Chapter 589 More than one person
Chapter 589 More Than One Person
Wang Hongye didn't eat a single bite of food or drink a glass of wine. He left Sihai Restaurant in a daze and took a ox cart home.
Wang Hongye had a splitting headache. He had no idea how to find that person. If he was exposed, his life would be in danger. He had given all the formulas for gunpowder and porcelain fire bombs to the other party.
When the ox cart arrived at the door of his house, Wang Hongye took out a handful of copper coins and gave them to the driver. He pushed the door and walked into the yard. He saw more than a dozen people standing in the yard. The leader was Li Luming, who was known as the Jiangnan Yaksha.
Wang Hongye was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body. His legs went limp and he knelt down with a "thump!". He was trembling all over and couldn't say a word. He knew clearly that he had been discovered.
Li Luming said coldly: "I just came from the counter and found out that you have deposited 5,000 strings of cash, which was actually given to you by Wuchuan Commercial Bank. You just went to see Yuan Wenzhen, right?"
"I know my crime! I know my crime!"
Li Luming could no longer hold back his anger, stepped forward and slapped him hard, and shouted: "How dare you assassinate His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Wang Hongye was like a drowning man who suddenly grabbed a straw. Although it didn't do anything, it gave him a glimmer of hope psychologically.
"They are not trying to assassinate His Royal Highness Prince Jin. No, they just want the formula for the Iron Fire Thunder. They are not the ones trying to assassinate His Royal Highness Prince Jin."
Li Luming had already learned that someone had broken into Prince Jin's study to steal, and she also knew that the other party was trying to steal secrets, not to assassinate.
She grabbed Wang Hongye's collar and gritted her teeth, "Tell me the truth, every word clearly. What secrets did you sell to them?"
Xiao Xia really didn't expect Li Luming to be so efficient. He assigned her the task in the afternoon and gave her the answer in the evening.
"I went to the bank to check the accounts of three people and found that Wang Hongye had deposited 5,000 strings of cash a few days ago. It turned out that it was the money given to him by Wuchuan Commercial Bank. I guessed it was him, and then I found out that he went to Sihai Restaurant to secretly meet Yuan Wenzhen. The evidence was conclusive, and he had to admit it."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and asked, "You said your men saw two men and one woman around Wen Yuanzhen. What did the woman look like?"
"That woman is very thin and petite, and looks like she is only about twelve or thirteen years old. It is said that she is very pretty."
Xiao Xia nodded. The petite woman hiding under the bed in his study should be her.
"Wang Hongye sold the gunpowder formula and the technology of porcelain fire bombs to the other party?"
"That's right, but the other party seems to have known about it. As soon as they opened their mouth, they didn't want the porcelain fire bomb technology or the gunpowder formula. They just wanted the iron fire bomb formula and technology."
Xiao Xia frowned. If that were the case, it was obvious that the Guanlong nobles already knew the formula for gunpowder. How did they know that? Could it be that... Xiao Xia thought of the missing 2,000 porcelain bottle fire bombs. Could it be that they had cracked it?
Of course, this is also possible. Gunpowder was invented during the Sui Dynasty, but it was not used in the military. This kind of transition between the military and civilians is like a world of difference. The alchemists racked their brains but could not think of gunpowder being used in the military, but when a general saw it, he immediately realized its military use.
Xiao Xia also knew that the promotion of gunpowder was a matter of time. After all, many northern alchemists also knew how to use gunpowder.
The key is that the iron fire bomb uses nitrocellulose, and this secret cannot be leaked out in any case.
"How do they plan to get the formula for the Iron Fire Thunder?" Xiao Xia asked again.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Yuan Wenzhen said that the secret door of Your Highness's study could not be opened. They could only start with the craftsmen and force Wang Hongye to find different craftsmen."
Xiao Xia's eyes narrowed immediately. How did Yuan Wenzhen know that there was a secret room in his study? Also, who gave the map to the tall and thin assassin? If the tall and thin assassin had nothing to do with Yuan Wenzhen, it meant that there were two other thieves who sold their own mansion blueprints.
It seems that I need to have a good talk with Yuan Wenzhen.
The next morning, Xiao Xia sent someone to Wuchuan Trading Company to invite Yuan Wenzhen. Yuan Wenzhen was still the chief representative of the Guanlong nobles in Jiangnan. As the status of the Jiangnan General Administration Office continued to rise, Yuan Wenzhen's status among the Guanlong nobles also rose.
"Your Highness!" Yuan Wendu bowed respectfully, his uneasiness showing in his manners. Xiao Xia waved his hand and said with a smile: "Brother Yuan, there is no need for us to be so polite."
Yuan Wendu laughed dryly and asked with concern: "I heard that His Highness was assassinated yesterday?"
"It wasn't me who was assassinated. It was a heavily armored soldier under my command. The assassin's name is He Xu. Have you heard of him?"
Yuan Wenzhen nodded, "He was a bounty assassin, very famous in Luoyang. I heard that he was killed on the spot. In this case, I'm afraid we won't be able to find the mastermind behind this."
Xiao Xia looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "In fact, he did leave a clue. He has a layout of the palace. This means that someone here must have sold the palace's layout. Brother Yuan's men also know the location of the secret room in my study. I'm very curious, how could it be such a coincidence?"
Yuan Wenzhen's face turned pale. After a while, he waved his hands and said, "I promise that I have absolutely no intention of assassinating Your Highness. That He Xu was definitely not sent by us. We just wanted to get the formula of the Iron Fire Thunder. Wang Hongye told me that only Your Highness knew the formula, so we just wanted to steal it, but we still didn't succeed."
Yuan Wenzhen knew very well that stealing the formula and assassination were completely different in nature and far less serious. He would rather admit to stealing the formula than explain clearly that he had nothing to do with the assassination.
"Then how do you know where my secret room is?"
"I don't know. The woman found it herself. Her name is Zhao Juan'er. Her father is the famous mechanical master Zhao Xiaonian. She also has good martial arts skills. She learned mechanical skills from her father, so she was able to find His Highness's study and the location of the secret room easily."
"Who are the two men with her?"
"They are my guards. Their mission is to lure away the female guards of the palace and create an opportunity for Zhao Juan'er."
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "I just happen to be in need of a female guard who is proficient in mechanical devices. Can she be loyal to me?"
Yuan Wenzhen smiled bitterly, "As long as Your Highness does not pursue this matter, we will hand her over to Your Highness together with her father Zhao Xiaonian. She is a filial daughter. As long as Your Highness can cure her father's illness, she will definitely be loyal to Your Highness."
"What's wrong with her father?"
"His father was poisoned while researching the mechanisms in the Northern Wei royal tomb fifteen years ago, and he has been suffering ever since. I pulled her father back from the brink of death before, and she did it for me this time to repay me."
Xiao Xia nodded, "You arrange for the father and daughter to stay, and I will send someone to treat her father's poison!"
"Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"
"I want to know who sold the blueprints in He Xu's hand. Can you help me find out?"
Yuan Wenzhen nodded repeatedly, "I will do my best to find the thief for your highness!"
"Also, how did you get the formula for your gunpowder?"
Yuan Wenzhen sighed and said, "It was Xiao Jianli who sold it to us. He offered 10,000 sets of armor. Your Highness, do you understand what I mean?"
Xiao Xia said slowly: "He is in Jiangling County now, right?"
"It seems that Your Highness also knows. Yes, this Xiao Jianli is an alchemist himself. He also knows how to make gunpowder. He got a few gunpowder arrows from somewhere, and then sent his disciples to scrape saltpeter from the toilet. It took him three years to successfully develop the paper fire bomb."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Now that you have the porcelain fire bomb, you can slowly study the iron fire bomb! I will let you go this time, but if you try to steal my formula next time, don't blame me for joining forces with the emperor to deal with you."
Yuan Wenzhen nodded slightly, said goodbye and left.
(End of this chapter)