Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 226 Capturing Lives

Upon hearing this, Mr. Wen was stunned. As one of the strategists in the Manichaeism, Mr. Wen naturally had some understanding of the current situation in Daliang. He knew about all the key ministers in the court, but he couldn't possibly be unaware of the situation of the current prime minister's family.

In particular, the prime minister came from the famous Wang clan of Taiyuan, and his eldest son, Wang Yan, was a well-known child prodigy in Daliang.

Now Jiang Sanniang says she wants to give Wang Yan to the Empress Dowager of Western Xia.

How can it be?

If you look at it the other way around, if she actually succeeds, it would truly be an exceptionally valuable gift.

The Great Liang will inevitably descend into chaos as a result; at the very least, that Prime Minister Wang will resign from his position. What will become of the Wang family members of Taiyuan after this?

Regardless of whether Wang Yan can be rescued, the Wang family has already incurred the enmity of Western Xia. They will likely seek an opportunity to incite the Great Liang to wage war against Western Xia. The Manichaeism wants the situation to be as chaotic as possible so that they can take the opportunity to incite their followers and seize the world.

Mr. Wen asked, "How can you prove it?"

Xie Yuyan looked at the soldiers' corpses on the ground, a cold glint in her eyes. Then she took off the jade pendant from her waist: "Mr. Wen, do you know Wang Yan's courtesy name? Then you can recognize whose jade pendant this is."

Mr. Wen reached out to take the jade pendant, but Xie Yuyan refused to let go: "This is something to be presented to the Empress Dowager; it is more important than our lives."

There was no room for negotiation in those cold, hard words.

Mr. Wen frowned, but he couldn't argue with Jiang San Niang at this moment, so he had no choice but to go over and take a look.

Upon seeing the cranes, flowers, and cloud patterns on the jade pendant, and then looking at the character "王" (king) printed in the carving on the back, his eyes narrowed.

This jade pendant is clearly an item belonging to a high-ranking official or noble family. Young men from aristocratic families wear jade pendants, especially after they have acquired a courtesy name.

"This..." Mr. Wen finally calmed down after a long while. "Wang Yan must have guards around him. How could you possibly succeed?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Sir, you are still unaware of the affairs of the Liang Dynasty? Wang Yan came to Daming Prefecture to investigate the case of their military officers smuggling goods."

"The cases you heard about in Daming Prefecture were not because of He Tan."

Mr. Wen suddenly realized: "You mean..."

Xie Yuyan said, "Our people have long known that Wang Yan is an envoy sent by the Emperor of Liang to Daming Prefecture. Now Wang Yan has evidence of those military officers' smuggling, which is why he has attracted the pursuit of the military officers of Daming Prefecture."

"I have planted spies around Wang Yan. Once the military officers and the Wang family guards are both exhausted, I can reap the benefits."

Mr. Wen took a deep breath; the current situation seemed to be exactly like that.

Otherwise, why would so many imperial troops gather here?
They clearly intend to besiege this mountain. Who on the mountain is worth their fuss over?

Xie Yuyan said, "If you still don't believe me, grab a military officer and interrogate him to see if the person they're dealing with is Wang Yan."

Now it seems that only this path can prove that Jiang San Niang's words are true.

“I advise you to verify this as soon as possible,” Xie Yuyan glanced at Mr. Wen. “If we delay any longer, and Wang Yan falls into the hands of the imperial court, with the manpower of our two sects here, it will be very difficult to take him back. In that case, all our calculations and plans will be in vain.”

"On the contrary, if this matter is accomplished, your Manichaeism will also be able to establish itself in Great Xia. With both of our religions assisting the Empress Dowager of Great Xia, in the future... will we still be afraid of not being able to secure a place?"

Mr. Wen's heart was pounding in his chest; he might have encountered the greatest opportunity of his life. Xie Yuyan continued, "Don't worry, if the Manichaeism refuses to give you important positions, you can come to my Maitreya Cult. I can guarantee that you will definitely be able to make your mark in the Maitreya Cult... In short, you don't have to stay in a place like this."

Mr. Wen feigned composure: "That would be extremely risky. If you're lying to us, everyone will die here."

Xie Yuyan paused for a moment, then looked at Mr. Wen again: "In my opinion, you should rather die today."

Mr. Wen's expression changed drastically: "What do you mean by this?"

Xie Yuyan raised his head slightly: "You need to think carefully. If there's no movement for ten or twenty years, even if Manichaeism really prospers in the future, what does it have to do with you? What good will it do you even if you live?"

Mr. Wen was astonished again, as if Jiang San Niang could see right through him. No wonder everyone said that the Maitreya Sect was powerful; they had repeatedly resisted the imperial court, and no matter how the court tried to suppress them, they could always revive themselves if given the chance.

Hearing so many things at once, Mr. Wen was still unable to sort them all out when Zheng Long returned.

Zheng Long and his men also captured several soldiers. Although he, like Wang Hu, had noticed something amiss and guessed that they had been tricked by Jiang San Niang, he was not alarmed. These people were already opposing the imperial court, so what did it matter if they killed a few government soldiers? Taking the opportunity to kill a few more people would actually make him feel good.

Back here, he keenly sensed that the situation had changed; the woman and Mr. Wen seemed to have reached some kind of consensus.

Seeing the soldiers' corpses on the ground, Zheng Long did not repeat the news that Wang Hu had brought back. Instead, he said, "There are quite a few government soldiers. Should we leave now?"

Mr. Wen did not respond, but instead looked at the soldiers who had been brought there bound and gagged.

“Interrogate them,” Mr. Wen said. “Find out why they came here. If they don’t answer, kill them all.”

The soldiers looked terrified. Their pampered lives had long since robbed them of their courage. After being dragged away and hacked a few times by Zheng Long and Wang Hu, they immediately confessed with cries of pain.

"We don't know either. It was the Inspector who brought us here to arrest the criminals."

With another slash, a head fell to the ground.

Zheng Long then grabbed another man. This man's armor was different from that of ordinary soldiers; they intentionally saved him for last. Before Zheng Long's knife could fall, the junior officer said, "It's to arrest officials sent by the imperial court..."

"According to the Inspector, it is Wang Yan."

"Among those with Wang Yan were some refugees."

Upon hearing the words "fleeing people," Mr. Wen immediately looked at Xie Yuyan, who nodded, clearly indicating that there were members of the Maitreya sect among the fleeing people.

Mr. Wen frowned in thought; now everything made sense.

After questioning the junior officer, Zheng Long swiftly drew his knife and killed the man.

Xie Yuyan turned to Mr. Wen: "Well? Would you like to come with me?"

Before Mr. Wen could speak, Wang Hu was already excited. He wished he could rush into the soldiers and kill them all. In his mind, those corrupt officials should have died long ago.

“You still have black oil,” Xie Yuyan said. “If we light a few more and throw them over there, those soldiers will naturally scatter in all directions, and we can take the opportunity to find a way up the mountain.”

"Wang Yan has been besieged for several days, and his guards are probably no longer able to fight. When that happens, we can coordinate with our people to capture him alive."