Zhang Yang clasped his hands and looked at the man in front of him, who was only about thirty years old. "I think he must be Yi Nan Khan in front of him."
Yi Nan put his hand on his chest to salute, and then handed over an imperial edict.
The imperial edict was given to him by Li Shimin. Zhang Yang took it and even confirmed it, "Khan Yinan, you can tell us anything if you have anything, and our Ministry of Rites will arrange everything."
Yi Nan Khan looked flustered and said in Guanzhong dialect, "Our cattle, sheep and horses were all stolen overnight."
Zhang Yang glanced at Xu Jingzong.
Xu Jingzong yawned, he was very sleepy and his eyelids were fighting.
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Please ask Yi Nan Khan to explain the situation to us carefully."
Hearing these words made Xu Jingzong want to laugh, but he could only hold back his laughter. Mr. Zhang is such a good actor!
"My herds of cattle, sheep and horses!" Yinan Khan stamped his feet anxiously, "Xue Yantuo can no longer take out these cattle and sheep."
He was so anxious that he wanted to cry.
Zhang Yang looked calm and said, "With so many cattle, sheep and horses, they must not be far away. We will send people to find them. Please don't worry, Khan."
"That's great." Yi Nan Khan let go a lot now.
"Is Khan feeling ups and downs, and still very uneasy?"
"Yes, yes." Yinan Khan nodded vigorously.
"How about we go to the posthouse to discuss the matter first?"
"When can I meet Tian Khan?"
Zhang Yang raised his head and looked at the sky, "Tian Khan is very busy now. I don't have a chance to meet him today. Let's try another day."
"When is the next day?"
"Maybe tomorrow." Zhang Yang whispered to him: "Anyway, you have already arrived in Chang'an City. Everything can be discussed in the long term. Xue Yantuo helped the Tang Dynasty quell the Turkic civil strife. Your Majesty is thinking about how to reward the Khan and can't wait to meet him. Khan."
"Your Majesty, are you really impatient?" Yinan Khan finally smiled.
Zhang Yang looked into the distance, "Where are the other men of Yinan Khan?"
Yinan Khan replied: "They are all looking for cattle and sheep."
"Really?" Zhang Yang looked at Xu Jingzong.
Xu Jingzong nodded knowingly, and those Xue Yantuo people left by Yinan Khan in Luoshui River would disappear from the world.
"Those bandits disguised themselves as officers and soldiers and deceived us!"
"Your Majesty will send someone to look for it when he finds out about this, and he will understand. It's all our fault for the poor public security in Guanzhong. Now that we've arrived in Chang'an, Khan Yinan, don't worry too much. Please go into the city."
What he said was so flawless that Xu Jingzong admired Zhang Yang even more in his heart.
Leading people into Chang'an City, once Yi Nan Khan entered Chang'an City, it would be difficult for him to leave.
He led people all the way into the post house.
After discussing the price with the guys here, Yinan Khan said with some embarrassment, "Our gold and silver have been stolen, along with our horses, cattle and sheep."
Zhang Yang glanced at Xu Jingzong. Xu Jingzong calmly took out a piece of silver cake and handed it to the guy here, "Pack a house for Yi Nan Khan."
The boy collected the silver cake and went to work.
Yinan Khan saluted again and again.
Zhang Yang said to him, "We will arrange for people to look for the cattle, sheep and horses right now. They will definitely not be far away. We will inform the Khan if there is any news."
"Please ask Yinan Khan to stay in the post house today. Don't leave here, and don't move around at will. Stay in the room and rest. Tian Khan may come to summon you at any time. Otherwise, we will be in trouble if we can't find anyone. .”
Yinan Khan was so moved by the two ministers of the Tang Dynasty in front of him that he didn't know what to say. They could actually help the cattle, sheep and horses.
"Have a rest." Xu Jingzong followed and left.
After leaving the post house, Xu Jingzong said doubtfully: "Shilang Zhang is not really going to look for him, is he?"
Zhang Yang walked with his hands folded, "Of course not. Whether he can find it or not is another matter. Brother Xu led his men to steal it."
"That was also Shilang Zhang's idea."
"Are you going to find the things you took by yourself? Of course it's impossible. You've been busy all day and night. Go to bed early."
Xu Jingzong was indeed so sleepy that he couldn't keep his eyes open since last night.
Walking on Zhuque Street, Zhang Yang bumped into Cheng Chumo.
Cheng Chumo and Li Tai walked together.
Li Tai said: "Chu Mo said another cow broke its foot in their field. Let's go eat beef together."
"Is there beef to eat?"
"It just so happened that I broke my leg today."
The three of them walked out of Chang'an City together and got into a carriage.
Arriving at the village near Bashang, members of the Cheng family were killing a cow, which was currently hanging on a tree.
Cheng Chumo personally divided the beef.
Zhang Yang picked several pieces of beef tendon, and Li Tai ordered some beef tenderloin.
You can take this beef home and feed it to your wife.
Distribute some meat to the villagers and tribes.
After the cow was distributed to the whole village, there wasn't much left.
Looking at the remaining beef, Li Tai took out some pepper, salt, garlic and onions. The little fat man even brought soy sauce.
Isn't this soy sauce from the store?
How many things did he take from the store?
"You still have to cook the remaining beef. I think as long as you don't cook the delicacies, letting someone else cook it would be a waste of resources."
Zhang Yang took the knife from Cheng Chumo's hand, first blanched the beef ribs, stir-fried, added pepper, poured in wine and soy sauce, and brought to a boil over high heat to reduce the juice.
Then pick out some beef offal and fry a pot of beef offal.
The remaining bones and beef were stewed in soup. Zhang Yang stirred the soup and said, "You can take this broth home and eat it. It is also good to use this soup with naan bread."
A pot of beef ribs, a fried beef offal, and a bowl of beef soup.
Cheng Chumo took a bite of the cake and a bite of the meat, enjoying the deliciousness.
Zhang Yang looked at the other side of the village and had to say that the land of the Cheng family was indeed very large. At a glance, the fields reached to the edge of the Ba River.
Compared with this place, the fiefdom in Lishan looks a lot more petty.
Carrying these pieces of beef tendon, Zhang Yang returned home, where his wife was playing badminton with her two aunts.
Zhang Yang shook the bag of beef in his hand and said, "We have beef to eat tonight."
"Huh? Where did the beef come from?"
"The cow in Chumo's farm broke its leg, so we shared some of the beef."
Li Yue looked at the beef and said, "I heard that the Cheng family's cows often break their legs, but I don't know if it's true or not."
Braised beef with soybeans is also a very good delicacy. Beef tendon meat is basically lean meat, and the meat is very delicate. It can easily become sticky if not cooked well.
Wash and soak the soybeans, and ask aunt to blanch the beef.
The couple returns to the court
This court is not much different from later badminton courts.
Li Yue serves first.
After several matches, Li Yue mastered badminton quickly, and even learned the technique of suppressing high balls and low balls.
When the ball hit the ground, Li Yue picked it up in despair, "In the end, I still lost to my husband."
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "You still have a lot of room for improvement."
Once again, badminton can be played from noon to evening. Li Yue wiped his sweat.
"Do you feel refreshed after running like this?"
"Well, what my husband said is true." Li Yue drank the water and nodded.
I looked at my husband again. After playing badminton, I didn’t even have time to pour water into my mouth. My husband was still so patiently making tea and drinking it.
Li Yue thought of another possibility: her husband was not tired at all and he still had some energy left.
Zhang Yang took a sip of tea and said, "Running more is good for the body. There is no need to make yourself tired. Although the symptoms of anemia have been relieved, don't run too much. If you feel tired, be sure to do so. Get proper rest.”
Li Yue nodded while relaxing her knees.
After eating beef in the evening, Li Yue's appetite naturally improved a lot. She ate two bowls of millet rice in a row.
It was a rare occasion to have a meal of beef, and Li Yue was reluctant to eat too much.
Late at night, Xu Jingzong and a team of people were driving these cattle, sheep and horses. It was very difficult to drive so many livestock.
In order to avoid accidents, he divided the manpower and the livestock into several groups. Fortunately, Li Xiaogong's troops worked quickly.
Xu Jingzong rode a cow towards Lishan Mountain, followed by a large number of livestock. He raised his head and sighed, "It's so difficult to be the Minister of Rites!"
We waited until it was almost dawn before we arrived at the foot of Lishan Mountain.
A mountain col here is a good place to hide these cattle, sheep and horses. Xu Jingzong has already made an appointment with some Turks.
They picked a dozen war horses, several cattle and dozens of sheep, paid the money and left. These people arranged it deliberately.
When the court was investigating, they thought the cattle and sheep had fallen into the hands of the Turks.
Xu Jingzong patiently distributed the silver cakes to Li Xiaogong's subordinates, "You will keep guard here today. The King of Hejian County will take all the cattle, sheep and horses out at dawn."
Bu Qu obeys orders and does things.
Xu Jingzong adjusted his official uniform and rushed to Chang'an City in time. When he arrived in front of the city, the city gate had just opened. At this time, the Chengtian Gate had also just opened.
Xu Jingzong ran all the way towards Chengtian Gate, his messy hair flying behind him.
For the first time, he was tired of how long Suzaku Street was.
When he finally saw the Zhuque Gate and saw Prince Hejian and Minister Zhang standing in front of the gate, Xu Jingzong felt as if he was seeing his own relatives, and he rushed forward.
Zhang Yang saw that Xu Jingzong was out of breath and said, "Brother Xu, your physical strength is not very good."
When Xu Jingzong wanted to speak, he stopped holding on to the wall for a while and said, "Shilang Zhang is young and strong, and he is already in his thirties."
Li Xiaogong whispered, "Is the matter settled?"
Xu Jingzong couldn't help but nod.
"Are there any traces left?"
"The road has also been cleaned. According to Zhang Shilang's instructions, some cattle, sheep and war horses were sold to the Turks, so as to confuse their judgment."
The three of them discussed in low voices before heading towards Chengtianmen.
Hurrying slowly, they arrived at the Tai Chi Hall, where the three of them stood as if nothing had happened.
The morning court just started, Li Shimin walked into the Tai Chi Hall and the ministers saluted.
After all the ministries reported their respective affairs, it was finally the turn of the Ministry of Rites. Li Xiaogong stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Yi Nan Khan has arrived in Chang'an City and rested in the post house for a day."
"It's just that something happened to Yinan Khan on the way here. All the cattle, sheep and war horses he brought from Xue Yantuo were stolen overnight."
After the words fell, all the officials in the palace were discussing.
Li Shimin said in a low voice, "Which bandit did it?"
Li Xiaogong replied: "We are already investigating."
At this moment, Xu Jingzong felt like he was walking on the edge of a cliff. What he had experienced in the past two days was really exciting.
"Let Dali Temple go investigate together. I want to see which gangster is so bold."
Li Xiaogong walked back to the courtroom again.
After going to court, Li Xiaogong went straight out of Chengtian Gate without going to the government office.
Now it was his turn to deal with the aftermath. He wanted to digest all the cattle, sheep and war horses. Whether they were sold or sent to the Wei Mansion, he originally wanted to give them to the Turks, but he was afraid that the traces would be too heavy and difficult to explain at that time.
Still don’t want to get cheap on Turks.
Zhang Yang and Xu Jingzong came to the government office of the Ministry of Rites and asked the junior officials from the province to invite Yinan Khan.
Xu Jingzong drank tea, "Shilang Zhang's fried tea felt bitter at first taste, but after getting used to it, I realized that it has endless uses."
Zhang Yang handed him a bag of tea, "Ten cents a bag."
Xu Jingzong was confused, "I thought Zhang Shilang was giving it to the lower officials."
He took out ten coins and put them on the table.
Zhang Yang took the copper coins and counted them carefully.
They even tested it to see whether it was genuine or fake. Xu Jingzong couldn't laugh or cry, "Would a lower official still use fake ones?"
"I told you I don't trust your character."
"In the past two days, my subordinates have done such treacherous things. Why can't Minister Zhang still believe me?"
"I just don't believe in your character, and it has nothing to do with what happened last night."
"Can Prince Hejian sell all these cattle and sheep? I saw them before I came here. They are packed with the entire mountain col."
"We have discussed with the King of Hejian County. If there is any excess that cannot be transferred, it will be placed in the Lishan fiefdom."
Xu Jingzong nodded and felt a lot more comfortable. This was the first time in his life that he saw so many cattle, sheep, and horses. The darkness was unforgettable.
It's ridiculous to check yourself. Of course, you won't find anything.
Xu Jingzong smiled and said: "Thanks to Mr. Zhang for strategizing."
"It's just an information gap."
"What is the information gap? Please give me some advice from Mr. Zhang."
"The Luoshui River is south of the Wei River, not far from Lishan Mountain. You can hide in Lishan Mountain along the way. There is an information gap, and the information difference can be up to three days."
Xu Jingzong thought, "Three days?"
"From Yi Nan Khan to Luoshui River, you started taking action one day ahead. There was something in the wine. You would have finished the matter by the time their medicine wears off."
Xu Jingzong nodded, "The medicine given by Prince Hejian is very good. They won't wake up even after being slapped many times."
"Send someone to connect Yi Nan Khan to Chang'an City and take the initiative first. As long as the initiative is in our hands, everything will be easy to handle."
"We will go to Dali Temple in Chaozhong to investigate, and when they arrive near the Luoshui River, they will be ahead by another day, for a total of three days."
Xu Jingzong thought about it: "Xiaoguan remembered that this method is often used when marching and fighting. Often a day's delay in marching will affect the change of the battle situation."
This is why Datang, which is lagging behind in information transmission speed, can do this.
What Li Shimin wants is the result. As for the process, he shouldn't care. He would be happy to get so many horses, cattle and sheep for free.
As expected, acting skills are indispensable for people to live in this world.
After finishing a bowl of tea, Yinan Khan arrived in front of the etiquette department.
(End of chapter)
