Tibet.

Chapter 1312 The Eve of the Ceremony
It is already late December, and there are less than ten days until the coronation ceremony. All preparations have been completed and rehearsals have begun.

Li Ye stood on the Danfeng Gate, looking at the military rehearsal. This was a part of his greetings to the people of Chang'an after he ascended the throne. It was very short, and in the distance there should be hundreds of thousands of people cheering and bowing to him.

But now there are no civilians, only tens of thousands of internal security soldiers rehearsing how to maintain order. Two thousand ceremonial cavalrymen holding long weapons stand on both sides of the Danfeng Gate, and there are hundreds of trumpeters and drummers on both sides of the gate.

Wei Jiansu said, "Your Highness, we have two plans. If the weather is very bad on the first day of the first lunar month, this part will be cancelled and the coronation ceremony will be held directly in the Hanyuan Hall."

Li Ye nodded, then turned back and asked Li Chenghua, "Have you found the assassin's hidden danger?"

Li Chenghua blushed, "Not yet, but I am doing my best and there is some progress."

Li Ye did not ask any more questions, and said to Pei Zunqing: "Time is tight on the day of enthronement, so we can postpone the reception of foreign envoys for two days. Also, notify all places not to hold parades and celebrations to celebrate the enthronement. Not only is it wasteful, it also disturbs the people."

"I understand. I have already sent people to notify all places."

Li Ye smiled again and said, "Today is a holiday, so let's stop here and go back to rest!"

Everyone dispersed, but Li Chenghua stayed behind to report the situation to the Regent.

Li Ye returned to his court room, and Li Chenghua followed him in, bowed and said, "I have found traces of the Khitans. They once hid in the Han Chang'an City, but have now moved. I estimate that they are still in the surrounding counties. They will come to Chang'an City the day before the coronation. I am investigating one by one, and there will be news in the next two days."

"What about the Japanese?"

Li Ye was more concerned about the 25 Japanese assassins. If they came from Bohai Kingdom, it meant that the Japanese army had already controlled Bohai Kingdom, and the next step would be to annex Bohai Kingdom. In order to stop the Tang army's military operations in Liaodong, assassinating him became a desperate adventure for them.

Li Ye discovered that his use of military force against the Bohai Kingdom might very likely trigger a second war between the Tang Dynasty and Japan. The first was the War with Baekje, and the second was the War with the Bohai Kingdom.

"Reporting to His Highness, the Japanese have not been found yet, but we have a direction."

"What direction?"

"It is very likely that the other party has already bought the house but has not yet transferred the ownership, so the internal security department has no record of it."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Let me remind you, if you want to assassinate me, the only chance is when I showed up at Danfeng Gate just now."

"Your Highness, the distance is too far. The people are more than 400 steps away from you, and the crossbows cannot reach you!"

"The range of the Dahuang crossbow can reach a thousand steps!"

"But the big yellow crossbow is too big. We can spot it in a crowd at a glance."

Li Ye said coldly: "Who said they would shoot arrows in the crowd?"

Li Chenghua suddenly came to his senses and quickly bowed and said, "I understand!"

"Go! By the way, tell Liu Wutong that the report he wrote is very good and detailed. I am very satisfied with it. He has made great contributions this time. I have decided to promote him to the rank of Tiger Guard Lieutenant General!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your recognition of the Internal Guards. I will take my leave now!" Li Chenghua bowed and left.

Li Ye took Liu Wutong's memorial from the table. The memorial described the smuggling and illegal immigration situation in Dengzhou, which was very shocking. Led by the wealthy Huang family in Dengzhou, they have been blatantly engaged in smuggling and illegal immigration for decades, and an industrial chain has been formed. It has become an open secret that fishermen are generally involved in smuggling. Local officials did not dare to provoke the Huang family and could only turn a blind eye.

Li Ye came to the sand table with his hands behind his back and took a close look at Dengzhou on the sand table. He knew from the terrain that it was difficult to defend against.

Li Ye now knew that there were a large number of Japanese and Silla women in the brothels in Chang'an, and it turned out that they had smuggled in from Dengzhou.

Li Ye did not object to the export of Japanese and Silla women to the Tang Dynasty as labor, but they had to come through normal channels and not through smuggling, which allowed a group of human traffickers to make a fortune. Smuggling also seriously affected the economic order.

Li Ye decided to set up a Maritime Inspection Office within the Internal Security Bureau to specifically combat smuggling and illegal immigration in various places, and Liu Wutong was very suitable for the position.

In fact, it was not appropriate for Li Chenghua to serve as the commander-in-chief of the inner guards for a long time. Li Ye planned to let her deal with the Zoroastrian Holy Maidens in two years, and Liu Wutong would take over as the commander-in-chief of the inner guards.

Li Chenghua returned to the inner guard office and immediately sent someone to find Liu Wutong.

Not long after, Liu Wutong hurried over. He had just returned two days ago and continued to search for the assassin.

Li Chenghua was personally in charge of this case, and Liu Wutong was one of his deputies.

Li Chenghua also saw that the Regent valued Liu Wutong very much. Of course, she also knew the reason behind this. For so many years, Liu Wutong had been silently protecting the safety of the Regent's parents and was the Regent's confidant.

"I, Liu Wutong, pay my respects to the Commander-in-Chief!"

Li Chenghua smiled and said, "I have good news for you. You have performed well in Dengzhou, and His Highness has decided to promote you to the rank of Tiger Guard Lieutenant General."

"Ah! I am so ashamed that I haven't found the assassin yet!"

Li Chenghua nodded, "So we have to work hard to find the two assassins as soon as possible!"

Liu Wutong bowed and said, "I have received accurate information that the Khitan assassins have once again lurked in the Han Chang'an City." "I understand. I will deal with the Khitan assassins myself. The key is the Japanese assassins. You are responsible for investigating the 25 Japanese assassins!"

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Li Chenghua smiled slightly and said, "The Regent gave me a tip today, which we overlooked a little bit. That is Guangzhaifang and Yishanfang. They are directly opposite Danfengmen."

"But Guangzhaifang is only 500 steps away from Danfengmen, and the crossbows cannot reach it."

"The big yellow crossbow can shoot it."

Liu Wutong was startled and said quickly: "I understand, we did neglect the Dahuang Crossbow!"

Li Chenghua took two steps with his hands behind his back and said, "In fact, I have also checked Guangzhaifang and Yishanfang. In the past month, there have been no suspicious transactions of buying or renting houses in these two places. But there is a possibility that the other party may have made a transaction but has not yet transferred the ownership or registered it."

"What the governor said is very right. I will check it out right away!"

At this time, Li Chenghua smiled and said, "There is one more thing! What do you think of what I talked about with my sister-in-law last time?"

Li Chenghua's daughter Li Yan was already seventeen years old. As men should get married when they are old enough, women should get married when they are old enough, so Li Chenghua wanted to find a good husband for her daughter. As a result, she fell in love with Liu Wutong's son Liu Xiaoshi. The boy was upright, responsible, smart and capable, and he was tall and big. Li Chenghua talked to Liu Wutong's wife, who agreed immediately and it depended on Liu Wutong's attitude.

Liu Wutong smiled and said, "As long as the two children are willing, I have no objection!"

Marriages in the Tang Dynasty were not completely arranged. The wishes of the children would be respected. After the parents of both parties agreed, they would arrange for the two children to meet. If both liked each other, then the marriage would be considered a success.

Li Chenghua nodded, "After the ceremony, I will discuss with my sister-in-law and arrange a meeting for them."

"The governor, please make your arrangements. I will go and do my work first!"

Liu Wutong was extremely anxious. Today was the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, and there were only eight days left until the coronation ceremony. He had to find the assassin as soon as possible.

Liu Wutong found the dealers of Guangzhaifang and Yishanfang in the Neiwei registration book. There were two relatively active dealers, one named Zhang Song and the other Wang Xiaoding. Of course, there were other dealers, but these two had the highest transaction volume.
Liu Wutong wrote down the addresses of the two men's shops and took his men to Guangzhaifang.

Zhuangzhaiyaren are real estate agents. Throughout the dynasties, there were two most active periods for real estate agents: one was the Song Dynasty and the other is today. In Bianliang during the Song Dynasty, there were all kinds of agents everywhere, and the most numerous were real estate agents.

Although the Tang Dynasty was not as prosperous as the Song Dynasty, it was gradually rising. Basically, there was a manor house and a pawnshop in every block. There were one or two manor houses and pawnshops, and they basically did business with the block themselves and the neighboring blocks, which was exactly the same as in later generations.

Liu Wutong found a dental clinic called Tongyi, where Zhang Song and Wang Xiaoding were both dental practitioners.

A man in his thirties came out and bowed, saying, "I'm Zhang Song. Is the general looking for me?"

Zhuangzhaiya people often deal with Neiwei and are not afraid of Neiwei like other businessmen.

Liu Wutong showed the inner guard silver card and said, "Let's investigate the situation of renting and buying houses in this area!"

The other party turned out to be a silver medalist, Zhang Song hurriedly said respectfully: "Please come in and sit down!"

Liu Wutong asked two of his men to wait outside. He went into the inner room and sat down at the table. Zhang Song poured them some hot tea. "General, what do you want to ask about?"

"I want to know about the abnormal situation of renting and selling houses in Guangzhaifang and Yishanfang in the past two months!"

Liu Wutong extended the time by one month as he was worried that someone had rented a house for the assassin in advance.

"I have registered in detail with the Internal Security Bureau, and there is nothing unusual."

Li Chenghua has sent people to investigate all the registered persons, and basically there are no problems.

"Is there nothing unusual? For example, you bought a house but haven't transferred the ownership yet."

“I don’t have any here, though.”

"But what?" Liu Wutong seized the topic.

"I seem to have heard another manor agent, Wang Xiaoding, complain that the client refused to transfer the property, but that happened a long time ago, almost a month ago."

Liu Wutong's mind suddenly brightened, and he quickly asked, "Where can I find Wang Xiaoding?"

"I haven't seen him for days."

Liu Wutong suddenly felt a little uneasy and asked anxiously, "Where is his home? You should know!"

Zhang Song nodded, "I know!"

(End of this chapter)