Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Niu Jinda led his men and took the two murderers directly back to the palace.

Inside the Manna Hall.

Niu Jinda saluted towards Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and captured two thieves who were about to commit murder!"

"Great!"

Li Shimin stood up directly from the couch and shouted with joy.

Unexpectedly, Du He's guess was correct. The thief really committed the crime in the market town in the southeast corner of Wannian County.

Niu Jinda then reported, "Your Majesty, the thief was caught in Qujiangfang. I did not recall the rest of the brothers hiding in Qinglongfang and Dunhuafang, but let them lie in ambush there until dawn."

"it is good."

Li Shimin nodded.

He went on to say: "Now send someone to inform the people at the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate. They are the best at interrogating the murderer."

"promise."

Niu Jinda saluted and walked out quickly.

More than half an hour passed.

The core personnel of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate all braved the night to enter the palace.

An hour later.

Sun Fujia, Zhang Xingcheng and Ma Zhou came to Ganlu Temple with the confessions of the criminals.

Li Shimin looked at the confession which consisted of only one or two sentences and his brows were twisted together.

"Is the thief's mouth so hard?"

"After an hour of interrogation, you only got this little useless information?"

Seeing that His Majesty looked unhappy, Sun Fujia quickly stood up and explained.

"Your Majesty, the two criminals were originally slaves of a foreign race. They never participated in the conspiracy. They only took the risk because they received a huge amount of silver from the masked man."

"Moreover, these two slaves had no household registration. They couldn't even remember where their hometown was. There was no trace of them."

The ethnic minorities surrounding the Tang Dynasty looked no different from the Tang people.

Even the ancestors of these people were descendants of Han people who fled there and reproduced with local women.

Ma Zhou continued, "Your Majesty, although we cannot directly find out the mastermind behind this, we have also gained a lot."

"First, knowing that the thieves hired slaves to commit crimes, we can search for a large number of slaves without household registration in Chang'an City, especially slaves of foreign races."

"Secondly, if we dispel the rumor that the ghost of the tree killed people, the people will no longer be in panic."

The people of Chang'an City were only afraid of the illusory ghosts; they were not afraid of the murderous thieves at all.

Because many men in Chang'an City have served in the military and fought on the battlefield.

Li Shimin nodded. Being able to dispel the rumors had already met his psychological expectations.

"Tell me, how should we investigate this case?"

After Li Shimin raised the question, several people continued to discuss it.

Because they talked too late, Ma Zhou, Sun Fujia and Zhang Xingcheng went straight to rest in the Ganlu Hall.

...

The next day.

Suddenly, a new piece of news came out in Chang'an City.

"The story of the ghost killing people is fake, it was all done by the thief!"

Soon after, the government also posted notices in various markets and downtown areas to explain the murder case of the ghost."

The people of Chang'an City were all in an uproar.

Everyone rushed to the downtown area, teahouses, taverns and other places.

Pingkang Square.

Looking forward to a full teahouse.

A middle-aged man with a thin face said vividly: "My fellow villagers, I live in Qujiangfang, and I saw the imperial guards catch the murderer last night."

"The two murderers were dressed up in disguise, with green faces and fangs, just to scare people!"

Then the man shared everything he had seen and heard last night.

Upon hearing that the murder by the Xie ghost was faked by a human, all the tea drinkers slammed the table in anger.

"Thieves like this should be thrown into the oil pan!"

"I think we can torture them by dismembering them with five horses!"

The tea drinkers became more and more excited as they talked, clapping their hands on the table.

The shopkeeper said with a distressed look on his face: "Dear guests, please be merciful. This small case cannot withstand your beating."

It cost him a lot of money to make these furniture, but the profit of the teahouse was low and it would take him a long time to make back the money.

Not only in the Manke Teahouse, but also in other places, people were chatting animatedly.

The people no longer had any fear in their hearts, and the atmosphere suddenly became unusual.

At the same time, the imperial court also sent people to interrogate the people in Chang'an City.

Any unregistered civilians or ethnic minorities with suspicious identities they encountered were all taken to the county government offices of Chang'an County and Wannian County.

The people of Chang'an City knew that the government was searching for the remaining hidden criminals, so they cooperated very well.

Some people even reported suspicious people around them to the government.

In just one morning, the county government offices of Chang'an County and Wannian County were already overcrowded with people.

People from the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice were also dispatched. They took all the suspicious persons identified in the initial screening to the Dali Temple for a second examination.

These law enforcement departments of the court were so busy that they didn't know what to do for a while.

...

East Palace.

Li Chengqian said to Du He happily: "Du He, thanks to your suggestion yesterday, the imperial guards caught the criminal."

"Now that the rumor about the murder of the ghost has been dispelled, the people are no longer talking about me and my father. The crisis is finally over!"

At today's court meeting, Li Chengqian also participated in the hearing of the case.

At the court meeting, the emperor praised Du He for half a cup of tea.

Not only him, but even his uncle Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others were extremely envious of Du He.

Being praised by the emperor for so long is an honor that only Du He has enjoyed so far.

Du He curled his lips and said, "Your Highness, what's the point of being praised? His Majesty didn't even give me a promotion."

"At the very least, a reward of 1,800 taels of silver would be enough to support my family."

Hearing Du He's words, Li Chengqian smiled dumbly.

"The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for recording your achievements, and future promotions will be based on your past achievements."

"Don't worry, the merits you have made will not be lost."

Then Li Chengqian showed a faint smile on his face, and he patted his chest and said.

"It doesn't matter how high or low your official position is now. When I ascend the throne, I will let you choose first among all the official positions in the court."

After hearing the big promises made by Li Chengqian, Du He is now almost immune to them.

At this time, Li Chengqian's personal guard said outside the hall.

"Prince Consort Du, the Duke of Wei is here and wants you to go to the side hall to learn the art of war."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Du He, you should hurry up and learn the art of war. There are only four months left before we go to war."

Now the large ship is almost built, all the food and fodder have been delivered to the ferry, and the soldiers have also been issued armor and weapons.

After several months of training, the soldiers going to the expedition were almost ready.

Du He bowed to Li Chengqian, then walked quickly to a side hall.

...

Inside the Wude Hall.

Li Tai learned that the court had arrested two murderers and was currently conducting a large-scale manhunt in Chang'an City.

He was in a state of total fear.

At this moment, he felt extremely regretful and wondered why he had cooperated with Yin Yuhe and his gang of traitors.

Just as Li Tai was regretting, Wei Suan rushed in with an excited look on his face.

He walked up to Li Tai and whispered, "Your Highness, Prince Wei, Yin Yuhe wants to see you now!"

"Finally appeared!" Li Tai's pupils shrank, and then he asked in a deep voice: "Where will he meet me?"

"Hibiscus Garden."

Li Tai's eyes revealed a hint of murderous intent: "Wei Suan, bring all the killers with you, let's solve this problem once and for all!"