I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 198 Calling the Emperor, Hurry Back to Chang'an...

Assassinate.

There is no doubt - Yuan An encountered a long-planned assassination outside Anling.

Moreover, unlike the assassination methods that were familiar to people in the past hundreds of years, the assassination that Yuan Ang encountered was really puzzling.

——More than 300 years ago, Zhuan Zhu, the assassin who assassinated Wang Liao, used the method of "hiding the sword in the belly of a fish";

About 300 years ago, Yu Rang, who assassinated Zhao Xiangzi, lay in ambush under the red bridge in advance, and jumped out suddenly when the carriage passed by.

More than 200 years ago, Nie Zheng, who assassinated Han Puppet, went on a rampage. He rushed into the prime minister's mansion alone and stabbed Han Puppet to death on the spot;

A hundred years ago, when Jing Ke assassinated King Qin Yingzheng, he left an allusion of "seeing with a poor dagger".

These are the "Four Great Assassins" who have been known to the world for hundreds of years.

As for the assassination methods of these four major assassins, in a nutshell, there are no more than three types.

The first is to approach the assassination target openly and openly in the name of "offering fish" or "offering pictures" like Zhuan Zhu and Jing Ke, and then violently attack;

The second type is like Nie Zheng, who wrote it as an assassin and pronounced it as a god of killing—just rushed straight into the mansion of the target, the god blocked the god of killing, and the Buddha blocked and killed the Buddha.

The third type is like Yu Rang, ambush in advance on the only way the target must pass, and wait for an opportunity to assassinate.

Obviously, what Yuan An encountered this time was the third method.

It's just that from Chang'an to Anling is not the only way for Yuan Ang to go back and forth frequently. The assassins who assassinated Yuan Ang were obviously not well prepared.

When Yuan Ang screamed in horror and let the carriage crash into the direction of Changle Palace, the city of Chang'an also fell into a short period of chaos.

——Lieutenant Zhidu, take action.

Almost as soon as Yuan An entered the gate of Chang'an, the Northern Army under Zhidu's command quickly launched operations everywhere in the city!

In just one hour, hundreds of assassins who hadn't had time to act, or who were acting, were captured by Zhidu.

The capital Chang'an, at the foot of the imperial city, such an almost successful assassination (Yuan An) happened, and hundreds of assassins were arrested in the city, and some people in the city of Chang'an were panicked.

Fortunately, the night was dark, with a curfew as a cover, and the martial law of Chang'an City buried all anxiety and throbbing.

After finishing the work in hand, Zhidu came to Changle Palace.

But obviously, there are many, many people who came to Changle Palace earlier than Zhidu...

·
"Queen~"

"The Queen Mother..."

"—Chen, I almost failed to see the Queen Mother~"

"Chen, almost..."

"Almost..."

Changle Palace, Changxin Main Hall.

Empress Dowager Dou sat upright, her face watery;
Beside Empress Dowager Dou, Feng Chang Yuan Ang burst into tears, crying endlessly.

In addition to these two, Tao Qing, the official censor, Chao Cuo, Wei Wei, and other important court officials also came to the Changxin Hall.

It's just that everyone's face has a complex expression composed of fear, anxiety, and a little anger...

"Fengchang's carriage has hundreds of bow feathers inserted..."

"--is not that right······"

"——If you don't have armor to protect your body, I'm afraid it's always..."

Talking in a low voice, several important ministers couldn't help raising their heads one after another, casting complicated gazes on Yuan An's embarrassed figure.

Yuan Ang, I was really scared...
In the past 20 years or 30 years since Emperor Taizong Xiaowen became an official, Yuan An has never shown such a frightened and flustered face to others.

The broken coat on his body, together with those few bow feathers, had already been taken off by Yuan An;
The chain mail made of steel rings was displayed in front of everyone without any concealment.

——Even in Changle Palace, Yuan An still didn't dare to take off the armor on his body.

The carriage that was inserted into a hedgehog by Gong Yu had also stopped outside Changxin Hall;
Even the horses pulling the cart were also severely injured—almost as soon as the carriage stopped, the horses fell limply to the ground, foaming at the mouth, and their eyes widened...

"The lieutenant is here..."

With a gloomy face, he sat upright at the head, comforted Yuan An softly, and then sat silently for a while;
After the figure of Zhidu entered the hall, the eunuch next to him whispered a reminder, Empress Dowager Dou's dim eyes, so hollow that it made the spine chill, looked leisurely at Zhidu who walked into the hall.

"Lieutenant Chen Zhidu, see..."

"—sitting, or kneeling;"

"—Lieutenant, just figure it out..."

Those indifferent words only made everyone in the hall look sideways;

Seeing the center of the hall, Zhi Du just knelt down on the ground without hesitation, and kowtowed slowly to Empress Dowager Dou.

"minister······"

"—I've been busy for half the night~"

"—Lieutenant, did you find anything?"

Before Zhidu could speak, he was interrupted by Queen Mother Dou again;
Just as she was about to answer, she saw Empress Dowager Dou slowly getting up from the couch, holding on to the dove staff.

Standing hunched over in front of the imperial couch, squinting his eyes, he looked straight at where Zhidu was.

"How do I remember that when he was a general of Zhonglang, Qing was fined by the emperor for similar things?"

"--Oh······"

"I remember;"

"It was the year when the first emperor passed away. The emperor went to Shanglinyuan. Because of Qing's fault, he was almost injured by a wild pig..."

···
"Now, what's going on?"

"—Being a lieutenant, sir, don't you learn a lesson?"

"Regardless of past suspicions, the emperor still simply promoted Qing as a lieutenant, and yet, Qing, this incident happened again?"

Neither happy nor sad, even the cold tone that could not hear the slightest temperature, Rao Shizhi was already mentally prepared, and he couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat;

Even the important ministers sitting on the side of the hall bowed their heads in shame after Queen Dowager Dou whispered.

But in front of the imperial couch, Empress Dowager Dou's questioning of Zhidu is obviously not over yet.

"When you become a general of Zhonglang, let the wild pig approach the emperor's holy car;"

"Now that I'm a lieutenant, there are hundreds of assassins of unknown origin appearing in Chang'an City?"

"—Even the current Jiuqing was assassinated outside Chang'an City, and there were more than 300 bow feathers inserted in a carriage?"

"Qing, is that what the lieutenant does?"

"Emperor, is it because Qing has such abilities that Qing was appointed as a lieutenant?"

"Then what kind of things will happen in Chang'an in the future?"

"—Could it be that, when the emperor promotes the lieutenant to be a lieutenant, the streets of Chang'an will see the Huns riding?"

Obviously extremely indifferent, unable to hear the voice of the slightest anger, but Zhidu, who was kneeling and prostrating in the center of the hall, couldn't stop his figure from trembling;
Especially at the end, after hearing Empress Dowager Dou's words 'promote to Taiwei', Zhi Du's originally calm face was finally tinged with a touch of lingering horror.

"The minister, the minister is guilty..."

"I implore the Queen Mother to punish..."

Saying these words in trepidation, Zhidu finally calmed down.

Because Zhi knows that this incident has nothing to do with him;

Tianzi Qi, will never be dissatisfied with Zhi because of this incident...

"Punishment?"

"Humph······"

"—I dare not punish the emperor's eagle dog;"

"Qing, think about it carefully, how to explain to the emperor?"

It wasn't until this time that Empress Dowager Dou's indifferent tone finally showed a little anger;
At the end, she said "Think about how to explain to the emperor", Empress Dowager Dou turned around tremblingly, and looked at Yuan An, who was still weeping beside her.

"Feng Chang thinks, who would do this?"

"On weekdays, has Feng Chang offended anyone or made any enemies?"

The gentle words made everyone in the hall frown, and there was a faint strangeness in the eyes of Queen Mother Dou.

In front of Empress Dowager Dou, Yuan Ang stopped crying after hearing this gentle inquiry;

After thinking about it for a while, he looked at Queen Mother Dou in a tangled look, and finally, he started crying again...
"minister······"

"I dare not say it~"

"Chen, I dare not say it~~~~~ah~ah~ah~~~"

"They said, they said..."

"—They said that even if he killed the minister, he didn't have to die, Queen Mother..."

"Queen~~~~~"

"Queen..."

The grief-stricken crying made Empress Dou feel even more unbearable;
However, the word 'dare not' that Yuan Ang said made everyone in the hall look at Empress Dowager Dou with more meaning.

——Yuan Ang, but Feng Chang...

When Chao Jiuqing······
The person who sent someone to assassinate the nine ministers of the current dynasty, who didn't have to die, Queen Mother Dou, really can't guess who it is...

Empress Dou, did she really not think Yuan An offended anyone...

"Ugh······"

"Sir, I'm shocked..."

For a long time, I don't know if Empress Dowager Dou vaguely understood something, or simply felt guilty for what happened to Yuan An;
Stretching out his hand, pulling Yuan An's arm to stand up, he turned sideways tremblingly, and told the palace man beside him: "Go, put Feng Chang in the bell room, and stay for a few days."

When the palace servant bowed to accept the order, Empress Dowager Dou turned around again, and bowed slightly to Yuan Ang with sad eyes.

"Feng Chang has such an experience, it's all because I, a blind old woman, didn't take good care of Chang'an for the emperor..."

"Please do as usual, don't blame me..."

"Stay in the palace for a few days, wait for the outside of the palace to settle down, and then go home..."

Hearing the guilt in Empress Dowager Dou's tone, Yuan An was only Empress Dowager Dou, and had already guessed the mastermind behind the scenes;
With tears in his eyes, he bowed his hands to Empress Dowager Dou, and then declined a few words like 'I dare not stay in Changle'. Accompanied by the palace staff, Yuan An walked towards the outside of the palace gate.

——Yuan An, of course I was very scared, of course I wanted to stay in Changle Palace;

But after calming down a bit, Yuan Ang could also think of it: In Chang'an City today, even a fly must be released by the Lieutenant's Mansion before it can fly from this farm to another next door.

Furthermore: Changle Palace is the residence of the Empress Dowager;

In any case, it is inconvenient for Yuan An to stay here...
"The lieutenant stays;"

"The rest of you, let's go back."

"——everyone does what they should do;"

"Tomorrow morning, Chang'an's curfew must be lifted normally..."

As soon as Yuan An left, Empress Dowager Dou got up from the couch, and issued an order to expel everyone except Zhidu without exception.

After Tao Qing, Chao Cuo, Zhi Buyi and the others also left the Changle Palace, and the Empress Dowager Dou sat back on the couch again, they finally put on a look of anger without any scruples!

"The lieutenant thinks, who is instigating this matter behind the scenes?!"

"—Hundreds of assassins with unknown origins just entered Chang'an in such a grandiose way, Lieutenant, aren't they even the slightest bit vigilant!!!"

A cold reprimand only made Zhidu lower his head subconsciously;
After recalling what the emperor told him face to face in Ganquan Palace before, Zhidu finally calmed down again.

He bowed his head in incomparable 'ashamedness' and pondered for a moment, before Zhidu put the manuscripts that had been typed up long ago in front of Empress Dowager Dou in order.

"So many desperadoes poured into the city, it is my dereliction of duty;"

"The empress dowager wants to blame, minister, and she will never dare to defend herself."

"—But I also hope that the Empress Dowager knows: Recently, the autumn harvest is approaching, and the plans for the end of the year are not far away. There are more and more people entering and leaving Chang'an, as well as officials from all over the world."

"Those desperadoes also mostly pretended to be civilians, servants of merchants, or even officials from the East, and entered the city among the crowd."

"Plus, the biography and talisman in their hands are all complete, and the minister didn't notice for a while..."

After saying "I dare not make an excuse" first, and then saying this rational and well-founded excuse, Zhi Du's expression became much calmer;
Even the Empress Dowager Dou, upon hearing Zhidu's explanation, also suppressed her anger a little.

But seeing Zhidu adjusted his breathing a bit, he continued: "I haven't found out who is behind the scenes this time."

"But the queen mother is at ease;"

"——All the assassins who hid in Chang'an and intended to assassinate the ministers of the court have been captured alive."

"As long as there is a little interrogation, we should be able to ask the mastermind behind the scenes..."

At the end of the hearing, Empress Dowager Dou finally took a deep breath, although the anger on her face remained the same, most of the coldness in her eyes disappeared unknowingly;
After thinking for a moment, he frowned quietly.

"Court minister?"

"—Those hundreds of assassins, all came to assassinate the ministers?!"

With a slight cry of surprise, Zhi Zhi hurriedly nodded.

"Yes."

"Before I came to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, I interrogated several of the assassins."

"The targets they want to assassinate, without exception, are all officials in the court."

"And these people..."

"these people······"

He spoke with confidence, and at the end, Zhi Du's face could not help but show a little fear.

Carefully raising his eyelids and looking at the Queen Mother, Zhi Du quickly lowered his head again.

"Chen, I really have other important matters these days;"

"I hope the queen mother can give me permission to send someone else to investigate these assassins..."

The inexplicable addition also made Empress Dowager Dou dumbfounded!
The speculation that has already come to my mind, but has never been accepted by Queen Mother Dou, also became more and more intense at this moment...
"go;"

"Go and call Wei Wei."

With a soft confession to the palace people beside her, Empress Dowager Dou's face once again took on a stern look.

Not long after, Li Guang and Zhang Yu, Weiwei of Changle Palace, were led to Empress Dowager Dou.

"How about Fengchang's carriage?"

"Have you found out anything?"

The blunt question only made Li Guang and Zhang Yu's expressions sink;
After looking at each other for a while, Li Guang took the lead to stand up and bowed to Empress Dowager Dou.

"To the Empress Dowager."

"—The bow feathers stuck outside Fengchang's carriage are almost all made by the Shaofu!"

"It's just that the name on the arrow has been cut off by those assassins."

"Moreover, judging from the strength of the bow feathers piercing into the carriage, and the number of bow feathers: the team of assassins who assassinated Fengchang probably didn't use bows..."

After saying a word full of deep meaning, Li Guang bowed his hands again, then took a step back and stood beside Zhang Yu.

On the imperial couch, after hearing Li Guang's cryptic performance, Empress Dowager Dou lost her mind for a moment, then sat lightly on the couch...
The bows and arrows used to assassinate Yuan An were all produced by the Shaofu!
What do you mean?
——The one who assassinated Yuan An would certainly not be Chang'an Chaotang, or Emperor Qi!
The reason is very simple: under the unique "Wu Le Gong Ming" system in the Han Dynasty, every weapon, and even every bow and feather, has its own number and is recorded in the book!
Take the hundreds of bows and arrows filled with Yuan An's carriage at this moment: It is true that the numbers on these bows and arrows have been artificially erased;
But in the record book of Chang'an Arsenal, every bow and arrow produced by the Shaofu has a detailed whereabouts and dispatch date!

Even if the number of these hundreds of arrows is erased, the record book of the arsenal can still find this batch of bows and feathers, what year and month, who approved them, and who transferred them under what name.

——Look at the archives, which three hundred arrows are 'unknown', and that's it.

And in the current situation, there is no need to go through such a lot of trouble.

Because in the past few years, apart from Chang'an Arsenal, the only one who has obtained bows and arrows made by Shaofu through legitimate channels is the Liang Kingdom of Liang Wang Liu Wu...

"Not a bow..."

"That's right, the crossbow?"

Wushen let out a murmur, which only made Li Guang nod his head heavily.

When Empress Dowager Dou shifted her unbelievable gaze to Zhang Yu who was beside Li Guang, Empress Dowager Dou also saw the expression she least wanted to see from Zhang Yu's blurred face.

——Zhang Yu, didn't say a word;
But every muscle on Zhang Yu's face is bluntly telling Queen Mother Dou: The man behind the scenes is King Liang...
"The third..."

"The third..."

The speculation that had already appeared in my mind, but was still unwilling to accept, has basically been confirmed at this moment;

But the more this happened, the more Empress Dou felt a pain in her heart...

"Emperor, are you still at Ganquan?"

"When are you coming back?"

He asked with trembling voices, and he immediately kowtowed again: "Your Majesty is in Ganquan Palace, but he didn't mention when..."

"—Let the emperor, come back;"

"—Come back quickly..."

Leisurely sighed, seeing Empress Dowager Dou raised her head in melancholy, blinked a few times, and then suppressed the tears in her eyes.

"Call the emperor, come back quickly..."

"This matter of Chang'an, I, a blind old woman, can't handle it..."

　Sorry.

　　This chapter was released at 16:00 as scheduled, but there are blocked words, which caused it to be reviewed after it was issued.

　　It wasn't until just now that it was determined that there was a problem, and the entire clip was deleted before it was finally released.

　　After 21 o'clock in the next update, there will be two updates today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)