"How did she know about this?" A question suddenly flashed through Wu Minzhi's confused mind, and he suddenly woke up: There are only two possibilities: some guy with ulterior motives gave the Queen's aunt to himself as a substitute. Grandma's money for the construction of the nursing home was stuffed into her own pocket, and she used the soldiers to build the temple to expose the queen;
Another possibility is that the Queen's aunt has been sending people to monitor her, and she finally got a handle on this outbreak. After some thinking and comparison, Wu Minzhi felt that the first possibility was very small. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the Queen's aunt still loved him very much. As the saying goes, no matter how close you are, you are still in the Queen's home. People, if an outsider intervenes, most likely they will not get much benefit.
"Damn it, this woman poisoned my sister to death. She was afraid that I would take revenge, so she had long wanted to silence me!" Wu Minzhi suddenly realized: "She usually treats me with all kinds of favors, but they are just for saints and others. You see, if she kills me in the future, others will only say that I brought it on myself and won’t blame her!"
Thinking of this, Wu Minzhi felt that his mouth was full of bitterness and his stomach was in knots. He really knew what Empress Wu had to do. The scene before his sister's death reappeared in front of him. Her usually handsome and fair face was covered with abnormal blue-black color, there were black dried blood stains on the corners of her mouth and nostrils, and her cold hands and feet had traces of convulsions before her death. It could be seen that What pain this poor woman had endured before she died, and now it was about to happen to her!
"Why do you, the Wu family and the Li family, insist on involving our Helan family in their own affairs?" Wu Minzhi looked up at the gray sky and said to himself desperately.
Back home, Wu Minzhi came to the dining table listlessly. He pierced a juicy lamb rib with a silver knife. He only expected it to be that woman and didn't know how she would kill him: poison. , rope, dagger or some accident. It was probably a glass of poisoned wine. After all, this way she could tell the outside world that she died of a sudden illness, just like her sister.
Wu Minzhi did not expect to beg the queen for his life. He really knew that woman very well. In the past few years, he had seen with his own eyes how that woman dealt with his former enemies - no matter who the other party was, as long as Once she was an enemy and threatened them, she would destroy them all in an orderly manner; even if the opponent had knelt down to beg for mercy, she would still lift him up and declare that she had forgotten her old grudge and would not retaliate against him again - a few months later , that unlucky guy will be charged with another crime, jailed together, and finally die a violent death.
"Mr. Sir!" The butler stood at the door of the restaurant: "This afternoon, a man from the British Duke's residence came with two hunting falcons. He said they were gifts from the British Duke and he was interceding for others!"
"Falcon?" Wu Minzhi frowned: "Is there anything else?"
"No more!" the butler said with a smile: "That's it, I should be able to speak for others!"
"Let him keep his things!" Wu Minzhi sighed. He and Li Jingye were old acquaintances and had a good relationship, but he was really not in the mood to see outsiders at this time. After a while, the butler came back with two falcons and a letter.
"Good, good eagle!" Wu Min subconsciously praised. The pair of falcons stood on the iron ring, more than two feet tall, with white heads and dark gray feathers on their bodies. Their beaks and claws looked like they were made of iron. His eyes were majestic and sharp. He had never seen such a majestic hunting falcon. He subconsciously stood up and walked to the hunting falcon, trying to reach out and touch its feathers.
"Mr. Sir, be careful!" The housekeeper hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop them: "These two flat-haired beasts are very vicious. Just now, a slave at the door reached out to tease them and pecked them, and a finger was missing from his hand!"
"It's so fierce!" Wu Minzhi hurriedly took back his hand. He opened the letter and read it. In the letter, Li Jingye said that the pair of hunting falcons were given to him by Wang Wenzuo, the leader of the East Palace Right Guards. He later said it for Wang Wenzuo. There were some kind words, and finally he vaguely mentioned Lu Zhaolin's matter, saying that it is better to let enemies go than to make enemies. If possible, he also asked Wu Minzhi to be merciful and give himself a face to let Lu Zhaolin go this time.
"Hey!" Wu Minzhi sighed. If he had gotten this pair of high-quality hunting falcons on ordinary days, he would have let Lu Zhaolin go as soon as he was happy. But now he is like a clay Buddha crossing the river. He can't protect himself. How can he care about it? What about Lu Zhaolin? He put the letter in his sleeve: "Send the falcon to the backyard for good care!"
The housekeeper glanced at Wu Minzhi in surprise and reminded him carefully: "Lang Jun, the British father-in-law is still waiting outside? Do you want to reply to a letter? Even a oral message will do?"
"Just say that I'm a little tired today. I'll take the Falcon. Thank you so much, Mr. British!" Wu Minzhi said, then turned around and went to the inner room, leaving the butler where he was.
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British government.
"Are you saying that Zhou Guogong said he was tired, but then he didn't say anything else?" Li Jingye asked.
"Yes! I didn't see the Duke of Zhou, only the steward of the mansion!" The messenger said: "The steward said that the Duke of Zhou just came back from the palace and was a little tired. He likes the hunting falcon very much. Thank you very much, Duke of England!"
"This guy is so rude!" Li Jingye's face suddenly turned red. He turned around and said to Wang Wenzuo: "He also accepted the things, but he didn't answer anything mentioned in the letter. He thought he Who is it? Already entered the Political Hall?"
"Brother Li, don't worry. He is in the limelight now. It's not surprising that he is arrogant!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile. He knew why Wu Minzhi was so clear. He probably suffered a lot in the palace, but he should He hasn't connected this with himself, otherwise he won't even thank you.
"So what if he's in the limelight? Who hasn't been in the limelight before? Sooner or later, it will happen one day! Then he will be good-looking!" Li Jingye sneered: "He just refutes my face, but even Sanlang You don't give me any face, and you don't leave any escape route for yourself, you are so stupid!"
Wang Wenzuo laughed twice but said nothing. Li Jingye's meaning was obvious. Wu Minzhi was so domineering now because he relied on the queen's power. But once the prince succeeded to the throne, his and Wang Wenzuo's status would immediately be reversed. But these words If it came out of Wang Wenzuo's mouth, it would be completely malicious.
"Sanlang!" Li Jingye waved his hand and signaled all the maids and servants in the room to leave, leaving only himself and Wang Wenzuo. He lowered his voice and said: "In the past two years, the prince has overseen the country, treated his ministers with courtesy, and treated the people with kindness. Originally The imperial court has deployed troops abroad for many years, and many of the soldiers in the government have fled. According to the law, those who apply for the military government if they are late will be beheaded, and their families will be sitting together, and they will not be included in the officialdom.
The prince wrote a letter to the emperor for this reason: I heard that the army was recruiting soldiers, and the whole family of those who did not report in time would be implicated. Some were even imprisoned without being convicted, and there were many people. However, if they were late due to illness, encountered bandits on the way, were in trouble crossing a river, were afraid of fleeing, were seriously injured, etc., military law would implicate their relatives. The minister believes that military law should take into account the actual situation. If someone is not killed in battle, they are convicted or noted to flee, and their families are implicated. It is really unfair and deserves sympathy. I hope that the law can be revised so that if a soldier in the family flees, he will not be punished with consecutive sittings.
The emperor accepted the prince's advice and revised the law. There were tens of thousands of people in Guanzhong alone who relied on the prince's kindness to live. These people all wanted to die for His Highness the prince. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could use this power to do great things? "
"Li Jingye, what do you want to do? The food and wine are not good, the concubines in the palace are not beautiful, and Chang'an's amateur entertainment life is not rich? Do you really want to commit suicide?" Wang Wenzuo cursed secretly in his heart, but replied: " It is true that the prince is benevolent, but the emperor is also a virtuous king. Take the incident you just mentioned! The prince wrote a letter to advise, and the emperor had to accept the advice before the law could be revised, right? Those tens of thousands of people If Prince Lai lives, does he not have some kindness from the emperor?"
"Sanlang's words are ridiculous!" Li Jingye said with a smile: "You have just come back from abroad, and you don't know much about the emperor's physical condition in the past few years. Since the destruction of Goguryeo, the emperor's health has been getting worse day by day. Wind and wind plague the country all year round, and most of the government affairs are handled by Her Majesty the Queen. There are many small groups around the Queen, and Wu Minzhi is one of them. I think you should know who he is, Saburo, right? If the government affairs are waiting here, In the hands of villains, can things go well in Datang?"
"I know who Wu Zetian likes to use, I know 10,000 times better than you! But you are not a good person. You are definitely not wronged by saying that you are happy about misfortune. You can just live a good life and think about how to persuade the prince to stage a coup all day long. Overthrowing his own father and mother to come to power and profiting from it himself! This is really a characteristic of the Tang Dynasty!" Wang Wenzuo slandered.
When Li Jingye saw that Wang Wenzuo was silent, he continued: "Sanlang, you think that the emperor is ill, and there is not much time left. When the time comes, the prince will naturally succeed to the throne, and then you can clear out the gangsters and bring peace to the government. But Have you ever thought that if Prince Renxiao ascends the throne and becomes emperor, then the queen will be the empress dowager. Do you think that the empress dowager will return to the palace and enjoy peace and quiet? Those villains who rely on the queen will continue to rely on the empress dowager. If you act recklessly, even if you have the trust of His Majesty, you will still throw in the trap and restrain your hands! Why not take the opportunity to kill it once and for all to avoid future troubles?"
"That's all!" Wang Wenzuo finally spoke: "As a warrior, I am able to be where I am today because of the favor of Your Majesty and His Royal Highness. What you just said is beyond the words of a human minister. If you have made great contributions to the country, you can have Today is really not an easy day. I hope Brother Li will be careful in his words and deeds so as not to endanger the family!" After saying that, he stood up, bowed his hands to Li Jingye, and walked out the door.
After leaving the British government, Wang Wenzuo returned home. In his heart, he admired Li Jingye's foresight. Although the other party is not a time traveler, his judgment of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian's character and future political development is still extremely accurate. And since he dares to test himself, it means that he is not the only one who has this idea. A considerable political group with a deep social foundation.
And it was not accidental that he chose himself. Not only did he have rich military experience and was deeply trusted by the prince, but the most important thing was that he legitimately controlled the army led by Dong Gong Shi. With this army, he could do anything. Unobstructed access to the palace city, only a wall away from the Daming Palace. As for the ongoing work of rectifying the affairs of the government troops in Guanzhong, he can easily mobilize and deploy the government troops around Sanfu. This is a very necessary condition for launching a military coup. It can be said that if you join it, support the crown prince Li Hong to the throne, and let Li Zhi become the emperor in advance, the chance of success is quite high.
But why did Wang Wenzuo refuse so firmly? First of all, although Wang Wenzuo was in a critical position and had a high official position, his reputation and political status in Chang'an were far inferior to that of Li Jingye. Wang Wenzuo's real base was still in Liaodong, Korea and Japan, and he was still an amateur in the Guanzhong area.
If the coup is really successful, the group of people behind Li Jingye will undoubtedly get the biggest piece of cake, and Wang Wenzuo will probably be marginalized. This is equivalent to working hard to make wedding dresses for others. Secondly, Li Hong himself has a good relationship with Li Zhi and Queen Wu. Without the cooperation of the prince, the probability of a successful military coup will be greatly reduced;
The third and most important factor is that no matter how many moral flaws Li Zhi and Wu have, they are very competent as rulers. Launching a military coup will inevitably cause civil war, bring great pain to the people, and give foreign enemies the opportunity to invade. If it is just for his own ambition and desire for power, it will hurt so many people, which also violates Wang Wenzuo's inner integrity.
"It's such a pity!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "I don't know if there will be another chance to seize the highest power."
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British government.
Just as Wang Wenzuo left, a young man came in from outside: "Brother, you let Wang Wenzuo go so easily? If he reports what you just said to the queen, we will destroy our family!"
"Second brother, there is no need to worry!" Li Jingye smiled: "Wang Wenzuo is not such a villain. According to me, he has already been wary of the Queen!"
"Then why did he refuse just now?" asked the young man. His name was Li Jingyou, he was Li Jingye's younger brother and a part of the conspiracy.
"This person is very careful in his actions. How could he be involved in it just because of the few words I just said?" Li Jingye smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, I just need to talk to him a few more times!"
"Brother, why do you trust him so much?" Li Jingyou asked anxiously: "Even if he is wary of the queen, if he reports us, he will definitely get a heavy reward from the queen! How can we trust the lives of hundreds of people in my family? Regarding his personal integrity?"
"Second brother, you have to believe in my brother's vision!" Li Jingye said with a smile: "Wang Wenzuo's appearance must mean that he is going to do something big. Besides, the soldiers of Chang'an Nanya and Beiya are currently in the hands of the Queen and the Emperor's cronies. Only Wang Wenzuo controls the troops of the East Palace, and he is a famous general in the world. If he agrees, great things will happen!" (End of Chapter)
