230, Chapter 230 (1/2)

Qin Fangqi said: "Everyone bring firepower and look around for this bright light. Because there are many boxes, the powder may be scattered. After finding it, a team of ten people will follow up and search."

"Yes." Both the Royal Forest Army and the soldiers from Yunxiang County were very conscious and efficient in forming a team to search.

With the help of powder, we searched along the way, and because searching on foot was relatively slow, we searched all night, and several pairs of people gathered in the same place.

Du Xingran looked around: "We started from the incident. The powder was scattered in different places. We took several separate routes, and finally they were all gathered here. And what is there? Cliffs and cliffs. , ‌What are we going to do when we finally gather here?”

The final gathering place is here. There is no road ahead, it is a cliff. And everyone scattered and searched along the powder and finally gathered here. In other words, after the carriages separated, they finally returned here. So there must be something wrong here, otherwise, what are they doing here?

Qin Fang: "Everyone split up and search to see if there are any clues nearby. Then go to the front to see if there are any signs that the carriage has left."

"yes."

Soon, soldiers found traces.

"General Qin, there is something wrong with some of the trees here. There are traces of ropes tied to them."

"General Qin, there are also signs here. There are also traces of ropes tied to the trees here."

"General Qin, there are some here too."

"General Qin, here we are."

There are traces of ropes tied on so many trees, which is obviously unusual, and what are the ropes tied here for? This question is very simple. There is a cliff in front of you. Most people can think of the rope tied up, which may be related to the cliff.

Qin Fang looked at the tree for a while, and then went to the cliff to watch. Sure enough, there were traces of friction on the edge of the cliff, and there were also ropes of grass.

The ropes at this time are all made of grass or hemp. If they are rubbed on the edge of the cliff, there will definitely be grass or hemp left behind.

"General?" Captain Yang also knelt down and watched. But I didn't squat too close. It wouldn't be a joke if I fell.

Qin Fang said: "Go and prepare the rope, let's go down and have a look."

Captain Yang: "Yes."

Naturally, we bring ropes with us when we go out. After all, we are transporting pyrotechnics, which are very heavy, so we have a backup in case the ropes tied to the pyrotechnics boxes break on the way. However, these ropes were obviously not enough, so Colonel Yang took people to cut some rattan to connect them.

After preparing three ropes, they were fixed on the tree. Then Lieutenant Yang pulled the rope hard. After making sure the rope was strong, he said to Qin Fang: "General, there is no problem."

Qin Fang nodded: "I'll go down and take a look."

Yu Nian said, "I'll go too."

Du Xingran also wanted to go, but with weak hands, he didn't dare to go down. There are very few children from rich families who are really good at martial arts. They usually use their defense and strength to practice martial arts.

This cliff is not very high, but it is definitely not low. The rope we prepared is long enough, but it is not as low as the cliff. However, when you come down from the cliff, you can see traces of heavy objects hanging down at a glance.

Yu Nian: "It looks like the medicine box was transported from here." So we couldn't find any trace of the powder leaving.

Qin Fang nodded: "It's very possible."

The rope was not long enough. Qin Fang said to another imperial guard who was following ‌ and Yu Nian down: "Go up and ask us to prepare a longer rope, and then arrange for some people to come down. General Yu, let's go down and have a look?"

"Yes." The imperial guard climbed up.

Yu Nian said angrily: "No problem. Damn it, you robbed me of my ways, I'm not going to let it go like this." He looks fierce, and when he says these cruel words, it's quite scary.

The rope is not long enough, so people have no choice but to give up climbing with the rope. There is a problem with rock climbing, that is, you cannot hold a fire, otherwise you will not be able to climb with one hand. Fortunately, Qin Fang and Yu Nian are both very good with their hands. The cliff is not very narrow, and they have been climbing with ropes for a long time. It took about a quarter of an hour to climb with both hands, and they arrived. superior.

Once on the ground, Yu Nian took out the fire stick he brought with him and lit the fire. Once the fire was lit, the situation inside became clear at a glance. "This...Isn't this burned by fire?"

The traces of fire burning at the bottom of the cliff are particularly obvious. The charcoal from the wood is still there, and the traces of grass are also particularly obvious. But the most obvious thing is the lump of clay next to the fire. This is Qin Fangnong's fake fire medicine. It was transported out of Yunxiang County by Yu Nian's people that day, and now it appears here.

Yu Nian picked up the lump of clay and said, "Is this the fire medicine given by General Qin?" Yu Nian understood it after looking at the size. After counting the quantity of the fire medicine, it was of this size. I almost immediately confirmed that it was a fake fire medicine.

Qin Fang said: "Indeed. We have burned everything in the box that should be burned. This clay block cannot be burned, so we can only throw it here. I guess we also found this while burning. The medicine is fake and should be thrown away. However, this route is a good one. If we had not discovered it, we would have left with the medicine."

Yu Nian said: "The other party's plan is very thorough, but now everything is here, I'm afraid we can't follow them. We can only look for clues nearby. I don't know if there are any villages nearby, and whether anyone has seen us."

"General..."

While Qin Fang and Yu Nian were talking, many soldiers from the Imperial Guards and Yunxiang County came down from above.

Qin Fang said: "Rest here for one night, and ask about the situation tomorrow daytime."

"Yes."

It's late at night now, even if there is a village nearby, it's not good for us to ask, it's not good to scare people. And it's been three days, the barbarians won't be here to watch us. So, there's no rush.

The next day

Early in the morning, Yu Nian and Qin Fang took people to check, and it's true that there is a village nearby.

"Auntie, have any strangers in your village recently walked to the back mountain?"

"I haven't seen any."

"Uncle, have any strangers entered your village recently?"

"This elder sister..."

Qin Fang asked many people, but they all said they hadn't seen any. In fact, it's not unusual that they haven't seen any. After all, although the village is nearby, there is still a long way to the cliff of the back mountain. If the barbarians want to avoid the villagers, there are still many ways.

Yu Nian said: "General Qin, I'm afraid we can't find anything for a while. We have a mission here. We have to go to Yongzhou military camp to confirm whether the medicine has been delivered. After confirmation, we will return to the capital to recover our sight. Things here are temporarily handed over to you."

Qin Fang said: "Then I won't send you off. We have a chance to have a drink together again."

Yu Nian bowed and said: "Take care, General Qin."

Du Xingran: "Take care, Brother Qin."

Qin Fang also bowed and said: "Take care of you too."

Yu Nian left with the Imperial Guards. Without the Imperial Guards, there were suddenly fewer people on the scene. Although it was difficult to track down clues, Qin Fang did not give up. There was more than one village nearby. The villagers of that village had not been seen recently, but it did not mean that the villagers of other villages had not been seen either, so Qin Fang asked Captain Yang to continue searching with people.

Capital

Du Ke received Qin Fang's letter after a few days, because the soldiers carried Qin Fang's letter instead of memorials, so it was faster to send a letter to Du Ke than to the emperor. Similarly, it was safer to send a letter to Du Ke than to the emperor. The matter of the drugs was exposed. In Qin Fang's view, the emperor had someone, so Qin Fang still asked the soldiers to send the letter to Du Ke.

Du Ke was called back from the military office by his family for the third time. Speaking of it, it seemed to be more than a year ago since the previous time.

As soon as Du Ke got home, he met the soldiers and read Qin Fang's letter. When he saw Huo Yao being intercepted on the way, he stood up suddenly, and when he saw that it was Manzi who intercepted Huo Yao, Du Ke immediately thought of the political issue. Qin Fang had to think about it before he could think of Yonghe Hou and the second prince, but Du Ke thought of it directly.

However, when he saw that Qin Fang had other arrangements for Huo Yao, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Qin Fang was cautious, or fortunately, Qin Fang was scared before, so he was more careful this time. Otherwise, Huo Yao was really intercepted by Manzi, and it would be difficult for the army to fight against Qi State.

But the question is, how did Manzi know about Huo Yao?

There is a traitor in the court.

Du Ke went into the palace immediately after reading the letter.

Imperial Study

Bang...

The emperor was so angry that he threw the teacup on the table. He stared with eyes wide open, breathing heavily, his expression was full of visible anger. Du Ke did not dare to look up, pretending not to see it. After a long while, the emperor slowly calmed down his anger: "Du Ke, who do you think leaked the news to the barbarians?"

Du Ke said: "I don't know."

The emperor said again: "How did the Yonghe Marquis manage the Yongzhou Yongjun? He didn't even know that more than a hundred barbarians sneaked into the territory of Qi. If the barbarians entered the palace to assassinate me, would you not know it?"

Du Ke did not dare to answer this.

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "Qin Fang was frightened by the last time he came to Wang County, so he became more cautious this time. But he is also very brave. I asked the Imperial Guards to deliver the medicine, but he deceived me and the Imperial Guards and directly asked the people from Yongzhou military camp to deliver the medicine."

Du Ke said directly: "That boy deceived his superiors and subordinates, he should be punished."

"Oh?" The emperor raised his eyebrows, "Then what do you think should be done for deceiving superiors and subordinates? Disobeying the order is a capital crime."

Du Ke said: "It's a pity to behead him, it's better to let him deliver the medicine to the emperor. Go up to the city gate?"

The emperor smiled coldly: "Don't think I don't understand what you are thinking."

Du Ke: "I dare not."

The emperor: "Okay, although deceiving superiors and subordinates is a serious crime, there is nothing wrong with being cautious. This time, it is thanks to your caution. However, I believe in Yonghe Hou."

Du Ke: "I believe in Han Zhen. Han Zhen and Qin Fang are from the same village, grew up together, and then joined the army together."

Hearing this, the emperor's doubts were dispelled. He did not like the generals to be too close to each other. Even if they are all people he trusts, he does not like them to be too close.

The emperor said: "Regarding the leakage of the Huo medicine line, do you have any candidates in your mind who you suspect?"

Du Ke said: "It's hard to doubt. When the emperor arranged this matter, there were only a few people in the imperial study. Speaking of which, Wei Chen was also a target of suspicion."

The emperor stopped talking. Duko was right. On that day, I proposed to let Yongzhou Military Camp use pyrotechnics because I wanted to truly experience the power of pyrotechnics. ‌The people in the Imperial Study Room at that time were all ‌'s confidants. Although ‌ knew that their confidants had their own thoughts, they never thought that ‌ would have such ‌ confidants. They are allowed to fight among themselves, but they are not allowed to leak the firewood matter to the barbarians. This is treason. Internal strife and treason are no big deal.

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "Qin Fangxin said that it was Barbarian who intercepted the explosives. Barbarian put on Barbarian's clothes to intercept the explosives. What is his intention? Not to hide it?"

Du Ke thought for a while: "Probably he wants to frame Yonghe Hou."

"Oh? Tell me carefully."

Du Ke analyzed: "If you are wearing other clothes, even if you look a little different from us Qiguo people, you may not be able to doubt Daomanzi for a while. But whether it is a real barbarian or a fake barbarian, wearing barbarian clothes , at least the first thing that can be thought of is the crime of dereliction of duty by Marquis Yonghe. He allowed more than a hundred barbarians to enter the country. This crime of dereliction of duty cannot be escaped. Therefore, the barbarians do not need to hide their identities, they just want to frame them. Yonghehou."

The Emperor: "Then according to what you said, Marquis Yonghe must not be suspicious."

Du Ke shook his head: "Not necessarily, maybe the thief Yonghe shouted to catch the thief."

"Hahaha..." The emperor was laughed at by Du Ke, "Yonghehou's line has been guarding Yongzhou for decades, so naturally he would not do this." The emperor still has this trust.

Du Ke added: "Yonghehou will not do this, but the second prince's lineage may do this."

"What do you mean?" The emperor's voice suddenly dropped.

Du Ke, however, was not afraid of death and said: "The young master of the Marquis Yonghe Mansion is the companion of the second prince. If something happens to Marquis Yonghe, in the eyes of others, the influence of the second prince will be wiped out." Some people may suspect that the eldest prince may be behind this incident.”

In fact, the emperor thought so just now.

Du Ke continued: "But, it is also possible that the person behind the second prince is a thief and framed the first prince?"

The emperor was silent. The eldest prince has the Ren family behind him. The emperor knows that he has not named the daughter of the Ren family as queen, and the Ren family is very dissatisfied. Now that the second prince has been found, and the Shen family is standing behind the second prince, the Ren family may be anxious, and it is possible to deal with the person behind the second prince. However, there is a possibility that the people behind the second prince could frame the eldest prince.

For a moment, the emperor fell into deep thought. "We can only continue with the clues over there."

Duco should be. I took a bite of both sides and ignored this matter. But who leaked the news?