Next, Long Qi was responsible for monitoring the Tubo people, Guo Xin was responsible for mobilizing soldiers and providing ready response, and Kong You was responsible for tracing the whereabouts of Chang'an's internal intelligence.
However, after several days of tracing, not much was gained.
The guide to the Tubo assassins, including household registration, occupation, appearance and other information, all comes from Longxi.
Chang'an is not too far from Longxi, so Kong You sent people to investigate the details and found that the identity information of these Tibetan assassins was deliberately forged by someone, and then secretly entered it into the prefecture and county registers, and finally reported it to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Upon closer inspection, we found that the officials and clerks who were responsible for registering all died in various accidents a few months ago.
For a time, I wanted to start with the road guide and household registration to trace the whereabouts of Nei Ying, but this clue was lost.
As for the house where the assassin stayed, it was the private property of a businessman named Wang from Guanzhong Trading Company.
A few months ago, the businessman named Wang died of a sudden illness in Jiangnan East Road. This house is now ownerless, and no one else is involved.
In other words, after all the hard work, neither Sang Chiruo nor the internal agents in Chang'an City were able to find any valuable clues.
Seeing that the day of the celebration was coming soon, Kong You, Long Qi and Guo Xin came to the palace to meet the saint again.
Zhou Jun saw the expressions of the three people and knew that the progress of the investigation was probably not satisfactory.
Long Qi spoke first: "After monitoring these past few days, the Tubo assassins have not done anything. They only go to the streets to explore the terrain every day. The rest of the time, they wait in the house."
Zhou Jun asked doubtfully: "Sang Chiruo still hasn't come?"
Long Qi shook his head: "Sang Chiruo still hasn't appeared."
Guo Xin: "Hehuang, Hechuan and other places came to report, but the Tubo people did not make any unusual movements and everything was as usual."
Zhou Jun: "In other words, the person responsible for this assassination and subsequent coordination is only the Tibetan army in Chang'an City and no one else?"
Guo Xin nodded.
Kong You frowned, bowed to Zhou Jun and said: "All officials, civil servants and common people of the Tang Dynasty who were related to the assassins all died unexpectedly a few months ago. They must have been silenced."
Thinking that there would be such a huge hostile force within the Tang Dynasty, Zhou Jun suddenly felt shuddering: "Having the ability to kill all these people without leaving any flaws must have been premeditated for this assassination, and behind the scenes
The power may be very involved."
Kong You nodded.
Zhou Jun: "The day of the celebration is just around the corner. Since Sang Chiruo and the internal agents have tried their best to arrange this group of Tibetan assassins in Chang'an, why have they been reluctant to show up to take command, and are still hiding their whereabouts now?
"
Kong You, Guo Xin and Long Qi looked at each other, but none of them could give an answer.
Guo Xin said: "Your Majesty, is there such a possibility? Sang Chiruo and those internal agents have been hiding in the dark and have no intention of going into battle personally. To them, these Tibetan soldiers are just dead soldiers.
That’s all. If the assassination succeeds, that’s the best. Even if it fails, it won’t involve you.”
Zhou Jun: "It is indeed possible. Before entering the city, Sang Chiruo and the agents had already arranged the assassination plan. They were hiding in the dark while observing the progress of the plan and trying not to come into contact with the assassins.
, so as to ensure your own safety..."
Kong You cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I'd like to speak frankly. If we talk about the harm caused by this assassination by the Tubo people, Sang Chiruo is the second most harmful. The internal agents hidden behind are the most terrifying enemies."
Zhou Jun couldn't help but nod. After all, Sang Chiruo was a Tubo and a general of the defeated army. No matter how smart he was, he could only stir up trouble and could not cause subversive damage to the entire Tang Dynasty.
However, that group of insiders is different.
They can obtain directions at will, forge identities, and arrange assassins in Gyeonggi. The most frightening thing is that this group should be able to kill all the people related to the assassins in a short period of time, and do it quietly, and investigate
Nothing to check.
Zhou Jun could not imagine how the entire Tang Dynasty would be subverted in the future if these people were allowed to survive.
Therefore, in Zhou Jun's heart, Sang Chiruo's life and death was ranked second, and finding and executing this group of insiders was placed at the top of the list.
After Kong You thought for a moment, he said to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty, Sang Chiruo and the group of internal agents are unwilling to show up before the assassin succeeds... Is it possible to change the way of thinking and make them feel that they have succeeded and that the big thing has been accomplished?
Woolen cloth?"
When Guo Xin heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "What the right minister said is strange. What does it mean to succeed, and what does it mean that the matter has been accomplished?"
Kong You cleared his throat and said: "If those assassins succeeded in assassinating the emperor on the day of the celebration, and the emperor was seriously injured and fell unconscious in the palace, then how would Sang Chiruo and those internal agents act?"
Zhou Jun's eyes lit up: "If the Tubo assassin really succeeds, I will be too injured to go to court. Let's not talk about Sang Chiruo for now. Those insiders will definitely jump out and make insinuations about my injury. Once they find out that the injury is true
, will take the opportunity to seize power in the government."
Guo Xin reacted first: "Once His Majesty is seriously injured, whoever is more active in the court will be more likely to harbor evil intentions."
Kong You: "Yes, there are three key points to this plan. The first is to make the enemy believe that the emperor drove to Qujiang on the day of the celebration and was ambushed; the second is to make the enemy believe that the emperor was indeed seriously injured and unable to handle government affairs.
; The third is to take advantage of the chaos in the DPRK to carefully identify who is the real mastermind behind the scenes."
Long Qi had a headache: "The original plan was that once it was confirmed that there were Tubo assassins in the city, His Majesty would cancel the trip and stay directly in the palace. If we go by what the Right Minister said, wouldn't it mean that the Emperor would put himself at risk?"
Kong You: "At the moment of the ambush, it was naturally impossible for the emperor to be in the convoy. We only need to ensure that when the convoy departs from the palace, everyone sees the emperor enter the royal chariot and drive to Qujiang."
Long Qi immediately understood Kong You's intention: "What the right minister means is to let the emperor set off from the imperial city in a chariot in full view of the public, and then use the method of stealing the sky and changing the day to escort his majesty out of the motorcade?"
Guo Xin: "There is another question. If the emperor is 'injured', someone from the palace and courtiers will definitely come to visit. Among these visitors, no one knows whether there is any hidden secret, in case it is discovered.
If there is a flaw, wouldn’t all the previous efforts be wasted?”
Zhou Jun: "I know a person who is quite accomplished in makeup. No matter the wound or disease, he can fake it to the fullest. As for the flaw being seen during the visit, the response is actually simple. He deliberately spread rumors that his condition is getting better, but fakes it.
The injury must be concealed, and no one else is allowed to visit. Within a few days, rumors will spread inside and outside the palace."
Having said this, Zhou Jun paused for a moment and said to the three people in the hall: "Speaking of which, I have a question that I want to ask you."
Kong You, Guo Xin and Long Qi all bowed.
Zhou Jun: "According to your opinion, who is the internal agent who joined forces with Sang Chiruo?"
When this question was raised, the three of them hesitated.
If you tell me, you will be accused of criticizing others; if you don't tell me, you may be displeased by the emperor.
Guo Xin thought about it again and again and replied: "The remnants of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty once colluded with the Tubo people. Although some of the surrendered ministers later submitted to our dynasty, there is no guarantee that some will turn against them and harm the country."
Guo Xin guessed that the Tubo people should be the surrendered ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty. After all, the Southern Tang Dynasty had a fierce war with the Tubo people, and now it is reasonable for them to collude together to subvert the imperial court.
Zhou Jun nodded slightly and looked at Long Qi again.
Long Qi: "I would venture to speculate that your majesty originally had a foreign surname, and later inherited the royal family of Li Tang. There were many palace battles involved. Perhaps someone in the old palace was dissatisfied with your majesty and wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge."
Long Qi heard a lot about the internal battles between Li Longji and Zhou Jun from Sun Aying and other emperor's personal guards. Now it is very possible to guess that someone in Li Tang's family wanted to "trace their origins."
Zhou Jun finally turned his attention to Kong You, who had been silent.
The latter lowered his head to prevent the emperor from seeing his expression, and said in a deep voice: "I and the two Protectors have a general view. There is nothing more to add."
Zhou Jun frowned, looked deeply at Kong You, and said nothing.