The big man has a living father

Chapter 131 (Long Chapter) Playing with People’s Hearts
After Ge Nan explained this thing to Huo Hai in detail, Huo Hai realized that they had actually gone very deep.

They discovered several different formulas for gunpowder.

The first formula developed was black powder, which is the formula used in firecrackers today.

But Ge Nan didn't take this thing seriously.

The cause was a dust explosion.

If the dust explosion was exaggerated, Ge Nan had also seen the tar explosion caused by Tang Sier.

The tar extracted by Tang Sier had been tested long ago to see if it was toxic and flammable. Tar was a standard flammable and explosive substance.

Moreover, Tang Si'er had conducted combustion and explosion experiments on various liquids produced after using different temperatures for distillation, as well as after using various methods such as secondary distillation, centrifugation, sedimentation, and dilution with water.

Some of these things are more powerful than the dust explosion.

Ge Nan thought, even if the dust explosion was caused by the enclosed space, it couldn't be that the gunpowder he refined would explode worse than the one made by Tang Si'er, a blacksmith, by burning coal, right?

How many of our alchemists have been killed by explosions while refining elixirs since ancient times? How many of their blacksmiths have been killed by explosions in their furnaces?

How does this work?
Hearing this, Huo Hai retreated tactically: "You're still better!"

Ge Nan felt bitter: "But we also have some new directions."

Huo Hai shook his head and thought that moving in the direction of black gunpowder was enough for now.

In the future, it will be difficult to produce powerful explosives without the support of petrochemicals, and this kind of thing cannot be forced forward.

"You should continue your research based on black gunpowder." Huo Hai: "Also, you can directly take over the flammable and explosive materials produced by other research groups for research. You don't have to research the original formula yourself."

"Improving the proportion of explosives to increase their explosive power, and mixing various explosives with new auxiliary prescriptions to make the explosive power stronger, is the direction of your research."

I have to say that these mediocre chemistry researchers who were transformed from alchemists are really stubborn.

It turns out that their ideas have already been discovered by others, so they not only continue to study them, but also try to make their ideas better than others.

History has long proven that this is stupid.

True industrialization means studying what others have already proven, and then doing it better than others.

As for higher-end scientific research, it should be left to people and institutions that already have achievements, will not starve to death, and will not become impoverished due to a long-term lack of achievements.

If all researchers were working on something they had no clue about, the efficiency would be too low.

Not everyone has the brains and ability to conduct research from scratch.

Huo Hai scolded Ge Nan harshly, then patted Ge Nan on the shoulder and said, "Your last name is Ge, and you are very talented. If you can develop gunpowder well, and you want to be an official, His Majesty will make you a marquis. If you want to continue to be an alchemist, His Majesty will allow you to establish a religion."

Among the alchemists, most of them have a strong desire for fame and fortune.

Why? Because those alchemists who were not ambitious for fame and gain all retired to remote places.

Is there any need to explain why the alchemist came to Chang'an?

Although other people didn't know, the alchemists were the most sensitive about whether the emperor was superstitious or not. During the Qin Shihuang era, the alchemists were concentrated in Xianyang. Before Qin Shihuang discovered that they were fraudsters, the alchemists lived a comfortable life.

Liu Che was also a superstitious believer in immortality, but who wouldn't want to live forever if they were in control of the situation? Only Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang were not interested in this.

Therefore, Ge Nan and the others came to Chang'an knowing that they might be noticed by His Majesty and could achieve great success.

But now, there is no need to make fake things, just gunpowder, and you can be granted a title and an official position. Ge Nan is very excited.

"How can I establish a religion? I just know more about refining medicine. If we have to talk, it's him."

Genan pointed at his deputy.

Huo Hai couldn't remember what Ge Nan's deputy's name was: "Your name?"

The deputy cupped his hands and said, "Sir, I am Zhang Li."

Huo Hai's eyes lit up: "Okay, okay, I think your last name is also very talented!"

"Where are you from?"

Huo Hai still remembered that Ge Nan was from Yuzhang County, which is near Gexian Mountain in later generations.

Zhang Li: "I am from Yuhan County, Jiujiang Prefecture."

Huo Hai pondered the map and became even more confused. Is this the way to do it? Is this the destiny? !

One of you has the surname Ge and the other has the surname Zhang, it’s hard for you not to be successful!

Huo Hai looked at Zhang Li and said seriously: "I will make gunpowder to help you establish a religion, and let His Majesty appoint you as the Heavenly Master."

Zhang Li took a step back and gasped, "Hiss! Heavenly Master? No, no, this is courting death. Who dares to be the teacher for the day?"

Huo Hai was about to correct Zhang Li's idea when he heard what he said. Suddenly, he realized what kind of article he should write for the coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow. He clapped his hands and said, "I got it."

Zhang Li and Ge Nan both stared at Huo Hai.

Huo Hai then looked at Zhang Li and said, "Confucius once said that one of the three people walking together can be my teacher. In addition to consulting Laozi, Confucius also consulted Shi Xiang, Tan Zi, and Chang Hong. This does not mean that their teachers are better than Confucius."

Zhang Li scratched his head: "Really? We are not familiar with Confucianism."

Huo Hai: "Then let's talk about something you are familiar with. The teachings of Huangdi and Laozi are called Huang-Lao Dao. But in addition to Dao, Huangdi is also famous for his medical skills, which are also called the art of Qihuang."

"The Qi in Qi Huang's art is Qi Bo."

The alchemists all nodded. The current method was basically Taoist medicine and miscellaneous studies. Of course, they knew Qi Bo.

Huo Hai: "Qi Bo is called the Celestial Master, and isn't the Su Wen a record of Huangdi's questions and Qi Bo's answers?"

"Is Qi Bo more powerful than Huangdi? No. He understood it before Huangdi, and then he passed it on to Huangdi, so he is the Heavenly Master."

"You can also understand it before the emperor and pass on what you understand to the emperor. You are also called the Heavenly Master. What's the problem?"

Zhang Li took a deep breath: "Hiss~"

Huo Hai: "When you become successful, I will add the most honorable word to your name."

Zhang Li: "Among the many characters in the world, the most respected character is country, so my name is... Zhang Liguo."

Huo Hai wiped his sweat and said, "Why add the Chinese character for "national"? Just add the Chinese character for "Tao" to your name and call yourself Zhang Lidao. The Chinese character for "Tao" itself can be added with the Chinese character for "national religion", which is quite good."

"All of this is premised on you being able to research and develop gunpowder that is easy to use, safe to produce, and has a huge explosive power!"

Apart from anything else, the new river channel was built soon after, and using gunpowder to blast open the mountain and create a gap was a huge opportunity for performance.

Zhang Li looked at Ge Nan, and both of them were full of expectations for the future.

Being granted the title of marquis or the title of celestial master, both sound good.

Both of them had longing in their eyes.

Huo Hai: "The most urgent task now is to use the formula of black powder to study how to improve the explosion efficiency, how to detonate remotely, how to make fuses, and how to blast rocks."

"If we can achieve the power to break mountains and split rocks, we can research weapons."

"Until then, study the stone cutting honestly."

In fact, it is no problem to use black powder to research weapons, especially earth muskets and earth rockets, which are not difficult to design.

However, Huo Hai still hopes to put production first.

After all, it is simply ridiculous to use so many different kinds of firearms to fight the Huns. How can the Huns bear it?

Once productivity catches up and we can occupy the desert forever, it won’t be too late to use firearms to fight.

This is estimated to happen in a few years, but for the next one or two months, mining and mountain opening are still necessary.

At the end, Huo Hai pulled Ge Nan aside and said, "There are more firecrackers than this one, right? Tomorrow I will have my coming-of-age ceremony, and His Majesty will be here, do you understand?"

Ge Nan nodded fiercely: "I understand! It's time to show your face!"

Xiang Xu stepped forward only after Huo Hai finished talking to Ge Nan and Zhang Li.

Huo Hai just saw Xiang Xu rushing over and thought that Xiang Xu was also attracted by the firecrackers to watch the fun.

I didn't expect that he was looking for me for something.

Xiang Xu stepped forward and whispered, "Sir, Wang He has found something."

Huo Hai raised his eyebrows.

Ten days have passed since Wang He came to investigate the case.

To be precise, Wang He had a lot of resources in his hands, and the time he spent on investigating the case far exceeded Huo Hai's expectations.

When Zhang Zuo was sent to the cell, Huo Hai also reminded Xiang Xu that anyone who went to the cell to see Zhang Ou and gave Zhang Ou melon seeds would be arrested and investigated.

When Wang He just took over the case, a scholar said that he knew Zhang Ou, went to meet Zhang Ou, and even gave Zhang Ou some melon seeds.

After catching the man, Xiang Xu tried the melon seeds and found that they could kill a dog, so they were definitely poisonous.

Moreover, it is a colorless and odorless poison, much stronger than the strong-smelling medicine that Zhang Ou himself used.

So when Wang He took over the case, Zhang Ou was there. He also knew why the person behind the scenes asked Zhang Ou to poison, and he also caught the person who came to poison Zhang Ou with the intention of escalating the incident.

Now ten days have passed and Wang He has just finished it, which makes Huo Hai very dissatisfied.

Following Xiang Xu, Huo Hai arrived at the parking lot of the research institute and found Wang He waiting beside the car with his head bent.

Huo Hai got in the car and said, "Tell me about it."

Wang He then got into the car, knelt on the floor and began to speak.

Huo Hai: "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Lord Huo!" Wang He thanked him again before sitting up and telling his story.

"At first I wanted to use this scholar to get rid of the root of the problem, and then I wanted to find out who was behind it."

"But soon I discovered the problem, so I sent someone to the scholar's home, but it was too late. The scholar's mother, wife and children were no longer in Chang'an."

"The person behind the scenes took the person away."

Huo Hai nodded. Although this method was not very powerful, it required a certain amount of power to accomplish. Otherwise, one would not be able to hide one's tracks and would be easily exposed.

Wang He acted quickly. As soon as he caught the man, he thought of protecting his family.

Wang He continued: "So, I think the most urgent thing at that time is to cut off the scholar Zhang Tian's contact with the outside world. Once he knows that his family has been taken away, there will be no hope of investigating this case."

Huo Hai nodded. This idea was definitely correct. If the news still got in despite strict defense, it would mean that it was an internal problem.

However, this possibility is not high. The yamen runners used by Huo Hai were all part-time yamen runners. In fact, they were part of the core soldiers under Huo Qubing, and each of them was a shareholder of Tongguan Coal Mine.

There is no way that he could be a traitor if he shares the same fate with Huo Hai.

Wang He continued, "Soon, Zhang Ou and Zhang Tian were interrogated separately, and indeed I discovered something was wrong. I pretended that Zhang Ou had confessed and knew that Zhang Tian was the instigator. I also said that poisoning would lead to the extermination of the clan, and that their entire family would be executed together."

"Zhang Tian couldn't stand it anymore and revealed an important piece of information."

"He said someone had instructed him to threaten Zhang Ou, and the object of the threat was a scroll of bamboo slips."

"As for what was written and who instructed him to do it, he will only tell us after he sees his family."

Bamboo slips?

Wang He continued: "After knowing that it was the bamboo slips and someone was instigating it, the problem became simple. I turned around and deceived Zhang Ou, and threatened Your Majesty that I would not show any mercy and wanted to confiscate the property and exterminate the clans of all those involved in the case. Zhang Ou relented."

Hearing this, Huo Hai felt something was wrong, but did not say anything.

Wang He continued to talk, and it turned out that Zhang Ou had loosened his mouth and confessed that someone was indeed threatening him.

As long as Huo Hai swears to give Zhang Zuo a light sentence and also swears to protect his son Zhang Zuo, he will tell who ordered it.

After the matter was settled, the car had already arrived at the government office.

After Huo Hai got off the car, he suddenly knew what was going on, but after looking at Wang He, Huo Hai did not say it out loud.

Wang He is still too young.

That's why I didn't see the essence through the phenomenon, but was overwhelmed by the sudden gain.

Wang He actually handled this matter very well without any loopholes, but he was not smart enough.

Although it was very clever to interrogate by deception and to interrogate separately, it was only technically clever and did not reach the level of human cleverness.

To manage the Imperial Guard, it is not enough to be smart and skilled.

After entering the cell, the soldiers dragged in a chair and placed a brazier.

Huo Hai, who was wearing a fur coat, took a seat before speaking: "Zhang Ou, I heard that you are willing to recruit?"

In the cell, Zhang Ou turned around and looked at Huo Hai: "I have conditions."

Huo Hai said casually: "I know you have a condition. Save your son Zhang Zuo, right? I will save his life."

Zhang Ou: "It's not enough not to sentence him in this case!"

"If I give out the person behind this, someone will definitely attack Zhang Zuo in the future. I will only agree to your request if no one attacks him in the future."

Huo Hai: "Oh? I promise that no one can do anything to Zhang Zuo, unless your majesty does it."

Originally, Huo Hai would not touch Zhang Zuo, because Zhang Zuo was actually the last noble in the lineage of Empress Lu. Even Your Majesty would have to find a way to confer another title on Zhang Zuo.

Zhang Ou in the cell didn't buy it and shook his head: "Promise? I don't believe in promises."

"I don't trust what a person says. I only believe what he does."

Huo Hai smiled: "Oh?"

Zhang Ou: "I heard that you will be an adult tomorrow, and after that you can be a teacher. Tomorrow you will accept my son Zhang Zuo as your disciple in front of all the officials and nobles of Chang'an."

"Only in this way can I trust you to save his life."

Huo Hai looked at Zhang Zuo.

Even though Zhang Zuo was in jail, no one would do anything to such a kid. But Zhang Zuo didn't look very good at that time.

It was obvious that he had been hung up and beaten.

Huo Hai: "Is he willing?"

Zhang Zuo knelt on the ground hurriedly: "Teacher!"

Huo Hai: "Okay, I will accept him as my disciple tomorrow. After tomorrow, I will execute the scholar's family according to the law. No one will threaten you anymore."

Zhang Zuo hurriedly said: "We can't kill them!"

"They are the witnesses of our agreement. Besides, it's not them who are threatening me, but the mastermind. If I kill them, won't the mastermind feel something is wrong and just run away?"

"You have to promise me that you can root out the mastermind behind this before I tell you. Otherwise, even if you accept Zhang Zuo as your disciple, I won't tell you!"

Huo Hai nodded: "Okay, tomorrow, I hope you can keep your promise after tomorrow."

After leaving the cell and getting in the car again, Xiang Xu said: "Sir, this matter is really complicated. We need to consider the issues of so many groups."

Huo Hai: “Not bad.”

In fact, Huo Hai never considered the affairs of any group at all. It was just an illusion that outsiders saw all this and thought of it for themselves.

Xiang Xu: "However, the scholar Zhang Tian is not so easy to kill. It is better not to kill him. Confucian scholars have bad tempers. Zhang Tian's family has disappeared for more than ten days. Many people in the Imperial College are spreading this matter. There are many bad news."

Huo Hai: "Oh? Then go and...visit Lu Bushu and see what he has to say."

"I remember I promised him before that if he could learn Confucianism taught by Nasus, I would give him white paper. Then he can pick it up from our paper shop and deliver it to him. It's very close anyway." Xiang Xu drove: "Yes!"

In the car, Huo Hai glanced at Wang He and shook his head.

Wang He was a smart man. Looking at Huo Hai's expression, he knew he had missed something.

Huo Hai: "It's good to be cautious, but sometimes...speed is of the essence."

"You thought you were investigating carefully, but you didn't know someone was using this time to erase all traces."

Wang He whispered, "Master Huo, I don't understand."

Huo Hai: "Zhang Ou didn't give in before, but now he suddenly gives in?"

Wang He: "If we follow this line of thought, does it mean that... Zhang Ou didn't give in because he was stalling for time, and now he feels that he has stalled long enough, so he gave in?"

Huo Hai: "That's the first point. Second, do you remember what you said to Zhang Ou?"

Wang He shook his head, still not understanding.

Huo Hai sighed: "If I'm not mistaken, you will see Zhang Tian's family at Lu Bushu's house in a while."

"You should have figured out what Zhang Tian's family members look like, right?"

Wang He didn't understand, but was greatly shocked.

Zhang Tian’s family appeared in Lu Bushu’s house. Doesn’t that mean Lu Bushu is the mastermind behind all this?
Soon, the car was loaded with white paper and arrived at Lu Bushu's house.

Lu Bushu's house was not big. It was just an ordinary courtyard in an ordinary neighborhood. At most, it was slightly better and bigger than those of ordinary people, and had a few servants to dry books.

There are just some trees, flowers and plants planted in the yard.

When Huo Hai's car arrived at the door, Lu Bushu's servant went to the Imperial College to inform Lu Bushu.

Huo Hai was waiting at the door. After a while, Lu Bushu's carriage came back in a hurry.

When he saw Huo Hai, he immediately laughed and cupped his hands: "Master Huo, I heard that you kept your promise and came to deliver the paper?!"

Huo Hai smiled and said, "Of course I will keep my promise. Everyone knows that we in the Huo family are trustworthy."

Lu Bushu and Huo Hai had been at odds for a long time, but because of the Confucius Institute teaching foreigners, the situation has eased a little, and now they seem to be on good terms.

Lu Bushu smiled and said, "Then Lord Huo, I won't be polite. I'll take this paper and get in my car."

Huo Hai stopped Lu Bushu and said, "No hurry, how can we let Lord Lu do it himself? Xiang Xu, drive the carriage into the house, and then put the paper in Lord Lu's study personally."

Xiang Xu pulled the reins: "Yes!"

"Please open the door."

Lu Bushu's servant stared at Xiang Xu without saying a word.

Lu Bushu laughed awkwardly: "That's not necessary, I can do it myself."

"My yard is too small, and the wheel tracks on the threshold are too narrow to accommodate Lord Huo's new large cart."

Huo Hai didn't buy it: "Really? Then the threshold can be removed."

"Open the door."

Lu Bushu: "No need..."

Huo Hai shouted: "Open the door!"

Xiang Xu didn't even pull the reins and directly drew out his sword.

Lu Bushu's face darkened, and he said slowly: "Open the door and let Master Huo in."

After the door opened, Huo Hai's car drove in.

Lu Bushu's courtyard was not a separate courtyard with four walls, but a courtyard with a central building.

There is a building in the middle of the yard, surrounded by a circle of small houses. This is a common Han-style courtyard that makes good use of space without appearing stingy.

The disadvantage is that the plants planted in the house are relatively small, because the whole house is actually a large courtyard with a little more in the middle, like a sun character.

Because of this shortcoming, as soon as you enter the yard, you can see through half of the space of the entire yard at a glance.

There are a total of six rooms on both sides of the front yard, most of which have their doors open. The small room in the backyard blocked by the main building in the middle cannot be seen, but the rooms on both sides can also be seen.

The doors of all the other rooms were open, except for one which was closed and locked.

There was also a strong slave standing outside.

Huo Hai: "Master Lu, there is another room in your house that is more heavily guarded than my prison. What is locked in it?"

Lu Bushu said nothing.

Wang He had understood and drew his sword: "Speak!"

Lu Bushu looked at Huo Hai and said, "Master Huo is really smart. Don't you already know everything? Why don't you go and see for yourself?"

Huo Hai: "Open the door! Take him away."

Inside the house were Zhang Tian’s mother, wife and children.

After opening the door, Wang He was sure enough. He had been looking for them these days. Of course, he knew what they looked like and immediately confirmed: "It's them."

Huo Hai: “Take it away.”

In fact, the logic of this matter is very simple.

After Zhang Ou was captured for so long, it is impossible that the people behind the scenes did not take any action.

Zhang Tianlai's poisoning was the work of the person behind the scenes.

The person behind the scenes wanted Zhang Ou to die in the Chang'an County Second Lieutenant Prison and then completely detonate the conflict.

But things changed after Zhang Tian failed and was caught.

The mastermind behind this will definitely need time to clean up the tracks and throw out a second scapegoat.

If Huo Hai cannot find Lu Bushu from Zhang Tian, ​​then Huo Hai is incompetent.

If Huo Hai finds out, all the evidence will be in Lu Bushu's house.

On the one hand, the mastermind behind this was sacrificing his rook to save his king, and on the other hand, it was forcing Huo Hai to kill another one.

The reason is simple. Lü Bushu has been a doctor of lectures at the Imperial Academy for many years. Now that the Imperial Academy has been reformed and has more disciples, Lü Bushu has lost his voice and was eventually arrested and killed. No matter what the reason is, don't try to convince Confucian scholars.

As long as Huo Hai killed Lu Bushu and Zhang Ou, it would mean that the old aristocracy and the old academic cliques would stand together at the same time, and the contradiction would be escalated.

While waiting for the lieutenant's office to send someone over, Huo Hai asked Xiang Xu to look for it, and sure enough, he found a bamboo slip in Lu Bushu's collection.

No wonder Zhang Ou was forced to do so many things.

The bamboo slips can be said to be letters, or they can be said to be love letters in the later sense.

It was written by Zhang Ou and addressed to a certain woman, who must be an extraordinary person.

Once discovered, the title of Marquis Xuanping would be ruined.

Wang He didn't understand: "Why is it Lü Bushu? Your Excellency didn't even check, but you knew it was Lü Bushu?"

Huo Hai: "Some things can be seen at a glance, there is no need to check at all."

Zhang Tian was just a student at the Imperial College. Although the students of the Imperial College were very prestigious compared to scholars from other places, they were just ordinary people to the officials in Chang'an.

How can these ordinary people get in touch with dignitaries?

A certain teacher.

So if someone instructed Zhang Tian to threaten Zhang Ou, who was it?
Who could connect the mastermind who belongs to the high-ranking aristocracy with Zhang Tian, ​​a student of the Imperial College?

Who could possibly have something on a student and use threats or bribes to make the student commit illegal acts?

There is only one answer: a certain teacher, a teacher who has been this student's teacher for a long time.

So who is it?
There were only fifty people in the Imperial Academy and only three teachers. Who were they?

It’s so hard to guess.

Wang He also understood.

This is not deduction by evidence, but by logic.

This is not the style of the Legalists, but the answer deduced is no worse than the one inferred by the Legalists.

Huo Hai: "Wang He, I am very disappointed in you. You have a smart mind, have learned criminal investigation techniques, and know everything a spy should know, but you don't know how to act in a convenient way."

Wang He lowered his head.

Huo Hai: "I'll give you one last chance. Keep investigating. I'll tell you one more thing. If you still can't find out who is behind this, then you'll never be able to become the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards."

As for talent, it’s not that we can’t give him space and time to grow, but if he still can’t get anything done after being given several opportunities, what kind of talent is he?
He is nothing but a mediocrity masquerading as talent.

Wang He looked up at Huo Hai.

Is it possible that apart from the fact that Lu Bushu was instigating Zhang Tian in this case, there is something else that he doesn't know?
It is clear that the adults did not investigate, but just listened to my report and talked with Zhang Ou, and knew everything?
Huo Hai looked at Wang He and said, "Do you know why Zhang Ou suddenly gave in? It's not because you have the evidence and he can't argue anymore."

"For a person who likes to quibble and be stubborn, you can't do anything to him even if you have solid evidence."

"But before he relented, you said you would punish them according to the law of poisoning and sentence the people involved to extermination of their entire clan, so he relented."

Wang He didn't understand: "Isn't that still Zhang Zuo's business?"

Huo Hai shook his head: "Zhang Ou knew that his son was the only blood of Empress Lu, he would not die, and there would be someone to protect him, so why did he let it go? He let it go for others."

Wang He suddenly realized.

Yes, this child Zhang Zuo is the last of the noble bloodline of Empress Lu. Not only will he not die, Your Majesty will definitely protect him.

What is Zhang Ou afraid of?
Zhang Ou was clearly afraid of something else.

However, in the whole incident, apart from Zhang Ou and others and the currently uncovered mastermind behind the scenes, Lu Bushu, there is Zhang Tian. What does Zhang Ou have to do with the affairs of Zhang Tian's family?
"Wait a minute!" Wang He understood.

Bamboo slips!

A letter Zhang Ou wrote to a woman expressing his heartfelt feelings... Could it be that Zhang Tian is Zhang Ou’s illegitimate son?
How did the mastermind make Zhang Ou sure that he really knew the truth?

Assuming that Zhang Tian is Zhang Ou’s illegitimate son, and the mastermind behind the scenes specifically drives Zhang Tian to threaten Zhang Ou, no matter how stupid Zhang Ou is, he knows that the other party knows the truth.

Wang He's pupils trembled.

If the speculation is correct.

Is the mastermind behind this a person? The mastermind must know all this, and then let Lu Bushu drive Zhang Tian, ​​the illegitimate son who is unaware of it, to poison his own father?
Is this something a human would do???
The mastermind behind this is a beast!

This person must have done it on purpose. Not only did he set up a plan, but he also did such a disgusting thing. Was it just to make Zhang Ou sure that he knew about it? Or was it for some kind of bad taste?
Maybe it’s for the thrill of playing with people’s hearts?

Wang He looked at Huo Hai again, and his eyes changed.

Lord Huo can see through people's nature at a glance, but he never disdains to use such dirty but effective means. However, he can still call the shots in Chang'an. He is a truly capable man.

Huo Hai: "Go check it out."

Huo Hai actually had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but he just had no evidence.

Zhang Tian’s mother must be a relative of Zhang Ou, and a blood relative.

Because from the past fifty years to the present, incest has been particularly prevalent among the Han nobles.

When Emperor Wu of Han caught such a thing, he would usually impose severe sentences, remove the country's name, and strip the title.

So, it was really miserable for Zhang Ou to be put on the shelf.

If he didn't poison him, the person behind the scenes would make his deeds public and have Marquis Xuanping removed from his title. In this way, Zhang Zuo would lose his title and his illegitimate son Zhang Tian would also have to die. Don't forget that Zhang Tian also had a son, which means that he was actually Zhang Ou's grandson.

Other people have grown up grandchildren by the time they are in their forties, and they may even have great-grandchildren soon, but Zhang Ou does not have that. His wife gave birth to children very late.

So Zhang Ou should be particularly fond of this illegitimate grandson.

If he poisons Zhang Zuo at the cost of his own life, even if his title of Marquis Xuanping is revoked, His Majesty will still give him a new title out of nostalgia.

And Zhang Tian can also be saved.

I just don’t know what Zhang Ou thought after Zhang Tian sent the poisoned melon seeds.

But the most insidious and powerful part of this plan is not these.

Let’s start digging from Zhang Ou. Zhang Ou was an old aristocrat with a special status. Zhang Tian was the illegitimate son of this old aristocrat, and Lu Bushu was a scholar tycoon.

These three people represent the three most special groups in the Han Dynasty today: dukes and marquises, descendants of dukes and marquises born from promiscuous behavior, and Confucian scholars.

These three people were killed because of this incident. What will be the consequences if someone else leads the trend?
Huo Hai calculated that if his guess was correct, there should be at least two people behind the scenes.

One is the representative of ordinary Confucian scholars other than the academic cliques.

One is an official in the court.

These five people are not afraid of investigation.

The deeper Huo Hai investigates and the clearer the investigation becomes, the more people he has to deal with.

The mastermind behind the scenes is not afraid of Huo Hai killing people at all. Instead, he hopes that Huo Hai will kill more people.

Because the more he kills, the more people he can mobilize!
Even if Huo Hai finds out the mastermind behind the incident, there is no need to be afraid, because his last plan is to use himself as a bargaining chip.

This case will only become more complicated the more we investigate, and the more people are killed, the worse the situation will become.

But Huo Hai still insisted on investigating.

What does it matter if the situation collapses? The new rich and the old aristocracy are naturally opposed, unless the old aristocracy transforms itself into the new rich and the new aristocracy.

Otherwise, opposition is bound to exist and will definitely erupt.

The mastermind behind this wanted to use this confrontation to force Huo Hai to back down, but that was a wrong idea.

This is one of them.

Second, Huo Hai would never allow anyone to do something behind the scenes.

This problem seems unsolvable.

But it was too easy for Huo Hai to solve.

If tying them together is difficult to handle and can easily lead to conflicts, wouldn't it be better to handle them separately?

Why must it be packaged?

Who said that good people must follow the rules?
You know that drinking hot and cold water at the same time will cause diarrhea, but you have to drink them both. Why not just drink the hot water first, wait until it's digested, and then drink the cold water?

After sending Wang He and Zhang Tian's family to the government office, Huo Hai let the matter go.

Fantian is December 28th, which is the birthday Huo Hai set for himself and also the coming-of-age ceremony.

Liu Che will come to participate.

All the civil and military officials in Chang'an City will come here.

Huo Qubing asked Huo Hai to write an article. Huo Hai had never known how to write it, but now he knew.

(End of this chapter)