Nightwatcher

"Stinky man, does your child have a brain problem?"

Susu trotted into the study, and the feeling of thorns on her back disappeared. It was so strange that she was stared at by a five or six-year-old child, making her whole body uncomfortable.

"You are the only one who is sick, and your whole family is sick. Oh, forget that your family is long gone."

Xu Qi'an replied mercilessly, he had already forgotten his aunt's joke at the time, thinking that Susu was burying Xiao Douding.

"squeak"

Xu Qi'an closed the door of the study room, and wanted to pour a cup of tea for Li Miaozhen, but considering that there might be an autopsy, it was not the time to drink tea, so he didn't serve tea to the guests.

Li Miaozhen didn't talk nonsense, took out the book fragments from the floor, shook it lightly, a black shadow fell, and fell to the floor of the study with a "slap".

Xu Qi'an, who had keen senses, smelled a strong smell of blood.

He stared at the headless corpse for a moment, and asked, "Where's his soul?"

Just a headless corpse can't explain anything. Since Li Miaozhen said it was a big deal, he must have summoned the soul by means of Taoism.

Li Miaozhen patted the sachet, and a wisp of green smoke curled up Nana, turning into a middle-aged man with dull eyes and blurred face in mid-air, muttering: "Three thousand miles of blood slaughter, three thousand miles of blood slaughter, please send troops to crusade!" "

The Saintess of Tianzong's face was heavy, "His soul is damaged. If you want to know the follow-up content, you can only nourish the soul. According to the degree of incompleteness of the soul, it will take at least two months."

Xu Qi'an glanced at her, and said "heh", "After two months, the day lily will be cold."

Li Miaozhen stared: "Then what do you say?"

She really didn't know what to do, there was only such a clue, with no beginning and no end, how could she find out the truth?

Susu's beautiful black and white eyes stared intently, she knew that with Xu Qi'an's ability to solve the case, she would definitely not be as confused as the master.

Susu was looking forward to and curious about this, and wanted to know from what angle he would analyze it.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a while, leaned over to remove the clothes on the corpse, and after inspecting it, said: "No accident, he should be from the north."

Li Miaozhen's eyes lit up instantly, and she asked, "What is the basis?"

She watched the whole process of the shameless No. 3 examining the corpse, but she didn't come to the same conclusion as him.

"One side of the earth raises the other side of the people. From the appearance and skin, we can tell who the deceased is. Without a head, the face of the ghost is too blurry. Therefore, if you want to determine where this headless corpse is from, you have to verify it from the details of the body."

Xu Qi'an raised the right hand of the corpse, and said: "Look, besides the calluses on the palm, this man also has a thick layer of calluses on his index finger, which neither a knife nor a sword will produce such calluses."

Susu and Li Miaozhen took a closer look, and it was indeed so.

The stunning female ghost blinked her beautiful eyes, and said coquettishly, "What kind of weapon is that being used, don't be fooled."

Li Miaozhen looked stunned: "It's a bow."

As expected of the female general who was waiting in the barracks, Xu Qi'an nodded quickly: "That's right, this person is good at shooting."

Susu tilted her head, and retorted: "How can you explain that he is from the north? I think you are making nonsense. There are many people who are good at shooting, so they can't be in the army?"

Li Miaozhen nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Miss Susu is right. For example, there is a shooter beside you who is not from the army."

Xu Qi'an winked, kept moving his hands, separated the legs of the headless corpse, and said:

"Look carefully, there are no calluses on his thighs. If he is a soldier who rides horses for a long time, he will definitely have calluses on his thighs. He is not in the army, and he is good at shooting. This is in line with the characteristics of northerners. Dafeng from all over the country People from the Jianghu are not good at using bows."

Northerners are good at bows and arrows, even ordinary adult men can draw bows. According to Xu Qi'an's understanding, people from the Jianghu in the northern states usually go out with knives and bows.

Sometimes, even without the knife, daggers and short blades were used instead, but not without the bow.

At this time, Susu came up with another rebuttal, saying: "Or, it's the archers."

Xu Qi'an sneered: "Who will send archers to deliver the message? If I guess correctly, this person is probably a person from the Jianghu in the north. As for what exactly he wants to convey, who appointed him, and whose poisonous hand he suffered, I will I don't know."

Li Miaozhen let out a breath of turbid air silently, and said gratifiedly: "Then I will leave his affairs to you to deal with. As Yin Gong, the watchman, he should deal with these matters."

Susu also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that although this stinky man is lecherous and annoying, he is really capable.

After some analysis was well-founded, she was still very convinced.

I and my master were at a loss, and didn't know how to look down, but after handing it over to this man, there was a clue immediately.

Although Susu often complains that Li Miaozhen is nosy, and even though she likes to absorb the energy of men, she knows that she is a kind female ghost.

If the matter of the headless corpse cannot be handled properly, both she and Li Miaozhen will have a psychological burden.

Therefore, this highlights that Xu Qi'an's goodness can bring such a sense of security.

After arranging a guest room for Li Miaozhen and Susu, and ordering the cook to prepare some snacks, Xu Qi'an returned to the study, put the body in the fragments of the book, asked for the remnant soul, and rode a young mare to the Yamen.

"I remember Wei Gong said that there were frequent wars in the north, and Da Feng was defeated one after another. The civil officials wrote to impeach King Zhenbei, but Emperor Yuan Jing forcibly dumped the blame on Wei Yuan, and took off his title of Zuodu Censor.

"Three thousand miles of blood slaughter, I can't imagine it. Why haven't I heard of such a big event before? The matter is of great importance, and Wei Gong must be reported in time."

The little mare ran wildly to the Yamen, Xu Qi'an handed the reins to the guards at the gate, and hurried to the Haoqi Building.

"Xu Yinluo, Mr. Wei has just ordered the carriage to be prepared for entering the palace." The guard downstairs replied.

To enter the palace is to argue with Emperor Yuan Jing and the civil officials, wasting time Xu Qi'an said with a straight face: "Don't talk too much nonsense, go in and pass it on."

"Yes" the guard ran into the building knowingly.

After receiving the guard's affirmative reply, Xu Qi'an pressed the knife with one hand, climbed up the steps, and saw Wei Yuan sitting behind the table, looking at him gently and calmly with eyes that had been washed away by the vicissitudes of time.

He was still wearing a green robe, but it was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, and on his chest was a blue dragon.

This is the court dress that Wei Yuan wore when he went to court, or when he entered the palace to meet the saint.

"You only have time for a cup of tea, so talk quickly." Wei Yuan spoke to his confidant, his tone not very polite.

"Since Wei Gong is in such a hurry, I'll make a long story short." Xu Qi'an didn't have a good heart, so he took out the jade fragments and shook them lightly.

Pata's headless body fell into the clean and tidy tea room, polluting the clean floor.

Wei Yuan was a little startled, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "What's going on."

"Li Miaozhen arrived in the capital today and is currently staying at my residence." Xu Qi'an said.

"Um!"

Wei Yuan nodded, not concerned about it, staring at the headless corpse, and said indifferently: "But what does it have to do with this corpse?"

Xu Qi'an grinned: "It's a big deal, she found this corpse eighty miles away from the capital, and it was beheaded with a single knife, so it's a snap.

"As for Li Miaozhen, he is nosy, so he summoned the remnants of the dead to ask about the situation. Who knows?"

He deliberately paused, trying to show off, but when he saw Wei Yuan's face was not very good-looking, he suddenly felt afraid that his next month's salary would be deducted for going out with his left foot first, so he said immediately:

"The soul said something, um, Wei Gong, you can see for yourself."

He took off the sachet given by Li Miaozhen, untied the red string, a puff of green smoke floated out, and turned into a man with blurred face and dull eyes in midair, muttering and repeating:

"Blood slaughter for three thousand miles, blood slaughter for three thousand miles, please send troops to crusade"

Wei Yuan's pupils shrank suddenly, and he stared at the remnant soul, his eyes were extremely sharp.

He was silent for a few seconds, and said, "Do you have any clues?"

This is not an interrogative sentence, but an affirmative sentence. It seemed certain that Xu Qi'an must have discovered something.

Sure enough, the little silver gong he admired never disappointed him. Xu Qi'an reported: "The humble official preliminarily concluded that he was from the north, and he was killed on the way to Beijing to report the letter."

He explained his conjecture in detail.

"There has been no war in Dafeng recently. Except for the north, Duke Wei, the situation in the north may be worse than we imagined. But the court has not received the corresponding pond report?"

"No."

Wei Yuan shook his head, frowning slightly: "Do you suspect that King Zhenbei lied about the military situation?"

Xu Qi'an glanced at Wei Yuan, "It's not surprising, what's strange about the humble job is, if King Zhenbei lied about the military situation, why didn't the yamen receive the information?"

How can there be no news about such a major event as the massacre of blood for three thousand miles?

"At the beginning of the year, I dispatched most of the Anzi to the Northeast, and very few stayed in the North, so the news will inevitably be blocked." Wei Yuan said helplessly.

Has Anzi been dispatched to the northeast? What did Duke Wei want to do? To fight the Witch God Cult? Xu Qi'an suddenly understood, and stopped asking, "Then Wei Gong thinks, how to deal with this matter?"

Wei Yuan glanced at the water leak placed in the corner of the room, and said, "I'll go first to face the saint in the palace, and I'll take away the corpse and soul. You don't have to pay attention to this matter."

After Xu Qi'an nodded, he said again: "Since Li Miaozhen has come to the capital, the covenant between heaven and man will end soon, and the law and order in the capital will be much better.

"During this period of time, I don't know how many spies have sneaked in to inquire about intelligence. Fortunately, there are prisons watching, and there is nothing wrong with it.

"Let Li Miaozhen pay more attention. During this critical time, don't go out of the city casually, don't cause trouble, and be on guard against possible dangers."

"Possibly dangerous?" Xu Qi'an asked back.

Wei Yuan glanced at Shui Leak again, and said very quickly: "I will only tell you the dangers she may encounter: one, the danger comes from the imperial court; two, the danger comes from spies from other countries. You can think of the reason yourself, I have to get it Entering the palace."

He snatched the sachet from Xu Qi'an's hand, quickly left the tea room, and told the officials as he walked: "Take the corpse and enter the palace with me."

Royal study.

In addition to Emperor Yuan Jing, the first assistant Wang Zhenwen, the Minister of the Household Department, other three-rank officials, Duke Xungui and Duge Shizhong, a total of sixteen people gathered.

The pale Chu Xianglong stood among the ministers, bowed his head slightly, and remained silent.

He had taken the pills given by the warlock Si Tianjian, and he was able to get out of bed and walk soon, but the internal injury with all the meridians was broken, and he could not recover in a short time. However, as long as you are unlucky and use force, and take good care of yourself, you will be able to recover in a month or so.

Emperor Yuan Jing frowned and said, "Wei Yuan hasn't come yet, so there's no need to wait!"

Then, he glanced at the princes and said: "The king of Zhenbei asked the court for 300,000 taels of military pay, 250,000 shi of grain, fodder, and fodder. What do you love?"

Hubu Shangshu was the first to jump out to object, saying: "In the 36th year of Yuanjing, there was a flood in Jiangzhou; a severe drought in Jingzhou; there was a plague of locusts in the prefecture, and the imperial court allocated food for disaster relief several times.

"The two large granaries in Yuzhou and Zhangzhou don't have much left, so we can't get them together."

Emperor Yuan Jing mused, "It's deployed from various states."

Hubu Shangshu replied: "Even if there is water transportation, it takes time and effort to collect grain and grass from various states. People eat horses and chews. When it is transported to the border of Chuzhou, there may not be half of it left. This is not a good strategy."

Just as he was talking, the eunuch stopped at the door of the imperial study.

Emperor Yuan Jing raised his hand, interrupted the Minister of the Household Department, and looked at the eunuch at the door: "What is it?"

"Duke Wei is here," said the eunuch.

Emperor Yuan Jing couldn't express his anger or anger: "Let him in."

The eunuch retreated, and ten seconds later, Wei Yuan stepped into the imperial study, standing in his own place as usual, without making a single sound.

Emperor Yuan Jing said in displeasure: "This is not acceptable, and that is not acceptable. Will the ministers only refute me?"

Zuodu Censor Yuan Xiong's heart moved, he seized the opportunity, stepped out, and said: "I have a plan."

Emperor Yuan Jing nodded: "Yuan Aiqing, please tell me."

Yuan Xiong said: "The imperial court can temporarily add a corvee service called grain transport service. Order the common people to be responsible for transporting grain and grass."

Emperor Yuan Jing's eyes brightened slightly, this was indeed a quick strategy.

The so-called corvee is the labor activity that the imperial court recruits people from all walks of life to do without compensation. If the common people are responsible for escorting food and grass, and the officers and soldiers supervise it, then the imperial court only needs to bear the food for the officers and soldiers, and the common people's rations will be solved by themselves.

In this way, it can not only ensure that the grain and grass will not be consumed when it is transported to the border, but also save a lot of food transportation costs.

"This is a good strategy!" Emperor Yuan Jing laughed.

Yuan Xiong heaved a sigh of relief, as long as His Majesty adopts his strategy, the dragon's heart will be happy, then the sequelae in the imperial examination fraud case will be minimized.

After the palace examination, once Xu Xinian gets good grades, it is conceivable that there will be a counterattack by Dongge University scholar Zhao Tingfang, and Wei Yuan will be thrown into trouble.

His position as the censor of Zuodu has not yet been secured, and he might be pushed down and have to save himself.

Wang Shoufu stepped out, bowed and said: "This plan will bring disaster to the country and the people, Yuan Xiong should be punished!

"Your Majesty, it's time for spring plowing, and when the people are busy farming, no more corvees should be added. Since ancient times, food has been the most important thing for people, and nothing should disturb the people during spring plowing.

"In addition, there were many natural disasters last year, and the people did not have much food left. This plan is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire and forcing people to die."

Zuodu Censor Yuan Xiong frowned, and was about to refute, when he heard Chu Xianglong sneer and said: "The king's chief minister loves the people like a son, and the general admires it. However, the people in all parts of Chuzhou are not the people of Dafeng.

"Does Wang Shoufu turn a blind eye to their life and death?"

Wang Shoufu said indifferently: "The imperial court stationed 86,000 households in the north, and each household was given six acres of farmland, and the military farmland reached 5,000 hectares. Every year."

"There has been no war at the border for a long time, and the weather in Chuzhou has been smooth over the years. Even if there is no grain and grass collection, according to Chuzhou's grain reserves, it can last for several months. Why is there suddenly a shortage of money and food.

"I'm afraid that those military fields have been occupied by some people."

Chuzhou is the northernmost state of Dafeng, adjacent to the territory of the northern barbarians.

Relying on the support of the prince, Chu Xianglong was not afraid, and snorted coldly: "Scholars have not fought in wars, have you ever led soldiers? You enjoy it in the capital, but you don't know how hard it is for the soldiers at the border.

"Your Majesty, the barbarians are attacking fiercely this time. There have been several battles as early as the end of last year. The prince is brave and invincible, and has won many battles. If there is a shortage of food and grass, the logistics cannot be replenished, and the battle is delayed, the consequences will be disastrous."

Emperor Yuan Jing nodded: "Duke Huai is brave, I naturally know. How is the war in the north now?"

Chu Xianglong clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty uses his troops like a god and is unparalleled in bravery. After those barbarians suffered several defeats, they dare not confront our army head-on.

"We can only rely on the quickness of the cavalry to plunder everywhere. Although our army has the advantage, it is exhausted. Please distribute the military pay and food, so that the soldiers know that the court has not forgotten their contributions."

Wang Shoufu frowned.

Since the end of last year, after accusing Zhenbei Wang of defending the city for impeachment, the Tang newspaper sent from the north did say that Zhenbei King had won many battles and the barbarian aggression against the border had been contained.

Cao Guogong immediately said: "The king of Zhenbei has worked so hard, and we can't hold him back. Your Majesty, food transportation is the best way to achieve the best of both worlds. Moreover, if the military salary cannot be paid, it may cause mutiny in the army, and the small will lose the big."

"Even if there is something inappropriate, it should be reckoned in the autumn. Food and military pay should not be withheld in this matter."

Several nobles agreed.

On the battlefield, they are experts and have more say than civilian officials.

Wang Shoufu said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this matter has to be discussed in a long-term manner."

Emperor Yuan Jing ignored him, and said, "What do you Ai Qing think?"

Seeing this, the princes let go of their mouths one after another, and said back: "I will fully support King Zhenbei."

His Majesty's tendency is obvious, and it's useless for them to talk too much.

Several backbones of the royal party quietly gave Wang Shoufu winks, telling him to say that the trust of His Majesty in King Zhenbei is obvious to all in the court.

Otherwise, King Zhenbei would not have been given the sword of Zhenguo back then.

Emperor Yuan Jing looked at Wei Yuan: "Wei Aiqing, you are a master of military law, what do you think?"

Wang Shoufu immediately looked at Wei Yuan.

PS: After checking the information, the update is late.