268 It's Done
"Two sons were arrested? The manager's surname is Wu? We don't really have an official named Wu here. This matter is serious, so we have to make a quick decision. I have to contact Co-Governor Cao immediately and lead the troops to the mountain to arrest the people tomorrow. Once they are arrested, we can find out who the traitor is.
But before that, I will try my best to quietly find out who has two sons and who has lost their traces, so that we can be on guard. My dear, please let Ping An lead the way for us tomorrow morning. I will send someone to pick him up in advance."
Sun Sicheng agreed: "Okay, I will go back now. I will send someone to accompany Ping An tomorrow. You don't need to send someone to pick him up. I will ask them to wait for you at the foot of the mountain."
"That's fine, young master. Once this is accomplished, I will immediately report it and ask for credit for you and Ping An."
After Xu Liben's initial shock, he was filled with joy.
This plan succeeded, and not only did he avoid a disaster, he also gained great credit. Sun Sicheng and his apprentice were simply his lucky stars.
Sun Sicheng smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Master Xu. Goodbye."
Ping An bowed and was about to leave when Magistrate Xu took off his jade pendant and said, "Ping An, this is for you."
Ping An looked at the master and when he saw the master nodded, he also answered: "Ping An thanks you, sir."
As soon as Master Ping An and his apprentice left, Xu Liben immediately asked someone to find Tongzhi Cao. Cao was his man, and his wife and children were also in the capital, so he could not be a traitor.
After Cao Tongzhi entered the side hall, he did not come out until an hour later.
…
Sun Sicheng took Ping An straight back to the manor and did not dare to stay outside for a moment. There was no one with the surname Wu among the officials, so who could he be?
Ping An played with the jade pendant in his hand and said, "Master, this jade is of good quality. The prefect is really willing to spend it."
Sun Sicheng didn't want to say that. "Ping An, I'll let Wanli and Xiaowu go with you tomorrow. You guys should come back as soon as the matter is settled. We'll probably have to record the evidence the day after tomorrow. After recording the evidence, we'll leave early the next morning."
Ping An agreed with this.
Sun Sicheng looked at Wanli again and said, "Although you should be safe tomorrow, you should still be careful and don't leave Ping'an. I will ask Baichuan to send someone to replenish supplies for the journey and leave here as soon as possible."
The government office, Prefect Xu and Co-Prefect Cao discussed it and realized that there were many officials of all ranks in the government office, and it would be difficult to check everything at once. Moreover, the adults living in the prefectural city might not be from the government office, but might be from the nearby county town.
Only Tongzhi Cao could lead a team of people to quietly leave the city in the second half of the night, quietly ambush at the foot of the mountain, and wait to go up the mountain as soon as they received news of safety.
At daybreak, Ping'an followed Wanli and Xiaowu to the foot of the mountain. Tongzhi Cao took the letter from the prefect on the spot. Wanli had actually seen this person before, so he naturally believed it.
Ping An saw that the Tongzhi had brought 70 to 80 people, all of whom were in good condition. "Sir, you can follow us. However, if there are a lot of people, the noise will be amplified. If it doesn't work, we can only select some with better skills to go first."
Cao Tongzhi smiled and said, "It's safe. My Lord and I thought about this yesterday. The soldiers we brought today are all elite soldiers. You don't have to worry about this."
That would be the best.
Ping'an no longer hesitated, turned around and walked up the mountain, with Wanli and Xiaowu following closely behind him.
Sun Sicheng has not been in the mood to do anything else since Ping An and the other two left. Perhaps some foreigners have sneaked in. There cannot be no gaps in such a long border, otherwise how did those fifteen people get through last time?
I hope that Governor Xu can handle this matter well this time. There are fierce fighting on the border every day, and these areas at the back have to be guarded well. This involves the lives of tens of millions of people.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Ping An admired this Tongzhi a little. All the dozen people he had seen the day before were arrested, including the manager. After they were tied up, Tongzhi Cao sent people to check their back teeth. After confirming that they were not hiding any drugs, they were immediately examined on the spot.
Wanli was not going to let the young master get involved in these matters, so he took Ping'an and Xiaowu to rest in an open space a few dozen meters away.
Ping'an couldn't rest, so he took Xiaowu to look for yam nearby. They found quite a few yam vines in this area. They all carried backpacks when they went out today, pretending to be herbalists.
Another half hour passed before these people finally spoke.
It turned out to be Qin Dazhui, a legal advisor in the yamen. The Qin family was considered a wealthy family in Yunzhou. Legal advisor Qin passed the imperial examination and became a scholar in his twenties. Later, he failed to pass the imperial examination after many attempts. He became disheartened and used his connections to get into the yamen as a legal advisor.
This man was gentle and intelligent. He could say whatever he wanted to say to anyone and he was doing well in the government office. His two sons were studying in the provincial school and they were said to be doing well. He never expected such a thing to happen.
Ping'an was also shocked when he heard this. It was this person who took them to the side hall the day before yesterday. Master Qin never dreamed that the person he brought into the side hall was the one who wanted to kill his entire family.
Tongzhi Cao immediately sent two people to the government office to inform the prefect, asking him to be prepared and control Qin Dazhu first.
He will take people back later, otherwise he will definitely alert the enemy.
Ming Wanli walked over and said, "Sir, since everything is fine, I will take my young master back. The eldest master is still waiting."
"Okay, our master is going down the mountain. We may have to ask the eldest son and Ping An to go to the government office tomorrow. You are witnesses in this matter and you have to sign and seal it. Otherwise, it will be too inconvenient when you go to the border."
Ming Wanli nodded: "Our eldest master is preparing to leave in the next two days."
When Wanli told Sun Sicheng about the traitor, Sun Sicheng smiled bitterly and said, "We always thought it was an official surnamed Wu, but we didn't know it was actually Master Qin. Such a person is also a local snake in Yunzhou, and he stayed by the side of the prefect. Fortunately, nothing happened, otherwise the prefect would have been killed."
What Sun Sicheng could think of, Xu Zhifu could certainly think of.
He felt very bad after hearing the news.
Qin Dazhu had worked in the government office for more than ten years. He had been in Yunzhou for four years and found that Qin Dazhu was cautious in his work, so he made more use of him. Sometimes when officials were discussing things, they would ask him to record the key points.
If Ping'an had not discovered this matter this time, Sun Sicheng would have reported it to the authorities immediately. Once the incident came out at the end of August, it would not matter if he died, but Yunzhou might fall, and his family in the capital would not be able to escape being imprisoned and their property would be confiscated.
Despite being covered in cold sweat, Prefect Xu quickly brought people to control Qin Dazhu and the entire Qin family.
The matter had been exposed, and Qin Dazhu was only worried about the life and death of his two sons. He confessed everything and also revealed the person who really harmed his family - General Lu.
It was he who had kidnapped his two sons more than a month ago, saying that he would release his two sons if he could bring people to dig fifty or sixty large cellars, connect them with tunnels, and transport tens of thousands of kilograms of grain without anyone noticing.
By the time Tongzhi Cao came down the mountain, Zhifu Xu had already led his men to control General Lu, and all of his family members were captured except for one son who ran away.
The whole process took less than two hours, which can be described as swift and decisive.
This might be the benefit of having a prefect with high martial arts skills.
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