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Upon hearing Wu Shilin's questions and accusations, everyone in Liaodong changed their colors, and were shocked and angry.
There is indeed a certain tacit understanding between Liaodong Town and Jianzhou Jurchen. Whether on the battlefield or in business, the two sides often cooperate with each other and get what they need.
But for the senior military attaches in Liaodong Town, the matter of defecting to the Jianzhou Jurchens and becoming spies of the Jianzhou Jurchens was still an extremely serious accusation.
In the eyes of many outsiders, the performance of Liaodong Town is very contradictory. On the one hand, it does its best to resist the southward invasion of the Jianzhou Jurchens for many years, regardless of casualties. On the other hand, it secretly colludes with the Jianzhou Jurchens and engages in smuggling trade in a tacit understanding. It does not care at all. This kind of smuggling business will further strengthen the strength of the Jianzhou Jurchens.
But in the eyes of Liaodong Town senior officials, their practices and ideas are consistent and continuous, without any contradictions.
The bloody battle with the Jianzhou Jurchens for many years is just for profit. This can highlight the importance of Liaodong Town, and then they can confidently ask the imperial center for more Liao pay, but they will not refuse to do business with the Jianzhou Jurchens because of this. , anyway, most of the frontier soldiers who died on the battlefield were just low-level military households, and the poor people whose interests suffered the most had nothing to do with them, so there was no need to hold any grudges.
In the same way, although the smuggling business with the Jianzhou Jurchens earns a lot of money, they will never betray the Ming Dynasty and join the Jianzhou Jurchens wholeheartedly because of these gray incomes, because if they completely become slaves of the Jianzhou Jurchens, they will also The room for independent choice will be completely lost. No matter it is the huge salary of the imperial court, or even the gray income from the smuggling business, it will not be guaranteed by then! ——Any normal person can distinguish the difference between "a full meal" and "a full meal".
In short, "colluding" with the Jianzhou Jurchens and "taking refuge" with the Jianzhou Jurchens are completely different things for Liaodong Town!
If you just collude with the Jianzhou Jurchens, it will not have any impact, because everyone has done this kind of thing, but taking refuge in the Jianzhou Jurchens is another matter. Not only will you be investigated and convicted by the central court, but also the rest of Liaodong Town. The top brass rushed to kill them all.
Therefore, after hearing Wu Shilin's accusation, all the high-ranking military attachés in Liaodong Town changed their minds and couldn't accept it at all.
They all understood that they definitely did not seek refuge with the Jianzhou Jurchens.
At the same time, they also knew very well that other than themselves, the other senior officials of Liaodong Town also did not seek refuge with the Jianzhou Jurchens.
The people who know you best are often your enemies; those who deliberately wrong you often know your innocence better than anyone else.
Although Ximen Sheng is already at odds with Li Zehe, Gan Cheng, and Xu He, he only thinks that these three people are short-sighted and forgetful of life, but he never believes that they will be willing to let him become the slaves of Jianzhou Jurchen——" The business of beheading is dealt with by others, but the business of losing money is left alone" - this saying is most suitable for Li Zehe and others.
At the same time, although Li Zehe, Gan Cheng, and Xu He had been trying to frame and slander Ximen Sheng, they also claimed that the relationship between Ximen Sheng and Jianzhou Jurchens was unclear, and even said that Ximen Sheng and Jianzhou Jurchens were secretly involved They conspired to kidnap He Yu, but they actually knew best how false this thing was.
Therefore, in the eyes of the high-ranking military attachés in Liaodong Town, Wu Shilin's accusation was obviously slander, slander, and unintentional slander, and they immediately wanted to refute it fiercely.
However, before everyone in Liaodong Town could speak, Wu Shilin sneered and spoke again, blocking everyone's mouths with one sentence!
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"Now, neither I nor Governor Fang believe any of you anymore, we only believe Mr. He!
Therefore, if you really have a clear conscience and are willing to prove your innocence, then you only need to ask General He to come forward. As long as General He shows up, say that you are all loyal Ming Dynasty border generals and there is absolutely no chance of you joining the Jiantian Zhou Jurchen, then Governor Fang and I have absolutely nothing to say. We will immediately retreat back to the camp and never cause you any trouble again. How about that? "
For a moment, everyone in Liaodong Town was speechless. No matter how eloquent Li Zehe was, no matter how tough Ximen Sheng was, they had nothing to say at this time.
What Wu Shilin said was correct. As long as He Yu came forward as a guarantee at this time, all the turmoil could be quickly calmed down.
It's a pity that He Yu can't show up to speak out.
It has to be said that after losing He Yu, Liaodong Town was unable to give full play to its strength, both in terms of status and actions. Even when facing opponents whose strength was obviously inferior to its own, it was clearly at a disadvantage.
After an awkward silence for a moment, Li Zehe said with some lack of confidence: "Commander Wu, as we have just said, my commander-in-chief has important matters to deal with at the moment and cannot be separated at all... We must wait for a while before we can meet him. You guys meet..."
Fang Zhenshan sneered and said: "You just said that no matter how important the matter is now, it will not outweigh the danger that your and our armies may meet at war. What? Could it be that the matter that Mr. He is dealing with is even more urgent? ?
Okay, if it is really inconvenient for Mr. He to come forward, then you can ask Zhao Gechen to come forward! As long as Zhao Gechen shows up and says that he believes in you, Commander Wu and I will immediately retreat and return to camp without a word! "
Hearing Fang Zhenshan's suggestion, everyone in Liaodong Town became more confused and didn't know how they should respond.
Because Zhao Junchen was also missing at this time, and he was also unable to show up to explain.
In the end, it was still Li Zehe who reluctantly explained: "Zhao Gechen and Mr. He are also dealing with important matters, and they are also unable to separate themselves..."
Before Li Zehe could finish speaking, Wu Shilin suddenly asked violently: "The matter has developed to this point, and you are still making sophistry! Both Zhao Gechen and General He have been kidnapped by a group of bandits of unknown origin. right?"
In fact, Zhao Junchen had secretly contacted Fang Zhenshan and Wu Shilin before, so the two of them knew that Zhao Junchen had escaped from trouble, but at this time they still pretended not to know about it, because this situation was more serious to them. favorable.
On the other side, hearing Wu Shilin's violent shouts, everyone in Liaodong Town became increasingly frightened.
Although they all knew that both Wu Shilin and Fang Zhenshan were smart people, after this period of waiting and analysis, they must have made some guesses in their minds, and had vaguely noticed the truth of some things, and this operation must have I had something to rely on, but when I heard Wu Shilin directly clarifying everything, I was still a little overwhelmed.
Once the kidnapping of Zhao Junchen and He Yu is confirmed, Liaodong Town will have no reason to stop Wu Shilin and Fang Zhenshan.
It would be okay if it was just He Yu who was in trouble. After all, it was only Liaodong Town’s own business. However, Zhao Junchen was a cabinet minister at the center of the imperial court. If even he was kidnapped, then all forces in Liaodong would have reason to take action and participate. in.
Therefore, this kind of thing cannot be admitted under any circumstances.
"This... how is this possible..." Li Zehe held on and wanted to quibble.
Gan Cheng no longer watched silently, he also waved his hand and said with a forced smile: "The commander-in-chief of Liaodong and the elder Chaotingge were kidnapped? What joke is commander-in-chief Wu talking about..."
But when the situation has reached this point, it is useless to quibble.
Fang Zhenshan also imitated Wu Shilin and raised his riding whip, pointed it directly at Ximen Sheng, and said coldly: "The situation is already so serious, and you still want to hide it? Do you really think that this kind of thing can be completely hidden from me and Mr. Wu?" Do you really think we two are deaf and blind?
Also, why do you think General Wu and I found out about the kidnapping of Zhao Gechen and General He? You also believe that some of your senior officials in Liaodong Town have defected to the Jianzhou Jurchens, and they also heavily doubt you, Ximen Sheng? Why did you even make up your mind quickly and not hesitate to fight with your Liaodong town? "
Without waiting for Ximen Sheng's answer, Fang Zhenshan continued: "Actually, the governor discovered some time ago that Liaodong Town had secretly sent people to Hujiazhuang several times to secretly investigate the words, deeds and background of the farmers in the village. This investigation was mainly carried out by Ximen Sheng. Sheng, you will be responsible, and the people investigating are all your subordinates, Ximen Sheng, right?"
Ximen Sheng was obviously seriously offended when Fang Zhenshan pointed a riding crop in the face, but he just frowned and remained silent.
Because, Ximen Sheng vaguely felt that Fang Zhenshan's next speech must be extremely important.
Just as Ximen Sheng expected, Fang Zhenshan started his speech and continued with a sneer: "At that time, the governor had already vaguely realized that something big must have happened in your Liaodong Town, so he also sent people to the Hu family. Shouchi secretly investigated, and then... the governor finally discovered the shocking truth!
It turned out that some farmers in Hujiazhuang were angry at the oppression of Liaodong Town, and coupled with the instigation and bewitching of some unknown people, they actually intended to harm General He! And on the same day that Liaodong Town suddenly sent troops to blockade the entire Hujiazhuang area, the news about those farmers in Hujiazhuang who were resentful also disappeared!
Ximen Sheng, you must have investigated these matters clearly. It was just to prevent others from alerting others, and also to prevent us from noticing more signs, so you didn’t take more actions, right?
After the governor received this news, he recalled that Zhao Gechen and General He went out hunting together on the day of the incident. He also considered the various actions of your Liaodong Town and the strange behavior of the imperial guards under Zhao Gechen. Naturally, he guessed. By the time Zhao Gechen and He Zongbing arrived, something unexpected might have happened to them!
Of course, it is impossible for Zhao Gechen and General He to be killed. Otherwise, both your Liaodong Town border troops and the Imperial Guards under Zhao Gechen will definitely take greater action, instead of just sending troops to surround Hujiazhuang more than 20 miles north. There is an unknown dense forest outside, so Zhao Gechen and He Zongbing are more likely to be imprisoned and kidnapped by thieves!
If this is the case, I am unwilling to act rashly, fearing that I will cause trouble. I will only wait patiently for you, Liaodong Town, to successfully rescue Zhao Gechen and General He!
However, after a more in-depth investigation, the governor discovered an even more shocking truth! That is, this kidnapping has a close relationship with the Jianzhou Jurchens from beginning to end! And you, Ximen Sheng... deliberately ignored this point, and even took the initiative to cover it up! "
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I've been busy with various things recently, so the new chapters can only be released separately, but it's finally come to an end, so I will update the big chapters starting tomorrow.
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