The day when the rebel king Li Kuang was escorted back to Beijing happened to be Li Bing's birthday. The civil and military officials throughout the court were delighted and entered the palace to present congratulations to the emperor.
One is to wish the emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty longevity and longevity; the other is to celebrate the successful return of the imperial capital and live up to the expectations of the people all over the world; the last is to express gratitude to God for blessing that a rebel force was wiped out so quickly and the country regained prosperity and tranquility. The scene is just around the corner.
However, while Li Bing was happy, he also heard another voice.
Wei Zixuan, who had just been promoted to Shangshu Zuopushe, and Tian Mu met Li Bing together. After the ceremony of kowtows and birthday wishes was completed, the two stood up and stood in silence with hands down, the expressions on their faces were quite meaningful.
Li Bing noticed something was wrong and asked calmly: "My dear friends, do you have anything to report?"
Hearing this, Tian Mu was about to speak when Wei Zixuan next to him stopped him: "Master Tian, today is the birthday of the Emperor. You must not disturb His Majesty's interest. Let's discuss things tomorrow."
Li Bing smiled, raised his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. I have gone through many ups and downs, what storms and waves have I not seen? How can I delay the government just because of a birthday? Tian Aiqing, you can say it boldly, it doesn't matter."
Tian Mu first glanced at Wei Zixuan with a slightly embarrassed look, then handed over his hand to accuse Li Bing, and then said: "Your Majesty, I have two things to report. One is about rebelling against King Li Kuang; the other is about It’s related to Li Jiangyao.”
Li Bing frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Tell me carefully, what exactly happened?"
Tian Mu responded: "Li Kuang has arrived in Beijing and is being held in the sky prison. He will only wait for the three judicial departments to jointly review and formally finalize the case before he can be sentenced to death to make it known to the world and serve as a warning to others. However... he is being imprisoned. In front of the cell, he said some treacherous words to the officials responsible for escorting him and the Qinglong Army, which have now spread and have a very bad impact."
"Treasonous words?" Li Bing was a little curious: "What did you say?"
"My lord, I dare not repeat it." Tian Mu lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Li Bing.
The head of Beiya's Nilin Division has always been a personal soldier of the emperor. Normally, Tian Mu should have no taboos in front of Li Bing. Unexpectedly, he didn't even have the guts to repeat Li Kuang's words, which shows how serious the problem is.
Li Bing glanced at Wei Zixuan next to him and asked, "Do you know the content of those words?"
Wei Zixuan nodded and said in a deep voice: "I've heard a lot about it."
"In that case, Tian Mu, just say it boldly," Li Bing ordered: "Everyone knows it, but I am the only one who is kept in the dark. Is it true?"
Tian Mu quickly handed over his hand: "I have neglected my duty, please forgive me. What I said against the king are all lies and are just meant to deceive people's hearts. They should not be taken as true."
"Nonsense! What on earth did he say?!"
Seeing that Li Bing was getting angry, Tian Mu quickly responded: "Li Kuang said...he said that your majesty is not the son of the late emperor, but the son of the late queen and the king of Jin..."
With a bang, a jade cup was hit hard on the ground and shattered into pieces.
Li Bing raised his eyebrows and asked fiercely: "What did you say?!"
When Wei Zixuan and Tian Mu saw this, they were so frightened that they fell to their knees. Tian Mu said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, calm down your anger, calm down your anger, I will go and cut out Li Kuang's tongue immediately!"
Wei Zixuan also said: "The rebel king is crazy and what he said is all crazy. Your Majesty must not be so angry about this."
Li Bing's face was ashen and he asked Tian Mu: "What else did Li Kuang say? How could such a sentence cause others to talk and spread quickly?"
Tian Mu replied: "Li Kuang shouted loudly, saying that there was real evidence in this matter, which was enough to prove His Majesty's life experience. Even the Turks and Lao Jianhua knew about this shocking secret, and only the imperial court has been deliberately concealing it."
"Do you still have fucking evidence?!" Li Bing was so angry that he was shaking all over: "You are slandering me, slandering the late emperor and empress, but there is still evidence? Where is the evidence? Where is it?!"
Wei Zixuan glanced at Tian Mu, who was also trembling, with a look of pity in his eyes, and answered for him: "According to Li Kuang, the evidence is hidden in the secret files of Beiya Nilin Division."
Upon hearing this, Tian Mu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I have carefully checked the archives of Nilin Division several times, and there is nothing treasonous at all. Li Kuang is probably just making it up." or……"
Seeing that he suddenly stopped talking, Li Bing immediately asked: "Or something, don't hesitate!"
"Perhaps, this matter involves the former Chang Shi." Tian Mu glanced at Li Bing secretly: "I have not taken over Nilin Division for a long time, and many things have not been truly grasped."
Li Bing frowned: "You mean... Shen Lie? The secret file is in Shen Lie's hands?"
"That's probably it." Wei Zixuan interjected: "Your Majesty, Shen Lie is an old man from the Nilin Division. After three dynasties, his qualifications are almost the same as Lao Jianhua. When the King of Jin rebelled, he also participated as an undercover agent of the Nilin Division. Through relevant investigations, there may be a chance to obtain some key information, or even... fabricate some information out of thin air."
Tian Mu continued: "Anyway, Shen Lie must know something about the secret file. Is there such a secret file? What is the content in it? I'm afraid we can only ask him."
Li Bing calmed down and thought for a while, then asked in a deep voice: "Where is Shen Lie now?"
Tian Mu replied: "According to Zhou Xing from the Nilin Division, Shen Lie is currently lurking in Hangzhou, as if he is waiting for an opportunity to find out information about Lao Jianhua. Specifically, Shen Lie has never contacted us, and I don't know much about it. clear."
"According to what you said, Shen Lie went to deal with Lao Jianhua alone?" Li Bing was a little surprised: "Longtan Tiger's Den, can he do it alone?"
Tian Mu said quickly: "Your Majesty is unaware that Shen Lie is not alone. There are many people assisting him."
Li Bing was slightly startled: "Who is it? Isn't it your Nilin Division?"
"Shen Lie has never had any contact with the Nilin Division since he left." Tian Mu said sadly: "Those who assisted him are the Intelligence Division of the Phoenix Legion."
"Li Jiangyao?!"
Li Bing was slightly surprised: Did the Protector extend his hand too long? Back in Luoyi, it was he who was entrusted by Shen Lie to lead his people to rescue me. This shows that the two of them have a close relationship. Now, Shen Lie is obviously completely together with Li Jiangyao, and may even have joined the Zhenjiang Army Intelligence Department.
Thinking of this, Li Bing asked: "Can you call Shen Lie back? I want to inquire about the so-called secret files."
Tian Mu first turned to look at Wei Zixuan, and then replied: "Um, I can't contact Shen Lie, but I can inform the Phoenix Legion and let them notify you on my behalf."
Li Bing nodded: "Then you go ahead and do it, the sooner the better. Don't interrogate Li Kuang for the time being until the secret file is clarified, lest he talk nonsense again and the courtiers can't even make a clear decision between right and wrong."
After a slight pause, Li Bing said again: "You just said that the second thing was about Li Jiangyao, is this what you meant?"
"No. Your Majesty, Li Jiangyao has another reason." Tian Mu responded quickly: "This matter is related to military affairs. The day before yesterday, the Governor's Office consulted with the Ministry of War to discuss whether to hold Li Jiangyao responsible for changing military orders without authorization and disrupting the counter-insurgency deployment. . Unexpectedly, before this matter was finalized, the news was secretly passed to Li Jiangyao by people from the Ministry of War. The secret agents of the Nilin Division learned that the Phoenix Legion is currently very excited and there is a risk of mutiny. "
Li Bing was confused when he heard this: "Hold Li Jiangyao accountable? Didn't he just cooperate with Murong Xue to defeat the Huaiyang Army? Why... Besides, who in the Ministry of War leaked the news in advance, causing the Zhenjiang Army to cause trouble? ?”
Wei Zixuan explained: "Your Majesty, it is true that we successfully put down the rebellion, but Li Jiangyao sometimes acted without authorization. Have you forgotten? The previous counter-insurgency strategy set by the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office was for the Phoenix Army and the Suzaku Army to join forces to deal with Bao In Yuchun, the Qinglong Army and the Xuanwu Army worked together to sweep away Li Kuang. There were two battlefields, one in the east and one in the west, each with its own tasks and missions. However, Li Jiangyao ignored the court's instructions at all and sent his troops eastward without authorization to join the eastern battlefield, completely It disrupted the advance plans of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office. To put it in a small way, this is a lack of court discipline; in a big way, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is an intention to rebel."
Tian Mu added: "What Mr. Wei said is true. Your Majesty, please think that we have won the victory now and everything is fine. But what if the Phoenix Army fails to suppress the rebellion because it disobeys the command and acts arbitrarily? This responsibility Who will carry it? Moreover, once the door is opened for arbitrarily deploying troops, won’t the generals of each legion in the future be able to do whatever they want? How is that different from Xie Guang and Xuan Jiajun back then? "
Hearing this, Li Bing couldn't help but frown. He pondered for a moment and asked: "What are the final opinions of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office? How to deal with this matter? Who informed Li Jiangyao? If the Zhenjiang Army really wants to cause trouble, what are your countermeasures?"
Facing the emperor's series of questions, Wei Zixuan replied: "Reporting to your majesty, the opinions of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office have not yet been determined, and the emperor's Holy Judgment must be consulted. As for the person who revealed the information to Li Jiangyao, according to Master Tian and others' investigation, It should be Dong Tianxing, the Minister of War."
Li Bing sneered: "I guess it's him!"
Tian Mu was quite dissatisfied when he saw that the emperor only said this, but did not say whether or how to deal with Dong Tianxing. He said in a deep voice: "Currently, the Phoenix Legion is showing signs of instability. What should we do next?" Yes, please let your Majesty make it clear."
Li Bing snorted coldly: "What should we do? What else can we do? Does your Beiya Nilin Division have the ability to suppress the Xinjiang Army? Or should we let Ma Hongjie and Chang Tao deal with Li Jiangyao?"
He did not mention Murong Xue in his words, and he obviously knew in his heart that it would be even more unreliable to ask General Qinglong to beat his good brother.
Tian Mu looked embarrassed when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Wei Zixuan next to him. Wei Zixuan smiled softly, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is right. At present, the army has not yet completely returned to the imperial court. Although it is under our control on the surface, it is still under our control in reality. They are all doing their own thing and are arrogant and domineering. Therefore, the court must be careful in its layout."
