The big ship quietly broke through the water, and the rippling waves were somewhat dazzling. When Yang Yanzong came out of the room, Ji Yuanhao had already changed his clothes.
Next to him was Ayi, Yang Yanzong's trusted confidant who was in charge of criminal law.
Su Ci was seriously injured and in pain after the operation recently, so Yang Yanzong had no time to take care of him. However, Ren's injuries were much lighter. Ji Yuanhao had already teamed up with Ayi to thoroughly interrogate all the captives from their battle in Tu Miao.
Including a masked master whose tendons were cut, several Beirong people, and the bottom cabin was filled with the smell of blood.
Ah Yi came forward to greet him and reported, "Master, the results of the first round of interrogation are out, and no major problems have been found so far."
"These Beirong people have spies in the government office and the army. They learned that the remnants of the Huang and Shi families have been making frequent moves recently, so they specially sent people to keep an eye on our families, intending to wait for an opportunity to act."
"As for the masked survivor, he is a tough nut to crack. He never spoke a word, but from what I see, he seems to be a military man."
Including old calluses on the knuckles and palms, old injuries, standing posture, etc.
Ayi has always been a man of few words, but he is very proficient in criminal law and meticulous. Although this is the result of his first interrogation, he has basically used all his skills to get it 70% to 80% correct.
As everyone knows, since Kun rose to prominence through military merit, his ancestor was the undisputed first general in the founding of the country, with outstanding achievements unmatched. Even after the founding of the country, Taizu specially issued a decree to allow him and the Kun family in the future to keep a palace guard with a quota of 5,000, as a disguised compensation for Kun's ancestor's refusal to be named king.
In other words, these five thousand private troops can be maintained openly by the Kun family.
In addition, the Kun family has deep roots in the military. Due to their ancestors, the Kun family particularly likes to select all kinds of confidants from the military, even including secret guards. There are even rumors that the Kun family also likes to let the secret guards reserve to gain experience in the military first.
So, this expert is most likely from the Kun family?
This was the second clue related to the Kun family that Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao had obtained.
Kun actually also has such a motive.
Yang Yanzong slowly turned the ring on his right thumb and stepped down the ladder. The smell of blood in the cabin was extremely strong, as if it was two different worlds from the deck.
The seven or eight people who had been tortured all hung their heads and appeared unconscious. Yang Yanzong did not continue going down. He stood on the ladder and stared at those people. His sight finally paused on the masked master.
At that time, these masked masters were surprised for a moment when they saw them, and then immediately joined forces with the Beirong people to fight the enemy. They were very ferocious, with the momentum of destroying both themselves and others. It was much more difficult to keep them alive than to kill them. The situation was urgent at that time. This last one was saved by the joint attack of him and Ji Yuanhao.
He said to Ji Yuanhao: "Our big ship is moving slowly on the Fengshui River, so it is not inconspicuous."
Yang Yanzong immediately turned his head and instructed Azhao: "Madam's injuries are serious. Don't move easily for the time being. This boat is very bumpy. We will stop for a few days in Yiyang. Let Madam rest for a while and replenish water and food on the boat."
This is a cover.
When the group returned to the deck, Yang Yanzong said calmly, "Let this man go."
"Make someone follow."
…
The dock market in the suburbs of Yiyang was still filled with the lingering noise of the hustle and bustle, with cars and people busy returning to the port, but the residential area where Yang Ji and the other manor where they were temporarily staying was located had already been immersed in the tranquility of the night.
In this twin house, Su Yan was squatting not far from the main courtyard on her side. She was on duty now, sitting in the shadow of the eaves. She looked up and saw that the lights in Su Ci's bedroom not far away were off, so she squatted back with peace of mind.
She leaned against a dusty beam with one leg crossed, chewing on a piece of dogtail grass that she had just picked, but she was thinking of Ji Chengtan.
Su Ci's condition was stable and she would recover with proper rest. As a sister, she felt relieved and became lively again.
Eh, but when she thought of Ji Chengtan, she felt complicated.
After returning that day, Ji Chengtan didn't know how he told Ren, and Ren promised him to keep the secret. Anyway, according to observation, even Ji Yuanhao should not know about it.
Oh, what a bad fate.
Anyway, she still resolutely rejected him!
It’s best if he doesn’t come to disturb her sister, otherwise she will definitely not forgive him!
Su Yan waved her fist.
"What did you do!"
Yang Yanzhen flipped over the wall and patted her shoulder from behind. Su Yan was annoyed: "Xiao San'er, do you want to die? Do you know that scaring people to death is a way of life?"
"No way, you are so brave."
He glanced at her sideways and casually gave her one of the big braised pork buns he had just found in the kitchen.
Su Yan snorted, feeling despised, but she rolled her eyes and laughed, "Hey, there's a new concubine, how do you feel about it?"
This was the news Su Yan got from Su Ci. It was said that each of the three brothers of the Yang family had one. At that time, she was so angry that she cursed the old hag Yan, but that did not stop her from making fun of Yang Yanzhen now.
She touched his shoulder and gave him a look that showed he understood what was going on. When Yang Yanzhen heard that, she immediately looked constipated. She couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Brother, you wouldn't be..." No way?
What is this expression? ? ?
Her eyes slid down uncontrollably to three inches below his navel. She blinked, looking incredulous. No way! No way! He is already unable to do this at such a young age? ?
"Su Yan, what the hell is that look in your eyes?!"
Yang Yanzhen jumped up immediately, "I didn't even ask for it, I asked her to sweep the yard!!"
After clarifying himself, he stared at her speechlessly, "You, are you still a woman?"
"Why not?"
Su Yan stuffed the bun into her mouth casually and said proudly, "I can ask your sister to marry me."
Yang Yanzhen complained: "With someone like you, how can I marry you?"
Su Yan snorted: "If I can't find one, I'll just pick one from the refugees. If they don't obey me, I'll kick them. Anyway, as long as they can give birth to a child, it's fine!"
Yang Yanzhen couldn't help but give him a thumbs up: "You can do it."
He was convinced.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you two doing? Come down quickly!"
While the two were bragging and complaining to each other, Ah Chuan came up from below and whistled, one long and one short: "Those who were originally assigned to Group B, come here, the target has successfully escaped from prison! He is escaping towards Lianggu Mountain, act according to the original plan immediately! "
Achuan was Yang Yanzong's confidant who was in charge of intelligence tracking. He was first-rate in the world in terms of lightness skills. He descended from the ground like a wisp of light smoke and waved to Yang Yanzhen and Su Yan to come down quickly. The work had come, and their expressions immediately became solemn.
"Track this person and make sure you don't miss the target, and don't let him find you. If anything happens, Yanzhen, you can act accordingly."
"good!"
Yang Yanzhen nodded and turned to look at Su Yan and other team members, "Let's go."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Yang Yanzhen and the others were also very good at martial arts. Those who could join the detective team were the best selected from hundreds. However, compared with the target this time, the masked master who was one of the top masters in both martial arts and martial arts, most of them were slightly lacking.
But it doesn't matter, they have a strategy, tracking in a roundabout way, dividing into several teams to encircle and tail. Team support is different from individual combat, and now the man is seriously injured, and the hearing on one side of his ear is damaged after torture, which will minimize the opponent's advantage.
Yang Yanzhen immediately led the team and followed the secret code all the way across Lianggu Mountain, circling the four cities of Dahuang in turn. They gradually discovered that this man was going in circles.
In the dark night, with heavy breathing, the man did not leave in the end, but sneaked into an empty room in the inn to rest.
The next day he found some medicine and bandaged the wound.
Achuan and the others were very calm and did not show any impatience at all. They had been in this business for a long time and knew that such people were often very cautious before returning to their old nest.
This man went around in circles for four or five days until Su Ci's injuries had passed the most painful stage. Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao reboarded the ship and returned to Yangdu. After waiting for another two days, he finally took action.
He was very cautious and looked around from time to time that night. Achuan immediately ordered most of the people to stop and stop following. He personally brought several companions whose light body skills were comparable to his own and quietly fell behind this person.
In the end, this person returned to Fengchuan and entered Huang Dewei's military camp.
Yang Yanzhen, Su Yan and others followed the secret signal and looked at the camp where Huang Dewei was temporarily stationed. He couldn't help but sneered: "Great, Huang Dewei also came to visit my sister-in-law!"
At this point, they should have turned around and reported back, because Achuan contacted the spy in the camp, and the spy saw with his own eyes that this man was secretly brought into the camp of Huang Dewei's confidants under the cover of night.
But Achuan hesitated for a moment and felt that the matter was of great importance at the moment, so he decided to keep an eye on it for a few more days.
The spies in the camp replaced their identities, and finally, they even arranged for some brothers to enter the camp for observation.
But who would have thought that after waiting for so long, an unexpected situation would occur.
This man recuperated in the camp of Huang Dewei's confidants for three days. On the fourth night, he sneaked out again. If you don't watch the back, you might not guess that he had been hiding all these days.
Even someone from the trusted camp who went to the medical camp to get medicine for injuries turned out to be this man's accomplice.
The man looked back and left Fengchuan like a wisp of smoke, headed straight for Yizhou, and finally entered a villa in the suburbs.
This villa ostensibly belongs to a local wealthy businessman, but according to in-depth investigation by Achuan and others, it was found that the owner behind the scenes was actually Kun!
What a roundabout way of putting the blame on others!
Everyone was furious. After Achuan arranged for some people to stay behind, he immediately returned to Yangdu to report to Yang Yanzong.
At this time, Yang Yanzong, carrying the urgent orders he had left behind, slowly moved westward, but was about to arrive in Yangdu.
"Kun's?"
Now all the evidence points to the Kun family. Yang Yanzhen was furious. "Brother, the Kun family is going too far."
Logically, he should have made a judgment, but for some reason, Yang Yanzong always had a hint of hesitation in his heart. He pondered for a long time, so long that Yang Yanzhen, Achuan and others looked at each other, and Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao looked at each other.
Neither of them spoke.
For some reason, even at this point, the two were unwilling to make a final judgment.
In fact, it all comes down to the fact that the two of them have never been able to clear the last bit of doubt in their hearts. Is the old emperor so innocent?
This is a serious matter!
But the old emperor that the two knew and understood was never a kind person. This emperor who had been on the throne for more than 40 years not only had the aloofness and indifference of an emperor, but also, when necessary, he would do anything to achieve his goals.
For example, framing the third king, the sixth king, and the seventh king.
After repeated efforts, we finally succeeded.
This was what Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao experienced personally.
So this time, the old emperor was really lenient and did nothing?
The two could never convince themselves to believe it.
…
And just at this moment, someone from the Kun family came.
The visitor was Kun Tai, the cousin of Kun's uncle and Queen Kun.
As for Uncle Kun, he wanted to come in person, but he couldn't get away. Kun Tai dressed in a black cloak that night and secretly asked someone to contact Yang Yanzong, and the two sides met in secret.
"General Yang, General Ji, please do not fall for our emperor's vicious scheme to sow discord between you two!!"
Kuntai looked resentful.
In fact, if possible, the core members of the Kun family who knew about the situation would want to kill the old emperor immediately!
The Kun family was not so incompetent. Uncle Kun and Queen Kun, who had been paying close attention to the matter, finally realized that something was wrong.
"We originally had some plans for Shangyang Palace, but unexpectedly there was a traitor. This person colluded with our Majesty both internally and externally, and made this plan with the intention of framing our Kun family!"
"We are investigating and will find this person soon!"
Yang Yanzong had been keeping his hand on his lips, not saying a word. Then he suddenly changed his mind and asked, "Supervision Office?"
"Eunuch Zhang? Is he your man?" He suddenly remembered the first time he and Uncle Kun teamed up to frame Zhang Boqian. The eunuch Zhang, the attendant of the Supervisory Office and Tong Jie'en's confidant, was present at the time.
Kuntai's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm: "What did General Yang say?"
Yang Yanzong smiled faintly and didn't mention it again.
Kuntai was very excited and even swore an oath, not caring about the face of a child from a top aristocratic family.
However, Yang Yanzong did not believe a single word he said. How could he be a human being? Who is the ghost? have no idea.
However, the only thing that was certain was that, at this point, he had roughly figured out the cause of the accident that had happened to Su Ci and Ren's mother and son.
Yang Yanzong couldn't help but sneer.
He and Ji Yuanhao exchanged a glance, and a hint of suppressed anger and ridicule flashed in their eyes.
Afterwards, Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao respectively issued orders to find out what Kun had done during this period. No matter what, it can be spread to the vicinity of Yangdu and the northern border, all people and things related to the Kun family.
And what clues did the old emperor have? The latter can start from the Ombudsman Department.
In addition, Yang Yanzong gave another order to Achuan and Yang Yanzhen, asking them to send someone to the villa in Yizhou and go deep into it if necessary. The key point was whether that person was still there.
Achuan discussed it with Yang Yanzhen, and finally Yang Yanzhen led his team straight to Yizhou.
The building complex of this village is actually not very big. The fellow guards told them that they could be sure at a glance that the man did not come out.
Yang Yanzhen personally led people in.
They searched quietly and were extremely vigilant, but after the search, they found that the man was gone!
——Is there a secret passage? !
Just when everyone was thinking about the problem in the most complicated way with serious expressions, Su Yan suddenly sniffed, "Do you smell... a bad smell?"
Everyone was standing in an open space near the kitchen. She was standing in the downwind position. For some reason, she always felt something stinky, a bit like the smell of rotten meat.
She has had a very good nose since she was a child. Su Ci already has a very good nose, and she is even better than her sister. As long as something edible is hidden, she can find it no matter where it is hidden. Yang Yanzhen knew this, and because she loved to show off and he couldn't eat it, he angrily called her a dog nose!
When Yang Yanzhen heard this, he perked up, looked at the people around him, and immediately thought of another possibility.
Everyone immediately moved over, sniffing left and right, and finally it was Su Yan who carried the big banner and climbed up the small slope behind the house following the wind.
Here, they finally found the man.
A hand was faintly visible under the loose soil, but the owner of the hand had quietly turned into a corpse.
Suicide.
Judging from the degree of decay of the corpse, he should have died on the night he sneaked into the manor.
Moreover, he also set up a simple mechanism so that after his suicide, the soil would be turned over and his body would be buried. This location was very remote and even the people in the village might not know about it.
This reversal is really jaw-dropping.
How could such a top master of the time die in such a miserable way? !
After a long silence, Yang Yanzhen said, "Okay, pack up and go back."
They came secretly, and they returned even more quietly, not even daring to touch the original guards.
After hearing this, Yang Yanzong sneered.
He and Ji Yuanhao interrogated those Beirong people again.
Yang Yanzong didn't waste any words. He wasn't here to listen to clichés. Without any new confessions, he simply drew his sword and chopped off the head of one of them.
Blood splattered, and heads rolled to the ground. He killed six people in a row, and only the last one was left. He glanced at the man and said calmly, "When I was fighting in the north, I heard that there was an old custom in the north. When a person dies, the head and arms can be cut off, but the internal organs cannot be separated from the body. Otherwise, they will be rejected by the Eternal Heaven forever, and they will not be able to return to their tribe when they are alive, and they will have no place to go after they die, and they will never be reborn."
He said this in the Beirong language.
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, the door opened, and several hungry dogs half a man's height ran in. Ji Yuanhao smiled coldly, kicked away the bloody head, and casually cut open the chest and abdomen of a corpse. The vicious dogs immediately ran up, barking wildly, and started to eat it.
After the sixth body was taken down from the rack, he finally broke down, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"
The man stared at the vicious dog licking his lips, closed his eyes for a while, and finally said: "We have been in contact with the Huang family for a long time. You know Huang Shimao, right?"
Know.
Of course I know!
How could I not know?
Regardless of whether it was voluntary or not, Huang Shimao was indeed getting deeper and deeper into the trap. He should be credited with the primary contribution to the development of such a large Beirong spy network.
So, does the old emperor know about it?
If discovered by investigation, the old emperor would certainly uproot it.
Kill two birds with one stone? Kill two birds with one stone?
The logic finally made sense. Yang Yanzong threw down the blood-stained sword and said to Ji Yuanhao, "Next, it's up to you, Brother Ji."
Yang Yanzong did not forget that Ji Yuanhao had spies deep into the prison, and there must be many spies infiltrated in other places in the palace.
In that case, let's leave this matter to him.
Yang Yanzong did not plan to use his secret agents.
"For example, a secluded well, a remote place, or an ice storage."
Yang Yanzong thought carefully and remembered the eunuch Zhang from the Supervisory Office.
Ji Yuanhao stared at him and curled his lips, but did not refuse.
After a few days, Ji Yuanhao quickly set his sights on the ice storage. On the sixth day of the next day, a group of palace maids and eunuchs who had violated the palace rules were executed. People died in the palace every once in a while. It was not easy to survive in the palace, especially since the relationship between the old emperor and Empress Kun had been turbulent recently, and there were even more deaths.
A total of eighteen palace maids and eunuchs were executed that day, but nineteen bodies were dragged to the mass grave.
The eunuch's face was disfigured and his body was bloated, as if he had been waterboarded to death. However, Yang Yanzong found a familiar scar between his thumb and index finger.
He was a man with a very good memory. He remembered that when he and Eunuch Zhang were blaming Zhang Boqian together, the other party was wearing a jade ring on his right hand, with half of an old scar visible under the ring.
The scar was not big, just shallow, but Eunuch Zhang could see it very clearly because he was holding the sheepskin book in his hand at the time.
Yang Yanzong smiled coldly and ordered his men to cut off the hand, put it in a lime box and give it to Uncle Kun.
A day later, Uncle Kun wrote back, and the other party finally admitted that he had originally wanted to invite Su Ci and Ren's mother and son to visit his villa in Yunzhou.
This point has evidence, because before this, Achuan had found out that Kun's family had a farm in Yunzhou and did suddenly do some cleaning and shopping activities.
So, the one who took advantage of the situation and gave the order to leave no one alive was the old emperor? !
…
That night, Yang Yanzong returned to his room.
It was already past the second watch when he returned to the room. Su Ci had been recuperating from an injury recently, so he went to bed as soon as it got dark.
Her injuries were better, but the bandages still had to be removed.
She was in very good spirits, as if she had fully recovered into the cunning and lively Su Ci. But in fact, she had been eating and drinking little and taking medicine all day, and had lost too much blood. Her injuries were serious. Her face was not only pale, but also a little yellow.
Yang Yanzong looked at her and ordered people to put away all the mirrors.
This girl is actually very vain. Seeing herself like this, she must be depressed.
He wrote a letter to the emperor, saying that his wife was seriously injured. The old emperor was more sympathetic and allowed him to travel slowly and return slowly. He could finish guarding the northern border before the end of October and return to Yangdu to resume his post.
He is truly a kind and compassionate old emperor!
It turned out to be the old emperor! !
Yang Yanzong sneered. He really didn't have much loyalty. If it was absolutely necessary, what would happen if he became a traitor? !
How can a grown man not be able to protect his own woman? !
This time, he really hit the sore spot.
In addition, Yang Yanzong was able to keenly sense the old emperor's attitude towards him from the death order he gave to his wife.
He sneered, fearing that his previous speculation, that leaving him and Ji Yuanhao alone, and perhaps making appropriate cuts to create a situation where many parties would check and balance each other to make it easier for the young emperor to rule the country in the future, was now hopeless.
Okay, okay!
What a great Emperor!
Neither the old emperor nor the Kun family are good people. In fact, the Kun family may not be that good either. It would not be surprising if they fall out in the future, but we will talk about it later.
Yang Yanzong lowered his eyes coldly, and the whole room was silent. After a moment, he raised his eyes and said, "Pack your luggage for Madam, and return to Yangdu tomorrow."
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