The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 52: Southern Liang Spy

Last time, we talked about how Li Yi was recognized by Emperor Tuoba Jun when they met for the first time. So what will Li Yi do next? Let's continue reading.

Finally the day of guitar delivery arrived. Li Yi went to the music shop happily. However, when he walked on the busy street, he did not see people passing by, but saw the imperial guards searching everywhere.

After asking around, he found out that they were hunting down the disciples of the Mohist School. Li Yi was originally overjoyed to get the guitar, but when he saw the imperial guards filling the streets, he couldn't be happy. After returning the guitar to the Exiled Immortal Tower, Li Yi went to the Gentleman's Pavilion to ask Tao Zhongwen for the old silver coin, but he found out that the old silver coin was not there. He then went to find Dugu Yu and Nangong Qi, and only then did he find out some inside information.

The three of them were eating and drinking and chatting in a private room of a restaurant. It turned out that Tao Zhongwen was interrogating those Mohist secret agents and had a lot of black material on them. The Yuwen clan used the Mohist secret agents to threaten the merchants and force them to be incorporated into their own forces; they annexed land, suppressed dissidents, eliminated hidden dangers, and did a lot of things that were against the will of heaven and earth, but these were all minor problems. Li Yi did not think that such things were enough for the emperor to use the imperial guards to arrest people in such a high-profile manner, but Yu Qi and the other two only knew this much. They said that His Majesty was determined to deal with the Mohist school this time, and whoever dared to stand up for them would suffer.

Li Yi heard this and understood Tao Zhongwen's method. He first used a thunderbolt to wipe out the Mohists, severely punished those who committed many evil deeds, and then selected and kept the available people to educate and use them for his own purposes. He was tough first and then gentle. On the one hand, he could prevent the Yuwen family from causing trouble, and on the other hand, he could show the power of heaven. After chatting with Yu Qi for a while, Li Yi came to the Gentleman's Pavilion again. He suspected that Tao Zhongwen really asked about the death of His Majesty's brother.

So Li Yi waited for Tao Zhongwen to come back in the Gentleman's Pavilion until the evening when Tao Zhongwen returned with a middle-aged official. Both of them looked serious. Li Yi stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Sir, you are back."

Tao Zhongwen looked at Li Yi, nodded, and introduced: "Xiu Yuan, do you want to talk to me about something? Oh, this is the current leader of the Mohist School, Lu Shu, the great scholar of Lu, and the current Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

Li Yi quickly bowed and greeted him. Lu Shu smiled and said, "I've heard that the title of the most talented man in Shangjing has changed. I'm lucky to meet him today. I'd like to have a good chat with Master Li later."

After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them came to the second floor of the Gentleman's Pavilion. After the servants made tea and left, Tao Zhongwen asked, "Why did Xiuyuan come to see me?"

Li Yi looked at Lu Shu and asked, "Sir, you need to discuss serious matters with Lu Daru. If it is inconvenient, Xiu Yuan can come back another day to ask for mercy."

Tao Zhongwen snorted coldly: "You are already sitting here, it is obvious that you have no intention of leaving, why are you still talking nonsense! If you have something to say, just say it!"

Li Yi chuckled and asked, "Sir, did you find out anything important from those secret agents?" Then he looked at Lu Shu.

Lu Shu said solemnly: "Although I am a great Mohist, it is just a title. Mohist is actually divided into two factions: the Cultivation Faction and the Action Faction. Although I am the leader of the Cultivation Faction, I actually have no real power. I just organize my disciples to discuss some knowledge together. And the Action Faction is the Mohist secret agent who assassinated Master Li.

They are indeed working for the Yuwen clan, and have done many shady things. In order to save face, His Majesty ordered me to fully cooperate with Mr. Tao to investigate the scum in the clan. Mr. Li, I apologize to you for the assassination attempt." After saying that, he stood up and saluted Li Yi.

Li Yi quickly stopped him and said, "Master Lu, please don't be like this. Xiu Yuan can't bear it. Since you have said so, then the actions of the Lixing Sect have nothing to do with you, and you should not apologize for this matter. Moreover, I also know who wants to harm me, so this courtesy is unnecessary."

Tao Zhongwen waved his hand and said, "Alright, the two of you should stop dwelling on this trivial matter. Xiuyuan, are you here just to find out their secrets?"

Li Yi nodded, and Tao Zhongwen sighed: "How can these small fish and shrimps cause much trouble? At most, they can only do assassinations."

"Then why are they mobilizing so many troops to arrest the Mo family members today? Who are they arresting?"

Tao Zhongwen said calmly, "The leader of the Lixing faction is Wang Hong."

Li Yi asked: "Is he arrested because he knows more secrets?"

Lu Shu sighed, "He is a spy from Nanliang!"

"What? A spy from the Southern Liang? Becoming the leader of the Mohist Lixing Sect of the Great Wei? Are you kidding me?"

Tao Zhongwen sighed, "It would be nice if it was a joke, otherwise why would they mobilize so many troops! The Southern Liang has already reached out to the foundation of Confucianism in our Great Wei! And we are still fighting among ourselves!"

Li Yi asked: "How did he do it? How did you know?"

Tao Zhongwen shook his head and sighed, "You are really lucky to be alive! Do you know who that crossbow machine was originally used to kill?"

Li Yi exclaimed, "Are you planning to assassinate Your Majesty?"

Lu Shu said: "That's not the case. It was used to assassinate the King of Zhenbei."

Since the previous emperor ordered the Dugu clan to guard the northern border and conferred the title of Zhenbei King, the Xiongnu in the north have been suppressed by the Wei army. Zhenbei King personally led the Zhenbei army to attack and kill tens of thousands of Xiongnu three times. The Xiongnu and Zhenbei King had a deep hatred. If Zhenbei King was really killed, the Xiongnu would definitely make a big move. If Nanliang and Xichu launched an army at the same time when the Xiongnu invaded the northern border, the Wei would be attacked from three sides and would probably be destroyed.

Li Yi thought of this and asked, "How did you know about this, sir?"

Tao Zhongwen said: "The man who used the crossbow machine is Wang Hong's confidant. He didn't know that Wang Hong was a spy of the Southern Liang Dynasty. He just followed Wang Hong's instructions and killed you there. The reason was of course the hatred between Yuwen Ye and you. But I found out that this crossbow machine was originally hidden on the road that the King of Zhenbei must take to return to the palace. The King of Zhenbei will definitely return to the capital before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which means there are more than two months left.

Based on this, I guessed that this crossbow machine was originally used to assassinate the King of Zhenbei. In order to investigate the loss of the crossbow machine, Dugu Long captured several Mo family spies. Following this line of thought, I pieced together the fragmentary information and confirmed it without a doubt! So why did Wang Hong want to assassinate the King of Zhenbei?"

Tao Zhongwen took a sip of tea and continued, "Speaking of this kid Dugu Long, he is really good at doing things. I just gave him a hint and he guessed that the target of the crossbow machine was his father. He only wanted to deal with you on a whim. That night, he arrested three of Wang Hong's confidants, one of whom was arrested in front of Yuwen Zhong, who was furious!"

At this point, Old Silver Coin shook his head and smiled, then continued, "He brought these three people to me, and I learned from the trial that Wang Hong's real name is Liu Hong, and he is the nephew of Xiao Yonghui, the King of Shouyang in Southern Liang!"

Li Yi asked: "Then how did Wang Hong or Liu Hong escape? How could you not know that we should capture the leader first?"

Tao Zhongwen stamped his feet and said, "I didn't expect that this guy would be so alert. He disappeared without a trace on the day when the assassination attempt on you failed, but I guess he hasn't left Shangjing City yet."

"On what basis?"

Tao Zhongwen sighed, "I have no basis for this, but imagine if it was you, who had worked hard for several years and finally became the real helmsman of the Mohist School, would you give up your long-standing plan so easily? So I guess that he at least did not leave Wei, but was planning something, at least a conspiracy that could bring disaster to Wei."

Lu Shu nodded and said, "Mr. Tao is right. If anyone had been operating for so many years and was discovered when they were about to close, they would definitely be unwilling to accept it. But it is hard to tell what they would do at the moment."

Li Yi looked at Lu Shu and asked, "Excuse me, Lord Lu, are you familiar with this person? What is his personality like? How is his cultivation?"

Lu Shuyan said: "After all, we are both disciples of the Mohist School, so we are naturally familiar with each other, but I don't know if he has concealed his character and cultivation that he has shown before."

Tao Zhongwen said: "Your cultivation can be concealed, but your behavior style and nature, even if concealed, will be engraved in your bones after so many years. Why not tell me about it, maybe we can get some other clues."

Lu Shu nodded and said, "The cultivation he showed was the fifth level of martial arts and the fifth level of Confucianism. He was thoughtful and careful in everything he did, respectful and kind to others. Of course, this was all shown. I have no idea of ​​his true colors."

Li Yi asked: "If he was acting cautiously, why would he mobilize the crossbow machine originally used to assassinate the King of Zhenbei to kill me? This is unreasonable!"

Tao Zhongwen smiled and said, "Killing you is for future planning."

Li Yi asked doubtfully, "Planning for the future?"

Lu Shu smiled and said, "From the results of the interrogation over the past two days, Liu Hong has already regarded you as the rising star of Wei and the number one person who practices both Confucianism and Buddhism."

Tao Zhongwen also laughed and said, "Yes, you know that he has planted spies in the Exiled Immortal Tower. Based on the few things you did in Shangjing City, he concluded that you will become a key official of the Wei Dynasty in the future, so he plans to eliminate you in advance to avoid future troubles."

Li Yi scratched his head and said, "If you look at it this way, then his cautious style of action is indeed fake. Killing me is actually a higher priority than assassinating the King of Zhenbei. I guess he is not very calm. If it were me, I would definitely make assassinating the King of Zhenbei my primary goal."

Tao Zhongwen shook his head and said, "Xiuyuan, you are wrong about this. Your Majesty has discussed this with the two of us, and the final conclusion is that assassinating the King of Zhenbei will indeed cause chaos in the Northern Territory, but as long as Dugu Yan, the extraordinary warrior of the Dugu family, is still here, the Northern Territory will not be in danger of being destroyed even if there is chaos.

No matter how good the Huns are at fighting, they can't cross the Yellow River. Moreover, although Dugu Long's current talents cannot completely replace his father, he can still play a very good role in guarding the northern border and stabilizing the morale of the army and people in the six northern towns. That's why he used the crossbow machine and revealed his flaws. "

Li Yi laughed and said, "So, his brain is probably not very good. He actually regards me so important."

Lu Shu patted Li Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother Li, I'm afraid you don't know what your status is in His Majesty's eyes."

Tao Zhongwen smiled and said, "Xiuyuan, let me tell you straight, His Majesty intends to have you serve in the Secretariat, and the position you are assigned is the Zuosi Langzhong of the Secretariat, a fifth-rank official. Yang Hua is only a councilor of the Secretariat, a sixth-rank official. You are two ranks higher than him!"

Li Yi slammed the table and stood up and said angrily: "Zhongshu Province? I won't go! I don't want to be an official! I won't do it! You old thing, I'm afraid you think I'm living too happily and you deliberately make my life difficult, right?"

Lu Shu was surprised, thinking what did this mean? Not wanting to be an official was fine, he had seen young and frivolous Confucian scholars before, maybe he was just pretending because he thought his position was too low? But scolding the old man Tao Zhongwen in front of him, was he afraid of his own life? He hurried forward to dissuade him, saying: "Xiu Yuan, what do you mean? Why are you so angry? Mr. Tao didn't say anything wrong."

Li Yi turned around and said, "It's all because of this old silver coin! I could have lived a carefree life, but now I'm being targeted by His Majesty. This is all his plan!"

Tao Zhongwen also slammed the table and stood up and cursed: "Li Yi, you little brat! Don't be so ungrateful!"

Li Yi retorted, "You old silver coin, don't think I don't know what you did! You first arranged Shiyu in the Exiled Immortal Tower, and then set up a trap for Dugu Yu and Nangong Qi to take me to solve the mystery! My encounter with Shiyu was planned by you and Fang Zhuo!"

Tao Zhongwen shouted, "You are such a fool! What basis do you have for what you said? Stop making random guesses and slandering me!"

Li Yi said coldly: "Shiyu's fame is all thanks to the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and you were the Minister of Rites before you stepped down! And you also told Yuqi and the others about my coming to the capital and my whereabouts in the name of Sister Ruyun. You did this just to get them to take me to find Shiyu!

Sister Ruyun would never tell the two younger generations about me, and she would not write a letter or pass on a message to the people of the four major families! I see that some of the scenery in the Moon Palace is similar to that in Liumoxuan. Now that I think about it, you were also involved in encouraging Sister Ruyun to build Liumoxuan!