Chapter 776 Clues!

After hearing what Xun Ke said, Lin Huaiwu was stunned for a moment and then immediately reacted and asked Xun Ke:

“General Xun, you mean that Wang Muzhi wants to take action against Pingyun…”

Regarding Lin Huaiwu's question, Xun Ke also spoke very cautiously:
"It is not certain yet whether he is going to attack Ping Yun, but I am sure that what Yu Chao is doing now is to create opportunities for Wang Muzhi!"

"He is deliberately making our army think that we can take over Dagu smoothly, so as to attract our army here firmly. In this way, Wang Muzhi can take advantage of the opportunity to attack!"

Lin Huaiwu, realizing the seriousness of the matter, became serious after hearing Xun Ke's analysis. If Xun Ke's inference was correct, then there would be trouble next, because of the financial constraints and logistical pressures, there was no way for the higher-ups to deploy more troops to Yunbing.

In order to capture Dagu County, the Fengwu Army also drew troops from the county towns in the rear and concentrated more than 37,000 people under the city of Dagu County. This also resulted in cities in the rear such as Pingyun County having only one or two thousand defenders.

Wang Muzhi now has more than 50,000 men under his command. Even if the troops guarding Jinyang are removed, he still has more than 40,000 soldiers under his command.

If Wang Muzhi's trick really succeeded and he launched a surprise attack on Pingyun County, then with Pingyun County's current military strength caught off guard, Pingyun County might really be taken back by Wang Muzhi.

Thinking of this, Lin Huaiwu immediately became uneasy and ordered his scouts to say:

"Order 30 more scouts to keep an eye on the direction of Jinyang! Report any movements of the Yunbing army immediately! Also contact the Coordination Office to have them assist our army in reconnaissance!"

"Yes!"

Listening to the series of orders issued by Lin Huaiwu, Xun Ke still had an inexplicable feeling for some reason...
Is Wang Muzhi's target really Pingyun County?
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Liaoyang, Dongning

In the government office of the Coordination Office, Huo San took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then asked Zhang Qiankun who was standing respectfully in front of him:
"During the time I was away, have you made any progress in your investigation?"

In response to Huo San's question, Zhang Qiankun asked without hesitation:
"Sir, we previously believed that Ye Zhanpeng fled with his family, but after a new round of detailed investigation, we found that on September 15, the night Ye Zhanpeng fled, someone saw two teams of carriages leaving one after another, with a gap of about an hour between them!"

"At the same time, we also found out that when Song Geng went to look for Ye Zhanpeng that night, he arranged for several confidants to control the group of vehicles that left first! Then he went to look for Ye Zhanpeng!

"So we boldly speculate that the truth of the matter is most likely that Ye Zhanpeng arranged for his family to leave first, and then he fled after dealing with Song Geng. Therefore, the clues to the dirty silver in Ye Zhanpeng's hands are in the hands of his family!"

"As long as we find Ye Zhanpeng's family, maybe we can find clues to the dirty silver!"

When Huo San heard this, he immediately asked:
"Have you found any clues about Ye Zhanpeng's family?"

Zhang Qiankun said angrily after hearing this:
“No news yet…”

As soon as Huo San said this, his face turned unfriendly. Seeing this, Zhang Qiankun immediately said:
However, we have set up surveillance on the hometowns of Ye Zhanpeng's wife Wang and several of his concubines. As long as Wang and the others contact their natal families, we will be able to catch them immediately!"

Huo San was naturally not satisfied with Zhang Qiankun's words. He looked at Zhang Qiankun deeply and said:

"The Marshal has given us a month to investigate the whereabouts of the dirty silver in Ye Zhanpeng's hands. If we don't find it within the deadline, not only will I, Huo San, be in trouble, but you little brats will also suffer the consequences. Do you understand?"

Zhang Qiankun said immediately after hearing this:

"I will do my best to find out the whereabouts of this dirty silver within a month!"

After getting Zhang Qiankun's assurance, Huo San's face looked better. Then he seemed to have thought of something and reminded again:

"In addition to finding the whereabouts of the dirty silver, you have to find it faster than the Internal Guards. We are already more than one step behind the Internal Guards. This time, our Coordination Office must investigate the matter before the Internal Guards and prove our ability to the Marshal!"

"Yes!"

After explaining everything to Zhang Qiankun, Huo San told him to get out. He then sat alone in the study, drinking tea and thinking over the causes and consequences of the matter.

Because Ye Mingsheng still hadn't decided on the punishment for him, so on the way back to Liaoyang, Huo San was trying to figure out Ye Mingsheng's intentions···························
Relying on his understanding of Ye Mingsheng's style of doing things, Huo San believed that after handing over most of his wealth, he would basically be out of danger of death.

However, the risk of being dismissed has not been completely eliminated. If he can complete the task assigned by Ye Mingsheng within one month and put the dirty silver in Ye Zhanpeng's hands into the warehouse of the Financial Secretary on time, then he will most likely be able to continue to serve as the director of the Coordination Office. Otherwise, he will most likely be dismissed.

As the director of the Coordination Office and Ye Mingsheng's number one lackey, Huo San has offended many people over the years. Once he loses the protection of his identity as the director of the Coordination Office, his situation will be very miserable even if he does not die.

Thinking of this, Huo San's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, and he immediately ordered the guards outside:

"Call Wang Chengzhu over to me!"

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, a fat man in luxurious clothes was brought to Huo San. When he saw Huo San, he immediately spoke respectfully and flatteringly:

“I’m Wang Chengzhu, meeting Director Huo!” Hearing Wang Chengzhu’s words, Huo San ignored his hawk-like gaze and immediately looked at Wang Chengzhu. Feeling Huo San’s gaze, Wang Chengzhu immediately felt a chill on his back and his expression became nervous·····························
Wang Chengzhu didn't know what Huo San was trying to do. He clearly hadn't offended him. Could it be that his brother had offended him?

Thinking of this, Wang Chengzhu organized his words and said:

"Director Huo, our second son doesn't know how high the sky is, how deep the earth is, and how much he weighs. If anything has offended you, please bear with me! If you have anything to say, please just tell me!"

Huo San originally planned to give Wang Chengzhu a beating first, but seeing Wang Chengzhu's humble attitude, he decided not to give him a beating first, so he snorted coldly, stared at Wang Chengzhu and asked word by word:

"What is the relationship between you and Ye Zhanpeng?"

When Wang Chengzhu heard Ye Zhanpeng's name, he was stunned for a moment and then quickly waved his hand and said:
"Director Huo, you must be very careful! I have nothing to do with that bastard Ye Zhanpeng, you must investigate thoroughly!"

Huo San heard this and said coldly:
"Many people have seen you attend his banquet."

Wang Chengzhu explained with a bitter face:
“Director Huo, Ye Zhanpeng is the shopkeeper of Da Dongsheng in Liaoyang! It’s normal for me, a businessman, to attend banquets at his place. It’s not common to say that all the dignitaries in Liaoyang have attended Ye Zhanpeng’s banquets, but at least eight out of ten have. Why are you staring at me...?”

Hearing Wang Chengzhu say this, Huo San said coldly:

"Why did you say I was staring at you?"

Wang Chengzhu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then asked in disbelief:

"Sir, you are not doubting our second child, are you?"

"As far as I know, this matter was exposed by our second son. If he really had something to do with this matter, how could he expose it himself? Isn't this courting his own destruction and asking for trouble?"

Huo San heard this and continued calmly:
"Of course I won't doubt Deputy Director Wang. Deputy Director Wang is loyal to the Marshal and will naturally not do such a thing!"

"Just because Deputy Director Wang doesn't dare to do this doesn't mean his subordinates don't dare to do it!"

"To be honest, my subordinate Song Geng has colluded with Ye Zhanpeng. Since Ye Zhanpeng can give money to Song Geng, he can naturally give money to others!"

"The Marshal takes this matter very seriously and has given the Coordination Office one month to solve the case. If they can't find the truth after one month, the Marshal will investigate and everyone in the Coordination Office will be in trouble! Even the old and trivial matters will be exposed!"

Hearing Huo San's serious words, Wang Chengzhu couldn't help but show a hint of fear on his face...

Seeing this, Huo San knew that the effect had been achieved, so he waved his hand and said:
"It has come to this. You can decide for yourself! Send the guests away!"

Looking at Wang Chengzhu's leaving back, Huo San's expression became increasingly gloomy.

During the recent investigation, Huo San always had a feeling that he was being led by the nose for some reason. It was as if an invisible hand was silently controlling everything!
As Zhang Qiankun's investigation entered a difficult period, this feeling became more and more clear. Logically speaking, the Coordination Office had already done everything it should have done. All that was left was a house-to-house search throughout Liaoyang. Some clues about Ye Zhanpeng's family would have been revealed more or less, but these people and the money seemed to have evaporated into thin air without a trace!
This made Huo San even more suspicious. Was there someone helping Ye Zhanpeng's family to evade pursuit? This person was very likely to know the investigation process, methods and other information of the Coordination Office, so that Ye Zhanpeng's family could be hidden without a trace?

Although he had this idea, Huo San did not suspect Wang Xuecheng at first. After all, it was just as Wang Chengzhu said.

The cause of this incident was that Wang Xuecheng found a batch of Fengwu Army firearms that should have been scrapped in the hands of the Gongdu rebels...
If this matter is really related to Wang Xuecheng, then what Wang Xuecheng should do is to cover up the fact as much as possible instead of reporting this matter to Ye Mingsheng.

However, after reviewing these centurions in the General Coordination Office, Huo San felt that these centurions did not have the courage and ability to hide Ye Zhanpeng's family.

And the only one who has this ability and courage is Wang Xuecheng!

Although he still couldn't believe it, the investigation had already run into a dilemma and Ye Mingsheng only gave a month's deadline, so Huo San had no choice but to give it a try and asked Wang Xuecheng's elder brother Wang Chengzhu to come over and make a show of force.

Huo San knew that after Wang Chengzhu left him and returned home, he would immediately write a letter to Wang Xuecheng. Huo San wanted to use him to convey a message to Wang Xuecheng, which was to not pretend to be dead in the palace. If I really die, you won't have an easy time either!
At that time, Ye Mingsheng appointed Wang Xuecheng as the deputy director of the Coordination Office. Huo San and him had been fighting openly and secretly for a while. However, after realizing that their common interests outweighed their differences, the relationship between the two gradually eased, and they formed a tacit understanding, each of them taking care of their own business and not interfering with each other...
Although the relationship between the two people has eased due to common interests, it does not mean that they have completely made peace!
Huo San and Wang Xuecheng both knew very well that they were secretly collecting dirt on each other. As the top two leaders of the Fengwu Army's largest spy agency, both of them had dirty tricks, so Huo San wanted to make Wang Xuecheng understand that he should never think of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between two tigers!
As for whether this approach would be effective, Huo San still had high hopes for it, because he knew that Wang Xuecheng had been getting closer to them recently!
And "they" are Huo San's main suspects as the instigator of all this!
Just as Huo San was secretly planning, Zhang Qiankun, who had just arrived, walked into the room and said excitedly:

"Sir, Lord Zhu from the Liaoyang Censorate has sent me news that they have found the family members who are suspected to be Ye Zhanpeng!"

"They said that Ye Zhanpeng's family might be hiding in Denong County of Posuo Prefecture!"

Hearing this news, Huo San was a little bit unbelievable at first, but he quickly reacted and ordered:

"Count the number of people and follow me to Denong County! We must find these people!"

"yes·························"

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(End of this chapter)