As soon as he heard that the secret passage had been discovered, Zhang Yangzeng immediately became energetic. He rushed into the side courtyard in three steps and two steps at a time, and was guided by his men to the room where he discovered the secret passage.
"Where does it lead? Have you figured it out?" Zhang Yangzeng looked at the steps extending all the way to the ground and asked in a deep voice.
A tiger and leopard rider replied: "The general direction is outside the west wall of the Prince Consort's Mansion. If it's close, it's the alley outside the wall. If it's farther, it can be out of Cheng'enfang."
"Go!" Zhang Yangzeng waved his hand: "Send someone in to investigate! If you encounter a suspicious person, let's attack!"
The subordinates obeyed the order and immediately named several Tiger and Leopard Cavalry warriors. Those people tightened their armor, held torches, and filed in.
After about an hour of burning incense, one of them returned to the ground along the stairs.
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, we just found our way out. The exit is in a small alley outside the Prince Consort's Mansion. It is separated from the Prince Consort's Mansion by an independent house, but it does not leave the scope of Cheng'enfang."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yangzeng suddenly felt cold and couldn't help but ask: "What's going on outside? Are there any signs of anyone else escaping from there?"
The soldier shook his head: "Impossible. As soon as we climbed up from the exit, we were discovered by the brothers of Team 7. That location happened to be their warning area. There were hundreds of people guarding it all night, and the lights were bright. Even if it was Even if a mouse sneaks out, there will be nothing to hide from.”
Zhang Yangzeng's heart was completely cold this time.
After searching for so long, even the secret escape routes that Princess Li Xi's consort Murong Xue would use in times of crisis were uncovered, but the target was not found. If someone with intentions was to pursue this, I would probably not do it. What good fruit is there to eat?
Thinking of this, he was heartbroken and gave his deputy a wink. The deputy understood and hurriedly ran out to make arrangements.
After a while, the deputy led a few soldiers and escorted a man in black over: "Sir, the thief who stole the treasure was caught, and the Seven Treasures Phoenix Hairpin was also found."
Zhang Yangzeng nodded in a pretentious manner: "Okay, now that we have caught the thief and taken back the national treasure, we have gained a lot tonight. We all have it. Let's go back to the palace!"
The Forbidden Army's Tiger Leopard Cavalry and Beiya's Nilin Division came to take advantage of the excitement, but returned in despair. They made a fuss all night and finally came to nothing. It cannot be said that they made wrong judgments and acted slowly. The main reason was strange. They themselves are unlucky.
If Shen Lie hadn't believed that the rebel spies were about to take action, so he went to Wannian County Prison to ambush him earlier, then he, Yuan Bin and other Intelligence Department personnel would still be staying in the Prince Consort's Mansion. Once surrounded by tiger and leopard riders, it is inevitable that the other party will discover their whereabouts.
That situation might be very bad.
Li Xi smiled as he watched the Imperial Guards walk away in despair, then turned around to express his gratitude to the royal ministers for coming to support the rescue effort. Li Maoxun, Li Xiuming and others were filled with indignation, and they all said that they must seek an explanation in front of the emperor when they go to court tomorrow morning.
The seventh princess was happy to see Li Bing worried and embarrassed, and praised him with a smile, and then watched everyone board the sedan and leave.
Before Dong Tianxing left, he quietly asked about Shen Lie's situation, and Li Xi told him calmly that everything was safe and there was no need to worry.
Not long after the confrontation at the Prince Consort's Mansion ended, Li Bing and Cheng Wen, who had been waiting for news in the palace, received a report from Ouyang Lin at the same time. When they heard that Rui Ji was first kidnapped by a mysterious master, and then the body suspected to be Tie Shou Wen Xiao was found in a deserted courtyard in the east city, and Rui Ji herself was missing, they couldn't help but be shocked.
Everything that happened tonight was too strange, and the court and the palace had obviously lost key control over the entire situation.
Shen Lie was not caught, Rui Ji ran away, and Wen Xiao and other rebel spies lay dead in the deserted courtyard. What on earth was going on?
Looking at the emperor with a sullen expression, Tian Mu was already panicking, but Ouyang Lin still seemed confident.
I just heard him say loudly: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, the situation in front of you is actually very clear, and it is not difficult to infer what happened behind it. I think that the thing is roughly like this. The person who kidnapped Rui Ji from the Wannian County Prison tonight is exactly the same person. They were rebel spies disguised as the Forbidden Army, and the leader among them was Wen Xiao. However, the mantis stalked the cicada and the oriole was behind them. After Wen Xiao and the others succeeded, before they had time to escape, they were attacked by Shen Lie who was hiding in the dark. They took advantage of the chaos to make a sneak attack, causing heavy casualties. It is precisely because of this that Mr. Tian, Zhang Yangzeng and the others were defeated at the Prince Consort's Mansion."
Li Bing nodded slightly when he heard the words: "Well, your analysis makes sense. From this point of view, it is very likely that Wen Xiao's rebel spies were responsible for drawing our attention to the Prince Consort's Mansion, so they chose tonight Go and rob the prison.”
Cheng Wen first glared at Tian Mu, then turned to Ouyang Lin and asked softly: "Do you have any good countermeasures?"
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen's countermeasures have never changed and have been advancing." Ouyang Lin responded: "After Wei Zixuan committed suicide and Rui Ji was arrested, my goal was to lure out Shen Lie or the rebel spies. Now that Wannian County Prison has been robbed, Both Shen Lie and Wen Xiao appeared from the secret and exposed their whereabouts, and they are not far away from closing the net."
Cheng Wen nodded in appreciation: "The best thing is that after the Prince Consort's Mansion has been thoroughly investigated, Shen Lie can no longer use it to hide there as long as he sends people to implement strict surveillance, right?"
Ouyang Lin smiled and said: "That's true. The Prince Consort's Mansion involves Princess Fenyang and Commander Murong. It was originally a very troublesome place. Now that the Forbidden Army has cleared it, Shen Lie has fewer and fewer places to hide in the imperial capital. , Wei Chen continues to put pressure, and finally we can catch him and the Intelligence Department of the Xinjiang Army in one fell swoop!"
Cheng Wen smiled and said to Li Bing: "Your Majesty, you have a really good eye for recognizing and choosing people. Ouyang Lin has thought carefully and is worthy of such a big job."
This kind of invisible compliment made Li Bing very happy. He nodded with satisfaction and asked: "Ouyang, please tell me in detail how to implement it."
"Your Majesty, from now on, the ministers need a lot of spies to closely monitor the Prince Consort's Mansion and various city gates, and arrange some veterans to be spread out on the streets of the imperial capital to investigate suspicious persons one by one." Ouyang Lin said eloquently: "At the same time, Ask the Jingzhao Yin Mansion to cooperate and secretly inform the leaders of each village in the city, conduct a survey of the residents in the area, and provide necessary clues."
Prior to this, Ouyang Lin had taken advantage of the opportunity of martial law to gain control of many mobile units of the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Now he proposed to use a large number of spies and the Li Zheng system of Jingzhao Mansion. Obviously, his ambition was not small.
Once the emperor nods in agreement, Ouyang Lin will immediately become the most powerful person in the imperial capital.
Tian Mu's heart tightened when he heard this, and he was about to say something. Unexpectedly, Li Bing already valued Ouyang Lin very much, and had a vague intention of cultivating him to become his direct descendant. At this time, Queen Cheng Wen was helping, and he immediately agreed: "Okay, as long as we can find Shen Lie, we can clear the town." The Xinjiang army and the rebels have various informants in the imperial capital, just go ahead and do it, I will give you my full support! Tian Mu."
"I'm here."
"From now on, all of your Nilin Division will be mobilized, on high alert, and obey Ouyang Lin's unified dispatch!"
"I... obey your order."
-
As soon as the court ended the next day, Tian Mu, who was full of grievances, immediately went to the Zhenguo Palace. He wanted to complain to Cheng Dong and asked him why the Queen didn't speak for him, but supported Ouyang Lin. That kid.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Dong seemed to have guessed that Tian Mu would come. As soon as they met, he took the initiative to mention what happened in the past few days and comforted him, saying that the queen had her own arrangements so that Tian Mu didn't have to worry.
Seeing that Duke Zhen Guo was so confident, Tian Mu couldn't help but become confused and asked tentatively: "Could it be that...then Ouyang Lin is also from our side?"
Cheng Dong first showed an enigmatic smile, and then shook his head: "That's right and no. After careful calculation, Ouyang Lin is still a direct lineage cultivated by the emperor himself to check and balance the old ministers and generals in the court. Lao Tian, you don't have to worry about Ouyang Lin, he is just a sharp knife, the key lies in whose hand the handle of the knife is."
Tian Mu nodded as if he understood, and then said with a sad face: "But now that the emperor has given him all the power, even the Bei Ya Ni Lin Division has to be controlled and dispatched by him. If this continues, my position as a long history will be I’m afraid it’s no longer guaranteed.”
Cheng Dong smiled calmly: "You are so confused! The position of the head of the Nilin Division is not an official position officially appointed by the court, but a private soldier raised by the emperor. Who is qualified to sit in this position, not based on official rank and seniority, but on birth status And loyalty. Ouyang Lin has no background and can only be loyal to the emperor wholeheartedly. This alone is much better than you, a civil servant who has been in office for many years and has a very complicated background."
He took a sip of tea and continued: "When the emperor asked you to be the director of Nilin, it was not because of your ability, but because at that time, if he wanted to seize Shen Lie's power, he had to rely on you and Wei Zixuan and others. People, play the role of checks and balances. You are just a temporary replacement, and sooner or later you will be replaced by Ouyang Lin and his like. Don't you understand?"
Tian Mu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then nodded depressedly. Although he is ruthless and incompetent, he has been in the officialdom for so long, so he is still very clear about court struggles. What Cheng Dong said made sense. He was just a chess piece used by Li Bing to deal with Shen Lie. It was normal to throw it away after use.
Seeing that he was in a low mood, Cheng Dong smiled slightly and advised: "Old Tian, I advise you to be more open-minded. It would be better to get rid of a place like Nilinsi as soon as possible. If I were you, I wish the emperor would replace me quickly. Na."
"Oh? How do you say this?" Tian Mu asked seriously: "My lord, you must know that Beiya belongs to the emperor's close ministers and has always held the most powerful power. If I were in this position, wouldn't I be more important to the empress and you? Is there any benefit?”
Cheng Dong shook his head: "You are wrong. The power of Nilin Division does not come out of thin air, but comes from the heart of the emperor. As the saying goes, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Take a look at the history of Nilin Division Chiefs. Did everyone end up well in the end? Either they were abandoned, or they died miserably, and almost none of them had a happy ending. As a long history, not only will you not be able to really help the empress, but it will arouse the emperor's suspicion, causing everyone to die together. If you ask me, it's okay. It's better to be your imperial censor in peace and quiet, responsible for supervising all officials, and it will be easier to function."
Tian Mu nodded slightly, and then asked: "What about Ouyang Lin? This guy is not simple. How should we deal with him?"
"Cooperation." Two words burst out of Cheng Dong's mouth: "The empress said, firstly, the water in the well should not interfere with the river, and secondly, the interests should be consistent and we should fight against the enemy together. Like Ouyang Lin, our biggest enemies are Shen Lie and Li Jiang Yaohe Zhenjiang Army."
