Although the assassination incident in the palace caused no casualties, it frightened the royal family in the palace.
Li Shimin was also furious because of this. On the night of the incident, he ordered the Chang'an Gate to be closed and the assassins were hunted everywhere.
This night was destined to be a restless night in Chang'an City. Many people were awakened by the sudden arrival of soldiers while they were still sleeping.
This directly led to many people gathering outside the imperial city gate in the early morning to protest against the intrusion of the imperial guards last night.
It's just that these complaints are destined to not receive a reply.
After all, it was Li Shimin who gave the order last night.
Moreover, such a big thing happened in the palace, so it is reasonable to seal the city gates and search the whole city.
Nowadays, although the rights and interests of the people are increasing day by day because of Li Chengqian's existence, it does not mean that they can cause trouble casually.
However, Li Shimin also gave enough face to the people.
He directly sent six cabinet ministers, including Wei Zheng, to communicate with the people in person.
And it was only with their comfort that the people reluctantly dispersed in a hurry, and the matter was considered to have come to an end.
However, this matter is over in the eyes of the people, but for Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, this is just the beginning.
Sneaking into the palace at this moment, what a big deal this is?
What do those imperial guards do for food? What do those secret guards do for food?
If things continue like this, how can the safety of the royal family be guaranteed? How can the safety of the emperor Li Shimin be guaranteed?
Although Li Shimin did not punish Duan Zhixuan on the spot, he also fined him one year's salary and demoted him three levels.
Such punishments were unprecedented in the entire history of the Tang Dynasty, and Duan Zhixuan was the first.
However, Duan Zhixuan had no complaints about this. After all, he was the one who neglected his duty first, and it was reasonable for Li Shimin to punish him no matter how he punished him.
But it was impossible for him not to take this matter to heart.
For many years, he has been known for being conscientious and never making mistakes, otherwise Li Shimin would not trust him so much. But now the arrival of these assassins was a slap in the face.
No matter where he went, he seemed to hear someone laughing at him behind his back.
How could he not be angry?
And he vented all his anger on those assassins.
After a night of searching, Duan Zhixuan found nothing.
A few assassins who were too slow to escape before the blocked city gate were all arrested by the Imperial Guards.
What's more, Li Chengqian also left him so many survivors?
And it was also a pain for these people. Even though they just went shopping in the palace, they were treated as serious criminals and interrogated.
Duan Zhixuan was born in the Prince of Qin's palace, and as Li Shimin's right-hand man, he was responsible for handling the remnants of the hidden prince.
Therefore, he also has his own unique approach to interrogation.
At this moment, inside the prison.
Duan Zhixuan called for tea and drank it slowly, looking very comfortable and leisurely.
But on the execution rack not far from him, it was a completely different scene.
The seven assassins were all tied to cross-shaped torture racks, and each one was beaten like a bloody gourd.
But despite this, the executioners had no intention of letting them go. Some were pulling out their nails, and some were slowly cutting their hands and hamstrings.
What's more, they carried out Lingchi torture with a small knife.
The screams in this cell could be heard one after another, but even under such circumstances, Duan Zhixuan could still deal with it calmly.
After finishing the cup of tea, he took a sip and said, "The tea has been watered down by me. Aren't you ready to speak?"
After hearing this, one of them trembled and said: "General, we are really all
Vendors from out of town..."
"Traders from out of town, are you fooling me?"
Duan Zhixuan casually threw the sword beside him at the assassin's feet: "Businessmen from out of town, do you need a sword?"
"There is no law in the Tang Dynasty that prohibits people from wearing swords."
The man was still insisting on his words.
Duan Zhixuan shook his head slightly and laughed out loud.
He slowly walked up to the assassin with a teacup in his hand and said: "You kid, I'm afraid you don't know how many years your Grandpa Duan has been fighting in the Forbidden Army and how many young people like you he has dealt with. ."
"You think you're hiding well, you think you're invisible."
"But have you forgotten what place you entered?"
"That's the palace. Your Majesty lives there. Do you think it's an ordinary courtyard?"
How could the palace be an ordinary place?
The layout of the palace, even the rockery and water, are all very particular.
What's more, Li Shimin himself was an emperor with a strong charlatanism, and he had long been prepared for this move.
The reason why the Forbidden Army was able to catch the assassin so quickly last night and so confidently was because the walls of the Inner Imperial City were rubbed with a strange spice.
Most people cannot smell this spice, and only by taking a herbal medicine all year round can they feel its existence.
Once this special spice is stained, it is difficult to wash off, and the people in front of me all have this smell.
Hearing this, the assassin was suddenly startled.
They indeed underestimated Li Shimin and the Imperial City Forbidden Army.
"Perhaps in the eyes of those Jianghu people, we imperial guards are just a bunch of drunkards."
"Perhaps in your eyes, the people in the court are also fools, not as good as you weirdos."
"But what I want to tell you is that often only fools think so." >
The corners of Duan Zhixuan's mouth were raised, revealing a cruel sneer.
Upon hearing this, the assassin tightly closed his mouth and said no more.
At this time, he no longer said that he was a good businessman.
After all, the evidence has been produced, so he would be really stupid if he still persisted.
Seeing him like this, Duan Zhixuan also laughed out loud.
Afterwards, he drank all the tea in the cup, then looked at the people around him and said: "Brothers, your moves are all accurate, don't let me play to death."
"yes!"
Several executioners responded immediately.
And when Duan Zhixuan turned around, he suddenly remembered something.
Immediately, he raised his hand and said: "By the way, His Highness and His Majesty have said separately that whoever can interrogate their mastermind first will be rewarded with a hundred gold leaves..."
One gold leaf is equal to half a tael of gold, and a hundred gold leaves are equal to fifty taels of gold.
And this is enough for a person to live a decadent and debauched life for more than ten or twenty years.
So after hearing this, the executioners' eyes turned red, and they were very motivated at the moment.
As for Duan Zhixuan, he sat back in his seat again, looking at the 'good show' in front of him with a smile on his face.
The efforts of these executioners also caused the assassins to suffer a lot.
But who can blame this?
They only have themselves to blame.
It's not good for them to offend anyone, but they offend the most powerful person in the world.
It's not good for them to bully anyone, but they chose to bully the son of the most powerful man in the world.
This is not just looking for trouble, what else could it be?
Of course, if we look more closely, we still have to blame the person behind them.
After all, to a certain extent, they are just a bunch of cannon fodder.
In fact, they are not even cannon fodder, at most they are just a group of minions...