Chapter 167 Do I have the appearance of an emperor? (6k)

Tongdi City, the provincial government office.

Bai Li opened the lid of the box in the back hall of the yamen and took out the dragon robe, golden crown, jade belt, golden sword, jade seal and other items one by one and placed them on the table.

Fang Shen leaned over and looked at them one by one, twirling his beard and admiring them.

"The emperor of our dynasty no longer wears this thing. I have only heard of its description in operas, but I never thought the real thing would be so exquisitely made. Who did you ask to make it?"

"I don't know." Bai Li shook his head slightly and explained with a smile: "Tokyo has a lot of talented people, from all walks of life. As long as you are willing to spend money, what can't be done?"

"Mandated by Heaven, long life and everlasting prosperity"

Fang Shen picked up the jade seal with his backhand, looked at the awkward seal script on it, and couldn't help but read it aloud, but then he shook his head and joked: "It's even missing a corner on purpose, this is too realistic."

"After all, these are things for rebellion. It won't work if they are too perfunctory. The better the materials used, the less likely Yang Chang will deny it. Manager Zhai requires that it must succeed."

When Bai Li talked about Zhai Qian, his eyes were full of gratitude.

"It's a good thing, but how to implement it? Although Yang Chang is not in Tongdi, Wu Song and Lu Zhishen are guarding the General Manager's Office. Those two are man-eating beasts."

"Enfu has a lot of strategies. Can you use them to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"

After listening to Bai Li's suggestion, Fang Shen frowned and did not answer. He had tested Wu Song several times and found that he and Yang Chang were as close as brothers.

At this time, the accusation of rebellion against Yang Chang made Fang Shen inexplicably think of Wu Da, and he worried that he would follow in Ximen Qing's footsteps.

The common man became angry and blood spattered five steps forward.

Wu Song alone is not enough to handle it, not to mention there is a fat monk pulling out trees nearby. The task given by the Grand Tutor is too dangerous.

Seeing Bai Li waiting for a reply, Manager Li hurriedly bowed and reminded him, "Enfu, County Magistrate Bai is right. You are also the commander-in-chief of Qinzhou's troops, so you can mobilize them for military affairs."

"If we have to transfer, we can only transfer Lu Zhishen away. Wu Song is Yang's arm."

"If we can transfer one, we'll transfer one. Doesn't the En family have a history with Wu Song? We can find an excuse to invite him to a banquet. I will personally lead people to sneak into the General Administration Office to frame him. It probably won't take long."

"Wusong is a big drinker."

Seeing Fang Shen's hesitation, Bai Li stepped forward and pressed the imperial seal, reminding him earnestly: "Yanjing has been recovered, and the Northern Expedition Army will be withdrawn soon. We don't have much time left. How can we report to the Grand Tutor if we don't hurry? Even if there are imperfections, as long as Tong Shumi surrounds Qinzhou with a large army, won't Yang Chang let us control him?"

"Enfu, County Magistrate Bai is right. Let's make a decision as soon as possible."

Hearing that Li Guanshi had agreed again, Fang Shen made up his mind and said, "I will issue a military order right now, saying that the remnants of Tian Hu have appeared in Shiti Mountain, and order Lu Zhishen to lead a battalion of soldiers to clear the mountain."

"This is a very clever plan."

Bai Li bowed and flattered, and then suggested: "As long as we can successfully transfer Lu Zhishen, it would be best to invite Wu Song to have a drink at night, and I can take the opportunity to sneak into the general's office."

"No hurry." Fang Shen waved his hands and frowned, saying, "Wu Song is very cautious and has acted too closely. I'm afraid he will be suspicious. Let's wait until Lu Zhishen falls into the trap before we can talk about inviting you to dinner."

"Yes, yes, the En family is very thoughtful."

Bai Li was young and proactive. Unlike Fang Shen, who was experienced in officialdom and concerned about gains and losses, he waited for the prefect to write a favorite order and accompanied Li Guanshi out of the prefecture to deliver the order.

Half an hour later, Manager Li came back from delivering the message.

The dragon robe and other items had been packed. Fang Shen pressed the lid of the box and turned back to ask, "What's going on? Why didn't Bai Li come back with us?"

"Lu Zhishen didn't know it was a trick. He received the order from Prime Minister En and went to the military camp to check the troops. County Lieutenant Bai was afraid that he would pretend to obey but actually disobey, so he secretly followed behind and watched. When the fat monk really left Tongdi City, he came back to report to you."

"Bai Li is eager to make achievements, but he is not a reckless man. The next one is Wu Song. When do you think we should invite him?"

"How about today?"

Manager Li tried to respond, but saw Fang Shen shaking his head slightly.

"It's already afternoon. By the way, you just went to the general's office. How many guards were there in the mansion?"

"There are only two at the door and two in front of the hall."

"It's gone?"

"Gone."

Fang Shen was delighted when he heard this and murmured, "Since the guards are lax during the day, I might as well invite Wu Song again at noon tomorrow, and you can go with Bai Li then."

"Yes."

"By the way, this thing can't be kept here for long. Find someone to move it to the backyard and store it there, and then have Bai Li take it away tomorrow morning."

"I'll do it right away."

Manager Li turned around and went out to call for help.

In the afternoon, Bai Li returned to the provincial government office to report that Lu Zhishen had left the city to the south.

Fang Shen was overjoyed when he heard this, so he invited Bai Li to his house to drink and spend the night to discuss the details of tomorrow's actions.

At dusk, the drinking stopped.

Fang Shen returned to the dormitory with the help of the wall. When he sat on the couch, he realized something was wrong. He thought to himself, why does the wooden box on the table look so familiar?

He walked forward shaking his head, and suddenly found that it was a box containing dragon robes and other utensils. He slapped the lid of the box and cursed: "What's wrong with Li Qiao? How could he move this thing to my bedroom to store it? He is going backwards as he grows older, right?"

"I asked him to move here."

"Ok?"

Hearing the sound, Fang Shen looked towards the door and saw his wife Tian pushing the door open.

Seeing the man holding the lid of the box, the middle-aged woman frowned and complained, "Fangshen, tell me what's in this box? If I hadn't seen it halfway, Li Qiao would have moved it to his room."

"You are so nosy, you won't..."

Fang Shen suddenly remembered that Tian loved money, so he immediately opened the lid of the box to look inside, and sure enough, he found that the golden knife was not there.

"Where's the knife?"

"As the saying goes, wealth should not be shown off. I was afraid that passers-by would take it away, so I hid it secretly." Seeing Fang Shen's sudden displeasure, Tian lowered her head and added.

"Fools, greedy fools!"

Fang Shen was almost sober. He originally picked up the dragon robe to question him, but then he found that the jade seal was gone: "Do you know what this is? The emperor of the previous dynasty wore this, you..."

"What's wrong?" Tian lowered her head in grievance, "I don't intend to cheat on you."

"Take it out. Take it all out."

Fang Shen slammed the table and shouted: "Dragon robe, golden crown, jade seal, golden sword, these are all things that represent rebellion."

"Official, are you going to rebel?"

"Does your man have this ability? Stop talking nonsense, go get the things out and give them to Li Qiao to put away. This is for others, so don't ask if you don't understand."

"Who wants to rebel?"

Tian squatted down and rummaged through the drawers and boxes, still asking questions.

"Of course it's the rebels from Qinzhou. I want to take some credit for this."

"turn out to be."

After listening to Fang Shen's explanation, Tian suddenly understood.

She reluctantly handed over the golden knife, but pulled her hand back halfway and tried again: "Sir, if you want to set up a trap for an outsider, there is no need to spend so much money. The other things should be enough. Why don't we just keep this knife?"

"What kind of money do you dare to ask for?"

Fang Shen glanced at Tian, ​​put the golden sword and jade seal into the wooden box, lowered his head and said: "These things will be sent out at noon tomorrow. Go and call Li Qiao to take them away. I am an eyesore to see them."

"What's the eyesore? I think it's pretty good."

Tian walked to the door reluctantly. Seeing that it was already dark outside, she turned back and said, "Manager Li is probably asleep. Why don't we just leave him here so we don't have to move him around and lose him."

"Well, keep the doors and windows closed at night."

Fang Shen thought it made sense, so he turned around and lay back down on the couch.

Tian pulled the bolt on the door, came to the table, opened the lid of the box and took another look, muttering to herself, "I don't know if it will look good on me. Anyway, I'm going to stay here overnight, so why don't you try it on, sir?"

"What did you say?"

Fang Shen sat up immediately.

Tian picked up the dragon robe and smiled, "All men should dream of becoming an emperor. Why don't you take this opportunity to become an emperor for a night? I can also take advantage of this opportunity to become an empress."

"Boring."

Although Fang Shen said so, he could not resist Tian's instigation, and finally put it on and was reluctant to take it off.

He put on the dragon robe and golden crown, spread out his sleeves, turned around, and then took the imperial seal in his hand to play the role, and asked seriously: "Madam, do you think I have the appearance of an emperor?"

"Should you call me Queen?"

Tian bowed jokingly and could not help but exclaim: "No wonder everyone wants to be the emperor. Wearing it is like a different person, with awe-inspiring power without even getting angry."

Fang Shen walked back to the couch and sat down. He looked at the dragon pattern on his chest and shook his head: "The traditional dragon robe is still better looking. I heard that the clothes of officials and court officials look the same. How can we distinguish between the noble and the humble?"

"His Majesty."

Tian came over with a smile, "May I help Your Majesty undress and go to bed?"

"That's not necessary. I want to sleep in my clothes tonight."

Fang Shen enjoyed wearing the dragon robe and didn't want to take it off, so Tian helped him remove his shoes and then she fell asleep with the dragon robe as a pillow.

At about the end of the first watch, the couple was awakened by a knock on the door.

"who is it?"

"Something is wrong with the En Mansion. Something has happened at the En Mansion."

Tian was worried about the golden knife in the box, so she got up quickly, dressed, and asked, and then she heard the voice of the steward Li Qiao.

Fang Shen cursed the guy for being so excited that he couldn't speak, so he stood up and shouted in a deep voice: "If you have something to say, just say it. The sky won't fall."

While talking, the door was opened.

Li Qiao rushed in in panic and bumped into the woman.

Tian glared at him coldly and pinched Li Qiao secretly.

Li Qiao was not thinking about this. He pushed Tian away with one hand, rushed to Fang Shen as if he had lost his parents, and said excitedly: "He is rebelling. Yang Chang is rebelling."

"Rebellion is good."

Fang Shen was still confused at this time, and asked disapprovingly: "Aren't we just waiting for this day?"

"No." Li Qiao was startled when he heard this, and reminded with a bitter face: "Captain Yang is coming to the door now, and the provincial government office has been surrounded by his troops."

"What? Now?"

"Yes, please think of a solution quickly."

Fang Shen finally woke up under Li Qiao's urging, and countless torches suddenly lit up in the yard outside the house, and Wu Song's commanding voice could be heard.

"Control them all! Don't let even one mouse escape!"

"Yes"

"It's over."

Li Qiao looked at Fang Shen in horror, and only then could he see the prefect clearly in the light.

He actually put the dragon robe on himself? Li Qiao pointed at him and stammered: "Enfu, you..."

"Me? Yeah."

Fang Shen's eyes were stern, and he said solemnly: "I am the governor and the general manager of the army. The soldiers under Yang Chang's command are under my command. Maybe this situation can be saved. Quickly pass on my order."

“Enfu, your clothes” “Clothes?”

"Oh, the dragon robe is still there!"

After being reminded by Li Qiao and Tian at the same time, Fang Shen looked down at his chest and was so scared that he almost jumped up. However, it was too late to change, because when he looked up, he saw Wu Song approaching with a gun.

"Fang Zhizhou, I never realized that you actually wanted to be the emperor."

"No, it's not"

Fang Shen wanted to cry but had no tears. He waved his hands and explained: "Wu Dutou, listen to me, this is a misunderstanding."

Wu Song ignored him and waved his hands and shouted, "Capture them all!"

"Do not."

Fang Shen retreated and pointed at the officers and soldiers around Wu Song and shouted: "I am the commander-in-chief of Qinzhou's army. You should all obey my orders. Wu Song has rebelled tonight. Why don't you capture him quickly?"

"Hahaha, get it!"

Wu Song couldn't help laughing wildly, thinking, "Are you confused after sleeping? Do you really think you can mobilize the soldiers just by relying on your status?"

"I don't know anything, why are you arresting me?"

"What are you doing? My husband is the prefect, and the dragon robe he wears is from the previous dynasty."

"Silly woman, stop talking nonsense!"

In just a moment, more than 30 masters and servants in the backyard were all captured by Wu Song's men.

County lieutenant Bai Li, who was staying in the guest room, was awake due to his kung fu practice. When he heard some noise in the front yard, he went out to check and discovered that it was Lu Zhishen who had left at noon.

He had no time to think about why, nor to inform Fang Shen in the backyard, so he planned to escape over the wall alone. Unfortunately, he was hit by a flying stone as soon as he climbed to the top of the wall, and fell down to be captured by Hu Sanniang and Qiu Qiongying.

At the second watch that night, Fang Shen, Li Qiao and Bai Li were brought to the main hall.

Yang Chang was seen sitting in the main seat, with Wu Song and Lu Zhishen standing on his left and right. On the table in front of them were the jade seal, golden sword and golden crown.

"It's tied too tight!"

"How can you tie up a tiger without tightening it?"

When Fang Shen was struggling, he heard Yang Chang's words and his body trembled. He swallowed his saliva and explained: "Yang Chang, what do you want to do? I am just a civil servant. Don't force me to be guilty of rebellion. No one in the court will believe it!"

"Is it?"

Yang Chang smiled contemptuously, then pointed at the table and asked, "Then why did you send this set of clothes? And how do you explain finding these things in the mansion?"

"This..." Fang Shen was startled by the question and hurriedly shook his head to explain: "This is a misunderstanding, someone framed me."

"Who framed you?"

"This government does not know"

"Take him away. I don't have time to bother with you. Someone will interrogate you in the capital."

"No"

Seeing that Yang Chang no longer gave him a chance, Fang Shen immediately lost his mind and struggled while shouting excitedly: "You can't do this, you have no right to arrest me."

"What about you? Tell me, is it related to Fang Shen's rebellion?"

"No, no."

Li Qiao glanced at Bai Li, who seemed to be suspicious of his confession. He denied it and then added: "Zhizhou Fang is innocent. General Yang led his troops to surround the state government at night. It is clearly a false accusation."

"We surrounded the prefecture at night because of reports from the people. I didn't expect Fang Shen to not only hide the imperial seal and the golden sword, but also openly wear the dragon robe in the government office of our Song Dynasty. If this is not rebellion, what is it? I have no grudge against him, so how can you accuse him? You dare to confuse right and wrong in front of me, and think that I am a Yanggu archer? Drag him away and beat him with twenty military sticks first."

"no, do not want"

Li Qiao was dragged out of the hall, and soon he began to wail in pain, which made Bai Li sweat on his forehead.

"County Lieutenant Bai, you can also say something."

"Reporting to the chief steward, I came here to report my work today and I had no idea about this matter."

"Go ahead, keep making it up."

Before Bai Li finished speaking, Yang Chang interrupted him impatiently and reminded him meaningfully: "Do you want me to call Zhu Tong over so we can have a face-to-face chat? Stop playing tricks on me!"

"What does the steward want me to say?"

"If Fang Shen wants to start a rebellion, he must have an army, so he recruited you?"

"No, I and he don't"

"Fang Shen is a disciple of Grand Tutor Cai, and you are a disciple of Zhai Qian. How dare you say that you have no relationship?"

Yang Chang pointed out his identity in a domineering manner. Bai Li was stunned for a moment. After a while, he frowned and asked: "Since Manager Yang knows our background, are you sure you want to do it so drastically? Leave a way out so that we can meet again in the future."

"We will never see each other again. You colluded with Fang Shen to rebel. No one can save you if you are taken to Tokyo. Tian Hu is a lesson for you. You will definitely be cut into pieces at Caishikou."

"I was talking about Grand Tutor Cai, and we really didn't rebel."

"Even Cai Jing can't be saved. Do you think this person's backer is powerful? Do you know who my backer is?"

Seeing Bai Li shaking his head and waiting for the next words, Yang Chang smiled at him leisurely and said, "It's the government."

"Please spare my life, I am willing to serve you like a slave."

"You have committed such a serious crime. If you want to survive, you can only save yourself. If you are willing to expose Fang Shen's accomplices, you may have a chance to make meritorious contributions. Otherwise, your whole family will be in danger."

"Comrades? Where are they?"

Bai Li was stunned after hearing this, thinking to himself, we are trying to frame you, how can we have any accomplices in the rebellion?

Wait, do you want me to bite the Grand Tutor?
"You'll have one night to think it over carefully. Remember, opportunities to perform meritorious service are limited. If you don't seize the opportunity, someone else will. Take me away and put me in solitary confinement."

"Yes."

When Bai Li was brought down the hall, Li Qiao had just returned from being punished.

After being hit with twenty military sticks, the guy's back was broken into pieces and blood kept oozing from the wounds.

Li Qiao was beaten unconscious twice and was taken back to the main hall where he was held up and interrogated.

Thinking of how he had helped Fang Shen to do evil in the past, Yang Chang felt no mercy at all.

"Fang Shen will surely be killed for rebelling. If you want to survive, you must make meritorious contributions and correct mistakes. I hope that after being beaten, Manager Li will have a clear mind. I will also give you one night to think about it. Whether you can survive in the end depends on your performance."

"Please ask the manager to give me some tips"

"Fang Shen would not rebel without any reason. He must have been bewitched by someone. You are his butler and you should know this best. Tell everyone who has betrayed you!"

"This"

"Take it down."

Wu Song watched Yang Chang finish his interrogation of the three people, and reminded him curiously: "Sanlang, why do you have to do this? Even if they are Cai Jing's men, how can they be excused for the serious crime of rebellion? Just send them directly to the capital."

"Cai Jing has gone to great lengths to plot against me. If he doesn't die, I'll make him lose a lot of skin. I want them to blame me for this."

"But once we go to the capital, they can say that we have been framed and tortured, and it is entirely possible that our previous confession will be overturned."

"What the second brother said is true."

Yang Chang stood up from his seat, looking at the darkness outside the hall with his thick eyebrows furrowed, his expression solemn: "So before returning to Beijing, this matter must be handled as an ironclad case. In order to survive, they must blame each other, and I don't believe that this old man will not be involved."

“What if they don’t cooperate?”

"That's fine. Call all the officials in the state tomorrow and let them all come to see the golden sword, the jade seal, and then see Prefect Fang in his dragon robe. We will jointly write a report, and I will personally deliver it to the capital."

"Okay, that's a good idea."

Seeing Wu Song pour cold water first and then cheer, Lin Chong on the side was suddenly filled with emotion.

Yang Chang not only resolved the crisis, but also took advantage of the crisis to launch a counterattack. If I had his courage and strategy, I would have been so miserable when I was framed by Gao Qiu.

Wild Boar Forest, Fire in the Hayfield, Meeting Wang Lun at Liangshan.
As scenes from the past came to his mind, Lin Chong began to admire Yang Changlai more and more. Now he thought that they had met too late.

The three were detained separately that night. Fang Shen, as the "main culprit", naturally would not confess a word. Bai Li accused Fang Shen of rebellion in order to save his life. Li Qiao then accused Bai Li of being the main culprit of the rebellion and that he was the one who brought the dragon robe, jade seal and other items.

Yang Chang read the confession and smiled without saying anything. He asked his subordinates to pass Li Qiao's confession to Bai Li, and then read Bai Li's confession to Fang Shen. Finally, the cycle continued to ferment, making the content of the confession increasingly rich.

In addition, Yang Chang summoned officials from Qinzhou the next day and informed them of the fact that the gentry was planning a rebellion.

On that day, more than 20 people, including staff officials, Cao officials, and county magistrates, came to Tongdi. They were all shocked after hearing Yang Chang's report, and were so shocked when they saw the jade seal, golden knife and other evidence that they were speechless.

Seeing that the groundwork was almost done, Yang Chang said with great sorrow: "Fang Shen has been plotting secretly. Fortunately, there are enthusiastic people who reported it. Otherwise, I would have stopped it in advance and prevented the situation from getting worse. Today, I invite you all to come to the state government to discuss it. It is to bear witness to this matter. Later, we will jointly report it to the court."

"Well, I didn't expect that Prefect Fang had such ambitions."

"It is my duty to eliminate evil for the country."

"It's all up to Manager Yang."

Fang Shen had been too ruthless in his previous extortion, so these people took the opportunity to beat him up. Only the magistrate Lu Jie raised questions.

"Although Chief Steward Yang has caught the man red-handed, there are still some things that don't make sense. For example, what was Fang Shen's motive for rebellion? Moreover, he has only been in office for a few months and has no foundation at all."

"He is just making preparations in secret, and he hasn't said he will raise the flag of rebellion right away. Maybe he has contacted the remnants of Tian Hu?"

"What's his motive? Tian Hu was just destroyed, and General Yang is quite capable of commanding the army. Isn't he courting death?"

"this one"

Yang Chang originally thought that it would be smooth sailing, but he did not expect that Lu Jie was so stubborn. However, he was forced to question and got some inspiration, "Fang Shen started the rebellion here, probably with the support of someone, or in response to someone."

"Manager Yang, we need solid evidence to solve the case and not just guess. Who is supporting him and who is he responding to? We need to find out everything."

"Haha, Lu Tui Guan is good at solving cases, and he is looking for your help in this matter. It's hard to say who supports him, but I have an idea who Fang Shen is responding to."

Seeing Yang Chang's confident words, Lu Jie showed a curious expression: "Please enlighten me, General Manager."

"Don't forget his last name is Fang."

"What do you mean?"

"What Manager Yang said is that Fang La from Jiangnan also has the surname Fang. They may have some connection."

"That's not what I said."

When the officials in the hall were whispering, Wu Song brought up Fang Shen, who was wearing a dragon robe. A group of people immediately pointed at him and some even started to curse him.

Fang Shen read Bai Li's confession in prison. Seeing the crowd's excitement, he broke down and said that he was acting on Cai Jing's orders.

The supporters instantly had a name, like the sun coming out after the clouds had cleared.

Yang Chang then asked Lu Jie to take full charge of the investigation and demanded a complete confession to be submitted.

Just as Lu Jie accepted the task, Lieutenant General Cao Zheng suddenly rushed into the hall of the prefecture, clasped his fists and reported loudly: "General Manager, the scouts just reported that there is an army of 3,000 people from Xiangyuan, and they are advancing rapidly towards Qinzhou. They are less than five miles away from Tongdi."

"Hmm? Could it be Fang Shen's foreign aid?"

After Yang Chang finished speaking, he slammed the table and stood up, and gave an order in a deep voice: "Let Coach Lin select a thousand infantry and cavalry to contain them first. I will immediately send Sun An and Zhu Tong back to support Tongdi, and then I will personally lead the troops to support them."

"Yes."

Cao Zheng left immediately.

When Tongdi encountered an emergency, Yang Chang remained calm and not panicked at all. He asked Lu Jie to continue investigating the bandit leader, and asked the officials in the hall to perform their duties. He also handed over the defense of the city to Wu Song and Lu Zhishen.

Only after all this was arranged did Yang Chang, Hu Sanniang and Qiu Qiongying lead their troops out of the city.

An hour later, Yang Chang led three battalions to meet Lin Chong.

Through the ability of [Eagle Vision and Owl Eyes], he could see from afar two groups of soldiers facing each other, and Lin Chong was fighting fiercely with the enemy general.

(End of this chapter)