Just when Yang Ji and his staff were analyzing the real culprits who assassinated Yuanshou and his son, the core members of the Yuan family also gathered at Yuanshou's mansion in Chengfufang; except for Yuanshou's family members who were still immersed in grief, Yuanzhou and others had regained their composure. , a group of people were gathering in a hall to discuss matters.
After listening to Yuan Wendu repeat what Yang Ji said in the palace, Yuan Zhou took a deep breath and asked in a hoarse voice: "Wendu, how credible do you think King Wei's words are?"
"Master, the possibility of frame-up is extremely high." Yuan Wendu gave an answer and then explained his reasons: "Maybe some people say that we have a great hatred for him, who is it if it's not him? But I want to say What’s more important is: in these years of fighting with him, we have been suffering big losses, and the situation now is even more difficult; if we want to assassinate him at this time, it is us who assassinate him, not him who assassinates Changshou and his son.”
"In addition, what he wants to bring down is the entire Yuan family, not just longevity. But after this assassination case, he has become the biggest suspect. If it is found out that the real culprit is not true, he will bear this bad reputation and be deeply affected. Being feared and hated by the courtiers will even arouse the dissatisfaction of the saint. But the situation of our Yuan family has improved a lot because of this, so for him, this is not cost-effective. If he really wants to deal with us, he can use fishing They made a big fuss about the Yang System case, and then caused us heavy losses in terms of general trend, justice, and legal principles. There is absolutely no need to adopt such violent and despicable methods that hurt others and even more hurt ourselves."
Yuanshouzi had many heirs, including four legitimate sons, namely Yuanmin, Yuanjie, Yuanjiao and Yuanjian. When the third son Yuanjiao heard this, he couldn't help but said with grief and anger: "Master, uncle, Yang Ji may have guessed that we would think this way, so he did the opposite."
As soon as these words came out, they resonated with some children of the Yuan family. Some people echoed: "Yes, it must be Yang Ji who calls the thief to catch the thief. The head of the family, uncle Changshou is one of the pillars of my Yuan family, and brother Yuan Min is the thousand-mile horse of my Yuan family." , how could he die so unjustly? This matter must be the work of Yang Ji. The head of the family and his uncle should tell the saints that Yang Ji should pay with his blood and seek justice for his uncle and his son, who is longevity!"
"Shut up and stop making noise here." Yuan Zhou slapped the table in front of him almost to pieces with one palm, and roared: "Wen Du has made it very clear that the hatred between King Wei and my Yuan family is indeed irresolvable. Whether he was venting his anger or framing the blame, he had the motive and suspicion to kill Yuanshou and his son. However, the death of Changshou and his son not only plunged him into trouble, but also brought unpredictable changes to the situation in the DPRK. "For Yang Ji, this is indeed a matter where the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages, and it is not something a wise man would do. And Yang Ji is obviously a top-notch wise man, and he can naturally distinguish the advantages and disadvantages clearly."
Having said this, he stared at Yuan Jiao coldly until the other party was uneasy and did not dare to look at him, then he said: "I understand what you are thinking. It is nothing more than seeing your father and brother pass away. You want to express yourself and fight for this." The head/seat of the house. But let me tell you, Yuan Jie will inherit the head/seat of this house, and it’s not your turn yet. Don’t come up with bad ideas and confuse the public.”
Yuan Jiao was inevitably a little embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed by the master of the house in front of everyone. He hurriedly defended: "The master of the house misunderstood what my nephew meant. My nephew just wanted to..."
"That's enough!" Yuan Zhou interrupted Yuan Jiao with a wave of his hand, glanced around, and took this opportunity to warn the Yuan family's children: "Today, I will say something ugly first. In the future, who will dare to be clever and do something for their own selfishness? Some stupid things that harm the unity of the Yuan family and harm the interests of the Yuan family will be severely punished according to family law!"
The children of the Yuan family suddenly fell silent, and they all clasped their fists and said, "Follow the master's orders!"
Yuan Wendu secretly sighed in his heart. The Yuan family has been passed down to this day, and the family has a great business. It is like a small court. Each branch and department within it has its own agenda, fighting for power and profit, and plotting against each other. That's fine in normal times, but at this time, the Yuan family is in decline and in a difficult situation. If they continue to fight among themselves, it will only make their enemies happy. Although the head of the family has issued similar strict orders many times, it is difficult to explain clearly to people's hearts. There are always people who take desperate measures. The effect of this strict order is probably not as good as expected.
Such a Yuan family is really worrying.
Yuan Zhou knew this very well, and his mouth tasted as bitter as if he had drunk a large glass of bile. He waved his hands in a somewhat distracted manner and said, "The top priority is to combine longevity and longevity in a glorious way." The nephew's funeral has been arranged; after that, we can play games with the enemy."
With that said, Yuan Zhou ordered to Yuan Wendu: "Wendu, keep an eye on Henan Mansion. Whenever Lu Chu and others make breakthroughs or gains, they must report back immediately."
"Here!" Yuan Wen responded. Just when he was about to speak, a Yuan family member hurriedly walked in. He bowed to Yuan Zhou first, then took out a letter, handed it over, and said: "Master, someone shot this letter at the door."
When Yuan Zhou opened the envelope and took a look, he stood up suddenly and gritted his teeth and said, "That's it, it's him. I really didn't expect it!"
Yuan Wendu asked quickly: "Master, what happened?"
"Read it yourself!" Yuan Zhou handed over the letter.
Yuan Wendu took it and looked at it carefully, and his eyes suddenly burst out with a cold light. There were only a few sentences in the letter, but the content made him feel troubled. The letter was written in Li Shimin's tone: "The people of the world have been waiting for a long time. Come and fight me at Hanhai Restaurant in Nanshi."
"How is it?" Yuan Zhou asked with a gloomy face. His voice was cold and there was no emotion at all. However, the Yuan family disciples who knew him knew that the head of the family was extremely angry.
Yuan Wendu said slowly: "There is a name of a person and a place on it. Although the person cannot be seen in person and whether his family is the real murderer cannot be determined, the place name has a profound meaning. It is better to send someone to investigate."
Yuan Zhou ordered all his disciples to retreat and asked in a low voice: "Wendu, how likely do you think it is?"
"I think it's very likely!" Yuan Wendu considered many, many people, but ignored the "little man" Li Yuan. Inspired by the letter, he suddenly felt enlightened and said, "Li Yuan is in Dugu's family. , the Dou family pretended to be loyal and honest, and deceived the core members of the two families. However, judging from his willingness to seize the leadership of the Wuchuan Alliance for the Dugu family and the Dou family, his ambition was not small and extremely ambitious. The death of his son At that time, my Yuan family was almost speechless, but he took the initiative to let Jingzhao close the case, which shows that he is unwilling to face our Yuan family directly, and his forbearance is terrible."
"I really didn't expect it to be this person." Yuan Zhou said bitterly. Before and after the establishment of the Wuchuan Alliance, they regarded Li Yuan as a competitor and enemy, and almost tried their best to suppress the Li family. However, Li Yuan's tenacity, tolerance, and counterattack were really shocking; and the Yuan family also attacked Li Yuan during this period. With a new understanding, I know that he is not as honest and simple as he seems.
His son Li Shimin had been dead for a long time, and the case had been forgotten by people. However, it was very consistent with his forbearance that he came to take revenge when the Yuan family was in trouble.
Thinking of this, he asked again: "What do you think we should do about this?"
Yuan Wendu said word for word: "Use the power of the Henan government to force it to surface."
"Okay!" Yuan Zhou thought for a moment and agreed with this approach. After having a goal, the two quickly formulated a plan.
. . . . . .
Luoyang City was a metropolis designed from scratch. As early as the beginning of construction, the layout of the city's streets, streets, water sources, and canals had been presented one by one on Yu Wenkai's drawings. Built according to the plan, all aspects of the city's layout are reasonable and convenient.
Compared with Daxing City, which only has two cities in the east and west, Luoyang has three large markets: Nanshi, Xishi, and Beishi. In order to facilitate trade, the imperial court dug the Cao River in the three cities to directly connect to Luoshui, Gushui, Yishui, Zhangshui, and In Jianshui, goods can enter and exit cities and markets through waterways, which is extremely convenient and saves a lot of transportation costs.
Among the three cities in Luoyang, Nanshi has the largest area and is also the main commodity distribution center in the city. It can be called the general logistics hub for the city's materials. After many materials arrive in Nanshi, they are then dispersed to other markets and streets. .
At noon the next day, Beiqu Hanhai Restaurant in Nanshi was noisy and business was booming. Hanhai Restaurant consists of two independent buildings. In front of it is a business selling supplies, and behind it is the Cao River that leads to Nanshi. If a ship goes north from this Cao River, it will soon enter Luoshui.
Hanhai Restaurant is the property of the Li family. Although it brings huge wealth to the Li family every year, compared to the other two large restaurants, the income is pitifully small.
At this time, bursts of joyous laughter came from a private room on the second floor of the North Building. There was a group of officers gathering together to drink, and today’s host was Li Yuan’s cousin Li Xiaoji.
Li Xiaoji was the grandson of Li Hu and the second son of Li Zhang, the governor of Liangzhou in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His father Li Zhang was executed for conspiring with Yu Wenzhao, the king of Zhao in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, to rebel against the Sui Dynasty and kill Yang Jian. The matter was leaked and was executed. Li Xiaoji's official career was also delayed because of this. It was not until Yang Guang ascended the throne that he entered the East Palace Ten Commandments because of Men Yin, and is now one of the right guard commanders. He was not on duty today, so he brought a group of his subordinates to Hanhai Restaurant for a drink, and at the same time he hosted a banquet for his immediate superior, Chai Shao.
Chai Shao was born in a general family and was the son of Chai Shen, Duke of Julu County. He was known for his agility and courage since childhood, and for restraining the strong and supporting the weak. As early as the Renshou period, he became Yang Zhao's bodyguard. When Yang Zhao was granted the title of As the prince's confidant, Chai Shao became the leader of the right guard.
The Chai family is a prominent family in Linfen County, Bingzhou, and has little connection with the Li family. However, the Li family is, after all, one of the important members of the Guanlong aristocracy. Behind it is the Dugu family and the Dou family, and is also closely related to the Taiyuan family in Bingzhou. The Wang family is related by marriage, and the Chai family also hopes to take advantage of it, so when Li Yuan used Li Xiaoji's hand to express his goodwill to the Chai family, the relationship between the two families naturally became closer.
The host, Li Xiaoji, was the cousin of the owner of the house. Seeing that he was entertaining distinguished guests, the restaurant owner not only used the best delicacies and aged wine, but also summoned more than a dozen comely-looking singers and dancers to accompany him. The lower-level officers were extremely excited, shouting orders and making a lot of noise.
After the wine was half drunk, everyone started talking about yesterday's oiran competition and Gongsun Xi who won the title. The half-drunk Li Xiaoji proudly introduced Gongsun Xi and told more things about her. Under the compliments of all his subordinates, he actually talked about Gongsun Xi's biggest "fan" Yuan Min.
When the topic turned to yesterday's murder case, Li Xiaoji spoke loudly: "That guy Yuan Min deserved his death. Fortunately, he died. If not, I would definitely deal with him."
Chai Shao, however, kept a cool head. The two of them had a good personal relationship. It was not the time to hold office at this time, so there was no need to care about the relationship between superiors and subordinates. Hearing this, he frowned and said to Li Xiaogong: "Xiao Ji, what is the reason for death?" Damn, it would be unjust to say this. If people listen to it, they will inevitably make things against the Li family tutor."
Seeing Li Xiaoji's view, he reminded him earnestly: "Besides, Yuan Taifu and his son just met their death yesterday, and the murderer has not yet found a clue. It is best not to joke about such a big thing, so as not to injure others."
Although his intention was good, as the saying goes, drunkenness makes people timid. Lee Hyo-ki, who was usually relatively calm, showed a different side at this time. Under the anesthesia of alcohol, he seemed to have lost himself. He squinted his drunken eyes and said, "Tell me. That’s all, what’s there to be afraid of? Sichang, you are more capable than me, you are good at everything, but you are a little timid.”
Chai Shao shook his head, feeling a little regretful about having a drink with this guy who didn't taste good wine.
Although the Sui Dynasty was not punished for their speech, the real culprits who assassinated Yuanshou and his son have not yet been brought to justice. As officials of the Sui Dynasty and children of aristocratic families, they should be more cautious in their words and actions at this time. Li Xiaoji joked about the dead. , how can it be said nonsense?
However, at this moment, the door of the private room made a loud bang and was kicked open from the outside. The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked up, only to see Wu Renhui, the son of Yuan Zhou, and Wu Jie, the son of Yuan Shou, striding in with more than a dozen burly followers.
Yuan Renhui looked at everyone with an ugly face, and finally stared at Li Xiaoji, who had just made such nonsense, and said coldly: "Li Xiaoji, you don't dare to say anything when you see us coming, right? You should continue, I'm here Listen. What? Are you, the Li family, and the people brought out by your Li family, all such cowards who only dare to do small things and say bad things behind your back?"
"You!" Everyone was furious when they heard this. Although these officers were not of high rank, they were all sons of officials. They were also the team arranged by Yang Guang for the prince. Everyone knew the Yuan brothers and were used to being arrogant. When did they To be ridiculed like this? He suddenly became furious and rushed forward, ready to take action.
"Stop! Stop it all." Chai Shao shouted to stop everyone, stepped forward and cupped his hands to Yuan Renhui and said: "Master Yuan, Xiaoji drank too much, please don't argue with him."
"If you drink too much, you can make fun of my father and brother, right?" Yuan Jie became angry. He turned to Li Xiaoji and said, "Son of a rebel, can I deny that your father is a rebel?"
"Are you looking for death?" Li Xiaoji was angry.
"That's enough!" Yuan Renhui stopped the clan brother and said to Chai Shao: "We are not here to fight, but we have found out that the assassin is related to the Li family. Come on, bring the witness."
