Princess Leyang and Tologna did not stay in Yancheng for long, and they left after reaching an agreement.
Before leaving, Zhao Bin did not forget to remind Le Yang that he wanted the sulfur as soon as possible.
After Princess Leyang left, Xiao Chu looked at Zhao Bin and asked, "My lord, are you really determined to make armor for the Xianbei people this time?"
Zhao Bin looked at Xiao Chu's worried face, then patted him on the shoulder and said.
"Although armor still has some uses for us, it is no longer of much significance."
"Instead of using it to equip our soldiers, it is better to give it to the Xianbei people to help them build a powerful armored cavalry. This may be of greater help to us."
Xiao Chu looked at Zhao Bin. He didn't know what Zhao Bin was thinking specifically. He was only worried about the possibility of a comeback by the Jie tribe.
"But what if the Jie tribe attacks again?" Xiao Chu asked doubtfully.
"It's not just in case, but it will come again for sure, but after this battle, I believe that the Jie people will not attack Xiguan again." Zhao Bin replied.
"Your Majesty, you mean that they might attack the Xianbei people first, and then go south to attack us?"
"That's right, although the 100,000-strong army caused heavy losses to the Jie tribe, it was far from damaging the fundamentals.
If the Jie people gather a large army to attack the areas controlled by the Xianbei people from the northern foot of Yanshan Mountain, the Xianbei tribe will be wiped out in less than two years. "Zhao Bin said word for word.
"If the Xianbei people are really wiped out, then Yancheng will be undefendable." Xiao Chu murmured.
"Yes, so we need to support the Xianbei people and let them fight against the Jie people. There is no need for us to fight to the death."
Xiao Chu listened to Zhao Bin's explanation and couldn't help but sigh. Although the third prince is young, his mind is mature.
"But how should the court solve the problem? Once the court knows about this, I'm afraid..." Xiao Chu asked still worried.
"What my father is most worried about now is not us, but the major aristocratic families. If the court really knows about it, then send some benefits to my father. I believe he will not refuse."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"The Jie people are newly defeated and should not launch any large-scale attacks in the short term. The next thing we need to do is seize the time to strengthen ourselves." Zhao Bin continued.
"Does the prince have any plans?" Xiao Chu asked.
"Didn't Lu Biao capture 5,000 Jie prisoners? He took these people to Xishan to dig coal and replaced the common people. Free labor must be used."
"yes!"
"By the way, I will inform everyone tomorrow that the palace will discuss matters and ask He Miao and Wei Xiang to come back first."
"Yes, my subordinate will arrange for someone to notify."
"Go!" Zhao Bin said lightly.
Xiao Chu responded and exited the meeting hall.
Only Wang Wu was left in the room to accompany Zhao Bin. Zhao Bin looked at Wang Wu and asked, "Brother Wu, how are the officials sent by the Ministry of Punishment?"
Wang Wu grinned and said, "It's still locked up in the government office!"
"Bring them here and tell them that I want to see them!"
"Okay, Your Majesty, I'll go right away."
At this time, in the government office post, several officials from the Ministry of Justice were walking around the room.
Those who came to investigate the case this time included Gongsun Burang, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Pei Gongfu, the prime minister of Dali Temple, Cai Binghui, the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, Cheng Mao, the chief officer of the Ministry of Punishment, and four accompanying officials.
They have been in Yancheng for a while, but they have been locked up in the government office. There are guards from the palace guarding the outside, and they are not allowed to go out at all.
"Master Gongsun, please make up your mind when the time comes. Your Majesty is here to send us to investigate the case. How can this King of Yan imprison us?" Cai Binghui, the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, said with a sad look on his face.
Cai Binghui is a member of the Cai family in Dengzhou, Central Plains, and currently serves as a doctor in the imperial court's criminal department.
The Cai family is a wealthy family in Dengzhou. Although it cannot be compared with the Xue family, Zhang family, Dai family and other wealthy families, it is still one of the top wealthy families in Dengzhou.
Because they belong to the royal area, on the surface they are loyal to the emperor, but secretly they have defected to the Zhang family and support the prince's faction.
The prince and others were secretly instigated when they came to investigate Zhang Da's escape case. The purpose was to warn Hou Tai not to involve the Zhang family and the prince.
Gongsun Burang, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, looked at Cai Hui with a bitter look on his face and said, "Humph, now that the 100,000 Jie tribe troops in Xiguan are blocking the pass, what idea do you want me to make?"
"Lord Gongsun, the people outside have been celebrating for a day, and everyone is shouting about the great victory of Xiguan, the great victory of Xiguan,
This shows that the war at Xiguan has ended and was a great victory, but why is King Yan imprisoning us here now? "Cai Binghui retorted.
"Didn't His Highness the King of Yan say that there are foreigners sneaking into Yancheng all year round? His Highness the King of Yan is also thinking about our safety."
Seeing that Gongsun refused to let him go, Cai Binghui turned to Pei Gongfu, the chief minister of Dali Temple.
"Master Pei, no one is allowed to stop the Dali Temple from handling the case. You should just say something!"
Pei Gongfu put the tea cup on the table and said: "Master Cai, I am only cooperating with the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case, and I am not the one in Dali Temple to take the lead in handling the case."
"this......"
While several people in the room were discussing, the door of the hotel was pushed open with a creak, and Wang Wu walked in with two guards.
Wang Wu raised his hands and gave a salute: "Dear masters, my prince has invited me, please come with me!"
Everyone looked at each other, you look at me, I look at you!
The right minister of the Ministry of Justice stood up, straightened his official uniform and said, "Lead the way from the front!"
Then the group of people left the hotel, got on the carriage, and went straight to the palace.
In the palace, Zhao Bin was sitting in the middle of the hall. A group of officials sent by the imperial court bowed and saluted: "I pay homage to His Highness King Yan!"
Zhao Bin stood up from the chair with a smile and said: "You adults, you don't have to be polite, please sit down!"
As he spoke, Zhao Bin pointed to the seat on one side.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Before everyone could sit down, Cai Binghui, the doctor in the Ministry of Punishment, asked.
"I dare to ask His Majesty King Yan, why did the prince stop us from coming to investigate the case under His Majesty's order and imprisoned us in the post? What's the rationale for this?"
Zhao Bin was not angry, he just smiled lightly and said: "Lord Cai has misunderstood. The Jie tribe's 100,000 troops are attacking Xiguan. I am worried about your safety, so I let you stay in Guanyi for a few more days."
"The Jie people are attacking Xiguan, not Yancheng. Why doesn't the prince let me wait outside?" Cai Binghui said again.
"Before Mr. Cai came, Yancheng had just been besieged by the Jie tribe's army. Didn't Mr. Cai know that?"
Cai Binghui was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer. He naturally knew about Yancheng being besieged.
"Okay, Mr. Cai, I know that you are loyal to the imperial court and I will fully cooperate with you in investigating Zhang Da's defection case!" Zhao Bin said calmly.
Gongsun on the side refused to speak and said, "Then, Prince Lao, tell the story of the incident in detail."
Then Zhao Bin told the general story of the incident. The difference was that Zhao Bin added insult to injury and pinned all the charges on Zhang Da alone.
Everyone here would have thought that King Yan would point directly at the Zhang family and His Highness the Crown Prince, but King Yan actually did not mention it at all.
This also surprised Cai Binghui on the side.
Gongsun Burang is also an old fox. The emperor asked him to investigate the case, but it was just a formality. His Majesty did not want this matter to be done by the prince.
One is out of royal dignity, brothers kill each other to prevent foreign invasion.
The second is the prestige of the royal family. Once it is confirmed that the prince did it, the royal family will completely lose trust. Neither the aristocratic family nor the common people will trust the royal family.
Therefore, there is only one final result of this matter, and that is Zhang Da taking all the blame.
The investigating officials left Yancheng and headed towards Xiguan. Zhao Bin stood on the city wall and silently watched the carriage going away.
He had already sent someone to explain to Hou Tai and insisted that Zhang Da was responsible. As long as no one else was involved, his family would not be in danger for the time being.
