Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 486 Lou Minzhong: Shi Bao, what's your rush? [3rd update, please vote!]

You should know that Fang Tianding and Fang Jinzhi had made an agreement that Fang Jinzhi would return the throne to Fang Tianding's son in the future!

If there had been no such agreement, Fang Jinzhi and Cai Fu's son would have ascended the throne!
Fang Tianding has been assassinated. If it weren't for Su Jing and Mi Quan risking their lives to save him, Fang Tianding would have been dead!
If the assassin is Lin Chong, who is connected to Cai Fu, he could cause a huge mess if he is misled by someone with ulterior motives!
"impossible!"

Shi Bao, who had been to Liangshan Marsh, knew that Cai Fu and Song Jiang were actually only superficially united and not truly on the same side.

"Song Jiang, the 'Timely Rain,' had already separated from the Prince of Qi!"
"Lin Chong cannot be considered one of Prince Qi's men!"

Lou Minzhong, stroking his beard, spoke from a rational, neutral, and objective perspective:
"But everyone in the martial arts world says they are all in cahoots, and both Prince Qi and Song Jiang have tacitly accepted this."

Shi Bao wanted to argue, but Lou Minzhong simply raised his hand:
"Hey? Marshal Shi, I was just saying there's one possibility, why are you in such a hurry?"

Shi Bao's face turned green, and Deng Yuanjue snorted coldly:
"impossible!

"King Qi was chivalrous and righteous, with a heart as vast as the heavens!"

"This humble monk is willing to swear on his life that this was absolutely not the work of the King of Qi!"

Grand Commandant Zheng Biao, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected:
"Grand Preceptor, I remember that you and King Qi's sworn brother, 'Flowery Monk' Lu Zhishen, were also sworn brothers, weren't they?"

"Amitabha……"

Deng Yuanjue clasped his hands together, his voice weakening slightly:

"It is true that monks do not lie."

"Given this relationship, it would be best for the Imperial Advisor not to get involved."

Zheng Biao spoke ambiguously, leaving Deng Yuanjue speechless, only shaking his bald head like a rattle drum.

"Your Majesty, please do not misunderstand. I have no ill intentions towards the Prince of Qi!"

Zheng Biao glanced up and saw Fang Jinzhi's face was ashen, so he quickly added:
"I simply thought this was one possibility."

"Since it's a possibility, we should list it out so that we can analyze it to find the real culprit."

Fang Jinzhi snorted coldly: "Who else?"

Lou Minzhong stroked his beard, deep in thought:
"There is also the Privy Councilor Lü Shinang, but Privy Councilor Lü's martial arts skills are far inferior to those of the Grand Preceptor."

"Your Majesty, only Du Xue and Lin Chong seem to have that kind of ability."

"If it is Du Xue, I still can't understand his motive for assassinating the Prince of Nan'an..."

"Shh-"

Deng Yuanjue and Shi Bao, who were close to Cai Fu, immediately focused their attention on Lou Minzhong.

Shi Bao couldn't help but retort: ​​"What does Prime Minister Lou mean by that?"
"Could Lin Chong possibly have a motive to assassinate the Prince of Nan'an?"

Lou Minzhong waved his hand: "Look at you, you're in such a hurry again."

"You said that, I never said that."

"you--"

Shi Bao was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. At this moment, Zheng Biao interrupted again:
"Actually, solving the case is quite simple."

"Although Su Jing and Mi Quan died in battle, three or four hundred Imperial Guards survived."

"They had all seen what the assassin looked like."

"The assassin was masked, but his figure could not be concealed."

"Moreover, the assassin also revealed half of his face above his nose."

"Du Xue is the Grand General of Chu, so it's inconvenient for us to investigate him."

"Lin Chong is a general under the Prince of Qi. Please send Lin Chong here so we can see for ourselves."

"If those three or four hundred Imperial Guards don't recognize Lin Chong, then it goes without saying that the real culprit must be Du Xue!"

"We'll just go to the King of Chu and demand an explanation!"

"Your Majesty, what do you think of my suggestion?"

Fang Jinzhi frowned.

She genuinely didn't believe this matter had anything to do with Cai Fu. However, she had to admit that Zheng Biao's suggestion was fair, and refusing it would make her seem guilty.

"It's not right, it's not right!"

To Fang Jinzhi's surprise, it was Lou Minzhong who objected:
"Grand Commandant Zheng's suggestion is inappropriate. If it weren't for Lin Chong, wouldn't it have damaged the harmony between the two families?"

"In my opinion, it would be better to send a few fierce generals with the courage of ten thousand men, along with a few dozen Imperial Guards present, disguised as soldiers, to secretly investigate Lin Chong."

"If those dozens of Imperial Guards don't recognize Lin Chong, they can return without anyone noticing."

Zheng Biao gave a thumbs up in admiration:
"This humble general has been too hasty; it must be the Prime Minister who truly understands!"

Deng Yuanjue and Shi Bao exchanged a glance, speechless. Lou Minzhong's suggestion was truly impeccable.

If Fang Jinzhi doesn't accept this, anyone would suspect that she doesn't want to find out the real culprit.

Fang Jinzhi sighed silently: "That's how it is!"
"Who should we send? Do you have anyone you can recommend?"

It has to be me!

Lou Minzhong stroked his beard smugly and looked around:

"Lin Chong is brave enough to fight ten thousand men, so we must also send a fierce general who is brave enough to fight ten thousand men."

"Your Majesty, I recommend three valiant generals: first, General Li Tianrun, the Grand Commandant of the Palace Guard Zheng Biao, and third, Pang Wanchun, the garrison commander of Yuling Pass."

"Marshal Li is a master of martial arts, Grand Commandant Zheng is a master of magic, and General Pang is the best archer in Jiangnan."

"With these three valiant generals on the mission, there will be no chance of failure."

Upon hearing this, Deng Yuanjue and Shi Bao realized that the arrangement was perfect, especially since Pang Wanchun was close to Cai Fu.

If Lin Chong is indeed not the real culprit, Pang Wanchun would never allow Li Tianrun and Zheng Biao to wrongly accuse Cai Fu.

Fang Jinzhi also felt that Lou Minzhong's recommendation was correct, but still decided to add one more:
"To ensure everything goes smoothly, please invite Marshal Shi, Grand Commandant Zheng, Marshal Li, and General Pang to accompany us."

Shi Bao was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Lou Minzhong and Zheng Biao glanced at Shi Bao:
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

……

Qingzhou, city gate.

Several people of different races lined up at the back of a long queue, waiting to enter the city.

The leader was a shifty-eyed, mustachioed old man who looked left and right with his shifty eyes.

"Safety first. If the Qi army checks the city gates strictly, we'll use silver to get in."

Behind the old man followed a pair of burly men who looked as if they were cut from the same mold, both with big, round, and bright eyes, one being eight feet tall and the other seven feet tall.

The burly man said dismissively, "Advisor, why go to such trouble?"

"The southern barbarians are weak and easily bullied, cowardly and useless!"
"Let's just storm in and demand the person from that Cai guy!"

The burly man also said, "Brother is right!"

"Even the Southern Barbarian Imperial Guards are no match for them, let alone rebels?"

"Don't underestimate your enemy!"

The old man gave the two brothers a sideways look:
"Golden-eyed youth, silver-eyed youth, have you forgotten what the Fourth Prince instructed you before you came out?"
"Everything is subject to my orders!"

Helpless, the golden-eyed Langlang and the silver-eyed Langlang could only follow behind the old man in line, looking rather aggrieved.

Finally, it was the old man's turn in line. The old man, all smiles, said to the gatekeeper, Qi Jun:
"Sir, we're from the north selling animal hides. Please make an exception and let us in."

As he spoke, the old man took out a ten-tael silver ingot and, under the cover of his wide sleeves, stuffed it into the hand of the Qi soldier.

The old man thought that paying the money would allow him to enter the city, but something unexpected happened—

The Qi soldier took the silver, weighed it in his hand, stuffed it into his pocket, and pointed at him, shouting:
"There's a spy—"

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(End of this chapter)