The guards at the city gate tried to stop them. The man in black flashed the token of the Black Water Platform. The guards quickly let them through. Shao Pingbo led his men and galloped out from the east gate.
At the same time, two members of the Black Water Platform received Shao Pingbo's order and went straight to the garrison outside the city. They mobilized more than a hundred people within the scope of their authority and rushed to the Southern Tomb Mountain. They went straight to the Fire God Temple and captured all the God's servants in the temple. They were escorted to the prison controlled by the Black Water Platform and started the interrogation.
The name of the Black Water Platform's prison was simple and straightforward, Black Prison! Inside the Black Prison, the dozens of God Servants who were captured were all screaming under the torture.
The interrogation was Shao Pingbo's idea. He wanted to check the list of high officials and nobles who went to the Fire God Temple to offer incense within a year.
As for Shao Pingbo, he led his men and charged towards a small town dozens of miles away. His men charged into the town and directly surrounded an inn.
The small town's bailiffs hurried over, berating, asking what was going on and who were these people.
A token of the Black Water Platform flashed out, and the constable immediately retreated to the side, trembling with fear. The Black Water Group was a secret organization in the hands of the imperial power. In order to carry out special tasks, the country gave them the power to kill first and report later. It was not something that small shrimps like them could afford to provoke.
Shao Pingbo did not dismount from his horse. He raised his hand and gestured.
Shao Sansheng immediately jumped off his horse and led a group of people into the inn. Soon, he dragged out a man from the inn and forced him to kneel in front of Shao Pingbo's mount.
Shao Pingbo looked down and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
The person who was kneeling was dressed like a commoner peddler. He was trembling in fear. "I … I am the temple attendant of the Fire God Temple of Mount Nanling."
Shao Pingbo asked, "If you are the Temple Attendant of the Fire God Temple, why are you here and why are you dressed like this?"
"I … I …" The temple attendant panicked. He was originally found by the people of the Misty Pavilion. Of course, he didn't know that they were from the Misty Pavilion, but he knew that the matter of him being bribed to speak nonsense in front of the Imperial Concubine had been exposed. He was afraid, so he ran away. How could he dare to easily tell the truth about lying to the Imperial Concubine?
Little did he know that he had been targeted a long time ago. Otherwise, how could Shao Pingbo directly find him without taking a detour?
"Take him away!" Shao Pingbo said, then turned his mount around and left.
After the temple attendant was captured, the group of people once again galloped away, directly returning to the capital. It could be said that they came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
The group once again rushed into the capital through the east gate, heading straight for the Black Prison under the jurisdiction of the Black Water Platform.
Shao Pingbo jumped off the horse and asked, "How's the trial going?"
The member of the Black Water Platform who had been by his side and was responsible for coordinating with him replied, "None of them are tough bones. Under torture, they will answer whatever we ask them. This is the name list that Sir wants." A name list was handed over with both hands.
Shao Pingbo took the list and glanced at it. His eyebrows rose slightly, and with a flick of his cloak, he charged into Black Prison without saying anything.
Needless to say, the temple attendant was dragged miserably into prison.
The scribe in charge of the registration in Black Prison cupped his hands and bowed to Shao Pingbo. Shao Pingbo ignored him and slapped the interrogation list he had just received on the table. He borrowed the scribe's pen and circled a bunch of names on the list.
After that, he took the list and walked to the side, called Shao Sansheng over, and handed the list to him. "Coordinate with the Black Water Platform to see which family members are related to the Cloud Equipment Sect. Remove all those related to the Cloud Equipment Sect."
"Yes!" Shao Sansheng took the list and immediately went to execute it.
Shao Pingbo went straight to the depths of the prison to personally interrogate the temple attendant.
The temple attendant had already been tied to the torture rack, and all his clothes had been stripped clean.
The person in charge of the search carried a tray of gold and silver notes to Shao Pingbo. "Sir, these were all found on him."
"It seems that this Fire God Temple has a lot of profits." Shao Pingbo snorted coldly and walked to the torture rack. He held the hilt of the sword at his waist, and with a swoosh, the sword was unsheathed.
The temple attendant was frightened and said in horror, "Spare me, spare me, as long as you spare my life, I will confess everything! Ah … "With a shrill scream, his whole body trembled in pain.
A cold light flashed. Shao Pingbo raised his sword and chopped off one of his wrists.
…
In a pavilion in the palace, after the talking minister left, Tai-shu Xiong asked, "Isn't Sir Shao back? Hasn't he entered the palace yet?"
Tao Lue said, "I was about to report this to His Majesty. Sir Shao didn't enter the palace. Instead, he summoned the relevant personnel of the Black Water Platform and directly went out of the city. He also mobilized the garrison outside the city. The garrison directly attacked the Fire God Temple in Nanling Mountain. All the servants of the Fire God Temple were captured and brought back to the Black Prison for interrogation. Sir Shao directly led people to the Thirty Mile Town and captured the temple attendant who was about to escape from an inn. I just received the news and brought him back to the Black Prison. "
"Oh!" Tai-shu Xiong was a little surprised. His eyes flashed slightly. Slowly, he said, "Is it because of Imperial Concubine Lan?"
The fact that Imperial Concubine Lan and her daughter went to the Fire God Temple couldn't be hidden from them, but they didn't investigate further.
Tao Lue bowed, "I guess so."
Tai-shu Xiong sighed, "It seems that he is still not satisfied. What's the point of finding out? The general situation has been decided. Does he want to use this to refuse?"
Tao Lue said, "Sir Shao was ordered by His Majesty to plan the war at the front line. He has a great responsibility and has the power to mobilize the personnel of the Black Water Platform. Without His Majesty's order, I can't stop him."
Tai-shu Xiong said, "I'm afraid that he will not be satisfied if he doesn't investigate this matter. This matter has indeed wronged him. Let him cause trouble first. Just keep an eye on him and don't let him cause too much trouble."
Tao Lue said respectfully, "Yes!"
…
In the Black Prison, Shao Pingbo, who had obtained the latest confession, strode out. He directly turned over and directly mounted his horse. With a loud sound of hooves, he led the crowd out of the Black Prison courtyard.
Out of this place, the group of people went straight to the Prefect Grand Usher's office. When they arrived, Shao Pingbo turned over and dismounted, climbing up the stairs.
The guards of the government office stopped him. The personnel of the Black Water Platform immediately rushed forward and showed a warning token. The guards of the government office looked at each other. One of them said, "Wait for me to report!"
"There's no need!" Shao Pingbo was too lazy to be long-winded. He pushed aside the obstruction and directly rushed in. His imposing manner could be said to be swift and decisive!
Soon, the officials in the government office were alerted one after another. The Prefect Grand Usher, Guo Wenshang, was also shocked and came out.
Shao Pingbo met him and calmly said, "Sir Guo!"
Guo Wenshang's face was filled with anger. He pointed at the group of people who rushed in like wolves and said sternly, "Sir Shao, what's the reason for you to bring people and trespass into the government office?"
Shao Pingbo flipped his sleeves and showed a token that was given by Tai-shu Xiong. "Sir Guo, I was ordered to the frontline to coordinate the battle between Qi and Wei. According to the information obtained at the frontline, there are enemy spies who have infiltrated the capital city and colluded with the officials of the imperial court to create chaos. This matter concerns the war at the frontline and I dare not neglect it. Therefore, I urgently returned to the capital city to conduct a thorough investigation. I hope that Sir Guo can cooperate!"
Guo Wenshang flicked his sleeves and said, "Ridiculous! Are you accusing me of colluding with the enemy spies? "
Shao Pingbo said calmly, "Sir Guo, don't be nervous. I'm just here to ask for some confessions."
"Confessions?" Guo Wenshang immediately sneered and said, "I'm an official of the imperial court. Are you interrogating me like a criminal?"
Shao Pingbo suddenly shouted, "Bring him here!"
There was a commotion at the back. A battered man was dragged out. One of his hands had been chopped off and was simply bandaged. He looked very miserable. It was the temple attendant of the Fire God Temple.
"You … you are …" Although he was battered, Guo Wenshang still recognized him at a glance.
Shao Pingbo looked at the criminal coldly and said, "Tell me. Tell me what happened that day when Sir Guo went to the Fire God Temple."
"I was confused for a moment …" The frightened temple attendant immediately told Guo Wenshang the story that he had fabricated to Imperial Concubine Lan after being bribed.
"Hiss …" Guo Wenshang gasped. He was not a fool. He immediately thought of the situation where Imperial Concubine Lan wanted to see Jia Wuqun. It was probably not a coincidence. Someone must have planned this. Guo Wenshang really couldn't figure out how big the situation was behind all this.
Swish! Shao Pingbo suddenly pulled out half of the sword from his waist and said, "Sir Guo, I'm not interrogating you as a criminal. I'm investigating and collecting evidence! The war at the front line is urgent. It concerns the success or failure of the war and the lives of countless people in Jin State. Before I went to the front line, His Majesty gave me the power to act first and report later. Now the witness is here and Sir Guo is involved. If you don't cooperate with the investigation and collect evidence, don't blame me for punishing you according to military law! "
Guo Wenshang hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Sir Shao, there may be some misunderstanding. I don't know what Jia Wuqun did behind the scenes. I'm just following the rules of the Prefect Grand Usher to receive foreign guests!"
Shao Pingbo put the sword in his hand back into the scabbard and waved his hand. "Record Sir Guo's words!"
The accompanying personnel of the Black Water Station did not know the depth of the matter. But after discovering a series of foreign conspiracies, they began to treat it seriously and were very cooperative with Shao Pingbo. One of the personnel of the Black Water Station immediately asked for a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and used them as documents. Shao Pingbo began to ask questions and Guo Wenshang answered.
After all the questions were asked, Guo Wenshang signed the statement under Shao Pingbo's signal.
"I believe that Sir Guo is innocent. Sir Guo, sorry for disturbing you. I'll take my leave!" Shao Pingbo cupped his hands and bid farewell. Then, he turned around and left.
Guo Wenshang cupped his hands awkwardly.
After the group of people who broke into the Prefect Grand Usher's office came out, Shao Pingbo, who was standing outside the door, took a deep breath. He had obtained the statements of the temple devotee and Guo Wenshang. Now that he had confirmed the foreign conspiracies, his plan was already halfway to success.
He took out Shao San Sheng's list of names from his sleeve and asked, "Which of the mansions of the people on the list is closest to this place?"
A personnel of the Black Water Station stepped forward and pointed at a name on the list. "Inner Custodian Zhao Gongquan, Sir Zhao's house."
"Alright, then let's go to Sir Zhao's house first. Lead the way!" Shao Pingbo kept the list and walked to the front of the horse. With a flick of his cloak, he flipped over and got on the horse.
The group of horses galloped away and soon arrived at the Zhao Mansion. A group of people directly barged in.
After barging in, they followed the map and arrested the people according to the list. They caused a huge commotion in the Zhao Mansion. They had no idea what was going on. Shao Pingbo came with Taishu Xiong's token in his hand. The guards in the mansion did not dare to act recklessly.
Not long after, three out of the four wives of Inner Custodian Zhao Gongquan were arrested, along with their children.
At this moment, a young man in embroidered clothes rushed in from outside the mansion. When he saw his mother and siblings being arrested, he panicked and shouted, "How dare you! Do you know where this is? Who dares to be so presumptuous! "
Shao Pingbo turned around and asked, "Who is this?"
A servant of the Black Water Station said, "Sir Zhao's youngest son, Zhao Yujun."
Shao Pingbo asked, "Is he related to the Taishu family?"
"No!" The servant of the Black Water Station pointed at a beautiful woman who was being detained, indicating that she was the son.
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