Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Xue Wei was startled and quickly got up to follow him out.

Several people carrying Yuan Mao in hurriedly carried him in, with Dugu Jiao standing beside him, wiping away tears and sobbing.

"What's going on!"

Xue Wei rushed up, and the scene before him made his heart sink. Yuan Mao had already fainted, with a short crossbow bolt stuck in his leg, but his face was completely blackened.

Xue Wei turned around and shouted, "The arrow is poisoned! Go find a doctor quickly!"

The shopkeeper immediately led two soldiers out, and Dugu Jiao burst into tears again.

Xue Wei shouted anxiously at her, "Stop crying! Go find Amin, she might have the antidote!"

Dugu Jiao was startled and immediately turned and ran to the inner courtyard.

Before long, Yuan Min rushed over. She was terrified when she heard that her brother had been hit by a poisoned arrow.

Zuo Qingling knew how to detoxify, so she quickly went forward to check, but the poison in front of her was something she had never heard of before, and the blood had turned yellow.

Just when Zuo Qingling was at a loss, Yu Xiangzi suddenly said, "This is the poison of the barbarian insects, I know how to cure it!"

...........

Yuan Mao finally woke up, and the black aura on his face gradually faded away. With the poison removed, the crossbow wound was no longer serious.

"What happened to you? Who shot you?"

Yuan Mao gave a wry smile. "I accompanied Ajiao to buy some small gifts. As soon as we stepped out of the store, an arrow was shot out from the alley across the street. There was no way to dodge it."

"Who is it? Have you noticed you're being followed?"

Yuan Mao was silent for a moment before saying, "They might have made a mistake. I think I heard them shout that the guy surnamed Xue was shot. Their target was actually you. They didn't expect Ajiao to come. They mistook Ajiao for Amin, so they mistook me for you."

Xue Wei frowned. How could he have enemies in Chenzhou? Could it be that there was something wrong with the silver mine supervision bureau, and they wanted to assassinate him?

...........

When Xue Wei returned to the courtyard, Yuan Min immediately threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

Xue Wei knew that she was actually worried about him, afraid that he would also be assassinated like her brother.

Xue Wei led Yuan Min into the house and said, "You and Ajiao should set off for Hengyang tonight. Chenzhou is too dangerous; I'm worried about it."

Yuan Min was extremely anxious, "Then what will you do? How can I leave you alone in Chenzhou?"

"I'm not alone, I have men."

After a pause, Xue Wei suddenly smiled slyly and said, "However, I might be able to go to Hengyang with you."

Seeing his strange smile, Yuan Min suddenly realized, "Are you trying to advance by retreating?"

"Yes! Tell the outside world that Xue Wei died from a poisoned arrow, and we were forced to retreat to Luoyang. Then we'll secretly come back to attack."

Yuan Min thought about it and realized that this was actually a good idea.

"The idea is good, but it needs to be considered more carefully."

Don't worry!

That very evening, Xue Wei had the news spread that Commandant Xue Wei had unfortunately died from a poisoned arrow. He then asked the county government for a coffin, and everyone carried the coffin onto the ship. The large ship slowly sailed away from Chen County and Chenzhou.

Several fast horses then galloped out of Chen County, heading towards the distant Luoyang.

…………

When Xue Wei was still twenty li away from Hengyang County, he led Yuan Renjing, Gao Yuanli and twenty judges from the Dali Temple off the boat. They then boarded a cargo ship with a capacity of 1,000 shi and returned to Chen County.

On the bow of the ship, Xue Wei said to Yuan Renjing and Gao Yuanli, "Those who want to kill me are just interference; we don't need to pay attention to them. Our target is still the Silver Mine Supervisor. Now I am Yuan Mao, the Dali Sizhi. Renjing is the leader. Xue Wei is dead; his body should be sent back to Luoyang. Understand?"

The two nodded, and Gao Yuanli asked, puzzled, "Why is it considered interference if someone wants to kill the captain?"

"Because I haven't shown myself yet, and you haven't told anyone about my existence, but the other party knows that someone surnamed Xue is being killed. This is someone in Luoyang trying to use another person to do the dirty work. I estimate that this person's surname is Wu."

"So this is just interference, and has nothing to do with our case?"

Xue Wei nodded. "But I still want to know who did it. I've thought of something: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Perhaps someone will help us. Someone must be trying to expose the real culprit who tried to assassinate me. We should treat them well. I just don't know if the person's surname is Zhao or Mo."

"It should be Zhao!"

Yuan Renjing laughed and said, "I have already found out who the Zhao family's backer is in Luoyang. It's the Doulu family. I don't know about the Mo family yet. Perhaps their backer is someone surnamed Wu."

"Take a break and tell the brothers about my new identity. From today onwards, everyone will call me Yuan Sizhi."

........

At daybreak, the group arrived in Chen County again, but instead of entering the county town, they continued by boat to the silver mining area.

The silver mining area is located about fifty miles south of Chen County. There are more than fifty silver mines of varying sizes in this area, the largest and richest of which is the Imperial Silver Mine.

The mine supervisor's surname is Jiang. He took office three years ago, but he has been working at Yinkeng and knows a little about what happened six years ago.

"Of course I know Liu Bao. After he died, I was promoted to deputy mine supervisor."

"Liu Bao is dead?"

Xue Wei was taken aback. "How did he die?"

"I don't know. He escorted coarse silver into the capital and never returned."

"What about the hundred soldiers who went to the capital with him?"

"They all failed to return. They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. Six years have passed. Their children have grown up, their parents have passed away, and most of their wives have remarried. There are more men than women here, so remarriage is very easy."

Xue Wei was shocked. Could it be that Dugu Jiao was right? Had all the people died, and a new batch of fake people been sent to the capital?

"We need the shipping records from back then," Yuan Renjing said.

"No problem, everything is well preserved and can be accessed at any time."

Yuan Renjing said to Xue Wei, "Director Yuan, I'll take a few brothers to check the accounts. You continue investigating the other matters."

Xue Wei nodded, "Yes, sir!"

Xue Wei then asked Jiang, the mining supervisor, "Are the ships that transported the coarse silver to Beijing still there?"

Jiang, the mining supervisor, shook his head. "None of the three cargo ships have returned, and more than a dozen boatmen have also disappeared. There's been no news of them for six years; they must all be dead!"

They searched the mines for three days without finding anything, including the Dankou lead mine. Their records from six years ago had been destroyed; they only kept records from five years ago.

The group had no choice but to temporarily return to the county town and stay at the same inn.

Yuan Renjing slowly said, "The mine's records are very comprehensive. Six years ago, a batch of 20,000 catties of crude silver was indeed issued to the Imperial Treasury. The time and batch number match. From all the original documents, there is no problem. However..."

Yuan Renjing stroked his long beard and smiled, "Another gain is not bad. The owner of Dankou Lead Mine is lying. He said that there were no 20,000 catties of crude lead six years ago, but the state smelting station has records that Dankou Lead Mine produced 20,000 catties of crude lead ingots six years ago."

Xue Wei nodded. "The key is to have evidence and witnesses."

Just then, the innkeeper announced at the door, "The head of the Zhao family has come to see you. He says he knows who assassinated Commandant Xue."

The group exchanged glances; the enemy of their enemy had indeed arrived.

........

The head of the Zhao family was named Zhao Gan, the head of the famous Zhao family in Chenzhou. He was about fifty years old, with a square face. He strode in and bowed to the three people in front of the steps. "I am Zhao Gan, and I am willing to seek justice for the unfortunate Commandant Xue."

Xue Wei rolled his eyes as he listened, but since he was now Yuan Mao, he had no choice but to suppress his displeasure and listen to the cause of his death.

The three men invited Zhao Gan into the room and had tea served. Yuan Renjing then asked, "Could you please ask Patriarch Zhao to tell us the truth?"

Zhao Gan nodded and said, "The Mo family's backer is Wu Sansi of the imperial court. Every year, they have to pay the Wu family ten thousand taels of silver. About ten days ago, a messenger came to Luoyang with a letter written in Wu Jizhi's own handwriting..."

"Wu Jizhi?" Xue Wei interrupted him. "Are you sure it was written by Wu Jizhi, and not Wu Chongxun?"

"My people in the Mo family told me this, gentlemen. The Zhao and Mo families have been fighting for thirty years and know each other's secrets. So don't doubt my source. The letter was indeed written by Wu Jizhi. Now Wu Jizhi is in charge of the Wu family's business."

Xue Wei nodded. "Please continue, Patriarch!"

"In his letter, Wu Jizhi asked the Mo family to assassinate Commandant Xue. If the assassination succeeded, the Mo family's annual tribute of silver would be reduced by half. Therefore, Mo Yusheng, the head of the Mo family, decided to assassinate Commandant Xue, which led to the incident the day before yesterday in which Mo family warriors shot and killed Commandant Xue with poisoned arrows on the street."

Yuan Renjing nodded. "Thank you for informing us, Patriarch Zhao. We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and bring the person who attacked the imperial official to justice. Also, we are here to investigate a six-year-old cold case concerning the disappearance of Deputy Mining Supervisor Liu Baosong on his way to the capital. Does Patriarch Zhao have any leads?"

Zhao Gan stroked his beard and chuckled, "That incident caused quite a stir; the locals probably all know something about it!"

Xue Wei immediately understood that this guy was waiting for the right price to go up!

He gave Gao Yuanli a wink, and Gao Yuanli understood, laughing, "If Patriarch Zhao can help us solve the case, we'll deal with the Mo family together and give their mines to the Zhao family."

Zhao Gan was waiting for these words; otherwise, why would he have come here?