"Thank you, Madam Murong." Li Bing looked at Rui Ji who was placing tea sets and was polite with a rare expression.
Rui Ji hurriedly saluted: "Your Highness has killed this humble concubine. Being able to serve Your Highness is a great blessing that I have gained over several lifetimes. I cannot afford the hard work."
Li Bing smiled nonchalantly: "You two are both very polite people. Sometimes, even to the point of separation, you are really not a family, and you don't enter the same family. Now, you and I The palace is in such a state, why are there so many monarchs and ministers doing it?"
Murong Xue advised from the side: "Your Highness, please forgive me for talking too much. No matter when the time comes, the laws of the monarch and his ministers cannot be abolished. You have to cheer up. I firmly believe that we can get through this difficulty."
Li Bingwu smiled bitterly and said: "Can we survive the difficulty? So what? Let's not talk about how to end the civil war with Xie Guang. Did the 800,000 Turkic army alone say that we can survive it?"
"Alas, I was thinking about this just now." Murong Xue sighed: "Even if the traitor Xie Guang hadn't come out, the imperial court would have assembled the Qilin Army, the Black Armor Army, the Long Sword Army, the Liaodong Protectorate, and the standing soldiers from each state. , only 700,000 to 800,000 people can be directly put into the battlefield, and they are mainly infantry. Unless a nationwide mobilization is carried out, more than one million combat forces can be assembled. However, with the loss of defensive passes, Pingye will fight against We are very unfavorable. And the current actual situation is that there is another war within the Holy Tang Dynasty. The troops guarding the imperial capital have been weakened to a frightening level. The imperial court is very likely to..."
Li Bing knew what Murong Xue wanted to say but did not dare to say, and said with a hint of regret: "The ancestors founded the country and built the imperial capital. Later emperors worked hard to build Luoyi, so that the east and west could rely on each other. Once the imperial capital If something unexpected happens, the imperial court can still move east to avoid disaster and have enough strategic room for maneuver. But now, it is good, and it is attacked from two sides... Alas, the only blame is that I am too willful, mistakenly trusting the treacherous officials and the party, so that Our Holy Tang Dynasty is in danger!"
Murong Xue was worried that the prince would be too upset about this matter and hurt his body, so he quickly changed the subject: "Your Highness, do you believe what Di Xian said before?"
Li Bing was blaming himself for making a big mistake and was feeling very sad. Hearing Murong Xue suddenly ask this question, he couldn't help but be confused: "What are you referring to? He said so many things before..."
"It's about the Bei Ya Ni Lin Division trying to assassinate you." Murong Xue whispered, "Does Your Highness believe it?"
Li Bing thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "To tell you the truth, I was a little doubtful before, but the fire in Ziwei Palace last night made me a little more certain. Di Xian and the others can't just be together for the sake of harmony. What a lie, just making such a big noise?"
Murong Xue shook her head gently: "Wei Chen doesn't think so. Looking at it from another perspective, if Shen Lie and the others did it last night, didn't it happen just after we left Ziwei Palace? "
"You mean..." Li Bing followed his train of thought and said, "There is also another possibility. That is, Shen Lie and Ni Linsi deliberately set fire to Ziwei Palace when they were sure that we were all safe. ?”
Murong Xue said slightly excitedly: "I don't rule out this possibility, Your Highness. Although it's still unclear why they did this, I am more willing to believe that Nilin Division is here to rescue us."
Li Bing frowned: "No, Murong Xue, your ideas are still naive. Politics is often the most realistic and pragmatic thing. If I were the emperor's uncle, I would have similar problems when facing internal and external troubles. Thinking about it, it would be simpler and more effective for the country and the court to get rid of the prince directly."
He hesitated for a moment and continued: "Whether Xie Guang and I are of the same mind or not, the prince's banner and the holy covenant will always be a chain that binds the emperor's uncle, and it is also the biggest reason for the imperial court to throw a rat into a trap. As long as I live for one day, and If they survive one day in Xie Guang's hands, then the rebels, including the Xuanjia Army, will have a moral basis, and they will have the courage to go against the imperial court, and even dare to directly attack the imperial capital for their own future glory and wealth. In turn, What? As long as I am dead, all the rebels will have no hope. Unless they dare to say that they want to overthrow Shengtang, the army will definitely be shaken and fall apart. Don't say that I am not the emperor's biological son, even if I am, the emperor should Be ruthless and get rid of me quickly!"
Having said this, Li Bing seemed to suddenly remember something. He raised his eyes to look at Murong Xue opposite, his eyes filled with crazy light.
When Murong Xue saw this, she secretly shouted in her heart: Something bad is happening!
After getting along for a long time, he already had an in-depth understanding of the Crown Prince. Li Bing is not bad in nature, nor does he have any great ambitions, nor is he the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
He is just young.
The impulsiveness, confusion and restlessness that are unique to young people all exist in Li Bing. Coupled with the special status of the heir to the throne as "a common man who is not guilty of carrying a treasure", and the pitiful situation of having no father to love him and no mother to love him since he was a child, he has created such an unusual prince.
However, no matter how capricious Li Bing acted, in his heart, he still valued the Shengtang Dynasty the most.
After all, what flows in his body is the passionate blood passed down from generation to generation by Emperor Li. At this time, the dynasty is facing a huge crisis. Even if all this is not entirely caused by Li Bing alone, as long as he can turn the tide, this young man will definitely do so generously without hesitation.
Li Bing has probably realized by now that the best way to save the chaos in Shengtang is to "get rid of the prince"!
Since Xie Guang's rebels can be dismantled in this way, what difference does it make whether it is done by Beiya Nilinsi or Li Bing himself?
It was precisely because Murong Xue understood this that she felt unhappy.
He originally wanted to divert the prince's attention and let Li Bing not dwell too much on his past mistakes, so he brought up the assassination without any words. But he never expected that this topic would light a fuse, directly triggering a bigger powder keg in Li Bing's heart.
Murong Xue asked hesitantly: "Your Highness, what...what do you want to say?"
Li Bing glanced at Murong Xue thoughtfully and replied calmly: "Nothing. Just now, I suddenly remembered something very interesting..."
Seeing his expression, Murong Xue felt even more anxious. However, what is frustrating is that if the other party does not explicitly explain this kind of problem, I will never be able to persuade him with nonsense.
What other solution could there be? We can only keep an eye on this prince from now on, and we must not let Li Bing find an opportunity to kill himself.
Murong Xue frowned and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, I am here to assist you on the orders of the Emperor, so I know best in my heart that His Majesty the Emperor and the imperial court will never give up on Your Highness. Please believe it. , victory will eventually come, no matter how difficult or dangerous it is, we must persevere!"
-
Xie Bao came out of the palace and went straight back to the command post in Taifu's Mansion. Without saying a word, he first asked the soldiers to bring breakfast up.
The word "lift" is not too much at all.
Xie Bao's breakfast was a large pot of fat lamb stew, with fist-sized pieces of meat piled up like hills, and the spicy aroma filled his nostrils.
In addition to a pot of mutton, there was also a large tray with a dozen freshly baked dough cakes stacked on it. The outside of the browned and crispy crust is covered with a layer of sesame seeds, which makes it look delicious.
"Where's the wine?" Xie Bao directly picked up a piece of fat lamb with his hands, stuffed the juicy meat into his mouth, and asked while chewing.
The soldier cupped his hands and said: "For the record, Commander Bao, General Di has specially given instructions to the kitchen before, saying that it is best not to let you drink alcohol in the past few days..."
"Fart!" Xie Bao was furious, threw the noodles he had just picked up on the ground, and shouted: "Who is he? How dare he get involved with me?! Go get the wine, hurry up!"
Hearing this, the soldier quickly turned around and ran out. After a while, he came back in a panic with a large jar of soju.
Xie Bao took the jar, stretched out his hand to pat open the mud seal at the mouth of the jar, without using a bowl, he directly raised the jar to his mouth, drank heavily, and then shouted "Happy!" and then drank a mouthful of meat and a bite of cake. The big meal started.
In the blink of an eye, this guy stuffed a whole pot of mutton and seven sesame pancakes into his belly, burped with satisfaction, and shouted outside: "Commander, I see you have been standing there stupidly since just now. Wait, what’s the matter?”
The lieutenant general took a few steps and came in from outside the house and said: "Commander Leopard, you were having breakfast just now, so I don't dare to disturb you because of my humble position. That's it. The generals and captains of each battalion and banner want to ask about the fire in the palace last night. , so many brothers were injured or killed, will we have any mission today? Everyone is waiting for your order."
"There is no mission, just calm it down!" Xie Bao waved his hand impatiently; "If you don't tell me, I really forgot about it. I'll go say hello to the accounting office later and ask them to count the number of people killed and injured last night, and draw out When the pension comes, it will be distributed as appropriate.”
The lieutenant general nodded, lowered his voice and asked, "Do you want to report more?"
Xie Bao raised his head and glared at him, snorting: "Nonsense! Just follow the old rules and get an extra 30%!"
"I obey my command!" The lieutenant general smiled knowingly and turned to leave.
After sending the lieutenant away, Xie Bao felt tired. He stretched and muttered, "Damn it, I get sleepy as soon as I'm full. Let me, Mr. Bao, take a nap first."
After saying that, Xie Bao fell on the couch with his arms and legs spread out, snoring in the blink of an eye. However, not long after he fell asleep, the lieutenant general ran back in a hurry, stood beside the couch and called softly: "Commander Leopard? Commander Leopard?"
Xie Bao couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at being disturbed from sleep. He turned over and cursed angrily: "You bastard, are you seeking death? What's the ghost's name?"
"Commander Leopard, please forgive me. I have something important to report to you." The officer in charge responded tremblingly.
Xie Bao sat up and shook his head vigorously: "What on earth is going on?"
The lieutenant general quickly reported: "The people below just said that a large-scale fight took place on the streets of the city!"
