He Zhe called his New Year's friend, Liang Fuji, who was also a scheming man, into his office early in the morning.

Although the old man is old, he can't stop walking, and he needs to be supported by He Zhe to sit down slowly. But waking up early in the morning was earlier than the young city lord. Holding the scroll, He Zhe sent someone to summon him, and he went without hurrying or slowing.

I saw that on the spacious long table in the office house, the official documents such as a mountain high were neatly stacked in a corner, divided into three piles according to the content of the documents. But there were four or five official documents in the middle stained with undried ink, which obviously didn't finish, which gave He Zhe a headache for a while.

"Both... Hua, this tea is good. Yes, it's the star leaf, right? I heard that this thing is made into tea, and the most is... The most refreshing. ”

"The people from Ji Mansion sent it two days ago. He Zhe propped his hands on the long table and smiled wryly: "This Ji Mansion is really difficult to deal with, alas, there have been more and more things recently." But this star leaf is really a good thing, wait for Brother Liang to take two bags away," he and Liang Fuji spoke, and his attitude was also very natural and easy-going. He Yawned and paced up the long table, "But these little things are not as tricky as they are on the table. I could have slept a little longer, but I was thinking about it in my dreams, and I was really sleepy. ”

"What... You don't have a clue about it?" Liang Fuji's dry hand took over the pages of the official document, and his eyes were almost on it before he could see it clearly. After only looking at it for a moment, he leaned forward a lot as he sits. After reading it, I was also at a loss.

"Brother Liang, this imperial court has asked us to provide these things to the western border to punish Yang City within a week, is it to start a war?" He Zhe walked behind Liang Fuji and asked in confusion.

"Duhua, it is written that we are going to send troops to assist the Underworld to exterminate the bandits, what is it called Huilingtang. Don't have preconceived guesses!" Liang Fuji put down the official document and said in a serious and deep voice, and even his speech became very clear. "Moreover, in today's world, it is taboo to go to war without declaring it. There is no reason not to sacrifice to heaven in any big battle. What's more, although the national strength of the country is far inferior to that of a thousand years ago, the foundation is still strong, and it is still good-neighborly and friendly with our country. How do you take advantage of this opportunity to enter?"

"That's the weird part. Everyone knows very well that although Mingze and I are nominally allies, there are almost no political exchanges, let alone any military cooperation. Moreover, how could his kingdom of the underworld decline to such an extent that even a few internal bandits could not be pacified? Isn't it a great shame and great shame to ask for help from other countries to put an end to the internal turmoil? Moreover, as mentioned in this official document, it is really unpredictable that only 500 soldiers need to be needed, but 20 medium-sized ships are needed! However, these strange measures of the imperial court have such obvious mistakes, which of the city lords of the more than 20 cities will not be able to see it? This is the crux of the problem. ”

Liang Fuji hesitated for a moment, but nodded in agreement, and just as he was about to speak, He Zhe sighed and said mysteriously, "There have been too many strange things recently, you still remember the cook I told you, it's very strange, right! He has always been conservative and holds the government, how can he communicate so much with the outside world? I even doubt the authenticity of this secret document!"

In the end, there was already a bit of an eerie chill. Liang Fuji hurriedly signaled him with cloudy old eyes to be careful that the wall has ears. There was a faint sound of stomping on the ground outside the door. But coincidentally, the two of them seemed to be listening to the wind at the moment, and they both heard it clearly. Liang Fuji's face instantly turned pale, and he looked at He Zhe, who was already like a taut string.

Within a radius of ten meters from the city lord's office, no one is allowed to approach without the permission of He Zhe's personal guards!

Liang Fuji just wanted to say something, but he heard He Zhe muttering to himself full of doubts: "He Kang?"

"Both... All... Du Hua: What are you talking about?

Liang Fuji asked in surprise. Why did He Kang, the nephew of the city lord, appear here? Why did he eavesdrop on his uncle's errands? But I heard He Zhe say, "It's Yun Hao! I heard his panting voice, he didn't think it was loud, but I knew it must be him!"

Liang Fuji's expression became more serious, this involved He Zhe's family affairs! It was difficult to deal with it. He only said cautiously: "Duhua, what is the reason for this Gongzi Kang......?"

"The Divine Decree has arrived!"

Thousands of doubts came to the hearts of the two of them, but they knelt down instinctively because of this shrill shout. A eunuch in a robe appeared behind them out of thin air, pulled open the golden dazzling oracle with a "bang", and began to read it.

If you are an ordinary person who has never seen the world, you will probably be scared when you see a person appearing out of thin air behind you. But the two of them were officials in the court, so they must know something about this legendary eunuch. His name is Qu Du, and his face is extremely handsome under the cover of the golden holy decree, but he became a eunuch at a young age for various reasons. Although Qu Du was a eunuch, he was different from other eunuchs, he was close to the Qing school in the court, and had a good relationship with the scholars in the Hanlin Academy, but he disdained to associate with the increasingly corrupt eunuchs. He was once the most favored herald eunuch of the Holy Lord, and was later transferred back to the palace by the Holy Lord to serve personally. But Qu Dui's status as a hot celebrity in the palace has never been shaken. Legend has it that a eunuch and a eunuch are extremely proficient in Taoism. Qu Du once discussed the Tao with the deceased former national teacher for three days and three nights, and the two sides became close friends. He has the ability to escape, teleport, and stealth, and his fist and foot skills are comparable to those of the Janissary Captain. And what alchemy, Fu Li, and forbidden formations are also handy. He was the only eunuch in the palace who could carry a sword at any time. He can be used as a eunuch, as a guard, and as a Taoist artist, no wonder the emperor has favored him all his life! Today, His Majesty actually sent Gonggong Qu, who has not been out for many years, to preach the holy decree, there must be something important!

"The emperor's grace is vast, how can the land of my Great Qin Dynasty be coveted? The heroes of all counties should attack bravely and deal a head-on blow to the vicious enemy of the thieves and thieves in the underworld! Since ancient times, it has been said that the first strike is stronger, so why wait until the vulgar barbarians and ferocious and vicious gangsters come to the door and then fight back? It is better to wear gold armor in a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and take fame and fame immediately, open up the territory, and make meritorious contributions...... In the fifteenth year of Tianji, Qin this. After Qu Du finished reading, he gestured to the two of them to get up. He Zhe originally wanted to pay for the money given to the eunuchs, but after thinking about it, he was notoriously bad money on this Qugong Fair Day, so he gave up.

"Now that the two adults are in charge, it is naturally a great responsibility. The motive for this invasion is very obvious, and the two scouts we caught in the capital only revealed a little plan under severe torture, and then gave them an opportunity to kill themselves. It can be seen that these vulgar barbarians are resolute in their fighting spirit and are not afraid of death! The two of them guarding the border military city should pay more attention and pay more attention. As for the soldiers, grain and grass, I hope to send them to the front line as soon as possible!"

"Thank you, Lord Qu, for the reminder. Since the imperial court has assigned He to Blackwater City, He will definitely do all his best. If the Underworld dares to act rashly, my Blackwater City will definitely be the first to attack!" He Zhe said strongly, and then asked his most puzzled question, "It's just... Father-in-law Qu, what should I do with this official document?"

Qu Dui's gaze fell on the pages of official documents lying lonely in the center of the long table, and with a wave of his hand, he had already grasped it in his hand and read it with great interest.

"Lord He, is this an official document from five days ago?" Qu Du stretched out his finger and pointed to the date on the last page.

"Yes, this book is very eloquent, and it is extremely urgent to say that this matter cannot be delayed, but it was not sent immediately, but was sent yesterday in the batch of court documents four days ago. ”

Qu Du looked at the three piles of documents that had been approved at the table legs, and He Zhe explained to him: "The least stack is the weekly official documents of the imperial court, which arrived yesterday, and the payment was made four days ago; in the middle are the reports of the officials in the city; and the highest are the suggestions and needs of the people under his rule. ”

Qu Du nodded and glanced approvingly at He Zhe - this is a good official who can be called for the sake of the people. When Qian Hangfu was in office, he had never seen any people write books, but I hope this person will be a person who knows how to bend and retreat.

"Lord He, forgive me for my offense, can you show me the pile of official documents of the imperial court?"

He Zhe seemed to have expected Qu Du to say this, and nodded. There were not many official documents in the imperial court, and Qu Duan stretched out three fingers, and a page flew out of each of the upper, middle and lower layers into his hand;

"Well, these are indeed arranged by the imperial court a few days ago, and I know a thing or two. Qu Dui said in a deep voice, and both He Zhe and Liang Fuji widened their glasses—could it be that Qu Dui was also doubting the authenticity of the document?

"But how wise Your Majesty is, I'm just a little... Eunuchs. I can't know many of his decisions, and I don't dare to speak of them, let alone guess their deep meaning. Qu Dusk said this, leaving room for the topic again. But that document had already made the two of them very suspicious.

"Can Master Qu give him some point, some point? This document and what the Lord said, with all due respect, I really can't understand it. ”

"Lord He, as I said just now, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for someone like me to discuss the affairs of the DPRK and China with you, right?" Qu Duan smiled and continued: "But this matter is indeed contradictory. While saying that he would help the country of Hades to suppress bandits, he was preparing for war. It's weird, it's weird. Qu Dui has a humble opinion, and it doesn't hurt to talk about it. "If other eunuchs encounter such a thing, how dare they say more? But this one is different. His words also made the two of them attach great importance to it.

"You, Blackwater City, are the third border city I've been preaching. The two cities of Miannan and Jinri were also asked to send reinforcements to the country of Hades in your document. But when I passed there, there was not the slightest sign of moving troops to transport food. The decree came later than your document, so it stands to reason that they should be prepared to send troops to bring food and grass to the kingdom of Hades. However, you all know me, and no matter how you feel it, you don't have the slightest sense of war. Qu Duan waved his hand, and the two of them immediately saw the scene of singing and dancing in the two cities of Miannan and Jinri.

"Master Qu, this is actually not strange. After all, that document came very strangely, I think Master Mu and Lord Liu can also see the clues, and it is reasonable to stand still for the time being, right?" Liang Fuji opened his mouth and analyzed it very fluently.

"What Liang Lao said is right. As I said, this is just one of my findings, just for your reference. But three days later, after I have traveled through more than 20 cities on the border, their situation is the same as your three cities, I'm afraid there is another way, right?"

"Also, the date of this document is strange, right? According to common sense, this kind of document one day earlier than other documents should have been decided to be issued by the department in charge of official documents in the imperial court after many discussions, and it is generally a major matter. This kind of official document is sent out by the urgent messenger, and your city and the imperial capital can be reached in only two days. But it's a little strange to put it with ordinary documents, but it doesn't mean that there is necessarily a problem. Finally, this document says that it is ridiculous to support the country to eliminate internal bandits, and there is a serious mismatch between the required troops and material resources. As long as you provide 500 soldiers, but you want 20 medium ships, do you want to store supplies? Qu Dui's tone was relaxed, and what he said was what He Zhe had thought of, and he was staring at He Zhe with his eyes at the moment, as if waiting for him to speak.

Master Qu's eyes are like torches, these are doubts that cannot be ignored. But the key is that any city lord should be able to see it! The suspicion is too obvious! If this document is really fake......" He Zhe continued to follow Qu Dui's words, and the real doubt was here. However, when it came to sensitive words, he got stuck again.

"The crime of deceiving the king should be cut in half; if the king's life is pretended, the nine clans will be punished! With such intentions, can this person have no fear?"

"Master Qu, you can't talk nonsense about this! Now after all, there is no evidence, and you must not ...... it."

"That's nature, how could Qu Dusk not know. Speak more bluntly, please forgive me!" Qu Dui smiled gently, made a gesture of "forgiveness", and continued: "But Lord He may have thought badly. Now, I can already assert that this is not my emperor's edict!"

"It's... What do you mean by that?"

"It's very simple, Mu and Liu, the two city lords, they must not have received this document. Because none of them have the same doubts as you, not even the slightest doubt, they have not been revealed!"

"Lord He, Elder Liang, let's open the skylight and say something bright - first, this official document must be fake; second, only you, Lord He, or a few other city-states have received this document; third, those who pretend to trust the king's order must have the courage to be fearless, these loopholes are probably just a trap to distinguish dissent!"

The huge office fell silent all of a sudden. Qu Dui's words are already very convincing. But He Zhe really can't remember who he offended in the court. Only one person who made him feel guilty came to his mind, and he was immediately eliminated by him with absolute certainty. He Zhe had already discovered that he was caught in a huge chess game, but unfortunately, he, and his Blackwater City, were just random pawns in this chess game, and they didn't dare to look back like the pawn crossing the river.

What should I do then? Immediately report this matter to the emperor? He Zhe immediately thought of the system of "long history". The newly appointed clerk Shi Ma Hanlin is the eunuch minions who single-handedly manipulated the Qing faction some time ago, and the reason why He Zhe was degraded is also inseparable from this person. Could it be that the eunuchs did it? He Zhe had a new guess, but immediately realized that this group of eunuchs and eunuchs had absolutely no courage to forge the holy decree. Before the infamous literary prison case some time ago, that is, before the eunuchs began to attack the Qing faction, its power was far inferior to that of other parties in the DPRK and China. That Ma Hanlin is a Pixiu, he only eats and doesn't pull, and stuffing him with a gold bar will not necessarily give you some effort. If you go to the book yourself, I'm afraid you will have to see it in the moon saint. What's more, like He Zhe, who has also been up and down in officialdom for a few years, there is a natural feeling that tells him not to act rashly. He had heard a story called "Referring to a deer as a horse". Now the person who forged the official documents of the imperial court is not like Zhao Gao in that story? He Zhe saw a lot of flaws, but did he dare to say that what he saw was not a horse but a deer? This must be a trap, if he pierced it, what kind of sharp arrows would be waiting for him in the future? The man behind the scenes, since he has such great courage, must have great ability. Didn't he just fall into his trap of identifying dissidents? He was very likely to immediately incur his revenge and become a senseless victim! What's more, at this time, the enemy was secretly secret, and perhaps the mastermind behind the scenes was just thinking about whether he, He Zhe, would be obedient or not, and should he get rid of it! Although He Zhe hated these all-encompassing battles in the imperial court, he couldn't take the risk of making such a senseless sacrifice, right?

The more I think about it, the more scary I feel. "You can't act rashly!" said He Zhe gritted his teeth.

"Lord He is really a smart person, and he doesn't dare to say much about what to do. This matter of the Holy Decree should be put first. The matter of this paperwork can only be handled by the two of them. I've really talked a little too much today, and I don't dare to let the Holy Lord know that I'm a eunuch here to discuss the government!" Qu Du smiled self-deprecatingly, his face quite relaxed, as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you Master Qu for your advice! Why don't you have lunch in the Mansion and then leave?"

"Don't laugh at it. I said that I had lunch early in the morning, and I didn't dare to make the saint angry if I delayed the time!" Qu Du suddenly looked out the window and said with a smile: "Lord He, I'll leave first, no, something is coming to you again!"

As soon as He Zhefu saw Qu Dusk disappear out of thin air, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door. A servant boy held a text message in his hand and saluted: "Lord City Lord, this is written by Lord Zhao Fugui Zhao to you, he said that the matter is very urgent, please make a decision quickly!" Zhao Fugui is He Zhe's current secretary, and some small matters will be directly handed over to him to deal with.

He Zhe waved his hand to signal him to go out, walked to Liang Fuji's side, opened the text message, and watched with him.

Zhao Fugui's letter said that when he went home to visit his mother last night, he heard the servants of the Li Mansion talking about the funeral of the Qiao family when he passed by the Li Mansion near his home. The relationship between the Li Mansion and the Qiao Mansion is already relatively good, and they both belong to smaller families. Zhao Fugui is now famous, and it is not easy for them to hide it. It turned out to be Qiao Lingyan, the fourth lady of the Qiao family, who went to the Western Regions with her father and brother last month to collect high-level building equipment Heavenly Meteorite Iron for the crusade against the Underworld Kingdom, and unfortunately encountered a flash flood on the way back.

In addition to asking He Zhe if he wanted to respond to the death of someone in the Qiao family, the letter also mentioned the most uncomfortable pimple in He Zhe's heart now - although Zhao Fu did not know that the imperial court had decided to go to war, but even this sudden and inexplicable war was only negotiated between the emperor and the ministers two days ago. And more than a month ago, the Qiao family was busy buying war materials? Who did they listen to? It's really accurate!