Chapter 654: Strange Signs in Gaoling

Li Qing’an stayed in Taiyuan for only one day before rushing back to Chang’an. There was only one reason for his haste—something serious had happened in Chang’an.

Indeed, something serious had occurred. To be precise, it didn’t happen in Chang’an itself but in Gaoling County, a county under Jingzhao Prefecture. Fishermen caught an extremely large turtle in the Zhongbai Canal. Judging by its size, the turtle was at least a thousand years old. To everyone’s astonishment, there were inscriptions on its back.

The illiterate fishermen brought the turtle to the county government office. The clerk there recognized the characters as ancient seal script, consisting of just six words: “The Tang Dynasty shall rise again; may there be peace and prosperity.”

The county magistrate of Gaoling County had a high level of political awareness. Sensing the profound meaning behind these words, he immediately sent the turtle to the imperial court. The high officials in the government were shocked by these seal script characters and promptly ordered that the news be kept secret.

Yet the news still spread rapidly throughout Chang’an. People speculated about its meaning. First, turtles are considered auspicious animals, and their appearance usually signals good fortune. As for those six words, their meaning was quite straightforward. Many figured out that “Tang” referred to the Li family, meaning the revival of the Li Tang Dynasty depended on peace and prosperity. “Peace and prosperity” had two meanings: one was that the current era name was the second year of Qingping, indicating a specific period; the other was that if the character “ping” was removed from the three characters, what remained was “Qing’an,” referring to Li Qing’an.

In other words, the revival of the Li dynasty hinged on Li Qing’an. Many favored this interpretation. Some even deduced that the character “ping” had its own meaning—eliminating Li Lushan and pacifying Southern Tang.

What was even more strange was news coming from within the imperial court claiming that the inscriptions on the turtle were at least a hundred years old—back to the time the Tang Dynasty was founded. This led many to think of Gaoling County, as it was close to Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan’s mausoleum, sparking further speculation.

This news undoubtedly stirred tremendous turmoil in the otherwise calm Chang’an. It was a sign of good fortune—the auspicious sign of Li Qing’an had appeared.

At that time, Li Qing’an enjoyed high prestige in Chang’an. He had pacified the Jiangnan region, allowing grain from there to be sent to Chang’an. When the first batch of grain arrived, rice prices in Chang’an plummeted to 100 wen per dou, the lowest level since the eighth year of Tianbao. Meanwhile, news came from Hedong that the Tang army had defeated the rebel forces in Luzhou, wiping out over 100,000 elite soldiers. With this auspicious sign of Li Qing’an appearing, people couldn’t help but think of one thing: Li Qing’an was about to ascend the throne.

Many people considered Li Qing’an’s ascension to the throne to be a matter of course. After several major upheavals, the imperial family in Chang’an gradually declined. Most of the influential members of the family fled to Southern Tang, leaving behind only distant relatives with no connections or backing, many of whom didn’t even hold any titles.

The current emperor was extremely young, and many people simply refused to acknowledge his existence, as if he didn’t exist at all. Even if this young emperor grew up twenty years later, he would still be lacking in virtue and ability—how could he bring the Tang Dynasty back to prosperity? The only one capable of reviving the Tang Dynasty was Li Qing’an.

He was the crown prince after Jiancheng, with a direct lineage spanning four generations, possessing legitimate imperial blood. Moreover, he commanded a large army, allowing him to firmly control the government and ensure long-term peace for the Tang Dynasty. As long as the country remained stable, its strength would gradually recover—this was what everyone desired.

Yet when it came to Li Qing’an ascending to the throne, many people found it hard to accept at first, as if a neighbor who used to run with them every morning suddenly became their leader.

But these were all mere speculations. Whether he would ascend or not depended on Li Qing’an’s own wishes. The attention of the people in Chang’an remained focused on that giant turtle engraved with mysterious symbols—its origin: was it truly divine will, or someone’s deliberate action?

News of the giant turtle spread wider and wider. At first, it only circulated among a few influential people, but soon almost the entire city of Chang’an knew about it. This eventually caught the attention of the Intelligence Bureau.

It wasn’t that the Intelligence Bureau only learned of this now. In fact, they had already received news when Gaoling County sent the turtle to Chang’an. Usually, if Li Qing’an wanted to undertake such a task, it would be handled by the Intelligence Bureau. But they were completely unaware of this matter. At first, Hu Peiyun thought Li Qing’an must have arranged for someone else to do it, so he didn’t interfere and simply sent the news to Li Qing’an as usual. But soon, Li Qing’an’s reply arrived.

In the room, Hu Peiyun’s brows were furrowed. On the table in front of him lay a piece of paper—a message sent by Li Qing’an via pigeon, already translated. It contained little information, summed up in one sentence: he was also unaware of the characters appearing on the turtle’s back, and he instructed the Intelligence Bureau to conduct a secret investigation.

This was strange. If even the general himself didn’t know, then who could have done it? Could it really be divine intervention? Hu Peiyun couldn’t believe it.

Just then, a guard’s voice came from outside, “General Qin has arrived!”

General Qin was none other than Qin Haiyang, the leader of the Imperial Guard. Hu Peiyun immediately ordered, “Bring him in!”
Qin Haiyang arrived just in time to discuss the matter together.
The door opened, and Qin Haiyang came in from outside. “I heard there’s news from the General?”
Qin Haiyang was well-informed; it hadn’t even been a cup of tea since Li Qing’an’s pigeon message arrived, and he had already come.
Hu Peiyun didn’t want to hide anything from him and pointed at the letter on the table. “Take a look for yourself!”
Qin Haiyang picked up the letter and sat down. He skimmed through it quickly, frowning. “This is really strange. Who could have done this?”
“I don’t know either. At first, I thought it might be you, so I didn’t inquire further.”
Qin Haiyang shook his head. “This kind of thing is usually done by your Intelligence Bureau, not by us in the Imperial Guard.”
“But the key point now is that even the General himself doesn’t know about this. It definitely has nothing to do with our Anxi Army.”
Qin Haiyang lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “Could it be arranged by the Political Affairs Bureau?”
“The Political Affairs Bureau?”
Hu Peiyun frowned. “That’s possible. Those old bureaucrats want to find a scapegoat, so they’re trying to use this incident to push the General to power.”
“Have you thought of another possibility?”
Qin Haiyang smiled. “Perhaps someone is dissatisfied with the excessive power of the Political Affairs Bureau and hopes the General takes over to weaken their power. Or there might be internal divisions within the Political Affairs Bureau, like someone being unhappy with Prime Minister Zhang’s excessive power.”
Hu Peiyun perked up and smiled. “By your reasoning, there are many possibilities. For example, someone might think the country can’t go a day without a ruler, or someone might be dissatisfied with this young emperor. There’s even another possibility: it could be the South Tang or An Lushan doing this to distract the General.”
Suddenly, Qin Haiyang asked, “Where did the General send this letter from?”
Hu Peiyun took the pigeon tube and checked it, then said, “Strange. This pigeon message was sent from Puzhou…”
He also realized something was wrong. His message was sent to Taiyuan—how could the General reply from Puzhou? After a moment, he understood: the General never received his message at all; someone else had passed the information to him. Who could that be?
Qin Haiyang smiled. “If I’m not mistaken, it must be the Political Affairs Bureau who sent the letter to the General. This matter was hidden by them for at least four or five days before the news was released, and it was deliberately done.”
“Damn it! If that’s the case, our Intelligence Bureau is useless. We don’t know anything. How can it still be called an Intelligence Bureau?”

Hu Peiyun felt a bit embarrassed and stood up, saying, “The general ordered me to uncover the mastermind behind this matter. With the general arriving within three days at the latest, I must find at least some clues. If possible, I’ll ask Brother Qin for help.”
Qin Haiyang also stood up and smiled, “No problem. I’ll do my best to assist.”
……
Half an hour later, Hu Peiyun arrived at the Menxia Province of the Daming Palace with two of his men. The giant turtle was kept in the courtyard pond there.
By now, the court session had ended, and the main gates of Menxia Province were closed. Fortunately, as Hu Peiyun and his men approached the side gate, they saw two officials coming out. One was Wang Lang, a Left Censor, and the other was Pei Jingming, a Left Assistant Censor. They were the officers on duty that night and had agreed to go dinner together, only to run into Hu Peiyun by chance.
Pei Jingming recognized Hu Peiyun and quickly bowed with a smile, “It’s General Hu. Are you here for something at Menxia Province?”
Hu Peiyun bowed slightly and smiled, “I’d like to take a look at that giant turtle. I wonder if it’s possible.”
Wang Lang and Pei Jingming exchanged a glance. Although the deputy minister hadn’t given any instructions regarding the turtle, letting Hu Peiyun enter so casually still seemed inappropriate to them. However, refusing outright also didn’t seem right, leaving them in a dilemma. Wang Lang said, “The turtle is in the pond; it’s unlikely you can see much from afar.”
“It’s fine. I just need to take a distant look.”
Hu Peiyun insisted on seeing it, and the two had no choice but to lead him and his men into the courtyard to a pond, which served as Menxia Province’s ornamental fish pond. It was quite large, and from afar, they could see a giant turtle swimming slowly in the water.
“General Hu, please look. That’s the giant turtle!”
Hu Peiyun chuckled, “From such a distance, how could I possibly see it?”
He gave one of his men a signal, who immediately jumped into the pond. Wang Lang and Pei Jingming were shocked. It was too late to stop them, so they could only watch helplessly as the man pulled the turtle out of the water.
Hu Peiyun waved his hand, and another of his men took out a bag and put the turtle inside. The two officials were horrified. Pei Jingming hurriedly asked, “General Hu, what are you doing?”
“Nothing much. I’m borrowing the turtle for a couple of days. I’ll return it soon.”
He laughed heartily, turned around, and left. His two men carried the turtle and followed him away, leaving the two officials stunned.
Back at the intelligence office, Hu Peiyun immediately ordered someone to find two experts in carving inscriptions. He had already realized that the characters on the turtle shell were not natural patterns but were carved by humans.

After a while, two stone carvers were brought in, both elderly men. They knelt down together and bowed, saying, “Your humble servants pay their respects to General Hu!”
“Please stand up, gentlemen.”
Hu Peiyun helped the two carvers to their feet and led them to the water tank where the giant turtle was kept. Pointing at the turtle’s shell, he smiled and said, “You are both experts in carving inscriptions and have broad knowledge. Could you take a look at this turtle shell and see if you can discern anything?”
“We dare not accept such praise, General Hu. You’re too kind.”
After expressing their modesty, the two carvers stepped forward and examined the shell carefully for a while. One of the elders said, “The handwriting here has a strong, firm stroke yet also contains a gentle, rounded quality. Such a combination of strength and softness clearly indicates it wasn’t carved by an ordinary person. If I’m not mistaken, it was also carved by a stone carver.”
Hu Peiyun was overjoyed and quickly asked, “Then, old master, can you tell whose handwriting this is?”
The stone carver shook his head, saying he couldn’t tell.
Seeing that the other, taller and slimmer carver was silent and deep in thought, Hu Peiyun asked him, “Has Master Ding come to any conclusions?”
“Mm!”
The taller carver nodded slightly. “I seem to have seen this handwriting somewhere before, but I can’t recall where right now.”
Hu Peiyun became very excited. “Think harder! Where did you see it?”
The taller carver examined it again carefully before frowning and saying, “It might be from before, but I can’t remember. I need to go back and check some stone inscriptions. General Hu, may I take an impression of the characters?”
“Sure!”
Hu Peiyun immediately ordered his attendants, “Take out the turtle and prepare paper and ink for making an impression!”
Soon, the old carver carefully made an impression of the characters from the turtle’s shell. Bowing, he said, “General, I’ll go investigate right away. Please give me a few days.”
“Good! I’ll give you two days. If you can find it, I’ll reward you generously.”
…
Although he had gained a glimmer of hope from the stone carvers, Hu Peiyun didn’t want to place all his hopes on them. Early the next morning, he led more than twenty men on horseback to Gaoling County, hoping to find some clues about the origin of the giant turtle.
Gaoling County wasn’t far away, about a hundred li north of Chang’an. In less than half a day, the group arrived there and went straight to the county government office.
The magistrate of Gaoling County was surnamed Wu. He was a kind and honest official who cared about the people. After hearing Hu Peiyun’s request, he pondered for a moment before saying, “The man who found the turtle was a fisherman who caught fish in the Zhongbai Canal. I only know his surname is Zhang. I rewarded him with five guan after the incident, but I didn’t ask for his address or name. It might be difficult to find him right away.”

Hu Peiyun laughed and said, “The Zhongbai Canal isn’t some huge lake either. I guess there won’t be many fishermen there. If we keep asking along the way, I think we should be able to find them in no time.”
The county magistrate thought to himself, “It’s not that easy. What if the fishermen aren’t out today and we can’t find anyone to ask? Wouldn’t that mean missing our chance?” Though he thought this, the magistrate didn’t want to delay, so he got up and said, “Very well! I’ll accompany General Hu on this trip.”
The county magistrate also mounted a horse and, along with Hu Peiyun and the others, kept asking along the Zhongbai Canal. The canal was over a hundred miles long. Although it was an artificial channel, it had been built long ago and was hardly different from a natural river. There was a type of carp in the Zhongbai Canal with delicious meat, which had been a tribute to the imperial court since ancient times. Its fame meant its price was very high. As a result, many fishermen relied on the canal for a living. As they kept asking around, they did meet a few fishermen surnamed Zhang, but none of them were the old fisherman with that surname.
After an hour of walking, a court official pointed at the river and shouted loudly, “Look! There’s a white-haired fisherman over there. He looks quite like the old fisherman!”
Hu Peiyun became very excited and quickly joined his men in shouting, “Old fisherman, please come over and talk to us!”
The white-haired old fisherman seemed to hear their calls. He pushed off with his long pole, and his fishing boat drifted over. Smiling, he said, “Do you military gentlemen need something from me?”
Hu Peiyun whispered to the county magistrate, “Is he it?”
The county magistrate shook his head. “It doesn’t seem so!”
Hu Peiyun was extremely disappointed, but he still asked reluctantly, “May I ask what your surname is, sir?”
“Reporting to you, sir, my surname is Xu.”
It was indeed not the fisherman with the surname Zhang. Hu Peiyun sighed and then casually asked, “Have you ever seen a giant turtle with inscriptions on its back?”
“Oh! So that’s why you’re asking.”
“You know about it?” A glimmer of hope reappeared in Hu Peiyun’s heart.
The white-haired old fisherman shook his head. “Yesterday, a nephew of mine who came from the capital told me that an ancient turtle with inscriptions on its back was found near Xianling. I don’t know where exactly in Xianling, but it certainly isn’t in the Zhongbai Canal.”
Hu Peiyun and the county magistrate exchanged a glance and said in unison, “Why not in the Zhongbai Canal?”
“It’s simple! I’ve been fishing in the Zhongbai Canal for almost fifty years, and I’ve rarely seen turtles, let alone an ancient one that’s a thousand years old. If there really were such a turtle in the canal, its descendants should be numerous, but there aren’t any. It’s very rare to see even a single turtle.”

Hu Peiyun nodded silently. It made sense. Though it made sense, he still wasn’t willing to give up. He thanked the old fisherman and continued searching westward along the Zhongbai Canal, asking many fishermen. All of them said they had never heard of a giant turtle with inscriptions on its back. By dusk, as they were about to leave the county, they still found nothing. Hu Peiyun thought to himself, “Logically, if a fisherman surnamed Zhang caught such a thing and received a reward, he would surely boast about it. But everyone I asked either had never heard of it, or those who knew something said the news came from Chang’an. This is really strange. Could it be that this so-called ‘Fisherman Zhang’ is actually a fake fisherman, or no one really brought the giant turtle?”
Hu Peiyun couldn’t help but glance at the county magistrate of Wu. Could it be that this official had orchestrated this whole thing, inventing a story about a fisherman delivering a turtle, so he could report it to the imperial court?
But then he thought again. This county magistrate of Wu had a high reputation; he was a Jinshi from the first year of Tianbao and was still a county magistrate. If he really knew how to do such things, he would have been promoted to vice minister by now.
Hu Peiyun was utterly puzzled. As evening approached, he had no choice but to return to the county office and stay overnight to look for clues the next day.
As the saying goes, “One wave fades before another rises.” Just as they returned to the county office, a messenger came to report that near Xianling, a three-zhang-tall white jade stele had been discovered, inscribed with the words, “A sage emerges from Anxi; the Tang Dynasty will thrive for ten thousand years.”
Hu Peiyun and the county magistrate exchanged glances. This was another omen. Hu Peiyun immediately ordered, “Let’s go! Go take a look.”
A few messengers led him, the county magistrate, and over twenty attendants at full speed toward Xianling.
Xianling was the tomb of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, located between Gaoling County and Yunyang County, in what is now Sanyuan County. The giant turtle they had caught last time was also near Xianling. The two omens were less than five li apart.
This time, with a local village head guiding them, they quickly found the white jade stele. It was discovered in a forest, less than twenty steps away from Xianling, by two woodcutters by chance.
By the time Hu Peiyun and the others arrived at the forest, it was already dark. They lit torches and entered the forest. A few tomb officials guarding Xianling had arrived first and were whispering around the white jade stele.
Hearing that the head of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau had arrived, the officials hurried forward to pay their respects. “We four are tomb officials of Xianling. We pay our respects to General Hu!”
“Hmm! No need for formalities.”

Hu Peiyun spoke politely, but his gaze was fixed on that huge white jade stele. It was indeed enormous—three zhang high and six chi wide. It had originally been half-buried in the soil, but the villagers had leveled it. Under the flickering flames, a line of characters could be seen on the stele: “Anxi gives birth to sages; the Great Tang will thrive for ten thousand years.” The handwriting was exactly the same as that on the giant turtle shell.
“It’s definitely the work of the same group!”
Yet Hu Peiyun suddenly became alert. Two consecutive omens praising Li Qing’an seemed like good news, but in reality, they weren’t. If it had been just one omen, perhaps the person behind it had good intentions. But if such omens kept appearing one after another, it was no longer a good sign. Extremes lead to reversals, and it was clear that Li Qing’an himself was faking it, desperate to ascend the throne, which would only arouse resentment among the people.
It was a form of indirect slander, and the person behind it likely had malicious intentions.
A few tomb officials, unaware of the seriousness, kept flattery: “I think this white jade stele must have come out of the tomb by itself. It’s the will of heaven! Let’s call it ‘Heaven’s Will, Proven by Spirits.’”
“Nonsense!”
Hu Peiyun glared at them fiercely, and the officials were too scared to say a word.
Hu Peiyun stepped forward and touched the white jade stele. There was no dust on it, indicating it had been made a long time ago. He then asked the tomb officials, “Have there been any carriages or boats approaching the imperial tomb these days?”
The officials shook their heads. Then the village head who was guiding them said, “I heard that a large boat did stop in the river in front a few days ago. It stayed there all night, acting suspiciously.”
Hu Peiyun pressed further, “Which specific day was that?”
The village head scratched his head and thought for a moment. “It seems to be seven days ago. Yes! Definitely seven days ago. I remember clearly. It was on that night that my uncle passed away.”
“Did you see who was on the boat?”
“The boat stayed there for a day and night and left around dawn the next day. No one appeared during the day. I guess they carried out their plan at night.”
Hu Peiyun nodded. He had to rush back to Chang’an to make arrangements. This matter was showing signs of escalating. He immediately ordered the magistrate of Wu County, “Magistrate of Wu County, keep this white jade stele in your county office for now. Do not report it, and seal off any information. There’s likely a conspiracy behind this.”
The magistrate nodded. He too sensed something was wrong. How could such things happen by chance?
……

Hu Peiyun rushed back to Chang’an overnight. Along the way, he received two pieces of news. The blacksmith had identified the owner of the handwriting, which was exciting news. But at the same time, another piece of news came that caused concern—miraculous signs had also appeared in Lantian County and Xinfeng County. In Lantian County, an inscribed jade was unearthed, while in Xinfeng County, an inscribed stone horse was found. The inscriptions on both were the same: “Tang shall thrive again; may peace reign.” It was extremely strange!