The envoys and retainers set off on time the next day, and transported the goods by ship to Hangu Pass at the post station. They then loaded the goods into trucks from Hangu Pass and went out to Zhuohan Road and Fanshui Pass, heading straight to Daliang. They marched according to the rules. Every time they arrived at a county town, they would show their festival charms, visit the county magistrate, and arrange free accommodation and food. Five days later, the convoy arrived at Yanzhong. After completing the formalities, the governor of Yanzhong arranged for them to stay at the Guanyi. After dinner, the envoy quietly appeared in the post, and the retainer disguised as him immediately changed clothes with him. The entire convoy was silent, as if nothing had happened.
At night, a fire suddenly broke out in the post. In the light of the fire, the post official screamed desperately: "Fire breaks out, rescue quickly!" But the sound soon disappeared.
The towering fire was noticed by the city defenders, and they immediately beat the drums. Zhongzhong is a wilderness where Wei clan members hunt. Except for guards and a few maintenance personnel, there are no residents around. Lieutenant Lieutenant Yan finally mobilized a hundred soldiers out of the city to put out the fire in the middle of the night, but the posthouse had been burned to rubble!
Zhongzhong informed Daliang about the fire. Daliang learned that among the dead was an envoy from Qin, and immediately reported it to the prince. It was already afternoon. The prince was shocked when he heard this: He had just met the envoy yesterday. Seeing that he was mysterious, he even scolded him for making a fuss. Unexpectedly, bad news came today. The prince felt that he had unconsciously fallen into a political whirlpool, which was unfathomable!
Without thinking carefully, the prince informed the envoy who came to report that he would immediately go to the prison to inspect and asked him to send someone to accompany him. After the Wei envoy left, the prince immediately called the young master, the fifth doctor and Gongcheng. While arranging for himself to go to Yanzhong to inspect, he asked the fifth doctor to send ten people to Xianyang to report that the envoy had been destroyed. The reason why ten people were dispatched was to be on guard against anyone attacking on the road and to ensure that the news could reach Xianyang.
After the messenger arrived, the prince set off with fifty followers, leaving one official to guard the house. The five hundred Wei soldiers who were responsible for guarding the prince also formed a team at the same time and went out on guard to surround the prince's convoy of fifty people.
After the prince left, ten swordsmen from public transport immediately arrived and told them the news they wanted to convey to Xianyang. The ten swordsmen changed their gears and left one after another.
Thirty miles from Liangxiyi to Xizhong, it can be reached by car in just one hour. The guards and lieutenants of Yanzhong were already waiting in front of Guanyi, which was burned to ruins. The site of the fire in Guanyi had also been surrounded and guarded by Wei soldiers, and no idlers were allowed to enter.
Accompanied by the guards, lieutenants and envoys, the prince and his party of fifty people entered the site of the post. Ten people followed the prince, ten people dispersed to the surrounding areas to be on guard, and ten people went into the fire site to investigate. The remaining twenty people stayed ten steps away, ready to be dispatched at any time. Since they knew very well that the prince and the others were here to explore the site and look for suspicious signs, the guards and the others did not stop the Qin people's exploration. They only sent people to follow them and did not allow them to move around.
Ten corpses were placed side by side in the courtyard, with no trace of the time of death. The body had been burnt black, completely dehydrated and deformed, and it was impossible to identify who it was. The three attendants observed the ten corpses very carefully and made notes on the wooden tablets from time to time.
The prince asked: "Where is the goods?"
Yan Zhongshou said with a regretful expression: "Destroyed to ashes!"
A Wei soldier led an entourage to a corner of the main room, and some burnt yellow pearls and the like could still be seen vaguely in the ashes. Lieutenant Yan held up a copper belt hook and said: "But this thing still survives the fire, so I would like to return it!"
An attendant took the copper belt hook from the hands of the governor and handed it to the prince. The prince took it over. There were signs of being burned on the belt hook, and it was slightly deformed, but the basic style was still there. The prince entered his sleeves and asked as he walked: "Where is the postman? Can I ask for advice?"
The guard in the confinement said regretfully: "The post officials were also killed in the sea of fire, and their bodies were not intact."
The prince raised his eyebrows in interest and said, "Is it possible to see it?"
Under the leadership of a Wei soldier, the prince and his party came to the post official's body, and sure enough, it was burned beyond recognition. A follower stepped forward to investigate, but was stopped by Wei Zu. The prince looked at the defender in confusion, and the defender said: "Those who have perished in our city do not dare to contribute to the great power of the country."
The prince said: "The post officials have lived in the post for a long time and are well aware of water and fire. Their death is unusual, so we should definitely check it out!"
Lieutenant Yan interjected: "How can the Wei people allow the Qin people to investigate!"
The lieutenant in the middle shouted: "You are rude! How can you be rude to the prince!" The lieutenant in the middle bowed hurriedly.
The guard in the confinement said: "Wei people are disrespectful, I hope the prince will stay away from it. He bowed his head and let the prince go elsewhere. Seeing that the two of them were both civil and military, the prince would not allow himself to explore, and he would not insist on it. He waved his hand to the entourage. He followed the confinement guard to go elsewhere.
The fire area was not large and it was over quickly. The governor of Xinzhong apologized repeatedly and said that he had written to the king of Wei, asking for a heavy punishment. Now that the prince is here, I dare to ask for punishment!
Naturally, the prince could not punish him. He only said: "I would like to hold him accountable and show mercy to the deceased!"
The envoy came forward and said: "If Lord Xinling handles this case personally, he will be able to get to the bottom of it. He will pay for it, and he will not dare to pay less!"
The prince said: "In this case, I would like to accept the friendship of your Majesty!"
After surveying the fire scene, the prince ordered ten people to be taken into custody. There was no coffin in the confinement, so the prince said: "These ten sons all died in Liang Dynasty under the king's orders. They died in the mission and died in the war together."
Beginning with the prince, each of the fifty people took off their coats and wrapped them around the burned corpse. They borrowed grass and water jars from the governor of the prison, and placed them on a mound not far from the post. They worked together to dig a wide cave and bury the ten people in the same cave. He built a high seal of earth, found an incomplete door panel from the post house, and used coke to write on it "Doctor Qin Mo Wait for the Tomb of the Ten Dead Soldiers". At that time, the setting sun was like blood, shooting out from the heavy clouds. All the people of Qin gathered in front of the tomb and used water as wine to pay homage. Finally, under the guidance of the prince, the people of Qin sang "No Clothes" together: "How can it be said that there are no clothes? I share the same robe with you. When the king raises an army, I cultivate my spear and spear. I have the same enemy with you! How can I say that I have no clothes? I share the same robe with you. When the king raises an army, I repair my spear and halberd. I work together with you! How can I say that I have no clothes? I share the same robe with you. "Tongshang. The king raised his army and repaired my armor. Let's go with you!" One sigh and three chants, which lasted for a long time.
Before the song was finished, the young master suddenly lost control and fell to the ground, crying bitterly. Others didn't know what was going on, thinking that the young master was grieving excessively and losing control. They all stepped forward to persuade him and helped the old man up. Only the prince said nothing and looked on with cold eyes.
The simple funeral ceremony was completed, and the prince and his entourage returned to the post. The Wei soldiers were still guarding outside, surrounding the Qin people until they entered the post.
As soon as the prince entered Guanyi, the public servant who was left behind came over and reported that a retainer had escaped back to Guanyi from Yanzhong Post! The prince was overjoyed and immediately ordered him to be sent to his room. The others gathered their findings separately, with the young master in charge.
After entering his room, before he could change his clothes, someone followed him in. He quickly closed the door, threw himself on the ground, and cried bitterly.
The prince sat down and said, "Do not be sad, sir. Please explain in detail."
This person is none other than the envoy who rushed to Guanyi last night, Doctor Qin Mo. After not seeing him for a night, Qin Mo looked haggard and almost completely changed.
Qin Mo said: "The prince is guilty of forgiving his ministers. I really didn't know that this misfortune occurred!"
The prince said: "In the midst of all kinds of difficulties, I managed to escape. Thank you for your work, sir! What's going on at night? How come the ten people have all been wiped out, but no one has ever resisted?"
Qin Mo said: "I'm afraid there is medicine in the dinner. All the ministers are sleeping peacefully. Although there is something wrong, I can't save it. I returned to the post a little late and didn't get food, so I had to escape."
The prince said: "How can I get rid of it?"
Qin Mo said: "He entered the post house. Although he walked lightly, he was not silent. I woke up in surprise and found that he had arrived at the door. He kicked it open with his feet. The three of them answered each other and covered their mouths and noses on the table. Waiting for him to When the energy was gone, he retreated. As soon as he retreated, I climbed out of the window and escaped. Fortunately, I escaped with my life."
The prince said: "Why haven't you made it to the wedding banquet?"
Qin Mo said: "I was not in the queue, and I did not set a table for him. The retainer wanted to let me sit with him, but he refused, so he lay alone under the window. Fortunately, he survived. But the retainer was harmed by him."
The prince said: "Those who are kind and considerate will be blessed."
Qin Mo said: "I dare not live alone, so I am willing to go with you."
The prince said: "The doctor is good at keeping a useful life for the country!"
Qin Mo choked up and said: "I honor the prince's order!"
The prince also wanted to ask about the detailed process of the incident, but Qin Mo could not recall it in detail, and his face showed pain when he recalled it. The prince knew that these retainers were Qin Mo's confidants, and their friendship with them was not shallow, and their relationship was definitely not an ordinary master-servant relationship, so he no longer forced him, and comforted him for a while to let him rest. I was alone indoors, quietly recalling the entire incident and the major background involved, and thinking about my own countermeasures. Strategically speaking, the opponent's arrangement has completely failed: first, he failed to prevent the Queen Mother's comments from being conveyed to the prince; second, he failed to eliminate the root cause by killing people and silencing them. When a politician wants to cover himself by killing people and silencing them, his political career has basically come to an end and he is left with nothing but a death struggle. Therefore, although the prince feels that the crisis is around him, he is full of fighting spirit! The man behind this will soon reveal himself.
There were footsteps in front of the prince's door. A swordsman opened the door and said, "The young master and the five officials are waiting to pay their respects to the prince."
There are no lights indoors. The prince stood up, walked to the door, asked the swordsmen to put the cordon farther away, and then talked with the ministers in front of the door in the dim light of dusk: the prince sat on the threshold, the young master, the fifth doctor and three The public bus sat on the ground outside the threshold.
The prince said: "What did you find?"
A public official said: "I carefully inspected the corpses. Although they were burned and curled up, they were all lying on their backs and upright, and there was no sign of fighting or grabbing. It seems that they were burned after death and did not die in the fire."
A Gongcheng said: "Looking at the fire situation, the fire in each room started from the inside and extended to the outside of the wall. Why is it that every room is damaged and cannot be saved? The fire must have started from inside the room!"
The fifth doctor said: "The reason is very clear. The thieves broke into the house, killed the ministers, and burned the corpses to eliminate traces in order to succeed."
The prince said: "Who can do this?"
The fifth doctor said: "This is the territory of Wei. The land is close to Daliang, so there must be powerful people from Wei."
The prince said: "It will cost a lot to destroy these ten sons. What is the purpose?"
