lcionline Chapter 616 The Truth
Chapter 616 The Truth
Panda Khan was in an internal struggle, and after hesitating for a long time, he still didn't speak.
Liu Ye grew impatient, raised his hand, and stabbed Panda's other hand, piercing it as well. Blood splattered onto the woman's face, and she screamed in fright.
"Even now you still won't talk, it seems you're absolutely determined. I won't make things difficult for you, I'll let you take this secret to meet the King of Hell." Liu Ye kicked Pan Da and his concubine, chair and all, to the ground, then ordered his men, "Everyone, get out! Block the front and back doors, no one is allowed to enter or leave. Doesn't Lord Pan like to set fires? Let's set Lord Pan on fire too, and send him to the Western Paradise!"
Panda clenched his hands in front of his chest, trembling with pain, blood dripping down his face. Hearing this, he trembled even more violently and said in a trembling voice, "I am an official of the imperial court, and this is the military governor's office. How dare you commit arson and violence in broad daylight?"
Qin Tian snorted, "Nanjing even burned down the residence of the garrison eunuch and the office of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) commander. It's as if a mere military governor's office is nothing special."
Yan Guang shook his head with some reluctance. "Lord Pan, when you burned down the granary yesterday, did you think about the consequences? If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place!"
Panda opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but found himself speechless. Both sides knew the truth; further explanation would be a waste of breath.
The concubine trembled all over, shook Panda's arm, and pleaded softly, "Master, I don't want to die..."
Panda remained silent; he was unwilling to cut off his own escape route until things had reached a dead end.
The soldiers retreated in droves as ordered, leaving the courtyard, which had been packed with people, completely empty. A few screams rang out as several soldiers and minor officials were tossed in like sacks. Liu Ye stood at the doorway and laughed, "No one in this yamen will escape. They'll all be buried with you. How about that? I've treated you well, haven't I, Lord Pan?"
Panda said in despair, "I have never heard of a lawless brute like you. Your arrogance is so extreme, no wonder the minister is so wary of you..."
Liu Ye was about to leave through the back gate when he heard this and his heart skipped a beat. He repeated, "Minister?"
Panda became alert, realizing he had inadvertently let something slip, and quickly shut up.
Yan Guang explained, "General, the Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries, as well as the Governor-General who concurrently serves as the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief, can all be addressed as 'Minister,' it's a refined title..."
Liu Ye seized upon this clue and began to ponder. He muttered to himself, "There are only a handful of governors-general, and no matter how powerful they are, they are merely regional officials who cannot control the military affairs of Tianjin... Forget about the vice ministers of the Six Ministries, and as for ministers, we don't seem to have offended any of them, do we? The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue... none of them have anything to do with us, and the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice are even less likely... Could the Ministry of War be behind the order to burn military rations?"
Seeing that the other party's meticulous analysis was getting closer to the truth, Panda's heart pounded, and he quickly lowered his head to avoid the other party noticing anything amiss from his expression.
"But the current Minister of War, Zhang Fengyi, is a man who seeks no merit but no demerit. How could he possibly have such audacity?" Yan Guang was utterly perplexed. The people of Qionghai Town, being far removed from the imperial court, naturally had no way of knowing the rumors surrounding the transition of power in the Minister's position unless Yang Sichang officially assumed power.
Just when the analysis had reached a dead end, the concubine timidly spoke up: "General, if I can help you, could you spare our lives?"
Panda was startled, "Tuo Niang, don't talk nonsense!"
Liu Ye was surprised that the breakthrough came from this seemingly weak woman, and he quickly ordered his men, "Gag Panda." Then he said to the concubine, "Don't worry, as long as you help me find out the truth, I can guarantee that you and your master will not die."
The woman, known as Tuoniang, glanced at Panda, whose mouth was gagged with cloth, then her gaze fell on his still bleeding hands, and she made up her mind.
“General, I am not aware of the master’s affairs, but I do know that two messengers from the capital came to see you late at night. I saw them from afar in the back hall; they gave you a letter, and after you read it, they burned it…”
Liu Ye frowned. Wasn't this the same as saying nothing at all?
Seeing his expression change, Tuoniang quickly added, "Although I don't know the contents of the letter, the clothes of these two messengers are very eye-catching. Perhaps they can give you some clues: their clothes are embroidered with something that looks like a dragon but isn't quite a dragon, something that looks like a fish but isn't quite a fish, and they even have wings tattooed on them..."
"Jinyiwei!"
Liu Ye, Yan Guang, and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. From Guangzhou to Tianjin, how come they kept running into the Embroidered Uniform Guards?
This matter involves the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so it's far more than just a matter concerning a minister; the waters run much deeper. Liu Ye calmly pressed on, "Do you know where those two people are now?"
"Last night, Master instructed Steward Liu to take them to Yongcui Tower..."
Yongcui Tower was the only high-class brothel in Tianjin, located just across the street from the Military Commissioner's Office. The Qionghai Army soldiers, led by Manager Liu, easily apprehended the two heavily intoxicated Imperial Guards in two private rooms on the second floor. They were relatively cautious, having concealed their flying fish robes and embroidered spring knives in their bundles and dressed in civilian clothes to avoid revealing their identities during their carefree revelry, yet they still couldn't escape the Qionghai Army's capture.
With a "thump," two half-drunk Imperial Guards were thrown in front of Panda, looking utterly disheveled.
"It's up to you. I need to know the whole story within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea," Liu Ye said to Qin Tian. Then he walked to the front hall, stood with his hands behind his back, and awaited the result.
Cracking sounds and screams, mixed with roars, came from the backyard.
Not long after, Qin Tian came to the front hall and reported, "General, cut off one finger from each of them, and they all confessed."
Who is the mastermind behind this?
Qin Tian looked around at the people, hesitated for a moment, and whispered a few words in Liu Ye's ear.
"Is that so?" Liu Ye's expression became complicated.
That evening, the military affairs office was surrounded by a large group of soldiers. The front hall was brightly lit, and Liu Ye, Liang Xiaoming, Yan Guang and others sat in a circle.
"The truth has come to light. What are your thoughts?" Liu Ye said to the crowd.
Xu Yifan shook his head repeatedly: "No wonder I felt so hampered in fighting the Tartars in Tianjin. We had no reinforcements and no supplies. It turns out the Ministry of War was behind it. It seems that Lin San's mission has definitely failed."
Yan Guang said with relief, "Fortunately, I haven't gone to the capital yet, otherwise it would have been all for nothing. The Ministry of War doesn't want us to win this battle, so how could they possibly let us have our way?"