The news that Tang Guogong's second son was assassinated in Hu County, Jingzhao County spread through representatives of various families who went to Zhang Jin's house to celebrate his birthday, and soon caused an uproar in Guanzhong, especially since the incident happened near the capital, and the government did not show up that day. He immediately gave a convincing explanation, which caused panic among the people in Guanzhong, and they were generally very worried about the security of the Sui Dynasty. The people in Hu County did not even dare to go out.
To avoid further spread of panic, Yongzhou Prefecture and Jingzhao Mansion found witnesses who witnessed the assassination in the evening of the same day. Through the testimony and explanation of these pilgrims who went to Kuzhu Temple to offer incense, the Yongzhou two-level officials concluded that the black-clad and green-clad The target of the Yi assassins was Li Shimin, not a manslaughter, nor an attempt to kill Li Jiancheng, the prince of the Tang Dynasty; otherwise, why did they not continue to assassinate Li Jiancheng when they had all the advantages, but chose to escape?
However, the government believed that Li Shimin was just an eight or nine-year-old child after all, and it was impossible for him to offend any deadly enemy. It can be seen that the assassin's purpose of assassinating Li Shimin was to attack Li Yuan or to take revenge on Li Yuan.
The reason why Li Shimin was killed instead of his brother was that the government explained to the public that Li Yuan and his wife would take Li Shimin with them wherever they went to take office; this was enough to prove that Li Shimin was the most beloved and favored child of Li Yuan and his wife. The mastermind behind the assassin was obviously very aware of this matter, so he believed that the impact of assassinating Li Shimin on Li Yuan was far greater than that of assassinating the "unfavored" Li Jiancheng, Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji, and Li Zhiyun.
Ever since, Li Shimin died!
The analysis and interpretation of Yongzhou Prefecture and Jingzhao Mansion, as well as the setting tone of "the father's debts are repaid by the son, and the son takes the blame for the father" are actually what many dignitaries and sensible people have guessed. For these people, it is It's all nonsense; but for the common people who don't have much knowledge, the government's explanation is like a beacon pointing the way in the darkness. It is not only recognized by the vast majority of the people, but also sweeps away the panic that has enveloped Guanzhong. , they followed the rhythm of the government and thought that this was an assassination targeting Li Yuan and had nothing to do with the people. Otherwise, why did the fierce assassin not kill anyone present?
With the common people sorting things out, and with the secret efforts of governments at all levels, the haze floating in the hearts of the common people suddenly disappeared. Although the common people would not immediately return to their previous lives, at least their hearts were at peace.
The remedial explanation prevented the public from causing commotion; however, the influence this incident brought to the power agencies and powerful people did not just limit the Yongzhou Prefecture, Jingzhao Prefecture, Huxian County Government, and the victim's family. Some political insights The powerful dignitaries and people of insight also realized that the assassination was just a signal, and what was hidden behind it was most likely a big storm.
As expected, when Yang Guang got the news that Li Shimin had been assassinated on the outskirts of Xijing, he was furious. He called Yang Zhao, who was also the shepherd of Yongzhou, and Li Changya, the governor of Yongzhou, to the palace and cursed him.
After dealing with Yang Zhao and Li Changya, Yang Guang angrily ordered the Yongzhou Prefectural Mufu, Jingzhao Prefecture, and Hu County to investigate the cause of Li Shimin's assassination. The third-level government was led by Yongzhou Prefecture, and each teamed up to jointly investigate the case. They are limited to five days to find out the murderer, impose the death penalty, bring justice to the Li family, and bring peace to the world.
At the same time, Yang Guang also asked his second son Yang Jian to express condolences to the Li family on his behalf, and allowed the Li family to bury Li Shimin as an adult and the founding county magistrate. All kinds of care were very meticulous, and he was praised by both the government and the court. The saint is wise and the emperor's kindness is great.
Yang Guang was indeed very angry about this matter, rather than pretending to be nice to others. Although he did not care about Li Shimin's life or death at all, the assassination in broad daylight on the outskirts of Xijing was completely challenging the national laws of the Sui Dynasty, challenging his dignity, and shaking the authority of the court; this was not only a slap in the face of Yang Guang , declared war on him, and still disrupted the officialdom of the Sui Dynasty and the order of the world in the Sui Dynasty; if the court did not find out the murderer and impose the death penalty, wouldn't everyone follow suit in the future?
By then, wouldn’t the world be in chaos because of this?
Four days later, the Yongzhou Prefecture came up with preliminary investigation results, pointing out that Li Shimin was most likely murdered by people sent by Liu Jialun who fled abroad. There were three main reasons: First, Fufeng (Qizhou) bordered Shangjun (Binzhou), and Li Yuan served as Qizhou. During the period of the governor of Qizhou, Liu Jialun, a bandit from Qiaoshan who was entrenched in Shangjun, tried to develop to Qizhou in the southwest, but was severely punished by Li Yuan and his army.
Ran successfully escaped back to Shangjun, but his two younger brothers died at the hands of Li Yuan.
Second, the poisonous arrow that hit Li Shimin was made of hard yellow jujube wood. According to the analysis of the arrow shaft, it was a branch cut from a tree more than a month ago, and yellow jujube wood is a specialty of Yan'an County. Liu Jialun was hiding in Yan'an County.
The last reason is even more obvious. A few days before the assassination, in the song where the Duke of Tang's mansion was located, several Jihus with Yan'an County accents stayed in the same inn for several days in a row. They left quickly the night before the assassination. Then, it appeared again in the Cuihua Mountain area of Hu County.
Although it is said that the bandit Liu Jialun believed in Buddhism, this time he may have sent people to the famous Kuzhu Temple to offer incense. However, based on the above analysis, it is obviously not as simple as offering incense.
Of course, this is just the reasoning of Yongzhou Prefecture and Jingzhao Prefecture, not the most direct evidence, so the two levels of government cannot issue a formal report now. However, in any case, the two levels of government pointed the suspect at Liu Jialun, plus Dou The fact that Lu Kuan, Wang Shilang, Wang Sheng, and Liang Hong had previously colluded with Liu Jialun made this investigation report vaguely point to the Yuan faction headed by the Yuan family. After all, whether it is Doulu Kuan, Wang Shilang, Wang Sheng, or Liang Hong, they are all representatives of the Yuan sect.
Although Yang Guang was busy with his affairs, he still read the memorial carefully and scanned the witnesses and confessions. In the end, he couldn't help but shook his head. This kind of inference that was not evidence at all was really unacceptable. It's too far-fetched and not convincing at all.
After reading it, he handed the memorial together with witnesses and testimonies to Yang Ji. Since Yang Ji came back, he has been called to the palace every day to serve as a staff officer. Now Yang Ji is not a minister or a general of Youyiwei at all, but a general of Youyiwei. Yang Guang's personal adviser. However, this powerless personal staff is a hot "position" that is envied by ministers and ministers.
Faced with this "reasonable and well-founded" investigation report, Yang Ji felt completely ridiculous. How could the government catch the real culprit with such a completely distorted line of thinking?
Of course, this is only when facing aristocratic families and dignitaries, the government will appear so unreliable, but when it comes to private cases, the detection rate is actually very accurate and very fast. This is because the reason why civilian cases are easy to investigate is mainly because the civilian population is small, the mobility of the people is not strong, and the origin of the enemies is simple; generally speaking, the people who offend are often those few people, and other villagers also know it to some extent. Some inside information, so once you encounter a major case such as murder, you only need to focus on the few people who have disputes with the victim, and you can quickly find out everything.
The aristocratic families and dignitaries are different, because they fight overtly and covertly with too many people for power and gain, making each family and each person have countless political opponents and enemies. After a case like Li Shimin's without any evidence occurs, every political opponent and enemy of Li Yuan is suspected. Therefore, when solving the case, officials often first target his biggest political rivals and enemies, or target his biggest political rivals and enemies first. of enemies. Then investigate and rule it out.
Although Yang Ji is the biggest enemy of the Yuan family, this case involves the "secret" internal struggle of the Guanlong nobles and was defined as an internal struggle in advance. The Yuan family is somewhat notorious, so no one considered Yang Ji's attempt to pass it. This method provoked disputes between the Yuan family and the Li family. In addition, the Yuan family and the Li family are not rivals of the same level at all. Even if Yang Ji wants to sow discord, the target of his assassination will be the son of a big family or a powerful family, not the son of Li Yuan who has no sense of existence.
Yang Guang picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Seeing that Yang Ji had put down the report in his hand, he asked, "Vajra slave, what do you think of this investigation report?"
Yang Ji decided to tell the truth and said with a wry smile: "Although the reasoning is "reasonable and well-founded", it is a bit childish. "
Yang Guang nodded and asked, "What do you think if Yongzhou Prefecture and Jingzhao Prefecture follow this line of inquiry?"
In fact, Yang Guang is not very concerned about the case itself. What he is worried about is the influence of the case and its consequences. Now that Yongzhou Prefecture and Jingzhao Prefecture have given a clear direction, the impact of the case has become visible. Within the scope of his control, he was relieved. What he is interested in now is the hidden reference in the investigation report. Can this case be used to further clarify the Yuan family and Yuan's family?
pressure.
Yang Ji frowned and thought about it. He understood what Yang Guang meant, but he didn't agree with Yang Guang's idea of "making mistakes right".
The existence of aristocratic families has indeed divided the empire into several powerful camps, posing a threat to the continuation of the empire. However, they fight for their own interests, regardless of the interests of the country and the lives of the people. But for now, the aristocratic families regard "subordinate power" and certain important positions as their own. They can fight among themselves, but they are absolutely unwilling to let Yang Guang and other forces intervene. This is why they originally opposed martial arts. , are important reasons for opposing the imperial examination, opposing education, and opposing the promotion of books.
After all, the number of seats in the officialdom is limited, there are too many monks and too few people, and the inherent factions are not divided enough. They are fighting inextricably for a prefect and a county magistrate. How can they involve the poor people with a huge population base? ?
However, the Hanshi who Yang Guang intended to support and had ardent expectations for are now in the officialdom, only in a weak and budding state, unable to withstand the ravages of the storm. Even if some people become officials or generals, they are just The bottom among the bottom cannot yet become the capable generals that Yang Guang relies on, nor does he have the strength to compete with the entrenched family members.
The family is deeply rooted and has tentacles all over the world. Under Yang Guang's strong oppression, they are deeply wary of Yang Guang, who has a stable country, stable throne, and powerful power; if Yang Guang ends up personally, rashly participates in the struggles of major factions, and interferes in a certain In the internal struggle of the factions, they must adhere to the purpose of fighting against each other and gradually unite to keep warm. There will be no division or tit-for-tat confrontation.
If the situation reaches this point, besides the royal family and a few humble scholars, who else can Yang Guang rely on? And if the royal family is alone and the poor people do not have that power, how can they fight against the powerful families in the world who control the place and the army?
After combing through this, Yang Ji first stated his analysis and concerns, then saw Yang Guang lost in thought, and then advised: "Too hard is easy to break, too soft is fragile, only the combination of hardness and softness is the best principle in the world. This case made the three Guanlong factions suspicious and suspicious of each other, but it also created an opportunity for my brother to solve the case one by one. If my brother intervened in the case with imperial power, interfered with the official investigation, and deliberately led the real culprit to the Yuan family, Others must have thought that the real culprit was my brother, and the purpose of the assassination was to sow discord, so I think this is an act that outweighs the gains and losses."
"When the truth gradually emerges, we can then target them and eliminate those problematic officials one by one."
In short, there is one sentence, that is, you have to be patient, and you must not make the mistake of rushing for quick success. If you continue to press forward step by step, not to mention the three factions of Guanlong nobles, even the Guanzhong nobles, Shandong nobles, Hedong nobles, Central Plains nobles, southern nobles and other forces will leave you.
At that time, everyone will have their own thoughts, the foundation of the country will be shaken, and the world will be uneasy, which will be very bad!
After listening to Yang Ji's kind words, Yang Guang also felt that his own strength alone was not enough to deal with all the noble families in the world. He was silent for a long time, nodded to Yang Ji and said: "I also know the importance and will not interfere in the judiciary. of."
At this point, Yang Guang suddenly thought of something and asked Yang Ji: "Since Liu Jia Lun is causing trouble in Yan'an County, the court cannot just sit idly by and ignore him. How about you lead troops to destroy him?"
Yang Guang has great trust in Yang Ji. He can do everything very well. He is impeccable in both military and government affairs. He is superior in both strategic vision and literary talent. He is said to be a rare person in hundreds of years. It is not an exaggeration to see a genius.
The only thing that makes Yang Guang dissatisfied is that now everyone is worried about being laid off, and everyone is too busy because of this. However, Yang Ji, the minister, will go to court if he can't, and hide if he can; in his opinion, Come on, maybe participating in the morning court and handling state affairs is not as meaningful and valuable as staying at home with his wife and son. If his Excellency, King Wei, is eliminated, he may not want it. Therefore, in the current imperial court, people like Yang Ji who leisurely work as a high official are completely unique.
Yang Ji was dissatisfied and said: "Liu Jialun is just a small thief, but I am the minister of a country. If the minister of a country is allowed to lead troops to wipe out, how embarrassing will it be for the court if it is revealed? In my opinion See, just any general will do."
Yang Guang thought for a moment and felt that this statement was reasonable, but he thought about it carefully.
The generals in the court said, "That's true! They all have their own tasks and can't get away!"
"As a minister, I am the busiest." In Yang Ji's view, suppressing bandits is far more troublesome and complicated than a confrontation between two armies, and a more upright decisive battle. More people went, so he fled into the mountains and forests; fewer people left. It was very easy for the opponent to take advantage of the familiar terrain to counterattack and destroy him. When he heard that Yang Guang wanted to hand over this task to him, he immediately shook his head and refused.
"You are the most free at the moment. If you don't go, who will go?" Yang Guang scolded with a smile: "Vajra slave, do you think I am blind? Now in the civil and military affairs of the whole dynasty, you, Yang Shangshu Ling, are the most handsome and unrestrained. You can enjoy more things than the emperor like me. What’s the matter with giving you a small mission?”
Yang Ji rolled his eyes and said, "Is the governor of Yan'an County Qu Tutong?"
"That's him!" Yang Guang said strangely: "What's wrong with him?"
"He is the best general to suppress bandits!" After Yang Ji defined the definition, he immediately gave the reason: "When Brother Qian Yi rebelled, the Battle of Gaolingbi was the key to determining the entire battle; however, the surprise attack and the burning of Gaobi Ling Company However, Qu Tutong of the battalion was controversial because he killed too many enemies. Due to the current situation, my brother not only did not promote this general who had made great contributions to the court, but instead demoted him to calm the anger of the government and the opposition. Time has passed It’s been a few years, and the past has slowly faded away, and I think it’s time for this good general to be activated.”
After saying that, Yang Guang glanced at Yang Guang and continued: "He is the parent officer of Yan'an County and has the responsibility to exterminate the thieves in the territory. And this is also the opportunity that my brother gives this good general."
Yang Guang thought for a while, then nodded: "Just as you said."
Although what Yang Ji said made sense, Yang Guang knew that he was just trying to be lazy and thought that since he looked down on the little thieves, he should send him to fight the big ones.
