Imperial City Office?
That is not an ordinary yamen. If you were taken away by the people from the Chang'an County Yamen today, at most you would be fined and whipped twice. But the Imperial City Yamen is in charge of spies in the capital. If you are caught by them, you will be skinned alive. Moreover, the people who come out of there are neither human nor ghost.
The city guards originally wanted to take these people away, but after hearing what Li Xiang said, they all stood up with their hands clasped. We are just small fry. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince obviously dislikes these people. If we don't even have this little bit of foresight, then we won't be able to survive in Chang'an City.
"Your Highness, we just broke curfew. Why did you send people from the Imperial City Office to arrest us?"
The Han attendant spoke very nervously. He had been in Chang'an for a while and naturally had heard of the Imperial City Office. They were indeed from Tubo, but had never been involved in any spy case. But once he entered there, would they listen to his explanation?
"But you broke curfew? Then do you know where this place is? This is the residence of Lord Changsun, the Minister of Personnel. You actually sent people here to watch day and night. Are you trying to assassinate Lord Changsun? You know that Lord Changsun is a key official of the court, yet you have such disloyal intentions. It's ridiculous that the Tang Dynasty wants to be friendly neighbors with you. I think it's unnecessary."
Chang Sun Chong was stunned listening to this. "Just these dozen or so people in front of you? If they wanted to assassinate their father, even if you gave them ten times the courage, it wouldn't work. You're getting better and better at slapping people in the face."
"It's unfair, Your Highness. We really didn't have that idea. There are only so many of us. If we..."
Hearing this guy say this, Li Xiang immediately interrupted him.
"Take this king's token and order the Imperial City Office to search the Tibetan Guild Hall and find their accomplices."
When Li Xiang said this, the people around him were even more surprised. They originally thought that Li Xiang wanted to scare them, but Li Xiang really took out the token. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, whether it was the token of the crown prince or the crown prince's grandson, they could mobilize some government offices in Chang'an City to do things. Of course, some things also had to be considered by the chief executive.
The matter was too serious, and the city guards did not dare to make decisions on their own here. They hurried to report to their superiors. It seemed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to cause trouble today. I just don’t know how these Tibetans offended His Royal Highness that they made such a big fuss. However, it is none of their business to stay out of it. What’s more, you Tibetans are so arrogant in Chang’an City, and someone should be found to deal with you.
In a short while, Chang'an County Magistrate Cui Yunzhu, City Guard Captain Xiao Gongwang, and Imperial City Commander Lu Xiugang all arrived here, and the surrounding soldiers were three layers inside and three layers outside.
The other two people were familiar to him, but this Lu Xiugang was the first time he met him. The Imperial City Office was established by Li Xiang, and he was very familiar with everyone in it. Lu Xiugang was also here to take advantage of the situation. After Li Tai resigned from the position of commander, this position fell to him, and he was considered a close confidant of Li Shimin.
Cui Yunzhu stood by and watched the fun. In his opinion, his was the least important government office. Now that it had come to the point of being a spy, of course Lu Xiugang would be the protagonist. We all live in Chang'an City, and you have never given me face in normal times. Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is looking for trouble, your Imperial City Office will naturally rush forward.
"Your Highness, we haven't learned anything from the interrogation. If we search the Tibetan Guildhall like this, wouldn't that be a bit far-fetched?"
His men had finished questioning, and Lu Xiugang said with a bitter face that they had recently conducted an investigation on the Tibetans. Although they had found some clues, the evidence in their hands was not complete. If they wanted to search the Tibetan Guild Hall based on this, it would cause disputes between the two countries, not to mention that the Tibetan Prime Minister was still in Chang'an City.
"Um……"
Li Xiang snorted, then took out his token and put it in Lu Xiugang's hand. The meaning was very clear. I didn't ask you to interrogate him. I just asked you to go and search. As for whether there is anything, I know it better than you. If something happens, there is someone taller to take responsibility for it. You have nothing to be afraid of.
As soon as Lu Xiu saw the gold medal, he naturally knew that it was true. Although he was the commander of the Imperial City Division, if he disobeyed orders at this moment, especially in front of foreigners, he would be considered an enemy of Li Xiang. He could only send someone to deliver the message to the palace on the one hand, and take people to the Tubo Guild Hall on the other.
Li Xiang was not afraid that he would send a message to the palace. The palace gates were already closed and I couldn't get in, let alone you guys. By dawn, all the things that needed to be done would have been done. This Lu Dongzan was so brave that he actually dared to send people to follow him. Today I will let you see that Chang'an City is not your Tubo.
Lu Dongzan was sleeping when he suddenly heard a lot of noise outside. He felt a little unhappy. After all, no one would feel comfortable being woken up while sleeping.
"What did you say? The people from the Imperial City Office surrounded this place. Are they so bold? They actually dared to surround my Tibetan Guild Hall?"
Lu Dongzan didn't hear it clearly the first time. The so-called guild halls of this era were actually the embassies of later generations. They should be respected. Although there were no clear legal provisions, soldiers couldn't just rush in without solid evidence. The last time they surrounded Tuyuhun's guild hall, it was because Li Xiang had evidence in his hands. What evidence do you have now? And the soldiers dispatched are from the Imperial City Division...
The servant quickly told him what happened at the door of Changsun Wuji's house. What Li Xiang said was a bit far-fetched, but it made sense. We have no evidence to prove that you wanted to assassinate Changsun Wuji, but why were you stalking at the door of Changsun's house?
"You can't come in, get out immediately."
When Lu Dongzan heard the sound of swords being drawn at the door, he immediately put on his clothes. He had no time to talk nonsense with his men. It seemed that the people outside wanted to force their way in. He also brought hundreds of guards from Tubo. These people were all veterans. Before receiving Lu Dongzan's order, they would never let these people in even if they had to fight with the people outside. This was the purpose of these people.
Lu Dongzan was also afraid of an exchange of fire. If a fight really broke out in Chang'an City, especially at this time of night, we would definitely be the ones to suffer...