Shen Lie raised his eyebrows and responded loudly: "It is true. However, there is a reason for it. After the Turks captured the two passes, the imperial court completely cut off contact with Western Xinjiang, and Li Jiangyao commanded the troops to fight alone. There must be a name Only then can he command his subordinates legitimately. He can't contact us, so what can he do if he doesn't pretend to be self-proclaimed?"
The minister smiled: "Master Shen, don't worry. I don't mean to blame Li Jiangyao, but..."
"Just what?" Murong Xue asked with dissatisfaction before Shen Lie.
"It's just that he just calls himself a general. Why does he have to be the Protector-General?" The minister shook his head and said with a slight yin and yang tone: "And he also created a Zhenjiang Army outside the Zhenjiang Protectorate. It's neither fish nor fowl. .”
Shen Lie's face was frosty and he looked coldly at the nitpicker without saying a word. Murong Xue turned to Li Bing and said, "Your Highness, this is just nitpicking! What kind of person is Li Jiangyao? Don’t you know yet?”
Li Bing raised his hand to signal him not to get excited, and said softly: "I understand what you mean. When you and I were under house arrest in Luoyi by the traitor Xie Guang, it was thanks to Li Jiangyao that we were able to escape from the trap. This I will never forget your contribution."
He glanced at Shen Lie and then said to Murong Xue: "However, the matter of awarding rewards really needs long-term consideration. First, I have not yet ascended the throne and the imperial court is far away in Western Shu. How should we discuss rewards for merit? It was difficult to negotiate for a while; secondly, I announced to the world in Hebei and commanded the country's troops according to the imperial edict. At that time, Li Jiangyao had already established a communication channel with Nilin Division, but to this day, he has not written a memorial. I swear allegiance to me, what will I do?"
Murong Xue was slightly startled when she heard this, and immediately understood what Li Bing meant: Li Jiangyao was clearly suspected of being a soldier. If you believe in your merits and don't take me as the prince seriously, do you still need me to take the initiative to please him?
Powerful minister Xie Guang! This familiar name suddenly came to Murong Xue's mind.
The prince had suffered many hardships before, and what he feared and hated the most in his life were those military generals who held military power and became domineering with their illustrious military exploits. Because of his own ambition, Xie Guang almost destroyed Li Bing and the 800-year-old foundation of Shengtang. This incident was unforgettable to Li Bing. But now, Li Jiangyao, who is in charge of 300,000 soldiers and calls himself the Protector of the Imperial Guard as a captain, has appeared in Western Xinjiang. He is deceiving himself if he says that the prince doesn't care at all.
Murong Xue was worried about her good brother and said quickly: "Your Highness, I know Li Jiangyao, and he is definitely not the kind of person with two minds. He has not yet submitted a memorial, so there must be something unspeakable..."
Li Bing interrupted him directly: "No need to explain, I don't blame him. Now the world is in chaos, everyone has their own ideas, and we can't force it. We should do what we should do, and it is useless to think about other things. "
Murong Xue was choked by the prince's words and became speechless. She had to shut her mouth first and looked at Shen Lie as if asking for help. However, Shen Lie looked calm at this time and had no intention of saying anything.
Li Bing felt that the atmosphere was a bit dull, so he changed the topic: "Murong Xue, if you are asked to take command, are you sure you can solve Luoyi's problem?"
Murong Xue came back to her senses and responded quickly: "Weak ministers must go all out!"
Li Bing shook his head: "I know you will go all out. What I'm asking is, are you sure?"
"I'm sure!" Murong Xue said firmly: "I went to the front line this time and discussed various situations in Luoyi with Deputy Governor Chang. As long as we concentrate our superior forces and move fast enough, we can definitely eliminate the poisonous soldiers and restore the city. defense."
Li Bing became energetic and nodded: "Okay! If you are confident, I can rest assured. Murong Xue listens!"
"I'm here!" Murong Xue said with cupped hands.
"According to the order, from now on, Murong Xue will serve as the commander-in-chief of the march and lead the Liaodong Protectorate and the Hebei Province troops Li Mizhi, Chalang, and Wang Yexian to march into Luoyi." Li Bing ordered: "Each office has its own division. , dedicated to their duties, fully cooperating with the army, expelling the poisonous soldiers, rescuing the people, and regaining the Eastern Capital of our Holy Tang Dynasty!"
All the ministers responded in unison: "I obey the decree."
-
After leaving the meeting hall, Murong Xue said hello to several veterans around her, then quickly caught up with Shen Lie who was walking in front, and whispered: "Shen Changshi, please take a step to speak."
Shen Lie glanced at him lightly, hesitated slightly, then nodded and walked towards the tree next to him. Murong Xue followed him closely and said as he walked: "Why didn't you say anything in front of His Highness just now?"
"What did you say?" Shen Lie pretended not to understand.
"You ask questions knowingly." Murong Xue said dissatisfied: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince obviously misunderstands Jiang Yao. Considering your relationship with Jiang Yao, shouldn't you speak a fair word for him?"
Shen Lie smiled helplessly: "It's precisely because of my relationship with Li Jiangyao that I can't speak for him. It's the same with you. The more you talk, the worse things get."
Murong Xue was astute and of course understood what Shen Lie meant, but she still said angrily: "You are worried about arousing His Highness's suspicion, right? But have you ever thought about it, if this misunderstanding is not resolved as soon as possible, there will be problems in the future!"
Shen Lie said in a calm tone: "The problem has arisen. From the day His Highness was rescued from Luoyi, the suspicion of the commander-in-chief has been deeply rooted in his heart. Even if he becomes the leader of the Ninth Five-Year Plan in the future, I’m afraid the throne won’t change, but will only get worse.”
He turned his head and glanced at the meeting hall not far away, and then said to Murong Xue: "Didn't you notice? After the poisonous soldiers assassinated him, His Highness took advantage of the unfortunate deaths of Xue Wei and Chai Jingbin to promote a large number of young generals. , but the military power given to them was incomplete. As for Yang Xingtai, the protector of the capital, his injury was obviously healed, but he was still arranged by His Highness to return to Youzhou to recuperate. What does this mean? "
Murong Xue was rendered speechless for the second time today. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hands and said: "They are them, Li Jiangyao is Li Jiangyao, they are different."
"What's the difference?" Shen Lie sneered: "If there's a difference, it's that brother Jiang Yao is more powerful, and it's harder for His Highness to control him."
Murong Xue sighed: "Oh, it's true that Jiang Yao still refuses to express his position until now. Master Shen, have you tried to persuade him before?"
Shen Lie responded calmly: "It's not persuasion, I just hinted twice tactfully, but Jiang Yao didn't seem to understand what I meant."
"Me too," Murong Xue shook his head: "I wrote him a letter and mentioned this, but this guy replied and ignored me, chatting with me about roasted whole lamb for two whole pages. It's simply inexplicable."
Shen Lie kindly advised: "General Murong, I think you should stop worrying blindly. What His Highness thinks now, what Jiang Yao thinks, these are not important, and they are not something you and I can control. The most important thing at the moment is to deal with all kinds of people. Enemies on the road. I received news that there may be something going on with Bao Yuchun."
"Bao Yuchun? Navy Governor?" Murong Xue was surprised: "What happened to him?"
Shen Lie deliberately lowered his voice: "The intelligence has not been completely confirmed, but I have reason to suspect that he has colluded with Lao Jianhua. The main force of the Navy is about to return to Quanzhou from Kuohai, and the answer will be revealed by then."
Murong Xue worriedly said: "Bao Yuchun, Mr. Xu, Commander He, and the traitor Xie Guang are also called the four famous generals of this dynasty. Although the number of the navy is not large, there are more than two thousand large warships, which are enough to block the Yangtze River. Shuidao. If he is on our side, Lao Jianhua will definitely die, but if he goes to the other side, we may be helpless with Lao Jianhua."
"So I just said that the important thing is not about Jiang Yao." Shen Lie frowned: "The traitor's tentacles are too long and the layout is far-reaching. I don't know how many important officials in the court are related to him. Alas, it is difficult to handle .”
Murong Xue asked, "What are you going to do with Bao Yuchun?"
Shen Lie shook his head helplessly: "There is no good way at the moment. Lao Bao is not an ordinary person. He can stand shoulder to shoulder with Commander He. Regardless of intelligence or skill, Nilinsi cannot easily deal with it. If the emperor is still there and the government is still in power, Steady, I might be able to fight Bao Yuchun, but in this situation... I'm afraid the only way we can do it is on the battlefield."
Murong Xue couldn't help but cursed in a low voice: "Damn, they are all traitors and traitors! I can't even kill them all!"
Shen Lie was lost in thought for a while and asked: "Tomorrow you are going to the front line again. Do you have any ideas about dealing with the poison soldiers?"
Murong Xue smiled bitterly: "What else can you think of? Let's fight hard. Just like what you said in the meeting hall just now, if Jie Zhichuan can kill poison soldiers, others can also kill them. Shoot with bow and arrow, stab with spear, use broadsword. Cutting with an ax is nothing more than that.”
"If this is all, you will definitely lose!" Shen Lie snorted coldly.
Hearing this, Murong Xue couldn't help but be stunned, and then humbly said: "Please give me some advice, Master Shen."
Shen Lie's expression was serious: "Do you know why Jie Zhichuan was able to escape from Luoyi City, which was full of monsters? According to his description, there should be two reasons. First, because he killed his concubine with his own hands, so He doesn’t want to live anymore; secondly, he is a spy trained by Nilin Division, and he would rather die to complete his mission.”
Murong Xue was a little confused and murmured: "Don't want to live? Would you rather die to complete the mission? I don't quite understand."
"It's this kind of complex mentality that you don't quite understand," Shen Lie said in a deep voice: "Jie Zhichuan is not just simply ignoring life and death, but he is completely crazy. Only a madman can deal with those terrible beasts!"
Hearing what he said, Murong Xue suddenly remembered the Ninth Class of the Nilin Division during the Imperial Capital Incident. They were also a group of lunatics and also created miracles.
"I seem to understand what you mean," Murong Xue nodded: "Soldiers are brave and fearless, only for enemies like themselves. But poisonous soldiers are man-eating demons, and you can't deal with them just by not fearing death. of."
