As the night fell, the palace lanterns were turned on and the lights were bright. Countless palace lanterns hung on the gate tower, lintels, and lampposts along the road illuminated the entire palace brightly. When we arrived at the square in front of Tongming Palace, we saw the palace lanterns on many lampposts being lit, illuminating the huge square like daylight.
Looking up the white marble steps, you will see the Tongming Palace standing majestically. The roof ridges and pillars are covered with palace lanterns, making it look like a palace in the Nine Heavens.
Yang Guang was sitting behind a lacquered wooden strip in the hall. The bronze beast behind him looked terrifying in the light of the lamp. He looked down at the Henan Governor Shi Guo Wenyi who had come back to report, and asked in a solemn tone: "Can the assassin?" Is there any news, have you been caught?"
The news that the Yuan family and his son were assassinated one after another came out in less than three seconds. Although the patrolling Youhou Guard soldiers blocked the news in time, many officials knew about it.
And this kind of bad behavior of assassinating officials, assassinating political opponents, and assassinating the family records of officials and political opponents, because it involves the vital interests of every official, and because every official is worried that he will also encounter it, such despicable methods have been used in all dynasties. It is regarded as a taboo and hated by civil and military officials; anyone who breaks the rules of the official game and violates this taboo will cause public outrage and become a loser. But there are always some people who like to take risks. When Yang Guang heard that the Yuan family and his son were assassinated one after another, he was so angry that his face turned blue.
Yang Guang was very dissatisfied with the Yuan family and the Yuan family, but even if he wanted to uproot the Yuan family, he would use upright methods instead of supporting such assassinations, otherwise the Sui Dynasty would be in chaos.
Guo Wenyi bowed his hands and said: "Sage, Lu Fuyin asked Wei Chen to come and report that the assassination of Yuan Min south of Xinzhong Bridge was thrown into the Luoshui River, and then the prepared ships were used to meet him. The soldiers of the Youhou Guards had already chased him along the river. At the same time, notify the garrison soldiers at the exit to intercept."
Hearing what Guo Wenyi said, the hearts of Yang Guang, Yuan Wendu, who reported the news, and the important civil and military ministers who were ordered to come were all chilled.
In addition to Luoshui, Luoyang City also has many Caohe rivers that extend in all directions and connect inside and outside the city. In order to facilitate the passage of ships, and Luoyang currently has no need for military defense, there are no city walls for rivers entering and exiting the city, or square walls for entering and leaving the city. Build water gate. The assassin moved down the river, almost unimpeded. After escaping from the city, they can escape into the mountains and fields under the cover of night. Who can find them?
Yang Guang calmed down and asked Guo Wenyi: "Where are the assassins who assassinated Yuantai Mansion in Chengfufang?"
Guo Wenyi saluted and said: "Sage, the residence of Yuantai Mansion is located on the south side of Chengfufang, close to the Nanfang Wall; beyond the Nanfang Gate is the Luoshui Embankment. According to passers-by, there are six assassins in this group, and they all They were all dressed in Yuanfu costumes. After they shot Yuantaifu, they rode out of the south gate, knocked down the railings of the embankment, and threw people and horses into the Luoshui River, and were rescued by boats in the river."
After a pause, he continued: "It was still dark at that time, and the residents in the square were going home one after another. There were many pedestrians and cars on the way. However, these assassins were extremely skilled in riding, and they were basically not affected by the people and cars on the way. No pedestrians were hit."
Yang Ji pondered for a moment and said to the gloomy-looking Yang Guang: "Sage, judging from Guo Changshi's statement, these were two premeditated assassinations. The assassins were decisive, ruthless and well-trained. Their quick reactions were definitely not What the so-called rangers can do. I have a few questions to ask Guo Changshi."
Yang Guang nodded: "Just ask!"
"Here!" Yang Ji looked at Guo Wenyi and asked, "Guo Changshi, how long does it take to get from the Xinzhong Bridge section to the east exit of the city?"
"At this time, the amount of water is small and the water power is insufficient, and the assassin is riding a fishing boat, so the speed is not very fast; according to the judge's judgment, it will take about half an hour." Guo Wenyi understood what Yang Ji probably wanted to ask, and then said: "It's already At the end of the year, the Youhou Guard soldiers and the city patrol soldiers patrolled heavily. When they arrived at Xinzhong Bridge, the assassin had less than a moment to escape. They learned of the assassin's escape route and immediately sent out warnings at all levels. In terms of time, downstream In the two moments after Master Yuan Min was assassinated, the sailors blocked Luoshui and prohibited ships from entering or exiting. If the other party continues to sail after seeing the signal, it will definitely fall into a trap. But as the king said, the other party is A premeditated assassination was carried out, and the assassins were decisive, ruthless and well-trained, and they must have considered these in advance."
Yang Ji asked again: "Does this mean that the assassin most likely got off the boat and went ashore, mixed in with pedestrians, and escaped into the lanes on the shore?"
"What the king said is exactly what Xiaguan and others think and have made arrangements." After Guo Wenyi said this, he cupped his fists and saluted Yang Guang: "Sage, there are soldiers from the Youhou Guards and patrol soldiers on the north and south banks chasing along the river. , and there were sailors intercepting them downstream. I and others suspected that the assassins had two choices: one was to blend into the fishing boats; the other was to abandon the boat and land ashore. They could either blend into the fishermen at dusk, and then follow the fishermen to escape into the surrounding neighborhoods, or Temporarily lurk on the river embankment, wait for the pursuers to leave, and then escape in the opposite direction and go ashore."
"If it's the former, they can be caught by just one ship after another. The assassin must have taken this into consideration. So I waited for half of the latter two, and asked the saint to send more manpower and grant a search warrant. For Henan Prefecture to act!"
"Precisely!" Yang Guang said to Dugu Sheng and Wang Xingben: "General Dugu and General Wang, you two will each lead 3,000 Xiaoguo troops to cooperate with the Henan government."
"General, I obey!" Dugu Sheng and Wang Xingben responded and immediately followed Guo Wenyi and left the Tongming Palace.
Although Yang Guang made this arrangement, after such a long time, he did not think that the assassin could be caught. He asked Yuan Wendu: "Yuan Qing, is there anyone you suspect?"
"Wei Chen and others can't tell who it is." Yuan Wendu said after hearing this.
To be honest, the first person they suspected was Yang Ji. Just because he had the most prominent conflict with the Yuan family, but precisely because he was so prominent, Yuanwei, Yuan Wendu and others did not think it was Yang Ji who did it. Moreover, when Yang Jiguan reached this point, his target was definitely not Yuanshou Yuanmin and his son, but the entire Yuan family. If Yang Ji wanted to deal with the Yuan family, he would also take action on the two matters of annual review and streamlining the military government, and annihilate a large number of the Yuan family's disciples, disciples and former officials, instead of using such disgusting methods to deal with Yuan Shou Father and son.
Moreover, Yang Ji's fighting style and his style of targeting political opponents were always to start with the four sides and then the center, and the same was true for his enemies with the Yuan family and the Yuan faction. In addition, Yang Ji and the Yuan family have always had the upper hand during the long-term battle. Now the advantage is even greater, and there is no need to assassinate him. Therefore, after final analysis, the suspicion of Yang Ji, who has a sworn hatred with them, is minimal.
As for the suspects, there are too many. In addition to the Dugu family and the Dou family who compete with the Yuan family for the power to unify the Guanlong aristocracy, Su Wei and Pei Ju are also suspected... In short, the Yuan family, which has made too many enemies, now feels that everyone has them suspicion.
Yang Guang took a deep look at Yuan Wendu and said: "Forget it, Yuan Qing will go back and wait for the news from Henan Prefecture. At the same time, he will sort out the news. If you guess who did it, you must report it in time."
"Here!" Yuan Wen responded.
Yang Guang was also very annoyed when such a big event happened at the end of the year. He sighed and said helplessly to the ministers: "It's not too early, everyone go back!"
