Whether he knew or not, he had to interrogate him to get the answer. Shang Junlin originally wanted to fish out the person behind Official Feng, but now he had no time to think about that. He had to control Official Feng first.
At the same time, he sent an urgent message to Subei. Fortunately, Fang Jun was in charge of Subei and Gu Huai's Hidden Dragon Guards were there. It was not difficult to investigate this matter.
Along with Fang Jun's message, there were also all the letters that Lord Hou and the others exchanged with the Northern Desert. Shang Junlin had already read them once, and had also shown them to the Prime Minister and the others. Now, he was reading them again with Shen Yu.
The earliest date of the letters was five years ago. At first, both sides were testing each other. Gradually, the Northern Desert gave more and more benefits, and their attitude became more and more relaxed. A year later, the two sides conspired for the first time.
It was not a big deal and almost no one found out. After the first time, Official Hou and the others got a lot of benefits. Later on, there were several more such benefits. They were all small things that could be easily covered up even if they were found out. They just had to help and say something, and they could get a lot of benefits. Who wouldn't be tempted?
Gradually, the two sides were no longer satisfied with the small deals at the beginning. The success of the first few times gave Official Hou and the others more courage, and they did more and more things.
But because both sides were cautious, and almost all the senior officials in Subei were Official Hou's men, and because the Dahuan people and the Northern Desert people were natural enemies, the two sides secretly conspired for many years without being found out.
"At first, the Northern Desert people asked Official Hou and the others to do some small things. Later on, they became bolder and their ambitions were exposed." Shen Yu pinched one of the secret letters, his eyes cold.
For example, in this letter, the Northern Desert people said that they would pretend to attack Subei and let the Subei Army move out. Then they would pretend to be defeated and give the Subei Army a big credit. The general leading the Subei Army seemed to have surrendered to Official Hou, but in fact, he was on the Northern Desert people's side.
Of course, the plan didn't succeed this time. Coincidentally, the Northern Su Army was undergoing internal reforms at that time. The team that was sent wasn't the original one, and the one who received the military merit wasn't the original one.
After this incident, the Northern Desert stopped for a period of time. They no longer dared to have any ideas about the Northern Desert Army. The Northern Desert Army had once given them nightmares. Even after so many years, the fear in their bones had not dissipated.
"Are there any of their people in the Northern Jiangsu Army?"
"When Fang Jun sent the news back, he had already informed the Northern Jiangsu Army. They will conduct an investigation. No matter how deep they hide, they will be dug out."
This was what angered Shang Junlin the most. Attacking the Northern Su Army was equivalent to attacking the Great Huan Army. Shang Junlin would never allow such a thing to happen.
"When We took back Subei, We didn't let them ruin it like this." Shang Junlin's voice was very soft, but the meaning in his tone was not to be ignored.
The next morning, Shang Junlin announced the news from Subei. Like pouring a drop of water into a pot of boiling oil, the ministers below exploded.
"They actually colluded with the Northern Desert?"
"That's the Northern Desert. Have they forgotten what happened to Subei when it was in their hands?"
"What do they want to do? Do they want to send Subei back? "
"How dare they?!"
The ministers quarreled. Shang Junlin sat on the throne. He seemed to be indifferent, but in fact, he was observing everyone's expression, especially Lord Feng.
He had sent the Hidden Dragon Guards to pay close attention to Lord Feng's movements. For the time being, he had not arrested him. Compared to Lord Feng, he was more concerned about the power behind Lord Feng.
Yesterday, Shang Junlin was so angry that he wanted to arrest Lord Feng and hand him over to the Supreme Court for interrogation. Later, he calmed down in front of Shen Yu. If Lord Feng was involved, were there other people in the court involved? Could he ensure that after Lord Feng was arrested, no one else would be left out?
Acting rashly would only leave more serious hidden dangers.
Looking at Lord Feng's behavior today, it seemed that he did not know the inside story.
After a while, Shang Junlin raised his hand and the hall instantly quieted down.
"Your Majesty, is there any conclusive evidence?" Treason was not a small matter. After the ministers calmed down, they began to think about the authenticity of the matter.
"If there was no conclusive evidence, I would not have brought it up in the morning court. Since everyone is suspicious, Meng Chang, bring the evidence."
Eunuch Meng jogged out. Not long after, the palace servants who were holding the evidence filed in.
These were all arranged by Fang Jun and sent back. This was a serious matter. He would definitely not convict someone based on a few letters. After discovering the existence of the letters, he immediately sent people to investigate. According to the contents of the letters and other clues in the house, he found strong evidence.
Lord Fang was not a reckless person. Before the matter was concluded, it was impossible for him to rashly report the matter. He had worked under Shang Junlin for many years, and Shang Junlin knew very well what kind of personality he had.
That was why he was so angry when he heard the news.
The ministers did not say anything when the facts were in front of them.
Even if they could not figure it out or were unwilling to believe it, the facts were the facts. They would not change because of their attitude.
What followed was fear and anger. If not for this natural disaster, if the hidden danger had not been discovered, what would Su Bei have been like all these years later?
"Your Majesty, please investigate this matter. This matter cannot be tolerated!"
"Your Majesty, please …"
The ministers kneeled and loudly declared their position.
"We will have Fang Jun continue the investigation. In addition, we will send someone else to assist in the investigation. Have you chosen anyone?"
This matter was of great importance, so the ministers did not delay for too long and quickly decided on a candidate. One came from a humble family, while the other came from a noble family. Both served in the Court of Judicial Review and were experts at investigating cases.
The atmosphere in Su Bei was very tense, but of course, this was only limited to those who knew the inside story.
After the rain, the disaster had been alleviated and the lives of the common people had returned to normal. Lord Fang had exempted them from some policies that were detrimental to their livelihood. For the common people, everything was getting better.
Fang Jun had been very busy in this period of time. He had thought that the matter had come to an end and that all he needed to do was wait for the Imperial Court to send someone to take over. Who would have thought that this matter would involve another major incident?
I'm afraid that I won't be able to return to the capital for the time being.
Lord Fang thought to himself.
Sure enough, not long after his news was reported, His Majesty the Emperor's order came down. He was made an imperial envoy and given full authority to deal with the matter of the officials in Su Bei colluding with foreign enemies.
Xun Zhao was also left behind to help. Compared to returning to the Imperial Court, this matter was clearly more important.
For the sake of convenience, Shang Junlin also gave Fang Jun the authority to mobilize part of the Su Bei Army. The general who had been sent to help Fang Jun was officially one of Fang Jun's subordinates.
This general was the one who had accidentally replaced a chess piece planted in the Northern Desert and was unexpectedly promoted.
Fang Jun held the imperial edict. "It seems that General and I will have to work together for a period of time in the future."
"My Lord, there's a woman outside who wants to see you." A yamen runner walked in and cupped his hands.
"A woman? Are you sure she wants to see me? "Lord Fang recalled that he had not interacted with any woman in this period of time.
"Yes, the woman looked a little flustered. She was also carrying a large package in her hands. She said that she knew something that would interest you and wanted to tell you."
"Bring the woman in."
Not long after, the yamen runner brought in a woman dressed in coarse hemp clothes.
"Lord Fang." The woman knelt down as soon as she came in. "This humble girl has something important to tell you."
"This humble girl is Yaoji. I was once a dancer in Lord Hou's residence …"
Based on the woman's description, Fang Jun learned another side of the high-ranking officials in Su Bei.
In addition to all kinds of treasures, Lord Hou also loved beautiful women. Every once in a while, his subordinates would send him a group of women. Most of these women could only stay in the residence for half a year. No one knew where they went after that.
Yaoji had been learning to dance since she was a child in order to be chosen by a high-ranking official one day. She was outstanding in appearance and talent, so she was the most outstanding among her friends. Therefore, she was chosen to serve in Lord Hou's residence. Yaoji had been learning to dance since she was a child. After entering the residence, she quickly won Lord Hou's favor. Lord Hou showed off her excellent dancing skills everywhere. Thus, she inadvertently uncovered a shocking secret.
"That day, Lord Hou went to a banquet as usual and asked me to perform well at the banquet. The banquet was very strange. Everyone was wearing masks. One of them took a fancy to me, so Lord Hou asked me to serve him. Perhaps because he drank too much, that man said a lot of inexplicable words in the evening, mixed with some words that I didn't understand."
As she spoke, Yaoji imitated, "Later, I learned that it was the language of the Northern Desert. That man said that he cooperated with Lord Hou. I remembered several key words, 'Northern Desert', 'Northern Army', 'failed plan', and 'kidnapped'. After that, I knew that I knew something I shouldn't know, so I found an opportunity to pretend to be ill and was sent out of the main city."
"Then why did you come back?" Fang Jun asked calmly.
"Because I heard a lot about your deeds. I thought that you must be different from those people, so I wanted to give these things to you." Yaoji took out a big package in her arms.
"These were left by the people who served me at the banquet."
The yamen runner took the package and opened it. Inside were mostly jewelry for women, but the style was not popular in Dahuan.
Yaoji took out one of the jade boxes, opened the interlayer, and took out a folded piece of paper.
"What I want to give to you is this. It was left by that man."
Fang Jun asked someone to bring the things in and asked with a puzzled look, "Why did you leave these things?"
"Because I hate the Northern Desert. After I knew that man was from the Northern Desert, I wanted to find a chance to expose this matter." Yaoji smiled bitterly, "I know that I'm not powerful enough. After leaving the main city, I wanted to leave Subei and go all the way south to the capital. Later, I heard about your deeds from many people, so I wanted to give these things to you."
"From the information I learned, the Northern Desert people have been in Subei for a long time. Every once in a while, they would disguise themselves as people from Dahuan and appear in Subei. They are involved with the original officials of Subei. My ability is limited, so I can't find out more useful information …" As she spoke, the woman's breath became more and more unstable.
"I'll deal with this matter seriously." He would investigate the woman's origin. As for the things she said, he would investigate in detail!
"Thank you, Your Excellency." After that, the woman seemed to be unable to support herself and slowly fell down.
"Quickly help her up and call for a doctor."
Fang Jun called Xun Zhao who was busy and told him what happened just now, "This woman's words are eighty percent credible."
Fang Jun looked at the piece of paper the woman took out. It was a letter. It was different from the letter they found in Master Hou's house. This letter was written by Master Hou to the people of the Northern Desert. It matched the clues they found.
"So, the Northern Desert people are hiding in Subei and in the main city. After so many years, I didn't notice at all." Xun Zhao frowned.
"It seems that we were right not to announce the collusion between Master Hou and the Northern Desert people. Now that we're in the dark, it's easier to find them."
After the woman woke up, Fang Jun asked her a few more questions. Unfortunately, the woman didn't know the location of the banquet.
"When we went there, we were all blindfolded and sat in an airtight carriage. We only knew that it was a big house with gorgeous decorations. After we went there, our range of activities was limited. Except for dancing at the banquet, we could only move around in a small courtyard. When we left, it was the same as when we went there."
The woman told him all she knew. Fang Jun saw that he couldn't get any more information and left.
Fang Jun naturally had to report such a big matter to the Emperor as soon as possible. No matter whether the Northern Desert people had roots in Subei or not, they had to pay attention to this matter.
When Shang Junlin received the news, the officials sent to Subei were already on their way. Without Jiang Huaiqing and the other two to help, the Prime Minister was as busy as before. Because of Fang Jun's absence, he was even busier than before.
When Shang Junlin talked to Shen Yu about this matter, there was a smile on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"So, the Northern Desert people have already infiltrated Subei?" Shen Yu picked up a piece of snack and fed it to Shang Junlin. "In fact, it's not strange if you think about it. If they didn't enter Subei, how could they have a relationship with the former upper level officials?"
Shang Junlin sucked the snack in Shen Yu's hand and Shen Yu's finger. He took a bite and let go. "A Yu is right. Since you've come to Subei, don't think about going back."
Those who offend Dahuan must pay the price.
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