Chapter 226 Killer

Jiangling City is very large. Due to population loss, a large amount of paddy fields were reclaimed in the northern area of ​​the city.

More than 10,000 troops are not enough to fill the defense line of Jiangling city wall.

In the official residence in the city, Liu Qi's chief clerk Yang Lu was lying on the sickbed and coughing.

The new doctor examined Yang Lu tremblingly, and his face looked very ugly.

In the corridor outside the ward, there was a soldier standing guard every five steps.

Liu Qi had a gloomy expression, was wearing inner armor, and was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Wang Wei, who had returned to Jiangling earlier, was standing beside him at this moment. He had broadened his horizons in Guanzhong and was now standing there like a pillar, motionless.

Xu Si, an official at the court, also looked gloomy. Yang Lu was infected with the disease without knowing it, which meant that he might have been infected as well, and so might Liu Qi.

If we don't get rid of the thief who did this, there will be no peace in the future.

Soon, the doctor walked out of the ward, turned around and closed the door. He shook his head slightly at Yang Yi who came to meet him, and hurried to see Liu Qi: "General, Zhubu is incurable. If he is transported to Guanzhong quickly, there may be some hope."

Li Feng has a great reputation. He saved more than 400 of the 500 seriously injured soldiers. This is a terrifying healing efficiency.

With Li Feng accompanying the army, the already high morale can be further boosted.

Xu Si waved his hand gently, and the doctor tactfully left.

Liu Qi asked Yang Yi: "There is still a chance to go to Guanzhong, make a decision early."

Yang Yi bowed and said, "I am willing to go to Guanzhong."

The fourteen-year-old Yang Yi responded with a sinister look: "If my brother cannot be saved, when I return to Jingzhou, I will bring my troops with me."

Xu Si stepped forward and patted Yang Yi on the shoulder: "Don't say such things again after you leave this door. A real man can take revenge without telling others."

"Yes."

Yang Yi responded that revenge would only be achieved by killing the three clans.

His brother Yang Lu is a child prodigy and the other party may hunt him down and exterminate his brothers and their relatives.

Seeing Yang Yi's clear attitude, Liu Qi turned to look at Wang Wei and said, "Choose a hundred men to escort brothers Wei Fang and Wei Gong to the north overnight."

"Here."

Liu Qi took out a stack of silk books and handed them to Yang Yi: "Go to Guanzhong and give these books to Hei Zhenbei. He will take good care of you two brothers."

"Yes."

Yang Yi agreed, and was not in the mood to thank anyone.

Only then did Liu Qi leave the official residence and return to his General Fu Bo Mansion.

Lai Gong, the chief historian of Fubo, became alienated from him, and Wu Chen, the Sima of Fubo's ships, also changed his attitude.

The people from southern Jing in the general's mansion almost explicitly opposed Yuan Tan's takeover of Jiaozhou, which made Liu Qi angry but also glad that these people were exposed.

Now, I finally understand why my father is so distressed.

The uncooperative attitude of the people of Jingnan in order to bargain made Liu Qi begin to appreciate Black Bear's method of killing three clans.

But he also knew that Black Bear's killing of the three tribes broke certain bottom lines, which triggered the collective madness of the people of Jingzhou.

In the general's mansion, Liu Qi sat down and said, "The thief's methods are vicious, I will never let him off easily."

His eyes fell on Xu Si, who had rich experience in troubled times. "You have been around for a long time and have a wide range of experience. Do you have any plans?"

"My lord, I think we should summon Wu Chen to question him. He must give an explanation today as to what to do next."

Xu Si's attitude was clear: "The people of Changsha have been in a stalemate with the old lord for several years. For the lord, Wu's ministers should not be trusted or distrusted. Summon him for questioning and give him a chance."

"it is good."

Liu Qi closed his eyes as he spoke, but Xu Si would not miss this opportunity: "The Chief Secretary has been ill for a few days, please choose another wise one."

Lai Gong wants to leave, so the cutting is complete.

Liu Qi still respected Lai Gong and didn't want things to get to this point.

But the people of Jingnan were determined to reap the biggest benefits from Jiaozhou and Nanhai, and Liu Qi really had no choice.

This is not something that can be solved by persuading Yuan Tan to compromise. The people of Jiaozhou want a strong and famous person to be the governor of the state. Isn't it because they want this strong man to stabilize the internal order and resist external oppression?
If Yuan Tan agreed now, he would either break the agreement or be expelled by the people of Jiaozhou after taking office.

Liu Qi was also coveting the commercial profits in the South China Sea. After Yuan Tan took office, if he gave him some of the profits, he could easily support two or three thousand more standing soldiers.

If we let Lai Gong and other people from southern Jing go alone, they won’t even give him soup to drink.

As they reap the benefits of trade with the South China Sea, the people of Jingnan will grow rapidly and will become more difficult to check and balance.

Whether in the short or long term, Liu Qi must oppose the expansion of the Jingnan people.

So if Lai Gong wants to commit suicide, let Lai Gong die.

Liu Qi thought about it and said, "I want to recruit Liu Ba of Lingling and Liu Zichu as the chief secretary."

"If Liu Zichu comes, there will be no worries in Jingnan."

Xu Si agreed immediately. Liu Biao tried to recruit Liu Ba several times, but Liu Ba ignored them and stayed in Lingling as a county official. He held various key positions, from the position of household historian, chief accountant to the current chief clerk.

When it comes to mastering Lingling's household registration and tax information, no one can surpass Liu Ba.

A person's influence cannot be judged solely by his official position. Liu Ba's reputation and influence had long been beyond the constraints of a county or prefecture official position.

He immediately drafted a document, selected envoys, and sailed to Lingling to recruit Liu Ba.

When Xu Si sent someone to summon Wu Chen, the commander of the tower ships, he also found Wang Wei, who was in charge of the general's palace guards: "Wu Chen has a wide range of social contacts and many friends. If he is expelled this time, he will surely hate the lord. Rather than waiting for him to gather his followers, it is better to arrange swordsmen in the court to hack and kill them all."

Wang Wei refused: "If there is a personal order from the lord, I dare not disobey."

Xu Si said: "The people of Jingnan are provoking us because our lord is kind to others. They take advantage of our lord's kindness and don't use strict laws to punish them, so they are so arrogant. Killing one of our officials can make thousands of others realize their mistake."

Wang Wei still shook his head after hearing this: "Lord Xu, I will obey your orders."

"Okay, I'll go get the letter right away."

Xu Si waved his sleeves and left. Wang Wei looked at Xu Si's back with a frown.

If he really wanted to kill Wu Chen, then he would just kill him. He believed that Liu Qi would not say anything and would accept this established fact.

But Xu Si dared to kill Wu Chen in court today, and he will dare to kill others in the future.

Xu Si hurried to ask Liu Qi, but changed his words: "My lord, the ministers of Wu have always been unruly and fierce. If there is a change in the court and there is a commotion, it may be difficult to subdue the people in southern Jing." Liu Qi was puzzled and felt that Xu Si's concerns were reasonable.

If Wu Chen jumped up and down and cursed, it would definitely damage his dignity.

At that time, even if he called the guards to arrest and execute Wu Chen, it would be a laughing stock.

It's a joke that you can't even kill a person properly.

Liu Qi pondered, and beyond Xu Si's expectation, he asked directly: "Mr. Wu Chen...what do you want to do?"

Seeing that Xu Si was silent, he did not lie to him, nor did he give any explanation.

Liu Qi saw that he had guessed correctly, so he said, "Now you have summoned Wu Chen in my name. He knows that I am a weak person, and he can't stop Wu Chen even if he persuades me. If you use my name to execute Wu Chen again, my reputation will be damaged, but you may not be able to get away with it in the future."

"Thank you for your concern, my lord."

Xu Si bowed and explained his reasons: "Although I don't know who harmed Yang Weifang, there are only a few suspects. If Wu Chen's life cannot dissuade them from stopping, for the sake of my lord's safety, please use thundering measures."

"Ah."

Liu Qi took off the sword from his waist and handed it to Xu Si without saying anything more.

Since Wang Wei led his army back, Liu Qi replaced all the guards and servants, even the chefs, with soldiers with rough skills.

Liu Qi replaced people in all aspects of his daily life, and Xu Si was no exception. He borrowed a team of ten people from Wang Wei.

After taking the sword given by Liu Qi, Xu Si immediately went to find Wang Wei.

Wang Wei was obviously a little unconvinced, and instead advised Xu Si: "Sir, our lord is known for his kindness. What happened today will make all parties feel fearful and suspicious, which will bring disaster to the future. Please think twice."

"I know."

Xu Si grinned and said, "So I stole this sword."

He said with a smile: "Yang Weifang can't even protect himself, let alone someone like me. They chose to fight to the death, so I had no choice but to fight. After this matter is over, I will go north to Guanzhong and join the General Zhenbei."

Who is Yang Lu?

The child prodigy of Nanjun is almost the future leader of the scholars of Jingxiang.

Such people were murdered.

If he failed, Xu Si didn't think he could leave Jingzhou alive.

Seeing Wang Wei still standing there, Xu Si said, "If you can't seek justice for Yang Wei, who will dare to help you in the future? How innocent can Wu Chen be? I know what the general is worried about, and I can guarantee that the general of Zhenbei will not care about this matter."

Killing someone during a meal has a very bad impact.

Wang Wei didn't want Liu Qi to be tainted with such a bad reputation from the bottom of his heart, as this would arouse the vigilance and resistance of others.

If you surrender to other forces in the future, it will be difficult to gain their forgiveness and you will most likely be killed.

There are too many ways to kill people, and Wang Wei doesn't like this high-efficiency and high-cost method.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Wei said, "The reason why the alliance between the lord and the north can be maintained is that the lord is kind and generous, and can gain the trust of the general Zhenbei. Without this trust, how can the lord survive in the future? However, if you are willing to bear the bad reputation, I can't say anything more. I just hope that you can explain it clearly to He Zhenbei."

Xu Si then smiled, said nothing, bowed deeply, and watched Wang Wei leave.

Not long after, Wu Chen arrived.

Xu Si came out to greet them and led Wu Chen inside: "Why is Sima Wu a little late?"

Wu Chen couldn't say that he was dissuaded by his subordinates, so he laughed and said, "My mount is old and thin, so I came late."

"Sima Wu's words are meaningful!"

Xu Si smiled and pointed to the direction of the stable. "It's also a coincidence that the lord received dozens of fine horses from General Zhenbei, and he summoned Sima Wu just to give him some fine horses!"

Wu Chen smiled broadly upon hearing this, his teeth showing: "How can I be so embarrassed?"

The good horse that Black Bear gave to Liu Qi has a market price of at least 500,000 coins.

Although Wu Chen was the Sima of the Tower Ship, this was just a transition. In the future, most of his life and actions would still require good horses.

A good horse is a second life.

"Everyone above the rank of battalion commander in the army has a good horse!"

Xu Silu said with a smile, raised his hand and patted Wu Chen on the shoulder: "Sima Wu, you may choose first. When the lord mentions it later, I will order someone to bring the horse that Sima likes."

Wu Chen thanked him immediately, but his attitude was reserved.

He also realized that since these good horses were not given to him when they arrived, but were given to him now, it was obvious that they wanted to use these horses to win him over.

But how much does a good horse cost?

How much does a county magistrate position cost?
Seeing Wu Chen's reserved look, Xu Si talked about the characteristics of these fine horses as he walked. He soon led Wu Chen to the stable and pointed to several fine horses that were being fed separately in the stable: "Sir Wu, do you like them?"

Wu Chen asked, "Sir, can I try riding it?"

"Of course you can. Sima, please don't make too much noise and don't keep the lord waiting for too long."

Xu Si said this and went back to the door. He said to the clerk who was feeding the horses, "Go and get the horses."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen went to look at the clerk. At this moment, Xu Si took a big step back and hid on the other side of the door. The two armored soldiers guarding the gate turned around and pointed their spears at Wu Chen.

Wu Chen's face changed drastically: "What do you mean, sir?"

"Kuai Yue and Huan Jie are colluding with the thieves!"

Xu Si stared at Wu Chen and asked, "I want to offer Jingzhou to Cao Cao, do you know?"

Wu Chen's face changed again. He pressed the hilt of the sword with his right hand and pulled it out violently. He pointed at Xu Si and said fiercely, "I want to see my lord!"

Xu Si also drew his sword and pointed at Wu Chen from a distance, saying, "Kill!"

The armored soldiers surrounding Wu Chen advanced with halberds in hand. More than a dozen of them moved at a steady pace and easily blocked Wu Chen's sword attack.

Soon Wu Chen was forced to the pillar of the stable. With no escape possible, he shouted and was about to fight to the death, but was immediately stabbed to death by more than a dozen iron halberds.

Xu Si watched this group of soldiers, although he had never experienced any major battles since following Wang Wei to Guanzhong.

But his spirit and energy are fundamentally different from before he went to Guanzhong, and he is obviously more adapted to this chaotic world.

Killing a heavyweight figure like Wu Chen was neither exciting nor timid, and the goal was achieved in the safest way.

Working with such soldiers, Xu Si suddenly felt younger.

(End of this chapter)