Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 640 Ashina Helu's Gold (Part )

On November 18th, the weather was clear.

The imperial carriage left from Duanmen and headed towards Songshan along Dingdingmen Street.

Li Chengqian sat in the imperial carriage, looking down at the memorial in his hand.

Zheng Shuang'er was dressed in the attire of a noble concubine, holding the sleepy Prince of Yan Li Jiu in her arms, and her eyes kept glancing at Li Chengqian on the side.

When the empress was not in Luoyang, the emperor often took her and the Prince of Yan with him to perform sacrifices.

This kind of thing is rare.

Especially now that the Battle of Anton is over and the emperor will return to Chang'an next year, there will be no chance for Zheng Shuang'er to have such an opportunity in the future.

At this moment, a hand covered Zheng Shuang'er's hand. She looked up subconsciously and saw that the emperor had turned his head at some point.

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Today's sacrifice to Mount Song is a big deal." Li Chengqian raised his eyes, looked outside the carriage, and said softly, "The last time such a large force was mobilized was when my father performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song... I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to do so in this lifetime."

After Li Chengqian came to Luoyang, he went to Songshan to offer sacrifices and pray more than once, but this was the first time that all the officials of Luoyang accompanied him, and Zhangsun Wuji was also there.

"Your Majesty will definitely have a chance." Zheng Shuang'er smiled sweetly, and then said, "Your Majesty's civil and military achievements are no less than those of the late emperor. It's possible that you can also offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Song, or even Mount Tai."

"Haha!" Li Chengqian laughed, stroking Zheng Shuang'er's wrist, and whispered, "My beloved concubine still understands my feelings better!"

"Da da da..." A burst of rapid horse hoof sounds came from outside the carriage, and then quickly approached the imperial carriage.

Li Chengqian's expression suddenly became serious.

On the long street, countless Jinwu guards stood solemnly with spears in hand, and ordinary people could not get close to him at all.

Only a special person with a special matter and holding a special token can pass all the way to him.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Ananda came in from outside the imperial carriage and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty, Dai Zhide, the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, requests an audience."

"Announce!" Li Chengqian looked serious and turned sideways to look at Zheng Shuang'er beside him.

Zheng Shuang'er nodded and carried Li Jiu to a position a little further back.

The bamboo curtain drooped gently.

Dai Zhide then entered the imperial carriage, stood in front, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, things have become clear."

Zhang Ananda took the wooden box handed over by Dai Zhide and handed it to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened it and took a look. His expression changed slightly. Then, he raised his head with a cold face and said, "Go and invite Sikong over."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda immediately bowed, then turned around and went out to make arrangements.

……

Changsun Wuji quickly came out from the group of ministers.

When he entered the imperial carriage, he saw Dai Zhide kneeling on the right and Shangguan Yi taking notes in the back.

Seeing Shangguan Yi, Zhangsun Wuji felt a little relieved, then he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Uncle, please take a seat." Li Chengqian looked to the left side of his body, opposite Dai Zhide.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji walked to Li Chengqian's left side and knelt down.

Li Chengqian then spoke up, "Uncle, do you still remember the Zhang Shuyin treason case that occurred in Quzhou?"

"I remember." Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "Zhang the traitor raised an army presumptuously under the pretext of harsh policies, but his troops barely made it past two counties before being crushed in the blink of an eye. Although there was some temporary chaos, it wasn't a major issue."

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "There's unrest in the south. I believe it's related to the harsh government there, and I'm also worried about the Jiangnan aristocratic families plotting behind the scenes. So I sent Qiu Shenji to Yangzhou to keep an eye on it. Qiu Shenji returned and reported that although some of the Jiangnan aristocratic families were watching, they weren't taking any action."

"Yes," Changsun Wuji nodded, saying, "I've read Qiu Shenji's memorial. The traitor Zhang's rebellion was solely the work of his family, with no involvement from other noble families. This demonstrates that Jiangnan has become increasingly peaceful after years of governance." "Actually, there's one thing I haven't told my uncle." Li Chengqian glanced outside the carriage and said softly, "When Qiu Shenji returned from Jiangnan, he escorted Zhang Shuyin's 'empress' back with him. He was supposed to be using her as bait along the way, but unfortunately, no one took the bait."

"That further proves that no one is involved in the Zhang bandit's affairs, otherwise Zhang bandit wouldn't be so easily pacified." Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian in surprise. Could it be...

"I originally thought so, but Chen finally revealed a piece of information." Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, Zhang Shuyin was actually not well prepared before he started the rebellion. Or rather, he had no intention of starting the rebellion this year. But one thing changed his mind."

Zhang Sun Wuji's breathing suddenly became heavy: "What's the matter?"

"He fished out a box of gold from the well in his backyard." Li Chengqian sneered and said, "It was this box of gold that filled the final gap in his rebellion."

Changsun Wuji calmed down and asked, "Your Majesty, since this gold appeared so suddenly, it means it has nothing to do with the traitor Zhang. This means someone wanted him to start a rebellion, but they also felt that his rebellion would not achieve much. So they supported him to stir up trouble in the south for a while while they withdrew."

"Uncle is right." Li Chengqian nodded and said, "It's a pity that the Quzhou government office was burned down in the war. Many subsequent events are difficult to investigate."

"Qiu Shenji has been in Luoyang for the past few months, and Dai Shaoqing is also in Luoyang." Changsun Wuji glanced at Dai Zhide, then looked at Li Chengqian: "Your Majesty, who did you ask to investigate?"

"I've had Dali Temple Secretary Zhang Wenguan investigate Jiangnan for six months, and now we've finally found some information." Li Chengqian pulled a gold cake from a box and handed it to Zhangsun Wuji, saying, "Zhang Shuyin used that box of gold to buy a large amount of supplies, but unfortunately, many of them were sold on the black market, and since everyone involved is dead, it's very difficult to investigate."

Changsun Wuji silently took the gold cake.

"Zhang Qing traveled throughout Jiangnan for six months before finally finding this gold cake in Hangzhou. It was originally taken from the box." Li Chengqian sneered and said, "Zhang Shuyin used this gold cake to purchase a large amount of red silk in Hangzhou to use as a symbol for the rebellion. Zhang Qing used the red silk to track down the person."

Silk can not only be used as a symbol, but also as money at critical moments.

"This gold cake." Changsun Wuji looked down at the gold cake in his hand and frowned. "Why does it smell like something from the northwest?"

Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji in surprise and asked, "Can my uncle see that?"

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "I spent some time in Dunhuang when I was young. The person who forged this gold cake used methods from the northwest... Could it be that the person who gave this gold cake to Zhang Shuyin was from the northwest?"

"He's not from the northwest, but from Shuzhong." Li Chengqian handed a memorial to Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Zhang Qing didn't have time to follow the gold cake to the northwest, but after confirming that someone had indeed given the gold cake to Zhang Shuyin, Zhang Qing began to search along the surrounding routes and finally found a Shuzhong merchant named Wu Qi."

"Wu Qi?" Changsun Wuji suddenly felt amused.

"Of course it's a pseudonym, but the pass is flawless, which means he paid a lot for it." Li Chengqian looked out of the carriage and said, "Wu Qi was very clever. He first followed the Yangtze River to Yangzhou, then took the Grand Canal to Hangzhou, and finally from Hangzhou to Muzhou. He then crossed mountains and rivers to Quzhou, threw the gold into the well at Zhang Shuyin's house, and finally quietly left."

"Your Majesty, how did he know Zhang Shuyin? How could he be sure that Zhang Shuyin would start a rebellion? How could he be sure that he could cause chaos?" Changsun Wuji's expression became extremely solemn.

"Uncle still remembers Chen Shuozhen, right? Zhang Shuyin is Chen Shuozhen's brother-in-law." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "As for how he knew about Zhang Shuyin, I'm afraid we'll have to find out from Chen Shuozhen... Unfortunately, I killed her too quickly."

Chen Shuozhen was stubborn and ambitious. Li Chengqian didn't think that a little torture would make her tell the truth, so he simply killed her.

"Your Majesty did the right thing." Changsun Wuji glanced at Li Chengqian and said, "If it weren't for this, the Zhang Shuyin incident wouldn't have been extinguished in the blink of an eye."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So if we want to investigate this matter, we must either find Wu Qi, or investigate from behind this gold cake."

"We need to send someone to Dunhuang!" Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, Wu Qi is probably hard to find. He used a fake travel permit, and no one has ever seen him. I'm afraid he's completely disappeared. We have to investigate based on this gold cake."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, I suspect this matter has nothing to do with the Jiangnan family. If it were them, they would have enough means to quietly deliver what Zhang Shuyin needs. There would be no need to create a fake person and go through so much trouble."

"The Yang family of Hongnong?" Changsun Wuji's expression grew serious.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Uncle, don't you understand the aristocratic families' style of doing things? If they invest and don't get enough returns, they won't leave easily. What they are doing now is simply not their style. Besides, they don't know what's going on in the court. Zhang Shuyin has no chance of disrupting the court at all."

"He's unfamiliar with the court, comes from the northwest, and only seeks to stir up trouble in Jiangnan and cause chaos within the court." Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, there's only one person like him in the world."

"Ashina Helu." Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "He's the only one left. He's unfamiliar with the court, and like Jie Li, he has a habit of bribing Tang rebels. He also hopes that Zhang Shuyin will cause chaos in Jiangnan, thereby affecting the war in Goguryeo. This will give him more time to prepare in Western Turkestan."

Changsun Wuji nodded with a serious expression.

Li Chengqian raised his head and whispered, "Uncle, when the Jing Wang case broke out last year, he was in Chang'an."

Changsun Wuji's face suddenly turned cold.

(End of this chapter)