Chapter 67: Special event triggered, spy one...
Shen Zhiwei's idea of moving thermal weapons was just a sudden impulse.
She was actually still hesitating. First of all, once this gap was opened, it could never be closed. By then, the battlefield would be filled with artillery fire, broken limbs and debris would be scattered everywhere, and the casualties would be much greater than in the current war.
There will also be many subsequent problems. Just dealing with the wound infection caused by gunpowder will give Shen Zhiwei a headache for a while. Judging from the current level of medical care, there is a high possibility that the infected wounds on the battlefield will become a terminal illness.
After returning, Shen Zhiwei thought for a long time and decided not to make things like gunpowder for the time being. He would wait until the world was unified. Now it was a situation where people were fighting against each other, so it would be better to save brutal things like hot weapons to fight foreigners.
However, foreigners nowadays may not be able to withstand a beating, and can easily sweep the world with steel swords and iron armor.
Shen Zhiwei temporarily suppressed this thought, but not completely. She asked Yanxia to find some alchemists. These days, there was not even Taoism, and there were few alchemists.
Alchemists can make elixirs, Shen Zhiwei thought. If that doesn't work, then he can find a witch. Witches and doctors are inseparable, so what's the difference between a healer and an alchemist? An alchemist may not be as knowledgeable about alchemy as a healer.
Shen Zhiwei was thinking about whether to do something big and install rocket propulsion for her great cause of unification, but some of her ministers wanted to hold her back.
Recently, a voice appeared in Jingchang City.
That is, there are voices of treacherous flatterers in the court. At first, these treacherous flatterers were alluding to Wen Tao, and later they talked about Gui Yang. They believed that both of them were not good people. The former had a lot of cronies in the court, and the latter was close to the knights-errant. His style of doing things had the flavor of a street knight. He was cruel and wanted to kill people if he disagreed with him. It was obvious that they were not good people.
Not long after the two voices emerged, someone mentioned Hu Youan again.
Hu Youan attacked many cities in succession and captured several important cities in the north. In many people's minds, she was regarded as a general who protected the country. People said she was a traitor, but most people did not agree with this view at first.
Later, some people talked about Hu Youan's background, saying that she was born a criminal slave and her father had risked his life to rebel.
"Who knows, maybe Hu Youan wants to overturn her family's verdict, or maybe she wants to follow in her father's footsteps?"
"Our current king is not the previous king. If the General of the Central Army truly harbored ulterior motives, how could the king still favor her so highly? Can you see into people's hearts better than the king?"
"Your Majesty is in Jingchang, and the General of the Household is in Yongming. They are so far apart that it's inevitable that they will be deceived by villains."
"I still don't believe what you say. The General of the Central Army has just made great achievements, and you are speaking ill of him behind his back and spreading rumors. Are you spies from another country?"
"Who are you calling a spy? My family has lived in Jingchang for generations, and we've served the Zhou Emperor ever since our ancestors! We are loyal to the King!"
Several people who were eating and talking in a restaurant started arguing, and some of the hot-tempered ones even started swinging their fists.
If you don't understand reason, then I know a thing or two about fighting! You deserve a beating for slandering loyal ministers and good generals!
Wen Tao had served as an official under the Sikou, so she was very sensitive to criminal cases in Jingchang City. People would also take the initiative to report to her and tell her what kind of cases had happened recently.
So when fights broke out frequently in Jingchang City, Wen Tao was the first to notice something was wrong.
"You mean, in the past three days, there have been six fights in restaurants and three assaults in the streets? Are the people of Jingchang so irritable lately?"
Wen Tao looked down at the herbal tea in her hand. The weather had been hot recently and she was a little irritable, but she wouldn't go so far as to start a fight with someone over a disagreement.
Moreover, most of the common people in Jingchang City have attended classes, know a few words, and understand some principles. Generally speaking, they will not fight easily. Since the academy was established here, they have learned from the common people in Yongming City to convince others with reason and put honesty first.
How could such an abnormal phenomenon suddenly occur?
"Have you ever asked why?"
Wen Tao asked the official under Sikou who came to tell her the news.
The clerk bowed and said, "I have questioned them one by one. Most of them started quarreling over court affairs, and then lost control and resorted to violence."
Even though Wen Tao prided himself on having a lot of experience, he was still a little confused at this moment.
How do the people of Jingchang City care about the court affairs?
"Grand Master, I have heard from the common people that some believe there are treacherous officials in the court. Many believe that the General will overturn the verdict on behalf of her clan in the future."
The clerk did not directly say who the treacherous person was that the common people were talking about. He just pointed out one of the contradictions, and Wen Tao understood it as soon as he heard it.
She sighed slightly. When talking about treacherous people, her name must have been on the list. However, her name did not cause any conflict among the common people. Instead, Hu Youan became the source of the conflict.
"The General fought for the country and achieved great success. With such great achievements, there's nothing wrong with her wanting to talk about her family history, let alone overturning the verdict for her clan. Not to mention that this is human nature, let's just say the General has done nothing wrong. How can they label him a traitor? There must be someone deliberately trying to sow discord!"
Wen Tao didn't quite understand the common people's thoughts, but she knew that people's hearts were fickle, and so were the common people.
There are good people and bad people among the common people, and the same is true among the nobles.
The person who can stir up such a commotion in the city is definitely not a commoner. There must be someone behind this.
Who is it?
"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true. The General of the Central Army has devoted himself to the country and has absolutely no second thoughts. This person is spreading rumors among the common people and must have ulterior motives. He is most likely a spy from another country, trying to alienate the General of the Central Army from the king."
The petty official had served under the Sikou for many years and had encountered all kinds of criminals. He could see clearly what people were like. Without thinking too much, he knew that someone was manipulating this matter behind the scenes.
But it’s useless for the subordinates to understand. The outcome depends entirely on the king’s attitude.
The clerk spoke briefly and to the point, and Wen Tao felt that he was a talented person.
So I asked the other party if he wanted to go out for a walk.
The high-ranking official positions in Jingchang have basically been filled, and there are no more vacancies after the imperial examination. If you stay in Jingchang, your chances of success will not be that great.
On the other hand, outside, new pieces of land are waiting for people to take over. There is no telling how many vacancies are waiting for newcomers. As long as they can make some achievements locally and return to the court with their merits in the future, they can compete with others for high-ranking officials.
The clerk bowed gratefully and said, "I come from a poor family and have limited abilities. For many years, I have had no way to serve my country. Today, I have received the Prime Minister's favor, so I dare not refuse. I will simply obey your orders."
He asked for this errand runner qualification just to catch Dazai's eye. Now that he got what he wanted, how could he say a word of refusal?
Wen Tao ordered someone to take the clerk to the Ministry of Personnel. Recently, the Ministry of Personnel was looking for officials who were willing to go to Bian or Beidi to serve as officials, and the clerk would be very welcome there.
If the minor official had gone there alone, it would have been uncertain where he would have been assigned. Now that he has someone from Wen Tao leading the way, his future is bright.
Wen Tao looked at the clerk's back and felt a strange sense of meaning in her heart.
She is a treacherous and corrupt official. She has many cronies in the court now, and she really looks like a treacherous and corrupt official.
It's just that she was wholeheartedly working for the king and never thought of using her former classmates and friends for personal gain. The Wen family didn't need those, so she couldn't be considered a qualified traitor.
Wen Tao smiled self-deprecatingly. Her junior sister Qiong Yu was the number one scholar in the first imperial examination. This status made the status of the Wen family and Wen Tao even higher. If Qiong Yu rose to prominence in the future, most of the people in the court would be related to Wen Tao.
By then, she will become a treacherous villain even if she is not already one.
Wen Tao thought that she had to go out and avoid the limelight. Also, for the sake of everyone's lives, the Wen family had to keep a low profile.
Wen Tao is self-aware and knows that her situation is very dangerous. She is only one step away from being called a treacherous flatterer. However, Hu Youan is definitely not a treacherous flatterer. Hu Youan is a true lone minister. He has no family to help him, no teachers or friends to support him, and he has never promoted any subordinates. Chiwei was under her command before, and now he has a good relationship with her, but Chiwei was discovered by Gui Yang and recommended by Wen Tao.
Therefore, when discussing treacherous officials who are harming the country, those who specifically bring up Hu Youan's name definitely have bad intentions.
No matter who it is, if you wait a little longer, you will always be able to catch the other party's tail.
Wen Tao turned around and put the matter aside for the time being. She did not report it to Shen Zhiwei, mainly because the matter had no beginning or end, and Wen Tao was not in a position to report it.
However, Shen Zhiwei still knew about it, because the Sikou had to submit memorials to Shen Zhiwei regularly.
The Sikou is now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. The original Sikou should now be called the Minister of Justice. As one of the six ministers, he should inform the king of the strange things that happened in Jingchang City.
So Shen Zhiwei saw a thick stack of criminal records, all of which were recent fights in the city.
Nothing serious happened.
There were many injuries but no one was killed, so it wasn't a big deal.
If there hadn't been a lot of fights recently, the Minister of Justice wouldn't have reported it.
Shen Zhiwei didn't take it seriously at first, it was just a fight. When there are more people, there will be more friction. It's hot in the summer, and everyone is restless and irritable, so it's inevitable that something will happen.
She originally didn't want to pay too much attention to this matter, but she didn't expect that the frequent fights would even trigger a special mission!
The special mission is called: Spy One.
If Shen Zhiwei couldn't tell that someone was playing tricks on her, she would be a fool.
The spies incited the masses, and then the masses started fighting. Shen Zhiwei clicked his tongue, wondering which wicked person came up with such a way to destroy unity.
She almost thought that Gui Yang was causing trouble.
But when I think about it, it shouldn't be Gui Yang. If it was Gui Yang, the more frequent incidents would not be fights, but murders.
She believed that Gui Yang could definitely incite public opinion to the point where civilians wanted to kill people.
Thinking of Gui Yang, Shen Zhiwei glanced at the sentence mentioned by the Minister of Justice in the memorial. When the common people talked about the treacherous officials in the court, they mentioned the father and daughter of the Wen family.
This sentence was written by the Minister of Justice in a corner, seemingly as a supplementary explanation, but its essence was to test Shen Zhiwei's attitude on this matter.
What could Shen Zhiwei's attitude be? She wasn't afraid of someone usurping the throne.
Although she has given up and doesn't plan to do the main quest, she won't resist if someone really wants her country to be destroyed.
So Shen Zhiwei casually turned the page without paying much attention to it, and finally handed the task of finding out the truth of the matter to Wen Tao.
The person who caused the trouble has involved the Wen family. Let the Wen family investigate for themselves who is so bold as to harm her gold card.
Wen Tao never dreamed that the king would trust her so much!
The king asked her to investigate which country's spies were causing trouble. This shows his complete trust in the Wen family!
Wen Tao was deeply moved. When she heard those rumors, she felt that she was a treacherous villain, but the king did not believe them at all.
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