Chapter 50 The truth comes to light

Chapter 50 The truth comes to light

Chapter 50 The truth comes to light
With his father's help, Lu Yunyi no longer felt as heavy-hearted as when he came here.
When he left, he felt refreshed and joked with Qiuhe, which made the beautiful woman laugh sweetly and look affectionate.

In the snow and wind, with the sound of horse hooves, Lu Yunyi returned to the military camp without any hindrance.

When he entered the military tent, Liu Heiying and Guo Quan were already waiting there.

Seeing him coming, the two of them stood up quickly.

Guo Quan, who used to have a frivolous look, now looked solemn, with a hint of respect for his superior in his expression.

What he usually hears and sees in the capital are all dukes and marquises, or powerful officials in the court.
A small commander would not be treated like this.

But Guo Quan followed Lu Yunyi to the grassland.
Having experienced many battles, he still had some respect for this young Shangguan.

The battle formations that Lu Yunyi demonstrated were no worse than what he had learned at home.
What impressed him even more was that such military tactics and battle formations were taught to others so unscrupulously, and they were easy to understand.

Count him great.

"Sir." Guo Quan spoke quickly with a respectful look on his face.

Lu Yunyi was slightly surprised and looked him up and down as if he had seen a ghost.

But now he no longer had the heavy stone in his heart, his thoughts became more flexible, and he soon figured it out.

Although these noble sons act recklessly,
But he has always been able to judge the situation and is much easier to get along with than these young and foolish people.

"Did you find out anything?" Lu Yunyi nodded slightly and sat back at the desk, asking while sorting out the roster.

Guo Quan calmed down and said quickly:
"Your Excellency, I have just checked the accounts at the government office and plan to arrest Niu Sanyi and torture him severely tomorrow."

"Arresting someone so soon? On what charge? Be careful not to alert the enemy."

Lu Yunyi was a little surprised. Guo Quan's actions were too simple and direct.
But he also had to admit that this was the fastest way.

A hint of cruelty flashed in Guo Quan's eyes:
"He left the camp without permission in broad daylight and led his soldiers to molest women in the city.
Of course, I only arrested him on this pretext, and once he is in jail, I will torture him severely and force him to reveal the secrets of grain transportation."

Lu Yunyi raised his eyebrows slightly, and smiled: "Oh? You also think the trick is in the exchange of food and grass?"

Guo Quan blinked and smiled:
"I dare not lie to you, sir. I asked Lord Changxing about this matter. He believed that the only things that could be manipulated in this frontier area were food and military equipment."

Lu Yunyi opened and closed his mouth slightly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Liu Heiying, who was standing quietly on one side, stared at Lu Yunyi for a long time.
His eyes were filled with shock, and he muttered silently in his heart:
"What happened? How come Brother Yuner has become like this after only half an hour of not seeing him?"

From being tense and stiff just now to being calm and composed now,

As Liu Heiying had been his playmate since childhood, he could naturally feel it.

As for the cause of this incident, he could guess a little.

"Let's not dwell on this matter anymore. Let's go meet Ding Xianzhi first."

Lu Yunyi stood up and walked straight out of the military tent, and the two of them hurriedly followed him.

The night was as dark as ink, and the prison in the military camp was shrouded in a layer of hazy moonlight, making it look particularly gloomy.

The towering stone walls were mottled with traces of time. A few tenacious weeds stubbornly poked their heads out at the corners, but they also looked listless.

The prison door was rusty and creaked heavily, as if every time it was opened it was telling of the heaviness of the past.

The cage inside the military tent was filled with the sound of hurried and heavy footsteps.

Three figures entered one after another, dispelling the gloomy dampness and the faint smell of mold in the air.

In a corner of the cell, a figure sat quietly.

The man was wearing a military uniform. Although it had lost its former splendor, one could still see a hint of majesty in him.

His face was resolute, and his brows revealed a calmness.
At this moment, he was looking at the dark corner with a smile on his face, waiting for the owner of the footsteps to arrive.

Soon, three figures appeared at the door of the cell.
After Ding Xianzhi looked at them, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes and he slowly shook his head, then lowered his head again.

This scene happened to be seen by Lu Yunyi who was at the front. He frowned slightly and looked back and forth at his former superior.

Ding Xianzhi, the commander of Qingzhou, has always lived in seclusion.
Lu Yunyi had been in the Houqian Household Office for several years, and he had only met him two or three times.

He would only inspect the camps of each thousand households during festivals.

This also earned him the stigma of dereliction of duty.

Without waiting for Lu Yunyi to speak, Guo Quan stepped forward and patted the cell door, saying with a half-smile:

"Master Ding, I'm here to see you again. Have you made up your mind? Is there anything you want to say?"

Ding Xianzhi's face was calm. He sneered and looked up at the three people present, with sarcasm in his words:

"You are just a deputy officer, a captain, and a small soldier, and you want to investigate me? Where is the investigation document from the Governor's Office?"

Guo Quan was so angry that he kicked the cell door, and a banging sound was heard immediately.

“Don’t talk nonsense, you are already locked up in a cell, why are you still talking nonsense?
Just tell me what you are asked, it will do you good."

Ding Xianzhi's eyes swept back and forth between them, he slowly shook his head and stopped talking.

Seeing this, Lu Yunyi waved his hand gently to suppress the deceitful Guo Quan.

Guo Quan stepped back, and Lu Yunyi said in a deep voice:
"Sir Ding, I am Lu Yunyi, the deputy commander of the front army. I have been ordered to investigate the case. I hope you will cooperate with me, Sir Ding."

"Hmph, you thief, how dare you speak nonsense? What crime have I committed?"

Lu Yunyi ignored Ding Xianzhi's defense, but took out a booklet from his arms and flipped through it quietly, saying aloud:

“Whether Lord Ding says it or not, the facts are all here, it’s just a matter of spending a little more effort.

If Lord Ding tells the truth, he can be spared some physical pain.

I wonder what the relationship is between Lord Ding and the former prefect Sha Shoufu?
In the 20th year of Hongwu, Sha Shoufu was dismissed from his post for failing to supervise grain supply during the expedition against Nahachu.

Although the reason is not specifically recorded, it must be related to what Lord Ding did."

As soon as these words came out, without waiting for Ding Xianzhi to speak,
Liu Hei Ying's face turned strange. His lover, Mama Li, was the former governor's mistress.
After Sha Shoufu fell from power last year, he used some tricks to get both the people and the money.
He renamed the original brothel Manchunlou and became its owner in one fell swoop.

How is he related to the former prefect now?

And looking at Ding Xianzhi's appearance, there is indeed some connection.

At this moment, Ding Xianzhi's eyes were lowered and his face was gloomy. He no longer had the indifference he had before, and his whole body was filled with a gloomy aura.

He chuckled and looked at the three people with a hint of sarcasm:

"He is just a small prefect, not even worthy of being on the stage."

Who would have thought that when these words came out, Lu Yunyi's face suddenly turned strange. He turned his head to look at the two people beside him, and after a moment of silence, he said slowly:

"You two should go out first."

"Why?" Guo Quan's eyes widened. Liu Heiying, who was standing beside him, had already grabbed his arm and said calmly, "Let's go."

Seeing the two disappear from sight, Lu Yunyi looked at Ding Xianzhi:
"Since the prefect cannot come to the stage, what about the Duke of Zheng?"

The darkness in the cell was broken by a sudden beam of moonlight, like the last trace of darkness before dawn being torn apart.

Ding Xianzhi sat alone in the corner. His figure looked bleak under the flickering oil lamp, and he no longer had the firmness he had just shown.

His face turned pale instantly, as if all the blood had been drained out at this moment.

The corners of his mouth trembled slightly, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he only let out a faint gasp.

Lu Yunyi's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting his heart so hard that he almost couldn't breathe.

Ding Xianzhi's body began to stiffen, his hands clenched into fists, veins bulging on his skin.
He suddenly raised his head and stared at Lu Yunyi.
Gnashing his teeth, he roared word by word:

"Who! Are! You! And What! Do You Want to Do?"

Every word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat, and the wrinkles on his face made him look somewhat hideous and terrifying.

Lu Yunyi's face was calm and his expression was normal. He flipped through the booklet and continued speaking:
"Since you took office in the 15th year of Hongwu until the 20th year of Hongwu,

I have obtained a lot of wealth for him, the amount of which is shocking. I don't need to tell you, I'm sure you know it.
But this is not the truth I want to find out. What I want to ask is what happened to those soldiers who died inexplicably?"

Ding Xianzhi remained silent, his eyes gradually changing from shock to deep despair, as if all hope was shattered at this moment.
"Who do you belong to?"

Lu Yunyi looked at him deeply and spoke slowly:
"Someone from the imperial court."

Ding Xianzhi's eyes were full of bloodshot. Although his face was pale, one could still see a hint of determination in his expression. He chuckled:
"Haha, Ding has been in the army for 20 years, fought countless battles, and has made many contributions and is loyal. I won't say anything.
As for Duke Zheng, he had nothing to do with this matter.
It is you treacherous villains who saw Duke Zheng in trouble and framed the loyal officials of the court to add insult to injury."

"Sir Ding, your loyalty and honor are nothing but a joke in the face of power.
After Duke Zheng was exiled, your fate was sealed.
There is Lu Yunyi, Ma Yunyi, and Zhang Yunyi. You can't escape or hide, but you just don't know when the big knife will fall.

Also given Your Majesty's temperament, the fate of Duke Zheng's Mansion was already determined.

But you are a loyal person. If you don't want to talk about the Duke of Zheng, then don't talk about it. I only want to ask about the casualties of the soldiers."

Hearing this, Ding Xianzhi's body shook violently, his eyes filled with despair and anger.
He struggled to his feet, rushed to the cell door, and grabbed the wooden bars fiercely:

"What do you want to do? What on earth do you want to do!
Do you have to hold him captive and plunge the court into turmoil?

Who is the traitor? I think you are the traitors! "

Lu Yunyi just stood there silently, his face calm, and spoke lightly:
“How big this matter will be depends not on you and me, but on the court and on Your Majesty.

When Duke Zheng fell into trouble, his opponents in the court began to attack him, with hundreds of impeachment memorials being sent in a single day.
The situation is already precarious, why should we hold on?"

Ding Xianzhi suddenly calmed down, looked at Lu Yunyi, and said slowly:
"Loyalty breeds gold and jade, while hatred breeds maggots. When I was loyal, there was no Ming Dynasty yet."

Lu Yunyi remained silent. In troubled times, people are almost only loyal to one individual, and only in this way can they survive in troubled times.

When a new dynasty is established, national laws and family laws begin to conflict with each other, and it seems twisted no matter how you look at it.

Lu Yunyi took a deep breath:

"The greatest virtue of a gentleman is to set an example for the world with loyalty. The case I investigated was only the murder of a soldier.
As for other matters, I am just an assistant commander and cannot interfere."

Ding Xianzhi's grip on the wooden railing loosened a little bit, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.
After a few breaths, he regained his composure, slowly stood up and returned to sit on the weeds, his voice calm and composed:

"go ahead"

Quarter of an hour later, Lu Yunyi walked out of the cell silently with the booklet in his hand behind his back.

Liu Heiying and Guo Quan, who were waiting at the door, hurried forward with concern on their faces.

"Well, sir?"

Guo Cheng asked hurriedly, with anxiety on his face and a sense of excitement of being involved in a big event.

Lu Yunyi looked calm as he looked at the increasingly dark sky and nodded slightly:

"The truth has been revealed. Let's go see Lord Changxing."

Guo Quan's eyes widened immediately, and a bright smile appeared on his face: "He confessed?"

Lu Yunyi nodded: "The truth about the soldier's murder has been revealed."

The two frowned and understood the meaning.
But Lu Yunyi did not explain too much to them. Instead, he took a step forward, lightly stepped on the thin snow on the ground, and walked towards the central military tent.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the door of a simple military tent, which looked no different from other military tents.

Just after they arrived, footsteps were heard in the military tent, and two guards looked at them warily.

His eyes swept over the three people, his expression gradually relaxed, and one of them spoke loudly:
"What's going on?"

Lu Yunyi bowed and said, "I am Lu Yunyi, the deputy commander of the front army, and I have come to ask to see Lord Changxing."

"The Marquis is in the middle of a meeting. Please wait here, my three lords."

Lu Yunyi nodded gently, then took slow steps and stood to one side with a calm expression.
Liu Heiying also hurriedly followed.

Guo Quan, however, stood there and scratched his head gently. He moved closer, pointed at the military tent, and asked in a low voice:
"Why aren't you letting me in? Who's inside?"

The two guards glanced at Lu Yunyi carefully, looking a little embarrassed, but still turned their heads and whispered:
"It's Lord Dingyuan who has arrived."

Guo Quan quickly widened his eyes and silently retracted his neck.
The figure of a strong man appeared in his mind. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes. He said thank you and quickly ran to Liu Heying's side and stood quietly.

He tilted his head slightly and whispered, "The Double Sword King is here."

"Double Sword King?" Liu Heiying looked puzzled and spoke softly to Lu Yunyi:
"He said the Double Sword King is here. Who is he?"

"Master Dingyuan."

Liu Heiying looked shocked and a little embarrassed.

The guards did not let them wait too long. After about a quarter of an hour, they let the three people in.

Entering the military tent, what came into view was similar to the one Lan Yu was in, with the same map and sand table.

The only difference is that the map has changed from outside the territory to within the territory, with blue lines spreading out.

The three of them quickly looked away. These blue lines were the routes for the army's logistical supplies and troop movements and were confidential.

Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, sat at the top. In front of the sand table stood a dark-faced man with a burly figure and a dark complexion. When he saw the few people coming, he glanced over with a pair of sharp eyes.
The three of them felt a murderous aura coming towards them, but they quickly moved away and continued to look at the map.

Guo Quan and Liu Heiying lowered their heads quickly, while Lu Yunyi stood quietly below with a calm expression and said loudly:

"Lu Yunyi, the deputy commander of the front army scouts, has important matters to report to Lord Changxing."

The voice echoed, and Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, fixed his eyes. He looked away from the map and towards the young man, examining him with interest:
"You must be Lu Yunyi. I've heard of this name many times."

(End of this chapter)