"Jiang Sheng... finally... is here." As if he had been notified in advance, the old man in the thick fur quilt turned with some difficulty, and with his skinny skull-like head, he said in a dry voice: "Mother Wei... give me some medicine. ...Then...step back."
"Yes!" The curtain behind the huge bed moved slightly, and a middle-aged woman in a green skirt and bare makeup walked out. She was also holding a silver cup in her hand. She sat beside Liu Zhan, the prime minister, and she was familiar with the road. Put your hand into the pillow, gently lift it up, and carefully drink a little liquid in the cup.
Although the woman's movements were extremely gentle and careful, the old man still had to swallow this small amount of medicine after drinking it for a long time. Jiang Tian also noticed that this woman, although her temples were gray, her figure was particularly graceful, her eyebrows still had a faint trace of charm, and she had a dagger on her waist.
In an instant, he suddenly realized that the woman Wei Niang waiting beside Ji Xiang was probably a swordswoman from Qixiufang in Pingkangli. After she finished feeding the medicinal soup, she carefully wiped the old man's head and face, used a brocade cushion to sit on him, and then bowed her head and retreated.
"I guess Jiang Sheng still has many questions." After drinking the medicinal soup, Ji Xiang Liu Zhan seemed to have become a little more energetic; his originally weak and difficult words also gained a little more energy: " I am ill and inconvenienced, so please come up and talk."
"I dare to ask Mr. Ji why this happened." Then Jiang Tian stepped forward and asked straight to the point: "Even if I am not a doctor, but now I am sealed in a room, fumigated with a fire cage, and covered with fur. It’s not like normal healing and recuperation methods!”
"Of course there is a special reason for this." Liu Zhan said sadly with a complex expression: "This is what I was about to express to Jiang Sheng." Then he suddenly moved, and saw Qiu Qiu slipping and rolling up. The next section immediately revealed the torso of the body covered by it.
Following an indescribable smell of putrefaction and blood, Jiang Tian suddenly saw the white silk shirt stained with large stains; and the vaguely exposed gray and blue wound on the skinny torso; it was a wound that had been struck by a sharp weapon. The chest was cut open, extending to the wound under the ribs.
And although the wound does not look wide, it is cut very deep and has serious ulcers around it. Therefore, on the exposed line of the wound, you can see the marks of sharp cuts on the ribs and body cavity. The color of the slowly moving organs under the diaphragm.
"Jiang Sheng, you saw it too." Then, Liu Zhan, who was on the bed, continued: "It is this injury that makes me feel cold all the time. No matter whether it is the Taiyuan Hospital, the Medical Officer's Office, or the Military Medical Bureau, they all come to see it. It is inevitable that there is no explanation; we can only say that it is suspected to be an injury caused by mineral cold poison."
"Therefore, they don't dare to use medicine casually. They claim to mix and try more prescriptions that may be suitable for the disease in ancient books; they can only use other prescriptions first to maintain this appearance." Liu Zhan paused at this point. Panting, "But how come I don't know my own situation?"
"I'm afraid that my time is running out, and the family affairs have been dealt with. As I am still able to speak at the last moment, I should do my best to answer Jiang Sheng's questions. After all, Jiang Sheng is the only one in the courtyard. It’s the most credible. But if you have questions, there’s no need to shy away from it, just say it.”
"In that case, please forgive me for being presumptuous." Jiang Tian then spoke slowly and asked in a conventional manner: "May I ask whether Prime Minister Ji has any targets for speculation and suspicion in private, or whether there are people with whom he has had grievances for many years, or even Are you the one who slipped through the cracks of the case that you personally handled?"
"Jiang Sheng, are you asking about my enemies? Too many, too many." However, after hearing this question, Liu Zhan, who was getting tired from talking too much at once, narrowed his eyes, but calmly relaxed and said: "I have settled hundreds of grievances with my own hands."
"Back then, I was a commoner from Guiyang. After passing three township examinations, I was listed in the Erxuehongci Department. At first, I was a member of the Salt Patrol Office, where I checked illegal bans. I successively served as the Cao Division and the Criminal Division, inspecting non-violations. I also entered the Economic Academy and was released. He was an auditor; he was the one who finally judged the financial affairs of the country, and he was guilty of many crimes."
"But for many years I have only acted with a public heart; some may have been biased, some may have made omissions, some may have been honest; some may even have gone against my original intention and treated each other privately for reasons of family status. But there was no personal grudge, and there was no delay. It’s business; even if it’s the moment of death, I will still be honest.”
"good
Bar! "Jiang Tian couldn't help but complain in his heart. This old man is still quite strong, confident and stubborn. Then he pretended to take out his notebook and said, "Can you ask the advisor to carefully recall the specific circumstances of the attack? Especially the unusual aspects of the opponent's methods."
"Unusual? Are you one of those flying swords that come and go so elusively?" Liu Zhan, who was lying on the bed, quickly grasped the key point and said: "Unfortunately, I didn't see much in the car at that time. Hearing a sound in the air like an ape's roar, the guards on the bridge rushed to cut off their heads and mutilate their bodies."
According to his intermittent description, there were hundreds of retinues at that time, including thirty half-armored Qingdao cavalry and twenty-five armored military officials, who were shouting in front of and behind the chariot in which the Prime Minister was riding; In the middle of Yangqiao, the flying sword appeared in the sky and attacked.
However, due to the relatively narrow deck of the bridge and the inability of the team to spread out, the first round of flying sword attacks resulted in the death and injury of most of the horse-riding guards who had no way to dodge, and the bodies of the overturned men and horses were also blocked. The bridge deck was blocked; forcing the remaining people to turn around hastily.
However, although the walking team is easy to turn around, the chariots used by the prime minister are not so easy to turn around. Therefore, the moment Liu Zhan was approached by his subordinates and hurriedly helped him out of the carriage, densely packed weapons fell again. Covers the bridge deck space around the carriage.
At least a dozen subordinates and military officials were penetrated and nailed to death on the spot, but Liu Zhan was able to barely escape. Then, under the cover of other subordinates, he threw away his burdens and identity tags and ran all the way to the bridgehead. ; Dangerously and dangerously, he escaped under the bridge hole to escape the third round of attacks.
However, the sword rain that struck again in the fourth round gathered in the air and rolled into a long silver snake; it suddenly crashed down. And he drilled into the bridge hole with a very clear purpose, and once again a bloody storm of broken limbs and broken bodies was unleashed; and the only remaining followers around Liu Zhan were almost all killed or injured.
"If it hadn't been for the retinue of the retinue, who fought tooth and nail to resist and rescue; those who came one after another to block the flying swords with their own bodies, I would have been sent to a canal boat to drift away from the flying swords." Liu Zhan gasped when he said this. He said: "I'm afraid I can't help it. Let me make it clear here..."
However, after hearing this, Jiang Tian had already grasped some important information. First of all, this so-called flying sword attack can only project the sword blade within a general range, but there is no way to strike accurately. The main casualties caused on the spot are penetrating casualties, which is more like the process of correcting the target under some kind of inducement.
According to court documents, the length of Dayang Bridge is about three and a half miles, and the attack was launched when walking into the bridge. This means that on the water with a wide view and no cover, the operator must stand on the shore, in a position with a wide view and high terrain, in order to effectively launch it.
But when Liu Zhan and his surviving guards fled back to the south bank to take shelter under the bridge, the form of the incoming flying sword also changed, which also meant that the operator was nearby, and the control was further strengthened at a closer distance. It is possible that the attack was carried out within a very close field of view.
However, when Liu Zhan, who was injured, escaped onto a boat on the shore, the other party had to give up. This is of course not because the attackers at the scene are soft-hearted, but because on the drifting water, accurate positioning is no longer possible, or the guidance conditions no longer exist.
The last few surviving followers were obviously quite suspicious. It's a pity that Jiang Tian didn't have the chance to rush to the scene to conduct a search at the first time. After a day or two of delay, I am afraid that the existence of a guide will be taken away or destroyed.
On the other hand, the opponent actually wants to smear poison on these flying swords in the hope of causing secondary damage; this also seems to mean that the opponent is not confident enough, or that there are unknown flaws and flaws in the corresponding control methods. , there is no confidence that relying on the attack itself will achieve the goal.
However, simply obtaining this information is not enough. Therefore, in order to destroy the opponent's plan, he can undoubtedly force him to reveal more flaws. Jiang Tian proposed to Liu Zhan face to face: "Thank you for your trust, Prime Minister Ji. I wonder if Prime Minister Ji is willing to trust me more?"
"What Jiang Sheng means is that you still need me to cooperate with you in luring the snake out of its hole?" Liu Zhan, who couldn't hide his frail and old state, steeled himself again and sighed, "It's a pity that I'm in such a state of disrepair. I'm afraid I won't be able to survive for a long time." Too much, I couldn’t do what I wanted..."
"No, no, what I mean is that Lixingyuan has been eradicating monsters these days and has also mastered some extraordinary treatment methods, especially for traumatic symptoms." Jiang Tian shook his head and said: "It's just that there will inevitably be some... unusual ones. Ordinary changes and injuries, even life-threatening."
"In that case, when can we wait?" However, Liu Zhan, who was getting more and more sleepy, said with bright eyes like a flashback: "Anyway, I don't have much left, so why not give it a try? I still have some unfulfilled wishes. , I even want to see the day when those thieves show up and take action.”
Therefore, after a number of people close to him, including Liu Zhan's eldest son, were recruited one after another, Jiang Tian also warned one of the followers who came with him: "I'll ask you to go to the headquarters. Bai Bohuan, Medical Officer Bai, and a full set of equipment were escorted here."
After leaving the Liu Mansion, Jiang Tian also breathed a sigh of relief. This trip to Prime Minister Ji's house can be said to be the result of something lost and something gained in the east. Not only did he obtain testimony that could reveal part of the truth, he may also obtain a potential favor and disguised help.
