Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 239 Conspiracy loudly
Xiao Yan found it very strange.

But I couldn’t tell what was so strange about it.

When I recalled the past and wanted to speak again, I realized something was wrong.

I go!

Why is it that this suspect is the one asking the questions all the time?
Eunuch Lu doesn't care? !

Xiao Yan was in a daze when he heard Pei Yuan suggest to Eunuch Lu, "Call Xu Feng in to ask him about this. It's not easy to ignore this kind of thing."

Lu Ting was in a delicate mood.

Is this what I understand as “not easy to ignore”?

He cleared his throat and said, "Well, bring in that Xu Feng."

Xiao Yan was dazed and left the lobby subconsciously.

Xu Feng outside was already waiting impatiently.

Seeing Xiao Yan coming out, he took the initiative to ask, "Captain Xiao, what did Eunuch Lu say?"

"Oh, Eunuch Lu asked you to come in." Xiao Yan came back to his senses and answered.

Xu Feng stepped onto the stairs upon hearing this. Xiao Yan felt more and more that something was wrong and wanted to reach out to stop Xu Feng. He glanced at Xu Feng's surprised look and didn't know how to explain it. He could only warn him, "Be careful with what you say. I feel like the atmosphere is a little off."

He was afraid that Xu Feng would lead him into a trap, so he stared at Xu Feng and asked sternly, "How sure are you about this matter? Are you hiding anything from me?"

When Xu Feng saw that Xiao Yan's attitude was not right, he felt a pang in his heart.

Fortunately, he had prepared for the worst.

If it really cannot be concealed, the worst that can happen is that the settlement of the accounts can be made public.

Compared with the Nanjing Ministry of War's collusion with the enemy, this little thing is nothing.

Xu Feng immediately patted his chest and said, "I was at the top of Taoyuan City at that time. Didn't I know whether there was a fight or not?"

Xiao Yan exhaled, "That's good."

When Xu Feng reported in, he immediately found Pei Yuan who was also in the hall.

He was somewhat surprised and suspicious, thinking that it was no wonder Captain Xiao kept asking questions, it turned out that Pei Yuan was also there.

This is a gift, right?

Xu Feng thought about it in his heart, but he didn't show any intention of retreating.

He had solid evidence, and besides, this was Eunuch Lu's first time in command of the army. If he could handle the Nanjing Ministry of War's case at lightning speed, it would be enough to establish his prestige.

Xu Feng was just thinking about it when he heard Pei Yuan ask, "Just now, Captain Xiao mentioned the case of the Nanjing Military Department colluding with thieves. Do you have any evidence for this?"

Xu Feng subconsciously looked at Lu Ting and saw that Lu Ting was staring at him without saying a word.

I roughly understand it.

It seems that Captain Xiao has already told the story, so Eunuch Lu asked him to confront Pei Yuan face to face.

Xu Feng then said, "I was in Taoyuan County at the time. Don't I know whether the battle was fought or not? Moreover, there were more than ten commanders present at the time. Eunuch Lu can ask each of them the truth. I don't think everyone would lie, right?"

Pei Yuan sorted out the logic for Xu Feng.

"In other words, because the Bazhou rebels did not attack Taoyuan City, you suspected that the Nanjing Military Department was colluding with the rebels, right?"

Xu Feng was stunned when he heard this.

How can we summarize the matter so simply? You have to know the situation and atmosphere at that time...

How should I explain this?
Xu Feng had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "At that time, Wang Chang went out of the city to have a brief conversation with the Bazhou bandits, and then the bandits retreated. As a result, the bandits came the next day, but they only surrounded the city but did not attack, so I have reason to believe that Wang Chang must have colluded with them."

"Collusion of what?" Pei Yuan asked calmly, "Tens of thousands of Bazhou troops rushed back and forth, first withdrawing the siege, then feinting an attack overnight. What is their intention? They can't be taking credit for Wang Chang, right?"

Without waiting for Xu Feng to answer.

Pei Yuan added, "If I remember correctly, Wang Chang reported to the court that it was a disastrous defeat and that the Nanzhi troops suffered heavy losses."

Pei Yuan looked at Lu Ting, then at Xu Feng.

"If it's up to you, do you want to tell me the result of their collusion? On one hand, tens of thousands of Bazhou troops were exhausted from the expedition and achieved nothing. On the other hand, the defense line led by the Nanjing Minister of War was defeated miserably and suffered heavy casualties?"

Pei Yuan looked at Xu Feng and asked seriously, "What exactly do they want by colluding with each other?"

Xu Feng was confused by the question.

Yeah, what do they want?

Xu Feng looked at Pei Yuan's aggressive gaze and felt a little flustered.

Thinking of the backup plan just now, he gritted his teeth and decided to tell a little secret.

"In fact, there is another thing that is related to this."

Pei Yuan didn't say anything. He looked at Lu Ting, who said cooperatively, "Go ahead."

Xu Feng then asked Wang Chang to take the lead in exposing the inside story of settling accounts for many garrisons in Southern Zhili.

After hearing this, Lu Ting exclaimed, "Wow!"

The Nanjing Military Department is really bold and daring.

After Xu Feng finished speaking, Pei Yuan rushed to speak again, questioning sinisterly, "Nanda Sima's brain is not broken, why would he take on such a thing for you?"

Seeing Xu Feng in a passive position, Xiao Yan immediately asked, "Ridiculous! Pei Yuan, you have no right to speak here?"

"You are also a suspect in this matter!"

Then, Xiao Yan turned to Lu Ting, bowed and said, "Eunuch..."

Lu Ting looked straight ahead, expression indifferent, "Let him speak."

Xiao Yan held back half of his words and his face turned red.

Xu Feng looked at Xiao Yan, then at Pei Yuan, and suddenly felt that something was wrong with the situation.

But Eunuch Lu was watching from the side, and facing Pei Yuan's questioning, Xu Feng couldn't just remain speechless.

He had no choice but to say, "That's because we paid for it."

Pei Yuan didn't dwell on the issue of paying, and directly asked for details, "How much is each person, and the total amount?"

Xu Feng answered honestly, "One thousand taels of silver per person, a total of 17,000 taels of silver."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan deliberately paused for a moment to give everyone time to think.

After the hall was quiet for a while, Pei Yuan slowly said, "In other words, for the sake of 17,000 taels of silver, the Nanjing Minister of War took the initiative to accept such a big defeat, and even colluded with the Bazhou army, causing their tens of thousands of troops to run around in a hurry."

"So you plan to let Eunuch Lu explain this to the Cabinet and His Majesty?"

Xu Feng was speechless when asked this question, and his mind became a little confused.

Everything I saw and heard was obviously abnormal, but why am I the one who reported this shady deal, the most abnormal one?

……

Lu Ting, who was outside the situation, was unusually calm.

He thought a lot.

He thought of the Bazhou rebels' perfectly matched marching route, the easy mobilization of Lu Wan's army by the Bazhou rebels, the Bazhou rebels' unexpected return to the north, and the perfect exposure of their weaknesses in front of him.

What Xu Feng knew was probably just an insignificant part of the huge layout, and of course it could not form a complete logic.

But if you dig deeper... Lu Ting's back starts to sweat.

He couldn't be allowed to talk any more.

Lu Ting raised his eyebrows and shouted without hesitation, "Xiao Yan, capture Xu Feng for me."

Xu Feng panicked when he heard this, and quickly knelt down and said, "Eunuch Lu, everything I said is true."

Then, as if grasping a life-saving straw, he began to bite Pei Yuan, "This Pei Yuan has an unusual relationship with Wang Chang, he must be Wang Chang's accomplice! As long as we catch him and torture him thoroughly, we will definitely be able to find out the truth!"

"This matter involves a wide range of people, and there may be other accomplices."

"Father-in-law! This is a great achievement!"

Lu Ting was shaking with anger, "Shut up! You don't want to repent, and you even dare to bite others! The state affairs are ruined by people like you!"

Lu Ting was about to call for someone to kill Xu Feng, but Xiao Yan stepped forward and advised, "Eunuch, Xu Feng is the commander of the First Guard. Even if it is a false accusation, the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office will still be involved. The most we can do is not accept the case and just kick him out."

?
Lu Ting's face darkened slightly, and he didn't know what to do.

Pei Yuan next to him felt something in his heart.

He slowly recalled how Xu Feng had been so attentive during their drinking party.

Although he had some elements of guiding the situation in some of his words, he did not expect that they would come in handy so soon.

So Pei Yuan deliberately said, "Speaking of the Ministry of War, isn't Right Censor-in-Chief Lu Wan the Vice Minister of War? Why not hand over Xu Feng and the case to Vice Minister Lu?"

Lu Ting looked at Pei Yuan meaningfully and asked slowly, "Is it appropriate?"

After hearing what Xiao Yan said, Xu Feng was lucky enough to escape from the tiger's mouth.

His heart was filled with gratitude towards Captain Xiao.

But after hearing Pei Yuanxin's suggestion, he suddenly remembered something and immediately shouted in panic, "Not appropriate!"

"Lu Wan and Wang Chang are in the same group."

"I have heard them say with my own ears that Lu Wan is the backbone of Nan Da Sima!"

"This time when he came to Xuzhou, Wang Chang also prioritized meeting Lu Wan!"

Lu Ting looked at Pei Yuan in surprise, not knowing that such a thing could happen.

Pei Yuan deliberately lowered his voice, but made sure Xiao Yan and Xu Feng could hear him, and said to Lu Ting, "They were all members of Liu Jin's party in the beginning, and perhaps they are still in contact with each other now."

Lu Ting returned from Xuanfu after Liu Jin's downfall. He had no grudges against this eunuch who once held great power in the court, and his attitude towards this was indifferent.

Xiao Yan and Xu Feng were keen enough to capture the key information.

Liu Jin’s remnants, backbone, Lu Wan!
Before they could think about it, they heard Pei Yuan say to Lu Ting, "Sir, do you want to send someone to check with the Right Censor-in-Chief?"

Since it was Pei Yuan's suggestion, naturally someone should go and take a look.

Lu Ting reacted quickly and ordered without hesitation, "Xiao Yan, go find someone to see if the Southern Grand Marshal is with the Right Censor-in-Chief."

Xiao Yan was digesting the information he had just obtained and felt that this information seemed to be very valuable.

He immediately responded, "I will go right away."

Although Xiao Yan left, Lu Ting and Pei Yuan realized that it was no longer realistic to deal with Xu Feng and control the influence.

In order to fill in the gaps, Pei Yuan took the opportunity to continue questioning Xu Feng, wanting to know how much he had mastered.

Unfortunately, Xu Feng had apparently only discovered a few suspicious points about Wang Chang and wanted to take the opportunity to dig deeper.

There were no really useful clues.

Pei Yuan felt a lot more relaxed after he finished asking these questions.

He said to Lu Ting, "This matter does seem a bit illogical, and there is no strong evidence. If you want to clarify this case, you can only wait until the leader of the Bazhou rebels is captured and interrogate me again."

Lu Ting tried hard to control his expression and not laugh, and said with a nasal sound, "Yeah."

Xu Feng had already noticed that something was wrong by now.

Seeing Pei Yuan and Lu Ting singing the same tune, could it be...

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Lu Ting and Pei Yuan discussing how to deal with him.

"Xu Feng cannot be killed. Are we just going to let him go?" Lu Ting sought the defendant's opinion.

Pei Yuan heard this and replied as a matter of course, "Of course, Captain Xiao was right just now. With the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office, this is not something that the eunuch should be involved in."

Xu Feng was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Pei Yuan speak again.

"Besides, whether it is a report or a false accusation, the Ming Dynasty law will handle it. As a member of the Imperial Guard, I must abide by the law and punish those who violate it."

?

Xu Feng felt inexplicably uneasy again.

Lu Ting recalled the topic Pei Yuan had just brought up in front of the two of them, and asked, "What about Sima Wang? He and Lu Wan..."

Pei Yuan sighed softly and said half-hiddenly, "The Right Censor-in-Chief is deeply trapped..."

Lu Ting thought about Pei Yuan's planning ability and was a little unsure about what the final situation would be like.

He was worried that Pei Yuan's misbehavior would implicate himself, and he also suspected that his position as the head of the Imperial Household Department was the result of those arrangements.

Lu Ting was extremely conflicted, but he didn't want to point it out too clearly.

He was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty and could not bear to hear this.

Lu Ting and Lu Wan were both stationed in Xuzhou city, and the distance between their offices was not far.

Not long after Xiao Yan left, he immediately rode back to report.

As expected, Wang Chang came to see Lu Wan and even temporarily stayed at Lu Wan's headquarters.

After hearing this, Lu Ting asked Xu Feng, "In this case, do you plan to withdraw your false accusation, or go to the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery?"

Xu Feng is now in a difficult situation.

His betrayal of Wang Chang was a small matter; the key point was that because of this, he even betrayed other garrisons in Nanzhi.

If this were accomplished, that would be all.

I am in such a dilemma now. If the matter gets out, I am afraid I will be in big trouble.

Pei Yuan was eavesdropping right in front of them. Given the relationship between Pei Yuan and Wang Chang, it was almost inevitable that the conversation would be leaked.

Xu Feng could only grit his teeth and said, "I will go to Minister He to seek justice."

Lu Ting nodded and was about to chase him away when he heard Pei Yuan say with a smile, "That's perfect. I want to escort Eunuch Gu back to the capital, so why not let Commander Xu do his part and escort Eunuch Gu with me?"

"Him?" Lu Ting was surprised.

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "That's right. Commander Xu is bold and careful, and good at finding problems. He is a rare talent."

Lu Ting looked at Pei Yuan, then at Xu Feng, and said in confusion, "He is going to go to the capital to report you."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "I am a man of integrity and uprightness. There is nothing shameful in what I do and say."

Lu Ting recalled that Pei Yuan had just asked Er Xiao to accompany him to the capital, and thought to himself, could it be that Captain Pei was planning to kill Xu Feng on the way?

Others might have concerns about this kind of thing, but for Pei Yuan, it is not impossible!

(End of this chapter)