Pawn Crossing the River

At this time, the innkeeper's check-in room had become a temporary "Chinese army tent", with a map of the man in black hung up and soldiers coming in and out.

Qi Xuansu also met here the general who wanted to see him, Qin Wubing.

Judging from his appearance alone, Qin Wubing is not old, he can even be said to be very young, similar to Qi Xuansu. But Qi Xuansu understood that it was because of the extremely high level of cultivation that had the effect of keeping one's appearance. .

However, Qin Wubing's real age is not very old, no more than forty years old. He can be regarded as a young man among the men in black. From this point of view, he can be called "Junyan". If nothing unexpected happens, given his family background, ability, and resume, many years later, he will represent the man in black as a county king and enter the cabinet, becoming one of the very few people at the highest level of the imperial court.

Just like Zhang Yuelu is expected to enter Jinque and become one of the big figures who influence the direction of the Taoist sect. But all this has a premise, at least to survive until that time.

Qi Xuansu had already learned from the guard on the way here about the news that Daomen and the imperial court had jointly wiped out all the secret society demons in Yongzhou. He was not surprised by Daomen's thunderous methods, but he did not expect that Daomen would move so fast. , directly skipping the wrangling stage of Jinque, it seems that the three deputy head masters have reached a consensus.

Qin Wubing examined Zhang Xuansu, and after a long time he said: "My name is Qin Wubing. You can call me deputy governor. If you want to call me 'general' or 'commander', I will also do not mind."

"Captain" is the highest official position in the Governor's Office of the Five Armed Forces. Although it has been abandoned with the abolition of the guard system, it has also become the name that many people use for the chief military officer of the town and the chief military officer of the admiral. It is similar to calling the governor "department hall". " and called the governor "Zhongcheng".

Qi Xuan used Taoist etiquette to avoid the embarrassment of kneeling. At the same time, he used a rather respectful address: "Wei Wugui has met the governor."

"Are you from the Taoist sect?" Qin Wubing raised his eyebrows.

Qi Xuansu knew that it was difficult to conceal the mark of the Taoist sect on his body, so he simply said half-truth and half-falsely: "I was born in the Wanxiang Taoist Palace, and later lived in the world."

This sentence is not false. Qi Xuansu was indeed living in the world before going to Tiangang Hall, and now he was living in the world for the second time. And there are not a few people like him, who are called "wandering Taoists" by Taoist sects. They don't care about the rank of Taoist priests and are no different from Jianghu people. Over time, they become "former Taoist sect people". In addition, the Taoist sect is so large that it is difficult to actually verify whether there is a former Taoist sect named "Wei Wugui".

Qin Wubing did not raise any suspicion and said, "I already know what happened between you and the sentry officer. They were the first to shoot, and you were the last to fight back. After they produced the military order from the Protectorate, you no longer resisted. Chen Meng first hit you and then wanted to kill you. Although the circumstances are excusable, it is inconsistent with military law. You resisted as a last resort. We men in black must also be reasonable. We can't kill people and not allow them to fight back. There is no such truth."

Qi Xuansu relaxed a little. After all, he heard the meaning of Qin Wubing's words and did not intend to pursue him for killing people. This was the reason why he did not do anything about it. If he went on a killing spree, Qin Wubing might not be so easy to talk to. . Of course, the most critical factor is Qin Xiang. The face of a county head is not big or small. She may not be able to save a cult demon, but if she wants to save a righteous man in the world who is kind to her, Qin Wubing is still willing to give it to her. This face.

After all, the rich and powerful pay more attention to human relations and sophistication.

Qin Wubing mentioned this, and then said: "You saved the county lord, which is very good. Then do you know who attacked the county lord?"

Qi Xuansu pretended to hesitate and said: "Reporting to the Governor, I can't say for sure, I can only speculate. It seems to be a member of the Eight Tribes."

"Why do you see it?" Qin Wubing asked again.

Qi Xuansu said: "I often travel in the rivers and lakes, and I have more or less contact with these secret society monsters, and they are all different. For example, 'Tianting' is a group of delusional people, and 'Inn' and Qibaofang are a group of businesses. Among people, the Qingping Society is the most mysterious. There are also three major cults, Ziguang Society, Zhiming Sect, and Lingshan Witch Sect, which are a group of lunatics. The people of the Eight Tribes seem to be the most normal, but there are always some problems with their physical features or skin problems. Blue, gray-black, or sores on the face, horns on the head, or scales, fangs, etc., are said to be caused by various strange medicines from the Eight Tribes."

Qin Wubing nodded: "So that's it. According to the statement given by the Taoist sect, there are indeed traces of the activities of the eight tribes in this area, and they just happened to be wiped out together."

Qi Xuansu couldn't figure out Qin Wubing's true thoughts, so he could only remain silent.

Qin Wubing continued: "Anyway, I want to thank you for saving the county owner and not letting her fall into the hands of the Eight Tribes. If the Eight Tribes captured a county owner and used it on her, It would be a big scandal for the clan to take some medicine that makes people become inhuman and ghosts, so I will ask the court for your credit."

"There's no need to ask for credit." Qi Xuansu hurriedly said, "A commoner in the world doesn't dare to take credit, and it's not good for the county owner. She might be punished for this matter, so it's better to turn it into a big deal."

Qin Wubing took a deep look at Qi Xuansu and said with a half-smile, "Cherish the fragrance and cherish the jade."

Qi Xuansu's face turned solemn: "I don't dare."

"Whether you dare or not, it doesn't matter. By the way, the county master is waiting for you, and she wants to thank you in person." Qin Wubing smiled, "She is on the second floor, you can go."

Qi Xuansu saluted Qin Wubing again, then exited the detention room and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

After Qi Xuansu went to the second floor, Qin Wubing's entourage walked in. Although he was said to be an entourage, he was also at the rank of a general. However, he did not lead the troops, but served as a tribute.

"General, this is an official document from the Xiliang Governor's Office." The general held in his hand a page of official documents commonly used by government offices in various places.

Qin Wubing didn't reach out to pick it up, he just said, "Read it."

"Yes." The general responded, while trying his best to lower his tone in order to reduce the shocking content of the official document, "Xiliang Governor's Mansion to Xizhou Protectorate Qin Deputy Protector-General's Medical Examination: The twenty-first lunar month of the 42nd year of Jiushi 6. A secret note was received from Daomen Beichen Hall immediately after the Governor's Office: According to the information obtained by Beichen Hall, among the thousands of Xizhou guest troops who entered Yongzhou this time, there were core figures of the secret association Qingpinghui lurking among them, with evil intentions. Beichen Tang claimed that this person may have caused the failure of the operation to annihilate the secret society in Yongzhou. How could Beichen Tang obtain such incredible information? How could the situation be so serious? Why did the Governor's Office reply to Deputy Governor Qin Wubing? There should be teachings.”

silence.

All the expressions on Qin Wubing's face disappeared, leaving only silence.

"General." The general asked softly, "Why didn't Beichen Hall directly inform Tiangang Hall? Instead, they informed the Governor's Mansion, and then asked the Governor's Mansion to inform us?"

Qin Wubing closed his eyes: "In any case, the Governor of Xiliang is nominally in charge of the Protectorate of Xizhou. As the saying goes, a teacher has a reputation. No one can be wrong when the Governor's Office of Xiliang issued this official document. The key lies in Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall, at this time, it is very clear that there are undercurrents among the three paths. The so-called Shangsan Hall, Zhengyi Road controls Beichen Hall, and Quanzhen Road controls Ziwei Hall this time. Among the secret societies within the territory, Tiangangtang is the main one. Our Duhufu has always been on good terms with Tiangangtang because of the war in the Western Regions, and Quanzhen Taoism is also on the side of Zhengyiyi, but Taipingdao does not want all the credit to fall on Tiangangtang. in the hand.”

The general was shocked: "The Taoist sect is fighting within itself!"

"It's not as simple as the infighting within the Taoist sect, the imperial court is also involved." Qin Wubing is in a high position at a young age, and his keen sense of smell can be imagined, "From the moment Qingwei Zhenren met with His Majesty, the imperial court has decided to intervene. , Because of this, Quanzhen Dao and Zhengyi will abandon all the conflicts in the past and join forces without hesitation. At this time, the Governor of Xiliang also made it clear that he is on the side of Taiping Dao. "

The general's face was solemn: "Don't they want this operation to annihilate the secret society to succeed?"

Qin Wubing pondered for a moment and said, "Do you think it's worth sacrificing a little bit of the Taoist sect's prestige in exchange for replacing the real person in charge of the Tiangang Hall?"

The general was very surprised: "How to shake the position of a real person in charge? Just with these small actions?"

Qin Wubing said: "The meaning of the Governor's Office is very clear. There is a spy in our army, and we need to stop and catch the traitor. Regardless of whether we are caught or not, we are now unable to cooperate with Tiangang Hall to exterminate the demons of the secret association."

"Back then, the general knew about the movements of the Golden Horde army through a Golden Horde Nayan, and thus defeated the Golden Horde army and killed thousands of enemies. Then you said that the secret society also knew about the movements of Tiangang Hall through some way. ? In addition, the demons in the secret society are not clay figures who can be manipulated by others. Under the attack from inside and outside, Tiangang Hall may not be defeated. "

"After a big defeat, someone has to be responsible. Besides, it's not that the title of Master Shenzhi is deposed, it's just that someone is replaced as the Master."