In the barracks at the south gate of Dingyuan City, the general met with Qin Yu alone, listened to his careful analysis before and after, and was speechless for a long time.

Qin Yu glanced outside the tent, and a trace of fish belly white appeared in the sky, and it was almost dawn.

"According to what you said, Xu Zhengkuan's old thief has been at the mercy of traps from the very beginning, trying to frame us and other border troops defending the city?" The general said.

Qin Yu nodded, "It's a fact that General Mu was imprisoned. And our danger is also imminent. ”

"The tragedy and danger of this Hu people's siege of the city for a month, don't you know this thief!" The general said, "This old thief is really not a thing, and he actually abandoned the military affairs and wanted to frame us." The old thief is ruthless enough! Isn't he afraid that the court will settle accounts with him afterwards? ”

"Of course he was afraid." Qin Yu said, "So he took this Lingzhou Don't Drive as a fool to call him, and used his hand to kill Lord Thorn Shi, and did all the bad things." If the imperial court wants to track it down afterwards, Xu Zhengkuan will only have the fault of 'mishandling things' at most. The one who should bear all the charges is the one who does not drive for the dead ghost! ”

The general's eyes widened, "So, this Lingzhou don't drive is the same as the General Lin who was cut off by the general, and he is a substitute ghost used by Xu Zhengkuan?" ”

Qin Yu nodded, "If it is unexpected, before we want to investigate the situation, this Lingzhou will also die." Only the mouth of the dead man is the tightest, and the dead man will not jump out and turn the case around. ”

"Old thief, poisonous enough!" The general slapped his palm on the table, "The general didn't check for a while, but he was actually killed by the old thief with a knife and killed that General Lin for him!" On the contrary, he let himself fall into the charge of indiscriminate killing of generals! ”

Qin Yu smiled and said, "Actually, even if that general doesn't kill that General Lin, he won't live long." ”

"He deserves to die, but Ben will be tricked and unlucky!" The general was annoyed.

Qin Yu said: "Xu Zhengkuan must know that when the general receives this sudden encounter, he will definitely be vigilant and take strict precautions. The mutiny in the Lingzhou Prefecture Si Yamen was indeed a trick to kill three birds with one stone. Not only did he successfully splash all the dirty water on this other driver, but also gave Xu Zhengkuan a good excuse to engage in punishment and eradicate dissidents. Many officials in the Lingzhou Prefecture Department were imprisoned during this mutiny, accused of being a fellow party of other drivers. Even the small characters I was waiting for with low rank were not spared. Of course, his ultimate goal is to deal with us who are defending the city! ”

"He wants to frame all of us together?" The general's eyes widened.

"His plan is definitely not that simple." Qin Yu smiled and said, "I guess that before he sent General Lin to deliver the military order, he had already figured out the general's temper and vigilance at the moment, and he was already ready for both. If the general goes to the state department yamen according to the military order, then what awaits the general is likely to be a crime of 'don't drive the same party'. Even if the state secretary and yamen have no right to formally convict and punish you, but at this time, the governor who controls the Lingzhou Daquan has the right to at least take you into custody for investigation first. At the same time, the general's military power must be handed over! ”

The general sneered, "Unless Ben lived back to when he was three years old, how could he be so at their mercy?" ”

Qin Yu raised two fingers, "So they have a second hand to prepare." That is the situation in front of him - the general sniffed out the danger signal in the military order and saw that there was a mutiny in the Yamen of the Lingzhou Prefecture. So he disobeyed the military order and killed the messenger, and prepared to lead the troops to quell the rebellion. ”

"That's right." The general said, "Lingzhou Assassin Shi was killed, General Mu was imprisoned, isn't it a mutiny, what?" As a general with troops, it is incumbent on him to maintain the state and county to protect the people and ensure that the state department and yamen are not controlled by traitors! - Of course, Ben has a good reason to lead his troops to quell the rebellion! ”

Qin Yu smiled, "But when the general led his troops into the state division yamen and found that General Mu was not imprisoned, what should he do?" ”

The general's face trembled, gritted his teeth, and said: "That general really disobeyed the military order, killed the general who ordered the order, and used troops to rush into the official government without authorization, and there is a suspicion of rebellion!" - If General Mu wants to protect me, it's useless! It would have been a capital offense! ”

"Therefore, their preparations have already calculated the general to death!" Qin Yu said, "Now I can't be sure what kind of situation General Mu is in the state government, if he is really imprisoned, it may be that Xu Zhengkuan wants to take advantage of the chaos to seize power." As soon as the morning dawns, the identity of the chaotic party we are waiting for is confirmed, if General Mu is not imprisoned, and we rashly send troops to the state government, then Xu Zhengkuan can take the opportunity to have a big attack! What a calculation! Hehe! ”

When the general heard Qin Yu's last "hehe", this veteran of the battlefield who was not shocked by the collapse of Mount Tai couldn't help but shudder, and his face trembled slightly.

"Old thief, it's too vicious!" The general gritted his teeth with hatred, "Ben will swear to skin him, pull his tendons, and dig up the ancestral graves of his ancestors for eighteen generations!" ”

"The general is angry." Qin Yu said, "Only now, we are at a disadvantage, and everything is in the other party's control. But in our hands, after all, we still have the most powerful counterattack weapon! ”

"You mean, these guards under the old man's command guarding the south gate?" The general said.

"That's right!"

The general shook his head with an embarrassed face, "Knowing that if you use troops without permission now, you will be guilty of a capital crime, how can you dare to move lightly?" Moreover, although the old man commanded these soldiers, the Hu people were still eyeing the outside of the city, and the brigade could not be easily mobilized! Otherwise, in the event of a late night attack by the Hu people-------- Ben would only be able to mobilize the two teams around him at most, with only two hundred guards! ”

"Two hundred? Enough! Hearing this, Qin Yu was not worried, but instead breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If the general dares to travel with two hundred iron armor, it is enough to shock people's hearts." The key is whether the general dares to go to the state department's yamen? ”

"What are you going to do?" The general asked with thick eyebrows.

"Pretend to be in the middle of the plan and lead the troops to counter the rebellion. Then the plan will be calculated, and the defeat will be turned into victory! Qin Yu's eyebrows tightened and his expression was very serious, "It's very risky." Defeat or win! - General, do you dare to fight? ”

The general was silent, his lips pursed and his face tightened.

Qin Yu said these things in a relaxed tone, smiled, and said, "General Gai Shihu has been famous for a long time, but he doesn't dare to fight?" ”

Qin Yu's words obviously greatly stimulated the general!

"Ben will fight for a lifetime, which time is not to fight with his life to win!" The general slapped the table angrily a few times like thunder, "How to turn defeat into victory?" Just say it, Ben will definitely obey his words, and there will be no two words! ”

Qin Yu clenched his fists and bowed, "General, so righteous!" ”

"Speak quickly!"

-------------- Dividing Line------------

It's dawn.

Mu Partridge had no sleep all night, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, sitting on the main hall of the state department's yamen, his eyes were shining, and his face was like a sculpture.

Last night and Xu Zhengkuan took the initiative to ask him to understand the situation, but no one had seen it yet, but he committed suicide directly in fear of sin, and now

There is no proof of death, the state department is their territory, and they are surrounded by their people, how should I deal with it and reverse the current unfavorable situation?

Xu Zhengkuan walked in

"General Mu, major events have happened one after another, and the yamen is busy, and there are many slacking and offending people." Xu Zhengkuan stepped forward to bow and said: "I came to tell General Mu that don't confess to many of his comrades before committing suicide in fear of crime, most of them are now detained in prison, but there are still some fugitives. Therefore, the state department and the yamen will now issue a proclamation document to arrest the rebels in the city. General Mu, as a general of Dingyuan and an eyewitness to this case, I don't know what his opinion is? ”

Mu Partridge's heart tightened.

This is not shrewd for Xu Zhengkuan, he failed to kill me, and then turned to use my identity as a Dingyuan guard. Which of the same parties did Lingzhou do not drive before "suicide", the ghost knows! Now, isn't it up to him to count the heads and make a big deal of it? However, his actions are in line with the statutes of the Great Xia Law, and he pulled me, the guard, to testify—knowing that it was all boring, but I had no evidence to refute it!

"Who are the same party who don't drive and confess?" Mu Lu neither agreed nor objected, but just asked.

"Probably, they are all people that General Mu doesn't know or know very well!" Xu Zhengkuan pretended to be relaxed and said, "What, General Mu is worried that there are people close to you in the list?" ”

"Ben will be on the matter and dedicated to the public." Mu Lu said lightly, "Unless I let me know the detailed list of accomplices, otherwise, I will not agree to you issuing a proclamation document without authorization, not even acquiescing." You don't want to pull the official in the aftermath and help you! ”

"Hehe, it's just a trivial matter, why is General Mu so nervous?" Xu Zhengkuan laughed twice, took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Mu Lu, "Wei Juyuan's list of confessions and confessions is here, General Mu, please take a look!" ”

Mu Partridge took it and took a look, okay, as expected. This confession was of course a blanket confession of all the crimes committed, and finally confessed to many of his accomplices.

First of all, the first one is General Wang;

Later, there are many officials under the rule of the Lingzhou Prefecture Division, including the generals and adjutantés in the Lingzhou Prefecture Division, as well as many local civil and military officials

After reading this article, Mu Partridge set off a storm in his heart, this is clearly a political purge! Xu Zhengkuan has eradicated dissidents in such a large area, what does he want to do?

Does he want to eradicate all the civil and military officials who are at odds with him under the rule of the entire state division and yamen, and how is this different from rebellion?!

Xu Zhengkuan only symbolically showed the confession to Mu Lu, and didn't intend to give him much time to think, and said with a smile: "I also read the confession, General Mu, what else do you have to say?" ”

"Ben General's decision is not just a matter of looking at the confession." Mu Lu said, "There are the names of thirty or forty people on it, from the captain who is responsible for guarding various places in the city to the scribe who is responsible for handling the political affairs of the city. Your rash conviction and imprisonment without any check, and the issuance of proclamations, are simply out of compliance with the constitution and trampling on the law! ”

Xu Zhengkuan habitually touched the two beards at the corner of his mouth left and right, and said with a smile: "General Mu, I respect you as the highest-ranking military general in the city, but I also ask you to respect this official." ”

"Ben won't understand what you mean." Mu Partridge remained silent and replied calmly.

"Although you are a Dingyuan guard, this official is also the governor of Ling. You and I are both officials of the imperial court, why did General Mu point to his own officials out of thin air and not understand the laws and regulations? Xu Zhengkuan said coldly, "Whenever a case is handled, there must be a first complaint before the case can be filed, followed by a judicial officer investigating the case." When the suspect is locked, he can use someone to try the case. Finally, if the evidence is conclusive, the suspect pleads guilty, or both, the case can be decided according to the provisions of the law, and then the entire case will be reported to the imperial court for filing and review. If the case is serious or the identity of the perpetrator is special, the local government must report to the Dali Temple or the Imperial Observatory to make a judgment. Initiating, investigating, adjudicating, adjudicating, and reporting,"

"But now that Lord Assassin Shi has been killed, this official, as the governor of Lingzhou, is in charge of the state secretary yamen, and in order to maintain stability in the city, he issued a complaint document and brought other suspects to interrogate him, and this official did not convict these people without authorization - where is wrong with this official? When did the ruler trample on the law? ”

Mu Partridge's heart was shocked, what a sharp mouth, and a good scheming!

"If General Mu has no objections, this official will send someone to post the notice and issue the document now." Xu Zhengkuan said with a smile.

"Originally, this was the official business of the Lingzhou Prefecture Division, and it would have been inconvenient to interfere too much. But since Ben Jiang witnessed the case with his own eyes, and Ben Jiang is also the general of Dingyuan, it is also his duty to maintain stability in Dingyuan City, and now that you have taken the initiative to ask Ben General's opinion, then Ben Jiang must ensure that you have no mistakes or omissions in the charter. Mu Lu said with a straight look, "The victim of this case, Lord Tie, has been killed, but the first accuser and witness of this case, that is, the servants and maids who witnessed the scene of the crime and subdued the suspect Lingzhou Don't drive, this official has not seen it." Moreover, it is not known whether the confession of the other driver was forged, whether it complied with the laws and regulations when interrogating the other driver, and whether there was any suspicion of being beaten in a private court. And those officials of the Lingzhou Prefecture Division Yamen who are now in prison, have they really confessed again? If not, what authority do you have to put them in jail? - All of these are worthy of the general's suspicion! ”

"Wow ......" Xu Zhengkuan took a breath of cool air, stared sideways at Mu Partridge, and scolded in his heart - birdman, tricky! If the escaped guard hadn't been caught, where would I have spoken with you here!

"Handling a case is to be bold in suspicion and careful in collecting evidence. Xu Changshi, am I right? Mu Lu continued to say solemnly: "If the above doubts are not verified, then your proclamation documents cannot be sent out in front of me. In Ben's opinion, that would be illegal, that would be an abuse of power and framing a good person! ”

Xu Zhengkuan blinked, reached out and touched his beard a few times, but did not speak.

The four guards standing behind Mu Partridge admired Mu Partridge in their hearts, and this fight of words and swords was really not much inferior to the competition between two masters on the school field.

Two words, wonderful!

"And how are you going?" Xu Zhengkuan asked.

"I have to question the chief complainant and witnesses, I have to question the officials of the state government who participated in the trial of the other driver, and I have to question the officials involved in the case one by one who have been detained and imprisoned." Mu Partridge's answer was a board and a glance, and the words were correct and round.

Xu Zhengkuan's eyes narrowed, "These people, do you want to see them all?" ”

"That's right. All. Mu Partridge does not squint, and he is right. Xu Zhengkuan smiled coldly, "Doesn't General Mu think that this is a waste of time?" ”

Mu Partridge was unmoved, "You can just send me your proclamation paperwork without telling me these things." But since the general has already handled it, he must go through it in strict accordance with the regulations for handling the case. Because I suspect that you have set up a private court to falsify evidence and bend into a trick, I suspect that you have issued illegal sea fishing documents without authorization, and I suspect that you have abused your power and framed good people! ”

"Do you want to- a review?"

"Yes!"

Xu Zhengkuan was speechless for a while, squinted his eyes at the roof, and then reached out and touched his beard, and at the same time his eyes blinked several times, thinking that it was really self-defeating, originally wanted to use this Mu Partridge to force him to be his favorable witness and enhance the legal strength of the proclamation document. Unexpectedly, he opened a dye room to give him a little color, and he dared to propose a "review"!

Seeing Xu Zhengkuan's tangled and annoyed expression, Mu Lu was unhappy or angry, and there was no expression on his face, but his heart was beating suddenly.

Re-examination, they will definitely not give me such a chance; The only thing I can do now is delay them as much as I can. As soon as the proclamation document is issued, this cadre will become a criminal of the imperial court, and everything will be passive. Even General Wang would not be able to continue to hold military power because of his involvement in the case. In that way, no one in the entire Lingzhou will be able to restrain Xu Zhengkuan - if he is really ambitious enough, then he can do whatever he wants!

"General Mu, it's too much time to review. Maybe by the time you re-examine it, the suspects will have already fled to the edge of the sky. Xu Zhengkuan said, "It's better to do this, I'll send someone to send this proclamation document first." The review will be carried out slowly and slowly, and the official will give his full cooperation. ”

"No way!" Mu Partridge said categorically, "It only took you one night to collect all the evidence and arrest so many people, there must be some omissions." In handling cases, you can't let go of a bad person, and you can't wronged a good person! Before the review is completed, the proclamation document of the state department and the yamen must not be issued! ”

"Then if you are the official, you must send it?" Xu Zhengkuan's tone became much tougher.

Mu Partridge smiled, "Then you're done!" By the way, it would be best to kill Ben again! ”

"What do you mean?" Xu Zhengkuan's face sank.

"If you don't kill Ben Jiang, Ben General's soldiers, if they know these things, Ben Jiang can't stop them!" Mu Partridge looked straight at Xu Zhengkuan, not giving an inch to the-for-tat, and said word by word, "That's what it means!" ”

Xu Zhengkuan's face turned into iron blue.

But he has a "stunt" that no one else can learn, and when his face is tense and iron-blue, he can still laugh and groan, he said: "General Mu, how do you feel, you are deliberately delaying time, who is the opportunity to mediate and escape?" ”

Mu Lu's heart suddenly changed, his expression did not change at all, and he looked at the front and said: "I will be honest and impartial, and everything will be done in strict accordance with the law and regulations." As for the rest, let it be commented on, unmoved! ”

"Ho! ......" Xu Zhengkuan sneered, and touched his mustache again, "A military general is also coming to review the case, which is to make it clear that he wants to slap the face of the Yamen of our state." Anyway, this official was born with a good temper and a bodhisattva heart. Since General Mu is worried that there will be a possibility of injuring a good person by mistake, then this official will consider giving you an hour to review this case! ”

"An hour?" Mu Partridge's eyes widened, "How is this enough!" ”

"General Mu, don't you say that you are very capable?" Xu Zhengkuan sneered, "It didn't take much time for the official to investigate and collect evidence and arrest suspects. Now that the witnesses and suspects have been placed here, the official has left you with a lot of convenience. If you spend more time doing the review than the officer, then you are incompetent! ”

Xu Zhengkuan smiled, "If you are an incompetent mediocre general, what qualifications do you have to review the case that has been tried by this official?" Isn't that - ridiculous! ”

"If you want to laugh, then laugh." Mu Partridge was unmoved, "Ben will do things, and he has always been cautious." An hour is not enough in any case! Didn't you spend the night too? Ben will, at least a day! ”

"One day? No way! Xu Zhengkuan said coldly, "At most, two hours!" ”

Mu Partridge took a deep breath, "Okay, two hours, just two hours!" ”

"Then count the time from now on." Xu Zhengkuan smiled.

"......" Mu Partridge gritted his teeth in hatred, "Okay, take me to the Witnesses now!" ”

Xu Zhengkuan touched his beard and smiled, "Don't worry, I haven't eaten breakfast yet!" ”

"Don't eat it, go now!" Mu Partridge stood up.

Xu Zhengkuan pursed his lips, "If you don't eat it, I want to eat it!" ”

Mu Partridge nodded annoyed and helplessly, "Okay, then eat first!" ”

"Someone, get breakfast!" Xu Zhengkuan was still smiling, "This official, I want to have a drink with General Mu!" ”

Mu Lu didn't pay attention to him, and only thought in his heart: The case is reviewed, Xu Zhengkuan will definitely not give me the opportunity to ask for something really useful. Those witnesses are his henchmen, those who have been imprisoned, I will definitely not be able to see anyone who really knows the inside story, and the little characters will definitely not dare to talk nonsense, because their families are all controlled!

The so-called review only delayed the issuance of the notice document for two hours!

Mu Partridge took a deep breath to calm his restless emotions, and said in his heart: Two hours, I have done my best! ----- now it's up to Ding Run, what kind of reinforcements can be invited in these two hours!

Mu Partridge patiently asked the same question to several handmaidens and servants, and asked them repeatedly.

Later, the servants and maidservants were a little tired of asking, "General Mu, you have already asked this question!" ”

Mu Partridge turned his face, "Ben will ask you, you just have to answer!" ”

Xu Zhengkuan smiled on the side, "Don't be impatient, the judge asks the case like this, and often asks the same question." If your answers are inconsistent, then there is a falsehood in your words. General Mu, although he is a military general, is not easy to fool. ”

Mu Partridge heard him speak like this, and knew that he was ostensibly helping himself round the field, but secretly he was reminding the servant to be careful to reply, and not to answer wrong.

From many details, it can be seen that these servants and maidservants were instructed to bear false testimony. But Mu Partridge can only know it in his heart, and he can't expose it on the spot. Otherwise, there is a real possibility that you will be wiped out. There are also these servants and maids, they are now false witnesses to Lingzhou's crimes, but in the future, they are the "real witnesses" instigated by Xu Zhengkuan to make them accomplices - if their panic is exposed now, they will definitely be silenced!

"Okay, that's pretty much it." Mu Partridge said quietly, "Now go to the prison, this official wants to meet those officials who have been imprisoned." ”

"Don't worry, General Mu has been asking for so long, and the official is tired of listening, let's rest for a while!" Xu Zhengkuan couldn't help but say, "Come on, please go to the tearoom to rest, good tea and good snacks!" ”

"Yes!"

Several sergeants came forward and said that they were invited, and it was clear that they were going to come hard.

Mu Lu smiled disappreciatively, "Xu Changshi has been kind again, and he will thank you." Excuse me, is it this year's Qingming New Tea? ”

Xu Zhengkuan smiled, "Of course, it's good tea-General Mu, please!" ”

Mu Partridge was just about to step out of the door, and a team was running quickly, "Xu Changshi-"

"Team Zhao, what's the alarm?" Xu Zhengkuan scolded him sharply and signaled him not to talk nonsense.

Mu Partridge stood still.

Team Zhao, who reported the news, hesitated, invited Xu Zhengkuan aside, and said: "The guard of the south gate will lead people straight to the Yamen of the State Division, and the patrolling guards are trying their best to stop it, but they can't stop it!" ”

Xu Zhengkuan's face sank, "How many people?" ”

"About two hundred!"

"Only two hundred? Two hundred sure? "It's two hundred!"

Xu Zhengkuan squinted his eyes, stretched out his hand and touched his beard left and right, "Team Zhao, the people who take you are strictly on guard against the state department!" Listen to me and be ready to fight! ”

"Yes! …… The South Gate guard, do you want to let him enter the state department? ”

"Enter, of course you have to enter." Xu Zhengkuan said in a low voice, "But you can't let them in too easily, they have to break in by force—break in, understand?" ”

"Understood!"

Team Zhao was trotting away again.

Xu Zhengkuan returned to Mu Lu's side with a smile and said, "General Mu, you don't have to delay the trial and trial, who can buy the opportunity." What you don't want to see, has already happened. ”

Mu Lu looked ahead with a straight face, and didn't look at Xu Zhengkuan, "I don't understand the meaning of your words." ”

"General Mu, the show is about to start, are you interested in going and watching it together?" Xu Zhengkuan smiled.