When Qu Tuquan realized that something seemed not quite right, he was about to lead his people away quietly, but was discovered by Zuo Wuwei's scouts. A group of cavalry galloped over and blocked the way.
Qu Tuguan clasped his fists on his horse and said: "I am Qu Tuguan, the captain of the Sixth Army of the East Palace. Previously, a scout from your army came into the city to report the case, saying that bandits attacked and killed a manor. Please lead me to lead the people to block the scene... Since your army has arrived
, then I don’t want to be too troublesome, I still need to go back to guard the city gate and say goodbye.”
As soon as the horse was reined in, it was time to return to the original route.
Unexpectedly, the captain at the head of the cavalry team smiled brightly, stretched out his hand to stop them, and said with a smile: "My commander found a group of bandits last night and arrested them. Unexpectedly, half of them escaped. He chased them all the way to this place, and happened to see the murder here."
The scene is being investigated in the village... Since Colonel Qu Tu is here, there is no need to leave in a hurry, it is just a good time to be a witness."
Qu Tuquan was surprised, Cheng Yaojin was here?
How could he be willing to leave any witness? He only regretted that he should not have come, and refused: "Lu Guogong is a famous general in the world. With him surveying the scene, how can the general dare to say anything? I don't dare to disturb Lu Guogong, so I leave first..."
"Captain Qutu, stay!"
Another horse came from the village, and the soldiers on the horse shouted loudly from a distance: "The commander-in-chief invites you!"
Qu Tuquan complained endlessly, but he did not dare to disobey Cheng Yaojin's military order. He had no choice but to order the accompanying soldiers to wait here, and then followed him into the village.
At this moment, the thin drizzle has stopped, and the sky is still gloomy. Although the morning sun is blocked by clouds, there is still some light coming through, and you can see the surrounding scenery clearly without the need for a torch.
I dismounted in front of the broken gate of the village. As soon as I stepped into the village, a strong smell of blood hit my face. On the way to the village, I kept seeing corpses lying on the roadside, in the courtyard, and at the door. The death states were different, but most of them were lying on the roadside, in the courtyard, and at the door.
He was killed with a sharp blade, and the blood was washed away by the rain, but it didn't make it any less tragic...
Even if he has no experience in criminal investigation, Qu Tuquan, who has been in battle for a long time, can clearly understand that this is not about robbing property and food.
It was clearly a deliberate massacre.
When they arrived outside the main room, soldiers with helmets and armor were standing around the wall. Cheng Yaojin, dressed in military uniform, stood at the door with his hands behind his back. When he saw Qu Tuquan approaching, he waved.
Qu Tuquan stepped forward and stood behind Cheng Yaojin. Regardless of the mud and blood on the ground, he knelt down on one knee and said, "General, I will see Duke Lu at the end of the day."
Only then did he discover a headless corpse lying on the ground a foot in front of Cheng Yaojin...
"No gift!"
Cheng Yaojin said something and called Qu Tuquan to his side. Just as he was about to speak, a military scribe came quickly from a distance, holding a few pages of paper in his hand and respectfully said: "Commander Qi, just now
The survivors in the village and the bandits captured last night were interrogated, and they have all confessed. This is a confession, please read it to the commander-in-chief."
Cheng Yaojin snorted and scolded: "I am now affiliated with the Eastern Expedition Army and was ordered to station at Chunming Gate. Coming to arrest the bandits is already a dog meddling in other people's business. How can I have the right to interrogate this case? This is nonsense.
!However, Lieutenant Qutu is subordinate to the Sixth Commander of the East Palace and is a close minister of the Crown Prince. He is also ordered to be in charge of the defense of Chang'an, so this matter can be handed over to him."
Qu Tuquan shook his head like a rattle and refused repeatedly: "The Duke of Lu is the pillar of the country and the Duke of the country. It is the right time to deal with this matter. How can I dare to overstep my position? I should not do it, I should not do it."
How can this kind of thing be related? If it is involved, it will be a big trouble...
"fart!"
Cheng Yaojin turned around, glared, and reprimanded: "Since you know that I am the Duke of the country, you still dare to disobey my military orders. Do you want to die? If you dare to shirk the responsibility, you will be punished by military law!"
Qu Tuquan felt extremely aggrieved, but how could he dare to say no more in front of Cheng Yaojin?
I had to pinch my nose and admit: "The general will just obey his orders."
Only then did Cheng Yaojin's anger dissipate. He patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "I heard about your boy's deeds of defending the Tai Chi Palace. He fought to the death and made outstanding achievements. He did not disgrace your father. You are a good man.
Someone...come and take Colonel Qu Tu to interrogate the criminal."
Qu Tuquan squeezed out an extremely embarrassing smile on his face: "Thank you so much, Lord Lu, for your ridiculous compliment. I will never be able to deserve it."
I sent my greetings to Cheng Yaojin’s ancestors in my heart...
The clerk on the side wondered: "I'm afraid this... the prisoner can't be interrogated. During the interrogation, the prisoners were very tough and had to use some tricks to confess. I'm afraid they have died now."
Cheng Yaojin cursed: "A bunch of cowards and useless things!"
After scolding, he snatched the confession from the clerk and put it into Qu Tuquan's hand: "It doesn't matter if the criminal is dead, isn't there still a confession? You just need to report it truthfully, and you will never distrust me.
, do you think that I am colluding with that criminal, and you are talking nonsense?"
Qu Tuquan reluctantly followed up with a few confessions, saying to himself, "You're so dead and you don't have any evidence, and you're not framed for me?"
Cheng Yaojin didn't give him a chance to speak at all. He waved his hand and said to the soldiers around him: "Okay, hand this over to the Sixth Army of the East Palace. Let's continue chasing the bandits southward!"
"Here!"
The soldiers responded to the order with a bang and evacuated the manor in an orderly manner.
Qu Tuquan was startled and hurriedly stopped Cheng Yaojin and asked: "Gong Lu was ordered to guard Chunming Gate, so how could he lead his troops to move around at will? Don't worry, since the case has been handed over to the general, he will naturally take care of it."
We will investigate carefully and the murderer will not be allowed to go unpunished."
Zuo Wuwei was stationed outside the Chunming Gate. He was not only an eye planted by Li Ji'an in Chang'an, but also because of Cheng Yaojin's identity as a Shandong family. He was also a thunderbolt beside the fire pit. If he was not careful, he would detonate, causing the situation to change dramatically.
, making Dong Gong passive, how can he be allowed to run around and do whatever he wants?
Cheng Yaojin immediately lowered his face and shouted: "How can you be so impudent! How can I allow you to interfere with my actions? I am from a noble family in Shandong, and I belong to the same lineage as Cui Yuqing who died tragically.
, if you can't kill the murderer with your own hands, how will you see the Shandong elders again in the future? You can't get involved in this matter, just report it, no need to say more!"
Qu Tuquan looked confused, you are obviously trying to trick me, why don't you allow me to resist?
Cheng Yaojin gave him a scolding, ignored him, and quickly evacuated with his soldiers and horses, galloping southward with their hooves rolling.
"Mom! Are you just bullying people? It was Guan Long's troops who killed Cui Yuqing by involving the Sixth Leader of the East Palace and then testified to you... But this is all your own talk, and there is no proof!"
Qu Tuquan wanted to cry but had no tears. He was so badly hurt by this demon king.
He cursed in his heart and greeted the eighteenth generation of Cheng Yaojin's ancestors, but he had to quickly order the accompanying soldiers to surround the manor and not allow anyone to approach. Then he looked at the confession in his hand and handed it to his relatives.
Soldiers, ask him to return to the city quickly to report the matter, especially since Cheng Yaojin will definitely lead his army south to investigate the remaining Guanlong army in the name of hunting down the murderers. Please pay more attention to the East Palace to prevent the situation from changing.
…
Soon, the matter was reported to Li Jing.
Li Jing, who was sitting at Chengtianmen, listened to the soldiers relaying Qu Tuquan's words, and looked at some of the confessions in his hands. It clearly showed that the defeated troops belonged to Guan Long, pretending to be the remnants of the private army of the powerful clans outside Guan, and were under the orders of Sun Wuji, the commander-in-chief. He was ordered to raid the manor and kill him, with the intention of provoking dissatisfaction among the Shandong family, sabotaging their ongoing negotiations with the East Palace, and even the subsequent cooperation between the two parties...
Pure nonsense!
Changsun Wuji is now holed up in Zhongnan Mountain, and the remaining Guanlong troops around him are vulnerable. Life and death only depend on the prince's thoughts. How dare he stir up trouble and stir up trouble at this time?
It was clear that the Shandong family was looking for a reason to force the prince to go to war with Guan Long and completely destroy Guan Long. To do this, they even did not hesitate to hook up with a minister of punishment... This was the Shandong aristocratic family showing their determination. A minister of punishment was so easily taken by them. Giving up shows his resolute attitude. If the prince ignores it, he will suffer extreme dissatisfaction from them, and there is no way of knowing how the situation will change again.
The flag of the Shandong family is Li Ji, and Li Ji is approaching Chang'an with an army at the moment. If the prince breaks with the Shandong family, no one knows what direction the situation will develop... The Shandong family has calculated that the prince does not dare to make it public They broke up with each other, so they used these methods to force the prince.
His heart can be killed!
But Li Jing did not dare to make his own claims, so he quickly changed into a military uniform and rushed from Chengtianmen to the Wude Hall to meet the prince, presented his confession, and then expressed his judgment.
Li Chengqian had just finished his breakfast and was wearing regular clothes. He met Li Jing in the side hall. He looked at the confession and listened to Li Jing's narration, and was speechless for a long time...
He threw the confession on the desk in front of him and said angrily: "Gong Lu is too domineering and bullying!"
This so-called "evidence" is just like child's play. How can you treat him as a fool? At least you can operate more delicately instead of being so hasty and perfunctory...
Li Jing was able to keep his composure and said solemnly: "Left and right is just an excuse. No matter how you operate it, the effect is the same. The Shandong family is obviously not satisfied with controlling the Tang Dynasty military, trying to use this to completely destroy Guanlong, and then enter the country on a large scale In the imperial court, you can compete with the Jiangnan nobles... Guan Long still has some uses, and besides, Guan Long's life and death is also related to the majesty of His Highness."
The prince wants to keep Guanlong and relies on his remaining foundation to resist Shandong. The powerful families in Jiangnan and Jiangnan completely control the court. If Guanlong is still wiped out and destroyed under this background, how can the prince's face be saved?
Perhaps, the Shandong family ignored the wishes of the prince and ordered Cheng Yaojin to annihilate Guanlong, with the intention of killing the prince's majesty and suppressing the prince's majesty.
The prince has not yet ascended the throne, so he will show off his power first...
Li Chengqian also thought of this and asked, "What does Duke Wei think?"
Li Jing pondered for a moment and said: "The sixth leader of the East Palace is responsible for the defense of the capital and dare not leave without permission. After all, the Guanlong clan still has strength. If there is any ups and downs, it must be dealt with. Your Highness can ask the Duke of Yue to give Gao Kan an order to Zuo Wuwei is blocking the foot of Zhongnan Mountain and cannot be used to attack the remaining troops of Guanlong."