"General Guan, Brother Xuan, General Hao, Lao Qin, you each take some people to look around." Hua Ju ordered.

"yes."

Guan Sheng and the other four people each took some people and looked around carefully, but found no trace of anyone walking around.

"Sir, there are no footprints around. Those people should have walked along the road." Guan Sheng said.

"Walk."

Hua Ju led people to Nanxun Gate and saw that the city gate was closed. He then asked Wan Zeng to be brought over and said, "Let them open the city gate."

"People above, listen, I am Wan Zeng, the infantry city defense envoy. Open the city gate quickly." Wan Zeng shouted.

After a while, the city gate opened. Hua Ju led people into the city and asked the soldiers guarding the city: "Has anyone entered the city just now?"

"No." said the general guarding the city.

Hua Ju asked again: "Who is passing by the city gate?"

"I didn't see it either."

"Really didn't see it?" Hua Ju asked again.

"I really didn't see it."

Hua Ju stared at the general for more than ten seconds, then rode away, followed immediately by Guan Sheng and others.

"Master Hua, you have come back, please let me go." Wan Zeng said.

Hua Ju said: "When it's time to let you go, I will naturally let you go."

Returning to the guard camp, Hua Ju immediately ordered people to sew up the bodies of Yang Qi and Xu Kui, put them into clean clothes, and then put them in coffins.

"Sir, Eunuch Wu who was next to Your Majesty was here just now." A soldier said to Hua Ju.

Hua Ju knew that when he led his troops out of the city, someone would definitely report it to Huizong, so he was not surprised when he arrived.

"What did he say?"

"I just asked about your departure with the troops, and I didn't say anything else."

Hua Ju nodded, let the soldiers go down, and then asked Wan Zeng to be brought up, and asked: "Are you in the same group as those bandits?"

"This official is an official of the imperial court. How could he be with those bandits?" Wan Zeng felt very surprised, why Hua Ju would ask him this.

Hua Ju said: "Since you are not on the same side as them, why do you stop me from going out of the city to rescue people?"

Wan Zeng said: "The official is just following the rules and is not deliberately trying to stop you."

"You still haven't been honest with me."

Hua Ju clapped his hands on the table and shouted angrily: "The city gate was open when my soldiers came back. Why was it closed when I led the troops out of the city? You obviously closed it on purpose to cover the escape of those bandits.

City Gate. Who are those bandits and how did you collude with them?"

Colluding with bandits was a serious crime. Wan Zeng was so frightened that he waved his hands and said, "Sir, I am wronged. I really did not collude with bandits."

"You still dare to quibble."

Hua Ju didn't listen to him at all and said angrily: "Because of your obstruction, the soldiers of my escort were brutally killed by the thieves. If you tell the truth and help me catch those thieves, I can also tell you

Your Majesty, please beg for mercy and spare your life. If you are stubborn and refuse to admit it, then I will have no choice but to tell the truth to the Emperor. Then the Emperor will be so angry that he wants to chop off your head, so I won’t be able to blame you."

"Sir, I am really unjust."

Wan Zeng knelt down and said: "Sir, although I am just a small city defense envoy with a low official position, I am still an official of the imperial court. How can I do something to collude with bandits and forget your Lord's warning?"

"You said you didn't collude with the bandits, so why did you suddenly close the city gate?" Hua Ju asked.

Wan Zeng said: "The imperial court has regulations that the city gate must be closed at the time every day. The lower officials only closed it in accordance with the regulations."

"Do you think I don't know the closing time of the city gate?"

Hua Ju said: "Since Emperor Renzong of this dynasty, in order to facilitate people's entry and exit, the closing time of Bianjing's city gate has been postponed to Zishi, and the opening time has been advanced to Yinshi. Was it Zishi when I took people out of the city?"

It was midnight, that is, between eleven and one o'clock in the evening, and it was not yet nine o'clock when Hua Ju took people out of the city, so it was not time to close the city gate at all.

"That's because, that's because..."

Wan Zeng never expected that Hua Ju would actually know the time to open the gate so clearly that he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"I can't answer it."

Hua Ju sneered and said: "Wan Zeng, I advise you to be honest, otherwise I will have to hand you over to Your Majesty."

"Sir, I really did not collude with the bandits. Please tell me clearly." Wan Zeng kowtowed and begged.

In fact, Hua Ju knew that Wan Zeng had not colluded with the gangsters, but this incident had alarmed Huizong, and it was very likely that the old thief Cai Jing had reported it, so he had to give Huizong an explanation.

In addition to explaining, he also wanted to take this opportunity to capture Wan Zeng's city defense envoy.

Because through what just happened, he discovered that although the official position of the city defense position is not high, it has the power to close and open the city gates and to examine and interrogate people entering and exiting the city gates. If you control this position, you can control all officials entering and exiting the city.

Case.

In order to win this position, Wan Zeng must first be charged with a crime. Only in this way will Huizong remove him.

That's why he wanted to implicate Wan Zeng on the charge of being a bandit.

"Since you won't tell me, I won't waste my time with you."

Hua Ju stood up and said, "Here comes someone. Take him with me to see His Majesty."

"Sir, I was wronged, I was really wronged, my lord..."

Four soldiers came over and without any explanation, lifted Wan Zeng up and dragged him out.

Hua Ju said to Qin Donghao: "Old Qin, please let people decorate the mourning hall for brothers Yang Qi and Xu Kui so that all the brothers can go and pay homage to them."

"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

Hua Ju led his men and escorted Wan Zeng to the palace, showed the gold medal given to him by Huizong, and then asked the soldiers to hand Wan Zeng over to the imperial guards and take him to see Huizong.

Because Huizong was still waiting for news about Huaju, he had not yet gone to bed. He was leaning on the bed with a book and watching. Wu Chenghai led more than twenty chamberlains and maids to wait on him.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Hua, the commander of the escort army, would like to see you." A chamberlain opened the door and came in and said.

"Let him come in." Huizong put down the book and said.

The chamberlain walked to the door and said, "Your Majesty has a decree. Sir Xuanhua has an audience."

Hua Ju came in and saluted Huizong with clasped fists, saying, "I, Hua Ju, have come to see your majesty."

"No courtesy," Huizong said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Huizong asked: "Wenshan, I heard that you led your troops out of the city?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hua Ju said: "After Lieutenant Su left yesterday, I heard that he only brought a few followers with him. I was a little worried, so I sent someone to inquire about the information along the way. Today, when the person who inquired about the information came back, he was raped unexpectedly.

He was captured by bandits, so I led the troops to rescue him. Due to time constraints, I did not have time to report to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"It doesn't matter, everything happens for a reason, I won't blame you."

Then Huizong asked: "Then have you rescued the person?"

Hua Ju shook his head slightly and said angrily: "I left late. The two guards soldiers who were captured have been killed by the thieves, and they died very miserably. Their abdomens and hearts were cut out, their ears and eyes were cut off, and they were beheaded."

mutilation."

"What!"

When Huizong heard that Yang Qi and Xu Kui died so miserably, he became angry and said, "What kind of bandit can be so cruel?"

"I don't know. The bandits had already escaped when I left."

Then Hua Ju said angrily: "If the infantry city defense commander Wan Zeng hadn't deliberately delayed it, those bandits might not have been able to escape."

"Wan Zeng!"

Huizong remembered it and said, "I heard that he was captured by you. Where are the others?"

Hua Ju asked, "It's just outside."

"Let him come in," Huizong said.

Four imperial guards escorted Wan Zeng in. Wan Zeng had met Huizong before under the leadership of Cai Jing, so Huizong knew him.

"The humble minister Wan Zeng pays homage to Your Majesty." Wan Zeng knelt down and kowtowed.

Huizong glanced at him and asked Hua Ju: "Wenshan, why do you think he deliberately delayed time?"

Hua Ju said: "When I led people to rescue the captured soldiers, Wan Zeng deliberately asked people to close the city gate, and also made things difficult to prevent me from leaving the city. This delayed the time to call for help. So I suspected that he was with

Those bandits are in a group, and they are blocking the city gates and making things difficult for the officials, all in order to delay the retreat of the bandits."

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I am loyal to the court and your Majesty. I will never collude with bandits. Please tell me clearly." Wan Zeng shouted in panic.

"You are wronged. Then why did you close the city gate as soon as the soldiers reporting the news entered the city? Why did you deliberately make things difficult for me to leave the city?"

Huaju sneered and said to Huizong: "Your Majesty, the court has regulations that the city gates should be closed only when it is almost midnight. However, he not only closed the city gates in advance, but also personally stopped me at the city gates, and could not give any reasonable explanation.
To be continued...