Chapter 165

As night fell, the moon was shrouded in clouds and mist. The whole valley seemed very quiet, with gurgling water and tall trees shading the transactions here.

"Have we brought what we want?" someone asked in a low voice.

"How can I get close to that thing?" another person sneered.

"You useless thing. I've let you get close to Mu Yuanzhou for such a long time, but you got nothing. Wei Zhongxuan and Lin Shuge destroyed my tribe and slaughtered my brothers. I won't be able to sleep or eat well until I take revenge." The first person spoke with hatred in his tone. "But this war between the Xiongnu and the Yan people is our chance. Wei Zhongxuan is not here, and Lin Shuge alone, hmph..."

Another person said, "The young master is still here, but that bitch is so obsessed with learning how to farm like the Yan people that the young master is now talking about the morality that the Yan people talk about. That Lin Shuge is really good at this."

The two of them were silent for a while. They had witnessed the changes in the Qiang tribes with their own eyes. Many people, like them, knew Lin Shuge's intentions, but who doesn't want to live a life with enough food and warm clothes? What's more, Qingquan School also accepts Qiang students. Which Qiang parent wouldn't want to send their children there?

"These people are only interested in pleasure and have long forgotten the hatred of their clan being exterminated. How could they forget? We have been deeply indebted to the chieftain, so how could we be ungrateful? I have had people keep an eye on one place during this period of time."

"Where? Gunpowder, you mean?"

"That's right."

"I will inform my brothers immediately. If we can really get this thing, I don't believe that Mu Xie Chanyu will not be tempted."

The wind was getting stronger, and the moon above was shining through the treetops. Under the mottled moonlight, one could only see two people dressed like Qiang people.

"What's that sound?" one person asked vigilantly, his hand already on the scimitar at his waist.

"Someone? Why didn't I hear anything?" The other person also hurriedly looked around.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard. The two looked at each other and ran away in two directions.

They only heard a few "whoosh" sounds, which were the sounds of crossbow arrows being fired. The two men had no time to look back and could only run desperately into the woods. But they didn't know if it was their illusion, but the people who came didn't seem to want their lives.

One of the Qiang men ran all the way into the forest, but it was night and he could only run forward based on his instinct. Suddenly, his feet felt empty and he rolled straight down a hillside. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain to get up, but he didn't expect a spear to be pointed at him.

He looked up and saw the moonlight shining on that person's face. It was Chu Xu. Next to Chu Xu was Chen Yuanrong, who was dressed in tights and looked heroic. Behind the two of them were many shadowy figures. He was helped up by someone. Looking back, he actually saw the former Yanshi Mihe and the young master Tini of the Shaoliang tribe.

"Amur, you are bewildered. How dare you do such a thing." Ever since Mihe took his young son to join Dayan, he had long given up the thought of revenge. Seeing him being so audacious, he naturally wanted to distance himself from him.

"Mihe, you are greedy for life and afraid of death. It's fine that you forgot the revenge for the genocide of your clan, but you actually conspired with the Yan people. You will not die a good death." Amur's eyes were bloodshot, and if he hadn't been held down by Chu Xu, he would have pounced on him long ago.

"Sir, another Qiang man has been captured." Several officers came over, tying up another Qiang man.

When Amur saw his companion being captured, his face turned pale. Chu Xu wanted to interrogate him about some things, but he refused to answer.

"Okay, I'll see if you'll be as stubborn as you are now when we meet the master tomorrow." Chu Xu raised his leg and kicked him.

"Thank you very much today, Yanshi." Chen Yuanrong, who was standing next to him, said to Mihe. After that, he left with the other officers and the two Qiang people.

"Yanshi, will we be okay?" The remaining Qiang people were terrified and afraid of being implicated, so they asked cautiously.

Mi He looked at the direction where Chu Xu and the others were going, then looked down at his son, "No, I will go see Lord Lin tomorrow. As long as we can survive, I will agree to whatever he wants."

…

"Sir, all the Qiang people who colluded with the Xiongnu have been captured." Chu Xu came to see Lin Shuge early in the morning.

"Okay, got it. Imprison them next to the people that County Lieutenant Yang arrested yesterday." Lin Shuge lowered his head and wrote and drew. "You have worked hard to guard them every day these days. Here, take these and give them to the brothers to drink."

Lin Shuge threw a bag of silver to Chu Xu, who took it with a smile, "Thank you, sir."

Lin Shuge lowered his head and continued to handle official business. After a while, he looked up and saw that Chu Xu had not left. Instead, he looked at him hesitantly. He put down the document in his hand and said with a smile: "What do you want to ask me?"

"How did you know, sir, that the remnants of the Shaoliang tribe would collude with the Huns?" Chu Xu scratched his head with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Nothing, just preparing for a rainy day." Lin Shuge said casually.

Seeing that he had no intention of explaining in detail, Chu Xu just said, "I will take my leave."

"Wait, after this incident, you should take the officers to patrol Moshui Township and Pingping Township regularly. If you encounter any trouble, you can go to Mu Yuanzhou and Chen Yuanrong, they will help you." Lin Shuge gave a few more instructions.

"Yes, sir." This time, Chu Xu went out happily with the silver and money.

Lin Shuge looked at his figure and smiled silently. He was a young man full of vigor. No matter what happened, it would come and go quickly, just like someone. It was just that someone was a little more scheming, but he would fall for that person's tricks.

His thoughts gradually drifted away, and he had no energy to look at the official business. Lin Shuge picked out a few important ones, dealt with them, and then threw them aside and prepared to leave.

"Sir, Yanshi from the Shaoliang tribe is here." Lu Yuechuan walked in.

Lu Yuechuan had just returned from his hometown to visit his relatives. He was very busy and was inevitably caught by Lin Shuge to ask many questions about the twins. He was so busy these days that he was dizzy. Now Mi He came to him again. Anyone with a discerning eye would know that she was here because of the conspiracy between the Qiang people and the Huns, so she hurried to inform Lin Shuge.

"Let her in." Lin Shuge stepped back.

After a while, the officer brought Mihe in.

"Greetings, County Magistrate Lin, and County Assistant Magistrate Lu." Mi He spoke fluent Chinese.

"There's no need to be so polite, Mrs. Yan. I would like to thank you for your great help yesterday." Lin Shuge said.

Mi He said hurriedly: "I dare not, this is my responsibility. Amur intends to collude with the Xiongnu and endanger our Great Yan. My Lord, please deal with him. I just hope that my Lord will not blame the rest of the tribes. As long as my Lord can use us, I will..."

She is quite smart and clever, no wonder she was able to lead her people to make a living under Huawei after the Shaoliang tribe was exterminated and Yeli was killed. This shows her ability.

"Don't worry, Yanshi. I know who has ulterior motives, and I will never implicate innocent people. Yanshi has been pacifying the tribe and teaching the Qiang people. What crime has she committed?" Lin Shuge's eyes were gentle, as if he was chatting with her, but Mihe didn't dare to really think he was such a person.

"Your Excellency is too kind. Lord Wei was so kind to spare our lives, so we should be grateful. Amur was ungrateful and secretly colluded with the Huns. Fortunately, no disaster occurred. Your Excellency may punish him as you wish." She looked very respectful and bowed with her eyes lowered.

Lin Shuge listened to her insisting on the word "privately" and smiled suddenly, "I know Yanshi's character very well, but some people want to take advantage of the absence of the guards to steal our dynasty's important weapons and give them to the Xiongnu Chanyu. You should know that the Xiongnu is at war with our dynasty, and this action can be regarded as collusion with the enemy."

Mi He broke out in a cold sweat and knelt on the ground, saying, "My people will never dare to have second thoughts. You taught us farming and sent our children to school. We can have such a life, so how can we have such second thoughts? Sir, I promise you that there will be no one like Amur in my people. If there is..." She gritted her teeth, "I will be guilty of the same crime as him. I hope you will not blame other people in the tribe."

Lin Shuge stood up and looked at her for a long time, which made Mi He tremble with fear. Unexpectedly, he said, "Yanshi is too kind. Even if Yanshi doesn't come today, I still want to see Yanshi. I really have something to ask Yanshi for help."

Mi He breathed a sigh of relief and said anxiously, "Just give me your orders, sir."

"The county government found that some people in the Qiang tribe were ready to make a move, but we have been investigating all the time and have only caught some small figures. Hua Wei is not here, so we have to trouble Yanshi to help us find the others carefully."

"I will follow your orders, sir. I will capture them myself and bring them before you." A hint of determination flashed in Mi He's eyes. In order to clear herself of any connection, she teamed up with Lin Shuge and had already done the act of "selling out her people" once. She was not afraid of it happening again.

She knew that Lin Shuge wanted to use her to get rid of those who had ill intentions at the moment. This move would be dangerous for her and would also leave her with a lot of bad reputation. But she had already defected to the Yan Dynasty, and if not for the sake of the remaining tribesmen, then for the sake of her son, she was willing to make this knife.

"Then I'll have to trouble Yanshi."

After Mi He left, Lu Yuechuan spoke up, "Does your Excellency mean that there are still fish that slipped through the net?"

"The gunpowder factory has always been heavily guarded. Any bird seen around it will be caught. Those two Qiang people can't spy on the gunpowder factory." Lin Shuge tapped the table lightly with his fingers, his expression serious.

"Did someone leak the news? Who is so bold as to leak the gunpowder?" Lu Yuechuan stood up suddenly.

"The craftsmen who made gunpowder have been carefully checked. Their families are in my hands, so they naturally dare not do anything that would implicate the entire family. A Yan interrogated those people who appeared near the gunpowder factory, and they only got the address of the gunpowder factory. They were not aware of other more core things." Lin Shuge handed a few pages of confession to Lu Yuechuan.

After Lu Yuechuan finished looking at it for a few seconds, he raised his head and asked, "So you think there are other Qiang people involved in this?"

Lin Shuge nodded.

Lu Yuechuan thought of the promise that Mi He had just made. It seemed that the adults wanted to use this incident to purge the Qiang people. At that time, the Qiang tribes had just been conquered and the people were unstable. If thunder-like means were used on them, the Qiang people might be ready to fight to the death. Therefore, the two adults focused on appeasement.

It seems that it is not difficult to make these people submit completely by using gentle means. Lord Wei has a large number of troops under his command, so they dare not take any action. But as soon as Lord Wei left, all kinds of small actions came out.

Seeing that Lu Yuechuan already knew what he wanted to do, Lin Shuge said, "Ah Chuan, I'll have to trouble you to go to Moshui Township during this time. You must find that group of people."

Although Mu Yuanzhou is smart, he is too kind. After living with the Qiang people for a long time, he inevitably developed feelings for them and was blinded by their own shortcomings.

"Got it, sir. By the way, why has Ah Yan been missing recently?"

"I asked him to take the county officials to patrol everywhere. This matter is related to the Huns, and I'm afraid there may be Hun spies." Moreover, at this time, Dayan was at war with the Huns, and the Duwei Mansion suffered a setback in the war. If it really couldn't be defended, it could only try its best to be more prepared.

Lu Yuechuan sighed, knowing what his actions meant, "Sir, I'll go first."

Lin Shuge nodded, finished reading the document in his hand, lit the candle, and took out the tax list reported by each township. He originally wanted to go out for a walk, but now he was not in the mood. He would be alone when he goes back, and Xiaobai was not here either. He should deal with the official business first. He didn't know if Zhongxuan was fighting against the Huns at this time?