roccoschili Chapter 144 Broken Bridge
Chapter 144 Broken Bridge
Jiang Wanyue's mind suddenly changed, and she guessed that her father was probably trying to test whether her uncle had returned to Beijing.
After all, the Jiang family is now tied to the Eastern Palace, so any action must be informed to Li Ce to avoid any problems due to miscommunication.
The facts were exactly as she had guessed.
Li Ce naturally had no objection to this, and the Jiang family's tact and humility made Li Ce feel even better.
Although he still disliked Old Man Jiang, he could tolerate it for the sake of the other members of the Jiang family.
After drinking a lot of wine, Li Ce was so happy that he even walked lightly.
After walking out of the restaurant, he raised his hand and ordered his followers: "Where's the horse? Why don't you bring it here quickly?"
One man hurried to lead the horse.
Another attendant saw that his master was obviously drunk and wanted to persuade him, but when he thought of his master's temper, he swallowed the words back.
The two eunuchs did not come out today, and he is just a small follower, so forget it!
The follower thought silently and stepped back.
The horse reached Li Ce, moved its hooves, shook its head to the side, and exhaled.
Li Ce laughed and walked up to pat the horse's neck.
The horse has the same bad temper as he does.
But this is a wild horse, and it was tamed by Li Ce himself, so it has a very different status in his heart.
"Okay, when we get back, I'll ask someone to get you some fodder to eat, okay?"
After Li Ce finished speaking, he grabbed the saddle, turned over and sat on it steadily.
"Go back to the East Palace."
At the command, a group of people headed towards the East Palace.
The night breeze was blowing gently, bringing a hint of coolness, making Li Ce squint his eyes comfortably.
To return to the East Palace from the restaurant, one has to cross two streets and then a bridge.
After crossing the bridge, you will see the side door of the East Palace.
Because the East Palace was built close to the Imperial Palace, it only had a side door on the east side.
The side door is close to the main gate, and usually palace servants come in and out. Naturally, the guards there are not as good as the main gate, and usually there are only two people on duty.
Li Ce rode all the way and felt a little sleepy after drinking. He closed his eyes.
But at this moment, the horse under his crotch suddenly stamped its hooves nervously.
Li Ce opened his eyes quickly, and a warning sign suddenly arose in his heart.
"Stop! Stand back!"
But the followers who were leading the way had already stepped onto the bridge and walked almost ten meters away.
It's too late for everything.
Just as he spoke, a sound like thunder suddenly came from under the bridge.
Amid the crowd's exclamations, the bridge actually broke!
Huge rocks and followers fell into the water one after another, making loud noises.
The horse was restless and neighing, trying to run away.
Li Ce gave orders while calming his horse.
"Go and call in the left guards to help with the salvage. Also, notify the Luoyang magistrate to come as soon as possible and find out what's going on!"
How could a perfectly good stone bridge suddenly break?
The roads and stone bridges near the imperial palace were inspected almost every month, and the people from the Ministry of Works never dared to neglect them.
A gleam of light flashed in Li Ce's eyes.
The two guards turned their horses around and ran off to deliver the message.
His captain of the guards also fell into the river. Now there were only eight guards left by his side. Two more left, leaving only six people. They surrounded him, drew their swords, and watched their surroundings vigilantly.
"Your Highness, a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. Please return to the East Palace first."
One of them spoke up to persuade.
Li Ce did not insist. He nodded slightly, pointed to three people to stay behind to guard, and took the rest of the people to another bridge. They took a detour, but finally returned to the East Palace safely.
As soon as he dismounted from his horse, he called the guards to help.
After giving the order, Li Ce was about to walk into the gate when suddenly, a guard ran over.
"Your Highness, I have something to report!"
Li Ce turned his head and looked at him. He was a stranger, dressed in the clothes of a gate guard. He was looking up at him with sharp eyes.
Li Ce touched his chin.
"explain."
There was excitement in the guard's eyes.
"I am Ling Guang, the one guarding the side gate. The stone bridge broke, and I know who did it!"
Li Ce's eyes flashed, and he looked around and made a prompt decision.
"Wang Jun, Liang Gaosheng, bring this man in for questioning!"
As he spoke, he strode through the gate and walked forward.
Eunuch Wang and Eunuch Liang looked at each other, made a gesture to invite Ling Guang in, and led him in.
Go all the way forward and you will reach the Shangwu Hall.
Li Ce was fond of martial arts, so he renamed the palace to the east of Lizheng Palace. This was where he usually practiced martial arts.
After Ling Guang arrived, he waited outside for a while. Several palace servants came forward, removed his sword and armor, searched his body, and then let him in.
Ling Guang was secretly shocked and began to feel nervous.
He stepped into the hall, and before he had time to look around, he heard Li Ce's voice coming from above.
"Tell me what you saw."
Ling Guang quickly collected his thoughts and bowed in reply.
"When the stone bridge broke just now, I saw clearly that there was a bright light under the bridge, located at the southern third of the bridge. The light looked like fireworks, but it was a little different. It was whiter and brighter."
"My grandfather was a craftsman who made fireworks. My father inherited his craft and was a well-known craftsman in his hometown. More than ten years ago, something went wrong when my father was developing a new type of fireworks in the workshop. The workshop was blown up, along with himself and a dozen of his employees."
Having said this, Ling Guang paused, his tone a little low.
"The light from the explosion at the workshop that day was very similar to what I saw on the stone bridge today! So I guess someone must have hidden these explosive fireworks under the bridge."
Li Ce heard what he said, but did not believe it immediately.
Nowadays, there are many people who falsely report their achievements in order to climb the ladder.
He stroked the ring, pondering the truth of his words, and then spoke.
"This can only explain how the stone bridge broke. Why do you say you know who did it? Did you see the person who did it with your own eyes?"
Ling Guang shook his head.
"It was too dark, so I didn't see it. However, this firework needs to be ignited close to explode."
He spoke out his analysis bit by bit.
"The time from the ignition of the fireworks to their explosion was extremely short. He was in the nearest place and had no time to escape. He must have been injured by the fireworks. He must still be in the river at this moment. The scars of fireworks explosions are completely different from ordinary injuries. Your Highness only needs to have someone search and they will be found."
These words made sense and Li Ce no longer had any doubts.
He thought of more.
Since someone dared to murder me at the gate of the East Palace, I'm afraid he has already thought about how to deal with the aftermath.
He stood up suddenly.
"Qian Yi, go and bring all the people who were salvaged back to the East Palace for a body search!"
A sound came from the shadows, like the rubbing of fabric.
Ling Guang only felt a gust of cold wind blowing behind his head, as if something flew past.
Ling Guang wanted to look back, but he held back.
He could feel that several eyes in the hall were staring at him.
It made his hair stand on end.
At this time, Li Ce walked up to him step by step.
"Whether the traitor is caught or not, you have done a great job today. Tell me! What reward do you want?"
Ling Guang's heart beat faster and he was filled with ecstasy.
He wanted to show his loyalty and express his devotion to the king.
He opened his mouth and was about to speak when Xiuchun's voice suddenly appeared in his ears.
"Put your thoughts in the right place... Your Highness would not look down upon such a person..."
So, the words that were about to come out of my mouth suddenly changed direction, and the words that came out of my mouth became.
"Your Highness, I want to make achievements and bring honor to my family. If Your Highness thinks highly of me, can you transfer me to the Guard Battalion?"
Li Ce raised his eyebrows.
"The requirements of the Guard Camp are not low, and there are often dangers. Are you sure you want to go?"
"Why fear danger if I can serve His Highness?"
Ling Guang looked serious.
Li Ce laughed twice.
"You have great courage. Report to the Guard Camp tomorrow morning!"
Ling Guang was ecstatic.
"Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness! I will definitely not let Your Highness down!"
When Ling Guang walked out of the hall, he felt as if he was walking on clouds. He was so dazed that he couldn't help but wonder if this was a dream.
He pinched himself hard.
He shuddered in pain and grimaced.
Not a dream!
He grinned with such joy that he happily returned to the side door of the East Palace and continued to guard the gate.
It's not his turn yet! His Highness will definitely send someone to watch over him, so he has to finish his last shift.
Indeed, after Ling Guang walked out of the hall, Li Ce immediately asked his men hiding in the dark to follow him out.
In addition, he also asked someone to check Ling Guang's background.
Just as the two orders were passed down, someone came to report from outside.
"Captain Liu of the Left Guard and Lord Fan, the governor of Luoyang, are outside seeking to see you."
Li Ce's expression remained unchanged.
"Tell them to come in!"
Soon, two men, one civil and one military, walked into the hall side by side.
Fan Li, the magistrate of Luoyang, was an elegant middle-aged man, and Liu Xiaowei, the left guard, was a middle-aged man with a short beard. They both bowed to Li Ce at the same time.
"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Ce waved his hand.
"Have the people been salvaged? Has the stone bridge been carefully examined? Any clues?"
Fan Li spoke first.
"All those who fell into the water have been fished out by Captain Liu and his men. Many were injured, and one died. I have led people to carefully examine the broken part of the stone bridge and found black marks of fire on both ends, but they are not the same."
Li Ce narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Those stones are well preserved. Ask the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works to take a look."
He didn't say when, but Fan Li didn't ask any further questions. He bowed and responded. After leaving, he immediately sent someone to find the Minister of Works.
In the middle of the night, the door of Minister Gong's house was knocked loudly, disturbing the surrounding neighbors.
Minister Gong came out to open the door with a lot of resentment, but when he saw Fan Li with a serious face, he swallowed his complaints.
"problem occurs?"
Fan Li nodded and asked the runners to bring over some blackened stones.
"Minister Gong, come and take a look. What's stuck on this stone?"
Minister Gong waved them in and asked them to wait for a moment, then went back to the house, took out something, and examined the stone carefully.
He himself came from a family of craftsmen, and it was extremely difficult for him to climb to the position of Minister, but because of this, he knew a lot, especially about stone, which was used the most by the Ministry of Works. Stone was needed everywhere, such as building bridges, roads, and dams.
After Minister Gong turned around, his expression changed slightly.
"Where was this stone found?"
Seeing that his expression was not right, Fan Li's eyes flickered.
"Don't worry about where you found it, just tell me what it is."
Seeing that Minister Gong didn't say anything, Fan Li straightened his sleeves.
"Lord Gong, do you have any unspeakable secrets? This is of great importance. I advise Lord Gong to think carefully before answering. Mr. Fan can wait, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot."
Upon hearing the words "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince", Minister Gong's pupils trembled.
He hurriedly grabbed Fan Li's arm and walked to the corner, asking in a low voice.
"Is this related to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Is His Royal Highness injured?"
Fan Li showed a strange expression.
"Why do you think His Highness will be hurt?"
Minister Gong slapped his thigh, gritted his teeth, and decided to tell everything.
"The black substance on this stone is a kind of black gunpowder! This substance is extremely powerful and was originally used to make fireworks. As you know, the skills of folk craftsmen vary, and the quality of the fireworks they make varies. There have been many explosions and injuries. Those who made fireworks were convicted and sent to prison."
"When we were digging the mountain, we encountered a problem, and someone suggested using this firework to try. So the minister privately made a deal with the minister of the Ministry of Justice and moved those prisoners to our Ministry of Works. However, the formulas these people said were different, and the experiment was dangerous. It took our Ministry of Works several years to determine the new formula. It was named black gunpowder."
Minister Gong finished speaking in one breath and glanced around.
"Don't tell anyone that I leaked this information. The Shangshu has not been involved in the Ministry of Works in recent years. He has been researching black gunpowder and trying to make more powerful weapons so that he can create a way for his descendants."
Fan Li stroked the long beard on his chin.
"Master Gong, do you know where the Shangshu's gunpowder shop is?"
"In the mountains in the southwest, probably near the Funiushan Mountains."
Fan Li got the accurate clue and patted Minister Gong on the shoulder with a smile.
"Minister Gong has made great contributions this time. I will report the truth to His Highness and ask for credit for you."
Minister Gong breathed a sigh of relief.
"There's no need to ask for credit. This is all to relieve your Highness's worries. It's the way it should be. However, this black gunpowder is very powerful, so Lord Fan must be careful."
Fan Li thanked him politely, waved his hand, called the yamen runners, turned around and left Minister Gong's house, and immediately returned to the East Palace to report.
Li Ce was ordering people to check whether there were any burn marks on all the people who were fished out. After hearing Fan Li's report, his eyes turned cold.
"Minister of Industry?"
"Yes, the Minister of Works is over seventy years old and has been in the position for more than thirty years. The Ministry of Works has always been diligent and has not made any major mistakes. It's just that the people under him have difficulty getting promoted and have many complaints, so I think what Minister Gong said is credible."
Fan Li kept his body hunched over and didn't look up.
"Your Highness, would you like me to lead people to Mount Funiu?"
"No need. I will send someone else to handle this matter. Didn't Minister Gong say that black powder is extremely powerful? Mr. Fan holds an important position, how can he put himself in danger? Mr. Fan, you don't need to worry about this matter anymore, just keep the evidence safe."
Li Ce waved his hand.
"After a busy night, Mr. Fan must be tired. Go back and have a rest!"
"Yes, I will retire."
Fan Li bowed and walked out.
After he left the palace, he straightened up, let out a long breath, a relaxed look on his face, and quickly walked down the steps and left the East Palace.