allendalepharm Chapter 525: Getting there first
Chapter 525: Getting there first
When the Fourth Prince received the news, his face was filled with excitement.
"Your Highness, this caravan is very suspicious. I have asked someone to investigate the caravan's information. They even hired an escort agency before they left, but the number of people who came back doesn't match.
I just sent someone to check with the escort agency and asked their chief escort. He said that Escort Master Li who went out has not returned at all and is already five days overdue."
Commander Zhu Cheng had a somewhat anxious look on his face, but also a little surprised. As long as they could find out this, they would be able to catch the person soon.
"Have they checked the entry and exit records at the city gate?" The Fourth Prince's eyes were shining. That's right, it must be those people.
"We checked, and all the entries and exits are recorded."
"Have you found out their subsequent whereabouts?" The Fourth Prince felt that he was not far from the truth and was very excited.
"With so many people coming in, even if they are to disperse, they will definitely reveal clues. Since the third brother's door-to-door household registration search has found nothing, it means that they will hide in the crowd that is not easy to attract attention but can gather together."
The fourth prince paced back and forth in the study, his mind working rapidly. If it were him, where would he hide these people? Being too dispersed would not be conducive to action, so there must be a hiding place.
"Report!" A report came from outside the study.
"Your Highness! We tracked them all the way and found that those people disappeared at the South City Pier."
The Fourth Prince slammed his desk and said in annoyance, "Why didn't I think of the fact that the South City Pier is being widened recently, and it must need a lot of manpower. Isn't this the best hiding place? Commander Zhu, I order you to take my token and go to the Military Affairs Department and the Dali Temple to mobilize people immediately."
"Yes!" Zhu Cheng agreed immediately, left the study, gathered his men, and started heading towards the Bingmasi and Dali Temple.
The fourth prince who stayed in the study had a smile on his face, "Third brother must not be so fast, it's just his bad luck, he lost the bet to me."
The staff in the study were also very happy, among whom Guan Zhongwei was deeply trusted by the Fourth Prince.
"I think this is not due to luck, but because of your extraordinary strategy. Otherwise, how could you find the assassin's hiding place in such a short time?"
"Mr. Guan, you are too kind. It's just that I'm lucky." The Fourth Prince smiled modestly.
"Your Highness is a man of great strategy and wisdom, otherwise we would not have joined your army."
"Yes, yes, that's it!"
After a round of flattery, another report came from outside the study.
"Your Highness, our people went to the Bingma Temple and the Dali Temple to transfer people, but we learned that the Third Prince had already sent people to the two departments to transfer people."
The smile on the Fourth Prince's face froze in an instant. He frowned slightly and had a bad feeling in his heart.
"How long ago? How many troops were mobilized? Where were they going?"
"Just two quarters of an hour ago, a total of 400 elite soldiers were mobilized and divided into two groups. One group went to the South City Pier, and the other group went to the West City Market."
Hearing the news at the South City Pier, the Fourth Prince couldn't help but sigh with regret. The Third Prince had gotten there first. She had thought she was fast enough, but she didn't expect the Third Prince to be so fast this time.
The faces of the staff were burning, as if they had been slapped hard in the face. Just now they had flattered the Third Prince and said that he was inferior to the Fourth Prince. Now the Third Prince had gotten there first, wasn't this a slap in their faces?
Several of them coughed uncomfortably and tried to shrink back as much as possible, fearing that the Fourth Prince would see them and vent his anger on them.
"No, West City Market? Why would the Third Prince send people there? Are there assassins there too?" Guan Zhongwei came back to his senses and asked in confusion.
"There were at least thirty or forty assassins that day. Fifteen bodies were salvaged, so there must be a lot of people left. If they were to gather in one place, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. Hiding in two places will prevent them from being caught all at once."
Even though the Fourth Prince was unhappy, he was used to restraining himself and would not lose his temper.
"Let's go! Let's go to the South City Pier together." Taking a deep breath, the Fourth Prince was still a little confused.
Normally, he never took the third brother seriously, because he always felt that the third brother was inferior to him.
He always regarded the second brother as his real rival. Although the second brother was not favored, he was insidious and cunning! In terms of courage and strategy, the third brother was far inferior to the second brother. Unexpectedly, this time, the third brother actually got the hang of it.
"How did he find out? Did he really go door to door checking the household registration and only then found some clues?" The Fourth Prince muttered to himself, then changed his clothes and prepared to go to the dock to check.
Jiang Youzhen fell asleep as soon as she came back. She had been seriously sleep deprived recently. She was too busy. She was really too busy.
The next day, just a little while after Jiang Youzhen got up, Asan brought the news.
"You mean two groups of people arrived at the South City Pier last night?"
"Yes!" Ah San nodded, "And they all started fighting. The scene was very chaotic."
"It's normal to fight. Those assassins won't surrender." Jiang Youzhen nodded.
Unexpectedly, Ah San shook his head and said, "It is normal to fight with assassins, but the group that came later also fought with the previous group to rob those assassins."
"Ah?" Jiang Youzhen was speechless.
She thought it was first come first served, whoever came first got first served, anyway, it all depends on their ability! How could he just grab it as soon as he came up?
"Are there any casualties?"
Ah San shook his head again. "My people were too far away, and it was pitch black at night, so we couldn't see clearly. There must have been casualties, but we couldn't tell which side they were from."
Jiang Youzhen hesitated for a moment, "Let's leave it at that! We should not interfere in the following matters, so as not to bring disaster upon ourselves."
At the morning court, the emperor was listening to the third prince's report.
"Father, those assassins were hiding among the people. Fortunately, we found some clues in the end and were able to bring them to justice. Although there were some casualties, there are still several survivors who are being interrogated in the Dali Temple."
"Well! The third brother performed well this time." The emperor nodded and glanced at the fourth prince who was kneeling beside him, with undisguised disappointment in his eyes.
The fourth prince clenched his fists. This time, the third prince really took the limelight.
"Father, I think the most urgent task now is to interrogate the mastermind behind this. Those assassins were extremely vicious. They killed a caravan and pretended to be registered as such to enter the capital. This not only implicated innocent people, but also posed a major threat to the capital."
Do you need to tell me that? The Third Prince curled his lips.
"Where is the Dali Temple Minister?" the emperor shouted.
"Chen is here!"
"I order you to pry open the mouths of these assassins within two days and find out who is behind this."
Tong Fengming, the Minister of the Dali Temple, is the biological father of Concubine Yun and the grandfather of the Third Prince. If he were to reveal the real culprit behind the scene, then all the credit this time would go to the Third Prince.
The officials from the Third Prince's lineage were certainly happy, but the Fourth Prince's expressions were extremely ugly.