Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 56 Two Murders (4k, please read)

The government office of Henan Prefecture was not within the palace walls. As a local department responsible for the security of the capital, Henan Prefecture was located in Xuanfanfang, a large square on the east side of the central axis of Luoyang. Almost half of Xuanfanfang was the government office of Henan Prefecture.

After seeing such a huge government office, Su Ze finally understood why people called Henan Yin the Great Government Office. The number of personnel coordinated and mobilized by this huge government office was simply beyond the reach of ordinary local governors and provincial governors.

Now the post of prefect of Henan Prefecture is vacant, with Li Daoyuan as the left prefect and Hou Gang as the right prefect.

When Hou Gang was the Minister of Imperial Guards, he basically worked in the mansion, and therefore built his private residence to be very large.

So this time when he was granted the title of Right Prime Minister, Hou Gang simply did not come to Henan Prefecture to work and "gave" the prefecture office to Li Daoyuan.

Li Daoyuan certainly knew that Hou Gang did not have good intentions. The purpose of setting up the left and right prime ministers in the court was to let the two compete with each other. The Henan government office was a hot potato.

A government office with a large number of people like this has already formed its own set of rules of the game, and it cannot be easily controlled by an airdropped important official.

In Henan Prefecture, twenty-six Gongcao were set up to correspond to the Secretariat, corresponding to various aspects of work within the entire Henan Prefecture, such as performance appraisal, rewards and punishments, rent collection, capital security, liquor tax and market tax collection, canal dredging, road maintenance, and city construction.

In addition to these Gongcao, Henan Prefecture also commanded the Luoyang City Gate Guard, which was the department responsible for the gate defense of the outer city wall of Luoyang City, as well as curfew and city patrol security work.

Each of the twenty-six Gongcao had a chief officer, and the city gate officers set up a school lieutenant's office at the four gates of the east, west, south and north, and there were yamen at each of the four city gates.

Such a large department is bound to be rife with corruption, with all kinds of local tyrants entrenched within it.

Forget about relying on them to investigate the case, it would be good if they don't hinder us.

Li Daoyuan had experience as a provincial governor. He himself started out as a Palace Attendant and entered the Ministry of Personnel at an early age, so he was very familiar with the intricacies involved.

The court's requirement for the two prime ministers was to solve the case, put an end to the murders in Luoyang City as soon as possible, and eliminate the threat to Luoyang's public security.

Hou Gang simply decided not to come to Henan Prefecture, intending to focus all his energy on investigating the case.

However, Li Daoyuan did not have a house as big as Hou Gang's, and he had no confidants in Luoyang, so in the end he could only rely on the Luoyang Prefecture.

Su Ze had never seen such a huge government office. The Northern Wei Dynasty was too far away from the modern times, and these buildings had long disappeared in the war.

In the Luoyang Prefecture, which occupied half of Xuanfanfang, there was actually a "Chidao" specially for donkey carts. All the bamboo slips and silk books in the prefecture had to be transported by donkey carts so that they could circulate among the various Gongcao.

In addition, there were hundreds of officials of all ranks working in the entire Henan Prefecture, and dormitories for them were built along the government office.

In addition, as an important place for maintaining public security in the capital, Henan Prefecture also had an armored guard of hundreds of people. Corner towers were built in the prefecture, and archers with bows and arrows stood on high ground to keep watch. There were even military facilities inside the prefecture specifically designed to prevent sieges.

Luoyang's lifang structure is such that each lifang, once its gates are locked, becomes a small city with independent city walls, and Henan Prefecture is even a sophisticated fortress.

As soon as Li Daoyuan returned to Henan Prefecture, Gongcao brought a large number of bamboo slips in donkey carts.

These were all official business that the various Gongcao needed Li Daoyuan, the Zuo Lingyin, to decide. Su Ze watched Li Daoyuan handle the bamboo slips and finally understood that handling paperwork was a thoroughly physical job these days.

Historically, the diligent Qin Shihuang used the unit of measurement for the bamboo slips he handled every day: "shi", a unit of weight. One shi is equal to 120 jin. Of course, Qin Shihuang did not need to carry these bamboo slips himself, but unfolding and folding them was a physical job.

In addition, to make corrections on bamboo slips, one needs to use a "knife pen", which is a sharp knife.

A knife and pen can be used to scrape off the words on the bamboo slips, which is almost the same function as an eraser. Sometimes the words for corrections and annotations need to be carved on the bamboo slips with a knife and pen first, and then traced with a brush.

Another task of Su Ze's group of imperial guards was to protect Li Daoyuan's safety.

Several Yulin Hu Ben, including Su Ze, were brought by Li Daoyuan into the Mingtang where official business was handled, and stood on guard inside the hall.

When Li Daoyuan was reviewing official business, he used pen and knife to make revisions and annotations. In less than half an hour, sweat broke out on Li Daoyuan's forehead, and he had only just finished reviewing the bamboo slips that had piled up like a small mountain.

At this time, another assistant clerk presented a silk book, which was gradually used to record the official business circulated and archived within Henan Prefecture. The official business that needed to be circulated with other government offices needed to be written on the silk book.

Silk book is silk that can be written on, and Li Daoyuan needed to use a brush to write on it. For example, the works of Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, were written on silk book.

Can the "Preface to the Lanting Poems" be bought in stores? Su Ze suddenly thought of this question. He watched Li Daoyuan quickly finish the official business on the silk book and stamp it with his golden seal. Only then did the clerks surrounding him leave the court carrying the bamboo slips and silk book.

Yes, he was carrying them. Su Ze finally understood why officials of this era were both civil and military. Without a good body, they really couldn't carry these bamboo slips.

Only after finishing the daily affairs of Henan Prefecture did Li Daoyuan have time to deal with the cases in Luoyang City.

Only to see another official push up a huge wooden sand table of Luoyang City in miniature scale. Li Daoyuan said to his trusted aides:

"In order to investigate the murder case in Luoyang City, I specially asked the Secretary General for the 'Luoyang Geomancy Map'."

"This is a royal artifact. When Emperor Xiaowen was building Luoyang City, he summoned the master craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department to make it. Each piece is a replica of the neighborhoods in Luoyang."

"This item is a secret and important item of the imperial court. From now on, you can only view it in this court."

Although they are pictures, they are actually wooden sand table models representing the Lifang area of ​​Luoyang. Craftsmen use mortise and tenon structures to piece these sand table models together one by one, and a miniature scale model of Luoyang appears before everyone.

Su Ze silently opened the system's map and compared the wooden sand table with the system's Luoyang map. The two were surprisingly almost the same. Su Ze couldn't help but sigh at the ingenuity of the Luoyang craftsmen.

Li Daoyuan walked to the wooden sand table. The center area of ​​the sand table was left blank. This was the area of ​​the Luoyang Imperial Palace. The geographical layout of the palace was confidential, so it was naturally impossible to make it into a sand table.

Li Daoyuan first placed a red flag at the location of Longhua Temple, and said to his left and right: "There were eleven Mahayana demons killed in Longhua Temple. They had registered in Longhua Temple a year ago. According to the testimony of the monks in Longhua Temple, the leader of this group of monks was not Huihui who was killed this time, but a monk named Fayuan."

"But this monk Fayuan left Longhua Temple half a month ago. This government has ordered the city patrol officer to search for Fayuan, the leader of this evil people."

"The killing of several Mahayana sect demons is not a big deal, but these demons were killed by weapons. The assassins were as fast as the wind. Before the Longhua Temple's guard monks and the Cao soldiers from the next door yard arrived after hearing the news, all the demons were wiped out."

"It is something that only elite warriors who have fought in hundreds of battles can do."

After talking about the Longhua Temple case, Li Daoyuan continued:

"Although there were only two victims in the attack on the Rouran king's attendants in the Siyi Pavilion, both were close attendants of the Rouran king, it was not as bloody and brutal as the murder in Longhua Temple."

"But the Siyi Pavilion is where the Wei Dynasty entertains guests from all over the world. This incident has greatly damaged the dignity of the Wei Dynasty. The Rouran King also used this to put pressure on the court, putting the court in a passive position."

"The Siyi Pavilion is heavily guarded, with Yu Lin Hu Ben on duty day and night. The criminals were able to sneak into the Siyi Pavilion and commit crimes. Just like the Longhua Temple murder case, this case has made the court uneasy."

Li Daoyuan pointed at the bamboo slips on the table and said to his left and right: "The records of the case are all on the bamboo slips. After you have read them, please talk to me about your thoughts." Li Daoyuan's confidants hurriedly picked up the bamboo slips on the table and started to read them.

After Li Daoyuan finished instructing his confidants, he stood up and said to Su Ze and others:

"You are all Yulin soldiers, living in Jianyangli, right? Jianyangli is not far from Longhua Temple and Siyi Pavilion. Is there anything unusual before and after the murder?"

Li Daoyuan looked at Su Ze, and Su Ze said calmly: "Replying to Ling Yin, except when I am on night duty, I always go to bed early when I get home at night. I haven't heard of anything unusual."

The remaining few imperial guards could not provide any valuable information. Li Daoyuan also personally asked the headmen of several nearby neighborhoods, but did not get any useful intelligence.

Asking Su Ze and others was just a casual question to ease the anxious atmosphere in the Mingtang.

Next, Li Daoyuan sat at the seat and took out a bamboo slip from his arms. He was in a restless mood today and made mistakes in writing a few words. Then he deleted and revised the bamboo slips one by one. The whole hall was filled with the sound of flipping the bamboo slips.

Several confidants finally finished reading the bamboo slips. They looked at each other in bewilderment. These two cases were too difficult to investigate!

Although Longhua Temple is located outside Luoyang City, it also belongs to the capital area. It is surrounded by neighborhoods and patrolled by city inspectors.

According to investigations by military personnel, axes, bows, arrows, and even traces of large shields being dragged were used to kill these monsters.

Judging from the traces at the scene, these Mahayana sect demons were also elite and quite skilled, and they quickly organized a resistance during the night attack.

But even so, he was killed so quickly. In addition to showing that the opponent was more elite, he must have been wearing armor.

This speculation can also be confirmed from the traces of nail fragments left at the scene.

A group of elite soldiers wearing armor and holding large shields and other military weapons arrived at Longhua Temple in the curfew-ridden Luoyang City. After killing someone, they left in a swagger without leaving any trace?
This is too outrageous!

It is no wonder that the court was shaken. If these people did not kill the evil monk of the Mahayana sect, but instead attacked and killed ministers, how many people could have escaped?
These trusted followers were completely lost as to the direction they were heading. They could only walk up to Li Daoyuan, bow to him, and say:
"Master, we are incompetent."

Li Daoyuan put down his pen knife, sighed and said, "You can leave now."

Soon after, another confidant finished reading the volume and also could not find any ideas for investigation, so they also confessed their crimes to Li Daoyuan.

There were fewer and fewer people in the Mingtang, and finally only a young man under 20 years old was left, who was still flipping through the bamboo slips.

Li Daoyuan had already put down the pen in his hand anxiously. He looked into the hall and finally his eyes fell on Su Ze.

"You can read, right?"

Su Ze was sure that Li Daoyuan was asking about him, so he nodded and said, "I can read."

“Is there anyone who can read?”

At this time, two other imperial guards also came forward.

Li Daoyuan nodded and said, "You guys go and see it too."

He asked several literate imperial guards to go up and check the files. Li Daoyuan sat back on the table and continued to carve words on the bamboo slips with his knife and pen.

But today he was obviously distracted and carved the wrong words several times. After repeatedly using a knife and pen to scrape off the wrong words, Li Daoyuan put down the bamboo slips and looked at the people who were flipping through the volumes.

Except for Su Ze and the young man at the beginning who were still reading the volumes, the other two imperial guards had also given up.

Su Ze just pretended to look at the volume of Longhua Temple for a while. Of course, he knew who killed the monsters in Longhua Temple. After briefly reading the volume, Su Ze was more certain that he had done it perfectly.

Because the evil people of the Mahayana sect were all killed by the armored staff, the focus of the Henan Prefecture's investigation was on the suspicious people who appeared during the curfew.

A person wearing armor and holding a shield walking on the street would definitely attract the attention of the city patrol captain and the heads of each neighborhood.

But after attacking and killing the Mahayana sect's gang of demons, Su Ze put all the armor and weapons into the system's warehouse, and under the leadership of Su Dao, he sneaked into the dog hole of Jianyangfang without attracting anyone's attention.

Therefore, all the testimonies collected by Henan Prefecture pointed in the wrong direction, and some even pointed to the involvement of ghosts.

Su Ze was more curious about the case that happened in Siyi Pavilion.

After finally pretending to have finished reading the volume on the Longhua Temple case, Su Ze finally picked up the volume about the attack on the attendants of the Rouran King in the Siyi Pavilion.

Just when Su Ze was about to look for the "thread" among the pile of volumes in the Siyi Pavilion, a roll of bamboo slips was handed to Su Ze.

"It's better to start with this one."

The young man who had been buried in the bamboo slips suddenly spoke, and then he buried his head in other bamboo slips.

Su Ze thanked him and began to investigate the case.

The two servants of the Rouran King who were killed were not ordinary Rouran soldiers, but brave warriors around the Rouran King.

Yongjian means warriors. These are the elite troops brought by King Rourun when he escaped from the grassland. These people are not ordinary soldiers, but elite attendant officers.

Two brave men were killed and the beloved falcon of the Rouran King was stolen. All this happened in the heavily guarded Siyi Pavilion. Naturally, the case attracted the attention of the court and was sent to Henan Prefecture for investigation.

The old official of Henan Prefecture was quite capable. After the Siyi Pavilion case occurred, he immediately took control of the guarding Yulin soldiers and took their testimonies individually.

These bamboo slips contain the testimonies of the Yulin soldiers who guarded the Siyi Pavilion, as well as the testimonies of the attendants around the Rouran King.

The two brave warriors who were killed were the confidants of the Rouran King who were in charge of taking care of the falcons. They were shot to death with long-range bows and arrows while raising falcons in the backyard of the Siyi Pavilion.

However, within a hundred steps of the Siyi Pavilion, all high places had Yulin military officers on duty.

But a hundred steps away? The only place that could aim at the backyard of Siyi Pavilion from a high altitude was the Yongkang Floating Bridge near Siyi Pavilion leading to Sitong City.

That was a busy floating bridge leading to Shitong City. Two brave men were killed in broad daylight. Could anyone really shoot arrows on this floating bridge without being discovered?

(End of this chapter)