jdhmnovel Chapter 136 A shocking case
Chapter 136 A shocking case
Xu Lang didn't escape in the end. After all, he hadn't eaten or slept well for more than half a month, and he was tied with ropes.
When he was brought back by Chuyi, his eyes were already lifeless.
It was not until this time that Shi Xing and Ling Chuan met in the Xu family compound.
Shi Xing hugged Ling Chuan's arm and said, "It seems like you've been through a lot recently. You've lost a lot of weight."
Ling Chuan cupped his hands towards him and said, "Thanks to you for helping me so much this time."
"We are brothers, why do we have to say such polite words?" Shi Xingzhao waved his hand behind him and said, "How should this matter end? You have to make a decision quickly. I can't stay here for long."
"I will remember Brother Shi's kindness. You can go back first. We can handle the finishing touches ourselves."
"Then I won't be so hypocritical with you. I'll wait for you to come back and have a drink."
Taking advantage of darkness, Shi Xing led his men to retreat again, but before they left, they had already controlled all the members of the Xu family and detained them in a yard.
There are more than 300 households and more than 1,000 people living in the entire Xu family compound, not including other members of the Xu family who have moved out.
Ling Chuan felt a little bit reluctant when he saw the tragic scene. If this case was reported to the imperial court, there was a 99% chance that the entire clan would be exterminated.
Seeing Ling Chuan's look, Tu Yuan stepped forward and gave a direct order, ordering people to identify all the members of the Xu family, and then detain them separately for interrogation.
After explaining everything, Tu Yuan patted Ling Chuan on the shoulder and asked, "Are you soft-hearted?"
Ling Chuan sighed: "Brother Tu, you don't need to persuade me. I understand the reason. I just feel uncomfortable. I will be fine after a while."
Tu Yuan changed the subject: "You've been suffering these days, go and take a rest first, leave this to me."
In the following period of time, the Investigation Bureau interrogated the Xu family members while sending people back to Beijing to report the news.
However, after several days of interrogation, they found almost nothing. The only useful information they got was that the Xu family had been doing business with the west, and had a caravan in the westernmost part of Jingzhou Prefecture, ready to set off for Bashu at any time. Bashu was the territory of the Nanyue Kingdom.
Although the laws of the Great Sheng Dynasty prohibited secret exchanges with foreign countries, there were actually no detailed provisions. In addition, the people had always engaged in trade, and the imperial court basically did not care.
Later, due to the turmoil three years ago, it stagnated for a while, but it has revived in recent years.
This was not a big deal. Let alone the Xu family, there were so many aristocratic families in Dasheng. Anyone with some connections would do some business with them.
However, although the imperial court did not interfere with private trade, it prohibited the outflow of items under its control, such as salt, iron, and weapons.
Da Sheng was unrivaled in the world in casting weapons, especially bows and crossbows, so the outflow of these weapons, bows and crossbows, was strictly prohibited.
However, during the turmoil three years ago, the Nanyue Kingdom took the opportunity to send troops to attack Lingnan Prefecture. Originally, the two sides were fighting back and forth, but in the Battle of Yizhou, the Yue army actually took out the same bows and crossbows as the Dasheng army. Unexpectedly, the Nanyue Kingdom was defeated in the Battle of Yizhou.
Due to the turmoil in the capital, Lingnan Prefecture was short of troops. After the Vietnamese army captured Yizhou, they marched straight into the city and almost the entire Lingnan Prefecture fell into the hands of the enemy.
At the same time, to the north of Dasheng, the State of Qi also took the opportunity to attack Dasheng. Faced with attacks from both sides, Lu Xi had to make decisions in times of crisis. He granted military power to 13 vassal kings and ordered them to lead troops to stop the enemy. Only then did he manage to repel the enemy.
Da Sheng also changed from the original twelve prefectures to the current nine prefectures and thirteen vassal states.
In other words, a large part of the reason for the loss of the entire Lingnan Prefecture was due to the bows and crossbows in the hands of the Vietnamese army.
As for where their bows and crossbows came from, there is still no clue until now.
Based on the confessions of Xu Lang and other members of the Xu family, Lingchuan and his colleagues came to a horrifying conclusion that the bows and crossbows used by the Vietnamese army were provided by the Xu family.
This matter has far-reaching implications. Such a large number of bows and crossbows were transported to the State of Yue, and many officials had to be involved in handling the matter. Once the case was uncovered, there would definitely be a bloody storm in the capital.
Fortunately, Xu Lang had always been interrogated by Ling Chuan, so the news had not spread out, but Tu Yuan had a bitter face at this time.
"Brother Ling, I came all the way here to save you, why are you still trying to trick me?"
Ling Chuan curled his lips: "Master Tu, I am reporting the case, this is not..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Tu Yuan bowed to Ling Chuan repeatedly: "Let's talk properly. I tell you, this matter involves too much, and it's not something we two brothers can afford."
"What should we do?" Ling Chuan spread his hands: "We can't just pretend we didn't see it."
Tu Yuan scratched his head with both hands: "If we raid the Xu family with great fanfare and don't have a good reason, then our days will be over."
"It's over now. This is a huge case. If we can solve it, we will be promoted and rich in no time."
"It's not as simple as you think. Such a big thing, if the higher-ups..." Tu Yuan pointed upwards, swallowed his saliva, and said in a low voice: "If the higher-ups don't investigate this matter, then the two of us who know about it will probably be... snapped."
Seeing Tu Yuan gesturing on his neck, Ling Chuan was stunned at first, and then realized after a while that Tu Yuan was right. If the higher-ups didn't investigate the matter, then in order to stabilize people's hearts, they would have to silence the people who knew about it.
So Ling Chuan also scratched his head with both hands like Tu Yuan.
After a while, Ling Chuan suddenly had an idea: "Tell me, can Prince Ning afford this?"
Tu Yuan was reminded by him and suddenly came to his senses: "You mean... report this matter to the Lord?"
Ling Chuan smiled and said, "That makes sense."
Tu Yuan slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, it's reasonable for the subordinate to report the case. It's reasonable and logical."
Ling Chuan bowed to Tu Yuan and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Deputy Tu to take care of this matter."
"This is my job."
Ling Chuan curled his lips with a look of unsatisfied feeling: "It's a pity that Shi Xing ran away, otherwise he would have been dragged into the water as well, and Prince Ning would have been the right prime minister, and this case would have been irreversible."
Tu Yuan was shocked when he heard this. This Ling Chuan was really ruthless when it came to cheating his friends.
Because the matter was of great importance, the Criminal Investigation Bureau was understaffed and could not escort so many people to Beijing, so Tu Yuan could only return to Beijing with a few guards.
Tu Yuan was worried all the way. Although the two of them had a good discussion, in fact, this matter still depended on the Majesty's opinion. If His Majesty chose to suppress the case for fear of implicating too many people, then he and Ling Chuan would have to silence them.
At that time, Your Majesty only needs to kill the two people who knew about the case and make a statement to those involved in the case.
Even the emperor is not investigating it, so what does it matter if more people know about it?