The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 48 Zhang Changshuo's Collapse
The night wind came in through the opened car curtains, and Zhang Changshuo felt the "bitter cold wind" as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

The boiling blood and thoughts of revenge seemed to be shattered by the call of "Brother Zhang".

"Zhao..."

His whole body was stiff, his throat was blocked, and his eyes were round.

He saw that the servant who was driving the carriage had fainted and fallen to the ground, and the slow horse was shaking its tail nervously.

"What? You didn't expect me to catch up?"

Zhao Duan smiled gently, lifted the curtain to the roof of the carriage, letting the moonlight in, and then sat down in the carriage slowly and leisurely.

Zhang Changshuo's lips turned pale, he suppressed his fear, and spoke in a stiff tone:
"I am going out to relax. Should I report to you?"

He didn't even notice that his voice was trembling.

... Zhao Duan was speechless, somewhat amused and confused, and shook his head:
"Brother Zhang, you are an ostrich. There is no one here, so who are you pretending to be? Or do you think that as long as you are stubborn and don't admit that you were the one who tipped off, nothing will happen?"

He sighed softly: "Is it interesting to deceive yourself?"

Zhang Changshuo remained silent!
Yes, so many Jinyi captains witnessed it with their own eyes and can serve as witnesses. It is no longer possible for him to pretend to be stupid and get away with it.

How could he not know?

But people, when death is approaching, are always unwilling to accept their fate.

I would rather weave stupid fantasies than wake up.

Resist with force?

The thought only came to his mind for a moment before he extinguished it.

Unlike Erlang, he is just a weak scholar who is good at talking. If he uses force, he will only bring humiliation upon himself.

"Where is Ma Yan? Or the other thousand-household officials in the imperial court."

Zhang Changshuo took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said:

"I only talk to the leader of the team."

As a man of letters, he tried to retain his last bit of dignity.

Are you going to make a movie?

Being captured and made a prisoner, you still need an important person to see you in person before you are willing to speak... Zhao Duan laughed in anger, as if he saw through him, and said:
"I know what you're thinking. You think that this night's trap was set up by Ma Yan, and I'm just bait to make you let down your guard?"

"Perhaps, you still firmly believe that the last time I was able to escape from a dangerous situation unscathed, it was also directed by the saint?"

Zhang Changshuo opened his eyes and stared at him:
"Is not it?"

Zhao Duan sighed softly, his eyes full of pity, and he chiseled words into the other person's heart:

"Just accept your fate. There is no other leader. I am the only one leading this case. Today's layout and the crisis a few days ago were all planned and solved by me alone."

"No! Impossible!"

Zhang Changshuo, who was trying to remain calm and maintain his scholar-official demeanor, suddenly turned grim:
"You are just a fool with nothing but a pretty face! How are you better than me?! How are you better than me!"

He broke the defense!

With his brain, he understood from the moment Zhao Duan led the team to arrest that what the other party said was probably true.

He just didn't want to believe and couldn't accept that he would fall into the hands of a "foot soldier" whom he despised from the bottom of his heart.

The loss was not due to force, but to intelligence!

Zhao Duan had a blank expression on his face. He was calm, even almost cruel as he watched the other party vent his anger, as if he was looking at a trapped beast in a desperate situation.

After a moment, he said, "Are you done?"

this moment.

Zhang Changshuo, who was originally baring his teeth and glaring at him, as if he was ready to fight him, suddenly seemed to have his bones pulled out.

His eyes turned red and he fell to his knees in the carriage with a plop.

Without the reserve and arrogance of the scholar-officials anymore, he said almost pleadingly:
"Please let me go. I will be more useful to you if I stay. You like money, right? If you throw me into jail, you won't get a penny. If you keep me, I will give you whatever you want..."

If Zhao Duan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would have been hard for him to imagine.

A person can make a 180-degree turn in attitude in an instant.

He touched his collar and suddenly felt a little melancholy. He thought that if he lit a cigarette at this moment, it would fit the mood:
“In fact, the hatred between you and me is not that great.

It's just that you are too greedy, and always think that I am blocking your way to the saint, so you try every means to deal with me, and even collect evidence to kill me in front of the temple."

Zhang Changshuo burst into tears and spoke in a humble tone:
"It was my fault. I was blind and blinded by greed, so I..."

"No, you are not." Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"What's wrong with wanting to make progress? Court struggles have never been warm and affectionate, but a game where people step on each other. Being in it, whether you are forced to protect yourself or are competing for ambition, since you and I are both players, what's wrong with abiding by this set of rules?"

Zhang Changshuo was stunned and didn't understand what he meant.

Zhao Duan continued, "Including you just now, you are going to escape, right? I guess you are even thinking about how you will take revenge after you surrender to Prince Jing and come back one day."

"No! I didn't..."

"No need to deny it. I told you, there's nothing shameful about this," Zhao Duan smiled.
"Even me, dealing with you is also for a better future. So, you should understand what I want."

I want a future, not money... Zhang Changshuo was stunned for a moment, then a light bulb went off in his head, and he blurted out:
"You want to know who else is in the Jingwang Mansion in Beijing?"

Very smart... Zhao Duan gave an approving look.

Zhang Changshuo, who had long lost his temper, did not hesitate and immediately revealed the information he had - he could not withstand the punishment anyway, and would tell it sooner or later.

"So, you're saying that those people from Prince Jing's Mansion found Zhang Changji, and he was only responsible for one small step, and the more critical procedures were handled by someone else?" Zhao Duan frowned.

Zhang Changshuo nodded:
“The firearms maker may seem small, but he is actually very well guarded, and my brother is just a military officer, working for a big shot.

For example, moving, finishing, killing a few untouchables, cutting off the clues of the investigation, etc. As for the higher-level person involved, we don’t know who it is, we only know that it should be in the Privy Council. "

When he talked about killing a few untouchables, his tone was normal.

But when the word "Privy Council" was mentioned, his face was full of awe.

Privy Council... Zhao Duan knew that this was an office in the imperial court of Dayu, independent of the six ministries.

Whenever there is a war, the Privy Council is responsible for the deployment of troops, the arrangement of battle formations, and various strategic decisions.

The Ministry of War was in charge of logistics, distribution of food and wages, registration, etc.

The current person in power in the Privy Council is named Xue Shence.

It is said that he is a strong man in the field of martial arts, and he uses the spear to perfection.

It actually involves the Privy Council?
Yes, firearms and the Beijing Camp were originally areas under the joint jurisdiction of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War.

Seeing Zhao Duan thinking without saying anything, Zhang Changshuo became anxious and added:
"I know this information is not important enough, but as long as you are willing to help me put in a few good words to the emperor and help me get through this disaster, I am willing to report Zhang Changji and my uncle. Zhang Changji is not important, he is just to vent your anger, but my uncle is a doctor in the Ministry of War, he is important enough..."

At this moment, Zhao Duan was stunned. He looked at Zhang Changshuo with cold and contemptuous eyes and said quietly:
"Your Excellency is truly a man who sacrifices his own relatives for the sake of justice."

For some reason, he suddenly lost interest in talking to this person.

Even if the other party was a little tougher and took all the blame to protect his family, even if he couldn't stand the torture in the end, Zhao Duan still respected him as a man.

As for now...

Ah.

Zhao Duan stood up and walked out of the carriage, ignoring his former colleagues who were looking anxious behind him.

Just then, I saw a group of imperial guards in brocade uniforms running towards me.

Under each person's armpit, there was a bound infantryman from Prince Jing's mansion.

The leader was Zhou Cang. When he saw Zhao Duan, his eyes lit up and he said,
"Fortunately, we have accomplished our mission! All those who escaped have been captured, except for the sorcerer and Zhang Changshuo."

"The Warlock has been sealed..."

Zhao Duan briefly explained how he was taken away by Jin Jian.

Zhou Cang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and a smile appeared on his face.

Then I caught a glimpse of the people in the car behind me and was even more surprised:

"Your Excellency not only captured the mastermind, but also the traitor?"

With a wave of his hand, Jinyi rushed forward like a wolf or a tiger and tied up the trembling Zhang Changshuo.

The latter kept calling out "Envoy", but Zhao Duan ignored him and waved his hands in annoyance:

"Gag this man and throw him into the imperial prison to keep him company with his brothers.

You are familiar with torture and forced confession. I don’t care how much information you can dig out.

By the way, tell Zhang Changji that his brother betrayed him and said that all the blame was on him alone."

Zhou Cang was stunned for a moment, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

It was as if I had foreseen the scene in the imperial prison of brothers killing each other and the elder brother being beaten up by his younger brother.

However, since both brothers were not good people, he didn't bother to care:

"Sir, what should I do next?"

Zhao Duan stretched lazily and looked at the bright moon hanging high above his head. It was already late at night.

After a night of hard work, it’s time to reap the rewards.

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said:

"Go back and rest. Tomorrow morning, follow me into the palace... to see the Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)