Chapter 98: Shocking Change! The Army Besieges the City!
"This government office is indeed not as good as the Qianhu Suo."
Xu Chong looked at the panel and shook his head with some disgust.
Since Duan Yuanming's death, all personnel related to the case have been living in the government office and are not allowed to go out at will, even Ge Wanshan.
During the more than half a month of living in the government office, the panel has barely generated 2 spiritual sources, and it takes about 10 days to generate 1 point, which is much slower than the Qianhu Suo.
"Such a serious matter should have been investigated long ago ..."
Xu Chong was somewhat puzzled and also somewhat solemn.
More than half a month ago, he learned indirectly from He Tongzhi that the so-called Duan family in the capital was actually a hereditary duke's family.
A dignified Duke's Mansion lost an outstanding direct descendant inexplicably. Someone should have come earlier. How come there has been no movement for so long?
Something is not normal.
But he wasn't too worried.
This time, the only two people who knew that there was something wrong with him, Duan Yuanming and the fake Xie Changkong, were both dead.
Moreover, the last scene Xie Changkong saw before his death was him being inexplicably knocked away.
As for Duan Yuanming's death, he was so far away that he had sufficient proof of his alibi.
Unless the Duan family can make these two corpses speak, no one will suspect him.
The only hidden danger is the secret weapon called Star Picking.
But to be honest, this hidden danger is very small.
First of all, he has changed the performance of the star-picking move as much as possible, so it is theoretically unlikely to be recognized.
Secondly, what if I’m recognized?
That level of star-picking would actually reduce his suspicion even further.
In short, no matter how much he calculated, Xu Chong still couldn't figure out the possibility of him being identified as the murderer.
In comparison, Ge Wanshan is more suspicious.
After all, Duan Yuanming was alone with Ge Wanshan before his death.
Fortunately, Ge Wanshan was also smart. He shouted "Protect the Lord of the Mansion" at the first moment, and then he was smashed directly into the ground by the tree. If it weren't for the magic weapon and blood-stained robe, he would have almost died.
Moreover, for more than half a month, Ge Wanshan took the initiative to confine himself to the main hall of the government office, not going anywhere else, accepting supervision from anyone at any time and anywhere, and even handed over the command of the Blood-Cloth Guards to He Tongzhi. It can be said that he has made enough gestures.
"Now that I think about it, leaving a note for Wuxie is a bit unnecessary. If it harms Ge Wanshan..."
Xu Chong shook his head.
He also didn't expect that the star-picking move could cause such a big scene, far exceeding the theoretical upper limit of Duan Wuxie's strength.
There is no way. The words were left earlier than the star-picking move. If they are erased, it will only create more flaws.
Now it depends on which direction the superiors are thinking.
Just as I was thinking about it, there was suddenly a sound of dense footsteps outside the house.
"Are you here?"
Xu Chong's eyes flashed and he pushed the door open and walked out.
When he arrived at the front yard of the government office, it was already full of people. Everyone was standing on tiptoe, looking out the gate with confused and frightened expressions.
Xu Chong was tall and could see outside the gate at a glance.
That is... the Iron Cavalry!
Densely packed cavalry!
It seems that the entire government office has probably been surrounded.
He Tongzhi and other yamen officials, together with Ge Wanshan, stood at the front of the crowd, watching the situation outside the door vigilantly.
Soon, a fine deerskin blanket flew from outside the government office into the front yard.
"Please, Master Duan..."
Bang!
A voice was just heard outside the yard, but was violently interrupted before it could finish.
Immediately afterwards, a strong man in full armor flew in and fell to the ground.
A middle-aged man with slightly dark skin and a bloated belly walked in, squatted down in front of the burly man, and slapped the burly man's helmet again and again, "What did you call me? Master Duan? Did you forget what I told you?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sturdy man's expression was hidden under his visor. He didn't say a word and just let the middle-aged man slap him.
Everyone was shocked by this extremely arrogant scene and was unable to breathe.
As the highest official in the government office, He Tongzhi stepped forward and clasped his fists, "Excuse me, are you the eldest son of Duke Chengguo, Master Duan Yuanyang?"
Bang!
Another kick.
He Tongzhi was also kicked out and crashed into the crowd.
"Listen carefully, I will only say this once."
Duan Yuanyang straightened his clothes and raised the corners of his mouth, "Don't call me Young Master or Eldest Son. Call me Prince or Little Duke. Do you understand?"
The armored man stood up silently and stood behind Duan Yuanyang.
Everyone fell silent.
Only Ge Wanshan was able to bend and stretch, and stepped forward with a smile: "It turns out that it is the young Duke in person, Bloody Thousand Household Ge Wanshan, nice to meet the young Duke."
Duan Yuanyang glanced at Ge Wanshan with satisfaction, "You are quite sensible. If it weren't for this incident, I would have given you a chance to be my dog. Unfortunately..."
After these words were spoken, no matter how good-tempered Ge Wanshan was, he couldn't help but stiffen his expression and murderous intent suddenly rose in his heart.
Warriors have extremely strong self-esteem. Generally speaking, even those in a higher position will deliberately humiliate a warrior.
As the eldest son of Duke Chengguo, he should understand this more easily than others.
Why is it that when it comes to Duan Yuanyang, it is the exact opposite?
Ge Wanshan suppressed his frustration and asked, "What's the pity?"
"It's a pity that the direct descendant of my Duan family died."
Duan Yuanyang's chin almost dropped to the sky. "Do you understand what this means? The direct descendants of my Duan family died here. Even if we massacre the entire city, it would still not be enough!"
As soon as the words fell, everyone's faces turned ugly.
Xu Chong was speechless for a while.
The difference between Duan Yuanyang's rank and Duan Yuanming's rank is too huge, right?
He is just like a stupid son of a landlord.
Massacre in the city...
Would Duke Chengguo dare to say this himself?
"However, I am kind-hearted. I will let the city be slaughtered, but it will go against the harmony of nature."
Duan Yuanyang smiled, and before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, he immediately changed the subject: "But, all the subordinates of the government office, as well as those who were in the government office on the day of the incident, must follow me back to Beijing and accept interrogation!"
All of them must be arrested and interrogated?
This is a bit too much...
He Tongzhi struggled to get rid of his colleagues and stepped forward, "Prince Duan, I have reported all the evidence, details, and the course of the crime to the court. Even if it is an interrogation, you should first collect witness testimonies, find clues from the crime scene, and then determine the scope of the suspects, right?"
This act of stepping forward emboldened many officials in the crowd to speak up as well.
"Yes, Prince, there are thousands of subordinates in the government office. If we arrest all of them, won't the government affairs be abandoned?"
"Besides, the real murderer is probably no longer in Zhang Hua..."
"What's more, this matter is most likely done by that Thousand-Faced Taoist Wei Wuxie..."
More and more people spoke up, trying to dissuade Duan Yuanyang.
"Shut up!"
Duan Yuanyang shouted coldly, "Did you write down what these people just said?"
"I've made a note of it."
The armored man responded in a deep voice.
"Okay, we'll start with them when we get back."
Duan Yuanyang's eyes were extremely gloomy. "Of course, you can also choose to escape and see if you can escape from this city."
"What's the meaning?"
Ge Wanshan, who had been silent all this time, changed his expression when he heard this.
"Do you think this prince only has these few people with him?"
Duan Yuanyang pointed behind him and shook his head, "No, no, no, the direct descendant of the Duan family died for no reason, and the entire Chisong Army is here."
There was no way, he couldn't directly deny that the murderer was Wei Wuxie.
Because in order to deny Wei Wuxie, one must produce evidence that Duan Wuxie is Wei Wuxie and is already dead.
And even the Chengguo Mansion cannot bring this matter to the table.
Direct lineage joins Taiping Dao?
Is it possible that the entire Duan family has also joined the Taiping Dao?
Therefore, the safest way is to bring back as many suspects as possible.
This was decided by Mr. Chengguogong.
Judging from the means used to report the murderer, it seems that he is even better than Tongmai.
And how could such an existence happen to appear in the city and take advantage of the opportunity when Duan Yuanming broke through the roof?
At least at that time, there must have been accomplices in the government office!
In this case, don't worry about whether they are suspected of being serious or minor suspicions, just arrest everyone.
Fortunately, the report contained very detailed notes on all the people who were in the government office at the time. As long as the thunderbolt came suddenly and caught these people off guard, they could be prevented from escaping to the greatest extent.
Then bring everyone back and slowly find the murderer's accomplices.
And this is exactly the condition that Duke Chengguo gave to Duan Yuanyang.
"Okay, that's enough of the family stuff."
Duan Yuanyang clapped his hands and said to the armored man beside him: "If anyone does not cooperate, we will directly use the military formation to capture him, no matter who he is, what his identity is, or what his background is. Do you understand?"
"clear."
The armored man is very frugal with words.
Rumble.
Fully armed soldiers filed in, wearing armor and holding guns, ready for battle.
The armored man began to call the roll.
Every time a person was called, his colleagues around him would all step back. Whether that person was willing or not, he would be surrounded by soldiers, subdued, shackled, and forcibly taken out.
If you struggle, it's fine. At most you'll get beaten.
But if he resisted, the armored man Lei Ting would attack him and seriously injure him, and he would also end up being put in shackles and taken away.
Xu Chong saw clearly that the shackles and handcuffs were the same kind used to imprison Jiang Zhihong and Xie Changkong.
As long as a warrior is handcuffed like that, his life and death will be in the hands of others.
Xu Chong felt a chill in his heart. He quietly moved to Ge Wanshan's side and whispered, "Sir, these people are too reckless, aren't they? Is the court just letting them do nothing?"
"I'm afraid it's not about leaving it alone, but rather that Duke Cheng lost his son in his old age, and the officials are afraid that he will go crazy, so they compromise."
Ge Wanshan had a gloomy face and whispered in the same tone, "There are plenty of idle officials in the secondary capital anyway, so it's easy to add a government office."
"Then...then haven't we suffered an unexpected disaster?"
Xu Chong gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, you are greedy for light and can escape, but I haven't even mastered the Shadow Step."
"It's no use training yourself to be greedy for light."
Ge Wanshan shook his head. "The Chisong Army is the capital's army, which is different from the local garrisons. I guess even if we use Tan Guang, we won't be able to get out."
"this……"
Xu Chong's heart sank.
"And even if we escape, what can we do? We will probably be labeled as traitors and live a life worse than death. By that time, even if the chief guard wants to help us, it will be inconvenient."
Ge Wanshan said in a low voice, with some helplessness, "The best way is to put on the shackles obediently and go to the capital to be interrogated..."
At this point, Ge Wanshan was already a little desperate.
If it was just physical torture, he would not be afraid at all.
But that’s the capital.
He dared to guarantee that there was definitely a way to make people tell the truth and reveal all their private secrets.
“Damn it!”
Ge Wanshan cursed viciously.
That Duan Wuxie clearly promised me that he could stop the Duan family... What's the situation now?
Not only did the Duan family come, but even the Tamachi Chisong Army came over.
Go back on your word?
Talk nonsense?
No matter which one, if there is really no other way in the end... don't blame me for dragging you down!
Ge Wanshan was furious.
At the same time, Xu Chong's heart was also filled with coldness.
He had never expected that the Duan family's actions would be so drastic that they would catch everyone in one fell swoop without any clear reason.
This made all his preparations, such as his alibi and the fact that he was also a victim, completely useless.
Arrested and brought to Beijing?
There is no doubt that as long as he goes to the capital, he will no longer be able to control the situation and will be at the mercy of others.
Those secrets will be uncovered one by one.
The mere fact that he had reached the tenth level of Tongmai was something he could not explain at all.
Also, when getting close to the capital, his own energy would erupt... The Zhengyang Jin technique was a secret that could never be exposed.
No...it can't be taken into the capital!
Is there any other solution?
Xu Chong thought hard.
After much thought, there is only one solution that may not work.
escape.
He used Tan Guang to escape from the city and contacted Sun Yourong as quickly as possible. Before he was labeled a traitor and demoted to a craftsman, he participated in the unblocking of Taiping Dao.
However, the risk is too great.
Just the chance of escaping from the city, as Ge Wanshan said, has been reduced to the extreme.
I was even asked if the time difference I had to wait for was enough for me to complete the unblocking process...
what to do?
Do you want to bet?
Xu Chong was struggling in his heart.
The roll call continues.
Officials, bailiffs, and clerks affiliated with the government office were taken out one by one.
finally.
"Blood Robe Guards..."
The armored man looked at the names marked in red on the list.
On this list, only four or five names are marked in red, which means that these people are major suspects.
The Duke’s instructions are still fresh in my mind: these people must be brought back and kept under strict supervision.
This was the first important suspect he mentioned, and his voice became a little colder: "General Flag, Xu Chong!"
“…”
Xu Chong narrowed his eyes.
He could hear that the armored man's tone changed significantly when he pointed at him.
I am under serious suspicion...
At this moment, Xu Chong made a decision.
However, just as he was about to use his greed for light, there was an obvious sound of horse hooves stamping and wheels rolling.
Judging from the direction, they are still heading towards the government office.
And... it sounds a little familiar?
familiar?
Xu Chong was stunned and looked over.
From his direction, he could just see the Chisong Army blocking outside the government office, ready for battle.
These soldiers, who were highly qualified as stated in the military discipline, were now staggering.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had swept them to the sides, instantly clearing a passage.
A carriage appeared at the end of the passage.
Xu Chong's pupils shrank sharply.
He recognized this carriage!
It was the car that had accompanied him for more than a month and a half, used to "escort" Jiang Zhihong to Beijing, and was finally abandoned by him in Dingtianfu!
