Chapter 645: The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman gains profit?

Xu Dancheng knelt from the afternoon to the evening. At dusk, the honest corpse on the flagpole suddenly swayed slightly, and soon the amplitude became larger and larger. From below, it looked like a hanged ghost born on the tree in spring.

The leaves were shaking loudly, the whole branch was shaking violently, and the thatch that had just hung on the courtyard wall was also rolled into the sky, revealing the delicate yellow-green tiles... It turned out that the wind was blowing.

June day baby face, change as soon as you say it.

The dark clouds slowly came from the east, finally dispelling the afterglow of the sunset and turning the entire sky into a pot. In the next moment, a purple lightning flashed across the west horizon, making the sky bright like daytime. With the rumbling thunder, the raindrops as big as beans began to fall down.

The heavy rain was rapid and violent, and it soon turned white. The stuffy heat in the day was driven away without a trace. Xu Dancheng, who was kneeling in the rain, felt the bone-cold coldness, and his body trembled involuntarily. He was hollowed out by the wine and knelt in the sun for an afternoon. How could he withstand this ice and fire? He fell straight to the ground in a short while?

Only then did two black-clothed guards come out and carry the cold Governor Xu in.

Standing in front of the door with his hands behind his back, looking at the rain curtain sliding down the eaves of the window, listening to the 'rattle' sound, Qin Lei was silent for a long time before speaking: "Do you think there is any problem with Guantao?" His voice was exhausted and hoarse, and he lost all his usual confidence.

The vibration caused to Qin Lei this incident was too great, and he even suspected his most trusted minister.

Shi Gan looked around and found that he was the only one in the room. He had to answer, "It should be... no, Mr. Guantao attaches great importance to the new policy and is willing to sacrifice his life to maintain it. How can he destroy it?" After a pause, fearing that the reason was insufficient, he scratched his cheeks and said, "Besides, his extremely smart master, he would not know the consequences of angering the prince." Shi Gan did not believe that a person like Guantao could do such a thing, and he wanted to try his best to excuse him.

"The latter one is basically nonsense, but the previous one is worthy of the reason." Qin Lei said in a deep voice: "What about Hou Xin? What kind of role did he play in it?"

"It should be the same crime as Xu Dancheng." Shi Gan could not excuse Hou Xin because the spy secret agents all over the world were suddenly deaf and blind. He said that Hou Xin, the big boss, had no responsibility, and even a three-year-old child would not believe it.

Qin Lei nodded slowly and said, "You are right. Are these two people engaging in the same industry and deliberately concealing them, or are they neglecting their duties and turning a blind eye?"

"The possibility of joining the river and joining the river is not high." Shi Gan analyzed calmly: "In the Qin Dynasty, the prince can give what others can give, and the prince can give it. It is said that 'people go to high places and water flows to low places'. They are already the prince's best friends, how could they be so stupid as to seek far away?" He said again: "My subordinates don't know much about Governor Xu and dare not make a conclusion, but they still dare to say a few words about Hou Xin's character... Although he is a hippie, he is loyal and righteous, and calm in dealing with things. He will neither betray the prince nor be threatened by impulse, and even do things that are sorry to the prince."

"It's true that you are a brother of life and death." Qin Lei glanced at him and said with a smile: "I rack my brains to cleanse him of sin." He said with a deep voice: "Don't dream anymore. This time anyone intends to ruin the big thing about the lonely thing, even if he has ever worshipped you, he will be killed without mercy!"

Shi Gan quickly bowed his head and explained: "My subordinates are concerned about the matter and do not mix with personal feelings."

Qin Lei looked at him for a moment before he said calmly: "Then why did he be deaf and dumb?"

Shi Gan shook his head gently and said, "The prince still needs to ask in person to know."

"Ha, you've pushed it clean." Qin Lei's mouth twitched slightly, as if he sneered: "If you're right, the Intelligence Department is not the mastermind, then it's the main responsibility of the Royal Secret Spy."

The royal mansion originally had two sets of intelligence systems, one was the People's Consciousness Department led by Zhu Gui and the other was the Intelligence Department led by Hou Xin. In the initial concept, Qin Lei planned to let the two yamen work together in order to confirm, compete with each other, and supervise each other.

However, in actual operation, the rationality of this architecture is extremely poor... The overlapping of the two systems and the resource distribution is extremely unreasonable, which not only causes great waste, but also causes constant friction between the two parties and dismantling each other, making internal friction very serious.

A few years ago, the conflict reached its highest point, so Qin Lei had to divide the north and south, so that the Civil Affairs Department would focus on the southern base camp and the nearby Shanbei provinces; and the Intelligence Department would be responsible for the intelligence work of several northern provinces and Zhongdu. As for foreign military information, it would be handed over to the other Military Information Department, which was established, and Shen Bing would be responsible.

Later, after Princess Heyang joined the gang, her royal spies also defected to her... This intelligence team with quite good quality is the focus of its business direction just coincides with the intelligence department, and it is also the north of Zhongdu and Qin.

Qin Lei has always been very twitching about how to deal with these people. Because this underground system is often closely organized and mostly single-line connections, even if Princess Heyang and the major leaders exposed in the open are knocked out, it will not affect its integrity. It will also completely push a force loyal to the royal family to the hostile side.

There was no way, so Qin Lei had to go back to the old path and let the Royal Secret Spy and the Intelligence Department exist in parallel, monitor and compete with each other, and wait for an opportunity to solve this problem in one fell swoop.

When Shi Gan heard the prince ask about the royal spy, he knew that the matter was of great importance. After thinking for a long time, he slowly said: "The royal spy must have had a problem, but the specific situation should be asked by His Highness the Princess or Hou Xin."

Seeing that he didn't dare to answer again, Qin Lei realized that the content of the conversation was too dangerous and could not be afforded by a captain of the guards. But looking around, who else is trustworthy except these loyal warriors?

The sky was bright again as daylight, and Qin Lei's angular face, with lines as sharp as a knife, cold and hard and full of desolation. He stretched out his hand gently and felt the feeling of wind and rain. He smiled self-deprecatingly: "I didn't understand why the kings from ancient times called me, and secretly joked about them: 'What's wrong with the name, I have to curse myself as widowed and widowed.' Now the orphan finally understands..."

"They have no choice." They slowly closed the window in front of them, and separated the wind and rain from the sky outside. The room suddenly became much quieter, and Qin Lei's low voice became clear: "In fact, who would like to have no friends, no relatives or trustworthiness? It's just that the power goes all the way, just like climbing a mountain. The higher the place, the more dangerous it is, the colder it is, and the narrower it is."

Close his eyes tightly, he murmured in a low voice, as if he had forgotten that there was another person in the house, and he just said to himself: "Climbing up all the way, fewer and fewer people accompanying him... Maybe he fell to death by falling, maybe he could not resist the severe cold and was frozen to death, or maybe he was killed by you because of the struggle for food and clothing... If you witness or cause so many deaths, your heart will become colder and harder, the higher you climb, the colder you will be, and the more you get used to this loneliness. What an exciting thing it would be until you stand at the top and can overlook everything in the world... But be sure to pay attention to your side."

Qin Lei closed his eyes tightly, and his voice was slightly audible: "Because everyone is looking up, and there are still people thinking about how to pull you down and replace it, and there are also people thinking about avenging those who were killed by you." His hands spread upwards, and his tone gradually increased: "At this time, you have subordinates, admirers, enemies, and enemies, but you don't have friends! You will be lonely forever! Until the moment when your life ends!"

After saying that, he opened his eyes and seemed to have returned to his former peace. Only by living together day and night like a stone can he find a trace of unprecedented indifference and a stronger determination from the prince's expression!

"Appoint Hou Xin to appear before the sunset tomorrow, otherwise he would come to see him." Shi Gan was still dazed, and Qin Lei had already begun to order: "Appoint Princess Heyang to appear before the sunset the day after tomorrow, otherwise... he would come to see him."

"Order the whole country to enter martial law. The first guards and the second army went to various provinces and prefectures in the name of drills, waiting for the next order at any time." Qin Lei continued: "And he gave Zhang Jianzhi a clear message to him, telling him that if he had no idea at all, he would first receive forty whips. Then he led the way himself and investigated from the cabinet, six ministries, nine ministers, nine provincial governors, two capitals, one hundred single eight prefects, one by one, arrest anyone with any problem, don't take care of the mercy, and don't worry about not being able to provoke them. They are all recorded in the account of the orphan king!"

When he stopped talking, Shi Gandao asked, "Can Hou Xin and Princess Heyang arrive even if they arrive?" With the transportation conditions at that time, even if they were riding a bloody horse, they would not be able to fly from Zhongdu City in one day.

"This is not a problem you should worry about." Qin Lei waved his hand and said, "Go down."

Shi Gan sighed in his heart, lowered his head and retreated. He knew that speaking for Hou Xin today had affected his image in the prince's heart, but if he did it again, he would still do this. This is his nature.

When Xu Dancheng woke up, it was already the morning of the next day. The heavy rain had stopped last night. The scorching sun hung on the sky again, steaming the accumulated water on the ground into hot air. The entire Shangyangcheng seemed to be loaded into a steamer, which was hot and stuffy.

He actually got hot. Although the front and back windows were wide open, there was no wind in the room. He was sweating profusely while lying motionless.

He opened his eyes with difficulty, opened his mouth and said hoarsely: "Shui..."

"Feed him." It was the voice of His Highness Wucheng, and he was actually in the house.

The black-clad guard poured the white water mixed with salt into Xu Dancheng's stomach, regardless of whether he could drink it.

Naturally, there was a half of the salt water coming into his lung lobes from his nostrils.

Xu Dancheng was choked and tears flowed, but he finally woke up. Before he could wipe away the tears from his face, he turned over and got out of bed, kowtowed in the direction where the prince was speaking, "The criminal Xu Dancheng saw the prince with shameless face."

"I still know I'm shameless." Qin Lei's tone was surprisingly calm, and he even felt a little joking. He didn't seem to take the matter seriously. He walked to Xu Dancheng with his hands behind his back and whispered: "Rise your head." Xu Dancheng quickly followed his orders and raised his head high.

Looking down at his obviously fat and haggard face, Qin Lei said with a twitch, "You really need to look at him with admiration for three days. In just a few days, are you so fat?"

Xu Dancheng was ashamed: "The criminal minister was addicted to wine and sex, was unrestrained; he was too desolate and did not know how to control himself, and deserved to be the virtue he is today."

He heard that he was really talking, and he didn't keep giving to his face like that honest. Qin Lei's smile faded a little and he asked in a low voice: "We are old friends, right?"

Xu Dancheng nodded and whispered: "It has been six years since the 17th year of Zhaowu."

"It's not bad at all," Qin Lei nodded, pulled a chair and sat opposite him and said, "I remember that your Xu family was at a critical moment of survival. Your father and your brothers secretly communicated with the Maitreya scholars, and they also wanted to fight against the Lone King. You hurriedly rushed from Shannan to Jingzhou Prefecture. After judging the situation, you made a quick decision and took the initiative to seek reconciliation from the Lone King. Then you pulled the Xu family, one of the four great masters in the south, back from the edge of the cliff."

"The subsequent series of contacts and your series of decisions left a good impression on the Guwang King's being smart and capable, taking into account the overall situation..." Qin Lei recalled softly: "And you have such an excellent son Xu Qianshan, which made Guwang always feel that you should be a traditional scholar who believes in the traditional literati who "cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country and pacify the world". Otherwise, you would not be as light as you choose and be free and easy when you advance and retreat, otherwise you would not be able to teach such an excellent son."

"Did the Lone King misread you? Or did you become too fast?" Qin Lei shook his head slightly, and said with confusion.

"The sinner is ashamed..." Xu Dancheng lowered his head and hit the marble floor with force. After a few strokes, it was covered in black and blue, and he said in a mess: "All the mistakes are the faults of the sinner..."

"Don't rush to admit your mistake," Qin Lei waved his hand and said, "Ju just needs your confession, and you don't need to apologize."

"Yes." Xu Dancheng's face tightened and he whispered: "It's been a few years since the sinners arrived in Longyou. They also knew that I was the prince's person. Everyone would not violate the rivers and live a good life. But I was a southerner, and I came to the north alone to be an official, and I was a stranger in a foreign land. It would be fine if I was not used to life and food. But the increasing loneliness made the sinners unable to think calmly anymore... But due to my identity, I could not do anything beyond the rules, so I could only endure it."

"Later one day, the prisoner came to Hexi Prefecture to inspect. The prefect Zhou held a banquet and asked his daughter to come out to toast during the meal. The girl was born with a delicate and transparent look and eyes. The prisoner lied when he saw it. But the woman was nominally Zhou Yanhe's daughter, so I couldn't ask for anything, so I could only feel uncomfortable there..."

"Then Zhou Yanhe saw through your thoughts," Qin Lei sneered: "After some artificiality, I will give my daughter to you as a concubine. From then on, you will not be lonely when you stay together and fly together, and he will become your cheap man."

Xu Dancheng blushed and said, "The prince said something right. Since then, the criminals have never left the woman. They are particularly generous to Zhou Yanhe and turn a blind eye to some of the things he did... This gave the thief the opportunity to let them hide the truth and destroy the prince's new policy."

"Stupid pig!" Qin Lei whispered: "Did you forget how Wang Yun dealt with Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu?"

"...Oh," Xu Dancheng wanted to nod, but he couldn't remember how this had anything to do with their topic, so he had to say in silence: "I don't know."

"Beauty trick!" Qin Lei shouted, "Have you never heard of Diao Chan?" It was rare to show his erudition, but unfortunately it was in this situation.

"...I haven't heard of it." After racking my brains and thinking about it for a while, Xu Dancheng felt very ashamed and had to tell the truth: "The criminals did see the names of the first three people in "The Three Kingdoms" and also knew a little about the grudges between them...but this 'diao Chan' did not remember where it came from."

"Of course it's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"..." After saying that, Qin Lei realized that he had committed the problem of using the Romance as the official history, so he quickly changed his words: "Wang Yun, oh no, what is the origin of this Zhou Yanhe? Why is he in salt and he in sauce?"

"The criminal was just discovered," Xu Dancheng replied softly: "He is the disciple of the Third Prince."

"The third brother?" Qin Lei slapped the bedside and said, "This bastard can't hold back!"

"There are also a group of people who played a very bad role in the middle." Xu Dancheng continued to expose: "That is the censors of the Censorate who used to be the Censorate. These poor guys who shouted the slogan of "integrity" all day have now become real officials among the six ministers and nine ministers. They are all ugly in their appearance, just like they have never seen money in their lives... Moreover, when these people were censors of the Censorate, they handled countless cases and knew the methods of making money. Now they finally have the opportunity to practice it. They are naturally familiar with it, no less than veterans who have been immersed in this art for decades."

Without responding to his exposure, Qin Lei continued to ask: "Is there anyone else involved?"

"Yes, and the ministers in the capital, if they want things to be smooth and stable, it is the best choice to seal the mouths of the six ministers and nine ministers with silver. There are also the senior officials in the court. These people rely on the officials at home, and they control the election of the village elders' associations, and then control the village elders' associations, turning the gentry organization established by the prince kindly into a tool for them to bully men and dominate women and fish in the village." Xu Dancheng said indignantly: "But they are just fellow villagers and cannot collect taxes with confidence, so they shamelessly put pressure on the province, demanding that they share a considerable portion of the money obtained from setting up the card, otherwise they will incite the people to resist taxes and not pay the expenses to enter the city."

"These village parties have very strong power. If they really do this, setting up a card and collecting taxes will definitely be ruined." Xu Dancheng whispered: "So those people had to agree and accept this blackmail."

"Prince, princess, prefect, censor, hometown elder... This is really lively." Qin Lei said with a blank expression: "Is there any?"

"No more." After thinking for a long time, Xu Dancheng finally shook his head and said.

"Didn't the revival yamen in various provinces participate? The aristocratic families did not participate?" Qin Lei looked at Xu Dancheng calmly, and looked at him with a sweat, and said timidly: "No... as long as they did not participate directly. But with their conflicts with the upstart class, they would definitely not miss the opportunity to penetrate the abyss... They might be waiting for the day when the prince discovered the truth... Maybe this is why they have been silent all the time." The "arist class" is the official who was called the newly Jianba among the aristocratic families, with a faint sense of superiority and a strong sense of loss.

Nodding slowly, the whole story finally took shape in Qin Lei's mind... This is an organized, premeditated and systematic case of stealing the country. The criminals bribed the ministers in the court, corrupted the local governors, and extended their tentacles to all aspects of the power class, forming a mixed network of relationships, trying to seize the blood of the people and achieve the unspeakable purpose.

"Since you know, why didn't you say it earlier?" Qin Lei narrowed his eyes and said, "The sooner he said it, the less sin the crime, the more likely he is to be guilty. Don't you know this?"

"I know..." Xu Dancheng lowered his head and said, "The criminal minister thinks about confessing to the prince every day, but he always can't bear to let go of that kind of immortal life, so he drags it again and again, and finally he is guilty of whether he talks or not... he has to spend one day."

Looking at his blue-white face, Qin Lei suddenly realized that this man had become an honest official. No matter how much he pretended, his demeanor and demeanor were gone forever.

'Wine is poison to penetrate the intestines, and color is to scrape the bones and steel knife.' When he left, Qin Lei suddenly said this sentence in his mind.

"Do you believe his words?" Qin Lei asked again.

"Don't believe it." The answer was a little sharp, not what Shi Gan said.
Chapter completed!