"Then, what happened next? How did the prince respond?" Sancho asked quickly.
"How else can I answer?" Murong Miao said with a wry smile: "As a prince, when being asked such heart-wrenching words, what else can I say? At that time, all excuses are in vain!"
Sangqiu nodded. He changed his place with Prince Li Hong and really didn't know what to say. The fact that the emperor could say such a thing only meant that his suspicion of the prince was deeply rooted. The prince had the dual identity of being a minister and a successor, so there was really no way to defend him.
"When I just entered, the prince was lying on the bed, and a doctor was holding his pulse!" Sancho said in a low voice.
"Hey! It's no wonder!" Murong Miao sighed: "When the prince encounters this kind of thing, he will get sick even if he is not sick. Sancho, the prince has summoned you at this time, and he is treating your master really well. I have nothing to say!"
Sangqiu nodded silently. It is said that the most important thing for Li Hong at this time is to be careful in his words and deeds to ensure his position as the prince. As for Wang Wenzuo's safety and misfortune, no matter how important it is, it is not as important as his position as the prince. It was very rare to be able to remind Wang Wenzuo of Li Hong's behavior at this time, at the risk of angering the emperor.
"Forget it, don't worry too much about the prince! The emperor's words are probably just an angry word. As long as there is nothing else to do, there is still no problem with the prince's position!" Murong Miao said with a smile.
"Angry words? Why do you say that?" Sancho asked.
"Isn't this simple?" Murong Miao said with a smile: "The Emperor and the Queen have a close relationship, so the only one who can inherit the throne is the Queen's son. Her Majesty the Queen has four sons. Except for Her Royal Highness, the remaining three sons are all older. He's still young. The emperor's health has always been poor. If the prince is deposed and something happens to the emperor, wouldn't it mean that the young master will come to court? Her Majesty the Queen will definitely not allow this situation, and will definitely find a way to persuade the emperor!"
"So that's it!" Sancho was secretly happy when he heard this and said with a smile: "Colonel Murong really knows a lot about the situation in the palace. It's a lot of trouble for me to come here this time. Thank you very much!"
"I am where I am today thanks to your master's support. What should I thank you for?" Murong Miao waved his hand: "But this does not mean that your master will be fine. On the contrary, your master will become more and more dangerous, so you You must ask your master to be careful when you return!"
Sancho was relieved when he heard that the prince was fine, but when he heard that Wang Wenzuo was going to be in trouble, he quickly asked: "Why do you say that? Isn't the prince fine? He also said that he would deal with it for my master!"
"You still don't understand!" Murong Miao sighed: "It is true that the emperor will not touch the position of the prince, but it is true that he is angry because of this matter. The emperor is a real dragon in the world. Is it a trivial matter for a real dragon to be angry? Someone is going to be unlucky!”
"Could it be, could it be??——" Sancho was already frightened and stuttered.
"Yes, the unlucky one is probably your master!" Murong Miao showed a sympathetic look: "But don't worry, his life should be fine. Since your master belongs to the prince, the emperor will not take his life. , at most he will be demoted and live in idleness. Anyway, he is still young. It can be regarded as a young man who has reached early and has sharpened his character. Anyway, after the prince succeeds to the throne, he will definitely re-enable your master, but leave his son with a chance to sell favors! "
"How could this happen?" Sancho groaned: "My master obviously has good intentions, and those Shu brocades were also presented separately. Even if they are blended, they are better than nothing, right? Why do you have to demote me?"
"Hey! This is the imperial court, do you understand?" Murong Miao sighed: "Except for the emperor, no one can always be at the forefront of the tide and stand firm! There are too many things like being a golden horse in the jade hall in the morning and being a prisoner in the evening. . If you think about Changsun Wuji and Li Ji, you will feel better. Give me a message to your master. No matter what you encounter, you must be respectful on the surface and never show a trace of resentment. Otherwise, you will be killed! Remember this!"
"A fatal disaster?"
"Well! If he is just a mediocre person, it would be fine, and the emperor wouldn't care too much. But your master is really capable. The emperor has only two options for a person like him: either use him, or kill him if he can't be used. There will never be a third way, remember!"
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Daming Palace.
"Your Majesty, the prince summoned Sangqiu tonight, Wang Wenzuo's servant. He stayed for half a cup of tea and then went out!" The eunuch lowered his head and reported to the emperor on the brocade couch.
Li Zhi was leaning on the brocade couch. The queen beside him massaged his temples and chuckled: "You are still like a child at such an old age. Your Majesty, you scared Hong'er this time!"
"Isn't it good to scare?" Li Zhi snorted coldly: "How can it be appropriate for a prince of a country to quarrel with a foreign minister and the prime minister in the inner court and make bad words to each other? How can I rest assured that the world of the Tang Dynasty is entrusted to him?"
"Who else can you give it to if you don't give it to him?" The Queen smiled and said, "Xian'er and Dan'er are still young. Besides, Hong'er's words are not bad. Wang Wen asked him to use the Jiannan branch to manage the camp and manage the military and horse management. Who cares about the quality of the Shu Brocade below? It’s just bad luck and the garrison rebelled! Besides, there are many thieves in Hebei, so we can’t blame Wang Wenzuo, right?”
"This is not a matter of whether Wang Wenzuo should be blamed or not!" Li Zhi said angrily: "Rewards and punishments of life and death, this is the master's authority, what should or should not be done? If it were another person, do you think Hong'er would do it for him? He defended himself! As a person in power, you are not allowed to show your personal interests. Yes, I know that Wang Wenzuo is not responsible for this matter. The prime minister is also making a fuss about this matter and wants to use this matter to beat Wang Wenzuo. But this is not a bad thing. There is some hesitation among the ministers. The emperor is easy to use people. If they are in a group, how can I use people? But Hong'er is good. As the crown prince of a country, he actually speaks directly for Wang Wenzuo. Scolding the Prime Minister, if this is going to spread, how can we do it? Even Wang Wenzuo himself probably doesn’t want Hong’er to do this!”
"That's true!" The queen nodded: "But now that the matter has come to this, what should we do? Send someone to detain Sancho?"
"Detain it? Why do you have to deduct it?" Li Zhi snorted coldly: "Let him go back and tell Wang Wenzuo everything. I want to see if he knows the duty of a minister?"
Wu and Li Zhi have been married for many years, and they immediately heard what her husband was thinking: "Your Majesty, do you want to punish him?"
"Well, first remove him from his official position and let him return to Chang'an to live leisurely for a while!" Li Zhi said coldly.
"This, this is too heavy, isn't it?" Wu was stunned when he heard this: "Your Majesty is going to——"
"I just want to test his loyalty!" Li Zhi said coldly: "Hong'er is too kind-hearted and too cowardly in his treatment of others. Wang Wenzuo is also a man of both civil and military talents. If he is used properly, he will indeed be the king of the country. But if it is not used properly, it will be a great harm to the country. I will punish him severely this time. If he is like before, then when Hong'er succeeds, he can be reinstated, which can be regarded as a favor to him. "If I had any resentment, I wouldn't have left this trouble behind!"
When Mrs. Wu heard this, she also sighed: "I don't know when Hong'er will understand your majesty's painstaking efforts!"
"He doesn't understand now, but he will understand one day in the future!" Li Zhi sighed: "When the late emperor was in power, he demoted the British Duke from his official position and asked him to become an official in Bingzhou. After the widow succeeded to the throne, he was I also used this trick when I recalled Chang'an, but I didn't expect it would be my turn to use it again today!"
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In Chengdu, the Jiannan Branch Du Yingtian handles military affairs and horse management, and the Yamen.
"There was a lot of fine linen in the Shu brocade, which triggered a mutiny. The court punished me. The prince interceded for me, which caused a reprimand from the emperor?" Wang Wenzuo's eyes widened. Even though he had seen a lot, he heard such a large amount of information all at once. Big news, I was a little confused for a while: "Sancho, can you speak slower, what is this mess?"
"These are all true, Master, absolutely true!" Sancho became anxious when he heard this: "Although I have not witnessed the rebels with my own eyes, it is indeed true. The imperial court has no troops in Guanzhong, and there are even thousands of rebels. They couldn't defeat them, and in the end they had to rely on a Uighur prince who paid tribute and brought hundreds of followers to defeat the rebels. Those Uighurs burned, killed, and looted around Chang'an City, and the court didn't care, saying it was a reward for the Uighurs!"
Wang Wenzuo let out a long breath. He had recovered from the initial shock. He was not too surprised by what Sanqiu said later. It was normal for Guanzhong to have empty troops. Longyou lost so miserably. The court must want to think about it. Ways to make up for the vacancy. Half of the military bases in the world are located in Guanzhong. If they are to be transferred, most of them must be transferred from Guanzhong.
There are many nobles in Chang'an City, so there will only be more cases of occupying land and abusing the people. It is not surprising that there are not enough soldiers to fight. As for the Uighur prince leading troops to defeat the rebels, it is not surprising that he looted everywhere as payment. When Li Yuan raised his army, he used people's property to pay the Turks in exchange for military support; during the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang army even used the children of the two capitals in exchange for jade and silk. The Uighur cavalry worked hard, and the Uighur cavalry also worked hard to defeat the Anshi rebels. Therefore, this approach was a basic practice in Datang, that is, Sancho followed him all the time, and the lower limit was relatively high. Only when he saw that Datang's gameplay broke the lower limit, he psychologically broke the defense.
"Let's not talk about these for now, what else did the prince say?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"The prince said that he will deal with the court for you, so that you don't have to worry too much. He will just guard Jiannan Road for the court. However, this matter still needs to be explained to the court!"
Wang Wenzuo was also a little moved when he heard this. As the prince, Li Hong was really benevolent and righteous for being able to speak to this point. Even if the relationship between monarch and minister in feudal society was not taken into account, the top leaders of the company treated a laborer so kindly. You should try your best.
"The matter of 300,000 pieces of Shu brocade is handled by Yiji Lianbode! I will call him to inquire later, and there must be an explanation! What else did the prince say?"
"No more!" Sancho hesitated for a moment: "But on the way back, Colonel Murong Miao also said something. When the prince was arguing for you, he had an argument with the prime minister, which made the emperor angry. Now, say 'this position will be yours sooner or later, why are you so anxious'!"
"What, there is such a thing?" Wang Wenzuo was really frightened this time: "Wait a minute, so the prince said such things to the emperor and summoned you overnight?"
"Yes, if what Captain Murong said is true, the prince really has nothing to say to you, master!"
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "I really don't know how to repay such a great favor!" As the saying goes, even the walls in the palace have ears, especially after such an incident, Li Hong's Every move he makes will be watched by countless pairs of eyes. He also summoned Wang Wenzuo's domestic slaves, so you can imagine the risks he takes.
"Master, Colonel Murong also said that the Queen's other three children are still young and the Emperor's health is not very good, so even if the Emperor gets angry, the Crown Prince's position will be stable for a while. But you may be unlucky because of this. You may even be dismissed from office! He said that you should be careful not to get angry or complain, otherwise you will be killed; but as long as you can endure it, you will have a bright future after the prince succeeds to the throne!"
"Murong Miao, you must have experienced it!" Wang Wenzuo showed a wry smile. Murong Miao's judgment was very close to his guess. This matter could have been big or small, but since the emperor was angry, he could only make a big deal. . There is no free lunch in the world. Since the prince cannot move, he, the "princeling", will be stabbed for the prince.
Regarding this point, Wang Wenzuo has no complaints. Of course, he can reach this point because of his personal efforts and meritorious deeds. But there are so many people who can make meritorious deeds. How many of them can be promoted as highly as him? After all, isn’t there someone above? Since he has risen to great heights because of someone above him, it is only natural that he should be demoted because of problems above him. Besides, my ability has already been registered in the emperor's heart. As long as there is an opportunity, I will naturally have a chance to make a comeback. It should be a paid vacation.
Thinking of this, Wang Wenzuo smiled bitterly: "That's the only way it can be. Go and call Yiji Lianbode. I want to ask about Shu Brocade!"
"As you command!" Sancho responded, and soon summoned Igilenbod. Wang Wenzuo asked him to leave first, leaving only himself and Yijilianbode alone, and asked: "What on earth did you do about the three hundred thousand pieces of Shu brocade? Tell me carefully from beginning to end. Once again!"
"Three hundred thousand pieces of Sichuan brocade?" Yijilianbod was slightly startled. He knew that something had happened, but he did not shirk the blame. He told the whole story in detail, and finally said: "The thing is so!"
"So, the 300,000 pieces of Shu brocade were not handled by you, but by Wang Ence and his men?" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but feel relieved.
"That's right!" Yiji Lianbode nodded: "My subordinates have a lot of matters at hand. There are many merchants under Xiao Langjun, so I left it to him. You can go to him to inquire!"
