As soon as Tie Mo said this, Ma Guotao and the other three were all stunned. Ma Guotao frowned, his eyes full of worry. Thinking about it carefully, it's really no wonder that the governor didn't believe it. Every time the imperial court sent food, someone from Ma Guotao was...
I personally watched it, and it was personally handled by my trusted lieutenant general, and there was no mistake at all. But the fact is that it is like this. A lot of food really turned into straw.
"Superintendent, I don't understand why the rice grain turns into straw, but the fact is that it is true. If there was no problem with the grain and grass, how could we dare to withdraw from Meizu Town so easily and hand over the Songjiang coast to the bandits?
!" Ma Guotao said while shaking his head, looking like he was crazy.
But looking at their expressions, the three of them didn't look like they were faking it at all. Tie Mo was really puzzled. The news he got from Shi Song a few days ago was that there was enough food and grass in Meizhu Town, and even a 40,000-strong army would have enough to last for a month. Why did Ma Guotao have three people?
But people say that a large amount of grain has been turned into straw? Did Shi Song lie, or were Ma Guotao and the others lying?
Tie Mo really didn't want to doubt Shi Song, because Shi Song had no need to lie at all, because he could tell whether there was food at a glance. As for the temporary deployment of a large amount of food, how could it not be discovered? Of course, it is also possible that Shi Song and Ma Guotao
None of them lied, so the question is how did a large amount of grain turn into straw, and how did it turn from straw back into grain? Tie Mo had a splitting headache thinking about it, and he couldn't figure it out, so he had to put it down for now.
"Okay, let's just take what you said as true, Ma Guotao. Then I would like to ask you, the supervisor, do you know about Fu Wen's killing of Liang Liang and taking credit for it?"
"Kill a good person and take credit?" Ma Guotao, who was a little crazy, was stunned when he heard this, then stood up, glared and said angrily, "Superintendent, if you are going to die, let's put it bluntly, why should you throw this stigma on the general?
The general will not be able to do such a thing even if he dies. I would like to ask, what evidence do you have for saying that Fu Wen kills a good person and takes credit?"
"Ma Guotao, do you think it is necessary for this Superintendent to go around in circles with you? To tell you the truth, this Superintendent really wants to kill you. He doesn't need so many charges. He can just cut you off with one knife. Hum, proof, that Fu Wen's blood will clear your name.
Huizhen, more than 300 heads were cut off, and now the so-called heads of more than 300 thieves and bandits are in the Wujiang County government office. Do you think this certificate is enough? Of course, you can also say that I have slandered Fu Wen.
, Hum hum, please think about it carefully, is this small paycheck worthy of my supervisor examining 300 heads one by one to convict him of killing a good person and taking credit for his merit?"
At this time, Tie Mo's eyes widened, full of sarcasm. Gradually, Ma Guotao became dull and murmured to himself. Fu Wen kills a good man and pretends to take credit? Fu Wen kills a good man and takes credit for himself? Really? Fake.
? Ma Guotao felt that he was really going crazy. He didn't understand what was going on.
There was a voice in Ma Guotao's heart that kept telling him that what Tie Mo said was true. If the governor wanted to seize military power in the south of the Yangtze River, it would make sense to have Ma Guotao perform surgery on him.
Is it a waste of time? But Fu Wen kills a good person and takes credit for it. How can people believe this kind of thing? But some things have to be believed, because the superintendent said that the three hundred heads are still in the county government office.
Killing good people and taking merit is not unfamiliar to generals, because doing so is tantamount to losing all conscience and being inferior to livestock. Fu Wen, who has been trying his best to promote and entrust important responsibilities over the years, actually kills good people and takes credit. For a moment, Ma Guotao was paralyzed.
Sitting on the ground, he felt that no amount of explanations would be useful. If it was true that Fu Wen killed Liang Liang and took credit for his crimes, then it would be understandable for the Superintendent to want to cut him into pieces with a thousand knives.
"General Ma, do you have anything else to say?"
"Superintendent... I really don't know... I'll give him a message..." Before he could finish his words, Ma Guotao shut his mouth blankly. He felt like an idiot.
Fu Wen had done so many things, but as a general, he didn't know about it. Not to mention that the Iron Governor didn't believe him, even he couldn't convince himself. Ma Guotao stopped talking, but Liang Shichuan said loudly, "Superintendent, General Ma must have been framed.
Yeah, you can’t fall for someone else’s evil deeds!”
"Unjustly accused? Come here, bring Fu Wen up!" With an order, Sha Diao lifted Fu Wen who was waiting outside into the tent. As soon as Fu Wen entered the tent, he glanced at Ma Guotao, and then lowered his head in shame.
As soon as Ma Guotao saw Fu Wen, he didn't know where he got the strength from. He struggled and wanted to pounce on Fu Wen, "Thief, Ma trusts you so much in vain. Why do you want to harm me like this?"
Hearing Ma Guotao's scolding, the look of guilt on Fu Wen's face became even more intense. He knelt on the ground, held his neck and said in a deep voice, "Superintendent, everything in the past was all done by a villain and has nothing to do with General Ma.
.”
Tie Mo was stunned when he heard this and couldn't help but look at Sha Diao. Sha Diao also had a look of shock on his face. Apparently he didn't expect that Fu Wen would change his words temporarily. Just when he was about to scold him, he saw Fu Wen trembling and lying down softly.
On the ground, a trace of blood slowly seeped out from the corner of his mouth. Fu Wen actually bit his tongue and committed suicide. He actually used his life to protect Ma Guotao. He was such a loyal and righteous man. Tie Mo's face was gloomy and uncertain, and a trace of confusion flashed in Sha Diao's eyes. Ma Guotao, what will he do?
Was he framed?
Fu Wen committed suicide, and Ma Guotao sat on the ground with a sad smile on his face. Fu Wen seemed to be defending him, Ma Guotao, to the death, but in fact, didn't doing so further illustrate the close relationship between the two?
Ma Guotao didn't know where he offended Fu Wen. The man named Fu even wanted to drag him to hell. As Ma Guotao thought, Tie Mo's face became increasingly gloomy, with a bit of a sneer on his lips, and he waved his hand to let people know.
After dragging Ma Guotao and others down, Tie Mo put away his smile and sat in a chair with a sad face. In fact, Fu Wen's death did not deepen Tie Mo's hatred for Ma Guotao. On the contrary, it also aroused a trace of suspicion.
Everything was perfect. From the moment the army evacuated Meizhu Town, all the fingers were pointed at Ma Guotao, especially Fu Wen's death, which seemed to be protecting Ma Guotao, but in fact it pushed Ma Guotao into a bottomless abyss.
All signs indicate that Ma Guotao deserves to be killed. Sometimes too much evidence is not a good thing. Tie Mo has always felt that nothing is perfect in the world, just like impeaching a person, no matter how bad the person is, the impeachment person
No matter how many people there are, there are still people to protect. Who doesn’t have relatives and friends for the rest of his life, let alone in the officialdom? Therefore, it is normal for unfavorable situations to occur. However, when everyone unanimously impeaches a certain person, it will
Think about it carefully.
The current situation is so similar to the imperial impeachment. He narrowed his eyes and thought carefully, "During the interrogation of Fu Wen, was there anything unusual?"
In fact, Sha Diao had already recalled the previous events. When Tie Mo asked, he immediately handed over his hands and said, "Returning to the supervisor, there is nothing unusual. But thinking about it now, I feel that it was a bit hasty. I cannot rule out the possibility that Fu Wen deliberately guided me.
If there is enough time and my subordinates are left for further interrogation, I can make Fu Wen reveal the truth. But right now, Fu Wen is dead."
"In other words, what Fu Wen said before may be false?"
"Yes, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Supervisor, what should we do now? Fu Wen is dead and the clues are cut off. How should Ma Guotao deal with this?"
"Lock it for now, but the guards will all be replaced by personal soldiers. In addition, you will be personally responsible for Ma Guotao, Liang Shichuan and his son." After the instructions, Sha Diao handed over his hands and exited the camp. Tie Mo's plan came to mind, and he whispered a few words to Xu Meiling, and then
Xu Meiling left Wujiang County in a hurry.
According to the agreed upon plan, Ma Guotao was pushed to Caishikou, Wujiang County at noon. This time, Ning Xiaochen, the commander-in-chief of the Suzhou Prefecture, personally supervised the execution. At noon, with an order, the executioners cut more than 300 pieces of Ma Guotao alive on his body.
The knife took away Ma Guotao's life. Some people applauded Ma Guotao's death, while others looked sad.
But as far as the whole of Jiangnan is concerned, Ma Guotao, a small local guard, is really not a big shot. However, on the same night that Ma Guotao was killed, Gu Mingtao, the former Ma Guotao's close lieutenant and now the guard of Deqing County, Huzhou, led his troops to mutiny.
That night, he led more than a thousand of his followers to escape from Deqing County and surrendered to Li Zhengshan in Hezhou.
The matter in Deqing County was not that serious. What was more serious was that after Ma Guotao's death, the entire Wujiang County became completely unstable. The former commander of the Guangzhou soldiers and horses in the West Camp led a crowd to besiege Wujiang County. The reason was that the court believed the slander and acted without reason.
Good at killing generals. This time it is not a simple act of anger. More than ten thousand troops from the West Camp have surrounded the entire Wujiang County. Although it is gratifying to have made preparations in advance, it is not a good thing if the two sides really want to go to war.
.
Due to major changes in Wujiang County, Orger and others who were stationed in Tonghui Town were afraid that something might happen to Tie Mo, so they immediately withdrew from Tonghui Town and retreated to the north bank of Songjiang. However, the bandit soldiers in Meizhu Town took the opportunity to go all the way north and captured the south bank of Songjiang.
A large area.
Guangzhou garrison Cao Chun ordered a ladder to be set up, and he personally rode his horse to the city and shouted towards the city, "We are waiting to besiege the city today just to seek justice. We also hope that the Iron Governor will come forward and say something."
, Why should General Ma be cut into pieces with a thousand swords? I won’t accept it!"
Ning Xiaochen stood at the top of the city, his expression full of anxiety. Although he had seen many strong winds and waves, this was the first time he had seen the situation before him, but he still had to force himself to calm down and said, "Cao Chun, you are so courageous.
The people mutinied and attacked the Iron Governor. Do you know what the crime is?"
"General Ning, at this juncture, it's too late to say anything. Isn't it just death? The worst I can do is just pat my butt and go to Zhang Xianzhong to find a way to survive, so I don't have to suffer all kinds of nonsense here!"
"Cao Chun, do you really want to rebel?"
"So what? Hum, that Bird Inspector killed Fu Wen, and now Ma Guotao is also dead, how can he let Cao go?"
"Hmph, what a treacherous sycophant, Cao Chun, I will let you die today." Ning Xiaochen suddenly sneered, clapped his hands, and there was another person next to him. He was wearing silver armor, with broad shoulders and a raised forehead.
, his eyes were piercing. Seeing this man, the city suddenly became chaotic, and some of the timid ones even turned pale with fright.
Isn't the man on the top of the city Ma Guotao who was cut into pieces by a thousand cuts a few days ago? At this moment, Ma Guotao was standing majestically on the top of the city, with not even a scratch on his face. How could he look like someone who had been cut into pieces by a thousand cuts?
What is going on, and why did Ma Guotao come back from the dead?
In fact, it's not complicated to say. After Tie Mo had doubts about Ma Guotao, he asked Xu Meiling to secretly find a death row inmate who looked very similar to Ma Guotao and carried out a contract swap plan.
At the beginning, Tie Mo was not sure that Ma Guotao must have been wronged. Finding a death row prisoner to replace Ma Guotao was just a two-pronged preparation. When Cao Chun relied on the resentment of the soldiers of the West Camp against the imperial court, he organized a sergeant siege mutiny.
, Tie Mo was glad that he had made preparations in advance.
As soon as he saw Ma Guotao, Cao Chun's face became frightened. In fact, Cao Chun knew very well that if Ma Guotao was still alive, the mutiny would be declared a failure, and whether Cao Chun could survive would depend on how fast he could escape.
.
"Cao Chun, it's in vain that Mr. Ma confides in you. I didn't expect you to treat a certain family like this. Did you instigate Fu Wen? Tell Ma, who do you work for?" After Ma Guotao said this, he turned to the soldiers in the city with a livid face.
He shouted, "Brothers, Cao Chun is a traitor. Don't let him fall into his trap. Put down your weapons quickly. The Iron Governor will forget the past."
Cao Chun's expression changed drastically, and he didn't even have the thought to explain. He hit the horse and ran away, running more than ten feet away in an instant. Unfortunately, Cao Chun was fast, and there was an arrow faster than him.
Not far away, Cao Chun groaned in pain and fell off his horse. Shi Senming put away his strong bow and showed disdain on his face. Such a idiot dared to gather a crowd to mutiny. He really didn't know whether to live or die.
Cao Chun died so simply that Tie Mo, who was standing behind him and watching, couldn't help but frown. He originally wanted to catch Cao Chun and question him, but now it seems that he has no chance. But Tie Mo will not blame Shi Senming.
Cao Chun is so greedy for life and afraid of death that he probably doesn't know anything important. Moreover, looking at the mystery of this conspiracy, it is probably the Maitreya Cult. Because apart from the Maitreya Cult, Tie Mo has never found any organization that can have such a conspiracy.
Generous.
Now that it is confirmed that Ma Guotao was framed, the previous charges should naturally be cancelled. With Ma Guotao's acquittal, Liang Shichuan and his son also left the cell. Officer Ma Guotao was reinstated and Xi Daying returned to its original position. At the same time, Tie Mo missed Ma Guotao.
After staying in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, he was stationed in Wuxingtang, while Ning Xiaochen moved to Kunshan County.
Although the conspiracy has been over for the time being, there are still many mysteries that have not yet been solved. The most interesting one is what happened to the grain and grass stocks in Meizhu Town. Whether Tiemo is serious or stubborn,
, in short, he still kept staring at this matter. If he didn't understand the food problem, he would always feel uneasy.
Finally, the hard work paid off. Tie Mo kept staring at the food puzzle, and even Sha Diao and Shi Song had to do their best to investigate. Two days later, some progress was finally made. When Ma Guotao was stationed in Meizhu Town, the food and grass supplies were handed over.
In addition to Ma Guotao himself and deputy general Tang Wenyuan, the person who conducts warehousing verification and daily inspections is Treasurer Xue Yang.
Ma Guotao has no problem. Tang Wenyuan has died in the battle, so the only person who can find out anything is treasurer Xue Yang. This Xue Yang is from Wujiang County. After the army withdrew to the West Camp, he returned to live in the county house.
, after Sha Diao learned about Xue Yang, he immediately sent his cronies to Xue Yang's house to bring him up. However, when he arrived at Xue's house, he discovered that Xue Yang had been stabbed to death in the study.