Chapter 299: The Entire Family Was Executed
Heishan Prefecture.
Hao Ren, Wu Yingniang, Su Zhizhi, and Xue Che sat around a small table.
There is a map on the table.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che moved on the map with a few small flags.
Su Zhizhi once again applied the knowledge he had learned at the martial arts school:
"The troops from Hedong, Henan, and Shannan East Road are all heading north to resist the Tiele Khanate. If the troops from Shannan West Road are also withdrawn, then if something happens in the capital, it will be impossible to mobilize reinforcements in a short time."
Xue Che moved the small flag of Shannan West Road to Tingzhou in the upper left corner:
"My father originally planned to have the imperial court transfer troops from Shannan West Road and Guannei Road to the northwest, luring the tiger away from the mountain. But he didn't expect the Tiele Khanate to invade at this time."
When the two children were young, they would move a stool and sit next to the adults, eating fruit while listening to the adults talk.
Now that I'm older, I've started to analyze situations.
Hao Ren nodded.
The plan they agreed upon with Xue Yucheng was to send a false report of war from the northwest to ask for help, thereby diverting some troops from near the capital.
In Lingnan, Murong Di led his army northward and joined forces with Yuan Chi's imperial guards.
Now that the Tiele Khanate had taken this action, not only did the imperial court transfer the surrounding troops, but it also gave Murong Di a legitimate reason to lead his troops north, greatly reducing the resistance along the way. Perhaps he could even take this opportunity to recruit another group of people.
The Montenegrin army's plan to move north went more smoothly than expected.
Hao Ren: "But the Tiele Khanate's invasion may bring other variables. We must seize the opportunity and take action in Chang'an as soon as possible."
They want to get rid of more than just He Tingfang.
Xue Che's eyebrows knitted together. "Furthermore, after taking revenge in Chang'an, we still have to deal with the problem of the Hu people's invasion."
Su Zhizhi heard Xue Che say this and suddenly said:
"The war reports from the northwest are false. But if the Hunye Kingdom and the Tiele Khanate are truly colluding, or if the Hunye Kingdom is tempted by the Tiele Khanate's invasion of Dayu, then there may be Hu people entering the northwest.
Shouldn't Uncle Xue make preparations early?"
Hao Ren sighed, "That's right. That's why the Xue family army won't leave the northwest unless absolutely necessary."
Xue Che became even more worried after hearing this.
Wu Yingniang patted Xue Che's shoulder gently:
"We'll solve each problem one by one. Fighting a war doesn't depend on just one or two people. It's useless to worry alone. When the time comes, we'll face it together."
Xue Che's brows relaxed a little:
"If something really happened in the northwest, my father would definitely send someone to report it."
Wu Yingniang: "Yes, you must trust your father and the Xue family army."
"Also, I think Ah Ren is right. The first thing we need to resolve right now is the situation in Chang'an. Once the surrounding troops are transferred, we must act immediately."
Hao Ren: "It will take the Black Mountain Army nearly two months to reach Chang'an. It will take the military divisions around Gyeonggi Province a month to move north. By the time they are transferred, the Black Mountain Army may not have reached Chang'an yet.
Whether we can take action at that time depends on the situation."
The sudden invasion of the Tiele Khanate disrupted their timing somewhat.
As they were talking, someone knocked on the door.
Bai Xun walked in, his brows furrowed.
"Just got the news that someone robbed the Dali Temple at night and kidnapped He Tingfang."
As soon as the words came out, a look of surprise crossed the faces of the four people in the room.
Bai Xun continued to explain the news in more detail.
The Dali Temple is heavily guarded, but tonight several burly men in black came, and it is said that their number is greater than the guards of the Dali Temple.
Almost all the jailers on duty at the Dali Temple tonight were silenced.
The patrolling imperial guards who got the news wanted to track down the suspect, but the prison was empty and the man in black didn't even leave a body behind, making it impossible to investigate.
Bai Xun: "He Tingfang has committed a capital crime. Who would take such a huge risk to rescue He Tingfang at this time?"
Hao Ren's brow furrowed. "The officials in the capital who previously had close contact with He Tingfang are all under our surveillance. They've all been keeping their distance lately, and it's even more impossible for them to risk their lives to save someone at this time."
Su Zhizhi mentioned the incident of Green Snake Village coming to Black Bandit Mountain:
“Back when the Green Snake Village was just serving as slaves in our village, their leader personally went up the mountain to rescue people because they wanted to capture A Che, who was useful to them.
Someone is saving He Tingfang at this time, they must think that He Tingfang is very useful to them."
Xue Che: "So there is a group of people who want to use He Tingfang, and these people are not afraid of the emperor, and may even want to oppose the emperor."
The candles in the house burned shorter and shorter.
Hao Ren was lost in thought.
After a while, his eyes fell on the map:
"Could it be related to the Hu people?"
…
"useless!"
"They are all a bunch of useless people!"
The lights in Ganyang Palace seemed a little hurried in the lonely night, making Murong Yu's face look even uglier.
Murong Yu smashed the medicine bowl and leaned on the edge of the bed, his chest rising and falling with his breathing.
"What's the point of me keeping you guys? You can't even keep an eye on one person!"
Inside the palace, the Dali Temple Minister and the Shaoqing knelt on the ground and pleaded guilty:
"This matter was caused by the negligence of this humble official. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Lord Yu from the Dali Temple said this, but he was also complaining in his heart.
The Dali Temple is notoriously strict in its security.
There had been prison breakers before, but usually no more than ten people. No matter how skilled you were, you couldn't outnumber them.
But tonight, at least dozens of them came, and even more were lurking in the dark and not taking action, almost killing all the people on duty.
Some of those men in black also died, but their bodies were taken away by their own people.
Who could have imagined that so many people would suddenly show up tonight to break into the prison? And they would do it regardless of the cost, regardless of life or death?
According to a surviving jailer, the men in black kept coming one after another, and their momentum was like splitting a mountain to save their mother.
Murong Yu was so angry that he wanted to throw Lord Yu into jail as well, but he also knew that it was not appropriate for the Dali Temple to change people at this time.
"He Tingfang, I really underestimated you."
Murong Yu's expression changed, his eyes as cold as ice:
"He Tingfang has escaped, but are all the people in the He Mansion still here?"
Lord Yu said, "Madam He, the eldest son, the second son, and the grandchildren are all here. Only He Sanlang is not in the capital. He went away several years ago and has not been heard from since. It is unknown whether he is alive or dead. I have already sent people to investigate."
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. As for the people in the He Mansion—"
Murong Yu squeezed out the words between his continuous coughs:
"Propagate my decree, the guilty minister He Tingfang is guilty of treason and his crimes are clear.
"Order that all registered members of He Tingfang's family be taken to the city government office. They will all be executed at noon three days from now. Their residence will be sealed and their property confiscated. The remaining servants will be exiled three thousand miles away, never to be allowed back!"
All kinds of news are flying around in Chang'an every day.
The news flew into the deep courtyard with the summer evening breeze.
Prince Gong's Mansion, which had been isolated from the outside world for several days, finally heard the news from outside.
The imperial guards on duty at the gate of the palace talked about the affairs of the He Mansion and sighed a lot, which was heard by the people in the palace.
The servants of the palace rushed to report to the prince and princess.
He Yan was still a little sleepy when she just woke up in the morning.
She was helped up from the bed, and six maids served her.
After He Yan finished washing up, a maid brought a newly made dress for He Yan to change into.
She has so many new clothes every year and every season that she can never wear them all.
The jewellery that goes with your clothes should also be carefully selected.
He Yan glanced at the white jade hairpin that the maid took out and shook her head.
"Exchange it for a golden phoenix holding a pearl hairpin."
After cleaning up, Murong Wan came to her mother's yard to have breakfast together.
The servants brought the food.
He Yan had just scooped up a spoonful of scallop porridge when the servant came in panicked:
"Princess, something terrible has happened! I just heard that Secretary He has been imprisoned for treason, and everyone in the He family has been executed and exiled!"
Bang.
The spoon in He Yan's hand broke to the ground.
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