Zhang Zheng took a guard with him, and the two of them rode out of Pizhou City from the north gate. They followed the route map drawn by Gao Lu and found the villa he mentioned.
The villa is located at the foot of Cuiping Mountain, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a small river in front and the beautiful Cuiping Mountain behind it. Zhang was reining in his horse on the road, which was still more than a mile away from the villa. He took out his telescope and looked at it. The door of the villa was closed tightly, and there was no one around. There were several gold-plated characters on the plaque on the gatehouse: Qiuhong Villa.
After confirming that this was the villa they were looking for, Zhang Zheng turned to the guard and said, "Let's tie the horses to the nearby woods first, and then go to the back mountain to have a look." The guard nodded.
The two dismounted and led the horse into a forest on the left. After tying up their horses, they went around to the back hill of the other courtyard, hid in a bush, and observed the house down the hill.
Qiuhong Villa covers an area of about seven or eight acres, and the entire residence is surrounded by a courtyard wall more than one foot high. There are three courtyards in this villa. As soon as you enter the gate, there is a bungalow on the left and right, which is probably the concierge. Across the courtyard is the front hall, which has five rooms in total. In addition to the main hall, there are two wing rooms on the east and west sides. After passing the atrium is the back hall, which also has five rooms. There are corridors connecting the front and back halls. Behind it is the back garden, which is complete with pavilions, arches, bridges and waterside pavilions. Behind the garden, there is a small courtyard with several bungalows, probably stables and warehouses.
From the outside, the gate of Qiuhong Villa is closed, and it seems to be an empty house with no one inhabited. In fact, it is loose on the outside and tight on the inside. The defense inside is very tight. Except for people patrolling under the courtyard wall and around the house, There are also hidden whistles. These people were uniformly dressed and carried Luan knives at their waists. They were obviously the guardians of wealthy families. Such an ordinary house is so well-defended, and there must be some ulterior secret hidden inside.
After observing for a while, Zhang Zheng put down the telescope and said to the guard: "It seems that if we go in during the day, it is impossible not to be discovered. We have to wait until night." The guard nodded and said: "Then go in at night. "
The two went down the mountain and returned to the woods to wait quietly. In the evening, they took out the dry food they had brought and ate it. By the time they finished eating the dry food, the Golden Crow was falling in the west and the Jade Rabbit was rising in the east. The two walked out of the woods. Zhang Zheng looked up at the moon in the night sky. It was probably the second watch. He whispered to the guard: "You go to the stable at the back to light a fire, and I'll go to the front to check the situation. Remember, make the noise louder!" The guard agreed, turned around and walked away.
Zhang Zheng bowed and walked quickly to the courtyard wall, jumped up, and landed in the courtyard with his toes just a little bit on the top of the wall, making almost no sound. He hid in the dark and observed his surroundings carefully. About a stick of incense later, chaos suddenly broke out in the yard. Someone shouted: "There is water, go put out the fire!" The nursing staff ran towards the back garden one after another.
Zhang Zheng looked up and saw that the back of the courtyard was red. It seemed that the fire was burning quite brightly. When he saw that everyone in the yard was gone, he came out of his hiding place. Zhang Zheng did not go to the front hall, but went straight to the back hall. While observing on the back mountain in the afternoon, he found that the nursing staff guarded the rooms in the back hall more closely than those in the front hall. He felt that if the stolen goods were hidden in this courtyard, they would probably be in the back hall.
Zhang Zheng sneaked into the atrium with light steps like a civet cat and hid in the shade of the trees. He found that there were two guards guarding the door of the west wing. Everyone else went to put out the fire, but they were the only ones who still guarded the room.
Zhang Zheng did not alert them, but went around to the back window, used a dagger to pry open the sash, and climbed in through the window. The moon is big and round tonight, and the moonlight pours in from the window, shining like mercury on several large boxes. Zhang Zheng counted and found that there were ten boxes in total. Each box was three feet long, two feet wide and two feet high.
The box was not locked. He gently opened a box lid and saw that the box was filled with gold ingots. They glowed yellow under the moonlight. He opened another box, which was full of jewelry with a warm color and as big as pigeon eggs.
After being sure, Zhang Zheng climbed out of the window, closed the sash gently, then walked to the courtyard wall and jumped out. When he returned to the woods, he found that the guard had returned. Zhang Zheng said excitedly: "I found the thing, let's go." The two led their horses out of the woods, got on the road, then got on their mounts and hurried back to Pizhou City.
Early the next morning, Zhang Zheng came to Li Zhiyun's room and told him what he had discovered yesterday. Li Zhiyun was very happy to hear this and said with a smile: "The big fish has surfaced, it's time for us to close the net." After a pause, he said again: "Zhang Zheng, please work harder, go to the military camp and tell Sang Xianhe , just said I wanted to see him."
"yes."
That afternoon, Sang Xianhe came to the King of Chu Inn. As soon as he entered Li Zhiyun's guest room, he clasped his fists and saluted. Li Zhiyun asked him to sit down, then sat down opposite him and said: "General Sang, although Pizhou is a remote state capital, the terrain is dangerous. The general's guarding Pizhou is a great trust of the imperial court. I hope the general will not let down the trust and expectations of the imperial court." "
"Don't worry, King Chu. General Wei will definitely fulfill his duties and serve the court and the emperor."
Li Zhiyun nodded and said: "General Sang, when I was in Hedong, I had contacts with your old commander Qu Tutong. He mentioned to me many times that you are a rare general."
"That's the old officer's false praise for the future general."
Li Zhiyun shook his head and said: "No, General Sang is too humble. You are indeed a fierce general. I remember when my father attacked Chang'an, Qu Tutong led tens of thousands of elite troops to leave Hedong City and headed for Guanzhong in order to rescue Chang'an. Unexpectedly, he was captured by Liu Wenjing at Tongguan. In order to capture Tongguan, Qu Tutong ordered General Sang to attack Liu Wenjing's camp at night. General Sang commanded it well, and you captured two of the three camps. The camp commanded by Liu Wenjing was also captured by you. After breaking through, thousands of rebels died in battle, and Liu Wenjing was also hit by stray arrows. Just when the rebels were about to be defeated, General Sang suddenly stopped the attack..."
Sang Xianhe continued: "After seeing that the soldiers were exhausted after a night of fierce fighting, he ordered the pots to be buried and cooked, and planned to wait until breakfast before launching the final attack on the rebels. At that time, the general's judgment of the situation was too optimistic. , thinking that the rebel army was gone. However, Liu Wenjing took advantage of this rare opportunity to breathe, secretly sent soldiers to sneak into the other two camps, killed the sentries, and recaptured the two camps. What is even more strange is that the number of soldiers in one of the rebel armies was A hundred rangers swam behind Wei Jiang at this moment and launched an attack on Wei Jiang. Liu Wenjing saw an opportunity and immediately launched a counterattack. Wei Jiang was attacked from both sides and his position was in chaos. In the end, the entire army was wiped out and she was left alone. Fleeed back to Guancheng. It was God's will! If the general had known that the Sui Dynasty would not escape the fate of overthrow, he should have surrendered to the rebels earlier."
Li Zhiyun smiled: "Qu Tutong saw General Sang returning from defeat and knew that there was no hope of rescuing Chang'an, so he left General Sang to guard Tongguan and led his army to Luoyang. But as soon as Qu Tutong left, General Sang sacrificed Tongguan. Surrendered to Liu Wenjing. General Sang’s move is commendable and congratulatory!”
"The King of Chu has given you too much praise."
Sang Xianhe did not expect that Li Zhiyun knew his past very well. The King of Chu in front of him, although he was young and looked like a child, he showed the air of a nobleman. His eyes are profound, and he has a maturity and sophistication that far exceeds those of his age, and should not be underestimated. Since he had a relationship with his old chief Qu Tutongduo, and heard that he was also a brother of Qu Tutong's son Qu Tushou, Sang Xianhe developed a desire to cling to him. As the saying goes, there are people in the court who are good at becoming officials. Although I have the support of the old chief, I have many friends and many paths. If I can climb up to the prince in front of me, my future career will definitely be much smoother. Thinking of this, Sang Xianhe said: "Your Majesty made great plans during the Battle of Hedong, and made extraordinary achievements many times. I admire you very much! Since your Majesty is close to the old officer Wei Jiang, Wei Jiang is your man. From now on, I am willing to listen to Your Majesty." Drive!”
Of course Li Zhiyun understood what Sang Xianhe meant. Unlike his second brother, he had no foundation in the Tang army except the new army. Among the entire Tang army, only Fan Botong could barely be counted among his men because of Fan Shuxiang's relationship. If Sang Xianhe can be brought under his command this time, if something unexpected happens in the future, he will have another trump card in his hand. Then, Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "I already know what General Sang wants. Don't worry, General Sang. I will speak kindly to the general in front of my father. I believe that with General Sang's bravery and talent, he will make great achievements on the battlefield in the future." , it is not difficult to open a mansion, build a government office, or split the earth to create a prince."
When Sang Xianhe heard this, he stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, as long as you have an errand, you will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"good."
After Sang Xianhe left, Li Zhiyun called Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu and said to them, "Let's go to the state government office and look for Zhao Changlin."
After the three people left Chu King's Inn, they came to Zhouya. After the Yamen went in to report, Governor Zhao greeted them and led them into the lobby. After the guests and hosts sat down, Li Zhiyun said: "Prince Zhao, I heard that you once served as the county magistrate in Yongshou County, right?"
"Back to my lord, I have been serving in Yongshou County for many years."
Li Zhiyun nodded and said: "Sun Fen is from Qingquan Village, Anping Township, Yongshou County. His father was killed by Sun Changwei, a member of the same clan. Sun Fen was only ten years old that year. He swore to avenge his father. One day a few years later, Sun Fen His uncle was having a banquet at home, and Sun Changwei was also present. Sun Fen hit Sun Changwei to death with a brick. As a result, he was caught by the government and sentenced to death. I heard that it was the active operation of Governor Zhao that cleared Sun Fen of the crime, right? ?" Zhao Changlin nodded and said: "What the prince heard was true. The subordinate was moved by Sun Fen's filial piety, so he wrote to the court to seek forgiveness for him and to keep him by his side. How could he know that Sun Fen Fen didn't know anything about the reward, so he actually colluded with bandits to seek wealth and death. It's really a waste of all the hard work of this official."
"Sun Fen is the one to blame. What does it have to do with Governor Zhao?"
"Sun Fen and Lu Sifang are both subordinates of the lower official. They committed such a serious crime. The lower official failed to detect their crimes in time and is responsible for the oversight. Please punish me."
"What Sun Fen and Lu Sifang did was an individual act. Please don't blame yourself, Governor Zhao." Li Zhiyun said, "However, according to my judgment, neither of them is the mastermind. According to what Governor Zhao sees, the mastermind behind this is Who is this person?"
