Jiuwei Mountain.
The craftsmen lined up in a long queue to get a bowl of herbal tea at the tea stall during their lunch break.
"It's so hot..."
"Yes, this year's summer is much hotter than in previous years! Look at me, I'm sweating all the time! It's so hot."
"You who work in the inner chambers, stop complaining! Those of us who work in the outer tombs are miserable. Look at these arms and necks. Three layers of skin have been peeled off by the sun!"
"..."
The craftsmen leaned in the shade as much as possible and drank herbal tea.
Since the emperor ordered to expand the scale of craftsmen, the permanent population around Mount Jiuwei has soared to 100,000! It’s almost forming a densely populated city!
Materials, food...are constantly being sent here, making Li Shimin's Zhaoling more and more perfect.
With the current progress, there is no doubt that it will be completed by the end of the year.
Gudong, Gudong.
Xu Fenglei brought a bamboo hat and came to drink free herbal tea.
Spring turned to summer in the blink of an eye, and the days went by quickly, but his Qing Xiu efforts did not make much progress.
"All conditioned dharma are acquired. As the Diamond Sutra says, all conditioned dharma are like bubbles in a dream, like dew or lightning, and should be viewed as such."
He closed his eyes slightly and murmured,
"But if there is no way to do it, how can we start?"
"It is said that the original mind is pure and self-sufficient, but how can we achieve true tranquility?"
Xu Fenglei's practice reached a bottleneck.
If he wants to live forever, he naturally wants to practice perfection, but practicing truth is not that easy.
You can be still, but you can't be inactive...
Chiliu.
After taking another sip of herbal tea, he felt a little depressed. Just as he was about to get up, he saw Wu Erya running over quickly.
"Godfather, there is a serious situation!"
She changed from her usual liveliness and looked a little serious now.
"Um?"
Xu Fenglei stood up and said with some surprise,
"What's going on? What's the big deal?"
It’s rare to see this girl look like this!
Wu Erya took Xu Fenglei's hand, pulled him and walked back.
"Hou Junji may want to rebel!"
She stayed away from the crowd and then lowered her voice.
Xu Fenglei: "!!!"
This sentence is earth-shattering!
"Wha...what?!"
He said in astonishment,
"You said Hou Junji was going to rebel?! This..."
Wu Erya's words were so shocking that Xu Fenglei stuttered when he heard it!
"It's really possible. I'm not talking nonsense."
Wu Erya said seriously,
"More than two months ago, I received intelligence from the border area and learned that Hou Junji had sent a letter to his son-in-law, Helan Chushi."
"I didn't take it seriously at first, thinking it was just a letter from home, so I threw it aside without paying much attention."
"But later, I got information and learned that every time Hou Junji sent a battle report to the court, he would send a letter to Helan Chushi."
"This feels a bit strange to me. Why do I always send letters to my son-in-law? Logically speaking, they should also be sent to my wife and children... When I thought of Helan Chushi's identity, I spent a lot of money and bribed some people, and finally secretly obtained A copy of one of the letters was obtained.”
The two of them walked quickly while talking.
After a while, we arrived at the thatched house.
Wu Erya handed over the copy.
Xu Fenglei took it and took a look, but frowned.
"What's written on it? I can't understand it."
He said in a deep voice,
"That doesn't make any sense...is this a secret message?"
They all looked like Chinese characters, but when they were arranged together, he couldn't understand the meaning.
"Yes, it's a secret message."
Wu Erya said,
"If it's just an ordinary letter from home, it's enough to be open and honest, why should it be in the form of a secret letter?"
"When Hou Jun gathers this person, he must have a plan!"
Xu Fenglei was shocked.
"I still don't believe it when it comes to other people, but this old boy... it's really possible!"
He said in a deep voice,
"How many soldiers and horses does Hou Junji have now?"
This old guy has a criminal record! The past of the past life!
"This is the key point. Hou Junji has 70,000 troops in his hands."
Wu Erya said,
"It stands to reason that he should have returned with the army, but this time, he left behind the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were in charge of the baggage and the fighting infantry, and returned to Chang'an with only the most elite 50,000 cavalry. He claimed that he had obtained a piece of Buddha's bones in Gaochang and wanted to present them to His Majesty as quickly as possible."
"His Majesty approved his petition."
Xu Fenglei's expression changed.
To say that Hou Junji rebelled, he was shocked and a little unbelievable at first, but when he regained his composure, he knew——
Wu Yatou will never be aimless. She handles so much information every day, and what she is best at is connecting seemingly unrelated things!
In other words, her sense of smell is the sharpest!
"Let's first assume that he is definitely going to rebel."
Xu Fenglei said in a deep voice,
"Then, where does he get the confidence?"
"Just with the 50,000 cavalry in hand? The combat effectiveness of the cavalry is very strong, but it is impossible to conquer Chang'an by force!"
"Besides, the cavalry in his hands are not his dead soldiers. He is just a general, not even a general manager!"
"As long as he gives the order to attack Chang'an, believe it or not, his soldiers will tie him into a big rice dumpling and present it to the emperor without anyone else!"
Don't think that once you have led soldiers, the soldiers are yours.
We have also led troops and served as the general manager of Peking University! He also had hundreds of thousands of powerful soldiers under his command!
But we understand that this military power is only temporarily in our hands! The one who can really control the army is the court and the emperor!
Want to turn the tables and kill the king? Conspiracy to usurp the government? What is also being usurped is the rebellion of Li Shimin, the soon-to-be founding emperor?
It’s simply wishful thinking!
"That's right, with just the strength of Hou Junji, he will never be able to rebel. No matter how courageous he is, he can't die in vain."
Wu Erya touched his smooth chin and reasoned,
"So, since he dares to do this, he must have something to rely on!"
"I think there must be someone in Chang'an who cooperates with him inside and outside to launch a coup! And this is also the reason why he frequently sends secret messages to Helan Chushi!"
"Then, when I think about the identity of the commander of the imperial guard of Helan Chu Shidong Palace, I dare to boldly infer that the person who cooperated with Hou Junji and cooperated internally and externally to launch the coup was the current prince!"
Xu Fenglei: "Ah?!"
"This this……"
His eyes widened and his head felt a little dizzy.
"Cheng Qian wants to rebel? You... girl, you can't talk nonsense! You have to have evidence!"
This bold speculation really shocked him!
Cheng Qian rebels! For him, these four words are absolutely nightmarish and can break his Taoist heart!
"I've said it's just a bold guess. We're just talking in private, and we don't have to be responsible."
Wu Erya shrugged and said,
"Daddy, because the prince is your apprentice, you would never think that he would rebel."
"But I have nothing to do with the prince, so I can completely reason from the perspective of a bystander -"
"Think about it, Hou Junji's rebellion has no chance of success, but what if he cooperates with the prince inside and outside?"
"As long as the prince puts the emperor under house arrest in the East Palace, and then uses the emperor's name to issue an edict and orders Hou Junji to lead troops into Chang'an to control the entire city, then won't he be able to take the throne naturally?"
"If this is the case, the chance of success is very high! As long as we cooperate properly, I think there is at least an 80% chance of winning!"
Xu Fenglei: "#￥%...&*@#!!!"
"This is impossible, impossible..."
He took a few deep breaths, managed to calm down his mood, and murmured,
"There is no way that Cheng Qian and Hou Junji collude together. He clearly knows that Hou Junji and I are mortal enemies!"
"Besides, there is no way he would disobey his father and do such a treacherous thing! He shouldn't have the guts..."
"You are too outrageous..."
Wu Erya's words made Xu Fenglei feel like he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Her inference seems to be true! But he couldn't believe that Li Chengqian would do that kind of thing!
"Dad, I think you need to go back to Chang'an."
Wu Erya said seriously,
"Of course we hope everything is safe, but we must be on guard."
"Daddy, don't be emotional. If, I mean if my conclusion is true, then Chang'an will really be turned upside down, and Hou Junji will cause endless trouble."
"Go back to Chang'an and investigate the matter clearly. If I am really wrong, there will be no loss. Just take it for peace of mind."
After hearing these words, Xu Fenglei's eyes flickered.
"Go back to Chang'an..."
He whispered,
"Yes, yes, you are right..."
"It's better to believe that it is true than to believe that it is not true. All we have to do is prepare for the worst."
"If in the end Hou Junji is really eager to offer the Buddha's bones, then nothing will happen. But if he really wants to rebel, then this time I can bring disaster to the Tang Dynasty!"
"Well... go back! You pack up, we pack lightly and return to Chang'an immediately! We must be there before Hou Junji!"
Xu Fenglei thought for a moment and then made a decision!
To be on the safe side, go back!
"With Hou Junji's speed, it will take about seven days to reach Chang'an. We can definitely reach Chang'an before him."
Wu Erya quickly packed his luggage and responded,
"Don't be too anxious, godfather. Even in the worst case scenario, it's still not too late."
Xu Fenglei's expression did not ease because of this sentence of relief.
He was packing his luggage now, and all he could think about was Li Chengqian.
The first thing he did when he returned to Chang'an was to enter the palace and go to the East Palace in person to question Li Chengqian face to face to see if he was harboring evil intentions!
So far, he still firmly believes that Li Chengqian would not do such a thing!
…
Two days later.
Chang'an, inside the Tai Chi Palace.
Li Shimin was sitting in the study room, listening to the reports from several prime ministers, but his face was as dark as water.
Fang Xuanling finished the report carefully, bowed politely, and then breathed a sigh of relief when he left the study.
"Is Your Majesty in a bad mood lately?"
Ma Zhou on the side couldn't help but said,
"The aura is so oppressive, I feel a little breathless."
"Did something happen in the palace? Prime Minister, do you know?"
Fang Xuanling shook his head.
"I don't know either..."
He frowned and said,
"Since last month, something has been wrong with His Majesty. I don't know since when. I haven't seen him smile. It's really depressed."
"However, don't think too much. As ministers, we only need to do our part and everything will be fine."
Ma Zhoushen nodded in agreement.
The two left together, leaving only Changsun Wuji in the study, still oppressed by Li Shimin's aura.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Master is back."
Changsun Wuji whispered,
"Probably we can arrive in Chang'an tomorrow."
Li Shimin looked indifferent and nodded.
"If he enters the palace, stop him and ask him to come to me."
He stood up and ordered,
"Stay back, I'm tired."
"According to the order." Changsun Wuji responded. He looked up and saw the emperor's indifferent expression. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to speak, so he could only stand up and bow and leave.
In the study room, only Li Shimin was sitting alone.
Da da.
Da da.
His fingers tapped on the table, the rhythm became faster and faster, and finally——
boom!
He slapped his hand on the table, and the anger burst out from his eyes!
And the next second, it turned into ice again.
…
The next day, noon.
Xu Fenglei and Wu Erya rode back to Chang'an again, dusty and dusty.
Different from the leisurely mood last time, this time he was in a low mood, so much so that he didn't even have time to go to the stall for a snack, and rushed to the palace hungry.
"Chang'an seems a little unusual."
Wu Erya looked around and said with some doubts,
"Amidst the peace and prosperity, there is a slight sense of chill."
"Is it my imagination?"
Xu Fenglei glanced at her.
This girl is worthy of being an empress, her senses are so sharp!
"Whether it's an illusion or not, we'll find out later."
Xu Fenglei said in a deep voice,
"If you think about it, no one in this world can play better than the emperor."
"His Baiqisi is much more powerful than our Darknet."
When Wu Erya heard this, he was a little unconvinced.
"No! I think they are equal!"
she shouted,
"He has the power, and I have the money! They can make others use it for me!"
"Give me a few more years, and I will definitely turn the darknet into the world's number one intelligence organization!"
When Xu Fenglei heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Okay, okay, you are the best."
He touched the girl's head and ordered,
"Okay, I'm going to the palace. You can go organize the lectures there."
"You still have money... Your sister Qingquan didn't give you your money? Go visit her when you have time. You still have to maintain a good relationship with her. Your benefits are indispensable."
Wu Erya smiled and turned his horse's head away.
Xu Fenglei's smile also faded.
His eyes fell in front of the majestic palace not far away.
During these two days of running around, he also calmed down and thought a lot, thinking about various possibilities, but one thing is certain -
Li Shimin is definitely not that easy to deal with.
"Chengqian, Chengqian, I hope you don't know anything, I hope the girl and I guessed wrong, I hope everything is peaceful..."
Xu Fenglei rode forward and murmured,
"You wouldn't do anything like that, right?"
"..."
He was muttering softly in his mouth, and the horse on his crotch was already carrying him to the front of Suzaku's door.
The guard is still the same Li Junxian who is on duty all year round.
"I've met the Grand Master."
Li Junxian came down from the tower, bowed his hands and said,
"Is the Grand Master going to have an audience with His Majesty?"
(End of chapter)
