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Soon, Zhao Junchen was taken out of the house, and He Yu was taken into the house again.
As the two of them passed each other, Zhao Junchen's acting skills were still online. He had a wry smile on his face, and there was still a hint of shame and anger in his expression, as if he had endured a lot of humiliation during the interrogation.
Seeing Zhao Junchen's expression, He Yu's heart suddenly sank.
This means that the situation he will face next must be extremely unbearable.
With such a solemn mood, He Yu was taken into the house by the kidnappers.
Then, He Yu saw Xu Qingyan sitting on a chair with a golden sword. He was holding a small knife in his left hand and a long needle in his right hand. He lowered his head and studied these two things carefully. It was like these two things. There's something magical about it.
After studying it carefully for a while, Xu Qingyan finally looked up at He Yu and sneered: "Now it's your turn to be interrogated... When I was interrogating that Zhao cabinet minister just now, I wasted a lot of time on some insignificant things. That Zhao Gechen, relying on his status as an important official of the imperial court, tried to intimidate me and others many times. After the intimidation failed, he tried to lure me and others... In the end, after I punished him severely, he finally became more honest, and finally Willing to answer questions truthfully!
Now to save time, let me say something in advance. All of us in the Black Tiger Army are righteous. Since we dare to kidnap you, it means that we do not pay attention to your former noble status and are not afraid of you. I don't care about your threats, nor your inducements!
Therefore, I hope Mr. He will not follow the previous methods of Zhao Gechen, and just answer my questions honestly! Otherwise, you will not only waste everyone's time, but also ask for trouble! "
After saying that, Xu Qingyan seemed to have a smile on his face hidden under the mask. He raised his hand and said, "Mr. He has a leg injury, so let's sit down and talk!"
This condescending and arrogant attitude made He Yu extremely shocked and angry. You must know that even Emperor Deqing was not so arrogant when he summoned him.
In addition to being angry, Xu Qingyan's voice also aroused He Yu's doubts.
Although Xu Qingyan deliberately imitated the Liaoxi accent when he spoke, it was not his native language since childhood, so it sounded a bit nondescript, and He Yu was also keenly aware of this anomaly.
Of course, this era is different from later generations. People in different places rarely communicate with each other. It is common for people to have different styles and customs. Even in two neighboring towns, there are often differences in accents.
Therefore, He Yu could not conclude that Xu Qingyan's strange accent was a fake, but silently remembered Xu Qingyan's voice, thinking that he had found a new clue.
But like this, He Yu suppressed the anger and doubt in his heart and sat expressionlessly in front of Xu Qingyan.
Xu Qingyan didn't care about He Yu's thoughts, he just smiled and said again: "Next, I have a few questions here, and I want to ask Mr. He. I hope Mr. He can answer them truthfully!
Although we are not very knowledgeable, and we are not as fancy as your officials, we still have ways to find out what is true and what is false...
For example, if General He is a hostage, everyone in Liaodong Town will respond to our requests. Therefore, after listening to General He’s answer, we can confirm the authenticity with Liaodong Town. Once we find that General He has deceived us……"
Having said this, Xu Qingyan suddenly raised his hands, showed the knife in his left hand and the long needle in his right hand to He Yu, and continued: "Mr. He, you are a big shot. You probably don't understand these two folk artifacts. I will tell He Yu right now." Let me introduce you, Commander-in-Chief!
Let me talk about this long needle first. It is too thin and long to be used to mend clothes, but after being dipped in ink, it can be used for tattoos! It is said that the Han government has a kind of punishment called "tattoo punishment", which is to tattoo a prominent position on the prisoner's face... Hey! Mr. He, if I tattoo a big "pig" character on your left cheek, and then tattoo a big "dog" character on your right cheek...how will you meet people in the future? With such an ugly appearance, he must no longer be able to secure his position as commander-in-chief, right? "
After a pause, Xu Qingyan continued: "There is also this small knife. The curvature is too large and the length is too short. Even when it is used to cut vegetables, it is in the way. It seems very impractical, but it is the same for hunters and butchers among the people. I always keep it, I heard that this kind of knife can also be seen in the palace of the Han emperor...
Because this kind of knife is used to chop pigs... Mr. He, you know what a pig is, right? It means castrated pig. If the pig has not been slaughtered before, the meat will not taste good... But if I use this knife on Mr. He..."
Hearing Xu Qingyan's threat, even with He Yu's deep city, his expression suddenly changed.
Since being kidnapped, He Yu has been relatively calm, but at this moment, there was a clear flash of panic in He Yu's eyes.
As long as you are human, you will have weaknesses, and any weaknesses will be exploited.
He Yu is a general in the army and a man. He may be able to withstand torture in a short time and is not afraid of ordinary threats. However, these threats from Xu Qingyan undoubtedly hit He Yu's weakness.
As a frontier general, he must not lose his image and military prestige; as a man, some things are even more unbearable pain!
Therefore, one cannot blame He Yu for being timid and incompetent. Anyone would probably panic in such a situation.
After noticing the change in He Yu's expression, Xu Qingyan nodded with satisfaction.
Zhao Junchen was previously worried that Xu Qingyan would not be able to interrogate He Yu, but Xu Qingyan patted his chest and vowed that as long as Zhao Junchen allowed him to use his uncompromising skills, interrogating He Yu would be an absolute breeze.
He Yu's performance now clearly proves that Xu Qingyan is not bragging this time.
In fact, Zhao Junchen, who was hiding outside the house and eavesdropping at this time, admired Xu Qingyan's dirty tricks and thought that if he and He Yu were to change places, he would definitely tell the truth like pouring beans.
"Of course, I don't want to use this method to deal with Mr. He. As long as Mr. He answers my questions truthfully, these two things will not be used on Mr. He... So, let's not talk nonsense next. , as long as I ask you to answer, how about it?"
He Yu took a deep look at Xu Qingyan, as if he wanted to carve Xu Qingyan's image into his heart, and he would definitely catch Xu Qingyan in front of him and cut him to pieces in the future.
Unfortunately, Xu Qingyan not only covered his face with a cloth, but also disguised his height, body shape, accent, and behavior, so even if He Yu remembered it clearly, it would be useless.
In the end, He Yu decided that a good man would not suffer the immediate consequences, and gritted his teeth and replied: "Just ask!"
"Among the Liaodong frontier troops, the Liaodong cavalry, which is known as the most powerful army in the world, how many real troops are there? How much food does it need to invest every year to support them?"
Unexpectedly, the first question was so sensitive. He Yu couldn't help but take a deep breath. After hesitating for a moment, he finally answered coldly: "The Liaodong Cavalry has a total strength of 12,000 people and needs at least 800,000 taels of silver every year." , and 200,000 stones of high-quality grain and grass to provide support... If there is too much war, the amount of money and grain will be doubled."
"What is the actual strength of the Liaodong frontier army? How much is the pay? In addition to the Liaodong cavalry, how many elite soldiers are there?"
"The actual military strength in Liaodong is about 130,000, and the free pay is about 30,000. In addition to dealing with the Liaodong cavalry, only the private soldiers under the command of the Liaodong military attachés at all levels can be called elite. The total number is about 10,000 to 13,000. between."
"How much grain and silver are stored in the military depot in Liaodong Town? What is the actual annual expenditure on salary, silver, and food for all soldiers in Liaodong Town?"
"Liaodong Town's military depot currently has 1.1 million in silver and 400,000 shi in grain..."
In this way, between asking and answering questions, Xu Qingyan and He Yu quickly figured out the current specific situation of Liaodong Town.
Outside the house, while Zhao Junchen was eavesdropping, he also kept these numbers in his mind carefully.
Because Liaodong Town has been unable to lose its tail for many years, even the central court does not know the specific situation of Liaodong Town.
After Zhao Junchen mastered these intelligence secrets, he would have a concrete basis for rectifying Liaodong and reducing Liao's pay.
Of course, the premise is that He Yu tells the truth.
But because of Xu Qingyan's threat, the possibility of this situation is not particularly high, and Zhao Junchen has his own way to verify it after leaving here.
After Xu Qingyan inquired about the current specific situation of Liaodong Town, he suddenly changed the direction of inquiry.
"Speaking of which, although your Liaodong Town has always shouldered the responsibility of guarding the border and resisting the invasion of Hou Jin, it has always respected itself by supporting the invaders. Its relationship with Hou Jin is also unclear, and it even secretly does business with Hou Jin. Therefore, Liaodong Town Even though Zhen knew that some people were the spies paid by Hou Jin and that certain forces had close ties with Hou Jin, he never thought of eradicating them completely. Instead, he deliberately kept them in case they were useful in the future, right? "
Hearing Xu Qingyan's question, He Yu was stunned for a moment, but then nodded again: "That's right!"
But then, He Yu defended: "It's not that we in Liaodong Town deliberately kept those people and forces, it's just that we don't want to anger Jianzhou Jurchen at will, and sometimes we can use these people and forces to mislead Jianzhou with false news. Jurchen...
What's more, if they are completely eradicated, the Jianzhou Jurchens will also install new informants and bribe new traitors. It will be troublesome to re-investigate at that time. By keeping them, they can also try to control the changes in the situation. "
Regarding He Yu's excuse, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
Unlike Jiang Quan, Xu Qingyan has been following Zhao Junchen for a long time and is very aware of the chaos in official circles.
He Yu's excuse was completely evasive.
In Xu Qingyan's view, He Yu deliberately kept those Jianzhou Jurchen spies and chess pieces for three reasons.
The first is to fatten pigs and wait until the time is right to slaughter them; the second is that these people and forces are easier to control after He Yu has the evidence, and can do things that are inconvenient for Liaodong Town; the third is to use To check and balance those loyal and patriotic people and forces in Liaodong, so that Liaodong Town can better maintain its independence.
But Xu Qingyan did not expose He Yu, but asked again: "Who are these people and forces who have secretly taken refuge in the Jianzhou Jurchens? With General He's wisdom and methods, he must be well aware of it, right? Can you tell me specifically? one time?"
This time, He Yu hesitated for a longer time, and finally shook his head and said: "The Jianzhou Jurchen's infiltration methods are extremely hidden, so I actually only know a very small part..."
Xu Qingyan gestured at He Yu with the knife and long needle in his hand, and said softly: "If the governors of the three sides do not know who are the Mongolian spies under their control, I believe it; if the general soldier of Xuanfu Town does not know I also believe in Hou Jin’s spy in my own defense zone...but Mr. He, do you really not know?"
After a pause, Xu Qingyan said again: "I also have channels to verify this matter! And Mr. He's next answer is, after all, related to the reputation of many people. If it is proven in the future that Mr. He put some innocent people If someone framed him as a spy of the Hou Jin Dynasty, or deliberately missed some real spies of the Hou Jin Dynasty, Mr. He will still encounter a lot of troubles in the future, and may even leave a record in the history books of the Han people, so Mr. He Bing, you’d better answer truthfully!”
He Yu took a deep breath again, and then finally slowly said a list of names and powers.
Among them, there were surprisingly two garrison officers from Liaodong Town.
After listening to He Yu's answer, Xu Qingyan nodded slightly and was about to say something more when he suddenly heard several anxious shouts from outside the house.
"Zhao Junchen! Zhao Junchen ran away!"
"Hurry up!"
"He grabbed the knife and injured Abukai! Abukai was injured by him!"
Suddenly hearing such a movement, Xu Qingyan stood up in shock, and then subconsciously said to the person next to him: "Kui Khen cloth shirt..."
But halfway through, Xu Qingyan suddenly turned his head to look at He Yu. He Yu seemed to have been attracted by Zhao Junchen's escape, and completely ignored the meaningless half of Xu Qingyan's words.
After seeing He Yu's performance, Xu Qingyan seemed to nodded with peace of mind, and then told everyone in the room to keep an eye on He Yu, while he hurried out of the room.
At the same time, at the beginning, He Yu was indeed attracted by Zhao Junchen's escape.
But soon, He Yu noticed more abnormal signs.
When everyone outside the house was shouting, someone mentioned a name named "Abukai" - this is a common name among Jurchens in Jianzhou.
After Xu Qingyan heard the news of Zhao Junchen's escape, he subconsciously said a half-sentence with unknown meaning. If this half-sentence is heard as Chinese, the meaning is of course unclear, but if it is heard as Manchu, it means " Idiot" means.
After noticing these signs, although He Yu pretended not to notice on the surface and seemed to be focusing on Zhao Junchen's escape, he was shocked in his heart.
Could it be that among these kidnappers, there are actually people from Jianzhou Jurchen?
Could it be that his kidnapping had something to do with the Jianzhou Jurchens?
Could it be that the mastermind behind all these things is Jianzhou Jurchen?
After He Yu was kidnapped, he initially regarded Zhao Junchen as the main suspect behind the scenes. After all, the suspicions about Zhao Junchen were too obvious.
But then, because of Zhao Junchen's various hints and realistic acting skills, He Yu couldn't help but shake his own thoughts slightly. Although Zhao Junchen's suspicion was not ruled out, he also included the Wu family in Shanhaiguan, various forces in Liaodong, and even a certain person. Some high-ranking military attachés in Liaodong Town also included themselves in their suspicions.
Today, because of this interrogation, He Yu's suspicion of Zhao Junchen has expanded again, because among all the targets of suspicion, only Zhao Junchen has the motive to go out of his way to inquire about this confidential information.
But at this moment, after noticing these strange signs, He Yu suddenly discovered that it seemed that the Jianzhou Jurchens were also interested in this information, and also had the motivation and ability to do these things.
Then, He Yu thought that when Xu Qingyan interrogated him just now, he used the term "Han Emperor" when he called Emperor Deqing, "Han Emperor" when he called the imperial officials, and called Jianzhou Jurchen At that time, the term "Hou Jin" was used - if these kidnappers were really all of Han origin, they should never use this title, especially when referring to the Jurchens of Jianzhou, they were called "Jian Kou", "Jian Kou" "Tatar" is considered polite.
After thinking of these doubts, He Yu couldn't help but think about various possibilities.
But after some careful thinking, He Yu still believed that Zhao Junchen was the most suspected person behind all this.
After all, if Zhao Junchen escaped successfully, the timing would be too coincidental.
And all the things happening in front of him may be just Zhao Junchen's means to mislead him.
But...the suspicion of Jianzhou Jurchen cannot be completely ruled out.
Even more, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the Wu family in Shanhaiguan, some forces in Liaodong, or some high-ranking military attachés in Liaodong Town secretly colluded and acted together with the Jianzhou Jurchens.
All in all, although Zhao Junchen is the most suspect, He Yu cannot be 100% sure of this due to various smoke bombs. He only feels that too many people and too many forces are suspected!
Just like that, with so many thoughts going on, He Yu shook his head and stopped thinking about it for the time being. He was just anxiously waiting for the latest news, anxious to know whether Zhao Junchen had successfully escaped from the control of the gangsters.
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In fact, what He Yu was thinking at this time was exactly what Zhao Junchen wanted to see.
Zhao Junchen did not expect that he could completely mislead He Yu and make He Yu no longer doubt himself by just using some unpretentious means.
But Zhao Junchen was, after all, a very important official in the temple, and even Emperor Deqing would not dare to suppress him at will without conclusive evidence.
Therefore, as long as He Yu is not 100% sure that Zhao Junchen is the mastermind behind the scenes, even if he can successfully get out of trouble and take charge of Liaodong again, he will still have scruples and not dare to easily make up his mind to break up with Zhao Junchen.
For Zhao Junchen, this situation is enough!
As long as He Yu still has scruples, Zhao Junchen can force him to cooperate with him.
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