Chapter 604: The Death of Xiang Pei (Part 1)

Like Luoyang, it also snowed heavily. After three days of heavy snow, it had gradually stopped. The sky and the earth were white. In the distance, Chang'an City was like a big white cloak. In the gray twilight smoke far away, the willow trees turned into bloated silver bars, and many branches were crushed by heavy snow. They lay miserably in the snow. Some low-lying areas were also filled with heavy snow and turned into a white flat ground.

This is the Baqiao Military Camp. Li Qing'an's army arrived at the military camp half an hour ago. It was already dark and most of the tired soldiers went to bed early, but the tent of the central army commander was still brightly lit, and hundreds of soldiers stood guard outside the tent, guarding very closely.

In the big tent, General Nan Jiyun, Qianniu Guard and Hu Peiyun, the commander of the Neiguard Intelligence Hall, had just arrived from Chang'an, and Yan Zhuang also came together. The three of them were reporting to Li Qing'an the assassination case in Chang'an.

"The assassination occurred on Chunming Street. It was midnight. According to our investigation, Pei Xiangguo had to review memorials every day until very late in those days. The murderer obviously mastered his rules. Judging from the on-site investigation, the murderer was hiding in a big tree and tampered with the road in advance. When Pei Xiangguo's carriage passed by the big tree, the right wheel suddenly fell into the pit. His entourage came down to carry the car. Pei Xiangguo also opened the window and looked at it. The murderer took advantage of this opportunity to shoot Pei Xiangguo with a poisonous crossbow arrow."

Nan Jiyun rushed to the scene as soon as possible and knew the situation at that time. He sighed and said, "The scene was in chaos at that time. Most of Pei Zunqing's entourages had not received much training. They were all his servants, those two fierce men..."

"Wait!" Li Qing'an interrupted him, "Are you saying there are two murderers?"

"Later I found out that there were two murderous men. They were covered in face and fled separately. They were all very fierce. They killed five or six people in a row. Pei Xiangguo's entourage could not stop them. Just then, a group of patrol soldiers passed by. When they heard the shouts, they blocked one of them. The man was desperate and committed suicide."

"Where is the other murderer?"

"The other murderer had a wall-climbing rope with him. He climbed up the high wall and jumped into Pingkangfang, missing. Later, I dispatched 5,000 soldiers to block Pingkangfang and searched from door to door, but no one could find the murderer. He was incompetent and apologized to the general!"

Li Qingan shook his head and said, "It's midnight, and the other party is covered in his face. He doesn't even know whether it's a man or a woman. How can you find it? Maybe he is a singer in Pingkangfang. This is not your dereliction of duty, I don't blame you."

"Thank you, General!"

Li Qingan turned his head and asked Hu Peiyun again, "What's the progress there?"

Hu Peiyun quickly stood up and said, "Report to the general, we are still investigating."

“Have you gained anything?”

"There are many clues found, but the subordinates think they are not very ideal."

"Tell me, what clues have you found?"

Hu Peiyun took out a booklet and turned two pages and said, "We mainly started with the murderer who committed suicide. We have found out that his identity is Qi Ping, a scout from the former Longyou Army. He is from Chang'an. He has both parents died since he was a child. He fled back to Chang'an from Jingzhou half a year ago and worked in an escort agency run by his uncle. We posted images everywhere. It was his uncle who recognized him. I carefully investigated the background of the escort agency and basically eliminated the suspicion."

"Why?"

"Go back to the general, Qi Ping was just under the escort agency. In fact, he had never done anything for the escort agency. He was alone and had his whereabouts secretly. No one knew what he was doing? We checked his belongings again. He had burned everything the day before and buried it under the bed. He could not find any clues in his room, but......"

"But what?"

"But we found clues to the poisonous crossbow he used. There were numbers on the crossbow machine, but it was not completely worn away. We asked the military weapon supervisor to identify it, found the number of the crossbow machine, and also found the records of the military weapon supervisor. This crossbow machine was distributed to Fan Yangjun by the military weapon supervisor four years ago."

"An Lushan?"

"Yes! It was indeed taken away by An Lushan's army, but this kind of crossbow is very small and has a range of only sixty steps. Unlike ordinary military crossbows, they are generally used by scouts."

Li Qingan walked a few steps behind his back, turned around and asked, "What do you mean is that the assassination of Pei Xiangguo was done by An Lushan?"

Hu Peiyun shook his head, "I think it's not. If it was really done by An Lushan, the number on the crossbow machine should be Jiannan Army. My subordinates think this is an obvious frame-up."

Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "What if the false ones are real, and the true ones are virtual? An Lushan deliberately asked others to speculate that this is a frame-up, and there is also this possibility, right!"

Hu Peiyun still shook his head, "Report to the General, An Lushan's spies in Chang'an and even Guanzhong have all been removed. This is a matter of confidence. Assassination of Pei Xiangguo requires planning, premeditation, observation, buying evil spirits and other steps. It is not possible that one or two people can do it. It is impossible for An Lushan to do it. In addition, his subordinates have also checked the body of the evil spirit and found that the wine he drank for dinner was the top-grade Sanle Sauce. There are few companies in Chang'an who can sell this kind of wine. The subordinates are investigating this clue and have basically found it. They are now conducting a detailed investigation. If there is any progress, the subordinates will report to the general immediately."

Li Qingan was quite satisfied with Hu Peiyun's investigation. He decisively ruled out when it should be ruled out and in-depth investigation when it should be meticulous. He is worthy of being the head of the intelligence hall. He smiled and asked: "What is the situation of Qi Yuhua and the others after the fall of Xiangzhou?"

This is also something Li Qing'an is extremely concerned about. If Xiangzhou falls, An Lushan's army will inevitably rush into the city to start a massacre. The news of the Hebei Intelligence Hall has been cut off, which makes him very worried.

Hu Peiyun hurriedly said, "This is also what subordinates want to report to the general. Qi Yuhua and his team successfully broke through with the army. Now in Bozhou, they have no pigeons, so they cannot convey the message. It is still the Xiangzhou branch secretary Zhang Debao fled to Heyin and just sent the message."

Li Qingan was relieved and said to Nan Jiyun and Hu Peiyun: "You go back first! In the future, we must strengthen the protection of officials from third ranks or above, and at least strictly train their servants and entourages. I don't want to hear the news of the assassination of the important officials."

"Yes! Obey the order."

Nan Jiyun and Hu Peiyun left, and only Li Qing'an and Yan Zhuang were left in the tent. Yan Zhuang didn't say anything. Li Qing'an smiled and asked him, "What's your opinion? Who killed Pei Zunqing?"

Yan Zhuang gently stroked the mouse's beard and said calmly: "I think Pei Zunqing was not killed by outsiders, but must have been done by ministers in the court."

"You mean partisan dispute?"

Yan Zhuang nodded and smiled, "It should be so. Now the power of the court has been divided into three parties, one is Pei Party, Pei Zunqing, Lu Huan, and Wang Jin; the other is Wei Party, Wei Tao, Cui Ping, and Zhang Yun; the other is the new party, which is the newly established Privy Council, headed by Pei Min. The new party is fine, but there are conflicts with the Political Affairs Hall in terms of political views. Pei Min and Pei Zunqing quarreled several times. I heard that their uncle and nephew have turned against each other and their relationship is very stiff. However, Pei Min always hated this kind of political assassination method, and I suspect it was done by the Wei Party."

At this time, Li Qingan suddenly remembered the fact that he was almost assassinated in the Yangzhou Inn. It was Wei Tao who did it. Although he was forced by his son-in-law, King Di, there was a precedent for this person after all.

He smiled and said, "Pei Zunqing is a strong man. He uses all means to maintain his family's power. He also wants to imitate Li Linfu's power and monopolize many people. In addition, he is the right prime minister. Killing him can cause chaos in the court. It is beneficial to An Lushan or Li Heng. Therefore, no matter who he is killed, it is possible. We should not draw conclusions too early. The most urgent thing now is to stabilize the court and select a new right prime minister as soon as possible."

Yan Zhuang nodded silently, paused for a moment and asked again: "General, what's the war in Hebei?"

"I got news when I passed Tongguan that Guo Ziyi withdrew from Hedong. Although An Lushan conquered Xiangzhou, his forage was burned by my scout. He was sad this winter. The war in Hebei should be calm for a while. It just so happened that I would do something in Chang'an during this period."

The two of them talked about some military logistics matters, and Yan Zhuang said goodbye. Li Qingan pondered for a moment in the big tent alone, and then ordered his personal soldiers to say, "Go and find Zhang Zhijie for me."

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Zhang Zhijie is the son of Zhang Yun. He is now a civilian officer in the Anxi Army. He is now in another military camp near Baqiao. Soon after, he hurried into the tent with his personal soldiers.

"Clerk Zhang Zhijie meets the general!"

Zhang Zhijie is a civil servant in the army. He doesn’t have to half-kneel and salute like a soldier. He just bows and salutes. Li Qingan waved his hand and said, “Sit down!”

Although Zhang Zhijie was the son of Zhang Yun, his family education was strict and he never relied on his father's power to bully others. He was low-key and strictly restrained himself. He had a good character. After half a year in the army, his colleagues still don't know that he was Zhang Yun's son.

Zhang Zhijie understood the rules of the army. Instead of sitting, he stood with his hands down. When Li Qing'an spoke, Li Qing'an nodded, and the boy was teaching, and then smiled and said, "How is it in the army? The military rules of the Anxi Army are strict, can you adapt?"

"Report to the general, I am doing my duty well. Although the military rules are strict, others can comply with it, and I am comply with it."

Li Qingan nodded. He flipped over Zhang Zhijie's assessment on the table and was stunned. He had received three assessments in just half a year of joining the army. He got another assessment. He would get the highest assessment in April next year. He would be able to get the highest assessment in three consecutive years. He would be able to get the highest assessment in three consecutive years. It's great!

"Um!"

Li Qingan closed the examination and smiled and said, "My Tiger Army is missing a documentary and seal script, so please call you over!"

Zhang Zhijie was very happy. The seal script of the Hu Ben Army was mainly responsible for drafting the military orders of Li Qing'an. Just like the Zhongshu Sheren in the Secretariat, although his position was not high, it was a confidential position and was very easy to get promoted. Li Qing'an used himself in disguise. He hurriedly bowed and bowed and said, "I thank the general for his promotion!"

Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "There is another thing. You can go to the city and bring me a message to your father."

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Pei Zunqing was suddenly assassinated, causing chaos in the Chang'an Dynasty. Although the real murderer was confusing, many court officials pointed their finger at the Wei Party and the New Party, and the masses were indignant.

Political assassination has always been a taboo in the court, which involves everyone's vital interests. Therefore, it has gradually become a hidden rule in the officialdom. No matter what kind of official struggles, political assassination must not be used. Once exposed, it will inevitably lead to joint investigations by officials, resulting in infamousness and loss of political future.

The last time Li Yan was assassinated caused a stir. Whether it was Li Yan's allies or political enemies, they had always condemned this bad behavior, which put Li Heng under great pressure. Fortunately, the truth was revealed by the survivors in the end. It was An Lushan's actions that caused Li Heng to escape, but An Lushan's reputation was completely ruined.

This time Pei Zunqing's assassination also aroused public anger. Although Pei Zunqing is usually harsh and relies on his grandfather to seize power, he offended many people and most court officials dislike him. However, his assassination this time caused condemnation by officials not for him, but for the purpose of striking against such acts that destroy the rules of the officialdom.

All the suspects became the targets of condemnation by officials. The Wei Party, the New Party, Li Heng, An Lushan, and even the Cui family were criticized by officials, including all political forces, and there were many dissatisfactions. For this reason, an emergency coordination meeting was held within the Wei Party, and everyone unanimously denied that they had killed Pei Zunqing, and even Wei Tao, Zhang Yun and Wang Jin had suspicions.

Zhang Yun is one of the three giants of the Wei Party. This time he also underwent tremendous pressure because he had publicly scolded Pei Zunqing: "If Qingfu is not dead, Lu will never be in trouble." Everyone knows that the Qingfu he refers to Pei Zunqing, not Li Qing'an.

Zhang Yun was in a very bad mood these days and had no intention of going fishing. He locked himself in the room and read books all day long. He ignored the affairs of the court and let the Privy Council deal with it. There was no man who didn't like power. Zhang Yun had been in the officialdom for decades and had become a veteran bureaucrat. Although he had experienced ups and downs, his desire for power was always unrealized.

At this time, Zhang Yun gradually felt that the Political Affairs Hall had been emptied by the Privy Council. Although the Executive Agency of the Privy Council had an executive agency, there was a deposit: Anyone who did not decide on the Political Affairs Hall, the Privy Council could handle it by itself.

In other words, the Privy Council can handle the court affairs by itself without passing the resolution of the Political Affairs Hall. Doesn’t this mean decentralization of power?

It is obvious that Li Qing'an is starting a new job, which makes Zhang Yun very depressed. He would rather be improper than the left prime minister and be demoted to the Privy Council, which means his future prospects, but Li Qing'an has no such intention at all, which makes Zhang Yun feel a bleak future.

Zhang Yun was reading a book in the study. He was a little upset and couldn't read a word. When a man was upset in his career, he always thought of finding a woman. Zhang Yun was about to get up to find his beloved concubine, but suddenly the housekeeper's report came from the door: "Master, Erlang is back, I have something urgent to see the master."

Erlang is the second son Zhang Zhijie, who is a clerk in the Anxi Army. Zhang Yun was stunned. He looked at the hourglass and said that it was almost time for Hai. What did he do so late?

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Chapter completed!