Chapter 779: The real culprit behind the scenes?

Listening to his subordinates' report, Lin Huaiwu's face became more serious and he couldn't help but whispered:
“Wang Muzhi came so quickly…”

Xun Ke also had a heavy expression when he heard this. After passing Xiaonan Town, it was only fifty miles away from Lingyuan County. At this speed, Wang Muzhi might have already reached the foot of Lingyuan County.

Thinking of this, Xun Ke looked at Lin Huaiwu who was thinking and said:
"Sir, Wang Muzhi's surprise move this time must be an attempt to save Zhao from Wei, using this tactic to force our army to give up attacking Dagu and return to Lingyuan County for support. Our army must not fall for his evil plan. Right now, our army is only one step away from capturing Dagu!"

"If we give up now and let the enemy catch their breath, all our efforts will be wasted, and it will be even more difficult to capture the Great Valley!"

Hearing what Xun Ke said, Lin Huaiwu nodded slightly. Of course, he also understood this truth.

However, Lingyuan County is an important logistical hub for their army, and a large amount of food and supplies are stored there. If Wang Muzhi really succeeds in his surprise attack on Lingyuan and destroys all the supplies stored in the city, then the army will be in a very passive situation!

Xun Ke naturally saw Lin Huaiwu's hidden worries and immediately said:
"Sir, although Zhang Lipeng, the commander of Lingyuan County, is young, he is very calm and cautious. Although our army does not have many troops in Lingyuan County, I believe they will not collapse at the first blow and be quickly captured by Wang Muzhi!"

"I request that you lead my 3,000 cavalrymen from the Third Division to rush to the aid of Lingyuan County. This battle will ensure that Lingyuan is safe!"

Regarding Xun Ke's idea, Lin Huaiwu thought about it quickly for a moment and nodded in agreement:

"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you, General Xun. I'll focus on attacking the city in Dagu!"

"The general will get the order!"

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October 6, outside Denong County, Shajingzi Village

There was a drizzle in the sky. Huo San looked at the bloodstains and corpses all over the village, and his expression suddenly became very serious.

Ye Zhenbang, who was standing next to Huo San, was also extremely panicked about the situation. Then he seemed to realize something and glared at Wang Yan beside him. Wang Yan was also complaining in his heart. He had never expected that such a thing would happen.

Just as Wang Yan was thinking about how to defend himself, the special agent from the Coordination Office who was inspecting the yard came over and reported to Huo San:

"Sir, we have found Ye Zhanpeng's family, including Wang, and they have all been killed! The bodies of these people all show signs of torture. Someone must have tortured them to extract confessions!"

Hearing this news, Huo San couldn't help but frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Lead the way!"

"Yes!"

After a cup of tea, Huo San came to a farmhouse. The ground was covered with blood and seven or eight women and children were lying on the ground. Although these people were dirty, Huo San recognized them at a glance. These people were the family members of Ye Zhanpeng that he was looking for!

After quickly checking the bodies of these people, the experienced Huo San immediately ordered:
"These people have only been gone for more than two hours at most. Everyone should immediately start searching the surrounding areas with Shajingzi Village as the center!"

"And take my token and official documents, and mobilize the nearest garrison to assist in the search..."

"Yes!"

After doing all this, Huo San finally had the energy to deal with Ye Zhenbang and Wang Yan. He first looked at Wang Yan, and seeing this, Wang Yan could only bite the bullet and say:

"Sir, we immediately reported the news to our superiors three hours ago. In order to prevent the enemy from escaping, I asked my people to keep an eye on them and not let them get away."

"Now I don't know why this happened. These damn thieves are so abominable. As the magistrate of Denong County, I must bring them all to justice!"

After hearing this, although Huo San still had a blank expression on his face, he was extremely disappointed in his heart. The situation was now very clear: someone had kidnapped Ye Zhanpeng's family.

This group of people seemed to be also interested in the stolen money in Ye Zhanpeng's hands, so they tortured Ye Zhanpeng's family members to find out the whereabouts of the stolen money. A few hours ago, this group of thieves hiding in Shajingzi Village discovered that Wang Yan's men were monitoring them.

The thief realized that he had been exposed, and perhaps out of anger and provocation, or to prevent his escape route from being revealed, he simply killed everyone in the village.
Knowing this, Huo San was too lazy to pay attention to the magistrate of Denong County. He took a deep look at Ye Zhenbang beside him and turned away.
Feeling the coldness in Huo San's eyes, Ye Zhenbang's heart felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. He had thought that everything was going as planned this time, and he only needed to follow the steps to successfully complete the task and gain recognition from his superiors. He never expected that things would turn out like this.

It seems that Huo San has noticed something now. He is the director of the Coordination Office. What should he do?

Just when Ye Zhenbang was standing there in a daze, not knowing what to do, Wang Yan approached him and asked, still unable to tell the difference between high and low.

"Sir, such a big thing has happened, what should we do now?"

Wang Yan's words just hit Ye Zhenbang's gun. Ye Zhenbang, who was furious, didn't hesitate at all and slapped him in the face, cursing:
"You are a dog that is always causing trouble but can't do anything good!"

After he finished speaking, Ye Zhenbang no longer paid any attention to the distraught Wang Yan and simply left.

In the evening, Huo San, who was a little tired, was deep in thought in the tent. Although he had mobilized thousands of people to search the surroundings, these thieves were faster at running than he had imagined. Currently, the search area has been expanded to 5,000 miles around, but still no trace of them has been found.

Just when Huo San was at a loss and full of worries, the voice of the guards suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Sir, Gao Zhenghuan wants to see you for something..."

Hearing the name Gao Zhenghuan, Huo San felt even more annoyed. Gao Zhenghuan used to be a member of the Supervisory Department. He was captured by the Coordination Office in an operation more than two years ago. Under the coercion and inducement of the Coordination Office, he defected to the Coordination Office.

However, because he had worked in the Supervisory Office before, out of caution, Huo San left him idle after squeezing out all his usefulness. Later, considering the value of buying a horse bone with a huge sum of gold, he gave him an official position of a centurion, but transferred him to the remote place of Posuo Mansion, leaving him to fend for himself there.

Huo San had almost forgotten about this person, but the action was taking place in Posuo Mansion, so Gao Zhenghuan, a centurion, also followed. Huo San, who didn't care about Gao Zhenghuan, immediately opened his mouth and angrily said:
"Tell him to leave me alone!"

"Yes!"

After scolding the guards, Huo San continued to think about the case. He was hesitating whether to talk to Ye Zhenbang. Although the deputy envoy of the Censorate was acting covertly, Huo San, the director of the Coordination Office, was not a mere idler and could sense Ye Zhenbang's little moves to some extent.

Because of some factors, Huo San turned a blind eye. As long as you can help me solve this case smoothly, I will pretend not to see your little tricks, and we won’t provoke each other. But what Huo San didn’t expect was that Ye Zhenbang was so useless and turned things into the current situation·······················

In this case, Huo San could not sit still. After all, the deadline given by Ye Mingsheng was getting closer and closer. If he did not complete the military order by then, the Marshal would be so furious that he would have to abdicate as the director of the General Coordination Office!
But how much could Ye Zhenbang know?
He, the Deputy Censor, is just a pawn. Everything he does is ordered by others. In all likelihood, he won't know much information. Besides, if I go looking for him, he will most likely be silenced. Once he is silenced, I, the Director of the Coordination Office, will have no way to explain myself.

This Ye Zhenbang is a relative of the Ye family and the son of Ye Dagui, the patriarch of the Ye family. By then, he might be hated by the Ye family members!

Now, under the Marshal's crackdown, the behavior of these Ye family relatives has been greatly restrained, but after all, blood is thicker than water, and the Marshal might use them at some time. What's more, the Ye family's big backer is still alive, so it is better not to offend him if possible.

Just as Huo San was hesitating, there was some noise outside the tent, which made Huo San very angry. He immediately walked out of the tent and saw a group of guards who had captured Gao Zhenghuan on the ground.

Seeing this situation, Huo San was also a little confused, and immediately asked the guard beside him:
"What's going on?"

In response to Huo San's question, the guard immediately bowed and said:

“Sir, this Gao Zhenghuan is so arrogant and rude. I’ve already told him that you don’t want to see him, but he insisted on continuing to pester me here. After being rejected by us, he even tried to force his way in…”

Huo San was also somewhat puzzled when he heard the guard say this. In his impression, Gao Zhenghuan was not so arrogant. Just as he was puzzled, Gao Zhenghuan, who was pressed to the ground, suddenly shouted:
"Director Huo, I have important news to report!"

These words immediately attracted Huo San's attention. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded to the guard and walked into the tent.

A moment later, Gao Zhenghuan also walked into the tent, bowed to Huo San and said:
"I am Gao Zhenghuan, your humble servant. I am honored to meet you, Director!"

In response to Gao Zhenghuan's greeting, Huo San glanced at him and said calmly:

"Your behavior just now is enough for me to fire you!"

Gao Zhenghuan heard this and said respectfully:
"I believe in the information I provided and will never let you down, Director!"

Seeing Gao Zhenghuan so confident, Huo San couldn't help but become interested. He waved his hand to signal Gao Zhenghuan that he could start.

Seeing this, Gao Zhenghuan said without hesitation:
“Mr. Director, I have just examined the bodies of Ye Zhanpeng’s family members. Judging from the scars left on their bodies after being tortured, I believe that the people who tortured them to extract confessions are most likely from the Supervisory Department…”

Hearing the name of the Supervisory Department, Huo San narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice:
“How come you see?”

Gao Zhenghuan continued to introduce:

"Your Excellency, the Inspectorate has trained the spies in torture techniques. Many of the Inspectorate's spies have received such training. From the scars, I can tell that the torture techniques they suffered were exactly the same as the ones they were trained by the Inspectorate!"

"In addition, I also discovered that all of Ye Zhanpeng's wives and concubines have a scar on their left side caused by burning incense and candles!"

"If my guess is correct, this should be left by a man named Sun Chen. He is an expert in torture in the Supervisory Department and likes to torture female prisoners the most. He has a habit of using incense and candles to light a scar on the left side of a woman's nipple every time he has sex with her!"

After hearing what Gao Zhenghuan said, Huo San also recalled the situation when he examined them. There was indeed a scar on the left side of the waist of those female relatives caused by the burning of incense and candles. He was curious at that time why this happened. If what Gao Zhenghuan said was correct, then everything could be explained.

Thinking of this, Huo San looked up at Gao Zhenghuan. At this time, Gao Zhenghuan's eyes were full of expectations. He was still very young and did not want to waste his whole life in such a remote place as Posa Mansion. He was almost in despair, but he never expected that God gave him such an opportunity...

Faced with such a dream opportunity, Gao Zhenghuan certainly would not let it go, so he gave it a try. Facing Huo San's gaze, Gao Zhenghuan gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground and said:

"Director, I know very well how these thieves from the Supervisory Department hide their tracks. I beg you to let me participate in the arrest operation. I will definitely capture them all and present them to you, Director!"

Hearing Gao Zhenghuan say this, Huo San nodded slightly and said:

"That's right!"

"If this case succeeds, you will be credited with the achievement!"

Hearing this, Gao Zhenghuan's face suddenly showed a hint of joy and he immediately said:
"Thank you for your cultivation, Director!"

"Go!"

"Yes!"

After a while, Huo San sat alone in the tent and drank a sip of hot tea. He fell into thought again. What Gao Zhenghuan said should be true, but this matter also involved the Supervisory Office, which was really surprising. He always thought that this matter was just an internal matter of the Fengwu Army.

This matter is becoming more and more complicated·····························
(Doing a survey, do you understand the plot of this section? Do you need me to give a comprehensive explanation in the next few chapters?)

(End of this chapter)