A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1238 A Blessing in Disguise

Xu Luoren entered the Luozhou Governor's Office.
He read the emperor's edict to the officials of Luozhou in public, "From now on, I, Xu Luoren, will be the inspector of the Luozhou governor."

All the Luoyang officials who went to Lindu Posthouse to welcome Wu Huaiyu into the city that day were temporarily suspended from their posts and under investigation.

"Bring Yang Changshi here."

The first person to be investigated was Yang Guangwu, the chief secretary of Luozhou. He was originally the chief secretary who temporarily took charge of the affairs of the Governor's Office after the Governor-General Changsun Wuji came to Beijing. After receiving the imperial edict, he did not dare to neglect Situ Wu. Who knew that he would bring disaster upon himself in the end.

Xu Luoren sat there in deep thought while waiting for Yang Guangwu to come over.

Judging from the conversation he had just had with Wu Huaiyu, he felt that Wu Huaiyu could not be using a self-torture tactic. After all, the doctor had also said that the two crossbow wounds were very dangerous and could almost kill him, and the crossbow arrows were poisonous. Even if Wu Huaiyu wanted to use a self-torture tactic, he could not do it this way.

"Your humble servant Yang Guangwu, Chief Clerk of the Luozhou Military Governor's Office, pays respect to General Xu."

Yang Guangwu was carried in. He was stabbed several times, his wounds were more serious than Wu Huaiyu's, and one of his wounds even punctured his intestines.
Xu Luoren looked down at the guy.

With a straight face and no words,

After a long while, he shouted, "Yang Guangwu, you are so bold that you dare to murder the three ministers of the dynasty!"

"General Xu, I am innocent. I almost lost my life. How could I possibly murder Wu Situ?"

"How dare you quibble!

Was it you who suggested bringing Wu Situ into Longxing Temple? Was Wu Situ assassinated not long after he entered Longxing Temple?"

"Your Excellency, although I suggested going to Longxing Temple, but, but I really didn't know that there was an assassin in the Plum Garden of the temple..."

After more than an hour of interrogation, Yang Guangwu still refused to admit that he had anything to do with the assassin. Xu Luoren then began to question him about his relationship with Zhangsun Wuji, asking him to explain how he had risen from a seventh-rank magistrate of Gong County to a fifth-rank chief of the Luozhou Governor's Office in five years.
The interrogation did not go smoothly.
Seeing this, Yang Guangwu refused to answer at first, and kept repeating that it was unfair and had nothing to do with him.
After more than two hours,

The seriously injured Yang Guangwu collapsed and fell into coma, so Xu Luoren had to end the interrogation early.

"Bring the Sima of the Metropolitan Governor's Office here."

He interrogated them one by one, and he didn't believe that he would not find any clues.

Xu Luoren did not feel that he had gained nothing from the interrogation just now. When it came to his relationship with Changsun Wuji, he was extremely resistant and refused to confess. In his opinion, this showed that there were serious problems and it was worth digging deeper.

On the same day,

Xu Luoren summarized some of the situations he had seen and asked about since he came to Luoyang, and then used the secret pigeon station of the Baiqi Division to send the encrypted letter back to Chang'an.

The first day was very fruitful.
First, he made sure that Wu Huaiyu's life was no longer in danger. Second, he initially judged that the matter had nothing to do with Wu Huaiyu and was not a self-torture tactic. Third, Yang Guangwu could not clear his suspicion in this matter, and he had problems with Changsun Guojiu and refused to confess.

Wu Huaiyu took a horse carriage from Lindu Posthouse outside the city and moved into the small East City to the east of the imperial city of Luoyang.

Three hundred imperial guards guarded the place tightly,
Wu Huaiyu concentrated on his recuperation. Apart from changing the bandages on his wounds and drinking medicine, the rest of his time was spent eating and sleeping.

I don't care about what's happening outside the window.

At this point, the direction of things is completely out of his control, and he doesn't want to care.

He knew the emperor's attitude when Xu Luoren and Zhang Ananda rushed to Luoyang as soon as possible.

Zhang Ananda is not only the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also in charge of the secret agency, the Imperial City Bureau. Xu Luoren is not only the emperor's childhood friend, but also the emperor's most loyal personal guard leader for many years. Now he is not only the General of the Left Feathered Guards, but also the commander of the Hundred Cavalry Bureau.

Midnight,

Wu Huaiyu had slept all day and was now a little sleepless, so he lay on the couch and began to think about the whole thing.

Someone wanted to kill him, and wanted to put him to death. The four assassins not only used modified crossbows, but also put poison on the crossbow arrows.

He was very lucky to have survived.

Wu Huaiyu couldn't guess who wanted to kill him. He probably had many people who wanted to kill him. He had offended many noble officials and wealthy families. Not to mention that he had guarded Shuofang, Youyan, Lingnan and the Western Regions, and had conquered many barbarians.
He also offended the Samanas.
I can't guess, I can't guess at all. Let the court investigate first. After he recovers from his injuries, if the court still hasn't figured it out, he can use his own power to continue investigating. He has to find out who it is.

It is not a gentleman to not seek revenge, let alone this kind of assassination. If the perpetrator is not found out, there will never be peace in the future.

Based on the information currently known,

His trip to Longxing Temple was a temporary one, but he was assassinated less than half an hour after entering the temple. This shows that this assassination must have been organized temporarily. Of course, there is also a small probability that the other party has been tracking his whereabouts.

After discovering that he had entered Longxing Temple, they immediately sneaked into the Plum Garden in the temple to assassinate him.

In this assassination attempt, all four female assassins were beheaded on the spot. It was a pity that no one was left alive. However, it is said that the female assassins already had poison sacs in their mouths, so it was very difficult to capture them alive.

But after finding the bodies everywhere, they could not find any useful information. They could not determine the identity of the assassins, let alone their whereabouts.
This not only shows the incompetence of the Luozhou Governor's Office that was in charge of the matter that day, but also shows that these assassins are by no means simple.

Wu Huaiyu is now thinking about it.

I think it is unlikely that the emperor would take action, and it is also unlikely that the eldest grandson uncle would take action.

But judging from these four assassins alone, the other party was quite powerful. After all, these four assassins were fully prepared to die and had no intention of returning alive. How could ordinary people have such ability?

In his conversation with Zhang Ananda, he revealed a lot of useful information.

After this assassination case,
The emperor has to bear a lot of pressure from public opinion, so the court may soon issue a new decree.

First of all, it must be the Crown Prince's previous proposal to have the three judicial officials formally investigate the impeachment of him. The case may be closed immediately, and it will definitely be very beneficial to him.
Most of the impeachment charges were probably due to insufficient evidence, and would only confirm some minor crimes, such as lax military discipline, looting by some of his officers after breaking into the city, and looting by his vassal army. In addition, Xue Gu and Wu Ren died in the Kucha rebellion, and Wu Huaiyu also had to bear some responsibility.
It can be predicted that the investigation will be completed in the next few days, and the original charges against Wu Huaiyu will be cancelled. Then the emperor will issue an edict, saying that Wu Huaiyu was wrongly accused and should not be demoted.

He was recalled to the court and even restored his original third-rank title as the Secretary of State, and was even appointed as the Right Minister of the Secretariat.

The emperor must resolve this crisis as quickly as possible.

Wu Huaiyu must return to the court and dispel everyone's speculation that the emperor has killed his meritorious officials. He must not let everyone think that Wu Huaiyu's achievements are too great and he was secretly eliminated by the emperor.

If this is the result,
I don't know whether to say good or bad.

If he returns to Chang'an at this time, he will still be caught up in that vortex, which may even make the emperor very passive, and he may not be tired of him in his heart.

Let's take it one step at a time.

Now in this situation,
Wu Huaiyu's best response is to do nothing, be passive, passive, and passive again, face it passively, don't take action, and let the emperor do it.
Zhenguan reigned supreme.
If it were the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Wu Huaiyu might consider raising his voice when faced with the current situation.

But now, forget it.

It would be better to consider whether there is any way to leave Chang'an and live freely in Luzon.

Two days later,
Liu Dewei, the Minister of the Dali Temple, Zhang Liang, the Imperial Censor, and Li Daozon, the Minister of Justice, also rushed to Luoyang from Chang'an.

The fact that these three ministers came in person shows how much the emperor valued this case. Generally speaking, when the three judicial officials jointly tried a case, they would not involve these three officials.
Instead, the three officials, namely the Menxia Province Jieshi Zhong, the Zhongshu Province Zhongshu Sheren, and the Yushitai Yushi, would try the case. If it was a major case that had been pending for a long time and difficult to resolve at the local level, the Supervisory Censor, the Ministry of Justice Yuanwailang, and the Dali Pingshi would be sent to serve as the "Three Officials" to try the case locally.

Only major cases involving the central government were tried jointly by the Grand Court Minister, the Minister of Justice, and the Imperial Censor.

Because the Imperial Censors of the Zhenguan Dynasty were basically given additional titles and appointed as prime ministers in the Council of State Affairs, they would not be called out for the joint trial of the three divisions.

But this time, the Imperial Censor Zhang Liang also came to Chang'an.
"Is Situ's injury better?" Zhang Liang brought in a lot of precious medicinal materials such as ginseng, deer bile, bezoar, ganoderma lucidum, donkey-hide gelatin, etc., not caring whether Wu Huaiyu could use them or not. He even brought bear paws, tiger bones, seahorses and other things.

"The saint gave me imperial medicine and sent an imperial physician. He even cut off some dragon whiskers and gave them as medicine. My injury is healing very quickly. I think I will be able to walk again soon."

Zhang Liang held down Wu Huaiyu who was about to get up, "Situ Mo Mo, lie down and rest your body."

Li Daozon and Liu Dewei also brought some supplements and came up to say hello.

King Jiangxia saw Wu Huaiyu's haggard appearance and said angrily, "Someone actually dared to assassinate Situ. He deserves death. We must find the murderer behind the scenes and kill his entire clan!"

Zhang Liang not only brought many precious medicinal supplements, but also the emperor's edict of condolences, as well as the imperial edict that was reviewed by the Secretariat and then officially issued.

There are two copies of the imperial edict.

One was Wu Huaiyu's speculation about the crimes he was impeached for. Sure enough, after a joint investigation by the three courts, many of the impeachments were untrue, or exaggerated, and some were even false accusations.

The three courts made a formal conclusion to the case, and the emperor accordingly issued an edict to cancel the previous demotion and reinstate the person.

That is to say, Wu Huaiyu's official titles were restored when he returned to Chang'an from Anxi, namely, Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Prince Taifu, and Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi.

The second imperial edict:

It was a reward for his great contribution to conquering the Western Regions and expanding the territory for the imperial court.

Wu Huaiyu was promoted to the positions of Grand Marshal, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and Acting Minister of the Secretariat, and was in charge of the affairs of the Menxia Province. He was also remotely appointed as the Grand Commander of Yangzhou, and his fief was increased by 2,000 households, making a total of 5,000 households. He was also granted an additional 300 households, making a total of 2,800 households.

Because of Huaiyu's merits, his second son Wu Chengye, a man from Chiyang County, was granted the title of Marquis of Chiyang County.

He was given 10,000 pieces of silk and 100 slaves and servants.

When Wu Huaiyu received these two imperial edicts, he immediately asked Zhang Liang to write a letter of resignation to the emperor on his behalf to decline these rewards.

The rewards are too generous. Not to mention the positions of Si Tu Jin, Tai Wei, Tai Zi Tai Fu Jin, and Tai Zi Tai Shi of the Crown Prince, the Acting Zhong Shu Ling is also in charge of the affairs of the Menxia Province. What the hell is this?

One of them was in charge of the two ministries? And there was also a remote commander of Yangzhou.

The second son was promoted from county man to county marquis. Together with the eldest son's title of Taiyuan County Duke, the third son's title of Luzon County Marquis, the second son's title of Jinyang County Marquis, and the third son's title of Shouyang County Marquis,
He has more than twenty sons, and now three legitimate sons and two illegitimate sons have all been granted titles, including one duke of a county, three county marquises and one county prince. This is a bit too much.

A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

These rewards from the emperor could indeed help him reverse his reputation from the assassination incident, but this was definitely not the emperor's true wish.

"Lord Wu, this is the reward from His Majesty. You should accept it and express your gratitude." Zhang Liang envied Wu Huaiyu very much. If he could get these in return by being shot by two arrows, he would definitely be willing to change his status, and even be willing to be shot by a few more arrows.

"If Prime Minister Zhang is unwilling to write this letter of resignation for me, then I will ask Lord Liu or the Prince to write it for me."

"Forget it, I'll just get up and write it myself."

Wu Huaiyu struggled to get up.
Zhang Liang quickly held him down.
"Situ, don't touch the wound. I will write it for you."

Zhang Liang has thick eyebrows, big eyes and a beautiful beard. Although he was born in a grassroots family, he can write good calligraphy now, and even has some style of the two Wangs. He wrote a letter of resignation for Wu Huaiyu, declining the emperor's titles.
After the letter was written and sealed, it was sent back to Chang'an by post horse at a distance of more than 300 miles a day.

Five days later, another imperial edict came from Chang'an. The emperor did not accept Wu Huaiyu's resignation and insisted that he accept the reward. He also said that he hoped he would concentrate on recuperating from his injuries and strive to have the emperor send a car to pick him up to Beijing at the end of the year to attend the New Year's Day court.

At the grand court meeting, he, the Grand Marshal, the Prince's Grand Tutor, the Acting Minister of the Secretariat, and the minister in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, would be indispensable.

Wu Huaiyu was able to get out of bed at this time, so he personally wrote another letter of resignation to the emperor.

The reward was too great, and he refused to accept it.

The assassination of Wu is still under intense investigation, but no matter how hard they try, the case remains mysterious and there is no clue. Although many people have been arrested, there has been no breakthrough.

The New Year is getting closer and closer, and the weather is getting colder and colder.

The emperor and Wu Huaiyu, one insisted on the reward and the other resolutely refused it, and they went back and forth, with the reward edict and the letter of thanks running around non-stop.

Half a month after Wu Huaiyu was assassinated, on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day of the Little New Year, the emperor specially sent the imperial guards to escort Wu Chengsi to Luoyang to spend the Little New Year's Eve with his father.
After the New Year's Eve, the next day he was ordered to bring Wu Huaiyu back to Chang'an.

The news of Wu Huaiyu's assassination was not kept secret in Chang'an for a few days. Soon all kinds of rumors were flying around. For a while, rumors such as "he was too successful to be a threat to the emperor" and "the bow was put away after the bird was killed" were heard one after another. The emperor had no choice but to announce the whole case to the public.

Moreover, he immediately ordered the Three Departments to close the investigation into the various crimes for which Wu Huaiyu was impeached, and then issued a high-profile imperial decree to confer a higher title on Wu Huaiyu, which did have some effect.

However, the real culprit in the assassination of Wu has not been found yet, which makes it impossible to completely stop the rumors in the government and the public.

The Wu family also knew about Huaiyu's assassination attempt, and Fan Xuanfu requested to come to Luoyang as soon as possible. However, the emperor, for safety reasons and fearing another assassination attempt along the way, did not agree to let Wu Huaiyu's wife, concubines, and children go to Luoyang. However, he agreed to let the Wu family send some managers, servants, and soldiers to Luoyang, and also sent a number of imperial guards to guard the Duke of Song's Mansion.

It was not until this time that the emperor sent Li Daliang, the General of the Left Guard and the Prince's Left Guard, to lead troops to accompany Wu Chengsi to Luoyang to celebrate the New Year with Wu Huaiyu, and to take him back to Chang'an.

Wu Chengsi entered the east city of Luoyang, and when he saw his father, he hugged him and cried bitterly.

"You are already an adult, and you will be married and become a husband in two months. Why are you still crying? Remember, men don't cry easily. Your father was only slightly injured in the assassination, not dead. There is nothing to cry about."

Wu Huaiyu patted his son on the back and scolded him. In fact, he felt relieved and happy to see his son expressing his genuine concern for him.

"Aye, whoever wants to assassinate you, I'll chop him into pieces and feed him to the dogs."

Wu Huaiyu said helplessly, "I've been investigating for half a month, but there's still no result."

"How come there is no result?" Wu Chengsi was puzzled and dissatisfied.
Wu Huaiyu smiled and said, yes, how could there be no results?

(End of this chapter)