Prince's Courtyard.
Li Heng paced with his hands behind his hands, his eyes full of worry. Finally seeing Zhang Ting come back, he quickly asked: "Has my father-in-law invited Xue Bai?"
"No." Zhang Ting was also a little annoyed, "My grandfather is a cousin of a saint, but Xue Bai didn't even give him face."
"well."
"Why is Your Highness so nervous? Lu Qi was demoted just in time. No one found those dead soldiers. At least this disaster is over now."
"What do you know?" Li Heng yelled unconsciously, "It's more terrifying than exposing him on the spot. Two dead men were in Xue Bai's hands, and Pei Mian also died in his hands. The later the incident happened, the more The disaster is getting worse."
Zhang Ting glanced at Li Jingzhong, who was bowing aside, and said leisurely: "It's better to kill him."
"I didn't succeed in killing him at the beginning, so how can I kill him now, in case it gets out of control." Li Heng clenched his fists tightly, holding back the anger in his heart, and then said: "The only way is to win him over at all costs."
Zhang Ting didn't like Li Heng's many children very much and asked, "Why didn't the saint let Sanniang marry Xue Bai? Maybe Sanniang didn't say she wanted to marry."
"No, the saint is suspicious of me. He just thinks that my sworn brother and I are hiding dead soldiers in Chang'an. He wants to suppress me again, so he won't allow me to win over Party Yang." Li Heng said: "To clear away the suspicion of me and my sworn brother, frame up all kinds of things." It was a good idea for Hu, but because Hu was so attached to Tailong, he had no choice but to take a step back and settle the case with Huangfu Weiming, but Xue Bai was required to help with the matter, so it became a dead end."
This is the result of not having a holy family.
When Zahu and Xue encountered a more difficult situation while playing cards or asking for a cockfight, they could easily get through it by doing nothing, offering treasures, or admitting their mistakes. The only one who couldn't do it was him, the prince. He really didn't have any holy favor at all.
While still sighing here, someone from the palace has arrived in a hurry.
"The sage issued a decree to summon the prince to the Xingqing Palace for an audience."
Li Heng's face turned ugly when he heard this.
He knew his father very well, and it would definitely not be a good thing if he wanted to see him.
really.
When they arrived at Xingqing Palace, they saw that there was no loyal and capable minister accompanying Li Longji, only Li Linfu and An Lushan.
"See you, my son..."
"No need to do it." Li Longji waved his hand and said calmly: "There is no need to do the false courtesy."
In these years, he had only treated Li Heng like this, thinking that his son's greetings were all false.
Li Heng had no choice but to stand up and stand aside honestly.
I saw that there was rarely any singing or dancing in the Qinzheng Building today. Maybe he made some ugly gestures while reporting on his duties, which could make this foolish king laugh.
If you compare the father and son at this time, you will find that they seem to be about the same age in appearance.
Although Li Longji is old, he looks energetic and energetic; Li Heng, however, looks much older than his actual age, giving off an air of age.
This prince looks like he is very anxious to succeed to the throne.
Just looking at his son, Li Longji felt a little unhappy and said: "Continue talking, where is Pei Mian's case?"
"Back to the saint." Li Linfu replied: "I have found out that the reason why I wronged Xue Bai before was indeed because I made a guess in my mind and used this to verify."
"What do you think the right minister has to say?"
"Xue Bai once donated weapons to help Wang Zhongsi..."
Li Heng immediately braced himself and prepared to deal with it, thinking that this was indeed the case.
After fighting for these years, we know each other well.
However, Suo Douji was not aggressive this time. At the end, he said: "The veteran investigated carefully and found that the case has nothing to do with Wang Zhongsi. He is in Longyou and it is impossible for his soldiers to be so ruthless." The place of traces.”
"Who does the right minister think is responsible?"
"I am incompetent and haven't found any clues. I ask the saint to punish me."
As Li Heng listened, he suddenly felt a burst of cold light. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and his body became stiff.
He found that the words he had prepared became completely useless in an instant. Suo Douji didn't testify against him, and the sage didn't scold him, so how could he defend himself?
It seemed like only a moment, but also seemed like a long time passed. Li Longji smiled heartily and scolded: "Juro is really resentful. Your son-in-law was scolded by my staff, so you just give up, right?"
"I definitely have no such intention." Li Linfu said: "Yuan Miao takes the blame on himself, and I have no complaints. It is indeed incompetent and failed to find any clues."
Li Heng first heard the word "son-in-law" and almost thought that Xue Bai had been snatched as his son-in-law by Suo Douji. Then he came back to his senses and thought to himself when Suo Douji had ever really investigated the case. It was always just a frame-up.
Li Longji saw that Suo Douji was so scared that he did not dare to frame him. He also felt that the suppression this time was too much and said: "Don't worry and investigate boldly! No matter who I find, I will never pursue you."
"I dare to ask the saint to choose another wise man..."
~~
Dongshi, Chengxin Bookstore.
The smile on Jiang Cheng's face was much brighter, and his hands were not wrapped in his sleeves, but instead he was holding a stack of paper.
"Mr. Sir, please look at this. This is bamboo paper made after ten days of soaking. The quality is improved compared to the last time. This one has been in the sun for longer."
"It should be possible to make some progress." Xue Bai said.
Even if the paper is of very good quality, it is difficult to get a compliment from him.
"If soaking and drying for a long time is effective, I will try it for a longer time."
"Don't worry, Mr. Lang, the pool of bamboo material is still soaking."
Xue Bai said: "I have one more thing to ask you today. Are you willing to serve as general supervisor?"
Jiang Cheng was surprised and quickly expressed his loyalty, saying: "I am Lang Jun's servant, and I am willing to serve Lang Jun."
"You are a slave of the Yang family. Now that I want to become the prime minister, I want to popularize bamboo paper and use my fists and fists. Now I will be the prisoner and I will find a job for you. All you have to do is say whether you are willing."
"Lang Jun, isn't your business profitable?"
"How much you earn is always important, so why is your ambition so important?"
Seeing that Jiang Cheng was not carried away by Chad's future, Xue Bai knew better.
When he was about to leave the bookstore, he saw a young man with a gentle temperament standing outside the door, it was Li Mi.
The two looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding. Xue Bai asked, "Want to hang out in the bookstore, or should we go have a cup of tea?"
Although Li Mi wanted to observe the craftsmanship of bamboo paper, he had something secret to discuss today, and it was inconvenient to walk around the craftsmen, so he said, "How about I invite Xue Lang to have tea?"
"It's disrespectful."
Said to be tea tasting, the two of them walked out of Chunming Gate and sat down at a farmer's home in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an, but there was no tea at all.
Li Mi didn't care, so he bought some pears with a few copper coins, and then used the pottery cauldron at the farmer's house to boil the pear water and drink it.
He was not in a hurry to speak, and after finishing these trivial tasks calmly, he asked: "But Lao Liang and Jiang Hai killed Pei Mian?"
"Um."
Li Bi said: "When Huangfu Weiming was questioned, we preserved these old soldiers as witnesses to expose the king's exploitation of his military relatives. We never thought that it would lead to this."
"How do you think this should be solved, sir?"
"How does Xue Lang want to solve it?"
Xue Bai said: "You definitely don't agree with my idea."
"Abandoning reserves will inevitably lead to turmoil in the country."
Li Mi didn't have any anxiety. He fanned the fire with a cattail leaf fan and said softly: "Your Highness has done many wrong things. Fortunately, time is still long. What manpower cannot solve, time can do it. What do you think?" "
Xue Bai understood what he meant.
Li Longji seems to have a long life, and there is no need to worry about many things. The fight between Li Heng and Li Linfu is actually a matter of appearance, and they can completely calm down.
Speaking of which, if everyone could be as calm and indifferent as Li Mi in this prosperous court where the fire is cooking and the flowers are blooming, many problems would be solved.
"It seems that I understand what Li Heng did better than you do." Xue Bai said, "It can be seen with the naked eye that he will definitely not survive the saint. If you follow your 'time is still long' method, how can you turn around?" One day?"
"This statement is too vicious."
"Good thing it's just vicious words?"
Li Mi waved his cattail leaf fan to sweep away these sharp edges, and said sincerely: "I think very highly of myself, and it is my lifelong ambition to assist the country. Now I am assisting His Highness, not to let His Highness take advantage of me, but to do everything according to my wishes." It depends on the method, but on how to do something that is beneficial to the country. Xue Lang thinks who can be better in the Tang Dynasty as the crown prince?"
Xue Bai said: "Let you take one step, I won't argue with you about this for the time being."
"Thank you." Li Bi said, "Come today, Your Highness hopes that I can persuade you to make peace with the East Palace."
"My husband also wants to be a matchmaker and persuades me to marry the head of Hezheng County."
"The best is like water. Since you don't want it, oppressing you will only be counterproductive." Li Bi said: "You once donated weapons to Longyou. You must not want to see the generals in the northwest change and the situation be unstable?"
"Um."
"Then I'm here to tell you that these disputes between the DPRK and China should really be slowed down." At this point, Li Mi pointed to the pottery cauldron that was still burning and said, "The water is almost dry. If you continue to burn it, it will be better." It’s going to crack.”
Xue Bai asked: "I don't have the source of the military intelligence report. I wonder how the battle in Shibao City was going to be?"
"I'm slowly trying to figure it out."
Li Bi put out the fire and said: "General Wang fought steadily and could not bear the heavy casualties of his soldiers. Therefore, although he had powerful weapons, the siege progress was not fast. Fortunately, the results were achieved. To aid Shibao City, Tubo sent a large army deep into the Helongtun District. Seize wheat. The deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu, the military envoy of Guanxi, and the Heyuan army envoy Ge Shuhan led the response. Not long ago, Ge Shuhan ordered Wang Nan, Yang Jinghui and others to lure the enemy, set up an ambush, and killed five thousand people. The elite cavalry of Tubo failed to return. In this battle, Ge Shuhan shocked Tubo and quickly sent his troops Gao Xiuyan and Zhang Shouyu back to attack Shibao City..."
Today's Tang Dynasty is indeed full of famous generals.
Xue Bai asked: "So, Shibao City has not been captured yet?"
"Still waiting for the news to come back." Li Bi said: "At this time, it is not appropriate to ruin the important events in the border town because of some gossip in the court."
Xue Bai asked: "Sir, have you ever thought about it? These rumors and rumors in the court today are just to wait for Wang Zhongsi to return from victory and give him a 'reward'."
He really dared to say anything.
But why didn't Li Mi have such worries? The meaning of those words just now revealed some key information.
Ge Shuhan, the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu, has been able to replace Wang Zhongsi as the military envoy of Longyou.
"It doesn't matter whether I have thought about it or not. Can I ask Xue Lang not to cause unnecessary problems at the moment?" Li Bi said, "Properly place the things left by Lao Liang, Jiang Hai, and Pei Mian?"
"good."
With a rather straightforward answer, Li Mi breathed a sigh of relief, reaching the first consensus of the day.
Li Heng was very worried about this matter, but he settled the matter in such a simple way. He believed that the simpler the method, the less mistakes would be made.
Methodically pouring out the pear soup from the pottery cauldron and sharing it with Xue Bai, Li Mi asked again: "I heard that you went to Youxiang's Mansion a few days ago, but there is good news? If you get married, you must invite me."
"No, Ge Nu was planning to concoct evidence to frame Wang Zhongsi, but I stopped him." Xue Bai took a sip of pear soup, which was better than tea, and continued: "Although saying this seems like bragging to you, this matter it is true."
"What conditions did the right minister agree to?"
"Simple, don't fight for too much power with him, just fight for a little bit."
Li Mixiao asked: "How does the Right Prime Minister plan to explain the Pei Mian case?"
"I don't know." Xue Bai was thick-skinned and didn't show the slightest hint of wrongdoing. "Ge Nu must have his own plan."
Li Mi nodded and said, "It's good for my uncle to become the prime minister. If he can do more practical things, it will be beneficial to the country."
Xue Bai said: "I think so too."
Although this conversation did not completely win over Xue Bai as Li Heng hoped, Li Mi at least persuaded Xue Bai to let the Yang party stop forcing the East Palace too much to avoid unrest in the northwest.
Li Miwei couldn't figure it out at all and thought it was going too smoothly.
He soon understood why.
~~
That evening, Li Mi returned to his house and was surprised to find the prince visiting.
"How can Your Highness come here?"
Li Heng's face was very worried, and his words were filled with bitterness as he said, "Because the sage ordered me to investigate Pei Mian's case, I came here to ask for advice."
He talked in detail about everything that happened in Xingqing Palace today.
Li Mi was absent-minded for a moment, thinking quickly in his mind.
He considered the position of everyone involved in the matter as quickly as possible.
Yang Dang wanted the simplest thing, just to gain a foothold in the court, so Xue Bai quickly agreed to today's request, which shows that he is willing to protect the king's loyal heir. The right prime minister's office came up with a vicious plan to force the prince to commit suicide or commit crimes. Yu Wang Zhongsi.
"Your Highness, the Saint has confirmed that His Highness did it." Li Mi solemnly said: "The Right Prime Minister's move almost made it clear that the person was killed by someone sent by the East Palace, and the Saint believed it."
"But no." Li Heng said: "The killer was not sent by me, but by Xue Bai..."
"The Uighurs are vassals of the East Palace; Lao Liang and Jiang Hai are also from the East Palace. Your Highness can no longer prove it to the sage. Now that the matter is clear, it only depends on how His Highness expresses his position and how the sage handles it."
"what for?"
"Your Highness, do you want me to speak directly?"
"you say."
"Okay, what the saint wants is not to investigate the case, but a reason, a reason to remove General Wang or deal with His Highness."
"Huh?" Li Heng laughed and said angrily: "I knew it. He didn't believe me when I said Hu'er killed him. He still didn't believe it when Suo Douji said it was Xue Bai. Why? Because he already had the answer in his heart. Once you say I was the one who killed you, you don’t even want the evidence, you don’t even want your face! You don’t even want to pretend anymore!”
Li Mi was silent.
The truth is harsh, but it is true.
The ministers concocted evidence with their own ideas, but in the end they found that the emperor just didn't want to hear other results. He waited for more than a month, just waiting for the final accusation to fall on Dong Gong.
The situation was very bad, but when Li Mi spoke, he said: "Your Highness, the situation is not the worst right now."
"Sir, what do you think?" Li Heng was overjoyed.
"If the Right Prime Minister deals with General Wang, the Saint will definitely eliminate General Wang. But if the Right Prime Minister deals with His Highness, the Saint will not destroy His Highness..."
Hearing this, Li Heng already had a premonition that he wouldn't like what he said.
really.
"Your Highness only needs to be honest with the saint to break the situation."
"Honestly? Sir, have you ever thought about what would happen to me?"
"I am willing to guarantee it with my life, and my savings will not be wasted."
Li Heng froze.
He understood what Li Mi meant. If he was honest and punished, the saint's suspicion would be greatly reduced, and the method of weakening the East Palace would not be too drastic.
For example, maybe the saint originally wanted Wang Zhongsi to hand over the military power of the four towns. In this case, he might be able to retain the position of Hedong Jiedushi to maintain stability.
What's the cost?
It is to make the prince's crime public to the public, causing the kings of the country to lose their majesty, and even be put under house arrest from then on.
Li Heng knew what the Hun Jun was thinking. He wanted to live a long life and live until his sons died. It would be better to pass the throne directly to his grandson.
I'm afraid even Li Mi thought this way, so he could say "it's not the worst case scenario", which made him feel cold.
That's the feeling of disappointment.
"Sir...can't you help me find out the truth?"
"Your Highness can clearly see it."
Li Heng shook his head, turned around and left.
It was impossible for him to admit this crime, even those people were not killed by him. But he also understood that no saint would believe anyone who accused him of being the murderer.
Fortunately, he also has a way to break the situation.
~~
That night, Zhang Ting suddenly heard shouting and rushed to the courtyard to take a look. He saw Li Heng pouring a basin of well water on himself.
"Your Highness?!"
Now that the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, it is the most vulnerable time for wind and cold to enter the body.
Li Jingzhong was also frightened, and hurriedly grabbed a blanket and put it on Li Heng, crying: "Why is Your Highness like this?! Your Highness's body is the foundation of the country!"
"If no one saves me... I will save myself." Li Heng's teeth were chattering, and he hugged the blanket and murmured: "I won't fall into their trap, and I won't recognize them until they check... What can they do to me... I am the crown prince, Can you still destroy me for no reason?"
Zhang Ting understood immediately and hurriedly ordered: "Quick, call the imperial doctor, His Highness is sick!"
"Yes, His Highness is sick..."
~~
For more than ten days, Xue Bai seemed to have nothing to do with anything in the court, but he had one more habit.
He occasionally went to Li Mi to talk about Taoism, but in fact he wanted to inquire about the northwest battle report.
But Li Mi also seemed to have lost his source of information. He was not clear about the progress of the attack on Shibao City, but he was becoming increasingly worried.
October arrived in the blink of an eye, and earth-shattering news from the northwest finally reached Chang'an. Soon, the whole city knew about it.
"Gao Xianzhi crossed the precipitous terrain and made a surprise attack on the Xiaobolu Kingdom. He destroyed the country in one battle and captured King Xiaobolu and his queen, the Tubo princess. The seventy-two Hu kingdoms of Fulu and Dashi were all frightened and surrendered!"
Xiaobolu was a small country, relying on its remote location and steep mountains and rivers. It dared to rebel against the Tang Dynasty and return to Tubo, cutting off the communication between the more than 20 countries in the Western Regions and the Tang Dynasty.
Then the Tang Dynasty soldiers rushed thousands of miles to attack, and the divine soldiers descended from the sky. They were sure to kill them even though they were far away, displaying their national power.
As you can imagine, the saint let out a fierce breath of bad breath.
In this golden autumn, everyone in Chang'an is talking about the battle in the Western Regions and commenting on the famous generals.
Gao Xianzhi is handsome, brave and resourceful; Li Siye serves as the vanguard, with an invincible Mo Dao, and kills in front of King Xiao Bolu in a bloody battle; Feng Changqing, who was born in commoners, strategizes and dispatches well; Bian Lingcheng, the supervisor of the army, is also hard-working... …
In this atmosphere, Xue Bai knew that Wang Zhongsi was in a difficult situation.
Having failed to capture Shibao City before, if Wang Zhongsi captured it at this time, it would inevitably be said that he was deliberately delaying until the jealous Gao Xianzhi accomplished his feat; if he did not capture it yet, it would appear to be too incompetent.
There is no way, whoever makes the saints most suspicious of him will be criticized and punished sooner or later.
And Donggong obviously planned to do nothing.
Xue Bai can only try his best to see how far Yang Dang can survive.
In this atmosphere in Chang'an, when he asked Li Mi for news again, Li Mi showed him a copied memorial.
"This is?"
"Xue Lang, let's see." Li Mi sighed, rarely showing a sense of anxiety.
This was the first time Xue Bai saw him confused.
The words on the paper are beautiful, and Li Mi's calligraphy is relaxed and immortal, but the content copied on the paper makes people frown.
"Civil ministers are generals who are timid to serve as targets. It is better to use the Han people than the barbarians; the barbarians are brave enough to fight, while the Han people are isolated and have no party. Your Majesty is sincere and kind to his heart, and he will die for the imperial court..."
Xue Bai frowned.
Li Mi stood up and walked around for a few steps. He went to the door and looked at the sky with his hands behind his hands. He murmured: "This is a message from your right prime minister, asking the saint to make full use of all the disciplines and restraints of the barbarians."
"Use all barbarians?"
Xue Bai was speechless for a long time.
It is said that Li Linfu was able to serve as prime minister for more than ten years and was a capable minister of the Tang Dynasty, but a capable minister could come up with such an idea.
"Using all the barbarians on the side is so stupid that there is no limit."
"The problem is, the saint believes that great kindness..."
I wrote hundreds of words of 10,000 words today. Please vote for me and subscribe~~
(End of chapter)
