two grain road guards were "recruited" one after another without much hesitation.

The guard is really too lax.

Come to think of it, these people are just ordinary people who were forcibly brought here to form this makeshift team. They have no cohesion or fighting power at all.

It may also be that the pier was hidden deep inside, and King Liang was confident that it would not be discovered, so he did not pay much attention to it.

They obtained more information from the two grain route guards.

In order to survive, the two men confessed everything they knew, even revealing that the captain of the fifth battalion had speared the captain of the fourth battalion into the cesspool while he was using the toilet.

"That's all we know." Guard A of the grain route said aggrievedly, "If you want to rob the grain, just rob it, but don't poison it."

"That's right." Guard B nodded in agreement.

Jiang Qing was speechless and rolled her eyes. Is that the point? They were all spineless, not even putting up a fight.

Although it made it easier for them to act, it did not prevent her from looking down on these people.

Yang Yunkai reassured them: "Once the matter is settled, I will naturally give you the complete antidote. Before that, take a relief pill at noon every day, otherwise you will die of intestinal rot."

"But you are going to Wugu Peak to steal food. What if we don't have time to give you medicine?" Liu Hu was a little distressed.

Yang Yunkai threw him a bottle of pills and said, "There are twenty pills in it, enough for you to live for five more days."

"What about five days later?"

"Let's talk later."

“…”

Liu Hu felt that this poison was strange, but since it concerned his life, he had to be cautious.

He knew he wasn't smart enough, so instead of thinking too much, he decided to take things one step at a time.

"We have to change shifts tomorrow morning. Can you please let us go back first? We will be beaten if we are discovered." The guard on the grain road said bitterly.

With Xie Mingzhuo's permission, Liu Hu poured them ten "relief pills". The two carefully put the pills in their pockets and left with regret on their faces.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have come to exchange wine!

At noon the next day, Liu Hu swallowed a relief pill on time and felt normal, without any abnormality.

"Old Qian, why don't you eat?"

Qian Bao stared at the brown pill in his hand and said lazily, "Wait a little longer."

"Do you suspect the poison is fake?" Liu Hu raised his head, carefully glanced at the four people discussing their plans outside, and lowered his voice, "Actually, I have some doubts too, but I'm afraid of the pain and don't want to try it."

Qian Bao: "You're not stupid either—hiss!"

Before he could finish his words, his face twisted and his abdomen felt as if it was being gripped and tightened by a hand, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

But that hand tightly grasped the pill and put it into his mouth with trembling hands.

Damn, he is afraid of pain too!

Xie Mingzhuo heard the noise, glanced at the cabin, and looked at Lin Fan: "Your medicine is indeed very effective."

"It's just an ordinary heat-clearing pill. It contains Prunella Vulgaris. Prunella Vulgaris can improve eyesight and clear the liver, but it's not suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach. It can easily cause abdominal pain for such people. They live in the riverside forests all year round and have an irregular cold diet. It's normal for them to have weak spleen and stomach."

Jiang Qing was also curious: "How do you get regular abdominal pain?"

"There's no clepsydra here, so they can only judge the time based on the sun. When the sun is at midday, it's noon. Whether it's before or after noon is uncertain. I just added powdered prunella vulgaris to their water."

"That means the dose last night wasn't enough to cause them abdominal pain," Yang Yunkai wondered. "Then if the two people we let go last night don't have abdominal pain today, doesn't that mean they've figured out the 'poison pill' is fake?"

Lin Fan smiled and said, "They are the same type of people as Liu Hu. They won't try it easily. Even if they really find it, it doesn't matter. As long as there is the example of Qian Bao, they won't dare to act rashly."

Moreover, he had taken the pulses of both of them last night without leaving any trace, and the weakness of their spleen and stomach was very serious. If they took the medicine and drank cold water or ate cold food today, there was a high possibility of abdominal pain.

After taking the antidote, the pain was relieved, and Qian Bao had to believe that the "poison pill" was real.

He was so ignorant that there was such a strange poison in the world.

Liu Hu was already skeptical, and when he saw him being poisoned, he felt scared and couldn't help but feel lucky that he didn't choose to try it.

When Xie Mingzhuo and the others returned to the house, the two of them looked a little more awed than last night.

At night, the two grain road guards came over again, their faces also filled with fear. They asked hurriedly, "When did you steal the grain? Can you completely cure the poison after stealing it?"

Yang Yunkai: "Wait for the grain ship to arrive tomorrow."

Liu Hu and the other three thought that they were doing it out of greed and didn't think much about it. But after hearing their plan, they were still a little nervous.

Can this really steal food?

At the hour of Xu the next day, the night enveloped the river, the water flowed silently, the early autumn wind blew gently, and the cool water vapor filled the river bank.

It was pitch black all around, with only an oil lamp in the wooden house at the ferry crossing. The bean-sized flame drowned out the long river bank. Unless one had exceptional eyesight or was familiar with the route, almost no one would have been able to notice it.

The river was quiet and peaceful, with no boats on it. Soon, seven grain ships broke through the darkness and slowly approached.

Liu Hu and Qian Bao prepared tea and stood at the door of the wooden house, nervously welcoming the grain transport team.

The two of them glanced into the house from time to time.

The grain ship docked, and the seven captains and their men came to the wooden house to rest as usual. They would wait for the boatmen to unload the grain so that they could set sail again.

The granary will only send people to collect the grain after the grain ship leaves. This is to prevent the two sides from having too much contact and leaking the news.

After all, grain ships often deal with people outside.

"Lao Liu, Lao Qian, I've brought you some good wine." A bearded captain personally carried a few jars of wine and walked into the house with familiarity.

As soon as the front foot stepped in, the back foot stepped out.

"What are you doing?" the captain who was stopped from behind asked unhappily.

The bearded man looked at Liu and Qian and asked in surprise, "Who's in the room?"

"Is there anyone in the room?" The other captains craned their necks.

Liu Hu chuckled and said, "I'm just passing by and asking for water."

"Begging for water?" The bearded man was unconvinced. "Then why is he tied up?"

The four people in the room had their hands tied with hemp ropes, and they looked like "prisoners", which was very wrong.

Qian Bao came closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Master, you are bored and depressed up in the mountain. Lao Liu and I saw that this young lady is very smart, so we used some tricks and wanted to send her up to help you relieve your boredom."

"Isn't this ridiculous?" The bearded man glared at the two men. "You're causing trouble at this critical moment, aren't you afraid her family will report you to the police? And who are those three people next to her?"

"She only dared to do this when her family was away. Those three were her hired guards. We saw that she was rich and beautiful, so the masters in the mountains would definitely like her."

The bearded man finally relaxed his expression, looked at the four men carefully, and said, "That's right. What do we do with the three guards?"

"The lords of the Fourth and Fifth Battalions are at odds. They lost to the Fifth Battalion in their last duel, and the captain of the Fourth Battalion is worried. I saw that they are quite good at boxing and kicking, so I thought... hehe."

The bearded man knew that the mountains were also full of human relationships and social customs. Since there was no risk, he didn't want to lose face for the two men, so he stopped asking questions.

After the smuggled goods were traded and the grain on board was unloaded, the grain ship said goodbye and left.

Soon, hundreds of guards emerged from the mountains, dragging grain carts.

The general flag-taker of the grain collection this time came from the Fourth Battalion. He was familiar with Liu and Qian. After meeting Xie Mingzhuo and the other three and listening to their plan, he also felt that this was indeed a way to please his superiors.

He agreed immediately and asked someone to take him away.

Even if there are problems with these four people, all problems will be gone once they enter the mountains.

"If the master is pleased, he will definitely give you a reward."

Liu and Qian pretended to be happy and said, "Please, sir, please say a few good words for us."

"Sure, sure."

It just so happened that the captain of the fourth battalion of Wugu Peak liked beautiful women. If he presented a beautiful woman to the commander, he might be able to get a promotion and a reward.

In this way, Xie Mingzhuo and four others followed the grain-collecting team and were sent to Wugu Peak together.

There are checkpoints on the grain route, and we must inspect it when we return.

The guards at the first checkpoint happened to be the two who had exchanged wine the night before. When they saw the four people who were tied up, they conducted routine inquiries.

The general flag-taker who was in charge of collecting grain used the arguments of Liu and Qian, and the guards let them go.

This kind of thing has happened before, and their lives were threatened by poison pills, so they could only be given a talisman to pass the level.

The grain route was formed by mountain gorges, twisting and turning. The towering forests on both sides were deep and quiet, and pitch black. The lanterns in the team illuminated the small area, dotted in the canyon like faint fireflies.

The canyon is very narrow, only allowing a grain cart and two people to pass side by side. This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the imperial court sends troops to encircle and suppress the enemy, it is likely that 800 enemies will be killed and 1,000 of their own troops will be injured.

After walking for about an hour, the grain team arrived at Wugu Peak.

Around midnight, the general ordered his men to collect the grain and store it in the warehouse, while he himself took the four men to the barracks of the centurion.

Grain is being harvested tonight, and the hundred households have not yet rested.

He was thin and was leaning on a low couch reading a book. When he heard the report from his general, he responded, but did not raise his head until the general entered the room, his eyes still glued to the pages of the book.

"Sir, the two boys guarding the ferry have a gift for you. I've brought it here. Would you like to take a look?"

The captain was not very interested: "What gift..."

He raised his eyes halfway and froze.

There were four people tied behind the general flag, but his eyes were fixed on Xie Mingzhuo without blinking, and he didn't pay any attention to the other three.

He had seen many beauties, some graceful and elegant, some charming and alluring, but he had never seen this type before.

He had handsome features and his brows revealed a hint of nobility. Even when he was tied up in the mountains, he did not show any fear.

It’s so exciting to play with a beauty like this!

He immediately stood up and threw the book in his hand to the ground. The pages came into view, showing two white bodies entangled in each other.

Jiang Qing quickly turned her head and took a step forward, blocking Xie Mingzhuo's sight. She muttered, "Dirty."

Yang Yunkai and Lin Fan also stood in front without making a sound.

Xie Mingzhuo: “…”

There's no need, she's seen more exciting ones.

"Well done," the captain nodded in satisfaction. He quickly walked up to the four people and pushed aside the three people blocking the way. "Take these three away. No one is allowed to disturb you without my permission."

The general took the order, dragged the three people out of the barracks, and closed the door considerately.

The guards outside the barracks also moved away.

"May I ask the beauty's name?" The captain stretched out his hand to touch her, but suddenly found that the beauty was taller than him, so he had to look up to see her. He took two steps back and withdrew his hand.

Xie Mingzhuo chuckled, and while he was surprised and stunned, he broke the hemp rope and quickly pinched the other's neck with his right hand, causing him to open his mouth. Then a "poison pill" fell into his mouth and he swallowed it.

"you--"

"Poison, don't scream if you don't want to die."

The captain stopped abruptly and glared at Xie Mingzhuo in shock and anger, covering his neck with one hand and trying to grab her with the other.

As long as we capture her, we can force her to reveal the antidote!

A dagger was pressed against his throat. His movements suddenly froze, his eyes fixed on the dagger, and he asked in astonishment, "How did you..."

After a pause, he finally reacted.

These four people weren't tied up and taken up the mountain; they went up the mountain on their own initiative! If the subordinates really wanted to offer a beauty, they would definitely confiscate their weapons.

Did something go wrong at the ferry?!

The captain no longer dared to treat her as a harmless beauty and had a plan in mind.

"What is your purpose?"

Xie Mingzhuo: "Let my companions come back."

The captain licked his cracked lips and shouted, "Someone come!"

The guards came quickly and after entering the barracks, Xie Mingzhuo was already standing behind the captain, with the dagger against his lower back.

The captain did not dare to act rashly and could only order: "Bring back the three people who were just taken away."

Although his men were surprised, they did not dare to ask any more questions. They brought the man back to the barracks and retreated to close the door.

The three men immediately untied the ropes and gathered around.

"Second Madam, leave the person to me." Yang Yunkai immediately took on the task of "interrogation" and dragged the centurion who dared not speak out, towards the depths of the barracks.

Lin Fan took out a jar of ointment from his arms and said, "It can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis."

He glanced at Xie Mingzhuo's wrist, where the red marks from being tied with hemp rope were clearly visible.

It can't be said to be serious, but it is shocking for no reason.

"Second Madam, let me apply the ointment for you." Jiang Qing hurriedly took the ointment, unscrewed the lid, took out the ointment and spread it evenly.

Xie Mingzhuo looked at Lin Fan and nodded, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Lin Fan smiled, but looked away, "I thought we were already friends."

"Yes, we are friends." Xie Mingzhuo looked normal.

"I'll go check and see if there's a Bishan defense map or something like that." Lin Fan turned around and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was his honor to be friends, but he couldn't help feeling a little lost.

He took a few steps and stepped on something. He looked down and saw that it was the "Fire Avoidance Map" of Baihu. He frowned slightly and kicked it away.

At three quarters past midnight, Yang Yunkai dragged the hundred households back.

There were no signs of injury on the latter's face, but he seemed to be frightened silly, his eyes were dull and lifeless, and he became a weakling, literally being "dragged" back.

The Jinyiwei's methods are indeed impressive.

"Second Madam, this man does know a lot of secrets," Yang Yunkai threw the man to the ground and reported, "It's not just him who stole grain and sold it. There are also centurions and captains from the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Battalions."

This man was a centurion sent by the Fourth Battalion to guard the granary. Presumably, the captains of the Fourth Battalion were also involved.

In this way, the third, fourth, seventh and eighth battalions are not the same as the remaining five battalions.

It's easy to deal with disagreements.

The captain came to his senses and said bitterly, "Who are you?"

They don't look like robbers, but more like they are here to investigate corruption.

He was just following orders from his superiors and made a small profit from it, but the bulk of the profits went to a few thousand households.

"If the prince knew about the embezzlement of grain, how would he deal with you?" Xie Mingzhuo asked leisurely while sitting on the chair.

The captain's eyes widened: "Were you sent by the prince?!"

Xie Mingzhuo didn't say yes, nor did he say no. Coincidentally, Lin Fan found an account book from the wall, which recorded the conspiracy of the four major barracks to steal grain over the years.

She flipped through the pages quietly, the only sound in the room being Bai Hu's heavy breathing.

He stared at the account book, despair in his eyes.

"Second Madam, do you want to present the account book to the prince?" Lin Fan deliberately said this to the captain.

"No, no!" The captain pleaded first, "Please, everyone, please have mercy on us. Please don't tell the Crown Prince. If he finds out, we won't be spared. There will definitely be chaos in Bishan. If the situation gets out of hand, more than just us will die. I'm sure you don't want to see that, right?"

Is there such a good thing?!

Xie Mingzhuo sat up straight and asked with interest, "Why do you think we don't want to see it?"

"Aren't you here to investigate the embezzlement of grain?"

"If we are, then since we've found out, we should report it to the Crown Prince." Xie Mingzhuo asked, "If we find out but don't report it, wouldn't that be betraying the Crown Prince?"

The captain hurriedly shook his head: "Don't do that! If you really care about the prince, it's better to keep this a secret for now."

"oh?"

"You all should know that the prince has passed away suddenly. The Liang Palace is currently in turmoil. The second son is dissatisfied with the Crown Prince and may have other ideas. At this critical juncture, if the Crown Prince gets angry and severely punishes the thousand-man army of the four camps, wouldn't that shake the morale of the army?"

It sounded like he was being considerate of the Crown Prince, but every word was a threat. If Xie Mingzhuo was truly sent by Xie Yi to investigate corruption, he would probably be persuaded.

Even if they were not convinced, they would still give Xie Yi some advice when he was angry and save these termites from punishment.

This centurion's brain worked quite quickly at the critical moment.

Unfortunately, the army’s disunity is exactly what Xie Mingzhuo wants to see.

"You stole the grain first, then threatened us. You have no loyalty at all. Even if the Crown Prince punishes you severely, it's understandable. If you've become alienated because of this, I'm afraid it was all planned." Xie Mingzhuo observed his suddenly changed expression and said firmly, "You and your accomplices have lived in the mountains for years. What do you need so much money and food for? Are you planning to use the food and fodder from Bishan to feed the troops of your true master?"

Captain: “…”

"Could it be the Second Young Master?"

The captain immediately lowered his head and stopped looking at Xie Mingzhuo. His guilty look showed that she was not wrong.

Xie Yu’s backup plan is indeed here.

He had already planted spies in the Bishan army, even avoiding the eyes and ears of King Liang, and used the food and grass looted by King Liang and the Crown Prince to feed his own troops.

He must have discovered that these people were corrupt and used this incident to threaten the corrupt people.

When the critical moment comes, he will use these people to kill King Liang and the Crown Prince by surprise.

Now that Prince Liang is dead, he has seized the prince's weakness. Bishan still has about half of its troops under his command. Once he goes to Henan to subdue Wang Xin, the entire Prince Liang's Mansion will be under his control.

Xie Mingzhuo made a prompt decision: "Take me to see the captain of the Fourth Battalion."

"Ah?" The captain was confused and stood there in a daze.

"Every word you said just now was about 'fearing to shake the morale of the army,' but in reality, you're just hoping for chaos in Bishan," Xie Mingzhuo said sharply. "You and I both serve the Second Young Master, so don't waste your breath."

The captain wanted to pretend that he didn't understand, but Xie Mingzhuo's expression and tone were too confident. His life was in the other party's hands, so he might as well take a gamble.

"You work for the Second Young Master?" He feigned surprise. "Do you have any proof?"

Lin Fan couldn't help but look at Xie Mingzhuo, very curious about the token.

The plan to enter the mountain was to pretend to be Xie Yu's lobbyist, to cause internal strife in Bishan and let these rebels kill each other.

But to gain the other party's trust, you need evidence that is convincing enough to convince them.

"Ah Qing."

"yes."

Jiang Qing took a step forward and took out something from her arms. The object was wrapped in silk cloth and was in the shape of a long strip.

She walked in front of the captain, deliberately blocking Lin Fan's sight, and lifted a corner of the silk cloth to reveal the true appearance of the object.

The captain was shocked, it turned out to be a jade belt with double lead tails!

The jade belt is a symbol of status. Apart from being awarded by the emperor to meritorious officials, only members of the royal family can wear it.

In the entire Anlu County, and even in De'an Prefecture, the only ones who could possess the jade belt were the late King Liang and his wife, and the bloodline of King Liang.

After just a glance at him, Jiang Qing put the jade belt away.

"This item is precious, how could the Second Young Master be willing to entrust it to you for safekeeping?" The captain believed it for the most part, but still had some doubts.

Xie Mingzhuo's eyes showed deep meaning: "Second Master said that the more valuable the token, the higher the expectations for you. We cannot afford to make any mistakes on this trip."

"Why did you come from the ferry?"

"The Crown Prince murdered his father suddenly and has taken control of the Liang Palace. The defense of Bishan has become increasingly strict. We have no choice but to find another way."

The captain was aggrieved: "Then why did you poison me and threaten me with a dagger just now?"

Xie Mingzhuo snorted coldly: "Although the Second Young Master trusts you and the others, I dare not be careless. Who knows if you, a bunch of rats, have any ulterior motives."

"Why are you still cursing?" The captain stood up with dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Xie Mingzhuo's final words were a killer: "Shuo Shu is still praising you. I heard that you were once pushed into a cesspool by a captain from the Fifth Battalion, and kept company with..."

Captain: “…”

Damn it, if this guy wasn’t the Second Young Master’s messenger, he would really fight to the death!

【Author’s words】

The foreshadowing in the previous part must be recovered, and there should be three or four chapters to finish. I am away from home, so I can't see the later drafts and I don't remember them clearly. I guess this is the case.