Chapter 1656: Diplomatic disaster

State affairs were frequent recently, and the Yao King's rest time was becoming less and less; at this moment, he was also gathering ministers to discuss the grain famine, and Yuwen Xu was also in the hall. The Yao King had already rubbed his eyes twice, and Qiu Long saw red bloodshot eyes appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Originally, the Yao King had the habit of taking a nap for an hour at noon, but recently it had been forced to be canceled. Today, he had been busy from morning until now.

Several princes hoped to share his worries, and the Yao King had also assigned them tasks, but the one who truly made the decisions and choices had to be him, the monarch of the country.

Qiu Long said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, take a rest."

The Yao King shook his head, his voice low: "If I rest any longer, I won't need to wake up."

The ministers were shocked and all asked why His Majesty would say such a thing.

Just at this moment, palace guards hurried to report: "Shi Song Wei has already confessed that he was instigated by his brothers Shi Songen and Shi Songyang to bribe the supervisors of the seven southwestern granaries to collect public grain, and used shell companies to purchase new grain in the southwestern townships and counties, collecting a total of 3.15 million shi of grain!"

The ministers were in an uproar; only Yuwen Xu let out a long breath.

Sure enough, He Xiao's intelligence was god-like in its accuracy.

"Three hundred……" The Yao King was also choked by this number.

A mere small household in the southwest, the inconspicuous Shi family, could sweep up more than three million shi of grain! It was shocking.

This was still just the tip of the iceberg that Yuwen Xu had investigated. What about those still lurking underwater that hadn't been investigated?

No wonder the entire Yao Nation is suffering from a great grain famine; these parasites and rebels have truly extended their pipes into every household, wanting to suck away every single grain! "You borrowed the shell of a merchant association?" the King of Yao sneered, "And this Shi family, whose shell is it again? Whose?"

With such a small Shi family, how could they have such great energy and such abundant capital? There was a more powerful force behind them. The Shi family itself was also someone else's shell! In the Frost Immortal Hall, no one dared to answer.

"Let them confess the grain storage locations. I want this batch of grain recovered as soon as possible!" The Yao King's desire to recover the grain was more urgent than ever before. Three million shi of grain could temporarily solve the urgent need of Tianshui City! "Also, arrest Shi Songen and Shi Songyang immediately!" This clue was very important; the Yao King urgently needed to catch useful witnesses and physical evidence related to Qingyang! "Yes!"

The Yao King glanced at Yuwen Xu and then asked Qiu Long: "The name Shi Songen, I seem to have some impression of it. What position did Shi Song Wei say his cousin held?"

"Military Commandant."

A Military Commandant was a martial official position, leading four hundred men under his command.

There were more than a few hundred low-ranking martial officials in the Yao nation, and the system had been reformed several times over the past years; it was impossible for the Yao King to remember them one by one.

"In any case, find the information on these two people for me as soon as possible."

Just at this moment, palace servants came to report again: "The Regent and the Beijia special envoy have arrived—!"

The Yao King frowned, too lazy to hide the impatience on his face.

He was so busy that he was working around the clock, and Qingyang was still coming to add to his troubles? Every time this great Regent appeared recently, there was nothing good.

And that so-called Beijia special envoy who had come from afar, he had originally thought about summoning him tomorrow morning.

Who knew the next sentence from the palace servant would be: "Your Majesty, the Beijia special envoy seems to be injured."

Injured? The Yao King was stunned, and then he saw Qingyang bring a person directly into the main hall, with more than a dozen guards behind her remaining outside the hall.

The person beside her was about twenty years old, half a step behind Qingyang, his right hand seemingly injured, hanging in front of his chest with a cloth strip.

His face and hands were covered in blue and purple bruises, and his cheeks were also swollen high.

The monarch and ministers were surprised, not knowing what was going on.

Qingyang spoke first: "Your Majesty, this is the Beijia envoy Wu Linghe, the son of the Great Protocol Officer of Lingxu City."

The Great Protocol Officer of Lingxu City was responsible for foreign affairs reception and envoy dispatching; as a result, he had sent his own youngest son to the Yao nation this time.

"Grant a seat!" The Yao King's expression straightened. "What is going on?"

Both this Beijia envoy and Qingyang had the smell of smoke and fire on them.

Qingyang's face sank slightly: "Special Envoy Wu first came to the Quiet Lake Cottage to ask me to introduce him into the palace. As a result, the carriage had just reached Guanhe Mouth when it encountered an explosion attack!"

The monarch and ministers present were all shocked: "There is actually such a thing!"

The Beijia special envoy was attacked in the capital of their own country; this, this, this was a diplomatic disaster! Wu Linghe said: "I was talking to the Regent when suddenly the carriage shook, and everything went black; I didn't know anything. When I woke up again, seven of the accompanying guards had been blown to death. If it weren't for the Regent's protection, I would have followed in their footsteps, and there would have been no escape."

He took a deep breath: "Your Majesty, I encountered an unknown attack as soon as I arrived in your country; this matter……"

The Yao King said sternly: "I will investigate this matter clearly and give the special envoy an explanation!"

After saying this, he turned his head and ordered: "Quickly send people to Guanhe Mouth to investigate."

Since it was an explosion, there must be a scene.

Qingyang said indifferently: "The explosive was buried under the magnificent main gate at Guanhe Mouth; the entire carriage was blown away, and the dirt pit blown into the ground was a zhang and a half wide and seven or eight feet deep. Your Majesty, ordinary gunpowder does not have this kind of power."

She looked back and said: "Present it."

Yuan Xuan immediately held a rosewood tray and walked up.

In the tray were a few pieces of pottery, charred cotton rope, and a few elastic soft pieces.

"These are samples taken from the deep explosion pit." Qingyang explained, "You can send people over, and you will be able to take the same ones. I brought them over first for everyone to identify. Among the officials present, does anyone recognize them?"

The ministers looked at each other, none daring to speak.

Qingyang named him: "Yuwen Xu, you follow He Xiao all day long; do you recognize these explosion remains?"

Yuwen Xu bit the bullet and said: "This, it looks familiar. It seems to be the fuse, casing, and…… delayed explosion device of the explosive."

"Where have you seen it?"

Yuwen Xu stammered.

Where else could it be? Quiet Lake Villa and the Tianshui Eastward Expansion project both used this kind of explosive to split mountains and crack rocks, and to open canals and dig ditches. He had seen the construction teams use it with his own eyes, and they had used it countless times!

It had a wide range of uses.

"I heard that this kind of explosive is used in large quantities in the east of Tianshui City?" Wu Linghe took a deep breath and bowed to the Yao King. "Your Majesty, please give our country justice!"

He did not say "I," but "our country."

Wu Linghe was sent to the Yao nation as an envoy, representing Beijia. He was attacked and injured; of course, Beijia wanted an explanation from the Yao nation.

And don't forget, Qingyang was also blown up together with him.

Qingyang was also an important figure sent by Beijia!

It was simply a diplomatic disaster.

The Yao King sighed secretly, but on the surface, he had to say sternly: "The special envoy was attacked for no reason; it is infuriating to both gods and men. This matter must be investigated thoroughly. Special Envoy Wu, stay in the palace first, let the imperial physician check the wound, tonight—"

He was tired, and his intuition told him that this attack case was not simple.

If the matter is slow, it can be rounded; first drag it out, then talk. Qingyang really knew how to find the right timing, choosing to do it in front of the ministers.

However, Wu Linghe shook his head and said: "The culprit might be about to escape."

Qingyang also opened her mouth: "If you seize the time now, perhaps it is still not too late to pursue the culprit. If you investigate tonight, people will have fled a hundred miles away." ===== CHAPTER 1657 =====