Chapter 104: Wind Gathering and Cloud Meeting

Baiyutang Restaurant is the most luxurious restaurant in Jiangdu County. It is located outside the Beicheng City of Jiangdu County. It is said to be the property of King Qing. The restaurant is five-story high. It is rich and wealthy, officials and nobles all like to come here to have dinner. The restaurant is prosperous all year round and has a lot of wealth.

Liu Changyun's welcome banquet was set up in the fourth floor elegant room. This is the most luxurious room in the entire restaurant. The room is full of rosewood furniture, gold cups and jade bowls, and a two-meter-long floor-to-ceiling white jade screen. The front of the screen is Wang Wei's "Po Mo Zen Realm" landscape painting, while the back is Li Sixun's Beizong painting. The color is strong and steady, and the brushwork is gorgeous. These two pictures with different styles make the style of the elegant room a bit compatible with water and fire, but the most attractive one is that there are ten beautiful girls standing against the wall, specializing in serving the left and right.

Li Qingan followed everyone into the room, but saw a middle-aged scholar in the room. He stood up with a smile and nodded slightly to Li Qingan.

Liu Changyun introduced to him: "This is my aide, Mr. Yan, and he has long admired General Li's reputation."

Mr. Yan Kai, an aide to King Qing, who came to the capital. He currently has all the resources of King Qing in Yangzhou. His status in Prince Qing's Mansion is so high that even Liu Changyun wants to give him some face.

Yan Kai bowed and smiled at Li Qing'an, "General Li fought against Shi Siming in Chang'an, which was wonderful and amazing."

Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Yan came from Chang'an?"

"That's right, I went back to Chang'an to visit my relatives. I just returned to Yangzhou half a month ago, so I know more about General Li's situation."

"Don't just stand and talk, please sit down everyone."

Liu Changyun warmly greeted everyone to sit down, "Come on! General Li sits here, General Li Fei asks to sit here."

Liu Changyun arranged everyone one by one, and Li Qing'an sat between him and Yan Kai. At this time, Li Qing'an smiled and said, "I don't know if you have news about Chang'an. I mean the polo competition."

When talking about polo, everyone present immediately became interested. A commander smiled and said, "I just received the news yesterday that our Yangzhou team defeated Hongzhou team and entered the top 20."

"How is the situation of Anxi team?" Li Qingan asked hurriedly.

"Of course, Anxi team is the strongest. I heard that it defeated the last champion Yulin Army and had a very strong momentum. It is said that the number one is the first one."

Li Qingan was very excited and actually defeated the Yulin army. He asked again: "How about that Gao Lishi's Flying Leopard Team?"

“That team also performed well.”

Another commander smiled and said, "I entered the top ten, but when I entered the top six, I lost to Qianniu Guard by one goal. I guess it was either seventh or eighth in the end."

Li Qingan was very happy that Gao Lishi's team made the top ten, but he was more concerned about another big thing. He pondered for a moment and asked with a smile: "Is there anything big thing happening in the court?"

Liu Changyun smiled and said, "Yang Shenjin and Pei Kuan must have known each other, General Li already!"

"I have this before I arrived in Beijing. What I am talking about is what happened after the ninth day of January. It should be very dull!"

"No! There is another big thing."

Yan Kai slowly said: "The latest news is that Wang Zhongsi was convicted of treason and sentenced to death."

His words moved everyone present, especially the officers. Wang Zhongsi was sentenced to death like a god in their hearts. He immediately scolded several lieutenants, "Damn it, who is the case in charge of the trial? Is his conscience eaten by a dog? He was actually sentenced to death by a patron Wang!"

"It is said that it is the chief censor Yang Zhao, the chief censor, who is in charge of the trial."

"Idiot!" A captain cursed: "What kind of shit is it? I'm carrying it with my neck. I dare to convict Wang Dashen. Do you dare to ask the soldiers in the world to agree?"

"So what if you don't agree to you? Alas! This is the fate of Marshal Wang."

There was a lot of screams and scolding at the table, but Li Qingan quickly glanced at Yan Kai. Even Liu Changyun was surprised when he said that Wang Zhongsi was convicted of death. Could he be Liu Changyun's aide? Where did the news come from? It was faster than the official news, and Liu Changyun's flattery when pouring wine for him was as if Liu Changyun was his aide.

Li Qing'an had a clear understanding in his heart. I'm afraid Yan Kai was the assistant of King Qing. At this time, Liu Yunchang raised his glass and stood up, laughing and said, "Good time and beautiful scenery, don't talk about national affairs. Today is General Li's first arrival in Yangzhou. We respect General Li with the friendship of landlords."

"Give a cup to General Li!" Everyone stood up one after another."

Just as Li Qing'an was drinking at Baiyutang Restaurant, a Hu merchant hurried in a Hu wine shop in Beicheng, Jiangdu County. Hu merchants blossomed everywhere in the Tang Dynasty, and Yangzhou, where business was prosperous, were no exception. There were thousands of Hu merchants living here, usually operating gems and goldware.

The Hu merchant walked into the restaurant and nodded to the Hu shopkeeper. The shopkeeper winked at him and pointed upstairs. Hu merchant quickly walked up the stairs.

Walking up to the third floor, he pushed the door and entered a room. Prince Yuan En of the Stone Kingdom was standing in front of the window, staring at the view of Beicheng in the distance, and beside him, several of his subordinates were sitting.

Hearing the door ringing, Yuanen turned around and asked, "Has Li Qing'an arrived?"

"Your Highness, he had just arrived by the waterway. The Tang Dynasty's transshipment envoy invited him to have a drink."

"I've only come yet."

Yuanen snorted disdainfully and turned around and asked Huo Yanbai: "Sir, can you be sure that the gem is still on him?"

Huo Yanbai shook his head, "I can't be sure, but Your Highness can't go to King Qing to ask for gems, so we bet that the two thieves were stolen or fake gems."

He sighed softly again and said, "From the information he heard, this person is a smart and slick person. Since he already knows the importance of gems, he will not put the gems in the box at will. He must have hidden them. He may carry them with him the most, so I suggest that your highness bet this time."

Yuanen asked helplessly: "What should we do now?"

"Your Highness, you will definitely have a chance. We must wait patiently and never take action at will, so as not to alarm the enemy."

When Li Qing'an returned to his residence, it was almost dark. His residence was temporarily arranged in Jiangdu Tingshuiju. This was actually an official museum, specially for high-ranking officials from Beijing. The museum was built next to the Pear Blossom Water in the north of the city. A shallow river surrounded the museum. The pear trees on both sides were covered with young buds. The flowing water flowed on the rocks. You can hear the gurgling water in the museum, so it was called Tingshuiju.

Li Qing'an drank a few more drinks and could not ride a horse. Liu Changyun arranged a sedan chair to take him back to his residence. Li Fei Shouyu and several other entourages followed him on horseback. After getting out of the sedan chair, Li Qing'an entered the gate with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

But as soon as he entered the yard, he suddenly felt drunk, stretched his waist and smiled, "If I had known that Jiangnan's beautiful women would have been riding a horse. I was really unhappy to see in the sedan chair."

Li Fei Shouyu smiled and said, "Qilang, it turns out that you are deliberately pretending to be drunk!"

"I didn't mean to do it, but I just don't want to listen to Liu Changyun's noise. I'm not an interviewer, so I want to listen to him report on anything."

At this time, a young clerk came up and bowed and smiled, "General Li, the room has been packed, your luggage is in the room, I will take you there now."

"Thank you! I wonder what the clerk calls me?"

"I dare not, I'm in the next surname Luo."

"It turns out to be Luo Guan Li, thank you for your hard work."

Li Qing'an smiled and came to the door of the room. This was a single house. The house was quite exquisite, with carved beams and painted buildings hidden among several old pear trees.

"General Li, I'll open the door."

The official stepped forward and was about to push the door, but Li Qing'an suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back. He also took a quick step back half a step. In this moment, a string sounded, and an arrow whistled out from the left window, rubbed Li Qing'an's nose, and nailed it to the pear tree.

"There is an assassin!" Li Fei Shouyu roared, pulled the knife and kicked open the door. Li Qing'an also pulled out the horizontal knife and rushed to the backyard. He was still one step late, and a gray shadow jumped out of the wall, 'Puu!' Someone jumped into the river.

Li Qingan slowly retracted the knife back to the scabbard and snorted heavily. On the first day of coming to Yangzhou, someone wanted to assassinate him. This person was really afraid that the world would not be in chaos.

He walked back to the front yard, Li Fei Shouyu came out of the room, holding a pair of bows and arrows in his hand, and said hatefully: "I jumped into the back window and ran away."

"General, the arrow is poisonous."

A soldier carefully pulled the arrow out of the tree and handed it to Li Qing'an with both hands. Li Qing'an took the arrow and glanced at it. The tip of the arrow was indeed blue and blue. He raised his eyes and looked directly at the officials.

The official pale face of the pawn, and he knelt down and said, "General Li, this matter has nothing to do with me, I really don't know anything."

"Little Luo, no matter whether you know it or not, you can't escape this crime of dereliction of duty. At the least, you will be dismissed, and at the worst, you will be sentenced to prison and scrutiny. You should understand it in your heart!"

The official's lips shivered and begged again, "Please forgive me, General Li, I have old men and young men, and I have to live on my little salary. If I go to prison, they will have no food to eat."

"You can also ask me to spare you, but you have to follow my arrangements and don't disclose a word, otherwise I will say you are a member of the party."

"Yes! Yes! Whatever General Li says is what I absolutely listen to General Li."

"Okay! You should hurry up and ask a famous doctor now and report to Prefect Lu at the same time."

He turned around and said to Li Fei Shouyu: "It's good, so I won't be able to visit him."

Soon, several famous doctors from Jiangdu County rushed over and were busy for a long time. The conclusion was that the arrow had not hurt the vital points. After getting a heart disease, he got better after sleeping. He prescribed some medicine for peace of mind and told him not to think about it too much.

As soon as the famous doctor left, Yangzhou prefect Lu Huan rushed over.

"It was my fault that made General Li frightened!" Lu Huan apologized after a long distance.

Li Qingan smiled slightly, "Eunuch Lu doesn't have to blame himself. The assassin came prepared. He was determined to kill me. How could Prefect Lu be able to guard against me?"

Although Li Qing'an said it lightly, Lu Huan was in a very heavy mood. Li Qing'an was a regiment commander sent by the Ministry of War. If he was really assassinated in Jiangdu, his black hat, as the prefect, probably wouldn't be able to keep it.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "I wonder what enemy General Li has in Yangzhou?"

Li Qingan shook his head and smiled and said, "I am a general of the border army. I have only been in the Central Plains for more than two months. How can I get any enemies? To be honest, I really know nothing."

"I understand. General Li, please rest assured. After I go back, I will immediately arrange capable personnel to investigate the matter and never let the murderer escape."

"Thank you, Grandpa Lu."

Li Qing'an smiled, and then changed the topic slightly and said, "I caught a fleeing Yangzhou thief in Chang'an. According to his account, he is the confidant of Du Bosheng, the salt lord of Yangzhou. I suspect that today's assassination may be related to Du Bosheng. I have heard that Du Bosheng is missing now. Does Prefect Lu need my help?"

Lu Huan's heart was thrilled. Li Qing'an couldn't understand what he meant. He quickly smiled and said, "I just lacked manpower. If the military is willing to provide help, it would be the best."

"Okay, I will do my best to help Prefect Lu search Du Yanxiao. I hope his detailed information will be provided by the prefect."

"Sure! Sure! I'll go back and send someone to General Li."

After a few more greetings, Lu Huan said goodbye, and Li Fei Shouyu immediately said, "Qilang, I doubt it was An Lushan who was making trouble?"

Li Qingan shook his head and said, "If it were really An Lushan who sent someone, how many opportunities would he have along the way? Is it necessary to go to Yangzhou to assassinate me?"

Li Fei Shouyu thought about it and suddenly realized, "Qilang means "

"That's right!" Li Qingan smiled faintly and said, "This person just wanted to mess up Yangzhou, and he was fishing for trouble."

Not long after Lu Huan walked, Liu Changyun's sharp voice sounded in the yard, "Have General Li been assassinated? Take me to see him."

Li Qingan frowned. He came so soon. He quickly lay on the couch and pulled the quilt to cover himself.

The door opened, Liu Changyun walked in quickly and asked anxiously: "General Li, are you not injured, are you?"

Li Qing'an struggled to sit up, but Liu Changyun quickly pressed him down, "General Li, don't move, don't let the wound go."

Li Qingan smiled bitterly and said, "Thank you for your concern, but you are not afraid of danger, and you have scratched your skin and did not hurt the vital points."

"That's good, it's scary!" Liu Changyun let out a long sigh, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
To be continued...