Great Han Empire

Chapter 209
Li Hong was woken up by Shehu in the middle of the night.After Black Panther Yicong and Zhao Yun were left in the camp by Li Hong, She Hu brought his personal guards to serve as Li Hong's attendants.Li Hong drove him away several times but failed, so he had no choice but to let him go.

Li Hong opened his eyes, and suddenly saw Zhao Yun who was smiling all over his face.Li Hong was taken aback, turned over and sat up.

"How did you get here? Did the search of Qingwu go well? Is there any news about others? What happened?" Li Hong grabbed Zhao Yun's hand and asked hurriedly.

Although Fu Xie provided information on some corrupt officials in Xiliang, Fu Xie did not have detailed evidence.Without sufficient convincing evidence, these people cannot be convicted.In order to get the evidence, we must race against time and speed, and catch these greedy and cunning officials before they destroy the evidence, and strive to get all the stolen goods.

"My lord, we searched a large amount of money, silk and silk in Qingwu, as well as gold. There is at least [-] million yuan in the whole room." Zhao Yun said excitedly, "We also found what your lord wants."

"Great." Li Hong smiled, "Where are the things?"

Zhao Yun replied: "Cheng Qiu is a very careful person. He remembers every account of corruption and bribery in great detail. There are five boxes of slips alone. Zijun has already scattered them and tied them on his horse, and he is taking them with him at high speed. Hurry back to Pingxiang Camp."

Li Hong was heartbroken, laughed happily, and said, "There are so many? How did you find them?"

"Zijun cut off the whole body of the manager named Liu Zhong without a piece of good meat, and it was almost too late. The man couldn't bear the pain, so he recruited him. All the things were buried in the cellar, and we dug them out. Zijun and I Jun took a cursory look at these slips, which basically recorded his corruption and acceptance of bribes in Xiliang. There was no record of his dealings with Luoyang, nor his embezzlement of military resources. Therefore, Wen Chou and I both I feel that these records are only part of it, Cheng Qiu must have other places to hide money."

"I see." Li Hong patted Zhao Yun on the shoulder and said, "Good job. We will dig down slowly in the future. What's the rush? Is the attack on Qingwu going well?"

"The city walls of Qingwu are tall and thick, and it's difficult to attack. Zijun and I didn't have enough people, so we went to Huaili camp to recruit 3000 troops from Ji Wei, and asked them to rush to Maoling with siege equipment. We It took three hours to bring it down."

"Are there many casualties?" Li Hong asked.

"More than 100 people were killed." Zhao Yun whispered.

"How much did you kill?" Li Hong asked a little unhappy, "The price is too high."

Zhao Yun looked at Li Hong, and murmured, "After we rushed in, the soldiers were so angry that they killed all the men inside."

"How much?" Li Hong asked.

"More than 100 people." Zhao Yun replied in a low voice.

Li Hong took a stern look at Zhao Yun, and said dissatisfiedly, "Are you and Zijun crazy, killing so many people?"

"According to the order of the adults, if there are obstacles, they will be killed."

Li Hong glared at him fiercely.

"However..." Zhao Yun glanced at Li Hong, and said carefully, "Master Bao, the captain of Fufeng County, once came forward to stop us, saying that Qingwu is the property of the emperor's uncle, King Wuyang."

Li Hong sneered, and said: "Whoever it is, as long as it is related to Cheng Qiu, all will be confiscated. You just drive him away."

"Zijun thought he was wordy, so he was detained, and we released him when we left Qingwu." Zhao Yun said, "We checked, and this Qingwu is indeed the property of King Wuyang in name, but all According to the account records of Qingwu, Qingwu’s income was finally given to a man named Zhang Yu. We asked Liu Zhong, and he said that Zhang Yu was the younger brother of Zhongchang servant Zhang Rang.”

"Zhang Rang?" Li Hong said with a smile, "There are clues. After you return to Pingxiang, tell Mr. Zheng and Zuo Sima to resolutely investigate to the end. Don't be afraid. As long as we find evidence, we will be invincible." Land. For that Cheng Qiu, we must try our best to pry his mouth open, remember, don’t kill him.”

Zhao Yun repeatedly agreed.Li Hong immediately asked, "Is there any news about other people?"

"On the way back, we ran into Lord Yan's attendants. They were escorting Wen Juan back to the camp. We heard that Lord Yan was killing people in Chang'an, causing a bloody storm in Chang'an."

"Good kill." Li Hong said with a smile, "These people are sinful, cunning and treacherous people. If we don't kill them, what can we find out? The corrupt officials in Xiliang thought that someone was covering them, and they ran rampant and arrogant. Let’s see if it’s my sword that is powerful, or their backstage.”

"Is there any movement in the Taiwei Mansion?"

"I don't know. We have been in action for two days. Logically, Lord Taiwei should have received the news." Zhao Yun replied worriedly, "When Lord Taiwei is furious, will he send someone to arrest you?"

"I still have 3 people in my hands, so I forgive him for not daring to touch me easily." Li Hong said with a smile, "We have found the evidence of Cheng Qiu and several Xiliang bureaucrats' corruption and bribery, and now he wants to arrest me. There is no reason, the most I can do is to impeach me for exceeding my authority. I don't understand their officialdom, but whoever wants to frame me or kill me, you'd better think about it first and see who you offended. Now that the arrow has been wound, there is no way out."

Zhao Yun whispered: "My lord, you'd better be careful."
Li Hong nodded and asked, "Zilong, you came to see me late at night, but what's the matter?"

Zhao Yun smiled, "There is one thing that must be consulted by adults."

"Talk about it." Li Hong smiled, "I've already said that there are some things you can handle on your own, and you don't need to ask for instructions again and again."

Zhao Yun said in embarrassment: "From Cheng Qiu's batch of letters, we found a lot of evidence of Xiliang bureaucrats' corruption and bribery. After a rough count, there are at least 30 people who need to be arrested, which means that there are more than 30 people who need to be arrested." Check, some of them still live in Wubao.”

"This time our action was fast and ruthless. It is estimated that these people have not received the news or have not yet responded. Now is a good opportunity to catch them. Once this opportunity is missed, it will be difficult to catch them again."

"Catch it." Li Hong was decisive, waved his big hand, and said forcefully, "Catch it, grab it immediately."

"But..." Zhao Yun said cautiously, "The more this person is arrested, I'm afraid it will be involved in the future, and if things get out of hand, it will be troublesome."

"What's the trouble?" Li Hong said with a smile, "The more trouble the better, the more people involved the better. This kind of pickled and dirty thing just can't be seen. Once it is seen, who dares to cause trouble? Give it to me immediately." Arrest, whoever dares to obstruct, I will kill anyone. I will kill people from the Taiwei Mansion and Jingzhao Mansion. Is it possible to uphold justice and break the law?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "My lord, then you have to give me people, we have too few people."

"How many people do you want?" Li Hong asked.

"About 2000 to 3000 more people are needed," Zhao Yun said, "It is best to be Captain Xu, Captain Qu's Xiliang cavalry."

"Why?" Li Hong asked puzzled.

"Language barrier. Karasuma soldiers and Xianbei soldiers basically can't speak our Han dialect, and they can speak it, and they can't understand Xiliang people's speech, so it is very troublesome and inconvenient. This is not a war, so..."

"I know, I know..." Li Hong nodded again and again, and said with a smile, "This is negligent."

"Little Tiger, go and invite Captain Xu, Captain Qu, and Lord Hua immediately."

===

Xu Rong, Qu Yi and Hua Xiong didn't know what happened, so they rushed to Li Hong's big tent.Seeing Zhao Yunsu set up the tent, the three of them were a little surprised.They met Zhao Yun at the Pingxiang camp, and they knew that Zhao Yun was Li Hong's confidant, that he was the commander of the army at a young age, and that he was the leader of the Black Panthers. It is conceivable that Li Hong valued and trusted him.He suddenly rushed from Pingxiang to Shehu Valley in the middle of the night, something must have happened.

Li Hong asked the three of them to sit down, and said with a smile: "The three adults are so righteous. For my sake, they are willing to risk their heads to go to Long County with me. I am very grateful to the three adults..."

Qu Yi smiled and said, "Your Excellency woke us up in the middle of the night, wouldn't it be to thank us and buy us a drink?"

Hua Xiong also said with a smile: "We know how your lord treats our brothers. Your lord has said too much. Your lord is a superior, so we will do whatever you want us to do. If you have any orders, you can just say it, and you will never hesitate."

Xu Rongan sat quietly without making a sound.

"Okay. Although we have only known each other for a few days, we are all blood-licking people. What we are looking for is passion and sincerity. Since everyone followed me from Muyuan to here, to be honest, we are on the same boat. Human beings can no longer be separated from each other. Even if you want to get away from me, it may be very difficult."

Qu Yi smiled and said, "My lord, don't be so serious, okay? Are you rebellious?"

There was a roar of laughter in the big tent.

Li Hong waved his hands, barely holding back his smile and said, "This matter is not much different from rebellion, but I guarantee that you will enjoy it and do it more vigorously than anyone else."

Zhao Yun took out a roll of silk full of characters from his pocket, put it on the table and slowly opened it.

The three looked up.

Qu Yi's face turned cold, and he said loudly, "Your Excellency is crazy."

Hua Xiong's thick eyebrows trembled violently a few times, and he sighed, "Xiliang is going to be in chaos."

Xu Rong smiled slightly, and said slowly: "Justice, there is justice in this world after all."

===

After receiving the order to withdraw troops, Xian Yufu immediately led his troops to Juyuan to join Sun Jian.The two armies then retreated slowly under Xian Yufu's command.At this time, Zhou Shen had returned to the Pingxiang camp with his troops and prisoners.

Just as Zhou Shen settled down, Zheng Xin came to see him.

Zheng Xin was blunt and told Zhou Shen everything that happened in the past few days.

Zhou Shen has been lying down, eyes closed as if asleep.It wasn't until Zheng Xin finished speaking that he slowly opened his eyes, looked at Zheng Xin, and asked, "Li Zhonglang is determined to do this?"

Zheng Xin bowed slightly and said: "My lord has already done it, there is no way out."

Zhou Shen had sunken cheeks and high cheekbones, looking very old and weak.He smiled wryly and said, "That's right, Li Zhonglang has even brought down Qingwu, so there is no way out. The decades-old accounts of Xiliang seem to be coming to an end."

"This kind of thing can only be done by a bloody man like Li Zhonglang, a bloody man." He sighed and said to himself: "It's not like us, who have been smoothed by the years and don't know What is right and wrong is black and white."

Zheng Xin hurriedly said: "The old general is too modest."

"Cheng Qiu's search of the camp is a trivial matter, but Li Zhonglang doesn't need to take it to heart. He made great achievements in the two battles in Xiliang, even if His Majesty knew that he intercepted the rebels' property, he just laughed it off. Li Zhonglang A young man's heart can't stand wronged, so that he makes mistakes again and again, and kills himself."

"Now, he wants to get rid of the traitors by cracking down on corruption." Zhou Shen sighed, "He thinks so simply. How can there be such an easy thing. The matter in Xiliang is a hornet's nest. No way. Once it is opened, the consequences are unpredictable. For decades, not only the treacherous eunuchs in the palace, but also the royal relatives and family bureaucrats have been involved in the hornet's nest of Xiliang. The evidence cannot solve the Xiliang problem.”

Zheng's heart was heavy, and he listened silently, not daring to make a sound.

"The traitors disregard the country and society for their own selfishness. It is indeed a disaster for the country and the people, but it is not only the traitors who harm the country and the people."

"Li Zhonglang has such courage and courage. I admire him very much. He opened the hornet's nest in Xiliang, and the hornet's nest poured out. No one standing under the hornet's nest can escape. Whether it is a rape eunuch or a foreign relative Whether you are a family bureaucrat, as long as you are stung, you have to pay the price. Either you die or I die. No one can retreat. On the contrary, at this time, Li Zhonglang, who stabbed the hornet's nest, is the safest. Although he was also stung But in order to save their own lives, the forces of all parties have no intention of caring about him."

"Li Zhonglang's volley in the air, although there is no blood, but the momentum of sweeping the front army has been completed, the blood rain is about to come, and the wind is everywhere, and no one can escape."

Zhou Shen let out a long sigh and closed his eyes in silence.

"General..." Zheng Xin said in a low voice, "My lord's main intention is to deal with traitors." As he spoke, he took out a red satin brocade box from his pocket and placed it gently beside Zhou Shen. A lot of stolen goods were confiscated, and it was found that corrupt officials in Xiliang had a large number of fields and manors in Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou. My adults specially took [-] hectares of land from them and gave them to the general. I hope the general can do our adults a favor. "

Zheng Xin then took out a black satin brocade box from his pocket and put it beside Zhou Shen.

"This is the land and mansion we have confiscated from the family of corrupt officials in Xiliang who have already been arrested. Please, the general entrusts the Central Tibet Government Commander to forward it to His Majesty, so as to express my lord's loyalty to His Majesty and the country."

Zhou Shen suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Zheng Xin in surprise, wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.

Li Zhonglang generously raised his hand in Xiaoniu Mountain to give credit, so he had already planned to win him over?His son is the magistrate of Central Tibet, but he is not a big official and does not attract attention.Everyone in the world thought that the emperor's private wealth was handled by Xiao Huangmen and Zhongchang Shi. In fact, his own son was also managing the emperor's personal wealth, but not many people knew about it. How could Li Zhonglang know about this?From this point of view, this Li Zhonglang is not simple, he underestimated others.

Now, not only did he owe Li Hong the gift of military exploits, but he was also dragged down by Li Hong's anti-corruption campaign.He is Li Hong's superior, so he can't get away with this matter at all?Now Li Zhonglang is so generous, he gave him two thousand hectares of land, and he couldn't find a reason to refuse.This kid is amazing, I can't help him if I don't help him.

Zhou Shen glanced at the two brocade boxes beside him, then raised his eyes to Zheng Xin, and said slowly, "Li Zhonglang wields a sword to eradicate corruption, and uses offense as defense. , if he succeeds, he will also receive His Majesty's favor. At such a young age, with such a brain, the future is boundless."

"Master Zheng, without further ado, I will immediately write a letter and send it to Luoyang overnight on a fast ride of [-] miles. What do you think?"

Zheng Xin was overjoyed, and quickly knelt down to thank him.

He felt that he was really an idiot. On Xiaoniu Mountain that day, he lost his temper because of the fact that Li Hong gave his military exploits to Zhou Shen. Looking at it now, if it wasn't for the fact that Zhou Shen was not attracted that day, it would be really bad now. Ask someone.

===

Sangyang led people to Shehu Valley overnight.

Li Hong hurriedly took out the letter of guilt.This was written by Li Hong before Zhao Yun left.He can't write this kind of article, the sentences don't make sense, the words don't express the meaning, and the writing is not good.But everyone is not surprised.He even forgot his parents and family, not to mention the knowledge he had learned.As long as you have a wise brain, you can lead everyone to victory.

Sang Yang complained about him.Fortunately, Li Hong was a senior officer, otherwise Sangyang would have cursed at him regardless of his status.

After scolding, the two sat down to discuss business.Sangyang told Zhang Wen what he meant, and he could handle the matter of corruption in Xiliang as he wanted, but he must report it in time.Now we are all tied together to pull together.Then Sangyang talked about asking for money.

"The army's military expenses can only be sustained until the beginning of next month, and in a few days, it will not be able to support it. Lord Taiwei tells you to send a batch of stolen money and stolen goods to the Taiwei's mansion for emergency."

Li Hong cursed bitterly: "The imperial court has gone too far. If we win, what will happen next month? Do you all drink northwest wind?"

Sangyang smiled and said sarcastically: "Fortunately, with you Li Zhonglang this time, you won the battle and got the money, so the matter is settled."

Li Hong scolded: "What's wrong with the world? If you won the war, you won't be allowed to live. It's still a crime. Now you don't even have military expenses. Isn't this intentional to send us to death? You have been hiding it, haven't you? Want to kill us all?"

Sang Yang scolded back angrily: "Now we are the ones who killed you. Don't talk about it, when will the money be delivered? I warn you in the name of Taiwei, you don't want to keep the stolen money and stolen goods privately." , you know? Once you are reported and exposed, I don’t know what earth-shattering things will happen to you.”

"Hey..." Li Hong smiled shyly, cupped his hands and said, "Please report back to Taiwei, I will immediately order Zuo Sima to send the money over."

Sang Yang nodded and said: "My lord, rescue General Dong as soon as possible and end the battle. Don't procrastinate. Now we must do our best to deal with the traitor's counterattack. This is the top priority, a matter of life and death."

Li Hong repeatedly agreed.

===

(End of this chapter)