Chapter 434 Jinyiwei Intelligence

Chapter 434 Jinyiwei Intelligence

Chapter 434 Jinyiwei Intelligence

Although the news of the death and injury of ten laborers was not exposed,
But the shopkeepers at Huajianji knew that something had happened from the yamen runners guarding the door and the doctors and coroners who hurried over.

What's more, Liu Hong, the deputy magistrate of the government office, was also carried out.

This shocked everyone present, and excitement flashed in their calm eyes.

This move is undoubtedly good news for them.

In the backyard of Huajianji, there is an elegant house hidden among the rushing grass and trees.
The moonlight shines through the exquisite window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows, adding a touch of softness and warmth to this quiet space.

Inside the house, a beautiful woman was reclining on the bed.

She was wearing a gorgeous lavender dress, as thin as gauze. It seemed loose, but it could not hide her curvy figure.

A violet is inlaid on the front of the dress, which stands tall and lifts up the flower pattern, forming a perfect and attractive graceful arc.

A white ribbon was tied around her slender waist.

I don’t know if it’s because the belt is too tight, but a hemispherical arc suddenly appears below the waist.

Her tall eyebrows were slightly raised, her jet-black hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, her face was exquisite, and the years had not left any trace on it.
Instead, it adds a touch of intellectual charm that is unique to mature women.

At this moment, there was a hint of sadness and expectation flowing between the woman's eyebrows.

He was holding today's intelligence document in his hand, but he seemed a little absent-minded.

From time to time, she looked out the window with her watery eyes, and sometimes she stared at the candlelight in front of the bed.

After a long time of absence, she stretched out her slender jade fingers and flipped through the documents in her hand, with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

The Beijing troops did come, but her lover did not.

Whenever she thought of this, Hua Jieyu would feel annoyed with those ostentatious shop owners.

It's okay to be a little eccentric on weekdays,
Why is it that today, when the Beijing troops arrived, they acted even more bizarrely?

Thinking of this, Hua Jieyu's charming eyes condensed.
My heavy head finally had a little space to think about what happened today.

The more she thought about it, the more strange it seemed.

Hua Jieyu slowly sat up, her skirt, which was as thin as a tulle, spread out to both sides and could never fall down, forming a somewhat exaggerated arc.

She supported herself with her slender arms and stood up.

The white jade feet stepped on the carpet, leaving small footprints that spread all the way to the dressing table.

Hua Jieyu sat down on a square stool made of mahogany, with all four corners completely hidden.

She bent down and took out a thick document from the secret compartment under the dressing table. The khaki pages exuded a fresh fragrance.

She placed the book on the table, propped herself up with her arms, and began to read quietly.

Maybe I feel a little uncomfortable.

Hua Jieyu stood up slightly, lifted the stool with both hands and moved forward, and did not stop until the gap between her body and the dressing table became so small that it was almost inaudible.

The slightly dim candlelight flickered gently,
It makes her fair and beautiful face look more radiant and more rosy.

She looked down at the book.

This booklet contains all the valuable intelligence information that Jinyiwei has collected over the past month.

It seems completely unrelated, but Hua Jieyu knows,
The answers to some questions lie in the little things.

[On June 15, the 22nd year of Hongwu, the Left Governor of Huguang issued an order to strictly check the commercial taxes and those who were short of taxes had to pay them.]
[June 16th: Changsha, Yuezhou, Hengzhou, Wuchang and other cities raised their entry taxes]
[On June 220, Cheng Yang, the Left Counselor of the Huguang Provincial Government, and 15 other officials were arrested and imprisoned. The outcome is unknown.]
[On June 26, Xu Zhishan, the deputy director of the Military Command, and eight other officials were dismissed for dereliction of duty, and three others were arrested and imprisoned.]
[On June 30, merchants from all over the country paid the carriage and horse tax in arrears. Some merchants were overwhelmed and committed suicide at home]
[On July 1, fifteen officials from various places in Huguang committed suicide]
[On July 2, Yuezhou Prefecture again raised the city entry tax and levied an additional tax on carriages and horses]
[On July 3, Feng Xu, the governor of Yuezhou, sent his family back to his hometown in Fengyang on the pretext of visiting relatives]
[On July 4, it was rumored that the prefect of Yuezhou and the co-prefect Liu Hong had an argument and parted on bad terms]
[On July 5, the Tongzhi and Tongpan of Yuezhou jointly convened the wealthy merchants in the city to discuss road repairs. The prefect Feng Xu took leave and did not attend.]
One thing after another was arranged in Hua Jieyu's mind.

The spring water in her eyes had disappeared, and turned into an extremely solemn look.

In addition to what Mr. Lin said to her in the pavilion today, an outline of the matter appeared in her mind.

"The imperial court strictly inspected the taxes in various places, and the Huguang Provincial Administration Office implemented the government orders.

The various states were unable to pay the taxes, so they used all their powers to collect money.

At first, only some cities responded.

Perhaps they got the news and knew that the court was serious about it.

Then, the officials of the provincial government and the provincial governors were dismissed, and their backers fell.

Merchants and officials no longer have any illusions, and those who are unable to make up the debt just leave.”

After realizing this, Hua Jieyu narrowed her big, bright eyes and a playful look appeared on her face.

She turned to look at the intelligence information about Yuezhou, frowned, and muttered to herself:

"If Feng Xuruo committed a crime, his family would certainly not be able to escape, so why would he let his family leave?"

Hua Jieyu was a little confused, but slowly, her eyes lit up:

"Unless his pressure doesn't come from the court, then where does it come from?"

She looked intently and soon saw the news about July 4th and July 5th.

"Building bridges and roads is just a pretext to get money to make up for the deficit, and Feng Xu's pressure comes from these two people?
Could it be that Feng Xu disagrees with this? Why doesn't he agree?"

"He didn't share any money!"

Hua Jieyu quickly had the answer in her mind.

Although Feng Xu, the governor of Yuezhou, was not well-known on weekdays,
But as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Hua Jieyu knew that he was born in Fengyang and was a relative of Duke Song Feng Sheng within the fifth degree of mourning.

She had an excellent memory and quickly remembered the promotion history of Prefect Feng.

[Hongwu 14th year: Served as the clerk of the Imperial Hospital, a ninth-rank official, mainly responsible for assisting the imperial physician]
[Sixteenth year: Promoted to Taiyuan County Magistrate in Fujian, an eighth-rank official, assisting the magistrate in managing the county’s government affairs]
[Year 18: Promoted to Taiyuan County Magistrate, a seventh-rank official, in charge of all county affairs]
[19th year: transferred to be the magistrate of Juzhou, Changsha Prefecture, Huguang, a sixth-rank official]
[20th year: transferred to be the Tongzhi of Juzhou, Changsha Prefecture, Huguang, a fifth-rank official, and promoted to Tongzhi of Changsha Prefecture, a fifth-rank official in the same year]
[Twenty-one year: Served as the prefect of Yuezhou, a rank of fourth rank official, the highest administrative chief of a prefecture]
It took only seven years to go from the ninth rank to the fourth rank, eleven levels.

From this point of view, this Prefect Feng was determined to pursue a career in officialdom, and the Duke of Song's Mansion made great efforts behind the scenes.

The family has put so much effort into pushing him to the top.

Naturally, one should be prudent and protect himself, and not be stained by the mud.

Hua Jieyu figured out some things, her eyes became brighter, and she murmured to herself:
"So he was sidelined?"

The positions of Tongzhi and Tongpan of a prefecture were mostly set up according to circumstances and there was no fixed number of them.

Responsible for assisting the Qing army, patrolling, managing grain, agriculture, water conservancy, military farming, horse herding and other matters.

If Liu Hong and Sun Zheng were to have an affair,
Perhaps the prefect can really be reduced to a decoration in the government office and hung high up.

Thinking of this, Hua Jieyu's lips curled up slightly into a smile.

She felt...that she was very close to the truth.

She thought of another thing. The entrance tax to Yuezhou was sometimes a few coins, sometimes a few taels.
This may be the result of a fight between two groups.

"If it's really as I think, today's civil uprising might be a means to drive out the prefect."

Hua Jieyu frowned quickly, shook her head repeatedly, and muttered to herself silently:
"No, no. The Beijing troops have arrived, and there has also been a civil uprising. What a coincidence.

Perhaps this is a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy, designed to disgust the Beijing army?"

hiss--

Hua Jieyu took a breath, her warm lips felt a little cold, and a serious look flashed in her eyes.

If this is really the case, then the power behind it must be extraordinary.

Just then, heavy and steady footsteps sounded from outside the door, disrupting Hua Jieyu's thoughts.

Her eyes were sharp, and she turned her head suddenly.

"who!"

But soon, a tall figure appeared at the door and the coldness on her face quickly melted away.
The sound made her tense muscles relax.

"I."

The sharpness on Hua Jieyu's body disappeared, and instead, as before, she revealed the tenderness that only a mature woman could show. Her lips slightly parted, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.
She quickly put away the book in her hand.

The documents on the table were also stuffed into the secret compartment.
Then he frantically looked in the bronze mirror, fixing his messy hair.
She touched her cheek again and felt it was burning hot. "Oh, I forgot to put on powder. What should I do?"

"Open the door."

A steady voice came from outside the door.

Hua Jieyu's cheeks became more and more rosy, her eyes were filled with rich charm, and the huge flower on her chest was swelling back and forth.

"Come on"

Hua Jieyu didn't care anymore. She used her hands to prop herself up and stood up.

The thin gauze skirt spread out, exuding an alluring fragrance.

She took just one step, and the softness of her jade-like long legs made her stagger.
Anger flashed in her eyes, then turned into joy.
There was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
"Why are you in such a hurry? It's useless. Now that people are here, how can they run away?"

Forcing herself to calm down, Hua Jieyu walked to the door like a gust of wind.

She did not open the door immediately, but stood facing the shadow and spoke softly:
"Is that you, General?"

"No." A heavy voice came.

For some reason, the sound seemed to pierce her chest fiercely.

A feeling of sadness suddenly came over me, tears filled my eyes, my nose turned red, and my lips were slightly wrinkled.

Liu Heiying stood outside the door, frowning slightly, looking at the closed door that had not been opened for a long time, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Just as he was about to speak,
squeak--

The door suddenly opened, and a figure rushed out.
Throwing herself fiercely into Liu Heiying's arms,
The impact at that moment caused Liu Heiying's body to lean back slightly.

The next moment, Liu Heiying felt two soft arms wrapped around his neck like snakes.

Her fingers intertwined, as if to lock him tightly and never let go.

In his arms, Hua Jieyu's chest rose and fell violently.

Every breath was accompanied by a burning breath, spraying on Liu Heying's neck, bringing a tingling sensation.

Liu Heiying was stunned for a moment, then smiled brightly:
"I am back."

Hua Jieyu raised her head, her slightly furrowed brows and trembling lips made the sorrow in her eyes even more obvious.

Her cheeks were flushed, like a burning sunset, and the scorching temperature seemed to burn everything.

The messy hair falls beside the cheeks, showing charm and style.

Her legs were slightly weak, and her whole body was almost hanging on Liu Heiying.
The thin gauze skirt fluttered more loosely, revealing her graceful figure vaguely.
She whispered softly:

"General, why do you always torture me like this..."

"You didn't reply to my letter. I kept thinking about it day and night."

The voice was gentle and melodious, with a hint of anger.
The ambiguous atmosphere became stronger and stronger, as if the air around them became sticky.

Liu Heiying did not speak, but bent down.

A strong and powerful arm passed between Hua Jieyu's thighs and calves, picked her up, and walked straight into the room.

At Yuezhou Military Port, Lu Yunyi walked down from the warship with ten guards.

Walking back and forth on the road along the shore of the naval port, next to it is the surface of Dongting Lake, with warships standing and swaying slightly in the water.

It was already late at night, with torches scattered everywhere.

A breeze blew by without making a sound, and the entire naval port was extremely quiet.

The faint sound of armor colliding could only be heard from time to time.

Lu Yunyi's face was calm, and he glanced around covertly, looking for possible surveillance locations.

He quickly found seven suitable locations for surveillance.
The warships belonging to the Beijing Army were not far away, and everyone getting off the ship could be seen with the naked eye.

Lu Yunyi took note of these locations and began to move around under the warship, jogging, doing push-ups, and raising his legs high. All his actions seemed like physical exercise.

The ten guards standing nearby were also watching the surroundings with vigilance.

About a quarter of an hour later,
Lu Yunyi waved his hand and led the group back to the warship.

Climbing onto the deck, Sun Sian, dressed in black, trotted over with a telescope in hand.

Lu Yunyi didn't say anything, but waved his hand, motioning him to follow.

Soon, in the cabin, Lu Yunyi followed Sun Sian's report.

"Sir, I have discovered nearly thirty locations where spies are hiding or may be hiding.
On the high ground of the camp opposite the warship, soldiers were patrolling on the arrow towers everywhere, paying special attention to the direction of the warship.

Above the military barn not far away,
There were also some soldiers hiding in the dark, from where they could have a panoramic view of all the camps.

At the entrance of the military camp not far from the shore, there were four tents with no candles lit.
But there were people coming in and out, so it should be an observation point.

In addition, our warships are located in the middle of all the warships.

My subordinate had just climbed up the mast when he discovered spies at the head and tail.

Also, there were no lights on in the houses near the naval port, but by the moonlight one could see figures wandering around in them.”

Lu Yunyi listened quietly, his face calm:
"Can you identify which ones are monitoring us?"

Sun Sian shook his head: "Sir, I can't be sure, but after my subordinates' speculation,
These places are excellent locations for observing military camps and naval ports.
We did not find any observation point specifically targeting our warship."

As he spoke, Sun Sian handed over a piece of paper.

Lu Yunyi took it and examined it carefully.

The general appearance of the naval port has been densely drawn on it.
Some of the surveillance locations have been marked with red pen.

Lu Yunyi nodded:
"Very good, go and rest. Tell the exploration team to leave someone to guard the surrounding area at night.
If you find someone lingering and watching, just record it, don’t alert the enemy.”

"Yes!"

Sun Sian straightened his back, clasped his hands together, and slowly stepped back.

"Wait." Lu Yunyi looked at his back and called him.

"My lord, do you have any other instructions?"

"Have you thought it over? Do you really want to go home and study for the imperial examination?"

Lu Yunyi sat at the table, his cheeks flickering in the candlelight.

"Sir, I have already made up my mind to become the first juren from a military household in the Ming Dynasty!" Sun Sian's voice was full of determination.

Lu Yunyi looked at him for a long time. The atmosphere in the cabin was extremely solemn.

Finally, Lu Yunyi nodded gently:
"Study hard, I will arrange a teacher for you when we return to the capital.

We will also find you a leisurely job in your hometown so that you can study with peace of mind.

The imperial examination is as difficult as ascending to heaven, so don't rush.
You can take part in the 24-year imperial examination to test your proficiency.
With your talent, you may be able to enter the hall in twenty-seven years.
But it is very difficult to pass the imperial examination.

Perhaps we have to wait until the 30th year of Hongwu, after many things have settled, before there will be an opportunity.

I will remind you that in the imperial examination, you should not rush for quick success and take your time. "

Sun Sian looked thoughtful, thinking that the adults might have some meaning.
Then he clasped his hands, showing gratitude:

"Yes, sir, I will do my best!"

"Okay, let's go down."

Sun Sian left quickly, and after he left,
Lu Yunyi sat silently in the cabin, deep in thought.

After nearly half an hour, Lu Yunyi suddenly stood up and shouted:

"Yun Fang, bring some casual clothes so we can go out and have some fun!"

(End of this chapter)