Early the next morning, the Tang Emperor Li issued an edict, denying the two rumors circulating in Chang'an, Cui Yuan colluded with Hui and Zhang Huan to be the prince of Yu, and ordered Dali Temple to investigate the source of the rumors, and severely punish the rumors.

The two rumors quickly disappeared under the edict of the Son of Heaven, and no one talked about it anymore, at this time it was less than half a month before the polo tournament, and the attention of the people of Chang'an and the Tang Dynasty was once again attracted to this annual polo tournament.

In the afternoon of this day, the bronze bell of Daming Palace rang heavily as usual, it was still early from dusk, but it was already dark, this was the bell of the scattered dynasty, and there were three or three court officials leaving Daming Palace, or going home, or meeting to go to the restaurant for a drink, but the Zhongshu Provincial Government Hall was still closed, heavily guarded, and the emergency cabinet meeting had been opened at noon until now it is still not over.

Zhang Yansheng, the secretary of Honglu Temple, proposed to resume the return to Huibian City 20 days ago, and asked the imperial court to pay attention to it, but at this time, Chu Xingshui, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Wei Ge, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Potian, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, were not in Beijing, and the imperial court sent 800 urgently, urging the three to return to Beijing, and this morning, Chu Xingshui, the farthest Chu Xingshui, had just arrived in Chang'an, and the cabinet immediately held a meeting to discuss the return to Huibian City.

In addition to the seven cabinet members, the meeting was attended by Du Hongchuan, the head of the household, Zhang Yansheng, the secretary of the Honglu Temple, Yang Yan, the secretary of the Taifu Temple, the Yuan Zhi of the Zhongshu Shilang, the fifth Qi of the fifth Qi, the fifth Qi of the Zhongshu She, and so on, the focus of the contradiction was whether it was possible to sell strategic materials such as pig iron to the Hui Hui, the condition was that the silk silk, porcelain, tea and other luxury goods of the Tang Dynasty could only be exchanged for the cattle, sheep and fur of the Hui Hui, and in exchange for the war horses of the Hui Hui, they could only be exchanged for pig iron or grain.

After the Anshi Rebellion, Hexi, the land of the Tang Dynasty, was occupied by the Tibetans, and most of the horses in the interior of the Tang Dynasty were not suitable for field battles. As a result, there was a shortage of war horses in the Tang Dynasty, and the cavalry teams of the Longyou, Hedong, and Hebei armies could only be used by two people, while the regimental training troops in the Central Plains, Jianghuai and other places could even be matched with a war horse, and the cavalry was canceled in many places, and a few months ago, Zhang Huan brought back a large number of war horses from Huifu. The Hedong Army became the army with the most cavalry, which made the other armies jealous.

On the one hand, it is the thirst for war horses, and on the other hand, it is to suppress the growth of the Hui Hui, and since the early Tang Dynasty, the national policy of embargo of strategic materials has been pursued. Pig iron, grain, weapons, copper, and oil were not allowed to be sold to Tibet, Turkic, Hui and other countries, but in the southern invasion of the Hui 16 years ago, a large number of Central Plains craftsmen were taken captive to the Hui Hui, and when the Hui expanded westward, they also got many Hu craftsmen. In fact, Hui Hui has mastered quite high casting technology, and pig iron from Datang can also be obtained from Silla, Bohai and other places. Therefore, at this cabinet meeting, the control and relaxation of pig iron has become the focus of controversy.

However, Pei Jun, the left minister, advocated liberalizing the trade between pig iron and grain, on the grounds that the Hui had already mastered the smelting technology, but the cost was too high, and the export of pig iron could not be conducive to the improvement of the Hui smelting technology. As a result, the Tang Dynasty had a monopoly on smelting technology, but Cui Yuan, the right minister, believed that the Hui population was thin. Even a small amount of pig iron can significantly increase the combat power of the Hui army. He advocated a strict ban on the export of pig iron and grain, and even extended the scope of the embargo to Silla, Japan, Balhae and other countries. and enacted the most severe laws to punish smugglers.

The government hall is bright, because the doors and windows are closed, the air is very turbid and hot, everyone's face is sweaty, full of red, Chu Xingshui has spoken twice, he supports Pei Jun's move to cancel the embargo, but Cui Yuan's tough attitude, as well as the support of Wang Ang, Yang and even Zhang Potian, it is unlikely that the embargo will be lifted, but Cui Yuan's joint embargo on Silla, Japan, Bohai and other countries is aimed at him Chu Xingshui, everyone knows that the Chu family controls Guangling, which has the most developed trade, It has earned a lot of wealth through overseas trade, among which it has a monopoly on the export of pig iron and weapons to Japan and Silla, and once the embargo is implemented, the Chu family will suffer huge losses.

Since the embargo on Hui Hui cannot be lifted, it cannot affect the pond fish and expand the scope of the embargo, Chu Xingshui coughed, stood up for the third time and said: "Everyone, since Cui Xiangguo is resolutely opposed to the release of the embargo on Hui Hui, then I can only obey the decision of the right minister, but the embargo on Japan and Silla is a bit of a fuss, since Taizong, my Datang has always banned land and sea, and has never restricted maritime trade, in fact, neither Japan nor Silla has ever posed a threat to Datang, just because I Datang is broad-minded and tolerant of all rivers, Only in the prosperous era of Kaiyuan did the retrogressive measure of implementing the sea ban really not conform to the consistent national policy of our Datang. ”

"Chu Shangshu's words are also fallacious!"

Wang Ang, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, laughed for a long time, stood up and retorted: "How big are Japan and Silla, and what is the population?" But every year, millions of catties of pig iron are exported to the two places, is it really all used by them? Taking the Bohai Kingdom into the territory of Huifu through the Khitan has always been a smuggling route for pig iron, doesn't Chu Shangshu really know? Sea transportation is not like land transportation, there are traces, the big ship goes north into the sea, where did it really go, who can know? The Tang Dynasty is embargoed every year, but the source of pig iron has never been blocked, which is the problem, so Cui Xiangguo proposed a comprehensive embargo, which is the root cause. ”

Chu Xingshui was speechless, in fact, he also knew that many iron ships that originally went to Silla and Japan ended up going to Bohai Kingdom, but this was not done by his Chu Xingshui family, and Cui Yuan was the same? It's just that the amount is far smaller than himself, and today Cui Yuan threw bricks and bricks to attract jade, which really made him suffer a dumb loss.

Cui Yuan saw that Chu Xingshui was no longer talking, so he smiled and stood up, "Since there is indeed the possibility of indirect smuggling from the sea, the embargo on pig iron is settled, but Hui Hui put forward another condition, exchanging grain for horses, what do you think?" ”

"I don't need food." Pei Jun slowly stood up and said: "The reason why pig iron can be controlled is because there is a monopoly on salt and iron, but grain is not, every household has it, and the caravan itself will carry a lot of food, and it can't be banned at all, so I think it's better to let it go, so I don't have to come to the border to loot because the Hui people are short of food." ”

"I also agree with Pei Xiangguo's words, grain should be released."

Zhang Potian, who had been silent, glanced at Wang Ang. Said coldly: "But what Wang Shangshu said just now, the comprehensive embargo is the root of the problem, I don't agree, my Tang Dynasty lacks horses, the root cause is not what Hui wants pig iron, but that Hexi, the source of my Tang Dynasty, is occupied by Tubo, so that the cavalry has no horses." In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, it is necessary to recapture Hedong, and now the era of Tibet's prosperity has passed. They have only 20,000 troops stationed in Hexi, and with the national strength of our Tang Dynasty, they can completely recapture Hexi, and even Anxi and Beiting. It is precisely a good opportunity to use troops against Tibet, and I suggest that a combat strategy should be drawn up immediately. Declare war on Tibet as soon as possible! ”

For people with shallow qualifications, he will despise those who are less qualified than himself, and this is the case with Wang Ang, who only joined the cabinet three years ago. Originally, he was the most junior person, but now he is not. Zhang Potian has been in the cabinet for less than two months. Although he had been a right-hand minister for a short time, no one would take his experience to heart. On the contrary, it was his shame, for such a person who had been in the cabinet for less than two months, Wang Ang unceremoniously retorted: "I completely agree with Zhang Shangshu's suggestion, I suggest that the Hedong Army pick this beam and recover Hexi for my Tang Dynasty, what does Zhang Shangshu think?" ”

This is the crux of the matter, everyone knows that Tibet is now weakened, but who is willing to send troops? It should be Wei Ge of Longyou, but he refused, his reason has always been that he wants to protect Longyou, but also to return to the north, and can not fight on two fronts, and others are even more unwilling to move, and now all parties are in a delicate balance, and a single shot will move the overall situation.

The whole venue was silent for a while, Zhang Potian asked an embarrassing question, after a long time, Cui Yuan stood up and said with a smile: "Zhang Shangshu's eagerness can be understood by all of us, how can this not be the case, if I am ten years younger, I will definitely wear armor and go to Hexi in person, now my Datang has been invaded by the Anshi Rebellion and the Hui, just like a person almost died of illness, now I need to slowly recuperate, nourish the sick body, once I become strong, I will expel the strong captives, restore my Datang Wanli rivers and mountains, Zhang Shangshu and wait patiently, I'm sure we'll all see that day. ”

Speaking of this, he looked around the venue and said solemnly: "We discussed for an afternoon, and it is time to make a conclusion, the total embargo on pig iron, whether it is Tibet, Huifu, Silla or Japan, foreign trade is not allowed, and those who dare to smuggle will be punished for treason, and the flow of pig iron will be monitored by the salt and iron superintendent, and the grain trade can be liberalized, and merchants will be encouraged to exchange for horses from Huifu." ”

"So decided!"

Pei Jun stood up and said with a smile: "Everyone is tired, let's stop here today!" He turned around and nodded to Cui Min, the scholar who made the cabinet resolution, and motioned for him to draw up the resolution as soon as possible.

When everyone walked out of the venue, it was already dark, Cui Yuan walked up to Zhang Potian with a smile and said, "Potian, do you have time to go to my house for a drink?" ”

Zhang Potian smiled and shook his head, "Xiangguo has good intentions, today my family Qilang is back to save relatives, and the family wants to get together!" ”

"Then another day!" Cui Yuan smiled and stopped insisting, he turned around and waved to everyone to board the carriage, which started quickly and gradually disappeared into the night.

From Daming Palace to Cui Yuan's Mansion Xuanyang Fang walk in a straight line less than half an hour to arrive, along the way must pass through the light house, Chongren Fang and Pingkang Fang, the sky has been dark, the night is cold, the people of Chang'an are closed early, some people who like nightlife also mostly go to Pingkangfang, the street is quiet, not a pedestrian can be seen, only hear the sound of the guards' miscellaneous hooves and the sound of the wheels, occasionally there is a carriage Cui Yuandi next to the convoy speeding by.

Soon, the carriage went to the gate of Pingkangfang, but the flow of people here is crowded, *** like day, both sides are planted with big trees, although the leaves have fallen half, but the shade is still dense, making the road appear extremely crowded, the carriage slowly approached the gate of Pingkangfang, there is a carriage parked next to the gate, this is a very ordinary carriage, usually used for rental, you can see it everywhere on the street, the carriage is parked there, it seems to be waiting for someone, at this time the crowd found the arrival of Xiangguo, and walked to both sides to make way, Just as the guards cautiously passed by the carriage, suddenly, the window of the carriage opened, and a swarthy crossbow arrow stretched out from inside, aimed at Cui Yuan's window, and before the guards could react, the sound of breaking the air sounded, and a crossbow arrow shot out like lightning, penetrating the window of Cui Yuan's carriage.

There was a great confusion among the surrounding people, and a man in black rushed out of the carriage and rushed into Pingkangfang, and by the time the guards caught up, he had disappeared without a trace.

Cui Yuan's car door suddenly opened, only to see Cui Yuan get out of the car, his face was pale, an arrow was deeply inserted into his shoulder, blood flowed like a pour, he suddenly weakened and fell to the ground.

Right Prime Minister Cui Yuan was assassinated