Ouyang Lin returned to the ground from the cell. The bright sunshine outside suddenly made him squint his eyes involuntarily. At the same time, he quickly raised his arms, trying to block the dazzling light with his sleeves.
Masao Hamano, captured by Japanese pirates, had just breathed his last breath not long ago.
To be honest, the ronin on the Japanese island have always regarded cruelty and ruthlessness as a sign of bravery, and they relished it. As a general of Japanese pirates, Hamano Masao is a typical representative among them.
However, compared with Ouyang Lin, he was as immature as a child.
Hamano Masao watched helplessly as his intestines were grabbed by Ouyang Lin and slowly pulled out of the body. At the same time, the other party's calm words echoed in his ears:
"You don't know a damn thing, how dare you waste so much of my time."
Regret, Hamano Masao really regretted it at this time.
He didn't regret not knowing anything, nor did he regret coming to rob Shengtang, but he regretted why he was born into the world and regretted the person he became.
Regret for being a human being was the strongest thought this Japanese bandit had when he was dying.
Ouyang Lin wiped his hands with a towel and immediately frowned. Even after washing it so many times, he still couldn't hide the smell of blood on his hands, which made him a little unhappy.
But what's even more unpleasant is that there has been no progress in the case so far.
It seems that the idea of finding clues from the Japanese prisoners was wrong, and too much precious time was wasted. Now, he must work harder to complete the tasks assigned by the emperor as soon as possible.
"What's going on at the Document Bureau?" Ouyang Lin threw away the handkerchief and asked casually.
"Report to your lord," the officer of the Forbidden Army raised his hand and replied: "My brothers have been searching for three days and found only two memorials related to the Eastern Prefecture's fight against Japanese pirates."
Ouyang Lin sneered: "Let me take a guess. There are two memorials. One is the Ministry of War's request to recruit soldiers from the eastern prefectures to prepare for the needs of the front line; the other is the Governor's Office's suggestion to call in soldiers on the spot. A strategy for wiping out Japanese pirates and bandits, right?”
The officer nodded: "As expected."
"Humph, a bunch of trash." Ouyang Lin said disdainfully: "I have known about these two things for a long time, and I still need you to search for them for three days?"
Hearing this, the officer quickly bowed to apologize, as if if he had been a little slower, there would have been some catastrophic disaster.
Ouyang Lin waved his hand, indicating that the other party should not be nervous, and then said in a deep voice: "Those two memorials are impeccable in terms of their duties and principles. The Ministry of War has two starting points. One is that the counter-insurgency frontline really needs to prepare and supplement in advance. Soldiers, and sufficient time should be allowed for training. When the Southern Expedition begins, if there are battle losses, the combat effectiveness of the troops can be restored in time."
"Second, the Central Plains and northwest regions have consumed a large number of young men due to Turkic invasions. In comparison, the manpower in the eastern states is still sufficient, so it is completely reasonable and reasonable to recruit new soldiers in those places."
The Forbidden Army officer nodded slightly and said cooperatively: "It's just that the timing is too coincidental, which inevitably makes people suspicious."
Ouyang Lin ignored him and continued to talk to himself: "The decision of the Governor's Office is also justified. Originally, in the past, Japanese bandits would invade the eastern coast every few years. The size of the bandits ranged from dozens to dozens. Although there are cases of hundreds, thousands or thousands of people, they are rare and uncommon. To deal with such rogue bandits, there is no need to easily mobilize the main army, but leaving a large number of government soldiers unused seems abnormal. "
"Your Majesty, what you mean is..." The officer was a little confused: "There is no problem with the minister of the DPRK?"
Ouyang Lin glared at him and said angrily: "How stupid! Having no problem is the biggest problem."
Seeing that the officers were still confused and confused, Ouyang Lin analyzed: "Hamano Masao confessed that Bao Yuchun had clearly told them that there would be important ministers in the court to create conditions and help cover the Japanese invasion. Like this When it comes to important matters involving the success or failure of a war and the casualties of soldiers and generals, normal people will never be able to lie and deceive at will. Otherwise, Bao Yuchun will not have to deal with Japanese bandit leaders in the future."
"Therefore, it is absolutely true that there are internal rebels in the DPRK."
He stood up, walked around the room with his hands behind his back, and continued: "The two memorials from the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office are reasonable and flawless. This actually gave me new ideas."
"What do you think?" the officer was curious.
"Either, there are traitors in the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion, and they work together and cover each other." Ouyang Lin stopped and sneered: "Or, there is a big shot with a higher level than them, secretly pushing and manipulating them behind the scenes. all of these!"
The officer couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this: "Big shot? If you are higher than the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office, isn't that... Prime Minister?"
Ouyang Lin nodded: "Yes, it is the prime minister. I have specifically asked some courtiers, and they vaguely remember that Shangshu Zuopu shot Wei Zixuan and wrote a memorial about the recruitment of soldiers from the eastern province. However, he The memorials of Wei Zixuan were different from those of the Governor's Office of the Ministry of War. The memorials of those two were formal official letters submitted to the Zhongshu Province, so they were copied and archived by the Bureau of Documents, while Wei Zixuan's memorials were used for court memorials, and he read them by himself. Later, I took it back myself, so I didn’t officially keep it.”
"It is precisely because of this that I have no way of confirming whether the left prime minister only made some comments based on the Ministry of War's memorials or exerted a decisive influence on the recruitment of troops from the Eastern Province."
The officer thought for a while and tried to say: "Sir, I thought that Prime Minister Wei should not be suspected."
"Oh? Why do you see it?" Ouyang Lin looked at the other party and asked with interest.
"The reason is very simple. There is no need for him to be a spy." The officer replied seriously: "Shang Shu Zuopu She is already a second-rank official, and he is a very popular minister in the court. Going up further, there are Shangshu Ling, Tai The honorable title of Fu and Grand Master. Mr. Wei is in middle age, and he has won the trust of the emperor. He will definitely be promoted in a few years. What is the purpose of leaving a good prime minister and working as an internal agent for the rebels? "
Ouyang Lin smiled and shook his head: "If you say you have no brains, you really have no brains. Couldn't he have defected to the rebels before he became prime minister? Because his handle is in the hands of the other party, he can only cooperate obediently. , isn’t it reasonable?”
The officer suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.
Ouyang Lin thought for a moment and sighed softly: "In comparison, I really suspect Wei Zixuan more, but Dong Tianxing from the Ministry of War does not suspect much."
"Why is this?" The officer was a little confused.
Ouyang Lin turned around and returned to his seat: "Dong Tianxing, this old guy, is clearly from Li Jiangyao's faction. Although the Zhenjiang military faction vaguely threatens the emperor's safety, they are still really ruthless against the Jiangnan rebels. . Coupled with Dong Tianxing's various performances when commanding the eastern state capital to sweep away Japanese bandits, he should not be the rebel spy who covered and assisted the Japanese bandits."
He paused and continued: "On the other hand, Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi, these two people's butts are not very clean. From the beginning when Bao Yuchun led his troops to invade the north, to the fall of King Huaiyang, and then to the imperial fleet's defeat of the Yi Ling, as well as Li Jiangyao's lawsuit over the autocratic killing of generals after he took over the navy, they both seemed to have been holding back the Zhenjiang Army intentionally or unintentionally. It seems reasonable to say that this was entirely to help the emperor guard against the warlord Li Jiangyao , but if it contains the evil intention of secretly aiding the rebels, it is also logical."
The officer nodded sincerely: "Your analysis is correct! The Zhenjiang Army is the main force against the rebels. Taking down Li Jiangyao and disrupting the Zhenjiang Army will naturally be beneficial to the rebels."
"So I say that the two of them are very suspicious." Ouyang Lin sneered: "The emperor's intention has always been very clear. Before the Jiangnan rebels were eliminated and the pseudo-Jin kings Li Wei and Lao Jianhua were eliminated, Li Jiangyao It is still very valuable. At this stage, we must know how to use it while taking precautions to consume as much of the power of the Xinjiang Army as possible. At the same time, we must constantly consolidate and strengthen the imperial army to prepare for any unexpected events in the future. "
"However, Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi don't seem to understand the emperor's thoughts at all. They only want to cause trouble for Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army, hoping to chop off the head of the Protector tomorrow. In this regard, they are not even as good as Nan The military affairs inspection and adjustment envoy Gong Chengze is recruited."
Hearing this, the Forbidden Army officer couldn't help but laugh and said: "That's true. Now there are crazy rumors outside, saying that the Gong Imperial Envoy is completely different on the front line. When inspecting the Suzaku Army and the Qinglong Army, he picked up his nose. He raised eyebrows and was not satisfied with anything. He even fought with Murong Xue and got in front of the emperor. But when he faced the Zhenjiang Army, the guy was as good as a kitten. Not only was he respectful and polite, but he also praised Li Jiangyao for his military control. Well done."
Ouyang Lin nodded: "Gong Chengze is smart! Now he is coaxing and giving in to Li Jiangyao for the sake of the overall situation. Even the emperor is like this, let alone those of us who are ministers? Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi are just the opposite, as if I wish I could force the Suppressing Army to rebel immediately. Do you think big men like them really can't understand the situation? I don't believe it!"
The officer waved his hand: "Then check them first! Sir, as long as we keep an eye on Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi, we will definitely be able to figure out the clues."
Ouyang Lin said lightly: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. If we really want to focus the investigation on Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi, we must first get the other two key figures."
"The other two people?" The Forbidden Army officer was confused: "Who do you mean?"
"The first one is Tian Mu." Ouyang Lin showed a sneer: "The power of Shi, the censor doctor and the director of Beiya Nilin, cannot be underestimated. As long as we start taking action against Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi, I believe that soon Then Tian Mu will know about it. By then, I'm afraid that before the case can be solved, you and I will be plotted first."
The officer nodded with a serious expression: "Your Excellency, you have considered it very much. Tian Mu has many eyes and ears in the imperial capital and the court, so we must be on guard. Who is the other person you are talking about?"
Ouyang Lin did not give an answer to this question, but looked out the window.
Stretching not far in that direction is a gorgeous pavilion.
Fengyi Palace.
