Murong Xue left the imperial city without even returning home, and went straight to find Shen Lie. However, what he didn't expect was that Shen Lie's residence was already empty.
Shen Lie could not be found, and Murong Xue suddenly lost her mind. She quickly turned around and ran to Ni Linsi's office in Dongdu. She happened to meet Lao Dong and Zhou Xing sitting in the room drinking.
As soon as he saw Murong Xue, Zhou Xing quickly stood up in surprise: "General Murong, when did you come back?"
"I just arrived in Luoyi today," Murong Xue said anxiously, "Where is your Lord Chang Shi?"
Zhou Xing was stunned when he heard this, and then said deliberately: "I wonder if you are asking about Shen Changshi or Tian Changshi?"
Murong Xue kicked Zhou Xing directly and said angrily: "What the hell! Why are you grinding your teeth! Damn Tian Changshi! Of course I am asking about Shen Lie! Where are the others?"
"General, don't be anxious." Dong Tianxing pulled Murong Xue to sit down: "Calm down and speak slowly."
Zhou Xing looked sad and said depressedly: "General Murong, our Lord Chang Shi has left and went to Jiangnan alone."
Murong Xue raised her eyebrows: "How did you do it? Why didn't you keep him?!"
Dong Tianxing came to Zhou Xing's rescue and said: "Well, Shen Changshi is a hero, and of course he won't behave like a mother-in-law. Yesterday morning, he left a letter and left alone. No one knows."
At this point, Murong Xue knew that it was useless to be anxious, so she picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it down in one gulp, and then asked in a deep voice: "Have you discussed any ideas on how to support Shen Lie next?"
Dong Tianxing glanced at Zhou Xing, who had a sad face, and then explained: "As soon as Tian Mu took office yesterday, he issued an order to let the Nilin Division concentrate all its forces to keep an eye on the Yizhou court and the Jingxiang army, and monitor them closely. All officials and generals. At the same time, on the grounds of 'preventing leakage of information and protecting Shen Lie's safety', he did not allow anyone to interfere with Jiangnan's actions, otherwise military law would be imposed."
Zhou Xing suddenly cursed: "Damn it, I'm not going to do this anymore! Go find Chang Shi!"
Murong Xue glared at him: "Okay, don't cause trouble. Do your duty honestly, so as not to let Tian Mu find excuses and cause more trouble to Shen Lie. Mr. Dong, you are very resourceful. Come up with something." There is a way, we can't just watch, Old Shen goes into the dragon's pond and the tiger's den alone."
Dong Tianxing stroked his beard, nodded and said, "Before you came, I was about to discuss this matter with Xiao Zhou."
He picked up a peanut and threw it in his mouth. He chewed it and said, "In my opinion, the current situation is not particularly bad. Mr. Shen should not act rashly until he has a clear understanding of the situation. The only issue to consider is , that is, he is alone, and his two fists are difficult to defeat with four hands. If he encounters a situation, he is afraid that he will not be able to defeat the opponent's large number of people. "
"That's right," Murong Xue nodded slightly: "He went to Jiangnan alone. Although his target was small and difficult to expose, he didn't even have any helpers around him when he was doing things, and he lacked reinforcements when he encountered danger. I don't have any there. The young soldiers and generals are all rough guys who only know how to fight, and are completely unfamiliar with Nilin Division. I am afraid that not only will they not be able to help, but they will also easily cause trouble."
Zhou Xing said: "The same situation applies to Mr. Chang Shi's friends in the world. They can help with small things, but it's hard to expect big things. Moreover, some of them may have been bribed by Lao Jianhua in advance."
Dong Tianxing looked at the two of them, waited for a while, and then suddenly smiled and said: "You two are really confused. In this world, except for the Beiya Nilin Division, are there no other top secret agents?"
Murong Xue was stunned when she heard this: "Other top secret agents? Who are you talking about?"
But Zhou Xing suddenly understood and said loudly: "Old man, you mean... the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army?!"
Dong Tianxing quickly made a gesture to speak louder, nodded and said: "Yes, I don't think the Intelligence Department under Dadu Protector is necessarily worse than your Nilin Department, right?"
"Not bad, not bad," Zhou Xing said: "Brothers from the Intelligence Department are very tough!"
Murong Xue was slightly puzzled and said: "Although Jiang Yao has masters of espionage under his command, from Western Xinjiang to Dongdu, there are thousands of rivers and mountains, and it is even farther to the south of the Yangtze River. When we tell him, he will send people to reinforce Shen Lie, at least A few months…”
Dong Tianxing smiled mischievously and said: "General Murong, you don't know your good brother too well. I don't believe it. The Protector-General really doesn't even have any plans for his homeland in the Central Plains?"
As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Zhou Xing, with a narrow look on his face.
Zhou Xing smiled meaningfully and nodded slightly: "To be honest with you two adults, after establishing contact with our Nilin Division, the Great Protector did indeed send many brothers from the Intelligence Division to the Central Plains. Although I don't know much about his humble position. How big an intelligence network have they built, but I can be sure that there must be people from them in both Huaihe and Jiangnan. The reason is very simple, because several of the secret strongholds were originally established with the help of humble positions. "
Murong Xue stared at Zhou Xing in disbelief: "Is it so exaggerated?! What does Li Jiangyao want to do?"
Dong Tianxing said calmly: "The Protector-General is a Pegasus scout, so of course he values the role of intelligence. No matter what he wants to do, he will not harm the Holy Tang. Xiao Zhou, do you think this idea is feasible?"
"Absolutely feasible!" Zhou Xing nodded repeatedly: "I will immediately send someone to contact the Intelligence Department. They know that the safety of Mr. Chang Shi is at stake, and they will definitely not stand idly by."
Dong Tianxing said happily: "Then let's take a two-pronged approach! While writing a letter to notify the Grand Protector, we will also contact the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army here and ask them to help secretly."
Zhou Xing readily agreed: "I understand, I'll do my humble job now!"
After saying that, he ran out in a hurry.
Looking at Zhou Xing's retreating figure, Murong Xue was thoughtful. After a while, he suddenly sighed faintly: "I can't understand your Majesty more and more. Why does such a good Beiya Nilinsi destroy the Great Wall?"
Dong Tianxing took a sip of wine, shook his head and said: "The heart of an emperor is as deep as the sea. When you reach that position, there are some things... Oh, there is nothing we can do."
"You are quite tolerant," Murong Xue said, half jokingly and half mockingly.
"General, I have been an official for thirty-five years, oh no, thirty-six years," Dong Tianxing said with a smile: "This time is longer than your age, what else can you not see? Our emperor , ascending the throne in the midst of the world's strife, it doesn't matter what you want. You can only survive by struggling on your own. Everyone, including Shen Changshi, including you, including Lao Chan, must use good tools. On the contrary , when a tool threatens the emperor, he will deal with it without hesitation, even if there is no evidence."
Murong Xue did not comment on Old Dong's words and drank a drink silently.
Seeing that he remained silent, Dong Tianxing continued: "Do you know why Your Majesty re-appoints Wei Zixuan, Gong Chengze and Tian Mu?"
Murong Xue looked at the other party curiously: "Why?"
"Everyone else thinks that His Majesty likes them to flatter and fawn over them. In fact, they are overestimating the Emperor." Dong Tianxing put down his chopsticks and said in a deep voice: "The reason why the Emperor accepts them is first of all because these three guys are not too old. They are stupid, and the more important reason is that they started from humble beginnings and have no foundation."
Murong Xue was stunned for a moment when she heard this, and then she immediately understood what Old Dong meant:
If it starts from a humble beginning, it will be easy to control; if there is no foundation, there will be no rebellion.
In comparison, Murong Xue and Shen Lie both belong to the type of people with extremely high starting points and solid foundations.
As for Dong Tianxing, just like Wei Zixuan and others, he was an unknown fifth-rank official, but he was reused by Li Bing in a short period of time.
Murong Xue suddenly realized that the old man in front of him was indeed extraordinary. He could see things in the court very clearly.
He filled Old Dong's glass with wine sincerely: "Listening to your words is better than ten years of reading. Come on, old man, I'll give you a drink."
Dong Tianxing smiled and touched him: "I don't think I should take it seriously. I'm drunk and acting like a fool. General Murong doesn't need to take what I just said to heart, because your position in His Majesty's heart is different from others."
Murong Xue smiled faintly: "Oh? What's the difference?"
Dong Tianxing said: "The emperor is also a human being after all, and as a human being he will have feelings. General Murong has followed him loyally regardless of life and death for many years. He is the person that your majesty trusts the most and can't live without."
Murong Xue shook her head gently: "I have never thought about this. Back then, I promised the late emperor and Taifu Nian that I would wholeheartedly protect the covenant of the Holy Cult, and I dare not forget it even for a moment. If one day His Majesty also doubts me, then I will Leave free and easy and become a wandering cloud and wild crane."
"The general's integrity is admirable. However, compared to you, I am more worried about the Protector." Dong Tianxing did not conceal his inner thoughts: "The emperor's attitude towards the Suppressing Army is really hard to describe."
Murong Xue said alertly: "Do you see any problem?"
Dong Tianxing smiled bitterly: "Is this still necessary? Isn't it obvious? I have never understood it. Even if the emperor is wary of the generals who command the army, he is not as full of hostility as he is to the generals. ah."
Murong Xue suddenly smiled narrowly: "As for this issue, I can guess the reason behind it."
"Oh? Then tell me quickly."
Murong Xue brought her head closer and whispered: "When you were in Western Xinjiang, you should have met Xiahou Ninghan, right?"
Dong Tianxing was startled: "You are asking questions knowingly. Of course I have seen them before. We have even had dinner together, the Holy King's Princess and the Grand Protector's Wife. How... Oh my god, is it possible?!"
Murong Xue nodded: "She is also the person His Majesty likes."
"Oh, I understand now," Dong Tianxing suddenly realized: "No wonder he vomited blood and fainted when he read the letter when he met the emperor for the first time. It turned out to be because Miss Xiahou married the Great Protector. Oh, isn't it even more serious now? Are you in trouble?"
Murong Xue looked a little helpless: "Who says it's not the case? The biggest grudges in this world are the hatred of killing his father and the hatred of taking away his wife. I'm afraid it will be difficult to untie the emperor's knot with Jiang Yao."
