It’s another morning with cicadas chirping and birds chirping.
Xue Bai left the cabin where he was temporarily staying, still carrying the girlish aura left when Qing Lan hugged him to sleep.
This was his fifth day in prison in Fenggu, and he felt that his life in the mountain was too simple and boring.
Only Wang Wei was the most adaptable, and would go pick some dew water to cook tea before dawn.
This kind of thing is very cumbersome and inconvenient in the mountains. I can only make a pot of tea in a whole day.
Xue Bai also tasted it, and it didn't taste good. It just tasted bad.
"Will Mr. Mojie not be bitten by mosquitoes?"
“When the mind is calm, mosquitoes will avoid it.”
"Sir, I'm afraid the sandalwood incense smelled like it, so the mosquitoes didn't bite me."
Wang Wei stopped talking. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate, turning the beads in his hand.
Xue Bai thought for a while and said, "What's the matter with living in the mountains? Songhua makes wine and spring water makes tea."
"Good artistic conception, also has rhythm." Wang Wei asked: "New Ci Pai?"
Xue Bai only knew one thing and stopped talking at this time. He sat there and watched the progress of cannon building in the distance. An Bobo is building a bigger stone cannon, as big as a tower.
Wang Wei was chatting together and couldn't help but ask: "Are you interested in poetry?"
"That's not right, I just want to be quiet in my old age and don't care about anything."
"This is a good poem, but does it have a sequel?"
"No, Mr. Mojie just called me 'poet of broken verses'."
Suddenly there was the sound of rapid horse hooves on the other side of the mountain road.
Xue Bai stood up and greeted him.
When they came, everyone had to dismount on the last section of the road because the mountain road was rugged and steep.
But the person who came today was able to gallop on a horse. With such skill, Xue Bai had already guessed who it was.
"Hey!"
With a neigh, the horse galloped over, raised its front hooves, and stopped under a huge stone cannon.
The man on horseback is in his forties, tall and muscular, with a look of affluent people.
He didn't wear armor, he wore a futou and a robe, but people could tell at a glance that he was a general because he had a murderous aura all over him.
But if you look closely, you can't actually understand where his murderous aura comes from. His eyes and expressions are not fierce at all, and are even very gentle.
This is Wang Zhongsi.
He sat astride the horse, raised his head, and silently looked at the tall stone cannon, lost in thought, like a statue.
"I've met General Wang."
"Are you Xue Bai?"
"Exactly."
"Can you let me see the power of this huge stone cannon?"
"Okay, the more breakthrough one has not been built yet. The general can take a look at this one first."
"please."
Wang Zhongsi didn't say much. He got off his horse, patted Xue Bai on the shoulder, and strode towards the giant stone cannon.
The craftsmen and laborers around him didn't know who he was, but they couldn't help but stand aside honestly. Even An Bobo stopped the sledgehammer in his hand and said nothing.
Like a goat encountering a ferocious beast, you can naturally feel the aura.
"How to throw stones?" Wang Zhongsi asked, "Can I do it?"
"We need to move it together. The boulder weighs more than two hundred kilograms and needs to be placed in a net bag."
Wang Zhongsi waved his hand, and one of his guards came forward and moved the boulder with him.
Xue Bai continued to give instructions and said: "First use the hook rope to fix this end, and then put the weight in the weight basket..."
Wang Zhongsi didn't talk much and just kept busy with his work. After a while, he landed and filled the weight basket.
"Unhook the hook."
"Bang!"
The sound shook the world.
A boulder weighing more than two hundred kilograms was thrown high and disappeared from sight.
"Let's see how far it is."
"Here."
Immediately some soldiers got on their horses and ran into the woods.
Wang Zhongsi took out a map from his arms, spread it out directly on the sand, squatted down and said, "Come and take a look."
This map is very tattered and has the handwriting of different people writing and drawing on it.
"Shibao City is called the 'Tie Ren City'. The city is built on the east mountain. Although the mountain is only ninety feet high, there are cliffs on the east, west and south sides. Only a path on the north side can lead to the top."
"There are two city platforms at the top, the small city platform in the north, more than 20 steps long and wide each; the large city platform in the south, more than 30 steps long and more than ten steps wide. There is only a narrow ridge connecting the two city platforms, which is the beacon fire Taiwan, you can observe the movements of our troops..."
Wang Zhongsi knew the terrain well and spoke casually.
He talked for a while, and the soldiers who were sent out rode back and reported: "General, the boulder was thrown two hundred and fifty steps and hit the ground seven feet!"
"Far more than I expected."
Wang Zhongsi nodded first and then praised Xue Bai.
The catapults in his army can only throw a stone projectile weighing 30 kilograms up to 80 paces; the seven-shooter cannon, with two hundred people pulling the rope, can only fire a stone projectile weighing 100 kilograms up to 50 paces... This is indeed a huge gap.
But then, he picked up a branch, drew a picture on the sand, and said: "The mountain of Stone Castle is ninety feet high...that is, more than two hundred steps, and there is no place to place artillery carts on the trail to the north to attack the mountain. If a huge stone cannon were placed at the foot of the mountain..."
"You can't throw it so high." Xue Bai said.
The distance of throwing two hundred and fifty steps and the height of throwing two hundred steps are completely two different concepts.
He had just listened to Wang Zhongsi's explanation of the terrain, and he already understood that the terrain of Shibao City was dangerous. Even with the huge stone cannon, attacking such a dangerous pass would still cost huge casualties.
"unless……"
Wang Zhongsi also raised his eyebrows, looked at Xue Bai, and said in unison with him.
"No throwing boulders?"
"good."
"Try it." Xue Bai said: "You shouldn't make it bigger. Instead, adjust the angle of the tip pole to see if it can be thrown diagonally to a high place; or make it smaller and place it on a mountain climbing trail."
"Time is running out, can we do it as soon as possible?"
"I'll give it a try."
"good!"
Wang Zhongsi was very happy. After saying his business, he stood up. He felt inside his arms and found that there was nothing else. He simply took off his saber and handed it to Xue Bai.
"Xue Lang gave Helong such an important weapon. I only give this sword in return to show that I will never forget this day."
"Thank you."
Xue Bai didn't refuse and took it with both hands.
Wang Zhongsi nodded to him again, said no more, got on his horse and rode away.
~~
The next day, the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Behind the screen in the conference hall, Li Linfu paced back and forth with his hands behind his hands.
A group of officials were reporting to him.
"Right Minister, I have found out everything. Mrs. Guo Guo has not been to the palace recently. The saint has not read Xue Bai's story for several days."
"My subordinate confirmed that the Ministry of Industry has not received any documents to supervise the manufacture of weapons. This matter was Li Hua's act of arrogance."
"The same goes for the Ministry of War."
"..."
"Right Prime Minister, the matter is very clear. As long as it is proven that Xue Bai is a member of Li Ying's party, he will not be able to escape the charges of secretly manufacturing weapons and handing over border generals."
Li Linfu waved his hand.
Xue Bai wants to donate weapons. This matter is not difficult to find out.
Wang Zhongsi's actions have always been watched.
Precisely because of this, Li Linfu was puzzled, why did Xue Bai make such a mistake?
It is very simple to donate weapons, but instead of repaying the saint, without going through a formal investigation, you make friends with Wang Zhongsi through Wang Yunxiu. Do you really think you can hide it? Or are you too bold?
Or the old trick is repeated.
Last time, Xue Bai used dominoes and stories to make the saint happy, while at the same time using "Han Yu" to criticize him. In the end, he lost the trust of the saint.
After suffering a big loss once, Li Linfu had a premonition that this matter was not simple and he no longer dared to take action easily.
Just after thinking about it, it would not be appropriate to sit idly by and let that kid donate weapons, perform meritorious service, and secretly assist Wang Zhongsi.
At the moment of hesitation.
"Alang, Juro is here, there is something urgent."
"Let him in..."
"Grandpa!" Li Xiu hurried into the hall and said, "But grandpa ordered the supervisor Bo Xiaofang to sue Xue Bai for secretly making weapons and handing him over to the border general? The child didn't know about this beforehand. The public inquires, how to respond?"
"What did you say?"
"The kid doesn't know how to deal with it."
"I asked you who sued Xue Bai?!"
"Xiao Fangzhi is a younger brother of Jingzhao Yin Xiao Jiong clan."
Li Linfu was stunned for a moment, then raised his head with very confused eyes.
He quickly summoned his party members to inquire.
…
"what happened?!"
"Returning to the right prime minister, after Xiao Fangzhi complained, many censors thought that the right prime minister had taken action. Even if Wang Zhongsi was impeached... the memorial had been prepared long ago."
"Is everyone impeaching Wang Zhongsi?" Li Linfu was a little surprised, "At this time?"
"Yes, Princess Xianyi and the consort have also entered the palace."
"They still dare?"
Li Linfu rolled his eyes, wondering why the situation suddenly reached this point.
Xiao Fanzhi was indeed his, but he only allowed Xiao Fanzhi to marry the Xue family and did not arrange for him to report the matter.
Is it a coincidence? Xiao Fanzhi was so eager to achieve success that he found the opportunity to get rid of Wang Zhongsi and Xue Bai and took action without permission?
Or was there someone pushing it, for example, Wang Fei failed to keep his composure?
The Yushitai had been ready to criticize Wang Zhongsi for a long time, as if an arrow was on the string. Suddenly, something unexpected happened, like an unexpected trumpet blowing, and all the arrows could be fired.
While Wang Zhongsi was not in the army, he was directly demoted and then looked for an opportunity to kill him.
~~
Jingzhao Mansion Prison.
In the crowded cell, someone was talking.
"I have never been to the Criminal Prison, but this is the second time I have been to the Jingzhao Prison. However, last time I stayed in the felon cell, do you understand? That kind of major treason case..."
"Which one is Du Tong? Come out."
Du Wulang was a little surprised, stood up and asked, "The case hasn't been concluded yet, are you going to let me out?"
But it was a petty official who came with the jailer to release him, saying: "The Xiao family regrets their marriage, and there is no need to try this case."
"real?!"
Du Wulang was overjoyed. When he left Jingzhao Mansion, he saw a group of people waiting for him outside the door.
He saw Xue Sanniang at the first sight. Her eyes were shy and evasive, but she secretly glanced at him, which made him feel embarrassed.
His heart was throbbing when he saw a person wearing a green robe blocking Xue Sanniang.
When he looked up, he saw Du Youlin with a stern face.
"Ah! Grandpa?"
"..."
On the way back, Du Wulang couldn't help but ask Du Youlin: "Master, how did you get the Xiao family to cancel the engagement?"
"I don't know."
Du Youlin also had some doubts in his eyes, as if he couldn't figure it out.
He knew some of Xue Bai's plans.
Xue Bai's interactions with Wang Zhongsi, a person at the forefront of the limelight, will inevitably be framed by the Right Prime Minister's Office. He originally planned to cancel the marriage with the Xiao family when he was framed.
Strangely, the Xiao family broke off the engagement first.
"Why?"
~~
"Xiao Fangzhi, who will be the supervisor of the prison, has met with the ministers, officials and ministers of the temple."
"Xiao Fangzhi, what are you telling me?"
"The official discovered a major case. Seven days ago, someone transferred more than ten master craftsmen who were building the Qingliang Hall for the saint from the general prison. However, the official checked the documents and found that the documents only allowed them to leave the prison for one day. After careful investigation, we found that someone had secretly asked them to supervise the manufacture of weapons in Feng Valley. The weapons were huge, the sound was like thunder, and the power was extraordinary."
Sitting at the top are Li Daosui, the minister of Dali Temple, Pei Kuan, the imperial censor, and Xiao Yinzhi, the minister of punishment, all with different expressions.
Xiao Fangzhi continued: "The lower official went to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War to inquire, and learned that there was no supervision of the manufacture of weapons. The matter was very suspicious. So the lower official sent people to watch the road to Fenggu Prison, and finally It was discovered that... Wang Zhongsi did it."
The three senior officials at the top would leave from time to time, but it wouldn't take long before they sat back down again.
Finally, Pei Kuan said: "Wang Zhongsi is the military governor of the four towns and supervises the construction of new weapons. It is normal. Why do you call it a major case?"
"The lower official heard that the sage ordered Wang Zhongsi to attack Shibao City. Wang Zhongsi did not move and instead returned to the capital. He felt uneasy."
Speaking of this, Xiao Fanzhi felt a little uneasy in his heart, and said slowly: "Princess Xianyi's consort Yang Hui said that he suspected that Xue Bai was Xue Pingzhao, the son of the traitor Xue Xiu. And such a traitor's son was in the same relationship with Wang Zhongsi. It’s really suspicious to make weapons privately together.”
"Is that so?" Pei Kuan murmured.
Li Daosui and Xiao Yinzhi didn't speak.
Xiao Fangzhi felt that this reaction was a bit bland and different from what was discussed, so he raised his head and looked at Xiao Yinzhi.
Xiao Yinzhi only reacted after meeting his gaze, stroking his beard and saying, "Do you have any evidence?"
"Yes." Xiao Fang said: "Princess Xianyi has a life contract in her hands. In addition, Xue Bai's life experience must be false. All it takes is to find Xue Ling to prove it. These people collude with each other and make false claims. There are traces to follow…”
At this time, a small official passed by, Xiao Yinzhi stood up and left again, and listened to what the small official said.
"This matter was not arranged by the right minister. Ask Xiao Fang why he did this, and then follow the trend to eliminate Wang Zhongsi..."
~~
Feng Gujian.
A large group of forbidden troops led their horses up the mountain road.
"Xue playing cards!"
"General Chen actually came in person?"
Chen Xuanli was not happy walking in this mountain forest. He looked down at the mud on his deerskin boots and shouted, "If you are willing to cause less trouble, can I come?!"
Xue Bai was not surprised and asked: "What trouble did I get into again?"
Chen Xuanli raised his hand and pointed, almost to the tip of his nose, and said: "Don't think I don't know. You deliberately set a trap for the right prime minister, over and over again, and you still don't know how to repent?!"
"Indeed." Xue Bai responded: "I just have a personal grudge against the right prime minister, so I just want to show him some color."
"ha."
Chen Xuanli laughed angrily.
But it is one thing to know that Xue Bai is hiding this thought, but it cannot be used to punish him.
"If it weren't for your real ability, you would have died eight hundred times just because of these little thoughts."
"That's because I didn't hide my intention to frame the right prime minister from the saint. And he really wanted to kill me, so he took action again this time?"
Chen Xuanli said "hmm" heavily, and he was indeed a little dissatisfied with Li Linfu.
Knowing that the saint likes Xue Bai playing cards, he still takes action again and again, which is bad; he can't even see that Xue Bai is playing cards, which is stupid.
The ruler of a country is jealous of talents and talents to such an extent.
"The saint ordered me to come and see what that amazing weapon looks like. Is it really helpful in attacking Stone Castle City?"
Xue Bai said: "I only care about making it. How to use it is General Wang's business."
"Let's go."
"General please."
Chen Xuanli waved the mosquitoes in front of his eyes, but saw Wang Wei and Li Hua standing aside and saluting. He laughed loudly, pointed at Wang Wei and said: "Mr. Mojie, this time you have enlightened yourself."
…
"Bang!"
Amidst the loud noise, a huge boulder fell from the sky again and hit the mountain forest hard, causing the vegetation to shake.
~~
Memorials to impeach Wang Zhongsi were delivered to Taiwan Province like snowflakes.
Li Linfu always felt that there was something wrong with the whole thing.
He suspected that Xue Bai was using his old tricks to trick him, but making weapons privately was a taboo, and this matter would offend the saint no matter what.
suddenly.
"Right Prime Minister, someone from the Ministry of War said that..."
"explain!"
"The weapons were not made privately. Wang Wei, a member of the Treasury Department, once told Princess Yuzhen about this in private. They were made by the sage's imperial decree..."
"What? Wang Wei?"
Li Linfu was actually not surprised, but angry.
He knew that it was impossible for Xue Bai to make such a mistake, not to mention Yan Zhenqing's suggestion, how could he make weapons without mentioning them to the saint first, but instead befriend Wang Zhongsi first?
Xue Bai was protecting Wang Zhongsi, deliberately leading Wang Zhongsi to make mistakes, leading him to take action, and then proving that the matter was false, so that the saint did not even believe other accusations against Wang Zhongsi...
Xiao Fangzhi was taken advantage of.
"Go quickly and let Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment interrogate Xiao Fangzhi severely! Who asked him to file a complaint!"
"Here."
"Your Prime Minister, the sage ordered you to pay an audience..."
Li Linfu was a little overwhelmed for a while.
He knew that there was nothing simple behind this matter, and there was more than one force trying to protect the king's loyal heir.
In the final analysis, Xue Bai just dropped a small fishhook when he was making weapons. Someone forced the right minister to hang the fish on it.
"who?"
~~
Chen Xuanli walked to a large pit and looked down, only to see that two to three hundred kilograms of boulders had sunk deeply into the ground.
He couldn't help but frown.
It's not that he is dissatisfied with the power of this huge stone cannon, but he thinks that with this thing, the pressure on Huaqing Palace to protect the saints will increase greatly.
No wonder Li Linfu wanted to use this incident as an excuse to impeach Wang Zhongsi.
"Let's go." Chen Xuanli turned around and said, "Go back to Chang'an and I'll give you a reward."
"Thank you, General Chen." Xue Bai responded.
Although the craftsmen behind him were surprised, they were suppressed by the momentum of General Longwu Army and did not dare to speak.
"Also, have you written the monkey story?" Chen Xuanli suddenly asked.
"Wrote some."
"Give it to me and take it back with you."
Xue Bai nodded.
He suddenly thought that from the fact that the saint had not asked him for stories recently, one could tell that the saint had known that he was building weapons.
Therefore, Ge Nu usually won't take the bait.
It didn't matter to him anyway, the credit for the weapon donation was guaranteed, and he just wanted to see if he could help Wang Zhongsi by the way.
If Pei Mian doesn't know how to go with the flow, then he's such a waste.
The next key thing is who will Wang Zhongsi remember this favor to...
(End of chapter)
