Behind the light is darkness.

Without the backdrop of darkness, there is also the majesty of light.

Human beings are inherently complex creatures. It is really difficult to say whether they are pure light or darkness.

Just like Yang Xiu, when he stood on the main city of Tongguan and faced the light of the rising sun, what he actually felt was more of a feeling of darkness, and the darkness was about to engulf him.

Is this killing a chicken to scare the monkey?

Or does it mean something else?

Yang Xiu's eyes drooped slightly, watching the spies who were tied up in the city. There was no expression on his face, but he was crying in his heart. The wealth he had accumulated during this period of time was about to be vomited out before his eyes...

Damn meticulous work!

It wasn't that Yang Xiu thought that these small works really deserved death, but that he was implicated because of these small works. He originally wanted to watch the fun, but ended up seeing his own fun.

Hey! I’m angry, but I have to hold it in and laugh along with it.

Fei Qian ignored Yang Xiu and didn't care whether Yang Xiu was laughing or crying.

Yesterday's overall arrest operation was relatively successful. The nails inside and outside the city were removed. Tongguan will enter a relatively stable period, and when the next wave of spies try their best to sneak in, Tongguan will enter a relatively stable period.

By that time, most of the construction of Tongguan had been completed, and it would not be as easy as it is now to destroy it.

After all, there are no more piles of lumber and scaffolding for buildings. If there are no such things to ignite the fire, even if it is really set on fire, nothing may be burned.

Fei Qian gestured and invited Yang Xiu to take a few steps forward and stand on the wall of the main city of Tongguan to watch the ceremony.

Killing is sometimes a "ritual".

"Etiquette" is actually a kind of norm, which can also be said to be "law", but it is larger than "law" and includes everyone's daily norms, such as "crown, marriage, court, betrothal, funeral, sacrifice, guest and host, etc."

Drinking in the countryside and traveling in the army are called the Nine Rituals."

But "propriety" is smaller than "morality"...

During the arrest process yesterday, most of the main figures committed suicide or sought death during the arrest process, while the others who were still alive were interrogated and nothing valuable was found.

These people are basically dead soldiers, or to a certain extent, dead soldiers. In order to repay kindness and return favors, just like Jing Ke during the Warring States Period, he came here with the fantasy that he would be famous in history.

, and then he was caught before he even did anything.

If nothing more valuable can be dug out, these people will lose their value.

Therefore, today Fei Qian ordered most of the spies to be led to the foot of Tongguan City and killed. The reason why most of them were because, except for a limited number of people, others did not know how many spies Fei Qian had captured.

People, so after today's execution, some people may feel that everything is fine, and then come out of the mouse hole...

On the other hand, if you kill some and keep some, then the few who remain may naturally be considered traitors. Even if Fei Qian cannot come up with any subsequent names, he can still give them the appropriate names.

The opportunity is used as bait to throw out...

Anyway, there are many ways to play, and the postures are also very rich. There is nothing you can't think of, but nothing you can't do. Just like now, Fei Qian put Yang Xiu into a posture, and Yang Xiu could only do it obediently, not daring to move.

After moving around, although another layer of skin was peeled off, which hurt my heart, I still had some breath...

Under the city, near the execution ground, were the officials of Tongguan, big and small, including Fan Cong of course.

If Yang Xiu is a bigger monkey, then these officials in Tongguan are certainly little monkeys.

Fan Cong subconsciously shrank as much as possible behind the other monkeys, lowering his head and shrinking his neck. He didn't know if he would be recognized by others, and he didn't know if all those who were about to be questioned and executed would regard death as home.

, if these guys want to survive for the time being, they will randomly point fingers at someone in an attempt to delay or reduce their guilt, and then they just happen to point at themselves...

As for saving these people yourself?

How can I save him alone?

Fan Cong lowered his head and stared at the ground, like a frightened quail.

While Fan Cong was trying to reduce his projection area as much as possible, there was always a doubt in his heart: why was he discovered...

The caravan was caught because of the caravan's negligence, but it was indeed a surprise to Fan Cong that Fei Qian was traced out of Tongguan so quickly.

Normally speaking, even if the caravan is caught, the wine shop will at most be implicated, and the wine shop has to go through Fan Cong's hand to reach the labor camp, so even if the people in the caravan confess the wine shop, the people in the wine shop will not be involved.

It is impossible for people to know that there are labor camps. What's more, the information provided by the wine shop at that time only said that there was a possibility of exposure, indicating that the wine shop was not sure whether there was a danger, otherwise it would not have written "possibly"...

This means that there may be a traitor in the caravan!

Otherwise, the wine shop wouldn’t have been exposed so quickly!

So who is this traitor? Is it the leader of the caravan? Or someone else?

And how were the labor camps exposed? The wine shop did not know about the labor camps, and Fan Cong himself was not arrested...

Now Fan Cong himself has not been caught, so it means that the people in the labor camp did not accuse him, which is a good thing...

But it's also a bad thing.

Because he is the only one who knows the situation in the labor camp, the people in the wine shop can only contact him, and they don't know who he is yet. The wine shop is only responsible for placing the information with the dead wood.

So this is one of the reasons why Fan Cong dares to discuss with the people in the labor camp whether to stay. As long as he discovers the abnormality of the wine shop, he will not go to the dead wood anymore, which is equivalent to saving himself and the labor camp.

camp……

However, now he has not had any problems, but the people in the labor camp have been arrested.

Were the people in the labor camp themselves exposed? And how were they exposed?

So which link is the problem?

Who is the traitor?

And will the people in the labor camp suspect that I betrayed them? Just like I suspect that the people in the caravan betrayed the people in the wine shop?

Fan Cong couldn't help but feel beads of sweat falling down his head as he thought about it. He couldn't help but raise his sleeves to wipe the sweat, and then the other officials on the side got the idea, so he forced a smile and said: "This... the sun is a bit big...

』

The official next to him glanced at Fan Cong, and then looked at the sun in the sky. He didn't say anything, as if he believed Fan Cong's excuse.

Fan Cong breathed out secretly, and then quietly glanced at the wall of the main city of Tongguan, and found that Fei Qian and Yang Xiu seemed to be talking about something.

Fei Qian was smiling, facing the sun, and seemed to be glowing all over, while Yang Xiu was bowing down, with a smile on his face, but this smile made Fan Cong look very familiar...

Well, it's like the smiling faces of lower-level officials trying to please their superiors. Fan Cong himself often makes such a gesture, so he is naturally familiar with it.

On top of the city, Feiqian was talking.

When Feiqian speaks, naturally everyone else will shut up. No matter how loud the little guy shouts, not many people will actually listen, but when the big guy opens his mouth, other people will definitely prick up their ears.

"...Dezu...has its cause...therefore it has its effect..."

The distance was not too close, and Fan Cong could not hear clearly. It was just a few intermittent words, but it made Fan Cong's heart tumble.

Before the accident, Fei Qian came, and then Yang Xiu also came.

Fei Qian came to Tongguan, perhaps to catch these spies, or to inspect Tongguan. This is not a big problem, but why did Yang Xiu come to Tongguan?

Could it be...

Fan Cong was so excited by the thoughts swirling in his heart that he almost raised his head to take a closer look. However, he controlled it at the next moment and even deliberately lowered his head.

Could it be Yang Xiu...

Damn, I should have thought of this!

It's Yang Xiu. It must be Yang Xiu who reported us!

But just as Fan Cong was tumbling in his heart, Yang Xiu walked down from the city wall, passed Fan Cong and other Tongguan officials, walked to the front, and then boarded the main beheading platform...

"Why? Why is he here to kill?" Fan Cong stared, "It is indeed him, it must be him..."

Also muttering in his heart was Yang Xiu.

But the problem is that Yang Xiu kept mumbling, but he didn't dare to refuse.

Yang Xiu knew that it would be useless even if he said he didn't know that Cao Cao secretly sent spies and agents to Feiqian.

Because Fei Qian doesn't care whether he knows or not.

And Yang Xiu also knew that Fei Qian should actually know that he had made some "conveniences" for these spies. Even the conveniences given by Yang Xiu seemed "inadvertent". Sometimes they seemed like negligence, such as during the search.

When dealing with utensils and commodities, turn a blind eye...

In front of Fei Qian, Yang Xiu only admitted that he had indeed resold some weapons and armor from Hedong, because he couldn't rely on this matter, but he didn't say anything about other things, let alone admit it.

But it doesn’t matter whether you admit it or not…

When Fei Qian asked Yang Xiu to be the chief beheading officer, Yang Xiu's little mind immediately began to spin.

Disobeying orders, no matter what the reason, is not a good choice.

Yang Xiu knew very well that sometimes the superior would tolerate some of the shortcomings of his subordinates, such as greed for money, lust, cruelty, isolation, etc., just like during the Eastern Han Dynasty, he deceived and killed thirty Qiang leaders.

Officials who have participated in a large-scale event of "No Qiang for a Hundred Days" will still be promoted. When inspecting officials, they will not pay too much attention to some "details", but they will definitely focus on whether they are "obedient" and whether they are "obedient".

obey".

Therefore, Yang Xiu is guilty of reselling soldiers and armors because of his greed for money, but the problem is not big. Since the Hedong Pei family was not exterminated by Fei Qian, then Yang Xiu will basically not be threatened with death. He will admit it and pay a large sum of money.

The "fine" has basically passed, but if these spies are implicated, then it is not an issue of fines.
To be continued...