Chapter 57 Find the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal!
Rumbling--

At the center of the methane explosion, dust was flying everywhere, but there was no landslide. Because it was in an underground waterway, the echo from the tunnel had not yet dissipated and was still rumbling, impacting everyone's eardrums.

"Are you all okay? Gongsun Ce? Wang Chao? Ma Han?"

Bao Zheng was not directly impacted because of the distance, but the flying dust obstructed his vision, and the echo made his eardrums buzz and he felt dizzy.

"No, it's okay... cough cough... Bao Heitan, we are fine, it's just that the smoke and dust are choking us."

"Bao Zuoping, we are fine, but these murderers are in a miserable state."

"Thank God!"

The voices of Gongsun Ce, Wang Chao, and Ma Han came, making Bao Zheng feel relieved. He then waved the smoke and dust with his right hand and walked forward, and found three people covered in blood on the ground.

During the chase just now, Wang Chao threw torches at them, trying to slow down their speed, but suddenly, an explosion occurred, blowing them away.

The three of them were wailing, their voices a little weak. It was obvious that they were seriously injured, but not dead yet.

Wang Chao and Ma Han were on guard with knives.

Gongsun Ce also gradually gathered around and guessed:

"I've encountered this before in swamps or sewers. These slightly smelly gases can be ignited by torches, and even exploded. It should be the same principle. Be careful and don't get close to the torches!"

Bao Zheng nodded slightly, then squatted down, compared the footprints, pointed at one of the scarred faces and said, "It matches the footprints in the deceased's room."

Then he looked at Scarface's palm again:
"There are traces of scratches from fingernails, which should be left by the deceased. When Scarface strangled the deceased, the deceased scratched his palms during his struggle, leaving human skin flakes under his fingernails. He must be the murderer without a doubt."

"Let's get them out for treatment first. These people are not only the murderers, but they may also be insiders of the whereabouts of the seal."

Gongsun Ce looked around as he spoke, "I wonder where this underground waterway leads to. I seem to have a bold guess."

They were in the underground sewer of Yihongyuan. The size of the sewer was astonishing. The main trunk was about two meters wide and the highest point was three meters, which could accommodate two people walking side by side. It was bottomless and there was no end in sight.

This crisscrossing network of tunnels is not just an underground sewer, it's simply an "underground city"!
"I also have a bold guess!"

After Bao Zheng stood up, he nodded seriously and looked at Gongsun Ce. Just by exchanging glances, they felt that they were thinking the same thing.

When Yuan Ji and other members of the Yuan family fled before the Jinyiwei raided their homes, they might have used the underground sewers near the Taifu Mansion to hide and escape.

I just don't know if this underground waterway is connected to Yihongyuan. If so, it would be very scary!

"Let's go out first."

The four of them immediately took action and helped the murderer and the suspect out.

After exiting the underground waterway, the sunlight immediately shone in, making their eyes uncomfortable. This is a dry well. Strictly speaking, it is called a "moon dam", a setting in the drainage system to prevent flooding.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu rushed over with Jinyiwei including Zhan Zhao. When they saw Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce and others coming out, they immediately came down to meet them.

Zhan Zhao asked in surprise, "Brother Bao, Brother Gongsun, what happened?"

"Brother Zhan, it's like this..."

Bao Zheng explained for Zhan Zhao.

They came to Yihong Courtyard today to investigate the girls summoned by General Niu Fu and others, hoping to get some clues about General Niu Fu and others of the Xiliang Army indirectly.

Who knew that they would unexpectedly encounter an incident of a prostitute hanging herself, and this prostitute was one of the girls on Niu Fu's summon list.

Too many coincidences are no longer coincidences!

Based on the clues at the scene, Bao Zheng discovered that the deceased was some distance away from the stool where he was hanged, and that he could not even reach it by standing on tiptoe. He suspected that he was strangled to death and the traces were disguised as hanging.

There were footprints of a third party other than the deceased at the crime scene.

He immediately launched an investigation based on the traces at the crime scene.

Finally, while searching, they accidentally found the back garden of Yihongyuan and discovered many footprints at the entrance of the underground drainage system.

One of them matched a third party's footprints at the crime scene.

Bao Zheng was bold enough to investigate further.

Of course, just in case, they left Zhang Long and Zhao Hu outside to inform the police, while Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce, Wang Chao and Ma Han went inside to investigate.

After entering the underground sewer network, Bao Zheng discovered footprints that matched the crime scene. As Bao Zheng and others continued to investigate, they unexpectedly encountered an ambush halfway and a fight broke out between the two sides.

Wang Chao and Ma Han were skilled in martial arts and repelled the three men. When they were about to escape, Wang Chao threw the torch in his hand, intending to delay their speed, but accidentally ignited the methane, causing an explosion.

“When you were chasing Yuan Ji, you lost him in Yihong Courtyard probably because Yuan Ji escaped through the underground sewer.

"Even when the Royal Guards raided the Grand Tutor's Mansion, the Yuan family's children may have escaped through the underground waterways, which is why we couldn't find out the reason."

Bao Zheng made his own speculation, "There should be people who cleared the underground waterway, officials in charge, and many people in Yihongyuan. There must be something wrong, and we must investigate it strictly!"

"I understand!"

Zhan Zhao was immediately horrified and gave orders to the Jinyiwei, asking them to send troops into the underground sewer to investigate, go back to inform the commander, send troops to seal off the Yihongyuan, etc. The entire Jinyiwei was immediately mobilized.

Soon, the situation spread to the entire South City patrol and the entire capital city defense, and the troops were mobilized. After the Han emperor issued an order, the troops in the capital launched a blockade and investigation of the underground waterway.

The people in the capital suddenly became panic-stricken, not understanding what had happened!
Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce thought about it and finally did not return to the sewer, but stayed in Yihongyuan to investigate.

Because it was noon, there were not many guests in Yihongyuan. The madam, prostitutes, guards and other relevant personnel were all controlled by the Jinyiwei. Not even a fly could fly out, let alone pass on messages.

The three murderers regained consciousness after treatment, but they resisted to the end and refused to say why they killed the girl. Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce had no choice but to hand them over to the Jinyiwei.

These Jinyiwei were indeed masters of torture and they got the results quickly!

The girls from Yihong Courtyard who were summoned by Niu Fu and others were actually spies who went back and forth to report information.

After the incident, these people were "accidentally killed" one after another. If the prostitute named Xiaohong had not met Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, her death would probably have been hastily classified as suicide by hanging.

The women in brothels were like slaves. Their deaths could be reported to the government. However, no one would care unless the people reported them. No one would bother to investigate the life or death of a lowly woman.

These three murderers were actually the thugs and guards of Yihongyuan.

Upon learning that Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce had discovered the details of Hong Guan's death and were tracking them down, he was afraid of exposing his tracks, so he took a desperate measure to lure them into the underground sewer, intending to kidnap and kill them.

I don't know whether to say they are extremely bold or they have another conspiracy?

The two men represented the Imperial Guards, and were killed while investigating Yihong Courtyard? Wouldn't that be more suspicious?!
There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Zhan Zhao immediately ordered that the people related to Yihong Courtyard be tortured severely. The Jinyiwei had no intention of showing mercy to women, they only wanted to find the "whereabouts of the seal".

And now I see hope, like a shark smelling blood.

There must be innocent people implicated in this, but since it involves the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal, even if Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce are reluctant, the Jinyiwei will not give them time to waste.

"Report! We discovered that the underground waterway of Yihongyuan connects to the entire South City and can go deep into the Imperial City..."

"Report! The underground waterway of Yihongyuan leads to the vicinity of the Taifu Mansion and other government offices. Yuan Ji and other members of the Yuan family may have escaped from there..."

"Report! His Majesty has ordered the entire Black Armor Army to be dispatched... The city gate guards are on full alert... The five schools of the Northern Army have entered the underground sewers to investigate..."

"Report..."

News came in from the Jinyiwei one after another, and after their severe torture, the results appeared in the investigation records one by one.

The "Zhangtai League" behind Yihongyuan surfaced.

They made friends with the high-ranking officials and the royal family in the capital to transfer benefits and form cliques for personal gain. And through these sexual pleasures, they formed an intelligence gathering network.

They have not yet found out who is behind Zhang Taimeng, but this person must be the spokesperson for some aristocratic family. As long as they continue to investigate, they will definitely get to the bottom of it.

The list of officials involved almost included all the officials in the capital!

The matter involved too many people, so the Jinyiwei did not dare to investigate it rashly and immediately presented the collected intelligence to Deyang Palace.

After seeing this, Liu Bian fell silent!

Even He's relatives were implicated, as were many of the Han royal family's relatives. Some of them were definitely intentional accusations, but some were definitely true!
Liu Bian finally gave the order in a deep voice: "Investigate!!!"

At that time, Yang Biao led all the officials to knock on the door and cry loudly. These officials were imprisoned in the prison and seemed to be almost forgotten. They were well fed and well-drinking in the prison and were not treated badly.

But today, the Jinyiwei suddenly arrived and took away two-thirds of the officials.

Taiwei Yang Biao was immediately furious. The Jinyiwei were the culprits behind the door-banging and crying and the bloody incident in Chongde Hall that day. Naturally, he was not in a good mood and was also worried that these people would harm the officials without any care.

However, when the Jinyiwei brought up the issues of "Yihong Courtyard", "Zhangtaimeng" and "loss of seal", Yang Biao kept silent!

The implications of this matter were so wide that Yang Biao could no longer resist.

Even if it is the Yang family of Hongnong, now that His Majesty controls the military power of the capital, the Yang family of Hongnong is just fish on the chopping board.

After severe torture, Yuan's figure indeed appeared behind the scenes!
Why are Yuan's disciples and former officials, as well as Yuan's allies, so united? The intertwined interests naturally include the trade of power for sex!
This so-called "Zhangtai League" controlled the brothel industry in the world. Not only did it make a fortune every day, it could also contact high and low-level officials, celebrities, scholars, and literati in the court and local areas, and it could also gather intelligence.

It was just like when Zhang Xiu surrendered Wancheng, Cao Cao hosted a banquet for him. After Zhang Xiu got drunk, he asked where there were brothels in the city. Cao Anmin later mentioned Zou, and Cao Cao killed three sages with one shot.

What if Cao Cao went to a brothel? Would he have leaked some information after being drunk?
Don’t underestimate this industry. Sometimes the person next to you will get a lot of unexpected information. Who knows if you will reveal some shocking inside information when you talk in your sleep?
Even some lickers can't walk when they see a woman. They don't need to beat around the bush and will say it out loud, as if they can please the goddess in their minds.

This "Zhangtai League" controlled the brothel industry in the world, and it was unknown how much intelligence it had gathered, how much benefit it had received for Yuan, and how much important intelligence it had obtained.

Such a profitable industry would not have been able to survive until now without a strong enough backer.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Yuan appeared!
But what the Jinyiwei are investigating now is not the dark side of the Yuan family or their dirty deeds behind the scenes, but the whereabouts of the "seal", which is their top priority.

From the brothel to the various businesses and gangs in the capital, such as the canal transport, casinos, and pawnshops, and the people in charge and key personnel, each clue may lead to the right result, or it may lead to the wrong direction.

In the martial arts world, there is actually a group of grassroots forces that can be used. These people are called "green forest heroes". Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, once joined the Green Forest Army composed of heroes and grassroots.

Finally, with the analysis and deduction of Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, and their unique case analysis ability and method of solving the case, they finally found a breakthrough!

Human teeth!
Some of the women in Yihongyuan sold themselves voluntarily, some were forced to do so, some were the wives of criminals, some were sold at a low price by their family members, and some were abducted.

These abducted women had never been disciplined and had some fear and hatred towards human traffickers and the Yihongyuan. After being patiently guided by the Jinyiwei, they gradually gathered intelligence information and finally found a smuggling channel.

The entire Jinyiwei army is dispatched!
……

White Horse Temple.

It was first built in the 68th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty ( AD). It was the first official temple built after Buddhism was introduced to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty personally ordered it to be called "the source of Buddhism" and "the ancestral temple". It is not only the ancestral temple of Buddhism in the east, but also an official embassy.

Thanks to Emperor Ming of Han's decree, these monks were able to preach throughout the country without hindrance.

Later emperors would not modify the edicts of Emperor Ming, and because of feudal superstition, even when warlords were fighting, they would not make things difficult for these monks.

Moreover, in some places, monks and religions can be relied upon to win the hearts of the people.

For example, when Tao Qian was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, he faced a city that had been swept by the Yellow Turbans, devastated by war, and in dire need of post-war reconstruction, but the people were already like zombies, with no future in sight.

Under such circumstances, Tao Qian promoted Buddhism, used religion to stabilize the people's hearts and give the people hope - if we can't see hope in this life, we can still pray for the next life!
Coupled with strategies such as military farming and employing powerful families, Xuzhou gradually recovered and developed.

Some warlords used the advantages of religion to stabilize the people, but some people also took advantage of the unimpeded flow of religion to open up smuggling channels. And there are good people and bad people in religion.

The smuggling channel traced by the Embroidered Uniform Guards was this White Horse Temple!
The seal is right here!
After obtaining the permission of the Han Emperor, at 2:00 p.m., the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounded the White Horse Temple, immediately rushed in, and conducted a thorough investigation of the place.

"boom!--"

The Embroidered Uniform Guards quickly uncovered the ruffians hiding in the White Horse Temple. These people were obviously forces maintained by the Yuan family, or in other words, private soldiers and retainers. There were at least two hundred of them, some of whom were slaves sold to the Yuan family.

When Yuan Ji and other members of the Yuan family escaped through the underground sewers, it was obvious that these retainers and private soldiers did the same.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards searched Yuan Wei's house but found nothing, as if Yuan Wei was really an honest official who had not accepted bribes or maintained private soldiers.

But they are just like a cunning rabbit with three burrows, they just have many strongholds.

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. These ruffians were highly skilled in martial arts and caused heavy casualties to the Jinyiwei.

Among them there was a master who was at least first-rate, and he actually overwhelmed the Jinyiwei's siege. Fortunately, Commander Qinglong took action.

"Chong-"

The knife flashed, as if it could split the mountain in half.

He directly chopped off one of the master's arms, causing him to be seriously injured and was swarmed by the Jinyiwei.

"There is nothing that can't be solved with a knife!"

Qinglong sheathed the sword. There was not even a smear of blood on the sword. His attack speed was already extremely fast.

He is getting closer and closer to the unity of man and sword!

"Search for the whereabouts of the seal!"

Zhuque gave the order in a deep voice, and all the Jinyiwei immediately nodded in acceptance.

However, at this moment, Zhuque caught a glimpse of the cold smile on the armless master's lips. How could he still laugh after being so seriously injured? So he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I laugh at your ignorance. You don't know that you have fallen into our trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain!"

This man was highly skilled in martial arts and full of vigor. Even after one of his arms was cut off, he could still say in a deep voice:

"The capital is heavily guarded, and even Bald Donkey's envoys can't get out. If we don't deliberately reveal some traces to lure you to dispatch troops to search Yihong Courtyard, how can we take advantage of the chaos to leave the city?!
"Hahaha, remember my name, Murong Hu!"

After saying that, he bit his tongue and committed suicide!

When blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, Murong Hu still had a smile on his face. It was a smile full of high spirits!

They are heroes in the martial arts world. They are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of dying in obscurity!

After hearing this, Suzaku frowned immediately!

What Murong Hu said could be true, could be false, or could be a mixture of truth and falsehood. Each of these results would lead to a different ending!

If it is true, where will they flee to? If it is false, what is their purpose? If it is half true and half false, which one is true and which one is false?
"Xuanwu."

Zhuque thought for a moment and said, glancing at Murong Hu.

Xuanwu nodded and immediately understood. After dragging Murong Hu's body away, he began to disguise himself.

After Lü Bu and other Bingzhou troops were transferred to Bingzhou, Xuanwu no longer had to disguise himself as "Diao Chan" and could at least stay out of the matter temporarily.

The Jinyiwei tortured the captured gangsters severely, but these people were really tough and not many of them confessed.

Of course, there were also some cowards who quickly obtained Murong Hu's intelligence information and learned that there was indeed a troop heading towards Guandong, but some people also revealed that it was heading towards Guannan.

This is going in the opposite direction!

"Report to the commander, the seal has not been found yet!"

Jinyiwei's continuous reports made Zhuque feel that he could not delay any longer, so he said: "Order Wang Fang (Baihu) to lead the army to take over the White Horse Temple for investigation. We will set off immediately——"

"They should hand over the seal to Yuan Shu."

At this time, Bao Zheng, who was born in Jiujiang, Yangzhou, analyzed:
"After Yuan Ji died, Yuan Shu became the legitimate son. Moreover, the princes in Guandong were defeated, and Yuan Shao fled to Jizhou. The news had already reached the capital.

"There is one more thing. This Murong Hu, if I remember correctly, he and his brother Murong Long are the Dragon and Tiger brothers who are rampant in Yangzhou. There are rumors that they are attached to Yuan Shu."

...

Suzaku nodded.

Bao Zheng's well-reasoned analysis coincided with hers.

But she didn't dare to gamble. As it involved the seal, the enemy had already managed to transport it away. What if it was in Guandong?

Therefore, Suzaku divided his troops and ordered Qinglong to lead the troops to Kanto to investigate.

As for why it couldn’t be Guanbei or Guannan?
Because the seal was of great importance, Yuan would definitely hand it over to Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, and would never hand it over to other allies or disciples or former officials.

It should be noted that the Yuan family was betrayed by Dong Zhuo, an old official, and Xuanwu disguised himself as "Wu Qiong" and "Zhou Bi", and was betrayed by these two allies of the Yuan family.

As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of ropes for ten years!
Only your own people can be trusted!

Of course, if Suzaku guessed wrong, he could only atone for his sin by dying!

In this way, the Jinyi Guards were divided into two groups——

Bai Hu, disguised as 'Wang Fang', takes over the search of the White Horse Temple.

Qinglong led his troops to Guandong to investigate.

Zhuque and Xuanwu went south to Xuanyuan Pass.

In fact, from Suzaku's performance, she felt that going south was more likely, so she went south with Xuanwu instead of following Qinglong out of Guandong.

Because Yuan Shu and other princes had not been defeated, while the princes in Guandong had been defeated and Guandong had been controlled by the troops of the capital.

It's too risky to escape from the capital from here!

...

There are two north-south official roads in Luoyang.

Going north is the "Jinluo Ancient Road", which crosses the Yellow River from Luoyang east through the Mengjin Ferry, passes through Chencheng and Jiyuan, and then goes to Hedong Yanqu or Yuncheng, or to Bingzhou Qinyang, Jincheng, and Changzhi.

The road going south is called the "Wanluo Ancient Road", which goes from Luoyang to Wancheng, passes through Yique Pass, Guangcheng Pass, crosses Lushan, and reaches Nanyang.

On the Wanluo official road.

A troop of soldiers was escorting food and supplies towards Xuanyuan Pass.

They were dressed like the five schools of the Northern Army, and the flag hung on their heads was a flag with the Chinese character "王" on it, carrying the name of the Western Liang Army general "王方".

To be honest, I guess 'Wang Fang' (White Tiger) himself didn't expect that after he had been disguised for so long and occupied the magpie's nest, the cause and effect would eventually come true and retribution would come so quickly. The enemy would disguise themselves as him and march south under his banner.

The general riding on the tall horse was two meters tall and strong. From a distance he really looked like 'Wang Fang', but in fact he was Murong Hu's brother Murong Long. The disguise on his face was just a simple one and it was not perfect at all.

Apart from height and figure, they are not similar at all!
Disguise is a science, not everyone is like "Xuanwu", who is good at disguise and bone shrinking. He can also help others disguise themselves.

But not everyone knows and has seen 'Wang Fang'!
Therefore, this army mobilized in such a large and open manner and marched southward. The scouts and checkpoints along the way were confused, and the commanders let them pass directly after seeing the pass token and the imperial edict with the authentic seal.

Although Murong Long was leading the charge, like a commander, the team was actually led by Yuan Shu's strategist Yang Hong.

It was also under the guidance of Yang Hong, the resourceful strategist, that they were able to conceal the truth, obtain the seal from Yuan Ji, and then hide in buildings such as the Yihong Courtyard, underground sewers, and the White Horse Temple.

Finally, today, they deliberately exposed their tracks, allowing the enemy to conduct a carpet search of Yihongyuan and the underground sewers, and then they successfully left the city and headed south.

The reason why today was chosen is actually a bit unexpected!

Because they did not expect that the Guandong lords would be defeated so quickly. Originally, their plan was to wait until famine broke out in the capital, so that they could incite the victims to attack the capital and create chaos and turmoil.

At that time, they can not only take advantage of the situation and move south, but also use the victims to influence the capital, and then strike at the troops fighting on the front line!
The fire in the backyard will definitely shake the morale of the army!

pity!

No matter how much they planned, they didn't expect that the princes of Guandong would be defeated so quickly.

Even with the heads of Yuan Kui and the Xiliang army, the coalition forces of Yuan Shao, Yuan Yi and other Yuan family disciples and former officials, as well as Yuan family allies, after all, had more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. Could they not hold off the capital's troops for a few days? !
Yang Hong didn’t know what was happening on the Guandong front, but he knew that he could no longer wait and had to move south quickly and decisively.

So we have today's "luring the enemy to attack".

In the investigation of the case of Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, there were actually many surprises and coincidences.

But if there is a mastermind behind all this, then it is not a coincidence, but a deliberate guidance!

"The Xuanyuan Pass is ahead. The general guarding the pass is Li Siye. He should have met Wang Fang and fought side by side with him. How can we pass the pass?"

Murong Long held a horsewhip in his hand, pointed at Xuanyuan Pass which was looming in the mist ahead, and turned his head to look at Yang Hong and asked.

Yang Hong was not intimidated by this majestic fortress, but said: "The Lord will find a way to support us!"

Murong Long didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and continued walking.

……

(End of this chapter)