The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 22 Deployment
Li Heng said, "Those people have clearly let Chen Wulang take the blame, so why didn't they tell Chen Wulang the real cause of death of the Fenglin County Magistrate and Cui Chong? At first I thought they thought that Chen Wulang couldn't kill two people by himself, at least not without any harm. Now I understand that this might just be a bait."

Wang Zhongsi thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, what you mean is that they deliberately set up this trap so that we can focus on tracking down the county lieutenant."

"Not bad." Li Ying nodded.

Wang Zhongsi suddenly realized and said, "I have been chasing the living these days and have not paid attention to the dead. No wonder I can't find anything. What should we do next?"

Li Heng said, "It's divided into two steps. The first step is to continue to track down the county lieutenant of Fenglin County, and focus on the deaths in recent days. The second step is to transfer the disaster relief grain to Lanzhou first, and the Sicang in Lanzhou will be responsible for it. First, go and take Wu Sicang in Lanzhou, and also take the people involved in the grain transfer together."

The reason why Wang Zhongsi did not arrest Wu Sicang before was because he knew that Sicang was Li Heng's man and was involved in the power of the court. Without solid evidence, he could not arrest anyone casually.

Wang Zhongsi said, "Your Highness, do you need a charge?"

Li Heng said: "Assist in investigating the matter of disaster relief grain."

"Yes." Wang Zhongsi responded.

"Also," Li Heng looked at Xin Yunjing, "General Xin's investigation of the Lishui dam, how is the progress?"

Xin Yunjing said, "That day, I found some black objects on the dam, but I was not sure what they were, so I did not dare to report them to Your Highness. These past two days, I have consulted several experts, and I was sure yesterday that the black objects were hidden fire bombs."

When they heard this name, Li Heng and Wang Zhongsi were both surprised.

Wang Zhongsi thought Li Heng didn't know, so he explained, "In the early Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao had a 'hidden sulfur method': 2 taels of sulfur and saltpeter each, grind them into powder and put them in a stone pot, use three soap beans to ignite the fire, and then stir-fry with three pounds of raw and cooked charcoal until 30% of the charcoal is gone. Later, people gradually explored and developed this thing into a very powerful explosive, which is the hidden fire bomb. However, the production technology of this thing is not yet mature, and not many people know about it. Why is it here?"

Xin Yunjing shook his head and said, "I don't know why it is here, but if it is used to destroy the embankment, it should be enough."

"The dike is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land and Resources." Wang Zhongsi looked at Li Heng, "Do you want to take over the Ministry of Land and Resources as well?"

Before Li Heng could reply, Xin Yunjing said, "Your Highness, Si Tian is Lord Du's man."

Although Li Heng is a prince and has a higher status than Du Xiwang, Du Xiwang is a governor of a region and holds real power. Moreover, the situation is now in his territory. If his people are really captured and it causes his dissatisfaction, not to mention any danger, at least things will be difficult to deal with later.

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "I'll take it, but I'll give it directly to Lord Du after I take it."

"Here."

Wang Zhongsi took the order, glanced at Li Heng, and then retreated.

Although Li Heng had demonstrated extraordinary criminal justice abilities in the previous few days, he was also angered by a governor at a banquet and started coughing violently. So, like Xin Yunjing before, Wang Zhongsi always thought that Li Heng was timid and cowardly.

But with Li Heng's current arrangements, how could he be a coward?

Li Ying noticed Wang Zhongsi's expression before he left and guessed what he was thinking.

He knew that the abilities he was now displaying were somewhat unexpected.

But he can't not show anything at all, because if he is really a mediocre person, how can he attract others to depend on him?

Even for Li Longji, if he was really a fool, Li Longji would not let him garrison in the border town.

The relationship between the emperor and his sons has always been so delicate. The emperor does not want his sons to be too outstanding and affect his rule, but at the same time, the emperor does not want his sons to be incompetent and unable to protect the country he left behind.

The key here lies in how to strike the right balance.

The sky in Lanzhou is clear and the air is fresh in spring, and even the spring breeze has a warm touch.

Yang Yuhuan sat in the yard of the inn, her chin supported by her hands, not knowing what she was thinking about.

After Li Heng finished his instructions and sorted out his thoughts, he went out and saw Yang Yuhuan like this, and asked curiously: "Madam, what's wrong with you?"

Yang Yuhuan looked back and smiled, then came to Li Ying and said, "My husband has been appointed as the envoy of promotion or demotion. I don't know whether I should be happy or worried." "Why?" Li Ying asked.

Yang Yuhuan said: "Because I hope you can show your talent and make the most of your life, but I am also worried that you will be too tired."

Yang Yuhuan's words sounded like concern, but there was a small problem.

This time, she did not mention Li Heng's illness.

Li Heng realized something and asked, "Are you worried that I'm overworked and my illness will get worse?"

Yang Yuhuan glanced around and saw that no one was around. She whispered, "My dear, you haven't taken any medicine recently, but your coughing symptoms are getting better."

Li Ying smiled and said, "Maybe my condition has improved, you should be happy about that."

"I have read medical books and learned how to feel a pulse from Zhang Mujin. When you were asleep, I felt your pulse." Yang Yuhuan said softly, "My dear, I learned all this just to take better care of you. I have no other intentions."

Li Heng nodded.

Pretending to be sick can be a way of hiding it from others, but it is very difficult to hide it from your partner for a long time, especially a smart and studious partner.

Li Heng was silent for a while, then asked, "Will you blame me?"

Yang Yuhuan shook her head and said, "Some things are very hard to hide. I only blame myself for not being able to share my husband's worries."

Li Ying looked at Yang Yuhuan, and was somewhat moved by her beautiful face.

He hugged Yang Yuhuan, held her in his arms, and said, "Everything I did was for us, do you believe it?"

"Yes, yes." Yang Yuhuan nodded, "No matter what, I will support everything you do."

"it is good."

Li Heng smiled and was about to speak when Xin Yunjing suddenly rushed in.

Xin Yunjing, who had barged in, saw the posture of Li Heng and Yang Yuhuan, and immediately turned away and said, "Your Highness, Lord Du is here to visit."

Li Heng let go of Yang Yuhuan and said, "Please let him in."

"Here."

Xin Yunjing took the order and left. After a while, Du Xiwang ran in in a panic. When he saw Li Ying, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, Prince Shou, I have no knowledge of the Song Sitian incident. Please investigate it."

Li Heng stood up and said politely, "Mr. Du, you are too kind. I sent the person over because I was worried that Mr. Du would misunderstand me and think that I was disrespectful to him."

"How dare I," Du Xiwang replied quickly, "The Holy Lord has already appointed Your Highness as the Minister of Promotion and Demotion, and granted you the power to act at your own discretion. Even if Your Highness kills Song Sitian, it is within your discretion. I have already sent the man back, Your Highness, just handle it impartially."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Du."

"Your Highness, now that you are an official, it is not appropriate for you to stay in an inn. Would you like to move to the official post?"

"It's troublesome to move around, so let's just live here for now."

"Yes." Du Xiwang paused, "I will take my leave first and await your orders, Your Highness."

Du Xiwang backed out.

(End of this chapter)