People are in Zhenguan, solving crimes scientifically

Chapter 324: White Tiger's identity revealed! Everything that happened! (Part )

"What!? Minister Hou?"

"Suzaku is Minister Hou?"

“Is…is this true?”

"How could Minister Hou be Suzaku!?"

As Lin Feng's voice fell, all the officials were stunned with shock. They stared at Hou Junji with wide eyes, their faces full of disbelief.

Hou Junji was the Minister of War and a duke of the current dynasty. He had both power and status. Who could have thought that... such a Hou Junji would actually join the Four Symbols Organization and commit treason?
Even Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji, two extremely wise men, could not hide their surprise and astonishment on their faces. They were very familiar with Hou Junji and often met him in private. Even if their relationship was not as good as that of friends, it was definitely not bad... But even so, they did not notice anything unusual about Hou Junji!
Hou Junji was so secretive and scheming that Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji felt as if they were meeting Hou Junji for the first time.

"Minister Hou, is what Lin Shaoqing said true? Are you...are you really Suzaku?"

At this time, the Minister of Works Zhang Liang could not help but ask a question.

Hou Junji seemed to wake up from a dream when he heard this. He shook his head suddenly, stared at Lin Feng angrily, and roared: "Lin Feng, why do you want to frame me? What Suzaku? That's nonsense! My loyalty to Your Majesty is witnessed by heaven and earth. How can you slander me like this!"

"Slandering you?"

Lin Feng was not surprised at Hou Junji's stubborn resistance. He said calmly, "Then Minister Hou, can you explain two things to me?"

"what?"

"Today's prayer, His Majesty has assigned all tasks related to the prayer and security to Duke Dai and Duke Wei. Others have come to participate in the prayer on their own initiative. Even Duke Wei and Duke Qi did not bring any servants. So, I would like to ask Minister Hou..."

Lin Feng glanced at the soldiers brought by Hou Junji and asked meaningfully, "What's going on with these soldiers?"

Hou Junji's eyes suddenly widened and his expression changed rapidly.

Lin Feng said calmly: "Minister Hou was not ordered by His Majesty to be responsible for the safety of the East Palace, so why did he bring so many troops here?"

"I..." Hou Junji opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

"And the second question..."

Lin Feng looked at Hou Junji, not giving him a chance to explain, and said, "It's fine that Minister Hou brought troops to the East Palace... Why did Minister Hou also order people to go to the city gate and seize control of the city gate? Why? Is Minister Hou worried that the Four Elephants thieves will escape through the city gate? Or is he worried that the garrison outside will hear the news and come to the imperial city, threatening your seizure of power?"

"What!?"

"Minister Hou sent people to control the city gate?"

The officials were completely unaware of this matter. After hearing Lin Feng's words, their expressions when they looked at Hou Junji finally changed.

If there was an explanation for Hou Junji bringing people to the East Palace, then there was no explanation for him seizing control of the city gate without telling anyone.

Moreover, Hou Junji had been with them all the time. After the collapse of the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Hou Junji had never left. It was impossible for him to send people to control the city gate at this time. In other words... Hou Junji could have given the order before the collapse of the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

That means... Hou Junji already knew that the accident would happen!
At this moment, even Zhang Liang was furious and shouted at Hou Junji: "Hou Junji...you, you are really Suzaku! You, you really deceived us so much!"

"I……"

Hou Junji opened his mouth, with countless words he wanted to say, but at this moment, he couldn't make a sound.

Lin Feng not only has clues to prove his identity, but also knows everything he has done. How can he argue?

Lin Feng looked at Hou Junji and said slowly: "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself...Hou Junji, do you have anything else to say now?"

Hou Junji glared at Lin Feng with gnashing teeth, his eyes were as crazy as if he wanted to kill someone: "I only hate... I only hate that I didn't just crush you to death when you appeared unexpectedly when you should have died!"

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Yes, if you guys had attacked me at all costs while I was still in prison, I might not even have the chance to get out of prison... But unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world!"

After saying that, Lin Feng shouted directly: "Catch him!"

The soldiers rushed forward instantly and pinned Hou Junji down.

No matter how Hou Junji struggled, he could not cause any waves.

Zhang Liang looked at Hou Junji who was tied up like a dumpling and clapped his hands vigorously, "Lin Shaoqing did a good job. If it weren't for Lin Shaoqing's return and exposing Hou Junji's true face, we might have been deceived by him forever and might not know the truth in this life. Lin Shaoqing is worthy of being my Great Tang Detective. He caught the thief with one move!"

Listening to Zhang Liang's words, Lin Feng smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Minister Zhang, but..."

Unexpectedly, his next sentence suddenly changed: "Even if Minister Zhang praises me to the sky, I will still expose Minister Zhang's true face."

"What!?"

The smile on Zhang Liang's face froze instantly.

He couldn't help swallowing his saliva and said awkwardly: "Lin Shaoqing, you...where did you get this from? What is my true face?"

The other officials were also a little confused. They didn't expect that Lin Feng had just arrested Hou Junji and then pointed his sword at Zhang Liang without giving them a chance to digest the information.

"Where to begin?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, where should I start? This really needs to be sorted out carefully, because the grudge between Minister Zhang and I started much earlier than Minister Hou, so I don't even know where to start."

"Correct!"

Lin Feng suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Then let's start with Zhang Shangshu's identity, and then talk about the cause and effect between us based on Zhang Shangshu's identity."

"Identity?" Zhang Liang's expression began to become unnatural. He said, "I don't have any identity. Lin Shaoqing, please stop joking."

"No identity?"

Lin Feng looked at Zhang Liang with a half-smile and said, "Minister Zhang, you might as well wait until I finish what I have to say before considering whether to say it."

Zhang Liang paused: "What's the matter?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with what we found out in Cizhou."

As he spoke, Lin Feng looked at Fang Xuanling and the others, and said, "You may not know that I personally went to Cizhou some time ago in order to investigate the purpose of the Four Symbols Thief Kui Su, who is my predecessor, the former Dali Temple Secretary Lin Feng, who has been hiding in the Dali Temple for the past six years."

"Then in Cizhou, I discovered that the Four Elephants bandits had been secretly transporting civilians to Cizhou for the past six years, and forced these civilians to secretly mine for minerals in the mountains of Cizhou."

"Mining minerals?" Everyone was stunned.

Even well-informed people like Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were unaware of this matter. It concerned the biggest secret of the Four Symbols Organization, so Lin Feng and Xiao Yu had kept it strictly confidential.

Lin Feng nodded: "Yes, they have been secretly mining minerals over the years. Then I found out through shipping clues that the minerals they secretly mined were eventually delivered to the port near Chang'an."

"Changan!?"

Fang Xuanling and others all changed their expressions.

Mining is strange in itself, and the fact that the minerals secretly dug out in such a remote place are destined for Chang'an makes them feel even more uneasy.

No matter how I think about it, I feel there is a big problem here.

Changsun Wuji could no longer maintain his cunningness and could not help asking, "Why did they send the minerals to Chang'an?"

"Yes, they went to great lengths to mine and then carefully and secretly sent the minerals to Chang'an. What was their purpose? This is something I have never been able to figure out."

Lin Feng said: "So, before I returned to Chang'an from Cizhou, I wrote a letter to Mr. Xiao and asked him to conduct a secret investigation."

Everyone subconsciously asked: "What is the result?"

Lin Feng shook his head: "I didn't find anything!"

"Didn't find anything? What does didn't find anything mean?" Changsun Wuji asked with a frown.

Lin Feng said: "Literally, Lord Xiao used all the power he could, and even His Majesty secretly helped Lord Xiao, but even so, Lord Xiao did not find any clues about those minerals. These minerals seemed to have disappeared out of thin air."

"Even your majesty has used all his power, but you still haven't found anything?"

Changsun Wuji's expression changed involuntarily. As one of the most powerful officials in the Tang Dynasty, he knew too well how terrifying Li Shimin's power was. But even so, he still found nothing. What did this mean? He couldn't help but think deeply.

Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment and said, "Have you investigated from the workshop? Minerals cannot be used directly, they still need to be processed and smelted. Since we can't find those minerals, we might as well start from the next process."

"Of course I checked."

Lin Feng said: "But there is still no gain. Lord Xiao checked all the workshops inside and outside Chang'an City, and also checked all the abandoned houses that no one uses, but there is still no gain."

"how come?"

Now even Fang Xuanling frowned tightly. He said, "It is impossible for the minerals accumulated over the years to disappear out of thin air, but why can't they be found?"

"Yes, it is impossible for it to disappear, but I just can't find any abnormalities..."

Lin Feng said: "So, this gives me a bold guess..."

"What guess?" Everyone looked at Lin Feng quickly.

Then Lin Feng turned his gaze and looked at Zhang Liang again, and said slowly: "Is it possible... that these minerals have become legal and reasonable minerals that can withstand investigation through some means?"

"Or maybe these minerals were not taken by private workshops at all, but entered the official workshops controlled by our Ministry of Industry? Because our official workshops often have to carry out construction, the demand for minerals is very high. If there are a few more minerals entering the workshop, as long as the work is done well, even the craftsmen in the workshop may not notice it, let alone people outside."

"In this case, the minerals either become legal and legitimate minerals, or are secretly stored and consumed in large quantities, leaving little remaining stock... In this case, it is normal that they cannot be found."

After hearing Lin Feng's words, everyone's eyes almost instantly turned to Zhang Liang.

Lin Feng's guess undoubtedly pointed to the Ministry of Industry!

Zhang Liang's expression finally changed. His eyes flickered and he said quickly, "Lin Shaoqing, I respect you for being able to find out Hou Junji's secret, but that doesn't mean I can let you slander me!"

"I am trusted by your majesty and in charge of the Ministry of Works. I work diligently, even if I don't sleep day and night. But after all my hard work and efforts, you slander me like this. I will never accept this!"

Lin Feng seemed to have expected Zhang Liang to say this. His expression remained unchanged and he said with a smile, "Don't be impatient, Minister Zhang. I haven't finished yet."

"Humph!"

Zhang Liang snorted coldly: "Then I want to hear what else you have to say."

Lin Feng smiled, not affected by Zhang Liang at all, and continued: "If I have a guess, I need to verify it. But how to verify it is also a worrying thing. After all, I didn't know what those minerals would be used for at the beginning... until..."

He looked into Zhang Liang's eyes, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said: "After I captured Ang Su, also known as the Minister of Personnel Guo Pingde, things have turned around!"

"What turning point?" Everyone had been completely attracted by Lin Feng's words. When they heard the key person appear, they couldn't help but ask anxiously.

Zhang Liang's brows began to frown uncontrollably.

Lin Feng looked at the subtle changes in Zhang Liang's expression and said slowly: "When I first arrested Ang Su, he refused to say anything. At that time, I guessed that Ang Su must have some concerns. Later, I found out..."

The corners of his mouth curled up: "Kui Su secretly monitored a mother and son, and after my investigation, the mother and son were Ang Su's daughter and illegitimate son hidden outside."

When Zhang Liang heard about Kui Su and the mother and son, his pupils shrank uncontrollably.

"Minister Zhang seems a little nervous... That's right. After all, in my opinion, Kui Su should have died in Shenshan County a long time ago. How can I know what Kui Su did in Chang'an City?"

Zhang Liang couldn't help swallowing his saliva and said, "What Kuixiu, what mother and son, I don't understand."

"not understand?"

Lin Feng smiled and said, "It's okay, just listen to me continue."

"I found out Angsu's concerns through Kui Su. At that time, the Four Symbols Organization also sent people to assassinate Angsu and forced Angsu to commit suicide. Angsu hated the Four Symbols Organization to the extreme, so after learning that I could rescue his relatives, he no longer concealed it and told me a huge secret!"

Changsun Wuji quickly stepped forward and asked, "What secret?"

The others also looked at Lin Feng nervously.

Then Lin Feng said slowly: "He said that Baihu once revealed to him that the strange disease that the Crown Prince could not be cured of was caused by Baihu himself!" "What!?"

"Is the Crown Prince's illness caused by the White Tiger?"

"Is this... is this true?"

Even Li Shimin's eyes became sharp at this moment.

All the officials were even more pale. To assassinate the crown prince was a serious crime punishable by execution of the entire family.

Lin Feng said: "Ang Su had completely leaned towards me at that time, so he would not lie, and this also made me understand the ultimate goal of the Four Symbols Organization in an instant!"

As he spoke, Lin Feng raised his hand, pointed at the ruins of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall in front of him, and said, "That's it! Pray for blessings at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall!"

Everyone followed the direction of Lin Feng's finger and subconsciously looked towards the ruins in front of them.

Then Lin Feng continued, "The white tiger caused the prince's strange disease, and this strange disease directly led to His Majesty's desire to seek help from the gods and Buddhas, praying that the gods and Buddhas would protect the prince and let him recover soon. In other words, the prince's disease led to the inevitable occurrence of the blessing."

"And to pray for blessings, we need to build a place for prayer - that is, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall in front of us!"

"It just so happens that building the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall requires a large amount of materials, which need to be transported from all over the place... and in this case, the minerals from Cizhou just happened to disappear in Chang'an City during this period. What do you think, putting all this together, means?"

Everyone's eyes widened subconsciously, and everyone's face showed shock.

String together!

The fragmented clues that Lin Feng obtained from various different places were actually strung together into one line at this moment!

"So...they stole the minerals from Cizhou just to build the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall!?"

Dai Zhou was also an impatient person and couldn't stand being kept in suspense.

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Now that I have this idea, I need to verify it. It just so happens that... the Tubo envoy was killed in the East Palace before, and His Majesty ordered me to investigate. During the investigation, two things gave me inspiration."

"What two things?"

Even Sun Fujia didn’t know this.

Lin Feng raised a finger and said, "First of all, when I was investigating the case, I asked Li Haomiao to find out if there were any strange things happening in the East Palace at that time. As a result, Li Haomiao told me about a case that happened when the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall was being built."

He looked at everyone and said, "Li Haomiao said that an official in the Ministry of Works embezzled money and sold inferior goods as good ones. A craftsman discovered this and reported it. Your Majesty ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that this was the case and eventually arrested him."

Hearing Lin Feng's words, Dai Zhou frowned and thought for a while, then said: "There is such a case, but after our investigation, we did find money that did not belong to him in his residence, and those inferior materials were indeed purchased by him."

Lin Feng said: "I naturally believe in Mr. Dai's investigation...but I also heard one thing, that is, when the official was taken away, he shouted that he was innocent."

"This..." Dai Zhou said, "That's true. I thought he was crying out for injustice just to escape punishment. Could it be... there's some inside story?"

Lin Feng said: "After I heard about this case, I always wanted to investigate it when I had time, but I never had the chance until I faked my death and escaped. Then I had time to investigate."

He looked at Dai Zhou and said, "I met him secretly and asked him about the situation at that time. Mr. Dai, guess what?"

Dai Zhou subconsciously leaned towards Lin Feng and asked, "What's going on?"

Lin Feng said: "He said he had never passed off inferior goods as good ones, and he didn't know what happened to the money. He said someone deliberately harmed him... Then I asked him if he had offended anyone, and he said no. I asked him if he had found anything special. After I guided him many times, he told me one thing."

"What's the matter?" Dai Zhou asked hurriedly. He knew that the critical point was approaching.

The others also subconsciously held their breath, not daring to even breathe, for fear of disturbing Lin Feng.

Then Lin Feng said, "He said that one night he couldn't sleep, so he came to the construction site and wandered around. Then he found a few people doing something there. He was curious and wanted to check it out. But the footsteps were too loud, so those people spotted him and left."

"He later went to the place where those people were gathered and checked for a long time, but he didn't find anything unusual. He also didn't see the faces of those people clearly, so he didn't know who was there, so he didn't think much about it..."

Dai Zhou's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that... those people are the thieves from the Four Symbols Organization?"

Lin Feng said: "Don't worry, Mr. Dai, there is another thing."

As he spoke, he extended his second finger and said, "It was still the case of the murder of the envoy. The person who did it was Mo Wanshan, a general who was related to the former Sui traitor. The method Mo Wanshan used to kill people was a very special Gu worm. He fed the Gu worm with specific drugs, so that the Gu worm could accurately kill people through the smell of the drugs in the human blood."

"The person Mo Wanshan wanted to kill at that time was the crown prince, so he fed the poisonous insects according to the medicine the crown prince was taking... But he didn't expect that when he took action, the crown prince had already stopped taking the medicine for several days, so the drug ingredients in his body had been metabolized. It just so happened that the envoy from Tubo took medicine with the same drug ingredients, and was eventually killed by the poisonous insects by mistake."

"And the reason why His Royal Highness stopped taking the medicine is..."

He looked at everyone and said, "In the garden of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince found that someone had secretly left him a note, and the note said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should stop taking the medicine!"

Everyone was surprised and surprised when they heard this.

Because the matter concerned the royal family, Lin Feng did not make public the details of the Eastern Palace envoy case, so that the civil and military officials did not know until this moment why Li Chengqian was able to escape.

"Who gave the note to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" someone couldn't help but ask.

Lin Feng said: "I had the same doubts at the time, but there were too few clues at the time, so I had no idea where to start, so I temporarily put the matter aside... and it was not until I learned the secrets of the Four Symbols Organization from Ang Su and the official from the Ministry of Industry that I finally connected all of this."

"You mean..." Fang Xuanling's mind moved, and he quickly said, "Is this the note left by the Four Symbols Organization?"

Lin Feng nodded: "It is certain that the Four Symbols Organization will use the blessing, which means that they must ensure that the blessing can happen as planned."

"So, they must ensure the safety of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... That is, before praying, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must not get into any trouble. Otherwise, if something happens to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, then praying will become meaningless, and naturally the blessing will not happen!"

He looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "Reminding His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of danger is a great achievement. Why do you want to hide your identity? Before the incident, you could explain that you were not sure if there was really a problem and were worried about accidents, so you didn't dare to show up. But after the incident, it was the credit for saving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's life. Why don't you come to claim it?"

"There are only two answers... That is, the person who saved His Royal Highness either had an impure purpose, or his identity was questionable and could not be exposed, or both."

"Combined with the answers given by Ansu and the others, there is no doubt that it could only be the Four Symbols Organization. They have accounted for both possibilities."

Fang Xuanling thought about it, then nodded heavily, agreeing with Lin Feng's inference: "That makes sense."

Lin Feng smiled and continued: "Combining all of this, the speculation has basically become a fact. This Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall... has a problem!"

"So, after confirming these, I found an opportunity to secretly come to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall, and then, according to what the Ministry of Industry official said, I explored the location where those people were gathered that night. As a result... I actually found something."

Dai Zhou knew that what Lin Feng found was most likely the thing that directly caused the collapse of the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall, so he hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others were also full of curiosity. They witnessed with their own eyes that such a magnificent Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas turned into ruins in just a short moment, which made them eager to know how this was done.

Lin Feng looked at Zhang Liang and said with a smile: "Minister Zhang, do you know what that is?"

Zhang Liang's eyes flickered, and his expression was very ugly: "How could I know?"

"You do not know?"

Lin Feng smiled and said, "But after checking the files, I found out that it was you, Minister Zhang, who personally led people to level and inspect that spot? You said you didn't know?"

Zhang Liang's face turned pale.

Lin Feng didn't keep the secret any longer and said directly: "It's at the junction of the foundation and the wall. There, there is a lot of...gunpowder buried!"

"Gunpowder?" Everyone was stunned.

Fang Xuanling couldn't help but ask, "Is it something made by the Taoists when they were refining elixirs? But that thing can't be that powerful, right?"

Lin Feng said: "I don't know how the Four Symbols Organization discovered or researched something similar, but it is indeed hundreds or thousands of times more powerful than gunpowder!"

"I think the minerals that the Four Elephants Organization dug from Cizhou should have been used to secretly prepare these gunpowders, right?"

"After I checked, I found that all the gunpowder was buried at the base of the walls. A fire starter is enough to detonate it... and because it is hidden right at the base of the wall, once it explodes, the entire Ten Thousand Buddha Hall will collapse. There is no other possibility."

Everyone listened to Lin Feng's words, shocked at the power of gunpowder, and also shocked that Lin Feng could actually dig out all the secrets and truths from so many seemingly unrelated things.

Just by listening to Lin Feng's story, they felt dizzy and had a headache because it was so complicated.

And Lin Feng, without any hints, relied on his own ability to find the final gunpowder step by step. This ability is really admirable.

"The Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas is where Your Majesty prays for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The specifications are made according to the requirements for building an imperial palace. In other words, the selection of materials, the construction method, and the entire process of supervision and acceptance are all very strict!"

While everyone was shocked, Lin Feng's voice continued to sound, and they hurriedly looked at Lin Feng again.

Then Lin Feng continued, "As for these gunpowders, to be honest, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the Four Symbols Organization, they did not bury the gunpowder too deep. In order to facilitate ignition, they also left some twisted wires outside."

"It's not difficult to hide these things for a while, but it's almost impossible to hide them from all the craftsmen who come and go, from the supervisors sent by the palace, and from the officials who do the final inspection!"

"But the Four Elephants Organization still managed to hide it from everyone. Why is this happening?"

Yup!

Why is this happening?

Everyone frowned and began to think.

Lin Feng said: "I secretly went to find the craftsmen who built the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall at that time and asked them about the relevant situation. Then... they told me something very important."

"What's the matter?" Dai Zhou asked quickly.

Lin Feng's eyes fell back on Zhang Liang in front of him, and he said slowly: "They said that Zhang Shangshu was very hands-on. No matter what he did, he did it himself... He personally led people to smooth the footing of the wall. He entertained the supervisory officials from the palace every day. During the final inspection, Zhang Shangshu also accompanied them when they checked the footing of the wall."

"And just at that time, Minister Zhang had an accident and fell down accidentally, so those officials hurried to visit Minister Zhang, and finally the acceptance inspection was hastily concluded..."

"Look!"

Lin Feng said: "The fact that this Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall was able to pass the inspection is all thanks to you, Minister Zhang!"

Zhang Liang's face turned pale. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but for a moment, he didn't know how to start.

And Lin Feng didn't give him a chance to speak.

Lin Feng continued: "You can say that you fell accidentally, or you can say that you entertained the supervisory officials in the palace and it was a normal interpersonal relationship..."

"Then you personally led the team to smooth the base of the wall. It just so happens that the fuse is exposed at the base of the wall. How are you going to argue? Say you didn't see it?"

Lin Feng laughed: "Minister Zhang, do you think anyone here will believe it?"

Zhang Liang was startled and subconsciously looked at other people.

Then, his face turned completely pale and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Just as Lin Feng said, after hearing Lin Feng's entire reasoning process, the expressions of the people looking at him were extremely indifferent and cold. It was impossible for them to believe a single word he said.

"It just so happens that I know Suzaku's identity, and the others who are at the same level as Suzaku must be at least third rank."

"Your rank happens to be the third rank!"

"Plus, Baihu said it himself that he was the one who made the Crown Prince sick, and most of the prayers were done by him..."

"So……"

Lin Feng took a deep breath and stared at Zhang Liang closely.

Under Zhang Liang's nervous gaze, Lin Feng finally spoke slowly, "Minister Zhang, your identity is about to be revealed."

"White Tiger of the Four Symbols!"

"White Tiger Star Lord, it must be you!"

(End of this chapter)