You rascal, stop right there!

Chapter 241 The punishment should be mine, not his.

Bai Wan looked at Ling Shumo and raised her eyebrows slightly.

The person opposite him turned his head with his eyes closed, his eyes calm and his lips slightly closed.

So, Bai Wan looked around, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Yes, the Dingzhou city defense map was stolen."

Suddenly, everyone in the room looked gloomy.

Magistrate Yun has just said that the thefts in the city have no source.

Niu Jing, an old man, stroked his beard and thought deeply.

Tongpan Pang Guang immediately raised his hand and rebuked: "You, the engineer, didn't even keep the city defense map properly. How can we defend the city in such a bad way?"

The registrar Liu En, the household officer Jin Zhuo, the justice officer, the military officer Sicang officer and several others all echoed the rebuke.

Ling Shumo concentrated his attention, looked at Bai Wan firmly, and said:

"Ling is the head of Dingzhou. The thefts the other day were all covered up. I am responsible for the poor guarding. If there is any punishment, it should be me. It has nothing to do with Master Bai."

"But, Lord Ling, there will be someone to be held accountable for this matter!" Jin Zhuo, the military officer in charge of the household department, looked embarrassed.

"According to the Law of Great Winning, the city defense map is lost..." Registrar Liu En picked up the pen and wanted to record it.

Bai Wan curled his lips, coughed and added: "According to the 'Da Ying Law', if the defenders lose the city defense map, or abandon the city without holding on, or allow the thieves to capture the city, they will be sentenced to immediate execution. And the entire state will be severely punished!"

The old man Liu En, the recorder and military officer, was so surprised that he stepped back repeatedly.

Who would have thought that this engineer was so familiar with the legal provisions, and he didn't look like a painter who only knew how to paint.

"Master Liu, I am more familiar with Daying's laws than you are. But now we are no longer affiliated with the Daying royal family! No one can punish us. If we can't defend the city, we will all be doomed."

Bai Wan refuted in a negative tone and then retorted.

Ling Shumo, who was sitting behind him, looked at him with a burning gaze and added in a light tone:

"Dingzhou City is independent and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Great Winning Royal Family, nor is it under the jurisdiction of the surrounding military alliances."

His temper is usually gentle, but he is persistent and unwavering when faced with problems.

Bai Wan said to the people around him, "I am indeed responsible for the loss of the city defense map. I will draw a new one. If the city is lost, none of us will be able to escape."

To be reasonable and well-founded, we must first solve the current problem.

Therefore, Ling Shumo's eyes flashed with helplessness, but he still shook his head and said, "Since Master Bai said so, he will handle it himself."

"As for the matter of Ling's brother, Ling will handle it himself. You don't have to worry, I will never surrender."

The eyes around are all burning, and everyone is thinking.

At this moment, the city defense map of Dingzhou Army was stolen, Song Yuanshan of the Four States Army Alliance was planning to eat the dog after the rabbit was dead, and Nan Ying threatened again.

Ling Han, the younger brother of Junzhoushi, was threatened by someone, which was really a double whammy.

Internal strife would be unwise at this time.

What Bai Wan said is true.

Regardless of whether the lost city defense map can be found, life and death are unpredictable during a siege.

"Then I will go find some unfamiliar people in the city and strengthen the city defense." The military officer bowed.

The other soldiers had no choice but to stand down one after another, and everyone looked back.

Especially the recorder Liu En and the household officer Jin Zhuo, who walked unsteadily and looked back every few steps as they walked backwards.

Hearing the door being closed, Bai Wan bowed angrily and said, "Lord Ling, this is all my fault. It's just that the city defense map in this government office is fake, and it's useless to lose it. The real one, I hid it somewhere else."

Just say it, and bend down so smoothly.

Ling Shumo looked at him with some annoyance, with countless worries flashing in his eyes, and he almost interrupted what the man was saying.

However, the person opposite him blinked immediately, as if his eyelashes were dyed gray, and made a face at him.

Thus, his mouth seemed to be sealed by the gaze of the person opposite him, and he could only utter one word at a time.

"Ahem! Okay, we'll just finish marking the papers tonight. I'll go with you to get them at 5 p.m."

Bai Wan hesitated for a long time before finally standing up.

The two looked at each other in silence, as if there was a flash of light in their eyes, and they said thousands of words when their eyes met.

Ling Shumo grabbed his hand, patted it, and pulled him directly to the corner of the inner room.

"Walls have ears, follow me."

The two of them looked out through the screen and held their breath, fearing that they would startle others if they took a breath.

Suddenly I saw a dark shadow passing by the window frame and someone was leaving.

"Has the person left?" Bai Wan asked in a low voice.

Ling Shumo quickly stared at him with a burning gaze, and said softly, "Let's go."

Bai Wan immediately followed and sat next to the eunuch, snatching the tea on the table, as if the person who had just spoken was someone else.

Then, he dipped his hand in water and wrote a word on the table, and the person opposite him understood what he meant.

Bai Wan closed the door and said to Ling Shumo, "Actually, there are two copies of this city defense map. The one in the government office is not completely fake, but it is very superficial."

After hearing this, Ling Shumo felt relieved.

He knew that as long as there was a real city defense map, there would still be room for recovery.

"Thank goodness you still have that habit of preparing several copies of everything."

Since Bai Wan's memory became poor, he prepared several copies of all the document scrolls to prevent himself from forgetting.

It is beautifully named: A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and its tail cannot be caught.

There is the most superficial one, the most detailed one, and sometimes even a one with profound annotations.

Ling Shumo knew all his habits, and the previous question was actually a confirmation.

"Although it's crude, it will work," Bai Wan frowned, "We're about to fight the enemy, so we should make some major changes."

Ling Shumo raised his head and glanced away, "After today's events are over, I'm afraid we'll have to stay up all night to reset."

"That's right! Using the previous city defense map as a lure and redrawing it may not be a bad thing."

Bai Wan took it very seriously and comforted him. She buried her face in the shoulder of the person opposite her and shook his hand carefully:

"Also, Brother Zihuan is not someone who can be easily coerced. Xuanli will not kill him before he gets what he wants."

They couldn't get too close to each other in public just now, but Bai Wan knew that Ling Shumo's knot was difficult to resolve.

Ling Shumo sighed: "Although Zihuan's mind is like a child, he would rather die than bend. He refuses to surrender. I am just worried that his family will be tortured."

He still held the letter in his hand, but he suppressed some of his calm emotions.

His fingers were clenched until they turned white, and his thoughts became deeper and deeper. He took the warm and soothing look from Bai Wan.

At that time, Han Miaoran's life and death were unknown, and her father and mother died suddenly one after another.

Now, he doesn't want to experience the death of a loved one again, nor does he want to make a choice between the people and his loved ones.

For a long time, the two slowly held hands, tighter and tighter.

late at night.

There was silence in the government office.

A dark shadow sneaked in quietly, aiming for the most authentic city defense map. The dark shadow followed Bai Wan to the residence in the mountain behind the government office smoothly from 3:00 pm.

He observed the footsteps stop, but found bursts of fire all around, and couldn't help but frown.