"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty?" Chen Yunqiao naturally expressed his gratitude. Although he had exerted all his strength last night to wipe out all the core members of the Xiong Huo Gang, he was still uneasy. He wondered if any had escaped. Would the matter of him accepting bribes come to light? Now it seemed that regardless of whether that matter came to light or not, His Majesty did not intend to pursue the matter.
...
The Xiong Huo Gang incident thus came to an end. Hundreds died overnight, and thousands more were implicated. However, what Lu Xuan noticed was that Li Longji ultimately did not define the Xiong Huo Gang as a rebellion. Rather, he labeled it a mass riot, and the families of its members were merely exiled, not executed.
Although by hindsight this was an incredibly cruel punishment, by the standards of that era, it could be considered a true act of grace. While exile was practically a death sentence in that time, there was still a glimmer of hope. Li Longji was still kind to his people.
A few days later, at Lu Xuan's home, Zhang Xiaojing, Li Fushan, and Chen Yunqiao were drinking together.
After that night, Lu Xuan and Chen Yunqiao developed a slight rapport. Although Chen Yunqiao always felt that something was amiss about what happened that night, it was Lu Xuan's men who alerted him, allowing him to arrive in time. This not only saved his official position but also the lives of his entire family.
Zhang Xiaojing, on the other hand, was fully aware of the entire situation. He knew that Chen Yunqiao had been part of Lu Xuan's scheme from the very beginning.
"Brother Lu. Our friendship transcends official rank and seniority; it's all about the wine. Tonight, let's drink to our hearts' content." Chen Yunqiao was a connoisseur of wine. Lu Xuan's restaurant, through continuous experimentation and improvement, produced wines that were increasingly suited to the times. Chen Yunqiao became addicted after just one sip, and after two drinks, he was already calling Lu Xuan his brother.
"Zhang Xiaojing, Zhang Yama. To be honest, your name is bigger in Chang'an than mine. Those street thugs are less afraid of me than they are of your name. For that alone, I admire you. Brother, cheers!"
Li Fushan's story was once widely circulated in the Tang Dynasty army. Chen Yunqiao initially didn't think much of him. However, after learning about Li Fushan and Lu Xuan's long journey escorting the relics across the Western Regions back to Chang'an, Li Fushan naturally became a 'brother'... Simply put, this guy, when drunk, would call anyone a brother.
.................
At the same time, at the Crown Prince's residence.
The Crown Prince and Changyuan were also drinking together.
"Changyuan, I have a feeling that something's fishy about what happened with the Xiong Huo Gang this time. Do you think there might be other problems involved?"
Changyuan put down his wine glass and spoke almost without hesitation.
"Of course. I've carefully pieced together the entire story over the past few days. I'm now certain that it was all a scheme orchestrated by that County Magistrate Lu."
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Chapter Forty-Five: The Sound of Flutes in Chang'an
Changyuan's assertive tone startled the Crown Prince.
"Really? Do you have any proof?"
"That's what makes that person so formidable. Everyone who could possibly prove it died that night. I questioned several remnants of the Bearfire Gang. They said that Lu Xuan had clashed with the Bearfire Gang before that night, but they didn't know the specifics. Those who did know all died that night."
Since becoming a county magistrate, Lu Xuan hadn't been particularly diligent in his duties. He delegated most of the work to his subordinate, the head of the local militia, Zhang Xiaojing. But that night, he suddenly stepped forward. Although I have no evidence, I'm almost certain. He had planned it all in advance. Everything that night was part of his plan.
"Why are you so sure?" The Crown Prince was somewhat skeptical of Changyuan's judgment.
"The reason is simple. Your Highness is unaware of this. That night, he claimed that his subordinates, the Bad Guys, were outnumbered and forced to retreat, which allowed them to approach the capital. However, I later learned that although many of the Bad Guys who participated in that night's operation were injured, not a single one of them died from beginning to end."
Outnumbered and pursued for miles, yet no one died? This can only mean one thing: Lu Xuan's forces controlled the situation from beginning to end. Whether outnumbered or forced to retreat, it was all to lure the Xiong Huo Gang towards the capital, creating the illusion of a rebellion.
“Once they get close to the capital, regardless of whether they have treasonous intentions, they will be considered traitors. Presumably, that Jinwu Guard general was also part of his calculations.” The Crown Prince continued, picking up where Changyuan left off, and clarified the whole situation. Afterwards, the two fell silent.
"This person is incredibly audacious!" After a long while, the Crown Prince finally spoke.
“It’s not just that he’s incredibly audacious. This County Magistrate Lu is probably not a man who follows the rules. But Your Highness, perhaps we need someone like him who doesn’t follow the rules.”
"That makes sense..."
..............
Chang'an returned to peace once more. Lu Xuan once again retreated to his backyard, beginning to improve his life in the Tang Dynasty. However, this time, he could sense that beneath the calm surface of Chang'an, a new storm seemed to be brewing.
To the bigwigs of Chang'an City, the Xiong Huo Gang was nothing more than a nobody—the smallest of the small. But no one could ignore their position. Because the Xiong Huo Gang controlled more than half of the government projects in Wannian County. With the Xiong Huo Gang's downfall, the original procedures immediately fell into chaos. Simply put, certain balances were broken.
Most importantly, Lu Xuan's grand entrance this time caught the attention of one person: Li Linfu, the Right Chancellor of the court. Because of the Xiong Huo Gang incident, Li Linfu was reprimanded by Emperor Li Longji in court that very day. Although it was later proven that he hadn't lost the emperor's favor, he had ultimately lost face.
Lu Xuan had reluctantly confirmed this matter when he was in power at court. He couldn't help it; he wasn't a god and couldn't predict Li Longji's reaction. Offending Li Linfu was arguably the only drawback of that operation. However, it wasn't without its benefits. At least the Crown Prince sent a considerable amount of supplies. Besides the batch of old armor and shields allocated by the Prefect of the Capital.
The Crown Prince actually took some equipment from his own Six Guards and gave it to Lu Xuan's henchmen. Simply put, he offended Li Linfu. However, he benefited the Crown Prince. Although at this time, the Crown Prince's power was completely no match for Li Linfu, he was still somewhat useful.
Zhang Xiaojing, on the other hand, was quite happy. He was originally from a military background and had always wanted to train his troops into an army capable of fighting tough battles. However, due to inadequate supplies and equipment, he had always had an unfulfilled potential. Now that the new equipment had arrived, he immediately began implementing his plan. Lu Xuan could only helplessly warn him to keep a low profile. Training troops in Chang'an City—if word got out, it would be interpreted as them plotting a rebellion…
Lu Xuan focused his attention on defense for a while, guarding against Li Linfu's counterattack. However, nothing happened in the end... Perhaps to Li Linfu, Lu Xuan was simply too weak. So weak that the other party felt it would be a loss of face to deal with him personally. Therefore, Lu Xuan never received the revenge he had imagined. This relieved Lu Xuan, and he fell silent again.
His sudden silence disappointed many who had been watching him. After all, Lu Xuan had previously made a name for himself, and many thought he would capitalize on that. But instead, he neither frequented brothels nor went on pleasure boats. He stayed home all day, never even stepping outside. This greatly disappointed those who had been trying to find fault with him.
In this atmosphere, Zhang Xiaojing suddenly showed up at the door.
"Does the county magistrate have any plans for tonight?"
"Of course! I just figured out a recipe for stewed mutton and I'm planning to try it out tonight. Come join us!" Lu Xuan casually invited. This left Zhang Xiaojing looking helpless. This county magistrate was good in every way, except he liked to drag a few friends over to his house for dinner. Or rather, to let him try out his cooking.
Undeniably, the county magistrate's culinary skills were top-notch. At least most of his dishes were incredibly delicious. With Zhang Xiaojing's salary, he couldn't afford many meals at the taverns under his name. However, even the county magistrate had his off days. On those occasions, tasting his dishes became a form of torture.
Zhang Xiaojing shook his head, trying to shake off those less-than-pleasant memories. Then he spoke.
"The county magistrate has eradicated the Xiong Huo Gang for Wannian County. Zhang Xiaojing would like to express his gratitude on behalf of Wannian County."
Lu Xuan gave Zhang Xiaojing a strange look.
"What's this? Are you inviting me to dinner? Or are you taking me to a brothel?"
"Um... County Commandant, you may come to Tianjin Bridge to find me when the moon rises tonight."
“Tianjin Bridge…” Zhang Xiaojing finished speaking and left, leaving Lu Xuan deep in thought.
That evening, the weather was clear and cloudless. As the moon rose, Lu Xuan arrived at Tianjin Bridge precisely on time.
"Meeting under the moon? It's a pity you're not a beauty. Otherwise, I could recite 'Under the moon, by the willow branches, a rendezvous after dusk,'" Lu Xuan teased with a smile.