Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 445 Tuqiong (two in one)

Gu Xun glanced at Yan Lingji who was groaning, thought about it for a while and then comforted:
  "Don't be anxious, it won't be long before the show starts."

"What should happen will eventually happen. Since we have chosen to actively get involved in this whirlpool, we will not be spared."

"A good show? What good show can there be?" Yan Lingji curled her lips and expressed doubts about Gu Xun who made many gaffes.

"It must be the excitement you like to see. When the time comes, whether they are hiding or covering up, they will all show their faces."

"I hope so." In response, Yan Lingji just waved her hand slightly bored.

"By the way, shopkeeper, you've been treating people in nearby gangs a lot these days. Are you sure they will deal with you again?"

"Ha." Gu Xun couldn't help but sneer after hearing this, "Do you think those gang members are all heroes who uphold justice and uphold integrity, and must repay kindness?"

"Besides, I still received the money, so it doesn't count as a favor to them. By then, it will be good if these people's knife-wielding hands can slow down by three points."

"That's good." Yan Lingji raised her palm, and a weak flame rose from her palm, flickering brightly and dimly, "It will save me the trouble of making a move when the time comes."

If this group of people really stopped because of Gu Xun, Yan Lingji would be embarrassed to find fault.

At this time, Sima Shang, who was dressed in military uniform and armed with armor, came from the east of the road with a group of soldiers and a group of scattered Jianghu people.

Gu Xun narrowed his eyes and looked at the group of people with a smile.

It's not unusual for Sima Shang and others to appear. Gu Xun's stall is on the main road. These people have been passing by frequently these days, but what is different from usual is that today many of these people are lucky, and some It was even difficult to walk. It was obvious that he was fighting with others, and judging from the situation, the enemy's strength was not bad.

These days, Sima Shang's people often have conflicts with local gangs, and they have never suffered such a big loss.

"What? Did you find someone?" Gu Xun sat on a chair and asked with a smile as Sima Shang passed by.

Sima Shang had to stop when he heard this - he actually didn't want to have any interaction with Gu Xun. In his opinion, the other party was an out-and-out source of turmoil. A stable and calm state is the most perfect.

However, since Gu Xun took the initiative to speak, he had no choice but to ignore him, otherwise he might offend the other party. Moodiness was also one of Gu Xun's labels in the intelligence.

"Mr. Gu is also interested in this matter?" Sima Shang cupped his fists and replied politely.

"No, just ask." Gu Xun raised his hand and said with a stern smile, "Looking at the appearance of these wounded people, they all have injuries to their muscles and bones. They should be masters of external martial arts... What you are looking for these days is armor. The door man."

Sima Shang's eyes flickered, and he felt awe-inspiring - it seems that Mr. Gu, who seems to be a loner, also has channels to obtain information. He actually knows that the armored sect has sent people to Handan... In fact, he is also the national master of the Qin State. , it’s strange not to know anything.

"Mr. Gu's medical skills are really superb. He can see through the injuries of my subordinates at a glance." Sima Shang deliberately avoided talking about the Armored Sect and instead praised Gu Xun's medical skills. In order to change the topic more thoroughly, he also requested, "Why don't you, Mr. Gu, help them diagnose and treat them?"

"It's not necessary." Gu Xun smiled and waved his hand to refuse, "It's just some ordinary trauma, nothing to look at. Just put some medicine on it when you get back."

After saying that, Gu Xun ignored Sima Shang's intention to change the subject, and forcefully brought it back and asked, "Looking at you like this, no one has been arrested?"

"..." Seeing that Gu Xun was unwilling to give up the topic, Sima Shang could only answer him helplessly, "Of course he was caught, but he was secretly escorted away first."

"Caught them all?" Gu Xun became more interested and asked with great interest.

"...Except for the few who were killed on the spot, most of them have been caught. There are still a few who are being hunted. They probably won't be able to escape for long." Sima Shang was a little lucky that the information Gu Xun asked for was not very important, he revealed. It's okay to go out, otherwise it will really embarrass him.

"It seems that the ceremony didn't come... Is there any familiar master?" Gu Xun rubbed his chin, muttered a few words, then raised his head and continued to ask.

Sima Shang slowly shook his head, "This... there are no very famous masters, but there are a few people who have reached the level of hard work. I also spent a lot of effort before I managed to win."

"That's it...hey!" Gu Xun nodded thoughtfully when he heard the words and said no more words.

Seeing this, Sima Shang hugged his fists and said goodbye, and quickly left with his people.

………………

At the same time, there was a court meeting of Zhao State, and hundreds of officials lined up on both sides of the main hall - actually a hundred officials, which means barely twenty or thirty people. Not many officials were qualified to attend this kind of small court meeting on weekdays. A considerable number of these dozens of people are nobles and princes, with titles but no official status.

Zhao Wangqian, dressed in royal robes and wearing a tiara, stood high on the gold-decorated throne. He looked at the ministers below, with some impatience and boredom on his slightly younger face.

Normally, he would not hold court meetings every day, but every other day, but recently because of the disputes surrounding Li Mu, he had to work overtime to attend court meetings.

Although the culprit should be Guo Kai, the Prime Minister who started the trouble, Zhao Wangqian still subjectively blamed Li Mu, which made him even more unhappy with him.

"My lords, if you don't have anything important to report, just leave. I'm a little tired." At this time, the ministers had already had a round of quarrels. Basically, it was still about those things, those people, and those words. Zhao Wangqian He was not interested in paying any attention to him for the time being, and he wanted to retreat with an impatient tone.

However, at this time, Guo Kai, his most favored Prime Minister, stepped forward and bowed his hands, obviously having something to say.

Regarding Guo Kai, Zhao Wangqian was extraordinarily patient and asked softly, "What does the Prime Minister have to say?" "I am reporting to the King that I want to impeach General Li Mu."

"Uh..." Zhao Wangqian looked at him puzzled, haven't you been impeaching me during this time? You seemed to have spoken just now, right?
  Guo Kai ignored Zhao Wangqian's doubtful gaze, his small eyes widened, and he said solemnly:
  "Li Mu, as a guard general at the northern border, ignored the lives of the soldiers, had an affair with the wolf clan, and secretly colluded with the wolf clan. This is a heinous crime. He is very likely to have disobedient intentions. Please punish him severely!"

As soon as this was said, everyone in the court was stunned for a moment.

Li Mu...had an affair with the wolf clan? Are you making trouble? Not to mention that it is impossible for him to do such a thing, even if he is willing, the uncivilized savages of the wolf tribe are not willing to accept him!
  In the battle in the North that year, the Wolf Clan suffered more than 100,000 casualties. This blood feud was all blamed on Li Mu. The Wolf Clan, a group of barbarians with generally developed minds and simple limbs, only wanted to see Li Mu die, and the rest... It's impossible. Maybe some smart people know that it would be better for the wolf clan to recruit Li Mu to surrender, but most people still won't accept it.

After a moment of silence, the hall was filled with uproar and shouts arose. People who supported Li Mu began to refute Guo Kai regardless of their manners. Their faces turned red and their necks were thick with anger. On the contrary, it was the center of the incident, General Li Mu. Standing at the first place on the right side of the ministers with a calm face, he bowed his head quietly and said nothing.

When Zhao Wangqian heard this, he started making trouble again, and his brows were squeezed together. The servants waiting on the side understood the situation and yelled at the ministers, gradually calming down the chaos.

Seeing that there was no sound, Zhao Wangqian looked at Guo Kai, who also explained to the ministers in time:

"According to the truth, General Li Mu has been secretly communicating with the Wolf Clan over the years. Although the truth has no evidence to prove that there is military collusion between the two parties, there is enough evidence to prove that the two parties have business dealings."

"General Li Mu secretly smuggled and sold a large amount of materials and equipment to the Wolf Clan. This behavior is a serious dereliction of duty and violates the laws of our country. As a general, he knowingly and intentionally violates the law and should be severely punished."

After this call, everyone finally understood what Guo Kai really wanted to impeach - it turned out to be smuggling. You shouted so loudly about this and advocated it so seriously...

This matter is not a secret. There are few people in the court who do not do it. The more powerful the person, the greater the scale. And speaking of it, the biggest and most passionate person in this matter is Mr. Guo Kaiguo.

Of course, this matter is obviously taboo. Although many people do it, there is usually not enough solid evidence left. It stands to reason that Li Mu is strict in running the army, let alone making such a mistake?
  All the officials looked at Li Mu, waiting for his reply.

At this time, Guo Kai also took out a few pieces of letter paper and presented them to Zhao Wangqian, "Your Majesty, this is the evidence collected by the old minister. There is a list of some of the materials Li Mu has smuggled in recent years, and his subordinates are responsible for this. person’s confession.”

Zhao Wangqian pretended to look through it, then showed an angry face and asked in a deep voice, "General, what do you have to say?"

Hearing Zhao Wangqian's roll call, Li Mu, who had been motionless, stepped out of the queue and saluted, "I wonder if the king can show these evidences to me?"

"Hmph!" Zhao Wangqian snorted coldly, with a bad attitude, but he still handed the things to the waiter angrily, which was regarded as agreement.

Li Mu took the things and took a look. As expected, it was not really ironclad evidence. The so-called list did not have the seal of his general's office at all, and the glyphs did not match his handwriting. The witnesses who provided confessions were also inconsistent. A highly-respected minion has no trusted subordinates of his own.

These things are barely enough to be used as circumstantial evidence, but it is basically impossible to rely on these things to bring down a powerful general who is at the top of the military attache. However, Li Mu is not at the top of his power at all. In the eyes of others, he is already in decline. Well, if Zhao Wangqian insists on making trouble for him with these untrustworthy evidences, he has no temper.

In fact, what Guo Kai did was within Li Mu's expectation, and he had already made preparations, so Guo Kai spent a lot of effort, but he could only get these things.

"Back to the king, this may be something some of my subordinates did on their own initiative in order to make money, but it was just in my name. Lord Guo used this to accuse me of secretly collaborating with the wolf clan, with disloyal intentions, which is a bit too much. "Li Mu's response is also very simple. Since you have obtained the confessions of these people, just pass the smuggling matter to these people. Anyway, you have no evidence to prove that I, Li, directed this matter.

"Haha..." Guo Kai stroked his beard with his right hand and asked with a sneer, "General, push everything to the subordinates, right?"

"But how can it be possible for these low-level military attachés to liaise with the wolf clan and sell a large amount of supplies? As a superior officer, is it possible for you to say that there is no problem at all?"

Although Li Mu could not go head-to-head with Guo Kai in action, Li Mu was not polite when speaking in court and replied, "Why is it impossible?"

"The witnesses in the evidence provided by Mr. Guo have different responsibilities. Each of them is responsible for a part of the low-level military affairs of the North. As long as they join forces, they conceal and hide some of the supplies, and then secretly sell them to the wolf clan in the name of the General's Mansion. ...It’s not that it can’t be done!”

"And I have been busy running the army these years, so it is inevitable that I will omit the following trivial matters. I accept the responsibility for the oversight. As for the other things... Prime Minister Guo should look for more evidence."

"General, as a military expert, he is very smooth-talking. Unfortunately, it is not you who has the final say on guilt or innocence. You still have to ask the king to make a decision." Guo Kai smiled and did not care about Li Mu's seemingly reasonable explanation.

Could he not know that his evidence is useless? But...it's not important. It's enough to mention this topic.

"What the general said makes sense. I really can't arbitrarily conclude that you are a traitor to the barbarians, but the evidence provided by the prime minister is also solid. This..." Zhao Wangqian paused at this point and looked at Guo Kai.

He had never seriously learned how to govern the country before. Although he had ascended to the throne, he could not manage political affairs well. Most of the time, he listened to Guo Kai's opinions - this was one of the reasons why Guo Kai was so powerful.

He didn't know what to do now. The few IQ points in his brain allowed him to still have some points. He knew that Li Mu couldn't move lightly, but Guo Kai's evidence had been laid out, so he couldn't ignore it, right?

Guo Kai added at the right time, "Your Majesty, the general's self-defense is indeed reasonable. However, how can the military in the North be a piece of cake if it affects the state? Even if there is no problem with Li Mu, it is a serious crime to rule laxly. His hard work and merits are high. There is no need to punish him, but... to ensure safety, the old minister suggested that part of the governance power of the three counties in the North should be returned to the imperial court, especially the tax revenue of the three counties."

"In this way, the tax revenue of the three counties will be returned to the imperial court, and then the imperial court will completely distribute the salaries to the border troops in the north. This will not only reduce the probability of someone trying to take advantage of it, but also stabilize the imperial court's control over the northern region. There is no need to worry about...the morale of the military. change."

At this point, Guo Kai's real goal was revealed. What he wanted was to take away Li Mu's absolute control over the three counties in the North, especially taxation, so that he could completely put a layer of restraint on Li Mu and his Northland border troops. .

Originally, although the court would also distribute part of the military salary for the northern frontier army, the bulk of it was still handled by Li Mu himself, relying naturally on the tax revenue from the three counties. Therefore, Li Mu had a certain degree of autonomy and did not have to completely rely on the central court of Zhao.

Once Guo Kai's move was approved, Li Mu would not be able to escape the constraints of the court in the future.

This time, it really hit Li Mu's vital point.

(End of this chapter)