In fact, what he meant was that he hoped that all the important officials would also hide in the basement. Otherwise, the Jinyiwei would not be able to find Lin Hai, and it is possible that they would turn around and kill the prime minister and the ministers of various departments.

For a while, there was a flood of flattery...

The photo of Lin Hai is very refreshing...

We have to thank Mao Xiang. If he hadn't come, no one would have been able to experience the usefulness of such a secret basement.

"Your Majesty, a basement like this is good, but with so many of us here, is the ventilation good..."

Zhang Jinnan asked weakly from the side.

What he actually wanted to say was that I am from the Supervisory Department and have nothing to do with the war. Could you please not arrest me as well...Mao Xiang may not come to kill me.

Lin Hai sniffed and frowned, saying, "Well, the air is a bit turbid. Hey, if you want to eat leek buns, stay away from here."

Then he lowered his head and searched on his desk.

There were about ten thin ropes hanging on Lin Hai's desk, and a small wooden plaque was tied to the bottom of each rope as a pendant.

Lin Hai looked through the pendants and took a while to find the wooden sign with the word "ventilation" written on it under the dim light. He then pulled it down twice with force.

In a distant room, the bells hanging above the heads of the ventilation team guards rang twice. The team leader stood up and shouted, "Break your rotations. Everyone, maximum ventilation!"

Then everyone started shaking the handle desperately, and the manual blower began to run at the highest designed speed. The fresh air from the outside finally began to spread in the basement along the pipes.

Well, some people might ask, does the ringing of the bell mean that the ventilation should be increased? But the bell only has one sound, so how can we tell whether it means the ventilation should be increased or decreased?

What if Lin Hai asks to reduce the air intake?

Shi Ming, the acting Minister of Works and the person in charge of the basement construction, explained this problem like this: "In this basement, no one would order a reduction in the air intake, so when you hear the bell ring, just blow as hard as you can..."

Lin Hai hid from Mao Xiang in the basement of the palace.

Wang Zuo and Xue Wuxia were searching everywhere for Mao Xiang.

Yamen runners, militiamen and mobilized soldiers from all over Qinghe received a relatively abstract portrait of Mao Xiang. They did not know who was in the portrait, but were told that if they found this person, they must capture him immediately, and it would be best if a large number of people rushed forward, after all, this person was said to be quite skilled in martial arts.

So much so that many militia captains with a rough style directly ordered: "Stop and question all foreigners passing by. I don't believe that anyone can slip away from under my nose."

Compared to the amateur operations of the militia, the people sent by Xue Wuxia appeared much more professional.

Because both the fortress and the Qinghe inland said that they did not see any suspicious signs and did not catch anyone suspected of being the Jinyiwei.

A number of suspicious individuals were apprehended, but interrogations revealed they were either petty thieves or had affairs with other people's wives beyond friendly affection. Ultimately, Mao Xiang wasn't apprehended. Public security improved significantly across the country, and, well, the divorce rate also increased significantly...

This is even more creepy.

After all, there are only two possibilities now. Either Mao Xiang's ability to hide is too strong, so strong that no one can discover it.

Or maybe Mao Xiang didn't even enter the inland area of ​​Qinghe.

But how could he assassinate Lin Hai without entering the interior of Qinghe? He couldn't just fly his sword and kill someone from a thousand miles away, right?

Then he must have a conspiracy.

In response, Wang Zuo called and said: Don't worry about the defense of Xijing, Your Majesty is very safe.

Well, now that someone is responsible for His Majesty's safety, Xue Wuxia can focus on investigating Zhaoyang and the fortress area.

More soldiers were sent out.

They were asked to conduct a dragnet search of the fortress area and the mountains, forests and swamps near Zhaoyang.

That night, an officer reported that they had found nothing. The soldiers had been shooting arrows crazily at the slightest sign of trouble. Their only achievement was killing a considerable number of wild animals, which provided food for the barracks.

In response to this, Xue Wuxia said: That must be because you didn’t look for it seriously!

The next day, more soldiers were dispatched, led by intelligence officers drawn from various locations. They would carefully analyze the surrounding clues...

Of course, they still found nothing.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zuo personally reprimanded them: "If you can't find it, then don't come back."

On the third day, the fortress defenders and the Zhaoyang City defenders joined hands and began the largest-scale, true dragnet search. If Chen Yu saw this scene, he would be so angry that he would die on the spot, and there would be no need to fight.

For three consecutive days, the intelligence officers and soldiers endured hunger, with the scorching sun above their heads and the scorching ground under their feet. They crawled in the woods and swamps full of natural dangers, without a proper meal or a sip of clean water. Many soldiers complained: It would be better to go back and fight a war, which would be easier than now.

They even carried out a large-scale diving and swimming in the small river outside the city, just because they were worried that Mao Xiang was hiding under the water...

Three days later, Huang Zong received a summary of the information from military officers at all levels. He stated clearly to Wang Zuo and Xue Wuxia, "There can't be any Jinyiwei outside the fortress area or Zhaoyang. There isn't even a single person. If there is, then that person must have mastered the art of invisibility!"

Huang Zong originally thought that such news would be a big blow to Wang Zuo and Xue Wuxia, but when he turned around, he caught a glimpse of the strange smiles on the two of them.

"That's right, we guessed right."

Wang Zuo spoke softly, as if afraid of disturbing something.