"Look, look, the lives of hundreds of people in the whole family, young and old, are at the knife's edge!" Li Jingyou muttered: "But what will you do if you see it wrong, brother?"
"Li Er, your eldest brother did not misjudge the person this time!" A voice came from outside the door. Li Jingyou turned around and saw a scribe in green clothes. He said happily: "Brother Guangguang, when did you come!"
"Just now!" The scribe in green said with a smile: "I was following Wang Wenzuo just now. After he left here, he went directly home instead of going to the palace!"
"Second brother, did I see the wrong person?" Li Jingye said with a smile.
"That's not necessarily the case!" Li Jingyou said unconvinced: "Perhaps Wang Wenzuo was just hesitant and thought it through after returning home before deciding to make a debut!"
"Hahaha!" The scribe in Tsing Yi said with a smile: "If it is possible for other people, people like Wang Wenzuo need to go home before they can think clearly? If he makes a debut, he will definitely do it as soon as possible and will never delay the decision!"
"That's right!" Li Jingye nodded: "Brother Luo's words are right to the point. Second brother, think about it, the sooner the better when it comes to making a debut. If it's too late, it's hesitation, and it's not. Loyalty, Wang Wenzuo will definitely not be unclear about this!"
Hearing this, Li Jingyou opened his mouth and was speechless. Just as the Tsing Yi scribe said, if those involved in the conspiracy want to betray their companions to free themselves, then the sooner they report the better, the longer it can be delayed. The longer it takes, it means that you are hesitant and not loyal enough to the court, not to mention that someone has come forward earlier than you. An ordinary mediocre person may still be hesitant, but people like Wang Wenzuo who have experienced life and death will either make a move immediately or never mention it again, and they will never be divisive.
"Second brother, go get some wine! I want to have a few drinks with Brother Luo tonight!" Li Jingye said with a smile. It turned out that the scribe in Tsing Yi was the famous poet Luo Binwang in later generations. Although Cai Ming entered the officialdom very early, his official career was very wasted. When he was over forty, he was still just the boss of Chang'an County. This made him quite dissatisfied with the current situation, and he was gradually attracted to a small group with Li Jingye as the core. , gained the trust of Li Jingye and served as a think tank in the group.
"Brother Luo!" Li Jingye poured a glass of wine for King Luo Bin and asked, "Wang Wenzuo sternly refused today. What do you think he was thinking?"
"Haha!" King Luo Bin smiled and took a sip of wine: "Brother Li, actually you just said those words a little too early!"
"It's early? What do you mean?"
"It means the time hasn't come yet!" King Luo Bin pointed to his wine glass: "A good strategy is like wine, it takes time to brew. If the time hasn't come yet, it won't taste right!"
"Why do you say that?" Li Jingye looked into King Luo Bin's eyes: "He currently controls the soldiers of the East Palace, and also has the power to organize the soldiers of the Guanzhong Palace. This kind of opportunity is not easy, and he may be replaced one day!"
"Brother Li, you are still so wishful thinking!" King Luo Bin said with a smile: "You can't just think about yourself and ignore Wang Wenzuo. Yes, Wang Wenzuo has soldiers on hand, which is a great opportunity to cause trouble, but have you ever thought about him? Now that he has great power and the prince trusts him, what more benefits will he get if the uprising succeeds? This is the most important thing!"
"If the prince ascends the throne and becomes emperor, wouldn't it be the greatest benefit to him?" Li Jingye asked.
"If he doesn't do anything, the prince will be able to ascend the throne and become emperor in the future. He will still be prosperous and wealthy then. Why take such a big risk now?" King Luo Bin smiled and said: "Besides, if you really start the uprising as you said, The prince really may not be able to secure the throne, and even if he can secure the throne, he probably won’t be able to act as carelessly as he does now!”
Li Jingye's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he nodded after a while. As his mastermind, King Luo Bin knew everything about his plans. Although Li Jingye told Wang Wenzuo that he wanted to help the prince ascend the throne in advance and let Li Zhi go to the harem to become the emperor, the prince may not accept this favor. After all, the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Li Zhi and the prince was very good at this time. The prince's brothers were still young, and the prince was also given the power to supervise the country. Taking the risk of a military coup and ascending the throne early would bring little benefit to the prince but huge risks. Even if the coup is successful, the prince will most likely not honor the rewards after he ascends the throne. Instead, he will regard these "heroes" as careerists and troublemakers and look for opportunities to kill them.
Of course, Li Jingye and King Luo Bin are both aware of this truth, so the crown prince’s ascension to the throne is actually not the best choice for them. For them, the best situation is to use the crown prince as a banner to launch a coup and force Li Zhi and his wife to abdicate. Then let the prince die and replace him with a better-used Li Tang clan to be his puppet. Of course, this must not be said directly to Wang Wenzuo. For the Southeast Han scholars like Luo Binwang, chaos is the ladder to ascend; and for noble children like Li Jingye, the couple Li Zhi and Empress Wu are The highly centralized autocratic imperial power was their biggest enemy, so for both of them, the military coup that forced Li Zhi and his wife to abdicate was just the beginning, and what followed was far from over.
"Do you think Wang Wenzuo can think of so much?" Li Jingye asked.
"Maybe he may not be able to think of so much, but he should be able to guess a few points!" King Luo Bin said: "In the final analysis, he has no foundation in Guanzhong. The only thing he can rely on is the prince's favor and the emperor's trust. If the emperor abdicates, If the prince no longer trusts him, what will happen to him?"
"Then how can we get Wang Wenzuo to agree?" Li Jingye asked.
"wait!"
"wait?"
"Yes, he has not been in charge of the troops of the East Palace for a long time now. If he waits another half year or so, he will have mastered the troops of the East Palace and can almost organize the troops of the Guanzhong, that's almost it!"
"I understand!" Li Jingye suddenly realized and said with a smile: "When he has soldiers, he will naturally be bolder!"
"Everything has its pros and cons, and we must also be on guard against him having an army and eating alone!" King Luo Bin said solemnly.
"Yes, we do need to be on guard against this!" Li Jingye's expression became solemn.
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Guangdefang, Jingzhaofu Prison.
"Mr. Lu!" Zhou Xing placed a piece of paper in front of Lu Zhaolin: "As long as you sign this confession, you can go out!"
"Prince Deng, Minister Hao, and Minister Pei, these people have not violated the law. Why do you want me to help them?" Lu Zhaolin became anxious after reading a few lines.
Zhou Xing sneered: "What is the law? Whatever the superior thinks is the law is the law! They have offended the queen, and the queen wants them dead! Isn't this enough? I have said that if you want to go out, you must draw a bond, or you can Either draw a bet, or I’ll have someone beat you to draw a bet, it’s your choice!”
Lu Zhaolin's body trembled. He wanted to refuse, but the bloody chains, whips, soldering irons, and clamps hanging on the wall behind him froze his tongue. He really didn't know if he could survive the torture. Maybe It is right to surrender and draw your money.
Zhou Xing seemed to see through Lu Zhaolin's thoughts: "Let's paint! You can't survive it. Why can't you ask for it under three trees? Besides, you have been here for some time. Have these people found a way to save you? Since they don't care You, why do you care about their lives?"
This sentence broke through Lu Zhaolin's psychological defense. He lowered his head and said, "Okay, give me the brush!"
"That's right!" Zhou Xing said with a smile. He gave the brush to Lu Zhaolin and said with a smile: "In this world, people will be destroyed if they don't do it for themselves. You didn't do anything wrong! It's just that those few people were replaced by you. You will do the same thing in your position!”
Lu Zhaolin took the brush and wrote his name at the end of the paper. His body seemed to have been drained of air and he collapsed. Zhou Xing hurriedly picked up the paper, looked at it carefully, and after confirming it was correct, he smiled and said, "Come here, take Mr. Lu back to his room, take good care of him!"
After leaving the cell, Zhou Xing immediately mounted his horse and rushed all the way to the Duke of Zhou's mansion. When he arrived at the gate, he immediately smiled at the gatekeeper and said, "I am the magistrate of Wannian County, Zhou Xing. I have something important to report to the Duke. Please forward it to me!"
"The master has something to do, so he won't see any visitors!" the gatekeeper replied lazily.
"I do have something important, concerning the traitor! Please be accommodating, I'm sorry for bothering you!" Zhou Xing said with a smile, and quietly stuffed half a copper coin in his hand. The gatekeeper got the money, and his face The superior said angrily: "Well, since it's an important matter, I'll risk my old face and go in and tell you, your name is Zhou Xing, Wannian County Magistrate, right?"
"Yes, yes, that's the official!" Zhou Xing hurriedly said with a smile.
The gatekeeper entered the door, and after half a cup of tea, he came back and waved to Zhou Xing: "Go in! Just follow the maid!"
Zhou Xing thanked him, followed a tall and thin maid through the door, walked through the two-story courtyard, and came to a monastery by the lake. He waited at the door for a while, and then he saw a house slave lifting the door curtain for him, and said in a low voice: "Be careful, the master is not in a good mood today!"
"Thank you!" Zhou Xing took out dozens of copper coins from his bag and gave it to the slave. He entered the back room and saw Wu Minzhi leaning on a soft bed with a Hu in his arms. Ji, holding the wine glass in her hand, was already sixty-seven points drunk. Seeing this, Zhou Xing couldn't help but cry secretly. He knelt down to salute first, and then presented the confession with both hands: "This is the confession of prisoner Lu in prison. Please read it carefully!"
Wu Minzhi took the confession from the hand of the maid, threw it aside without looking at it, and asked: "Is your name Zhou Xing?"
"That's right!" Zhou Xing hurriedly lowered his head, feeling secretly happy in his heart. As long as he could leave a good impression on this person, he would be able to show off his talents and rise to the top.
"Lu, did Lu Zhao call on his neighbor?" Wu Minzhi asked, slapping him.
"Summoned!" Zhou Xing said: "His behind-the-scenes instigators include thirteen people including Prince Deng, Minister Hao, and Minister Pei. They are the ones who colluded into a party to try to burn your face and corrupt state affairs!"
"Thirteen people?" Wu Minzhi asked.
"Yes!" Zhou Xing raised his head cautiously and glanced at Wu Minzhi secretly, wanting to confirm what the other party was thinking: "There are thirteen people in total!"
"I mean why are there so few?" Wu Minzhi sneered: "They don't want to deal with me, but they want to attack me to cause trouble for your two majesties! For such a big event, there must be many accomplices, how can there be only one? How many people are there?”
"Yes, yes!" Zhou Xing hurriedly replied: "The official did not consider it well. After returning this time, he was immediately tortured and asked to confess all his accomplices!"
"Go!" Wu Minzhi shook his head: "Remember what you said! We must capture all our comrades one by one and never let them go!"
"I understand!" Zhou Xing kowtowed again, then walked backwards on his knees. When he reached the door, he stood up and stepped out of the threshold. At this time, there were already waves of snoring in the room.
When Wu Minzhi woke up again, it was already late. He climbed up from the brocade couch tiredly. The maid beside him hurriedly brought soup. He took a sip, rinsed his mouth and spit it into the basin: "Is there anything in the palace? information?"
"No!" the maid replied: "Wannian County Magistrate Zhou Xing will come to see you at noon!"
"Wannian County Magistrate Zhou Xing?" Wu Minzhi frowned and thought for a moment before remembering: "Yes, I remembered, it's him! It seems to be about Lu Zhaolin's case, what did that guy say? By the way, It’s about strictly investigating the accomplices behind the scenes! Look at my memory!”
"Is there anything else?" Wu Minzhi asked.
"Siwei Shaoqing Yang Sijian sent someone to send a famous assassin, saying that there is a banquet at home tonight, please come!"
"Siwei Shaoqing Yang Sijian?" Wu Minzhi felt that the name was very familiar, and after trying to recall it for a while, he finally remembered: "It turned out to be that old man. The prince chose his daughter. This old dog is quite lucky!"
"Are you going then?" the maid asked.
"That's all, for the sake of his daughter, let's go and have a look!" Wu Minzhi stretched and stood up.
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Yang Sijian's house.
The golden crown on Yang Sijian's head was made of gold wire and was nearly a foot high. It reflected colorful red light with the slightest movement. Wang Wenzuo was curious about how the other person's slender neck could support its weight. His daughter was sitting on his On the right side, behind him is a Western-style mutton-fat white jade lady statue, like a pair of sisters.
The future crown princess wore a light yellow silk dress with countless small pearls and jade pieces forming various flowers, which made her look very pretty. As the future concubine of the prince, she should have chosen the bright yellow color given by the palace, but she still chose her own clothes. However, her family background is no less than that of the palace. Her father, Yang Sijian, was born in the Yang family of Hongnong and was a member of the Sui Dynasty. The grandson of King Yang Xiong of Germany and the son of Yang Wei, the captain of the Sui Dynasty.
The prince looked equally handsome. He was wearing a bright yellow robe and a black gauze bund, his eyes never leaving his future bride. It’s great to be young! Wang Wenzuo picked up the wine glass and took a sip. I am afraid that he will never be willing to truly fall in love with a woman like the prince. Life has long polished off all the innocence and credulity in him. Although he has no regrets at all, he is still facing the situation before him. This pair of young people still couldn't help but feel a little jealous in their hearts.
But are these guests really as happy as they seem? Wang Wenzuo's eyes swept across the crowd around him, and everyone's face was filled with sincere smiles. Who knows? The residents of Chang'an City are all born actors. (End of chapter)
