Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 498: The Evil Ghost Attacks
February, the third year of Qianfeng.

Yuan Gongyu was feeling dizzy and was lying on a small packhorse. He was walking on a rugged mountain path, shaking and staggering. Suddenly, his internal organs tightened and he vomited.

The fishy taste in his mouth made the once high-ranking Chief Censor feel so sad that he couldn't help but shed tears.

Bianzhou, formerly known as Nanshizhou, was governed by Shilong and governed six counties: Shilong, Lingluo, Longhua, Luobian, Cilian and Luofei, which is the territory of Huazhou in later generations.

At that time, Huazhou was just a small basin in the Lingnan Mountains, surrounded by mountains. If you wanted to enter or exit Bianzhou, you had to take a narrow mountain path.

In fact, the current situation is already very good. In the pre-Qin and Three Kingdoms period, there were not even basic roads, and there were countless marsh gas and miasma around. People might die while walking.

After hundreds of years of development, the miasma roads had been significantly improved, allowing Yuan Gongyu to return home drunk like this.

How could Yuan Gongyu, who had enjoyed the prosperity of Chang'an, accept such an environment?
Sima of Bianzhou is a high official position.

However, the imperial court was far away in Bianzhou, and the deterrent power of the imperial court was far from enough in this county town surrounded by mountains. In particular, there were many Li people and Liao people living in the mountains. Although they were loyal to the imperial court, they had their own clan system. On one side was the imperial court's legal system, and on the other side was the clan system. It was very easy to have conflicts and contradictions. If not handled carefully, friction and bloodshed might occur.

The local Sima was mainly responsible for administrative issues related to public security, and inevitably had to deal with the Li and Liao people living in the mountains.

If you want your government policies to be implemented, it is necessary to establish good relations with the leaders of the Li and Liao tribes in the mountains.

This time, Yuan Gongyu was invited by the leader of the Liao people tribe in the mountains to attend his son's wedding.

Yuan Gongyu wanted to establish good relations with the leaders of the Li and Liao tribes, and these tribal leaders wanted to curry favor with Yuan Gongyu even more.

The Tang Dynasty had very effective control over Lingnan. Even during the later Wu Zhou Dynasty, a group of cruel officials who were as cruel as beasts slaughtered people indiscriminately in the Lingnan area for their own merits. They would fabricate an unjust case today and kill hundreds of thousands of people, and fabricate an unjust case tomorrow and kill hundreds of thousands of people, but it did not cause large-scale unrest.

Yuan Gongyu was still loved by local officials and tribal leaders in Lingnan, but this was not the life Yuan Gongyu wanted.

He wanted to drink Du Kang tea, eat fat but not greasy red meat, and tender and delicious white meat.

Bianzhou is a mountainous area with abundant game, but the local cooking methods and methods of removing the fishy smell are extremely backward. When he put the meat in his mouth, the mutton smell made his internal organs churn.

And wine...

The best wine is either brewed from refined rice or from the best sorghum and wheat, but there is only a tiny piece of land in Bianzhou, so there is no extra grain to make wine.

The wine here is all fruit wine, brewed with all kinds of fruits, and the taste is all kinds of weird. The brewing process is also average...

Whenever he was invited to a party, Yuan Gongyu had to put on a smiling face as if he was going to the execution ground.

I couldn't refuse the hospitality today and ate and drank a lot. Now that I vomited, the already unbearable feeling became even worse.

On this dark mountain road, with only a few guards and confidants around, Yuan Gongyu could no longer bear it and burst into tears.

After vomiting and crying for half an hour, Yuan Gongyu finally came to his senses and dragged his tired body back to the county town in the night.

Yuan Gongyu did not go back to the government office, but went straight back to his own home, intending to wash up, take a good sleep, and forget everything.

The wife came to the clean house and said, "My dear, someone from Chang'an has arrived."

These few simple words suddenly brightened Yuan Gongyu's confused and hungover eyes. He patted his cheeks hard to sober himself up and said, "Where is he? Take me to see him. Did His Majesty remember me?"

"Don't offend the distinguished guest in your state. Go and take a shower. The distinguished guest is resting in the guest room. He has been waiting for most of the day. He doesn't mind a little more time."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Yuan Gongyu nodded like a chicken eating rice, "Madam is really thoughtful."

Yuan Gongyu washed and dressed carefully before going to visit the guest room.

"Xu Yushi? Did you sleep well?"

Even though Yuan Gongyu, the Sima of the provincial government, was in a remote position, his rank was higher than that of an eighth-rank censor. But at this moment, Yuan Gongyu was as cautious and nervous as a son paying his respects to his father.

The person who came was Xu Yougong, the Supervisory Censor of the Censorate...

When Di Renjie had not yet proven himself in the Censorate, he was almost isolated and helpless. Only the Supervisory Censor Xu Yougong did not despise him, and strictly followed his instructions and showed amazing insight.

Di Renjie taught him wholeheartedly and entrusted him with important tasks.

Di Renjie specially arranged for him to come when investigating the old case of Li Chongde.

Xu Yougong responded with "I haven't slept well", then walked out of the guest room, bowed and greeted, and invited Yuan Gongyu into the room.

The two of them sat down.

Xu Yougong said politely: "Sir Yuan, I am here on official business..."

Hearing this, Yuan Gongyu said excitedly: "Xu Yushi, please speak quickly. This is a matter of state. I will tell you everything I know..." After he finished speaking, he asked expectantly: "Does Your Majesty have any special instructions?"

Xu Yougong looked embarrassed and said truthfully: "I was ordered by Di Shiyushi to come and inquire about the old case of Yuan Sima."

The light in Yuan Gongyu's eyes instantly disappeared, and his whole spirit collapsed. He said weakly, "What case?"

Xu Yougong took out a file from his arms and handed it to Yuan Gongyu.

Yuan Gongyu took it slowly, opened it, and saw that the inside of the file was almost covered with ink. The memories buried deep in his brain resurfaced.

He was personally in charge of this file, so he naturally knew about it.

That was a long time ago...

Yuan Gongyu was Li Yifu's confidant, but he was not promoted by Li Yifu alone.

Yuan Gongyu had served as the Imperial Censor during the Zhenguan period, and was promoted to the position of Chief Censor after Li Zhi ascended the throne. Li Yifu, who was an old official of the Prince of Jin, rose to prominence, and they colluded for their own interests.

The first case he handled at that time was the case of Li Chongde recorded in this file.

He remembered very clearly that this file was a copy and he had poured the ink himself.

Li Yifu directly took the original copy of the file and destroyed it...

If it was three years later, Li Yifu would have destroyed it if he had said so. It wouldn't be a big deal.

But at that time, Li Yifu's position was not stable yet, and he had just been promoted to Chief Censor and was timid. How could this be a big deal?

He was afraid that his crime would be exposed, so he secretly made a copy after returning home. However, he was also worried that someone would see the contents and use them against him, so he used ink to erase the key points. If he really wanted to be investigated, he could put the blame on the chief clerk who managed the archives.

He secretly hid the file deep in the old files...

They were terrified at first, but as Li Yifu's position became more and more stable, they formed a political alliance against Wang Liwu and became rampant in the court.

Yuan Gongyu also became bolder and put such trivial matters behind his mind.

Until today, when Yuan Gongyu looked at the old file that he had hidden for nearly ten years, memories of the past came flooding back and he remembered that there was such a thing.

Yuan Gongyu was cunning and sly. Although the visitor was not what he thought, he still wanted to gain some benefits from it. He said, "I can't remember. I handled too many things back then. I can't remember what Li Chongde did wrong. It seems to be related to Li Yifu. Why don't we go ask him?"

Yuan Gongyu was in Lingnan, where he was isolated from the news. He really didn't know that Li Yifu had died. Xu Yougong said, "Li Yifu died of illness two years ago."

Yuan Gongyu was stunned, but he quickly cursed: "Old thief, you died too easily."

Xu Yougong said, "The only person who knows the inside story of this case is Yuan Sima. The Imperial Censor sent me here to find out what happened in the autumn of the first year of Xianqing."

Yuan Gongyu pretended to think deeply, then shook his head and said, "I don't know. It's been too long. It's been almost ten years. Why did you bring up this old case?"

Xu Yougong said: "When Censor Di saw that the Censorate had accumulated many old cases, he was determined to clear up all the old cases and found this file among the old cases."

"Great!" Yuan Gongyu had been the Chief Censor before, and he knew how difficult it was. He praised him and said, "This Censor Di should be quite young, and he must have been in the Censorate not long ago."

Xu Yougong said: "Di Shiyushi is indeed young and promising. He has been in the Censorate for only half a year, but he has already solved many strange cases and is famous in Chang'an."

Yuan Gongyu sneered in his heart, but he also knew that the path of "Di Shiyushi" was not feasible. Such a young man was either stupid or had talent in managing the world, and he would not use backdoors for himself.

"What about Li Chongde? How is he now? Tell me about him, maybe I can remember something. After so many years, he must have been promoted, right?"

Xu Yougong said truthfully: "Li Chongde was promoted to the Minister of Works two years ago, responsible for the task of digging canals and controlling water. It has been completed by the end of this year. His Majesty is very pleased and has granted him the title of Duke of Qingqiu County. Because the Minister of Works Yan Liben is ill, he has been granted the right to take charge of the Ministry of Works."

Yuan Gongyu thought for a long time without showing any emotion, and said with regret: "I am old now, and I really can't remember it. It's the past, and Censor Xu made a wasted trip."

Xu Yougong said anxiously: "Please trouble Sima Yuan to think about it carefully. If the case can be solved, Sima will also be credited with a great achievement."

Yuan Gongyu sneered in his heart: Remember your mother's great contribution.

If this case is really solved, everyone will know what he and Li Yifu did. It will be good for him...

As for Li Chongde, hey, I never thought that he would have a day of great success. Now that he is in power, he can't forget his old friends.

If it weren't for me, you, Li Chongde, would never be able to turn over in your life.

Xu Yougong bowed and said, "Please, Sima Yuan, think about it carefully. I will stay in Bianzhou for three days. If you think of anything, please let me know..."

"sure!"

Yuan Gongyu said it very well, and said politely: "Xu Yushi can just stay at my house. If you really think of anything, you can tell me."

Yuan Gongyu said goodbye to Xu Yougong very politely. After leaving the guest room, he turned around and went to the study to write a letter, telling Li Chongde everything he had encountered today, and clearly told him that if he could not be transferred out of Bianzhou within a year, he was not sure whether he would remember the incident of him killing his brother.

After Yuan Gongyu left, Xu Yougong cursed, "Asshole!"

Xu Yougong was also an extremely powerful figure. He was known in history as Xu Wuzhang. When judging all criminals, he "tried to be lenient, did not easily use torture, and did not easily sentence people to flogging." He made precise and clear judgments that convinced people.

With his insight, he could see that Yuan Gongyu was just trying to fool him and he got a lot of things out of him.

But this is what Di Renjie wanted...

"Brother Qing, go inform Di Wu and tell him to be prepared. Given Yuan Gongyu's personality, if he really has evidence of Li Chongde's crimes, he will definitely threaten you. Have someone intercept Yuan Gongyu's external letters. Be careful and don't let anyone notice."

Xu Yougong didn't know Zhou Kui's abilities, so he gave him special instructions.

The eighteenth day of the third month in the third year of Qianfeng.

Qinghai Lake!
Tang army camp.

Hamu led more than ten people to the camp gate, looked at the shadow on the watchtower, and shouted, "You are not asleep yet!"

A voice came from the left watchtower: "Captain, rest assured, how dare your subordinates?"

The soldier on the right watchtower also said: "The team should rest in peace!"

Hamu was a Tuyuhun and had previously been a tribal leader.

Bu Da was an official title of Tuyuhun, which meant tribal leader. He was originally the leader of a small tribe with a hundred tents.

Just because he led his men to fight against Tibet and failed, his tribe was scattered.

The Khan of Tuyuhun disbanded the Tuyuhun army, and Hamu had no choice but to take off his armor and herd cattle.

Originally, Hamu did not trust the Tang army and thought it was extremely foolish to entrust the safety of Tuyuhun to the army of another country.

As a result, he found that the Tang army was really doing something. When Tubo attacked, the Tang army was not afraid at all and would always protect them at the forefront. Moreover, compared with the past, they were repeatedly defeated. The Tang army really had the strength to protect them and drive Tubo out of Qinghai Lake.

After repeated battles and exchanges, the Tang army and Tuyuhun gradually became indistinguishable from each other.

Hamu simply joined the Tang army, and based on his achievements, he became a captain, with 150 brothers under his command.

Since joining the Tang army, Hamu also understood why the Tang army was so powerful and invincible.

The Tang army had military discipline engraved in their bones, no matter what time.

Whether in wartime or peacetime, the Tang army would always have a group of soldiers on guard against incoming enemy attacks day and night.

There will never be a situation where a thief can get close.

He was in charge of the guard today, so Hamu didn't dare to be careless. This was his fifth night patrol.

After making sure that everyone was safe, Hamu was about to go back when he heard the sound of someone falling.

"Cheng Ke, Cheng Ke..."

"Hu An, Hu An..."

He called out twice, and an ominous feeling came over him.

Suddenly someone screamed, "Ghost!"

"The ghost is coming..."

Despair and horror, the sound was piercing.

Just at this moment, dark shadows climbed over the fence of the camp and entered the military camp.

A chill went up from the feet to the spine and head. Under the light of the fire, each of the opponents was as black as charcoal, just like the evil spirits in the legend.

They shouted in an incomprehensible language, revealing their snow-white steel teeth in their big mouths...

Hamu was a Tuyuhun person and had no idea that there was a kind of people called Kunlun slaves in this world. He really thought that an evil ghost had come.

All his courage completely disappeared and he ran away crawling backwards.

(End of this chapter)