I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 538 There is another witchcraft rebellion in Chang'an. Who wants to curse the emperor to death! ?

Fan Ke helped Liu He to the door of the Greenhouse Hall, and then pushed open the heavy door.

A dazzling ray of sunlight shone in, making Liu He, who had lost blood, feel dizzy and almost fell down.

But in the end, he stood firm.

The courtiers kneeling in the courtyard quickly bowed down again and respectfully asked about the emperor's well-being. There were actually a lot of choking and sobbing sounds in the process.

These courtiers, old and young, must have been frightened too.

In a society where one person rules alone, the safety and prosperity of the world rests on one person. A small bucket of gunpowder can cause shock in the world.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry so much. It's an eyesore!" Liu He said coldly.

"We have betrayed the divine grace and put His Majesty in danger. Please forgive us!"

Zhang Anshidun was the first to plead guilty. He also had a scar on his forehead, presumably from an explosion.

Under his leadership, a group of courtiers went to the emperor to plead guilty and receive punishment.

"If you are guilty, then you should be guilty and perform meritorious service. You can cry and cry like an important minister in the court!" Liu He said coldly.

Everyone stayed for a moment, looking at each other, not daring to say anything more, and stood up one after another.

"Anle!" Liu He first pointed out his loyal dog.

Sixteen years have passed. Although Anle is still the same loyal dog, his temples have turned gray and he has become an old dog.

"Wei Chen is here!" Anle, who has not yet been granted the title of Marquis, quickly stood up.

"You have been Zhi Jinwu for ten years and know Chang'an City best. It is up to you to urge Zhi Jinwu to investigate this matter thoroughly!" Liu He said.

"Wei Chen accepts the order!" Anle said quickly.

"I really hope you can find out the truth soon and give me an explanation!"

"Wei!" Anle replied decisively again.

"Zhang Anshi!"

"The old minister is here!"

"Urge Sima Mansion and Guang Luxun to check the soldiers and subordinates who were on duty that day to find out who leaked the assassin in!"

"Your Majesty, the one responsible for the peripheral security that day is Jinwu's patrolling pavilion. Please ask your Majesty to arrange for the three auxiliary patrolling pavilions to rotate with him." Zhang Anshi quickly requested.

Sanfu's government office is in Chang'an City, which governs one-third of Chang'an City and the outer city respectively. Its governance is not much different from ordinary counties.

But they have no right to interfere with the security and anti-theft matters in Chang'an City - this is Zhi Jinwu's responsibility.

Therefore, the patrol guards patrolling and guarding Chang'an City are all subordinate to Zhijinwu.

Nowadays, it is reasonable for Zhang Anshi to request that the patrolling pavilions of Sanfu be transferred to the city to replace those of Jinwu.

"What do Anle, Jian Kou and you two think?" Liu He asked.

The two looked at each other and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

This clearly shows that there is something wrong with blaming the city patrol guards. Once they refuse, they will inevitably be suspected of covering up.

"Huh? What are your concerns?"

"Your Majesty, if the patrol soldiers are transferred away, I'm afraid it will affect the progress of the investigation." Anle still put forward his own opinion.

"The patrolling soldiers of Sanfu will also act in accordance with the imperial edict. Although it is said that those who are pure will themselves be cleansed, the patrolling soldiers of Jinwu still have to avoid suspicion."

Zhang Anshi said forcefully, seemingly distrustful of the soldiers patrolling the city under Zhi Jinwu.

"According to what Mr. Zhang Ge said, the soldiers of the Third Assistant Pavilion and the soldiers of the Zhijinwu Pavilion temporarily changed their defenses, but the matter is still investigated by Zhijinwu Jiankou and Anle."

"Mr. Zhang Ge and Guang Luxun are responsible for identifying the soldiers of the military academy who are related to them."

"Where the gunpowder was made and how the assassin leaked into the ranks of officials and courtiers, we must all find out."

"Once the real culprit or the behind-the-scenes is discovered, immediately hand it over to the censor Kong Ba and Tingwei Chen Xiu for trial!"

After Liu He arranged these things, the wound on his neck began to hurt slightly again.

When I started last night, it seemed that the cut was too deep.

Liu He took a deep breath and stood firmer.

"I have never encountered such evil things since I came to the throne. The world has been peaceful for a long time, but there are ambitious people who want to destroy the good situation."

"No matter what the purpose is, I will never tolerate it, let alone tolerate it. Once the truth is found out, the real culprit will be severely punished."

After Liu He said this, his meaningful eyes swept across everyone's faces one by one, and there was no concealment of this warning.

If you find out who did it, it will be a death sentence!

Liu He did not say any more words of encouragement as usual, and turned around and returned to the greenhouse hall.

The heavy door was closed behind him, isolating the monarch and his ministers from two worlds.

……

The emperor issued an order, and Chang'an City, which had been sealed off in advance, began to search!

Various government offices and officials related to the matter immediately jumped into it, looking for clues about the assassination.

Unexpectedly, Jian Kou and Anle found the assassin in Beichengguo in just two days.

Like all assassins who want to achieve great things, this assassin was already a cold corpse when he was found.

The body was sent to Tingwei Temple, and after an autopsy, it was concluded that it was suicide.

Liu He also came to Tingwei Temple in person to identify the body, and recognized him at a glance as the assassin that day.

In the Han era, it was very difficult to find useful information from a dead person.

Tingwei Chen Xiu summoned all experienced workers in Chang'an City to dissect the corpse and decipher the secrets, but the harvest was still very little.

……

Liu He walked out of the studio that exuded the smell of death. After taking off his mask, his face was solemn.

Chen Xiu and Huang Ba, who also looked unhappy, followed behind him, not daring to say a word.

The assassin found was a dead man, which was what Liu He expected.

"What are the characteristics of this corpse?"

"The assassin is about forty years old, with a dark and rough complexion and a lot of wear and tear on his teeth. He must have lived in the Western Regions all year round and mainly eats meat."

"There are thick calluses on the palms of the hands, and the skin between the crotches is rough. Wei Chen believes that this person has been in the army for a long time."

"In addition, there are traces of burning with saltpeter on this man's fingers. He either made the gunpowder himself or he was involved in it."

When Chen Xiu said this, he stopped nervously and awkwardly.

"Other than that?"

"Your Majesty, I will forgive you, but there is nothing more to be gained from the corpse." Chen Xiu apologized.

A person who has been in the Western Regions for a long time can still go to Chang'an... which means that he is still involved with many people behind his back.

"I heard that there is another letter on his body. Where is it?" Liu He remembered this detail mentioned in Chen Xiu's love letter.

"Your Majesty, please take a look." Huang Ba, the imperial censor, quickly took out the letter and presented it to the emperor.

The envelope was very ordinary, not much special. After unfolding, the words inside were also very ordinary.

However, this content is anything but ordinary.

This is a perfect letter!

This short letter cleared up all the doubts of Liu He and others.

It seemed that it was specially left for Liu He and the investigators.

The person who wrote the letter was named Fan Zhi, a distant nephew of Fan Mingyou. He joined the army and came to Chang'an City through Fan Mingyou's relationship, and served as the commander of the village in Yulin Langzhong.

Because of his shrewdness and ability, Fan Zhi was quickly absorbed into the Zuojun League and became Huo Yu's minion.

In the final stage of Liu He's handling of the Huo Party, Fan Zhi sensed murderous intent and found an excuse to change his identity and escape to the Western Regions by relying on the power of the Fan Huo family. And survived in the Western Region.

What follows is a story of "assassinating an unlucky king to repay the kindness of knowing you" without any new ideas.

Fan Zhi left this final letter because he did not want others to be implicated.

This letter describes the cause and effect in great detail, but it is too detailed.

Detailed to the point of concealment.

"Have you two read this letter?"

"I've seen it." Chen Xiu and Huang Ba replied simply.

"Have you checked?"

"checked."

"how?"

"This person does exist, and this matter does happen." Chen Xiudao.

"But what happened to this person after he went to the Western Regions, and who he was involved with, we can't find out."

It would be normal if we couldn't find out. At that time, the Western Regions were not the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the household registration system was not yet popularized.

Liu He looked at this final letter and smelled a conspiracy.

The Huo family has been destroyed for many years.

It’s not surprising that there are a few remnants who don’t know whether to live or die.

But to avenge the Huo family after sixteen years is unbelievable.

Fan Zhi may be a remnant of the Huo Party, or he may be a remnant of the Huo Party who was artificially created.

In short, some people want to muddy the waters and ultimately achieve their own ulterior motives.

"So, if you want to dig deeper into Fan Zhi, you won't be able to find any useful clues?" Liu He asked with some dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. I'm afraid this clue has ended here. We'll see if there are any new clues in the future." Huang Ba said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Liu He did not nod, but he also did not continue to make things difficult for them.

"Has anyone identified this Fan Zhi? Is he the same Fan Zhi from back then?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we have found someone related to him to identify him. This person is indeed Fan Zhi. He was indeed very close to Huo Yu and others back then."

From this point of view, no matter what Fan Zhi's purpose is, he is truly a remnant of the Huo Party.

I can only reason with the simplest motives. If the emperor dies, who will benefit?

A wealthy family?

Alien barbarians?

The emperor’s eldest son Zhe?

Regardless of whether Liu He wanted to or not, he still thought of the third person above.

Liu He knew that Liu Zhe would not kill the king or his father, nor could he kill the king or his father.

But what about others?

Although no clear edict has been issued yet, many people can see the identity of Liu Zhe's heir.

So some people may not be able to bear it anymore and want to gain glory and wealth from Liu Zhe.

Liu Zhe has the blood of the Huo family, and the remnants of the Huo family want to revive Liu Zhe by ascending to the throne of God: This theory makes sense.

Although this statement is a bit wishful thinking, after all, even if Liu He dies, Zhang Anshi and others will still dominate the court.

The mere remnants of the Huo Party cannot make any waves.

But the remnants of the Huo Party who were lucky enough to survive had lived in the shadows for more than ten years, and it was understandable that they wanted to give it a try.

The question is, are there really such remnants of the Huo Party?

Liu He found it hard to believe.

The Huo family was dealt with so cleanly that they were all dead.

Those surviving relatives of the Huo family are far away in Cangwu County, and they are even less likely to exert such great power in Chang'an City.

There are only a handful of people in the Han Dynasty who can make these remnants of the Huo family risk their lives.

Thinking of this, Liu He raised his head and turned his gaze to the west.

He could see the Weiyang Palace with its head exposed at a glance.

"Continue checking!" Liu He ordered.

"promise!"

……

Liu He's edict was not only issued to Tingwei Temple, but also to Zhi Jinwu, Guang Luxun, two cabinet bachelors, and even to the embroidered clothes envoy.

The blockade of Chang'an City has been temporarily lifted, but the investigation of the case has not stopped.

For many days in a row, Chang'an City spent time in an extremely tense and depressing atmosphere.

The people of Chang'an, who have enjoyed peace for many years, have not seen such a scene for a long time. On the surface, they are silent, but privately they are talking about it.

I don’t know if there is really no one behind Fan Zhi’s back, or if the person who instigates him can see the sky with his hands and eyes.

All the government agencies involved in investigating the matter did not find any clues related to the case.

The emperor was furious several times in the cabinet duty room and the greenhouse hall, but the case was still unclear.

However, the government agencies did not find nothing, but found some new things.

These things are scarier.

In the half month after the assassination, Zhi Jinwu and other government officials turned the entire city of Chang'an upside down.

In Dasuo, they can always find some ambiguous clues.

"One night three months ago, I saw someone wandering under the pavilion at the entrance of the alley. It seemed that he was doing something evil!"

"My concubine saw a few people secretly gathering in front of Zhijin Wu Yamen at Mao Shi on the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, and they seemed to be talking about killing and death."

"I was skipping rope with my friends in the alley that evening, and I saw a few people in black robes carrying a few bags and walking toward the east gate of Weiyang Palace."

"I was awakened by a rustling sound on the wall that day, which is very close to Gaomiao Square!"

"I saw an extremely ugly woman throwing something into the moat. She didn't look like a good person!"

These rumors are not clues, at most they are trivial matters between parents, and they would not get Zhijinwu's attention at all on weekdays.

But in today's tense atmosphere, people are afraid of being implicated, so they will naturally talk about all these things, and even add fuel to the fire.

The officials investigating the case were also afraid that they would be blamed for their negligence, so they would submit all the clues to the superior in detail.

Anle and others who were in charge of this matter did not dare to conceal anything or neglect at all, and would immediately send someone to investigate and verify.

Soon, the officials in charge will find witchcraft on the corners of the streets, beside the doors of government offices, under the square bricks of Beique Square, and on the walls of Weiyang Palace!

There are many kinds and varieties.

Puppets and clay sculptures, picture letters, rags, coins, gold and silver... these witchcraft things are simply eye-opening!

No matter what the shape of these witchcraft objects is, there is only one person who curses them, and that is the current emperor.

Although the people who buried these witchcraft objects did not leave specific names, it can be seen from the lines that they are all remnants of the Huo Party!

The reason why the emperor is cursed is of course because of the terrible old case that happened more than ten years ago!

Within half a month, hundreds of witchcraft cases were discovered in Chang'an City!

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(End of this chapter)