Jiuxi

Chapter 139 Chapter 138 [Lighting a prairie fire]

There is a blue-grey building at the end of Huaiyuan Street in Nancheng, solemn and solemn, like a beast dormant in the dark night.

This is the general office of the Weaving Department, which is as famous as the Beiyan Inspectorate Office.

In the past ten years or so, as the emperor's eyes and ears, the influence of the Sutra Weaving Department cannot be said to be small, but it is also restricted in every way, especially the high-ranking officials in the court who keep their eyes open and stare at them. Will be impeached directly.

The emperor wanted to protect the authority of the Sutra Weaving Department, but could not unilaterally reject the advice of the courtiers, so he could only let Qin Zheng try his best to restrain his subordinates.In addition to being difficult to perform in Beijing, another area where the Warp Weaving Department is difficult to directly intervene is the military high-level.

In short, this special yamen that belongs directly to the emperor has a great reputation among the people. However, there will be more and more constraints as it goes up.

It wasn't until the early winter of the 12th year of Jianwu, when the Sutra Weaving Department used conclusive evidence to kill Xu Wen, the original commander of Weijundu, Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, that the situation began to change.

Many high-ranking officials were shocked to realize that the Sutra Weaving Department was not incapable of investigating the case, but had various scruples in the past. Once they were given a chance to exert force, this beast would show its sharp claws fiercely.

Although the outside world, especially the high-ranking officials in the court, are changing their views on the Weaving Department, the interior of this yamen is still as usual, and most people are busy with their duties. This shows that Qin Zheng is very powerful within the Weaving Department. of control.

This Master Jiji obviously knows very well that the more he emerges in such a prominent moment, the more careful he must be to avoid becoming the target of public criticism.

Enter from the main gate of the Sutra Weaving Department, go west through the nine-curved corridor, and then walk more than ten feet north to see a heavily guarded compound courtyard. This is the core area within the Sutra Weaving Department responsible for analyzing and archiving intelligence from various places. .

In the small courtyard to the east, a handsome young man with slightly unhealthy fair skin was sitting at the desk, tirelessly sorting out information among the vast files.

Several maids nearby looked at him with concern, but did not dare to disturb his thoughts by saying anything.

Since joining the Weaving Department two years ago, Yang Jingxuan has taken on very heavy responsibilities. From the beginning, he was mainly responsible for the information coordination of Huaizhou, Jiangbei. Later, he gradually intervened in more and more fields with his ability, and now he can almost Access to most information within the Warp Weaving Department.

Lifting Qin was his uncle, and this relationship was enough for him to have smooth access in the warp weaving department. However, he never thought of doing so. Instead, he worked hard with all his heart, quite like a desperate Saburo. As for Qin Zheng, he had to remind him to take a rest from time to time.

However, the Weaving Department has been too busy in the past six months. Secret reports are sent from the border every now and then, and there are also possible spies in the DPRK who need to be investigated. Especially the two cases of Xu Wen and Qu Fenghua, which involve countless information, I think It is not easy to sort out the complete context.

The room was very quiet, except for the sound of Yang Jingxuan turning the pages of the book.

In the bright and soft light, Yang Jingxuan's movements suddenly stopped. He stared at a file in front of him, and his eyebrows gradually furrowed.

"Get all Qu Fenghua's case files." He suddenly said, his tone was tired and slightly hoarse.

A maid with beautiful features responded: "Yes, Master."

After a while, she brought a large stack of files and carefully placed them on the corner of the big case.

Yang Jingxuan picked up a volume from it, turned to one of the pages and looked at it calmly.

It was originally determined that the traces of Xu Wen, the commander of the Wei Army, were exposed due to the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion. The Weaving Department followed this line of investigation in the past few months and did not gain much. However, Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, had already entered the weaving industry. Under the eyes of the secret agent, there were more than ten nails hidden in his house. After staring day and night, they found many extremely useful clues, but Qin Zheng did not disclose them to the public.

Yang Jingxuan looked at the code name "Jia Er" on the file and fell into deep thought for a long time.

Of course, the Weaving Department will not ignore the detailed work sent to the capital by the Beiyan Procuratorate. At first, they did not close the net on Qu Fenghua. They just wanted to investigate through this line. A big fish was indeed found half a year ago, but this person was extremely Being careful and careful, the secret agent of the Weaving Department tried his best to see him once, and then he ran away from him.

After Yang Jingxuan's analysis and Qin Zheng's confirmation, this big fish should be the senior official sent to Yongjia by the Beiyan Procuratorate, so he was codenamed "Jia Er".

About three or four months ago, Jia Er completely disappeared.

However, through the analysis of recent intelligence, Yang Jingxuan discovered that this person was very likely to have appeared a few days ago.

"Jingshui Tower..."

Yang Jingxuan murmured to himself, thinking of the peaceful situation in the court during this period and the previous disputes.

He checked various files for a while, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Xiuyue, please invite Zhou Zhouzhou to investigate."

The maid named Xiuyue nodded in agreement and walked out.

A moment later, Zhou Ben, who was nearly thirty years old, strode into the courtyard, cupped his hands and said, "Master, are you looking for me?"

Yang Jingxuan asked: "Where is Captain Lu Chen now?"

This time the emperor sent twelve border army generals to the capital, and the Sutra Weaving Department was responsible for secret protection. Therefore, whether it was Gu Waner, the oiran, who came to ask for shelter, or the conflict between Lu Chen in Fan Tower and Jingshui Tower, the emperor would know about it immediately.For the sake of external influence, the Sutra Weaving Department's protection of these military generals is very secretive. Usually, people just watch them outside their mansions and will not deliberately follow or monitor them.

Zhou Ben was responsible for Lu Chen's safety. His spies took turns guarding outside Lu's house. Every day, Lu Chen's whereabouts would be sent here in written form and handed over to Yang Jingxuan for archiving and preservation.

It had been like this for a while, but Yang Jingxuan had never called him over like today.Hearing Yang Jingxuan's question at this moment, although Zhou Ben was a little puzzled, he still replied clearly: "After the meeting of the imperial court, the Right Prime Minister once invited Captain Lu in public, but there were many people in the imperial court during this time. Serious business, so Captain Lu never made the trip. This morning, Lieutenant Lu took the initiative to go to Xue Xiang's residence. Calculating the time, he should be on his way back. Please rest assured, young master, it is calm in Beijing now and nothing will happen. Moth.”

He noticed that Yang Jingxuan's reaction was a bit strange, so he added one last sentence.

Yang Jingxuan was noncommittal and asked with a frown, "How many guards does Captain Lu have with him?"

Zhou Ben replied: "Three people."

"Is anyone following us?"

"According to the previous rules, there are two brothers following Captain Lu."

After Yang Jingxuan heard these words, he closed his eyes slightly and thought for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, his usually clear eyes were a little colder: "Zhou Chashi, please rush to Taikangfang with more good hands immediately. Find Lieutenant Lu and others to ensure that he can return to his residence safely. It would be best if no accident occurs. No matter where he goes from now on, the Weaving Department must equip more than six swordsmen to protect him secretly. "

Zhou Ben was slightly startled. In order to avoid criticism from the ministers of the DPRK and China, the Sutra Weaving Department has always been very careful in its actions, especially this kind of surveillance and tracking of civil and military officials. Although it is to protect the other party, it will also be done in a very low-key manner.

This is the rule set by Qin Zheng, and no one dares to violate it at will.

Zhou Ben knew about the relationship between Yang Jingxuan and Master Tiju, but Lu Chen only went to visit the right minister. If he led a group of spies and exposed his traces, he would definitely attract some criticism.

Yang Jingxuan stood up and said in a cold voice: "Zhou Cha, please don't delay this matter. I will bear all the responsibilities."

Zhou Ben didn't dare to hesitate when he saw this, he cupped his hands and said: "Yes!"

Yang Jingxuan said to the maid again: "Prepare the carriage, I want to go find Mr. Tiju."

The maids didn't know what he meant, but they also realized that something big might happen, so they quickly agreed.

……

In the afternoon, Yongjia City is filled with the peaceful atmosphere of time.

After Lu Chen and his party of four horses left Xue Xiang's residence, they rode slowly through the streets and alleys, from Taikangfang to Xiupingfang, where the Lu family's villa was located.

The three guards around him are all similar to Li Chengen. They have worked for the Lu family a long time ago. They followed Lu Chen to Beiyan Tieshan City and participated in the Guangling city defense battle and the subsequent Jiangbei war. They can be said to have lived and died together.

Lu Chen's performance in the past six months has already won the hearts of these guards, especially since he never expects others to sacrifice their lives and always takes the lead in every battle.For these guards who still retain the nature of Jianghu people, even if they don't talk about Lu Tong's kindness to them and the generous rewards given by the Lu family, Lu Chen's extremely obvious military qualities alone are worthy of their determination to follow.

Everyone entered an alley that was not too spacious. The bright sunshine in the afternoon brought a bit of warmth to the early winter. There were only a few people in the alley, and the interlacing of light and shadow added a sense of solemnity.

The guard named Tan Zheng on the right smiled and said: "Master, when will we return to Guangling?"

Lu Chen said: "It's almost time. After His Majesty summons us in a few days, we can set off and return. We will be back in Guangling around early December. We can spend the New Year with our families."

Everyone beamed with joy.

At this moment, a carriage drove up from the opposite side of the alley.

When he was still six or seven feet away from Lu Chen and others, the driver of the carriage suddenly tightened the reins, and the carriage immediately rolled sideways, blocking the alley that was not wide.

Pedestrians can naturally pass by from both ends, but Lu Chen cannot ride his horse to rush past.

Lu Chen turned around suddenly, and sure enough he found another carriage appearing behind them, blocking their retreat in the same way.

"Master, be careful!"

Tan Zheng and others looked solemn, reaching for the waist knife hanging next to the horse's belly.

I saw a man in his 30s coming out of the carriage in front of him. He was holding an iron rod in his right hand and his burly body was like a hill. He was walking towards Lu Chen expressionlessly.

At the same time, there was a man in his 20s in the carriage behind, and his weapon was a long knife.

Lu Chen frowned and drew his sword out of its sheath the next moment.

The two strange men in front and behind said nothing. They started running slowly and then sped up. In a moment, they were as fast as the wind, and the weapons in their hands glowed with an icy cold light.

Murderous aura suddenly filled the alley, like a prairie fire!

(End of this chapter)