In the first year of Tianbao, Dengzhou was renamed Dongmou County, but people still used to call it Dengzhou. The chief official was in Penglai City. Niu Su, as the state Sima, was in charge of the military affairs of Shuicheng. The government office was on the west side of Penglai Shuicheng, close to Dan. The foothills of Yashan. .
Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang walked west through the military camp according to Xu Lai's guidance. It was a cold day and there were no pedestrians on the road. Horse hoof prints were very clear on the snow. They thought they were left by Niu Shenxing and his party. Jiang Shuo knew that Jing Zhencheng Zhineng could Even if his stealth skills are great, he will definitely not leave any footprints. He can just run after the horse hoof prints left by Niu Shenxing.
Shuo and Xiang saw soldiers guarding the gate of the government office from a distance. Jiang Shuo didn't want to waste any more words, so he walked around to the side of the government office with Dugu Xiang a long way away and climbed over the wall. There were also soldiers on the corridor in the courtyard. They Just as he was about to shout out a question, Jiang Shuo and Dugu Wen rushed forward separately and tapped a few people's acupuncture points. The soldiers were standing in the corridor like wood carvings and clay sculptures. Fortunately, there were eaves to protect them from the wind and snow, so they didn't have to worry about turning into snowmen.
Hearing someone's voice coming from the west wing, Jiang Shuo and Xiang'er broke in hand in hand, but were surprised by the scene in front of them.
This is a warm pavilion. Thick curtains are hung on the doors and windows to block the cold wind outside. There is a charcoal fire in the house, which is very warm. The warm pavilion is not big. There are only two large couches. A middle-aged official sits on it. In the main seat, Jing Zhencheng sat on the couch opposite him, and Niu Shenxing lowered his hand to make tea. There was no one else. The scene seemed very harmonious, and there was no tension as Jiang Shuo imagined.
Since the doors and windows of the Nuan Pavilion were covered, the skylight could not penetrate. It was not very bright at first. Jiang Shuo suddenly opened the door, and the room was suddenly bright. The middle-aged official could not help but squint his eyes and saw the figures of a boy and girl. He smiled. He said, "It's not Jiang Suzhi and Miss Dugu who are here, right? Please come in and sit down."
Niu Shenxing stood up to welcome the two of them to their seats, and closed the door of the Nuan Pavilion with his backhand. The room suddenly returned to darkness. For some reason, Jiang Shuo remembered the Nuan Pavilion that was pillowed on the cliff at Xixi Villa.
Jing Zhencheng wanted to hand over the chief to Jiang Shuo, Jiang Shuo hurriedly held him down, and he and Dugu Xiang sat down with their hands down. Niu Shenxing had finished serving tea to them, Jiang Shuo crossed his hands to the official and said, "Your Majesty, The driver must be Niu Sima, the chief officer here?"
The official returned the courtesy and said, "This is Niu Su. Young Master Jiang, there is no need to be polite. How is Secretary Jin of Silla's injury?"
This person was indeed Niu Su, but when he saw that he and Jing Zhencheng were sitting opposite each other, with peaceful expressions not only showing no signs of conflict, but also seemed to be very happy, Jiang Shuo couldn't figure it out for a moment, crossed his hands and said back to Niu Su: "I used the wound medicine. It's no longer serious." He saw that when Niu Su crossed his hands, a section of his left little finger was missing.
Niu Su saw Jiang Shuo's eyes resting on his hand and knew what he was thinking. He raised his left hand and said with a smile, "Yes, Niu's little finger was cut off by Nihon Iiro."
Dugu Xiang said softly "Ah" and looked at Jing Zhencheng with Jiang Shuo.
Niu Su didn't wait for Jing Zhencheng to speak, and Zi Gu continued: "When Jing Lang found me, he was afraid that I wouldn't tell him the truth, so he first cut off a section of my finger to establish his authority..."
When Jing Zhencheng heard this, he immediately changed from sitting to kneeling, but the Japanese kneeling posture is very strange. The knees are not together but far apart. He put his fists on his knees and said to Niu Su: "Zhencheng was so reckless back then. Why don't you please Please forgive me, Lord Niu."
Niu Su waved his hand and said, "Jinglang, you have said your apology many times, and I will never mention it again."
Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang became more and more strange, and turned to look at Niu Su together. They thought that since Jing Zhencheng cut off his finger, there must be lynching and persecution later. Why did Niu Su comfort him without resentment?
Niu Su smiled and said: "Young Master Jiang, Miss Dugu, you must be wondering why Jinglang cut off my finger, but we can still sit here and drink tea today? That's because he found that there is no need at all. Under severe torture, I will reveal all the truth I know."
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows after hearing this, thinking that this Niu Sima was too spineless, right? Confucius said: "It is a taboo for the venerable, a taboo for the relatives, and a taboo for the wise." Since he is a subordinate of Li Shijun, he should cover up a few things for his superiors. How could he tell everything without being tortured?
Niu Su said: "Young Master Jiang, you must be thinking that Niu is a weakling. He cut off his finger and said it all. In fact, I know everything about Jing Lang because I am also full of doubts. Although Li Shijun He was a civil servant, but he had always been chivalrous. How could he order the killing of four hundred Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty? After that, he never mentioned the reason. If he said it was because of coercion, he committed the crime that year.
Yan Zhi was not afraid of admonishing Emperor Wu, so who could force him to do something against his will? If I mistakenly believed someone else's words, there should be an explanation, but no matter how I asked him, Li Shijun remained silent. Niu is just a small official and cannot thoroughly investigate the truth. This problem has troubled me for many years. Until Jing Lang came to find him, I decided to tell him everything I knew. The only condition was that after finding out the truth, I could bring this matter to light. Tell me the truth. "
Dugu Xiang said: "Niu Sima, you must dislike Li Shijun very much. After so many years, you still want to expose his shortcomings."
Jing Zhencheng shook his head and said: "On the contrary, Niu Sima loves Commander Li very much. In his opinion, Commander Li is upright and chivalrous. He will never kill anyone indiscriminately, let alone two ships with more than 400 people."
Niu Su nodded and said, "Yes, I have always believed that Li Shijun had some hidden agenda when he did this. He refused to tell and simply asked Jing Lang to find out."
Jiang Shuo said: "Now the mystery is half solved."
Niu Su said: "Jinglang has already told me about Jin Silan's message. It may be half solved for you and Jinglang, but it is already relieved for me. Li Shijun really listened to what others said, and his So if you don't explain, you don't want to expose the secrets related to the Li Tang royal family." At this point, Niu Su said to Jiang Shuo seriously: "Young Master Jiang, you are from the Tang Dynasty. I advise you not to explore any further. The royal family It’s fine if the secret is false news. If it’s true and accidentally leaked to the world, aren’t you afraid of causing chaos in the world and the loss of lives?”
Jiang Shuo had a thought after hearing this. He only wanted to find out the truth before and never thought about the consequences of revealing the secret. Niu Su's words cannot be said to be unfounded, but how can Jiang Shuo let go of his young mind? I didn't know how to respond for a moment, so I unconsciously turned my head and looked at Jing Zhencheng. Niu Su said, "I have also advised Jing Lang."
Jing Zhencheng didn't wait for Jiang Shuo to speak first and said, "Right and wrong must be decided. For Zhencheng, my grandfather cannot die without knowing it. I have to figure it all out in the end. As for the secrets of the Tang Dynasty royal family, it has nothing to do with me. , I can swear to heaven right now that no matter what the truth is, I will not leak it to anyone."
Jiang Shuo also summoned up the courage to say: "Niu Sima, I think so too. Li Shijun handed over the Jianghu Alliance to me, but if Li Shijun made a big mistake and violated the morality of Jianghu, then he would no longer be worthy of being a Jianghu." Alliance leader, I can’t do the number of things passed down to me... Therefore, I must get to the bottom of it, and I can also swear like Jing Lang to never leak it to anyone.”
Niu Su looked at the two of them and asked, "What if Li Shijun insists on refusing to say anything?"
It is very possible that Jiang Shuo and Jing Zhencheng knew what Niu Su said. Li Yong had not told anyone before, so would he say it this time? Jiang Shuo thought that no matter whether Li Shijun said it or not, I couldn't let Jing Lang do any harm to him.
Jing Zhencheng crossed his hands and said: "I have been pursuing this matter for half my life, and it is impossible to stop here. As for whether Li Shijun will say it or not, I can only do my best and obey the destiny."
Niu Su shook his left hand and said, "As long as you don't hurt Shijun Li like you did to Niu, it will be fine."
Jiang Shuo said: "Niu Sima, don't worry. Jing Lang and I will go to see Li Shijun together, and we will definitely not let him hurt Li Shijun."
While he was talking, he suddenly heard the noise outside. Niu Shenxing said, "It's my master who is here."
Niu Su asked his son to open the door, and everyone left the Nuan Pavilion, only to see the soldiers guarding the door blocking Xu Lai. One person said: "Master Xu, Sima said not to let anyone disturb you, look...eh..."
It turned out that the soldier saw that the soldiers outside the Nuan Pavilion were standing straight and normal, but when he saw the door of the Nuan Pavilion opened and a pair of boys and girls came out, he couldn't help but froze in place with his eyes wide open.
Xu Lai said, "Look, I said the young master is here. He pushed aside the blocking soldiers and stepped forward to salute Jiang Shuo. Niu Shenxing also stepped forward to salute Xu Lai. Jiang Shuo saw that Jin Liangxiang was wearing a coat. The man in the outer robe, supported by Peng Gufan, stepped forward and said happily: "Jin Shizhong, are you awake?" Although Jin Liangxiang was awake, his face still lacked color due to excessive blood loss. He smiled at Jiang Shuo and said, "It's okay. Okay, I’ll take care of it for a while and it’ll be fine.”
Niu Su had heard what Niu Shenxing said about Jin Liangxiang, and said: "Secretary and Supervisor Jin, it is the middle of winter and it is not suitable for traveling. It is better to stay here until spring and then go to Chang'an."
Jin Liangxiangdao
: "Okay, I wonder how Young Master Jiang will arrange it?"
Jiang Shuo and Jing Zhencheng looked at each other and said, "The wind and snow will not hinder us. This place is not far from the North Sea. We want to set off as soon as possible."
Niu Su said: "Young Master Jiang, Jing Lang, I know I can't advise you to stay, but I still want to ask you to stay here for a few more days, so that Niu can also fulfill his friendship as a landlord."
Niu Shenxing also repeatedly tried to persuade him to stay. He had already been impressed by Jiang Shuo's magical skills and wanted to be as close to him as possible and spend a few more days with him.
Xu Lai also said: "Young Master, I would like to stay here for ten or eight days to teach Shen Xing my skills, and then I can protect the Young Master and go to Beihai together. Although the Young Master is strong in martial arts, I am familiar with the ground here." , I will follow the young master, and I can take care of him with food and lodging."
Dugu Wen also said: "Looking back, let's wait for a few days. Jin Shizhong is still weak. This place is not far from Silla. If another Silla assassin comes, Jin Shizhong has no ability to fight back. We will guard him for ten days." , wait until he recovers before leaving, then the merits will be considered complete."
Jiang Shuo had no choice but to say yes, and turned to Jing Zhencheng and said, "Jing Lang, please wait for another ten days."
Although Jing Zhencheng was reluctant, he had no choice but to agree.
