Chapter 118: Revenge comes

When Li Qingan left Li Linfu's house, it was already dark, the night breeze was blowing, cool and warm, and there were few pedestrians on the street, only Li Qingan's horse hooves were walking on the stone road, "da!da!"

Today, Li Linfu threw out the final intention of this game of chess to him, causing the Yang family to get in the wrong with the prince. Li Linfu withdrew, and even Li Linfu and the prince formed an alliance to deal with the Yang family together. This is possible. In history, Li Linfu never reconciled with the prince, which led to the demise of the Li Linfu family. So in the late Tianbao period, after the position of the prince was firmly settled, did Li Linfu ever think about reconciling with the prince? Perhaps he had this idea, but the hatred was too deep and he could no longer reconcile. So will his arrival change the foregone conclusion of the Tang Dynasty? Will Li Linfu finally reconcile with the prince?

If this is the case, what impact will it have on the power structure of the Tang Dynasty? Li Qingan suddenly realized that he had become an important pawn that influenced the power structure of the Tang Dynasty. It was a pity that his own power was not strong enough and he could not gain the greatest benefit from this power change that changed history.

Thinking of Li Linfu's foresight, Li Qing'an suddenly felt that he really needed an aide. He was not a poet like Li Bai who did not understand the world, but a sinister plotter like Jia Xu. Li Qing'an couldn't help but think of Yan Zhuang. The three ultimate plans he set up in the polo competition were indeed vicious. If he hadn't happened to see this rule, he would have succeeded.

Unfortunately, Yan Zhuang was assisting An Lushan, and the dignified French governor of Fan Yang had a much higher status than his General of the Central Army.

When Li Qing'an entered Yishanfang, the drum sound of closing the door suddenly rang. He couldn't help but speed up his horse. From afar, he saw a man paced back and forth anxiously on the steps in front of Gao Lishi's mansion, visiting here from time to time. He suddenly saw Li Qing'an and ran towards him, "General Li!"

He rushed to the front and said in a fury: "General Li, I've been waiting for you for almost two hours."

"I'm so sorry, may I ask, you are"

Li Qingan was a little dissatisfied. It wasn’t that I asked you to wait for nothing. Is it okay to wait for someone to visit? Why do you swear so much? The person who came was so angry because he had waited for too long, but he really wanted him to lose his temper at Li Qingan. He didn’t dare. As he was about to close the door, he hurriedly said, “I am the second housekeeper of the Pei Xiangguo Mansion. Master Pei asked me to send you an invitation, and it was clearly stated on it.”

After saying that, he handed a invitation to Li Qing'an, ran back to the steps, rode on his horse and ran towards the gate. His shout came from afar: "My master is very grateful to General Li, General Li must come."

The Pei family came to invite him, which was as expected. He helped the Pei family at noon yesterday, and knew that Pei Kuan would definitely thank him. He used the light at the door to look at the invitation in his hand, and saw that it said that tomorrow morning, the Pei family gathered, "Tomorrow morning?" Li Qingan suddenly remembered that tomorrow is just the day after tomorrow.

Although there are many festivals in the Tang Dynasty, there are very few regular weekends. There are no weekends, only ten-day breaks are once every ten days. Therefore, this day is extremely precious. On ten-day days, officials' homes are like having a holiday, making wine and buying vegetables, and holding wine and banquets. Officials may relax at home for a day or traveling with their families to relax.

Today, the Pei family originally planned to go to Qujiang for a trip, but due to the disaster at the city gate the day before yesterday, the old wife was frightened and the eldest grandson was injured, and the travel plan was cancelled. Pei Kuan is a man of fierce character. If he is based on his former temper, he insisted on rushing to the Yang family to ask for an explanation. However, after experiencing the disaster in the early years of Tianbao, his ears became obedient and his courage became weak. He dared not to settle accounts with the increasingly favored Yang family. Although he dared not take revenge, he could not forget to repay his kindness. Early in the morning, he asked his eldest son Pei Xi to invite Li Qing'an to the mansion.

Before dawn, Pei Kuan got up. He went to visit his old wife first. His wife was frightened in the city gate conflict the day before yesterday and fell ill when she got home. Pei Kuan's wife was the daughter of Wei Shi, the governor of Runzhou. She had been with him for more than 40 years. Unexpectedly, she was insulted by the evil slaves of the Yang family in her late years. She could not bear this great humiliation and her long illness relapsed.

Mrs. Pei was lying quietly on the sickbed, her eyes closed slightly and her face was pale. She had an angina pectoris all night last night and just fell asleep. Pei Kuan sat in front of the bed, holding the old wife's thin hand, and her heart was filled with pity. She protected her wife for a moment. Pei Kuan stood up and said to the maid: "Serve the old lady well. If you have anything to do, please let someone find Doctor Liu."

He walked out of the ward and asked another family member: "How is Pei Zhong's eyes?"

"Report to the master, the whip was too fierce, Doctor Liu said that his left eye was destroyed."

"These bastards!"

Pei Kuan gritted his teeth and asked again: "Where is Yu'er?"

"Grandfather, I'm all right!" Pei Yu walked over quickly with a sword.

Pei Yu is Pei Kuan's favorite eldest grandson. He is knowledgeable and has outstanding literary talent. He is preparing to take the provincial examination next year. After being beaten by the evil slave of the Yang family the day before yesterday, Pei Kuan was very worried about something wrong with his body. However, after the imperial doctor's examination, he said that he had not been beaten for a long time, otherwise the internal organ would be in trouble. This is also the main reason why Pei Kuan was grateful to Li Qing'an. If he had not taken action in time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Pei Kuan smiled slightly and said, "Yuer, today's Xun Supper isn't it the day for your Qingyue Poetry Club to gather? Why did you practice swords?"

"My grandson used to be too crafty, so he was unable to defeat several evil dogs. His grandson was determined to practice both civil and military affairs. Today, General Li came, and I want to ask him for his swordsmanship."

"You should ask General Li for advice on archery techniques, or ask for sword techniques. I guess he never uses swords."

As soon as he finished speaking, he went to invite Li Qing'an's eldest son Pei Xi to come hurriedly. Pei Kuan was excited and asked quickly: "Is General Li here?"

"Father, I met General Li at the gate of the house. He had to go to the military camp outside the city today and he would have to come to the evening."

Pei Kuan was stunned, "What about others? Have you gone?"

"He is outside the mansion and wants to say sorry to his father!"

"This way," Pei Kuan thought about it and said, "Let's go! Go see him."

Outside the mansion, Li Qing'an was walking back and forth. As soon as dawn, Li Fei Shouyu from the military camp sent someone to send him news. Late last night, someone of unknown origin shot the military camp post and an sentry was slightly injured.

Li Qing'an wanted to rush to the military camp immediately, so he came to explain to Pei Kuan. When he was anxious, there was a sound of footsteps coming from the door, and Pei Kuan walked out quickly.

"General Li, is there something wrong with going to the military camp so anxiously?"

"Prime Minister, I just received the news that someone shot an arrow at the military camp post last night, and I want to rush there immediately."

"There is still such a thing?"

Pei Kuan was stunned for a moment and said, "I'm fine today anyway, let's go and have a look with you."

Li Qingan hurriedly bowed and said, "I'm really troubled by the Prime Minister!"

At this time, Pei Yu behind him also hurriedly said, "Grandfather, General Li, I want to go too, can I?"

Pei Kuan glanced at Li Qing'an, and Li Qing'an smiled and waved his hand, "Then get on the horse!"

Everyone turned over the horse and rushed out of Mingde Gate.

When he reached Mingde Gate, Pei Kuan slowed down his horse speed. He looked at the city gate for a while, suddenly sighed, and whipped the horse hard and accelerated away.

Li Qing'an's Jiangdu camp was stationed near Changlepo, east of Chang'an. There were six regiment training camps stationed in this area, with a total of 3,000 people. There were also six regiment training camps stationed in the Bashang area. The Ministry of War first assessed them uniformly, and then each selected 100 people to enter the imperial city for inspection by Emperor Li Longji.

Li Qing'an and his party quickly arrived at the regiment training camp. As soon as they arrived at the camp gate, Li Fei Shouyu greeted him.

"How are the injured brothers?" Li Qingan turned over and dismounted and asked.

"Fortunately, I just shot in the thigh and did not hurt the vital points. Now the injury is stable."

Li Fei Shouyu suddenly saw Pei Kuan behind him and hurried forward to salute, "See Pei Xiangguo!"

Pei Kuan nodded and asked, "Apart from shooting an arrow, is there anything that is not conducive to the military camp?"

"Apart from archery, there is nothing else. A total of three arrows were shot, all of which were shot with military crossbows. Two arrows were shot in the air, and one arrow shot injuring the soldiers. We have checked it, it should have been shot from the woods."

Li Fei Shouyu pointed to a poplar forest on the left side of the military camp. Li Qing'an took a curtain and looked at it. The poplar forest was about a hundred steps away from the military camp. Under the sunlight, the fog in the morning was gradually disappearing, and a stream flowed through the woods.

"So have you discovered something?"

"It rained last night and the woods were very wet. We found footprints of five people and horse hooves, which were heading east."

Li Qingan pondered for a moment. The other party’s motive was unknown and he could not find out who did it. He said to Li Fei Shouyu: "Just strengthen the alert tonight. Don’t mention this matter again, so that brothers can train with peace of mind."

He turned around and smiled at Pei Kuan's grandson and said, "Shangshu Pei, please follow me into the military camp!"

"Okay! I'm just about to see General Li's training results."

The military camp covers a wide area, and there are three archery training grounds alone. The soldiers are divided into five teams, each of which is arranged in ten to rehearse arrows. After several months of hard training, they have been carefully taught by archery masters like Li Qing'an and Li Fei Shouyu. The soldiers have made rapid progress and can basically hit eight or nine out of ten arrows outside a hundred steps. Some of them are particularly excellent, and they can even shoot left and right bows and pass through the sun with hundreds of steps.

Li Qing'an strode to the starting platform and knocked heavily. He raised the red flag and waved it. The soldiers scattered around the world to practice arrows immediately rushed over, like ants gathering together. In a moment, the five hundred soldiers ended in the whole team.

Li Qingan smiled and waved his hand, "Brothers, sit down!"

The soldiers sat down one after another, and Li Qing'an said loudly again: "Today, Shangshu Pei from the Ministry of Rites came to see everyone's training. Shangshu Pei turned out to be the governor of Fan Yang. Brothers will show off their good performances."

He turned around and smiled at Pei Kuan, "Pei Shangshu can pick five people and let them shoot the target with a hundred steps."

"Then I'll pick people at will."

Pei Kuan looked around, and pointed to the five people on the far left and said, "Just five of you!"

The five soldiers stood up, and they could all drive five stone bows. They held the bow to the shooting point. A hundred steps away was a row of straw men. The five raised their bows together, put on long arrows, and slowly pulled the bow. The bow strings were loosened at the same time, and the five arrows flew away, and they nailed them to the chests of the five straw men.

"Okay, shoot a good arrow!" Pei Kuan clapped loudly.

The five people stepped forward to report, and Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "It's great, each person will receive five stakes of money!"

The five people were overjoyed and all thanked for their rewards and retreated. At this time, Pei Kuan said again: "General Li, I want to see the best archer among your soldiers."

All the soldiers looked at Nan Jiyun sitting in the back row. Nan Jiyun has made great progress in the past few months of training. He was already very skilled in archery skills and received special guidance from Li Qing'an. His archery skills were already perfect, even surpassing Li Feishouyu, second only to Li Qing'an.

On the daily training list, Nan Jiyun always tops the list with outstanding results. He has now been promoted to the deputy lieutenant of the regiment training camp and has become one of the instructors.

Li Qingan nodded to him and made a archery gesture. One soldier led a horse up, and two other soldiers ran away with an iron cage.

Nan Jiyun carried a bow and arrow on his shoulder. He turned over the horse and urged the horse to run. He ran around the military camp, ran towards him again and ran toward him, and took off the bow and arrow. At this time, the soldier opened the iron cage. A hundred steps away, two gray pigeons flapped their wings and flew out. Just as they flew out more than ten feet high, Nan Jiyun's first arrow arrived like lightning, and one arrow shot through the flying pigeon at the top. He changed his left hand and opened the bow. Another arrow went away like a heavy rain, piercing the flying pigeon with its wings through the chest.

His magical arrow aroused the soldiers' surprise, and then applauded like thunder, but Pei Yu sighed in a low voice: "Why are Fei Nu?"

Pei Kuan glanced at his grandson and shook his head secretly. Although his grandson was good at literary talent, he was too weak. How could Pei Kuan, the grandson of the governor of Fan Yang, have such a woman's heart?

Nan Jiyun pulled his bow and jumped down from the speeding horse. He stepped forward and knelt on one knee, "I'll shoot Nan Jiyun!"

Li Qingan smiled and nodded, saying to Pei Kuan: "What do you think Pei Shangshu thinks?"

Pei Kuan stroked his beard and smiled: "Anxi has another powerful general!"

After the review, the soldiers went to train again. Li Qing'an accompanied Pei Kuan to his big tent. He pondered for a while and asked, "Shangshu Pei, I want to bring these five hundred troops back to Anxi. I wonder if the court agrees?"

Pei Kuan thought for a while and said, "If they volunteered to be athletes in the Long March, they could go to Anxi to join the army, and the court would not stop them. However, in this way, they have nothing to do with you. If you can be promoted to general, you can have a personal army of 500 people and bring them with you. This is the best way, but one thing you have to remember is that these 500 people must be the organization of the Anxi army and must not be your private army. Otherwise, once you are impeached, General Li will be unable to protect your life!"

Li Qingan nodded silently. As long as he could send them to Anxi, Gao Xianzhi would organize these soldiers into his own camp. The key is that they would be willing to go and when would they have a good talk with everyone.

At this moment, he glanced inadvertently and saw Pei Yu pulling his bow. His face turned red, but the big bow didn't move at all. Pei Kuan also saw it. He sighed and said to Li Qing'an: "General Li, there is something I want to ask you to help."

"You don't have to be polite, please just say it."

Pei Kuan pointed to his Changsun and said, "My grandson is very knowledgeable and kind-hearted, but he is weak by nature. I want to hand him over to General Li and take him to Anxi for a few years. I wonder if General Li can agree?"

Li Qingan smiled and said, "As long as he wants to go, there is no problem."

Just as Li Qing'an and his party went out of the city to the military camp, Yang Zhao and his son also rode to Yang Ji's mansion in Xinghuafang. Since Yang Zhao was reinstated as the chief censor, his temperament has been much more restrained than before. He also understood that many things should be done and not done. Under the persuasion of his staff, Yang Zhao's words and deeds were low-key and kept a certain distance from the other five Yangs. Yesterday he heard that Yang Ji was plotted against by someone at the gate of the city and was injured. He did not come to visit him as soon as possible, but sent his son to send some supplements on the grounds of busy affairs. Today is Xunxiu. Yang Zhao knew that if he didn't come to see him again, it would be unreasonable.

"Xuan'er, you came to visit your second uncle yesterday. Did he say that who was hurt?"

Yang Xuan is Yang Zhao's eldest son. Yesterday, he was ordered by his father to visit his second uncle. He asked about some situations. When he saw his father asking himself, he hurriedly said, "The second uncle said it was very chaotic at that time and could not find out what the reason was. It is said that the uncle was investigating this matter."

"Okay then! Let's go in first." The father and son walked up the steps and went straight into the mansion.

The carriage overturned the day before yesterday, causing Yang Chi to break several ribs and hurt the male root. He has been ill in bed these two days. The imperial doctor in the palace repeatedly instructed him that he could not get out of bed within three months and should not have sex within six months, otherwise he might have life worries. This made him very angry. Who dared to harm him secretly? Beside him, his brother Yang Qi had already found a little bit and was telling him the latest discovery.

"The coroner in Chang'an County has experienced the horse's corpse. The reason why the horse went crazy was that it was shot into the feces door by an arrow. The arrow was about three inches long and was shot out with a special hand crossbow. The second child, this was not accidental! Someone was framed by us in secret."

"Damn it!" Yang Chi cursed in anger, "I just think something is strange. It turns out that someone is harming us."
To be continued...