Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Research and Belief

On February 26th, in the morning, "Taoist Temple". "You mean, you suspect that the Five Dou Mijiao has something to do with this espionage incident?" Holding Xun Xu's report, Feng Ying frowned to express his attitude.Xun Xu replied: "Yes, according to our past experience, the Wudou Mijiao was once used as a secret channel by Cao Wei's intelligence department. There is no reason not to think that they will use it again. On the fifth and sixth bamboo slips you can check to the relevant background information." Feng Ying did not answer with a gloomy face, but mechanically opened the fifth bamboo slip.

Wu Dou Rice Religion was a popular religion in Hanzhong when Zhang Lu ruled. The leader advocated that Lu called himself "Master", middle-level managers in the church called "jijiu", and ordinary believers called "ghost soldiers".Believers of Wudoumi religion spread throughout Hanzhong and are deeply rooted.After Zhang Lu surrendered and Cao Cao moved to Guanzhong, Wu Dou Mijiao was severely attacked by Shu, but it still survived tenaciously among the people.There are still many believers in the Hanzhong area who hold underground gatherings and come to pay homage to Zhang Lu, who has been named Langzhong Hou by Cao Cao.After Zhang Lu's death, his son Zhang Fu inherited the title of Marquis of Langzhong. The believers in Hanzhong believed that he was the successor of the Pope and turned him into the new teacher.

"Currently Zhang Fu is living in Luoyang. If Cao Wei sent spies to come, they should use his banner in exchange for the cooperation of believers." Xun Xu hung his hands on his sides respectfully, hoping to get the supervisor's approval.Without his approval, the Jing'an Division could not take large-scale actions. Feng Ying put the bamboo slips on the table. "I will consider this report, but I am afraid that what we need more now is prudence." "Why?" Xun Xu asked loudly.Feng Ying didn't like his outspoken attitude.He replied bluntly: "Have you forgotten? Last time Mian County only arrested a believer who was suspected of killing cattle, and as a result, believers in a village besieged the county captain. Our army will launch a war against Cao Wei in April. For a new offensive, we must ensure the stability of the rear.”

Feng Ying bites the word "stability" very clearly, he doesn't want any big troubles now. Xun Xu was a little angry, he said a little bluntly: "I will check the Wu Dou Mijiao very 'steadily', please rest assured." "It takes a lot of human resources to investigate the Five Dou Rice Sect. Compared with this unconfirmed speculation, it is more important to try to protect the source of the crossbow technology?" Feng Ying replied slowly, turning the brush in his hand, Seeing that Xun Xu's face was not looking well, he added: "I will submit your suggestion to the Prime Minister's Office for consideration. If it involves religious affairs, it is not up to us, Si Wencao." Throw it into the pile of bamboo slips behind.

Xun Xu knows what that means. This report will be squeezed among the bamboo slips filled with oxen, and will be gradually forgotten, until it will be dug up one day after hundreds of years. I'm afraid they've all been dead for a long time. Seeing that he could not persuade Feng Ying, he had to leave the Taoist temple angrily.Feng Ying's exclusion of him has reached such a blatant point, which made him extremely angry.Hu Zhong walked towards him, seeing Xun Xu's complexion was not good, so he went over to say hello.Xun Xu told him about the report, and Hu Zhong smiled after hearing it: "Xun Xiaohe, Xun Xiaohe, you should have a good understanding of the bureaucratic world."

"I always thought it was enough to know who was collaborating with the enemy and who was betraying the country." Hu Zhong narrowed his eyes narrowly: "That's a world full of insinuations and gossips, waiting for us to explore." "Hey, this is the job of our Jing'an Department..." Xun Xu replied in a bit of embarrassment. "I will transfer the people you want in the afternoon. They are all capable guys..." Seeing Feng Ying looking in this direction, Hu Zhong deliberately raised his voice and then lowered his voice: "Go and check Check the inspection records starting with the letter E last year, and you will gain something."

Back at his office, Xun Xu sent someone to fetch the inspection records of the Jing'an Department of Shu Han officials in the sixth year of Jianxing.These bamboo slips were covered with thick dust, filling the space within three feet around Xun Xu, like a bamboo city wall. In principle, the Shu Han prohibited surveillance of its own officials, but would occasionally send people to conduct "inspection" on some specific people, such as Ma Dai, Jiang Wei, and some low-level Longxi generals and officials. After a whole afternoon of browsing, he finally found what he had been looking for.This is the inspection record on September 26 last year. According to the monitor's report, two unidentified Wudoumi believers went to Ma Dai's mansion on that day. The content of the conversation is unknown, but the last two Several believers were driven out by Ma Dai, but Ma Dai did not report to the official.At the end of this report, there is Feng Ying's comment: "Read, not to upload." It means that it is not important, it can be filed directly, and there is no need to upload it.

"Hu Zhong is really powerful..." Holding this material, Xun Xu couldn't help but feel greatly moved.Hu Zhong is in charge of intelligence analysis. It is not surprising that he has seen this document, but he can remember clearly the number and content of an unimportant report from last year, which can not help but make people sigh. "Report!" At this time, a guard came to the door with a nervous expression on his face. "Huh? What's the matter?" Xun Xu put down the bamboo slips and looked up. "We went to investigate the residence registration of the ballista craftsman. Something happened."

Xun Xu was startled, and quickly asked, "How about the casualties?" "Two of our people were injured, one of them was seriously injured." "Who is the other party?" Xun Xu asked suspiciously. Most of Jing'an's opponents are hidden spies and traitors, so it is rare for investigators to be publicly attacked. "Uh..." The guard hesitated for a moment, and then hesitatingly said under Xun Xu's gaze, "It's... General Wei Yan's subordinate." Xun Xu felt his head grow louder... ...Just this morning, a small traffic accident happened at the third intersection in the East District of Nanzheng City.A heavy ox cart pulling dried dung cakes and plant ash suddenly lost control and collided with the mount of an official passing by.The farmer driving the cart probably hadn't figured out the identity of the victim, and cursed with a strong Hanzhong accent.The angry guards swarmed up and dragged the reckless man out of the car.The official walked up to the farmer and was about to say something, but the farmer rushed forward and grabbed his arm. The official backed away in surprise, and slapped the usurper hard.

The guards punched and kicked again, pushing the farmer aside, and then walked away.It wasn't until the team of officials walked away that the poor farmer got up from the ground resentfully, rubbed his sore arms and back, re-hooked the ox cart, cursed in a low voice, and left under the watchful eyes of curious passers-by.Seeing that the matter had calmed down, the passers-by rushed away.This kind of thing is commonplace, and it's not even worth talking about after dinner. In the opposite direction to the peasants, the official on the horse leaned slightly to cover the sight of the followers behind him, and then he slowly opened his clenched right fist, with a ball of paper in his palm, on which was written: " Preparation point A, at noon."

Mi Chong and the insider finally connected. Ten miles west of Nanzheng City to Mianyang, there is a basin on the right side of Mian River, which is called Shenxiangou by local people; the whole basin is half-moon shaped, with gullies and ravines in it, showing a typical Hanzhong landform.Because Shenxiangou is not suitable for traffic, the official road that originally connected Mianyang and Nanzheng along the Mian River turned a corner here, bypassing the basin from the north side and continuing on.When Cao Cao invaded Hanzhong, in order to defend Nanzheng, Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei set up a big camp in Shenxiangou.Later Zhang Lu surrendered, and the camp was abandoned, and all that could be taken was taken away by the local people, leaving only ruins.Some people say that it is a "difficult" situation because it is sunken in the center and protruded outwards, and the vertical grooves are locked horizontally. Therefore, the common people gradually stopped approaching it, and even the officials of the Shu Han Dynasty stayed away from it and allowed it to be dilapidated. But today, a few long-lost humans appeared in the abandoned camp in Shenxiangou.They were all dressed as civilians, standing among the ruins, as if they were waiting for something. "You two, go over there to watch the wind, you two go to the other side, if you encounter any suspicious movements, please notify me immediately." Huang Yu instructed the four believers of the Five Dou Rice Sect to look around, then looked around anxiously, and said to Mi Chong who was standing beside him: "Mr. Mi, is that person really talking about this hour?" "Well, we just need to wait in peace. Master 'Candle Dragon' will definitely come." Mi Chong pursed his lips, staring straight at a certain place in the ruins.A gust of wind blew by, and the fragments of the dilapidated camp tent stretched out, making a "popping" sound, which made the people in it feel a sense of emptiness and unease. Huang Yu looked around anxiously, even though he had made careful arrangements, he still felt a little uneasy.This is the psychological anxiety left over from the Shu Han's occupation of Hanzhong.Huang Yu is a passionate admirer of the Five Dou Rice Sect. His dream is to establish a pure and harmonious country under the leadership of his master.When Shizun withdrew from Hanzhong with Cao Wei's army, he stayed behind to lead the remaining believers, and tenaciously maintained the underground activities of Wu Dou Rice Sect under the repeated attacks of the Shu Kingdom. When Huang Yu learned of Zhang Lu's death four years ago, he was so sad that he wanted to commit suicide, feeling that he had lost the meaning of life.But soon Cao Wei sent someone to contact him secretly, telling him that Zhang Fu, Zhang Lu's son, had inherited his father's position.The man said that the emperor Cao Rui personally promised that after the unification of the world, he would promote the revival of the Five Dou Rice Sect under Zhang Fu's banner, so Huang Yu's hope was rekindled.The arrival of Mi Chong this time gave Huang Yu a glimpse of the dawn. He believed that Cao Wei's action would be the prelude to the revival of the Five Dou Rice Sect. When the sun crossed the zenith, "Candle Dragon" finally appeared.Seeing this person in the official uniform of the Shu Kingdom approaching step by step, even Mi Chong couldn't help licking his lips nervously. "Candle Dragon" is the most precious and secret wealth of Wei State's intelligence department. He occupies a high position within the Shu Han and has provided Wei State with a lot of extremely valuable information, but few people know his existence—— To ensure safety, he rarely participated in other espionage activities of Wei State in Shu State; this time, in order to obtain crossbow technology, Guo Gang and Guo Huai were able to use "Candle Dragon" to cooperate with the operation. "Walk with a candle in your hand to illuminate the darkness." A coded word came from the candle dragon in the distance. "If the day is not good, how can the candle dragon shine?" Mi Chong waved his hand while responding, Huang Yu understood, and whispered "Be careful, Mr. Mi", then walked away with his head bowed.Seeing Huang Yu leaving, "Zhulong" approached, and he asked straight to the point: "Are you from the north?" Mi Chong understood that the shorter the time between two people, the less risk of being discovered, so he also asked. Briefly introduce Guo Gang's plan. "Hehe, his appetite is really not small." Zhulong commented, "But the plan is quite thorough and imaginative." "As soon as I get the relevant information, I can start preparing immediately." "Well, I can provide the information and equipment you need, but you have to be careful, people from the Jing'an Department have already stationed in various key departments, and they smell a little smell." "How big will the impact be?" "They don't know much at the moment, they can only do some broad surveillance, and it shouldn't affect the core plan." "That's good." "The entire operation must be completed before March 16. Don't underestimate those people from the Jing'an Division. They are just as entangled with the Shu army in the Qinling area." "But they will get nothing." From Mi Chong's expression, it was impossible to tell whether he was referring to the Jing'an Division or the Shu Army. Next, the two agreed on the way to transfer information and equipment, and then ended the meeting.They didn't set a date for their next meeting, that would be too risky.Before departure, Mi Chong had received clear instructions that the work of "Zhulong" was only to provide sources of information and not to participate in specific operations. In order to avoid being discovered, Mi Chong and Huang Yu didn't leave Shenxiangou until an hour after "Zhulong" left. They met up with Wudoumi believers who were grazing sheep near the official road, and set off for Nanzheng together.When he came to Nanzheng City Gate, Mi Chong found that the soldiers guarding the city were hurriedly removing the wooden fence at the city gate, and driving the people who were going into the city to both sides of the road.After a while, a middle door was rumbled open from inside. Normally, Nanzheng City only opens the side door for civilians to enter and exit, and the door will only be opened when there is an urgent official business. "Something must have happened." Mi Chong stood in the crowd and thought, as if to confirm his conjecture.Soon there was a rush of horseshoes on the other side of the city gate, which echoed very clearly in the corridors of the tower.Then five or six knights flew out of Nanzheng City and disappeared at the end of the road, but judging from their costumes, they did not seem to belong to the military. "Maybe some unlucky Ministry of Education officials." Mi Chong thought nonchalantly, then turned around and followed the crowd into Nanzheng City. Mi Chong guessed right, this is indeed an unlucky civilian official, and very unlucky, because the trouble he is about to face comes from the military.Thinking of this, Xun Xu, who was galloping on the horse, became very depressed. Yesterday, that is, February 25th, after Xun Xu returned from the Military Technical Division, he immediately dispatched two high-ranking personnel from the Jing'an Division to leave Nanzheng with the approval document issued by Wei Yan, and went to the Sixth Crossbow Machine Workshop to carry out the training of the craftsmen. Household survey. The Kingdom of Shu has eight military workshops in Hanzhong, of which the first five workshops are responsible for forging ordinary weapons, the seventh and eighth workshops are responsible for the production of logistics tools and large-scale infrastructure equipment; the sixth crossbow workshop is different from them.The workshop is located in a mountain depression near Mianshui, thirty miles east of Nanzheng. The overall scale is not large, but its technical ability is very high. The military models of "Shujun" and "Yuanrong" are mainly produced by this workshop.In order to facilitate management and secrecy, artisan clusters and crossbow workshops were placed together, under special military supervision. The problem lies in the regulatory army.When the two members of the Jingan Department arrived at the Sixth Crossbow Machine Workshop, the door was closed. Huang Xi, the head of the supervision force, flatly rejected their request to check the residence registration of the craftsmen, claiming that it was not open to the public.People from the Jingan Department forced him to enter and threatened to arrest Huang Xi for "obstructing the investigation."As a result, a dispute broke out between the two sides, and two investigators were wounded by Huang Xi's guards and imprisoned. Xun Xu learned about these situations on the way there, and he felt a little strange, because the two investigators were carrying a permission document signed by Wei Yan himself, how dare Huang Xi disobey it?Or is there someone behind him who is making trouble... Although Xun Xu was not familiar with Huang Xi, he knew him very well.During the first Northern Expedition, Huang Xi served as Ma Di's deputy general. He survived the battle of Jieting by chance, but was demoted and punished. He was moved from the front-line commander to this remote workshop to work as a supervisor.There are many rumors about him, because both Zhang Xiu and Li Sheng, who were also Ma Di's lieutenants, were executed, and only he survived; some people said that he used a lot of bribes, but this is only at the stage of rumors. Proven. After arriving at the foot of the mountain where the sixth crossbow machine workshop is located, the scenery in Xun Xu's vision is obviously very different. The green grass is replaced by gray-white gravel and earth and stones.The mottled road is full of ruts of different widths.There are only a few sparse bushes on both sides of the road, and there are more scattered piles of soil and waste ore. The field of vision is pale, and fine dust particles are floating in the air, making it difficult to breathe.A curved artificial river flows along the road on the left side, and the muddy yellow river water brings more suffocation to passers-by. At the entrance of the workshop are two stone mountains dug into strange shapes, with two rusty iron gates sandwiched between them, guarded by a dozen soldiers in heavy armor.Xun Xu rode to the door and reined in, took out the tiger talisman and told the soldiers to open the door.The soldier gave him a disdainful look, and replied lazily: "Master Huang has explained that this is an extraordinary period, and no one can enter without the approval of General Wei." Xun Xu was furious, even the military could not despise the chief of the Jing'an Division like this.He yelled loudly: "Presumptuous! You are obstructing public affairs! You should be punished by the law!" The soldier was suddenly shocked by Xun Xu's attitude. He was not sure who the visitor was, so he restrained his arrogance, but he still refused to open the door. "I don't need to go in. You go and report to Huang Xi, and say that Jing'an Division is in charge of Xun Xu's visit." Xun Xu said with a sullen face.When the soldier heard this official title, his face turned pale with fright, he hurriedly bowed and went back through the door. After two sticks of incense, the gate of the workshop area opened, and two teams of soldiers armed with spears and broadswords filed out, lined up on both sides, and then a general in armor with a short mustache rode from the middle. After walking out, Xun Xu recognized him as Huang Xi. The two simply nodded at each other without dismounting, implying that both sides took a tough stand.Huang Xi was the first to speak, and Xun Xu could feel the peculiar yin and yang in his tone that is unique to those who migrated to the left. "It's really Lao Xun who did it and came to our rural place." "It's okay. I heard that our people had a little conflict with your side. I came here to explain it." After exchanging pleasantries for a while, we directly cut to the substantive issues.Xun Xu asked bluntly: "My subordinate was detained by you after arriving here yesterday. May I ask why?" "Oh, they are trying to enter the work area illegally." Huang Xi pretended to be ignorant, and spread his hands, "You know, this is an area with a high level of secrecy, we can't just let people in." "But if I'm not mistaken, they should carry General Wei Yan's permission document." Huang Xi seemed to have expected that Xun Xu would ask such a question. He took out the document from his pocket and handed it to Xun Xu, and then said with a smile on his face: "You mean this one, I did follow the rules and regulations. to handle it." "You wounded two staff members of the Jing'an Department and detained them for twelve hours, and then you called it according to the regulations?" "It all depends on how you understand it." Huang Xi shrugged.Xun Xu opened the permission document and pointed out the words "Special permission to enter military technology and military weapon workshops" for Huang Xi to see.Huang Xi said "Oh", pointed out another line of writing and said, "I think Xun Zong must have misunderstood this document." Xun Xu followed his finger to look, and it turned out that there were a few words before that sentence that read "during the normal state". "What's the matter? Isn't it the normal state now?" Huang Xi was very proud. He had been waiting for Xun Xu to say this: "If you came two days ago, then this document is valid. It is a pity that we received an order from the Prime Minister's Office yesterday morning, announcing that Shu The army has entered a state of full mobilization. I believe you have heard that our army is about to launch a new strategic offensive, so..." "But the military technical department let us go." "The nature is different. The Military Technology Division is only responsible for the research and development of weapons, but our military weapon shop must keep pace with the field troops." "Excuse." Xun Xu thought to himself, but he couldn't find anything wrong with his words.The estrangement between the army and the Jing'an Division has been going on for a long time, and they are both undermining each other. The current situation is just a continuation of the dispute. "We have to check the household registration records of the craftsmen. We suspect that spies from the state of Wei will spy on the workshops in the near future." "You don't need to worry about this. Our security measures are flawless. You only need to manage your own subordinates well." Facing this ridicule, Xun Xu really couldn't contain his anger.He barely suppressed it, stared at Huang Xi every word and said, "Do you know that what you are doing now is allowing the enemy to steal our army's confidential information." "You also need to understand that you are delaying the production plan of the armory workshop, which means delaying the entire military plan." Huang Ji was not to be outdone.The followers behind the two of them were all glaring at each other, and the impatient soldier had already pulled out his sword with a "swish".Xun Xu's entourage was small and did not carry any weapons. Although he still stood tall, his imposing manner was somewhat lacking. The two sides had a stalemate for a long time, and the atmosphere in the valley was extremely tense, but it finally did not lead to a physical conflict. Xun Xu restrained the urge to punch Huang Xi, he knew he would not be able to punch him.Huang Xi also knew that if the two sides really fought, even if they were lucky enough to win, there would be military laws waiting to be dealt with - beating two intelligence officers and beating Jing'an Division were not the same concept.So the two sides took a step back in tacit understanding. Xun Xu asked Huang Xi to release the two detained subordinates. Huang Xi did not refuse, but added an extra sentence when he untied them: "Our military reserves the right to sue them for entering the confidential area without authorization." power." Xun Xu pretended not to hear. Empty-handed, Xun Xu returned to the "Taoist Temple" and saw Yao You, Feng Ying, Yin Ji, Ma Xin, and Hu Zhong waiting in the conference hall.Everyone's complexion is not very good-looking, especially Feng Ying's complexion is the most gloomy.Beside this group of senior Siwencao officials is a short middle-aged man. The face shape of this man is a typical inverted acute triangle, with a sharp chin and deep-set eye sockets. The eyes seem to be influenced by the high cheekbones and broad forehead The upper and lower backlogs turned into two gaps sloping to both sides, outlining a very depressing line. But this man cannot be underestimated.Xun Xu hurriedly straightened his skirt and scarf, walked over and gave a deep salute, and said respectfully, "Yang Canjun." He was Yang Yi, the highest person in charge of Si Wencao, who joined the army in the Prime Minister's Mansion. "Xiaohe, how are things going?" Yang Yi asked kindly.Xun Xu looked at Feng Ying's resentful eyes and felt that he had no choice, so he explained the matter in detail.It seems that Yang Yi heard something in the city, so she rushed to investigate immediately. After finishing speaking, Xun Xu raised his head to see Yang Yi's expression, secretly screaming in his heart that something was wrong.He knew that this boss was a man who would take revenge, especially this time, it was his enemy's subordinate who made his department lose face, how Yang Yi would react to Xun Xu was really hard to guess. Yang Yi slowly rested her chin with her hands, with a half-smile on her face: "Xiaohe, write me a report right now, try to be as concise as possible, but must summarize all the main points." Xun Xu didn't dare to disobey, so he hurried Retreat to the writing room next to him, spread out a piece of plain paper, and write at the desk.There was no sound of footsteps outside, presumably all other officials stood behind Yang Yi and dared not leave. When Xun Xu finished writing, he took it out to Yang Yi, Yang Yi read it once, said "uh", folded it and put it in the sleeve of his robe, then got up and left the "Taoist Temple" without saying anything else. After Yang Yi left, the group of officials breathed a sigh of relief.Feng Ying pointed at Xun Xu's nose angrily and tremblingly said: "You, look at what good things you have done?!" "Investigate the household registration of the craftsmen, and investigate those who may have contact with Wei's spies." Xun Xu replied calmly. Feng Ying said angrily: "You've made a mess of things now, making those of us at the top very passive!" Yao You stretched out her hand to stop Feng Ying: "Don't talk about it, Xiaohe has nothing to do with this matter. I think those guys in the military are deceiving people too much." Feng Ying then stopped, still glaring at him.Standing beside Xun Xu, Hu Zhong still said in a relaxed tone, "Xiaohe, you are so good this time, you provoked a full-scale confrontation between Si Wencao and the military." "If I had such great ability, I would have caught the mouse long ago..." Xun Xu replied angrily.Ma Xin wanted to go over and pat him on the shoulder, but when he saw Feng Ying's angry eyes, he withdrew his hand. He was considered a good old man in Si Wen Cao Li, and he was very enthusiastic, but he had no courage, and always liked to follow the boss's eyes. Yao You didn't like small talk, so he asked directly: "Don't say anything useless, Xiaohe, what have you found so far?" "We have just identified three possible sources of crossbow technology leaks. Among them, we have protected the military technology department. As you can see, the other two sources are denied entry to the military workshops, and the troops equipped with crossbows are even more so. say no more." "Where is the whereabouts of the Wei Guo mouse?" "All checkpoints have been notified for strict investigation, and secret sentries have been set up in public places such as major inns and restaurants in Nanzheng. So far, nothing has been harvested." Xun Xu added stubbornly, "Don't worry, we will catch him Rats, as long as we have patience ... with a cooperating partner." "Don't say such things at this time..." Yin Ji lectured unhappily. Xun Xu didn't dare to disrespect this veteran in intelligence work, so he obediently kept his mouth shut. Yin Ji coughed, and said slowly as if giving a lesson to students: "Based on our experience in Longxi, sending a spy who has the same cultural background as the local residents—for example, we have developed the Qiang people—often It’s easier to get local support, so I suggest you check out the followers of the Five Dou Rice Sect, maybe Cao Wei’s colleagues have the same thinking as us.” Xun Xu glanced at Feng Ying, and for some reason, replied, "I have already investigated this possibility, and basically ruled out this possibility." Feng Ying showed a relieved expression on the side. "Speaking of it... why did Yang Canjun leave without listening to Xiaohe's report?" Ma Xin glanced at the door, and Yao You said coldly: "This is not what he cares about, Mr. Yang has more important things to do what to do..." His tone could not be said to be factual or sarcastic.