Ang Lee's hint surprised Zhao Yafu greatly, and he quickly asked: "Open the door to thieves, who is it?"
"Second Prime Minister, I don't have enough evidence, so I can't speak carelessly. This is just a guess. The reason I told you is to let you be mentally prepared, in case Ang Lee found out that Zhao Yafu was a smart person. He only needed to give him some advice, there was no need to tell him everything.
Zhao Yafu frowned and said softly: "I understand what Li Xiaowei means. Then what should I do to stop someone from opening the door to thieves?"
Ang Lee shook his head gently: "Second Prime Minister, you don't need to do anything, just leave this matter to me."
"Okay then."
Zhao Yafu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said seriously: "The situation in Queen's City is dangerous, and I will leave at noon. Li Xiaowei has a heavy burden on his shoulders. If you have trouble that you can't solve, you can go twenty miles south of the city to look for the Third Prime Minister. He may be able to help Li Xiaowei."
"The Third Prime Minister."
Since entering Queen's City, Ang Lee had never seen the Third Prime Minister of Dongnu Province. He had even forgotten that Dongnu Province had such a Prime Minister.
Zhao Yafu took out a dagger from his chest and handed it to Ang Lee: "This was given to me by the Third Prime Minister many years ago. As long as you show this dagger, the Third Prime Minister will believe you."
Ang Lee accepted the dagger with both hands and continued to ask about the Third Prime Minister.
The Third Prime Minister of Dongnu Province was called Zhao Jingnong. As his name suggested, he attached great importance to agriculture. He led his soldiers and people to open up terraced fields in the southern mountains all year round, and was responsible for guarding the southern border to prevent foreign enemies from invading.
Over the years, Zhao Jingnong led his soldiers to open up millions of acres of terraced fields, which accounted for almost eighty percent of the terraced fields in Dongnu Province. Zhao Jingnong's contribution to the people of Dongnu Province being able to fill their stomachs could not go unnoticed.
However, Zhao Jingnong also had a strange habit. He always liked to dress up as an ordinary person and work leisurely in the fields, as if being an ordinary farmer was his greatest dream in life.
"Li Xiaowei, goodbye."
Zhao Yafu got up and walked out.
Ang Lee got up and walked him to the door.
Before Zhao Yafu mounted his horse, he looked back at Ang Lee and said, "Captain Li, the Five Prime Ministers have a bad temper, but I believe in his loyalty to Dongnu Province. If we can get his support, our chances of winning will be higher."
Ang Lee nodded gently, indicating that he understood.
When they returned to the room, Li Feishouyu looked at Ang Lee with a puzzled expression. "You're fine. Why would Tufan suddenly harass the borders of Dongnu Province? Isn't this a great help to us?"
"That's right. Now that Tubo has caused such a ruckus at the border, the people of Dongnu Province are less hostile towards us. This is indeed very beneficial to us, but Tubo would definitely not help us for no reason. They must have some other scheme. "
Ang Lee frowned and thought for a while. He suddenly realized, "They only harass the northwest region. It's obvious that they want to transfer the Second Prime Minister away. So this is the truth."
Ang Lee remembered clearly what happened a few days ago. At that time, more than a thousand people from Dongnu Province surrounded the Tang Army and demanded that the Tang Army leave Queen's Town. However, at the critical moment, the Second Prime Minister, Zhao Yafu, stood up for the Tang Army. This calmed the anger of the officials of Dongnu Province. Perhaps it was this incident that made Wulun Yangguo of Tubo jealous and resentful. He used a little trick to transfer Zhao Yafu away from Queen's Town so that this person would not ruin his plan.
Everything has its pros and cons. Wulun Yangguo's move did succeed in transferring Zhao Yafu away from Queen's Town and solved a big problem. However, at the same time, it also indirectly helped the Tang Army. The people of Dongnu Province no longer hated the Tang Army and hoped to cooperate with the Tang Army to deal with the provocative Tubo army together. Perhaps this was something that Wulun Yangguo did not expect in advance. Of course, maybe Wulun Yangguo did not care about it.
"Ever since the Tubo army defeated Gai Jiayun and took over Stone Castle City, they have become more arrogant. In the eyes of the Tubo Tsangpu, even the Tang Dynasty is no match for them, let alone the small Dongnu Province."
Ang Lee sighed. He looked at Li Feishouyu and said, "Wulun Yangguo planned to transfer the Second Prime Minister away in order to make us isolated and helpless. It seems that we have to step up our actions and gain the trust of the Five Prime Ministers as soon as possible. Of course, there are also the Three Prime Ministers."
Li Feishouyu nodded his head and said, "Our people have been secretly investigating the massacre in the city. The people of the Five Prime Ministers are also investigating. They have already found some clues. I believe that there will be a result soon. As long as we can prove that the massacre was not committed by us, the Five Prime Ministers have no reason not to trust us."
Ang Lee nodded his head gently. He asked Li Feishouyu to continue to pay attention to the case.
###
At the residence of the Five Prime Ministers in Queen's Town, Zhao Wufu was practicing martial arts in the courtyard. The matter of Tubo invading the border made him very angry. Although the Second Prime Minister, Zhao Yafu, had already brought troops to reinforce the border, as one of the Five Prime Ministers of Dongnu Province, he had to be prepared to fight at any time.
"The Five Prime Ministers have made a major discovery."
His trusted general, Wu Shu, strode into the courtyard.
"Speak."
Wu Shu took a step forward and whispered a few words into Zhao Wufu's ear.
"What, there are actually survivors?"
"Five Prime Ministers, this person is extremely timid. He has been hiding in the dilapidated temple until today. After he was discovered by our soldiers, he tried to escape. The soldiers felt that he was suspicious and captured him. I did not expect him to be a survivor of the massacre."
Zhao Wufu slapped the back of his hand and said happily, "This is really a case of searching high and low for something, only to find it by chance. This person must know about the situation of the perpetrators. Have you found out?"
"He indeed knows one of the thieves with a scar on his face."
"Who is it?"
"Mu Dayong."
"What, how can it be him?"
Zhao Wufu was greatly shocked. His eyes widened.
"Five Prime Ministers, I have already investigated. This Mu Dayong is indeed a little abnormal recently. He often stays at home alone. This does not seem like his style."
Zhao Wufu heaved a heavy sigh and looked at Wu Shu, "Immediately gather all the troops and follow me to capture Mu Dayong."
"Yes, Five Prime Ministers."
Soon, General Wu Shu gathered three hundred soldiers and followed Zhao Wufu to Mu Dayong's residence.
"Quick, quick, surround him."
Wu Shu shouted loudly and completely surrounded Mu Dayong's residence.
Zhao Wufu took large strides to the door and ordered, "Break the door open."
"Creak"
The door opened by itself. Mu Dayong looked at Zhao Wufu in shock.
"Five Prime Ministers, why are you here?"
Zhao Wufu was too lazy to talk nonsense. He waved his hand and said, "Tie him up."
"Five Prime Ministers, Five Prime Ministers, what are you doing?"
Mu Dayong wanted to struggle, but he was tightly tied up. He had a guilty conscience and naturally knew why he was caught. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Search him."
Following Zhao Wufu's order, Wu Shu personally led dozens of soldiers and charged into Mu Dayong's residence. They began a detailed search.
Three hundred soldiers surrounded Mu Dayong's residence. This was a very big movement and immediately attracted a large number of people to watch. A few of the onlookers only took a quick glance and quickly ran away.
"Five Prime Ministers, we found quite a few things."
Wu Shu placed all the suspicious items in front of Zhao Wufu.
When Mu Dayong saw that his things had been found, he closed his eyes. He knew that everything was over.
"Tang Army swords, bloody Tang Army armor, Mu Dayong, how do you explain this?"
Zhao Wufu stared at Mu Dayong and asked sternly.
Mu Dayong lowered his head and did not say a word.
"Take him away. Leave thirty people to guard this residence."
Zhao Wufu ordered loudly and personally escorted Mu Dayong away.
There was no such thing as an airtight wall in the world. The news about Mu Dayong's family quickly spread throughout Queen City. Only then did the people in the city know that the family extermination that happened a few days ago was actually done by Mu Dayong. Suddenly, they felt that it was somewhat inconceivable. How much hatred did he have that he actually wanted to exterminate six families?
###
"Everything is fine. The Five Prime Ministers have already caught one of the perpetrators. They are currently escorting him to the palace. They are preparing to hand him over to Lord Guichang."
Li Feishouyu walked into the room with a face full of excitement.
"They caught him so quickly. That's great."
Ang Lee was very happy. He frowned and asked, "Who is Mu Dayong?"
"He is a general under the command of the Fourth Prime Minister Zhao Hui. He has made a lot of contributions at the border."
"Zhao Hui."
Li An was slightly taken aback as a chill crept into his heart.
Li Feishouyu did not feel the chill in Ang Lee's heart and continued, "Everything is fine. This matter concerns the innocence of the Tang Army. We should go to the palace to check the situation."
"That makes sense. Let's go."
Ang Lee strode out of the room and met Xi Yu outside. He also heard that the perpetrator of the massacre had been caught and was preparing to go to the palace.
The arrest of the perpetrator, Mu Dayong, made Ang Lee, Xi Yu, and other officials of the Tang Dynasty greatly relieved. But for the Fourth Prime Minister Zhao Hui, it was a blow to his head. After hearing that Mu Dayong was caught by Zhao Wufu, he was anxious in his residence.
He knew that escaping was not a solution, so he immediately rode his horse to the palace, ready to act according to the situation.
In the palace, King Guichang, Zhao Yafu, was sitting on the throne. On his left and right sides were Internal Ministers Zhao Mengru and Zhao Mengjie. Mu Dayong, who was tied up, was kneeling below. Ang Lee, Xi Yu, and other officials of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the First Prime Minister, Fourth Prime Minister, and Fifth Prime Minister of Dongnu Province were all present.
The Tang Army could finally get rid of the injustice. Ang Lee and Xi Yu were naturally happy. Zhao Yafu and the two Internal Ministers also did not believe that the Tang Army would slaughter the people of Dongnu Province, so they were also happy. The First Prime Minister Zhao Daiwen and Fifth Prime Minister Zhao Wufu both looked serious, while the Fourth Prime Minister Zhao Hui's forehead was sweating and he looked very nervous.
"Mu Dayong, this guest is right here. Why don't you tell the truth? Who ordered you to slaughter the civilians and frame the Tang army?"
Zhao Wufu scolded and glanced at Zhao Hui from the corner of his eyes.
Although they were blood-related brothers, if Zhao Hui disregarded human lives, he would not care about personal feelings. This was Zhao Wufu's character.
Mu Dayong looked up at Zhao Yafu with hesitation in his eyes.
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