"Can I still lie to you?" Li Yi smiled half-heartedly and got straight to the point, "Stop talking nonsense, I can give you a way to survive."
"Do you want it or not?"
Chao Yuyang looked at Li Yi with fear in his eyes and remained silent without speaking.
Li Yi smiled coldly, it was too easy to deal with a weakling like Chao Yuyang.
"Since you want to carry it for those damn bastards, then you should carry it. Don't say I won't give you a chance."
"Come here, hang Chao Yuyang up, insert a silver needle into his index finger, and then scrape the bone with a knife."
"Do you know how to scrape bones? Let me explain to you. It is to cut open your skin and flesh, and chop the flesh with each knife, until the meat on your bones is scraped off strip by strip, and only the white bones are left."
"When all the flesh on your bones is scraped off, you may not be dead yet, and you can see clearly your own internal organs, and your own heart is still beating."
"To be honest, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you will look like after all the flesh on your body is shaved off."
"Come on, let's get started!"
After Li Yigang finished speaking, Chao Yuyang, who was already pale with fright and whose eyes were full of fear, finally became frightened and said, "Your Majesty, do you really give me a way to survive?"
"Of course, as long as you cooperate, let alone survive, I will arrange for someone to send your Chao family to a place where no one knows you, and give your Chao family enough gold and silver to allow you to rediscover it."
Finally, Li Yi said with great interest: "Furthermore, if you, the Chao family, want to join the court and become officials, I can make arrangements to transform your Chao family from a family of merchants to a family of officials."
What!
Chao Yuyang's face changed drastically, his whole body was shaking, and he was in shock, "You can't lie to me?"
"Of course, I am the emperor and I keep my word, so how could I lie to you?" Li Yi said with a faint smile.
Chao Yuyang thought for a moment, and finally nodded firmly, "Okay, Your Majesty, in that case, I will tell you everything I know."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce is indeed secretly delivering supplies to Little Liang King Li Yitong, not only gold, silver and food, but also gunpowder, armor and weapons. The entire Jiangnan Province's aristocratic families are involved."
"Did the Zheng family give instructions?" Li Yi asked calmly.
Chao Yuyang nodded, then shook his head, "Your Majesty, the rumors are from the Zheng family, but the Zheng family has never come forward."
"Who did it?" Li Yi asked.
Chao Yuyang replied: "Prince Shou came forward."
Li Yi's expression changed slightly, which was beyond his expectation.
Prince Shou is good at making money, but he doesn't have the brains to play politics.
Chao Yuyang continued: "On this line, many court officials and local officials are involved to provide convenience and protection. Even if someone finds out, someone will immediately come forward to solve it."
Li Yi suddenly asked: "Will Prince Shou come forward in person, or will someone take his place?"
"The steward of Prince Shou's Mansion, Wu Chun."
"Your Majesty, everything I tell is the truth, and there is absolutely no lie. If I tell a lie, I will not die well, and my whole family will not die well." Chao Yuyang saw Li Yi's serious face and hurriedly swore.
Li Yi knew that he would not lie, and even if he lied, he would not swear the lives of his family members. The ancients respected oaths very much.
"How can a housekeeper have so much energy?" Li Yi narrowed his eyes. This Wu Chun is likely to be the key figure directly connected with the Jianghu Alliance.
As long as he finds Wu Chun, he will most likely be able to ask about the Jianghu Alliance.
"Your Majesty, please don't believe it. It's really him. He can almost represent Lord Shou now. All the aristocratic families in Jiangnan Province will get angry when they see him." Chao Yuyang said.
Li Yi nodded and began to think about how to find this guy. Since he has such energy, it is difficult to find him. Even if he is found, it will be difficult to take him away silently. He must be surrounded by expert guards to avoid alerting the snake.
"Your Majesty, are you looking for Wu Chun?" Chao Yuyang asked.
Li Yi nodded, noncommittal, "Yes, do you know how to find him?"
"I know." Chao Yuyang seemed to be very disgusted with this Wu Chun, and said proactively: "This Wu Chun goes to the theater to listen to plays on the third day of every month. I heard that he has an actor who often goes to the theater to support him."
"I heard that most of his property accounts are kept with his good actor."
"Okay, you have done a great job, I will remember you." The moment Li Yi turned around, his eyes were like frost, and his whole body was filled with murderous intent.
Bastard, my country has been ruined by you group of moths?
And King Shou, isn’t your surname Li? After ruining the Gale Dynasty, you are finished too. Are you stupid?
Just when Li Yi was about to leave, he suddenly stamped his feet, turned his head and looked at Chao Yuyang calmly, and said, "You know the Jianghu Alliance, right?"
Chao Yuyang's face turned pale, and his eyes instantly became fearful and horrified, but there was no way out, so he had to say: "You know, that organization is very powerful and has a close relationship with Prince Shou."
Li Yi saw something, and the boy was hiding his words, "Don't take chances now. Do you think you have any other choice besides relying on me now?"
"If Prince Shou knew that you had betrayed him so many inside stories, I'm afraid your Chao family would also be in trouble, right?"
Chao Yuyang was horrified and gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, you can't, you can't..."
"Tell me, what's going on with the Jianghu Alliance?" Li Yi's tone became extremely cold.
"Okay, let me tell you, Your Majesty, this Jianghu Alliance is actually much scarier than you think."
"As far as I know, the Jianghu Alliance has put the entire Jianghu, from the imperial family to the traffickers and pawns, on this chain of interests. No one can escape. There must be a terrible figure on the other end of the chain. .”
"Who is it?" Li Yi asked urgently.
Chao Yuyang shook his head, "Your Majesty, my level is too low and I can't reach such a high level. What is certain is that this chain has extensive connections and is very mysterious. It is almost all first-level and first-level connections. Many people only know that I don’t know anything about the superiors or subordinates.”
"Wu Chun is very careful in doing things, otherwise he would not have his current status. Even for people like us from aristocratic families, it is difficult for us to know too much inside information."
After hearing this, Cao Qingyan and the others also looked solemn and sad.
Li Yimi frowned and let out a deep breath, feeling an invisible pressure appear on his shoulders.
Originally, I wanted to go into the tiger's den alone, cut through the mess quickly, collect all the evidence, and capture all the relevant people, whether they are Lord Shou, family members or local officials. Now it seems that it is difficult.
There is no other way but to take it step by step, follow the clues, and completely pull out this chain.
Currently, the biggest known target is Wu Chun, the steward of Prince Shou's Mansion.
"Come here!" Li Yi shouted.
Xuanwu quickly approached, cupped his fists and raised his hands, "I'm here."
"Starting today, we will secretly monitor Wu Chun and report any actions immediately."
"promise!"
After leaving the dungeon, Li Yi ate something in a hurry and then returned to the house.
How to pull out the chain became Li Yi's biggest problem.
At this time, Cao Qingyan and Xuanwu stood at the door. They looked at each other, both wanting the other to speak.
Before they could speak, Li Yi said, "If you two have anything to do, come in. I'm not asleep yet."
"promise!"
As soon as the two people entered the door, they were extremely respectful. Knowing that Li Yi was in a bad mood tonight, they were both afraid of causing trouble and making Li Yi unhappy.
Cao Qingyan smiled and said: "Your Majesty, it's hard to come to Jiangnan Province, why not go for a walk?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Jiangnan Province is a water town in the south. It is different from the big capital cities in the north. It has a unique flavor. Moreover, the women from the water town are very graceful, and the chess game is also extraordinary. It can relieve your majesty's worries." Xuanwu also helped.
Li Yi's eyes wandered, and finally he nodded and smiled, "Just treat it as a visit to Jiangnan Province."
Jiangnan Province also has a curfew, and a specific area can be designated as a "city that never sleeps."
It is indeed a prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River. Although it is late at night, people are still coming and going, and it is prosperous and grand.
"Sir, how about the Sleepless City in Jiangnan Province? There are many interesting places ahead." Xuanwu introduced it to Li Yi as he walked.
But Li Yi looked at the prosperity in front of him and said alone, "Behind the glamor, there is the most rampant crime and squalor. I have a hunch that I won't leave empty-handed tonight."
Cao Qingyan, Xuanwu, Suoyi and the others looked at each other. What did your majesty mean? Could it be that you saw something?
Xuanwu quickly explained in a low voice: "Your Majesty is wise, there are indeed some shady things in the city that never sleeps."
Li Yimei frowned, "What do you mean by something shady?"
Xuanwu turned to look at Cao Qingyan, and said hesitantly: "The contraband items expressly stipulated by the Gale Dynasty, such as salt and iron, population, and even ordnance, are everywhere. It is not a secret."
"Dare to be so blatant, I'm afraid that like the capital master back then, is there someone behind this?"
"It's a collusion between government and businessmen again. Isn't it the protective umbrella of Prince Shou again?"
He half-smiled, narrowed his eyes and asked.
Xuanwu didn't respond, and answered with silence.
Li Yi opened his eyes slightly and hummed softly: "Prince Shou, wait until I pull out this chain little by little, and I will be the first to operate on you. I will make your death ugly!"
Everyone was shocked and dared not speak.
At this moment, the crowd suddenly surged in one direction.
"What are you doing?" Li Yi asked curiously, holding the folding fan.
Xuanwu explained, "Tonight is the day when Washe Goulan opens the hall. Many women from Yangzhou come here to show their voices. I heard that they also choose to be the benefactors of the first night."
Cao Qingyan suddenly asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you want us to go and take a look?"
"How can I, the king of my country and a gentleman, go to such a place!"
"But for the purpose of investigating the case, it's okay."
"Walk!"
"Lead the way!"
