East of Xudu City, dusk.
A solemn courtyard with three golden characters "Taichang Mansion" engraved on the lintel is majestic. This is the residence of Yang Biao and his son.
A carriage stopped at the door. Yang Xiu got out of the car. He had just returned from Cao Zhi's mansion. The two discussed poetry and songs and had a very interesting chat. At this time, Yang Xiu still had an excited smile on his face. .
Yang Xiu walked quickly into the mansion and walked through the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with lush flowers and trees. Rows of flower beds were filled with various flowers and plants, exuding a faint fragrance.
Yang Xiu came to the hall and saw Yang Biao sitting in the middle, holding a letter in his hand and thinking sadly.
Yang Xiu stepped forward in confusion and bowed respectfully to Yang Biao: "Father, what are you worried about? Tell me, and my son will help you clear up your doubts."
Yang Biao raised his head and looked at Yang Xiu, sighed softly, and then handed the letter in his hand to Yang Xiu: "Dezu, read it yourself."
Yang Xiu took the letter and read it carefully, his face became solemn.
Yang Xiu put down the letter and anxiously asked Yang Biao in a low voice: "Father, where does this letter come from?"
"Just now, a servant, who claimed to be a servant of Dong Cheng's mansion, handed this letter to me." Yang Biao responded to Yang Xiu's question.
"What about everyone?" Yang Xiu asked.
Yang Biao replied: "I read this letter and felt that this matter was important. I didn't dare to make a decision easily. I was also afraid that this person would leak the news when he went back, so I arranged for someone to take him to the backyard to have dinner first. I'm just waiting for you to come back to discuss it. .”
"Father handled it well. Don't let this person go easily." Yang Xiu nodded.
"Dezu, what should you do about this? My mind is all messed up and I don't know what to do?" Yang Biao asked Yang Xiu anxiously.
"Father, this letter was written by Li Jue to Dong Cheng. You were once a minister in the same court as him, and you have read the official documents issued by him many times. You should be able to conclude whether this is written in his own hand, right?" Yang Xiu asked Yang Biao.
Yang Biao nodded with an embarrassed look on his face: "I'm just convinced that this is indeed written by Li Jue himself, and that's why I'm embarrassed."
"What's so difficult about this? This letter makes it so clear that Dong Cheng secretly informed Li Jue of the military intelligence of Cao Zhang's army, and also made an appointment with Li Jue to cooperate inside and outside to deal with Cao Sikong. This is a serious crime of rebellion, and of course he must be punished immediately Turn it over to Sikong and ask him to make a decision." Yang Xiu made a judgment immediately.
"Of course I know that this is the crime of treason, but after all, I returned from Chang'an with Dong Cheng and experienced all kinds of life and death hardships. I really can't bear to report him like this. Besides, there is something I can't figure out. "Why did that servant send this letter to me instead of sending it directly to Sikong Mansion? I'm afraid there is some mystery in it, so I can't make up my mind." Yang Biao explained to Yang Xiu.
"Father is right to be worried. Then call that servant and I will find out if you ask him face to face." Yang Xiu said confidently.
Yang Biao nodded, and then ordered his family to bring back the servant of Dong Chengfu.
Yang Xiu circled the servant with a scrutinizing gaze, but said nothing.
The servant was so scared that he didn't dare to move. He could only ask with a hint of fear: "Master, what are you looking at?"
"Tell me exactly what the whole thing is. If you dare to lie, I will kill you!" Yang Xiu said sternly to the servants.
The servant was frightened, and with a "plop", he knelt down on the ground and began to tell: "The villain's name is Dong Ji. He is a servant of General Dong Cheng's family. He has been responsible for taking care of General Dong's daily life. General Dong's nephew Yin Bi often finds various reasons to bully us servants, and even beats and scolds us, but because General Dong protects him, we servants can only endure it in order to survive."
"Go on, talk about the key points, don't ramble!" Yang Xiu urged Dong Ji.
Dong Ji nodded repeatedly and continued: "Not long ago, that Yin Bi was taken care of outside. We were all very happy. Later we found out that it was Mr. Cao Zhang who did it. We were all very happy at the time and felt that someone finally vented our anger on our behalf. Already..."
Yang Xiu interrupted Dong Ji sharply: "I told you to talk about the key points, but you can't understand me, can you?"
Dong Ji explained in fear: "I understand, but just now you said, Master, let me explain everything clearly. I was afraid of omitting anything, so I started from the beginning."
"Okay, I won't interrupt you or scare you, just keep talking." Seeing that Dong Ji was really scared, Yang Xiu stopped scaring him and motioned for him to continue.
"Then Yin Bi was taken care of by Mr. Cao Zhang. He was always unconvinced and always pestered General Dong to vent his anger. General Dong kept telling him not to be impatient and to wait patiently for the opportunity."
"Two days ago, I was cleaning the yard and heard General Dong and Yin Bi talking in the house. They mentioned Mr. Cao, so I paid attention and eavesdropped on a few words. It turned out that what I heard was General Dong and Yin Bi. Bi said that this time Li Jue knew about Young Master Cao Zhang's arrangement and would definitely kill him to vent his anger on Yin Bi's behalf."
"I was terrified at the time. After all, Mr. Cao Zhang had vented his anger on us, and I definitely didn't want anything to happen to him. Later, I took the opportunity to clean the general's study and found this letter, and then I found out who he was. He secretly colluded with Li Jue to frame Mr. Cao, so he hurriedly reported the news to Taichang." Dong Ji finished his story and let out a sigh of relief.
Yang Xiu looked at him carefully: "What you mean is that because you had a grudge against Yin Bi, Master Cao Zhang took care of him and took it out on you, so when you heard Dong Cheng and Yin Bi discussing Master Cao, you stayed You were so concerned and found this letter?"
"Yes, everything the villain said is true." Dong Ji responded affirmatively.
"Are you literate? Read a few sentences from this letter to me." Yang Xiu looked at Dong Ji suspiciously and handed him the letter in his hand.
Dong Ji explained to Yang Xiu: "The villain has been in General Dong's mansion for many years. From Luoyang to Chang'an, and then to Xudu, he has been following him. In addition to cleaning, he also helps with some affairs in the mansion, so the general teaches I know some words.”
After speaking, he picked up the letter and read it softly.
Yang Xiu listened to a few words, waved his hand to interrupt him, then picked up a bamboo volume from the desk beside him and handed it to Dong Ji: "Read this again."
Dong Ji took it and was able to read out some of the contents.
Yang Xiu waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to read anymore, as he had already confirmed that he was really literate.
"Dong Ji, tell me, since you know the contents of the letter, you should also know that this is a top-secret matter for General Dong, why did you come to tell my father?" Yang Xiu asked.
"Back to you, Master, although I am a servant in General Dong's family, I still know right from wrong. Master Cao helped us, he is a good man. Then Li Jue bullied us when he was in Chang'an, and on his way back east, we had close calls several times. Our son died in his hands, and we hated him so much. But General Dong colluded with him to kill Mr. Cao. This is treason and a serious crime of beheading. Of course, the villain must report him!" Dong Ji said to Yang Xiu explain.
"Then why did you give this letter to my father? Instead of giving it directly to Cao Sikong?" Yang Xiu asked this very critical question.
"Reporting to the young master, when General Dong and I came back from Chang'an, we met Yang Taichang. We ate wild vegetables together and we had some friendship. But Cao Sikong and I have never met each other, and I heard that he has a bad temper. He's very big and he kills people at every turn. I didn't dare to go find him, so I had to find Taichang with the letter." Dong Ji gave the answer calmly, which sounded reasonable.
After hearing Dong Ji's words, Yang Xiu frowned slightly and began to think.
Yang Biao didn't know how Yang Xiu would make a decision and looked at him expectantly.
After a while, Yang Xiu came back to his senses and said to Dong Ji: "This matter is very important. You can stay in my house first. We will treat you with good food and drink, but you can't run around, let alone leave. , or mention this matter to anyone again. When the matter is found out and Dong Cheng and Li Jue are indeed colluding, they will definitely reward you heavily."
Dong Ji promised repeatedly: "Thank you, Master, I will follow your arrangements!"
Yang Xiu waved his hand to the family members at home to take Dong Ji out.
"Dezu, what do you think about this matter? Are Dong Ji's words credible?" Yang Biao asked Yang Xiu anxiously.
"At present, it seems that there are no flaws. All the details are quite reasonable." Yang Xiu responded.
"Is it reasonable? Dezu, have you ever thought about how Dong Cheng knew about Cao Zhang's military information? If he could pass it on to Li Jue in such a short period of time, it means that Cao Zhang must have his spy in the army, and his level Only when you are high enough can you understand the layout of the upper levels.”
"But this time Cao Zhang went on an expedition. None of Sikong's famous generals from the clan followed him, and it was even less possible to lead other people's troops. How could Dong Cheng's people know the secrets of the top officials? There is a problem here." General Yang Biao I expressed my doubts and worries.
Yang Xiu looked at Yang Biao and smiled: "Father, do you think these are important? Is it an issue we should consider? Of course I understand that there is a hidden secret in it. In fact, it is not difficult at all who is the real collaborator. Guess it."
"Who is it?" Yang Biao asked.
Yang Xiu deliberately let it slip at this time: "Who would do something that harms others but is not beneficial to oneself? Father, just think about it, if Cao Zhang really dies, who will benefit the most?"
Yang Biao frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and exclaimed: "What do you mean, this is Cao..."
Yang Xiu waved his hand to signal his father not to continue: "Let's not talk about anything without evidence. We only need to be sure of one thing, that is, the letter was written by Li Jue himself, and someone did provide Cao Zhang's military information to Got him."
"We just need to submit the letter to Sikong. As for who the collaborator is, Sikong will arrange for people from the school affairs office to investigate, so we don't have to worry about it."
"What do you mean, I will take this letter and present it to Sikong?" Yang Biao asked.
Yang Xiu smiled at this moment: "Father, you are one of the three nobles. If you go to Sikong with this letter, at most you will get some words of thanks, but you won't get much benefit or reward. So you can't go to Sikong alone. , and I need to take someone with me."
"Who is it?" Yang Biao asked doubtfully.
"Master Zijian!" Yang Xiu replied with a smile, "Zihuan is the eldest son. Ziwen is in the limelight recently. Although Master Zijian is favored by Sikong, he doesn't show much. But if this major treason case is For him to discover and report it is a great achievement."
"Dezu, do you mean to encourage Master Zijian to join the fight for the crown prince?!" Yang Biao asked worriedly.
"Why don't you join? Zijian is talented, simple in nature, and has lofty ambitions. He has the potential to be a wise leader, but he has never had the chance to stand out because he is young."
"As his vassal, I naturally have to try my best to help him win the throne. Otherwise, no matter who becomes the heir in the future, Zihuan or Ziwen, Zijian and I will have to live a mediocre life. It’s all a waste of time and effort.” Yang Xiu explained to Yang Biao why he wanted to support Cao Zhi.
"Dezu, there is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire behind this dispute in the court, why do you need to get involved?" Yang Biao reminded Yang Xiu worriedly.
"How can a man live in heaven and earth? He should find a way to make contributions. I have made up my mind. There is no need for my father to persuade me. I will ask my father to go with me to see Mr. Zijian and invite him to report Dong Cheng to Sikong." Yang Xiu stuck to his decision.
Yang Biao knew that his son relied on his talent and his ambition was as high as the sky. He was unwilling to be mediocre all his life, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only nodded, put the letter away, and walked out with Yang Xiu...
