In ancient Chang'an, the vast flat platforms higher than the ground were called "yuan". There were many loess plains inside and outside Chang'an City, the most well-known of which were the "four famous plains" - Bailu Plain, Shenhe Plain, and Shaoling. Yuan and Longshouyuan.
In the northwest of Shaolingyuan, there is a small plain called "Fengqiyuan"...
It faces Zhongnan Mountain in the south and overlooks the Jinghe River. It is gentle in the north and towering like a cliff in the south. Because it was originally located in Shanglin Garden in the Han Dynasty, and Phoenix gathered in Shanglin, it was named this. The scenery at the southern foot is beautiful, with green trees on the slopes and gushing springs. It has been a royal garden of past dynasties. After the Han Dynasty, Buddhism was promoted in the original area, and the Huayan Temple was built here as a cave a few years ago...
This place has rocky curves and deep sky, flat ground and tall trees, long clouds and Qin trees. The wind is high and the frost is early. Zhoutai Han Garden is covered with grass in the setting sun. When the soil at the foot of the temple was first extended, the scenery was beautiful and the Feng Shui was good. Many dignitaries built here. manor.
On the east side of a ravine washed by rain, the manor stands tall and straight. It is quiet and relaxing in the night rain, with the sound of rain and the gurgling stream.
A cavalry galloped from below, their iron hooves trampling on the road splashing mud and water, and the rumble of their hooves shattered the silent rainy night.
Dogs barked one after another, lights came on in the manor, guards and servants ran out of the house, and there were many silhouettes of people.
After a while, the cavalry arrived in front of the village gate. The first two cavalrymen took out two hook-like things from their horses and grabbed the handles on both sides of the door. There were several long ropes connected to the hooks, and several riders stepped forward. , each person grabbed a rope, and together they held the horse's belly between them and urged the horse to run back. The rope straightened instantly, and the huge force pulled the two village doors to pieces with a "bang".
"Come in, leave no one behind!"
A cavalryman brandished a sharp horizontal sword and rushed into the village at the head of the horse. His iron hooves as big as a bowl stepped on the stone steps in front of the door, making a rumbling sound.
Behind him, dozens of riders suddenly arrived, swarming into the dilapidated village gate.
There were screams, curses, and barking dogs in the village. As the cavalry burst into the village, they stampeded with iron hooves and killed everyone at the first sight. Cries and screams were mixed together. There are many servants and guards in the village, but how can they be an opponent of such well-equipped and powerful cavalry? The sharp sword light turned and slashed in the rainy night, heads rolling and blood flowing like rivers.
When they arrived near the main house, a man came to stop him with more than ten servants armed with weapons. He glared angrily with a horizontal sword in his hand, and shouted sternly: "I am an official of the imperial court, Cui Yuqing, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice! You and other bandits dare to kill officials and test the law with your own body." ?”
With the defeat of Guanlong, many private soldiers from outside the Guanlong and Guanlong's defeated troops were scattered throughout Guanzhong. Without supplies, they could only plunder and rob homes and homes. But he only dared to attack ordinary villages and stockades. It seemed that these officials' estates would not be touched. Although they were already defeated and rogue, they were all private soldiers from powerful families. Naturally, they would not kill these officials who were descendants of powerful families. Maybe one day he will rob and kill one of his own people who is closely related to his family...
However, at this moment, dozens of cavalrymen faced the scolding of the Minister of Justice without saying a word. They all urged their horses to charge forward. Dozens of horizontal knives were raised high and slashed down with the roar of the wind.
The official's expression changed drastically and he shouted: "Defend the enemy!"
Trying to form a formation with the servants behind him to resist.
However, the cavalry in front of me is obviously well-trained and powerful. Even during the charge, they can spread out and maintain a strict distance from each other. They are slower in the middle and faster on both sides. When they rush forward, they form a half-moon array. Surround the officials and servants.
The iron hooves of the war horse were raised and trampled the servant's chest to pieces, the sword was flying and the sword was shining like a drill, the broken limbs were thrown around, and the blood rushed into the sky and splashed down with the rain.
After just one meeting, the officials and more than ten servants fell dead on the spot.
The cavalry charged past and drove several feet away before stopping the charge. They all reined in their horses and turned their heads. One of the cavalry dismounted and came to the broken corpses on the ground to identify them one by one, and then killed them. He dug out the dead official, carefully identified it, cut off his head with a knife, held it in his hand with his hair in a bun, and got on his horse regardless of the blood dripping down his face.
Dozens of people roared and galloped towards the village gate, killing many servants who were running in panic along the way. They left the village and walked along the way. The iron cavalry rolled and disappeared in the rainy night.
Only Zhuangzi's corpses were left on the ground, blood was flowing, and the sound of crying spread far away in the rainy night...
*****
It rained all night, and it still didn't stop at Mao Shi. Qu Tuquan yawned and came out of the tower wearing a raincoat. He lay on the arrow stack and looked down. It was still dark, and under the dim light, there were a few convoys in front of Mingde Gate. , there are very few pedestrians.
Although the war in Chang'an has come to an end, many of the defeated troops in Guanlong and the private armies of the previous clans outside the pass were wandering around, looting and plundering due to lack of supplies. In addition, the floods caused serious displacement of the people. The entire Guanzhong was turbulent and the situation was still tense. The Sixth Army of the East Palace He didn't even have time to rest and didn't dare to slack off at all.
Wiping the rain on his face, he looked up at the dark sky. Qu Tuquan was about to go back to the tower and take a nap. Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves in his ears. His heart sank, and he turned around and squinted. On the official road heading south to the Chunming Gate, a horse suddenly jumped out of the dark drizzle and galloped to the bottom of the city.
"A murder has occurred in Fengqiyuan in the south of the city. Please open the city gate quickly. I want to enter the city and report the crime to Jingzhao Mansion!"
The knights under the city reined in their horses and stood still before reaching the drawbridge. They sat on their horses and pulled their necks and shouted.
Qu Tuquan turned around and walked towards the city, telling the soldiers behind him: "Open the city gate and let him enter."
"Here!"
The soldiers quickly trotted down to the city first, told the defenders to turn the winch and lower the suspension bridge, then opened the city gate and let the knight into the city.
The knight rode through the city gate and saw Qu Tuquan standing by the road inside the gate. He waved to him and asked, "What is going on?"
The knight turned over and dismounted to salute, and spoke eloquently: "I am a soldier in Chang'an County. I was taking a rest last night and returned to my home outside the city to rest. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the sound of horse hooves. A cavalry team of less than a hundred people rushed into Fengqiyuan and washed them with blood. Cui Yuqing, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, most of his family of more than 70 people were killed or injured. Cui Yuqing died on the spot and was brutally beheaded... General Qu Tu was also asked to send a team of soldiers to protect the scene and maintain order. The official rushed to Jingzhao immediately. Report the case to the government and criminal department yamen.”
Chang'an City occupies a very large area, with 108 miles of squares crisscrossing the city like a chessboard. It has nearly a million residents, most of whom are "Beijing drifters" who gather here...
However, "living in the capital is not easy." In such a prosperous and splendid imperial capital, land is of course very expensive and housing prices are sky-high. Only two or three out of ten people can actually own a property in Chang'an City. Needless to say, those coolies and porters would not be able to save enough money to buy a house in the city after working hard all their lives. Even officials transferred from other prefectures to Beijing would find it difficult to buy a house in the city easily.
Fortunately, Chang'an has been the imperial capital since ancient times, and even the surrounding counties and towns are fully developed. When looking for a quiet place, you can buy or build a manor, which is spacious and bright, so a large number of middle- and lower-class officials live there. Outside the city, it only rains in the summer and snows in the winter. It is much harder to work in the city every day...
Qu Tuquan frowned: "Cui Yuqing?"
The rank of the Minister of Justice is not low. Except for the Minister of Personnel, who is above the fourth rank, the other five ministers are all below the fourth rank. Even the capital of the imperial capital, where there are as many dignitaries as crucian carp crossing the river, can be regarded as a high official, so he heard Cui Yuqing's name. Passed.
This person comes from the Boling Cui family, and his elder brother is Cui Dunli, the left minister of the Ministry of War...
Even though he was born in a Shandong family and was able to have a relationship with the East Palace, such a fourth-grade official was attacked and killed by bandits in his own manor. No matter how you think about it, it is bound to cause shocks in many parties, and even make the current situation more tense.
After all, it is now the time when Guan Long is negotiating with Donggong. What if the murderer can have anything to do with Guan Long...
Qu Tuquan nodded and said, "You can just go and I will send troops to protect the scene."
"Here!"
The official got on his horse and went straight to the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion.
Qu Tuquan touched his beard on his chin and was about to send someone to Fengqiyuan when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves galloping from outside the city. He looked back in shock and saw a group of cavalry rushing towards them like lightning.
Qu Tuquan shouted: "Stop them!"
The current situation was tense, and he would not dare to put such unidentified cavalry into the city...
More than ten riders were blocked outside the city gate. Qu Tuquan led a war horse out of the city gate and asked: "Who are you, and why are you entering the city?"
One of them said: "We are soldiers of the Zuowu Guards. We entered the city to go to the Ministry of Punishment on the orders of my commander. Just now, when the scouts of the army were patrolling, they raided a group of Guanlong soldiers and captured the prisoners. They said they attacked Feng last night. A manor in Qiyuan.”
Qu Tuchuan was stunned for a moment. The case was solved so quickly?
What a coincidence...
Moreover, Zuowuwei is stationed outside Chunming Gate, which is east of Chang'an. This Mingde Gate is the South Gate of Chang'an. Zuowuwei's scout patrols have actually patrolled here?
He ordered his own soldiers to inspect the opponent's military seal letter before letting him go. After thinking about it, I felt something was not right, so I personally led a brigade of soldiers out of the city and went straight to the Cui family manor in Fengqiyuan, keeping the scene tightly guarded.
When he arrived at the Cui Family Manor in Fengqiyuan, he discovered that there were groups of Zuowu guards all along the way. The entire Cui Family Manor was surrounded and no one was allowed to enter or exit...
Qu Tuquan was simply baffled. Strictly speaking, even the Sixth Commander of the East Palace who took over the defense of Chang'an had no control over Fengqiyuan. Why did Zuo Wuwei, as the army guarding the Chunming Gate on behalf of the British Duke Li Ji, actually intervene in this Fengqiyuan? In the middle of a murder case?
But he soon understood that Cui Yuqing was a descendant of the Boling Cui family and a direct descendant of the Shandong family, while Cheng Yaojin was born in the Cheng family of Jeju and was of the same Shandong lineage. Moreover, the Shandong aristocratic families are now joining forces with the Jiangnan nobles, intending to occupy the vacant position of the Guanlong clan in the court. Cui Yuqing has suffered a misfortune, I am afraid it is not that simple...
