Chapter 255: The Thorn of the Secret Decree
It’s a nice day in Tongguan.

The imperial envoy team of more than 300 people moved slowly, with only a dozen horses pulling the vehicles.

Pei Mao was dozing off in the only carriage carrying people. When he felt the carriage stop, he asked, "What's going on?"

The guard driving the car said in a slightly dry voice: "Sir, the skeleton nest is just ahead."

Pei Mao was a little unconvinced, so he lifted the thick windshield and saw a large object like a bird's nest standing in the distance close to the bank of the Yellow River.

Because of the distance, the skull cannot be seen clearly.

But a faint smell had already filled the carriage, and Pei Mao felt very uncomfortable.

He said nothing, and the team continued to move forward.

After walking another seven or eight miles, we were three or four miles away from the Skeleton's Nest in a straight line, but we still couldn't see it clearly.

But the smell was stronger.

It wasn't a fishy smell, but a smell that made all of them feel uncomfortable and bred fear.

The team continued to march and checked into the official residence in Xinfeng that night.

Pei Mao had considerable roots and prestige in Guanzhong, and was arranged to live in the county government in the city.

That night, Du Ji came to visit.

The two were not very familiar with each other and had only met a few times.

The reason Du Ji was able to come was because he just owed Zhong Yao a favor, and this time he came to present Zhong Yao's letter.

Pei Mao read it and frowned. He didn't expect Zhong Yao to complain to him and tell him that he was beaten and robbed by Wei Duan and his two sons.

Given Zhong Yao's personality, is this necessary?

Looking at the Duling native named Wei Duan in front of him, Pei Mao understood that Zhong Yao wanted to convey a message to him, that is, the Guanlong scholars have decided to follow the black bear to the end.

The scholars in Guanlong had strong hatred towards Wang Yun.

Another important reason is that they do not have the ability to retaliate and cannot withstand the slander from public opinion after retaliation.

Now the black bear not only completed his revenge, but also trampled on the faces and bodies of Wang Yun and the scholars of Taiyuan and Hedong.

For the Guanlong scholars, Black Bear stood up for them and dealt such a heavy blow to their evil neighbor. How could the Guanlong scholars have the nerve to turn against him?
Since he couldn't kneel down openly, he had to seize the opportunity and beat Zhong Yao up.

This beating is not for Zhong Yao, it is a slap to the face of Ruying scholars and the court!

Zhong Yao has already reminded him that if Pei Mao still wants to repeat the same trick and plan for the Guanzhong generals to attack Black Bear... then don't blame the Guanlong scholars and Black Bear for revenge on the Hedong people.

Pei Mao was awed, and asked, "Now the General Zhenbei is ruling Guanzhong, with the talent of a marquis, why is he like this?"

As he spoke, he picked up the letter he had just received. Unexpectedly, Du Ji looked normal. "When General Hei led the Tiger Teeth Army into Guanzhong, I was the Gongcao of Jingzhao, and Zhang Shi, the Jingzhao Yin, was my best friend."

Pei Mao made a listening gesture, and Du Ji calmly narrated: "At that time, the Tiger Tooth Army attacked fiercely, and Zhang Shi and I were trapped in this city. After nightfall, Zhang Shi led his people to break out and head east, intending to go to Huayin to urge Yuan Changgong to send troops to rescue; while I went out of the north gate and crossed the Wei River at night, intending to let the troops led by Ma Chao cross the river to rescue."

As he spoke, he looked a bit frightened: "That night, Taishi Wengong was on patrol and encountered Zhang Shi. All the people in Jingzhao Prefecture from Zhang Shi down were killed by Taishi Wengong. At midnight, the Tiger Tooth Army attacked the city and Xinfeng fell."

"When the sun rose, Hei Zhenbei led Gan Xingba to attack Tongguan and personally persuaded me to work for him. However, I was unhappy about this incident, so I declined repeatedly."

Du Ji said with a bitter smile: "After Hei Zhenbei defeated the Xiongnu and executed the three clans of Wang Zishi, the powerful families in Hedong raised troops to avenge the Wang family. Zhang Shi's children also joined the rebellion, and Zhang Shi's family was demoted to official slaves. I, Du, am of low status and have little influence, so I can only ask Lord Yuan Chang for help, and that's how Zhang Shi's family was saved."

"So that's it. I looked down on Bo Hou."

Pei Mao also nodded slowly, he understood Du Ji's feelings.

Guanzhong was in ruins. Zhang Shi, the Jingzhao Yin, was friends with Du Ji before he took office. The Jingzhao Yin himself was worthless, so Du Ji was recruited as Gongcao. It was not because Zhang Shi gave face to Du Ji, but because Du Ji gave face to Zhang Shi.

As a result, when the Huya Army was fighting, they not only killed Zhang Shi at night, but also killed all the key officials and subordinates of the Jingzhao Yinfu who followed Zhang Shi.

These officials and subordinates were Du Ji's colleagues in public and his fellow villagers, friends and in-laws in private.

With such a huge hatred, it is difficult for Du Ji to give in easily emotionally.

Zhang Shi's family members were demoted to official slaves. Du Ji did not hold a high-ranking official position, so it was naturally difficult for him to help rescue them. Zhong Yao was different. If he only interfered with the allocation of Zhang Shi's family members and moved them to an easy and decent place, it would not be a problem.

This was just a trivial matter for Zhong Yao, so he just helped out.

However, Wei Duan and his son brought the Guanlong scholars to snatch the "Zhitian Order", which was a provocation to Zhong Yao and also a declaration of war against Ruying and Guandong scholars.

Therefore, Zhong Yao was very worried that the Guanlong scholars would use this opportunity to set up a trap and make Pei Mao, who was unaware of the truth, fall into a deep pit.

If Pei Mao fell to death, he would die. What if he happened to help me?
Sending Du Ji to deliver the letter was just to alienate and divide the relationship between Du Ji and the Wei father and son.

After delivering the letter, Du Ji chatted briefly and left.

Pei Mao was indeed deep in thought.

This time, as an imperial envoy, he not only appointed Hei Xiong as the Grand Marshal, but also conferred him the title of Marquis of Liang.

Although he did not give those things to Jiu, he did give him two groups of brave soldiers and a chariot.

If the opportunity is right in front of you, why not take action?

Just as he was deep in thought, the deputy envoy, Zhang Xiu from Duling, came hurriedly, looking flustered, and accompanied by some officials: "Mr. Pei, something terrible has happened!"

Zhang Xiu was a descendant of Zhang Tang, a high-ranking official in Guanzhong. He looked pale at the moment. "I never thought there would be a Hebei man in the official residence. Xu Ziyuan drank heavily and got drunk. We had a quarrel and let the Hebei man..."

Pei Mao listened with a blank expression and a calm demeanor: "Was he killed by someone from Hebei? Then why are you panicking?"

After being scolded, Zhang Xiu finally calmed down and realized that Xu You seemed not as important as he had imagined.

I am a lonely man, with no relatives, no students, no followers, and no wealth.

Even if he was assassinated, what kind of accident could it cause?
Zhang Xiu calmed down after hearing this: "Mr. Pei is teaching me a lesson, it was me who lost my composure."

After calming down, Zhang Xiucai said: "After the dispute, the Hebei people recognized Xu Ziyuan. Due to the official residence law, seven or eight people beat him with fists and feet, and Xu Ziyuan unfortunately died."

"Really dead?"

"Yes, he was vomiting blood and he had already passed away when I heard about it. He and his companions were all taken into custody by the county officials."

Zhang Xiu answered and observed the changes in Pei Mao's expression, feeling somewhat worried.

Pei Mao stood up and said, "Come on, follow me to the county government to take a look."

I am not afraid that Xu You will be beaten to death by someone accidentally, I am afraid that this person is not dead. If such a person who has no weaknesses and has experienced big scenes is determined to make trouble, it will make the court very passive.

After all, Pei Mao was an imperial envoy representing the court, had served as Shangshu Ling, was a hero who planned to eliminate Li Jue's three clans, and had the title of marquis. The Xinfeng County Magistrate did not dare to be perfunctory and led Pei Mao to the prison in the south of the city.

It is called a prison, but it is more like a charcoal-burning and iron-forging workshop.

Pei Mao didn't care about the truth or confession at all. He just wanted to see Xu You's body with his own eyes.

As he worried, Xu You's body was not in the prison.

The county government didn't have any information either. He just disappeared mysteriously.

After working until midnight, Pei Mao finally confirmed that with Xu You's cooperation, someone took Xu You away.

There are several centurions' offices outside Xinfeng City, and the other party simply did not recognize the official documents from the Xinfeng Order.

As for the imperial envoy, the Minister of Justice, and the Marquis Pei Mao... these people would not take it seriously.

In short, he was not careful for a moment and Xu You escaped.

At this moment, Xu You had already arrived at a hundred-household residence west of Xinfeng.

In the relatively spacious tent, Xu You sipped his tea and thought about his future development.

He was really tired. Now that he was free from Cao Cao's control, he wanted to start a new life, marry a wife and have some children.

They also had to hide their identities to avoid retaliation from people in Hebei.

Footsteps were heard and the tent was opened. Lou Gui, who had only been in Guanzhong for three or four days, lowered his head and crawled into the tent.

This tent door was just right for Xu You, who was over seven feet tall, but for the tall Lou Gui, he had to lower his head.

Lou Gui sat down and asked: "Does Pei Mao intend to kill Hei Zhenbei?"

"I don't know. The two squads of Tiger Guards accompanying him are all Tiger Guards from Guanzhong. The emperor took the opportunity to send them back to their hometown."

Only after seeing Lou Gui did Xu You gradually feel relieved: "These Tiger Guards have searched repeatedly and found no letters. The incident of the imperial edict will not happen again."

Lou Gui smiled and said, "You said there was no imperial edict. How can you be sure?"

Xu You was stunned and frowned: "Cao Cao will not ignore this, unless..."

Their eyes met, and Lou Gui nodded slowly: "I have already talked to Shangluo Ling Sima Zhi. He wants to build a government-run tea mountain, and I will provide him with tea seeds. Ma Shoucheng and others are also building manors in the valleys of Wangchuan, and the tea seeds are very valuable. If nothing unexpected happens, Sima Zhi will recommend me to Hei Zhenbei."

He also figured out the patrol patterns of the black bear. If he wanted to meet the black bear, he would go to Lantian or Chiyang and wait.

There are too many people sending out visiting cards. If Black Bear gets Sima Zhi's letter of recommendation and sends it along with the visiting card, he will most likely have to squeeze out time to meet him.

Xu You listened with some emotion. The price of tea skyrocketed three times... The cost is still the same cost, and all the increase is profit!
Nowadays, tea mountains are being built everywhere, and tea seeds are expensive, and other costs must be invested.

When these new tea mountains start to make profits, Lou Gui, who owns the tea varieties, will have greater output and profits.

It was really hard for him to accept that Lou Gui's ancestral tea mountain had turned into a gold mountain because of the tea drinking trend promoted by the black bear.

But he also understood Lou Gui's urgent mood at the moment. It turned out that he could scare Yi Ji and his fellow villagers by holding the official title of general from Cao Cao.

If Lou Gui was still staying in Nanxiang, he would most likely be charged with collaborating with the enemy, or being a traitor or a spy.

Only with the protection of the black bear can Lou Gui keep the ancestral gold mountain.

So during this period of time, there are too many people who want to meet the black bears. Although the black bears don’t care about their things, their good neighbors and good in-laws will care about them.

Han Sui sent people, and people from Dunhuang and Jiuquan also came to pay their respects to Black Bear with gifts.

The value of capturing 100,000 heads is worth their careful treatment.

After Lou Gui finished describing his experiences during this period, he said to Xu You: "Hei Zhenbei is becoming more and more powerful, and the alliance with Hebei is becoming weaker. Without this alliance, there will be no obstacles for Ziyuan to take up an official post. But the etiquette of this advancement still needs to be handled with caution."

"Yes, Pei Mao has a great influence, so it is not appropriate to target him."

Xu You thought about the assassination plan that they had just discussed and analyzed, and frowned and said, "If this assassin is real, then the imperial edict must be fake."

The assassin approached Black Bear by using the Emperor's Secret Decree to gain his trust, and then waited for an opportunity to launch the assassination.

Even if we don't launch the attack this time, we can still gain trust with the secret decree, and we will still launch it when we have time in the future.

Only continuous assassinations can shake the Black Bear's foundation and reputation.

In the subconscious of public opinion, the assassination of those in power is often the result of brave actions by righteous civilians.

People who commit assassinations often hold the same view, believing that they are doing a righteous deed.

People instinctively have a favorable impression of assassins who kill those in power.

Favorable feelings do not appear out of thin air; there must be an equal amount of unfavorable feelings on the opposite side.

Xu You thought for a while and expressed his thoughts: "Zi Bo, I want to gain the credit for presenting this secret decree, and I also want to gain the trust of Hei Zhenbei. I'm afraid this assassin won't let me do what I want."

There must be assassins hidden in the messenger team, and there must be more than one.

Perhaps these people didn't know they were assassins before they took action.

The person who presented the secret letter must be a righteous man. If this righteous man suddenly or lurked for a while and assassinated Black Bear, it would cause many problems.

In fact, when this righteous man presented the secret decree in the belt, he really believed that he was delivering the secret decree from the emperor to Black Bear.

Xu You’s idea is normal. Assassins are difficult to control.

Lou Gui also wanted to support Xu You. Even if Xu You only held an idle position in the future Grand Marshal's Mansion, he could still run his tea plantation smoothly.

But the messenger team is not easy to calculate, there are too many variables.

There may even be two groups of assassins, the covert assassins and the covert assassins. The covert assassins will expose the covert assassins in order to get a chance to get close to the black bear.

Lou Gui thought about it again and again, and then advised: "Don't think about the secret decree anymore. You and I are involved in such a private matter. Although we can be reused, it is only for a short time, not a long-term strategy."

"Zi Bo, let me think about it again."

Xu You took a sip of tea, his expression becoming more determined: "I can't wait, I want to give it a try. I also ask Zi Bo to say a few good words for me when he visits Hei Zhenbei. If Hei Zhenbei can see me, I will do my best to share Hei Zhenbei's worries."

(End of this chapter)