Just as Western Xinjiang is experiencing sudden changes and Li Jiangyao and his Metasequoia City are once again facing a huge crisis, Bianzhou in the Holy Tang Dynasty, thousands of miles away, is also facing an unexpected, confusing and terrifying chaos.
Huaiyang King Li Kuang, as the deputy general manager of river affairs, represented the imperial court at the river god ceremony held in Bianzhou. His journey started from the imperial capital, passed through Tongguan and changed to the waterway. The five-toothed giant ship sailed down the Jinhe River for five or six days. Soon they entered the jurisdiction of the Xuanjia Army.
However, unexpectedly, Li Kuang's team had just landed at Hejin Ferry and was preparing to continue marching to Bianzhou when they were suddenly attacked by a large number of unidentified killers. The guards fought desperately, but in the end they were outnumbered and unable to protect King Huaiyang. Poor Li Kuang, his head was chopped off by the murderer with a knife, and he ended up with his head missing.
When the escorts who had a chance to escape dragged Li Kuang's body and stumbled all the way to the headquarters of the Bianzhou River Affairs Manager, it was the Taifu Xie Guang who said "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was attacked and injured. It was initially determined that the king of Huaiyang, Li Kuang, was behind the scenes." The third day when the memorial of "Master Envoy" was sent to the imperial capital.
Xie Guang's original plan was to use the time difference to complain to the court while detaining Li Kuang under house arrest in Bianzhou, and then slowly rectifying it. But he never expected that this guy would die first, and he would die on Xie Guang's territory. Based on the current situation, it looks like the Xuanjia Army killed Li Kuang in order to avenge the prince.
In the main hall of the palace, dozens of civil and military officials were silent at this time, all looking down at the floor in a daze.
How could they interfere in such a shocking case involving the struggle for imperial power? How dare they interrupt?
Crown Prince Li Bing, who was sitting in the center of the hall, also had no words at the moment. He just looked out the door, quietly lost in thought.
Faced with the boring situation, Murong Xue finally couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Your Highness, Master Xie, my lords. For the current plan, we must quickly discuss the strategy so that we can give an explanation to the court."
Xie Guang sighed softly and snorted coldly: "How can I explain it? This is clearly someone behind the scenes who is plotting to frame me!"
Murong Xue shook her head angrily: "Even if someone is framed, the murderer must be hunted down first, and the report must be reported to the Imperial Capital immediately."
Lao Jianhua, who was standing aside, naturally knew what was going on. He pretended to be troubled and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Murong, the soldiers and horses responsible for hunting down the murderer have already set off. However, I guess this humble position The effect is not great. The key question now is, you said you should report it to the court, how should you report it?"
Without waiting for Murong Xue to speak, Xie Guang said angrily: "No matter how I report it, I can't escape the responsibility of thanking someone! It is even possible that in the end, even His Highness the Crown Prince will be coerced and suffer unjust injustice! I don't know how many people there are in the Imperial City They want to push His Highness and me into the abyss of eternal destruction, and this time, they will finally succeed!"
When Li Bing heard Xie Guang mentioning himself, he came back to his senses and said slowly: "Master, that's not the case, is it? After all, according to what you said, the assassination of King Huaiyang has nothing to do with the Xuanjia Legion. The court will eventually To find out the truth.”
Xie Guang hesitated to speak, and Lao Jianhua said for him: "Your Highness, this matter is by no means that simple. The King of Huaiyang was attacked on the way, just not long after you were assassinated and escaped, and the Taifu had just reported to the court. Accusing Li Kuang of being the mastermind behind the scenes. This is very sensitive and will inevitably make the imperial capital very nervous. At this time, Li Kuang died within our jurisdiction. If he says that it has nothing to do with us, I am afraid no one will believe it easily. If the court To thoroughly investigate this matter, the first thing to do is to directly remove the military power of the Grand Tutor, and it is even possible to issue an order to suspend your power to supervise the country and order His Highness to return to the Imperial Capital for investigation. In this way..."
Lao Jianhua didn't say anything else, but everyone knew it very well. If this was really the case, then Li Bing and Xie Guang would be doomed.
Unless they dare to disobey the order again.
Li Bing is not a fool, of course he has already smelled the conspiracy. But it is a pity that no one has a better way to deal with this situation.
Murong Xue pondered for a moment and then said: "Let's not talk about how the imperial capital will deal with it. If it is as you said, then who will be the biggest beneficiary?"
This question analyzes the motivation behind "assassinating the King of Huaiyang to deprive the Crown Prince and Xie Guang of their power." It is also the most important question lingering in everyone's mind.
If this is a huge conspiracy, then of course its target is the fight for the succession to the throne. From this perspective, Emperor Li Chengwu would probably not sacrifice his eldest son to bring down his nephew Li Bing.
For the emperor, there are thousands of ways, but this is the stupidest one. Based on this thinking, the suspicion of Li Chengwu's involvement should be ruled out first.
The person responsible for the assassination of King Huaiyang obviously wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, so he was either another prince who had a chance to aspire to the throne, or an important minister and general in the court who was hostile to the prince and the prince.
There is basically no need to think too much about the possibility of princes. Except for the dead Huaiyang King Li Kuang, the others are not very popular. Regardless of their intelligence or strength, they have no qualifications or courage to challenge a powerful figure like Xie Guang.
The most suspicious ones are those important officials of the imperial court who are equally powerful.
However, the number of ministers like this is limited.
Xie Guang's old enemy Zhongshu Lingliu Shiming is the leader of the civil service group. Although he hated Xie Guang, at best he could only engage in some intrigues and intrigues in the court. If he really wanted to commit murder, Liu Shiming couldn't do it.
Xu Lie, the commander-in-chief of the Qilin Army, does have this strength. But he is a veteran of three dynasties and has already been a highly respected minister. It is not known that he is closely associated with any prince. There is really no reason to do such a thing that is not beneficial to him.
Although Liu Ce, the prince's young master, and Lei Huan, the leader of the imperial army, were capable, their motivations were also insufficient. Moreover, these two people have excellent official reputations and are recognized as upright people by the government and the public. Such insidious methods are not consistent with their character.
After thinking about it, everyone unanimously remembered one person - Shi Chenlie, the director of Beiya Nilin!
The style of conduct, the way of planning, as well as the means and power of Thunderbolt, all meet the conditions of the Nilin Division. Moreover, those beasts have always been afraid of keeping the world in chaos, and they will try to trouble you no matter what happens.
Shen Lie is the biggest suspect!
However, no one dared to say what Xianggui thought, including Xie Guang.
After all, in front of His Highness the Crown Prince, it is unjustifiable to have unwarranted suspicions about the emperor and his ministers. What's even worse is that just a few days ago, Li Bing specifically asked about the Xuanjia Army's involvement in He Jingming's case, saying that Shen Lie had some key evidence in his hands, which made Xie Guang very embarrassed.
Therefore, without real evidence, Xie Guang and his cronies did not dare to lead Li Kuang's affairs to Shen Lie, for fear that the prince would have unnecessary misunderstandings.
In contrast, Murong Xue did not have so many worries and continued to analyze: "The person who benefited clearly wanted to bring trouble to Your Highness, and then prompted a conflict between the Imperial Capital and the East Palace. Because of this, we should truthfully tell the truth as soon as possible Report to the Imperial Capital and ask for the Emperor's Holy Judgment. If we look forward and backward like Lao Jianhua, it will make things more complicated and make us passive!"
Li Bing also felt that what Murong Xue said made sense, but Lao Jianhua's analysis also made him worried. Although he was not afraid of the shadows, if the emperor really asked him to go back to ask questions, he would definitely become a piece of fish on the chopping board and be slaughtered by others.
Xie Guang's thoughts were similar to his, and he said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, I believe that we must not act hastily at the moment. If we don't figure out the reason, we can't disturb the imperial capital for a day. It's better to do this, in order not to cause shock to the government and the public, and give the insidious little We should take advantage of this opportunity, so we should temporarily block the news of the attack on King Huaiyang, and wait until we come up with a comprehensive countermeasure before reporting it to the court."
The cronies of Lao Jianhua and Xie Guang all agreed, saying that this was the safest way.
Murong Xue frowned and was about to argue, but she saw the prince gently waved his hand to him: "Stop talking anymore. Brother Huang Huang died unfortunately, involving the dignity of the royal family and the stability of the court, and the case was very complicated. It should indeed be Handle it with caution. I agree with the Taifu's idea and temporarily block the news. All the people in the Huaiyang Palace will be under guard first, and they will be strictly investigated to see if there are any traitors who are plotting to murder the Huaiyang King. In addition, let Di Xian lead the troops and Martial law has been implemented in Bianzhou City and the area where the attack occurred, and all roads leading to the imperial capital have been blocked. No one is allowed to leak the news without my order!"
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"Master Taifu, we must think of countermeasures early." Coming out of the prince's place, Lao Jianhua said worriedly to Xie Guang.
Xie Guang couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, it's obvious that the Nilin Division is responsible for this. Shen Lie is a sinister and ruthless person. He wants to use the head of that unlucky Li Kuang as an excuse to deprive me of my military power, and then Charge me with killing the royal family and throw me into the abyss of eternal damnation!"
"Master Taifu is wise!" Lao Jianhua snickered in his heart: "To be honest, I think so too. Just now in front of His Highness, there were some things that were difficult and impossible to say. Thank you Taifu, it seems that the emperor is determined to do something right You take action!"
Xie Guang looked solemn and asked in a deep voice: "Sir, what do you think we should do?"
Lao Jianhua's eyes flashed, and his tone was firm: "It's still the same saying, strike first to gain strength, strike later to suffer disaster."
Xie Guang thought for a moment after hearing this, then stared at Lao Jianhua and asked, "What do you mean, start an army?"
Lao Jianhua knew how to play hard to get, and shook his head gently: "There's no need to be too eager. Just make arrangements, just in case."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
Lao Jianhua smiled faintly: "Taifu, although His Highness agreed to block the news, it is actually of no use. Since someone is causing trouble behind the scenes, it is natural to let the imperial capital know the news about King Huaiyang's accident as soon as possible, so that the court can find us to blame. . We should secretly mobilize our troops and generals before Li Chengwu takes action to prepare for any eventuality. On the one hand, let the Xuanjia Army begin secret mobilization and remain ready for battle at any time; on the other hand, send orders to the troops of the twelve states along the river to prepare for the war. In the name of guarding the river protection project, we asked them to come to Bianzhou to assemble. At the same time, we sent someone to secretly contact Xie Biao, the deputy commander of the Changdao Army, and quickly led troops to rush for reinforcements."
Xie Guang hesitated slightly: "Of course there is no problem with my Xuanjia Army. As for the government soldiers, it is also easy to handle. Even if there is no military order, tiger talisman and executive branch from the Imperial Military Department, the river control can still be used just by relying on the prince's edict. There is no reason to mobilize them. The only thing to worry about is the Long Sword Legion. Xie Biao is at the border pass thousands of miles away and is trying his best to defend the Turks outside the pass. Notifying him to come over is no different from direct rebellion. "
"What Taifu said is wrong." Lao Jianhua said: "Although the number of soldiers in the Twelve Prefectures is large, unfortunately they are not strong in combat power, and their command is also highly variable. With only one hundred thousand Xuanjia troops in our hands, you can Are you really not worried at all?"
Xie Guang thought for a while: "You are right. In the current crisis, Biao'er's elite soldiers are naturally more reliable. However, I have another worry, whether the Turks at Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan will take advantage of this opportunity. Something strange?"
Lao Jianhua comforted him and said: "Don't worry, Grand Master, about this. I have always been in contact with the Turkic Temple Prince Roniya. In fact, the Turkic idea is very simple. They only want Western Xinjiang. Unless Shengtang sends troops out of the customs, otherwise Everything is safe. Ronya even sent someone to tell me that not only will they not hold back General Xie Biao, but they are also willing to lend troops to support, all it takes is a word from you."
"There is no need to borrow troops." Xie Guang felt relieved: "As long as the Turks can be honest with me at this time, things will be much easier to handle. I can order Biao'er to lead his army to conceal their whereabouts and return to the Central Plains secretly. As long as the army With this in hand, the Imperial City will be helpless against us again, and I can bargain with Li Chengwu to avoid being slapped on the head by the villain!"
He paused, frowned and said: "There is another problem when it comes to deploying troops, and that is Old Duke Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Long Sword Legion..."
Lao Jianhua responded with a smile: "Cheng Kaiyang, Lao has his own way."
