The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"I dare to inform the county governor that the military department has withdrawn all the soldiers from various places in the city, and the evening market will be open as usual."

In the afternoon, after completing the tasks assigned by the county governor, Hei Fu returned to the county governor's mansion to report. When he came in the morning, the county governor Ye, who had already woken up, was scolding the chief secretary Lu Dang for being "stupid", and ordered Hei Fu to withdraw the soldiers outside, relax the vigilance and search of the streets in the city, and let Jiangling City return to normal.

This is actually a loose outside and tight inside strategy. The military department still dispatched a large number of soldiers to guard the city gates, and the thieves department was busy arresting the assassins' followers...

"What is the public opinion?"

Ye Teng was wearing a casual dress, with a linen bandage on his legs, and was served by two maids. He was lying on the sickbed, but he did not relax. Instead, he asked the secretary to hold the scroll and continue to read to him, and gave corresponding instructions. From time to time, officials from various departments came in and out to ask for instructions.

Hei Fu said: "The news that the county magistrate showed up at the government office at noon has spread, and the people are no longer talking about it."

Ye Teng's complexion was not very good. He sighed and said: "A bunch of feathers can sink a boat, and a group of people can break an axle. If everyone speaks in the same voice, even metal and stone can be melted. People's hearts are the most unpredictable. If the government is too nervous, people will speculate that I am seriously injured and dead, giving the thieves an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"The county magistrate is right."

Ye Teng immediately raised his eyes: "What have you found out about the assassin's accomplices?"

Hei Fu said: "The military department, the thief department, and the prison department are working together to investigate the case. They have arrested several people who may have assisted the assassin. Although it has not been fully verified, we speculate that the mastermind of this matter is likely to be the State of Chu!"

This is an era where assassins are rampant. From Zhuan Zhu's assassination of Wang Liao, Yu Rang's assassination of Zhao Xiangzi, Nie Zheng's assassination of Xia Lei hundreds of years ago, to Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin a few years ago, assassinating political enemies and killing the leaders of enemy countries is an effective way.

"Chu?"

Ye Teng laughed, without any fear, but with some contempt, looking down on those who wanted to take his life.

"I have experienced many assassinations in my life. When I led the Qin army to attack Xinzheng, the princes of the Han royal family hated me for treason, so they hired a knight to assassinate me with a hundred gold coins. In those years, there were many people who came to visit me and wanted to take my head."

"After I came to Nanjun as the county governor, because I brought those clans that were rampant in the local area to justice, local tyrants and big families sent guests to assassinate me. The most dangerous time, the sword was only a few feet away from me..."

"Now, even Chu wants to kill me. The Chu nobles who claim to be the descendants of Zhurong can only come up with such a lowly way to understand me?"

He couldn't help laughing, and finally stopped laughing because of the pain in his legs.

Hei Fu responded, "Last month, Chu State instigated the Ba people to rebel and attacked Yiling fiercely. If the county governor had not lived in Jiangling and quickly dispatched soldiers and officials to rush to help, I am afraid that the Chu people would not have given up so easily. In addition, the county governor governed Nanjun in an orderly manner. The Chu people were afraid of the county governor and were eager to get rid of the county governor!"

This is not flattery, but the fact is that Hei Fu has been in office in the county for several months. Although the political tactics and personnel methods of County Governor Ye gave him an uncomfortable sense of restraint. But as a local official, Ye Teng's performance is perfect. Catching thieves, eliminating the big family, rectifying the official style, promoting farming, and encouraging sericulture, after a few years, the politics of Nanjun has been completely renewed.

This year, Ye Teng boldly used the method of composting and promoting water mills. It is unlikely that any county governor would have both the characteristics of being careful and vigorous.

A general who betrayed his motherland and led his army to destroy it, a traitor whose morality was criticized, but he was an able official, which was very different from the standard of "honest officials" in later generations. Such officials would never be reused unless the monarch was extremely confident.

After Hei Fu finished his official duties and returned to the county governor's mansion in Ying County, Li You also talked with Feng Jing and Hei Fu about the county governor's calmness when facing the assassination and his calmness in dealing with it afterwards.

After hearing Heifu say that the county governor had resumed work, Li You sighed, "I once heard my father tell a story. It said that more than a hundred years ago, King Wei of Qi and King Hui of Wei agreed to hunt together. During the hunting, the two kings began to compare their treasures. King Hui of Wei said that he had ten Suihou beads that could illuminate twelve chariots in front and behind. Qi was a country with ten thousand chariots. I wonder what other treasures it had?"

"King Wei of Qi responded that what he regarded as treasures was quite different from that of King Wei. Qi had a minister named Tanzi. He was sent to guard Xuecheng, and the people of Chu did not dare to invade the border. The twelve princes on Si came to pay homage. Qi had a minister named Panzi. He was sent to guard Gaotang, and the people of Zhao did not dare to fish in the east of the river. Qi had a minister named Qianfu. He was sent to guard Wudi, and the people of Yan offered sacrifices at the north gate, and the people of Zhao offered sacrifices at the west gate. More than 7,000 families moved to Qi. Qi had a minister named Zhongshou. He was sent to guard against thieves, and no one picked up lost items on the Linzi Road."

"King Wei of Qi said that the above four men will illuminate a thousand miles, not just twelve chariots?"

After saying that, Li You said admiringly: "Ye Jun Shou can benefit the people's livelihood, prevent thieves, and improve military preparations. Officials respect him, the people love him, the nobles fear him, and the enemy countries are afraid of him. Isn't he Tanzi, Panzi, Qianfu, and Zhongshou of Qin? This is a pillar of the ministers, who will illuminate the land of a thousand miles in Nanjun. No wonder the king said that I came to Nanjun as a county lieutenant and should learn more from Ye Jun Shou..."

Li You thought that he was also at a loss for a short time on the day of the assassination, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed. Compared with this, he was still too young and unintelligent.

"If every boss is as strong and smart as Ye Teng, will the people below be allowed to live?"

Hei Fu promised, but he was secretly complaining in his heart.

At this time, the thief Cao Yuan hurriedly visited and excitedly reported to Li You: "County Lieutenant, the assassin's accomplices have been caught!"

Li You was excited. This was his top priority at the moment, so he immediately asked the thief Cao Yuan to report it in person.

The thief Cao Yuan said: "We have found a total of five assassins. Most of them pretend to be merchants and hired farmers who came to the city. Their ID cards and biographies are all forged."

Although the Qin State had a strict household registration system, the method was too simple after all. If an ordinary person forged an ID card, he would be seen through at a glance, just like the teenager who pretended to be Feng Jing's brother and swindled in Nanyang County. But if it was a spy from an enemy country, he could forge it through certain means to make it look real.

"In addition to the two assassins who died that day, three more were arrested when they tried to sneak out of the city. Two of them resisted and were killed on the spot. The remaining one told the truth after a day of torture!"

"The five assassins came from the State of Chu, but there were also people in Jiangling City who assisted them! We have found a fortune-telling witch, and the two soldiers on duty that day were connected to the assassin. The three have been arrested and confessed. The witch claimed that he was dissatisfied with the county governor's ban on obscene temples, and the two soldiers were bribed..."

At this time, Hei Fu spoke.

"This matter will never end here!"

Everyone looked at him, and Hei Fu explained: "This assassination must have been planned for a long time, from forging identities for these Chu assassins, to providing bows and crossbows that are strictly prohibited for civilians to own, and then being able to find out the county governor's travel route in advance... No matter which one, it is not something that ordinary people can do!"

He said to Li You: "I have read an article about using spies in the "Wu Sunzi" that the county governor lent me. There are rural spies, internal spies, counter-spies, dead spies, and living spies. The so-called rural spies are the villagers of the enemy country who are used as spies. The so-called internal spies are the officials of the enemy who are used as spies!"

"What the thieves have found now are nothing more than ordinary rural spies, mosquitoes, but I think the real blood-sucking leeches have not been tracked down yet!"

Li You's face became solemn: "You mean, there may be internal spies from the Chu State in Jiangling City?"

"Not only in Jiangling, I think that in other counties in Nanjun, there are also many officials and nobles who have been connected with the Chu people for various reasons and have become spies of Chu! They may be in high positions, hiding among many Qin officials, seemingly no different from ordinary officials, but in fact they are writing letters to sell out the true and false information of counties and assisting in sheltering assassins and spies! They are even ready to kill officials and open the city to surrender when the Chu army attacks!"

After saying this, Hei Fu bowed again and pleaded: "It is now midsummer, and Qin and Chu have started a war in Nanjun. In order to prevent assassins from jumping around and assassinating the county governor and county lieutenant, and to prevent the Chu people from knowing the true and false information of Nanjun, this matter must be thoroughly investigated and no spies will be spared!"