In the two days since he met Xuesheng and Liu Li, Liu Xin did not investigate the case properly because the murderers were his good brothers and sisters. How could he investigate with all his heart?
Instead, during the past two days, Liu Xin dressed up in disguise and the three of them went sightseeing, which was very pleasant.
Lei Chuanchang took a group of staff and visited everywhere, but there was no progress in the case.
The time has come to August 22nd.
Two major events occurred in the court on this day.
First, the Jin Yiwei presented a memorial, accusing Qi Ji, the right minister of the Ministry of War, of treason, colluding with the Northern Barbarians, and being the mastermind behind the Royal Horse Prison case. The emperor was furious and ordered a group of people to be investigated.
The Jin Yiwei immediately moved into action, and the core of the incident, the right minister of the Ministry of War, Qi Ji, started to report that he was sick at home two days ago. I don't know if he got the news in advance.
In the end, the Jin Yiwei raided the Qi Mansion, but found no trace of Qi Ji. The emperor immediately ordered the whole city to be closed for arrest.
The second thing was that Ao Changshen, the right deputy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, directly attacked Tan Ruqian, the right servant of the Ministry of Revenue, in the court, and listed many crimes, one of which was embezzlement of huge amounts of money. In a few years, it reached One million taels of silver.
Tan Ruqian vomited blood and fainted on the spot. However, with all the physical evidence, he was sent to the prison on the spot. Because the Jin Yiwei went to search for Qi Ji, the Jin Yiwei was short of manpower, so the emperor ordered Dongchang to take action. As a result, the streets in the imperial capital were full of Dongchang and The whole city was noisy with the Jin Yiwei people, and the chickens and dogs were restless.
As a member of the Fusi Qianhu in Nanzhen, Liu Xin does not need to go out to work, but he has to stay in the yamen, receive news from all parties at any time, prepare for responses, and is not allowed to go out.
At this time, a person who was almost forgotten by Liu Xin suddenly returned.
"Luo Bei, where have you been for so long?"
"You went to handle the case without me, so of course I went to practice sword practice!"
"Have you practiced sword practice for a month?"
"yes."
"I obey you!"
"Thank you Qianhu!"
"..."
When Luo Bei returned, Liu Xin inexplicably trusted him, because Luo Bei looked like a martial arts idiot, a martial artist + an idiot.
Sitting in the Qianhu Institute, many captains were constantly coming in and out, several general banners were busy running around, Guo Yong had been promoted to the position of one hundred households.
The so-called trial of 100 households actually has the same salary and responsibilities as 100 households, but after all, it was Liu Xin who forcibly promoted him, so he could not be directly promoted to 100 households.
This trial household also has the meaning of trying it out. If you do well, you will become a full-time employee. If you do not do well, for the sake of your backing, you can continue to be your trial household.
The day passed quickly in a busy manner. In fact, the busiest person was Guo Yong. He was dealing with various affairs. Although he was too busy to touch the floor, he was very happy in his heart.
Work hard, work hard, now it’s time to try out the Hundred Households. Train your son well. As long as his cultivation keeps up, and he succeeds him in the future, he will be a Hundred Households!
The Guo family has never had a high-ranking official like Baihu. This is not just a matter of promotion, but also a rise in social class!
The other Ding Mingfu, Liu Fu and others are actually very envious in their hearts, but Liu Qianhu is judged based on merit and is fair and impartial. They have nothing to say and are too embarrassed to go to Liu Xina to ask for this position. They can only do it. Work harder when you are alive.
Therefore, even if Liu Xin is the boss, a few people are enough to get things done in an orderly manner.
The next day is approaching, and of course there is no time for the next day. If they can't catch Qi Ji in one day, and if they can't catch Qi Ji and Tan Ruqian's accomplices, Jin Yiwei and Dongchang can't stop.
A school captain suddenly ran in from outside. He turned a blind eye to Guo Yong's bright eyes and nimbly dodged the hands extended by Ding Mingfu and others, aiming directly at Liu Xin himself.
Ding Mingfu and the other three thought to themselves, as a school captain, you can still be as hard-working as us. Even if you hand the documents directly to Liu Qianhu, raising you to one level is just a small banner, and we are all the general banner!
Guo Yong's expression suddenly changed and he rushed towards Liu Xin.
"Report to Qianhu, our spies discovered Qi Ji's underworld!"
Guo Yong suddenly pounced on the captain, and Guo Yong shouted: "Who is it! Who asked you to assassinate Qianhu!"
The scene was chaotic at first, then silent.
"Guo Baihu, Guo Baihu, I didn't, I didn't want to assassinate Qianhu, no!"
After a while, Guo Yong resigned himself and returned to his position with an indifferent expression. Ding Mingfu and the others raised their foreheads and shook their heads. Liu Xin personally helped the captain and asked:
"Have you found the whereabouts of Qi Ji?"
The captain's body bones ached a little. Although the old man Guo Yong was poor in cultivation, he was better because of his age. He was heavier because of his age. The captain's young body was a little overwhelmed by the pressure, but he still held on a little bit. head.
"Okay, Guo Baihu, order some people and let's go!"
A moment later, more than 200 people from the Nanzhen Fusi Thousand Household Office filed out. In fact, these people were originally from the Wenxuanfang Hundred Household Office. After being upgraded to the Thousand Household Office, they had not yet had time to select people.
Baizhifang, Shanguo Temple in the outer city of the imperial capital
Qi Ji was hiding here at this time. On the north side of Shanguo Temple is the Xibian Gate of the outer city. This is a place convenient for merchants and merchants to enter and exit in large quantities.
On weekdays, there is a huge flow of people, and there is an endless stream of cars and horses.
There were more than a dozen people around Qi Ji at this time, and there were also several of his internal agents in Shanguo Temple. They were putting on a facade outside, and there were seven or eight monks tied up behind the Buddhist temple.
Because the incense in Shanguo Temple is not very prosperous. Therefore, even if there are only a few monks in the temple, it is enough to cope with it.
Qi Ji had already chosen this hiding place. Almost half of the monks in Shanguo Temple were bribed and used by him, and even Xibianmen also had his internal agents.
The dozen or so people following him are all good players in the world, and they are not from the same group as the Qin brothers. This group of people work for a fee, and several of them are well-known figures in the magic world in the past.
It's a pity that Emperor Wu's city has unified the world, and the soil for the survival of the devil has been almost squeezed out. The overall strength of the righteous path has increased, resulting in only a few law-abiding and powerful devil sects left in the world.
In the past, people in the devil's path had long declined to the point of becoming killers, or looking after people's homes and homes.
The person with the highest cultivation level around Qi Ji was once an elder of a demonic sect, and he was at the Great Accomplishment level.
"Elder Tang, in the past few days, due to the strict inspection at the West Bianmen and the guards of Jin Yiwei, there has been no chance. But now that I have been exposed, I am afraid that the search everywhere will be more rigorous. We don't have much time, so why not According to my wishes, let’s break out!”
At this time, Qi Ji no longer looked like the elegant and calm right minister of the Ministry of War. He was dressed in the ordinary clothes of ordinary people, with wrinkles all over his face, just like ordinary people.
Elder Tang's real name is King Tang Kang. Let's not mention his former sect. Now he has established an underground gang in the north, specializing in helping people from the government avoid trouble.
You must know that officialdom is like a battlefield, with factions fighting everywhere, and you may be overthrown at any time. Once you fall off the horse, even your friends may step on you, not to mention your enemies.
And in order to prevent this person from bottoming out and rising again at some point, in party struggles, the fate of the loser is often cruel and bloody.
Therefore, Elder Tang's business is booming. He has dozens of people under him, and they are very strong. Because Qi Ji is the largest business he has ever taken over, in order to show his sincerity, he not only took action personally, but also brought ten elite people with him. Brother No. 1 went to the city in person to meet him.
There were also more than a dozen people waiting with horses outside the city.
Elder Tang is over sixty years old, but he still has black hair. A Dacheng-level warrior has internal energy to nourish him, and his lifespan is longer than that of ordinary people.
"Don't worry, Qi Dongjia. Breaking in by force is the last way. The officers and soldiers have discovered the trace. If the cavalry is sent to chase, I can't guarantee that I can escape!"
"What can we do? If the city is closed and the whole city is arrested, then we will be caught in a trap!"
Elder Tang seemed to be very experienced. He pressed his hand to signal Qi Ji not to be anxious. He said in a calm tone: "The Imperial City is so big that we can't find this place so quickly. Qi Dong's family, your Shanguo Temple is doing well, even Jin Yiwei can't. You will discover this place so quickly. Don’t rush at the critical moment, otherwise something will happen easily!”
Seeing the calm expression on Elder Tang's face, Qi Ji was still uneasy, but he suppressed it with force. A wry smile appeared on his face, he shook his head and left Elder Tang's room.
Elder Tang looked at Qi Ji's leaving back and showed a sneer. If it weren't for the fact that he only paid half of the deposit for this business, if it weren't for the extremely high remuneration of this business, and if it wasn't for the young man following Qi Ji, he wouldn't be able to see it. Out of depth...
Hum hum...
After Qi Ji left Elder Tang's room, he returned to his own room. You Xingjian followed Qi Ji into the room.
Qi Ji got a pot of tea and drank it, which finally relieved the anxiety in his heart.
He received the news three days ago. He didn't know the source of the news, but he could feel that the source of the news might be related to the mysterious mastermind behind the Yuma Supervisor case.
Jin Yiwei has found him and secretly arranged it to uproot his power.
Qi Ji was also hesitant, but You Xingjian advised him not to be afraid of ten thousand, but to be afraid of the worst.
So he made a decision to report his illness in advance, and then with the help of You Xingjian, he left Qi Mansion, which was already under surveillance, and came to Shanguo Temple.
Through the information channels left by the Qin brothers, he contacted Elder Tang, paid a deposit of one thousand taels of gold, and promised to give another one thousand taels of gold after leaving the city when it was safe.
You must know that one thousand taels of gold is equivalent to one hundred thousand taels of silver, so all the business that Elder Tang has done over the years does not add up to that much silver.
But what Elder Tang didn't know was that Qi Ji didn't have the balance of one thousand taels of gold. All his money was transferred to his son and grandson. As for himself, the one thousand taels of gold banknotes were the last thing he used for emergencies. of silver.
He planned to let You Xingjian take him away after leaving the city. You Xingjian said that he could deal with Elder Tang.
Of course Qi Ji trusted You Xingjian, but it was actually hard not to believe him because he had no other support now.
"What do you think of what Elder Tang said?" Qi Ji gasped, water stains sticking to his usually well-maintained beard, making him look a little embarrassed.
You Xingjian nodded slightly, and then said: "He is an old Jianghu, and his judgment is correct. He did not deceive us. Forcibly leaving the city is indeed the last resort. If we were just ordinary officials, we might be able to try, but we are not. The imperial court will definitely arrest us and even send out cavalry!”
You Xingjian's words made Qi Ji lose his last glimmer of hope.
Although his son and grandson were already safe, Qi Ji once felt that he no longer cared about life and death, but when faced with a real life-and-death situation, he was still afraid and still greedy for life.
call out!
There was a sudden sound outside the window, and You Xingjian stepped forward and drew his sword for just a moment.
"It seems to be a crossbow arrow. There is no follow-up. Master, please be careful!"
After You Xingjian said that, he carefully opened the door and walked out, only to find that Elder Tang had also left the room.
The two rooms are facing each other, separated by a small courtyard.
You Xingjian strode to a corridor pillar, stretched out his hand to pull out the crossbow arrow stuck on it, glanced at Elder Tang who had a strange look on his face, and went straight back to Qi Ji's room without saying anything.
"Master, it's this again." You Xingjian placed the crossbow arrow on the table, with a note tied to the end of the crossbow arrow.
The last time such a crossbow appeared was three days ago.
Opening the note, there were only two lines of small words on it. After reading it, Qi Ji had a look of surprise on his face, and then handed the note to You Xingjian. You Xingjian's indifferent face did not change.
"Qi Dong's house, can I come in?" Elder Tang's voice sounded outside the door.
Qi Ji and You Xingjian looked at each other, You Xingjian nodded slightly, and Qi Ji said:
"come in."
Elder Tang opened the door and entered. The first thing he saw was the note in You Xingjian's hand, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
"What was that just now?" Elder Tang asked straight to the point.
You Xingjian put away the note, Qi Ji smiled and said to Elder Tang:
"Good news, at four o'clock today, the Jin Yiwei at Xibianmen will be temporarily transferred. That time is the best time for us to leave the city!"
Elder Tang was surprised when he heard this. He glanced at You Xingjian again, guessing that there might be someone helping him behind Qi Ji. In this way, the difficulty of this business would be greatly reduced, and his expression suddenly changed. Slightly better.
Turning around and taking a look at the sky outside, it was already midnight and they didn't have much time.
In order to make himself more at ease, Elder Tang still asked: "Qidong family, is your source of information reliable?"
Qi Ji nodded.
Elder Tang said: "Even so, I will gather people. When the time comes, we will go out first to meet at the city gate. At the same time, we will spread the news. The people I arranged outside the city will arrive immediately."
Qi Ji stood up and solemnly bowed and thanked Elder Tang.
Elder Tang took a deep look at Qi Ji. Of course he would not have any psychological fluctuations because of this move. It was all an old man, but he still sighed in his heart. What a person like Qi Ji can do anytime, anywhere, All contain profound meanings.
Elder Tang left to arrange the arrangements. Qi Ji had nothing to prepare, so he just left. Now all the money has been given to Elder Tang. He had nothing on him except a letter of contact with the Northern Barbarians in a bag. .
You Xingjian put away the small piece of paper and the crossbow arrow, took off his sword from his back, and held it in one hand.
One thing to mention here is that martial arts practice has become common in Zhengyang, and the streets are full of swordsmen wearing swords, or fake warriors who pretend to be warriors. However, the use of weapons has indeed been liberalized. Although it has had a certain impact on the underlying security of Zhengyang, For the general trend, it also increases the force value of Zhengyang. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, no one can tell.
At three o'clock in the morning, people began to leave Shanguo Temple from the side door of the front door and back door one after another. There were not many people, but they all fell into the eyes of people on a five-story building three streets away from the right side of Shanguo Temple.
This is a sentry building of Jinyiwei. It is disguised as a restaurant on weekdays. The top floor is closed all year round and is exclusively used by Jinyiwei.
Liu Xin also knew for the first time today that this kind of building was actually the sentry tower of Jin Yiwei. So, were there such sentry towers everywhere in the imperial capital?
Standing at the top of the sentry tower, Liu Xin used his excellent eyesight to penetrate two miles and saw the people coming out of Shanguo Temple, and finally gathered on the main street leading to Xibianmen. He knew that the other party had finally started to take action.
"Lao Guo, Qi Ji's people are starting to move, and their target is Xibianmen."
Guo Yong thought for a while and suddenly said with some confusion: "Qianhu, there are also Jinyi guards stationed at the West Gate, are they planning to force their way in?"
Liu Xin sneered: "There are only a dozen people who want to break through. Even if they can break out of the city, they can easily catch up with them on the plain thirty miles outside the imperial capital with just a pair of light cavalry."
Although there are suburban counties outside the imperial capital, they are thirty miles away. The thirty miles in between are all buffer zones and plains. The purpose is of course for city defense.
"That's not certain. Maybe they are desperate. They know that the city is stepping up its efforts to arrest people, so they are anxious!"
Guo Yong started to use his rusty brain and analyzed it hard.
Liu Xin shook his head and said: "Impossible, Qi Ji is an old official, and the people around him are not ordinary people in the world. They behave in a sophisticated way. The current situation will not make them lose their minds. They must take action because of what reason."
After a pause, Liu Xin ordered: "Let someone go and find out what's going on at Xibianmen."
A small flag officer immediately took the order.
Liu Xin's current subordinates are all working very hard, because Liu Xin's New Thousand Household Office is short of personnel, and they are all old people from the Wenxuanfang Hundred Household Office. Unlike Liu Fu and others, these small flag officials below are still young and powerful. At this time, if you perform well at this time, you may be promoted to one level.
There are no hard requirements for cultivation to serve as the chief flag officer.
Not long after, the flag officer came in a hurry.
"Report to Qianhu, the Jinyi guards at Xibianmen have withdrawn, saying they are going to support Liu Qianhu. He seems to have found a clue!"
Liu Xinyan's brows suddenly raised: "What? I know why Qi Ji suddenly started to act now. The Jin Yiwei at Xibianmen was lured away! Did you tell Liu Qianhu what he found?"
Liu Qianhu is naturally Liu Licheng.
The official Xiaoqi said: "I didn't tell you the specific situation. I just said that I found clues at Guangning Gate and urgently recruited people to assist."
Guangning Gate is the city gate on the west side of the outer city, and is exactly in the opposite direction from Xibian Gate.
At this time, outside Guangning Gate, Liu Licheng was walking quickly against the city wall with a few casual guards. He received news that there was a suspicious group of people outside Guangning Gate, numbering more than ten people!
