At this point, Datou knew that no matter how much he regretted, it would not help, so he could only shake his head helplessly and sigh in frustration.
Chang Sheng was about to say a few words of comfort when there was a knock on the door. Li Zhongyong had previously ordered the kitchen to prepare dinner for them. This time the knock on the door was from the handyman who came to deliver the meal.
Changsheng had not eaten well in the past few days. When he saw the food being delivered, he invited everyone to eat together. Yang Kai, Li Zhongyong and others had already had dinner in the evening, but he and Yu Datou were the only ones who were still hungry.
Da Tou knew that he was in trouble and had no appetite. He reluctantly took a few bites and then put down his chopsticks, "Your Majesty, we don't know where Long Haotian and Da Donv Lian are now. Do you think they will go to Chang'an to assassinate the emperor?" "
"No." Changsheng shook his head.
"Why are you so sure?" Datou asked.
"Because he has no need to assassinate the emperor," Changsheng said. "Assassinating the emperor is regicide. Not only will the painting be ruined, but we will also be madly chasing him. Although Long Haotian is bad, he is not stupid. He will not give up easily. You bring disaster upon yourself.”
"Then will they go to Luoyang or the Western Regions?" Datou asked again.
Changsheng put down the bowl and chopsticks, took the tea and rinsed his mouth, "No way, you are a little messy now, and your nervousness and worry are unfounded. Don't worry, Long Haotian will never fall out with us until the last moment."
Chang Sheng said this and turned to look at Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu, "Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, what have you been busy with recently?"
"You are busy training your troops and appeasing their morale," Li Zhongyong said. "You also know that most of Qingyang's soldiers and horses are surrender soldiers. When you persuaded them to surrender, you promised that you would soon send troops south to pacify Fengxiang, but now it is too late. If the troops are delayed, these surrendered soldiers will have to worry that their families and relatives will be angered and retaliated by Li Maozhen because they surrendered to the imperial court."
Changsheng said, "The emperor intends to move the capital to Luoyang, but Zhu Quanzhong is entrenched in Zhengzhou, which poses a great threat to Luoyang. The top priority is to pacify Zhengzhou. The court may not have the energy to conquer Li Maozhen in a short time."
After Chang Sheng finished speaking, Shi Xuanming said, "Fengxiang is not very far from Qingyang. If necessary, we can rush over there overnight and kill all Li Maozhen and his cronies."
Changsheng frowned and pondered, but did not answer immediately.
Chen Liqiu tilted his head and looked at Changsheng, "Don't take what the second brother said seriously. If you don't fight Fengxiang, it will be a matter of time before the soldiers rebel."
Changsheng raised his head and glanced at Chen Liqiu, but still didn't answer.
Yang Kai vaguely guessed what Chang Sheng was thinking, "My lord, are you worried that the emperor will misunderstand you?"
Everyone present was on his own, and Chang Sheng had no worries. He nodded and said, "Fengxiang is close to Chang'an and far from Luoyang. If we attack Fengxiang at this time, the emperor will suspect that I don't really support him in moving the capital to Luoyang. If I really support him in moving the capital to Luoyang, To move the capital to Luoyang, we should first attack Zhengzhou."
Without waiting for everyone to answer, Changsheng said again, "You all know that deep down in my heart, I don't agree with the emperor moving the capital to Luoyang. However, the high-ranking civil servants in the court have repeatedly made slanders. They only say that Luoyang has a dragon spirit. As the saying goes, three people become a tiger. , accumulated disputes, and if there are too many people talking about it, the emperor will inevitably be shaken. Previously in the main hall, I have publicly expressed my support for the emperor to move the capital. Now if the emperor notices that I do not sincerely support him in moving the capital, he will inevitably suspect that I am acting against the will. , with ulterior motives."
"You are such a good person, but he actually doubts you. It seems that this Bird Emperor is not good at all." Batulu said in a low voice.
"Elder brother, you can't say that," Changsheng waved his hand and shook his head. "Although the emperor was worried and suspicious, he gave us everything he could. He didn't hold anything back for us. It's precisely because the emperor didn't leave any backup plan to deal with us, so He is the only one who is nervous and scared. We cannot deny that he is the Ming Jun Holy Lord just because he is nervous and scared, nor can we deny his kindness and respect for us."
Changsheng paused for a moment before continuing, "We have indeed made great contributions to the court, but the emperor did not treat us badly. Not only did he give us promotions, he also pardoned our second and third senior brothers as an exception. We know that whether it is rebellion or assassination of the royal family, it is a serious crime against the nine clans. The emperor can even pardon such a serious crime, which really gives us a huge face."
Yang Kai nodded and answered, "That's true. As a first-class official of the imperial court, Qian Zhonglin did not investigate further after his assassination."
"I have an idea." Li Zhongyong said in a deep voice.
When Changsheng looked at him, Li Zhongyong said quickly, "Right now, the Western Regions are transporting grain and grass to Chang'an. We can lie about the military situation and just say that Li Maozhen sent troops to rob the Western Regions grain team. In this way, we have a reason to send troops. In order to prevent the emperor from worrying about us. To support our troops with self-respect, we can ask the imperial court to send Fan Jingming to lead the troops. He is the emperor's confidant. If Qingyang's troops and horses are commanded by him, the emperor will not be suspicious."
"Second, this is a good idea," Chen Liqiu nodded in agreement, "Once Fengxiang is captured, there will be no more fighting on the Western Front in a short time, and Qingyang will not need too many soldiers and horses to garrison. Afterwards, let Fan Jingming take away the soldiers and horses. My second son and I will continue to stay in Qingyang."
"There is also me." Batulu said.
"Of course you follow us." Chen Liqiu said casually.
After a brief pause, Changsheng nodded slowly. According to what Yuren said that day, the five previous spiritual talismans were born, and the longest one lasted only half a year. Faced with the lessons learned five times, he must prepare for the worst. , make sure that all your relatives and friends are settled before that day comes. Qingyang is an important border town of the Tang Dynasty. As long as the military power is handed over, no one will care about it. Li Zhongyong and others can stay here and enter as they please. Go easily.
"Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother, please immediately write to the court and ask Fan Jingming to come and lead the Southern Expedition," Changsheng said. "Liu Tianlin's protection is enough for the Emperor. Fan Jingming has the silver talisman and is the best candidate to lead the Southern Expedition." .”
"Do you want to state in the memorial that this is what you meant?" Li Zhongyong asked.
"Yes," Changsheng nodded, "I must let the court know that I agree to this matter, otherwise the court will not dare to deprive you of your military rights."
"Aren't you going back to see the emperor?" Chen Liqiu asked.
Changsheng waved his hand, "If you don't go back, the Emperor will definitely be troubled by the people of Yuqing Sect. If I go back, he will definitely let me kill Long Haotian. Now that Long Haotian has hidden his magic talisman, where can I find him?" go."
"That's fine." Chen Liqiu nodded.
Seeing that Chang Sheng's face was tired, Li Zhongyong stood up and said, "The trip to the South China Sea is very tiring. It's getting late. Let's rest early."
Everyone then left their seats and went out together.
"It's rare for us brothers to get together, so don't be too busy going elsewhere. We'll be spending a few days in Qingyang..."
Before Li Zhongyong could finish speaking, Changsheng shook his head and interrupted him, "No, we have to leave tomorrow. There are still three places we have to go to. When Fan Jingming leads the army, we should be back. Help He gnaws the bones, and then we have to rush to Luoyang to replace Zhang Zhenren."
Datou said, "Your Majesty, when you come back, the other talismans are scared to death. We have to deal with them next. How can you have time to go to Luoyang to lead the troops?"
Changsheng said casually, "In order to capture Luoyang, Master Zhang has already lost his longevity. We can't let him continue to work for the country. While I am still... serving as Minister of War, I should replace him as soon as possible."
"That's fine," Datou nodded, "It's been really difficult for Zhenren Zhang these past few years."
"Lao Wu, remember to call me when you leave tomorrow." Batulu said.
Chen Liqiu said, "Stop causing trouble and just stay in Qingyang."
"It's okay, Third Senior Brother. Senior Brother didn't cause any trouble at all when we went out this time," Changsheng said, turning to look at Batulu, "Don't worry, Senior Brother, I will definitely call you when I leave tomorrow."
Baturu grinned happily.
Although he didn’t know when Changsheng would come back, his residence had already been prepared for him. Changsheng had not slept for several days, so he returned to his room and fell asleep...
