Pang Ban's mansion is not far from Jiang Cheng's mansion. This area is inhabited by high-level officials of Xuanqingwei, and they are all old houses, but they are in good locations, so they are usually changed hands within Xuanqingwei. When someone gets old, they usually sell the house here. This is how Jiang Cheng's house came to be.
Instead of taking a car, the two of them walked to the place in about the time it took to have a cup of tea.
Unlike Shen Hao's idea of a wealthy family's courtyard, Pang Ban's mansion was not big, and even looked at the courtyard alone, it was much smaller than Jiang Cheng's house.
"Pang Pang lives alone and doesn't like big houses, so he chose this place." As if he saw the confusion on Shen Hao's face, Jiang Cheng took advantage of the stall where the concierge went in to report, and explained to Shen Hao in a low voice.
"Live alone? That huge man's family?"
"In my hometown in Jingzhong. Okay, let's go."
After waiting for a long time, after the concierge entered, the housekeeper of Pang Mansion came out to greet him. He led Shen Hao and Jiang Cheng into the mansion and went straight to the study.
The butler served tea and chatted for a few words, then Pang Ban walked in wearing regular clothes.
Jiang Cheng and Shen Hao quickly greeted each other.
"You don't need so many etiquettes at home. Sit down and have a sip of tea. This tea is tribute tea. It was given by His Majesty this year. Shen Baihu comes to my place for the first time today and treats you to try it."
When talking about tea, Shen Hao remembered that Pang Ban had talked about tea at his house before. At that time, it seemed that Pang Ban was saying that his tea was not good. I felt a little embarrassed, but I stood up and thanked him, then pretended to pick up the tea and took another sip. In fact, Shen Hao had drunk this tea before Pang Ban entered the house. The fragrance was good and it tasted good, but Shen Hao couldn't drink it because he didn't have the experience to drink it. I can only nod my head.
Pang Ban smiled and saw Shen Hao's performance, finding it very interesting. He specifically mentioned "tea" at Shen Hao's house last time, and he mentioned it again this time, but the small family in front of him still acted as if he knew nothing about tea. This detail made Pang Ban see a lot from it, and he was very satisfied.
"Is there something urgent for you two to visit late at night? Is there a breakthrough in the case?"
Hearing this, Shen Hao glanced at Jiang Cheng beside him. Jiang Cheng gave him a wink, and Shen Hao stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Sir, all the people on the previous list of thirty-seven people have been captured, and no one has been missed. ..."
Shen Hao's draft was something he had thought up before, but now he has spoken it out in an orderly and progressive manner. On the one hand, it showed the Black Flag Battalion's speed and decisiveness in closing the net. On the other hand, it did not avoid the opponent's toughness and cunning. He even bluntly said that the case was briefly deadlocked, but fortunately, something else was discovered in the end and the goal was achieved in a roundabout way.
"So you have crossed the gap that the other party set up at the front end, and now you have pushed the case to Xu Hong, the left minister of the Ministry of War. Right?" Pang Ban sat up straight in his chair, with a serious expression.
"Yes, sir, the man behind the scenes who can be directly identified by witnesses and clues is Xu Hong. The man who previously sent Zhang De and others to help Ma Sankui borrow a large number of storage bags from the Jingxi Army for smuggling and provided many conveniences for him is Xu Hong.
However, his subordinates had doubts about Zhou Qing's conclusions. "
"Oh? Do you think Zhou Qing is telling lies?"
"No, it's not a lie, but my subordinates feel that Zhou Qing only understands the surface and still does not touch on the core of this case, so his view of the whole matter is incomplete. At least in the speculation of his subordinates, Xu Hong The energy is not enough to lay out such a conspiracy to collude with the barbarians over more than forty years.
In addition, it can be seen from Ma Sankui's confession that Zhou Qing is actually unclear about many things. For example, Zhou Qing "heard about" the pseudo-evil monk behind Ma Sankui and how these connections were originally connected, and it was inconsistent with Ma Sankui's confession.
Therefore, the subordinates thought that there was someone else above Xu Hong. "
Not to mention that it is seamless, at least Shen Hao combined the current clues and evidence and really pushed the "Ma San Case" to the depths. He also made bold guesses, and the implication was to test Jiang Cheng and Pang Ban's bottom line.
It can't be said that Shen Hao is being naughty, but the case is too big. How can he know the specific proportions? If he doesn't know the bottom line of the big boss first, if he dares to act randomly, if the line is crossed, it will be a big trouble.
Jiang Cheng said nothing, but his face was calm.
Pang Ban was silent for a while and asked: "Then do you think there is someone else behind Xu Hong who is arranging the arrangements?"
Shen Hao did not hesitate and answered directly: "My subordinates thought that the person standing behind Xu Hong should be General Zhu Guo and Minister of War, Yang Yansi." After saying this, Shen Hao stared at Pang Ban's expression, waiting for the other party's next words.
Pang Ban was silent for a while and then looked at Shen Hao with a half-smile and said: "Haha, do you know the weight of Yang Yansi? And this person's status in the Jingjiu Dynasty?"
"This subordinate knows a thing or two."
"Then you still dare to doubt him?"
"My subordinates only care about the facts of the case. Other than that, I am too stupid to make any assumptions. It's up to the adults to decide." Shen Hao would not catch this ball stupidly, nor was he qualified.
"It's your duty. But you don't need to test it. Now that this case has reached this stage, do you think it's only our Xuanqing Guard's business? The civil servants, the military, and even His Majesty are all watching. Who dares to play tricks? Whoever dies first will die first. Therefore, no matter who is involved, we must get to the bottom of it. The one who can support you in this matter is not only Mr. Jiang and I, but also His Majesty."
Shen Hao bowed in response, feeling confident.
"Tell me, what are your plans next?"
"My subordinates are going to request orders from your Excellency. As soon as daybreak, they will send a note to the local government office in the imperial city, asking them to assist in searching the Xu Mansion. At the same time, they will order the black flag battalions from all over the country to close the net, and cooperate with the local black flag battalions to capture all the people. The family background of the people involved in the case will be clear. Later, we will sort out and investigate, hoping to find clues to continue to advance the case."
"Are you not sure?"
"...Yes, sir, my subordinates found that the other party has a strong awareness of preventing tracing, and many people are not afraid of Xuanqing Guard's torture methods. Once Xu Hong's words are difficult to pry open, my subordinates have no absolute choice. I'm confident that I can continue to advance the case." Although his words were a little timid, Shen Hao still told the truth. At this time, he didn't dare to "praise Haikou" like before.
Pang Ban didn't feel dissatisfied when he heard this, but said: "So you want to drag those civil servants into it? You think you can ask them to help you if you can't do it yourself, right?"
"Your Majesty, my subordinates do think so."
As soon as these words came out, Pang Ban shook his head, and Jiang Cheng next to him had the same expression.
"Although the idea is good, it is still too young." Pang Ban directly rejected Shen Hao's plan. Then he added: "You think you are borrowing a knife to kill someone, but in fact you are luring a wolf into the house. The civil servants are more powerful than just their mouths. Not only will the army be unlucky, but our Xuanqing Guard will also be dragged into the water by them. .”
