After the first snowfall, Bingdong's cold snow will fall every few days. This also causes a large area of Yanmen, including Shanwu City, to be covered with majestic heavy snow during this month, and the mountains and rivers are covered with snow.
At a glance, it was a vast expanse of white.
It was in this atmosphere that the people of Shanwu City celebrated the annual Yuan Day Festival.
At the city gate.
A little snow could still be seen, and some Qin officials were sighing at the city gate, holding Changge in their arms and rubbing their hands. As the hot mist dissipated in their hands, their eyes gradually looked towards the carriage approaching in the distance.
"stop!"
A Qin official came to the carriage with some doubts and blocked the carriages in front of him.
Don't blame Qin officials.
Not to mention the snow on the eaves of the city, not to mention the snow on the eaves of the city, was not thin, and the sky was about to turn dark, and it was still snowing lightly. Under such circumstances, several carriages actually came here. How could this be possible?
It leaves no room for doubt as to what kind of thing, or what kind of business, is worth working so hard for, even coming to Shanwucheng on a snowy day.
And beside the carriage, there were actually five or six followers following him.
“Go check it out!”
Among the other Qin officials, two Qin officials looked at each other, stepped forward one after another, and each came to a carriage, making a show of inspecting the carriage.
At this time, walking in the front carriage, a middle-aged man stepped out. The man was in his forties and was wearing thick silk clothes.
"I am the captain of Sichuan Songjian and the Qin doctor Shao Meng. I have important matters to come to meet with the Yanmen Supervisor today. The carriage is filled with some fragile jades, which are of great value. I hope you can be accommodating and make it easier!"
As the middle-aged man named Shao Meng spoke, he took out a wooden sign to prove his identity from his arms and handed it to the inquiring Qin officials. He inadvertently turned his head and looked at the Qin officials who wanted to see the carriage.
"Captain Chuansongjian!"
The Qin official looked at the wooden sign and confirmed that the portrait and unique seal on it were correct before returning the target to Shao Meng.
The Qin official had never heard of Chuansongjian, and he knew that it was probably a small place, and the man in front of him was also the general stationed there.
"I hope the captain will forgive me. The county guard, the county captain has an order. Anyone who enters the city needs to be inspected!"
The Qin official raised his hands and said, not giving up the inspection because of Shao Meng's words.
Seeing this scene, Shao Meng frowned slightly, but still nodded. Although he was a school captain, he had no right at all to disobey the county governor or county captain, regardless of his position or title.
Sigh.
Shao Meng turned around and watched the two Qin officials enter the carriage to search. He was not too worried because there was mostly money inside.
"Has anything happened in the city during this period? Why did I hear when I came here that Shanwu City has been under martial law for nearly a month!"
Shao Meng turned his head, thought for a while, looked at the Qin official and asked, his eyes were very puzzled.
When the Qin official saw Shao Meng being so polite, he had no choice but to answer, so he took a breath and nodded melancholy.
"No, after all, it's because of the murder that happened in the city nearly a month ago. I heard that the person has never been found and his whereabouts are unknown!"
Qin Li explained.
Shao Meng heard this, thought for a while, nodded slowly, then seemed to think of something, and looked at Qin Li with doubtful eyes.
"Then what can the county governor, county lieutenant, and censor say? Oh, I'm worried that when I visit the censor later, my words may be inappropriate!"
Shao Meng asked, and then explained why he asked.
When Qin Li heard what Shao Meng said, he frowned slightly, thought for a while and then shook his head.
"During this period, I didn't have many orders. The county guard actually sent people to other counties two days ago to ask if the murderer Yan family could be found. The county captain also went out often during this period and just came back not long ago.
I heard that due to the heavy snow, some huts in some villages outside collapsed, killing several people, so it was very busy. I don’t know the details. As for the censor."
As the Qin official spoke, his expression suddenly became full of doubts. In Shao Meng's eyes, he turned to look at the other Qin officials.
"By the way, have you seen the censor during this period?"
Qin officials asked.
Because it was then that he remembered that it seemed that he had not seen the censor for a long, long time. No matter whether it was news or people, it seemed that he had not seen him. Looking back now, it is still a bit strange.
"No!"
"Me neither!"
"Strange, I didn't either!"
As the Qin officials asked, many Qin officials looked at each other and suddenly became a little confused. They had often heard about the censor before, but since the murder, they had never heard about the censor.
Pass.
"Um?"
Shao Meng frowned when he saw this scene. For some reason, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.
There is no inner city in Shanwu.
When Bai Yan returned to the mansion, he sat in front of the charcoal fire, stretched out his hand to feel the warmth of the charcoal fire, and kept breathing mist.
Outside the study door, Mr. Bao came over with a pot of hot chicken soup. Two thick pieces of clothing and a piece of fur were hanging on his small hands. He came to Bai Yan's side and put the chicken soup and clothes on the wooden table.
"Then the matter in the village hasn't been settled yet?"
Bao asked curiously.
Bai Yan shook his head.
"The entire village has been affected, and it is no longer suitable to live in it. Two old people and three women died in this incident. One of them, an old man and a woman, was the wife and mother of a frontier cavalry officer.
I ordered someone to send the news to the camp, and it is estimated that they can return to the village tomorrow, and the children in the other two families have become orphans, and it will not be so easy to place them!"
Bai Yan explained that after seeing the hot soup, he directly held the porcelain bowl with both hands and felt the slightly hot feeling on it.
It was really too cold in the mountains. It was much colder than in later generations. Due to the difficult and dangerous journey these days, Bai Yan didn't want to bother others, so he took people there on horseback. Every time he came back, they were all covered in snow.
When the cold winter wind blows, it feels refreshing.
The soldiers could ask someone to accompany him, but he could only go by himself. He missed the days of lying comfortably in the study and warming himself by the fire.
"By the way, please pay attention these days. People from the Zhang family may come to Shanwu City, but the specific day is not yet clear!"
Bai Yan took a sip of hot soup, suddenly thought of something, looked at Bao Shi and said.
News has been sent to Yingchuan. The Zhang family left Yingchuan a long time ago after Han Wangan was executed. Apparently the Zhang family has received the news. If there are no accidents, they should have arrived in Yanmen in the past few days.
As for whether the manpower brought by Zhang will enter Yanmen territory, Bai Yan thinks it should not.
Bai Yan thought about it, if he wanted to kill Mi Zhao, where would he lurk? It would most likely not be in Yanmen. Compared to other counties with numerous gentry, the gentry here in Yanmen had a shallow foundation and it was not easy to do anything.
When we leave Yanmen County, we can create an assassination attempt by the old Zhao clan.
"okay!"
Bao Shi nodded slowly when he heard Bai Yan's words.
Bai Yan had never concealed the news from Yingchuan, so the Bao family also knew that this time Bai Yan planned to use Zhang's help to get rid of Mi Jing.
Coming behind Bai Yan, Bao Shi stretched out his hand to help Bai Yan take off the Qin official uniform that had been soaked, as well as the clothes inside. Looking at Bai Yan's scars, this was not the first time Bao Shi had seen them, but now Bao Shi
Her beautiful eyes were still a little distressed, so she picked up the clothes and put them on Bai Yan, then put them on with furs.
"General, there is someone outside the mansion asking to see you! They say they are here on orders from Lord Changping!"
A servant came to the study and said to Bai Yan who was drinking hot soup.
When Bai Yan heard this, he looked at Bao Shi who was looking over. Neither of them were surprised.
"please come in!"
Bai Yan ordered softly.
The servant took the order and quickly turned around and walked out of the study.
"General, I'll go down first!"
After seeing the servant leaving, Mr. Bao looked at Bai Yan. After Bai Yan nodded, he took the wet clothes and left.
Not long after Bao left.
Under the leadership of the servant, Bai Yan saw two men in the study.
"Cai Si pays homage to Commander Bai!"
"Grandmaster Shao Meng, please pay your respects to General Bai!"
Two men in their forties came to Bai Yan one after another, raised their hands and saluted Bai Yan.
Seeing this, Bai Yan stood up and returned the salute to the two of them.
"I wonder what you two are here for?"
After returning the gift, Bai Yan did not rush to let the two of them take their seats. Instead, he faced them and asked directly.
When Cai Si and Shao Meng saw this, they knew that Bai Yan was pretending to be confused, so they were not in a hurry to answer, but looked at Bai Yan and smiled in apology.
"sit!"
Seeing this, Bai Yan invited the two of them to take a seat.
Cai Si and Shao Meng looked at each other and slowly came to kneel down behind the wooden table. When they saw Bai Yan kneeling down on the other side of the wooden table, Cai Si took the lead in raising his hand to salute.
"Previously, Lord Changping heard that some tribesmen were secretly helping the Yan family, and also heard about the arrest warrant issued by Yanmen Shanwu, so he led his troops to arrest the people and inquired personally. After learning about Shanwu City, he ordered the two of us to
People come."
Cai Si looked a little hesitant, thought for a while, and looked at Bai Yan with eyes full of flattery.
"I hope General Bai can forgive Mi Jing once! On a certain day, Lord Yan will be personally escorted to Shanwu City by Lord Chang Wen."
Cai Si cupped his hands and said.
Cai is not the surname of Cai Si. He has no surname. This Cai comes from the same place as Li Si, the court captain of the Qin State. After the Chu State came to Cai, after coming to the Qin State, over time, he was called Cai Si.
"So that's why!"
Bai Yan was sitting on his knees behind the wooden table. Hearing Cai Si's words, he showed a thoughtful expression.
Cai Si nodded.
"The two of us have prepared a small amount of gold, and we hope that General Bai can lend a helping hand and spare Mi Jing this time. In the future, Lord Changping and Lord Changwen will remember the general's kindness!"
When Cai Si said this, he looked at Bai Yan with some worry.
What does "remember the kindness" mean? It means letting Mi Jing go, which is kindness. If they don't want to, Lord Changping and Lord Changwen will remember this matter.
Whether this sentence is literal or a threat depends on Bai Yan's actions.
"I wonder what the general wants?"
Cai Si looked at Bai Yan.
In fact, when they arrived, not to mention Lord Changping and them, even the Yan family had no idea about the situation here in Shanwu City, and no news reached Yingchuan. Fortunately, Lord Changping learned from the Yan family that Mi Jing was not there.
After killing Yang Jin, he was already vaguely worried. He was afraid that Mi Jing would not be able to deal with Bai Yan and something big would happen, so he quickly sent him to Shan Wu.
Facts have proved that Mr. Changping was right.
It wasn't until they arrived at Shanwu City today that Cai Si and Shao Meng knew that Mi Jing had been arrested on the second day after Yan left Shanwu. However, Bai Yan kept suppressing the news and sealed the city.
Just let the word get out.
Both Cai Si and Shao Meng were so frightened that they broke out in a cold sweat. Their close confidant Chang Ping had a premonition. Otherwise, if it were delayed for a few more days, no one knew whether Bai Yan would have already forced the people to go to Xianyang.
"You know what Mi Jing committed is a capital crime!"
While Bai Yan was deep in thought, he raised his head and looked at the two people in front of him.
When Cai Si heard Bai Yan's words, he and Shao Meng looked at each other. They both looked at Bai Yan with anxious expressions and laughed apologetically.
"General, the Yan family has already confessed the crime. Everyone was killed by the Yan family. It was just a coincidence that Mi Jing secretly hid Yang Jin secretly because of his greed for beauty when the incident happened."
Cai Si raised his hand to 'explain' and looked at Bai Yan with a smile. The meaning was already obvious. The Yan family killed the people. Mi Jing just happened to run into Yang Jin who was running for his life. He was so obsessed that he hid the people.
I was also worried that someone would find out, so I didn't capture Yan just now.
Shao Meng also smiled and nodded, saluting Bai Yan.
"Yes! General Bai, in a few days, Lord Changwen will personally escort Yan to General Bai."
While Shao Meng was speaking, he looked at Bai Yan, who still seemed to have a stiff attitude, and a lot of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Mi Jing is the eldest son of Lord Chang Wen, and his mother is a member of the Ying clan. If Bai Yan insists on dealing with Mi Jing in accordance with the Qin laws now, let alone Bai Yan, even the two of them may not be able to do well, and don't even think about taking any further steps in the future.
.
Just as the two were about to continue persuading, they watched.
"Since Lord Chang Wen is coming, why not wait until Lord Chang Wen comes before we can discuss it again!"
After Bai Yan thought for a while, he looked at Cai Si and Shao Meng said.
Seeing that Bai Yan's tone finally softened, Cai Si and Shao Meng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. The murder case was under the jurisdiction of the county lieutenant, and the investigation and conviction were mainly conducted by the county lieutenant. As long as Bai Yan, as the county lieutenant, did not rush to convict,
When Lord Changwen arrives at Shanwu, everything will be easy to talk about.
Moreover, this also gave them time to contact the Li family quickly. In addition to Li Xin, who was still leading the army in Yandi, the Li family from Bai also had to send letters.
Both of them are also aware of Bai Yan's iron-blooded methods in front of them, so they know that if they are ordinary Qin ministers, Bai Yan may not take them into account. However, Bai Yan's Li family has a good relationship with Bai Yan, whether they were in Xianyang or in the
On the way to escort Ying Zheng, even though Bai Yan had been criticized and targeted by many ministers, Li did not shy away from telling the world about her relationship with Bai Yan.
It can be said that it was also in Xianyang that many ministers in the court restrained themselves when they saw that Li invited Bai Yan to the banquet.
Li Xin was Chang Wenjun's beloved disciple. If Li Xin was asked to write a letter to invite the Li family of Bai people to come and intercede for Mi Jing, Bai Yan would not be indifferent.
After all, the Li clan of Bai people knew that Bai Yan had offended countless people, but still stood up for Bai Yan.
If Bai Yan doesn't retain any affection at all, not to mention the Bai people's Li family's heart will be cold in the future, even the nobles who have good relations with Bai Yan and the Bai family will have to evaluate whether Bai Yan and the Bai family are worth making friends with.
Xianyang, Qin State.
Ying Zheng was in the study, dealing with bamboo slips, and not far away from Ying Zheng, a young man wearing Qin official uniform was holding bamboo slips and placing them on the wooden shelf, doing what Bai Yan had done before.
Bai Yan has never seen this young man, but in Xianyang's gentry circles, the young man is quite famous, none other than Meng Yi, a descendant of the Meng clan.
After Bai Yan left, and seeing that Ying Zheng was not resting well during this period, Princess Mi mentioned the well-known Meng Yi several times in front of Ying Zheng, hoping to promote Meng Yi to the study.
Meng Yi was born in the Meng family who had been loyal to Qin for generations, the grandson of General Meng Ao, the son of General Meng Wu, and Princess Mi heard that, unlike Meng Tian, Meng Yi, as a descendant of Meng Tian, was not good at dancing swords and had always liked ancient books and slips.
Among the children of the gentry, they were quite knowledgeable and famous.
Finally, at the suggestion of Princess Mi, Ying Zheng agreed, considering that it would be beneficial to the Qin State to train a young son who was trustworthy and from a famous family.
"Your Majesty! General Wang Ben is asking for an audience outside the palace gate!"
At this time, a eunuch hurriedly came to the study and reported to Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng was a little surprised when he heard the eunuch's words, but nodded and immediately let Wang Ben in.
"Your Majesty! Lord Yingkan is asking for an audience outside the palace gate!"
Not long after this eunuch left, another eunuch hurriedly came over. These Ying Zheng were really surprised. Is this a coincidence?
For some reason, Ying Zheng felt that it was not the case. Instead, he had a vague feeling that something had happened.