At dusk, in an elegant room in Taibai Building, Zhong Huan invited his old friend Chao Qing to drink. Zhong Huan was in a bad mood and felt depressed after drinking.
"Still worried about the March 7th case?" Chao Qingxiao asked.
"Hey! I was manipulated by that Pi Xiangyang. I left a day later than him, but he still left calmly."
"What's this!"
Chao Qing drank the wine in the cup and said disapprovingly: "Who can win forever? Even Yang Zaixing was demoted one level when he attacked Luoyang. Besides, yours is not a failure. Didn't His Highness not blame you?
?”
"Your Highness did not blame me, but it does not mean that I did not fail."
"Okay! Okay! After drinking this bottle of wine, go back and have a good sleep. Your mood will calm down in a few days."
Zhong Huan pondered for a moment and then said: "Both Wang Du and I can't figure it out. Your Highness actually spared the businessman named Wu. He sold it to the Jurchen army for a thousand dans of Panax notoginseng. How much hemostatic medicine can be produced? It's so serious."
We all thought that we should kill him as a warning to other businessmen, but His Highness held it up high and then put it down gently, we can't understand it."
Chao Qing said calmly: "That's because you are the inner guards. The inner guard's thinking is that you want to arrest all the suspicious people in the world. You would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let go of a hundred. But His Highness King Yong is the king. His Highness tells us
However, only by treating its own subjects well can the country be strong, but it cannot be unprincipled and tolerant. If it is too tolerant, the country will be disordered. The balance between the two lies in the law. Make reasonable laws and be kind and abiding by the law.
of subjects.
Defining Panax notoginseng as a contraband is unreasonable in the first place. It is not allowed to be sold casually, and others can grow it themselves. On the contrary, it harms the interests of drug farmers due to various restrictions. In the end, drug farmers stop growing it. What about the needs of the military? So everyone
None of the medicinal materials are contraband.
The businessman surnamed Wu indeed deserves to be scolded and beaten, but he did not break the law. He did not sell contraband. He was able to sell goods from 300 cents per catty to 900 cents per catty. This was also his ability. Originally, Your Highness
At first, he was prepared to confiscate all his earnings, but later returned the principal to him.
If the merchant surnamed Wu is beheaded in public according to the idea of the inner guard, then all medicinal merchants will be in danger. If they are killed for selling Panax notoginseng today, will they also be killed for selling honeysuckle tomorrow? Think about it, yes
Isn’t that true?”
Zhong Huan pondered for a moment and said: "In that case, why do we have to recover this batch of medicinal materials?"
"Not punishing the seller, but it does not mean handing over these batches of Panax notoginseng to the Jurchens. In fact, His Highness valued this Pi Xiangyang more, saying that he was very courageous and capable, and he was actually able to buy it under his nose in Jingzhao.
He wants to take away a thousand tons of hemostatic medicine, and then calmly escape from the pursuit of the internal guards. He is worried that Pi Xiangyang will reveal the secrets of Iron Fire Thunder next, which will make us unable to guard against it, and eventually leak the secrets. Do you understand?"
Zhong Huan nodded silently, "I understand!"
Chao Qing smiled and said, "Let me tell you about Su Ce again! He is doing well and will soon be transferred back to Jingzhao Mansion to serve as the magistrate of Jingzhao County."
"I've also heard that he did a good job and has a good reputation. I heard that he was going to be transferred, but the people there refused to let him go, and tens of thousands of people tried to persuade him to stay. But why is he the county magistrate, not the county magistrate?"
"It's the county magistrate. The local officials will be reorganized soon, starting from the county level."
Zhong Huan was curious and wanted to ask more questions, but Chao Qing stopped talking. Zhong Huan also knew that this was a secret, so he stopped asking more questions. The two drank a few more glasses of wine before they dispersed.
Early the next morning, Zhong Huan came to the government office and went directly to the temporary prison at the back. This is where the internal guards temporarily detained prisoners. The interrogation center is also here. If you are caught here, the best way to survive is to be honest.
You must confess truthfully, otherwise, the various tortures imposed by the internal guard sergeants will make it impossible for people to survive or die.
He came to one of the interrogation rooms and said to the sergeant: "Bring the third prisoner captured at Pujin Pass."
They arrested four businessmen at Pujing Pass. They all admitted that they were intelligence spies. Although they handed over the secrets of Zheng County, they concealed the whereabouts of Pi Xiangyang. Only later did Zhong Huan realize that they had colluded with each other in oral confessions.
After several rounds of torture and interrogation, the four people's voices gradually became different. No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 were still more stubborn, but No. 3 began to confess. The reason was also very simple. He had a son and a daughter at home, and they were all still young.
The children are three and five years old. He is afraid that he will die and the children will have no father.
Zhong Huan seized on his weakness, locked him up in isolation, and promised not to kill him. He gradually broke through his bottom line and began to confess honestly.
Not long after, Prisoner No. 3 was brought up. His name was Wang Jinniu. He was under thirty years old and a native of Yanshan Mansion. His status in the Jinguo Intelligence Station was not high and he could only be regarded as an errand boy. He was not under great pressure and was willing to confess honestly.
, Of course, although he doesn't know much, he still has his value. If you ask him about the military situation in Hebei, he will definitely not know, but if it is the internal situation of the intelligence point, he can also know some.
"Sit down!" Zhong Huan pointed to the chair opposite.
"Thank you, General!"
Wang Jinniu didn't receive many beatings. He was able to eat enough in the past two days and seemed to be in good condition.
"I won't ask you about the medicinal materials today. I want to know about Pi Xiangyang. Tell me how much you know about it!"
Chao Qing's words last night finally made Zhong Huan realize that His Highness King Yong was not concerned about Sanqi, but about Pi Xiangyang. With his ability and courage, he could probably get the secret of Tie Huolei.
"Pi Xiangyang is the second-level intelligence commander. He used to be in Lin'an. He was transferred from Lin'an to Taiyuan three years ago. He is still the intelligence chief of Taiyuan, and the villain has always been his subordinate."
"Where is he from and how is his family?"
"The villain only knows that he is from Hejian Mansion. His family's situation is confidential. He never tells it and we are not allowed to inquire. But I know that his father died of illness last year and he was sad for several days."
"Does he have anyone's life on his hands?" Zhong Huan asked again.
"Yes! How could it not be? The villain has seen him kill children more than once with his own eyes. His mantra is that he would rather kill a thousand people by mistake than let one person go, so he is deeply appreciated by Wan Yanchang."
Zhong Huan nodded and asked, "Is there a woman by his side?"
"There should be one. He had a prostitute in Lin'an. He killed the prostitute before he left. There should be one in Taiyuan, but I don't know where?"
"Does the others know? I mean the other three."
Wang Jinniu thought for a while and said: "Lu Wenda should know that the man with the scar on his forehead is the third-level commander, our leader, and Pi Xiangyang's confidant."
"Let me ask you another question, how did you get the formula for military medicine?"
"I still have to ask Lu Wenda this question. This matter seems to have something to do with him."
"But Lu Wenda is very tough-talking. How can we get him to confess?"
Wang Jinniu hesitated for a moment and said, "You really don't want to kill me?"
Zhong Huan said calmly: "Let me tell you this! First of all, you are a Han. Secondly, there is no blood debt in your hands for killing innocent people and raping women. Thirdly, you are not an important person and have not caused us heavy losses. Fourthly, that is
You tell the truth, cooperate with our investigation, and have committed meritorious deeds, so I will definitely not kill you, and if you are lucky, you will become my subordinate, and I will send someone to bring your wife and children from Hebei to Hedong."
"Okay! I said, this Lu Wenda has a weakness. It is said that when he was a child, his father often locked him in a goose cage, so he was most afraid of being locked up in a dark and small place."
"good!"
Zhong Huan praised: "You performed very well, I will recommend you!"
Zhong Huan asked the sergeant to take Wang Jinniu down, and he immediately ordered: "Prepare a thick wooden coffin for me!"