Xia Jun was startled, and secretly said in his heart that it was not good, but before he could speak, he heard that someone among his people had already shown his sword, and he shouted and asked, "Put down the knife!" But the man, as if he had not heard him, slashed himself.

The emotion of killing people is contagious, just like a signal, the people around them have lit up their knives and joined the slashing team. The crowd was chaotic, and for a moment only the sound of soldiers fighting each other could be heard. The official sitting on the big horse was furious when he saw this, and shouted: "Listen to my orders, take down these arsonists, or if you resist, you will be killed on the spot!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the people brought by Jiang Chao were even more panicked, and they resisted more and more despite Xia Jun's stopping. It's just that so many people are acting at night, and how can they catch up with the Praetorian Guards patrolling the imperial court. In less than a stick of incense, the people and horses brought by Jiang Chao had already been subdued, and the ground was in a mess. And the fire in the granary is unstoppable, and at this moment, someone is constantly lifting water to put out the fire, which is tantamount to a drop in the bucket, and it is of no help at all. I could only watch as the fire engulfed the entire granary, and hundreds of carts of military pay turned into ashes.

The fire burned all night, and the people of the capital slept soundly in the Dajin Dynasty this night, and they didn't know how many undercurrents had occurred in the road. No one knew how the granary caught fire, until the next day, when the early risers went to open their shops, they saw smoke billowing from the granary, and the original carriages and horses were in a mess, and the ashes were overgrown inside, and it was evident that there was no good food or grass left.

Jiang Chao, the second son of the Jiang Mansion, and Xia Jun, the second young master of the Xia Mansion, set fire to the military salaries in the granary at night, and it spread throughout the capital on the first day. When Jiang Quan heard the news in the mansion, his hand shook and almost turned the teacup upside down, and he glared at his new wife Xia Yue beside him in disbelief: "What did you say?" ”

Xia Yue looked at Jiang Quan a little timidly, she was just a daughter of a distant cousin in Xia Mansion, and she originally had her own childhood sweetheart, but the Xia family married her in order to win over Jiang Mansion and prevent the relationship between Jiang Mansion and Xia Mansion from being interrupted after Xia Yan's death. Xia Yue is only seventeen or eighteen years old now, which is the same age as flowers. Marrying Jiang Quan to be a person like her father, she is naturally resentful in her heart. Not long after getting married, something like this happened in the Jiang Mansion, and Xia Yue was even more resentful in her heart, but people had to bow their heads under the eaves, Jiang Quan looked gentle on the surface, but it was terrifying to start a fire. She said, "Master, this is true, and it has spread outside." ”

She swore so much, even if Jiang Quan wanted to believe it or not, he said angrily: "This son of a! I have to destroy the Jiang family! ”

"Master, don't be angry," Xia Yue looked down on Jiang Quan's approach of complaining about the heavens and people when something happened, and covered the disdain in his eyes and said: "I heard that the Hou Ye has entered the palace to face the saint, this matter is not trivial, burning the military salary in the granary is a big crime, and the 100,000 soldiers at the border are now waiting for the food to save it." But the second son made such a move at this moment, which inevitably made people suspicious. ”

Jiang Quan was shocked in his heart, and he was dizzy and only cared about Jiang Chao's audacity, but at this moment, he really felt a sense of fear. Yes, 100,000 soldiers are still waiting for emergency salaries at the border pass, but Jiang Chao and Xia Jun burned down the granary with a fire last night. In the middle of the night, if it is said to be deliberate, then no one will believe it, if it is said to be deliberate, why would the son-in-law of the official family make such a move. For example, today's war between the Jin Kingdom and the Great Jin Dynasty is the most sensitive place for the emperor's nerves, and Jiang Chao stabbed Lou Zi at this time, not to force the emperor to think about it, thinking about Jiang Chao's treason with the enemy. Otherwise, I would rather destroy the granary for what I wanted, and the soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty would be in danger of running out of ammunition and food!

Jiang Quan fidgeted, only to feel a cold sweat slip down his neck and into his back, and the emperor's suspicion was a knife hanging over Jiang Fu's head. But now he only has this one son, and he can't leave it alone.

He suddenly asked Xia Yue, "Why did Lord Xiahou enter the palace?" "Although Xia Cheng only has Xia Jun's grandson, he shouldn't be able to enter the palace so quickly. Before the matter was all figured out, it was impossible for Xia Cheng to act rashly. Now that he is in a hurry, something important must have happened.

Xia Yue glanced at Jiang Quan and whispered: "I heard that yesterday, when the second young master Xia appeared, he also brought the private army of the Xia family, and those soldiers fought with the city garrison. ”

When Jiang Quan heard this, he almost fainted. It is not a big deal for high-ranking officials in the capital to raise some private troops in each mansion, this private army is no different from the guards in the palace, and the number is not very large, and the emperor also acquiesces. But the crime of arson by two people is very different from arson with a private army, if it is just arson by a single person, it can be said that Xia Jun and Jiang Chao are their own ideas, but once there is a private army, it is a major event that implicates the entire mansion. Especially when this private army is still fighting with the city garrison, isn't it shouting at the feet of the Son of Heaven, what will the emperor think? It must be that they have already turned against them!

Jiang Quan grabbed Xia Yue: "Can you hear clearly, only the private army of Xia Mansion has nothing to do with the Jiang family?" ”

Xia Yue was even more disdainful in her heart, at this time, Jiang Quan was still thinking only of himself, for fear of implicating the Jiang Mansion, and it was really selfish enough. But after thinking about it, the relationship between Xia Fu and Jiang Fu was originally maintained by marriage, and after Xia Yan's death, he even married himself, and they came together for the sake of profit, so how can there be any family affection?

"There is no private army of the Jiang family, please rest assured, master." Although she thought so, Xia Yue still smiled, but immediately frowned: "But master, are you going to enter the palace to intercede for the second son now?" This is no small matter. ”

Jiang Quan sat in place, the expression in his eyes changed uncertainly, if it was before, he would definitely want to rescue Jiang Chao without saying a word. But now the Jiang family is not as good as before, its reputation in the capital is already ruined, and the emperor has a lot of complaints about the Jiang family. What is even more worrying is the attitude of the emperor, if he enters the palace to intercede with Jiang Chao at this moment, will the emperor think that the Jiang family is also involved in this matter. Originally, I just suspected that the Xia family had the intention of rebellion, and this time it would implicate the Jiang family, how could this be good?

"No," after thinking for a long time, Jiang Quan made up his mind and said: "Now is not a good time, you repair a book for me and send it to Jinying Palace, just say that you want Jiang Ruan to return to the house quickly, her second brother has such a big thing, she also wants to save her second brother's life." ”

Xia Yue had already heard about Jiang Ruan's deeds before she came to Jiang's mansion, and she actually applauded Jiang Ruan's rectification of the Xia family and Jiang Quan. Now hearing Jiang Quan say this, I can't help but have a trace of contempt in my heart, why did Jiang Quan say it so high-sounding, he didn't dare to come forward, but he taught his daughter to come forward. Jiang Ruan and Jiang Chao are already at odds, Jiang Quan knows very well, how can Jiang Ruan be willing to help Jiang Chao get away with the crime, and I don't know if Jiang Quan is so confused now because he is too anxious.

……

In the prison, the darkest cell, two cells close to each other, separated by a thick iron fence. The faint light of the fire not only did not bring a glimmer of light to the already gloomy cell, but only made it even more eerie.

On either side of the iron fence, two people sat against the wall, one of them hung his head and mourned, and the other had cold eyes, and his face was so heavy that water could drip water.

Jiang Chao looked at Xia Jun and couldn't hide the anxiety in his heart: "Cousin, what should we do now?" ”

"What else can I do," Xia Jun sneered: "People are swordsmen, and I am fish and meat." ”

Jiang Chao saw Xia Jun's painless appearance, and his heart was even more anxious, and said, "How did things become like this?" What went wrong with us? Hell, how could the city garrison come at this time? ”

Xia Jun lowered his head, his eyes flashing. Since last night, he had a bad premonition in his heart, and now that he has finally been confirmed, he feels that everything is too smooth, and the smooth progress makes people suspicious. Jiang Ruan didn't stop it, which is really unreasonable. Now he finally understands where that inexplicable premonition came from, just because since she calculated Jiang Ruan three years ago, as long as it is related to Jiang Ruan, she has never lost. She couldn't lose, how could they win so easily? All this is just her calculation.

"We've been tricked." After a while, Xia Juncai said slowly: "This is a game set against us from the beginning, and the other party has always known what we are going to do, but it is just a handful of pushes, and now it is time to close the net." ”

Jiang Chao looked at him in surprise, and his mind became more and more confused: "Cousin, what do you mean?" ”

"The granary fire came inexplicably last night, and it was clear that someone deliberately set the fire and pointed the blame on you and me. At that time, when the city garrison led the troops, I clearly gave an order not to allow the private army to fight impulsively, but someone took the initiative to draw a sword against each other, and now that I think about it, it is really too suspicious, it is clear that someone is mixed in it, deliberately disturbing the pond water. ”

That person mixed in the private army, provoked a conflict between the private army of the Xia Mansion and the soldiers led by the city garrison, and obtained a reputation for the Xia Mansion arsonists and wounding people, and committing rebellion. The crime of arson, together with the crime committed, is really a heinous crime, and it can be said that the intention to rebel is obvious.

"Yes...... How could they know about our plan to steal grain and grass? Jiang Chao was surprised that there were still people who were praying mantis catching cicadas and yellow sparrows, but there were only five people who knew about this matter, and where did the news leak from.

"It's weird, I think it's weird, it's not like I heard the news that we're going to set it on fire, it's like I knew what we're going to do in the first place, and even pushed it in it. Now that I think about it, the play that Zhang Ji sang in the court that day was too satisfying, I think, at that time, we had fallen into the trap of others and didn't know it. Xia Jun said.

Jiang Chao shook his head: "Cousin, what you said is really incredible, if what you said is true, who is that person?" Who has such a great ability? ”

"Who?" Xia Jun's eyes showed a charming and gorgeous face, and the upturned eyes were slightly bent, as if he was laughing at their self-inflicted cleverness. Is it her? Although it was too incredible, Xia Jun had an intuition that this matter must have something to do with her. There is no one in the world who knows the prophet, so what can she do, and how did she learn about their plans? It's as if they've figured out all their thoughts. It's horrible. She even let Zhao Yi on duty avoid last night's retrieval, last night to catch their city guard is another old official, the Great Jin Dynasty is famous for his iron-faced selflessness, if it is Zhao Yi, maybe the emperor will suspect that it is because of the Zhao family and the Xia family's festival Zhao Yi did this, but replacing the old official, almost completely abandoned this possibility. Jiang Ruan even thought of this, they didn't have a chance to flip at all.

"Do you know where the scariest part of the road is?" Xia Jun sneered and said, "We burned grain and grass in the middle of the night, and if we were not careful, we would be charged with treason. The grain and grass was to alleviate the urgent need of the border pass, and now the fire has burned all of it. We can't compensate. Now there is only one way. ”

"What's the solution?" Jiang Chao hurriedly asked.

"Wait." Xia Jun said: "When the eighth prince finds a reason to exchange all the grain and grass that has been exchanged, and tells the emperor that we are burning moldy grain, not military salaries, this matter can be solved." ”

"That'll be fine." Jiang Chao breathed a sigh of relief: "The Eighth Prince still needs to be able to use you and me, and the Jiang family and the Xia family can't lose it, so naturally they won't sit idly by." ”

"I hope so." Xia Jun looked at his hand, but ...... He secretly said in his heart, did Jiang Ruan really only do this? That woman was ruthless and ruthless, if all this was really led by her, how could she pick it up and drop it gently? Just to make them suffer so little? The faint uneasiness in Xia Jun's heart came out again, he clenched his fists and stopped talking.

……

In the Eighth Prince's Mansion, the staff quietly stepped aside, not daring to say a word. It was a foolproof thing, but somehow something went wrong at this juncture, especially when someone caught it. The garrison of the city was notoriously upright, and there was almost no chance to cry out. The old grain with mold cannot be transported to the border gate, and this part is lost, which is equivalent to losing the whole plate.

The expression on Xuanli's face was very ugly at the moment, Rao is people under him were placed everywhere, but how could the city garrison suddenly lead troops to come, he still didn't figure it out. I don't even understand what went wrong with this plan, so that people can take advantage of the loopholes. Now things are developing beyond his expectations, and he doesn't even know how to pick up the net.

"Your Highness, do you want to save Xia Jun and Jiang Chao?" The staff said: "At present, the matter still involves the Xia family, if you sit idly by, Your Majesty will definitely punish the Xia family heavily, the Xia family is still useful to His Royal Highness now, and it cannot be easily discarded." ”

The Xia family's private army was caught red-handed, and it was already a fact that they couldn't break free. If it continues to develop, the emperor will even end the Xia family, and now that his great cause has not been accomplished, he still needs to rely on the strength in the hands of the Xia family, how can he easily discard this most important chess piece? If the Xia family was damaged because of this, it would not only chill the courtiers who followed him, but also make him lose most of his strength. The Xia family can't help but save it.

Seeing that Xuanli didn't speak, the staff continued: "Now there is only the idea of transporting the original military salary back, and asking for a way to say that Xia Jun and Jiang Chao are burning old grain, which is to protect the military salary. As long as you make things round and clean, it's not impossible. ”

Xuan Li was startled, seemed to realize something, his eyes sank, and said, "No." ”

The staff looked at him in amazement.

Xuan Li sneered: "If I really do this, I am falling into the hands of others." You can say that Xia Jun is to protect the military salary, but others may not be able to say that Xia Jun wants to exchange the military salary to fill his pockets. I look at the person behind it, maybe when I just want to explain it to my father, he will have other evidence to confirm Xia Jun's crime of changing military salaries. My father will be so angry that I will blame him. Besides......" He thought of something, but he didn't finish.

The staff was a little worried, and asked, "Your Highness is doing this, but you plan to ignore the life or death of Xia Jun and the Xia family?" ”

"Abandon the army and protect the commander." A trace of cruelty crossed Xuan Li's face: "Now I have no choice." ”

……

Jiang Ruan put down the wolf hair in his hand, and the beautiful hairpin small seal in his hand was delicate and charming, and the purple-clothed young man sitting opposite finally couldn't help asking: "What if Xuanli wants to save him?" The Xia family can't lose anything, and they will hold a grudge against you. It's just a result. He has always been accustomed to using power to calculate everyone, and now it is the first time to accept the mercy of other people's arrangements, and he doesn't even know every part of Lu Dao's plan, just doing what Jiang Ruan tells him, but he is still confused, and he doesn't know what she wants to do.

"I've long been mortal enemies with them, isn't it superfluous to talk about holding grudges?" Jiang Ruan unhurriedly lifted the rice paper, hung it slightly, and said, "What did Xuan Li want to save him?" ”

"The Xia family has fallen, it will not be beneficial to Xuanli, his great cause still depends on the support of the Xia family, if the Xia family is injured this time, it will be tantamount to cutting off his right arm, how can he be willing?"

Jiang Ruan looked at Qi Feng and suddenly smiled slightly: "Yes, Qi Gongzi, how about I make a bet with you?" ”

"What bet?" Qi Feng was slightly stunned by her movements.

"Just bet, Xuan Li will definitely not save the Xia family." Jiang Ruan said.

"How so?" Qi Feng was surprised.

"If he loses the Xia family, what he loses is just a right-hand man, saving the Xia family, but he may end his great cause." Jiang Ruan said lightly: "Xuanli is suspicious of this person, there is such an opportunity to save the Xia family, but he will hesitate, thinking that we have dug a pit behind our backs and invite you to enter the urn, the more hesitating, the more dare not make a decision easily." ”

"But that's just a suspicion, he won't even dare to tempt." Although Qi Feng was surprised by Jiang Ruan's familiarity with Xuanli's thoughts, he still insisted.

"Naturally, he didn't dare." Jiang Ruan suddenly laughed, turned his head to look at Qi Feng, his eyes were beautiful and full of meaning: "Do you know where the eight hundred carts of military pay are now?" ”

------Off topic------

A heavy rain on the power outage.,Yesterday there was no code to save the manuscript.,This morning it's a temporary code.,Time wood has been postponed.,As long as the power doesn't stop, I'll still be sent at eight o'clock~