Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4897 Framing the blame
"Earlier, An sent troops to Guanzhong without authorization, which was tantamount to treason, but Your Majesty was lenient and let him off the hook. Now An is unrepentant and wants to bribe court officials to escape responsibility. Fortunately, Yin understands the righteousness and took the initiative to report it, cooperating with me to defeat his conspiracy... Later, I will send a letter to Chang'an to report to Your Majesty. I believe Your Majesty will be pleased and will reward Yin for his contribution."

Cheng Yaojin was in a good mood and looked as cheerful as Maitreya Buddha. He did not show his former arrogance at all and was instead very kind and amiable.

Who could have thought that while he was still thinking about how to "frame" An, Yin Hongyong would bring An to his doorstep right after?

Yin Hongyong was also a little excited, and said with emotion: "My father once made a big mistake, but Emperor Taizong was so magnanimous and benevolent that he not only did not pursue the matter, but also took my sister as his concubine, so that the Guzang Yin family enjoyed all the glory and wealth. The Yin family is grateful to everyone. Now that we have the opportunity to contribute to the court, we will naturally go through fire and water and not refuse."

Although Your Majesty did not pursue the matter after his brother Yin Hongzhi instigated the King of Qi to respond to Zhangsun Wuji's rebellion and died, Yin's situation is extremely difficult. Now they can cooperate with Cheng Yaojin to cut off An's route to Chang'an for help, which is what they want and can greatly ease the relationship with Your Majesty.

"It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them! The Yin family is lucky to have you, my dear brother, in control of the overall situation!"

Cheng Yaojin praised him and beckoned the military commander to take a piece of paper and pen and put it in front of Yin Hongyong. "This amount of money is huge, and I cannot speak on my own. Please sign and seal it here, and sign it together with me, so that those rats in the court will not slander me for embezzling it and enriching myself."

"Uh……"

Yin Hongyong was a little stunned. Don’t you intend to embezzle or enrich yourself from it?

He looked at the paper, which clearly stated what had happened, but there was no detailed list, let alone a specific amount. He felt contemptuous in his heart: This Cheng Yaojin was really shameless, wanting both money and face...

It was obvious that he had to embezzle money, but with his own signature as a guarantee, others could not impeach Cheng Yaojin.

Yin Hongyong was unwilling to sign. He thought it was already too much for him to betray the An family and hand over such a huge fortune. It would be fine if he did it secretly and no one knew about it, but wouldn't everyone know about it once he signed?

Your reputation will be ruined.

It can be seen that Cheng Yaojin had a smile on his face but his eyes were fierce, as if he would lose his temper if he disagreed with something. He could only sigh helplessly, and signed his name after the last sentence "All items have been checked and confirmed, there are no discrepancies", and then pressed his fingerprints under the pressure of Cheng Yaojin's eyes.

"Haha, my dear brother is indeed a loyal and righteous man who cares about the overall situation!"

Cheng Yaojin folded the letter happily and said, "Don't worry, my dear brother. Although this incident may cause the Yin family's reputation to be slightly damaged, as long as I guard Liangzhou for one day, I will definitely compensate you. I am a rough man and don't know how to speak sweet words. In a word, I will never let my own people suffer losses!"

After hearing this, Yin Hongyong's depressed mood improved a little.

With Cheng Yaojin as their backer, can't the Yin family do whatever they want in Liangzhou? Even if they lose some reputation, they can make up for it in other places. Losing in one place but gaining in another is not so unacceptable.

There were footsteps outside the door. Niu Jinda, Ding Kui's housekeeper, walked in quickly, carrying a box in his hand. He had a serious look on his dark face. He came to Cheng Yaojin, put the box on the ground, nodded to Yin Hongyong who stood up and bowed to him, and then said to Cheng Yaojin: "Something big has happened! We just detained the An family's convoy, and when we were unloading the goods into the warehouse, we found contraband!"

Cheng Yaojin was shocked and cried out: "What?!"

Niu Jinda opened the box and saw two things inside, a golden dress and a small box. He took the dress and unfolded it, and saw that it was embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons with golden thread all over it. It was magnificent and exquisitely made. It was obvious at a glance that it was a dragon robe made by the emperor. He then opened the small box and took out a seal with a coiled dragon as the button. It was white and lustrous. He turned the seal over and saw the words "Treasure of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty" engraved in relief...

The characters on it are exactly the same as those on the national seal of the Tang Dynasty. Cheng Yaojin had seen it often. The national seal must be in the Taiji Palace, so the seal in front of him must be fake.

Yin Hongyong beside him was already dumbfounded. Dragon robe, national seal...what was he trying to do? !
"This, this, this...was it discovered from the An's convoy?"

Niu Jinda nodded: "One of the cars was full of furs, and a discount box was found in the secret compartment under the car. Dozens of people witnessed it on the spot, and it is beyond doubt."

It's absolutely certain!
Yin Hongyong is not a fool, what is there that he doesn’t understand?
No wonder Cheng Yaojin looked down on An's money and even asked her to sign a joint guarantee. He was not doing it for the money at all, but to frame An!

But even if everyone knows that this is fake, so what?

As long as Cheng Yaojin eradicates the An family, he will be considered a great hero who has quelled the rebellion and eliminated the traitors. As for whether the An family really intended to rebel or was framed... who cares?

The dignitaries in the court only cared about the annihilation of such a powerful family that had been rooted in Liangzhou for hundreds of years. The huge hidden danger was dissipated overnight, and the entire Hexi area was under the control of the central government. Government orders were implemented, and taxes were paid, and everyone was happy.

But Yin Hongyong didn't want to get involved!

The An family has been entrenched in Liangzhou for hundreds of years. Even though they suffered a devastating disaster, they are like a centipede that has not yet died. It is impossible for them to revive and make a comeback, but it is not difficult for the remaining forces to take revenge on the Yin family. As the saying goes, you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days.
Once An Shi holds a grudge against him, he will find an opportunity to deal a fatal blow to Yin Shi...

Yin Hongyong subconsciously turned around and wanted to tear up the letter he had just signed, so that he could get away from it. At least he would not let An think that he and Cheng Yaojin had conspired to frame her.

But he saw Cheng Yaojin leisurely folding the letter and putting it in his arms.

Yin Hongyong: “…”

How shameless!
Cheng Yaojin laughed at Yin Hongyong's grief-stricken look and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, as long as I am in Liangzhou, the Yin family will be able to run rampant!"

Yin Hongyong showed a smile that was uglier than crying.

He believed Cheng Yaojin's promise, but the problem was how could Cheng Yaojin stay in Liangzhou for his entire life?

What should I do when he returns to Chang'an?
Cheng Yaojin no longer paid attention to Yin Hongyong. This big gift package that was delivered to his door was an unexpected surprise and he had to put it in his pocket.

He said to Niu Jinda, "The news of the An family's convoy being detained cannot be concealed for long. Gather the troops immediately and prepare to launch an attack. Except for the troops left behind in the barracks, all others must go out. Even an eagle must use all its strength to catch a rabbit. We must not be careless and must kill the enemy in one battle!"

"Here!"

Niu Jinda immediately took the order, turned around and strode out to convey the military order and assemble the troops.

After a while, a low and distant horn sounded, followed by the sound of drums beating as dense as raindrops. The whole Guzang City was in an uproar. Troops from all directions quickly gathered in the south of the city. The people in the city did not know what was going on and were in a panic. They took to the streets to inquire with each other, but apart from seeing the army gathering, they had no idea what was going on.

The Zuo Wuwei was the most elite force among the Sixteen Guards. It had been fighting all year round under the command of Cheng Yaojin. Its combat effectiveness was only slightly inferior to that of the Zuo and Zuo Jinwu Guards, which were equipped with a large number of firearms and had completely updated tactics. The army was full of arrogant and brave generals. When they received the order to assemble, more than 30,000 people assembled in less than two hours and immediately set out for Fanhe City.

There was heavy snow in the sky, flags were flying and the army was in great strength on the road. In the confused sight, an army of tens of thousands of people was marching forward, and there was no end in sight.

*****
In the sixth year of Yuanding reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, Zhangye County was established and named after it, which means "Zhangye is the arm of the country, to connect with the Western Regions", and thus it became a famous town on the Silk Road.

In the second year of Wude, Zhangye County was changed to Ganzhou, and Fulu County of Ganzhou and Yumen County of Guazhou were separated to establish Suzhou.

The white snow filled the sky and the earth, covering Zhangye County. The flying snowflakes made the view seem like the holy land of Yaochi.

Several war horses came from the official road in the east, braving the wind and snow, and galloped along the street into the city through the east gate. They stopped in front of a magnificent courtyard. Soldiers had already come forward at the door, helped the knight, who was almost frozen, to dismount, and then led him into the courtyard.

Go around the screen wall, pass through the hanging flower gate, and go straight into the main hall.

"Report! Liangzhou battle report!"

The knight entered, took out the battle report, knelt on one knee and presented it with both hands.

Su Liangsi, who had just returned to Hexi from Tubo, quickly stepped forward to take the battle report and handed it to Pei Xingjian who was sitting behind the desk.

Pei Xingjian first checked the wax and seal, and after confirming that they were correct, he opened the envelope, took out the letter, and read it quickly. He was immediately furious, and threw the battle report on the table, angrily saying: "Look, Cheng Yaojin is simply lawless! Your Majesty asked him to guard Liangzhou, but he sent troops to attack Fanhe City without authorization. Doesn't he know that he is now on guard against the Gar tribe taking risks and sending troops out of Dadouba Valley to invade the four counties of Hexi? If the entire Hexi is in chaos because of him and gives the Gar tribe an opportunity to take advantage of him, he will be the sinner of the entire Tang Dynasty!"

No one dares to underestimate Lu Dongzan.

Even though the "wisest Tibetan" was now trapped in the former Tuyuhun territory and under the control of the Tang Dynasty, Pei Xingjian firmly believed that if given the slightest chance, Lu Dongzan would be able to turn defeat into victory and completely destroy the "Tibetan strategy" that the Tang Dynasty had spent countless money and food to implement.

It’s not that An Yuanshou can’t fight, but how can he fight at this time?

Compared with promoting internal strife in Tubo and reducing its national strength, which posed a threat to the Tang Dynasty, An Yuanshou is simply not worth mentioning!
Su Liangsi stepped forward, picked up the battle report, read it quickly, and after a little consideration, he said, "Now that things have come to this, it is useless to get angry. We must follow Duke Lu's request and send troops to block the road to prevent the defeated troops from retreating westward and disrupting the entire Hexi region."