Chapter 838 Issue

When it was late at night when I was practicing the lights, the northern yamen of the Military Academy was almost as quiet as a needle. There were only two black robes outside the small courtyard with large heads, standing still like two stone statues. The yard was also very dark, and there was only a lamp in the study room.

Xie Yingdeng, the big head of the Military Archives Office, sat under the lamp reading a book, with a calm expression.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be not worried about the big moves in Chang'an City today. The lights swayed, not making a faint crackling sound.

Luo Shixin and Pei Xingyan's 30,000 elite cavalry appeared outside Chang'an City in the morning. Half an hour later, about twenty important officials of the court arrived at the Beiya. One hour later, the Beiya black robes came out in full bloom. Five full hours had passed, and Chang'an City had already been covered by night.

The yard is brightly lit a few dozen meters away from Xie Yingdeng's yard, and this yard is much larger than Xie Yingdeng's yard. There are many chairs added to the living room, and the room is full of officials wearing purple court uniforms. According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty, officials of the fourth rank or above can wear purple official uniforms. If ordinary people see the Secretariat in this room, they will be shocked. If they see several nobles in the costumes of the Duke, they will be even more excited.

Sitting at the innermost were a few elderly ministers, including Liu Zhenghui, who had retired from the court. However, as if they had discussed, the retired people were also wearing court uniforms.

It looks very grand.

Yu Shinan tasted a sip of slightly cool tea, subconsciously looked at Liu Zhenghui and sighed in a low voice: "The yard of the North Yai is so deep."

Liu Zhenghui nodded and said, "It's really deep, I can't hear the sound of murder."

Yu Shinan nodded, and was silent for a while, and finally couldn't help but say, "Actually you should persuade him."

Liu Zhenghui smiled bitterly and shook his head and said, "Please? Some people always feel that they don't get enough, so ** has no end. With a copper coin in their hands, they think that they are not enough to buy a white flour steamed bun. When they have ten copper coins, they think that they are not enough to buy a pot of wine. With a hundred copper coins, they think that even a woman in a brothel can't play with. When they have enough to play with the brothel women in the city, they think about it again..."

Yu Shinan couldn't help but wave his hand and said, "It's too vulgar."

Liu Zhenghui shook his head and smiled, "Although it's vulgar, I understand the meaning very clearly. It's my blessing that he didn't come to me. If he came to me, I can't pretend to be stupid. You also know that pretending to be stupid at this time is actually a mistake. But there are only so many things I can do. I will explain when His Highness Yan comes back. Where can I control so much? Besides... can I persuade you to stay?"

Yu Shinan nodded and couldn't help looking outside: "I don't know when... it will end."

"It's over long ago."

Liu Zhenghui said solemnly: "From the moment Luo Shixin and Pei Xingyan led their troops back to the city, this matter was over."

Yu Shinan was stunned and nodded immediately.

The Daming Palace is not only far from the original palace city. Although it seems that the two buildings are close to each other, if you walk, you can't walk for more than half an hour. To reach the imperial city that is still south of the palace city, you have to walk at least half an hour more.

There is an inconspicuous small yard in the deepest part of the imperial city, which is covered with weeds.

The door of the yard was open, but there were more than a dozen guards wearing big red robes standing at the door. They were the military cavalry, not the black robes guarding here before. There were two people kneeling at the door of the room in the small yard, one eunuch and the other palace maid. The eunuch was so scared that his face was bloodless and his body was still trembling. However, the palace maid who looked vulgar and indifferent.

The door of the room was also open, and the faint light inside was shining on the face of the palace maid. If you look closely, you will find that there is an admirable perseverance between her eyebrows.

Shengtu Xiaohua, one of the six major positions in the Military Academy, walked into the door and looked at the simple arrangement in the room without saying a word. His eyes finally fell on the inconspicuous small stool, then walked over to move to the door of the house, and turned his back to the moonlight, Shengtu Xiaohua slowly sat down.

After Emperor Li Chengde came out of the gap, he glanced at Shengtu Xiaohua, then nodded slightly and said hello.

“It’s time?”

He asked.

Shengtu Xiaohua sat on the small bench where the emperor sat looking at the sky every day. After a while of silence, she replied: "It was not time, and I should have come in a while. But Your Majesty also knew that everything was not constant, and no one would know what would happen tomorrow."

"But fortunately..."

Shengtu Xiaohua said seriously: "Your Majesty doesn't show up in front of others often, so you can still hide it for a while."

Li Chengde sat upright on the chair and tidied up his clothes. I don’t know if it was intentional, but he was wearing the emperor’s bright yellow dragon robe. After Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, became emperor, he changed the emperor’s dragon robe from black to bright yellow. Although it looked less majestic, it was a little more noble.

"What I want to know is whether you are the first to come to me or the last to come to me."

Shengtu Xiaohua replied seriously: "I came here after nightfall, of course this is the last place."

Li Chengde glanced outside the door, pointed at the soldiers of the Tikka and asked, "Where are the black robes guarding outside before? Have they all killed?"

Shengtu Xiaohua nodded and said, "You can't help but kill."

Li Chengde nodded and said, "It's a pity... They are all conscientious people. I have thought of using them, but none of them have been bribed."

"Because your majesty, you are not very expensive."

Shengtu Xiaohua smiled and said, "Since your Majesty already understands it, then be as light as possible. I still have to hurry up and reply to Huibeiya."

"Report?"

Li Chengde asked: "Aren't you an agent of the Military Information Office? Why do you still need to report to others?"

Shengtu Xiaohua said: "It seems that this small courtyard cannot hold back the source of information from His Majesty. Weician was indeed the agent of the Military Archives Office, but Xie Dazhao had returned to Chang'an City more than a month ago. When I go back to report, I will naturally report to the big shot."

"No wonder."

Li Chengde nodded, then asked Shengtu Xiaohua: "Did I choose the method myself?"

Shengtu Xiaohua nodded to show respect for his meaning.

Li Chengde smiled, took out a pill from his sleeve and put it in front of him and looked at it: "Then take poison. I have never been brave, so I am always afraid of swords and guns. As for hanging the beam, it is too painful. So it is better to take poison, and the body can be intact."

Li Chengde pinched the pill and frowned slightly, then stuffed it into his mouth, picked up the teacup and took a sip, rushing the pills, and then said to Shengtu Xiaohua: "I have known that there will be today for a long time, so I always have this thing."

"Your Majesty is intent."

Shengtu Xiaohua stood up but did not leave.

About five minutes later, Li Chengde's face began to turn blue and his body began to tremble involuntarily. He could no longer sit still, struggled to fall to the ground, and after twitching for a while, he stopped moving.

The palace maid kneeling at the door quietly breathed a sigh of relief and touched the pills hidden in her cuffs.

Shengtu Xiaohua slowly walked out of the house, looked back at the emperor who was lying on the ground and shook her head: "Come on, take Zhu Yanhong, the secret system of the two parts, and poured another bottle in. It's time, how can you be stingy with that bottle of poison? Although a bottle of Zhu Yanhong is worth at least ten taels of gold on the black market and has no price, our Military Bureau has never been short of stock."

With a plop, the palace maid slowly fell to the ground.

...

...

Jiuan Street

The innermost house is brightly lit, but I don’t know why the lights are shaking violently. It’s like countless ghost fires are floating back and forth in the small house. No one inhabited the people nearby dares to come out to check it out, because the street has been blocked by the government since the daytime.

The innermost house is the Marquis’ Mansion.

The Marquis' Mansion is not the Marquis' mansion, but the home of Hou Junji, the Minister of War.

The reason why a large number of black robes have not left here all day is that although the yard is not big, it requires careful search, including every corner and even on the beams of the house. Hou Junji's study is the top priority in the search, although no valuable things have been found in this room since the morning.

A team leader's black robe team led a look at Hou Junji standing in the yard with his hands behind his back, and couldn't help but shake his head and sighed: "Since today is here, why should Lord Hou hide anything for others? There must be a lot of letters you have communicated with over the past few days, and... you should also have a list of them."

Hou Junji took back his gaze looking at the night sky and couldn't help laughing: "You said too, there is no need to pretend to be stupid today. But because of this, I have nothing to say. Do I still need evidence to deal with my case? Although I will die, I think my lord is kind and righteous. My hometown may still leave me a seedling. Since there is a future, how can I not consider it for future generations?"

The regiment leader of the Military Audit Office shook his head and said nothing.

An hour later, Hou Junji was escorted to the North Yai of the Military Audit Office.

It's in the small yard of Xie Yingdeng.

After Xie Yingdeng saw Hou Junji walking into the house with shackles and handcuffs, he put down the book in his hand and made a gesture of invitation. Hou Junji did not refuse and sat down on the Hu bench opposite Xie Yingdeng.

"The big shot has come back long ago?"

Hou Jun asked.

“It’s been over a month.”

Xie Yingdeng smiled and said, "The reason I invited Lord Hou to come is because the person below just reported that he had not found anything useful from Lord Hou's mansion."

"Why do you ask more than they ask?"

Hou Junji couldn't help but sneer slightly, and there was a sense of disdain between his eyebrows.

"I won't ask."

Xie Yingdeng picked up a stack of paper from the table and handed it to Hou Junji and said, "I want to show you this."

Hou Junji frowned slightly, but couldn't help but take the papers curiously. He just scanned casually, and his face suddenly turned pale.

Seeing his face change, Xie Yingdeng smiled and said, "Actually, I don't need any evidence of guilt in your mansion, because there is really no need for this. The list you read is more detailed than what you remember in your heart. This is the list of several famous families in Longxi. Many people you don't know, and you haven't even heard of the names. Moreover, 90% of these people have no connection with your case, and many of them don't even know who you are."

"But because of you, these names will disappear from this world from tonight. They are all because of you... There are many young men who have not yet tied their hair, and there are also old men who have gray hair."

"Why?"

Hou Junji couldn't help but say tremblingly.

“It’s not just these.”

Xie Yingdeng picked up another pile of thicker paper and gestured, saying, "There are thousands of names here, which are the families of the generals who come and go in the army. Those who ticked the names with red pens are all males, and no matter how big or small they will be executed. Those who don't tick the names are women, and they will be sent to the frontier as slaves."

He handed the top piece of paper to Hou Junji: "This is your list. Do you see if anyone has been missed?"

"You can't do this!"

Hou Junji stood up suddenly, his eyes filled with panic that could not be suppressed: "Even if I have a serious crime, my lord once said in person that if I make a mistake, my relatives will be less guilty! I made countless contributions to the Yanyun Army back then, and this was the decree specially issued by the lord to reward me!"

Xie Yingdeng looked at Hou Junji with pitiful eyes and said seriously: "You are such an idiot, how can you succeed in your rebellion?"

Hou Junji's expression was suffocated, and then his body fell down softly with a whine.

Xie Yingdeng slowly squatted down beside him, approaching Hou Junji's ear and whispered: "Before I came back, the lord specifically explained that if you really have the heart to repent and know your mistake, you can leave your youngest son."

"real?"

Hou Junji sat up straight, his eyes full of hope.

Xie Yingdeng smiled, pointed to the white paper on the table and said, "It depends on how you do it. I dare not ignore the lord's instructions. But if you are not sure about it, what can I do?"
To be continued...