A group of people escorted Yin Chengyu inside and sat down at the main seat. Xue Shu stood beside him as usual.

Zhou Zhiling had now recovered from the fear of Xue Shu's murder. When he saw Yin Chengyu, his eyes moved, and his face, which had just recovered a little, turned pale again, and his eyes revealed despair.

I'm afraid it's really over this time.

The ambition and determination to make a good career had been shattered. Now, all that was left was fear and panic. The tricks of playing both sides in the business world were no longer useful: "Crown Prince... Your Highness."

"Who asked you to raise private soldiers?" Yin Chengyu stared at him and tapped his knees with his fingers: "Shao Tian?"

The Zhou family is just a merchant family. Even if the Sanjiang Chamber of Commerce has a say in the Huguang area, the Zhou family does not have the courage to raise private soldiers. Most of the time, the Zhou family pays for the courageous people to raise private soldiers.

When he mentioned "Shao Tian" casually, Zhou Zhiling's fingers twitched for a moment, and an unprecedented sense of crisis made his sluggish brain start working again. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "I don't quite understand what private soldiers your Highness is talking about. I do have some dealings with these bandits, but it's just to make it easier to transport goods on weekdays. I don't dare to do anything that is against the law."

He didn't admit it, so Yin Chengyu didn't get annoyed and just continued to ask, "Oh? Then when did you have contact with these bandits?"

Zhou Zhiling couldn't see through his depth, and didn't know whether he believed what he said or not, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "About two years ago."

"Two years ago..." Yin Chengyu muttered to himself, as if he had figured something out, and suddenly laughed, "Master Zhou has great ambitions."

Zhou Zhiling's heart skipped a beat, and he felt the dizziness of watching Fan Hu being strangled to death come back to him. But after thinking about it, he couldn't figure out what his answer could reveal, so he could only say with difficulty: "I... don't understand what Your Highness the Crown Prince means."

Yin Chengyu didn't need him to understand, nor did he explain: "As far as I know, there are not so many bandits in Wangtuo Ridge. How many of these bandits are there? Where do they hide on weekdays?"

He said "bandits", but every word he said seemed to be asking about "private soldiers".

Raising private soldiers is a serious crime that can lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the clan. Zhou Zhiling dared not admit it and could only resist: "I just had some dealings with the bandits. I don't know anything more."

Yin Chengyu looked down at him, his gaze revealing everything. Zhou Zhiling gradually shrank in his understanding gaze, but thinking of the consequences of confessing his guilt, he gritted his teeth and dared not utter a single word.

"Master Zhou, do you think that since you don't admit it and the Second Prince is already dead, the charge of hoarding troops for rebellion doesn't exist?"

In the face of Zhou Zhiling's horrified eyes, Yin Chengyu said slowly, "Shao Tiangou was desperate and let you take the opportunity to assassinate me. Do you think that with his prudence, he would stay in the Zhou family afterwards?"

"You have already reached a dead end." Yin Chengyu said, "If you admit your guilt now, you can still have a good time. But if you continue to resist, you may end up in the hands of the Dongchang and not even a complete body will be left."

As if to echo his words, Xue Shu, who was standing at the side, glanced at him lightly with a calm expression.

He had the same calm expression when he strangled Fan Hu to death with wire.

Killing a person is like crushing an ant.

Zhou Zhiling's face was as pale as paper, his lips were trembling, and there was a struggle and hesitation in his eyes.

After a long moment of silence, he dropped his head to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "I confess. I beg Your Highness to show mercy."

"Two years ago, Lord Shao's confidant came to me in person and ordered me to recruit soldiers and horses secretly. In order to conceal our activities, we contacted Fan Hu, the bandit leader of Hualin Village in Phoenix Mountain. The Zhou family provided money and food, and Hualin Village was responsible for recruiting soldiers and horses. In total, we recruited more than 7,000 soldiers and horses. On weekdays, they hid in the caves of Phoenix Mountain for training. If they wanted to show up, they would pretend to be bandits."

That’s why there are so many bandits in Wangtuoling.

Zhou Zhiling recalled that he was persuaded by the other party to be a marquis and a general, and he felt regretful. Although the Zhou family's business was big, it was limited to the Huguang area. There were many families more powerful than the Zhou family in the north and even in Wangjing. However, the Zhou family was not ambitious, and there was not a single descendant who passed the imperial examination and entered the officialdom.

My wife's family, the Shaw Group, is somewhat distantly related to the Wangjing Shaw Group, but other than the holiday gifts sent to Beijing during festivals, there is no connection at all.

So when the Zhou family's business in Beijing ran into some trouble and the Shao family offered help, he wanted to seize the opportunity to climb this big tree.

He responded to all the words of the Shao family in Beijing, and the Shao family obviously treated him with respect. Shao Tian even met him in person, and his words showed his support.

When Shao Tian's confidants came to lobby him, saying that Shao Tian wanted to train a group of loyal and reliable guards himself and asked him to help find candidates, he readily agreed.

By the time he realized that what Shao Tian wanted was not an ordinary guard but a well-trained private soldier, it was already too late.

He was in a dilemma and went to look for the other party several times. The other party said that the private soldiers were raised by the second prince. The second prince was deeply favored by the emperor and had a great influence on the court. The prince was afraid that the second prince would endanger his position and had sent people to assassinate him several times. The second prince raised soldiers privately to protect himself, intending to select loyal and reliable elites to serve as guards.

If the plan succeeds, when the Second Prince ascends the throne, the Zhou family will be the heroes. Even if it fails, the few thousand private soldiers will be gone, and the Second Prince will not be able to stir up any trouble.

It's like riding a tiger and it's hard to get off. It's also like being possessed by a ghost.

"Later, I have been raising these soldiers. At first, the Shao family sent people to train them. Later, when they had a good figure, they were supervised by Fan Hu and trained by themselves. I would write to Lord Shao every month to report the situation."

When the news of the second prince's death came later, he wanted to disband these private soldiers.

But Shao Tian refused, saying that he had other uses for the child and asked him to continue raising him. It was not until the prince came to Huguang to provide disaster relief a few days ago that he received a letter from Shao Tian in advance. The other party threatened and tempted him in his heart, and he had to obey his orders.

"I don't have the guts to murder the prince, but Shao Tian has already got the upper hand over me, so I have no choice but to obey." Zhou Zhiling said, seeming to be overwhelmed with grief, tears streaming down his face, and a look of regret.

"Where are those letters? Let me see." Yin Chengyu was unmoved.

Zhou Zhiling had no choice but to wipe away his tears, climb up using his hands and feet, tap on the wall behind the treasure rack, pull out a secret compartment, and take out all the letters stored inside.

"In the beginning, it was my confidants who passed on the messages. Later, all the letters we exchanged were here." There were only five or six letters in total, and they were stamped with my seal.

Yin Chengyu read them one by one, but threw the letter aside: "This is not Shao Tian's handwriting, and this private seal is not right."

Zhou Zhiling was suddenly struck by lightning. He held the letters in his hands and said anxiously, "How could it be? These things were indeed ordered by Lord Shao. The handwriting is also correct. Lord Shao even met me in person..."

As he spoke, his voice faded away and got stuck in his throat.

It was true that Shao Tian had ordered him to do it, but just as he had kept the letters as a backup, Shao Tian had also been on guard against him from the beginning.

Or maybe, all of this was a trap set by Shao Tian to lure him into.

Just as the prince said, regardless of success or failure, the Zhou family will be abandoned without hesitation.

Zhou Zhiling seemed to have been drained of all his energy and spirit. He collapsed and looked pale.

Yin Chengyu had no sympathy. Even though Shao Tian had planned everything, if Zhou Zhiling himself had not been greedy, he would not have ended up in this situation.

Shao Tian's reason for doing so is also easy to understand. He is Yin Chengzhang's man. He uses Zhou's family to raise private soldiers in Huguang. He may not want to rebel, but just to be prepared. However, man proposes, God disposes. When he was reborn, Yin Chengzhang died in Qingzhou, and all of Shao Tian's plans were disrupted.

Shao Tian and Yin Chengzhang were too deeply involved, so even if he switched sides, he would not be trusted. And judging from past life experience, Shao Tian also had a lot of mess behind him.

Once he inherits the throne, he will definitely settle accounts with Shao Tian.

From Shao Tian's point of view, perhaps anyone being emperor would be more advantageous than him being emperor.

So, he decided to go all out and let these private soldiers that he had raised for two years demonstrate their final value.

If successful, Shao Tian can rest assured. If unsuccessful, these letters and Zhou Zhiling's one-sided statement alone will not do him any harm.

However, he had calculated every step, except for Xue Shu who followed him to Huguang.

Yin Chengyu glanced in the direction of Xue Shu with a hint of smile in his eyes.

Being clingy has its advantages.

If Xue Shu wasn't here this time, he might be able to turn the situation around, but it would take some twists and turns and it wouldn't be so smooth.

Xue Shu noticed his gaze, was stunned for a moment, then leaned towards him, and his hand seemed to touch his fingers accidentally. Yin Chengyu curled his fingers, raised his eyes higher, and lowered his hand from the armrest, using the cover of his sleeve to touch his palm.

The force was like that of a kitten, but it made Xue Shu clench his fingers suddenly, his eyes boiling.

However, the instigator had already turned his head and continued to talk to Zhou Zhiling: "Now the city gates are controlled by bandits. I want to leave the city. Do you have any ideas?"

Zhou Zhiling was completely defeated and could not even muster the slightest rebellious intention. He even hated Shao Tian so much that he wished the prince could return to Beijing safely and that he would deal with Shao Tian as well.

He is going to die, Shao Tian, ​​don't think about it.

Zhou Zhiling thought about it very cooperatively, then crawled to Fan Hu's body and took a token from his waist: "The private soldiers are raised in Fenghuang Mountain and are familiar with Fan Hu. His token can go in and out. And I have some face among the private soldiers. If I take the token and leave the city, no one should stop me." He looked a little nervous as he said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince and the others can pretend to be my followers, but not too many people."

Yin Chengyu nodded, looked at his messy appearance, and said, "You go and clean yourself up first, and I will change into some more affordable clothes."

Seeing that he did not blame him, Zhou Zhiling immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to change his clothes.

"Leave four or five elite men to go out of the city together. The rest of you stay in the city to provide support at any time. Tell them to find Jiang Zheng and Qi Wu, gather the troops in the city as soon as possible, and wait for the order to counterattack." Yin Chengyu said.

Xue Shu selected five men to stay, and the remaining servants quickly dealt with Fan Hu's body. They then found a few sets of grey robes worn by servants and quietly dispersed to reunite with Jiang Zheng and others.

After Yin Chengyu and his party changed into servants' clothes, they rode in a carriage and followed Zhou Zhiling to the city gate.