In the carriage, Li Ye read An Lushan's letter to Qing Wang Li Cong several times, and kept thinking.
Li Cong was the eldest son of the emperor, born to Concubine Liu Hua, while Prince Li Heng was only born to Concubine Yang Guifei. Sons are valued by their mothers, so Li Cong's status was actually higher than that of Prince Li Heng.
According to the traditional etiquette, Li Cong should be the crown prince. Because Li Longji was the third son to usurp the throne, he was unwilling to make his eldest son the crown prince. Instead, he made his second son and third son the crown prince one after another to prove the legitimacy of his usurping the throne.
Although Li Cong has no chance to become the prince, he is Li Longji's most powerful weapon against the prince Li Heng. Li Longji will definitely move him out to suppress Li Heng.
But Li Longji also ignored one point. Prince Qing Li Cong was not a tool of suppression. He was a living person, the eldest son of the emperor who was not willing to lose the opportunity to ascend the throne, and an ambitious man who was not willing to become a tool.
To seek internal support and cooperate with external forces, the battle to seize the throne is never a one-on-one battle. You must collude with external vassals who hold military power in order to seize the throne.
An Lushan became one of the five major forces in Chang'an. Li Ye never understood how a foreign vassal could control the situation in Chang'an.
Now Li Ye understands that the power of Anlu Mountain is just an iceberg on the water. The part hidden under the water turns out to be Li Cong, the eldest son of the emperor who participated in the seizure of the throne. I am afraid not only Li Cong, the king of Qing, but also Li Yan, the king of Di, Li Wan, the king of Rong, and Li Lin, the king of Yong.
, these four people formed an alliance to deal with the prince.
Li Longji knew from the beginning that the consort Zhang Bian was killed by the prince, so he gave himself a Shangfang Emperor Sword and asked him to investigate the case.
Li Ye took out Shang Fang's Emperor's Sword and took a closer look. This sword Tianbao had only been taken out twice during his years. The last time it was in the hands of his grandfather.
its not right!
Li Ye frowned. This sword was not given to him by Li Longji, but Gao Lishi took it out of the box and gave it to him.
The timing was wrong, it was only a few hours after I got the sword and the prince-in-law was assassinated.
It means that the emperor had long known that Qing Wang Li Cong wanted to assassinate the consort Zhang Bian.
Could it be that the man in Tsing Yi, Tang Gu, was the emperor's spy placed beside Prince Qing? Prince Qing also took the opportunity to cut off this spy when he killed Tang Gu.
or
A bold idea suddenly broke into Li Ye's mind.
Could the real culprit of the assassination of the consort Zhang Bian be the emperor Li Longji? He used Qing Wang Li Cong to assassinate Zhang Bian and cut off the prince's right-hand man.
Li Ye slapped his forehead suddenly, he was so confused!
It doesn't matter whether the emperor Li Longji is the real murderer or not.
The emperor is a chess player.
Everyone is just a pawn on his chessboard.
The assassination of the consort Zhang Bian was just one step in the whole chess game. It was the emperor's move to check and balance the prince. It was also the beginning of the kings' struggle for heir apparent.
An Lushan's rebellion was also the climax of the battle to seize the throne. An Lushan was originally a chess piece, but he was not willing to be a chess piece and overturned the entire chessboard. He wanted to play chess with the Emperor of Tang Dynasty.
What about yourself?
Why am I not a chess piece now? Do I have the courage of An Lushan to become a chess player?
My grandfather's greatest hope for himself is to become a chess player.
Li Ye closed his eyes. Becoming a chess player is not just for anyone who wants to be a chess player. He needs to have the right time, place and people, as well as strong strength and the awareness to be a chess player.
Historically, Guo Ziyi was able to be a chess player, but he still lacked the awareness to be a chess player and was ultimately willing to be a chess piece.
If the strength is not enough and the opportunity is not available, you still have to put it away and be a chess piece, a valuable chess piece, and you must not become an abandoned piece like Zhang Bian.
Li Ye finally understood Li Longji's intention of asking him to investigate the case. It didn't matter who his father was loyal to, the key was himself.
Should I burn incense for the prince or for him?
If you find out that it was Prince Qing Li Cong who assassinated the consort Zhang Bian, will you tell the prince?
Li Longji asked him to solve a question. If he solved it, he would understand his warning, warning him not to get too close to the prince. His father could continue to be the Minister of Rites, or even be promoted.
If it cannot be solved, the imperial examination case will continue to be investigated, and my father will definitely be involved in the case. Removal from office is a minor matter, and it is not certain whether I can return to Hezhong.
Li Ye put away An Lushan's letter. He would never show this letter to anyone again.
"What?"
Li Dai was surprised, "The prince consort Zhang Bian was assassinated by King Qing Li Cong. Why?"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "Father, you don't really need to know why? You just need to understand that all of us are the emperor's chess pieces, and we just have to be good chess pieces with peace of mind."
"You mean, I am the prince's faction and the emperor's arrangement on the chessboard?"
Li Ye shook his head, "The chess piece on the chessboard is me, and my father is just my shadow projected on the chessboard. The chess player will only stare at the chess pieces and not pay attention to the shadow."
Li Dai finally understood. He smiled bitterly for a while and said: "Your grandfather told me a long time ago that your mother and I are just your hostages in Chang'an."
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "We are double hostages. One is that we are not allowed to rebel, and the other is that I am not allowed to burn the prince's incense."
Li Dai was really frustrated. In the end, he was not even qualified to be a chess piece.
Li Ye understood his father's feelings and comforted him: "Playing chess is just a power game. Governing the world is the business. My father is a person who does business. There is no need to play this kind of power game. You just have to care about the people of the world and work conscientiously."
A good official, this is not just a game of chess, a big game of governing the world."
Li Dai nodded, "I understand. In fact, I don't need to care at all whether I am from the prince's faction?"
Li Ye smiled and said, "It's not bad to have a good relationship with the prince. Just don't get involved in the prince's power struggle."
Li Dai nodded silently. Today he was completely awakened. What did the five major forces in Chang'an and the prince's faction have to do with him?
Early the next morning, Li Ye came to Gao Lishi's official room and handed Shang Fang the Emperor's Sword and the investigation report to Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi laughed dumbly and said: "The investigation was completed so quickly? You are not allowed to check randomly! As far as I know, the Minister of Housing and others have all gone to Luoyang."
Li Ye said with a smile: "Fang Shilang and the others have nothing to do. It's okay to go to Luoyang for sightseeing. But I'm getting married soon, and I don't even know where the wedding will be held, so I hurry up and complete the task."
Gao Lishi smiled and pointed at Li Ye, "You! Fortunately, I understand you."
Li Ye finally saw through Gao Lishi. On the one hand, he was the emperor's chess player, but at the same time, he would secretly make a few moves of his own while the chess player was not paying attention.
Just like when he secretly met Li Chu, the king of Guangping, at his residence, he would never tell the emperor. Gao Lishi was also leaving a way out for himself.
Gao Lishi picked up the report and looked at it, and couldn't help but frown, "Why did it stop until the assassin was caught? It mentioned that the middleman was a man in Tsing Yi, so who is the man in Tsing Yi? This is the key!"
"Mr. Gao, I wrote it very clearly in the report. The assassin Zeng Honger didn't know who the man in Tsing Yi was, and the spy Yang Shun didn't know who the man in Tsing Yi was. This clue is broken, and my written report can only stop here.
I'm afraid that the report from the Fang Shilang and others will only reach the people in Qingyi."
Gao Lishi squinted his eyes and asked: "You mean, there are also non-written reports?"
Li Ye looked back at the young eunuch at the door. Gao Lishi waved his hand, "You all stand down!"
Several young eunuchs went down and closed the door.
Li Ye then said slowly: "The man in Tsing Yi is called Tang Yu, and he is an aide to King Qing Li Cong."
Gao Lishi had no expression on his face and said calmly: "Is there any evidence?"
Li Ye shook his head, "Tang Yu, the man in Tsing Yi, is already dead, and his whole family was also killed, so there is no evidence."
"Then you have to tell me, how did you know that the man in Tsing Yi is Tang Guan, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to the emperor?"
"Internal response Yang Shun told me that the person in Tsing Yi gave him the task at Wanbao Restaurant in Dongshi. The owner of the restaurant at that time knew Tang Yu. I found the owner of the restaurant, Xu, and he told me that the person in Tsing Yi was from his hometown and was named Tang Yu.
Hu, I worked as an aide to King Qing for ten years."
"Where is this spy Yang Shun now?" Gao Lishi asked with narrowed eyes.
Li Ye made a gesture of wiping his neck, "He knew something he shouldn't know, so his humble position made him disappear completely."
Gao Lishi nodded, "Okay! I will report it to the emperor. Who else knows about this besides you?"
Li Ye smiled and said: "Even my father doesn't know, that's why it's called a non-written report."
