Shen Lie also thought that it was not too late, so he nodded in agreement, and together with Murong Xue, he led Dong Tianxing into the imperial city to meet him.
At this time, Prince Li Bing was reviewing the memorial in Ziwei Palace. Poison soldiers, Turks, Li Kuang, Yizhou, Jingxiang, Jiangnan, a lot of troubles were stuck in his chest, making him feel resentful and unable to evacuate.
Hearing that Murong Xue and Shen Lie were coming together, Li Bing knew that there must be something big going on and quickly summoned them.
The two capable generals quickly walked into the hall, introduced Dong Tianxing who was following them to Li Bing, and roughly told how Dong and others dealt with the poisonous soldiers.
When he learned that Miss Xiahou, who had longed for him, had a letter for him, Li Bing immediately showed a cordial and friendly attitude towards Dong Tianxing, and at the same time ordered his servant to bring it to him quickly.
However, Li Bing's good mood did not last long.
Xiahou Ninghan wrote a lot in the letter. In addition to carefully describing the current good situation in Western Xinjiang and the efforts made by Dong Tianxing and others to eliminate the poison soldiers, she also mentioned her relationship with Li Jiangyao at the end of the letter.
Li Bing's brows gradually wrinkled, and his face became more and more gloomy. He held the letter in his hand with slight trembling, and read the last paragraph several times. Suddenly, his vision went dark, and he spat out a small mouthful of blood.
"Your Highness!" Murong Xue screamed and rushed forward quickly, reaching out to support Li Bing before he fell.
Shen Lie was also shocked, and immediately turned around and ordered the guards to hold Dong Tianxing first, and then stepped forward to check Li Bing's condition.
Murong Xue hugged the pale prince and shouted loudly: "Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Where are you injured?"
Shen Lie put his hand on Li Bing's wrist, paused for a moment, and said, "It's not a sign of poisoning. Let's call the imperial doctor first. Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"
Li Bing calmed down a little, forced himself to sit up, folded Xia Hou Ninghan's letter and put it in his arms, then breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, maybe I'm tired... Let's continue discussing."
"Why don't we forget about it today." Murong Xue said worriedly: "You have a rest first, I'll wait until tomorrow..."
Li Bing raised his hand to interrupt him and said in a deep voice: "National affairs are the most important thing!"
These words seemed to be addressed to Murong Xue, but Li Bing knew in his heart that they were actually meant for him. Having lost his beloved, he can only put state affairs first, and he must put state affairs first.
Otherwise, how will we deal with Li Jiangyao who deserves to be cut to pieces in the future?
Seeing that the prince insisted on doing this, Shen Lie pulled Murong Xue: "It's better to listen to His Highness. Solve the problem so that His Highness can rest in peace."
Murong Xue nodded helplessly, then gently supported Li Bing, and then returned to the original position with Shen Lie.
Li Bingqiang endured the feeling of piercing his heart and asked, "Does your method work?"
This sentence is naturally asking Dong Tianxing. But at this moment, Old Dong was still being held by the warriors in front of the palace, holding his arms and holding his head. He was kneeling on the ground motionless, unable to answer the prince's question at all.
Shen Lie smiled bitterly and quickly ordered his release.
Dong Tianxing's old bones were almost broken apart by the warriors in front of the palace. He himself couldn't figure out what happened just now, but he didn't have time to be pretentious at this time. He quickly grinned and endured the pain while responding: "Reply. Your Highness, according to our judgment, it is 80% effective."
The old man was very weird. He told Li Jiangyao and Xia Hou Ninghan that he was 60% sure, but he told the prince that he was 20% more sure. He was so afraid that he couldn't convince Li Bing.
"Eighty percent?" Li Bing pondered for a moment: "Don't say eighty percent, even if there is only 20% hope, you still have to give it a try! Murong, have the poisonous soldier monsters become more violent recently?"
Murong Xue said: "Yes, Your Highness. Especially from Xingyang to Yingchuan, within half a month, many places were attacked by poisonous soldiers on a large scale. The local garrison suffered heavy casualties. I even sent reinforcements yesterday."
Li Bing nodded painfully: "So we must eradicate them quickly, otherwise, my army will be dragged down by those monsters."
He looked at Dong Tianxing and asked, "What is your current position?"
"Back to Your Highness, I am Wai Lang, a member of the Ordnance Department of the Ministry of War."
"From the fifth rank?" Li Bing thought for a moment and then asked: "Since Wang Shangshu doesn't allow you to interfere with the poisonous soldiers, why do you still come here and risk losing your official position?"
Dong Tianxing replied: "It is our duty to protect the Holy Tang Dynasty."
Li Bing nodded slightly: "I have been a courtier for more than thirty years, and I also served in front of my father. His loyalty is commendable. Let's do this, Murong, you write a note to Yizhou and promote Dong Tianxing to the fifth rank. Sir Yi, lead the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War. If we can really completely eliminate the poison soldiers, there will be a reward."
Dong Tianxing didn't care at all whether he was promoted or not, he wanted the support from above, so when he heard the prince nod in agreement, he quickly knelt down on the ground and shouted long live the mountain.
Li Bing said, "Easy," and ordered his chamberlain to take Dong Tianxing down to rest first. Then he asked Shen Lie, "How did you handle the matter you mentioned last time?"
At this time, there were only three monarchs and ministers left in the palace, so Shen Lie had no worries and said directly: "Your Highness, please forgive me, we failed again."
Murong Xue guessed what he was talking about and said in surprise: "Brother Shu Xuan?"
Shen Lie nodded: "This is already the fourth batch. I didn't expect that guy to be so vigilant and his kung fu is very tough. Even the most powerful killers in Nilin Division can't do anything to him."
Li Bing was a little upset at this time and couldn't help but said angrily: "It's useless! It only increases the enemy's arrogance and destroys his own prestige!"
This was the first time that the prince had rebuked Director Nilin so bluntly. Shen Lie could not help but be slightly startled, and said with his hands raised: "Your Highness taught me that I should be punished if I do something bad. Tomorrow I will go to the imperial capital in person, no matter what. We need to kill brother Shu Xuan."
"Your Highness, this... I'm afraid it's inappropriate." Murong Xue said quickly: "Master Shen shoulders the important responsibility of intelligence and should not take risks easily. Although Brother Shuxuan is important, he is only doing evil on the poison soldiers, but Master Shen It’s related to the entire war situation, and it’s not worth it for a mere brother Shu Xuan.”
Li Bing also knew that what he just said was a bit harsh.
Shen Lie was different from Murong Xue. As the leader of the Nilin Division, he was a close official of the late emperor. If Shen Lie had not sent people to rescue him, he would later have sent the imperial edict for the succession of the emperor and personally persuaded the northern soldiers and horses. If he is loyal, Li Bing may not be where he is today.
Murong Xue could train him whenever he wanted, but Shen Lie could not.
At least, not yet.
Li Bing suppressed the irritation in his heart and said after hearing the words: "Shen Aiqing, I was a little anxious just now, you don't need to take it to heart. Murong Xue is right, your value is far greater than that of my brother Shu Xuan, act as an assassin yourself , but it seems that I don’t know how to employ people.”
"I'm afraid." Shen Lie responded: "I didn't think carefully. Please don't blame yourself, Your Highness."
Li Bing waved his hand to indicate not to mention the matter again, and then asked: "How is Li Kuang's situation?"
Shen Lie looked at Murong Xue. Murong Xue understood that the other party wanted him to speak first, and then said loudly: "The troops of the Yinshan Governor's Mansion have withdrawn the entire defense line for fifty miles and have now regained their position. The anti-king Li Kuang has also There seems to be no further intention, and the soldiers and horses under my command are relatively quiet. I have ordered Deputy Governor Song Lang to increase their vigilance."
Li Bing looked at Shen Lie: "Last time you said that Li Kuang secretly sent two groups of envoys. What happened next?"
Shen Lie responded: "Reporting to your highness, because the Lianghuai River is too close to Jingxiang, it was already too late for us to act after receiving the news, so we only intercepted the emissary going to Yizhou. The spy responsible for this matter later Report, the emissary had poison in his mouth, and committed suicide before we captured him alive."
Li Bing nodded silently, thought for a moment and then said: "That's fine, as long as they don't have access to people in the court. What's Li Chenglin's reaction?"
"According to insiders, the Prince of Anping County was not very polite to the Huaiyang envoy. He only allowed the deputy general to meet him briefly, but he did not show up." Shen Lie replied: "However, this is only the superficial situation. In his heart What exactly he thinks remains to be seen."
Murong Xue said: "I estimate that the situation is not very optimistic. Some time ago, on the order of His Highness, I wrote to the Prince of Anping County again, urging him to lead his troops north as soon as possible, but Li Chenglin still repeated the same old tune and passed the responsibility to Yizhou. . Oh, what a cunning old man."
Li Bing muttered: "Do you think Prince Anping is waiting and watching? Or has Huaiyang's thoughts been moved?"
Shen Lie and Murong Xue looked at each other, and then said solemnly: "At present, most people should wait and see. Although Li Chenglin is the same generation as the late emperor, he belongs to a distant branch of the Li family, so he is not a prince, but a county king. He has been stationed in the south for a long time. Although he has some military exploits, he has never been qualified to enter the center of the court. It is probably because he is not sure about the direction of the situation and is afraid of being in the wrong team, so he dares not make any moves. "
"Does he think he has a lot of troops..." Li Bing hesitated for a moment, then continued: "Has he also thought about the throne?"
"Probably not." Murong Xue analyzed: "When I was studying in the Yanwu Hall, Commander He once commented on the generals of Shengtang to us. He specifically said that Li Chenglin was cautious and calm in combat. He was a rare talent for guarding. . People like this are less likely to have treasonous thoughts."
Shen Lie agreed: "That's right. The Nilin Division has long monitored the members of the royal family who are qualified to challenge the throne of the emperor, and Li Chenglin has always been listed in the lowest risk category, mainly because of his character. To put it bluntly , this person has no ambition, even if he has thousands of troops, he will not do anything extraordinary."
Li Bing did not comment, but warned: "Nothing is absolute. It's hard to say whether it will happen now, and it's even harder to say whether it will happen in the future. Whether it is his own ambition or Li Kuang's ambition, it is always right to keep a close eye on it."
Shen Lie quickly raised his hands and said, "I obey."
Li Bing thought for a while and then continued: "Currently, I don't have many chips in hand, or in other words, Turk and Li Kuang don't have enough chips, so neither party wants to place a heavy bet easily on the gambling table. We hope that others will fight to the death and then take advantage of the situation. What we need to do most is to make Li Chenglin our bargaining chip, not a new gambler."
