After leaving the boundary of Chang'an City, Lu Dongzan and his party headed towards Longyou direction. When they arrived at a post house, they dismounted and stayed at the inn to rest.
Late at night, Lu Dongzan and his party were taking a rest after having had enough wine and food, when they heard the noise of someone walking into the post house, thinking it was a caravan coming all the way to Chang'an.
Lu Dongzan didn't pay attention at first, until someone opened his door and a gust of cold wind poured in.
As soon as Lu Dongzan opened his eyes, he saw a linen bag coming towards him, followed by sticks hitting him continuously.
There was a lot of yelling and cursing in the post house, and it became a mess.
The people in the post house immediately called the government.
I heard that the Tibetan envoy Lu Dongzan was beaten, and he was also the prime minister of Tibet. The perpetrators had already escaped.
At this moment, looking at the group of Tibetan people who were covered with bruises, the county magistrate who came over was blinded and called the county clerk, "We can't control this matter. Send the news to Chang'an immediately."
Lu Dongzan was covered in wounds and had difficulty even walking on the ground. The county magistrate called for a doctor to treat him.
Seeing that the room was in a mess and a lot of property was missing, the county magistrate concluded, "This matter was probably the work of robbers who stole money."
Lu Dongzan gritted his teeth, "If it was just a robbery, why did you take the file? It was to be given to Zanpu!"
The county magistrate added: "Maybe they took it easily."
"Someone must have planned this beforehand."
"Why did the messenger say this?"
Lu Dongzan's eyes were gloomy, "If you were a robber, why did you only rob my room and not the others' rooms?"
After hearing this, the county magistrate added: "I have already written down this matter and sent it to Chang'an City. Maybe officials from the DPRK and Central Government will come to inquire tomorrow. Please wait for a day."
It was already daybreak, and Lu Dongzan was worried in his heart. He was afraid that he would not be able to get out of the confinement alive, so he whispered: "Leave this matter to Datang for investigation, and we will stay here soon."
Enduring the pain, Lu Dongzan asked his servants to help him leave the post house and continued on his way.
The Tubo envoy Lu Dongzan left like this, and the news of the attack on the envoy soon spread to Chang'an City.
It was a matter of honor for the envoy, so Li Shimin also ordered Dali Temple to investigate and deal with it.
After several inquiries, Dai Wei of Dali Temple also found out that Lu Dongzan had been to Lishan Mountain before leaving and had met Zhang Yang.
Dai Wei led the officers and soldiers of Dali Temple to the Ministry of Rites.
At this moment, Zhang Yang was sitting in the Ministry of Rites, eating tea eggs with Li Tai.
There are only three people in the entire Rites Department, and the rest are not here.
Li Baiyao was writing documents, while Zhang Yang and Li Tai were talking and laughing while eating tea eggs.
Dai Wei walked in with a cane and a straight face, "I have met His Highness the King of Wei, and I have met Zhang Shangshu."
Zhang Yang first raised his eyes to look at the old man in front of him, stood up and saluted, "I dare you to ask..."
Li Tai quickly saluted, "I have met the Minister of Dali Temple."
Dai Wei stroked his beard and said, "I wonder if Zhang Shangshu has heard about the attack on Lu Dongzan."
Peeling the egg shell carefully, Zhang Yang said puzzledly: "I never heard that he was attacked? Didn't he just leave Chang'an City yesterday?"
"That's right. I learned that I met Zhang Shangshu once after I left, so I came here to ask about him."
Dali Si moved very quickly, and Li Tai lowered his head guiltily, with a little sweat dripping from his forehead.
Zhang Yang said with a smile: "I wonder how the Tibetan envoy is doing right now? Is his life in danger?"
Dai Wei said in a deep voice: "There is no fear of life. Now we are rushing to Tubo. After investigation, the local county government said that it was the robbers. But there is something fishy about it. It cannot be ruled out that everyone did it deliberately. Zhang Shangshu presided over the update of the Ministry of Etiquette You often communicate with foreign ministers and envoys, do you know who Lu Dongzan has a feud with in Chang'an City?"
Zhang Yang thought about it, "I have no impression. We usually don't pay attention to what foreign ministers do. We can't always find someone to keep an eye on them."
Dai Wei saw Zhang Yang's calm demeanor and left with the others.
After the others left, Li Tai sat on the ground, "It's really not easy to wear the stomach. The Ministry of Rites inquired about it so quickly."
Zhang Yang thought, "Since it was done by robbers, how can we suspect that someone did it deliberately?"
Li Tai bit his nails and thought, "It's probably because the people under his command didn't do a good job."
"From now on, you can leave this kind of saping and beating to Chu Mo. His people are more professional."
"Mistake." Li Tai scratched his head hard.
"The victim, Lu Dongzan, has already left. It's not easy to pursue him. If he's beaten, he'll be beaten. It's no big deal."
After hearing what he said, Li Tai calmed down a lot and said, "Brother-in-law, you are the Minister of Rites, so you can intervene when foreign ministers are involved."
Zhang Yang nodded, "Don't worry, I will let Chu Mo help you finish the matter as much as possible and wipe away all the clues. Don't be rash in doing things in the future, but make a decision before taking action. What is the origin of Daiwei?"
When asked about this, Li Tai was surprised and said: "My brother-in-law has been serving as the Minister of Etiquette for some time, and he still doesn't know Dai Wei?"
"I usually have no dealings or contact with other officials."
Li Tai sat cross-legged and whispered, "I heard that Dai Wei is a very talented person, but he was born in troubled times. My father once said that if Dai Wei had been born a few years later, he would have been a talented person in the world now. It’s just a pity that he is quite old now.”
"Back then, Dai Wei worked under Wang Shichong, and later he joined the army as his father's assistant. After his father ascended the throne, he served as minister of Dali Temple. He successively held the posts of Hubu, Libu, and was granted the title of Duke."
Zhang Yang smiled, "No wonder his name sounds familiar."
Three days later...
Because of Lu Dongzan's eucalyptus, Dai Wei was also summoned by Li Shimin.
For this veteran minister of the court, Li Shimin personally moved a chair for him and asked him to sit down.
"Your Majesty, I'd better bow down and report first."
"No, just sit down and report."
Daiwei's hand was still holding a cane, "When Lu Dongzan was attacked, he passed by Dali Temple and inquired. There were no robbers in the area where he was attacked, and the posthouse where he was attacked was only a day's walk from Chang'an City. I thought there was someone there. Wait for Lu Dongzan to leave, follow him all the way, and take action after leaving Chang'an City."
"The veteran thought that the perpetrator must be a powerful person in Chang'an City or an official in the court. If it were an ordinary person in Chang'an City, he might have committed the crime. After the other party and others left, he must have been worried, or worried about his motives, or worried about his own identity. According to the address where Lu Dongzan traveled before he left, the veteran also inquired about several dignitaries, and except for Zhang Shangshu, no one had any issues with Lu Dongzan."
"Zhang Shangshu kept saying that he didn't know, but after several inquiries outside, the old minister found out that Lu Dongzan and Zhang Shangshu had always been in conflict. When the old minister continued to investigate, he found that someone had wiped out the clues in advance, even the man who attacked the posthouse They all left.”
Li Shimin clapped his hands and said, "How courageous!"
Seeing that the emperor was angry, Dai Wei would stand up and salute.
Seeing that he was about to stand up again and his body was still shaking a little, Li Shimin quickly helped him, "I have already told you that there is no need to salute Mr. Dai."
Dai Wei nodded again, "I suspect Zhang Shangshu."
Li Shimin nodded when he heard this, "I don't think Zhang Yang did this. Although this boy is young and frivolous, he acts very cautiously. If he did it, he would not leave so many traces for Dali Temple to investigate."
Noticing Dai Wei's expression, Li Shimin added: "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Dai, I won't want to protect him. I thought of what happened back then..."
He told Dai Wei about Zhang Yang's purchase of Gaochang.
Dai Wei stroked his beard and said: "I bought Gaochang for a penny. I can avoid the law and hold Gaochang legitimately. I can also exchange it with His Majesty..."
After thinking about it for a while, Dai Wei nodded and said: "I thought wrongly. It seems that this matter is not what Zhang Shangshu said. If Zhang Shangshu said so, Lu Dongzan would probably die without a complete body."
Hearing this, Li Shimin was surprised for a while, as if this result was not surprising at all.
Dai Wei continued, "Now that I see the attack on Lu Dongzan, it seems a bit childish. The old minister is incompetent. His Majesty is disappointed that he did not find the real culprit."
Li Shimin nodded and said: "It doesn't matter. You are old and in trouble, so why not go home and recuperate? I will arrange for others to investigate."
After Dai Wei met Li Shimin, he resigned from the post of Minister of Dali Temple.
I thought this incident was over, but just a month had passed. In mid-June, news was sent to the court that Dai Wei had passed away.
Li Shimin was reviewing the memorial and was speechless for a long time after hearing the news.
Li Junxian explained: "I've had people from the Imperial Medical Office check it out, and he passed away peacefully."
Holding his forehead, Li Shimin frowned and said solemnly, "Pass the decree and posthumously give the right servant of the minister the shot."
"Here."
"Wait a minute." Li Shimin stopped him again, "I will grant you the title of Duke of Dao, and my posthumous title will be Zhong!"
There are not many important ministers in the court who can be given posthumous titles.
Li Shimin therefore withdrew from the court for three days, and many people in the court saw Daiwei off.
Zhang Yang led Li Tai to the door of Dai Wei's house, "I don't know what King Wei thinks, but I heard that he was still checking your profile before he died."
I just met this wonderful person last month. He was still alive, but now I saw that he only had one spiritual place.
Li Tai wiped his tears and ran towards the Suzaku Gate without saying a word.
It seems that this brother-in-law can be saved.
Zhang Yang stood in front of Daiwei's mansion, where he could see the spiritual tablet, and bowed deeply towards the spiritual tablet.
"Why doesn't Zhang Shangshu go in?"
Hearing the inquiry, Zhang Yang raised his eyes and saw that it was Tang Jian. He straightened up again and said, "I'm too embarrassed to see him."
He left behind words and left in a hurry.
Tang Jian hesitated to speak, and felt baffled when he looked at Zhang Yang's back.
Li Tai rushed all the way into the Zhuque Gate, then rushed through the Chengtian Gate, ran all the way into the Manna Hall, and knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Father, I have come to admit my mistake."
Li Shimin glanced at his son for a moment, "Have you cried?"
Li Tai wiped his tears again and said, "Lu Dongzan was beaten by his son."
"I already knew it."
"Father..."
"Do you think you can hide these things from me?"
Li Tai lowered his head and said nothing.
Li Shimin continued to review the memorial, "Don't worry, I had someone tell Duke Dai about this matter last month. He knew about it half a month before his death."
"Then why not take down the son?"
Li Shimin put down the pen in his hand, "Aren't you going to take the blame yourself now?"
Li Tai knelt and said nothing, feeling an inexplicable chill on his spine. Is this his father's plan?
My father had been waiting from the beginning, deliberately preventing Dai Wei from arresting him. What would be the consequences if he didn't come...
"It was Zhang Yang who led his son to Duke Dai's residence and learned about his death."
Li Shimin nodded, "It seems that Zhang Yang gave you a hand. This guy is not useless, and he can be considered a good man."
"My son led me to face the wall and was imprisoned for half a month, and I paid tribute to the Duke for half a month."
Li Shimin took a sip of tea and said, "No, please write down for me the story of how Lishan acquired papermaking technology. Write it now."
