At the foot of the mountain, Chen Xiyuan wore a green robe and stood at the edge of the cliff, looking towards Quyang Town. The rain on the mountain top was light, but his face was wet with tears, as if his heart had been stabbed by a knife and was bleeding.

  A middle-aged scholar stood beside him, looking in the southwest direction, also full of desolation, and said: "Li Zhuo did not send troops to suppress, Qu's family can't escape the name of bandits. Now the only thing that can be done is to bring Jiangning Temple and Jiangning Penal Department into trial, who can save a few people, in addition, Ming Ye also wants to find a way to escape from Yanjing..."

  "It's all over now." Chen Xiyu said with a sigh, who would have thought that the carefully laid plans would be overturned at the last moment, and just as he was about to reach out and grasp what was within his reach, he realized that everything in front of him was an illusion.

  Qu Zhonghui is a thug, Chen Xiyi is not in Jiangning it's easy to say, but he is in Jiangning, he still dares to compete for the position, the Chu Party will recklessly pour dirty water on him, even if Chen Xiyi has a hundred mouths, it's hard to defend his innocence, let alone that he can't be innocent.

  Chen Mingyu had the reputation of being a top scholar, but Chen Xiyin did not enter the capital. He was left alone in Yanjing, isolated and without support. The Chu Party in Yanjing would never miss an opportunity to attack him. Chen Mingyu was also young and impulsive, lacking experience, and it was easy for others to take advantage of him. The most urgent task was to get him away from the place of trouble as soon as possible.

  "The little pig is just a small soldier, we really shouldn't underestimate this little soldier." The middle-aged man sighed softly.

  Chen Xiyu was speechless, the term "pig servant" came from his mouth, Jiangning Qingliu regarded Lin Xie as an outcast, using "pig servant" to mock him, but now it is a great irony to himself.

  "What needs to be done now is to prevent Gu Wu Chen's power from expanding too much in Jiangning," the middle-aged man said. "Gu Wu Chen has already taken office as the Inspector, so we can't let him further assume the title of Governor-General of Hongze Pu's war affairs. The Hongze Pu rebellion is just a minor problem, not worth mentioning, but if we let Gu Wu Chen intervene in military affairs and cultivate his own faction within the army, then if he replaces Zhang Xie as Prime Minister in the future, that would be a real disaster..."

  Chen Xiyin nodded, Chen Xinbo had once wanted to transfer Li Zhuo to serve as Minister of War two years ago, making the Western Qin Party's other officials and soldiers general governors of the Eastern Fujian war, but was opposed by the Chu Party faction and others, and delayed. If Chen Xinbo had succeeded in transferring Li Zhuo to the central government, even if there had been a defeat at Chentangyi, it would not have caused the Western Qin Party to lose power.

  They strongly prevent the Western Qin Party from doing things, and naturally they also want to strongly prevent the Chu Party from doing them.

  ********

  Lin Xian saw Gu Wu dust off his hand and beckoned him over. He tidied up his clothes, waist knife, raised his head and walked over with a big stride.

  Lin Ge knew that things were mostly like this, Qu's family was convicted of treason, and it can be said that the Jiangning local forces had suffered their greatest setback in recent years. However, this does not mean that they can indefinitely pin the crime of treason on the Qu family. Everything needs to know when to stop.

  Li Zhuo only made Gao Zongting represent him privately, which already showed his attitude. Perhaps someone in Jiangning City had already rushed to Li Zhuo's side and done some work before him.

  Whether it's treason or rebellion, the Qu family is thoroughly finished, and Chen Xiyin is also blocked from promotion. It's just a matter of whether a few more people will lose their heads. Jia Pengyu went alone to Sanliu Garden to persuade Qu Wuyang to surrender, no longer avoiding anything, showing that he already had the awareness to resign as Procurator and yield to Gu Wuduan.

  Lin Zhan walked into the rain shed, and bowed to Jia Pengyu, Wang Xueshan, Gu Wuchen, Ma Ruitai, Gao Zongting and others, thinking that they must have already agreed on the terms.

  Wang Xueshan cast a sidelong glance at Lin Tie, and said with a hint of mockery: "I didn't expect that Lord Lin, apart from being good at writing, is also a brave general. This armor really makes you look majestic, but it must be tiring too?"

  "When national affairs are in difficulty, Commander Li and Minister Gu, both civil officials, wore armor and led the troops by example. Lin Xie, though insignificant, dare not fail to follow their lead." Lin Xie replied indifferently to Wang Xueshan, "It's indeed more tiring, but after all, not everyone can sit in a comfortable sedan chair like Minister Wang."

  Wang Xueshan looked slightly embarrassed, if it were some other minor official of the ninth rank who dared to speak to him in such a manner, he wouldn't even need to look at his master before beating the dog, first slapping on the crime of "insubordination and disrespect" and giving thirty lashes before speaking. However, Lin Xie was no longer an insignificant, unimportant minor official, and it wasn't convenient for him to use his position as Jiangning Prefect to pressure Lin Xie, so he pretended that what had just been said hadn't been said.

  Gu Wu dusted off a faint smile, handed Lin Xuan a list and said: "The Qu family is a noble family, this case also involves Chancellor Chen, so the disposal of it still needs to be decided by the Emperor. This is the capture list, all the major offenders and the remnants of the defeated bandits will be temporarily imprisoned on Prison Island, when we make the arrests later, you, Zhang Yu Bo and Chen Yuan Liang must ensure that no one is mistakenly caught or missed..."

  "This is good too. In early February, more than a hundred people were killed or injured in the raid on the river mouth. I just happened to ask if the Qu family knew about this matter." Lin Fu said.

  No one would suspect that the brutal case of the river mouth refugees at the beginning of February was done by Qu's family. Wang Xueshan secretly scolded Chen Xiyan as a fool, and even with Gu Wudian and Lin Lian's joint hands, they couldn't defeat him, and Qu's family was completely defeated. What qualifications do you have to compete for the position?

  Lin Xie thought that imprisoning this batch of criminals on Prison Island was quite troublesome. The Qu family had been thoroughly defeated, but many of the bandits who had colluded with the Qu family still had accomplices scattered outside, and gathering together would be a force not to be underestimated. It could be foreseen that Prison Island would not be peaceful for some time to come. However, before the imperial court set the tone for this case, it was naturally better for Lin Xie to personally take control of these prisoners, lest there be another reversal.

  Gao Zongting said: "Lord Gu, I dare to say a word..."

  "Mr. Gao is being polite, please speak," said Gu Wudu.

  "The bandits and the leader of the thieves should be temporarily sent to the prison island for detention, but there are many ordinary thieves. If we're not careful, it might cause more trouble at the river mouth," said Gao Zongting. "Since Messrs. Jia, Gu, and Wang are all here, can't we let the students go back and ask the governor to temporarily deal with these people, first convict them and then put them under military supervision to allow them to redeem themselves through meritorious service..."

  Gu Wu Fa sank into thought for a moment, and the number of private soldiers and bandits in Sanliu Garden exceeded 400. Lin Xuan had also captured more than 300 people last night, plus the main culprit of the Qu family, adding up to almost 800 people, all of whom were detained on Prison Island, putting immense pressure on it. For him, capturing the main culprits of the Qu family case and the bandit leaders was the primary goal, and he didn't care about the coming and going of ordinary private soldiers and bandits. He asked Jia Pengyu and Wang Xueshan: "What do you think, gentlemen?"

  "Very good." Jia Pengyu and Wang Xueshan both agreed.

  Lin Xian thought that Gao Zongting was repaying him for helping him solve a headache, and it wasn't in vain that he had secretly helped Gao Zongting with the refugees on the north shore.

  The bandits and remnants are complex, and Lin Xue is not dare to easily accept them. In prison, they are strictly guarded, which consumes manpower and food for prisoners. It's purely a losing business to send them all to the Jiangning defense army, which would be the best solution.

  Jia Pengyu and Wang Xueshan nodded in agreement. After all, many of the private soldiers of Qu's family were actually sons of the Qu family, and being incorporated into the Jiangning garrison was much better than being exiled to the north of Yan. This decision was essentially a lenient treatment for them. As the saying goes, "when a rabbit dies, the fox grieves", they didn't want Qu's family to end up too miserably either.

  ***************

  The host didn't want to let the soldiers of Gu Wu Chen rush into his private garden and start killing and looting, so after the conditions were agreed upon, Jia Pengyu walked back into Sanliu Garden again. Soon after, the three large gates at the main entrance of Sanliu Garden all opened together.

  From Qu Wu Yang and below, the 13 members of the Qu family, including men and women, as well as Qu Wu Yang's main confidants in Sanliu Garden, a total of 21 people, all tied their arms and walked out in a line. Lin Mou and Zhang Yu Bo, Chen Yuan Liang and others verified the case and made sure no one was left behind. Including Zhang Yu Bo and Chen Yuan Liang who captured other important members of the Qu family in Qu Yang Town, as well as the Qu family's confidants and accountants, a total of 46 people were put in heavy shackles and locked up in prison. In addition, Qu Wu Yang, Qu Wu Ming and their wives and concubines, a total of 20 women, were also captured and brought back.

  At first, everyone was worried that when capturing the remnants who fled to Sanliuyuan, they would encounter fierce resistance. When Qu's private soldiers and more than 400 remnants surrendered without resistance, Zhang Yuber, Chen Yuanliang, and Liu Xilin were all surprised.

  Only those who personally experienced the battle at the river mouth last night know that Qu's private soldiers and the remnants of the bandits were killed so fiercely that they are still terrified, and the killing intent on Lin Xie and Ji Yun She's bodyguards has not dissipated yet. If there is any resistance, they will be slaughtered mercilessly. Moreover, being incorporated into the Jiangning garrison troops is also a good result for them, who dares to make another reckless move?

  There were not enough shackles and fetters, so they could only use hemp ropes to tie them up in groups of twenty, making them squat down in the empty space in the rain, temporarily guarded by Ma Bu's Eastern City Gate Infantry led by Liu Xi.

  After these things were over, Lin Xie ordered Zhou Pu to lead the armed guards of the Ji Yun Society back to the river mouth first, and only let Ao Canghai lead a few guards to follow him on both sides.

  The Qu family will be escorted to the prison island, and Liu Xilin will lead the Dongchengwei infantry to take charge. The other accomplices will have to wait for Li Zhuo to send someone to receive them. Moreover, there are still over 300 captives detained at the river mouth who were captured last night, except for the leader and Qu's trusted followers, the others also need Li Zhuo to send someone to receive them.

  Although searching and confiscating the property of the Qu family was the most profitable task, Lin Xie was determined not to let the armed guards of Ji Yun Society participate in this matter.

  Gao Zongting spent most of today sitting in the carriage to avoid the rain, watching as things progressed to the point where the Qu family's property was being searched. Lin Xie, however, had the armed guards from the Ji Yun Society return to the river mouth ahead of time, braving the rain, and felt a sense of melancholy.

  Lin Xie, apart from being the prison officer of Yu Island, had no other identity. Gu Wu Chen specifically named him to work with Zhang Yuber and Chen Yuanliang to take charge of arresting the Qu family's criminals, confiscating the Qu family's property, and rewarding him for his great achievement last night.

  The family property confiscated by the authorities will eventually be confiscated, but during the confiscation process, the confiscators privately withholding it is an unexpected wealth. Zhang Yubo and Chen Yuanliang represented Jiangning Prefecture and Miling County respectively, and even Wang Xueshan present could not propose that Jiangning Prefecture send another person to supervise, how much this confiscation will give to Gu Wudeng and others to privately intercept, it's entirely up to Gu Wudeng's decision.

  At the height of his power and in dire need of silver, Lin Xuan surprisingly resisted such temptation and gave up this opportunity to make a fortune, allowing Ji Yun She's Wu Wei to leave first, making Gao Zong Ting involuntarily admire Lin Xuan for being able to do what ordinary people cannot.

  Governor Li said it was easy to govern the army, but in fact, since taking office in Jiangning, he had not made any major adjustments to the garrison troops. To others, it seemed that Governor Li was adopting a policy of non-interference, but in his heart, he knew that the most important thing for him to do was to separate the military leaders and soldiers from local affairs, especially to cut off the evil practice of military leaders profiteering from local interests. Only by achieving this could he comfortably handle military affairs.