In Li Dingguo's camp, Wu Yang, the magistrate of Gushi County, was cleaning.
In fact, there is nothing much to clean. It’s just wiping the table and sprinkling water on the ground to reduce dust.
Li Dingguo saw that the cleaning was almost done, so he said coldly: "It's OK, you can go out."
Just as Wu Yang was about to leave, a soldier came in with an exquisite envelope: "General, we found an empty envelope in the camp. It is not empty, there is a piece of letter paper inside."
"Envelope?" Li Dingguo took the envelope and examined it carefully.
The envelope is made of porcelain blue paper.
Porcelain blue paper enjoyed the same fame as Xuande porcelain during the Ming Dynasty.
It is made of mulberry paper, dyed dark blue with indigo, and then polished.
Its color is like blue and white porcelain, and its toughness is like silk.
During the Wanli period, a piece of porcelain blue paper could be sold for one or even several coins of silver, which shows how popular it was.
Li Dingguo looked at the exquisite envelope and was a little surprised: "Where did you find it?"
"On the ground in the camp."
At this time, Wu Yang suddenly spoke up: "General Li, I think I have seen this thing."
"When? Where?" Li Dingguo couldn't help asking.
Wu Yang said nothing and looked at the soldier.
Li Dingguo knew what was going on and signaled the man to leave with his eyes.
When they were the only two left in the military tent, Wu Yang suddenly walked towards Li Dingguo.
Li Dingguo was a little panicked.
As a military general, he was certainly not afraid of Wu Yang's assassination, but he was afraid that he would... act recklessly.
Seeing Wu Yang getting closer, Li Dingguo threatened: "If you have something to say, just say it directly. I am upright and honest."
Wu Yang stopped three steps away from Li Dingguo, then clasped his hands and bowed deeply, saying, "To tell you the truth, General Li, I surrendered on the orders of the Jinyiwei, with the purpose of infiltrating the Dashi Army and delivering news to the Ming court."
Li Dingguo stood there in a daze as if he was frozen in time, his eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
He didn't expect that Wu Yang was actually a spy for the Ming court, and he didn't expect the other party to reveal his cards directly.
After being stunned for a moment, Li Dingguo quickly regained his composure. He strode to the weapon rack and reached out to pick up the sword on the rack.
"Since you are a spy of the Ming court, don't blame me for being rude." After saying that, Li Dingguo drew his sword.
The bright sword reflected a cold light under the candlelight, which made people shudder.
This knife has accompanied Li Dingguo for many years, and countless people have died from it.
Wu Yang showed no fear: "General Li, do you know why I want to reveal my identity?"
Li Dingguo was stunned.
Yes, why did Wu Yang confess his identity as a spy?
That doesn't make sense!
Wu Yang continued: "Because I really admire the general..."
"Don't fool me, tell the truth!" Li Dingguo waved his sword and threatened.
Wu Yang stretched his neck and took half a step forward, muttering to himself: "Since General Li started the uprising in Mizhi, he has fought in Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, Sichuan, and later in Jiangxi and Nanzhili. During this time, he defeated Qin Liangyu, Hong Chengchou, Zuo Liangyu, Yang Sichang, Xiong Wencan, Zheng Chongjian, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo and others."
"I value the general's talent and cannot bear to see him die in the chaos of the army, so I took the risk of exposing my identity."
Li Dingguo was very pleased with Wu Yang's flattering words. Although some of his words were exaggerated, they were generally based on facts.
The second half of the sentence immediately made Li Dingguo want to kill him.
Li Dingguo had a cold expression and raised his sword: "You'd better explain yourself clearly. How can you say that you died in the chaos of the army?"
Wu Yang closed his mouth and looked out of the tent door, pretending to be cautious.
Seeing that there was no one outside, he said cautiously: "Because someone in the Dashi Army surrendered to the Ming court and leaked the Dashi Army's plan."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Dashi Army will soon fall into the trap of the Ming Army and be annihilated."
Li Dingguo certainly didn't believe it. He put the knife on Wu Yang's neck and asked sternly, "Who asked you to sow discord? Tell me!"
"Since General Li doesn't believe me, I have nothing to say." After Wu Yang finished speaking, he straightened his neck and closed his eyes, acting as if he was ready to die.
Li Dingguo frowned and changed the topic, "Tell me the name of the spy."
"I have no idea."
"Are you kidding me?" Li Dingguo exerted force with his hands, and the sharp blade cut the skin on Wu Yang's neck, and blood beads slowly slid down the blade.
"I really don't know his name. I only know that the Jinyiwei used 100,000 taels of silver to bribe him. Because the money was not enough, he came to me to raise money."
Li Dingguo frowned and thought about the possibility of this matter.
One hundred thousand taels of silver is indeed not a small amount of money, and most people would certainly not be able to resist such temptation.
If what Wu Yang said was true, then who was the spy?
"Is there any other news?" Li Dingguo continued to ask.
"Yes, to show their sincerity, the Jinyiwei gave him 12,000 taels of silver in advance," Wu Yang replied.
"Then...what is the content of this letter?" Li Dingguo asked as he took out the letter paper from the envelope.
“I don’t know.”
"Thank you, County Magistrate Wu, for your help." Li Dingguo put away the letter and turned to leave.
Wu Yang sighed and asked before Li Dingguo left: "General Li, are you going to tell the King of Daxi about this news?"
"good."
"If General Li leaves, my life will be in danger."
"Huh? Why?" Li Dingguo was very surprised.
"The person who was bribed is in a high position of power and will definitely not admit it, and the King of Daxi will certainly not believe it. The final result is that I was killed and General Li was implicated."
Li Dingguo just stood there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.
What Wu Yang said makes sense.
It was indeed a bit abnormal that he suspected the existence of a spy based on just one word from a surrendered official, without any witnesses or physical evidence.
"What should we do then?" Li Dingguo asked Wu Yang involuntarily.
Wu Yang's eyes flashed with a cunning look, and he whispered: "The most urgent task is to find the 10,000 taels of silver as physical evidence. As far as I know, the silver is the official silver of Guangzhou Prefecture, and it is engraved with the words Guangzhou Prefecture."
Silver, high position and power!
Li Dingguo already had a suspect in his mind: Wang Zhaolin!
......
In Wang Zhaolin’s military tent.
He handed the letter to Zhao Yongnian and threatened, "Don't think I don't know your true identity. Tell me, what's in the letter?"
Zhao Yongnian was shocked, but he said calmly, "Lord Wang, spare my life. I really don't understand."
"Haha," Wang Zhaolin sneered, "The Jinyiwei are good at reconnaissance, arrest, interrogation, gathering military intelligence, and inciting enemy generals to defect. Apart from the Jinyiwei, who else would dare to take the risk and come to the Daxi military camp alone to deliver silver?"
"I've already given you a chance. If you tell me, you might live. If you don't, you'll definitely die."
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