"The Thunder Crossbow shoots more than 100 kilometers from a distance, but it is heavy and difficult to move, and it is definitely not a civilian weapon. The traitor steals it, but he does not dare to set up defenses, and he takes such a heavy risk and uses it clumsily, and the intention is to assassinate ......"

A group of subordinates analyzed the intentions of the thief, which made the atmosphere more solemn.

Recently, due to the frequent entry and exit of Huaiyin City, and the fact that the guards are not sure when the theft occurred, it has been very difficult to strictly control the flow out of the country. The conspirators chose to steal heavy weapons at this time, and the target they wanted to assassinate was self-evident!

"The only way to do this is to ask Duke Liang to postpone entering the town, and Duke Xi can't go out lightly! If such a heavy weapon wants to be put into use, it will be transferred to the key location, and it will be difficult to hide it for a long time, and as long as the land and water are strictly controlled, it will not be difficult to recover the lost weapon. ”

Xi Jian's face didn't get much better after hearing this, he just snorted coldly: "If the thieves are not for application, but just for hiding, if they can't be traced for a day, they won't be able to make a trip for a day?" ”

When the subordinates heard this, they were also speechless for a while. The handover of the important town of Xuzhou is very high, and if it is delayed just because of a single failure, who knows what will happen?

Whether the other party is for assassination or deterrence, it is not easy to speculate secretly until the identity of the person is not clear. Moreover, the assembly and use of such an important ordnance as the mine crossbow also requires professionals, and there are not many such personnel. From this point of view, it seems that as long as the personnel involved are controlled, even if the ordnance is left outside, it will not cause much harm.

But the problem is that although the number of these craftsmen is small, they are extremely scattered, and they do not exist only in Huaiyin City. If the other party had premeditated, he could have transported the craftsman to the border elsewhere and waited for the opportunity to assassinate him.

At this point, the question comes back to the question of time, how much time do they have to deal with it?

"Why don't you tell Liang Gong about this matter urgently, is it dangerous to make his own decisions?"

One of the subordinates spoke again, but there was no response. You must know that even if the theft of the crossbow has the reason for the chaos of supervision, but after all, it was stolen in Huaiyin, and they are still more responsible.

As a result, now the risk assessment is handed over to Liang Gong, and if you think about it, you can know how Liang Gong and his subordinate officials will react, especially Liang Gong will soon become the lord of Xuzhou, who dares to do this, it will offend Liang Gong to death!

While the subordinates were still discussing, Xi Jian was actually able to grasp the crux of the matter, that is, the purpose of this theft should be to deter rather than actually assassinate.

First of all, even if someone can't be happy to see Shen Weizhou take over Xuzhou, it doesn't mean that they are happy to see Shen Weizhou die. You must know that now Shen Wei's body is concerned about the safety of the entire Jiangbei, and the popularity of the people is already extremely lofty, once he is really assassinated, the changes brought about are unimaginable, and no one dares to take such a risk.

Secondly, even if there was really a certain party who wanted to put Shen Weizhou to death, stealing a strategic weapon such as a thunder crossbow would only cause the effect of startling the grass and snakes, increasing the difficulty of assassination, but it was not as high as a sudden success rate.

Once this is established, the idea can be further extended.

If the significance of this matter is only to deter or fall, neither Shen Weizhou nor Xi Jian himself can allow the other party to succeed, as long as the investigation is strengthened, and the left and right escort forces are increased at the same time, they can completely ignore the danger in this regard and continue the handover work.

Therefore, in addition to deterrence, there is another effect, which is to sow suspicion on both sides. If the heavy weapon is stolen in Xuzhou, it must be the personnel of Xuzhou, and it is very likely that the grade is not low.

Then the question is, will Shen Weizhou interpret this as the existence of many people in Xuzhou who resist his entry into the master? Or is it simply suspected that Xi Jian was guarding himself and stealing, and made such an incident to delay or even violate the previous agreement?

Thinking of this, Xi Jian couldn't help but gasp, no matter which of these two possibilities happened, the result was not good. Shen Wei and Zhou Cheng are strong, but the people of Xuzhou are by no means lonely and obedient people, once the seeds of suspicion are planted among each other, the situation will definitely evolve in the worst direction.

At Xi Jian's age, he doesn't have much to ask for, and more importantly, he hopes that his life's achievements can be recognized, and the children of the family can be vigorous. But if civil strife really broke out in Xuzhou because of this, Xi Jian's move to make Xian become a disaster for Xuzhou!

"I have worked with you for many years, and we know each other. I thought that the king's order could be fulfilled all the time, but I didn't want to leave office soon, and such evil things happened under my rule. The only plan for now, there is only one thing to plead, I hope you can keep it secret for me, as for how to investigate, and wait for Liang Gong to enter the town and discuss it in detail! ”

At the moment, the most appropriate way for Xi Jian to think of is to press this matter down first, not to let chaos occur under Xuzhou, first appease this end, and then appease Shen Weizhou: "And I will also go straight to Xuyi and explain this matter to Liang Gong in person." This trip is easy to follow, and you will help me investigate along the way. ”

Xi Jian really didn't want any turmoil to break out in Xuzhou, so he planned to lure him in an attempt to seduce the mastermind behind the scenes, and at the same time declare his calmness to Shen Zhezi. Even he risked his life, even if Shen Zhezi was still dissatisfied, he couldn't use this to wantonly expand the scope of the attack.

"Gong Xi, don't do this!"

When everyone heard Xi Jian's statement, they all spoke out to dissuade him. The matter is in front of them, and even if they have any opinions, they are all based on speculation. Now that the heavy weapons are outside, Xi Jian has to go lightly, which is to completely disregard his own safety.

"The theft of the ordnance is a mistake made by Xu Zhen in his busyness. But at present, the treasury is located, but it is jointly managed by the two towns, chaos is inevitable, if you really pursue the responsibility, Huainan An can be exempted from the incident! ”

At this moment, a rather low voice suddenly sounded in the middle of the table. When everyone heard this, they were all slightly stunned, and then their faces became complicated, even Xi Jian was no exception.

It is true that the theft of ordnance is in Huaiyin, and Xuzhou is indeed very responsible, but Huainan also sent officials to supervise it, so are they not responsible? Even thinking about it a little deeper, is it possible that this matter was simply done by Huainan people?

Shen Weizhou's strong style is no secret in the entire Jiangbei. Previously, the people of Xuzhou were most worried about their entry into Xuzhou.

You must know that Xuzhou is not the ruins of a hundred battles in Huainan, and the order has already been formed by the wanton smearing and delineating of its people, and the good or bad set of Huainan will be discussed separately for the time being, but if it is introduced into Xuzhou, it will inevitably conflict and collide with the current order.

The theft of weapons in Xuzhou is an excellent opportunity, and it is also in time for its people to take over Xuzhou, and they need to be at the threshold of Liwei. And this opportunity is very likely to be Huainan's self-directed and self-acting, so that Shen Weizhou can make trouble and tear apart the entire order of Xuzhou!

If this speculation is true, then Xi Jian's practice of lowering his body and even risking his life to calm things down will not be effective at all, and it is even possible to be directly attacked and killed halfway to expand the overall impact area!

The reason why Xi Jian hesitated was not to agree with this malicious speculation, but to suddenly realize that if there were really third-party forces watching coldly in the Xuzhou Territory at this moment, then their target was not only Shen Weizhou, assassinating himself was also a good way to create chaos!

Originally, Xi Jian felt that he was dying of old age and was about to leave office, and he had almost no influence in the current situation, even if the locals in Xuzhou paid more attention, it would only be Shen Weizhou's successor.

Therefore, his so-called risking his life is actually not too dangerous, as long as he can meet and talk with Shen Weizhou face-to-face, even if there is any misunderstanding, he can talk about it. But what if he really dies on the way?

Even if Shen Weizhou himself has a sense of the overall situation and can control it, his subordinates will never sit idly by and watch the metropolitan governor make a mistake, and if they want to take over Xuzhou again, then there is only one possibility, that is, to enter the country by force and suppress it with iron and blood!

Once he realized this, Xi Jian found that in fact, his situation was much more dangerous than Shen Weizhou's, and the enemy was able to go deep into the treasury to steal heavy weapons, which meant that he had penetrated extremely deep in Xu Zhen, which was a kind of deterrent to him, and he would be killed if he moved lightly!

As for his subordinates raising this possibility, it is not that they are really so suspicious, but the current situation can no longer ensure their own safety, and they need Xi Jian to stay in Xu Zhen to exert more protection on them!

The problem has come to this point and has gone back to the original point, even if Xuzhou does not notify this matter, Shen Weizhou must have a channel to know it quickly. So will he suspect that this is a self-theft from Xuzhou, just to coerce him into making concessions and guarantees?

Want this step, Xi Jian is already a big headache, but also has to feel the depth of the conspiracy of the people behind the game, through the theft of ordnance, many of the contradictions that have been deliberately ignored and put on hold before, if not resolved, Xuzhou's peaceful transition will be difficult to achieve.

Just after the atmosphere in the room fell into an awkward silence, Yu Manzhi, who was sitting in the seat, already had an impatient look on his face. He is not only Xi Jian's son-in-law, but also a representative of Huainan in Xuzhou, and his status is relatively detached, so he is certainly qualified to attend this kind of meeting.

"In previous years, the two towns worked together, and millions of thieves were defeated and lost, and corpses were everywhere. Now it's just a missing crossbow, and it's so difficult! The father-in-law is old, and he will sit in Huaiyin for the time being, and I will lead the people to the west to welcome the governor into the town. Even if most of the governors have grievances and are accountable, I will bear it by myself! ”

Yu Manzhi stood up in the middle of the table and said in a tone that no one could refuse.

Hearing Yu Manzhi say this, Xi Jian's eyes also lit up, if it is said to break the current deadlock, there is really no more suitable person than Yu Manzhi, and his own person has the weight to win the trust of both sides.

So without waiting for everyone in the audience to speak, Xi Jian nodded to confirm the matter. At the same time, he couldn't help but look at his eldest son Xi, who was also present and looked contemplative and silent, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.