The second year of Yingshun is the Year of the Sheep.
If not for a series of events, this would have been the fourteenth year of Tianbao, and the Tang Dynasty was at its most prosperous.
Luoyang, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the night of the first lunar month.
During the Chinese New Year period, the fighting on the banks of the Yellow River temporarily stopped. Ordinary people said that Shi Siming must have many relatives to visit and had no time to fight in Luoyang.
In order to calm the people's hearts, Ye Dongdu stayed behind this time in the Yuan Dynasty and spent a small amount of money to make preparations. The Luoshui River was full of lanterns, which was very lively, and the towering Mingtang was also brightly lit.
Seen from the sky, if the lanterns in Luohe are as bright as a dragon, the Mingtang is like a shining bead of fire.
"Let's go see the lanterns."
In a house in Daodefang, Du Wulang led Xue Yunniang out, shook his head and said: "The lanterns in Luoyang are definitely not as good as those in Chang'an, and there are dangers, but Wujiu wants me to come over."
Anyway, he couldn't figure out whether Xue Bai was Li Qian or not, and he didn't bother to find out. In short, he used the word to match him.
"I didn't see the Diao brothers tonight." Xue Yunniang looked back and said, "There are few guards in the mansion. Should we leave more people to protect my brother?"
"It's time to take a bath." Du Wulang said casually, "Those who are celebrating the New Year must also take a rest."
"Then what if there is an assassin..."
"How can there be so many assassins?"
Du Wulang disagreed and took Xue Yunniang's hand to look at the lanterns. This made Xue Yunniang feel that her husband was a little too arrogant and confused.
The two quickly passed through the square gate and arrived at the Luoshui River. They saw the sparkling waves on the water reflecting the lights on both sides, which was particularly beautiful.
"A new theater has opened in the south of Xingjin Bridge, near Jingshanfang. Do you know who opened it?"
Du Wulang had a lot of gossip, and when he talked about new things, he quickly attracted Xue Yunniang's attention.
"Who drove it? Do I recognize it too?"
"You must have heard that they have a great reputation." Du Wulang said, "They used to be a figure in the Emperor's Liyuan, Li Guinian's brother Li Henian."
"It's him!" Xue Yunniang had actually only heard of Li Guinian, but she couldn't help but exclaimed.
The musicians who played for the emperor back then are now opening theaters in Dongdu. Generally speaking, they must be expensive and the business is booming. Unfortunately, because Shi Siming's rebels went south, people in Luoyang were panicked, so who still wanted to watch the theater?
It is said that Li Henian planned to go south and find another way to make a living in Yangzhou. At this time, Xue Bai came out of Luoyang and stabilized the people of Luoyang.
The people were saying, "If King Yong comes, Luoyang City will definitely be defended." Li Henian decided to take a gamble. Now that he has had a good year, if he can put down the rebellion in the new year, his way of making a living will be considered a success.
Got it.
There is wine today and drunkenness tomorrow. No matter what, this Lantern Festival, the theater is very lively. Every seat on the outermost stand is sold for a lot of money, not to mention the private rooms inside.
Du Wulang had made a reservation and couldn't wait to go in. At the same time, he showed off to his wife: "Do you know who I have made an appointment to watch the show with?"
"Who?"
"Written by Wang."
Of course Xue Yunniang knew who she was talking about. She was Wang Changling, the number one person in the newspaper world today, who had been in charge of Chang'an Daily and Tianbao Wencui.
In recent years, Wang Changling's fame has greatly increased due to the newspaper. People in the past called him "Wang Jiangning" to show that he had not been promoted in Jiangning for many years. Now everyone respectfully calls him "Editor Wang".
Just as she was happy, she glanced out of the corner of her eye and seemed to see a few familiar figures in the crowd. She couldn't help but turn her head and take a closer look, but she didn't see those few people again.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I saw someone familiar."
"It's normal." Du Wulang said, "Don't pay attention to it."
"Let's go."
They quickly walked into the lobby.
On the high platform beside them, in the luxurious elegant room on the second floor, a middle-aged female Taoist priest was standing outside the window and looking out, and she couldn't help but say "Eh".
"That couple looks so familiar."
A middle-aged man said calmly in a plain, low voice, neither happy nor sad: "It is normal to meet acquaintances on such joyful occasions."
"If I hadn't admitted my mistake, this couple would have been in trouble." The female Taoist priest's face was calm and there was a hint of sarcasm in the corner of her mouth, "It's detrimental to moral integrity."
The middle-aged man was dressed in simple and elegant clothes. He was holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand and was counting them one by one. He sighed: "If someone bumps into this man and woman in this room, it will be detrimental to the morals."
"What are you afraid of? People in the world say that you and I are good friends. Isn't that enough?"
"When you are old, you should not be greedy for the pleasures of the past."
"Wang Mojie, are you still thinking about your capture? As I said, it will not affect your future. Your brother is now staying in Taiyuan. It shows that the imperial court has no intention of pursuing blame."
Wang Wei sighed: "I can't pass the threshold in my heart."
Princess Yuzhen looked out the window again, trying to find the man and woman she just saw.
After that, a burst of drum music sounded, and the play began. The famous song "The Romance of the West Chamber" was sung on the stage today. Many Liyuan disciples participated. It is said that some of them had seen King Yong competing with the Supreme Emperor. He was a famous performer in the world.
Wang Wei also opened his eyes and looked towards the stage.
However, he unexpectedly saw the figure of an old friend in the lobby, that was Wang Changling. Wang Changling was turning his head and scanning the stands behind him, as if he was looking for something.
~~
That same night, in a remote corner of Luoyang City, several people were gathering together to discuss something.
"If you are willing to return to Dayan, the saint will definitely reward you greatly."
"good!"
The person who answered was a young man, about twenty years old, with a strong build, thin cheeks, prominent brow bones, and a high nose bridge. He should be a Khitan in appearance. He was wearing a robe, and his manner was somewhat bookish.
This man's name is Wang Wujun, and his experience is very legendary.
He is a member of the Khitan Nuji tribe, and his father led the tribe to annex the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan period. He was good at riding and archery since he was a child, and his archery skills were extremely superb, so he was regarded as an archer by An Lushan and presented to Li Longji.
, he stayed in Chang'an when he was fifteen and became a member of the Imperial Guard.
At that time, Wang Wujun's team of shooters had a leading general, Zhang Zhongzhi, who is now the general of the Yan Army. When An Lushan rebelled, Zhang Zhongzhi led eighteen of them from Chang'an back to Fan Yang, and followed An Lushan to kill him.
To Luoyang.
Later, Zhang Zhongzhi was ordered to lead troops back to Hebei to aid, while Wang Wujun stayed in Luoyang due to injury. This stay lasted until An Qingxu fled and the Emperor of Dayan changed hands.
Now that Shi Siming had been unable to attack Heyang for a long time, he secretly sent people to Luoyang to contact his old troops. Wang Wujun heard what his companions said, so he had to return to Dayan.
"One more thing, if you can make great contributions, wouldn't it be more appropriate to return to Dayan?"
"How to make meritorious service?" Wang Wujun asked.
"Today, Li Guangbi is sticking to Heyang and is cowardly and refuses to fight. If the Tang Dynasty forced Shu Han to leave Tongguan again and Li Guangbi went to fight, the saint would win the world. Therefore, Prime Minister Zhou ordered us to go to Chang'an, and Luoyang spread rumors that Li Guangbi wanted to support Yong.
The king rebelled'."
"Got it."
Wang Wujun thought again, he was so skilled, why did he stay in Luoyang doing such trivial things as spreading rumors, and asked: "If I assassinate Xue Bai, will it be considered a great achievement?"
"Of course! This man is Dayan's greatest enemy. If you can kill him, it will be the first contribution to the founding of Dayan."
Wang Wujun made the decision without saying a word that he was going to assassinate him.
Opportunities like this during the Lantern Festival are rare.
Two years ago, when Zhang Zhongzhi heard about An Lushan's rebellion and was about to flee back to Fanyang, Wang Wujun asked him, "We have the forbidden army talisman, why don't we assassinate the emperor and make great achievements?" Zhang Zhongzhi gave him a slap in the face and said this
If it doesn't work out, it will endanger your own life, and you won't be able to escape at that time.
Wang Wujun has always remembered this matter, and today he has weighed it. Luoyang is different from Chang'an, and Xue Bai's residence is also different from the palace.
Moreover, he had lived in Chang'an and Luoyang for many years, served as a member of the imperial army, and was very familiar with the terrain and the garrison habits of dignitaries' mansions, so he dared to give it a try.
"kill."
"How?"
"I have noticed for a long time that Xue Bai lives in a private house in Daodefang. The house is not big, so we killed him one by one."
"Where are the guards?"
"They are all rubbish. How could I not know that these decorations around the nobles of the Tang Dynasty will only freeze with fear when they encounter blood."
Wang Wujun has a deep memory of the Wang Welding rebellion, and he knows that sudden rushes often have unexpected effects...
~~
It's late at night, and there is no curfew in Luoyang tonight.
Daodefang, Yongwang Mansion.
This place is actually the property of the Du family in Luoyang. It has always been vacant. Xue Bai found it convenient to live here, so he lived here recently.
The lanterns under the eaves were swaying, and there were only two guards standing at the door.
In the darkness, six people came over with lanterns and asked, "Has King Yong gone to bed?"
"What's the matter?"
"There is an urgent military situation. This is the order sign. King Yong once said that if there is an urgent military situation, he should be awakened."
"Come in with me."
The door creaked open, and the security was looser than everyone expected.
Of the two guards, only one was left standing at the door, and he yawned boredly. Soon, he heard a woman's cry for help from the other side of the street, and he hurried over...
"Help, ah, help!"
The one who was shouting at the top of his lungs was a companion of Wang Wujun who was good at ventriloquism, using this method to attract the guards away.
Wang Wujun looked at the gate and was a little surprised at the weak defense. It seemed that even Xue Bai had relaxed during the Shangyuan Festival. Without saying a word, he led his men and went in with a knife.
"Search separately and provide support at any time."
The house was indeed not big, so he rushed in and saw no one along the way. It must be the Lantern Festival, or he had a rest, or went to see the lanterns. This situation made him worry that Xue Bai would not be there tonight.
Suddenly, he heard shouts from ahead.
"Xue Bai is there!"
Wang Wujun heard the noise and strode over there. He passed through a small door and saw six people wearing Tang army military robes, pulling out soft knives from their waists and slashing at him, but he didn't know who he was shouting.
Found where Xue Bai's brother is.
As soon as the two sides met, they started fighting without saying a word.
Although there were only two people on Wang Wujun's side, they were chopping melons and vegetables, and quickly killed the six people until only three were left.
"Xue Bai is inside, kill him first."
The other party suddenly said something like this, and Wang Wujun struck down with his sword. He was so surprised that he couldn't even close the sword in time, so he killed the other party with a "poof".
Of the remaining two people, one rushed into the house, while the other turned around and ran away.
"You chase that one!"
Wang Wujun chased him into the house and saw the man rushing to the couch and slashing at him. He pressed the knife and asked: "Brother, who are you from? Dayan..."
"ah!"
The other party hacked Xue Bai to death in his sleep, ignored him, and turned around to kill him.
"puff."
Wang Wujun chopped him down with a knife and spat. He already felt that something was not right tonight. He felt like he had fallen into a trap, or he had fallen into a trap by mistake.
?????55.?????
He walked to the couch and picked up the torn quilt with the tip of the knife.
There was no Xue Bai under the quilt, only a scarecrow.
"Eating dog intestines."
suddenly.
"There's an assassin!"
Following this shout, the house suddenly became lively.
Knowing that he had fallen into the trap, Wang Wujun blew a whistle hard, ordered his men to withdraw, and immediately rushed out with his sword in hand.
He rushed out of the door and saw the unknown assassin who had escaped earlier rushing in front.
"Fire the arrow!"
A high-pitched voice sounded, and arrows shot out one after another, killing the assassin on the spot.
"Kill! Kill them all!"
The high-pitched voice was still shouting.
Wang Wujun took a look at the door and saw a white-faced eunuch with no beard in the firelight, leading archers to shoot his brothers everywhere.
"Dog castration."
Wang Wujun was furious, picked up the bow from his back, opened the bow and nocked an arrow.
He was the archer presented by Fan Yang. The arrow shot out with a "whoosh" and hit the eunuch's left eye in the dim light.
"ah!"
The screams were shocking. Wang Wujun wanted to shoot the eunuch again, but he saw that the eunuch was surrounded by people, shouting to the heavens and grabbing the earth.
He then shot three arrows in succession, knocking down three of the opponent's archers, then drew his sword and charged, and fled with the last two men.
Behind them, dense footsteps sounded, and groups of officers and soldiers had quickly arrived.
After finally rushing to a safe place, Wang Wujun waited for half an hour, but no one came to join him. It seemed that everything was lost.
"Gangpi, what's going on?"
"You fell into a trap." Wang Wujun scolded, "The castrated dog set a trap and deliberately led us to assassinate him."
"But didn't we just do it on the spur of the moment? How could they have expected it?"
"It's time we were active in the city, and they have noticed it a long time ago." Wang Wujun gritted his teeth, pulled out an arrow from his body, and cursed bitterly: "I will make his life worse than death!"
~~
"It hurts...it hurts!"
Bai Zhongzhen's legs were tightly twisted together, and he lost control due to the severe pain.
When the doctor took the arrow out of his eye socket, he finally fainted from the pain.
After a long time, when he woke up again, he felt as if he had died all over again, the pain was still there, and his eyes were blood red.
"Medium envoy."
Hearing this voice, Bai Zhongzhen murmured feebly: "It's you, is Xue Bai... dead?"
"Trouble, King Yong is not in the house. There is a dummy lying in the house."
"What? Then I'm going to die?!"
"Don't worry, envoy. There are no survivors. King Yong didn't know that it was the envoy who sent people to kill him. In addition, King Yong's personal guards have checked. Most of the murderers are Khitan people, and they must be rebel assassins."
Bai Zhongzhen felt relieved now and whispered: "They bumped into each other? There are so many people who want him to die."
He couldn't help but wonder, why did he collide with the assassin sent by the rebels?
Then, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. The reason why he took action tonight was because he knew that the defenses in Xue Bai's mansion were lax. Now it seems that it was clearly a plan.
"He knew I was going to kill him, what should I do? I'm dead!" Bai Zhongzhen couldn't help but feel so sad and angry that he touched his wound and fainted from the pain.
~~
Theater.
A play is at its most lively.
Wang Wei finally noticed the man and woman sitting downstairs and said, "That's Du Wulang? Is he the man and woman you just mentioned? But he came with his wife."
"I'm not talking about him." Princess Yuzhen shook her head and sneered: "I'm not going to take this stupid boy seriously."
"That is?" Wang Wei asked again.
Princess Yuzhen did not answer, saying: "Watch a show."
"If you act like this, I can guess who it is." Wang Wei said, "Prince Yong?"
Recently, he was hesitating whether to go see Xue Bai to talk about his capture, and thought that he should wait until the New Year passed. Anyway, he learned that Xue Bai was also there, so he couldn't help but look everywhere.
After a while, Xue Bai was not found, Wang Wei said: "Is he with your apprentice?"
"Um."
Princess Yuzhen responded calmly and looked at the stage, not knowing what she was thinking.
"Let's watch the show."
~~
"We have been cultivating for hundreds of years to cross the same boat, and we have been practicing for thousands of generations to sleep together -"
In Luoshui, on a small awning boat, a very beautiful song sounded, and soon it became low again.
Because there is another fishing boat coming this way.
On the fishing boat, Diao Bing stretched his neck and said, "I dare not disturb Mr. Lang, but the fish has been caught."
Xue Bai stood up from the small awning boat, holding a small lantern in his hand, and asked: "Have all the personal and material evidence been left behind?"
For him, Bai Zhongzhen was not important. What was important was to get the evidence that Li Cong wanted to assassinate him and keep it for future use.
Ever since he captured Deng Jingshan in Bianzhou, Bai Zhongzhen had been terrified day and night, fearing that he would be poisoned by Xue Bai. He could not sleep or eat well day and night. Even in front of others, he felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles, which was very uncomfortable to watch. So Xue Bai simply
Just give him a push.
He threatened to get rid of Bai Zhongzhen, but deliberately neglected to take precautions, forcing Bai Zhongzhen to assassinate him.
This is just a small thing.
However, Diao Bing said: "Tonight, two fish fell into the net. They bit each other and escaped from the net."
"ha?"
After hearing the detailed report, Xue Bai shook his head and said: "It can be seen that Shi Siming has run out of skills and used such a small trick."
Diao Bing didn't understand. He only knew that he had suffered a loss tonight and asked, "Mr. Lang, do you want to go back for revenge?"
"What? You can still assassinate Shi Siming." Xue Bai smiled and waved casually.
Afterwards, he thought of Yan Zhuang's letter and also thought of Shi Siming's father-son relationship.
Previously, Xue Bai only thought about completely quelling the Anshi Rebellion through grand strategy, and did not bother to use some small means to achieve victory at the tactical level. Now it seems that revenge may not be impossible.
"Search the city and be sure to capture the people."
"yes."
The fishing boat rowed away, and Xue Bai sat down on the awning boat again.
But not long after, Du Wulang's noisy voice was heard in the distance.
"Hello."
I saw Du Wulang sitting on a small boat and holding a small lantern in his hand, wandering over.
"Why are you here? The play hasn't finished yet, right?"
Du Wulang asked: "Didn't you mean to watch a show? Why did you come here? How can you not bear it?"
A clear and beautiful voice came from inside the awning boat: "If you talk nonsense again, tear his mouth to pieces."
Xue Bai said: "There are too many familiar people in the theater."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so lively in Dongdu. If the rebellion is put down, I don't know what it will be like. Will there be fireworks for a while?"
"You didn't come here just to ask about the fireworks, are you on business?"
"I almost forgot, Wang Changling heard that you were assassinated and went to visit you."
…
Wang Changling walked through the courtyard full of the smell of blood and pushed in the door. He saw Xue Bai wrapped in a wrapping cloth and half leaning on the couch.
"King Yong."
"Brother Wang, have you forgotten?" Xue Bai said: "We have said that we should be friends for years and treat each other as brothers. Please call me by my name."
"That's fine." Wang Changling was open-minded and not polite, and asked: "Is the injury serious without blame?"
"It's okay." Xue Bai said, "We just drove away the rebel assassins. Bai Zhongzhen brought people over, and he fired his arrow without any explanation. I hit an arrow by mistake."
Wang Changling said: "You are concerned about the safety of the world, so you should be cautious."
"Yes, I will definitely remember what Brother Wang said."
The two of them used to be friends for many years, but now that one has become more powerful and the other has become more famous, many of their conversations have become hidden.
Wang Changling hesitated for a while, then said: "I seem to have seen you in the theater tonight?"
"A theater?" Xue Bai was surprised, "Li Henian's theater?"
"Isn't it you?"
Xue Bai raised his injured arm with difficulty and said: "If I were in the theater, how could I be injured?"
Wang Changling said: "That means I was wrong. I won't disturb your rest."
He stood up and was about to walk out, but after thinking about it, he stopped and said: "Some time ago, I heard some rumors. It is said that they came from Shu County, and some people wrote them into articles and sent them to
I."
"What's the matter?"
"Don't worry about some nonsense." Wang Changling didn't say anything. He believed that Xue Bai could understand, so he finally reminded, "With your current status, you shouldn't get into trouble."
Xue Bai said: "I will remember what Brother Wang just said, and I will be cautious."
"That's good."
Wang Changling left Prince Yong's Mansion all the way and walked back to the theater. When he arrived at the door, a Taoist nun came and invited him to sit in the private room upstairs.
As soon as he entered the private room, he saw Princess Yuzhen.
"I heard that King Yong was assassinated, and Editor Wang went to visit him."
"Yes." Wang Changling said worriedly, "He is still injured."
Princess Yuzhen said: "But I seemed to have met King Yong in this theater just now."
Wang Changling shook his head and said: "I don't know, where did you see it?"
"That's over there in the stands..."
Princess Yuzhen raised her hand and pointed, but in the middle of her words, she was stunned for a moment.
Where she looked, she saw a man and a woman sitting there. The man was plump and handsome, and the woman was plump and beautiful. They looked like Xue Bai and Yang Yuhuan, but when she took a closer look, they clearly were not.
"I admitted my mistake."
~~
"Mr. Lang, everything has been taken care of."
"Well, I have to be more cautious in the future."
Xue Bai pondered, thinking that if he had been more negligent, the two things that happened tonight might have damaged his position, which would have affected the situation of the war and led to the failure of the counter-rebellion.
In the past, I always wanted to make progress, but now that I have climbed higher, more people are watching me, and I am more likely to make mistakes.
But thinking about it again, this was not a bad thing. He was worried that he could not tie Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to the same boat with him.
He then spread out his pen and paper and wrote a letter to Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi.
"Now Shi Ni wants to harm me, and we are colluding with each other in spreading rumors. What's more, the rumor that there is a son in Chang'an is false and untrue..."
Xue Bai knew very well that all strategies were now being implemented at a critical moment. Neither Guo Ziyi nor Li Guangbi could sit back and watch the minor troubles he encountered and could only write a letter to defend him.
If Li Cong thought that Xue Bai was colluding with Li Guangbi, he might recruit Guo Ziyi to check and balance them. But if Guo Ziyi also spoke for Xue Bai, then Li Cong could only be shocked.
Shi Siming wanted to recreate the scene where Li Longji forced his brother Shu Han to fight, but unfortunately, Xue Bai was not his brother Shu Han.