Chapter 618 When something goes wrong, there must be a demon
Pan Weixing looked a little ugly and asked: "Shaojian Chen, you said someone informed them in advance. Who leaked the news?"
Chen Xi shook his head and said: "It is still unclear who leaked the news."
"Not many people knew about tonight's action in advance." Pan Weixing said slowly: "Do you mean that someone around me leaked the news?"
Chen Xiyi simply said: "Everything is possible."
Pan Weixing turned to She Yue and said with cupped hands: "Your Highness, Tu Kuohai is a member of the Queen Mother's congregation. The Dong family was surrounded last night. Tu Kuohai got the news and tried to escape. The officials who knew about tonight's operation are all people whom I trust very much. I believe that they are all loyal."
It is absolutely impossible for the imperial court to inform people from the Queen Mother Association."
She Yue's beautiful eyes looked forward to Qin Xiao and asked: "Qin Xiao, what do you mean? Should we prepare to encircle and suppress the Taihu bandits?"
Qin Xiao thought for a while and then said: "If the silver from the inner treasury is really stolen by Taihu thieves, and they are still members of the Queen Mother's congregation, the imperial court will naturally destroy them. Jiangnan is the wealth center of the empire. In such an important place, it is absolutely impossible to
Such a rebellious force cannot be allowed to exist."
She Yue chuckled and said: "Since Mr. Pan is so sure, I also believe that there will be no spies around you."
"Your Highness, Tu Kuohai's escape just proves that the Taihu pirates are a rebel party." Pan Weixing said sternly: "If he is just a fisherman in Taihu Lake, why should he worry about being brought for questioning by the government? Qiao Shenggong has already given his confession. The old minister thinks, what should be planned next?
Destroy the Taihu bandits."
Pan Weixing was a local official in Suzhou and knew the situation in Suzhou very well. She Yue obviously attached great importance to Pan Weixing's opinion and said "oh".
"Your Highness can give an order to send someone to Taihu." Pan Weixing said: "Ask Linghuxuan to come to Suzhou City to pay homage. If he dares to come, capture him immediately. The Taihu bandits have no leader. Without Linghuxuan, no one can survive."
It’s easy to destroy them.”
She Yue was thoughtful, pondered for a moment, and then asked Pan Weixing: "Prince Pan, what are your plans for encircling and suppressing the Taihu bandits?"
"The veteran believes that the Taihu pirates occupy Taihu Lake and have tens of thousands of people, and these bandits are all familiar with water. The Jiangnan navy only has a dozen warships and only a few hundred troops. With the current strength of the Jiangnan navy, it is indeed
It is impossible to exterminate the Taihu bandits." Pan Weixing had obviously thought about the countermeasures to encircle and suppress the Taihu bandits, and said respectfully: "To exterminate the Taihu bandits, we should not rush into it. I think there are two things that can be done at the moment."
"That makes sense."
"In addition, it is to prepare for war." Pan Weixing said solemnly: "When the Taihu Pirates were just a group of fishermen, they relied on the geographical advantages in Taihu Lake to resist the encirclement and suppression by officers and soldiers. Now more than twenty years have passed. Today's Taihu Pirates,
It is no longer the same as it was back then." After a pause, he said: "As far as I know, Linghu Xuan has trained soldiers and forged weapons over the years, and then purchased more ships in the name of fishing. Now there are no less than 800 pirated ships in Taihu Lake.
, although most only
"What if he doesn't come?" She Yue said, "Since he is a member of the Queen Mother Society and knows that the city should be eliminated, how can he dare to land?"
Pan Weixing said: "What His Highness said is absolutely true. Letting Linghuxuan land ashore is just to let the soldiers and people of Suzhou know that the imperial court does not want to kill all the fishermen in Taihu Lake. As His Highness said, even if he is sent to come, he will not be able to land.
In this way, everyone in the world will know that the Taihu pirates rebelled against the imperial court, and then the encirclement and suppression will be justified."
"So I thought that in addition to sending people to keep an eye on the movements of the Taihu pirates, we could immediately build warships. In addition, we could mobilize sailors from various places, especially the Donghai Navy, which is the most elite navy of our Tang Dynasty.
The navy officers and soldiers are coming over. After they all arrive, the ships here will be almost assembled." Pan Weixing said maturely and solemnly: "At that time, if we send troops to encircle Xishan Island, we will definitely be able to wipe out all the Taihu pirates. Although there are tens of thousands of Taihu pirates,
, but a large number of them are just family members, there are only more than 10,000 young and strong men, and there are even less than 10,000 people who can fight in a battle. After the imperial court is ready and everything is ready, it will definitely be able to complete its achievements in one battle."
A slight smile appeared on the corners of She Yue's lips, and she smiled and said: "Pan the governor is indeed the pillar of the country. It's just... building ships, mobilizing naval forces, and supplying materials. These must be prepared properly, and the money and food consumed is not
It is a small amount. It is not yet known whether the Ministry of Accounts can allocate such a huge sum of money. If the money in the Jiangnan inner treasury is still there, I will grit my teeth and withdraw the money from the inner treasury to kill the thieves. But you just heard that the inner treasury is still there.
The inventory of silver is only a few tens of thousands taels. If the Ministry of Accounts cannot allocate the money, how can we fight this battle?"
It is a simple fishing boat, but it is light and flexible, and it is the most powerful weapon on Taihu Lake. The Jiangnan navy is incomparable to the Taihu pirates in terms of troops and ships. If they defend the island and the imperial court rashly attacks, they may not be able to
win."
She Yue nodded slightly and said, "What Governor Pan said makes sense."
"To encircle and suppress the Taihu bandits, the court does not need to spend a tael of silver." Pan Weixing said softly: "Your Highness knows that the Jiangnan family and the Taihu bandits have always been incompatible. The existence of the Taihu bandits makes it difficult for the Jiangnan family to sleep and eat. As long as they have the opportunity, they will
I want to put Linghu Xuan to death. Now that the Taihu bandits are members of the Queen Mother's congregation, His Highness is ready to exterminate the Taihu bandits. The Jiangnan family wants nothing more. As long as His Highness says a word, the old minister believes that the seven Jiangnan surnames are willing to donate military resources. As long as they fully cooperate, as long as
In Jiangnan, we can raise enough military resources to wipe out the Taihu pirates."
She Yuefeng's eyes wandered and asked: "Are they willing to donate military resources?"
Pan Weixing finally smiled and said, "I have thought of a countermeasure."
"How to say?"
Pan Weixing said hurriedly: "Your Highness, I will prepare a resting place right now."
"No need." She Yue said, "I am in a hurry and I haven't recovered yet. I will take a moment here and talk to you later." She raised her hand to signal the others to leave.
"If His Highness allows it, I can go to negotiate with the Qian family now." Pan Weixing was full of confidence: "The veteran is willing to use his sharp tongue to persuade the Qian family to invest. As long as the Qian family agrees, they will come forward and let Hangzhou and
With the cooperation of the local government in Yangzhou, I believe they can eventually be persuaded."
She Yue pondered for a moment, raised her hand and pressed her eyebrows, and said: "I am a little tired. Let me think for a while before making a decision. You can leave first."
"Come here!" After the two of them retreated, She Yue waved to Qin Xiao. Qin Xiao came forward. She Yue stared at Qin Xiao and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Qin Xiao hesitated for a moment and finally asked: "Your Highness, are you sure that the Taihu pirates are members of the Queen Mother Association?"
Several people bowed and backed away, thinking of something. Qin Xiao raised his head and glanced at She Yue, and his eyes met with She Yue's. His lips moved slightly, but he didn't say anything after all. Just as he was about to turn around, She Yue already said: "Qin Xiao, stay here
Next, I have something to ask you."
Pan Weixing glanced at Qin Xiao, didn't dare to say anything, and left together with Chen Xi.
"Then the princess is certainly sure that the theft of silver from the treasury was caused by Taihu pirates?"
She Yue chuckled and said, "Wang Tang left a secret letter, and the Qiao Shenggong you mentioned also confessed. Are they both lying?"
people?"
"This is the result of your investigation. Why do you ask this palace?" She Yue asked back: "Isn't Linghu Xuan a member of the Queen Mother's congregation?"
"Princess Qing will leave Jiangnan as soon as possible." Qin Xiao said solemnly: "Before others know that the princess has arrived in Suzhou, the princess will leave this morning."
She Yue said faintly: "I have worked hard all the way and finally arrived in Suzhou. I haven't even stayed for a day and you asked me to leave. Why is this?"
Qin Xiao cupped his hands and said, "I want to ask the princess for something."
"What's the matter?"
Qin Xiao looked at She Yue and said seriously: "Because everything went so smoothly."
She Yue frowned slightly and asked, "What do you mean by that?" She pointed to a chair next to her and said, "Sit down and talk."
Qin Xiao looked serious and said: "I can't explain the reason, but...when the princess came to Suzhou, I suddenly felt a little uneasy."
"Are you feeling uneasy?" She Yue's beautiful eyes flashed, and she smiled charmingly: "Are you afraid of me, or are you worried about me? I am in Suzhou, why can I make you uneasy?"
Qin Xiao lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and then said: "Princess, don't you think the clues obtained from these two people are really smooth." After a pause, he said: "Let's talk about Wang Hongcai first, also known as Wang Tang.
We were able to obtain the secret letter he left because on the way to Suzhou, we met Yu Xuanwu who was captured and killed. Yu Xuanwu was the person Wang Tang arranged to go to Kyoto to deliver embroidered shoes."
"You are very lucky." She Yue smiled faintly.
"We are sure that Linghu Xuan is General Kuhai for two reasons." Qin Xiao looked at She Yue's beautiful face: "One is Wang Hongcai's secret letter, and the other is Qiao Shenggong's confession."
"Not bad." She Yue looked at Qin Xiao: "What's the problem?"
Qin Xiao shook his head and said: "Actually, I never believe in luck. Traveling from Suzhou to Kyoto by boat, even if it goes smoothly day and night, will take more than ten days. If we talk about Yu Xuanwu's boat
It is natural to pass by her on the way, but when we met her that night, her ship happened to be ambushed. If we missed the opportunity with her ship one hour in the morning, Yu Xuanwu would also miss her one hour in the evening.
She was bound to fall into the hands of bandits, but in fact, on the waterway, which took more than ten days, we happened to meet her when she was ambushed, neither early nor late."
She Yue still looked calm and asked: "Are you saying that the ambush that night was intentional for you to meet?"
"Although I'm not sure, such a coincidence is too bizarre." Qin Xiao sighed: "Yu Xuanwu had already been discovered when she left Suzhou, so someone attacked her ship halfway, but that night
The location where she appeared was several days away from Suzhou. Why didn't those people take action and waited until she left Suzhou before attacking her halfway? And the attack happened right under my nose? Something was wrong.
There must be a demon. I have been thinking about it for the past two days. The chance encounter that night was actually not a coincidence, but an inevitable arrangement."