kvmb Chapter 923 Confiscating the house
Chapter 923 Confiscating the house
South of Kyoto, near Tekanji Temple.
"Captain Zheng, how long have you been monitoring them? Have you spotted anyone unusual?"
"Lord Lu, we have been monitoring this place since five days ago, day and night. In these five days, we have seen many nobles come here. Because we are not sure how many accomplices those people have, we did not arrest them rashly to avoid alerting the enemy."
"Oh? Can you let me see the list you recorded?"
"Of course. However, this list is confidential and must not be leaked. I need to ask the Tongzhi for instructions first."
Lu Cheng could sense that these Jinyiwei did not have much affection for him, an outsider sent by the emperor to assist in the investigation. Perhaps they thought of him as someone sent by the emperor to monitor them.
Then, a small flag officer quietly disappeared. Not long after, another pigeon flew out of the forest and flew towards the capital. After waiting for a while, a pigeon flew out of the capital and landed in the forest.
After a while, the captain of the Jinyiwei took out a list and handed it to Lu Cheng.
"Master Lu, please take a look."
Lu Cheng took the list, flipped it open and checked it. It recorded all the people who had entered Shuiyue Temple within five days:
"On May 15, a merchant from Xuancheng named Cao entered Shuiyue Temple. Ma Shang, a third-rank general of Weiyuan, went to Shuiyue Temple at 3:15 pm and left the next morning. Chen Ruiwen, a third-rank general of Weizhen, entered Shuiyue Temple at 1:15 pm and left the next morning.
On May 16, at 1:00 pm, a merchant from Datong named Kong entered Shuiyue Temple. At 2:00 pm, Jia She, a general from Rongguo Mansion, and Jia Rong from Ningguo Mansion entered Shuiyue Temple and left at 1:00 pm the next day.
On May 17, the grandson of Marquis Jingyang, Qiu Liang, commander of the Five Cities Army, entered Shuiyue Temple at 15:30 on the evening of the 11th and left at 11:00 the next day..."
A group of noble children entered a nunnery every night and left the next morning. In addition, there were several merchants from important towns such as Xuanfu and Datong. However, these were enough for the Jinyiwei to arrest people.
When Lu Cheng saw Jia She and Jia Rong from the Rong and Ning mansions on the list, he understood why the emperor asked him to assist the Jinyiwei in the investigation in the future.
Firstly, this might be the emperor's way of warning Lu Cheng to not get too close to the nobles from the Rong and Ning mansions.
Secondly, this is also to test Lu Cheng, to see what choice he will make in this situation. Will he secretly inform the Rongning and Ning Mansions?
After reading the information on the list, Lu Cheng handed it back calmly and asked, "Captain Zheng, what arrangements does the commander have?"
"Recently, these Shanxi merchants have been staying near Kyoto, often going in and out of Shuiyue Temple with the nobles in the capital. The commander asked us to investigate all the circumstances first, and then catch these Shanxi merchants and nobles in one fell swoop to prevent any fish from slipping through the net. I have heard that Lord Lu is good at investigating cases. I wonder what Lord Lu thinks?"
"The commander-in-chief has made thorough arrangements, and I am convinced. The Jinyiwei will be the main person in charge of handling the matter. I am only responsible for assisting."
In the following days, Lu Cheng often went to the Jinyiwei's Zhenfusi Yamen to assist in processing some intelligence.
In the past few days, Lu Cheng also discovered that more people were secretly watching him.
In order to avoid suspicion, Lu Cheng did not go to the Jia Mansion. Even when Xiangling wanted to go to the Jia Mansion to visit Lin Daiyu, she was stopped by Lu Cheng.
A few days later, Lu Cheng left the capital with the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division's pacification envoy and went to Xuanfu and Datong, where they confiscated the property and exterminated the clans of several wealthy merchant families.
At the same time, many nobles in Kyoto were also under close surveillance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
In early June, the Jinyiwei arrived in Datong and Xuanfu and began to confiscate the property and exterminate the clans of several wealthy merchants.
However, the court underestimated the connections of several wealthy merchants and did not expect that there were spies among the wealthy merchants. As soon as the Jinyiwei arrived near Datong, they were almost ambushed.
Fortunately, Lu Cheng discovered something wrong in advance and gave timely warnings, allowing the pacification envoy to lead his men to bypass the ambush area and drive straight into Datong Prefecture. One team of people brought the imperial edict to the Datong Prefecture government office, and the rest of the team directly started to search and seize the houses, leaving the wealthy merchants no time to react.
These wealthy merchants were located in important border towns and were able to trade with foreign tribes all year round. They were inevitably involved in interests with the border guards. Once they were given time to react, it would be impossible to confiscate their property and exterminate their clans.
Afterwards, Lu Cheng assisted the Jinyiwei in interrogating the captured wealthy merchants, and soon achieved good results. A large amount of property was confiscated, and a list of generals who colluded with these wealthy merchants was also obtained.
When the group was escorting a large amount of gold, silver and other valuables back to Kyoto, they were robbed by robbers again along the way.
Moreover, the robbers this time were more ferocious, not only were they well-equipped, but they also had a lot of cavalry. Although Lu Cheng had warned the pacification envoy Shen Zhong in advance and avoided the robbers' ambush, he was still blocked by hundreds of cavalry.
"Sir Shen, the robbers this time are probably not simple. Look at the armor under their cotton-padded clothes, as well as the weapons and horses they use. I'm afraid they are elite among the border troops."
"Lord Lu, these guys may really be desperate. We are under the emperor's order and are escorting so much gold and silver. We must not let these traitors succeed. In today's bloody battle, I may have to serve the country.
I will try my best to hold them back later, and please, Sir Lu, take the imperial edict and mobilize the troops as soon as possible."
"Lord Shen, there is no need to do this. Although I am a civil servant, I also know a little about martial arts. Today, you and I will fight our way out together."
"Okay! Give Master Lu a knife!"
"Give me another bow. I know a little bit about riding and shooting."
"Okay, then I'll get another bow for Lord Lu. Brothers, follow me and charge!"
"kill!"
Faced with the blockade of five or six hundred cavalrymen, Shen Zhong, the pacification envoy of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei, resolutely led his men and rushed towards the enemy.
Although the Jinyiwei had nearly two thousand men, they only had two hundred cavalrymen. In addition, a large number of personnel had to be assigned to escort property and prisoners, so it was difficult to move quickly.
Once you are targeted by a group of cavalry and harassed day and night, it is only a matter of time before you are surrounded by the troops behind you.
Therefore, even if the chances of winning are slim, we must first defeat this group of cavalry.
As the distance between the two sides shortened, the cavalry on the opposite side took the lead in drawing their bows and arrows and shot at the Jinyiwei troops.
Lu Cheng, who was on horseback, also drew his bowstring and shot three arrows at the cavalry on the opposite side.
Archery on horseback and archery on foot are two completely different things. Most of the Jinyiwei people use crossbows, and not many of them are proficient in archery on horseback.
As both sides entered the archery range, Lu Cheng's three arrows hit three enemies first, and the three enemies fell off their horses.
The pacification envoy couldn't help but shout "good" and rushed straight over.
During this sprint, Lu Cheng fired several arrows in succession, three arrows with one bow each time. In a short moment, he shot down more than twenty enemies, relieving a lot of pressure on the Jinyiwei beside him.
As the two groups of people approached, Lu Cheng drew out his goose-feather knife, dodged a spear and slashed the man's throat with the knife. He then snatched the spear from the man's hand and stabbed the other man to death.
Then, Lu Cheng was seen charging into the enemy camp with a goose-feather knife in his left hand and a red tassel spear in his right hand. Wherever he passed, people and horses fell to the ground, as if he was in an empty space.
The Jinyiwei behind him were all stunned. Is this a civil official? Or the top scholar in literature? Maybe he is the top scholar in martial arts?