Li Jiangyao's words had a great impact on Li Bing.
This influence is mainly reflected in two aspects: Is Yin Chengyi qualified to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expedition and Counterrebellion? Did Wei Zixuan have any ulterior motives regarding the Japanese bandits?
As an emperor, Li Bing has been in a state of doubt for a long time. Not only are they suspicious of military generals like Li Jiangyao and Ma Hongjie, but they are also suspicious of important officials in the court.
For him, no one was worthy of complete trust except himself, not even Murong Xue. And the starting point of his suspicions often changes due to different positions and perspectives.
Because of Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi, he can doubt Li Jiangyao; similarly, because of Li Jiangyao, he can also doubt Wei Zixuan and Yin Chengyi.
At the end of the dinner, Li Bing asked Li Jiangyao to return to the front line as soon as possible and lead the army to prepare for war. He was here in the imperial capital and would give him his full support. No matter what the Phoenix Legion needed, whether it was money and food for the soldiers, or equipment for warships, just ask.
Naturally, Li Jiangyao would not take the emperor's cheap words to heart. After politely expressing his gratitude, he stood up and resigned and left the palace.
When he returned to the Hu Mansion, he had some tea with Mr. Hu and talked about the current situation in the court. Although Hu Yufei has retired, he knows everyone well and speaks clearly about the political situation, which Li Jiangyao can't help but feel has benefited a lot.
As a long-standing dynasty that has existed for more than 800 years, the Shengtang has a mature and complex political system. The relationships among various royal families, nobles, and powerful families are intricate and intricate, far more profound than those of the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang. many.
For example, the Cheng family of Zhenguo Palace.
Cheng Kaiyang, the commander-in-chief of the Long Sword Legion who was assassinated by Lian Ji, was the biological brother of the late empress Cheng Huilin and Li Bing's biological uncle. Calculated this way, the emperor and Cheng Wen are cousins. If this were placed in the modern world, it would definitely not be possible to get married.
However, in the Shengtang era, this kind of move full of political marriage was only natural.
Although there are some signs of Cheng Men's family being in decline, there is currently no one in the family who can take charge of the family affairs. Even the issue of the duke's inheritance has been delayed by the emperor. However, Zhenguo Gongfu has been at the core of the Shengtang political group for a long time, and there are countless in-laws and disciples in the family. If they want to turn over, they can often easily achieve it by seizing an opportunity, allowing them to return to the ranks of important ministers in the court and play their role. plays an important role.
It is precisely because of this that many ministers followed Wei Zixuan and jointly recommended Cheng Wen to participate in the selection of the queen, in order to continue to consolidate the momentum of the traditional power group.
Hu Yufei analyzed that even if the competitors are very strong, the possibility of Cheng Wen being selected by the emperor is still extremely high. Because the Cheng family is not only the Cheng family, but also the representative of the traditional nobility of the Holy Tang Dynasty. If Li Bing wants to consolidate his throne, he should not hesitate to choose Cheng Wen, just like he chose Liu Yanru in order to win over Liu Shiming. This in turn influenced the entire Yizhou court to be loyal to him.
As for the hatred for assassinating Cheng Kaiyang, Mr. Hu is not optimistic either.
He believes that the reason why the Cheng family took the initiative to show goodwill by holding a banquet and temporarily shelved the revenge of killing their father was entirely due to two considerations: first, they did not want Li Jiangyao to directly block Cheng Wen's path to the throne of the queen; second, they had With his strength, he can't afford to offend the dignified Protector of the Xinjiang Army at the moment.
Since he can't get revenge now, why bother using his own future to anger Li Jiangyao?
On the other hand, when Cheng Wen becomes the queen, Zhenguo Dukefu becomes the descendant, Cheng Dong and other brothers gradually take over the power of the court, and the traditional aristocratic forces draw closer again, there is no guarantee that the Cheng family will not show their minions and ask Li Jiangyao for someone. .
By then, there will inevitably be another thrilling struggle.
Li Jiangyao has no doubts about Hu Yufei's judgment. The old man has been through three dynasties, so he has nothing to say about his experience and vision. Moreover, Li Jiangyao himself has dealt with the Cheng family brothers and sisters, and even Cheng Dong and Cheng Wen are not easy people, and there will definitely be trouble in the future.
However, although he is decisive in killing on the battlefield, he is not a cruel and unscrupulous person after all. Even though he knew that sooner or later the Duke of Zhen's government would find him again because of Lian Ji's matter, Li Jiangyao was not willing to take a cruel blow at this time and eradicate the opponent for no reason.
People still have to have a bottom line as a human being.
What's more, if his father is the victim, what reason is there to not allow him to pursue the case?
The only plan for now is to take one step at a time and try to find a suitable opportunity to resolve this grudge in the future.
Because Li Jiangyao was leaving for Luzhou the next day, the old man and the young man reluctantly said goodbye and chatted until very late, until the drums sounded outside at midnight.
Li Jiangyao said good night to Mr. Hu and was about to go back to his room to sleep. Unexpectedly, his white-robed army suddenly came to report that the person in charge of the Imperial City Branch of the Intelligence Department wanted to see him.
Senior intelligence officer Wei Ye came. Something big must have happened. Li Jiangyao quickly ordered someone to come in. With little effort, the Intelligence Captain quickly walked into the hall and knelt down on one knee when he saw him: "Defender, something happened to Miss Lianji!"
Li Jiangyao was slightly startled: "Lian Ji? What happened to her?"
"I just received a message from Fei Ge," the captain reported: "Ten days ago, Miss Lian Ji suddenly left Zijin Pass without saying goodbye. Madam originally thought she was here to see the Protector, so she ordered the white-robed army to The brothers of the fourth battalion quickly pursued and escorted them. Unexpectedly, when the white-robed army arrived near Lanzhou, they received a local report saying that Miss Lianji had been attacked and kidnapped. After receiving the news, my wife had already left for Come from the Imperial Capital, and at the same time ask the Intelligence Department to search for the whereabouts of Miss Lian Ji."
"Ten days ago?" Li Jiangyao frowned slightly and murmured: "Who would attack her? A bandit? Or someone from Lao Jianhua?"
The captain responded: "We are still investigating. However, according to analysis, they should not be bandits in the Jianghu, because there was an extremely fierce fight in Lanzhou, and the other party lost a lot of people trying to capture Lian Ji alive. In this situation, usually It only happens to soldiers or spies with special missions.”
"Has the Lanzhou spy confirmed that Lian Ji's life is not in danger?" Li Jiangyao asked with concern.
"According to eyewitnesses, the person was kidnapped alive." The captain replied: "The other party obviously came prepared. As soon as he succeeded, he disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye."
Li Jiangyao thought about it carefully, and the image of Rui Ji suddenly appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but have a thought: "The only person who can make Lian Ji leave Xijiang in a hurry is her only biological sister. Either Rui Ji did this, Either it has something to do with her. Notify the Jiangnan branch and find out what Rui Ji, Lao Jianhua and Li Zhang have done recently."
"As you command!"
"In addition, you send more manpower to keep an eye on Zuopushe Mansion, Beiya and Zhenguogong Mansion. If Lao Jianhua is really behind it, he shouldn't have to transport people all the way back to Jiangnan, but will Stay in the imperial capital and play a role.”
"I understand."
"Also, I won't leave tomorrow. Anyway, Ning Han is on his way, so I will simply stay in the imperial capital for a few more days and wait for new news."
"Yes, please rest assured, Protector-General. As soon as there is any news, I will report to you immediately."
Li Jiangyao thought for a while and said: "You should try not to show up easily, for safety is the first priority. Let Shi Feng come, and he will convey the news."
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The next day, the 10,000 white-robed troops who were already ready to go received the order to continue to stay. The entire army settled down again, and at the same time, fifty groups of elites were divided and rushed to various places in Guanzhong to secretly search for traces of Lian Ji.
Li Jiangyao counted the days, Xiahou Ninghan would not be able to arrive here until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. He could do a lot of things while waiting for his beloved wife for three days.
The first one is to analyze and determine the reason why Lian Ji was kidnapped as soon as possible, that is, the real purpose of the mastermind behind the scenes.
He believed that this was definitely not done by enemies in the Jianghu or by people sent by the Zhenguo government. The reason is simple, they don't have this strength.
There are probably not many people in this world who dare to risk the wrath of the generals of the Zhenjiang Army and capture Lian Ji, a highly skilled martial artist with ruthless attacks. Lao Jianhua, Beiya Nilinsi, or a certain military force cannot escape these three possibilities.
Among them, the one with the greatest suspicion and the strongest motive is Lao Jianhua.
Moreover, he also has an innate advantage, that is, Lian Ji's sister, Rui Ji. As he analyzed last night, the only one who can mobilize Lian Ji is Rui Ji.
So, what is Lao Jianhua’s purpose in doing this?
Li Jiangyao was thinking quietly while playing with the Go pieces in his hands.
No matter what Lao Jianhua does to Lian Ji, or uses Lian Ji to do anything, he has only one target, and that is him, the Commander-in-Chief of the Zhenjiang Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The best effect in dealing with Li Jiangyao is not to overthrow him, but to force him, or his elite soldiers, to rise up against the emperor and the court.
The outbreak of fierce internal strife in the north is what Lao Jianhua wants to see most and is what is most beneficial to the rebels.
Therefore, Lianji is a medicinal introduction that is used to activate the powerful medicinal properties and can poison the entire northern court.
And since it is an introduction, neither Lao Jianhua nor Wei Zixuan will harm Lian Ji easily, let alone use her as medicine to take effect early. Lao Jianhua and Wei Zixu need to wait for the best opportunity to hand over Lian Ji to someone who can force Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army into the hands of those who have no choice but to rebel.
This person may be Li Bing, or he may be the future queen Cheng Wen.
Think about it carefully, considering the emperor's character, would he fall out with Li Jiangyao for his uncle Cheng Kaiyang?
The answer is obviously no.
It is possible that Li Bing fell out with Li Jiangyao because of Xiahou Ninghan, but for Duke Zhen? joke.
Therefore, Lian Ji’s last destination must be the Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion. And the best time for him to be sent was the day Cheng Wen was selected by the emperor to become the queen!
