Chapter 463: Another Assassination
Chapter 463: Another Assassination
In the next few days, Xiao Xia visited important officials such as Yang Su, Yang Da, and Xiao Cong. That afternoon, Xiao Xia visited the chief craftsman Yuwen Kai.
"I am considering using three years to dredge the Jiangnan Canal, but it cannot affect shipping, so a more comprehensive design is needed, including the arrangement of bridges, which is convenient for the people and does not affect shipping, as well as the arrangement of canal branches. At the same time, flood control must be considered, which requires highly skilled officials to preside over it. After much thought, only Yuwen Gong is the most suitable. I implore Yuwen Gong to go south and bring welfare to the people of Jiangnan!"
Yuwen Kai is about fifty years old, thin, but smart and capable. Three years ago, he was persecuted by Yun Dingxing and fled to Luoyang for refuge. He was rescued by Xiao Xia and owed Xiao Xia a big favor.
Yuwen Kai said happily: "Your Highness's ideas are admirable. The beginning of a project lies in design, coordination, and planning. This way, we will not carry out construction blindly. With a head like Your Highness, the Jiangnan Canal will surely produce excellent products."
"Then can Lord Yuwen go south?"
"this."
Yuwen Kai was a little embarrassed. He pondered for a long time and said, "To be honest with you, Your Highness, I am now concentrating on finishing Luoyang. Next, I will supervise the construction of Luokou Warehouse and make preliminary preparations for the Yongji Canal. I really can't spare the time to go south to Jiangdu. How about this! I will arrange for the best technical officer of the Craftsmen's Supervision Department to go to Jiangnan to relieve your worries. He is also my favorite student, and his attainments in river bridges far exceed mine."
Xiao Xia's heart moved, and he asked, "But is it Li Chun, the Supervisor of Craftsmen?"
Yuwen Kai nodded and smiled: "It seems that His Highness also recognizes him!"
Li Chun was one of the most outstanding craftsmen in the Sui Dynasty. How could Xiao Xia not recognize him? He immediately said happily: "Then I'll ask Lord Yuwen to arrange it. I'll be waiting for you in Jiangdu!"
Yuwen Kai laughed, "Don't worry, Your Highness! After the New Year, Li Jiancheng will lead the officials to the south."
"Then I won't bother Lord Yuwen anymore. Goodbye!"
Yuwen Kai escorted Xiao Xia out of the mansion, and Xiao Xia took a carriage back to Anyefang.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Xia was still thinking about the dredging of the Jiangnan Canal. The first thing was the schedule. It couldn't be too hasty, nor too slow. One year was not enough. Being too hasty might cause the tragedy of the Tongji Canal to happen again, while five years was too slow and would seriously affect shipping. Three years was more appropriate, neither too hasty nor too slow.
Secondly, it must not affect existing shipping, which requires half-width construction, good planning, and careful consideration. It is the best strategy to act only after careful consideration.
As for how to carry out the construction, that was actually the problem Xiao Xia was least worried about. With the accumulated experience in dredging Shanyang Du, a large number of capable officials, and Gao Jiong's overall coordination, it should be able to proceed smoothly.
The only ones who may be in trouble here are the county governments. This time he has obtained further administrative power and he does not believe that he cannot deal with them.
Another way is to use various technologies to reduce the labor of the laborers. Unfortunately, there are no large excavators, but large livestock would be fine.
Xiao Xia's mind suddenly brightened, and he remembered what Wang Anbang, the governor of Jian'an County, had said to him. They were using elephants to transport things at the dock. Elephants!
Historically, until the Southern Song Dynasty, there were still a large number of wild elephants living in Fujian. Even in the Sui Dynasty, many wild elephants in Fujian have been tamed and used to carry wood and goods. Elephants can be fully utilized, and their power can also be used to dredge silt.
Xiao Xia quickly found a pen and paper to write down his thoughts.
At this time, the carriage slowly drove into the gate. Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside: "Your Highness, be careful!"
Then there was a scream, someone was shot by an arrow, Xiao Xia instantly entered the barrier-breaking state, he suddenly heard the sound of arrows breaking through the air, he quickly dodged to the side, "Puff! Puff!" Two powerful crossbow arrows shot into the car window and nailed to the seat he had just sat on.
Xiao Xia was furious. He drew his sword, kicked open the car window, and jumped out.
Dozens of personal soldiers outside had raised their shields and were closely guarding Xiao Xia's carriage. Xiao Xia climbed onto the carriage, squatted on the roof and looked around. Within fifty steps, he could not feel anything unusual.
Then the assassin was at least a hundred steps away. He looked into the distance and from the trajectory of the arrow, he saw an imposing tower with flying eaves and brackets. It seemed to be a temple.
Xiao Xia jumped down from the roof and asked, "Who was shot?"
"Your Highness, Captain Wang was shot by an arrow!"
Xiao Xia quickly squatted down to check. Captain Wang Zhen fell to the ground, closing his eyes in pain. A crossbow arrow was stuck in his left shoulder. Although it was not a vital point, Xiao Xia felt a dark aura on Wang Zhen's face.
"No! The arrow is poisoned."
Xiao Xia hurriedly said to several of his personal soldiers, "Send Captain Wang to the palace immediately and ask Miss Zhang to treat him. Go quickly!"
One of the personal soldiers carried Wang Zhen on his back, and several other personal soldiers supported him, and they ran towards the block.
Xiao Xia said to the three soldiers, "The Luoyang County Government is in Daoguang. Go and report to the government immediately." The three soldiers turned their horses around and ran north.
"Everyone else, follow me!"
Xiao Xia rode towards the temple on horseback with more than forty personal soldiers.
There is a medium-sized temple in Anyefang called Bodhi Temple, which covers an area of about ten acres and has more than a hundred monks practicing here.
Xiao Xia was the first to rush into the temple on horseback, and rushed to the tower in the northeast corner. There were three big characters "Scripture Repository" written on the gate of the courtyard. Xiao Xia jumped off his horse and rushed into the courtyard with a sword in hand.
The yard was very quiet and no monks were seen.
"Search me thoroughly!"
Dozens of personal soldiers rushed towards the tower and in all directions.
After a while, a soldier was heard shouting from the corner: "Your Highness, something has happened over here!"
Xiao Xia walked over quickly and saw three military crossbows by the wall. They were all three-stone crossbows with a killing range of 350 steps. This place was about 80 steps away from his carriage.
There were footprints on the white wall and around the crossbow, which clearly showed that there were three people on the other side.
At this time, the abbot of the temple came with a large group of monks. When he heard that an assassin had ambushed in his temple to kill His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, he was so scared that he chanted the Buddha's name repeatedly.
Xiao Xia was too lazy to pay attention to him. Naturally, the county government came to investigate and inquire. Xiao Xia went up to the Sutra Library again. The personal guard on the third floor said: "Your Highness, we found the assassin's ambush point, on the fourth floor!"
The assassin's ambush point was on the fourth floor. Xiao Xia walked to the window, from which he could see the gate of the square. The ground was clean and there was nothing on it.
Xiao Xia went up to the fifth floor again. The fifth floor also had a view of the square gate, but the arrow trajectory did not match the target. It was a bit too high. Only the fourth floor was the most suitable.
At this time, a large group of Wuhou Guards suddenly poured into the temple. The leader was none other than Xiao Xia's old subordinate Dou Dexuan. He happened to be patrolling Tianjie with his troops. Xiao Xia's personal soldiers reported to him that Dou Dexuan was shocked to hear that Prince of Jin had been stabbed, and hurriedly led his troops to the scene.
"I, Dou Dexuan, pay my respects to Your Highness!"
"General Dou, we haven't seen each other for a long time."
"I didn't expect to see His Highness again, and it turned out that His Highness was assassinated. Is His Highness injured?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "I'm fine. One of my men was shot by an arrow. The assassins were hiding on the fourth floor of the Sutra Library and shooting arrows. There were three of them in total. It's a pity that they got away."
"I will lead the army to search Anyefang immediately!"
Xiao Xia asked, "How many people do you have?"
"There are two thousand people!"
"Is the commander Wei Wentong?"
Dou Xuande shook his head. "Wei Wentong is from the Right Wuhou Guard. I am from the Second Battalion of the Third Army of the Left Wuhou Guard. The general is Chen Leng."
Xiao Xia nodded, "You lead the troops to search for clues of assassins on Anyefang Street, especially along the wall. I think they have already escaped over the wall. These assassins have planned and prepared well. Brothers, be careful!"
Dou Xuande immediately led his troops to search along the streets of Anyefang. Xiao Xia then said to the abbot Hongzhi who was waiting on the side: "There may be an insider in the temple. Tell all monks not to leave. Whoever leaves is the insider."
The abbot quickly clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, may Your Highness be safe and sound. I will definitely do as you ask!"
Soon, representatives from the Dali Temple, Henan Prefecture and Luoyang County Government all arrived. The assassination of Prince Jin made them very nervous, and they began a comprehensive investigation.
At this moment, Xiao Xia suddenly thought of a key question.
(End of this chapter)