Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 151: Anxi Deputy Protector

After hearing Di Renjie's words, everyone looked at Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan was shocked and hugged the flowerpot tightly, looking at a loss.

Wei County Lieutenant said in a deep voice, "Di Shaoqing, this man has just explained that it is impossible for him to kill someone in such a short time. Are you mistaken?"

Li Jin followed up, "That's right, how could he have time to change clothes?"

Di Renjie said, "The answer is simple. Because the deceased died before 12:30 pm, he had plenty of time to commit the crime and change his clothes."

The shop assistant was stunned and said, "How could it be? I, I clearly saw that foreigner still alive at 12:30 am."

Di Renjie turned to look at him and said, "What you saw was already a dead person."

"How can a dead person snore?" The shop assistant's face changed drastically.

Di Renjie walked to the bed and pointed at the small hole at the head of the bed.

"The murderer was under the bed at the time. He put his mouth and nose through the small hole and pretended to snore. To you, it sounded like the deceased was snoring."

The shop assistant was stunned for a moment, and when he recalled the scene at that time, he felt a chill on his back.

Wei County Lieutenant said in a deep voice: "Sir Di, that's not right. If the Hu people were dead at that time, why didn't the shop assistant smell the blood?"

Di Renjie said, "Because he used lime to stop the bleeding on the wound, the bleeding was very small, and he also filled the room with wine stains to cover up the smell of blood."

Wei County Lieutenant was stunned and said, "You said these wine stains in the room were left by the murderer?"

Di Renjie said, "Of course. Have you ever seen a drunk person put an empty bottle back into his bag?"

Wei County Magistrate suddenly understood and nodded secretly, "His reputation is indeed well-deserved. No wonder he became the Junior Minister of Dali at such a young age."

Di Renjie continued, "The deceased's head had already been severed. He was afraid the shop assistant would see the marks on his neck, so he wrapped a shawl around his neck. As soon as the shop assistant left, he immediately picked up the head and hurried back to the hall to create an alibi."

Li Jin said, "Wait, where did the head go?"

Di Renjie's gaze slowly turned and stopped on the large flowerpot in Wang Yuan's hand.

"A human head will definitely have a bloody smell. If you put it in an ordinary place, people will easily smell it. Only by placing it in a flower pot, the fragrance of the flowers can the bloody smell be covered up!"

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Wang Yuan's eyes. He threw the flowerpot at Di Renjie and ran out.

With a "bang", the flowerpot broke and a human head rolled out.

Li Jin and Wei Xianwei attacked together, each grabbing one of Wang Yuan's shoulders and kicking him in the knee at the same time.

With a "thump", Wang Yuan fell to his knees and was restrained by two people.

Wei County Lieutenant was promoted from the Bad Commander. He was ruthless and with a snap, he broke another of his arms.

Wei County Lieutenant asked sternly, "Tell me, why did you kill this man?"

Wang Yuan was extremely stubborn. He laughed grimly and said, "I'm taking money from people and helping them get rid of disasters. Why should I ask for anything?"

Wei County Magistrate said coldly: "So he is a gold hunter."

Di Renjie asked, "County Lieutenant Wei, is there anyone among your men who can make him speak?"

Wei County Lieutenant said, "I do know a little bit about torture, but there's only a fifty-fifty chance of getting Lie Jinlang to speak."

After hearing this, Di Renjie was about to speak when a Dali Temple official walked in.

"Shaoqing, there's a man outside who claims to be a Arab and wants to see you. He says he knows who's behind this case."

……

In Ganlu Hall, Li Zhi was listening to Pei Xingjian's report on the negotiation situation.

During this negotiation with the Arabs, Li Zhi specifically asked Pei Xingjian to participate, hoping that he would be more familiar with the Western Regions.

Pei Xingjian said, "Your Majesty, the Arabs have no intention of going to war with our dynasty. They just hope that our two countries can avoid direct border crossings to avoid mutual suspicion."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "I also hope to have a buffer zone with them, but their appetite is too big."

Pei Xingjian said, "The Arabs are very clever. They deliberately set a very high price just to bargain with us."

Li Zhi said, "How's the price negotiation going?"

Pei Xingjian said, "According to the current negotiation results, the nine countries that are vassal states of the Tang Dynasty will not take action. However, they have also made two demands."

Li Zhi said, "Tell me about it."

Pei Xingjian said, "First, they hope that the Tang Dynasty will not intervene when they attack the four countries that are not vassal states of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Zhi thought about it and said, "This condition can be agreed."

Pei Xingjian added, "They also hope that the Tang Dynasty will abolish the Persian court in exile and hand over Prince Peruz."

Li Zhi's eyebrows jumped and he asked, "What do you mean by Persian exiles in the imperial court?"

Pei Xingjian said, "According to what they say, Bilus has established a court in exile within Chang'an City, quietly accumulating strength."

"Have you checked?"

Pei Xingjian said: "I have asked the doctors of the Ministry of Rites, and they don't seem to know about this matter." All religions in the Tang Dynasty were managed by the Ministry of Rites, which was under the Ministry of Rites. Under the Ministry of Rites was the Sabao Mansion, which was specifically responsible for managing foreign religions.

Pei Xingjian continued, "I've been thinking that if the Persians were hiding in the Zoroastrian temple and secretly establishing a court in exile, the officials in the temple department wouldn't be able to find out unless they reported it."

After hearing this, Li Zhi was both angry and amused.

This Persian prince was quite good at leveraging the power of the Tang Dynasty. Without a single word, he set up an exile government in Chang'an City.

"Pei Qing, do you think you can agree to the Arabs' conditions?"

Pei Xingjian said, "Your Majesty, if we hand over the Persian prince, those small countries that are dependent on us will think that we are afraid of the Arab Empire."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Then continue to negotiate with the Arabs. The first condition can be agreed to, but the second condition does not need to be mentioned again."

Pei Xingjian said, "Yes."

Li Zhi continued, "Mr. Pei, do you know why I asked you to participate in the negotiations?"

Pei Xingjian thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, do you wish to send me to the Anxi Protectorate?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Indeed, you are a man of both civil and military talents, and Anxi is your stage. I hope you can make Anxi prosperous and make it the strongest fortress in the west of the Tang Dynasty!"

Pei Xingjian's heart trembled, and he bowed his hands and said, "I will do my best to live up to Your Majesty's grace!"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Given your current qualifications, I cannot directly appoint you as the Protector General of Anxi. I know that Yuan Shouli has a good relationship with you, so I let him take over the position."

Pei Xingjian showed a look of sudden realization and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You will serve as the deputy governor for the time being. In addition, I hope you can build Suiye City and turn it into an important connecting point between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions!"

Pei Xingjian asked, "Your Majesty, can I build Suiye City based on the pattern of Chang'an?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Of course you can, but there's no need to copy Chang'an's curfew. That would be detrimental to business development."

"I accept the decree."

After Pei Xingjian left, Li Zhi was about to go to the harem when Wang Fusheng suddenly walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Di Renjie requests an audience."

Li Zhi nodded, stood up and left the hall. When he came outside the hall, he saw Di Renjie waiting at the steps.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Di Qing, if you have anything to say, let's talk while we walk." He walked along the corridor towards the harem.

Di Renjie followed closely behind and said, "Your Majesty, a murder has occurred in Wannian County that is related to the Persian prince. I have come to seek your advice."

Li Zhi tilted his head slightly and asked, "Another Persian prince?"

Di Renjie was surprised and asked, "Your Majesty, did the Prince of Persia commit any crime before?"

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You speak first, and I will tell you later."

Di Renjie responded and said, "The deceased was a Hu man, a priest of the Zoroastrian temple where the Persian prince was staying. He betrayed Peruz and tried to contact the Arabs, but was killed by a hunter hired by Peruz."

Li Zhi snorted and said, "He really knows how to cause trouble for me."

Di Renjie said, "Your Majesty, Peroz is a Persian prince after all, and one of his men has taken the blame for him. I don't know what to do with him, so I've come to ask for your permission."

Li Zhi asked in return, "How are foreigners generally dealt with when they commit crimes in the Tang Dynasty?"

Di Renjie: "According to the Tang Dynasty Law Commentary, if foreigners of the same kind commit crimes against each other, they shall be punished according to their own local laws; if they commit crimes against each other of different kinds, they shall be punished according to the law."

Simply put, if people from the same country commit a crime, then the law of that country will be followed. If it involves Tang people, or two different foreigners, then the law of the Tang Dynasty will be followed.

Li Zhi asked, "Is there anyone in this dynasty who is well versed in Persian law?"

Di Renjie said, "There are no officials in our dynasty who understand Persian law. We can only ask the Persians."

Li Zhi said, "How do we judge the truth of their words? This law should be changed. From now on, anyone who breaks the law in the Tang Dynasty will be punished according to our Tang Dynasty law, no matter who it is."

Di Renjie warned: "Your Majesty, if we punish Peruz again, foreigners may think that we are succumbing to pressure from the Arabs."

Li Zhi rubbed his forehead and suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.

Crimes involving foreigners are indeed very troublesome.

He thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Then we'll handle it as appropriate. Since the dead weren't citizens of the Tang Dynasty, we'll sentence them as if they were masters killing their slaves."

Di Renjie bowed and said, "I obey your command."

After several rounds of negotiations between Tang officials and Arab envoys, the Arabs finally compromised.

The two great powers, the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, finally signed the first diplomatic treaty.

In addition, Pei Xingjian was appointed as the deputy governor of Anxi by Li Zhi, and the four towns of Anxi were redivided, with Yanqi abolished and replaced by Suiye City.

Li Zhi also ordered the Ministry of Works to send officials to Suiye City to assist Pei Xingjian in building a new city.

As decrees were issued one after another from Chang'an City, the Longyou area, which had just experienced war, began to enter a new order of post-war reconstruction.

(End of this chapter)