Qin Xueyang took a few guards to take advantage of the night to come to the gate of the imperial city, at this moment the gate of the imperial city has already been closed, and no one is allowed to enter, but this person does not include some special people, Qin Xueyang is one of them.
Qin Xueyang shouted at the city gate to open the door, he had something to see the emperor at night, the royal forest army guarding the city gate hurriedly went to report, after a while, the royal forest army came to report, the emperor waited for Qin Xueyang in the Lin De Palace, and then opened the city gate.
Qin Xueyang entered the imperial city, entered the palace gate, and came all the way to the Linde Palace, she did not go to the palace alone, and brought an accompanying guard.
Chu Li didn't care either, and asked, "General Qin came to meet him late at night, did something big happen?"
” Qin Xueyang said: "It's a matter of confidentiality, please ask the emperor to retire from the idle people." ” Chu Lidang even let the chamberlain and the palace maid retreat, and said, "Now you can talk about it." ” Qin Xueyang didn't speak, but the guard behind her suddenly stepped forward a few steps and walked in front of Qin Xueyang, because he was wearing a hat to cover his face, he couldn't see his face.
But when Chu Li saw his walking, he was shocked, and hurriedly asked, "Are you ......
Zhen Jian?
” The guard slowly removed the hat and revealed Zhen Jian's smiling face: "Your Majesty, the minister is back." ” "It's really Zhen Jian!"
Chu Li rushed down the throne directly, stepped forward and grabbed Zhen Jian's arms, and said excitedly, "It's true, it's not a dream, you're back, it's good, it's great......"
Seeing that the emperor was so excited, Zhen Jian's heart was also warm, and Wen Yan comforted: "The emperor can rest assured, the minister is fine, you are worried......"
The two exchanged pleasantries for a long time, and Zhen Jian began to get down to business: "Your Majesty, the minister came to see you so late at night, firstly, because he missed you very much, and secondly, he also had something to say. ” Chu Li said: "If there is anything, just say it." ” Zhen Jiandao: "The minister may be going to kill [people]." ” Chu Li was stunned when he heard this, seemed to realize something, and asked, "I'm afraid it's not easy for the person you want to kill, otherwise you wouldn't have come to talk to me." ” Zhen Jian nodded: "It's not simple, there are a lot of people to kill this time, and they are very powerful." ” Chu Li's heart tightened, and he asked, "Who?"
” Zhen Jian lowered his voice and said slowly: "Five great families!
” Although Chu Li has few brains, he has been the emperor for several years, so he naturally knows how huge the power of the five major wang clans is, how wide the connections are, Zhen Jian wants to use a knife against them, it will cause an uproar, and it will involve a wide range of people, he doesn't understand why Zhen Jian suddenly wants to deal with the five wang clans, so he asked, "Why do you suddenly want to kill them?"
” Zhen Jiandao: "Your Majesty, in fact, the ministers have wanted to get them for a long time, but because the five major wang clans are deep-rooted, too widely connected, and the power is huge, and the five wang clans collude with each other, it is really difficult to move, but they embezzle land, do not pay official taxes, and also escape commercial taxes, colluding with officials in the DPRK and China, vainly trying to influence the government and politics, and the legacy is endless, and it must be eradicated." ” Chu Li fell into deep thought when he heard this, he thought for a long time, nodded his head seriously, and said: "Over the years, it is true that there have been many local officials impeaching the five major wang clans to spread to the capital, but most of them have been detained by various ministries, and I have heard of their embezzlement of land. ” Zhen Jiandao: "The five major families are just the leaders of the gate valve family, they hold the world's gate valve bull ear, embezzlement of land, seemingly inconspicuous, in fact, it is their biggest crime, although my Dachu has a vast land, but also can't help so many gate valve families so encroachment, from the founding of the country to the present, nearly half of our Dachu's fertile land has entered their pockets. ” "Nearly half?!"
Chu Li was shocked when he heard this, and he couldn't believe his ears.
"That's right."
Zhen Jian nodded and said, "The gate valve family is exempt from agricultural tax, and it is precisely because the fields have been embezzled by them, so our agricultural tax income in Dachu is not as good as year after year, fortunately, there are commercial taxes to support it all these years, otherwise the imperial court will wait to starve to death." ” Chu Li listened to Zhen Jian very carefully, and kept nodding his head, he actually didn't understand, they introduced advanced rice seeds, but for some reason, the annual increase in agricultural taxes was so low, it turned out that the problem was here.
Zhen Jian continued: "Agriculture is the foundation of the country, and when the farmers have lost their fields, the emperor can imagine what kind of scene it is. ” When Chu Li heard this, his face was resolute and said, "Okay, Zhen Jian, you just let it go, I will support you." ” "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhen Jiandao, "In fact, the minister still suspects that the minister was arrested by the gangsters and went to Chang'an this time, which may have something to do with the five major families." ” Chu Li was shocked when he heard this, "Really!?"
” Zhen Jiandao: "The minister is just guessing, the minister will go to the edict to see Hou Guanlan later, and maybe he can interrogate a little clue." ” Chu Li shook his head and sighed: "Hou Guanlan is already crazy, what can he judge." ” Zhen Jiandao: "The minister has to go to see it to know if he is really crazy or fake crazy." ” Qin Xueyang and Chu Li were stunned at the same time when they heard this, and Qin Xueyang asked, "You mean it's possible that he is pretending to be crazy?"
” "Very likely."
Zhen Jiandao, "His current situation, recruiting the mastermind behind the scenes is death, not recruiting is death, dilemma, what can he do, pretending to be crazy is the only way out, the mastermind behind the scenes knows that he is crazy, maybe he can spare his life." ” Qin Xueyang and Chu Li nodded at the same time when they heard this, and they both thought that what Zhen Jian said was quite reasonable.
Chu Li said: "Okay, you go and try it, see if this Hou Guanlan is really crazy or pretending to be crazy, he will definitely find out the mastermind behind the scenes, dare to harm you, I will not let it go!"
” "With the emperor's words, the ministers will be content."
Zhen Jiandao, "It's not too early, the minister is about to retire, and the emperor still has a lot of government affairs to deal with tomorrow, so let's go and rest as soon as possible." ” "Hmm."
Chu Li said, "You judge Hou Guanlan well, don't let him pass the test in confusion." ” "Definitely."
Zhen Jiandao, "Your Majesty, don't let others know about the news of the minister's return, the minister will be caught off guard by the five clans." ” "Well, I know, you can get busy."
"The minister retired."
Zhen Jian and Qin Xueyang withdrew from the Linde Palace, followed the people of the Guide Palace to the outside of the palace, and when they left the palace, Qin Xueyang said: "You were suddenly arrested and taken to Chang'an this time, and you really made the emperor anxious." ” "I know."
Zhen Jian said in an emotional tone, "The emperor is very affectionate and sexual, and he attaches great importance to affection, which is quite similar to his father. ” "Not at all."
Qin Xueyang snorted coldly, "If the old emperor was affectionate, he wouldn't want to kill you, if he was affectionate, he wouldn't be so unkind to my father, my ancestors were loyal for three generations, and what happened in the end." ” Zhen Jian knew that she remembered the sad thing again, so he deliberately diverted the topic and said: "Don't talk about this, you can now give me a detailed description of Hou Guanlan's crazy symptoms, what kind of words and deeds he usually has, and the assassin who was about to poison and assassinate Hou Guanlan, how he took poison, haven't you already caught him......"
Qin Xueyang told Zhen Jian in detail.
The two walked and chatted, and then came to the Imperial Prison, with Qin Xueyang leading the way, they naturally entered the Imperial Prison smoothly.
In the dim edict prison, Qin Xueyang walked in front and Zhen Jian walked behind, because Zhen Jian was wearing guard clothes, everyone thought that Qin Xueyang was just doing a routine inspection, and no one noticed Zhen Jian at all.
Walking to the rest hall of the Imperial Prison, I saw five jailers sitting at the table resting, with a thin rope tied to the legs of the table, and several ducks tied to the other end of the rope, Zhen Jian knew that these ducks were used to taste food, and when encountering the kind of prisoner who needed to keep his mouth alive, he must ensure his life safety, in addition to testing the poison with a silver needle, the food must be fed to these ducks first, and there is no abnormality in the time when the ducks finish eating a stick of incense, so they can be taken to important prisoners to eat.
Seeing Qin Xueyang's arrival, several jailers got up and saluted: "Meet General Qin!"
” "No need to be polite."
Qin Xueyang waved his hand and asked, "How is Hou Guanlan's condition?"
” "Back to the general, it's still the same."
The cell boss said, "Crazy and crazy, either sleeping or talking to himself, as soon as others talk to him, he is so frightened that he hides in the corner, like a ghost." ” "yes, got it."
Qin Xueyang nodded, "I'll take a look."
With that, he took Zhen Jian and walked inside.
The edict prison was not big, because there were not many prisoners who were qualified to be imprisoned in the edict prison, and they soon came to Hou Guanlan's cell, only to see that the cells were all made of fine iron, which was extremely strong, and lived up to the name of the edict.
Inside the cell, Hou Guanlan sat shirtless on the hay, muttering to himself in a low voice, his unkempt hair completely covering his face.
Qin Xueyang leaned into Zhen Jian's ear and whispered: "After he went crazy, he tore all the prison clothes on his body and changed them for three, but it was useless. ” Zhen Jian nodded, pointed to the lock of the iron door, and motioned for her to open the door.
Free novels bring you joy and joy ---> storyskyline.net
Qin Xueyang took out the key and unlocked it.
The sound of unlocking alarmed Hou Guanlan, Hou Guanlan turned his head suddenly, saw Qin Xueyang opening the door, screamed "ahh Qin Xueyang opened the door and walked into the cell, Zhen Jian also followed, only to see that the cell with a poor environment was tossed into a mess, and the hay was thrown everywhere, and Zhen Jianzhi frowned.
Qin Xueyang explained: "It's late autumn now, the edict is cold, he refuses to cover the quilt, and refuses to wear clothes, we are afraid that he will freeze, so we can only add a lot of hay to him, who knows that he will be tossed everywhere." ” Zhen Jian nodded, looked around, and paced slowly, he didn't seem to have much interest in Hou Guanlan, and he was even more interested in this cell.
Zhen Jian is a smart person, he knows that the living habits of a madman and a normal person are absolutely different, and he wants to judge whether Hou Guanlan is really crazy or pretending to be crazy through the environment in Hou Guanlan's prison.
After looking at it for a long time, Zhen Jiancai fell on Hou Guanlan, only to see Hou Guanlan curled up in the messy hay, shivering, and a low moan similar to the horror of a beast came out of his throat.
Zhen Jian walked in front of Hou Guanlan, slowly squatted down, and carefully observed through the hay, and sure enough, he found that Hou Guanlan's appearance was exactly the same as that of Qingguo Gong.
"Do you know who I am?"
Zhen Jian asked softly.
Hou Guanlan just kept moaning after the puppy was frightened, and did not answer, trembling like chaff.
Zhen Jian said again: "You should still know me, you arrested me and sent me to Chang'an, but I didn't expect that I would come back again." ” "Collusion with Tie Le, but it's a great crime ......of treason," Zhen Jian said slowly, staring at Hou Guanlan with his eyes.
After talking for a while, Zhen Jian got up and walked around the cell again, stomping his feet from time to time, and sometimes looking at the cell next to him.
After a long time, Zhen Jian suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, showed a sly smile, walked up to Hou Guanlan, and said coldly: "Don't pretend, I know you're not crazy, say it, as long as you want to tell the mastermind behind the scenes, I will protect your life, and give you a mansion, using a mansion as a prison cell, it's better than being locked up here." ” Hou Guanlan didn't react, still making strange noises.
"If you don't see the coffin, you don't cry, right?"
Zhen Jian smiled coldly, turned his head to Qin Xueyang, and said slowly, "Find a few people." ” Qin Xueyang immediately shouted: "Someone!
” Immediately, three jailers came and saluted outside the cell: "What does General Qin command!"
” Qin Xueyang looked at Zhen Jian, and Zhen Jian said: "Order someone to take away all the hay in the cell, and leave not a single one." ” Qin Xueyang immediately ordered: "Come in and take all the hay from the cell!"
” "Yes!"
The three jailers came in and put the hay into piles, and then took them away, going back and forth several times before they took all the hay in the cell, and without the hay to cover it, Hou Guanlan was still curled up in the corner, looking so pitiful and helpless.
Qin Xueyang looked at Zhen Jian with a puzzled expression, not knowing what Zhen Jian wanted to do.
Zhen Jian stomped his foot hard, leaving a shallow footprint on the ground, then turned his head to look at Qin Xueyang and said, "Do you feel the unusualness of this ground?"
” Qin Xueyang also stomped her feet, maybe she didn't stomp too hard, the footprints were so shallow that she could barely see them, and she was still at a loss.
Zhen Jiandao: "The soil on this ground is newly paved, you look at the empty cell next door, the color of the soil on the ground is obviously different from this cell, and the ground of this cell is more than an inch higher than the cell next door." ” Qin Xueyang listened carefully when she heard this, and found that what Zhen Jian said was true, but she hadn't found these details before.
Zhen Jian sneered and said, "In the cell, where did you get so much soil. ” Qin Xueyang shook his head blankly.
Zhen Jiandao: "If you dig a tunnel in the cell, the excavated soil cannot be placed, and it is not easy to be found if it is spread in the cell in this way." ” Qin Xueyang was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly looked around, this cell had a clear view, and he didn't find any tunnels.
Zhen Jian picked up an overturned chair, sat down slowly, and continued: "Hou Guanlan has been imprisoned for decades, and he has already developed a deep and forbearant character, such a person is very tenacious, and he will never go crazy because he has been in prison for several months and suffered an assassination, he pretends to be crazy and stupid, just to paralyze you, in fact, he is secretly already digging a dark road, and if he wants to escape from prison, the digging of the dark road will naturally dig out the earth, so he spreads it evenly in the cell, and steps on every inch with his feet, a little bit every day, a thin layer, And he also covered the ground with hay in order to hide the changes in the ground. ” As he spoke, his eyes stared at Hou Guanlan, and he clearly felt that Hou Guanlan's breath had become short.
Qin Xueyang felt that all this was really incredible, even if she wanted to break her head, she couldn't think of this, she hurriedly asked: "Where is the secret passage, this cell is so big, you can see it clearly at a glance." ” Zhen Jian looked at Hou Guanlan with a smile and said, "Why do you think he shrinks into the corner every time he sees someone coming?"
” When Qin Xueyang heard this, he suddenly realized: "He used his body to block that secret passage!"
”