Chapter 661: Shrimp fishing for big fish (Part 2)

The Xiamen of Chang'an Prefecture is located in the southeast of Chang'an, not far from Qujiangchi. When you enter the Xiamen of Fu'an, Tongjifang, Andefang and Quchifang, night has already arrived. Nearly hundreds of yamen runners, including Jingzhao Prefecture, Wannian County, and Chang'an County, gathered outside the Xiamen of Fu'an. There are more than 100 yamen runners transferred from Gaoling, Xinfeng and other counties, with a total of more than 500 people, led by Jingzhao Yin Ligan himself.

Su Zhen was riding on the horse in his official uniform, holding a long sword in his hand. He probably knew a little about what to do tonight. He was extremely shocked, but he dared not say a word.

At this time, Wannian County Magistrate Zhao Yu came to him, pointed to more than a hundred foreign county runners in the distance, and whispered: "It's strange that those people don't look like yamen runners! They are so tall that I don't know any of them. Logically, I should have seen all the yamen runners in Gaoling County and Xinfeng County."

"Don't ask too much, you will not be good for you, do you know?"

Seeing that Su Zhen's face was terrifyingly serious, Zhao Yu was shocked and did not dare to ask any more questions.

Jingzhao Yin Ligan was also wearing a third-rank court robes and rode a horse to slowly move forward. Beside him was Cui Qi, the chief censor of the Censor. Cui Qi was over 60 years old and was an old censor with a very high qualification. He also rode a horse to follow Li Gan. There was also a senior official from the Ministry of Justice, Shang Heng, the Minister of Justice. He also rode on the horse and followed him like a shadow, without saying a word.

Li Gan said loudly to the yamen runners: "Just just got the news and discovered the fake official of the Southern Tang Dynasty. The Intelligence Hall and the Inner Guard should have come forward, but General Qin and General Hu happened to be in Chang'an, so we can only arrest him. Tonight, everything is my command. No matter who is involved, everyone who should be arrested will be arrested. Did you hear it?"

"Heard!" the yamen runners replied in unison.

At this time, a yamen runs from the city and handes a letter to Li Gan. Li Gan opens it and looks at it, and then says, "The target has shown up, set off! The target Quchifang."

In the night, more than 500 yamen runners with swords began to head towards Quchifang.

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The Wei Mansion in Quchifang is brightly lit and people are coming and going, and it is very lively. Tonight, Wei Tao’s grandson is one year old. Wei Tao specially held this banquet. It is a custom of the Wei Mansion. It will be held every now and then. In addition to the Wei Mansion clans, some court ministers will also attend. Today is a relatively important banquet. More than 100 officials came to the banquet, all of whom were from the Wei Party. Together with their families, a thousand people gathered together in the Wei Mansion tonight.

At this time, most of the guests were here, and Wei Tao was also chatting with some important officials in the guest hall. Outside the mansion, his son Wei Jun was still welcoming guests.

In the night, a carriage drove from a distance and stopped in front of the Wei Mansion. Two people came out of the carriage. One was Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui, and the other was a middle-aged man with a thin appearance and looked very smart and capable. This person was Qi Xun, the minister of Dali Temple in the Southern Tang Dynasty. He was Wang Gong's confidant. He was originally Sima of Yuanzhou. He was transferred to the court to serve as Shaoqing of Dali Temple for only two months. He followed Wang Gong to join the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, most court officials were not familiar with him, and Hu Peiyun could not remember the court and the officials named Qi. He was called by Zhang Bingguo tonight and said that Wei Tao wanted to see him, which made Qi Xun secretly happy. If Wei Tao could be turned against him, it would undoubtedly be a great contribution to him.

The two walked forward and Wei Jun quickly came up, "I'm welcome to you in my busy schedule!"

Zhang Bingguo bowed and said apologetically: "Sorry, there are too many things to do, it's too late."

"It's okay! It's okay! The banquet hasn't started yet."

Wei Jun glanced at Qi Xun. He thought he was also an official in the Water Supervision Bureau, but he found that he didn't know him. Moreover, he was not wearing an official uniform, so he asked with a smile: "This person is..."

"This is a friend of mine. Shangshu Wei knew that he was coming, and he had important matters to discuss with Shangshu Wei."

Wei Jun did not listen to his father, but Zhang Bingguo was a backbone of the Wei Party, so he quickly invited the two of them into the mansion.

Zhang Bingguo glanced at the guest registration book. Without signing, he took Qi Xun directly into Wei Mansion. When he saw people coming and going in the lobby, he smiled at Qi Xun and said, "I'll take you to the East Garden to see the night view! The night garden in Wei Mansion is very famous."

Qi Xun knew that he was worried that others would recognize him, so he smiled happily and said, "As long as the left envoy arranges everything."

The two of them turned around and went from a small path to the East Garden of Wei's Mansion.

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The small living room was extremely lively. The brothers Wei Tao and Wei Huan were chatting with more than a dozen important officials of the Wei Party, including the Minister of War Lu Huan, the Minister of Works Li Kaifu, the Minister of War Miao Jinqing, the Minister of War Wu Temple Luo Junyi and other important officials. These are the backbone of the Wei Party.

At this time, everyone did not talk about official business, but just talked about Fengyue, who married a concubine and who had a grandson, which attracted bursts of laughter from everyone.

At this time, Wei Jun hurried in and whispered a few words in Wei Tao's ear. Wei Tao's face changed and he stood up and said, "You guys talk first, I'll go."

He didn't even have time to change his clothes, so he hurried out. Seeing that Wei Tao looked wrong, Lu Huan grabbed Wei Jun and asked, "What happened?"

Seeing that Wei Jun could not hide it anymore, he had to say truthfully: "There are many yamen runners outside, and it seems that they are here to catch someone?"

Everyone was shocked and looked at each other. Who dared to come to Wei Shangshu's Mansion to arrest people? They walked out of the gate together.

Outside the gate, hundreds of yamen runners lit torches and were blocking in front of the Wei Mansion. The firelight shone the Wei Mansion like daylight. Li Gan stood in front of him with a serious look. There were five or six officials behind him. On the steps, more than thirty Wei Mansion servants held swords and held swords, and confronted the yamen runners with nervous expressions.

"What's going on?"

Wei Tao rushed out of the ground and strode out. When he saw that it was Jingzhao Yin, he was stunned at first, and then he said to Li Gan with great displeasure: "Did I also trigger the law of the king when I hold a family dinner? I also want Jingzhao Yin to come and enforce the law personally!"

Li Gangong bowed and said, "Someone reported that Shangshu Wei had privately kept a fake official in the Southern Tang Dynasty. I was ordered to come and search!"

"Appointed?"

Wei Tao snorted coldly, "Whose order do you follow? Zhang Yun, he doesn't have this power!"

At this time, Cui Qi, the chief censor behind Li Gan, came forward, and he bowed and said, "We are here to search according to the order of the Queen Mother, please cooperate with the Prime Minister."

Next to Cui Qi, there was Shang Heng, the Minister of Justice. He did not speak, but just gave Wei Tao a bow.

The appearance of Cui Qi and Shangheng surprised Wei Tao. The Censor Central Committee and the Minister of Justice both came forward, and the Queen Mother's order was also the precursor to the Tribunal's Tribunal's Tribunal!

Wei Tao suddenly realized that the problem was a bit serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Who said I had privately kept a fake official in the Southern Tang Dynasty? What evidence do you have?"

Li Gan said coldly: "Shangshu Wei, I hope you can cooperate. This fake official in the Southern Tang Dynasty is not an ordinary person. He is responsible for destroying the Tang Dynasty. His Royal Highness Zhao case was his work. If this person is allowed to escape, Shangshu Wei will not be able to afford to be guilty!"

"Are you talking about Qi Xun?"

Wei Tao suddenly reacted, he took a step back and said sternly: "How is it possible? How could I hide him in the mansion!"

"It seems that Shangshu Wei knows this person."

Cui Qi sneered, opened Chen Zhenzhu's order, and read aloud: "The Queen Mother's decree, Wei Tao, Minister of Rites, is suspected of privately hiding a fake official in the Southern Tang Dynasty. He specially ordered Jingzhao Prefecture to search his office, and the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice are supervised, so I admire this!"

Sweat had flowed down Wei Tao's forehead, and even the Queen Mother's order was issued. He did not dare to stop him anymore, so he had to say to his servants: "Do your way and let them search!"

Li Gan waved his hand and said, "Search!"

Hundreds of yamen runners flocked to Wei's mansion and spread out in all directions. Their goals were very clear. The middle-aged man had a thin face, leaving a squat of rat whiskers and was not wearing official uniforms. All such men were identified.

Wei Tao was confused. Although he knew that Li Kaifu, Luo Junyi and others had something to do with Qi Xun, he did not invite him. How could he be in his mansion? However, Li Gan and others were obviously prepared. Even the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Empress Dowager were alarmed. Could it be that his brothers and nephews hid him in the mansion without hiding it? If that was the case, he would not be able to take it away.

He was shocked and sweated in a cold sweat. He waved his hand and called his son forward, and whispered: "Tell me the truth, did your brother hide this person in the house?"

Wei Jun waved his hand in fear, "Impossible, how dare we hide such a dangerous person in the mansion, which would kill his father."

"This is strange!"

Wei Tao said to himself: "Is it a guest? There is no such person among the guests today!"

Wei Jun suddenly remembered it, and he hurriedly said, "Father, I remember something."

"What's up?"

"Just a while ago, Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui Supervisor, brought a strange guest. I have never seen him. He said he had told his father and said that there were important things to discuss with his father."

"Is Zhang Bingguo here? Why haven't I met?"

Wei Tao was a little stunned. Zhang Bingguo told him that he would bring his cousin Zhang Binggan to come, and he also said why he hadn't come for a long time, but it turned out that he had already arrived.

"Catched!"

A large group of yamen runners rushed over the road to the east, all of whom were burly and strong. They carried a middle-aged man like a chicken, led by Jingzhao Shao Yin Suzhen.

With the light of light, Wei Jun recognized it at a glance. He anxiously said to his father: "It's him! The person brought by Zhang Bingguo."

Wei Tao also recognized it. It was Qi Xun. He was stunned. What did Zhang Bingguo bring this person? Was he going to win over him? His mind was in a mess, and the sudden situation made him feel a little overwhelmed.

Qi Xun was tied up and his mouth was blocked. Su Zhen stepped forward and bowed to Li Gan and said, "I caught this person in the guest room of the East Courtyard. He admitted that he was Qi Xun."

Li Gan glanced at Qi Xun, turned around and asked Cui Qi, "Cui Zhongcheng, you should know this person!"

Cui Qi is an old minister. He looked at it and nodded, "This person is Qi Xun. He was once the Shaoqing of Dali Temple. Later, he defected to the Southern Tang Dynasty and served as the Minister of the Pseudo-Dali Temple."

Shang Heng, the Minister of Justice who had been silent next to him, also said: "I know him, it is Qi Xun."

"very good!"

Li Gan waved his hand and said, "Take him away and take good care of him."

Dozens of great men took Qi Xun away, and Li Gan ordered again: "You can end the search and let all the brothers come back!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang!" The gong to withdraw the troops rang, and the yamen runners began to come back from all directions.

At this time, Wei Tao walked up and said anxiously: "Envoy Li, this is a misunderstanding. This person was brought by Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui Supervisor, and it has nothing to do with me."

Lu Huan, Kai-Fu and others next to him also stepped forward and said, "Envoy Li, this matter has nothing to do with Secretary Wei, we can prove it!"

Li Gan sighed and said, "Shangshu Wei, I don't know if this matter has anything to do with Zhang Bingguo, but we did find this person from your mansion. Because you are the prime minister, I dare not be careless and went to ask the Empress Dowager for instructions. The Empress Dowager said that it was not enough for us to come forward, so the Empress Dowager asked the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice to come forward as supervision proof. Now, the monk Cui Zhongcheng and the Minister of Justice have seen it with their own eyes. You won't say that I am wronging you!"

"this......"

Wei Tao was speechless, and he suddenly turned around and yelled, "Go quickly! Come find that Zhang Bingguo."

Wei Jun ran away with dozens of servants, and Wei Tao said to Li Gan and others: "Please wait for a while, I will let Zhang Bingguo come out to confront him."

"Okay! Let's wait."

Time passed little by little, and Wei Tao was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. If Zhang Bingguo hadn't confronted him, he would have been unable to clear his head if he jumped into the Yellow River. He colluded with fake officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty and was also a fake official who endangered the court. Once this crime was confirmed, he would not only lose his official position, but he would even be beheaded.

Finally, Wei Jun and others came back. Wei Tao grabbed him in a hurry and asked, "Have you found it?"

Wei Jun shook his head, "It's strange, I can't find him."

"This... how is this possible!"

Li Gan got the guest sign-in book today and said to Wei Tao: "Shangshu Wei, I don't think you need to look for it."

He raised the sign-in book in his hand and said coldly: "I have read it several times, but there is no signature from Zhang Bingguo. Shangshu Wei, I'm sorry, we have to report the Empress Dowager and can't wait any longer."

Wei Tao grabbed his son's collar in an anxious manner, gritted his teeth and said, "What's going on?"

Wei Jun was scared and stammered, "You only... pay attention to the people next to him, no... pay attention to whether he has signed it."

Wei Tao only felt that the sky was turning dizzy. Now, he really couldn't wash it even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

At this time, Cui Qi walked forward again, "Shangshu Wei, I have another order from the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother said that if Shangshu Wei is innocent, I don't have to take it out, but I have to take it out in the current situation."

He unveiled another decree and read aloud: "The fake official of the Southern Tang Dynasty secretly explored Qi Xun to frame the important officials of the court, endangering the Tang Dynasty's principles, and was extremely evil. This case will be investigated strictly to the end. No matter who is involved in the case or any official, you should not be violating the law. Wei Tao, the Minister of Rites, is involved in this case and is suspected of being in charge of the court. He is now suspended from all his duties. He is handed over to the Censorate to supervise the facts before handling it. I am hereby proud!"

After reading the Queen Mother’s decree, Cui Qi said lightly: "Please invite Envoy Wei to stay at the Censorate for a few days. It is true that you are innocent and naturally safe. I hope Envoy Wei will not make me embarrassed, please!"

Wei Tao watched Li Gan put away his guest book. He seemed to understand something, but he felt a breath of air in his chest, making him unable to breathe. A mouthful of blood spurted out, and his eyes turned black and he collapsed softly to the ground.

"Father!"

"Shisan Wei!"
Chapter completed!