Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Not long after they camped at Mao's Village, Li Tai's envoy to Yong'an City caught up and brought a letter from Wang Qingde, the governor of Jianzhong County.

Li Tai opened the letter and glanced at it, a sneer suddenly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Wang Qingde's words in the letter were very rude. He first asked Li Tai why he didn't let the envoy send the order to the county government since he had received the order. Then he said that even if he was ordered to inspect Zheng Guo Canal, there was no reason to enter the county and station in Bailuyuan.

To sum it up, in one sentence, you are not welcome here, get out of here!

These two questions were fair and reasonable. The use of written orders was an important proof for the envoys to contact the local government. Without this proof, the local government could not receive them or even arrest them directly. The main stream of Zheng Guo Canal is a hundred miles away from Bailuyuan, so Li Tai would not be able to reach here no matter how wrong his trip was.

But is Li Tai, a newly wealthy man who has achieved success since he was a villain, here to reason?

After reading this letter, he was not ashamed of being unreasonable, but felt that Wang Qingde was a little ignorant. Can't this kind of thing just go away if you just be vague about it? Are you serious about it?

Xin Wei, the governor of Fangcheng, didn't even bother to check my mission letter. He even gave me a business deal after taking charge of the meal. I'm not here to eat or drink from you, why don't you stop by and stop? Your uncle is awesome for blocking He Liuhun until he loses his temper. I still have elders warming the bed for Queen Mother Feng!

He simply threw the letter aside and didn't take the other party's warning to leave the country within a time limit at all.

There were also loyal and honest ministers in the Western Wei Dynasty, but in such a situation, if the other party was so unpretentious, he either had a guilty conscience and was involved in the case, or he mistakenly thought that he was here to support Mao and was dissatisfied.

If he really is neither of the two, Wang Qingde is really a loyal and meticulous minister. At worst, he can just apologize afterwards. Why is he so mouthy?

Anyway, I won’t leave. Although I am shameless, you can’t help but give me face. The reprimand is so reasonable, how can I step down? If it is found that the crime occurred in Jianzhong County, I will not spare you!

Mao Shijian mobilized his tribe and friendly villagers to inspect the area around this area, and first targeted the casting of Buddhist statues that were easier to obtain. However, after two days in a row, no obvious clues were found. However, he did get back a few statues of Li Tai. A bronze Buddha statue intended to be used as a frame-up.

As for Jianzhong County, apart from that letter, there was no further action.

At least the county guard Wang Qingde did not dare to send troops directly to Bailuyuan to expel Li Tai and his party. Although there were rural soldiers stationed at Hongbinzha, they only had more than a thousand soldiers, and their numbers and combat effectiveness were not the match of Li Tai's troops.

Even though Wang Qingde was not angry, he could only endure it. He might have reported it to the Chang'an court and Huazhou Bafu, but at least he could not control Li Tai now. This can't help but make Li Tai feel the joy of being a domineering military leader. It's really too late for me to get rich!

It was not until the evening of the third day that things finally made a breakthrough.

A few days ago, a fellow Mao family member bought a low-priced sick horse at the Menghou Grassland Market in the west. The characteristics were somewhat in line with what Liu Min said about his horse. After Mao Shijian heard about this news, he immediately went to the house to buy the horse. The horse is led back.

"Yes, this, this is exactly my horse! Since it appears here, the missing person must not be far away!"

Liu Min carefully inspected the marks behind the ears and ankles of the sick horse, and suddenly said with an excited face that he had been restless for several days. Fortunately, the matter finally got a clue.

Mao Shijian pointed to the horse with dull coat and listless spirit and said: "This horse is not suffering from epidemic disease, but has been fed with poisonous herbs and poisonous weeds. It has diarrhea, dysentery, convulsions and restlessness, and it is difficult to walk. If it is not alleviated by a magical method, it will soon... You will soon suffer to death.”

After hearing this, Liu Min was heartbroken and gritted her teeth and said: "Yes, it must be a plot by a traitor in the army. He first poisoned the horse, making it difficult for me to move, and then rounded up and kidnapped him. No news came out. …”

Li Tai also agreed with Liu Min's guess. If hundreds of cavalry cannot control the strength of their mounts, it will be difficult to surround them in the countryside. Previously, when Ji Hu was chasing more than ten thousand troops, Li Tai was able to lead his men to the border of Xi'an Prefecture, which shows the importance of mobility.

Once it is determined that the horses were drugged and plotted, a new clue can be derived. There must be insiders in the rural regiment's armed forces or service forces in that team, and the number must not be small.

Horsepower is the most important thing during the trip, and grass and grain feed must be carefully prepared to avoid accidental eating in the wild. If this happens, there must be a problem with the feed and feeding links.

Before Li Tai and his party arrived, Mao Shijian's villagers went to the market to buy horses. According to his recollection, the people selling horses were not locals, but travelers from other places. Even if he thought about it again, he could not remember any useful information. The only thing that can be confirmed is that this group of people must have passed through Sanyuan.

With this solid clue, there is no need to look for the needle in the haystack. So Mao Shijian went with the villagers to check whether there were any similarly sick horses around the area, and even inspected the horse hides that had recently entered the market and the butchers who killed the horses.

Of course, tracing from the Xianyang Township Corps and the troops sent by the counties that accompanied the team is also a clue. After all, the discovery of Liu Min's sick horse can basically confirm that this is a crime of self-inflicted theft.

But in this case, they would inevitably have to go to Xianyang to inquire with the officials, but Li Tai and the others did not know how deeply the official figures there were involved, so it would be unwise to go there rashly, and they would also alert the snake.

On this day, Li Tai and others were still waiting for new news in the Bailuyuan camp. A Mao clan member who had followed Mao Shijian out to inquire for news hurriedly rushed into the camp: "Captain, it's not good! My Alang was killed by the county envoy People arrested..."

After hearing this, Li Tai frowned immediately. While ordering the soldiers in the camp to put on their armor and prepare for battle, he asked in a deep voice, "Did your investigation of crimes involve the county government?"

After hearing this, the Mao clan member shook his head and said: "The arrest of people in the county should have nothing to do with it. Today Alang went to Yong'an City to visit his old relatives. He happened to meet the county governor Yi Jia on the street and asked the governor how long he would be waiting. Leaving his hometown, Alang was arrested for angering him with his reply..."

When Li Tai heard this, his face suddenly darkened. Is his relationship still his fault?

"Before Alang was arrested, he sent this letter to me and delivered it to the Grand Governor. He said that he had made a latest discovery and could roughly know the whereabouts of the thief. He still kept his orders in the face of danger and begged the Grand Governor to rescue Alang..."

The Mao clan member handed over a letter and said with a pleading look on his face.

Li Tai took the letter and opened it. It recorded the latest clues that Mao Shijian had investigated. It specifically mentioned that a local tycoon named Lei from Yunyang County in the western border had recently appointed a domestic slave to sell a batch of sick horses at the Zuojin Grass Market. The symptoms are similar to those found before, but the sales are scattered and cannot be traced in detail.

This Lei is also the Bodhisattva Master of the Buddhist Cave of Hongfa Temple in Yunyang County. Recently, he went out with the monks and novices of Hongfa Temple to preach the Dharma, and was followed by several wealthy and powerful families in the country. The number of members once reached thousands, but his whereabouts are often shady. dark. And this Lei Mou had a son-in-law who served as the commander of the township regiment in Xianyang County, and there was another family in Ganquan County in the north of Xianyang who served as county captain.

When Li Tai pointed out the name of the commander of the army recorded in the letter to Liu Min, Liu Min's expression suddenly changed and he said in a deep voice: "This person is the leader of the Xianyang envoy! These local thieves , To be so daring, it’s really not a pity to die!”

Although what he said made sense, Li Tai always felt a little weird when he said it from Liu Min's mouth. It is true that the local tycoons are bold enough to die, but where do you Hedong tycoons have the position to say this?

You are disobedient in the territory, you dominate the salt pond and surrender to the Western Wei Dynasty. Gao Huan also wants to kill you alive. If you come out to fool around, you will pay back. Why can't you accept it?

If there are no accidents, the Hongfa Temple located in Yunyang County should be the real target of this trip. Of course, even if there is an accident, Li Tai can make it happen.

However, Li Tai was not sure whether Wang Qingde, the governor of Jianzhong County, who jumped out to stir up trouble, was just a coincidence and was simply retaliating against himself and attacking Mao, or was also involved in the matter and intended to obstruct and cover it up.

If it is the latter, it means that the other party is already alert and is afraid that he will jump over the wall. If it is the former, even if Li Tai goes to argue now, he will be wrong without actual evidence and can only fight.

Li Tai asked the Mao clan members carefully about the local situation and topography of Yunyang County, and decided to get down to business first.

Hongfa Temple is located in the Chentou Mountain in the north and is connected to Ziwu Ridge in the north. If these thieves were alerted and fled into the mountains, it would be difficult for his men and horses to pursue, intercept, and suppress them.

Moreover, there may be many local powerful people involved in this matter. If they are given enough time to incite a civil uprising, and Li Tai does not have conclusive evidence of the other party's crime, it will be really fun.

He briefly communicated his thoughts with Liu Min, and Liu Min nodded in agreement. Although it is not certain whether Wang Qingde is involved, the most important thing at the moment is to first grasp the facts of the crime of stolen goods.

"Go and tell Jianzhong County Governor that our department has entered the country to investigate the robbery of Taifu's property. We have obtained conclusive evidence and will suppress the bandits immediately. Please guard the environment strictly and don't let the thieves' feelings get corrupted. If you dare to hurt our family, Subordinates will pay with their blood when they return!"

Li Tailuo pondered for a moment and then ordered. He took out a Buddha statue that he had planned to frame as evidence of crime, and sent his officers to Jianzhong County.

Now that we have decided to attack immediately, there is no need to hide the matter anymore. It is impossible for everyone in the Jianzhong County Prefecture to join in the conspiracy. The topic should be made clear, and even if someone is involved, they will be ignored.

Wang Qingde, a member of a well-known family, had many family members involved in the pass. Even if he was involved in the worst case scenario, he would not dare to openly rebel in the county and harm Mao Shijian.

If this thing is done well, the credit will naturally be mine. If it is not done well, I will tell you. You local officials still make a mess. You are really mediocre officials and cowardly officials!

After explaining this, Li Tai ordered to break camp immediately and attack Hongfa Temple in the north.

There are no particularly powerful local tycoons in Yunyang Realm. To bring them together to work together, one must have a transcendent appeal. The big temple in this realm is the most likely hub. Of course, it will take a lot of effort. Even if the guess is wrong, according to Li Tai's practical experience, building a Buddhist temple is much more beneficial than building a powerful one.