Chapter 183 The War Machine Has Begun to Operate (Please Vote!!!)

Three days later, a special guest came to the Marquis of Jinghai Mansion. He was a travel-traveled guest, but it was Liu Jinzhong who had just arrived in Bianjing.

"Qin Hou." Liu Jinzhong saluted Qin Hao.

After Qin Hao asked him to sit down, he couldn't help but feel a little confused: "Why did Prime Minister Liu come here today?"

Zhao Zongquan only gave Liu Jinzhong a period of one year. If it was just to thank him for helping to catch those Manichaean remnants a few days ago, there was no need for Liu Jinzhong to make a trip in person.

Sure enough, Liu Jinzhong said seriously: "Yesterday, those remnants of Manichaeism vomited. Does the Marquis of Qin know that the wife of Ningyuan Marquis Mansion is also involved?"

Qin Hao was startled and his face became a little ugly. Manichaeism was already plotting to rebel against the country. As long as it was related, it would not be an exaggeration to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan. As the nephew of the Xiao Qin family, it was difficult for Qin Hao to stay out of the matter.

Liu Jinzhong was also observing Qin Hao's face. In fact, he was also very embarrassed about this matter. Xiao Qin was Qin Hao's aunt, the dowager of Ningyuan Hou Mansion, and nominally Gu Tingye's aunt. She immediately implicated both officials and the family. The most trusted minister in the DPRK, even he would not dare to take anyone casually.

Qin Hao asked in a deep voice: "Is there any evidence?"

"The intermediary has been captured, and it is consistent with the confession of the remaining Manichaean sect." Liu Jinzhong then told the whole story.

In fact, the problem is not complicated. Xiao Qin's mother, Xiang's mother, found a group of desperadoes through an intermediary, and wanted to kill them and their son while Minglan went to Qingxu Temple to fulfill her wish. When Gu Tingye goes on an expedition two years later, maybe he will If he died on the battlefield, Gu Tingwei would be able to legitimately inherit the title of Marquis of Ningyuan.

But what Xiao Qin didn't expect was that the desperadoes whom her mother asked the middleman to find were precisely the remnants of Manichaeism, and these remnants of Manichaeism didn't even want to help Xiao Qin kill Minglan, but relied on Xiao Qin to kill Minglan. With the identity cover provided by his family, he successfully sneaked into Bianjing City and spied on the location of the arsenal.

Qin Hao pretended to sigh and said: "The laws of the country are ruthless, and I have nothing to say. Let the Prime Minister do as he pleases."

Liu Jinzhong was overjoyed when he heard this: "Thank you so much, Marquis Qin."

Qin Hao waved his hands with a sad expression, and Liu Jinzhong stopped talking and headed to the Ningyuan Hou Mansion impatiently. As for Gu Tingye, he was not worried at all. Who in Bianjing City didn't know that Gu Tingye and his stepmother had already become powerful They are the same as fire and water, not to mention that the person Xiao Qin paid to kill this time was his wife and children.

Outside the gate of Marquis Ningyuan's Mansion, people from the Imperial City Division had already gathered. After Liu Jinzhong arrived, he immediately rushed in from the middle gate with his men.

The servants also tried to stop him: "You can't see where this place is even if you are blind."

Before he finished speaking, he was killed with a sword. Liu Jinzhong was like a Rakshasa crawling out of the land, and sneered with a ghostly look: "I am working in the Imperial City Department. Anyone who doesn't want to die, just stay with me!"

The people in the fourth and fifth rooms were also alarmed. Upon seeing this, the fifth master quickly asked his servants to go to the Chengyuan next door to call Gu Tingye. By this time, everyone knew that only Gu Tingye could settle the matter.

However, the servant came back in a panic soon: "Sir, it can't be done. The entire Ningyuan Hou Mansion is surrounded. It's like an iron barrel and no one can get out."

Seeing that Liu Jinzhong was about to lead people into the backyard, the Fifth Master boldly shouted: "This is the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion. Even the Imperial City Secretary has no reason to break in at will!"

Liu Jinzhong stared at the other party with cold eyes: "Whatever? Do you know that what I am arresting is a traitor who is plotting to rebel against the country? If you stop it, are you trying to harbor the traitor?"

When such a big hat was pulled off, the Fifth Master was so frightened that his legs weakened and he collapsed on the ground. Liu Jinzhong glanced at him disdainfully. If he didn't want to waste time, he might have taken the Fifth Master back for interrogation. The Imperial City Division's work style has always been: rather kill the wrong than let go.

Liu Jinzhong led people to surround Xiao Qin's yard. Xiang's mother originally heard the noise outside and came out to check the situation, but as soon as she showed up, she was recognized by Liu Jinzhong's men.

"She's just like Mom."

"Take it!" Liu Jinzhong was delighted, and some even offered it to him.

Xiang's mother was frightened and shouted quickly: "Mrs. help me!"

Liu Jinzhong sneered and said, "I'm afraid that Mrs. Tai is also unable to protect herself, and she won't be able to ask for help!"

There was something wrong with Mom, and she was so frightened that she trembled all over.

Xiao Qin was shocked when he heard his mother's call for help. He quickly came out to check the situation. When he saw the people from the Imperial City Division in the courtyard, he was also startled. However, he still pretended to be calm and said: "Wangwang, this is Marquis Ningyuan." The government, how dare you do anything without official orders?"

Liu Jinzhong said impatiently: "Madam, don't take any chances now. You have committed a crime of colluding with the Manichaeans to rebel against the country. If you have anything to say, follow me back to the Imperial City Prison to discuss it. Someone is here. ,take away!"

"I wonder who dares to do so. I am the aunt of Ningyuan Marquis and I have a third-grade imperial decree. I just take people at will without evidence. Aren't I afraid that the officials will punish you?" Xiao Qin shouted sharply.

Liu Jinzhong stopped talking nonsense to her and waved his hand: "Take it!"

"You" Xiao Qin was about to say something, but he was already stood up.

The incident at the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion spread quickly in Bianjing City, and Chengyuan became extremely lively. People from the fourth and fifth rooms found Minglan and wanted Gu Tingye to rescue the Xiao Qin family.

Minglan was also very surprised about this incident, but she still sent someone to invite Gu Tingye to go home. Almost half an hour later, Gu Tingye came back and directly kicked out the people in the fourth and fifth rooms with a gloomy face.

The Fourth Master and the Fifth Master were so angry that they yelled at the gate of Chengyuan: "Gu Tingye, you unfilial thing, how come you are such a trouble in the Gu family, and you actually stand by and watch when something happens to your aunt, I want to go to the officials to give you a copy!" "

In Chengyuan, Minglan noticed the murderous aura in Gu Tingye, handed the child to the wet nurse, and walked up to Gu Tingye: "Master Marquis, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Tingye held Minglan in his arms. Minglan was startled, but she heard Gu Tingye say through gritted teeth.

"Do you know why my stepmother was arrested?"

Minglan shook her head.

Gu Tingye gave the coffee table next to him a hard hammer, causing several cracks in the fine rosewood coffee table.

"She wanted to hire a murderer to kill you and your son. The person who took over the job was a remnant of the Manichaean sect. It happened that he was caught by the Imperial City Secretary a few days ago, and then the whole thing came to light!"

Minglan couldn't help but trembled: "She, how dare she?"

Gu Tingye sneered and said: "What can't my stepmother do to make the third son Xijue? Fortunately, God has eyes."

Speaking of this, Gu Tingye also had lingering fears. In fact, he was thinking about fishing out Xiao Qin at first. After all, Xiao Qin was his stepmother, but in the end he got such news.

At this time, Jinghaihou Mansion was not calm either. Gu Tingwei came to Qin Hao early in the morning and cried, begging him to rescue the little Qin family.

Qin Hao pretended to be helpless and told him: "Liu Jinzhong from the Imperial City Division has been here before. My aunt is guilty of conspiracy to rebel against the country, and there is nothing I can do about it."

Gu Tingwei panicked instantly: "Rebellion? Treason? How could my cousin and my mother do such a thing? Is there something wrong? The Imperial City Division has always done things."

Qin Hao raised his hand to interrupt him and said sternly: "If Liu Jinzhong doesn't have sufficient evidence, how can he dare to go directly to Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion to get someone? How will he explain it to the officials? Don't get involved in this matter anymore. Now that we have the news, I'll let you know."

Gu Tingwei was filled with helplessness and worry. In addition to being unable to rescue Xiao Qin, he was even more worried that as long as he was implicated in the crime of treason, he might not be able to escape.

After sending Gu Tingwei away, Qin Junye and the Qin Liu family also came. After learning the situation, Qin Junye was also stunned: "Is she crazy? She actually paid to kill someone in order to let his son Xijue?"

Qin Liu asked worriedly: "Will it affect our family?"

Qin Hao comforted him: "Don't worry too much, mother. After all, my aunt is a married daughter. Besides, she was not directly involved in the Manichaean plot. She just happened to help Manichae provide cover and could not implicate Dongchang." From the Marquis Mansion and Jinghai Marquis Mansion."

"Besides, I have some dignity in front of the officials, and Liu Jinzhong doesn't dare to make up charges at will to bite us."

Qin Liu was relieved after hearing this.

However, what Qin Hao didn't expect was that just one day later, Liu Jinzhong sent someone to Jinghaihou Mansion, saying that he was invited to visit the Imperial City Division.

Cui Zhi stared at the people from the Imperial City Division with a vigilant face. Only then did the other party realize that his words had caused a misunderstanding and quickly apologized.

"Don't blame the Marquis of Qin. They are all stupid people. Our master wants to ask the Marquis to go to the Imperial City Department. It is about the Ningyuan Marquis's wife."

After Qin Hao thought for a moment, he took Cui Zhi to the Imperial City Division.

As a result, they met Gu Tingye at the door, and the two entered the Imperial City Prison with doubts.

Liu Jinzhong handed a confession to Qin Hao. Qin Hao almost couldn't stand it when he saw it. The confession came from Xiao Qin's family. The content was that her collusion with the remnants of Manichaeism was all directed by Qin Hao and Gu Tingye behind the scenes.

Gu Tingye cursed loudly: "This vicious woman is still biting and biting her even when she is about to die!"

Qin Hao also took a while to calm down and looked at Liu Jinzhong: "Has this confession been submitted to the official court?"

Liu Jinzhong just smiled and said nothing. It was obvious that Zhao Zongquan must have seen it.

Qin Hao was a little reassured. Since Zhao Zongquan had read the confession but did not order to capture them, he obviously saw that the confession was full of loopholes. After all, Qin Hao knew the formula of the Thunder Fire Bomb. If he colluded with Manichaeism, he would directly give the formula to Just leave it to them, so why steal it?

"But it's up to the officials to decide." Qin Hao said with cupped hands.

Gu Tingye also reacted and raised his hand to Liu Jinzhong: "But it depends on the official ruling!"

Liu Jinzhong laughed when he heard this: "Qin Hou and Gu Hou don't have to be like this. The officials have said that anyone in the world can rebel, but the two princes will never do it. This time I invite the two princes to come, it is just I would like to inform the two marquises that in order to prevent this vicious woman from biting her randomly again, the officials issued a secret ruling and this matter will not implicate anyone else."

Afterwards, Liu Jinzhong threw the confession into the brazier and burned it completely.

Qin Hao and Gu Tingye looked at each other with a moved expression: "Thank you for your trust in me, I will definitely live up to my trust."

This is obviously a play played by Zhao Zongquan and Liu Jinzhong. The play is called: Shi En. Qin Hao and Gu Tingye naturally have to cooperate with the play, otherwise the play will not end.

Just when Qin Hao was about to leave, Gu Tingye suddenly said to Liu Jinzhong: "Can you let me see my stepmother?"

Liu Jinzhong was stunned for a moment, and then said to his men: "Bring Xiao Qin here."

Soon, Xiao Qin, with disheveled hair and scars, was taken to prison, and it looked like he had been severely tortured.

Gu Tingye gritted his teeth and walked up to Xiao Qin: "You are a vicious woman. You just wanted the third child to inherit the title and you paid to kill my wife and children. You deserve to end up like this."

When Xiao Qin heard Gu Tingye's voice, he struggled to get up and looked at Gu Tingye with a sad smile: "Gu Tingye, you little bastard is really tough. I tried so many ways but I couldn't beat you to death. If I had known it would be like this." , I should have given you blood and withered grass like I did to your elder brother, so that you could also enjoy the pain of a sick body!"

Gu Tingye clenched his fists with his hands, his veins were exposed, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It's really you! Are you crazy? My eldest brother is your sister's biological son! You did this to him!"

"Sister? Haha~~~" Xiao Qin laughed wildly like a maniac.

"Do you know how much I envied my eldest sister when I was a child? My husband has treated her like a treasure since I was a child. When my sister was alive, he was not even willing to accept a concubine. Later, the old woman pushed her too hard, and he actually took my sister with him. It was also at that time that the frontier made great military exploits.”

"But since his sister died, his heart also died." Xiao Qin looked at Qin Hao and sneered: "At this time, your father wanted to marry me to him for a second marriage. I refused in every possible way, but in the end he just I was only sixteen years old when I was able to marry my forty-year-old brother-in-law!"

"Do you know why I want to kill your eldest brother? Because he is too smart. If it weren't for his poor health, Gu Tingye, you would never inherit the title of Marquis Ningyuan in your life. Speaking of which, you still have to thank me!" Xiao Qin's The laughter was harsh, but she couldn't stop, as if she heard a very funny joke.

Gu Tingye snorted coldly: "You just want the third child to inherit the title."

Xiao Qin stopped laughing and roared like a madman: "You Qin family and Gu family have ruined my life. Even if I die, I will support you."

Qin Hao shook his head secretly and had to admit that bad guys are usually smart. Xiao Qin is definitely a smart person, but as a woman, she is not knowledgeable enough.

She thought of using the suspicion between the monarch and his ministers to alienate their relationship with Zhao Zongquan. However, she did not know that at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition, Zhao Zongquan would give them 100% trust.

If this confession had appeared a few years ago or a few years after their Northern Expedition, it might still have some effect, but at this point in time, it is just a piece of waste paper.

With a wave of Liu Jinzhong's hand, Xiao Qin was dragged out. What awaited her would be a secret execution. Xiao Qin seemed to know her fate, and the screams echoed in the prison.

"Gu Tingye, I will not let you go. Even if you become a ghost, I will kill you. The title belongs to my son!"

After coming out of the Imperial City Department, Gu Tingye's mood was a little complicated. When he learned that Xiao Qin was going to pay someone to kill Minglan's mother and son, he wanted to kill Xiao Qin, but when she was really dead, he didn't feel the pleasure of revenge at all. , after all, when Xiao Qin was a child, although Xiao Qin's consideration for him was false, it also made him feel the warmth from his family, which made up for the lack of maternal love he had had since childhood.

Qin Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Little Qin was a time bomb, and blowing it up now would be the best result. It would also save him from having to worry about his family when he went on an expedition.

It can be seen from Qin's behavior just now that she hates the Qin family no less than the Gu family.

Back home, Qin Hao told his family about the situation.

Qin Junye couldn't help but feel frightened for a while. Fortunately, his son had a high status and won the trust of the officials, otherwise he might really implicate the Dongchang Hou Mansion.

However, Gu Tingwei could not accept Xiao Qin's death. He was living in confusion all day long. Qin Hao did not bother to persuade him. Without Xiao Qin's protection, his future road would not be smooth. It was time for him to go through some ups and downs.

In the new year, the atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was obviously different. There were many remarks against the Liao Kingdom, both in the court and among the people.

The economy of the Song Dynasty was unprecedentedly prosperous, and the people were the richest in history. Their living standards improved significantly, and the literacy rate also increased unprecedentedly.

But there is one shame that the Song Dynasty cannot get rid of, and that is the military. In the war against the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty did not even record a victory in a battle involving more than a thousand people.

Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi's defeat at the Gaoliang River directly broke the backbone of the Song Dynasty, and he had to sign the "Chanyuan Alliance". In name, the Liao and Song Dynasties agreed to become brotherly countries. In fact, the Song Dynasty gave Liao Suiyuan silver coins every year. One family is forced to pay tribute to another family with 100,000 taels and 200,000 bolts of silk. What kind of brothers are these?

This time, Zhao Zongquan was also determined to regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. Since last year, he had used overseas merchant ships to transport a large amount of grain and stored it in Mozhou and Yingzhou. The tax revenue from maritime merchants also gave Zhao Zongquan the confidence to fight this battle.

Qin Hao and Gu Tingye also became busier. Except for Xiu Mu, they spent the rest of their time in the military camp.

Regarding the soldiers' drills, Qin Hao added some actual combat exercises in addition to some regular training. In actual combat, except that the weapons used had no slits, the rest were exactly the same as in normal war.

In order to improve the competitiveness of his soldiers, Qin Hao also asked Zhao Zongquan for a reward to be awarded to the top three troops.

Especially for infantry, Qin Hao conducted joint exercises with Gu Tingye in order to improve the infantry's ability to resist cavalry attacks.

This model of actual combat exercises was also highly praised by Zhao Zongquan. He would come to the site to observe the actual combat exercises almost every month.

The soldiers were already very motivated in the face of the generous rewards. Coupled with the honor of being personally awarded by the officials, the soldiers screamed one by one, and they even paid more attention to their daily training.

Just three months before Zhao Zongquan was about to send troops, the Liao State sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to question Zhao Zongquan whether he wanted to tear up the Tanyuan Alliance.

Zhao Zongquan tore up the original Tan Yuan Alliance contract to pieces directly in front of him.

"Okay, you just wait until the country is destroyed!"

Zhao Zongquan let out a long laugh, pointed at the envoy and said, "If I don't kill you today, whoever and I will capture this man on the battlefield in the future will be granted the title of Marquis!"

"The general will go where he wishes!"

"Go back and wash your neck and wait for grandpa to pick it up!"