Han Qing looked at the kind-faced Su Qi'an in front of him, and felt bitter in his heart. He thought this was a bad job, but if it didn't work out well, at least he would be respected.
But this time, he had miscalculated. This Dongshan Marquis was no longer the same person as he was during the Kyoto defense battle more than a year ago.
He seems kind, but once he is offended, this person will be more cruel than anyone else. He has no doubt that if he continues to deceive, he will definitely throw him into the river to feed the fish, and he will definitely do what he says.
Han Qing's heart was full of bitterness. After a brief silence, he told everything he knew, especially who instructed him to deliberately make things difficult for Su Qi'an.
Han Qing's voice fell, and before Su Qi'an could speak, Tong Zhan beside him said directly.
"You are telling lies. After all, you are the commander of the Forbidden Army and the most respected minister around His Majesty, but you actually said that you were instructed by someone to be the Prime Minister? Do you really think we are fools?"
Not to mention Tong Zhan, even Su Yong behind him looked suspicious. Through Han Qing's story, they knew that the escort, deliberate embarrassment and testing on the ship were all entrusted by Zheng Yuan.
The purpose was to find out whether Su Qi'an had any secret interest dealings with local officials and other aristocratic families in Dongzhou during the past six months.
The reason why Han Qing obeyed the order was very simple. First, in his early years, when he was working as an errand in the imperial city, he offended some ministers in the court. At that time, it was Zheng Yuan who came forward to resolve the conflict between the two parties.
So when Han Qing received Zheng Yuan's request for escorting this time, he agreed without even thinking about it, which was regarded as an exchange of favors.
This sounds very reasonable, but Tong Zhan and Su Yong don't believe it at all. Are you kidding? This is not a trivial matter. Just to return a favor, the commander of the Imperial City can come out for an interview.
Behind this, the person who gave the instructions was just Prime Minister Zheng Yuan? As for the second and fourth princes, they are not involved at all, which is incredible no matter what.
When the two questioned, Han Qing looked at Su Qi'an with an indifferent expression and quickly explained.
"Inspector, I really didn't lie to you. This is absolutely true. Your guess is indeed reasonable, but I don't dare to do it. I am the commander of the imperial army. How can someone with my status interact with the prince?" There is a close relationship between them.”
"This is a serious crime of losing one's head. Even if Han is bold or stupid, he still knows what he can do and what he cannot do."
"This matter really has nothing to do with the princes. It is indeed entrusted by Zheng Zaifu. I also ask the supervisor to trust Han. If Han has a hundred courage, I will not dare to deceive you."
Han Qing's voice was urgent and his face was sincere. It seemed that he did not mean to deceive.
But Tong Zhan and Su Yong still didn't believe it, so they held their fists at Su Qi'an.
"Sir, this man is definitely an old fox. He definitely didn't tell the truth. Leave him to us and we will make sure he tells the truth."
"Yes, we have plenty of time anyway. I don't believe we can't pry his mouth open before the boat goes ashore."
Tong Zhan and Su Yong were in high spirits and wanted to take Han Qing off the deck and prepare to give him a good education. Just as they were taking action, Su Qian's voice suddenly sounded.
"Okay, you two stop. I believe what Han Qing said is not a lie. Lock them up first. When we get to Kyoto City, chat with them and take them down."
Hearing this, Han Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Just now, he really thought that he would be punished, so he almost screamed and cursed.
Fortunately, Su Qi'an was sensible and believed him, and expressed his gratitude to Su Qi'an again and again.
Although the ship was temporarily controlled by Su Qi'an, he at least saved his life. No matter how bold Su Qi'an was, there was no way he would dare to kill him.
Just be patient these days. When the ship docks and returns to Kyoto City, you must accuse Su Qi'an severely.
Su Qi'an naturally couldn't guess what Han Qing was thinking, but he didn't bother to guess. He wanted to accuse him and get involved. The minister of the DPRK was more skilled than him in this matter.
But in the end, without exception, he was not involved. Just Han Qing, even if he said that it was impossible to be the commander of the Forbidden Army.
If Su Qi'an dared to do this, he would naturally have the confidence. If Han Qing dared to join him, Su Qi'an would also counterattack, and he would not have any worries in his heart.
Of course, this was all an afterthought. Neither party could imagine what the other party was thinking. At least on the surface, Han Qing was in a subdued state and expressed his gratitude to Su Qi'an again and again.
Then, the direct team took action, took Han Qing off the deck, and temporarily imprisoned him in the cabin together with the forbidden troops on the ship. As for when to release him, Su Qi'an had to wait for Su Qian's decision.
Not long after Han Qing was taken away, Tong Zhan and Su Yong wanted to speak, but were stopped by Su Qi'an.
He naturally knew what they wanted to say, but he trusted Han Qing too much. Anyway, they didn't believe Han Qing's lies.
Su Qi'an said calmly to the two of them, "Indeed, I didn't really believe what Han Qing said at first, but then I thought about it, and he was right about one thing. He is the commander of the Forbidden Army. This status destined him to dare not Had too much contact with the princes.”
"His position is said to be the last line of defense to protect His Majesty. It is His Majesty's eyes. If he had been bribed by the two princes, I am afraid that he would have been captured by Your Majesty long ago."
"Any emperor would never allow his eyes to be bribed by others, even his own heirs. If this is the case, that would be the most terrifying thing."
"Don't forget, although Zheng Yuan is the prime minister, he is also the second prince's subordinate. Even if there is no instruction from the second prince, when he speaks, it will make people think that there is someone behind the instructions."
"Zheng Yuan is wise enough to sit in the position of prime minister. With so many pairs of eyes staring at him, he dares to instruct Han Qing and is not afraid of causing trouble to his master. I think this Kyoto city has a much bigger problem than half a year ago. Changed.”
Listening to Su Qi'an's story, Tong Zhan and Su Yong came back to their senses. They were not as impulsive as before, and their faces looked a little solemn.
They thought it was simple and didn't expect the water behind them to be so deep.
Seeing the emotions on their faces, Su Qian said with a smile, "Don't be so nervous." There was no time when the ministers of the court didn't want to bring me down, but in the end I was not safe, so it didn't matter, I just treated it as an appetizer this time. "
"I really want to know now what kind of things they will prepare and wait for me after I return to Beijing."
"Sir, would you like me to have a chat with Han Qing so that I can know more about it and be prepared?"
"Well, go ahead and remember not to use force. After all, he is also the commander of the Forbidden Army, and he still has some value."
"Understood, I know what's appropriate." Tong Zhan and Su Yong clasped their fists and turned to leave.
The two of them had good intentions, but according to Su Qian's estimation, it was basically impossible to learn some secrets from Han Qing.
When Zheng Yuan found Han Qing this time, all he wanted was for him to test him, and he didn't tell anything else. This not only showed that Zheng Yuan was very wary.
Similarly, I was mentally prepared for Han Qing's failure. To put it bluntly, this time's difficulty was just a simple test.
As for the purpose, Su Qi'an couldn't guess it yet, but based on his contacts with Zheng Yuan for so many years, every time he made a move, there must be a huge conspiracy behind it.
Especially the people from the Fuso delegation half a year ago impressed Su Qi'an deeply. If it weren't for Zheng Yuan's intervention, the pacification of Dongzhou would not have fallen on him.
This Zheng Yuan is a difficult old fox.
Su Qian turned around, walked to the deck, and took out a letter from his arms. This letter was given to him by Feng Zheng before leaving.
Feng Zheng had a special status. He came to Yuezhou this time to investigate the case of the traitor of the King of Yue. In the end, the investigation revealed that it was naturally impossible to stay in the East and Yue states.
In order to avoid suspicion, Su Qi'an returned to Beijing first after two months of governing Dongzhou.
Before returning to Beijing, I gave him a letter. The letter probably meant that regarding the victory of the war in Dongzhou, he was the first one on the list.
This is not Feng Zheng's intention, this is Su Kang's intention, and even Dongzhou officials have no objection.
Su Qi'an should take the lead in quelling the war this time. After returning to Beijing, he will be rewarded. Maybe he will get a higher title, which is a good thing for others.
But in Su Qi'an's eyes, it was another troubled time. He had a feeling that when he returned to Beijing this time, a big fuss would be made about this matter.
Feng Zheng's letter more or less mentioned this matter, asking him to be careful.
Su Qi'an tore up the letter in his hand and turned it into paper scraps in the river wind, drifting away with the wind.
Su Qi'an's face was indifferent, and he still had the same attitude. No matter how many conspiracies and tricks were waiting for him in Kyoto City, he would be blocked by soldiers and covered by water and soil.
…
After Su Qi'an left Dongzhou and set off back to Kyoto City, across the sea, there were Fuso Kingdom and Shangjing which were very far away.
In a mansion built with huge pavilions and pavilions, warriors wearing wooden clogs came and went, patrolling the mansion. Their expressions were cold, and their eyes were very wary. Their palms were resting on the long swords at their waists. Once If there is any emergency, the knife will be drawn at any time.
In the middle of many patrolling warriors, in a pavilion, two figures were kneeling on the floor, sipping tea.
Looking closer, these people are none other than Showa Incheon and Toku Kosuke.
The two sat opposite each other, sipping tea with a comfortable expression. The silence did not last long. Suddenly, in the distance, a man wearing aristocratic clothing walked quickly towards Showa Incheon.
The wooden clogs under his feet made a rapid crunching sound. The surrounding warriors saw this and did not stop him. On the contrary, when he passed by, they bowed slightly to show respect.
This noble man stopped when he walked outside the pavilion, knelt down and saluted quickly, and then said hurriedly.
"Back to Your Highness, good news. According to reports from my spies, the Dongzhou Supervisory Envoy has returned to the capital. They took the water route. According to estimates, it will take at least four or five days to return to the capital of Daliang."
"This is an excellent opportunity for us to take action. As long as His Highness gives the order, the dark chess hidden in Da Liang will take action. This time, Su Qi'an will be killed no matter what."
"Take his head in retaliation for the defeat in the naval battle on Zhoushan Island. Tens of thousands of Fuso warriors were shattered into pieces."
