Li Jiangyao rested for half a day and decided not to go to the imperial capital, but immediately led his team back to the Dajiang front line.
Lian Ji was killed and Ge Shuxuan was executed. This loss and gain once again brought out the three parties within the imperial court, making the whole situation become undercurrent.
The so-called three parties are the emperor Li Bing, Shangshu Zuopushe Wei Zixuan and the government of Zhenguo, which is about to rise.
Li Bing was the representative of the imperial power of the Holy Tang Dynasty. He both needs the army and is wary of the army. Although his starting point is basically the same as Li Jiangyao's, hoping that peace will be restored in the world, his suspicion of Li Jiangyao has never changed.
As long as there is a chance, Li Bing will still try his best to restrict him and the Zhenjiang Army.
In this regard, it doesn't matter what is right or wrong. No one who is an emperor can completely trust a general who has hundreds of thousands of troops.
Therefore, Li Jiangyao did not blame Li Bing for being too ill. He just hoped that the emperor would stop going crazy and causing trouble and affecting the counter-insurgency operations.
As for Wei Zixuan, he is now in a semi-clear state. As Lao Jianhua's spy who broke into the imperial court, his situation became increasingly tense, so his actions became more and more blatant.
This guy can only race against time to see whether Li Jiangyao and the others will bring out irrefutable evidence to bring him down first, or whether he will get rid of his biggest threat, Li Jiangyao first.
The only trouble is that there are many civil and military ministers in the court who do not know the truth. Either because they are in favor of others or because of the authority of the left prime minister, they have gathered around Wei Zixuan and become a force that helps the evildoer.
As for the Cheng family brothers and sisters in Zhenguo Palace, they represented the traditional aristocratic power of the Shengtang Dynasty. Xie Guang's rebellion, Turkic invasion, and later Lao Jianhua and King Huaiyang's respective armies led to the world falling into chaos. The original old aristocracy was severely affected by this, and all the forces of each family experienced varying degrees of decline.
At the same time, military generals such as Li Jiangyao, Murong Xue, and Ma Hongjie gradually developed and strengthened their power through war due to the needs of the situation, and gradually became the upstart group of the dynasty.
Various conflicts and conflicts inevitably arise between these two camps, the old and the new.
To put it bluntly, it is still a struggle for power after all.
Even if Li Jiangyao does not care about the power of the court, and Ma Hongjie and Murong Xue try their best to be upright and upright, their interests will inevitably follow their strength. With heavy troops in hand, it is impossible for them not to become a thorn in the side of the traditional nobles.
The three forces in the DPRK and China have different positions and different purposes, but they all stand on the opposite side of the military, making the political situation in Shengtang become turbulent.
Lian Ji ultimately failed to escape the arrows of the black-clad killers, which was a footnote to this fierce struggle - the killers all had military backgrounds, and their true origins would certainly not escape the scope of the three parties.
It is precisely because of this that Li Jiangyao made the decision to temporarily leave the imperial capital, a place of right and wrong, and jump outside the game to examine the chessboard.
You can do whatever you like about the emperor's suspicion, the wasp's rule, and the election of a queen. I won't bear with you.
You can't understand my pursuit at all, and I don't bother to explain it. Instead of continuing to make excuses with you, I would rather trouble Lao Jianhua and Bao Yuchun and give them a headache.
Li Jiangyao, escorted by Xiahou Ninghan and 10,000 white-robed soldiers, arrived at the Luzhou camp safely. When Xu Youchang and others heard that the Imperial Guard was back, they all rushed out of the city more than ten miles away and met Li Jiangyao's team halfway.
"Jiang Yao, you scared me to death!" Xu Youchang complained distressedly: "The Intelligence Department sent back a message saying that you and your brother Shu Xuan fought in Xifeng Mountain and were seriously injured. All of us were anxious on the spot and immediately thought Rush to the imperial capital!"
Li Jiangyao smiled lightly: "Why are you so anxious? Are you afraid that I can't kill that monster?"
Xu Youchang said angrily: "What does it matter whether my brother Shuxuan dies or not? We are afraid that if you do something bad, what will the Suppressing Army do? You guys, can you make people worry less in the future?"
Li Jiangyao shrugged, and then sighed softly: "I'm fine, I just couldn't save Lian Ji."
"I heard everything from the Intelligence Department," Xu Youchang sighed with him: "This is also the fate of that girl. God has arranged it like this, and no one can do anything about it. In short, you have tried your best."
Li Jiangyao looked at Xu Youchang and said with emotion: "The moment Lian Ji was shot by the killer, I did have a sense of powerlessness in my heart. I tried my best to kill my brother Shu Xuan, but I still couldn't change it. What. That painful and uncomfortable feeling, I really want to kill and vent it out!"
Xu Youchang knew that his good brother was depressed, but he didn't know how to comfort him. He could only ask: "Have the identities of those killers been found out?"
"People from the Intelligence Department have gone after her, but there is no result yet." Xiahou Ninghan, who was next to him, said in a deep voice: "The real target of those people was actually Jiang Yao, and Sister Lianji was just accidentally injured."
When Xu Youchang heard this, his sword eyebrows suddenly stood up: "Damn it! Don't let me know who it is, otherwise I will kill his entire family!"
Li Jiangyao smiled lightly: "There are many people who want to kill me, and I don't care if there are one or two more."
Xiahou Ninghan frowned lightly: "Jiang Yao, you can't say that. The battlefield has its own laws, and the court has its own rules. Playing with swords and guns is one thing, but sending killers to plot and kill people is another. That’s it. Now that the enemy has broken through the bottom line and directly launched a sneak attack on you, we must not give up!"
"I agree with Ning Han." Xu Youchang continued: "Whether it hurts you or kills Lian Ji, it is a challenge to the entire Zhenjiang Army. If we let it go so easily, the other party will only become more arrogant in the future. .”
Li Jiangyao knew what he said made sense and asked with a smile: "What are you going to do?"
Xu Youchang glanced at Xiahou Ninghan next to him, and said in a deep voice: "A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. All opponents must know that those who dare to send people to assassinate the General Protector of the Suppressing Army must pay a heavy price!"
He paused briefly and then added specifically: "Even if he is a member of the royal family."
Xiahou Ninghan nodded: "I will investigate this matter personally and I will definitely find out the killer that night!"
The two of them looked at Li Jiangyao at the same time. Li Jiangyao nodded slightly: "Okay, let Yuduoluo and the others cooperate with you. First, find out the origin of the black-clothed killer. The war with the southern rebels is about to begin. Eliminate the threats behind you as soon as possible. , it is indeed very necessary.”
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Li Jiangyao returned to Luzhou and embarked on a new round of military preparations. Elites and troops once again gathered on the north bank of the river, putting great pressure on the rebels on the south bank.
At the same time, a major event in the Imperial City has been settled - the candidate for Queen Shengtang has finally been announced.
As expected, Cheng Wen, the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, was favored by the emperor Li Bing and was officially designated as the master of the harem.
After receiving the news, the royal nobles and civil and military ministers came to congratulate each other one after another, reminiscing about old times, and building friendships. They all hoped to establish an alliance with the Zhenguo government in order to consolidate their position of power in the court.
Suddenly, the status of the Cheng family suddenly rose again. The originally deserted Guogong Mansion in Buzhengfang gradually became busy and lively.
Within a few days, another emperor's decree came from Zhongshu Province, officially confirming that Cheng Dong would inherit Cheng Kaiyang's title and be promoted to the new generation of Zhenguo Duke. At the same time, the second brother Cheng Xi was granted the title of Fourth-Rank Qianniu Zhonglang General by the Jin Dynasty, and was transferred to the Forbidden Army to take charge of the Jinwu Guard.
Next, we are waiting for the emperor's wedding.
While the imperial court was busy preparing for the wedding ceremony of Li Bing and Cheng Wen, the Imperial City Branch of the Zhenjiang Army Intelligence Department was also dispatched urgently to pursue the clues of the black-clad killer in Xifeng Mountain.
This matter is related to the serious issue of the assassination of Dadu Protector, which is absolutely intolerable to the soldiers in Zhenjiang. Therefore, not only the Imperial City branch attaches great importance to it, but Yudala also specially dispatched a large number of investigative experts to the Imperial Capital to assist in the investigation.
The spies started with the five killer corpses left on Xifeng Mountain. They identified their appearance and characteristics, even old injuries, scars and mole birthmarks. They recorded and compared them in detail bit by bit, and then searched and verified them. Clues to the killer's identity.
At the same time, more than thirty tracking experts from the Ghost Desert of Xijiang, with their spirit dogs and falcons, were scattered within a ten-mile radius of Xifeng Mountain, checking the previous whereabouts of the killers inch by inch, and following the instructions of the masters in solving the case. analysis, repeatedly simulating and demonstrating the mental state and action trajectories of the killers that night.
After unremitting efforts, the Intelligence Department soon made gains in two directions at the same time.
The men and horses who identified the clues of the corpses finally confirmed the identity of one of the corpses. It was Luo Yongtao, a junior high school student in the White Tiger Regiment's cavalry camp.
The spies searching for the killer's traces locked the opponent's retreat route, and the final target was the camp of the third flag of the White Tiger Army.
After receiving these two reports, the intelligence captain of the Imperial City Branch made a prompt decision and ordered the operators to go out overnight and directly kidnapped several leading officers of the Third Banner Cavalry Battalion of the White Tiger Army.
After some torture, a battalion officer surnamed Jiang revealed the truth with tears and shouts: someone had indeed mobilized a cavalry squad to go to the imperial capital for business, but when those officers and soldiers returned, only five of them, Luo Yongtao, were missing.
The person who ordered the deployment of troops was none other than Cheng Xi, the second son of the Duke of Zhenguo, who was the former captain of the flag and had just been conferred the title of Qian Niu Zhonglang General of the Forbidden Army!
The Intelligence Department confirmed the situation and immediately reported to Luzhou in an urgent manner and asked Yudala for instructions on the next step.
To put it bluntly, the Imperial City branch wants to carry out revenge, please approve it!
The matter involved a noble family in the dynasty, and the eldest lady of the Cheng family was about to become the queen. Yuduoluo did not dare to make a decision easily, so he first went to Xiahou Ninghan and Xu Youchang to ask their opinions.
"There is nothing to hesitate!" Xu Youchang slammed the table and shouted: "Let the people from the Imperial City branch continue to investigate. As long as it is confirmed that Cheng Xi is the mastermind behind it, no matter who he is, he is a relative of the emperor, and he will immediately launch a counterattack. I will bear all the consequences. !”
