Half an hour later, Fan Zhiwan finally finished speaking, he breathed a long sigh of relief, and seemed to say all the words buried deep in his heart, and his whole body was a lot more relaxed. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

He looked at Xu Liang expectantly.

Xu Liang, Dai Feng, Xu Changqing, Ling Qing and others were immersed in the shock of what Fan Zhiwan said, and they did not come back to their senses for a long time. Xu Liang reached out and rubbed his somewhat stiff cheeks vigorously, trying to make himself more sober. He pondered for a while, and suddenly sneered: "Sure enough, the world is as black as a crow!" There are these resident insects eroding all over the court, how can the Ming Dynasty be strong! Then he frowned slightly, and looked at Fan Zhiwan: "What you said, doesn't Sun Chengzong, the governor of Jiliao, know anything about it?" ”

Fan Zhiwan's face turned gloomy when he heard this, and he smiled bitterly sullenly: "Those words of Fang Cai, Xia Guan has already said it to Sun Ge Lao in person, and Sun Ge Lao has also secretly investigated, but later, this matter is over!" ”

Xu Liang was surprised, Sun Chengzong is not only the governor of Jiliao, but also the cabinet minister of the court, from the perspective of the court, if this kind of situation that infringes on the interests of the Ming Dynasty is discovered, Sun Ge Lao should be deeply disgusted, and strictly investigate to the end, how can it be stopped!

"Could it be that Elder Sun Ge just let it go?"

Fan Zhiwan's expression was hesitant, and he put his hands on his chest at a loss, "In the opinion of the following officials, the Liaodong Fortress has already involved the interests of too many officials, even with Sun Ge Lao's prestige and ability, he does not dare to punish him vigorously. ”

Xu Liang sneered disdainfully: "He is ruthless in dealing with his own officials, how can he deal with these resident insects, he has no tricks at all?" ”

Fan Zhiwan's face turned red and said: "If it is said that Sun Ge Lao has not acted at all, it is not accurate, at least since the lower official mentioned it to Sun Ge Lao, the number of newly built fortresses in Liaodong has greatly decreased in the past year. ”

"Treat the symptoms but not the root cause!" Xu Liang snorted lightly, pouted, and then looked at Fan Zhiwan, "Lord Fan reported this situation to this official today, did he want to provide the official's hand to check these resident insects?" ”

Fan Zhiwan nodded excitedly, "That's exactly what Xia Guan meant!" The governor of Shaanxi has also heard a lot about the deeds of the lower officials, but the cancellation of various taxes in Shaanxi, the expulsion of local town guards and eunuchs, and the tax reform, the lower officials are excited every time they think of it! Lord Governor, now that the Ming Dynasty has been weak for a long time, the Liaodong Army is the barrier to the north of the court, if the Liaodong civil and military forces are allowed to continue to be corrupt and degenerate, once the Emperor Taiji raises the whole country's troops to attack, whether the Guanning defense line can be held, the lower officials are very worried. ”

Fan Zhiwan shook his knees and solemnly arched his hand: "Lord Governor, the lower officials know that Elder Sun Ge has compromised, and at present, in the entire Liaodong, the only person who can deal with these people stationed in the court is Lord Governor!" The lower official is willing to ask the governor to investigate this matter strictly! Wipe out these garrisons that embezzle the military funds of the court and damage the interests of the court! ”

Boom! Fan Zhiwan kowtowed heavily, raised his head again, and looked at Xu Liang expectantly.

Hiss! Xu Liang suddenly felt a toothache! Glancing at Fan Zhiwan, he secretly said that this person would really give himself a problem.

Liaodong's strategy of building fortresses to resist the Qing army has been implemented for several years, and after the development of these years, from Jingshi to Liaodong, corrupt officials from all walks of life have long formed a network of interests, and their potential power makes people palpitate. Even in the capacity of Sun Chengzong's dignified cabinet minister and governor of Jiliao, he did not dare to vigorously investigate this matter, which shows how terrifying this hidden network of interests should be!

Not long after Xu Liang came to Liaodong, the relationship with Liaodong's civil and military forces was extremely unharmonious, and there was no one else except for the 30,000 Liang troops under his hands. More importantly, the development plan drawn up by Xu Liang is not in the Guanning defense line, but on the Liaodong Peninsula, Xu Liang just wants to build a ship as soon as possible and go to the Liaodong Peninsula.

However, facing Fan Zhiwan's expectant gaze, Xu Liang couldn't help but hesitate again, and he could see that Fan Zhiwan didn't have any bad intentions, and he was still a good comrade who thought about the court wholeheartedly. If you just tell him directly that you don't want to meddle in the affairs of the fortress, it will inevitably seriously hit Fan Zhiwan's enthusiasm.

Besides, Xu Liang still had the idea of pulling Fan Zhiwan into his camp. After pondering for a long time, Xu Liang said to Fan Zhiwan with a serious expression: "Master Fan, what you said, this official was shocked when he heard it!" I can't imagine that the officialdom atmosphere in Liaodong is so corrupt! This official hates those who ignore the overall situation, are selfish, and fill their own pockets! As long as what you say is true, this official will definitely investigate to the end and will not tolerate it! ”

Dai Feng looked at Xu Liang in shock, Xu Changqing pursed his lips, wanting to remind Xu Liang of something, but in the end, after glancing at Xu Liang, he didn't say anything.

Xu Liang's words made Fan Zhiwan so excited that he almost jumped up, his face was flushed, and he danced excitedly: "Lord Governor, the lower official dares to guarantee with his life, and what the lower official said is true!" ”

Xu Liang walked over, supported Fan Zhiwan cordially, nodded, and said, "Zhiwan, of course this official believes your words." It's just that this matter is extremely implicated, but I, the governor of Liaodong, believe that it will not work. Our ultimate goal is to cure the sins of those people! And to punish crimes, it can't be done just by saying, we have to have evidence! Evidence, you know what I mean? ”

Fan Zhiwan was stunned, and nodded suddenly, "Xia Guan understands!" Rest assured, the governor will definitely find out the evidence of those people's greed for ink! ”

Xu Liang nodded slowly and looked at Fan Zhiwan seriously: "Okay, Zhiwan, this official is waiting for your good news." Well, when the official first came to Liaodong, the civil and military forces in Liaodong were still wary of the official, so in matters such as collecting criminal evidence, the official was afraid that he would not be able to help you! However, I will instruct Ling Qing in the Governor's Yamen that if you have any difficulties, you can come to the Governor's Yamen to find Ling Qing! ”

Fan Zhiwan was deeply moved and looked at Xu Liang with tears in his eyes.

Xu Liang carefully instructed Fan Zhiwan to pay attention to safety and other words, so that Fan Zhiwan listened to the warm heart, and his morale increased greatly, and then he solemnly said goodbye to Xu Liang and others, and went back to search for criminal evidence with high spirits.

Dai Feng frowned and looked at Xu Liang, "Son-in-law, do you really want to intervene in the investigation of this matter?" ”

Xu Liang smiled slightly and said, "I can't say that I just want to take care of this mess in Liaodong, right?" It's rare to meet a hot-blooded young man like Fan Zhiwan, and you can't chill someone's enterprising heart! ”

"So, what do we need to do?" Dai Feng asked.

Xu Liang raised his eyebrows, smiled weirdly, and said, "We don't have to do anything." Just wait. Well, Ling Qing, you should pay more attention to Fan Zhiwan in Ningyuan, if Fan Zhiwan can really find out the conclusive evidence of some officials' greed for ink, report it to me immediately. ”

"Yes." Ling Qing nodded.

Xu Liang and the others had lunch at the Yamen of Ningyuan Governor, and then set off to return to Juehua Island.

An hour later, Xu Liang and the others rushed to the Xingcheng Wharf thirty miles outside Ningyuan City, where three sailboats that could carry 300 people were parked. When Xu Liang came to Ningyuan from Juehua Island for a meeting, after landing on the shore, the three boats accompanying him were handed over to the Ming soldiers at the dock to guard.

It can be seen that these Ming soldiers are intimidated by the name of Xu Liang Liaodong Governor, and they are also quite attentive, and the place where the three ships dock has been under martial law, seeing Xu Liang and others coming to board the ship, the Ming soldiers on guard breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully handed over the ship to the Liang soldiers.

Sailing, Xingcheng Wharf to Juehua Island is less than 30 miles of waterway, it will not take an hour to arrive.

The two ships guarded the middle one, and Xu Liang, Dai Feng and Xu Changqing were on the middle boat. The sea breeze is blown, moist and cool.

Xu Liang stood in the bow of the boat, enjoying the comfort of the sea breeze blowing across his cheeks. Dai Feng, Xu Changqing was on the side.

"Look at these fishermen on the sea, if there is no attack by the Qing army, how peaceful the lives of these coastal people should be. The sunrise goes to sea, the sunset returns, and the harvest of the day is in this net. Xu Liang pointed to a few fishing boats on the sea, dozens of meters away from his boat, and said happily.

Xu Changqing was very familiar with the situation in Liaodong, and looked at the fishing boats, Xu Changqing sighed with emotion: "During the Jiaqing period, the fishermen in the Weihai area were often invaded by the coastal pirates, and later the pirates were beaten honestly, and the fishermen in Liaodong lived a peaceful life for a few years. Now it's even more amazing, Huang Taiji built the Great Qing Kingdom, the cavalry of the Qing army can come if they want, and withdraw if they want to, Jian Zhen regards the Liaodong region as his own back garden! Don't look at these fishermen to fish so peacefully, thanks to Sun Ge's old fear of consolidating the Guanning defense line! ”

Xu Liang nodded slightly, and said with emotion: "If you talk about it like this, Sun Ge Lao's fortress tactics are not all useless. It's just a matter of size. ”

Xu Qingchang attached. Then Dai Feng also interjected, and the three of them chatted about some pleasant topics.

The three boats rode the wind and waves all the way towards Juehua Island. It was about twenty miles away from Xingcheng Wharf, and Xu Liang, Dai Feng, and Xu Changqing also stayed at the bow for a long time, so they decided to go into the cabin.

Before leaving, Xu Changqing looked at the surrounding sea again, frowned and said to himself: "Strange, those fishing boats seem to be going in the same direction as us?" Could it be that these are the fishermen of Kyaw Hoa Island? ”

When Dai Feng heard this, he was also a little surprised, and he said strangely: "Won't it?" The western coast of Juehua Island was used by the Liang army as a water warfare practice area, and it was rare to see fishing boats going out to sea in this water. ”

When Xu Liang heard this, he couldn't help but look at the fishing boat in the distance, and in the distance, the fishermen on the boat were still unhurriedly casting their nets and catching their nets, and several men next to him helped pull them up......

"You're too careful, aren't you?" Xu Liang chuckled, lowered his head and prepared to enter the cabin!

Suddenly, Xu Liang suddenly felt the hull of the ship shake, and then there was a dull thud, as if something had cracked.

Xu Liang raised his head fiercely, and met Dai Feng and Xu Changqing in disbelief,

"What's going on?" The three of them asked almost in unison. However, the three of them looked at each other. Suddenly, I heard the exclamation of a soldier of the Liang Army from a guard ship on the left: "Oh no! The boat is leaking!! ”

Immediately, the screams of the boat on the left side were heard one after another, and Captain Liang was shouting at the panicked soldiers.

Xu Liang, Dai Feng, and Xu Changqing glanced at each other, and their faces were a little ugly.

"My lord, the escort boat on the left side reports that the bottom of the ship is leaking, and requests to be close to the main ship so that the crew can be diverted." A Tsing Yi guard ran over and said to Xu Liang.

"A good ship, how can it leak?" Dai Feng scolded angrily, "Didn't those fools check the ship before sailing?!" ”

Xu Liang frowned, and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard a rush of footsteps in the cabin, and then the captain in charge of driving the ship ran up sweating profusely, trembling his lips, and shouted at Xu Liang: "Lord Governor, a big hole has suddenly broken under our ship!" A large stream of sea water poured in, and it couldn't be stopped at all! We're afraid our ship is going to sink! What should I do next, Governor, do you have an idea? ”

Xu Liang's face changed drastically, at this time, even a fool could guess that his three ships made people move!

"How big is the hole, can it be plugged?" Xu Liang Tie asked with a blushing face.

The captain shook his head, "It's too big to block." ”

As he was talking, more than a dozen crew members who had been assisting in rowing at the bottom of the cabin rushed up one by one, shouting as they ran: "The boat is in the water!" It's sinking! Run!! ”

The body sank again, as if it had sunk into a section, and the sound of rushing water came from the bottom of the cabin.

More than a dozen Tsing Yi guards dared to come over tightly and looked at Xu Liang nervously.

Dai Feng looked at the escort boat on the right and said, "The escort boat on the right seems to be fine, my lord, get on that boat!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Feng's face changed, because there was also an exclamation from the boat on the right.

"My lord, what should I do?" The captain asked, horrified, and it was already clear that the whole ship was sinking rapidly. Most of these people are fishermen from the coastal areas of Ningyuan, who are familiar with the nature of the water, and they will not drown immediately if they jump into the sea.

The captain couldn't wait for Xu Liang's reply, stomped his feet, ran towards the strings of the ship, jumped into the water, and quickly moved away from the sinking ship, knowing that once the main ship sank, the whirlpool formed was enough to sweep everyone around him into it.

The sea water came up from the cabin, and the whole ship was more than half sunk. The surrounding Liang soldiers and Tsing Yi guards all looked at Xu Liang nervously. Waiting for Xu Liang's instructions, many people's faces turned pale, most of these people are soldiers from Shaanxi Province, and they are not familiar with water, although after more than ten days of emergency diving training, but in the face of the wide sea, many people still have chills in their hearts.

"If you don't want to die, jump ship!" Xu Liang gritted his teeth and shouted angrily. Dai Feng listened, and with a wave of his hand, the surrounding Liang soldiers and Tsing Yi Wei jumped into the sea without hesitation from various places.

By Xu Liang's side, only Dai Feng, Xu Changqing and eight personal Tsing Yi guards remained. Xu Liang shouted at a Tsing Yi guard: "Send a signal for help!" Then he jumped up and threw himself into the sea.

Dai Feng, Xu Changqing, and eight Tsing Yi guards followed closely and jumped down, and before the last Tsing Yi guard jumped into the sea, his right hand was raised, and only a sharp whistling sound was heard rising in the air, and with a bang, it exploded in the air, forming a cloud of bewitching red smoke! (To be continued.) )