At the beginning of spring, it is warm and cold, and although the plum blossoms on the street have already stolen each other, the snow that has not yet melted remains on the eaves of most people's houses. Tai Shi Ci, who was the other driver of Jizhou at the time, sat in the study of the Assassin's Mansion, holding a list stamped with the seal of the internal guard, and was silent. Some of the names on the list he didn't recognize, some he had heard of, some could be considered nodding acquaintances, and some were old acquaintances. Without exception, these people participated in the Jizhou underground smuggling network, secretly selling salt, wine, iron, and even armor to Cao Wei.

At first glance, when he heard that such a shocking case had happened under his nose, Tai Shi Ci was both angry and shocked. It was the officials of Jizhou who were angry and the sect party guards themselves and smuggled the enemy. What was shocking was that he had been in Jizhou for many years and had no idea about the smuggling, so that it was not until the outbreak of bandits in Qiantong County that the internal guards uncovered the case. Especially thinking that Cai Ji entrusted the huge Jizhou to himself, Tai Shici felt even more guilty.

"Envoy Jun, don't ask to see you."

The sound of the servant's announcement outside the house interrupted Tai Shici's chaotic thoughts. Hearing that Don't drive Xinbi to visit, Tai Shici, who came back to his senses, immediately nodded and agreed, "Hurry up, please." ”

After a while, the servant led Simbi into the small courtyard in front of the study. Tai Shi Ci didn't wait for the other party to give a greeting, and directly got up to greet him, "George Ru came just in time, and I have important things to discuss with you." ”

Xin Bi's visit to the Thorn Shi Mansion today was originally for the spring ploughing matter, but at this moment, seeing that Tai Shi Ci's face was sinking like water, and his expression was not healing, he couldn't help but cautiously ask, "What happened to the king?" ”

Tai Shi Ci did not answer Xin Bi's question directly, but withdrew his servant. At the same time, he personally invited Simbi into the study. After the two of them were seated, he handed the document sent by the internal guard on the case to Xin Bidao, "This is a secret report from the internal guard." ”

I heard that the document in front of me was a secret report from the internal guard. Simbi's expression changed. It must be known that the internal guard directly belongs to the lord of Qi, although it is not like the "embroidered imperial history" of the Han Wu Emperor period, which can hold the power of life and death of the officials below the Taishou of the assassin history, but it has the privilege of supervising hundreds of officials to directly listen to the holy hearing. Cases that require the dispatch of internal guards are obviously not simple. Could it be that there are officials in Jizhou who have embezzled and amassed wealth to alarm the internal guards? Or is someone secretly collaborating with the enemy?

However, the reality greatly surprised the Yingchuan celebrity. After reading all the contents of the paperwork, Xin Bi's face was soon as gloomy as Tai Shi Ci, as if he could wring out water. However, compared with Tai Shici, who was born in the army, Xin Bi obviously paid more attention to political and even scheming factors when considering problems. First of all, like Cai Ji, he thought that Cao Wei might use the smuggling case to manipulate the officials and heroes in Jizhou. Furthermore, Xin Bi sensitively noticed that most of the officials involved in the smuggling network were subordinates of the Yuan family, and in addition, Tian Feng was in charge of the government affairs and the administration of officials in Jizhou in the past few years. If this case is investigated by people with ulterior motives, it will inevitably implicate them, the former ministers of the Yuan family. Not to mention that Tai Shi Ci had just handed over his military power the year before last and was transferred to the post of assassin. Even if he himself is upright, honest and self-disciplined, if Cai Ji really has the heart to investigate such a big case in Jizhou, just one "lax governance" is enough to cure Tai Shici's crime.

But to Sinbi's deep rejoicing. In the end, his lord did not make the case public, but returned the case to the Jizhou Assassin Mansion for disposal. This means that Cai Ji still trusts Tai Shici and still trusts Jizhou Thorn Shifu. Of course, the premise is that the Jizhou smuggling case must be properly handled. Otherwise, not only will the officialdom of Jizhou be washed in blood, but even the entire Qi country will be shaken.

After some deliberation. Simbi closed the paperwork. Instead, he asked Tai Shici for advice, "I never thought that there was such a shocking case behind the Thousand Boys Bandit, I don't know how the envoy plans to deal with this case?" ”

Tai Shi Ci gritted his teeth and cut the railway, "I will immediately mobilize the soldiers and horses to wipe out all the dry nights and small nets!" ”

Xin Bi listened to what Tai Shici said, but he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, shook his head slightly, and said, "With all due respect, I'm afraid this move is inappropriate." ”

"Why did George say that? Don't you want to protect the short? Tai Shi Ci raised his eyebrows and asked.

Facing Tai Shici's heart-wrenching question. Xin Bi explained disapprovingly, "Make Jun Mingjian." The smuggling case involves a wide range of issues, and there is a great tendency to affect the whole body. If you rush to send troops, you will definitely startle the snake and even lure the wolf into the house. The king is about to give birth, and the rest of the people, as a minister, how can they make the king feel tired. ”

To be honest, the current Tai Shici has already had enough of Cao Wei's many bad moves, so he doesn't care about startling the snake, but hopes in his heart that those smuggling Xiaoxiao hook dogs will jump over the wall to lure the Wei army to attack. Because in this way, the Qi State can tear up the so-called Cao Cai Alliance, and the Qi army can also teach Cao Wei a good lesson on the battlefield. However, as Xin Bi said, Cai Ji was about to give birth, and the top priority of the Qi State at the moment was to ensure that the monarch gave birth smoothly, and of course it was impossible to rashly start a war with Cao Wei at such a critical moment. So after weighing the pros and cons, Tai Shici had to frown and say, "Then according to George's opinion, how should Yu Dang deal with this case?" ”

"False Path." Simbi raised his head and slowly spit out four words.

"False Dao Felling?" Tai Shi Ci is familiar with the art of war, and naturally knows the allusions of false ways and defeats. Therefore, Xin Bi only dialed it slightly, and he immediately came back to his senses, "Didn't George Mo want Yu to mobilize troops and horses to arrest Xiaoxiao in the name of crusading against the Thousand Tong Bandits?" ”

"Exactly. At present, the thieves do not know that the smuggling has been exposed, so that you can first appease the thieves in the name of suppressing the bandits, and after the soldiers and horses are properly arranged, you can wipe out all the thieves with the power of thunder. Xin Bi paused for a moment when he said this, then sighed again and changed the conversation, "It's just that if the troops and generals can't be dispatched, it will inevitably leak the news, and the overall plan will be in vain." ”

Tai Shi Ci knew that Xin Bi was worried that his authority was not enough to command the soldiers and horses in Jizhou, so without saying a word, he directly took out half a palm-sized copper tiger from his arms in front of Xin Bi and put it on the table, and then took out the other half of the copper tiger from a lacquer box on the case, "With this thing, George doesn't need to worry about it." ”

Seeing Tai Shi Ci put the two copper tigers together into one, Xin Bi couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "Tiger Talisman!" ”

That's right, the bronze tiger in Tai Shici's hand is a token of the ancient Chinese king's granting of military power to his subjects and the transfer of troops. Because it is made of copper, tiger-shaped, and divided into left and right halves, there are sons and mothers who can be combined. Therefore, it is called "Tiger Talisman". Generally, the right talisman is kept in the hands of the king, and the left talisman is in the hands of the generals. If the king sends someone to mobilize his army, he needs to bring a right charm. Only by holding the talisman can the generals obey the order.

At this moment, Xin Bi finally understood why Tai Shi Ci would fully support Cai Ji's reorganization of the army. Obviously, Cai Keita handed over half of the Tiger Talisman to Tai Shi Ci for safekeeping from the beginning. And now that the left and right two symbols have been merged into one in the Jizhou Thorn History Mansion, it means that the Qi lord who is far away in Longkou has handed over the military power of Jizhou to Tai Shi Ci. It's just that with Jizhou's military strength and strategic location, once Tai Shici has two hearts, or if he is also involved in the smuggling case, the consequences are unimaginable. Of course, such chilling thoughts only flashed through Simbi's mind. Because he believed that the character of the ether would never do such a deceitful and deceitful thing. And Cai Ji's open-mindedness of "employing people without suspicion, and suspecting people without suspicion" made Xin Bi admire him so much. During the Warring States period, Mencius once admonished King Xuan of Qi: "The king regards his ministers as siblings." then the minister regards the king as his heart; The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman; The king regards his ministers as mustard, and the ministers regard him as an enemy. "Cai Ji has done exactly what he treats his courtiers like siblings. In this way, you can win the loyalty of Tai Shici and others.

Thinking of this, Xin Bi once again sighed from the bottom of his heart, "Make Jun Zhen the minister of the king's superiority." ”

Tai Shi Ci clenched the tiger talisman in his hand and shook his head and blamed himself, "The king treats Yu like a brother." Yu has no way to rule. caused such a shocking case in Jizhou, which is really a shame for the king's trust! ”

Seeing this, Xin Bi on the side hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him, "Envoy, the matter has come to this point, it is useless to blame yourself, and it is imperative to hurry up before the king gives birth and quickly close the case." Pacify the chaos in Jizhou. ”

Tai Shi Ci nodded deeply after listening to what Xin Bi said. It is true that he and Xin Bi are full of expectations that Cai Ji will be able to give birth to a male heir for the Qi Kingdom, but they also have to prepare for the worst before the dust settles. After all, childbirth has always been a ghost gate for women. In case Cai Ji's birth does not go well this time. The Jizhou case has not yet been concluded, and it is very likely that the panic will lead to a greater rebellion. Therefore, it is obviously more prudent to pacify the chaos in Jizhou before Cai Ji gives birth. However, in this way, the time left for Tai Shici is obviously a lot tighter. Seeing that he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, he muttered to himself, "In the smuggling case, I have a roster in hand, and I can bring all the thieves to justice one by one." However, the Qiantong pirates are hiding on the island, and it is difficult for the sailors to exterminate them in the tenth month. ”

"It's not that hard." Xin Bi twisted the five locks of long beard under his chin, and said with a slight smile, "After the envoy has wiped out all the smugglers, he can take advantage of the situation to appease the thousand boy pirates." ”

Zhaofu, also known as Zhao'an, to put it bluntly, is to use high-ranking officials and Houlu to entrap the powerful sect and even the civil forces such as rogue thieves to surrender to the imperial court. For example, during the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Jia Cong, the assassin of Jizhou, once appeased the exile and restored it. As for the predecessor of the Qi Army's naval division, it was the pirates in the Chunyu area of the Beihai Sea. So after weighing the pros and cons, Tai Shici said on the spot, "It's not a bad idea to appease the pirates." Yu sent someone to ask General Zhongchun to come to the palace to discuss the dispatch of troops."

The loyal and pure general that Tai Shici said was Zhang Qing, the general in charge of the military guard. Right now, this Cai Ji's dive family will be inspecting Zhechong Mansion in Hejian County. Knowing that Tai Shi Ci had something important to discuss with him, Zhang Qing rushed back to Nanpi from the river overnight, and gathered again with Tai Shi Ci and Xin Bi in the study of the Assassin Mansion at noon the next day. As usual, Tai Shici first handed over the secret report of the internal guard to Zhang Qing to read, and then Xin Bi gave a rough introduction to the idea of a false Dao to cut down the enemy.

Zhang Qing listened carefully to the whole plan, and immediately solemnly clasped his fists at Tai Shici and Xin Bi and said, "Qing is a martial artist, his talent is limited, and the matter of transferring troops and sending generals is all up to the two of them. ”

Seeing that Zhang Qing didn't mind Cai Ji handing over the tiger talisman to Tai Shici, Xin Bi couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. You must know that theoretically, Zhang Qing is the commander of Wuwei. If Zhang Qing gives them a yang and yin violation, then it will be a big problem. However, Tai Shici knew that Zhang Qing had always been loyal, so he followed and went straight to the point, "Zhongchun, you have been in charge of Wuwei for more than a year, and in your opinion, Wuwei's army can be reused?" ”

Zhang Qing lowered his head and thought about it before answering truthfully, "Yicheng Zhichong Mansion." ”

Tai Shi Ci asked again, "How does it compare to the dock wall part?" ”

Zhang Qing confidently assured, "No equal." ”

Xin Bi on the side couldn't help but blurt out after hearing this, "The Yicheng army is so good at fighting?!" ”

In fact, it is no wonder that Xin Bi has such a question, the soldiers of Zhichong Mansion have not yet been tested by the war, and it is inevitable to be questioned. Fortunately, Zhang Qing understood Xin Bi's worries very well, so he listened to him and explained, "Xin Beijia doesn't know, Yicheng County once placed 10,000 Yellow Turban households, and the people have always been strong, so Yicheng soldiers are better at fighting. In fact, the military governments of Hejian and Zhongshan counties have performed well. ”

After listening to Zhang Qing's explanation, Xin Bi nodded with satisfaction, and Tai Shici said decisively, "Then transfer the Yicheng army into Nanpi to inspect the Gao Clan's dock wall!" ”

It turned out that the evidence of the Bohai Gao family's involvement in smuggling had already been grasped by the internal guards. However, considering that the Gao family is a Bohai Wang clan and has a lot of roots in Nanpi City, and in recent years, its head Gao Na has raised a large number of tribes, so Tai Shici and Xin Bi agreed that it would be difficult to exterminate the Gao family with the soldiers of Nanpi Zhichong Mansion alone. Xin Bi first suggested that Tai Shici transfer troops and horses from the Chengde army to raid the Gao family. Tai Shici thought that this move would alarm the Wei army on the border, and insisted on only sending government soldiers to arrest him.

Fortunately, Zhang Qing's introduction reassured Tai Shici and Xin Bi. The three of them then deployed troops according to the situation in various places to prepare for the next unified arrest. After all, the local Haoqiang involved in the smuggling case is far more than the Bohai Gao family, and those Haoqiang may not be as powerful as the Gao family, but they will have private weapons, so they are also imprudent. In this way, Tai Shi Ci and the others discussed until sunset, and then finalized the entire arrest plan. Inevitably had a lot of dreams at night, and Tai Shici reported the whole plan to Cai Ji through the internal guard overnight. Zhang Qing rushed back to Hejian County according to the plan, and selected the elite from Yicheng Zhichong Mansion to go south.

On the twentieth day of the first month of the second year of Yankang, the Zhichong Prefecture in Jizhou received the "Prepare for War Order" issued by the Wuwei Mansion, and the Qi army sailors in Longkou Port also set sail north to defeat the Qiantong pirates at the same time on the order of Tai Shici. Because the Qiantong Bandit Rebellion had already raged in Jizhou before, the outside world thought that Tai Shici and others frequently dispatched troops out of the need to suppress bandits. Even on the 23rd, Zhang Qing led the Yicheng army into Nanpicheng, which did not cause much turmoil in the local area. After all, Qiantong County belongs to Bohai County, and it is understandable that the Yicheng Army will pass through Bohai County to govern Nanpi and rest for a day or two. On the 24th, Tai Shici, who saw that everything was in place, finally sent an invitation letter to the local Haoqiang headed by the Gao family. (To be continued......)