Chapter 414 Songcheng Assassination
Chapter 414 Songcheng Assassination
Yuan Wendu said goodbye and left. Wang Long came back and opened the note. It said "Shen Family, Gushu County". Wang Long was stunned. What did this mean?
He couldn't understand the meaning of the note, so he opened the box again. Inside was a beautiful jade seal with a tiger button on it, but there was nothing engraved on the seal. It was just an empty seal.
He still didn't quite understand what the Yuan family meant. At this moment, his son Wang Shichong returned home and greeted his father in the hall.
Wang Long waved his hand and said, "Wulang, you are back just in time. Come and help your father!"
Wang Shichong walked up to take the jade seal, looked at it and said with a smile: "Who gave this to my father?"
Wang Long sighed and said, "This was given to me by Yuan Xiaoju, the head of the Yuan family. Yuan Wendu came today and gave me two puzzles. One is this jade seal, and the other is a piece of paper. I am confused!"
Wang Long then told his son in detail about Yuan Wendu's visit, and finally said to his son, "You are smart, think about what it means for me."
Wang Shichong thought for a moment and said, "I understand what they mean. The Yuan family wants to take action against the prince, but they don't do it themselves. Instead, they instigate Yang Ling to do it. My father is the middleman. The implication of this jade seal is that it depends on how much contribution my father makes, from prime minister to county lieutenant. If my father wants to be prime minister or be conferred the title of Duke, he must work hard for the Guanlong nobles."
"I see!"
Wang Long suddenly realized, "So this is a fish hook. What does the note mean?"
Wang Shichong opened the note and read it. He thought for a moment and said, "We can send someone to Gushu County to find out what happened to the Shen family?"
Yang Guang ended his inspection of Hexi and was finally about to leave. During this trip to Hexi, Yang Guang admired Fan Zigai, the governor of Wuwei County. Fan Zigai was responsible for organizing the pilgrimage of thirteen Hexi Qiang tribal leaders. These leaders behaved very well in terms of conversation, order and etiquette. When Yang Guang inquired, he learned that it was Fan Zigai's credit. He trained these Qiang leaders for three months and put in a lot of effort.
Moreover, Fan Zigai could not only speak Qiang language, but also fluent Turkic, which made Emperor Yang Guang very impressed. He immediately promoted Fan Zigai to the position of Left Vice Minister of Rites and accompanied the emperor north to Shuofang.
Before leaving, according to Xiao Xia's recommendation, Yin Shishi was appointed as the governor of Hexi. At the same time, the governors of Hexi and Longyou counties were restored to the position of governor, and Yin Shishi concurrently served as the governor of Wuwei County.
Yang Guang also announced the final appointment of King Jin, appointing Xiao Xia as the governor of Jiangnan Road, in charge of the military and political affairs of Jiangnan.
The emperor's troops finally marched north in a mighty manner. At this time, Xiao Xia also received news from Chengdu County, Shu Prefecture, that the fleet was ready.
Three days later, Xiao Xia set off with an army of 30,000, carrying 60,000 war horses and 1,000 camels, starting his new journey in life.
In the study room of the Prince of Qi's mansion in Luoyang, Wang Long said to Prince of Qi Yang Ling: "The Shen family is the most wealthy family in Gushu County. They have hundreds of ships. They dug a pond on the Bian Canal to moor the family's cargo ships. This time, the dredging of the Bian Canal requires filling up the Shen family's pond. The Shen family has been making trouble, seriously hindering the dredging of the Bian Canal. The prince was angry and ordered the leader of the trouble, Shen Kui, the eldest son of the Shen family, to be arrested. As a result, in the confrontation with the government, Shen Kui was beaten to death by the army, and his father Shen Fa also hanged himself."
Yang Ling suddenly understood, "You mean to use the Shen family to assassinate the prince?"
Wang Long shook his head and said, "Your Highness, even if you kill the Shen family, they would not dare to assassinate the prince. They are just shouting. What I mean is that they pretended to be the Shen family to bribe the assassin!"
Yang Ling finally understood, and walked back and forth a few steps with his hands behind his back, saying, "This is a serious matter, let me think about it again."
Wang Long said coldly, "There is no brotherhood or father-son relationship in front of the throne. Your Highness, didn't you see how your father, several uncles, and the crown prince competed for the throne? If it is inconvenient for Your Highness to come forward, you can leave it to me to arrange it. If anything happens in the future, I will take the blame!"
Yang Ling was silent for a long time, and finally nodded.
The Grand Canal Dredging Office was located in Songcheng County, Liang County, and it just happened to utilize the former Liangzhou General Administration Office of Xiao Xia, and was named the Grand Canal Dredging Office.
Early in the morning, a carriage protected by a hundred mounted guards left Songcheng County and headed for Gushu County. In the carriage sat Crown Prince Yang Zhao and Minister of Works Gao Jiong.
Gao Jiong had previously received an express letter from Jin Wang Xiao Xia, in which Xiao Xia pointed out that the prince had a bad heart and could not be tired, and suggested that he should not go out and stay in the government office as much as possible.
Gao Jiong listened to Xiao Xia's advice and resolutely refused to allow Crown Prince Yang Zhao to inspect the canal. He stayed in the office to command and let him inspect the canal.
But today is special. Crown Prince Yang Zhao has to go to Gushu County to appease the Shen family. Shen Kui was beaten to death by soldiers and Shen Fa committed suicide, which made Yang Zhao feel quite guilty. He needs to go to appease the Shen family.
The weather was a bit hot and humid, so they opened the window and a cool breeze blew into the car. Yang Zhao was afraid of the heat, so the breeze made him feel much more comfortable. "Your Highness should return to the capital tomorrow! The emperor is on a tour, and Your Highness is the crown prince, so you should stay in the capital."
Yang Zhao nodded, "I will leave for Beijing tomorrow. I will arrange the project in Gushu County today, and then I will have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, I will be worried."
Since the prince was sure to return to the capital tomorrow, Gao Jiong would not urge him. Suddenly, Gao Jiong thought of something else.
"Your Highness, I heard that the Prince of Jin is going to be the governor of Jiangnan. Is this news accurate?"
Yang Zhao nodded. "The third brother wrote to me before and said that he wanted to govern Jiangnan. He performed well in Hexi this time. Father should agree to his request."
Gao Jiong smiled and said, "If the Prince of Jin is appointed as the governor of Jiangnan Road, then the dredging of the southern section of the canal can be handed over to him."
Yang Zhao's eyes lit up, "This is true, let me take a look at the drawings!"
He reached out to take the blueprint, and just as he turned sideways, he heard a "whoosh!" A cold arrow shot in from outside and hit Yang Zhao's right chest. He turned sideways to take the blueprint, slightly tilted, and avoided the fatal arrow, which did not hit his heart.
"Ah!" Yang Zhao screamed, then fell down holding his chest.
Gao Ying was shocked and shouted: "There is an assassin! There is an assassin!"
There was a great commotion among the guards outside, and one of them shouted, "In the river, the assassin jumped into the river!"
Gao Jiong hurried forward to support Yang Zhao and shouted, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Yang Zhao pointed to his chest with difficulty, "I have life-saving medicine, give me two pills!"
Gao Ying took out a medicine gourd from his arms, poured out two green pills, crushed them and stuffed them into Yang Zhao's mouth, then used a kettle to fill it with water for him to drink.
Yang Zhao lay down and sighed, "I won't die this time!"
He was eating the Chunyu Pill given to him by his brother Xiao Xia. Xiao Xia asked Liu Wenjing to deliver a letter, which included 100 Chunyu Pills. In the letter, Xiao Xia told him, "If your heart is uncomfortable, take one to save your life. If you are injured, take two, and they can also save your life!"
Yang Zhao remembered it clearly. The guards rushed up, pulled out the arrow, applied medicine, and bandaged the wound. Yang Zhao coughed violently, and blood gushed out immediately. Yang Zhao fainted.
When Gao Ying saw the arrow flashing green, his heart sank suddenly, knowing that the arrow was poisonous.
Although the arrow did not injure his heart, the arrowhead was hollow and contained a large amount of venom. If it weren't for Xiao Xia's Spring Rain Pill, Yang Zhao might not have been able to withstand it with his physical condition.
The carriage turned around and headed towards Songcheng
The crown prince was assassinated and the emperor was not in Chang'an. Gao Jiong did not dare to send Yang Zhao to Luoyang, so he had to ask the best doctors in Songcheng to treat him. At the same time, he ordered the government and the army to search for the assassin.
In Luoyang, Yang Ling slammed the table and angrily scolded Wang Long: "The assassination attempt failed. How did you arrange it?"
Wang Long said calmly, "Your Highness, I heard that the arrow hit the chest, which means it actually hit the target. The assassination attempt was a complete success, but Yang Zhao was lucky and avoided the heart. But don't worry, Your Highness, the arrowhead is poisonous. This poison is a slow-acting poison of our Qiang people. Although the toxicity is not strong, it cannot be eradicated. Once it enters the body, it will settle down and devour the internal organs bit by bit. In a year at the fastest and two years at the latest, Yang Zhao will definitely die. At that time, Your Highness should succeed the crown prince."
Yang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said, "Kill the assassin!"
Wang Long smiled complacently, "Don't worry, Your Highness. The assassin has been killed. If the government investigates, the clues left behind will definitely point to the Shen family."
(End of this chapter)