In the evening, Brother Tang Scar came as expected. A scoundrel like him would even sell his wife for a hundred taels of silver, let alone just an accomplice.
"He is hiding in the mountain temple in the back mountain. I go there every few days to bring him some food."
"Why is he hiding?"
"He's scared! He heard that this blood monument in Jingzhao affected the reputation of the county king, so he knew that he was in trouble, and he was afraid that the men in black would kill him and silence him, so he hid it."
Han Zhengfu immediately made a decision and asked Brother Tang Scar to lead the way to Zhang Baoer, and gave him fifty taels of silver as advance payment. If he caught Zhang Baoer, he would give it to his other half. After receiving the heavy fifty taels of silver, Brother Tang Scar immediately became energetic.
Set off with three hundred internal guards.
At the first watch, they came to a dilapidated mountain temple. The internal guards set up a dragnet around it, and Brother Tang Scar went up to look for someone.
"Gugu Miao! Gugu Miao!"
Brother Tang Scar screamed twice outside, and saw a dark shadow coming out of the mountain temple. He grabbed the cloth bag from Brother Tang Scar's hand, grabbed a piece of bread and started chewing it, slurring at the same time.
He complained, "You should have sent it yesterday."
"Bao'er, I'm sorry."
Brother Tang Scar took a few steps back, and the black shadow was stunned, "What?"
Two cold fists pressed down on the black figure's neck, "If you dare to move, your head will fall to the ground!"
The black shadow is none other than Zhang Baoer. He was involved in the Blood Monument Incident and hid in the mountain temple in fear, but was betrayed by his friend in the end.
"Tang Scar, you betrayed me!" Zhang Baoer did not dare to move, staring at Brother Tang Scar angrily.
"Baoer, one hundred taels of silver! You will betray me too."
Han Zhengfu threw fifty taels of silver to Brother Tang Scar, "Go back and shut up. No one is allowed to say anything. Get out of here!"
Brother Tang Scar rolled away with fifty taels of silver in his arms.
Han Zhengfu looked Zhang Baoer up and down and said coldly: "We are the internal guards. We have been ordered by the county king to investigate the blood monument. Please tell the truth and let you live."
Zhang Baoer rolled his eyes and said, "Give me a hundred taels of silver, too. I'll explain everything and make sure you catch those men in black."
...........
There is a Taoist temple in Liquan County called Tianshi Palace. This Taoist temple is relatively famous throughout Guanzhong. Every time there is a big Dharma assembly, believers from all over Guanzhong will come to participate.
That morning, Chao Qing, wearing a square hat and a silk shirt, walked into the Tianshi Palace. He was elegant and well-dressed. He was immediately seen by Master Yingbin. He greeted him with a smile, "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, welcome.
A minor official is here to visit me."
Chao Qing scratched his head and said: "My family wants to do a ritual to pray for success in the imperial examination next year. Is there such a ritual?"
"Yes! Of course there is. This is a ritual to pray for the blessings of Wenqu Xingguan. It is the basic ritual of this palace."
"I wonder how much it will cost?"
Master Yingbin chuckled, "There is no fixed number for this, and the higher the level of the heavenly official, the better the effect will be. Of course, the blessing money collected will be slightly more. It depends on yourself. As long as the donor is sincere, I will not
Reluctantly, I wonder if there is any familiar mage?"
"A senior brother of mine recommended Master Zhang Chitong to me. I wonder if he has time these days?"
"The donor has good eyesight. Master Zhang Chitong is one of the three best mages in our Tianshi Palace. He is very busy at the moment and there are many people asking for him. Let me ask him if he has time?"
Chao Qing immediately took out a tael of silver and handed it to Master Yingbin, "This is some sesame oil money that I donated to Sanqing."
Master Yingbin immediately beamed. Most people would only give a few hundred coins, or at most a pound of silver. This young benefactor actually gave a tael of silver, or a pound of silver. Which temple wouldn't welcome such pilgrims?
Even if Zhang Chitong has a ritual, he has to turn it down. Don't let the God of Wealth run away.
"Okay! I'll pay tribute to Sanqing on behalf of the benefactor. Please wait a moment while I go make arrangements."
Chao Qing gave him his address again, and Master Yingbin hurried in.
Not long after, Master Yingbin smiled and said, "Master Zhang Chitong has already made arrangements for this month, but for the sake of the donor's sincerity, he will come to your house to perform rituals the day after tomorrow. Please prepare some incense candles."
Paper wax, lunch meals, and some good wine should be prepared."
"It's Master Zhang Chitong, you can't be wrong!"
"Don't worry! You can't go wrong."
...........
In the early morning, a carriage slowly stopped in front of a large house in the county. Celestial Master Zhang Chitong and three disciples stepped out of the carriage. Zhang Chitong was about forty years old. He was Zhang Baoer's uncle and had been a disciple for more than twenty years.
The Taoist priest has gained some fame and many people ask him to perform rituals. He is rather arrogant and would only come to the door if he was transported by horse-drawn carriage.
Zhang Chitong remembered that no one had lived in this mansion for several years, but it didn't matter. Maybe they had rented it out or resold it.
At this time, the door opened and a middle-aged housekeeper came out, "Zhang Tianshi is indeed a believer. Please follow me to the backyard. My master is waiting in the backyard and has prepared some thoughts!"
Now that the master has prepared his thoughts, it is naturally inconvenient for his disciples to follow him. Zhang Chitong said to the three disciples: "You can rest and wait outside. I will call you!"
"Yes! Master."
The three apprentices respectfully agreed, and the housekeeper led Zhang Chitong all the way to the backyard.
"Excuse me, who is your master?"
"My master's surname is Han, and he works in the officialdom. I believe that my master's intentions will not disappoint Zhang Tianshi."
Not long after, they came to the main hall of the back house, and the housekeeper waved his hand and said with a smile: "Please come in!"
Zhang Chitong walked into the lobby and saw a general standing in the middle of the lobby. There were many things on the ground beside him, but they were covered with a large cloth. I don't know what they were?
Zhang Chitong was a little scared. He didn't expect it to be a general. He had to bite the bullet and said, "Is it General Han who is looking for a way to do something?"
The general smiled and nodded, "That's right! I am Han Zhengfu, the commander of the inner guard."
The opponent turned out to be an internal guard. Zhang Chitong's face changed drastically. Knowing that he had been fooled, he turned around and ran. The soldiers ambush on both sides swarmed him and knocked him down. Zhang Chitong shouted: "Help!"
Han Zhengfu smiled slightly and said, "Three of your men are also shouting for help!"
"You...what are you going to do?"
"Of course you want to see what I think. I said I won't let you down."
Han Zhengfu waved his hand, and the soldiers pulled back the big cloth on the ground, and it was the blood tablet. Zhang Chitong's face suddenly turned pale and colorless.
"Your nephew Zhang Bao'er has surrendered you. Please tell me honestly! Who are your accomplices? If you tell me well, I will spare your life. Maybe you can come back and continue to be a mage. If you don't want to tell me,
Or give it randomly, then just wait for others to do it for you!"
Zhang Chitong felt guilty and shouted: "This stone tablet has nothing to do with me. I am Master Zhang, a master of Taoism. You will offend God."
Han Zhengfu said sternly: "It seems that you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Let me give you a taste of the cramps and peeling of the skin by the inner guard."
Han Zhengfu waved his hand and said, "Take off one of his hamstrings first!"
When Zhang Chitong heard the cramp in his hamstring, he was so frightened that he began to howl.
........
An hour later, Zhong Huan and Chao Qing galloped out of the city on horseback and rushed to Jingzhao City, followed by more than a dozen inner guard cavalry. They had obtained a copy of the list, involving some important officials, and needed the approval of the county king Chen Qing to mobilize troops.
arrest.
In the afternoon, the two finally arrived at Jingzhao City.
Chen Qing and senior officials from the Internal Affairs Hall immediately met with the two, and at the same time, Wang Hao also arrived.
Chao Qing cupped his fists and said: "Report to the king of the county, gentlemen, the internal guards have captured a key witness in Liquan County. His name is Zhang Chitong. He is a Taoist priest from Tianshi Palace. He is the person who implemented the blood monument incident.
According to his confession, the internal guards captured three more Taoist priests in the Tianshi Palace. They were all officials of the Puppet Qi Dynasty. One of them was Ma Changxing, the former magistrate of Fengyi County who we offered a reward for.
These people confessed that they have an organization, which is basically made up of fugitive officials and serving officials from the puppet Qi State. Their leader is Luo Wenqing, the general judge of Fengxiang. The Fengxiang people's march to Beijing and the Zhaoling Blood Monument incident are all attributed to Luo Wenqing.
plan."
At this time, Wang Hao said: "I would like to add that the person who first spread the news about the blood monument in Jingzhao should be a Jinguo intelligence agent. In other words, this organization is closely related to the Jinguo intelligence station."
