Ji Tang

Chapter 1037: You should not provoke me if you provoke me.
Chang'an West Market, compared to the West Market where the People's Republic of China was founded, now has a situation where all nations gather together, and the officials in charge of West Market are actually foreigners.No, now it is also Datang household registration.

And this person is none other than Khatib, who was caught in Ji Song's trick.

On this day, Khatib returned to the back house of the government office to rest after a busy day.But just after entering the room, he quickly retreated out as quickly as possible, and was about to shout, but in the end, a dagger inlaid with this gold gem was placed on his neck.

"Who is this honored guest? Are you asking for money? If so, I might be able to help you!"

After all, he is a person who has seen the big world, and now he is a figure at the top of the Western Market. On weekdays, he usually meets either high-ranking officials or wealthy businessmen from foreign races. After the initial fear, he quickly calmed down.

The person who came was veiled and wearing a black suit, but based on his many years of experience, he knew that this person was slender and had a small frame. If his guess was correct, he should be a woman.

Not killing him right away meant that the other party had something to ask for. In this case, there was still the possibility of talking.He has been very cautious these years. Although he has the protection of the Duke of Ning, he understands that there are some people he cannot afford to offend.

But how can you do anything without offending others?He has not many enemies, not only a few, but many.

I just don’t know who this ‘friend’ is today.

"Go in and sit down. If you dare to make a sound, I guarantee that you will never die again."

woman?

Khatib was stunned. Although he had some guesses, he was still surprised when he was actually confirmed.And he could tell that this person was not only a woman, but also not from the Tang Dynasty.Because she speaks Chinese very awkwardly, as if she has just learned it!
"who are you?"

Khatib couldn't help but ask after sitting down carefully.He had been led along from the beginning, and now he didn't dare to make the slightest move.

"Want to know? Haha! Then you have to look carefully!"

What was surprising was that the other party took off the veil directly, and a delicate face appeared in front of Khatib.The pupils of his eyes tightened, obviously very surprised!
"Is it you? Shalia!"

Khatib exclaimed, but before he could make any move, he felt a stinging pain on his neck!
"Slow down, slow down!"

Khatib quickly slowed down his movements. His neck had already been pierced just now, and he didn't dare to stimulate the other person at this time.

"I advise you to be honest. People in the Central Plains say that those who know the current affairs are heroes, and a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. You are a smart man and a cautious man, but you are also a man who cherishes his life."

After speaking, the other party took out a parchment roll from his arms and threw it directly into his arms.

Khatib glanced at the other party in confusion, picked up the parchment and opened it.

"No, you can't do that."

Khatib stood up excitedly, his eyes were red, he stared at the other party and gritted his teeth and said: "They are innocent, you can't do this. What do you want? Money? Rights? As long as I have it, I will give it to you, but please Don't hurt them."

Shaliya looked at the panicked Khatib jokingly and said with a smile: "My Lord Mayor, you are not like this in our wine shop. You are so arrogant and proud. I am like a humble slave girl." I usually crawl at your feet, hoping that you will give us a chance."

Khatib closed his eyes in pain and said: "Tell me what you want to get to let them go!"

Shalia smiled proudly and said: "Tell me all the information about the generals of the Tang Dynasty going south, all of them!"

"what?"

Khatib opened his eyes and looked at Shariya in disbelief. Looking at her face, he suddenly understood something.

"Big cannibal, you are actually a big cannibal!"

Shaliya was startled, but quickly calmed down and said proudly: "Yes, I am the great cannibal, Allah!"

Khatib relaxed at this time and sneered: "You are so bold that you stretched your hands so long? The Caliph is really ambitious!"

"presumptuous!"

boom!
After punching Khatib hard on the face, Siliya said angrily: "Can you say that to the great Caliph?"

"Hahahaha!"

Khatib laughed until he burst into tears, and then said: "They are just a bunch of lunatics who have lost themselves. Originally, I still had a glimmer of hope that you would not hurt my people, but now I know, they have probably been killed by you." Alright?"

"No, they are still alive and well."

But as he was talking, he saw Khatib's sneering eyes, and he suddenly couldn't speak anymore.

"Say, why don't you say it? Since when have you been so kind to the pagan Caliph? I know my people well. They are all devout believers and there is no way they would succumb to you crazy people. So no matter what I say or not, None of them will end well, even if they are already dead.”

Khatib looked sad and murmured: "Demar, Lina, Hilton."

Shalia was silent for a while and said: "Tell me everything you know, and I can let your child go. But if"

"Pfft!"

"you"

Shariya hurriedly retreated, but it was still a step too late. Just now, Khatib took Shariya's knife-holding hand and pointed it at his neck.

Blood spurted out directly, and even little bits of blood splashed onto Sally's delicate face.She looked panicked, not expecting Khatib to do this.

"Why? Is this country really worth your efforts? Even if it means death?"

Khatib showed a little smile and said, "If I didn't know that the moment you revealed your veil, I wouldn't have been able to walk out of this room."

His eyes began to wander, and he murmured: "You have provoked the person you shouldn't have provoked, and he has already gone south."

Shariya looked at the dead Khatib in silence. She never expected that it would end like this.Although she had never wanted to let him go, this result was not acceptable to her.

Bang!

There was a noise, and Shalia hurriedly walked out of the room and saw a figure running out. Now it was too late to catch up.

At this time, she didn't care much anymore, and hurriedly rummaged around the room, but in the end she found nothing, so she could only leave bitterly!

Zheng Qian, the minister of punishment, came to the West City official office, which had been cordoned off for a long time. He walked into the official office with a solemn expression.

"This is the person who came to report the crime. If the minister has anything to say, you can ask him directly!"

The subordinate pointed at a panicked servant.Zheng Qian looked at it and said with a smile: "Relax and tell me everything you know without leaving anything out!"

"Yes!"

"This evening, I went out to buy something for my wife, so I came back late. When I knocked on the door, I found that the door was not closed. I didn't pay attention at the time, thinking it was the concierge who was being lazy. But when I After entering the backyard of the government office, I found no one. Just when I was at a loss, I heard someone in the master's room."

"The government wants to avenge the master!"

After the servant finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed. He said: "The younger one only knew that the other party was a woman. He was so panicked that he bumped into something and was discovered."

Zheng Qian waved his hand and signaled to take people down to draw the pledge.

Then he was led by his subordinates to the backyard. At this time, the backyard was filled with corpses, including more than ten people.Along with Khatib himself, his wife, daughter, and servants were all dead. It was like leaving no one alive!
"How brave! I didn't expect such a tragedy to happen in the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The imperial officials were exterminated. This is going to break the news!"

Zheng Qian was shocked and angry. He didn't expect that the killer would be so ruthless. He would not spare any men, women, old or young. He was going to eradicate the enemy!
"Servant, Khatib's eldest son is not here!"

"Ok?"

Zheng Qian was stunned and asked, "Where is Khatib's eldest son?"

"According to Khatib's friends and neighbors, his eldest son is named Cheng De, and he is currently teaching at Taibai Royal Academy, specializing in teaching food and Persian. And his eldest son's wife and children all live in the academy. It can be said that he Only the eldest son of the family remained, and all the other sons were killed.”

Zheng Qian frowned and said, "Do you doubt Cheng De?"

The subordinate lowered his head and said: "Until the investigation is clear, any one of us can be suspicious."

"Di Renjie, go to the academy immediately and bring the Chengde family back. You must protect their safety. At this time, no accidents can happen!"

"Subordinates obey!"

Di Renjie and his people immediately went to the academy to take them with them.After he left, the person in charge behind Zheng Qian said: "Servant Master, isn't it inappropriate to leave such an important matter to a young boy?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. Young people just need to exercise. If you have nothing to do, go check the body and see if you can find any useful clues."

The chief was stunned for a moment, his face turning blue and white, but in the end he handed over his hand and said: "Subordinate, I obey!"

Narrowing his eyes to watch the chief named Lu leave, Zheng Qian said disdainfully: "I really don't know what to say. Do I know your little thoughts?"

Thinking of Di Renjie, he couldn't help but feel curious.If I remember correctly, this kid wanted to become Ji Song's teacher at the beginning, but at that time he didn't know whether the four major disciples were alive or dead, and he had promised to accept the closed disciples before, so he refused.

But what made him funny was that some time ago, after the imperial examination, Di Renjie was assigned to the post of the Ministry of Punishment.Ji Song ran over and asked him to take care of him.

Of course he knew the identity of Di Renjie, the son of Di Zhisun, the left servant of the Ministry of War.

However, this boy is very low-key and never talks about his father in front of others, which is why he admires him.Even without Ji Song's entrustment, the ability this boy has shown in this short period of time may be limitless in the future!
After taking a look at Khatib's wounds, he knew that this was suicide, or it could be said that he was actively seeking death!
What happened that made Tangtang Xishi Ling take the initiative to seek death?You must know that as a foreigner, he became a fifth-rank official in the Tang Dynasty, which was rare in the Tang Dynasty.Of course, except for those foreign generals, because they have a high status, the court cannot treat them badly if they surrender, right?

On the second floor of a wine shop outside the West City Government Office, a woman wearing revealing clothing of a foreign race and a man of a foreign race who looked to be in his 30s looked at the bustling government office.

"Shariya, you disappoint me!"

"The subordinate is guilty!"

Shariya made no excuses and confessed directly.

"You are to stay in the wine shop during this period and are not allowed to go out, let alone do anything. As for gathering information, I will do it myself."

Shalia looked unwilling, but when she saw the man's expression, her heart suddenly trembled, and she quickly said: "Shalia understands!"

The man looked at Zheng Qian who was walking out of the official office and smiled, but then he frowned and said: "This Khatib is really stupid. He, a Persian, would rather die than reveal any information. He is so stupid!"

Shalia was silent, stupid?maybe!

Whenever she thought of Khatib's liberated expression, she couldn't help but tremble. What kind of magical power could make a profit-seeking businessman prefer death to betrayal?

"Let people keep an eye on the Duke of Nie's house. This Khatib has something to do with the Duke of Nie. Cheng De? Haha, you actually gave your son the surname Cheng?"

The man smiled sarcastically and said directly: "Go and find someone to kill Chengde. Since they can't be used by the empire, then they have no value in existence."

"Yes!"

In the Tai Chi Hall, Li Shimin looked at the document in his hand and sometimes frowned and sometimes became confused.When Chen Shou arrived in a hurry, Li Shimin had just finished reading.

"What happened? Are you so panicked?"

Chen Shou did not dare to neglect and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Punishment has just come to report that the Khatib family in the West City was killed by a mysterious woman in the back house of the government office overnight. Only the eldest family survived because they were teaching in the academy. !”

boom!
"How brave!"

Li Shimin was furious and said: "To have such a vicious case happen at the feet of the Emperor shows that he does not take the imperial court seriously at all!"

"Check, tell the Ministry of Punishment and the Wannian Order to investigate carefully. I must give an explanation within three days!"

"promise!"

After Chen Shou left, Li Shimin rubbed his forehead, feeling a little irritated.

Things keep happening for some reason during this period, and there is also quite a bit of movement in the Western Region, but it seems to be mostly bluffing, but one has to guard against it.

Now most of the imperial court's energy is focused on the sea and the modification of merchant ships. He has sent Zhang Liang south to form a new naval fleet, but these cannot be accomplished overnight.

Ji Song's letter also introduced the situation in the strait. He did not expect that Dashi's power at sea would be so powerful.There are nearly a thousand warships and an army of fifty thousand. This kind of maritime strength is inferior to all the navies of the Tang Dynasty combined.What's more, the opponent's navy is an elite division that has gone through many years of battle.

No wonder Ji Song delayed again and again. If such strength were to directly come into contact, he would probably get a bloody blow. Even if he won by luck, it would definitely be a miserable victory. This was not what he wanted to see.

After the introduction, he finally understood the significance of the existence of this strait.In Ji Song's words, this strait will be the main channel for maritime exchanges between the East and the West, and its geographical location is extremely important.It can be said that whoever controls this strait will control the initiative in East-West trade.

Once someone occupies this place and cuts off the strait, it will cut off the communication between the East and the West.And as long as it occupies the strait here, Datang will completely control the waters east of the strait, which is of great significance.

Therefore, the goal of this battle is clear. The strait must be occupied.Even if it doesn't work, at least half of it should be occupied.We must not let the big cannibal completely occupy this place, otherwise Datang will be completely controlled by others from now on.

(End of this chapter)