People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 923: True evidence, shocking people’s hearts

"In the fourth year of Xianheng Dynasty, Yingxu Trading Company produced [-] kilograms of Tubo pig iron. It is recorded in the account book that it has your monogram on it."

He Yiqiu stood next to the box and looked at Li Shiheng with a stern face: "Is there a mistake in this matter? Do you know about it? Does the British public know about it?"

"This matter is correct. I did everything for the sake of profit, and the Duke of the country did not know about it." Li Shiheng resisted all crimes decisively and directly.

He Yiqiu nodded slightly, then walked to another box, took out the account book from it, and continued: "In March of the first year of the Yuan Dynasty, Yingxu Trading Company shipped [-] jins of Tubo pig iron. In July, [-] jins of Tubo pig iron was sold. It still has your monogram on it.”

"Everything was done by me and has nothing to do with the Duke." Li Shiheng lowered his head slightly and resisted all crimes again.

He Yiqiu continued to walk to the remaining box, took out four account books from it, and then continued: "In March of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Yingxu Trading Company exported [-] jins of Tubo pig iron, and in May, it exported [-] jins of Tubo pig iron. In July, [-] jins of Tubo pig iron will be produced. In September, [-] jins of Tubo pig iron will be produced. In November, [-] jins of Tubo pig iron will be produced. A total of [-] jins of Tubo pig iron will be produced throughout the year. All have your monogram.

Li Shiheng's breathing became heavy.

A steel knife weighs only a dozen kilograms. A rough calculation shows that the pig iron smuggled by Yingxu Trading Company from Tibet over the years is at least 12 kilograms, or nearly [-] steel knives.

These steel knives can arm [-] Tibetan warriors.

Even Pei Yan was a little surprised by this large number.

How did Li Jingye send so much pig iron to Tibet through the border?
Is his business route so terrible? How much did he make from it?
……

Pei Yan glanced at Duan Baoxuan and Li Xuan, whose expressions became serious.

One look and you can tell they have calculated the exact dosage.

Although Cui Mi and Li Dan didn't know how many casualties there were, the number still made them feel heavy.

Li Xuan noticed Pei Yan's gaze. His expression was still cold, but his fists were tightly clenched.

Li Shiheng lowered his head seriously and said with a heavy breath: "Everything is done by villains and has nothing to do with the Duke."

"Yeah!" He Yiqiu nodded slightly, and then continued: "For these pig irons, Tubo has bid twice as much as usual on several occasions. Is that correct?"

"Correct!" Li Shiheng nodded heavily.

"In September of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Yingxu Trading Company shipped [-] kilograms of Tibetan pig iron, but the price was four times the usual price. Why?"

"The war is approaching, and the Tubo people spend a lot of money to buy pig iron." After Li Shiheng finished speaking, he felt a little uneasy for no reason.

"In November of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Yingxu Trading Company once again sold [-] kilograms of Tubo pig iron. The price was still four times the usual price. Why?"

Li Shiheng was a little confused for a moment, and continued to bow and said: "The price is four times the usual price, why not pay it?"

"You rarely go out in winter, especially in November, when the weather is freezing. You are willing to send things to Tibet for only four times the price?" He Yiqiu asked gently, as if it was true. puzzled.

"Sizheng, four times the price is not low. Even if the Tubo Plateau is cold, there is still huge profit." After a slight pause, Li Shiheng said with a wry smile: "As for more, it's not that we don't want more, it's just that the Tubo people are unwilling to give it. , what can I do?"

"Yes, four times the price is not low." He Yiqiu nodded slightly, then picked up a ledger and continued: "In September of the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, you should have set out for Tubo in early September. Why did you delay it? September [-]?"

As soon as the number September [-] came out, Li Xuan immediately raised his head and stared at Li Shiheng, breathing heavily.

Everyone present was surprised when they saw Li Xuan's appearance.

After thinking about it, everyone's expressions changed in the next moment.

On the ninth day of September last year, the King of Nanchang got married.

At the beginning of September, the King of Nanchang returned to Beijing. On September [-]th, the King of Nanchang had already left Beijing.

Undoubtedly, the people from Yingxu Trading Company were waiting for the King of Nanchang to leave Chang'an before setting off.

Who needs to wait for the King of Nanchang to leave Chang'an?

Tubo people.

The Tubo people wanted to collect information on the situation in Wuzhou, the reaction of the Tang Dynasty, and the war in Silla.

After the Tibetans collected the information, they naturally had to pass it back to Tibet, and at this time, Yingxu Trading Company followed suit.

Faced with the question of why he asked and the solemn looks of everyone present, Li Shiheng was a little confused, but he still said seriously: "Last September, we were supposed to set out in early September, but a batch of pig iron was not in place at that time, and later it was One of the stewards was ill, and the signature of Honglu Temple could not be issued, and the process was delayed until late September."

"You were late for this batch of pig iron, but after arriving in Tubo, the Tubo people unexpectedly gave you four times the price." He Yiqiu walked up to Li Shiheng and said coldly: "In the past, it was twice as much. It’s late, but I gave you four times, don’t you feel something is wrong?”

Li Shiheng suddenly closed his mouth, and he became extremely vigilant.

He is not an idiot. He was just trying to plead guilty to Li Jingye's crime, so he accepted it without reservation.

But now, the dangerous atmosphere is approaching. If he continues to agree foolishly, wouldn't it be possible to kill Li Jingye.

Seeing that Li Shiheng didn't say anything, He Yiqiu smiled: "It seems that you know something is wrong. Therefore, I want to ask you, did Li Jingye know about the smuggling of pig iron to Tubo in September?"

He Yiqiu tore off his disguise this time, looked at Li Shiheng coldly, and even called out Li Jingye's name.

Li Shiheng's breathing became heavy, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Everything has nothing to do with the Duke, everything is my own doing."

"Okay!" He Yiqiu suddenly raised his head with strange calmness, then looked at the account books, and said coldly: "Think about it, you should understand that the reason why the departure was delayed in September last year was because the Tibetans wanted to deliver intelligence, and you were going to pig iron Sending it to Tubo is equivalent to sending information to Tubo, so the Tibetan people will give you four times the price, and the extra two times is the price of the information, right?"

Li Shiheng gritted his teeth and stopped talking.He Yiqiu lowered his head, stared at Li Shiheng coldly and asked: "I want to ask you, do you know about these things, and do the British people know about them?"

"The Duke doesn't know, and I...I don't know either." Li Shiheng raised his head, gritted his teeth and looked at He Yiqiu.

He Yiqiu smiled disdainfully and said, "Didn't you say that you know everything?"

"We are just being used by the Tubo people, not having an affair with the Tubo people?" Li Shiheng gritted his teeth and scratched his neck.

"Very good. If you didn't know about it, then the entire caravan was used by the Tubo people and delayed for 20 days before leaving for Tubo. In the end, who made the decision?" He Yiqiu revealed the previous story again and said coldly: " With the ability of the British Duke, even if Honglu Temple is late in issuing customs clearance documents, the British Duke can urge them to speed up the distribution. You are obviously waiting for news from the Tubo people. Tell me who gave the order to wait. of?"

Li Shiheng clenched his fists instantly. If others didn't know it, how could he not know that it was Li Jingye who issued the order to postpone the departure in September last year.

Of course Li Shiheng didn't know about the affair with Tubo, but that didn't mean he didn't know what was fishy about it.

But because of Li Jingye's order, he kept all his doubts in his mind.

"If you don't want to answer, then I will think that everything is an order from the British Lord, and you are just following orders..."

"No, it's me. I gave the order. I asked the caravan to wait until September [-] before setting off." Li Shiheng couldn't help but speak, and once again took on everything for Li Jingye.

Pei Yan, who was above, frowned tightly when he heard Li Shiheng's answer.

How could he not know that Li Shiheng had now fallen into the trap of He Yuqiu.

But as for why, Pei Yan didn't know how to interrupt even if he wanted to.

There are only a few people from top to bottom who can command the Yingxu caravan. It's not Li Jingye or Li Shiheng. Do we need to involve others?
Others, like Li Shiheng, may not be willing to shoulder everything on their own.

Seeing Li Shiheng relent, He Yiqiu flashed a trace of disdain at the corner of his mouth, and then asked: "What about November last year? You always start in March and end in September. In November, the weather is cold and freezing. The price given is not much higher than before, so why do you continue to make this trip, and who gave the order?"

"It's me." Li Shiheng didn't deny it anymore and said directly: "Everything was ordered by me. Four times the profit, enough for a trip."

"On the third day of November, you were supposed to set off again at Chenshi. Why did you suddenly set off half an hour earlier, at the beginning of Chenshi?"

He Yiqiu walked to the box, took out an account book from it, looked at Li Shiheng coldly and said: "Your caravan always sets out at the right time, whether it is summer or winter, whether it is going south or north, It's all on schedule, why did that day suddenly come early, who gave the order?"

Li Shiheng raised his head and looked at He Yiqiu in surprise.

Suddenly, he didn't know what he thought of, and Li Shiheng shivered violently.

If he remembered correctly, on that day, someone sent him an order to set off early, using Li Jingye's seal.

Although he was surprised, he didn't pay much attention to it. Later, he wrote to Li Jingye to ask, and Li Jingye wrote back that everything was fine.

An incredible thought appeared in Li Shiheng's mind.

Could it be that the British minister was really secretly communicating with Tibet?
Li Shiheng's face couldn't help but turn pale.

Everyone present saw this scene, and everyone's expressions darkened at this moment.

Even Pei Yan is the same.

Li Jingye was used by the Tubo people, and Li Jingye had an affair with the Tubo, which has completely different meanings.

Before, everyone thought that he was being used by the Tubo people, so they were willing to help him. But if he really secretly had an affair with the Tibetans, no one would be willing to say a word for him.

Even Pei Yan is the same, because if they help Li Jingye now, it will be equivalent to losing their own career.

No one would do such a thing.

Li Shiheng is just a scapegoat, and the real decision-maker is always Li Jingye.

Reminiscent of the previous September, the departure was delayed by nearly 20 days because the King of Nanchang returned to Chang'an and brought back the details of the Tianyin Sect in Wuzhou. At the same time, Datang also began to plan for the withdrawal of Silla troops in winter.

Li Jingye's caravan set out late just to wait for news from the Tibetans.

He was actively cooperating with Tubo.

Looking at the shivering Li Shiheng, everyone understood that Li Shiheng himself might have thought of this problem.

Taking the blame for smuggling on behalf of Li Jingye and taking the blame for collaborating with the enemy are completely different things.

He is also a Tang person and has the pride of a Tang person.

Even if you die, you can't die with the crime of collaborating with the enemy.

He Yiqiu slowly walked up to Li Shiheng and asked in a cold voice: "I want to ask you why you set off early that day and who gave the order?"

Li Shiheng slowly raised his head, looked at He Yiqiu, and wanted to say something, but a trace of fear appeared on his face. Then, he knocked hard on the ground and said in pain: "I gave the order, It's my affair with Tubo, it's none of the Duke's business."

When Pei Yan heard this, he couldn't help shouting in his heart: "It's over."

His eyes swept over Li Xuan.

Sure enough, the corners of Li Xuan's mouth turned up with a hint of pride.

(End of this chapter)