The door to the study was tightly closed, like the mouth that a man of good will never open in the face of torture.

Dang Xiaobo and other admirals' henchmen were being tortured in the back garden, but their mouths had already been gagged with stinky rags, so they didn't scream.

Hong Changqing watched the night around him vigilantly, and led several officials sent by the Jiaozhou Governor to scatter around the study, preventing anyone from approaching the room.

The study fell into a deathly silence, not knowing what Fan Xian and Xu Maocai said inside, what they discussed, what they considered, and what they disputed.

Drifting in along the faint candlelight, you can see the increasingly heavy expressions of the two and the chill in their eyes.

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, the shadows on both sides of the bridge of his nose were very conspicuous, and he said softly: "This matter is here, this is here." ”

Xu Maocai thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, my lord." ”

The conversation between the two about the year and beyond came to an end for the time being, and Xu Maocai, while suppressing his excitement, also returned to his calm over the years, and changed his title from a young master to an adult. He knew how rebellious his conversation with Fan Xian was, if other people knew what he said to Fan Xian, he would definitely die, and Fan Xian would definitely not have a good life.

"More on that later. Fan Xian said calmly: "How to deal with this problem now?"

Xu Maocai has been in the Jiaozhou Naval Division for 20 years, and has progressed step by step from the lowest soldier to today's important general, and naturally has a prestige and network that others cannot match. Fan Xian's handling of the Jiaozhou water master, if there is his help, it will be much easier.

"I'm going to contact people in the military. Xu Maocai thought for a while and said, "If adults need someone to come forward, I can try it." ”

Fan Xian frowned and thought about it, if he could subdue a large number of middle- and lower-level officers in the water division, it would naturally be much smoother, since the general of the old Qin family refused to come forward, Xu Mao was willing to come out to help him, and the effect must be similar. But after thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "Don't come forward in person." ”

Xu Maocai looked at Fan Xian with some surprise.

Fan Xian said: "I don't want people to be able to detect the slightest problem...... After all, you are a person from Quanzhou Water Master, and since you have been in peace all these years, you will not come out today. ”

It's not a critical moment, this Fan Xian's chess piece in the army naturally can't be exposed, but to deal with such a deformed arm as the Jiaozhou Sailor, he will never use the sharp kitchen knife that he finally picked up on the side of the road.

"But...... In the middle and lower ranks of the army, you help me figure out a way. Fan Xian continued: "Influence some people you can influence, at least let them settle down, after dawn, I will go to the sailor to announce the decree, I don't want tens of thousands of soldiers to besiege me at that time." ”

Xu Maocai smiled, saluted and said, "Don't worry, my lord, in fact, tonight, I feel that you seem to be thinking about this matter too hard." ”

"Oh, what do you say?" Fan Xian raised his eyebrows, interested.

"You underestimated the army's loyalty to the imperial court, and underestimated the influence of Your Majesty on the soldiers. Xu Maocai said calmly: "Maybe Chang Kun can control a part of the army, maybe his henchmen can incite soldiers who don't know the truth to make trouble...... But the current state is that Chang Kun is dead, and Dang Xiaobo and several others have also been arrested and imprisoned by you, whether it is a soldier or a common person, if you have the courage to do something against Qincha, you must need someone to take the lead. ”

Xu Maocai finally said: "If the sheep dare to rise up and rebel against the wolves, there must be a wolf hiding among the sheep." ”

Fan Xian's eyes lit up, and he looked at Xu Mao for a long time without speaking. At this time, I found out that the lucky person left by the mother back then looked at things and really had something unique.

"But I'm a wolf from a foreign country. He smiled and said, "These old wolves in the sailor also cherish their feathers. ”

Xu Maocai said lightly: "You escort them to go, they have to go...... There is no need for them to say anything, as long as they stop in the camp, the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division will naturally know their position, and if there is still trouble in the army, the adults might as well kill them. ”

"Murder Liwei?" Fan Xian frowned. "I'm afraid of ninety to mutiny, the smell of blood is very pungent, and it is easy to make people's brains faint. ”

Xu Maocai looked at him and smiled, and said in a harmonious voice: "My lord, the smell of blood is also easy to make people timid, especially the lower-class people who are not very bold in the first place. ”

These words are plain, but with a hint of weirdness and resentment, presumably when the Ye family and Quanzhou sailors were purged twenty years ago, this timid man who was too scared by blood and couldn't move.

Fan Xian thought about it and nodded.

Xu Maocai saw that the worry between his eyebrows was still not dispelled, and he knew what he was worried about, and after thinking for a while, he said tentatively: "Even if I don't come forward today, I can try it afterwards." ”

What to try? Naturally, it is to try to put the Jiaozhou Sailor in the hands of Fan Xian. With Xu Maocai's current qualifications and status, as long as he is more prominent in the imperial court's investigation of the Jiaozhou Sailor case, and his loyalty to His Majesty is pure, even if Fan Xian does not help, he must have a great chance to be promoted to the title of Commander of the Navy.

For Xu Maocai, this proposal is not for the sake of his career, but for the sake of helping Fan Xian get a powerful boost.

But Fan Xian just shook his head.

"I know you're too late. He said: "So there was no arrangement in advance, the aftermath of the Jiaozhou sailor has already been decided in Kyoto, and in ten days, someone from the Privy Council will take over, as for you...... I will find a way to keep you from being implicated and still stay in Jiaozhou, but there is no way to position the Admiral. ”

Xu Maocai nodded, knowing that regarding the follow-up arrangements of the water master, there must have been a fixed number in the palace, since Fan Xian didn't know his origin, of course, he didn't make any arrangements in advance.

"Who is the next Admiral?"

"Qin Yi. Fan Xian said slowly: "Qin Heng's cousin." ”

Qin Heng is the current Kyoto garrison, the leading figure of the second generation of the old Qin family, and the relationship with Fan Xian was quite harmonious when he was in Beijing.

But Xu Maocai heard the name, and his face was a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Fan Xian saw his worry and asked curiously.

"Why would Your Majesty let someone from the old Qin family take over?" Xu Maocai frowned and said: "Even if the Ye family is out of favor now, there are more than two in the army, and there are still a few people in the Western Expeditionary Army who have not had a suitable position. ”

"I don't really understand either. Fan Xian replied with a smile, but he thought in his heart that in such an important place as Jiaozhou, the emperor must choose his henchmen to control to avoid such a thing as Chang Kun again.

Xu Maocai looked at Fan Xian and stopped talking, and only after a while did he make up his mind and say: "The old Qin family is not simple. ”

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have evidence, but I always feel that the old Qin family is not simple. Xu Maocai frowned and said: "You also know that the third person in the water division is a member of the Qin family, Chang Kun has done so many tricks and feet in the water division and led thousands of soldiers south, how can he hide from him...... Why did he never report to the court? If he had told the old Qin family, the old Qin family had not told His Majesty...... It's a bit weird. ”

Fan Xian quieted down, carefully calculated the details in his mind, and then said: "So you have to stay in Jiaozhou and keep an eye on the Admiral who will come soon, I believe that the old Qin family will not betray Your Majesty." Because in every way, it's not a good thing. ”

Xu Maocai thought to himself that this is indeed the case. His Royal Highness is now in charge of the forbidden army, and the Ye family did not dare to say a word when he was scolded by His Majesty, so he had to retreat to raise horses in Dingzhou, and the entire Qingguo military is naturally the most powerful now, naturally the old Qin family, if they betray His Majesty, it is impossible for them to obtain a higher status and glory.

Political choices are the same as doing business, things that are not profitable, no one wants to do.

"You go and do things. Fan Xian smiled gently and said, "Pay attention to your own safety." In the days to come, as long as I don't take the initiative to find you, you don't do anything for me. ”

Xu Maocai also laughed, walked up to him and knelt down, kowtowed respectfully, didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Looking at the figure of this general in his early forties leaving, Fan Xian put his hand behind him, squinting slightly, he knew that the other party's head was willing, and he must have been extremely happy. Twenty years ago, after twenty years, there are not many twenty years in life, and this person has been waiting for so long, it is not easy.

A trace of indifferent white floated in the sky in the distance, Fan Xian squinted his eyes, his mind didn't know where he had gone, and his brows were furrowed very tightly. He felt a little more pressure on his heart, and a little more excitement. He would not do such a thing as rebellion, just like Ye Qingmei said in the letter back then. She doesn't bother to do it, and Fan Xian doesn't like to play this kind of game, but in the years to come, there will always be many meaningful things to do besides rebellion.

For example, live well, such as let the one who just left live well, such as let some people live very unpleasantly.

At this time, there was no hustle and bustle in the Admiral's Palace, only a quiet surrounding, many people did not fall asleep, and it was just dawn.

When the morning light was getting stronger, the closed Jiaozhou city gate was slowly opened, and the state troops who had been tightly sealed all night were tired of closing their teams, standing weakly on both sides of the city gate hole, and sending the team out of Jiaozhou City with their eyes and heading towards the sailor camp not far away.

In the middle of the team was Fan Xian, who had already changed into an official uniform on a horse, luxurious and majestic. Hong Changqing on the left was holding the Son of Heaven Sword given by the emperor with an indifferent face, and the official of the Supervision Yuan on the right was holding the golden holy decree.

In front of them, there were officers and soldiers who carried signs and walked breathlessly, and then there was a golden umbrella with a crank driving the clouds.

Jiaozhou didn't know where to get a silk and bamboo team, blowing and beating, gongs and drums beating, and the excitement was non-stop.

It was a somewhat simple guard of honor, Fan Xian looked at it coldly, and couldn't help but feel funny in his heart, that Jiaozhou Zhizhou really had two brushes, but in the middle of the night, he actually made such a few things, but why did this silk bamboo team have such a strong smell of fat powder? Could it be borrowed from the Qinglou?

He has been staying in Suzhou and did not expect to use it by the sea. However, since it is the decree of the sailor, it is always beneficial to put on this kind of pomp, but Fan Xian is a little worried about Wu Gefei. Wouldn't such a deception make the old scholars in Kyoto unhappy?

The officials of Jiaozhou and the unconvicted sailor generals honestly followed behind Fan Xian, and from their expressions alone, they couldn't tell whether these people were happy or sad, but they tossed all night, and few of them were in good spirits.

The citizens of Jiaozhou, who got up in the morning, had vaguely known about the events of last night at the breakfast stalls, and they flocked outside the city gate to watch this scene, and the bold citizens pointed at the Qincha honor guard. It has been spread that the handsome young magnate like a girl on the tall horse is the rumored Lord Xiao Fan.

Fan Xian's reputation among the people is too loud.

And the reputation of Jiaozhou sailors in the city is really not much better.

I don't know who started it, but the thousands of people inside and outside the city gate shouted and wished the Lord Qincha good health, and then knelt down and saluted in different ways.

Fan Xian was stunned, looking at the black head, he couldn't help but be in a trance. Thinking of the words that Xu Mao said in the early morning. Only then did I understand that the people at the bottom of the original society were indeed an instinctive fear and respect for the angels who were high above.

This kind of understanding made Fan Xian not feel comfortable, he subconsciously glanced at Xu Maocai.

Xu Maocai pretended to be flattering and smiled.

As a last resort, Fan Xian waved his hand to stop the march of the team, piled up a gentle smile on his face, dismounted in the guards, walked lightly to the people outside the line, gently returned the salute, and very politely helped up a few old people, and said a few more words of greetings, said a few nonsense words such as Sheng'an and Tianshun, and then returned to the horse and started the team.

......

......

On the playground of the sailor, Fan Xian sat on the chair with a calm face, looking at the officers and soldiers below on the high platform. The faces of the officers and men were different, either excited, resentful, or afraid. But those eyes sparkled as they looked at Lord Qincha and the officials on the stage.

Most of the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division already knew what happened last night, but because the time was too tight, those henchmen of Chang Kun among the middle-level generals did not have the opportunity to provoke the emotions of the entire battalion, but only took a sergeant to enter the state to save people, but the team suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

So at this time, the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division were a little scared, and they didn't know why the imperial court suddenly sent a Qincha lord over, and they didn't understand why Governor Chang Kun and the party generals were not on the stage, could it be that the rumors in the army were true?

Fan Xian squinted at the crowded heads in the audience. Fan Xian was pressed to the ground, and he actually lined up all the way to the edge of the port.

It was only at this time that he felt a trace of worry, he had seen the forbidden army, and the black cavalry was always by his side, but he suddenly saw tens of thousands of soldiers standing neatly in front of him, and then he felt the sense of oppression brought by the number of people. If these 10,000 soldiers are their enemies, then I am afraid that I will not be able to sit on this platform.

Fan Xian curled the corners of his lips and smiled self-deprecatingly, and he didn't listen to the words of the No. 3 general of the Navy Division very carefully, thinking that his luck was really good, and he actually found Xu Maocai inside the Water Division, although the mood of the soldiers under the stands was slightly unstable, but there should be no major problems, presumably Xu Maocai did a lot of secret work after the early hours of the morning.

And Chang Kun is dead, the party has been ambushed, no one takes the lead, no matter how bloody these soldiers are, it is impossible for them to be, Xu Maocai is right, he overestimated the danger of the situation.

Fan Xian touched the tissue paper in his arms, this is the confession written by the generals who participated in the East China Sea, Dang Xiaobo is indeed hard-topped, even if he is knocked unconscious, he will not speak, but not all the tough guys in the army are like this, under the torture of the Supervision Yuan, someone finally recruited.

With a confession, he has a righteous name, Fan Xian no longer worries about anything, and listens to the general's speech with interest.

This general is the one of the old Qin family, he didn't want to come forward, but Fan Xian stopped Xu Maocai's suggestion and didn't give him this opportunity at all, so he simply tore his face, and asked him to come forward to lecture without smiling, and at the same time handed over to him the difficult person who announced the crime of Dang Xiaobo.

Sure enough, as Fan Xian expected, when the general mentioned the three major crimes of colluding with other places, fornicating with bandits, and disobeying the order to transfer troops, the officers and soldiers in the audience were in an uproar, especially those middle-level school officers, and there were some signs of bad news.

Fan Xian looked at this scene, slowly left the chair, walked to the front of the stage, looked at the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers under the stage, and said gently: "This official is Fan Xian, who came by order." ”

He is not an immortal, and he does not have the ability to make the audience fall into silence with his eyes, but his words contain a trace of domineering true qi in his body, which spreads quickly, and resounded throughout the entire playground, making those officers and soldiers stunned.

In this gap, Fan Xian began with the name: "Admiral Chang Kun Chang was assassinated last night." ”

The audience was in an uproar, full of disbelief and shock.

Jiaozhou Zhizhou Wu Gefei glanced at Lord Xiao Fan in front of the stage worriedly, he did not agree with the whole army gathering and announcing that it should be divided into battalions, I don't know what Lord Xiao Fan thinks.

Fan Xian looked at the officers and soldiers in the audience, and said slowly: "Governor Chang is stationed in Jiaozhou all the year round, defending one side for the country, willing to be in a difficult place, and is really the pillar of the country. ”

The few people on the stage who knew the inside story were silent, they had already received the results announced by Fan Xiandai's court, and the rest of the officials and generals were dumbfounded when they heard this, didn't Lord Xiao Fan come to check on Admiral Chang?

The officers and soldiers in the audience also gradually quieted down, looking at the stage with doubts, and none of them understood what Lord Qincha said.

With a hint of heaviness on his face, Fan Xian said faintly: "The sky has no eyes, but I didn't expect Admiral Chang to die young...... What are the most vicious people who dare to commit such evil deeds!"

His voice gradually became higher, full of anger, and his eyes were full of fierceness, as if he wanted to find out the so-called real murderer from the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers in the audience.