There was silence in the hall.
Han Du thought of Lan Yu who died in the battle, and always felt that Lan Yu died too easily.
"Your Majesty, how was Jiayuguan captured, and how did Duke Liang die?"
Faced with Han Du's question, Zhu Biao sighed and shook his head, "The news sent back by Marquis Changxing is so crude that I haven't had time to investigate."
As he spoke, he looked up at Han Du and said, "You just happened to be back. Why don't you come and find out what's going on?"
Zhu Biao didn't believe that Lan Yu would be defeated so quickly. He knew the military well and knew that Timur had just been defeated. Even if Timur comes back, Lan Yu will not be defeated so quickly.
And even if Lan Yu really couldn't stop it, he should have asked the court for help. With Lan Yu's long experience in battle, it was impossible for him to not even make this judgment.
Since Lan Yu did not ask for help, it meant that he was confident of resisting Timur's army.
"Okay." Han Du agreed immediately. He always felt that Lan Yu's defeat was too strange. Maybe there was something wrong here.
...
Han Du went directly to the cabinet and ordered the scribe, "Go and bring all the reports from Jiayuguan to me."
"yes."
Not long after, two scribes came in carrying two thick stacks of reports.
"Put it on the table."
Han Du motioned to the two of them, then sat down and looked carefully in chronological order.
Everything was normal at first. Lan Yu would send a memorial back to Beijing every month, even if there was no war.
But when April came, there was no report from Lan Yu.
There was only one letter from Lan Yu in May, but in June there was no more.
Han Du's heart was moved, he raised his head and asked the clerk: "Where is the report from Jiayuguan in April, May, and June? Is this the only one?"
The scribe hurriedly bowed and said, "To tell you the truth, yes."
Bang!
Han Du suddenly slapped his hand on the desk and said angrily: "Liang Guogong sends the report every month, except for April and June. Didn't you think that there was something wrong and didn't report it to the emperor? "
The clerk trembled with fright, and immediately knelt down and shouted, "My lord, I was wronged. I also reported it to Mr. Qi at that time. But Mr. Qi said that since there was no report, it was nothing. So, he ignored it." ....."
Qitai?
Han Du then remembered that after he went to sea, Zhu Biao asked Qi Tai to take charge of the cabinet. It is reasonable for the scribe to report to him.
Thinking of this, the anger in Han Du's heart subsided slightly, and he waved his hand to ask the scribe to get up.
Then he opened the report sent by Lan Yu in May, and Han Du frowned after just one glance.
The report was very disorganized and lacked even basic logic. The first sentence is still talking about Timur's situation, and the next sentence becomes his great achievements in drinking.
The entire sentence in the report seemed to have been rubbed hard by someone.
If Han Du hadn't recognized Lan Yu's handwriting, he would have thought it was forged.
Suddenly, Han Du's heart moved. According to the encryption rules I once told Lan Yu, I picked out words one by one from the chaotic sentences.
Sure enough, a sentence appeared in Han Du's eyes, "There is a lack of food and grass, please send it quickly!"
Seeing this sentence, Han Du understood everything.
It turns out that it wasn't that Lan Yu didn't ask for help, but that his request for help never reached the court. No matter what the reason was, it showed that someone intercepted the report from Jiayuguan.
Maybe Lan Yu also sensed something was wrong, so she sent this report in an encrypted way. He must have thought that he was still in the cabinet, and that this report could be delivered to him without concealment. Once he saw it, he would be able to understand his situation and immediately send him food and grass.
The report was indeed hidden from some people's eyes and reached the cabinet unscathed. But unfortunately, at this time, he was storming the Nusrato Ku Fortress.
"Brother! I hurt you, I hurt you..."
When the scribe saw Duke Zhen suddenly burst into tears, he was at a loss.
Han Du felt sad for a while, then took the report to cheer up.
After thinking for a moment, he walked straight towards Qianqing Palace without saying anything.
"What? Got a clue so soon?" Zhu Biao looked at Han Du in surprise.
He knew that Han Du was very powerful. In the past, many mysterious cases about his father were left to Han Du to investigate. But it has only been half a day, has Han Du found something?
Han Du handed the report to Zhu Biao and said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, it was this minister who killed Duke Liang..."
Zhu Biao was stunned. When Lan Yu died in the battle, Han Du had already gone to sea. How could he be the one responsible?
When he opened the report, Zhu Biao immediately frowned. He had never seen this report, but given the random things written on it, it was reasonable for the cabinet not to send it.
"This is a secret report from Duke Liang. It needs to be decrypted to see the true meaning." With that, Han Du handed over the decryption method to Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao also knew this method, but the decrypted original books were different.
Soon Zhu Biao decrypted the hidden content of the report, and his expression changed instantly.
"Uncle, this is...this is..."
"The situation is so critical, why doesn't uncle just report it?"
Seeing the decrypted content, Zhu Biao also knew why Han Du said he was the one who killed Lan Yu. If Han Du had not gone to sea, he would have been able to see this memorial. With Han Du's intelligence, he would have been able to decipher what Lan Yu really meant.
Then, as long as the imperial court sends food and grass there, Jiayuguan will not be breached at all, and Lan Yu will naturally not die in battle!
"Your Majesty, Duke Liang must have reported this many times before, but it must have been a long time since he received a response from the court, so he had no choice but to report it in an encrypted way."
Zhu Biao's expression darkened and he said sternly: "You mean, someone dares to intercept the imperial military report?"
"This is the only explanation, otherwise why would Duke Liang have to encrypt the memorial?"
Han Du paused, his voice filled with chills, and continued: "And this must have been done by someone from the imperial court."
"Why?" Zhu Biao did not refute Han Du, nor did he directly agree.
Han Du picked up the memorial and signaled: "Your Majesty, this memorial seems to be some nonsense on the surface, but it was sent to the cabinet. This shows that the person who intercepted Liang Guogong's memorial was not only literate, but also literate. They understand the importance of the report. This report seemed insignificant in their eyes, so they sneaked through and sent it to the cabinet."
"My uncle's other reports that directly stated his request for help were deliberately blocked by these people!" Without Han Du's explanation, Zhu Biao had already guessed it.
Han Du nodded solemnly.
Zhu Biao lowered his head and pondered for a while, then suddenly asked: "What are you going to do?"
Han Du's expression condensed, and he stared into Zhu Biao's eyes and replied: "Find out the truth and find out all these people. Deliberately intercepting the military report, causing the Jiayu Pass to be breached and Liang Guogong to die in battle, it is equivalent to treason, and the nine tribes should be punished for their crimes!"
Zhu Biao didn't say a word after hearing this.
Han Du asked in a deep voice: "How does the emperor plan to deal with it?"
Zhu Biao raised his eyes to look at Han Du and made up his mind at the next moment.
"I'll leave this matter to you, investigate! Let me get to the bottom of it. No matter who is involved, kill! If you don't kill, it won't make the people angry. If you don't kill, it won't comfort the spirit of Duke Liang in heaven!"
"My lord, I obey!" Han Du took a deep breath and immediately bowed down.
...
Han Du took Zhu Biao's handwriting and came to Hubu first.
"Find Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu for me!"
After a while, Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu came hand in hand. Both of them were not in a good mood. Po Lanyu was killed in the battle at Jiayuguan, and the major events that happened one after another in the DPRK also made them unhappy.
"I'm going to pay my respects to you..."
Han Du directly waved his hand to interrupt the two of them, and asked sharply: "What's going on with the grain and grass in Jiayuguan?"
"What, what food?"
Wang Yuanji and Zhao Yu looked at each other and didn't understand why the young master wanted to investigate the crime as soon as he arrived.
"The grain and grass sent to Jiayuguan, why did the Liang Guoguo report lack of grain and grass?"
Wang Yuanji's face turned aside, and he quickly raised his hands and replied: "My lord, the grain and grass in Jiayuguan have been allocated to the Ministry of War for a long time. There has never been any shortage, and there is an accounting record. As evidence.”
"Bring it!"
"yes."
Han Du also didn't believe that the Ministry of Revenue would deduct Lan Yu's food and grass. Although he often didn't come to the Ministry of Revenue, he was still the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The people in the Hubu department don't know that they and Lan Yu are sworn brothers, so how could they withhold food and grass?
Wang Yuanji immediately ordered the scribe to bring the accounting records, holding them in his hands and placing them respectfully in front of Han Du.
Han Du opened it and took a quick look. It was true that food and grass were allocated to the Ministry of War every month, even in April, May and June.
"Master, please see, here is the signature of Mr. Yan from the Ministry of War."
Since Han Du became the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he has established a rule that all money and materials sent out from the Ministry of Revenue must be signed by the recipient.
As for all the grain and grass allocated to Jiayuguan, the name of the military deployment was Yan Sheng.
Han Du immediately stood up and said, "Take the person who will handle this matter and follow me to the Ministry of War."
"yes."
...
The Yamen of the Ministry of War is right next to the Ministry of Household Affairs, facing Hongwumen, with a Ministry of Rites in the middle.
Han Du and his men arrived at the entrance of the military department in just a moment.
"Stop, don't trespass on the important military base."
The sergeant guarding the door saw a group of people about to rush into the military headquarters, and immediately stood up to block them.
Han Du stretched out his hand to push away the clerk who was blocking him, and said sternly: "If you are blind, even I dare to stop you."
"Greetings to the Lord." The sergeant was suddenly startled when he saw Han Du and quickly knelt down.
"Get away!"
The sergeant quickly retreated to both sides, not daring to face the road again.
Han Du immediately rushed into the Ministry of War with his people. As soon as he entered, he stopped a clerk and asked:
"Where is Yan Sheng? Take me to find him."
"Yan Sheng? Master Yan is here..."
At this moment, an official came out.
Someone behind him immediately said in a distant voice: "Master Yan, please stay!"
Han Du immediately followed the sound, was this person Yan Sheng? It's really a waste of all your efforts to find someone as soon as you arrive.
Yan Sheng was startled when he heard this and subconsciously raised his head. Seeing the crowd rushing towards him with great force, he quickly lowered his head and turned back.
