Hunzhu looked at Ziyou in confusion.
"Who are the lieutenants and guards of Zhao State?" Ziyou asked.
"The lieutenant is the general, and the guard is the royal family official Zhao Chang. Zhao Chang is a prostitute. Zhao Chang was the younger brother of King Zhao Mouxiang. The lieutenant followed Guo Kai to support King Zhao Mouxiang. Those who compete for the throne. The lieutenant is from Guo Kai, and the guard and lieutenant are responsible for all the guards in Handan. It is precisely because of this that although Zhao Wangqian and the prostitute have different opinions, no one can do anything to the other." Hun Zhu said.
"King Zhao Yan is not a mediocre king. He has been dead for several years. The division of power in the entire Zhao Kingdom still follows his legacy. Li Mu should return to Handan in two days, right?" Ziyou said calmly. .
"Yes! According to the system of the Zhao State, the generals of the Zhao State's border guards have to return to the court after the grain harvest is completed. On the surface, they are here to report on their duties, but in fact, they are to frighten the people inside the court so that they dare not lack food, grass and pay for the border troops. , calculating the time, Li Mu is almost here." Hun Zhu said.
The State of Zhao has always been strong in military and weak in civil affairs. In the entire State of Zhao, there are only a handful of civil servants who can be said to be talented. Except for Fei Yi who promoted Hufu riding and archery with King Wuling of Zhao, there are only the original ones. Lin Xiangru, but the generals are different. The generals of the Zhao State can be said to be endless. Not to mention Li Mu, who is the best in the world, there are Lian Po, Le Yi and Le Cheng who fled the Yan State, and then there are Li Dui and so on. These people They are all military commanders, and their ability to march and fight is among the best.
But it is precisely because of this that the kings of Zhao in the past dynasties used civil servants to control the grain, grass and money to prevent military generals from becoming big, and strangled the throats of the border troops in one fell swoop. Later, officials who were also responsible for grain, grass and money often deducted grain, grass and money from the frontier army, and this led to the habit of bringing the frontier army generals back to court to report on their duties after the annual grain harvest.
"Wouldn't Guo Kai be tempted by such a huge sum of money?" Ziyou asked.
"Guo Kai was very greedy, but he was principled. He did not use the soldiers' salaries belonging to the border troops, but only took the empty pay. According to Luowang's investigation, every time Guo Kai reported that the number of border troops was at least 10,000 more than the actual number." Soul Candle said,
"Ten thousand people!? Didn't Zhao Guochao find anything?" Ziyou asked in surprise. If Guo Kai had to live on the free wages of two or three thousand people, it would be reasonable. If the two or three thousand people were divided among the entire Zhao army, it would be reasonable. It's not that eye-catching, but ten thousand people, even including the defenders of various cities, is still a huge sum.
"Guo Kai was the master of Zhao's court, and Zhao Wangqian was unwilling to deal with such a matter. Even if someone found out, Guo Kai would deal with it before the report was filed, so everything has been fine." Hun Zhu said.
"Is the military pay in the Zhao Kingdom's treasury?" Ziyou asked.
"No, Zhao's military pay should now be transferred to the general's mansion, and people should be sent to guard it."
"Can you send someone to manipulate the soldiers' pay?" Ziyou asked.
"Okay, we have people in the General's Mansion." Hun Zhu replied.
"Tonight, we will mess with the soldiers' pay, and tomorrow we will kill the guards." Ziyou said.
"promise!"
Hun Zhu saluted and left the inn.
Ziyou looked at the Zhao Palace outside the window with a smile in his eyes.
"What a pity, King Zhao Youxiang. With such an idiot son as Zhao Wangqian, the peace of Zhao country will soon be interrupted." Ziyou murmured to himself.
After Hun Zhu left, Mo Ya and Bai Feng came back half a quarter of an hour later. The two circled the entire Handan and figured out the layout of Handan. They focused on searching the place where Gai Nie and the others disappeared, but the result was... Nothing was gained.
"If it were so easy to find clues, I wouldn't have to come in person. Bai Feng, go keep an eye on Guo Kai. I want to know all his recent actions." Ziyou said.
"yes."
"Mo Crow, keep looking for clues."
"yes."
After arranging for the two of them to leave, Xue Nu was comforted, and Zi You ordered food to be brought up. The next day came after a night of silence.
On the second day, the whole Handan suddenly became serious, and the soldiers guarding the city gate were no longer lazy. Every hour, a messenger on horseback could be seen returning to the city from outside the city. The other party's clothes The sign on the bus was still very familiar to Ziyou. It was the sign of the Wuling Cavalry. Ziyou understood that Li Mu was about to arrive in Handan.
Because Li Mu is about to return, the entire Zhao Kingdom has also begun to take action. Ministers close to Li Mu are eagerly looking forward to it. Guo Kai and Zhao Wangqian are a little tired of this. Li Mu is a great deal to them. The two of them were naturally unhappy now that Li Mu returned to the court. Although Zhao Wangqian hated Li Mu, he did not do anything. After all, Li Mu returned to the court just to report his duties. Li Mu left in a few days. Guo Kai initially He didn't feel anything, but after checking the money today, Guo Kai was stunned.
In the General's Mansion, Guo Kai looked at the dozens of boxes in front of him, and then looked at the account book in his hand. With an ugly expression, he threw the account book at the guarding captain beside him. The captain was kneeling on the ground and his body was shaking uncontrollably. As he stood, the sweat from his head formed a water stain on the ground. Other soldiers responsible for guarding military pay also knelt on the ground and did not dare to breathe.
Guo Kai kicked the school captain and roared
"What do you think of military pay? Eighty-six boxes, 150,000 taels of gold, how come there are only 130,000 taels of gold left? Where did the missing 20,000 taels of gold go?"
The captain's face turned pale. He naturally understood how much he was at fault for losing military pay, and it was still twenty thousand taels of gold, which was enough to kill his whole family.
"Lord Xiangguo, I don't know, but when I counted the military pay last night, there were still eighty-six boxes, not a lot of them. I don't know why there are fewer boxes today. I really don't know!" The captain kept kowtowing to Guo Kai. He said that he really didn't know who moved the military pay.
"Are you responsible for guarding military pay? Who knows if you don't know?" Guo Kai said angrily. Although he ruled the country with one hand, he still dared not bear the crime of losing military pay. If something goes wrong with the military pay of hundreds of thousands of troops, This cannot be concealed at all.
At other times, this matter would have been covered up for a while, but it was different now. They had already had conflicts with the prostitute queen because of Li Mu. Previously, all the people from Zhao Yi and Li Mu's faction had defected to the prostitute queen. At this time, there was a problem with military pay, and everyone People would immediately suspect that he had taken action against the military pay. Once the factions hostile to him get into trouble, King Zhao Qian may not be able to protect him.
"What on earth were you doing last night?" Guo Kai kicked the captain again.
"Last night, my subordinate gave birth to a son. I went home to take a look, but he came back within half an hour." The captain said hurriedly.
Looking at the sweating captain Guo Kai's eyes full of anger, and then looking at the soldiers around him, Guo Kai understood that these people were not responsible for the military salary, but now there must be someone who takes the blame, otherwise he will die It's him.
"The truth of this matter has been investigated personally, come here!" Guo Kai shouted.
The door to the General's Mansion was opened, and a group of soldiers walked in.
"This man neglected his duties. He left the general without authorization last night and captured him. The other soldiers did not report the information and were thrown into the prison together. Then a team of troops were sent over to strictly guard the military pay." Guo Kai said.
"yes!"
Amidst a period of begging for mercy, the soldiers who were responsible for guarding the military pay in the general's mansion were taken away and replaced by new soldiers who were responsible for guarding.
Guo Kai returned to his house with a gloomy face. Along the way, he also figured out that someone was deliberately plotting against him in order to make him cause public anger, but Guo Kai still didn't know who it was. Fortunately, he made an impromptu decision to go there today. I checked the military pay. If I find that there is a lack of military pay when I check it with Li Mu tomorrow, it will be a big deal.
"Who is plotting the truth?" Guo Kai said to himself in a deep voice.
After much deliberation, Guo Kai didn't guess who it was. After all, there might be too many people who framed him, but he had to take responsibility for the loss of 20,000 taels of gold. He asked his butler to take out 20,000 taels of gold from the warehouse and prepare to Heiye sent the gold in when no one was around.
But in the afternoon, news came out that the military pay had been stolen. This shocked Guo Kaixin, and he did not dare to wait any longer, so he went to send gold to replenish the military pay. But just before going out, Hun Zhu found Guo Kai.
"Brother Hun Zhu, please come back another day. I have something urgent today." Guo Kai looked at Hun Zhu and said.
"Hang on, Mr. Guo. It's not that I'm here to see Mr. Guo, but that my husband wants to meet Mr. Guo." Hun Zhu said with a smile.
"Your husband?" Guo Kai frowned. He never knew there was another husband behind Hun Zhu.
"There is only one person in Qin who can be called sir by the net." Hun Zhu pointed upward.
Hearing Hun Zhu's words, Guo Kai was immediately shocked. Guo Kai naturally understood who Luo Wang could call him sir. At that moment, he was not anxious to make up for the military salary, but asked slightly nervously.
"Why did that person come to see Guo?"
"I don't know about this matter. I will know it when Mr. Guo goes there. Maybe it has something to do with the rumors about Mr. Guo circulating outside." Hun Zhu said.
Guo Kai's pupils tightened and he looked at the dark sky outside, thinking that it would be okay to make up for his military pay later. Guo Kai then said
"Brother Hunzhu, please lead the way."
"Mr. Guo, you're welcome."
Hun Zhu took Guo Kai away from the Guo Mansion and came to a house with a net, and behind this house was the residence of the guard captain Zhao. Hun Zhu took Guo Kai to the second floor of an attic.
"Xiang Guo, sir, you are waiting for you inside." Hun Zhu said.
"Yeah." Guo Kai nodded and said.
Hun Zhu turned around and left the second floor. Guo Kai looked at the closed door with some nervousness in his eyes. As the saying goes, people are reflected in the shadow of famous trees. Even though Guo Kai held a high position in Zhao State, facing Ziyou, the Emperor of Qin, the Taiwei of Qin, and the three major representatives of Confucianism, Guo Kai Even though I was happy, I was still a little nervous.
Guo Kai and Zi You also had a relationship at the beginning. It was when Guo Kai came to Qin to negotiate peace with the Qin State. At that time, Guo Kai had seen Zi You's majesty. In Guo Kai's opinion, there was no one in the Qin State's court. Dare to confront Ziyou, and it is precisely because of this that Guo Kai always feels a little humble when facing Ziyou. In front of Ziyou, he is not the prime minister of Zhao State, but a common citizen.
After straightening his clothes, Guo Kai took a deep breath and opened the door. After entering the room and closing the door, Guo Kai saw Zi You sitting in front of the table. Zi You looked at Guo Kai and said with a smile.
"Xiang Guo, it's been several years since we said goodbye to Xianyang."
"Meet the Lieutenant." Guo Kai said with a strict salute.
"You're welcome, Mr. Guo, please take a seat." Ziyou said with a smile.
After Guo Kai took his seat, he looked at the food on the table and then at Zi You, feeling a little scared. As a Taiwei of Qin State, Ziyou came to the capital of Zhao State alone. A Taiwei of a country went deep into the capital of another country. Except for the original King Zhao Wuling of Zhao State who had done similar things, no one had ever done this kind of thing. Shi Guo Kaixin admired Ziyou's courage, but was also filled with fear. Ziyou went deep into Handan to find him. If there was no reason why he didn't believe him, he couldn't have come to see him specifically, right?
After Ziyou persuaded Guo Kai to drink a few glasses of wine, Guo Kai couldn't sit still and said to Ziyou.
"Lieutenant, go deep into Handan and find Kai. Is there anything you can do?"
"It's nothing. I came here to look for someone. I just heard some rumors about Prime Minister Guo, so I wanted to meet Guo." Ziyou put down his wine glass and said.
"You're welcome, Lieutenant. The rumors outside are just rumors that slander me and are nothing to worry about." Guo Kai said. Although Guo Kai didn't know what Ziyou was going to do, his intuition told him that he had to fight. Stop this topic.
"Xiang Guo misunderstood. What I'm talking about is not just what happened today. Xiang Guo's situation in the Zhao court has not been very good recently. I heard that the Queen Mother of your country has had conflicts with Xiang Guo. The ministers in the court are not very happy with Xiang Guo. It means to attack in groups.
Prime Minister Guo is my friend of Qin. Qin has always been generous to his friend Qin. Qin never minds helping friends eliminate some threats. "Ziyou continued with the smile on his face unchanged.
Seeing the smile on Ziyou's face, Guo Kaixin was frightened. He didn't expect that Ziyou knew Zhao Guochatang so well, but when he thought about Hun Zhu, he understood the reason. Although Hun Zhu is not a member of the Zhao Kingdom's court, Hun Zhu is considered a wealthy person in the Zhao Kingdom and has close ties with many Zhao Kingdom ministers.
At the same time, Guo Kai also understood that Ziyou wanted to use his hands to intervene in the affairs of Zhao Guochaotang. At that moment, Guo Kai said
"This worries Taiwei. As the Prime Minister of the State of Zhao, others can slander and besiege him at will, let alone be slaughtered by others."
The meaning of Guo Kai's words was already very clear, but Ziyou stretched out his hand to interrupt Guo Kai's words. Looking at Ziyou, Guo Kai was slightly stunned. Suddenly, there was a slight sound of a sword being unsheathed, and a cold light flashed in the room. Guo Kai He was so happy that he jumped up from his seat, looked at Ziyou in fear, and stammered.
"Lieutenant, what are you doing?"
Guo Kaixin was filled with panic. He thought that he and Ziyou had not reached a good agreement and Ziyou was going to kill him. Although this was in Handan, the capital of Zhao State, Guo Kaixin believed that Ziyou would not kill him if he wanted to. Not the slightest hesitation.
"Listen, as soon as the sword is unsheathed, someone will die. When someone dies, someone will cry. When a person cries, he will speak his mind. I will not call to hear Mr. Guo's answer." Ziyou said calmly.
There were slight footsteps in the sky above the attic, and the sound of killing instantly sounded outside the attic. After several screams, Hun Zhu opened the door covered in blood. Under Guo Kai's gaze, Hun Zhu opened the door. When he opened the window opposite Guo Kai, a gust of cold wind blew, and Guo Kai shivered.
Through the window, Guo Kai saw the residence of Captain Zhao of the Guard opposite, as well as several corpses and a car on the street. Guo Kai recognized the driver of the car as that of Chief Zhao of the Guard. As the gate of the Guard's Mansion opened, Some slaves came out with sticks and looked at Chang Zhao's body on the ground, all of them dumbfounded.
Guo Kai's heart tightened as he looked down. A moment later, a cry came from outside the window.
Accompanied by the cold wind, Guo Kai felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his whole body shivering.
(End of chapter)
