The Yellow River winds from the north. It is like a yellow dragon, carrying the historical precipitation of tens of millions of years, majestic and deep. It turned around in Hedong County, and with a long roar, it slowly flowed eastward to the hinterland of Chinese civilization.

Naturally, Hedong County on the north bank has become a thoroughfare between the north and the south. Giant merchants, porters and vendors gather here, and ferries are ferries one after another come and go on both sides of the Yellow River.

"Let's dock!" A boatman shouted, and a huge ferry slowly approached the shore. The wide board had already slowly stretched out. The moment the boat landed, the hook on the board accurately hooked the shore embankment.

The first group of passengers left the cabin, and a large group of porters waiting on the shore were eager to meet them, rushing to carry luggage for the passengers. Although the boat board was wide, the ferry was still in chaos. The two docks next to them were no longer surprised by this. They were still chatting and turning a blind eye to the chaos.

At this time, a porter was looking around on the board. He was different from others and was not in a hurry to take on business. He suddenly saw a person in the boat making a gesture to him. He quickly left the board and slowly approached the bow. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the bow with sharp eyes.

A smaller board was extended from the bow of the ship, and some people with status got off the boat. This was completely different from the VIP channel in later generations. The VIP channel in later generations was based on the amount of money, and here only depends on the identity. Many wealthy merchants also had to squeeze into the large passage that could fall down the river at any time.

After two scholars who were studying abroad walked off the boat board, a group of people appeared on the bow. They were surrounded by a tall and fat official, with a dazzling sunshine. He wore a straw hat on his head, only his nose exposed, and his face was unclear. He was wearing a fourth-rank official robe with beige small kosai silk.

The target appeared, and the porter stared at the official tightly, and the picture he had seen appeared in his mind. Although his face could not be verified, his figure was consistent. Moreover, there were no other officials on the ship. He should be Zhang Ruojin, the governor of Pingyang County. The porter put a piece of clothing on his arm, and under the clothes, his hands began to move.

The springboard was narrow and could not allow two people to walk together, so they could only get off the boat one by one. Zhang Ruojin was obese and it was very difficult to get off the boat alone. A follower had to support his arm from behind and carefully help him get off the boat.

"One step, two steps..." The boat board began to tremble. At this moment, a short arrow shot like lightning. The arrow flashed through a star of blue light in the sun, and shot through Zhang Ruojin's half-open mouth along the hat.

In an instant, Zhang Ruojin's face became stiff and her tongue spit out. A black air slowly floated on his cheeks. His fat body shook on the board, and he fell down the Yellow River.

The arrow was too fast, and the entourage behind him didn't see it at all. He thought he had fallen into the water and screamed in a hurry. There was a chaos on the dock. Many porters didn't know what happened, and rushed to the river to salvage the people who fell into the water. Some people even heard that the person who fell into the water was an official, so they jumped into the water without hesitation. If they could rescue him, wouldn't they be able to repay their kindness?

Half an hour later, the dark-faced official was caught up, and he was already dead.

The news of Zhang Ruojin's accidental death first reached Taiyuan, and the entire Zhang family was shocked. Zhang Ruojin was the second person after Zhang Ruohao. Especially since this year, he has performed particularly actively. After the family meeting in May, his prestige in Zhang's various rooms even surpassed Zhang Ruohao. Now he has died suddenly. Although the cause of death has not been announced, many people have guessed that there may be a lot of articles.

People in the Zhang family were panicked for a while, and everyone had a foreshadowing that a storm that swept the Zhang family was about to come.

In the southern suburbs of Taiyuan, rice has begun to be harvested. The endless rice fields are filled with busy figures of farmers, and the official roads are filled with just-cut rice.

At this time, nearly a hundred fast horses were sweeping like a strong wind in the distance. More than a dozen farmers who were pounding the grain jumped off the official road in fear. Because there were too much rice piled up on the road ahead, and there were still many naughty boys rolling and playing in the rice, the war horses gradually slowed down.

"Send two people to the front and clear the road."

The person who ordered was Zhang Potian, the governor of Hedong. He had just received the news that Zhang Ruojin was killed. Unlike the Zhang family, he got all the details. He immediately realized that he was the biggest suspect in this matter.

It has been half a year since the beginning of the year and now, and Zhang Potian has not been able to go to the Zhang family's ancestral hall to worship, which means that he has not been re-accepted by the Zhang family.

The biggest opponent was Zhang Ruojin. He wanted to replace Zhang Potian in charge of military power. Things happened suddenly, but Zhang Potian also felt that there must be a deep hidden secret in it.

According to his judgment, this matter can only be two possible ways. The first possibility is that the head of the family takes action to eliminate dissidents. Although it is his brother, he may not be unable to take action for the benefit of the family.

The second possibility is that Cui Yuan sent someone to plot against Zhang Ruojin in order to provoke civil strife in the Zhang family.

If it is the latter possibility, it is actually directed at him. If he does not clear his suspicion in time, the gap between him and the Zhang family will become deeper and deeper.

After walking forward for several miles, the official road ahead was smooth and there was no more rice piled up. Zhang Potian whipped his horse whip and rushed towards Chang'an. In the distance, thin dark clouds were slowly gathering from all over the place to the sky above Chang'an.

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In Cui Yuan's study, the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty was looking out the window silently with his hands behind his back. The assassination at the Hedong County Wharf made him realize the complexity of the problem. Someone had seen through his plan. Zhang Ruohao, Zhang Potian, Zhang Huan, and even Pei Jun or Chu Xingshui might be the driving force behind the scenes. It seems that he still thought things too simple.

In the room, there was a person standing with his hands hanging down from Cui Yuan's head. He was tall and fat, with anger on his face. If Zhang Huan saw this person, he would be shocked. He was Zhang Ruojin who had fallen into the water and died.

Of course, Zhang Ruojin was not resurrected from the dead, but the person who was stabbed to death was not himself. He was just a substitute that Cui Yuan found. He was the key to overthrowing the Zhang family. With Cui Yuan's scheming and ingenious calculations, how could he let him go back without any warning?

"As expected, they really did it? I will go back to Taiyuan tomorrow!" Zhang Ruojin gritted his teeth. Since Zhang Ruohao ignored his brotherly feelings, don't blame himself for being rude.

"Don't be so excited, excitement cannot accomplish great things."

Cui Yuan glanced back at him and said coldly: "You just want to defeat Zhang Ruohao? Have you ever thought about Zhang Potian? How do you deal with him? And Zhang Huan, if he leads his troops back, what will you resist?"

"This..." A series of questions made Zhang Ruojin speechless. He slowly calmed down and whispered: "Which means the Prime Minister, how should the subordinates act?"

"You don't need to worry about how to act!"

Cui Yuan waved his hand and said coldly: "You go down first. You have been living in my mansion these few days. When it's time for you to come forward, there will naturally be someone telling you what to do?"

"But..." Zhang Ruojin's lips moved. A few days ago, Cui Yuan punched his shoulder and blamed him for being too respectful, but now, what has he become in just a few days?

He sighed secretly, but did not dare to say more, so he had to bow his head and retreat.

After Zhang Ruojin retreated, Cui Yuan immediately ordered a guard to say, "Go! Call Cui Wushang for me."

Cui Wushang was a child of the Cui family. After Liu Yuanqing's death, Cui Yuan appointed him as the inspector of the Zhengshi Hall and stationed in the Daming Palace for a long time. The inspector of the inspector was not of high rank and only had eighth rank, but had great power. One of the main purpose of Cui Yuan's appointment was to make him monitor Zhang Huan's movements.

After a moment, Cui Wushang hurried over. He was the son of Cui Yuan's younger brother, Cui Yu, and a concubine son. He passed the fourth place in the Jinshi exam the previous year. He was very smart and capable, and was quite admired by Cui Yuan.

"Wushang participated in the head of the family!" Cui Wushang immediately knelt down and gave a big gift to Cui Yuan.

"Get up! I have something to ask you."

"Yes!" Cui Wushen stood up and stood aside with his hands hanging down.

Cui Yuan glanced at him and asked, "What have Zhang Huan been doing these days?"

"If you go home, Zhang Huan is busy forming a polo team these days."

"Polo team?"

Cui Yuan was stunned. When did Zhang Huan become so leisurely? He touched his huge nose and thought secretly: "Is this not what he did?"

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Chapter completed!