Cheng Ang said: "This is strange. If hundreds of people don't stay in the hotel, are they dining and sleeping in the countryside every day?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "There are not that many people allowed by the imperial court to go to Luo. There are only about thirty people."
Cheng Ang said: "Then why don't you look for the remaining few hundred people in Mingzhou?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "What Nan Ba said is that four hundred people are much easier to find than thirty people. However, most of the people on board the ship sent to the Tang Dynasty do not have the status of diplomatic envoys. They cannot stay in Guanyi in Mingzhou, and Di Dian cannot There are such detailed records like Guanyi, let alone twenty years ago, there is no trace of the records even two years ago."
Cheng Ang asked: "Where are those sea ships? It is difficult to find them if people run away. Ships are so big and dead, so it is always easier to find them."
Jing Zhencheng said: "It's true, Zhencheng has the same idea, but twenty-seven years have passed since the 21st year of Kaiyuan in the second year of Shenlong. I only roughly heard that the four ships should have arrived in Mingzhou. Will they leave after that?" I'm not sure when I will leave. I have been searching in the Tang Dynasty for several years, and finally I have some clues. It turns out that Japan is far away from the country and the news is blocked. When my father's mission was sent out, he did not know that Zhongzong had already arrived a year before their trip. Taking advantage of Wu Zhou's deathbed, he restored the throne and changed the Yuan Shenlong. The credentials carried by the mission were still dedicated to Emperor Wu of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was not until Luoyang, the eastern capital, that the credentials were submitted that there was an error and they had no choice but to return home."
Cheng Ang asked: "You just said that neither Sifangguan nor Honglu Temple recorded why the mission did not pay tribute. How do you know that the credentials are wrong?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "It's not surprising when you think about it. It is extremely rude to have a wrong credential. Therefore, it is excusable that the Tang Dynasty official office did not record the original reason. Zhencheng also visited a Sifangguan who received the mission back then. The emissary just found out."
Cheng Ang said: "Oh...since we returned the same way, why is there no record in the post house?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "The country's name was written wrong in the credential. It was originally a capital offense. Fortunately, the new emperor was kind and did not impose a heavier penalty. However, his status as a missionary was revoked and he will no longer be able to stay at the hotel when he returns to the city."
Cheng Ang said: "I see, what about the boat? I can still get back on my own boat, right?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "After such a big change, my father and his party traveled day and night back to Mingzhou to board the ship and return to China. They would not stay in Datang for too long. Before that, we all thought that the ship would stay in Mingzhou for a year and then go to Shenlong. I just returned to China three years ago, so it would be completely wrong to search like this. Zhencheng looked for the records of the ships that came and went in the second year of Shenlong, and indeed found clues about his father's fleet. "
Everyone initially suspected that the Japanese was disrupting the situation, but they were fascinated by his story. Except for Cheng Ang, who was confused, the others did not interrupt him. Now when they heard him talk about finding the whereabouts of the ship, they couldn't help but concentrate. Wait with bated breath for him to continue.
Jing Zhencheng said: "In the second year of Shenlong, four sea ships arrived in Mingzhou one after another, and left again within three months. However, sea ships should take the South Island Road when returning to Japan. After leaving the port, heading southeast, someone saw four ships. We went north together."
Hun Weiming interrupted at this time: "I heard from Goguryeo merchants that you can reach Japan by taking the northern road from Mingzhou and passing through Goguryeo."
Jing Zhencheng said: "There is indeed such a route. The envoys sent to Tang Dynasty first took the northern route. However, after Silla unified Goguryeo, it has always been at odds with our country, so the envoys have stopped taking the northern route. However, I finally got the clues, and I didn't If you dare to neglect, I searched all the way up the coast, and finally I found it..."
Cheng Ang said: "Did you find the ship?"
Jing Zhencheng said: "The ship has arrived but we still haven't found it, but I got a piece of news in Haizhou..." He stopped suddenly at this point.
Cheng Ang said anxiously: "Ah... why are you breathing so hard at this time? You should tell me quickly, what's the news?"
Jing Zhencheng did not answer Cheng Ang's words, turned to Li Yong and bowed, saying: "The person who told this news is conclusive, but what he said is too unbelievable, so I came here to ask Mr. Ruxiang for advice."
Cheng Angqi said: "You ask yourself, if you don't know whether the news is true or false, how can you ask Li Shijun for advice?"
Jing Zhencheng ignored Cheng Ang's sarcasm and continued to say to Li Yong: "Mr. Ruxiang, the person who told Zhencheng the news is named Niu Su. I believe he knows him."
Li Yong had been silent before, but when he asked about it now, he said calmly: "When Yong was the governor of Haizhou, Niu Su was my staff."
Jiang Shuo was startled when he heard this, and turned to look at Li Yong, thinking that it was no wonder that Jing Lang wanted to ask Li Shijun. It turned out that Li Shijun had been the governor of Haizhou back then.
Jing Zhencheng said: "According to what Niu Su said, the mission was indeed going to return to China via the southern route. However, when the ships came to Datang, they were hit by a storm and suffered varying degrees of damage. The mission came back in a hurry, and all the ships were not repaired in time. The vast sea on the island road was too dangerous for ships in poor condition, and the north road along the coastline was much safer, so the mission chose to go north instead of south. The ship had no intention of docking for supplies when it passed Haizhou. However, Shijun Li sent someone to convey an imperial edict from the Emperor of Tang, saying that the Saint, in sympathy with the dilapidated ships of the mission and unable to go to sea, specially gave four ships for the use of the mission. Does Li Shijun have anything to do with this?"
Li Yong nodded and said: "It is true."
Cheng Ang said to Jing Zhencheng: "The saint is magnanimous. Not only does he not blame you Japanese people for the mistake in the national certificate, but he also gave the boat to return it. You should be grateful."
Jing Zhencheng said: "The mission had the same idea at that time. They only thought that it was the Holy Grace of the Tang Emperor, and there was no doubt that he was there. They immediately sailed to Haizhou Port. However, when they arrived at Haizhou, the port was too crowded to berth, so the mission was told not to dock, and the Tang Dynasty A curfew was imposed, and the Japanese did not have documents to disembark in Haizhou, so four ships anchored in the nearby sea for the night, and everyone stayed on the boats... Who knew it was night..." Speaking of this, the middle-aged Japanese actually Some choked up: "...Hundreds of masked gangsters sneaked onto the ship and killed everyone in the mission. They even scuttled all four ships..."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and looked at Li Yong.
When Jing Zhencheng said this, his eyes turned red. He stared at Li Yong and said word by word: "Li Shijun, yes! There is! This! Thing!?"
Li Yong still sat calmly on the stage, his eyes drooped and he said slowly: "It is true."
Li Yong's calm admission surprised everyone. Jing Zhencheng continued: "Zhencheng would like to ask, is it true that the saint gave the boat?"
Li Yong said: "There is no such thing."
Jing Zhencheng asked again: "Is it true that the murder was committed?"
Li Yong said: "It is true."
Jing Zhencheng then asked: "Can you recognize the murderer?"
Li Yong said: "I know."
Jing Zhencheng spoke faster and faster: "Who is it?"
Li Yong said: "Most of them are from Zhenze's gang, but there are also experts from Ju Jin and Peng Li."
Hun Weiming asked in shock: "How come Weiming doesn't know this?"
Li Yong smiled bitterly at him and said, "Twenty-seven years ago, when you were still young, your father was the leader..."
Hun Weiming said: "Until his death, my father never revealed even a little bit to Weiming."
Jing Zhencheng said: "Intercepting and killing foreign missions is a capital crime. How dare he say that?"
Hun Weiming sneered and said: "My father took the lead in doing a lot of business of killing people, selling goods, destroying corpses and erasing traces."
Jing Zhencheng said: "If it is leaked, it will be fine for your Majesty to continue to travel around the world. Li Shijun is an official of the imperial court, but..."
Li Yong sighed and said to Hun Weiming: "Weiming, your father didn't tell you because we made a big mistake this time." Then he turned to Jing Zhencheng and said: "The reason why Yong and others intercepted and killed the Japanese mission was not for To seek wealth, someone told Yong that the Japanese could not take away anything on the ship, or even shake the country of the Tang Dynasty. Please help Yong, and they must not leave the Tang Dynasty under any circumstances."
Jing Zhencheng bowed to Li Yong and said: "As for the real achievement, I have to ask the envoy to teach me. After the murder that night and before the shipwreck, did you search carefully and find that extraordinary thing?"
Li Yong slowly shook his head and said, "No."
Hun Weiming was confused and asked, "What is it?"
Li Yong still shook his head and said, "I can't tell."
Jing Zhencheng said angrily: "I've killed more than four hundred people, so I can't say anything about it?"
Li Yong said: "Compared to this thing, four hundred human lives are nothing."
Jing Zhencheng was very angry and said: "Okay, let's put that thing aside. Who told Li Shijun the news? Didn't Shijun ever doubt whether the news was accurate?"
Li Yong sighed and said: "The person who sent the message has a reason why Yong has to believe it, so there is no doubt that he is there."
Hun Wei said clearly: "Even if Jia Yan keeps silent and doesn't mention this matter, Bang Liru has lost many masters, but it can't be covered up, right?"
Li Yong said: "What Yong said was a big loss, but it was not a loss of manpower. I got the news that day. Considering that there were more than 400 people on the ship, I don't know how many enemies there were. The old gang leader Zhen Zehun brought dozens of masters. Still feeling unsure, he summoned dozens of experts from Jujin and Pengli who were nearby. The matter was urgent, but Dongting and Baqiu were not recruited because they were far away. After boarding the boat at night, they found that the Japanese had no precautions. , there are not many masters, and the Hun gang leader felt that something was wrong when it went so smoothly..."
Jing Zhencheng was extremely angry and laughed back, saying: "The Japanese envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty are mostly scholars and technicians, so naturally they don't know martial arts."
Li Yong continued: "Without a stick of incense, Gang Leader Hun led the crowd to kill all the Japanese on the ship. However, after searching for several hours, Yong also personally boarded the ship to check carefully, but there was no such thing. There were only a few clues, and the person who sent the message disappeared afterwards. Only then did he realize that he had believed others' words. However, the big mistake had been made, so he had to sink the boat and the corpses to the bottom of the sea. In the next few years, sporadic corpses were washed up. On the beach, others just thought it was an ordinary shipwreck or pirate."
The massacre of four hundred lives was spoken by Li Yong in such a calm tone. Sitting next to him, Jiang Shuo felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to run but didn't dare. Others have their own thoughts. Ge Ruliang and Lu Jiong are older, but what Jing Zhencheng said happened twenty-seven years ago. At that time, the two of them had not yet emerged in the world. They don't know whether what Jing Zhencheng said is true or not, but The two of them were calm and steady in character, and remained calm just waiting to see if Li Yong had anything else to say.
The two young men, Nan Jiyun and Cheng Ang, had already lost their temper. They stared at Li Yong in surprise. They really couldn't believe that this kind and honest elder would do such a thing of killing people and stealing goods.
Hun Weiming thought to himself: I don't expect Li Yong to be such a sanctimonious person. If this matter is made public, Li Yong's reputation will be ruined, and his appointment as the young leader and acting leader will naturally not count. However, he also thought of the person who led the team back then. It was his grandfather, and the possibility of him taking over as the leader of the alliance was slim, so he couldn't help but feel sad.
Jing Zhencheng didn't care what others thought, he just said to Li Yong: "Zhencheng has one last question, is everything exactly as Niu Su said, was this killing ordered by Mr. Ruxiang?"
