"Everything behind the scenes is being manipulated secretly by Ming Chongyan using secret guards."
Li Xuan said, placing a cup of tea on the table in front of Xue Rengui with both hands.
Xue Rengui gently pushed the tea aside, raised his head, and looked at Li Xuan solemnly: "I heard that Nanchang Prince's Palace has good wine?"
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, then said: "Yes, it's hidden in the study."
A trace of surprise flashed across Xue Rengui's face, then he nodded and stretched out his hand: "Excuse me, Your Majesty!"
Li Xuan stood up, walked to the pear flower cabinet on one side, took out a green gourd from it, and handed it to Xue Rengui.
"Wine in a green gourd can not only make the wine stronger, but can also improve eyesight, reduce fire, relieve coughs and moisturize the lungs." Li Xuan paused for a moment and said: "Some people in the house like to drink like this the most. In the study Drinking.”
"That's it." Xue Rengui nodded, took the wine gourd, and poured a sip directly into his mouth.
The clear wine has a slight gourd aroma, which makes people a little intoxicated.
Li Xuan looked at Xue Rengui calmly.
In recent years, although he had produced some distilled liquor, he rarely sold it in the Tang Dynasty. Most of it was sent to the Western Regions. Unexpectedly, Xue Rengui found out about it.
In order to keep the secrets secret, all the containers used by Li Xuan for distillation are green gourds.
The gourd itself can be used as medicine, and using the medicinal power of the gourd to confuse it makes it even more difficult to speculate on the preparation method of this wine.
Once sold to the Western Regions, it immediately attracted a large number of customers.
The barbarians in the Western Regions couldn't drink enough for themselves, so how could they sell it to the Tang Dynasty?
The reason why Li Xuan didn't want to sell it in Datang was because it was easy to make money from these wines.
He is a county king and already has a lot of wealth.
If he comes up with something that sells well and accumulates wealth, he will be targeted by the palace in an instant.
This is what Li Xuan doesn't want to see.
Making a fortune in silence is consistent with his current status.
But in the Western Region, it doesn't matter how much wealth you have.
As long as you have the power to hold on to your wealth, no one can take it away from you.
…
"Good wine!"
Looking up at Li Xuan, Xue Rengui's eyes were clear and frightening: "Please tell me in detail why Master Shi Yin designed Hao Xiang?"
"Because the person arrested today, the Goguryeo who was doing tricks in Prime Minister Hao's Mansion, is a secret guard." Li Xuan's words made Xue Rengui's eyes shrink suddenly.
"The secret agent under Gao Baobao is a secret guard?" Xue Rengui's face showed surprise.
Li Xuan nodded and said calmly: "Hao Xiangxian, the eldest grandson of Xiang Hao, won a Silla maid from someone else last winter. That Silla maid has been secretly communicating with a group of Silla people.
Xuan originally thought that the person behind them was Silla, but she didn't expect that the person was from Goguryeo, and behind him was Gao Baobao. "
"The subordinates of Gao Baobao sect infiltrated into the Silla people and designed Prime Minister Hao. Once something happened, the court would immediately suspect that it was Silla. If the war between Tang Dynasty and Silla resumed, then he, the treasure king, would naturally be able to play his role again. Function." Xue Rengui could clearly see the benefits in this at a glance.
Li Xuan nodded slightly: "Last winter, someone petitioned the Central Committee to transfer the treasure back to Liaodong and serve as the governor of Liaodong, but Prime Minister Hao rejected it."
This is a direct conflict.
Gao Baobao wanted to take revenge on Hao Chujun, but he didn't dare to be too harsh.
"But the people he sent were secret guards?" Xue Rengui's face showed a hint of amusement, but also a hint of vigilance.
It is rumored that the secret guards are pervasive. If it is really them, it would be terrible.
"Originally Xuan thought Gao Baobao was behind it, but at the last moment when he was capturing that person, that person used the secret guard's sword skills." Li Xuan took a deep breath and shook her head in disbelief.
The secret guard's sword skills would not be of that level without being immersed in them for several years.
Naturally, his identity as a secret guard could no longer be deceived.
"Why must it be Ming Chongyan?" Xue Rengui followed up and asked.
"Because your Majesty doesn't know." Li Xuan raised his eyes to Xue Rengui and said softly: "Although there are many people in the secret guard, only Ming Chongyan really dares to attack the current Zhongshu Order and is able to hide it from Your Majesty. .”
How dare the secret guard commanders attack Hao Chujun without orders from above.
Even if they do it, they will report it to others.
How many things that Empress Wu knew that the Emperor didn't know?
"The Empress of Heaven doesn't know about this, your Majesty doesn't know about it, outsiders don't know about it, and colleagues don't know about it. Only Ming Chongyan." Li Xuan took a deep breath, picked up the teacup on the side, and took a sip herself.
"This is not enough." Xue Rengui stared at Li Xuan. He wanted to target Ming Chongyan and needed more evidence.
"That's enough." Li Xuan put down the tea cup, looked at Xue Rengui calmly and said, "It's enough that Xiao Wang can investigate here. The rest of the matter is for your Majesty to investigate and has nothing to do with us."
Li Xuan's identity determined that he could not investigate the secret guards.
If he really checks something randomly, even if he finds it out, he will be the unlucky one in the end.
As for the truth of the matter, the emperor could find out the truth with just his hands and feet, and he didn't have to worry about Empress Wu finding out.
Xue Rengui took a deep look at Li Xuan. Now he finally understood why Li Xuan did not dare to tell the emperor about this matter in person.
Because once this matter was made clear, it would immediately cause a conflict between the emperor and Empress Wu.
Even if Empress Wu knew nothing about this matter, she would immediately come out to protect Ming Chongyan when needed.
"But why?" Xue Rengui leaned back slightly and raised his eyes to look at Li Xuan.
"Of course it's for the position of commander of the northwest march." Li Xuan lowered his head slightly and said softly: "Bachelor of the North Gate, I can't accept Pengcheng County Duke Xibei as the commander."
The emperor's eldest grandson is born, and the prince's trusted minister of the Ministry of Industry has become the commander-in-chief of an army of 100,000 elite soldiers on the northwest road. Anyone will be uneasy.
Xue Rengui sighed softly and asked, "But what's the use of doing this?"
"Of course it is useful. Hao Xiang is ill and there is a shortage of people in Zhongshu. It is naturally difficult to move forward with many things and naturally needs to be delayed.
At this time, they had time to ask the Duke to change his military strategy and at the same time slander the Duke of Pengcheng. "
At this point, Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said: "Xuan is sure that the secret guards must have the means to slander Duke Pengcheng and at the same time have ways to make his uncle change his military strategy. If this is true, His Majesty and the Queen of Heaven will probably also There’s only one option left.”
Xue Rengui's breathing suddenly became heavy.
Ming Chongyan definitely had such a method. Xue Rengui didn't know about Liu Shenli's affairs, but Yuan Wanqing had come to him more than once in the past few days.
Comparing the before and after, the truth can be seen at a glance.
"From the year before, when His Majesty asked us to write the memorial, to the birth of the Emperor's eldest grandson, and the New Year's Day, the total time in between was only five or six days." Li Xuan looked at Xue Rengui and said softly: "First of all, we must determine His Majesty's tendency. , and they also had to make sure that the person born must be the emperor’s eldest grandson. Finally, they were forced to take action because the time was too short.”
"So it takes time." Xue Rengui sighed, Li Xuan's words had completely convinced him.
…
Li Xuan stood up, took out another green gourd from the cabinet behind him, and said softly: "This matter was done by Ming Chongyan alone and has nothing to do with the Queen of Heaven. However, it is difficult to find evidence to deal with this matter... I believe that among the secret guards His archives have been completely destroyed, even if His Majesty wants to attack him, he still needs to be careful, and Hao Xiang is fine after all."
"But he was too bold after all." Xue Rengui's eyes flashed with coldness.
If this incident is completely exposed in the end, even Xue Rengui will inevitably become a pawn to be exploited.
"If you want to intervene in the northwest military, how can you do it without being bold?" Li Xuan raised his eyes and looked at Xue Rengui.
His words directly penetrated the true thoughts of Ming Chongyan and all the North Gate bachelors.
"Just them?" Xue Rengui felt funny for a moment.
These North Gate bachelors were basically the children from poor families that Empress Wu had recruited from the imperial examinations over the years. Although everyone had outstanding talents, they had no experience in leading troops in combat.
Let alone Xue Rengui who looked down on them, it was hard for any general in the army to say that he looked down on them.
Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said: "Uncle Shi forgot about the Ministry of War. Although Uncle Shi and Pengcheng County Duke are fighting over this matter, the Ministry of War is not idle. They have already formulated many things. Just because of some The reason was not reported to His Majesty and the Queen, but it fell into the hands of the Beimen Bachelor group."
Xue Rengui picked up the green gourd, took a deep sip, and then shook his head and said: "The same goes for those in the Ministry of War. The military strategies they formulated have not been used by anyone over the years, but those who have used them have basically failed. Well, if you don’t adapt to local conditions and the will of the time, it would be strange to be invincible.”
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded,
He also came here fighting on the battlefield.
Many times, especially in an environment like a grassland battlefield, what is needed is more of a commander's flash of inspiration and adaptability to achieve a victory on the battlefield.
If he really followed the strategy of those at the Ministry of War, he might not even know how he died.
Even if it is an occasional fluke, the casualties will definitely be heavy.
"My lord, this time, we must fight on the plateau. Any military strategy is not enough to serve as a basis for the battle." After a slight pause, Xue Rengui said in a deep voice: "Just like in Wuhai, a certain place looks like a shallow beach. It was a puddle, but when I stepped on it, my whole body fell directly into it and could never get out."
"Swamp, is there a swamp in Wuhai?" Li Xuan was suddenly surprised.
Xue Rengui smiled and said with some pride: "Wuhai is not only swampy, but also windy. If we can't follow the trend, we will be at a disadvantage if we start a war."
Without knowing the terrain, weather, or personnel, if you rush up rashly, you will only end up in failure.
Li Xuan immediately felt deeply malicious.
Xue Rengui has never mentioned these things in public, not even to the emperor.
These are the reasons why Xue Rengui dares to go to Wuhai.
If the emperor uses someone else, if it fails, Xue Rengui can stand aside and watch the fun.
Face to face, Li Xuan could feel that Xue Rengui definitely had such thoughts, and then he shook his head gently.
If Xue Rengui was really desperate, he wouldn't have come to talk to him today.
Li Xuan stood up again, took out another green gourd from the pear flower cabinet, then placed his hands in front of Xue Rengui, took two steps back, and cupped his hands: "Uncle Shi, please give me some advice."
Xue Rengui looked at the three green gourds in front of him, then looked at Li Xuan, and slowly said: "It's okay if the army fights in a familiar place. There are many places that can be used, but in a completely unfamiliar place, the situation is difficult. It's like being completely in darkness. Once you step out, you don't know what's ahead, maybe it's a mountain of swords and a sea of fire."
After a slight pause, Xue Rengui continued: "In a place like this, all the military strategies and all the intelligence data collected are not trustworthy... The only thing you can trust is your own hands and feet. Sometimes, your hands and feet are better than yours." Your eyes must be more trustworthy, and the sergeants under you are your hands and feet.”
Li Xuan nodded slightly.
It's the same as fighting in a completely dark space. You don't know whether it's flat land or a cliff, or whether it's a sword, a gun, or a crossbow. All you can trust is your own hands, feet, and sword.
The same goes for the battlefield.
Xue Rengui raised his head and looked deeply at Li Xuan: "Under this situation, does the prince still have the confidence to win?"
Li Xuan looked at Xue Rengui calmly and nodded: "Yes!"
"That's good!"
(End of chapter)
