"Lord Mu, please look at something below. Chen Wenqi untied the wrapped strip of cloth and placed a waist knife on the bookcase in front of Mu Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guard.

"Embroidered Spring Knife, General Chen, how did you ......" Mu Bin quickly grabbed the waist knife, but his eyes looked at Chen Wenqi suspiciously.

"Please identify who the owner of this knife is?" Chen Wenqi said calmly.

Mu Bin reversed the handle of the knife, only glanced at it, and then said affirmatively: "Yes, this is the waist knife worn by Wang Xi, who has been missing for nearly a year." ”

"Why is Master Mu so sure?" Chen Wenqi didn't seem to be very relieved, and asked again.

Mu Bin didn't answer immediately, turned his head and said to the soldier standing behind him: "Go, bring the weapons and equipment register of the Beizhen Fusi Middle and Rear Institute." ”

Before long, the soldier presented a book about three minutes thick to Mu Bin.

Mu Bin stretched out his hand to take it, turned to one of the pages, sent it to Chen Wenqi, and said, "General Chen, please take a look." ”

Chen Wenqi took a closer look, and there was a table on the book, with a thick red bar under the fourth line, which read:

"Wang Xi, 100 households, saber number: Jingong 30867. ”

Chen Wenqi took out an oval bronze medal from his bosom, put it on the bookcase, and said, "So, this waist plate is also this person's?"

Mu Bin flipped over the waist card, saw the words "Beizhen Fusi Zhonghou Office, 100 households", nodded and said: "Yes, this is Wang Xi's waist card." Dare to ask General Chen, where is Wang Xi's saber and waist tag here, and where are Wang Xi's others?"

"Last year, when I was ordered to travel west, I stayed at the 'Nanguan' inn in Yongguan on the first day and night, and was assassinated by a masked man. The knife was the murder weapon held by the dead masked man, and the waist tag was also found in his arms. In the next meeting, it is related to Jinyiwei, and I have come to inform Lord Mu. ”

Mu Bin was shocked when he heard this. The assassination of Qin Cha is a great crime of rebellion, not only will he die without a place to be buried, but he will also be connected to the nine clans. If a subordinate commits such a serious crime, if the chief does not report it, he must at least ask for the crime of negligence. Of course, if you take the initiative to report and actively deal with it before the imperial court investigates, it is another matter. At this time, Chen Wenqi did not go directly to the court, but took the evidence to tell himself first, which was really a great favor.

Mu Bin didn't care about the disparity in the grades of the two, so he hurriedly got up and walked to Chen Wenqi, shook it to the ground, and sincerely thanked him: "General Chen's love for protection, Mu Mou is unforgettable." ”

Chen Wenqi hurriedly pulled up Mu Bin and said frankly: "Master Mu should not be like this, he can't afford it." It's a shame to say, if it weren't for the reminder of his mentor Lord Liu, maybe he would have played it directly to the emperor tomorrow morning. Then, he explained to Mu Bin without concealment:

Chen Wenqi and Shen Lingshan, in order to avoid the poisonous miasma in the forest of the official road of Mayi, made a detour to Yan'an Mansion, and Xiaoxing stayed overnight through thick and thin, and caught up with Xia Yao and Shen Qing and his party at Juyong Pass as promised. Everyone will be in one place, and they will arrive in the capital in less than a day. After the official post was settled, Chen Wenqi said hello to Xia Yao and Shen Qing, and went to Liu Jian's mansion with Shen Lingshan to visit his teacher (Shen Lingshan went to thank Lord Liu in person for the grace of showing the path that day). After some greetings, without waiting for Chen Wenqi to speak, Liu Jian took out the saber and waist plate sent by Chen Wenqi to Feng Wenxuan of Qingzhizhou, handed them to Chen Wenqi with his own hands, and asked with concern: "Wenqi, how do you plan to deal with this matter?"

Chen Wenqi didn't think much about it, and immediately replied: "Although these two people assassinated students, the spearhead was pointed at the imperial court, and there must be ulterior motives. The students intend to truthfully play the emperor tomorrow morning, and implore the emperor to order a thorough investigation of the matter. What do you think, teacher?"

Liu Jian shook his head slightly and said: "The assassination of Qin Cha is a serious crime of rebellion that will harm the nine clans, and once the emperor hears about this, he will inevitably be furious." Judging from these two items, the person who assassinated you should be a junior officer of Jinyiwei, and when it comes to investigation, Jinyiwei's command makes it impossible for Master Mu to get rid of his negligence. Although Jin Yiwei was feared and avoided by hundreds of officials, his command made Lord Mu loyal and kind, which was very different from many of his predecessors, and he still took care of the ministers of the DPRK and China, and his style of action was relatively gentle. If he is implicated in this matter, it will not only be detrimental to Lord Mu himself, but I am afraid that it will also affect the current harmonious atmosphere in the DPRK and China. ”

When Chen Wenqi heard this, he immediately understood the intention of his mentor, and hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you for the reminder, Wenqi knows what to do." ”

Liu Jian smiled and said, "Okay." Later, the old man will go to the post house with you, and I will meet Brother Xia Yao and General Shen Qing, and persuade them not to be busy seeing the emperor in the next few days, and leave a few days for you to deal with this matter. As for the emperor, the old man will explain to the emperor. ”

When Chen Wenqi said this, Mu Bin knew that it was Liu Jian who was secretly defending himself, and immediately said: "Lord Liu is high-minded, Mu should come to the door to thank you on a certain day." ”

Chen Wenqi is here, of course, not only to show favor to Mu Bin, he wants to find out the culprit behind his assassination through Mu Bin. He deliberately changed the topic, pointed to the embroidered spring knife and waist card on the bookcase and said to Mu Bin:

"Why didn't Lord Mu ask how this Wang Xi died?"

Without thinking, Mu Bin replied: "General Chen is not only resourceful, but also strong in martial arts, this person dares to pull his beard, is that not self-destruction?"

Chen Wenqi shook his head and said: "As an official of the imperial court, how dare you dare to kill if you follow the laws of the Ming Dynasty?"

Mu Bin looked surprised and asked, "What's the matter? This person wasn't killed by General Chen? That's ...... again."

It was his accomplices who took advantage of him and stabbed him to death. ”

Mu Bin was taken aback: "What? Could it be that he was not the only one who assassinated General Chen?"

"It was two people who committed the crime together. ”

"That'...... Who was the other one? Did you run away or did you catch it?"

"He escaped. I came here to find out who this person was. Chen Wenqi replied lightly.

"Does General Chen have any clues? Mou Mou will order all households to investigate. In addition to the capital, all provinces and even prefectures and counties across the country have branches of Jinyiwei, so Mu Bin has this saying.

Chen Wenqi did not clarify whether there were any clues, but asked: "May I ask Lord Mu, does Guiwei have strict control over the equipment of embroidered spring knives?"

Discussing how to find the escaped criminals, and how to get involved in the management of the embroidered spring knife? Mu Bin was puzzled in his heart, but he still replied: "Of course." Jinyiwei's embroidered spring knife has strict management and records from creation to configuration, to damage and replacement. ”

"Will there be a copy in the market?"

Mu Bin categorically denied: "Impossible. The style, material selection and forging process of the embroidered spring knife are extremely special, and no one can imitate them. ”

"Oh, can Master Mu see one or two and let me gain some knowledge in the next place?"

Mu Bin knew that Chen Wenqi would never like to hunt for curiosities, but related to clues, so he introduced in as much detail as possible: "Let's talk about the materials used for forging knives first." The best material for folk forging swords is 100 steel, and the material used for embroidered spring knives is Uzi steel from the Western Regions. This steel-forged sword is not only extremely sharp, but also very tough and difficult to break. This steel is not only expensive, but also the forging process is also very complicated, and the imperial court has extremely tight control over the procurement of Uzi steel, so there are no swords made of Uzi steel among the people. Speaking of production, the people who use swords in the folk are scattered, even if the scale of the martial arts hall is larger, the number of swords required is not very much, so the swords are mostly forged; Moreover, after the forging of each batch of swords is completed, it must be reported to the commander in charge of the arsenal to designate the number, and the number will be engraved on the handle of the knife one by one, and the arsenal must be inspected and stored in the warehouse according to this number. Therefore, it is impossible to imitate the embroidered spring knife. ”

Chen Wenqi was relieved, nodded and said, "If it is as Master Mu said, the suspect who escaped will narrow down the scope of the search. ”

"How so?"

"Because the weapon in that man's hand is also an embroidered spring sword. ”

Mu Bin was dumbfounded and asked in surprise, "...... you You mean, the suspect who escaped is also Jinyiwei's man?"

"If Guiwei didn't find out that the embroidered spring knife was missing. Chen Wenqi nodded and said affirmatively.

"But the problem is, there are 63,782 people in the 14 institutes under the jurisdiction of Jinyiwei, each of whom is equipped with a saber and has the same style, how can he identify who is the one who escaped from the assassination?"

"Lord Mu, it's not that you underestimate Guiwei's treasures: although the embroidered spring knife is tough and sharp, it is not invincible, and compared with the 'Painted Shadow Sword' given by the emperor, it is still a little worse. That night, when I was fighting with that person, I cut the man's embroidered spring knife through a gap. Therefore, Lord Mu only needs to inquire about the Embroidered Spring Knife Forge to see who has repaired the knife edge during this period, and then he can lock up this escaped suspect. ”

Mu Bin shook his head and said: "In order to ensure the uniformity of the style and the texture of the flowing water, since the fifteenth year of Hongwu abolished the pro-army Governor's Mansion and the Yiluan Division, and changed the Jinyi Guard, the waist swords worn by the generals and wrestlers of this guard have only been replaced but not repaired, and there is no precedent for repairing swords in the forging institute. ”

"Huh?" Chen Wenqi was stunned for a moment, this was something he didn't expect, and then asked: "Is there a record of Guiwei's replacement of weapons, and how is the replaced weapon handled?"

Mu Bin smiled and said: "Shicai Mu said that Jinyiwei's embroidered spring knife has strict management and records from creation to configuration to damage replacement. Whoever replaces a weapon must first explain the reason for the defect and go to the armament depot to replace it with a warrant issued by the commander in charge of weapons and equipment. After receiving the warrant issued by the commander and acquaintance, the armament depot must fill in the 'weapon replacement register' with information such as the name of the person who replaced it, the reason for the replacement, the number of the original weapon, the number of the replacement weapon, and other information, and also change the person's weapon number in the 'weapons registration register' before it can be exchanged for a new weapon. As for the weapons that have been replaced—" Mu Bin paused slightly, and continued: "It is usually sent to the forge from time to time for processing. ”

Chen Wenqi immediately became nervous when he heard this, if the weapon that the person replaced was returned to the furnace, it would be a matter of death without evidence, even if the suspicion was very large, it would be difficult to convict without physical evidence. So he urged Mu Bin and said:

"Lord Mu, please send someone to the arsenal and forge to check it out, if there are weapons that have been replaced in the past year, please order not to deal with them for the time being. ”

Mu Bin said unhurriedly: "General Chen doesn't need to be in a hurry, the return of old weapons is irregular, and it depends on the size of the inventory." In the past year, Jin Yiwei has not made any major moves, and there are not many weapons replaced, so the swords replaced during this period should not have been dealt with. ”

"No, no, no, be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years. I still ask Lord Mu to send an order to seal the weapons that have not yet been disposed of by the arsenal and the forging station. Chen Wenqi said urgently.

Mu Bin knew that the stakes were very important, so he did not dare to slack off at the moment, and on the one hand, he ordered the weapons that had not yet been disposed of by the armament depot and forging institute, and on the other hand, he sent someone to invite Miao Bai, the commander in charge of weapons and equipment, and Bi Teng, the chief manager of the armament depot, to come to discuss the matter.

After a while, Miao Bai and Bi Teng came to Mu Bin's study with their front and back feet. As soon as Chen Wenqi saw Miao Bai, he remembered that he was the one who relieved him before the martial arts banquet of the Qionglin Club last year, so he stood up and bowed to Miao Bai and exchanged a few words.

Mu Bin briefly explained his intention to the two of them, and after hearing this, Miao Bai said: "Since last year, there have only been a handful of people who have applied for the replacement of weapons, probably less than fifty people, right? ”

Bitten agreed, got up and left.

"Mr. Bi, please stay. Chen Wenqi shouted.

Biteng turned around and asked, "What does General Chen command?"

"Is the embroidered spring knife that was replaced this year still in the arsenal?" Chen Wenqi is most concerned about whether this "physical evidence" has been destroyed.

Bitten nodded and replied, "It's still there." ”

Chen Wenqi finally breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Mu Bin in an inquiring tone: "Why don't we go to the arsenal?"

Mu Bin immediately knew what he meant, stood up and said, "Okay, let's go over together." ”

The results of the inspection were a great disappointment to Chen Wenqi and others. Since March last year, there have been only 47 registered cases of replacement of embroidered spring knives, and most of the damaged swords are due to the curling of the blades, cracked hilts, and only three of the sabers have shallow chips left on the blades. Chen Wenqi pulled out the "Shadow Sword" and compared it with those gaps one by one, but none of the gaps matched it.

"Dare to be affectionate is ......" Chen Wenqi and Mu Bin were about to say something, and when they saw the other party speak, they stopped talking.

"Master Mu, you speak first. ”

Mu Bin said with a little embarrassment: "I wondered, since there is no gap in the replacement saber that matches General Chen's 'Painted Shadow Sword', could it be that person is a thief and does not dare to apply for replacement?"

Chen Wenqi clapped his hands and said, "Master Mu is reasonable, and he thinks so below. ”

"So, if you check the embroidered spring knives in everyone's hands, won't the truth be revealed?" Master Miao," Mu Bin turned his head to look at Miao Bai, "Please immediately order all the thousands of households to inspect the swords in the hands of all generals and wrestlers, and if they are found to be defective, immediately report to them and arrest this person at the same time." ”

"Lord Mu," Chen Wenqi grabbed Miao Bai, who turned around and wanted to leave, and said to Mu Bin: "There are 60,000 Jinyi guards, and a small part of them are scattered in the two capitals and thirteen provinces. If you don't go to the next time you go back to Beijing for more than a month, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right?"

Mu Bin thought about it, but if he didn't fully inspect the swords of all the personnel, how could he find out the person who escaped?

"What is General Chen's opinion?"

"May I ask my lord, the institutions set up by Jinyiwei in the two capitals and thirteen provinces are a hundred households, right?"

"Exactly. ”

"You see, this Wang Xi is one of the hundred households of the Zhonghou Institute, and he is on the same level as the governor of the Hundred Households of the Thirteen Provinces of the Two Capitals. On that day, General Qin Zong hid outside the door and eavesdropped on a conversation between Wang Xi and his accomplice, who claimed to be a 'subordinate', apparently of a higher grade than Wang Xi. Therefore, the suspicion of the Jinyi Wei generals in the two capitals and thirteen provinces can be basically ruled out, and the objects of inspection can be determined to be the generals above the deputy thousand households of the Fusi in the south and north towns of the capital. ”

When Mu Bin heard the great joy, he hurriedly ordered the generals of the Fu Division of the South and North Towns to go to the meeting hall of the Jinyi Health Office to discuss the matter.

The Jinyi Guard served as the guard of the imperial city, and was accustomed to being sent by the emperor at any time, and his speed and efficiency were second to none among all armies. Less than half an hour after Mu Bin's order was issued, a total of 48 people, including 28 deputy 1000 households, 14 1000 households, two pacification envoys, two commanders, and two commanders, all arrived.

Chen Wenqi secretly glanced at the forty-eight people one by one, and his gaze paused on Liang De for a moment. Since the assassination of the "Nanguan Inn", Chen Wenqi has suspected that the masked man who escaped is Liang De, and looking at his figure at this time, it further confirms his guess. However, Chen Wenqi is rigorous and pragmatic by nature, and is unwilling to draw conclusions based on subjective judgment, so as not to lead the investigation of the case astray.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this Commander has summoned you here to announce a great event. This General Chen, who was appointed by the emperor to receive the power of the three guards in Ningxia, was on his way west last year, when he stayed at the 'Nanguan Inn' in Juyongguan, he was assassinated by two masked men. After the incident, General Chen recovered these two items from the dead assassins, please take a look. Mu Bin said, picked up Wang Xi's saber and waist card from the case, and held them in the air.

"Embroidered spring knife?" "Jinyi Wei waist card?"

The crowd exclaimed in a low voice.

"That's right, embroidered spring knife and brocade guard's waist card. Mu Bin continued: "After inspection, the holder of this knife and card is Wang Xi, a hundred households in the middle and rear of the Fusi Middle and Rear Institute of Beizhen, this person disappeared mysteriously a year ago, and the envoy sent people to find it many times to no avail, and today I learned that it was the assassination of Qin Cha who was killed by mistake. ”

Everyone exclaimed again, Jun Yun couldn't imagine that this person was so ambitious as a wolf, and he dared to assassinate Lord Qincha, he was really innocent.

Chen Wenqi secretly paid attention to Liang De's expression, but seeing that he was calm and calm, Chen Wenqi was a little suspicious of his guess. Then I thought, if this person really committed the crime, his composure is really amazing.

Mu Bin waved his hand to stop everyone's discussion, and then said: "From the analysis of the situation at the scene, Wang Xi is a coercive observant, and the person who escaped is the culprit. Wang Xi is a hundred households, and the only people who can make him claim to be 'subordinates' are forty-nine people in this hall. Therefore, everyone, including this commander, is suspicious. During the battle that night, General Chen cut a gap in the suspect's saber, and now, I ask General Chen to examine the swords of our forty-nine people one by one, so as to find out the real culprit and restore the innocence of the others. ”

After speaking, he walked up to Chen Wenqi, pulled out the saber on his waist, and presented it to Chen Wenqi for inspection with both hands.

Bi Teng, the head of the armament depot, who was standing beside Chen Wenqi, held the "Jinyiwei Weapons Equipment Register" in his hand, turned to the first page, and read aloud: "Mu Bin, commander, saber number: Jingong 00001." ”

Chen Wenqi reversed the blade, and the handle was engraved with "Jingong 00001", which was numbered correctly. Fu passed the saber again, and carefully examined the running water on the blade, and found nothing unusual.

Chen Wenqi returned the saber to Mu Bin and said, "Lord Mu, there is nothing abnormal about your saber. ”

Commanding Tongzhi Miao Bai to step forward, untie his waist knife, and hand it to Chen Wenqi.

"Miao Bai, commander Tongzhi, saber number: Jingong 00005. ”

Chen Wenqi still numbered first, and then checked the blade, which is also normal.

Mu Bin and Miao Bai took the lead in handing over the saber, and immediately formed an unwritten rule: according to the official taste, they should be inspected in turn. In this way, everyone presents the inspection in an orderly manner according to their own grade, but the inspection is in an orderly manner, and there is neither crowding nor procrastination.

Liang De was the seventh person to hand over the saber. After Chen Wenqi returned Nanzhen's saber to Liu Changhu and Liu Changhu returned to the ranks, he walked up to Chen Wenqi unhurriedly, pulled out the saber on his waist, and sent it to Chen Wenqi with one hand, and then turned sideways and looked at Chen Wenqi for inspection, and there was no discoloration on his face.

In Chen Wenqi's subconscious, Liang De's saber has a great or even the only suspicion, so he has to examine it carefully. However, in the eyes of others, Chen Wenqi's posture, inspection order, and even distance are no different from before.

Chen Wenqi took Liang De's saber and subconsciously glanced at the blade, but saw that the edge of a clear spring was intact, and with the shaking of the blade, a little cold light kept jumping and swimming on the blade. Chen Wenqi knew that even if Liang De was the masked man, he would never take out a notched saber in front of the public and hand it over for inspection. To successfully pass the inspection, there are only three possibilities: first, as Liang De (pacification envoy), it should not be difficult to exchange a saber with his subordinates, but after the exchange, the number on the handle must be modified; second, find a folk master to repair the gap on the blade. 3. Buy Uzi steel with a lot of money to create a fake waist knife.

According to his own guess, Chen Wenqi first carefully examined the number on the handle of the knife and found that there was no trace of change. He moved his gaze to the blade again, and saw that the edges on both sides were flat and smooth, and the texture of the flowing water was smooth and natural, without any marks of an axe or chisel. Looking at the thickness of the style of this knife, it is clear that it is a genuine product that has been replaced as a fake, and it is by no means a fake.

Could it be that it wasn't him? Or was there any other possibility? At this time, everyone was watching, and there were still most people waiting to be handed over, and Chen Wenqi was not allowed to think too much. He calmed down, ready to finish all the sabers.

Then, the swords of 14 1000 households and 28 deputy 1000 households were also handed over for inspection one by one, and no problems were found.

Chen Wenqi looked at Mu Bin and shook his head slightly, Mu Bin understood, so he coughed lightly and said: "Although your sabers have been handed over for inspection today, it does not mean that there is no suspicion, and we will use other methods to investigate the real culprit." The commander prudently reminded that the assassination of Qincha was a felony of treason, and once it was discovered, it would be connected to the nine clans. If this person can repent and surrender, this commander will do his best to protect the women and children of his nine tribes from being killed. ”

After everyone dispersed, Mu Bin said to Chen Wenqi suspiciously: "General Chen, could it be that the previous judgment was wrong? Could it be that the one who confessed to be 'subordinate' was the one who escaped, and this Wang Xi was the commander of that person?"

Chen Wenqi shook his head and said, "Impossible. General Qin Zong is the head of the Ministry of War, and he is known for his subtle knowledge of the hidden caves, and he has rich experience in the rivers and lakes, so he will not make jokes about Zhang Guan and Li Dai. And in the fight that night, this Wang Xi was obedient to that person, and it was clear from the bottom that there would be no mistake. ”

"Then ——, didn't find anything abnormal today. Could it be that the man's embroidered spring knife is an imitation of 'Xibei'?"

You must know that in a dark room, using a waist knife with a similar appearance to confuse the pearls is completely fake, after all, it is impossible to check the flowing water pattern on the knife body.

After inspecting the forty-nine embroidered spring knives, Chen Wenqi also thought about this possibility, but he immediately denied it.

"It's not possible. If you think about it, they not only chose to sneak attack in the middle of the night, but before entering the house, they also blew in a very strong incense to stun the underneath, so that they could get a good blow, so they didn't have to worry about exposing their hideouts. Taking a step back, even if they were worried that they would not be able to get the handle down, they would replace the weapons of both of them at the same time, and it was impossible for one to be a real embroidered spring knife and the other to be a fake—who could have predicted which knife would be left on the scene?"

Chen Wenqi made such an analysis, and Mu Bin couldn't help but believe it. But the fact is that the forty-nine embroidered spring knives are all intact, how can this be explained?

Seeing the confusion on Mu Bin's face, Chen Wenqi deliberately enlivened the atmosphere and said with a smile: "Master Mu doesn't have to be too anxious. If people don't know what they can't do unless they do, we will definitely be able to find out the evidence and find out the culprit. By the way, I want to borrow something from Master Mu. ”

As soon as Mu Bin was told by him, his expression was a little relaxed, and when he heard that he wanted to borrow something, he said, "General Chen wants to borrow something, just say it." ”

"Embroidered spring knife. Of course, don't be good, just take a random handle of the broken knife that has been replaced. ”

"Why do you want that broken one? Although the embroidered spring knife is very valuable, it is not extremely precious, so take a good one. Mu Bin said generously.

"No, no. Take it below, and the good ones will be missing. Chen Wenqi hurriedly waved his hand.

"The good ones will also be missing, why is that?" Mu Bin was at a loss.

Chen Wenqi smiled mysteriously and did not speak.