Lanting prelude
Chapter 64 Relegation
Chapter 64 Relegation
Li Shimin's expression was gloomy: "If Xiao Junmo really has something to do with the Tianxingmeng, then he will definitely take some action. Only by keeping him can Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng be drawn out. If he is killed now, the truth will disappear forever. "
Du Chuke was kicked to the ground, and then a sword was pressed against his chest.
"You actually killed Jinse, I want you to pay for your life! I want your whole family to be buried with you!"
Li Tai roared angrily, his face contorted with rage.
Du Chuke was very calm.He looked up at Li Tai and smiled wryly: "Your Highness, if killing me can make you feel better, then you can do it."
"Don't think I'm afraid!" With a strong hand, Li Tai pierced Du Chuke's clothes with the tip of the sword, and a trace of blood seeped out.
"Of course your Highness dares. Isn't it just to kill a third-rank minister of the imperial court, and he is also a member of your own palace." Du Chuke smiled teasingly, "Anyway, you are a dignified prince, and the Holy Majesty will not let you die, at best It’s all about abolishing your position as prince. If His Highness is willing to pay the price, then why not dare?”
"You still dare to ridicule me?!" Li Tai was still full of anger, but the strength in his hand was obviously weakened.
"This subordinate is not sarcasm, but just telling you the consequences. As the long history of His Highness, it has always been the subordinate's duty to help you analyze the consequences of every incident, isn't it?"
Although Du Chuke's tone was gentle, every word he said was admonishing, of course Li Tai couldn't fail to hear it.After a stalemate for a while, Li Tai let go of his hand, and the long sword fell to the ground with a clang.
"Your Highness won't kill me?"
"Don't think that this is the end of the story." Li Tai said coldly, "Jin Se cannot die in vain."
"Of course she can't die in vain." Du Chuke got up and touched his stabbed chest, "Give her head to the Holy Majesty, and His Highness will prove her innocence, and Jinse's death will be worthwhile."
"Don't even think about it!" Li Tai roared again, "Jinse has already been killed by you, and you still want to insult her corpse?!"
Du Chuke smiled wryly: "Please forgive me for telling the truth, if His Highness doesn't do this, then Jinse's death will really be in vain."
Li Tai also knew that what he said was reasonable, but when he thought that Jin Se would not be at peace even after death, he couldn't help feeling like a knife was twisting his heart.
"Your Highness, a viper stings a hand, a strong man cuts off his wrist, who has never experienced such pain in ancient times?" Du Chuke sighed deeply, "Do you think that your subordinate will feel good when he kills Miss Jinse?"
"Stop talking!" Li Tai flicked his sleeves, walked to the couch and sat down, "How do you find out? Has Wang Hongyi entered the palace now?"
As soon as he came down from Zhongnan Mountain in the morning, Du Chuke immediately went to the court to inquire about the situation. Unexpectedly, he didn't find Xiao Junmo escorting Wang Hongyi back to Xuanjiawei until the afternoon.Du Chuke secretly rejoiced, and hurried back to Wei Wang's mansion to report, but as soon as he entered the study, he was kicked to the ground by Li Tai.
At this moment, when Du Chuke explained the situation, Li Tai immediately breathed a sigh of relief, frowned and said, "So, could it be that Wei Laoliu snatched Xiao Junmo back from Xiao Junmo again?"
"It's possible."
Li Tai turned his worries into joy: "It's the best! Then Xiao Junmo will take the blame for it, and I'm not involved."
"Having said that, the Holy Majesty has already suspected that we and Wang Hongyi have teamed up." Du Chuke frowned, "Now Xiao Junmo has overheard your conversation with Wang Hongyi in the Zangfeng Mountain Villa. As long as he plays, the Holy Majesty's doubts will come to an end." It's true."
"I can argue this matter. I just said that I pretended to be close to Wang Hongyi in order to trap Wang Hongyi. How could Xiao Junmo pour dirty water on me?"
"Your Highness can of course make such an excuse. The problem is that His Majesty has always been shrewd. As long as he still has doubts, he will not easily make you the crown prince." Du Chuke said, "Besides, we are not sure where Wang Hongyi is now. Wan Wan If he is still in Xuanjiawei's hands, or if he is caught soon, then you will be in danger? Not to mention being a crown prince, even your position as prince will be lost!"
Hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help frowning: "According to what you said, what should we do now?"
Du Chuke pondered for a long time, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "Your Highness, I'm afraid you can't just wait for the Holy Spirit to decide your future."
Li Tai heard the implication, and was shocked: "What do you mean?"
"Don't you understand the meaning of this subordinate? Don't let it stop, but let it mess you up! The matter has come to this point, we can only make up our minds and fight him to death!"
"You mean, rein in the palace like Cheng Qian did?"
Du Chuke shook his head and smiled, "Like him, you're courting death."
"Then what's your plan?"
Du Chuke was silent for a moment, and then spit out a sentence: "Just let the sage move to the palace, and the big thing will be over!"
Li Tai instantly understood what he meant, and his heart couldn't help beating wildly.
"Your Highness, without further ado, you will send Su Jinse's head to the palace tomorrow. This will surely restore some of the Holy Majesty's trust in you. After a while, when we have made plans and are ready, we will send someone to report to the Holy Majesty. Let’s say that you are suddenly ill and your situation is critical, and His Majesty’s beloved son is eager to bring the imperial physician to visit you. At that time, just let Lu Ben ambush some swordsmen in the mansion, and you will be done once and for all.”
Li Tai imagined the scene of attacking his father, and couldn't help but trembled: "And then? What about the court? Wouldn't the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty be a mess?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, there will be no chaos!" Du Chuke was full of confidence, "There are two prime ministers in the court, Liu Ji and Cen Wenwen, as well as me, and Fang Xuanling. With our full support for Your Highness, I am afraid that we will not be able to restrain all the officials. ?”
"You are not the only ones in the DPRK. The forces of Wu Wang Party and Jin Wang Party should not be underestimated."
"That's why we have to act first!" Du Chuke leaned in front of him and said in a low voice, "As soon as we succeed here, let Cen Wenwen and Liu Ji issue a will in the name of the Holy One, announcing that you will ascend the throne, and at the same time King Wu, King Jin, Changsun Wuji, Li Shiji, Li Daozong, and Yuchi Jingde are all captured! By the time the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty react, these guys have already been decapitated, and the world of Tang Dynasty is already yours! "
Li Tai stood up slowly, pacing back and forth in the study with his brows furrowed.
After a long time of burning incense, Li Taicai stopped and said in a deep voice, "This is a big matter, I invite Liu Ji to come over tomorrow and listen to his opinion."
Zhongnan Mountain, Lingjiu Temple.
Outside the window, the night was dark and the wind was howling.
A pot of charcoal fire was burning in the meditation room.
Xiao Junmo, Chu Lisang, Huan Dieyi, Hua Linger, Xi Yan, and Luo Biao sat around the charcoal fire.In today's fierce battle, although they were all wounded to varying degrees, none of them hurt their vitals. The main reason was that they were severely exhausted, so after applying the medicine and sleeping for a long time, their vitality has recovered at this moment .
Under the reflection of the charcoal fire, everyone's faces even became a little rosy, but Xiao Junmo's face remained pale.
Just now, Xiao Junmo talked for a long time, telling them all the secrets about himself.
The reason why he made this determination is because these people here are all "brothers of life and death" who are willing to sacrifice their lives to help him, and they almost died here today, so Xiao Junmo couldn't bear to hide it from them anymore.
After listening to Xiao Junmo's lengthy narration, except for Chu Lisang and Xi Yan, everyone else showed astonished expressions, unable to recover for a while.Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, in particular, were stunned from the beginning to the end - they couldn't believe it even if they were killed, the majestic General Xuanjiawei Zuo was also the leader of the secret organization Tianxing League!
"I've said everything I need to say." Xiao Junmo looked around the crowd with a smile, "Do you have any questions?"
"Yes." Huan Dieyi stared into his eyes, "What is the relationship between uncle and you? Is he also a member of the Tianxing League?"
Xiao Junmo smiled faintly and shook his head: "No. Don't you still know my relationship with Master?"
Huan Dieyi was suspicious: "Then tell me, you had a fight with him before the Shangyuan Festival, and why."
"I really can't tell you about this, because... it involves the privacy of the master."
Huan Dieyi knew that he was not telling the truth, and wanted to continue asking, but after thinking about it, he held back.Since Xiao Junmo has said everything about him being the leader of the Heavenly Punishment League and the orphan of the Prince Yin, even if he is still hiding something, there must be reasons why he has to hide it.
While everyone was silent, Luo Biao raised his hand hesitantly.
Xiao Junmo couldn't help laughing: "Speak up if you have something to say, why are you being coy?"
Luo Biao scratched his head in embarrassment: "Boss, since you are a descendant of Prince Yin, then... the Holy One is yours..."
"Yes," Xiao Junmo said calmly, "The Holy One is my uncle."
"Yes, it's uncle, but I mean..." Luo Biao hesitated to speak.
"Luo Biao, is there something wrong with your brain?" Huan Dieyi knew what he wanted to say, and immediately widened his eyes, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Xiao Junmo raised his hand to stop her, and smiled: "There is nothing to dare to say. The Holy One is not only my uncle, but also my...killing my father and enemy."
As soon as this remark came out, there was another embarrassing silence among the people.
Huan Dieyi glared at Luo Biao.Embarrassed, Luo Biao quickly avoided her gaze.
"Nevertheless, I assure you that I will never do anything that endangers the country." Xiao Junmo suppressed the turmoil in his heart, "If you are desperate and must seek revenge from the Holy One, then what do I have with people like Wang Hongyi? the difference?"
"By the way, when it comes to Wang Hongyi, I still have a question." Huan Dieyi knew that the topic just now was too difficult for Xiao Junmo, so he quickly helped him divert, "Who is that counterfeit on the first carriage today?"
Luo Biao chuckled, and took over the conversation: "That's a death row prisoner I brought up from the Zhouzhi County Prison, and he's also from my hometown. I told him some things according to the boss's instructions, and asked him to follow suit when the time came, and then agreed. Take care of his family."
Huan Dieyi suddenly realized.
While everyone was talking, Chu Lisang was always a little uneasy, and looked at Hua Ling'er from time to time, and looked at Xiao Junmo from time to time.At this time, she finally couldn't hold back anymore, and said to Hua Linger: "Miss Hua, I want to know, my father... what happened to him afterwards?"
Regarding this question, Xiao Junmo was naturally as anxious as Chu Lisang, and quickly looked at Hua Linger.
Hua Linger's expression darkened: "I'm sorry, I... I didn't take good care of Zuo Shi."
Chu Lisang's eyes turned red immediately, and he couldn't help covering his mouth.
"Don't worry, I haven't finished talking yet." Hua Ling'er hurriedly continued, "After we separated from you that day, Zuo Shi and I ran into a forest, but the group of people behind us chased us closer and closer. I was about to be overtaken by them, and the Zuo Shi pushed me into a bush, and then led them away alone. It was useless to blame me, I... I hid in the bushes, and fell into a coma. When I woke up When I came here, it was already the next morning. I hurried to find Zuo Shi, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then I went to you again, but Tianmu Mountain was too big, and I became confused when I turned around. Later, I I had no choice but to go down the mountain, find a family to recuperate, stayed for ten days, and finally returned to the Thousand Demon Cave.”
"So, Master Bian Cai's whereabouts are only unknown, and it's not sure if something unexpected happened, right?" Xiao Junmo said.
"That's right, I just got separated from Zuo Shi, and I don't know what happened afterwards."
Xiao Junmo quickly looked at Chu Lisang.
The eyes of the two met, and at the same time, they felt a burst of relief and a glimmer of hope.
Hearing Hua Ling'er mentioning the Thousand Demon Cave, Xi Yan couldn't help but look at her a few more times, and asked, "Ma'am, is your father Hua Chongwu the Wandering Mr.?"
"Yes." Hua Linger was overjoyed, "You know my father?"
"Xi Yan in the lower east valley." Xi Yan clasped his fists, a little excited, "Hua's old hero, Bo Yuntian, once saved the next life, and it is a great fortune to see his descendants today!"
"So it's Mr. Donggu, I'm sorry." Hua Ling'er also cupped her fists in return.
"By the way, Miss Hua, since you have returned to the Thousand Devils Cave, why didn't you continue to be your Xiaoyao Cave master, but came here at Zhongnan Mountain?" Xiao Junmo was very curious about her "falling from the sky" today.
"It's not because of you!" Hua Ling'er winked like silk, "I have been paying attention to your news since I went back, and then I heard that you returned to the court and became a high official, so I came here. But Chang'an I'm not used to living in that kind of place, so I set up camp here on Yuzhu Peak. I was thinking about looking for you in the past few days, but I happened to meet here. Tell me, don't we have a special destiny?"
After finishing speaking, Hua Linger winked again.
Of course, Xiao Junmo averted his eyes long ago and didn't accept the move.As for Chu Lisang, who had learned the ways of this "female devil" for a long time, he was not surprised, but Huan Dieyi was puzzled.Back then in Jiangling City, she had seen Hua Linger before, but she never expected that she would be interested in Xiao Junmo, let alone imagine that she would wink at Xiao Junmo in front of so many people!
What a shameless vixen!
Originally because she saved everyone and looked heroic again, Huan Dieyi still had a good impression of her, but now she has completely lost his appetite.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Chu Lisang brought the topic back to the most important thing right now: "Jun Mo, how is Wang Hongyi, have you spoken yet?"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly, and talked about Wang Hongyi's tough attitude and the "twelfth hour".
When everyone heard the words, they were all filled with righteous indignation, but there was nothing they could do.
Chu Lisang thought for a while: "How about... I go talk to him?"
Xiao Junmo shook his head: "I have let him go."
When everyone heard this, they were shocked again.
In order to kidnap Wang Hongyi, everyone paid such a high price, but now they let him go, no one would feel reconciled.
"I'm sorry everyone." Xiao Junmo looked around everyone with an apologetic face, "I didn't discuss it with everyone, I made this decision privately..."
"The leader is right to do this." Xi Yan said immediately, "Since the Lingtang is in Wang Hongyi's hands, no matter whether the 'twelve o'clock' he said is true or not, we can't take this risk, so we can only let him go. , there is no other way."
Xiao Junmo glanced at him gratefully.
"I agree with Lao Xi." Chu Lisang continued, "Wang Hongyi already knows that Jun Mo is the descendant of Prince Yin, so he will definitely not embarrass my aunt; besides, he wants to join forces with Jun Mo, and my aunt is in his hands." The best bargaining chip, he doesn't dare to hurt Auntie. In this case, we don't have to rush at this moment, we can look for it slowly, I believe we will find it."
Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao immediately expressed their understanding and agreement when they heard the words, only Hua Ling'er smiled and said: "I don't know any big principles, I only know: whatever the leader says is right; I will support whatever the leader does."
Hearing such nasty words, Huan Dieyi finally couldn't hold back, and glanced at her in disgust.
Hua Ling'er caught it keenly, but she didn't feel angry, instead she showed her an even more charming smile.
It was dark and windy at night, and Wang Hongyi galloped alone on the mountain road.
Suddenly, a group of men and horses jumped out from the nearby woods and blocked his way.
Wang Hongyi's heart sank, he immediately reined in the reins, and slowly pulled out the horizontal knife at his waist.There is no moon tonight, and the surroundings are dark, and it is impossible to see who the other party is.Wang Hongyi was ready to face the battle, and said in a deep voice, "May I ask who are you guys?"
As soon as the words fell, the people on the opposite side dismounted one after another and ran towards him.
Wang Hongyi couldn't help clenching the knife in his hand.
"Sir! Sir!" An extremely familiar voice sounded, crying out of excitement, "It's my subordinate, it's my subordinate!"
It was Wei Laoliu and the others who came here.
Wang Hongyi heaved a sigh of relief, put the knife back into its sheath.Wei Laoliu and the others threw themselves in front of the horse, bowed their heads, and sobbed before they could say anything.
"Okay, okay, let's all get up, a group of old men, what are you talking about crying!"
Everyone got up.Wiping his tears, Wei Laoliu said in surprise and joy: "Sir, the subordinates have been looking for you so hard! What did the Xuanjia guard do to you?"
"Isn't that letting me go?" Wang Hongyi smiled, "Don't worry, I haven't shed a single hair."
The crowd got on their horses again, surrounded Wang Hongyi and walked down the mountain.Wei Laoliu asked about the process, and Wang Hongyi explained the reason why Xiao Junmo released him, and then said, "Tell me what happened after I fell into a coma today."
"Yes." Wei Laoliu thought for a while and began to speak.
After he finished fighting with Lu Ben, he came out from the back door at the southeast corner of the villa, and found traces of carriages and horses on the edge of a birch forest. He followed the traces all the way and found Huan Dieyi, Luo Biao and others escorting a car The carriage sped ahead.Wei Laoliu was overjoyed, and just about to start, he saw Pei Tinglong arriving with a large number of Xuanjia guards, so he had to hide in the woods beside the mountain road.
What he didn't expect was that Pei Tinglong called a man in black to look in front of the carriage, and then had an argument with Huan Dieyi.Due to the distance, Wei Laoliu didn't know what they were arguing about.Afterwards, Pei Tinglong ordered people to unload the weapons of Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, and then led them and the brigade towards Zangfeng Mountain Villa, while the other man in black and four soldiers escorted the carriage down the mountain.
Wei Laoliu was very surprised, but he had no time to think, so he led his men to chase after him and stopped the carriage.The two sides fought, Wei Lao had more than six people, and quickly killed the four soldiers and captured the man in black alive.Unexpectedly, when he lifted the cloak, he saw that the man was Xie Ji, who was at the helm of Echo.Seeing him, Wei Laoliu immediately realized what happened just now, and vaguely guessed that the person in the carriage might not be Wang Hongyi, but after a second look, it turned out to be the case!Wei Laoliu was furious, and killed Xie Ji and the impostor together.
Later, he led his men to follow Pei Tinglong back, but when they arrived at the intersection of Huaping Mountain and Yuzhu Peak, the traces on the mountain road were covered by rain and snow.Wei Laoliu had no choice but to choose the mountain road on the left, that is, Huaping Mountain, and chased after him. Not only did he not catch up, but he got lost in the mountains.
"Brothers have worked hard." Wang Hongyi comforted, "Apart from these, is there anything else?"
Only then did Wei Laoliu suddenly think of Su Jinse.
He vaguely remembered that when he took people out of the villa, Su Jinse seemed to be dying, and the consequences were not hard to imagine.But who was Su Jinse killed by, but he didn't know anything about it. How could this matter make him open his mouth?
"What?" Wang Hongyi glanced at him, "Is there anything you can't say?"
Wei Laoliu didn't dare to hide anything, so he had to tell the truth about what he saw.
Wang Hongyi immediately reined in his horse, as if he had been shocked by electric shock, his pupils instantly dilated due to extreme shock: "What did you say?!"
The faint early spring sunlight shines through a long window, and it happens to shine on Li Shiji's eyebrows that have been twisted into a "Chuan" character.
A memorial was spread out on the desk, and Li Shiji was reading it at his desk.
The memorial was written by Xiao Junmo, and the content was the entire process of yesterday's action. It was complete, detailed, and specific. Some details were even written quite vividly, which can be described as "vivid".
Of course, Li Shiji didn't know that this was a fabricated version after discussions between Xiao Junmo, Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, and at least [-]% of the content was pure fiction.As for the real version, it has been taken to the underworld by the dead Pei Tinglong and his men.
There is no proof of death, so Li Shiji can only accept this version.
Later, he will bring this memorial into the palace to report to the emperor, and of course the emperor can only accept this version.
It took about three quarters of an hour for Li Shiji to finish reading this long memorial.
Xiao Junmo, Huan Dieyi, and Luo Biao stood below with their hands tied, their straight postures like three wooden stakes.
Li Shiji raised his head, stared at them for a while, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "One Xuanjia Weiyou general, one Lang general, four brigade commanders, nine captains, and 73 armored soldiers." , In one night, all of them died for their country, and they died in the important place of Gyeonggi. This is something I have never seen since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Go with your own head?"
Xiao Junmo knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists in both hands: "Back to the general, my subordinate is the left general of Xuanjiawei, but his command is ineffective, causing heavy casualties to the officers and soldiers of our guard. I really cannot escape the blame! I would like to mention Wusha and follow the general Enter the palace to plead guilty to the Holy Majesty!"
"You definitely can't wear your black yarn!" Li Shiji sighed, "I'm afraid, your black yarn is still not enough to appease the anger of the Holy Majesty and the eldest grandson!"
"Yes, if the black yarn is not enough, the subordinates are willing to enter the palace with their heads up."
Seeing this, Luo Biao quickly knelt down too: "This subordinate is willing to accept the crime together with General Xiao!"
"Of course you can't run away!" Li Shiji glared at him, "If the Holy One can let you go home alive to farm, you should thank the Lord for your grace!"
Huan Dieyi was immediately upset when he heard the words, and said loudly: "General, victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. Our Xuanjiawei people do not have immortal bodies, so we will inevitably suffer casualties when encountering a strong enemy. At that time, Wang Hongyi had several hundred soldiers. No. Well-trained men come to snatch people, all of them are desperate people who are not afraid of death, we are outnumbered, this is why..."
"That's all right, all these memorials are written, so there's no need for you to babble." Li Shiji waved his hand impatiently, "What the Holy Majesty wants is the result, do you understand? If you bring Wang Hongyi back, it's okay to kill a few brothers." , but now not only have the soldiers been lost, but even the people have been snatched back, how do you ask me, a great general, to explain? How do you let the emperor and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty feel?!"
"Anyway, we have tried our best, and we have nothing to do if people are snatched back." Huan Dieyi rolled his eyes, "If you are not satisfied, then pull the three of us out and chop us up now, at most add one to the memorial General Zuo and the two brigade commanders, you should think that we also died heroically yesterday."
"You!" Li Shiji was so angry that his face turned blue, he suddenly got up, pointed at Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, "You two, get out of your home, suspend your duties and recuperate, and wait for your punishment." Then he pointed at Xiao Junmo: "You, enter the palace with me to plead guilty."
Li Shiji and Xiao Junmo walked down the long corridor of Taiji Palace, one in front and one behind.
Li Shiji looked solemn, while Xiao Junmo was almost expressionless.
The two were silent all the way, until Li Shiji stepped up to the altar in front of Liangyi Hall, Li Shiji suddenly stopped and turned to stare at him.Xiao Junmo was puzzled: "You...why are you staring at me like this?"
"You killed Pei Tinglong, right?" Li Shiji suddenly said quietly.
Xiao Junmo was startled, and then smiled: "Master, what are you kidding? If others hear this kind of thing, even if I have eight heads, it's not enough to chop off."
"If you want people not to know, you have to do nothing yourself." Li Shiji left this sentence coldly, and strode forward.
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly, and quickly followed him.
As soon as he stepped into the gate of the Hall of Liangyi, Xiao Junmo felt a chilling air blowing towards his face.
Because the emperor stood facing the screen with his back to them.
This is obviously an extremely ominous signal.
The two walked to the imperial couch, knelt down and saluted, shouting long live.Li Shimin was silent for a long time before he said eight words inexplicably: "Lian Po is old, can he still eat?"
Li Shiji was startled, and immediately understood what the emperor meant, so he took off his official hat and raised it above his head together with the memorial: "I am incompetent, please resign as General Xuanjiawei."
Li Shimin remained silent.
Zhao De understood it wholeheartedly, and walked over lightly, taking the official hat and memorial.
"Go down, Xiao Junmo stay." Li Shimin said lightly.
"I...resign." Li Shiji and Xiao Junmo looked at each other, sighed softly, and bowed to retreat.
Xiao Junmo never expected that the emperor would dismiss Li Shiji's position so easily and without saying a word.Such a decisive approach has never been done before, which shows how disappointed and angry the emperor is with Xuanjiawei's performance this time.Xiao Junmo couldn't help but feel guilty when he thought of his master being implicated and losing his official position.
After a while, Li Shimin finally turned around and sat on the imperial couch.Zhao Dequan hurriedly presented the memorial.Li Shimin took it, but threw it on the imperial case without looking at it, and said in a deep voice: "I don't read the scriptures, you can dictate."
"The minister obeys the order."
Xiao Junmo cleared his throat slightly, and began to talk, but when he was about to lead people to sneak into the Zangfeng Mountain Villa, Li Shimin interrupted him: "As far as I know, you and Li Shiji didn't hide what happened yesterday. Looking at Pei Tinglong, why is this?"
"Return to Your Majesty..." Xiao Junmo deliberately paused before continuing, "I have selfish intentions."
Li Shimin's eyes flashed: "What selfishness?"
"I dare not lie to Your Majesty. I have always been at odds with Pei Tinglong, so in this operation, I wanted to make a big contribution to myself, so I encouraged General Li to conceal the news from Pei Tinglong. I am guilty, please punish me."
Xiao Junmo knows that in order to successfully package a lie, it is best to throw out some real and unfavorable details first, so as to reduce the other party's vigilance.
"Of course you're guilty, but whether it's enough to kill the head or kill the family, I still have to listen to what you have to say."
"Yes." Xiao Junmo continued to narrate. After Wang Hongyi was stunned by the medicine of Wei Wang and he appeared to rob people, he took the initiative to throw out the second real detail, "Your Majesty, the second crime committed by the minister, It was the eloquent daughter Chu Lisang and some other friends who participated in yesterday's action..."
Yesterday, Chu Lisang, Xi Yan and others were exposed in front of King Wei and his soldiers, and it was impossible for Xiao Junmo to hide it.
"This is what I'm interested in." Li Shimin had obviously learned about this part of the situation from Li Tai, "Tell me, why did you do this?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, the reasons for this minister's actions are more complicated. There are both selfishness out of personal interests and publicity out of action considerations."
"Oh?" Li Shimin sneered, "I can't see that you still have a 'public heart' in doing this. Forget it, let me listen to you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. The selfishness I mentioned is still related to Pei Tinglong. Since I didn't want him to steal the merits, I didn't dare to mobilize the crowd, for fear that the news would be leaked if the action was too big. Therefore, I only brought a dozen of my confidants up the mountain yesterday, but He was also worried that Wang Hongyi would ambush people near the villa, so he asked Chu Lisang and others to join in. Of course, this minister did not conform to the court rules, so I pleaded guilty, but my purpose was to capture Wang Hongyi and bring him to justice, so that His Majesty's The task of explaining. In this regard, I think I have a little bit of publicity."
"Listen to you, although your group of friends didn't receive the court's salary, they volunteered to help the court catch the thieves and arrest the murderers. Not only are they innocent, but they have made meritorious service?" Li Shimin sneered.
"I don't dare to say that they have meritorious service, but in yesterday's operation, except for the injured Chu Lisang, everyone else was killed by Wang Hongyi's Heavenly Punishment Alliance party members. I dared to think that they generously sacrificed their lives for the court in the form of civilians. It can be called a righteous man."
Li Shimin chuckled: "According to what you mean, do I still have to give them a pension?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, there is no need for compensation." Xiao Junmo just pretended not to understand the emperor's teasing, "I only beg Your Majesty to think about the fact that they have already sacrificed their lives for the court, and not to add crimes to them for their private participation in official actions."
Li Shimin thought for a while: "Everyone is dead. Wouldn't it be too inhumane for me to add more crimes? As you said, I will not add more crimes."
"I thank Your Majesty Long En on behalf of them!" Xiao Junmo kowtowed three times.
"However, I really want to know who are your gangster friends." Li Shimin stared at him closely.
"Returning to Your Majesty, it's just some old-fashioned teachings, it's not worth mentioning."
"I just want to know what kind of three religions and nine streams they are!"
"Yes. Among them, there are tea doctors, silk merchants, and people from other places. It is only because they practice martial arts that I ask them for help."
"Oh, it really is of three religions and nine streams." Li Shimin nodded seriously, "But why do I think these people sound so much like members of the Tianxing League?"
Xiao Junmo pretended to be shocked, and hurriedly bowed his head: "Your Majesty, they were killed by members of Wang Hongyi's Heavenly Punishment League yesterday, and...how could they be members of the Heavenly Punishment League?"
"Don't lie down, hold your head up."
Xiao Junmo had no choice but to raise his head.
"Why not?" Li Shimin played with his expression, "As far as I know, there are many sub-rudders in the Tianxing League, and they may not be monolithic! Don't these sub-rudders have any conflicts and festivals among each other?"
"This..." Xiao Junmo pretended to be at a loss for words, "Even... even if they are really members of the Heavenly Punishment Alliance, I don't know about it! I just asked them to help arrest Wang Hongyi, I hope His Majesty will see clearly!"
In fact, Xiao Junmo had already expected that the emperor would suspect this, but he also knew that the emperor had no evidence, so no matter how the emperor would convict him in the end, he would not take his life.And as long as he can keep this life, Xiao Junmo still has the opportunity to fight Wang Hongyi to the end and complete his unfinished mission.
Li Shimin leaned forward and stared at him: "Xiao Junmo, do you have anything to do with the Tianxingmeng?"
"Return to Your Majesty, there is absolutely nothing to do with it!"
"If you do it honestly, I will remember your past achievements and treat you leniently; but if you dare to deceive me by chance, then your crime is not just beheading, but family punishment!"
Hearing this, Xiao Junmo couldn't help smiling coldly in his heart.He has been in Xuanjiawei for several years, and he knows that the so-called "leniency for confession and strictness for resistance" is a trick to bluff people. The reality is often the opposite - confession has always been strict, and resistance has a way out.Now the emperor actually used Xiao Junmo's tricks to defraud him.
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged! I have always been utterly loyal to Sheji. This heart can be shown by the sun and the moon, and the world can learn from it..."
"Come on, I didn't ask you to show your loyalty today." Li Shimin frowned, "Go on, what happened after you took Wang Hongyi away from King Wei?"
"Yes." Xiao Junmo went on to narrate, saying that he was besieged by Pei Tinglong as being ambushed by Wang Hongyi's men, and then Pei Tinglong arrived and joined the battle group. Unexpectedly, reinforcements from Wang Hongyi's side came again, with a total of four to five hundred people; So after a hard fight, Pei Tinglong and others died heroically for their country, and Wang Hongyi was finally snatched back by the opponent.
Li Shimin still stared into his eyes: "You took Wang Hongyi away from the Zangfeng Mountain Villa on Bixiao Peak, but the place where you were attacked and fought was the Lingjiu Temple under Yuzhu Peak dozens of miles away. , isn't that weird?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, to be precise, the minister and others were ambushed in the birch forest area in the southeast corner of the Zangfeng Villa. Due to the outnumbered enemies, the minister was forced to retreat in the direction of Yuzhu Peak, so he retreated all the way to Lingjiu Temple. So it became the final battlefield there."
Li Shimin pondered for a while, although he didn't believe his words, he couldn't find any flaws for a while, and said: "Just before you went to the palace, I just received a report from the Marquis of Wu, saying that on the mountain road to the northwest of Bixiao Peak, A carriage and six corpses were found. After investigation, four of them were Xuanjiawei, and one was Xie Ji, a member of the Heavenly Punishment League captured by Pei Tinglong in Jiangling at that time. The identity of the last person is unknown. Tell me, what happened? What's going on?"
Xiao Junmo's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words.
They went down the mountain from the direction of Yuzhu Peak this morning, and they didn't go to the side of Bixiao Peak, so of course they couldn't find anything.After returning to Xuanjiawei, he has been wondering: One night has passed, why was that fake Wang Hongyi not brought back for a long time?
Unexpectedly, he had been killed long ago!
But in this way, things are better explained.Xiao Junmo thought, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, this is a small plan by the minister to deceive the eyes. The unknown person in the carriage is actually a death row prisoner who was proposed by the minister from the Zhouzhi County Prison in advance. The minister will He dressed up as Wang Hongyi, took another carriage, and ordered people to escort the real Wang Hongyi down the mountain; while the minister escorted the real Wang Hongyi, planning to return to the city from the direction of Huaping Mountain. The reason for this was to prevent being ambushed by Wang Hongyi's men , trying to distract them with false targets. It's a pity that Wang Hongyi is too cunning, and has set up ambushes in many places beforehand, so the minister's deception still failed. They should have encountered an ambush by Wang Hongyi's men along the way."
"If you arranged this fake Wang Hongyi, then why did Xie Ji lay dead with him?"
"I don't know much about this." Xiao Jun thought for a while, "But I guess, this Xie Ji has always been in Pei Tinglong's hands, this time it should be Pei Tinglong who took him to identify people. When Xie Ji recognized the person in the carriage After the person is not Wang Hongyi, Pei Tinglong can be sure that the real Wang Hongyi is on another road, so Xie Ji was asked to go back to the city first, but Xie Ji and the others were also attacked later."
Li Shimin thought for a long time, and finally could only accept this explanation.
Afterwards, Li Shimin announced the results of the punishment for Xuanjiawei: Xiao Junmo will be demoted to Lang Jiang immediately, with a fine of one year's salary; The post of General Jiawei, who retains the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, is fined for three months.
After Xiao Junmo led the decree, a person suddenly appeared behind the screen.
He is Changsun Wuji.
Li Shimin immediately dismissed Zhao Dequan and other eunuchs and maids, leaving only the monarch and his ministers in the huge Liangyi Hall.
Changsun Wuji's eyes were red, and he said angrily, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, and I can't say it quickly."
Li Shimin smiled faintly: "Do you want to say that Xiao Junmo's punishment is too light?"
"Exactly."
"Then what do you want? Cut off his head?"
"Xiao Junmo deceived the superior and the inferior, and harmed the public because of selfishness, which led to such a disastrous failure and killed so many colleagues. If you want me to speak my heart, I think it is not an exaggeration to kill my head!"
"It's true that you said he harmed the public because of selfishness, but in all fairness, Pei Tinglong's death in the line of duty cannot be blamed on him."
"This..." Changsun Wuji was obviously very unconvinced, but he didn't dare to contradict him.
"One slap can't make a sound. The discord between Xiao Junmo and Pei Tinglong is only Xiao Junmo's unilateral responsibility?" Li Shimin said lightly, "Furthermore, it was not Xiao Junmo's arrangement that Pei Tinglong chased up the mountain yesterday. If he didn't go, he would have died Is Xiao Junmo? What's more, the one who killed him was Hongyi, the king of the Tianxing League, how can it be said that Xiao Junmo killed him?"
Changsun Wuji was at a loss for words, and he said after a long while: "Although that is the case, Pei Tinglong and the people he brought up the mountain were all killed in the line of duty. Now His Majesty can only listen to Xiao Junmo's one-sided words. Who knows the truth of yesterday?"
"You're right," Li Shimin smiled coldly, "That's why Xiao Junmo couldn't be killed."
Changsun Wuji was startled: "Your Majesty means..."
"I keep him just to find out the truth!"
Changsun Wuji was stunned, and turned his anger into joy: "I understand."
Li Shimin's expression was gloomy: "If Xiao Junmo really has something to do with the Tianxingmeng, then he will definitely take some action. Only by keeping him can Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng be drawn out. If he is killed now, the truth will disappear forever. "
"Your Majesty Shengming!"
Li Shimin remained silent, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Under a long window at the rear door of the Hall of Erasness, a gray figure leaned against the window and listened for a moment, then left in a hurry.
After Xiao Junmo got down from the palace, he didn't leave the palace immediately, but went around to a secluded garden behind the main hall, saw that there was no one around, and immediately got into a rockery in the garden.
After only a cup of tea, there was a sound of footsteps gradually approaching and stopped at the entrance of the rockery.
The light in the rockery was dim, and Xiao Junmo leaned on a rock with his arms folded.
The person outside coughed lightly, which was a signal to indicate that there was no one around.
Xiao Junmo smiled slightly, and said in a low voice: "Although the master has no feelings, he can do something in response to things."
The man outside was silent for a while, and then responded with a little displeasure: "Xuan Ni is in Yijin, Xiao Ran is the King of Mind."
"Mr. Yijin, don't stand outside." Xiao Junmo said with a smile on his face, "It's windy outside, be careful of catching cold."
The man snorted coldly, quite disapprovingly, but he still stepped in and stopped on the other side of the rock.
"Mr. Yijin, let me guess. When I asked the question in the hall just now, there should be a person hiding behind the screen, right?"
The man snorted again: "Since you are so smart, why did you ask me?"
Xiao Junmo smiled again: "It's just a guess, of course you have to tell me the answer."
"You guessed it right."
"Well, let me guess again, is this person Changsun Wuji?"
"Yes."
"Then, what did the Holy Majesty tell him?"
"Guess again." The man sneered, "Look at how clever you are! Why don't you guess?"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly: "Mr. Yijin, can you be more friendly? Why do you seem to swallow me alive every time we meet?"
"If you don't like it, don't come to me!"
"Okay, okay, I'm afraid of you. Please tell me, what did you hear?"
"The Holy One doesn't believe you at all. If he didn't want to use you to lure Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng, he would have killed you long ago!"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly again. In fact, he had expected this result, and now it was just confirmed.
"Okay, thank you sir, come back quickly, I'll find you again if I need anything."
"Don't look for me again!" The man said coldly, "That time when I gave medicine to the crown prince in Baifu Hall, I declared that I would only help you once, and from now on, you and I will not owe you anything! Today, this time, you are already Don't let me help you again in the future!"
"Help me?" Xiao Junmo chuckled, "Mr. Yijin, what you keep saying to help me is not quite accurate. You are also a descendant of Yijin helmsman of the Tianxing League and the Eastern Jin Dynasty chief Sima Huanwen. Do something for the alliance. , isn’t it justified? How can you say that you are simply helping me?”
"How many times do I have to tell you before you remember?" The man seemed annoyed, "As early as 30 years ago, I was not a member of the Heavenly Punishment League, so stop using your big hat to suppress me!"
"Uh..." Xiao Junmo scratched his head, "It was then, it is now, and the situation is dangerous now. As the new leader, of course I have to restart you..."
Before he finished speaking, the man let out a heavy "hum" and left quickly.
"It's too disrespectful for you to leave before the leader's words are finished?"
Listening to the creaking footsteps going away, Xiao Junmo said to himself with a helpless expression.
After returning from Zhongnan Mountain, Xiao Junmo took Chu Lisang back to his home in Lanlingfang to recuperate from his injuries, and ordered Hua Linger to go to Wuyi Lane in Chongdefang, and quietly took Lu Xiu over to take care of Chu Lisang.
Fast forward ten days, and Chu Lisang's injuries have mostly recovered; Xiao Junmo's injuries are relatively minor, and in addition to his good physique, he has basically recovered.The two got along with each other day and night, and they were close to each other, and spent a short period of happy time in peace.If it wasn't for the fact that Xu Wanniang hadn't been able to find it, and there were still many things to do, Xiao Junmo almost felt that this was the life he wanted.
This morning, the sky was clear and the wind was blowing, Chu Lisang and Lu Xiu were swinging in the back garden, playing and fighting from time to time.Xiao Junmo stood aside and watched quietly, with a smile on the corner of his lips.
There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him.
Xiao Junmo turned his head and saw Xi Yan walking quickly, his brows were furrowed.
"How's the situation?" Xiao Junmo went forward to meet him.
These days, Xiao Junmo ordered Xi Yan and his subordinates to keep a close eye on Li Tai, because he knew that Li Tai couldn't sit still, and sooner or later he would die.
"It's not quite right." Xi Yan walked up to him and said in a low voice, "These days, Li Tai, Du Chuke and Liu Ji are plotting every day, and it seems that they are going to do something."
Li Tai, your end has finally arrived.
Xiao Junmo said in his heart.
In the servant's office in Menxia Province, there are piles of documents.
Liu Jie was sitting in front of the desk, reviewing a volume of documents.On the surface, he is concentrating on himself, but in fact, his mind has already wandered away.
Ever since the arrest of Wang Hongyi failed, King Wei's hope of taking over the East Palace was completely shattered.Liu Ji once wanted to give up King Wei, but finally gave up the idea.
There is no other reason: Liu Ji is a nostalgic person.
In the past few years of private contact with King Wei, Liu Ji and him have already formed a good relationship.Although Liu Jie has been in the officialdom for many years, he is now a prime minister with a high position and power, but his true nature of emphasizing affection and nostalgia has never changed.In fact, Liu Jie is quite proud of his true qualities, and often calls himself "the style of an ancient gentleman".Therefore, when he thought of abandoning King Wei, he couldn't help calling himself a villain in his heart.
Of course, in addition to emphasizing love and justice, Liu Jie is not completely devoid of any practical interest considerations.
Among the princes, except for King Wei, Liu Ji has never had any contact with other princes, so it can be said that he is a complete "Wei King Party".Originally, he was still hiding this identity, but not long ago the emperor asked him to propose a candidate for the crown prince, so he had to publicly support the king of Wei, which was tantamount to clarifying his position in front of the government and the opposition.If the king of Wei is completely out of the game and the prince is succeeded by King Wu or King Jin, then when the prince ascends the throne in the future, the ministers of the "Wu King Party" or "Jin King Party" will inevitably gain power, and they will inevitably attack and exclude him, the former Wei King Party.
At that time, not only will the prime minister's son be in danger, but his life may also be in danger!
Therefore, no matter from which point of view, Liu Ji is unwilling and dare not give up King Wei, even though he has fallen out of favor now.
It was precisely because this decision was made after some weighing, that Liu Jie was not very surprised when Li Tai revealed the intention of the coup to him out of the blue ten days ago.He knew that under the current situation, Li Tai had no choice but to take this step.
In the past ten days, Liu Ji, Li Tai, and Du Chuke planned and deduced many times, and finally formulated a careful action plan.However, Liu Ji, who is cautious by nature, was still not at ease, so he made an agreement with Li Tai and Du Chuke that on the morning of the third day of February, that is, the three quarters of the day after tomorrow, the three of them would go to the Taoranju secret meeting in Qujiangchi in disguise, and deduce the plan again. Once again, finalize the details of the action...
Dong dong dong, the sudden knock on the door startled Liu Ji.
He came back to his senses and said displeasedly, "What's the matter?"
"Report to the servant," a scribe whispered outside the closed door of the duty room, "Xuanjia Weilang asked Xiao Junmo to see him."
Xiao Junmo?
Liu Ji was greatly surprised.I have never had any contact with this person, how could he come here?
"Didn't I give you an order?" Liu Ji was a little impatient, "I am very busy, unless there is something urgent, I will never see you! Let him go."
"Yes." As soon as the scribe finished speaking, before he walked away, he heard a young man say loudly: "Liu Shizhong is so arrogant! How do you know that it is not an urgent matter for me to find you?"
After the sound rang, the door of the duty room was pushed open, and Xiao Junmo strode in.The clerk behind wanted to stop but dared not, with a look of embarrassment.
"Xiao Junmo, you are so courageous!" Liu Ji's face darkened, "Did you just break in on the valet in my servant?"
"Liu Shizhong, as I said just now, I have something important to do with you." Xiao Junmo said calmly, "What's more, Xuanjiawei handles the case, let alone Liu Shizhong's housekeeper, even the eldest grandson's housekeeper. break!"
"Presumptuous!" Liu Jie jumped up at the case, "What about Xuanjiawei? Even Li Shiji dare not talk to me like that!" As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Jie remembered that Li Shiji had been dismissed, and Xiao Junmo in front of him had also died. After being beaten back to his original form, he is now just a mere fifth-rank general, so he sneered coldly: "By the way, I just remembered that Li Shiji was dismissed from office, and your 'General Zuo' seems to have been dismissed in less than 20 days." Returning to your original form is now a joke in the government and the public. I really don't understand how you, a young general, have such courage and prestige!"
Xiao Junmo heard the words, instead of being angry, he laughed loudly, and said after a while: "Liu Shizhong, don't look down on me, a little general. Do you know that in the past few years, the third-rank official who was taken down by me, a mere fifth-rank general, How many are there?" Turning over his palms, "No fewer than ten."
"Stop talking nonsense! What do you want to do when you trespass on the officer's room?"
"I just said, handle the case."
"What case?"
Xiao Junmo suddenly smiled, and glanced back at the trembling clerk: "Liu Shizhong, do you want me to answer your question in front of this old man?"
Liu Jie frowned, faintly feeling that the visitor was not kind, so he gave the scribe a wink.The scribes retreated quickly as if they were being amnesty, and they did not forget to close the door.
"Xiao Junmo," Liu Ji stared at him closely, "I have something to say first, if you can't find a strong enough reason for your behavior today, then I assure you that your official career will end today!"
Xiao Junmo chuckled: "Don't worry Liu Shizhong, my reason must satisfy you."
"Say, what case are you here for?"
Facing his hostile gaze, Xiao Junmo gently uttered three words:
"Treason case."
(End of this chapter)
Li Shimin's expression was gloomy: "If Xiao Junmo really has something to do with the Tianxingmeng, then he will definitely take some action. Only by keeping him can Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng be drawn out. If he is killed now, the truth will disappear forever. "
Du Chuke was kicked to the ground, and then a sword was pressed against his chest.
"You actually killed Jinse, I want you to pay for your life! I want your whole family to be buried with you!"
Li Tai roared angrily, his face contorted with rage.
Du Chuke was very calm.He looked up at Li Tai and smiled wryly: "Your Highness, if killing me can make you feel better, then you can do it."
"Don't think I'm afraid!" With a strong hand, Li Tai pierced Du Chuke's clothes with the tip of the sword, and a trace of blood seeped out.
"Of course your Highness dares. Isn't it just to kill a third-rank minister of the imperial court, and he is also a member of your own palace." Du Chuke smiled teasingly, "Anyway, you are a dignified prince, and the Holy Majesty will not let you die, at best It’s all about abolishing your position as prince. If His Highness is willing to pay the price, then why not dare?”
"You still dare to ridicule me?!" Li Tai was still full of anger, but the strength in his hand was obviously weakened.
"This subordinate is not sarcasm, but just telling you the consequences. As the long history of His Highness, it has always been the subordinate's duty to help you analyze the consequences of every incident, isn't it?"
Although Du Chuke's tone was gentle, every word he said was admonishing, of course Li Tai couldn't fail to hear it.After a stalemate for a while, Li Tai let go of his hand, and the long sword fell to the ground with a clang.
"Your Highness won't kill me?"
"Don't think that this is the end of the story." Li Tai said coldly, "Jin Se cannot die in vain."
"Of course she can't die in vain." Du Chuke got up and touched his stabbed chest, "Give her head to the Holy Majesty, and His Highness will prove her innocence, and Jinse's death will be worthwhile."
"Don't even think about it!" Li Tai roared again, "Jinse has already been killed by you, and you still want to insult her corpse?!"
Du Chuke smiled wryly: "Please forgive me for telling the truth, if His Highness doesn't do this, then Jinse's death will really be in vain."
Li Tai also knew that what he said was reasonable, but when he thought that Jin Se would not be at peace even after death, he couldn't help feeling like a knife was twisting his heart.
"Your Highness, a viper stings a hand, a strong man cuts off his wrist, who has never experienced such pain in ancient times?" Du Chuke sighed deeply, "Do you think that your subordinate will feel good when he kills Miss Jinse?"
"Stop talking!" Li Tai flicked his sleeves, walked to the couch and sat down, "How do you find out? Has Wang Hongyi entered the palace now?"
As soon as he came down from Zhongnan Mountain in the morning, Du Chuke immediately went to the court to inquire about the situation. Unexpectedly, he didn't find Xiao Junmo escorting Wang Hongyi back to Xuanjiawei until the afternoon.Du Chuke secretly rejoiced, and hurried back to Wei Wang's mansion to report, but as soon as he entered the study, he was kicked to the ground by Li Tai.
At this moment, when Du Chuke explained the situation, Li Tai immediately breathed a sigh of relief, frowned and said, "So, could it be that Wei Laoliu snatched Xiao Junmo back from Xiao Junmo again?"
"It's possible."
Li Tai turned his worries into joy: "It's the best! Then Xiao Junmo will take the blame for it, and I'm not involved."
"Having said that, the Holy Majesty has already suspected that we and Wang Hongyi have teamed up." Du Chuke frowned, "Now Xiao Junmo has overheard your conversation with Wang Hongyi in the Zangfeng Mountain Villa. As long as he plays, the Holy Majesty's doubts will come to an end." It's true."
"I can argue this matter. I just said that I pretended to be close to Wang Hongyi in order to trap Wang Hongyi. How could Xiao Junmo pour dirty water on me?"
"Your Highness can of course make such an excuse. The problem is that His Majesty has always been shrewd. As long as he still has doubts, he will not easily make you the crown prince." Du Chuke said, "Besides, we are not sure where Wang Hongyi is now. Wan Wan If he is still in Xuanjiawei's hands, or if he is caught soon, then you will be in danger? Not to mention being a crown prince, even your position as prince will be lost!"
Hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help frowning: "According to what you said, what should we do now?"
Du Chuke pondered for a long time, and a cold light flashed in his eyes: "Your Highness, I'm afraid you can't just wait for the Holy Spirit to decide your future."
Li Tai heard the implication, and was shocked: "What do you mean?"
"Don't you understand the meaning of this subordinate? Don't let it stop, but let it mess you up! The matter has come to this point, we can only make up our minds and fight him to death!"
"You mean, rein in the palace like Cheng Qian did?"
Du Chuke shook his head and smiled, "Like him, you're courting death."
"Then what's your plan?"
Du Chuke was silent for a moment, and then spit out a sentence: "Just let the sage move to the palace, and the big thing will be over!"
Li Tai instantly understood what he meant, and his heart couldn't help beating wildly.
"Your Highness, without further ado, you will send Su Jinse's head to the palace tomorrow. This will surely restore some of the Holy Majesty's trust in you. After a while, when we have made plans and are ready, we will send someone to report to the Holy Majesty. Let’s say that you are suddenly ill and your situation is critical, and His Majesty’s beloved son is eager to bring the imperial physician to visit you. At that time, just let Lu Ben ambush some swordsmen in the mansion, and you will be done once and for all.”
Li Tai imagined the scene of attacking his father, and couldn't help but trembled: "And then? What about the court? Wouldn't the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty be a mess?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, there will be no chaos!" Du Chuke was full of confidence, "There are two prime ministers in the court, Liu Ji and Cen Wenwen, as well as me, and Fang Xuanling. With our full support for Your Highness, I am afraid that we will not be able to restrain all the officials. ?”
"You are not the only ones in the DPRK. The forces of Wu Wang Party and Jin Wang Party should not be underestimated."
"That's why we have to act first!" Du Chuke leaned in front of him and said in a low voice, "As soon as we succeed here, let Cen Wenwen and Liu Ji issue a will in the name of the Holy One, announcing that you will ascend the throne, and at the same time King Wu, King Jin, Changsun Wuji, Li Shiji, Li Daozong, and Yuchi Jingde are all captured! By the time the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty react, these guys have already been decapitated, and the world of Tang Dynasty is already yours! "
Li Tai stood up slowly, pacing back and forth in the study with his brows furrowed.
After a long time of burning incense, Li Taicai stopped and said in a deep voice, "This is a big matter, I invite Liu Ji to come over tomorrow and listen to his opinion."
Zhongnan Mountain, Lingjiu Temple.
Outside the window, the night was dark and the wind was howling.
A pot of charcoal fire was burning in the meditation room.
Xiao Junmo, Chu Lisang, Huan Dieyi, Hua Linger, Xi Yan, and Luo Biao sat around the charcoal fire.In today's fierce battle, although they were all wounded to varying degrees, none of them hurt their vitals. The main reason was that they were severely exhausted, so after applying the medicine and sleeping for a long time, their vitality has recovered at this moment .
Under the reflection of the charcoal fire, everyone's faces even became a little rosy, but Xiao Junmo's face remained pale.
Just now, Xiao Junmo talked for a long time, telling them all the secrets about himself.
The reason why he made this determination is because these people here are all "brothers of life and death" who are willing to sacrifice their lives to help him, and they almost died here today, so Xiao Junmo couldn't bear to hide it from them anymore.
After listening to Xiao Junmo's lengthy narration, except for Chu Lisang and Xi Yan, everyone else showed astonished expressions, unable to recover for a while.Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, in particular, were stunned from the beginning to the end - they couldn't believe it even if they were killed, the majestic General Xuanjiawei Zuo was also the leader of the secret organization Tianxing League!
"I've said everything I need to say." Xiao Junmo looked around the crowd with a smile, "Do you have any questions?"
"Yes." Huan Dieyi stared into his eyes, "What is the relationship between uncle and you? Is he also a member of the Tianxing League?"
Xiao Junmo smiled faintly and shook his head: "No. Don't you still know my relationship with Master?"
Huan Dieyi was suspicious: "Then tell me, you had a fight with him before the Shangyuan Festival, and why."
"I really can't tell you about this, because... it involves the privacy of the master."
Huan Dieyi knew that he was not telling the truth, and wanted to continue asking, but after thinking about it, he held back.Since Xiao Junmo has said everything about him being the leader of the Heavenly Punishment League and the orphan of the Prince Yin, even if he is still hiding something, there must be reasons why he has to hide it.
While everyone was silent, Luo Biao raised his hand hesitantly.
Xiao Junmo couldn't help laughing: "Speak up if you have something to say, why are you being coy?"
Luo Biao scratched his head in embarrassment: "Boss, since you are a descendant of Prince Yin, then... the Holy One is yours..."
"Yes," Xiao Junmo said calmly, "The Holy One is my uncle."
"Yes, it's uncle, but I mean..." Luo Biao hesitated to speak.
"Luo Biao, is there something wrong with your brain?" Huan Dieyi knew what he wanted to say, and immediately widened his eyes, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Xiao Junmo raised his hand to stop her, and smiled: "There is nothing to dare to say. The Holy One is not only my uncle, but also my...killing my father and enemy."
As soon as this remark came out, there was another embarrassing silence among the people.
Huan Dieyi glared at Luo Biao.Embarrassed, Luo Biao quickly avoided her gaze.
"Nevertheless, I assure you that I will never do anything that endangers the country." Xiao Junmo suppressed the turmoil in his heart, "If you are desperate and must seek revenge from the Holy One, then what do I have with people like Wang Hongyi? the difference?"
"By the way, when it comes to Wang Hongyi, I still have a question." Huan Dieyi knew that the topic just now was too difficult for Xiao Junmo, so he quickly helped him divert, "Who is that counterfeit on the first carriage today?"
Luo Biao chuckled, and took over the conversation: "That's a death row prisoner I brought up from the Zhouzhi County Prison, and he's also from my hometown. I told him some things according to the boss's instructions, and asked him to follow suit when the time came, and then agreed. Take care of his family."
Huan Dieyi suddenly realized.
While everyone was talking, Chu Lisang was always a little uneasy, and looked at Hua Ling'er from time to time, and looked at Xiao Junmo from time to time.At this time, she finally couldn't hold back anymore, and said to Hua Linger: "Miss Hua, I want to know, my father... what happened to him afterwards?"
Regarding this question, Xiao Junmo was naturally as anxious as Chu Lisang, and quickly looked at Hua Linger.
Hua Linger's expression darkened: "I'm sorry, I... I didn't take good care of Zuo Shi."
Chu Lisang's eyes turned red immediately, and he couldn't help covering his mouth.
"Don't worry, I haven't finished talking yet." Hua Ling'er hurriedly continued, "After we separated from you that day, Zuo Shi and I ran into a forest, but the group of people behind us chased us closer and closer. I was about to be overtaken by them, and the Zuo Shi pushed me into a bush, and then led them away alone. It was useless to blame me, I... I hid in the bushes, and fell into a coma. When I woke up When I came here, it was already the next morning. I hurried to find Zuo Shi, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then I went to you again, but Tianmu Mountain was too big, and I became confused when I turned around. Later, I I had no choice but to go down the mountain, find a family to recuperate, stayed for ten days, and finally returned to the Thousand Demon Cave.”
"So, Master Bian Cai's whereabouts are only unknown, and it's not sure if something unexpected happened, right?" Xiao Junmo said.
"That's right, I just got separated from Zuo Shi, and I don't know what happened afterwards."
Xiao Junmo quickly looked at Chu Lisang.
The eyes of the two met, and at the same time, they felt a burst of relief and a glimmer of hope.
Hearing Hua Ling'er mentioning the Thousand Demon Cave, Xi Yan couldn't help but look at her a few more times, and asked, "Ma'am, is your father Hua Chongwu the Wandering Mr.?"
"Yes." Hua Linger was overjoyed, "You know my father?"
"Xi Yan in the lower east valley." Xi Yan clasped his fists, a little excited, "Hua's old hero, Bo Yuntian, once saved the next life, and it is a great fortune to see his descendants today!"
"So it's Mr. Donggu, I'm sorry." Hua Ling'er also cupped her fists in return.
"By the way, Miss Hua, since you have returned to the Thousand Devils Cave, why didn't you continue to be your Xiaoyao Cave master, but came here at Zhongnan Mountain?" Xiao Junmo was very curious about her "falling from the sky" today.
"It's not because of you!" Hua Ling'er winked like silk, "I have been paying attention to your news since I went back, and then I heard that you returned to the court and became a high official, so I came here. But Chang'an I'm not used to living in that kind of place, so I set up camp here on Yuzhu Peak. I was thinking about looking for you in the past few days, but I happened to meet here. Tell me, don't we have a special destiny?"
After finishing speaking, Hua Linger winked again.
Of course, Xiao Junmo averted his eyes long ago and didn't accept the move.As for Chu Lisang, who had learned the ways of this "female devil" for a long time, he was not surprised, but Huan Dieyi was puzzled.Back then in Jiangling City, she had seen Hua Linger before, but she never expected that she would be interested in Xiao Junmo, let alone imagine that she would wink at Xiao Junmo in front of so many people!
What a shameless vixen!
Originally because she saved everyone and looked heroic again, Huan Dieyi still had a good impression of her, but now she has completely lost his appetite.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Chu Lisang brought the topic back to the most important thing right now: "Jun Mo, how is Wang Hongyi, have you spoken yet?"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly, and talked about Wang Hongyi's tough attitude and the "twelfth hour".
When everyone heard the words, they were all filled with righteous indignation, but there was nothing they could do.
Chu Lisang thought for a while: "How about... I go talk to him?"
Xiao Junmo shook his head: "I have let him go."
When everyone heard this, they were shocked again.
In order to kidnap Wang Hongyi, everyone paid such a high price, but now they let him go, no one would feel reconciled.
"I'm sorry everyone." Xiao Junmo looked around everyone with an apologetic face, "I didn't discuss it with everyone, I made this decision privately..."
"The leader is right to do this." Xi Yan said immediately, "Since the Lingtang is in Wang Hongyi's hands, no matter whether the 'twelve o'clock' he said is true or not, we can't take this risk, so we can only let him go. , there is no other way."
Xiao Junmo glanced at him gratefully.
"I agree with Lao Xi." Chu Lisang continued, "Wang Hongyi already knows that Jun Mo is the descendant of Prince Yin, so he will definitely not embarrass my aunt; besides, he wants to join forces with Jun Mo, and my aunt is in his hands." The best bargaining chip, he doesn't dare to hurt Auntie. In this case, we don't have to rush at this moment, we can look for it slowly, I believe we will find it."
Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao immediately expressed their understanding and agreement when they heard the words, only Hua Ling'er smiled and said: "I don't know any big principles, I only know: whatever the leader says is right; I will support whatever the leader does."
Hearing such nasty words, Huan Dieyi finally couldn't hold back, and glanced at her in disgust.
Hua Ling'er caught it keenly, but she didn't feel angry, instead she showed her an even more charming smile.
It was dark and windy at night, and Wang Hongyi galloped alone on the mountain road.
Suddenly, a group of men and horses jumped out from the nearby woods and blocked his way.
Wang Hongyi's heart sank, he immediately reined in the reins, and slowly pulled out the horizontal knife at his waist.There is no moon tonight, and the surroundings are dark, and it is impossible to see who the other party is.Wang Hongyi was ready to face the battle, and said in a deep voice, "May I ask who are you guys?"
As soon as the words fell, the people on the opposite side dismounted one after another and ran towards him.
Wang Hongyi couldn't help clenching the knife in his hand.
"Sir! Sir!" An extremely familiar voice sounded, crying out of excitement, "It's my subordinate, it's my subordinate!"
It was Wei Laoliu and the others who came here.
Wang Hongyi heaved a sigh of relief, put the knife back into its sheath.Wei Laoliu and the others threw themselves in front of the horse, bowed their heads, and sobbed before they could say anything.
"Okay, okay, let's all get up, a group of old men, what are you talking about crying!"
Everyone got up.Wiping his tears, Wei Laoliu said in surprise and joy: "Sir, the subordinates have been looking for you so hard! What did the Xuanjia guard do to you?"
"Isn't that letting me go?" Wang Hongyi smiled, "Don't worry, I haven't shed a single hair."
The crowd got on their horses again, surrounded Wang Hongyi and walked down the mountain.Wei Laoliu asked about the process, and Wang Hongyi explained the reason why Xiao Junmo released him, and then said, "Tell me what happened after I fell into a coma today."
"Yes." Wei Laoliu thought for a while and began to speak.
After he finished fighting with Lu Ben, he came out from the back door at the southeast corner of the villa, and found traces of carriages and horses on the edge of a birch forest. He followed the traces all the way and found Huan Dieyi, Luo Biao and others escorting a car The carriage sped ahead.Wei Laoliu was overjoyed, and just about to start, he saw Pei Tinglong arriving with a large number of Xuanjia guards, so he had to hide in the woods beside the mountain road.
What he didn't expect was that Pei Tinglong called a man in black to look in front of the carriage, and then had an argument with Huan Dieyi.Due to the distance, Wei Laoliu didn't know what they were arguing about.Afterwards, Pei Tinglong ordered people to unload the weapons of Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, and then led them and the brigade towards Zangfeng Mountain Villa, while the other man in black and four soldiers escorted the carriage down the mountain.
Wei Laoliu was very surprised, but he had no time to think, so he led his men to chase after him and stopped the carriage.The two sides fought, Wei Lao had more than six people, and quickly killed the four soldiers and captured the man in black alive.Unexpectedly, when he lifted the cloak, he saw that the man was Xie Ji, who was at the helm of Echo.Seeing him, Wei Laoliu immediately realized what happened just now, and vaguely guessed that the person in the carriage might not be Wang Hongyi, but after a second look, it turned out to be the case!Wei Laoliu was furious, and killed Xie Ji and the impostor together.
Later, he led his men to follow Pei Tinglong back, but when they arrived at the intersection of Huaping Mountain and Yuzhu Peak, the traces on the mountain road were covered by rain and snow.Wei Laoliu had no choice but to choose the mountain road on the left, that is, Huaping Mountain, and chased after him. Not only did he not catch up, but he got lost in the mountains.
"Brothers have worked hard." Wang Hongyi comforted, "Apart from these, is there anything else?"
Only then did Wei Laoliu suddenly think of Su Jinse.
He vaguely remembered that when he took people out of the villa, Su Jinse seemed to be dying, and the consequences were not hard to imagine.But who was Su Jinse killed by, but he didn't know anything about it. How could this matter make him open his mouth?
"What?" Wang Hongyi glanced at him, "Is there anything you can't say?"
Wei Laoliu didn't dare to hide anything, so he had to tell the truth about what he saw.
Wang Hongyi immediately reined in his horse, as if he had been shocked by electric shock, his pupils instantly dilated due to extreme shock: "What did you say?!"
The faint early spring sunlight shines through a long window, and it happens to shine on Li Shiji's eyebrows that have been twisted into a "Chuan" character.
A memorial was spread out on the desk, and Li Shiji was reading it at his desk.
The memorial was written by Xiao Junmo, and the content was the entire process of yesterday's action. It was complete, detailed, and specific. Some details were even written quite vividly, which can be described as "vivid".
Of course, Li Shiji didn't know that this was a fabricated version after discussions between Xiao Junmo, Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, and at least [-]% of the content was pure fiction.As for the real version, it has been taken to the underworld by the dead Pei Tinglong and his men.
There is no proof of death, so Li Shiji can only accept this version.
Later, he will bring this memorial into the palace to report to the emperor, and of course the emperor can only accept this version.
It took about three quarters of an hour for Li Shiji to finish reading this long memorial.
Xiao Junmo, Huan Dieyi, and Luo Biao stood below with their hands tied, their straight postures like three wooden stakes.
Li Shiji raised his head, stared at them for a while, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "One Xuanjia Weiyou general, one Lang general, four brigade commanders, nine captains, and 73 armored soldiers." , In one night, all of them died for their country, and they died in the important place of Gyeonggi. This is something I have never seen since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Go with your own head?"
Xiao Junmo knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists in both hands: "Back to the general, my subordinate is the left general of Xuanjiawei, but his command is ineffective, causing heavy casualties to the officers and soldiers of our guard. I really cannot escape the blame! I would like to mention Wusha and follow the general Enter the palace to plead guilty to the Holy Majesty!"
"You definitely can't wear your black yarn!" Li Shiji sighed, "I'm afraid, your black yarn is still not enough to appease the anger of the Holy Majesty and the eldest grandson!"
"Yes, if the black yarn is not enough, the subordinates are willing to enter the palace with their heads up."
Seeing this, Luo Biao quickly knelt down too: "This subordinate is willing to accept the crime together with General Xiao!"
"Of course you can't run away!" Li Shiji glared at him, "If the Holy One can let you go home alive to farm, you should thank the Lord for your grace!"
Huan Dieyi was immediately upset when he heard the words, and said loudly: "General, victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. Our Xuanjiawei people do not have immortal bodies, so we will inevitably suffer casualties when encountering a strong enemy. At that time, Wang Hongyi had several hundred soldiers. No. Well-trained men come to snatch people, all of them are desperate people who are not afraid of death, we are outnumbered, this is why..."
"That's all right, all these memorials are written, so there's no need for you to babble." Li Shiji waved his hand impatiently, "What the Holy Majesty wants is the result, do you understand? If you bring Wang Hongyi back, it's okay to kill a few brothers." , but now not only have the soldiers been lost, but even the people have been snatched back, how do you ask me, a great general, to explain? How do you let the emperor and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty feel?!"
"Anyway, we have tried our best, and we have nothing to do if people are snatched back." Huan Dieyi rolled his eyes, "If you are not satisfied, then pull the three of us out and chop us up now, at most add one to the memorial General Zuo and the two brigade commanders, you should think that we also died heroically yesterday."
"You!" Li Shiji was so angry that his face turned blue, he suddenly got up, pointed at Huan Dieyi and Luo Biao, "You two, get out of your home, suspend your duties and recuperate, and wait for your punishment." Then he pointed at Xiao Junmo: "You, enter the palace with me to plead guilty."
Li Shiji and Xiao Junmo walked down the long corridor of Taiji Palace, one in front and one behind.
Li Shiji looked solemn, while Xiao Junmo was almost expressionless.
The two were silent all the way, until Li Shiji stepped up to the altar in front of Liangyi Hall, Li Shiji suddenly stopped and turned to stare at him.Xiao Junmo was puzzled: "You...why are you staring at me like this?"
"You killed Pei Tinglong, right?" Li Shiji suddenly said quietly.
Xiao Junmo was startled, and then smiled: "Master, what are you kidding? If others hear this kind of thing, even if I have eight heads, it's not enough to chop off."
"If you want people not to know, you have to do nothing yourself." Li Shiji left this sentence coldly, and strode forward.
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly, and quickly followed him.
As soon as he stepped into the gate of the Hall of Liangyi, Xiao Junmo felt a chilling air blowing towards his face.
Because the emperor stood facing the screen with his back to them.
This is obviously an extremely ominous signal.
The two walked to the imperial couch, knelt down and saluted, shouting long live.Li Shimin was silent for a long time before he said eight words inexplicably: "Lian Po is old, can he still eat?"
Li Shiji was startled, and immediately understood what the emperor meant, so he took off his official hat and raised it above his head together with the memorial: "I am incompetent, please resign as General Xuanjiawei."
Li Shimin remained silent.
Zhao De understood it wholeheartedly, and walked over lightly, taking the official hat and memorial.
"Go down, Xiao Junmo stay." Li Shimin said lightly.
"I...resign." Li Shiji and Xiao Junmo looked at each other, sighed softly, and bowed to retreat.
Xiao Junmo never expected that the emperor would dismiss Li Shiji's position so easily and without saying a word.Such a decisive approach has never been done before, which shows how disappointed and angry the emperor is with Xuanjiawei's performance this time.Xiao Junmo couldn't help but feel guilty when he thought of his master being implicated and losing his official position.
After a while, Li Shimin finally turned around and sat on the imperial couch.Zhao Dequan hurriedly presented the memorial.Li Shimin took it, but threw it on the imperial case without looking at it, and said in a deep voice: "I don't read the scriptures, you can dictate."
"The minister obeys the order."
Xiao Junmo cleared his throat slightly, and began to talk, but when he was about to lead people to sneak into the Zangfeng Mountain Villa, Li Shimin interrupted him: "As far as I know, you and Li Shiji didn't hide what happened yesterday. Looking at Pei Tinglong, why is this?"
"Return to Your Majesty..." Xiao Junmo deliberately paused before continuing, "I have selfish intentions."
Li Shimin's eyes flashed: "What selfishness?"
"I dare not lie to Your Majesty. I have always been at odds with Pei Tinglong, so in this operation, I wanted to make a big contribution to myself, so I encouraged General Li to conceal the news from Pei Tinglong. I am guilty, please punish me."
Xiao Junmo knows that in order to successfully package a lie, it is best to throw out some real and unfavorable details first, so as to reduce the other party's vigilance.
"Of course you're guilty, but whether it's enough to kill the head or kill the family, I still have to listen to what you have to say."
"Yes." Xiao Junmo continued to narrate. After Wang Hongyi was stunned by the medicine of Wei Wang and he appeared to rob people, he took the initiative to throw out the second real detail, "Your Majesty, the second crime committed by the minister, It was the eloquent daughter Chu Lisang and some other friends who participated in yesterday's action..."
Yesterday, Chu Lisang, Xi Yan and others were exposed in front of King Wei and his soldiers, and it was impossible for Xiao Junmo to hide it.
"This is what I'm interested in." Li Shimin had obviously learned about this part of the situation from Li Tai, "Tell me, why did you do this?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, the reasons for this minister's actions are more complicated. There are both selfishness out of personal interests and publicity out of action considerations."
"Oh?" Li Shimin sneered, "I can't see that you still have a 'public heart' in doing this. Forget it, let me listen to you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. The selfishness I mentioned is still related to Pei Tinglong. Since I didn't want him to steal the merits, I didn't dare to mobilize the crowd, for fear that the news would be leaked if the action was too big. Therefore, I only brought a dozen of my confidants up the mountain yesterday, but He was also worried that Wang Hongyi would ambush people near the villa, so he asked Chu Lisang and others to join in. Of course, this minister did not conform to the court rules, so I pleaded guilty, but my purpose was to capture Wang Hongyi and bring him to justice, so that His Majesty's The task of explaining. In this regard, I think I have a little bit of publicity."
"Listen to you, although your group of friends didn't receive the court's salary, they volunteered to help the court catch the thieves and arrest the murderers. Not only are they innocent, but they have made meritorious service?" Li Shimin sneered.
"I don't dare to say that they have meritorious service, but in yesterday's operation, except for the injured Chu Lisang, everyone else was killed by Wang Hongyi's Heavenly Punishment Alliance party members. I dared to think that they generously sacrificed their lives for the court in the form of civilians. It can be called a righteous man."
Li Shimin chuckled: "According to what you mean, do I still have to give them a pension?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, there is no need for compensation." Xiao Junmo just pretended not to understand the emperor's teasing, "I only beg Your Majesty to think about the fact that they have already sacrificed their lives for the court, and not to add crimes to them for their private participation in official actions."
Li Shimin thought for a while: "Everyone is dead. Wouldn't it be too inhumane for me to add more crimes? As you said, I will not add more crimes."
"I thank Your Majesty Long En on behalf of them!" Xiao Junmo kowtowed three times.
"However, I really want to know who are your gangster friends." Li Shimin stared at him closely.
"Returning to Your Majesty, it's just some old-fashioned teachings, it's not worth mentioning."
"I just want to know what kind of three religions and nine streams they are!"
"Yes. Among them, there are tea doctors, silk merchants, and people from other places. It is only because they practice martial arts that I ask them for help."
"Oh, it really is of three religions and nine streams." Li Shimin nodded seriously, "But why do I think these people sound so much like members of the Tianxing League?"
Xiao Junmo pretended to be shocked, and hurriedly bowed his head: "Your Majesty, they were killed by members of Wang Hongyi's Heavenly Punishment League yesterday, and...how could they be members of the Heavenly Punishment League?"
"Don't lie down, hold your head up."
Xiao Junmo had no choice but to raise his head.
"Why not?" Li Shimin played with his expression, "As far as I know, there are many sub-rudders in the Tianxing League, and they may not be monolithic! Don't these sub-rudders have any conflicts and festivals among each other?"
"This..." Xiao Junmo pretended to be at a loss for words, "Even... even if they are really members of the Heavenly Punishment Alliance, I don't know about it! I just asked them to help arrest Wang Hongyi, I hope His Majesty will see clearly!"
In fact, Xiao Junmo had already expected that the emperor would suspect this, but he also knew that the emperor had no evidence, so no matter how the emperor would convict him in the end, he would not take his life.And as long as he can keep this life, Xiao Junmo still has the opportunity to fight Wang Hongyi to the end and complete his unfinished mission.
Li Shimin leaned forward and stared at him: "Xiao Junmo, do you have anything to do with the Tianxingmeng?"
"Return to Your Majesty, there is absolutely nothing to do with it!"
"If you do it honestly, I will remember your past achievements and treat you leniently; but if you dare to deceive me by chance, then your crime is not just beheading, but family punishment!"
Hearing this, Xiao Junmo couldn't help smiling coldly in his heart.He has been in Xuanjiawei for several years, and he knows that the so-called "leniency for confession and strictness for resistance" is a trick to bluff people. The reality is often the opposite - confession has always been strict, and resistance has a way out.Now the emperor actually used Xiao Junmo's tricks to defraud him.
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged! I have always been utterly loyal to Sheji. This heart can be shown by the sun and the moon, and the world can learn from it..."
"Come on, I didn't ask you to show your loyalty today." Li Shimin frowned, "Go on, what happened after you took Wang Hongyi away from King Wei?"
"Yes." Xiao Junmo went on to narrate, saying that he was besieged by Pei Tinglong as being ambushed by Wang Hongyi's men, and then Pei Tinglong arrived and joined the battle group. Unexpectedly, reinforcements from Wang Hongyi's side came again, with a total of four to five hundred people; So after a hard fight, Pei Tinglong and others died heroically for their country, and Wang Hongyi was finally snatched back by the opponent.
Li Shimin still stared into his eyes: "You took Wang Hongyi away from the Zangfeng Mountain Villa on Bixiao Peak, but the place where you were attacked and fought was the Lingjiu Temple under Yuzhu Peak dozens of miles away. , isn't that weird?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, to be precise, the minister and others were ambushed in the birch forest area in the southeast corner of the Zangfeng Villa. Due to the outnumbered enemies, the minister was forced to retreat in the direction of Yuzhu Peak, so he retreated all the way to Lingjiu Temple. So it became the final battlefield there."
Li Shimin pondered for a while, although he didn't believe his words, he couldn't find any flaws for a while, and said: "Just before you went to the palace, I just received a report from the Marquis of Wu, saying that on the mountain road to the northwest of Bixiao Peak, A carriage and six corpses were found. After investigation, four of them were Xuanjiawei, and one was Xie Ji, a member of the Heavenly Punishment League captured by Pei Tinglong in Jiangling at that time. The identity of the last person is unknown. Tell me, what happened? What's going on?"
Xiao Junmo's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words.
They went down the mountain from the direction of Yuzhu Peak this morning, and they didn't go to the side of Bixiao Peak, so of course they couldn't find anything.After returning to Xuanjiawei, he has been wondering: One night has passed, why was that fake Wang Hongyi not brought back for a long time?
Unexpectedly, he had been killed long ago!
But in this way, things are better explained.Xiao Junmo thought, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, this is a small plan by the minister to deceive the eyes. The unknown person in the carriage is actually a death row prisoner who was proposed by the minister from the Zhouzhi County Prison in advance. The minister will He dressed up as Wang Hongyi, took another carriage, and ordered people to escort the real Wang Hongyi down the mountain; while the minister escorted the real Wang Hongyi, planning to return to the city from the direction of Huaping Mountain. The reason for this was to prevent being ambushed by Wang Hongyi's men , trying to distract them with false targets. It's a pity that Wang Hongyi is too cunning, and has set up ambushes in many places beforehand, so the minister's deception still failed. They should have encountered an ambush by Wang Hongyi's men along the way."
"If you arranged this fake Wang Hongyi, then why did Xie Ji lay dead with him?"
"I don't know much about this." Xiao Jun thought for a while, "But I guess, this Xie Ji has always been in Pei Tinglong's hands, this time it should be Pei Tinglong who took him to identify people. When Xie Ji recognized the person in the carriage After the person is not Wang Hongyi, Pei Tinglong can be sure that the real Wang Hongyi is on another road, so Xie Ji was asked to go back to the city first, but Xie Ji and the others were also attacked later."
Li Shimin thought for a long time, and finally could only accept this explanation.
Afterwards, Li Shimin announced the results of the punishment for Xuanjiawei: Xiao Junmo will be demoted to Lang Jiang immediately, with a fine of one year's salary; The post of General Jiawei, who retains the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, is fined for three months.
After Xiao Junmo led the decree, a person suddenly appeared behind the screen.
He is Changsun Wuji.
Li Shimin immediately dismissed Zhao Dequan and other eunuchs and maids, leaving only the monarch and his ministers in the huge Liangyi Hall.
Changsun Wuji's eyes were red, and he said angrily, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, and I can't say it quickly."
Li Shimin smiled faintly: "Do you want to say that Xiao Junmo's punishment is too light?"
"Exactly."
"Then what do you want? Cut off his head?"
"Xiao Junmo deceived the superior and the inferior, and harmed the public because of selfishness, which led to such a disastrous failure and killed so many colleagues. If you want me to speak my heart, I think it is not an exaggeration to kill my head!"
"It's true that you said he harmed the public because of selfishness, but in all fairness, Pei Tinglong's death in the line of duty cannot be blamed on him."
"This..." Changsun Wuji was obviously very unconvinced, but he didn't dare to contradict him.
"One slap can't make a sound. The discord between Xiao Junmo and Pei Tinglong is only Xiao Junmo's unilateral responsibility?" Li Shimin said lightly, "Furthermore, it was not Xiao Junmo's arrangement that Pei Tinglong chased up the mountain yesterday. If he didn't go, he would have died Is Xiao Junmo? What's more, the one who killed him was Hongyi, the king of the Tianxing League, how can it be said that Xiao Junmo killed him?"
Changsun Wuji was at a loss for words, and he said after a long while: "Although that is the case, Pei Tinglong and the people he brought up the mountain were all killed in the line of duty. Now His Majesty can only listen to Xiao Junmo's one-sided words. Who knows the truth of yesterday?"
"You're right," Li Shimin smiled coldly, "That's why Xiao Junmo couldn't be killed."
Changsun Wuji was startled: "Your Majesty means..."
"I keep him just to find out the truth!"
Changsun Wuji was stunned, and turned his anger into joy: "I understand."
Li Shimin's expression was gloomy: "If Xiao Junmo really has something to do with the Tianxingmeng, then he will definitely take some action. Only by keeping him can Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng be drawn out. If he is killed now, the truth will disappear forever. "
"Your Majesty Shengming!"
Li Shimin remained silent, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Under a long window at the rear door of the Hall of Erasness, a gray figure leaned against the window and listened for a moment, then left in a hurry.
After Xiao Junmo got down from the palace, he didn't leave the palace immediately, but went around to a secluded garden behind the main hall, saw that there was no one around, and immediately got into a rockery in the garden.
After only a cup of tea, there was a sound of footsteps gradually approaching and stopped at the entrance of the rockery.
The light in the rockery was dim, and Xiao Junmo leaned on a rock with his arms folded.
The person outside coughed lightly, which was a signal to indicate that there was no one around.
Xiao Junmo smiled slightly, and said in a low voice: "Although the master has no feelings, he can do something in response to things."
The man outside was silent for a while, and then responded with a little displeasure: "Xuan Ni is in Yijin, Xiao Ran is the King of Mind."
"Mr. Yijin, don't stand outside." Xiao Junmo said with a smile on his face, "It's windy outside, be careful of catching cold."
The man snorted coldly, quite disapprovingly, but he still stepped in and stopped on the other side of the rock.
"Mr. Yijin, let me guess. When I asked the question in the hall just now, there should be a person hiding behind the screen, right?"
The man snorted again: "Since you are so smart, why did you ask me?"
Xiao Junmo smiled again: "It's just a guess, of course you have to tell me the answer."
"You guessed it right."
"Well, let me guess again, is this person Changsun Wuji?"
"Yes."
"Then, what did the Holy Majesty tell him?"
"Guess again." The man sneered, "Look at how clever you are! Why don't you guess?"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly: "Mr. Yijin, can you be more friendly? Why do you seem to swallow me alive every time we meet?"
"If you don't like it, don't come to me!"
"Okay, okay, I'm afraid of you. Please tell me, what did you hear?"
"The Holy One doesn't believe you at all. If he didn't want to use you to lure Wang Hongyi and Tianxingmeng, he would have killed you long ago!"
Xiao Junmo smiled wryly again. In fact, he had expected this result, and now it was just confirmed.
"Okay, thank you sir, come back quickly, I'll find you again if I need anything."
"Don't look for me again!" The man said coldly, "That time when I gave medicine to the crown prince in Baifu Hall, I declared that I would only help you once, and from now on, you and I will not owe you anything! Today, this time, you are already Don't let me help you again in the future!"
"Help me?" Xiao Junmo chuckled, "Mr. Yijin, what you keep saying to help me is not quite accurate. You are also a descendant of Yijin helmsman of the Tianxing League and the Eastern Jin Dynasty chief Sima Huanwen. Do something for the alliance. , isn’t it justified? How can you say that you are simply helping me?”
"How many times do I have to tell you before you remember?" The man seemed annoyed, "As early as 30 years ago, I was not a member of the Heavenly Punishment League, so stop using your big hat to suppress me!"
"Uh..." Xiao Junmo scratched his head, "It was then, it is now, and the situation is dangerous now. As the new leader, of course I have to restart you..."
Before he finished speaking, the man let out a heavy "hum" and left quickly.
"It's too disrespectful for you to leave before the leader's words are finished?"
Listening to the creaking footsteps going away, Xiao Junmo said to himself with a helpless expression.
After returning from Zhongnan Mountain, Xiao Junmo took Chu Lisang back to his home in Lanlingfang to recuperate from his injuries, and ordered Hua Linger to go to Wuyi Lane in Chongdefang, and quietly took Lu Xiu over to take care of Chu Lisang.
Fast forward ten days, and Chu Lisang's injuries have mostly recovered; Xiao Junmo's injuries are relatively minor, and in addition to his good physique, he has basically recovered.The two got along with each other day and night, and they were close to each other, and spent a short period of happy time in peace.If it wasn't for the fact that Xu Wanniang hadn't been able to find it, and there were still many things to do, Xiao Junmo almost felt that this was the life he wanted.
This morning, the sky was clear and the wind was blowing, Chu Lisang and Lu Xiu were swinging in the back garden, playing and fighting from time to time.Xiao Junmo stood aside and watched quietly, with a smile on the corner of his lips.
There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him.
Xiao Junmo turned his head and saw Xi Yan walking quickly, his brows were furrowed.
"How's the situation?" Xiao Junmo went forward to meet him.
These days, Xiao Junmo ordered Xi Yan and his subordinates to keep a close eye on Li Tai, because he knew that Li Tai couldn't sit still, and sooner or later he would die.
"It's not quite right." Xi Yan walked up to him and said in a low voice, "These days, Li Tai, Du Chuke and Liu Ji are plotting every day, and it seems that they are going to do something."
Li Tai, your end has finally arrived.
Xiao Junmo said in his heart.
In the servant's office in Menxia Province, there are piles of documents.
Liu Jie was sitting in front of the desk, reviewing a volume of documents.On the surface, he is concentrating on himself, but in fact, his mind has already wandered away.
Ever since the arrest of Wang Hongyi failed, King Wei's hope of taking over the East Palace was completely shattered.Liu Ji once wanted to give up King Wei, but finally gave up the idea.
There is no other reason: Liu Ji is a nostalgic person.
In the past few years of private contact with King Wei, Liu Ji and him have already formed a good relationship.Although Liu Jie has been in the officialdom for many years, he is now a prime minister with a high position and power, but his true nature of emphasizing affection and nostalgia has never changed.In fact, Liu Jie is quite proud of his true qualities, and often calls himself "the style of an ancient gentleman".Therefore, when he thought of abandoning King Wei, he couldn't help calling himself a villain in his heart.
Of course, in addition to emphasizing love and justice, Liu Jie is not completely devoid of any practical interest considerations.
Among the princes, except for King Wei, Liu Ji has never had any contact with other princes, so it can be said that he is a complete "Wei King Party".Originally, he was still hiding this identity, but not long ago the emperor asked him to propose a candidate for the crown prince, so he had to publicly support the king of Wei, which was tantamount to clarifying his position in front of the government and the opposition.If the king of Wei is completely out of the game and the prince is succeeded by King Wu or King Jin, then when the prince ascends the throne in the future, the ministers of the "Wu King Party" or "Jin King Party" will inevitably gain power, and they will inevitably attack and exclude him, the former Wei King Party.
At that time, not only will the prime minister's son be in danger, but his life may also be in danger!
Therefore, no matter from which point of view, Liu Ji is unwilling and dare not give up King Wei, even though he has fallen out of favor now.
It was precisely because this decision was made after some weighing, that Liu Jie was not very surprised when Li Tai revealed the intention of the coup to him out of the blue ten days ago.He knew that under the current situation, Li Tai had no choice but to take this step.
In the past ten days, Liu Ji, Li Tai, and Du Chuke planned and deduced many times, and finally formulated a careful action plan.However, Liu Ji, who is cautious by nature, was still not at ease, so he made an agreement with Li Tai and Du Chuke that on the morning of the third day of February, that is, the three quarters of the day after tomorrow, the three of them would go to the Taoranju secret meeting in Qujiangchi in disguise, and deduce the plan again. Once again, finalize the details of the action...
Dong dong dong, the sudden knock on the door startled Liu Ji.
He came back to his senses and said displeasedly, "What's the matter?"
"Report to the servant," a scribe whispered outside the closed door of the duty room, "Xuanjia Weilang asked Xiao Junmo to see him."
Xiao Junmo?
Liu Ji was greatly surprised.I have never had any contact with this person, how could he come here?
"Didn't I give you an order?" Liu Ji was a little impatient, "I am very busy, unless there is something urgent, I will never see you! Let him go."
"Yes." As soon as the scribe finished speaking, before he walked away, he heard a young man say loudly: "Liu Shizhong is so arrogant! How do you know that it is not an urgent matter for me to find you?"
After the sound rang, the door of the duty room was pushed open, and Xiao Junmo strode in.The clerk behind wanted to stop but dared not, with a look of embarrassment.
"Xiao Junmo, you are so courageous!" Liu Ji's face darkened, "Did you just break in on the valet in my servant?"
"Liu Shizhong, as I said just now, I have something important to do with you." Xiao Junmo said calmly, "What's more, Xuanjiawei handles the case, let alone Liu Shizhong's housekeeper, even the eldest grandson's housekeeper. break!"
"Presumptuous!" Liu Jie jumped up at the case, "What about Xuanjiawei? Even Li Shiji dare not talk to me like that!" As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Jie remembered that Li Shiji had been dismissed, and Xiao Junmo in front of him had also died. After being beaten back to his original form, he is now just a mere fifth-rank general, so he sneered coldly: "By the way, I just remembered that Li Shiji was dismissed from office, and your 'General Zuo' seems to have been dismissed in less than 20 days." Returning to your original form is now a joke in the government and the public. I really don't understand how you, a young general, have such courage and prestige!"
Xiao Junmo heard the words, instead of being angry, he laughed loudly, and said after a while: "Liu Shizhong, don't look down on me, a little general. Do you know that in the past few years, the third-rank official who was taken down by me, a mere fifth-rank general, How many are there?" Turning over his palms, "No fewer than ten."
"Stop talking nonsense! What do you want to do when you trespass on the officer's room?"
"I just said, handle the case."
"What case?"
Xiao Junmo suddenly smiled, and glanced back at the trembling clerk: "Liu Shizhong, do you want me to answer your question in front of this old man?"
Liu Jie frowned, faintly feeling that the visitor was not kind, so he gave the scribe a wink.The scribes retreated quickly as if they were being amnesty, and they did not forget to close the door.
"Xiao Junmo," Liu Ji stared at him closely, "I have something to say first, if you can't find a strong enough reason for your behavior today, then I assure you that your official career will end today!"
Xiao Junmo chuckled: "Don't worry Liu Shizhong, my reason must satisfy you."
"Say, what case are you here for?"
Facing his hostile gaze, Xiao Junmo gently uttered three words:
"Treason case."
(End of this chapter)
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