Chapter 324 Another chess

"I heard that Your Majesty was not in good health, so I came to visit me. I really didn't know what crime I committed? Please make it clear!"

"Hmph!" Li Longji snorted heavily, "I'm still pretending to be confused in front of me, so I'll tell you openly that Li Qing'an was the descendant of the prince Yin back then. What do you say? Over the years, you have said his good words in front of me every day, blinding my eyes. In the end, I was deceived by you and promoted him to the Anxi Jiedushi, Gao Lishi, are you not responsible?"

At this time, Gao Lishi's heart calmed down. He said calmly: "Your Majesty, please listen to what Lao Nu said. Li Qing'an was promoted because he had outstanding performance in the Xiaobolu Battle and the Shibaocheng Battle. It has nothing to do with Lao Nu. Lao Nu really doesn't know that he was the prince after Jiancheng. He established a private friendship just because he played polo for Lao Nu. If Lao Nu knew that he was after he was built, he would never dare to hide his Majesty. He took a step back ten thousand steps. In fact, even if he was built, it would be no big deal. It can only prove that he is a royal family. Jiancheng was just the prince a hundred years ago. Will his descendants definitely make trouble? The so-called forest wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. As long as Your Majesty takes this matter lightly, it will naturally be safe. Lao Nu thinks that it doesn't matter whether Li Qing'an is built after it is completed. What is important is that Your Majesty cannot force him because of this, but instead rebels at the end of his way. Please think twice!"

It should be said that Gao Lishi's advice was very rational, reminding Li Longji not to make things worse and not to force Li Qing'an back. However, at this time, Li Longji's heart was full of murderous intent. He could no longer listen to anyone's advice. Gao Lishi's persuasion made him even more disgusted. He sneered and said, "I want to hold you accountable, but you have taught me a lesson. Do you think you were the former Gao Lishi? Here comes!"

Several guards came in at the door. Li Longji pointed at Gao Lishi and said, "Pull this slave down, beat him a hundred sticks, drive him out of the Eastern Palace, and never hire him!"

Several guards grabbed Gao Lishi's arm and dragged it outwards. Gao Lishi struggled and shouted, "Your Majesty is better to kill me with one knife, it's better to have a better time!"

"Drag on!"

Li Longji was furious and pointed at Gao Lishi and shouted. The fish next to him was full of heart. How could Gao Lishi's old bone stand a hundred sticks? The chance to kill this old bastard.

Just then, Li Yu's sad shout came from outside the door: "Grandfather, please spare Eunuch Gao's life! He has served the emperor's grandfather for fifty years, and he has worked hard even without any credit!"

"Master, please spare Eunuch Gao's life!"

All the palace maids and eunuchs outside knelt down and pleaded for Gao Lishi together. Li Longji finally calmed down slightly. Only then did he realize that if one hundred sticks were beaten, Gao Lishi would not be able to survive. In a moment, he suddenly felt that Gao Lishi could not die. If Li Qing'an entered Guanzhong, he could still let him negotiate with Li Qing'an.

Thinking of this, he quickly changed his words and said, "Okay! For the sake of Emperor Changsun, I spared his life and beat him thirty sticks."

An eunuch ran to pass the imperial edict, and he was so angry that Yu Chaoen gritted his teeth. After finally waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he was escaped by this old guy.

"Yu Chaoen."

Li Longji called him, Yu Chaoen hurriedly stepped forward and smiled flatteringly, "Slave is here!"

"If you go and persuade the crown prince back to the Eastern Palace, you will say that I am in a bad mood and don't want to see anyone, and summon him later."

"Yes! I understand."

Just as Yu Chaoen was about to leave, Li Longji called him again, "When the crown prince leaves, you go and call Yang Guozhong to me."

Yu Chaoen left, and Li Longji closed his eyes again. Although he was old and foolish, his decades of political experience were still there. He thought hard how he could get rid of Li Qing'an as soon as possible?

After a moment, Yang Guozhong hurried over. He didn't sleep well last night and his eyelids were a little swollen. He bowed and bowed and said, "I am worried that I haven't slept all night. I heard that Your Majesty has improved, so I finally feel relieved."

He said it was the truth, and he did not sleep all night, but he was not worried about Li Longji, but considered his own way of retreat. If Li Longji returns to heaven and Li Yu succeeded to the throne, Yang Guozhong would be finished. If Li Longji really returns to heaven, what should he do? Li Yu would definitely not let him go. It seems too late to establish a good relationship with Li Yu now. Yang Guozhong has been thinking all night but still has no result. The only hope is to pray to God to bless Li Longji for a long time.

Seeing that his eyes were covered with blood, Li Longji couldn't help but feel a little moved. Although Yang Guozhong's ability is not as good as Li Linfu, he is very loyal to him!

He nodded and said, "I want to ask about the Hidden Dragon Society first, how were you searching?"

"Report to the emperor, last night, I ordered Jingzhao Yin to search the East City and seized Li Huichun, the leader of the Huichun Tea House, the big leader of the Yinlong Society. This person is a famous Han Chinese. He was Li Zhongyuan, the leader of the Eighteen Generals of the Generals of the Eighteen Family. Unfortunately, he committed suicide in prison last night. I was incompetent and could not track down other members of the Yinlong Society from him."

‘Dead?’

Li Longji's face showed disappointment, "Is there anything else to gain?"

"have!"

Yang Guozhong took out a long list and smiled and said, "I found 80,000 guan of Yinlong Club's funds from Huichun Tea House. I immediately seized Juhai Xingguifang. The tea housekeeper said that the shopkeeper of the cabinet shop was Li Huichun's son. Although he escaped, I found 500,000 guan and 30,000 liang of silver from the underground treasury of the cabinet shop."

"Are all this money from Yinlong?"

"Part yes, partly not, I plan to clean up the accounts and report them to the emperor."

Li Longji thought for a while and said, "I have two opinions. First, Juhai Xingguifang was opened by the Anxi Army, and there is a lot of money in it. The Anxi Army soldiers are present in the Anxi Army. Therefore, except for the money from the Yinlong Society, other money is not allowed to be moved, and the Guest House will continue to open; second, I will search for members of the Yinlong Society and the Han and Tang dynasties with all my strength. I would rather catch a hundred mistakenly than let one go. Have you heard it clearly?"

"I obey the order!"

Yang Guozhong was disappointed when he saw that Li Longji had actually let go of Juhaixing Cabinet. However, he was a prime minister after all, and he also understood the subtlety. Juhaixing was run by the Anxi Army, and many generals saved money there. Li Longji wanted to deal with Li Qing'an. After locking up Juhaixing, he offended the entire Anxi Army, which was equivalent to helping Li Qing'an in disguise.

At this time, Li Longji said slowly: "I have considered it repeatedly. I originally planned to use Feng Changqing to seize Li Qing'an's power, but Feng Changqing's qualifications are obviously a little shallow, which is not enough to convince other Anxi generals. So I thought of one person, who is more qualified than Feng Changqing and is more competent for my trust."

Yang Guozhong suddenly reacted and said in surprise: "Is Your Majesty talking about it?"

"Yes! What I am talking about is Humeng Lingcha."

Yang Guozhong thought of Gao Xianzhi. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, why don't Gao Xianzhi be transferred from Jiannan and put him to Anxi? If the two tigers fight, there will be one injury. I think this will be more effective."

It should be said that Yang Guozhong's suggestion is very vicious. It can not only lift Gao Xianzhi's control over Jiannan and let Jiannan return to his Yang Guozhong's hands, but also let Gao Xianzhi deal with Li Qing'an. For Gao Ming's plan to kill two birds with one stone. This plan was Linghu Fei's advice to Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong seized the opportunity and said it.

But Li Longji shook his head, "Although this plan is good, I am worried that Anxi's affairs will not be resolved, and the storm in Jiannan has started again. You should think that Gao Xianzhi is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He is the prince of Annan. What is the point of going to Anxi? What if he does not obey the order? Will it disrupt the peaceful situation in Jiannan? I have to consider all these, and if Gao Xianzhi gets rid of Li Qing'an, then how can Gao Xianzhi get rid of Gao Xianzhi? Maybe there will be more troubles. So I decided to use Hu Meng Lingcha. He is the old Anxi Jiedushi. He is more suitable than Gao Xianzhi. If you find him, I want to have a good talk with him."

"Your Majesty is far-sighted, I will never be able to do it. I will go to Hu Meng Lingcha now."

Yang Guozhong was convinced, flattered him and hurried away.

Yang Guozhong left, Li Longji slowly sat down on the desk and wrote down the names of Gao Xianzhi and Fu Meng Lingcha on a piece of paper. He looked carefully for a long time and drew a large circle on Fu Meng Lingcha. After thinking about it, he drew a small circle on Gao Xianzhi. Yang Guozhong's suggestions were actually not unreasonable, but the risk was too great and could only be used when he had no choice. He would not use this method if he had room for anything, but it could be used as a backup plan.

After a moment, the eunuch's report came from outside the door, "Your Majesty, Hu Meng Lingjian has come!"

"Announce him to meet."

Fu Meng Lingcha has been waiting outside the Daming Palace since last night. Although Li Qingan has given him a little balance of jealousy, what Fu Meng Lingcha is even more looking forward to is what he can get from this matter. Although he is old and about to retire from the government, his desire for power has never aged. He has always hoped that one day he can return to his past glory instead of disappearing on the Tang Dynasty stage.

At this moment, he was extremely excited and felt like crying. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down and said in a trembling voice: "I will see Your Majesty!"

Li Longji was originally afraid that he would not want to go, so he comforted him a few words and encouraged him. However, seeing his appearance, he knew that there was no need to comfort him, so he said straight to the point: "I plan to appoint you as the governor of Anxi, may you be competent?"

A line of tears rolled out from Hu Meng Lingcha's eyes, and he choked and said, "The old minister is willing to devote himself to His Majesty and die until his death!"

Li Longji nodded and said, "I plan to appoint you as the governor of Anxi, but not now."

Meng Lingcha was stunned. He didn't understand what Li Longji meant, but he didn't dare to say anything. Li Longji said again: "I will first sign you as the deputy envoy of Anxi Jiedu, the military envoy of the five towns, and then give you a governor of Xizhou. When will you take Li Qing'an for me, and then when will you be the governor of Anxi Jiedu? Do you understand?"

This appointment was expected by Fu Meng Lingcha. Since Li Qing'an was the crown prince, how could Li Longji tolerate him? If he wanted to get rid of Li Qing'an in Anxi, who else could he rely on besides himself? Thinking of this, Fu Meng Lingcha proudly raised his head and said: "Please rest assured that the old minister has been in Anxi for decades. As long as the old minister goes to Anxi, he dare not say that at least 80% of the army will obey the command of the old minister. This is the connection of the old minister."

Li Longji liked his confidence and said happily: "Okay, I'll wait and see!"

The news that Li Qing'an was the prince after he was established was spread throughout the court and the country like the wind and also to Li Linfu's mansion. At this moment, Li Linfu had resigned from all his positions and recuperated at home, but Li Linfu was in his twilight years and was about to reach the end of his life. His last public appearance was when he attended the court meeting six months ago. Since then, he has never taken a step forward, and even most of his children have not seen him again.

If an official came to see him now, he would be shocked. He would not believe that the thin old man lying on the bed would be Li Linfu, who had been in charge of the power of the Tang Dynasty for more than ten years. The torture of illness almost passed away in half a year. It turned out that the fat and mighty Li Linfu was only left with a handful of bones at this time, and he was lying on the bed like a layer of leather wrapped in a skeleton. Perhaps his life was about to end. His thoughts became clear in the past two days, and he began to recall the little things of life at the end.

Although his family no longer told him anything about the court, his son Li Kun still told Li Linfu the secret that Li Qing'an was built.

The news was really shocking. Li Kun said it three times in a row before Li Linfu understood what his son meant. A meaningful smile appeared on his skeleton-like face. He said softly: "I know... he... is not an ordinary person."

"What should we do, then father?"

After a long time, Li Linfu asked with difficulty: "Does he not... deny?"

"No, the Lord did not deny it. He seemed to have agreed that this matter has spread."

There was a hint of mockery in the smile on Li Linfu's face, and he said intermittently: "That's... he made a mistake."

"What my father meant is that the emperor should deny that Li Qing'an was after the completion of the building?"

Li Linfu did not answer, closed his eyes. After a long time, he opened his eyes and said to his son: "Send someone to the Tang Dynasty states to promote this matter, and you will... write him a letter!"

That night, Li Linfu fell into a deep coma and never woke up again. Ten days later, Li Linfu passed away and even couldn't stay a will. However, at the last moment of his life, he pointed out a way for his son, and his family wanted to surrender to Li Qing'an.

The secret of Li Qing'an, the descendants of Li Jiancheng, the prince of the early Tang Dynasty, was only spread in the court at the beginning, but after only one night, it spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an under the deliberate spread of those who were interested in Li Linfu's family. This secret is the most interesting. For a time, teahouses, wineries, brothels, inns, and almost all public places were talking about this matter. This news surprised everyone. At this time, a poem about General Li's Western Expedition written by Cen Shen also became popular in Chang'an.

Haven't you seen the horses walking on the snow by the sea?

The plain sand is vast and yellow into the sky.

The 9th month of Luntai roars at night,

The gravel in a river is as big as a bucket,

Walking around the ground with the wind and rocks.

The Huns' grass is yellow and the horse is fat,

Kingsoft sees smoke and dust flying in the west,

The Han general went west to march.

The general's golden armor does not take off at night,

The army marched in the middle of the night and swung each other.

The limelight is like a knife and the face is like a cut.

It was under the background of this poem that Li Qing'an once again became the focus of attention of Chang'an people and once again sparked the Chang'an people's yearning for Anxi. In just three days, more than 100 students of the Imperial College resolutely embarked on the journey to Anxi with their swords to realize their ambition to follow Li Qing'an to establish their achievements.

This poem not only made civilians and students of the Imperial College admire Li Qing'an, but more scholars and officials began to look at him with admiration. Especially after Li Qing'an became a royal family, he added a halo of aristocraticism on his body. This halo made his Cinderella-like life experience suddenly become noble. Moreover, he was actually the great-great-great-grandson of Li Jiancheng, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozu. This bloodline is even more noble than that of Li Shimin's descendants. This is very important in the Tang Dynasty, which attaches great importance to its background and bloodline.

In this way, Li Qingan is no longer an ordinary general, no longer a poplar willow that is disliked. He has become a big sycamore tree that can attract phoenixes to rely on. Especially some Guanlong tribes, they began to have a different mindset about him. They were considering whether Li Qingan could become their spokesperson for their interests?

But if someone admires him, someone will be jealous. Just when Li Qing'an's reputation was at its peak, a decree issued by Li Longji made Li Qing'an's fate confusing again. He appointed his husband Meng Lingcha as the deputy envoy of the Anxi Jiedushi and the governor of Xizhou, the military envoy of the five towns, and the field envoy of the Anxi camp.

Fu Meng Lingcha was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. He took out the long-clogged map of Anxi from the top of the bookshelf. He stroked the names that were once extremely familiar. The past years of golden swords and iron horses appeared before him again, including Kucha, Yanqi, Yutian, Shule, and Shuye. The four towns of troops turned into five towns. This is the most powerful position in Anxi except the Jiedushi. Currently, Li Qing'an is the one who controls Anxi's military power.

Of course, Fu Meng Lingcha knew that Li Qing'an would not give up, but this was Li Longji's will and the official appointment of the court. Unless he had raised the flag to rebel, he would not dare to refuse to follow. As long as he arrived in Anxi, those old subordinates he promoted, Bi Sichen, Wang Tao, Kang Huaishun, Chen Fengzhong, etc., were still officials in Anxi and were arranged by Li Qing and resented for a long time. They would not tolerate Li Qing'an's actions and would definitely support him and quickly form his power. Fu Meng Lingcha was very confident in himself in this regard.

"Master, just sleep for a while!"

When it was almost dawn, Hu Meng Lingcha's old wife brought a bowl of ginseng tea into the study. When she saw Hu Meng Lingcha's excitement, she couldn't help but sigh and persuaded him: "Master, you are already sixty-seven. You are about to retire from the officialdom in three years. Why should you go to Anxi again? I also heard that Li Qingan was young and promising after the founding of the prince, and he was still the Prince of Anxi. You are so old, what else can you compete with him? Since you have a lot of grandchildren, you should raise your old age at home and enjoy the joy of family."

Meng Lingcha was dispelled by his old wife. He slapped the table and scolded him angrily: "You are an old woman, what are you talking nonsense! How can a real man be powerless for a day? Will I be willing to die in obscurity? I have been waiting for it for a few years and finally got the opportunity. Li Qing'an is nothing! When I was the governor of Anxi, he was still a fortress soldier. How dare he fight me?"

"Master, please calm down. I won't talk about you anymore. Go to bed early and you will set off the day after tomorrow. Stay with your family more!"
Chapter completed!