Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 376 Determination of Revenge

The weather is hot in midsummer.

Huaqing Palace is built in the mountain shade of Xixiuling, which is much cooler than Chang'an City.

Yang Yuyao may have really been a snake in her last life, and was very afraid of heat. She finally recovered from the heat-induced wilting state when she returned to her villa in Lishan Mountain.

She invited a group of young ladies to play in her villa. They wore cool clothes and did not allow any men to approach, including Xue Bai.

Li Tengkong originally thought that he would have a chance to get along with Xue Bai more when he arrived at Lishan, but he did not expect such a situation. When putting his luggage away, he reluctantly looked back at him, hearing Yang Yuyao's urging.

"Ignore this stinky man, let's play cards and chess by ourselves... You will look good in this ice cream."

Xue Bai was stopped outside the door, and when he looked around, he saw the ice silk in Yang Yuyao's hand, which was as transparent as ice and as white as snow. It must really look good when worn.

Seeing his look, Yang Yuyao blinked and showed a narrow look in her eyes, deliberately trying to make Xue Bai hold back his anger.

Being caught up in the liveliness and excitement of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, people have no time to care about official matters. Even Xue Bai is like this, let alone the officials around him.

Shi Zhongdao: "That's the Ministry of Internal Affairs..."

It happened that Wang Zhongsi was assassinated at this time. If others thought it was him, it would appear that he had no means.

After Gao Lishi withdrew, Li Longji sat alone for a while, digesting the news, and finally sighed slightly, with a relaxed expression on his face.

The Huaqing Palace was still lively with singing, dancing, and the news of the death of a famous general was like a stone thrown into the lake, causing ripples. It might stir up a storm, or it might subside soon.

This is an errand for the emperor's closest minister, which makes it quite convenient for him to inquire about the secret affairs of the court.

Xue Bai turned around and told Diao Bing to get the telescope, raised it and looked at it, and saw the knight coming on horseback covered in blood.

In the second year of Kaiyuan, Feng'an army envoy Wang Haibin died in battle, and the saint adopted nine-year-old Wang Zhongsi for nearly thirty-eight years. After so many years of kindness between king and minister, father and son, it was hard for Gao Lishi to imagine how the saint would feel when he heard about Wang Zhongsi's death.

"Assassinated?" Li Longji murmured, woke up from his sleep, and asked, "Who was responsible?"

"Pass it on."

Xue Bai still believed him, nodded, and said thoughtfully: "I'm not at Yang Guozhong's place. I tested him, but he didn't know about it."

"Is there an urgent report coming?"

After settling his family members in Yang Yuyao's property, Xue Bai finally refocused on his own affairs. He asked Shi Zhong and Li Xiu to inquire and learned that they had not found the documents that Li Linfu had read before his death.

"My father-in-law is Wang Zhongsi, Minister of War, and he was assassinated..."

"Sage, something happened." Gao Lishi stepped inside and rushed to the imperial couch but did not speak immediately. Instead, he waited for a while until Li Longji came to his senses and was not too caught off guard before speaking: "Wang Zhongsi was assassinated."

It wasn't until Gao Lishi called several times outside the door that he opened his eyes in a daze.

Yuan Zai turned around and saw that he was coming. He immediately had a backbone and turned to help him: "We were attacked in Baqiao. Send someone quickly. We can still catch the culprit."

Xue Bai suddenly raised his hand and looked into the distance.

He lives next to Yang Yuyao's villa. The terrain here is very high. From the pavilion, you can see the mountain road at the foot of Mount Li, and you can see a line of dust and smoke coming from far away. Like a long snake swimming very fast.

Xue Bai asked: "Where is Wang Jieshuai?"

"According to the order."

The rapid sound of horse hooves sounded again, and this time it was Yang Guozhong riding his horse.

The telescope moved and he saw Yuan Zai.

In the Battle of Nanzhao, he and Wang Zhongsi worked together, and Xue Bai and Yuan Zai could adjust the relationship between them. Yang Guozhong also hoped to get the support of Wang Zhongsi, so that he could reach a balance with Anlu Mountain, which dominated the north. Otherwise, his newly appointed right-hand man's military power would not be as good as Anlu Mountain's, so how could he rule the world? But this was only the best-case scenario expected. In fact, Wang Zhongsi looked down on him at all, and he wanted to suppress the prince. He originally wanted to get rid of Wang Zhongsi, the prince's sworn brother.

"What's going on?" Xue Bai stepped forward and asked.

He sometimes put himself in Li Longji's shoes and realized that this emperor had endured many temptations that ordinary people could not imagine. However, after all, the emperor is not an ordinary person. He must have far more perseverance than ordinary people. At least he must be able to enjoy the happiness of the world.

When he arrived at Jinyang Gate, he saw Yuan Zai being helped off his horse. There were guards stopping him in front of the palace gate, so he shouted hurriedly.

"If Li Shilang didn't remember it wrong or said it wrong, then the person who took the document did it without anyone noticing." Shi Zhong said, "I checked it out, but the Taoist boy from Xiaoyao Hall didn't notice any traces. "

Xue Bai immediately asked Shi Zhong and Li Xiu to inquire further, while he went straight to the palace gate.

He could no longer remember what nine-year-old Wang Zhongsi looked like. He had seen too many children and courtiers in his life. The most profound impression on Wang Zhongsi today is what Li Linfu said: "I have been raised in the palace with King Zhong for a long time, and I want to respect the prince."

Xue Bai said: "I am a member of Zhongshushe, and I prepare edicts for the saints. When I saw that there was an urgent report, I rushed here to stand by."

"I didn't lie!" Li Xiu reiterated, a little anxious.

"problem occurs!"

Xue Bai stopped after hearing the sudden news. In his sight, Yuan Zai's face was full of panic, which was in sharp contrast with the splendid Huaqing Palace in front of him.

Yang Guozhong was already very familiar with Yuan Zai. He called Yuan Zai forward and listened to him tell the general story of Wang Zhongsi's assassination. He was surprised at first, and then his eyes flashed, thinking about how this incident would affect his future.

"My father-in-law has been assassinated. Send someone to chase him quickly!"

Gao Lishi failed to feel his emotions and responded respectfully: "I don't know yet. Yang Guozhong, Xue Bai, and Yuan Zai are waiting outside the palace gate to see if the saint has called."

"Enter."

Xue Bai's face darkened, thinking about the impact of this matter on the situation in Hedong and even the world, and he was worried. But his worries are not just for a day or two. He has truly worried about the world's worries first.

~~

Li Longji was in a much better mood after arriving at Huaqing Palace. He spent the last night enjoying the breeze and drinking in Xixiuling. He slept very late and didn't wake up at noon.

"My father-in-law..." Yuan Zai's throat rolled and he said, "He has been assassinated."

After saying this, he concentrated and held his breath, waiting for the saint's reaction.

Seeing Xue Bai, Yang Guozhong couldn't help but be surprised. He didn't even put down his riding whip and asked, "Why did A Bai arrive so quickly?"

Just as Li Longji was experiencing the feelings brought about by Wang Zhongsi's death, several pretty palace maids came into the palace, blessed in front of him, and asked softly: "Sage, do you want to change your clothes?"

"Have you ever had a fish bone stuck in your throat?"

"Slave, I have."

"How did you feel when the thorn was pulled out?"

Several palace maids lowered their heads. They didn't know why the saint asked this. After thinking about it, they replied: "It should be... comfortable."

"Comfortable?" After hearing this, Li Longji didn't react much. He patted the quilt with his hand, smoothed out the wrinkles on the silk satin, and said calmly: "Let's change clothes."

He stood up, opened his arms, and let them put the royal robe on him, and a majestic aura emerged spontaneously.

When he arrived at Feishuang Palace, Yang Guozhong, Xue Bai and Yuan Zai were waiting for him.

Before they could salute or speak, Li Longji spoke first, his voice deep and full of anger.

"My adopted son, my Minister of War, my prince right guard and the general... were killed!"

"Your Majesty, my condolences!"

Yang Guozhong was still preparing his speech, but he didn't expect the saint to be so sad and angry, so he quickly comforted him.

Li Longji scolded: "The son I have raised for thirty-eight years, the general who has made great contributions to me, was assassinated at the feet of the Emperor on the way to see me. You still ask me to express my condolences. How can I express my condolences?!"

"I am guilty. As the prime minister, I cannot prevent it from happening. This matter is my fault." Yang Guozhong said in fear.

Li Longji looked at him with stern eyes, silent, as if he was scrutinizing him.

After Yang Guozhong was scolded a few times, he felt that the saint seemed to think that he had ordered people to do this, and he couldn't help feeling that he was wronged. But the saint didn't say it clearly, so it was difficult for him to explain.

Wei Jiansu, the minister of the Ministry of War, had already taken refuge with him. If Wang Zhongsi did not deal with him after he took office in the Ministry of War, it would reduce his authority as the right minister in the army. He did have the motive to get rid of Wang Zhongsi... Li Longji even It is allowed, but it is absolutely not allowed to use this method, which will bring many bad effects.

Under the emperor's scrutiny, Yang Guozhong was confused, and the rhythm of his answers was also messed up. He said first, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly, find the culprit, and give the saint an explanation."

Li Longji then looked away and said, "Yuan Zai, tell me."

Yuan Zai did not expect that the saint would know his name. He was flattered and responded: "Back to your majesty, I beg you to send troops to catch up with the murderers first, not only to find out the mastermind, but also to prevent them from causing trouble in the capital again."

It's hard for him to speak clearly and respond appropriately in this situation. Although he seemed to have made a request, he did not embarrass the emperor. Instead, he made a preliminary decision and advanced the process of handling the matter to the next step.

Li Longji had a good impression of Yuan Zai and thought he was a very good minister, so he immediately approved his request.

Xue Bai said: "Your Majesty, before Wang Zhongsi's southern expedition, he left Han Xiulin as the queen in Hedong, with power to handle affairs in Hedong. Now he has been assassinated. Should he first send an edict to Hedong to clarify Han Xiulin's envoy? To avoid trouble?"

This is making things difficult for Li Longji. He does not trust Wang Zhongsi and has no impression of the candidates he recommended. He does not think that there will be any trouble in Hedong because of Wang Zhongsi's death.

What trouble could happen? Hedong is the Hedong of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, not Wang Zhongsi's Hedong.

But at this time, Li Longji did not show such emotions, and only said: "This major military and national matter cannot be decided in a hurry, and will be discussed later. Xue Bai, Yuan Zai, you follow the Longwu Army to pursue it."

Later, he accentuated his tone and said loudly: "I will crush the murderer's bones and raise them to ashes in order to sacrifice A Xun's heroic spirit!"

"A Xun" is Wang Zhongsi's nickname, and Li Longji calls him this, which adds a lot of weight to this sentence.

Yuan Zai's eyes turned red when he heard this, he saluted solemnly, and responded: "I swear, I will definitely catch the murderer, avenge my grandfather, and live up to the trust of the saint!"

Xue Bai's reaction was a little calmer, and he continued: "I obey the order."

They said goodbye and hurried to Baqiao, preparing to seek justice for Wang Zhongsi.

"Yang Qing, you stay."

Li Longji retreated, leaving only two confidants and Yang Guozhong, and said calmly: "If you have something to say, let's say it."

"The saint is wise." Yang Guozhong said: "I am not unaware of what happened today. I noticed that some barbarians from Nanzhao came to Chang'an disguised as business travelers, intending to recapture Ge Luofeng's body. I have ordered the capital to Zhao Yinxian and Zhongtong took careful precautions so that they could not take advantage of them. He was about to arrest them outside the city, but he did not expect that Wang Zhongsi left the city with only a small number of guards and was attacked by them."

When he said it this way, the whole thing looked very different.

But Li Longji still blamed him: "Since you know this, why don't you put Wang Zhongsi on guard and send someone to protect him?"

"I specially sent someone to visit him." Yang Guozhong said, "As far as I know, he is very ill and unable to get up, and the mansion is heavily guarded. I really didn't expect that he could rush to Lishan in such a condition. , it was my negligence.”

Li Longji narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "When the barbarians arrived in Chang'an, you didn't expect that they would assassinate Wang Zhongsi?"

"As far as I know, their attempt to assassinate Xianyu Zhongtong failed, so they temporarily changed their target. After all, in the battle of Taihe City, it was Xianyu Zhongtong who led the main force to break the city. Although Wang Zhongsi is famous in Saibei, he is not familiar with the terrain of Yunnan. At that time, he couldn't adapt to the climate and fell ill, so his contribution was slightly smaller."

As he spoke, Yang Guozhong felt Li Longji's aura and added another sentence. "I'm not trying to shirk this. I did make a big mistake in this matter. Because Wang Zhongsi has a bad temper, I have resentment towards him and don't care much about his protection."

This sentence of "bad temper" impressed Li Longji, but he would not believe Yang Guozhong so easily, and was keenly aware that there was something hidden in this matter.

"I don't care if the barbarians did it or not. Once you find out everything, you will report back to me."

"I obey the order, but... can I conduct a secret investigation?" Yang Guozhong asked, pretending to be a mature country-strategist, and continued: "I also believe that it is best to keep this matter secret, and just say that Wang Zhongsi died of illness. "

Li Longji also agreed with this point. No matter what the truth was, he did not want this incident to cause panic among people or affect his prestige as the emperor.

~~

Xue Bai brought Guo Qianli and his soldiers from Beiya.

They galloped westward from Lishan Mountain, without caring about conserving their power, and finally arrived at Baqiao in the evening.

From a distance, I saw corpses and bloodstains on the ground, but there was no one else around. There were only some pedestrians and vendors standing far away, pointing and talking quietly.

"Miss?"

Yuan Zai didn't see Wang Yunxiu, so he looked around and shouted loudly.

On the way here, he told Xue Bai about the situation at that time. The thugs rushed up and rushed towards Wang Zhongsi's carriage. Before they could protect him, they stabbed the carriage several times, splattering blood all over the carriage.

After that, the murderers calmly drove the carriage to the Qinling Mountains in the south. Guan Chongsi and Wang Yunxiu fought desperately to kill the enemy. After withstanding the initial offensive, they gathered the remaining generals and pursued them even though they knew they were outnumbered. He went up and only asked Yuan Zai to come back and report the news.

At this time, they brought officers and soldiers. Yuan Zai did not stay in Baqiao for long, so he immediately led his people to pursue him south.

The sky was getting dark, the sun was setting over the mountains, and the road was dark. They had to slow down, light torches, check the ruts on the ground to find the direction, and gradually entered Hongqing Mountain.

In the middle of the night after they were found, there was finally movement ahead. When they caught up, they saw more than ten people surrounding and killing several people. Among the people being surrounded and killed were Guan Chongsi and Wang Yunxiu.

"Tang Jun is here! Let's go!"

As soon as the officers and soldiers arrived, one of the murderers shouted something in barbaric language.

Without saying a word, Guo Qianli immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting an arrow into the crook of a murderer's knee, and then ordered the imperial guards to kill him.

The murderers first stabbed the injured who fell to the ground to death, and then quickly ran into the forest. They moved quickly and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Guo Qianli's soldiers are all tall and tall, wearing majestic armor, and are far less agile than their opponents.

"Eat the dog intestines, the Nanmanzi runs so fast, keep chasing!"

Yuan Zai stepped forward, hugged Wang Yunxiu, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"fine."

Wang Yunxiu was still calm, but she was covered in blood and filled with murderous intent. She hugged her husband for a while, then immediately pushed him away and continued to chase him.

"No, my grandfather's body has not been recovered yet."

Xue Bai rushed forward to stop her and said: "The Forbidden Army will pursue me. Let me ask you, was Wang Jieshuai really assassinated? Brother Gongfu said that the assailants chopped him up and took away the carriage, but did not actually confirm that Wang Jieshuai had died. ”

Wang Yunxiu seemed to have hope because of Xue Bai's words. She looked at him deeply, but finally lowered her head and said: "I can't survive. My grandfather was seriously ill. He was stabbed several times in a row and the blood flowed. He was taken away again." It's been a bumpy walk all day long... I just hope I can get his bones back."

At this point, she didn't show any softness, and the knife in her hand was still dripping blood on the ground.

"found it!"

Suddenly, a Longwu soldier shouted loudly in the distance.

Wang Yunxiu immediately jumped out. Except for Guan Chongsi, she was the fastest runner. After passing through the rugged mountain road, there was no place for the carriage to pass in front, so the murderers abandoned the carriage here.

Longwu's soldiers held torches and rushed to the carriage that fell on the ground and opened the door.

A bloody headless corpse appeared in front of everyone.

"Father...father-in-law?" Yuan Zai was taken aback and didn't dare to recognize him.

"General!" Guan Chongsi was drained of strength, and the knife in his hand fell. Immediately afterwards, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the ground, as if he had lost his soul.

"Grandpa?" Wang Yunxiu murmured and wanted to rush forward, but was hugged by Yuan Zai.

"Eating dog intestines." Guo Qianli was furious and shouted: "The murderer took away Wang Jieshuai's head, chase them all!"

Xue Bai took a torch, stepped forward, illuminated the corpse, and observed silently.

After a while, someone patted him on the back, but it was Guo Qianli, motioning for him to go aside and talk.

"Xue Lang, is that really Wang Jieshuai?"

"The stature is correct, and the scars on the body are also correct." Xue Bai said, "I can't be wrong."

"Then... Wang Jieshuai's head was cut off by the Nanman. This is a huge event." Guo Qianli said: "I look stupid, but I also know that the saint beheaded Ge Luofeng Liwei. If the Nanman comes back for revenge, , but it’s inappropriate.”

"General Guo is not stupid, he is just a quick talker. These words should not have been said."

"Why should I be polite to you?" Guo Qianli asked, "What do we do?"

He seemed to regard Xue Bai as his staff again.

"It may not be Nanzhao who made the move." Xue Bai said, "Let me check, there may be other hidden reasons in this matter."

"Then check."

Xue Bai then went to see the few corpses left behind, and saw that the murderers were all dressed as business travelers. One of them had a customs clearance document in his arms. Judging from the stamp on it, it was true that he went all the way north from Anning City, passing through Tuodong City, Xiezhou, and Yizhou. Chang'an arrived at Chang'an from various large and small prefectures and counties such as Zhouzhou and Liangzhou.

All traces indicated that these people were indeed from Nanzhao, and even Xue Bai could not find any flaws.

He even thought about it, if these people were really from Nanzhao, who would be sending them? Duan Jianwei? It's unlikely. The aristocratic family in Nanzhao is also an aristocratic family. They must put the interests of the family first and should not be so loyal to Feng Luofeng.

He walked towards the injured murderer who was shot by Guo Qianli and asked, "Who instigated you?"

The other person pursed his lips tightly and did not answer, as if he did not understand the Chinese he spoke.

Xue Bai thought for a while, leaned down, and whispered: "You have already exposed your flaws. If you are really a dead soldier from Nanzhao, you will not silence them before evacuating."

The injured man still didn't speak, but Xue Bai looked directly into his eyes, but he could clearly feel the emotion in his eyes changing slightly.

Xue Bai understood and said: "It's useless no matter how much you hide it, why don't you talk to me about what you want."

His response was always silence.

Wang Yunxiu couldn't bear it anymore and stepped forward with a knife, saying: "If you don't want to say anything, let me cut him into pieces to avenge my grandfather!"

"There is no rush to torture him. I have already found out that there is someone behind him." Xue Bai said, "This matter is in deep water, but we can see if we can seek justice for Wang Jieshuai."

"Xue Lang said... it wasn't Nanmanzi who did it?"

"possible."

Wang Yunxiu said: "Is someone harming Grandpa? I will never let him go."

"Don't worry." Yuan Zai also stepped forward, put his arm around Wang Yunxiu's shoulders, and comforted him: "The saint has made a decree. He must avenge his father-in-law and cut off the murderer's head to commemorate his spirit in heaven."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a shout from the other side of the forest.

Someone shouted and asked: "Is General Guo in front?!"

"Who?!" Guo Qianli responded immediately.

After a moment, a general caught up and said, clasping his fists: "General Jinwu Weilang, Xian Yuhao, have met General Guo."

"You came just in time." Guo Qianli was overjoyed to see support so soon. He pointed to the southeast and said: "Take your people and outflank them. It's dark at night, so there's no need to search carefully, but don't let them escape..."

"General Guo, I'm here to deliver a message."

Xian Yuhao was willing to participate in the hunt, but he had an order, so he had to interrupt Guo Qianli's speech, and it was important to convey the order first.

Guo Qianli said: "Sending a message will not prevent you from reinforcing it. You have brought a lot of people with you, so please send a message quickly."

"Holy edict, Wang Zhongsi is a pillar of the Tang Dynasty and has a very important relationship. Today's matter involves important national secrets and must not be spread outside."

"Of course I know." Guo Qianli patted his chest and said, "I'm not a talkative person, so I won't talk nonsense. Hurry up and let people chase you."

"I'm afraid General Guo didn't understand what the last general meant." Xian Yuhao had to remind him again: "The sage's intention is not to spread the news of Wang Jieshuai's assassination. We can only say that he died of illness. You can pursue the murderer. , but don’t make a big show of it.”

Guo Qianli was stunned and murmured: "Died of illness? But..."

He listened to the order, lowered his voice, and whispered in Xian Yuhao's ear: "But your head has been cut off, so what kind of disease is this?"

Xian Yuhao didn't know what kind of illness this was, so he had to deal with it silently.

Finally, he clasped his fists and said: "General Mo will lead people to hunt him down, but he only said that he is chasing thieves."

"Oh, let's go."

Guo Qianli couldn't help but lose his enthusiasm. Although it was still a pursuit, pursuing a treasonous person who attacked an important minister was certainly a different experience than pursuing an ordinary thief.

The emperor's will can influence his feelings the most.

Xian Yuhao did not leave immediately, but pointed to the corpse on the ground and the injured prisoner, and said: "General Guo, please forgive me, I have to take these people away too."

Xue Bai, Yuan Zai, Wang Yunxiu, Guan Chongsi and others standing aside looked at this scene with different emotions.

"If my grandpa died of illness," Wang Yunxiu asked Yuan Zai, "Then, how can we severely punish the murderer and pay homage to his heroic spirit in heaven?"

Yuan Zai hesitated for a while and said: "It's just not a big fanfare. This is also for the sake of my father-in-law's reputation."

"My grandpa is not a traitor. He died for the country. What's so shameful about it? Why do you deliberately cover it up?"

"This……"

Yuan Zai couldn't answer and remained silent. His attitude was completely different from the eloquent attitude he had when he met the saint.

(End of this chapter)