The person who came to Jingzhao Mansion with Du Wulang was Quanfu, the son of the Du family steward.
It is said that he is a third-rank official in front of the prime minister, and he is now considered prominent. However, Du Youni is cautious and restrains his servants. He does not dare to act arrogantly outside, and usually likes to chat with others and brag.
Today, Du Wulang was working in the government office, while Quan Fu was sitting in the front yard, surrounded by a group of government officials, talking about the incident when he was rescued by His Highness the Crown Prince.
"I can't tell you the specifics. Anyway, I was beaten to death by Ji Wen's people at that time. It's thanks to His Highness that he rescued me."
All the government officials were very supportive, and one person said: "If you survive a catastrophe, you will be blessed later. Looking at Guanshi Quan's current situation, no one in Jingzhao Mansion would dare to touch Guanshi Quan."
While they were talking, Wu Cao, the legal advisor of Jingzhao Prefecture, came out and faced Quan Fu with a very kind and approachable attitude on his face.
"Manager Quan, please take a moment to talk. The assassination of General Guo is of great importance. Wu Lang is meeting with Jing Yin, and he has some instructions for you."
Quanfu also knew that this was a big deal, so he quickly said: "Facao Wu is so polite. If you have anything to do, just ask me."
The two walked to the corridor and heard Wu Min say: "Wu Lang is very worried about a person's safety and asked us to send her to the palace."
"who?"
Wu Min said: "General Guo was assassinated in the Dongshi Theater. The assassin is related to the Jiaofang, and the person we want to protect is also related to the Jiaofang."
Quanfu was still puzzled and asked, "Who is that?"
Wu Minao said: "I don't know either. Wu Lang said that you would know as soon as I told you and sent him to Shaoyang Courtyard to see His Highness. This is a token he gave me."
He took out the jade pendant Du Wulang was wearing, lowered his voice, and said: "This matter is very important to His Highness, but His Highness cannot send someone to pick it up directly. Therefore, he ordered me to ask Wu Lang."
When Quanfu saw it, he suddenly realized and said: "It turns out that Wu Facao belongs to your highness. I know it. Please come with me."
Over there, Wu Minao had arranged many confidants, and immediately followed Quan Fu, and the group headed to the southeast corner of the city.
All the way to the vicinity of Qujiang Pool, we entered Quchifang and stopped in front of a large house.
"It's right here." Quanfu finally stopped.
Wu Minao signaled to the government officials behind him with his eyes, and then said to Quan Fu: "Please come out and enter the palace now."
Quan Fu then stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a while, an old servant opened the door and said, "It's Quan, the manager."
"Wu Lang asked me to bring my wife to see His Highness."
"please."
When everyone entered, they saw the courtyard with sparse flowers and trees, fragrant grass on the steps, and pavilions and pavilions scattered in an orderly manner, giving it a unique charm. Walking around the corridor, one could faintly hear the sound of silk music coming from the inner courtyard.
Just by looking at the residence, you can tell that the person living here must be a beauty.
Finally, they stopped in front of a small pavilion.
"I'll ask my wife to come down."
Seeing that things went so smoothly, Wu Minao was a little surprised and felt nervous again. He stared at the door of the attic.
He is here to find Yang Yuhuan today. As long as he can be found, it will play an important role in future events.
Although there is no evidence, it is speculated from various signs that Xue Bai must have hidden Yang Yuhuan.
The wind blowing seemed to be fragrant. A beautiful woman wearing a fine gauze skirt and a ponytail slowly walked down from the pavilion. She was very beautiful, with smooth and white skin and a plump body.
"Let's go." The beautiful woman said calmly.
Wu Minu did not move. After being stunned for a moment, he said, "Who are you?"
"Since you were ordered to take me away, why do you need to ask about my identity?"
For a moment, Wu Minao had a hint of anger in his eyes, looked at Quan Fu, and said, "Are you sure this is the person Wu Lang wants us to send away?"
Quanfu hid behind the old servant and did not answer.
The beautiful woman laughed like a silver bell and said, "If it's not me, then who is it?"
Wu Min said: "A major assassination occurred in Chang'an City today. Wu Lang asked me to protect Madam Yang."
The beautiful woman Youyou asked: "Then how do you know that I am not Mrs. Yang? Am I not beautiful enough?"
"I'm offended."
Wu Min couldn't bear to be teased by this beautiful woman, so he waved his hand and ordered the government officials he brought to search the courtyard.
But before they could take action, the nursing staff came out and surrounded them.
Seeing Wu Minao panicking, the smile in the beautiful woman's eyes grew stronger and she asked, "Don't you know who I am?"
"You are not the second wife of the Du family."
"Who said that only Du Erniang can stand up for Du Wulang? The slave family's surname is Daxi."
Wu Min's expression suddenly changed. He was an official in Chang'an, so of course he had heard of Da Xi Yingying's name.
He looked at Quan Fu again, his eyes full of shock, thinking that he had failed to deceive this little slave from the beginning, and instead fell into his trap.
Originally, he wanted to find Yang Yuhuan quietly, but now he was trying to scare the snake away.
"Ms. Daxi, General Guo Qianli was assassinated today. I..."
"You can tell at a glance that I am not Madam Yang. Have you ever seen her?"
"The official has indeed met Mrs. Guo Guo." Wu Min said: "The official was just ordered to investigate the case. Excuse me for disturbing you. Please take my leave.
After saying that, he hurriedly bowed and hurriedly retreated.
Da Xi Yingying did not stop him, but sent someone to pick up Du Wulang, and at the same time sent someone into the palace to report the matter to Xue Bai.
~~
Du Wulang only stayed in Jingzhao Mansion for half a day and then left, without even entering the cell.
But when he left Jingzhao Mansion, he did not praise Quanfu's agility. Instead, he said: "You are smart."
"The villain saw that Wu Min was detaining Wu Lang, so he had no choice but to ask Madam Da Xi to rescue him."
"You don't understand."
Du Wulang sighed and went into the palace to see Xue Bai with a sad face.
As soon as he entered Shaoyang Courtyard, he saw Du Jin standing there with a face as cold as frost.
"Second sister."
"You are so capable now. You dare to buy a house for His Highness, hide a beauty, and have such ambition behind my back. What do you plan to be? A broker?"
"Second sister, please don't speak so harshly." Du Wulang said: "Besides, this matter was just a misunderstanding. Those people broke into Da Xi Yingying's private house..."
Du Jin said: "If they weren't absolutely sure that you were helping His Highness hide people, would they dare to touch you?"
"They have wronged me, will the second sister also wrong me?"
"You still dare to hide it from me. If His Highness falls short because of this matter, can you afford it?"
Du Wulang didn't dare to fight back, lowered his head and scratched his face, followed Du Jin into the hall, and met Xue Bai.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, mainly because Du Jin looked unhappy.
Du Wulang glanced at Xue Bai secretly, wondering what other sweet words he could say to smooth things over.
But when Xue Bai opened his mouth, he didn't talk about Yang Yuhuan. Instead, he said: "Tian Shengong sent someone to redress the grievances. He claimed that he did not burn, kill, rob or kidnap. In addition, he did not hand over Zhang Ting and her son."
When it came to Zhang Ting, Du Jin felt that this matter was not handled well, and his face was no longer so cold, and said: "I have an intuition that Zhang Ting is in Tian Shengong's camp."
"There is no evidence yet."
"Tian Shengong didn't come to see you in person, so he might have rebelled."
This came from Du Jin's intuition, but the matter has not yet been determined, and it is difficult to investigate.
Du Wulang said: "I have been to his camp. There is nothing wrong with Tian Shengong's attitude, but it is a bit strange. I have never seen Tian Shenyu from the beginning to the end. Also, his soldiers are a bit domineering. I really can't tell.
.”
Xue Bai then said: "Tell me about Wu Min."
"Actually, he just scared me, but he didn't really embarrass me." Du Wulang said: "But Prince Zhong's Mansion really went to Jingzhao Mansion to report the disappearance of Zhang Ting's mother and son. I'm afraid this matter will end up happening.
I traced it to the second sister."
Du Jin's calm expression turned grim again, and he said: "Wu Minu is Li Chu's uncle. Now that he dares to jump out, it's time to get rid of him."
Li Chu's biological mother, the Wu family, was exiled to Yeting because of her father's crime, and was later sent to Li Heng. However, she died after giving birth to the child. She was only eighteen years old when she died. She has not been banned so far. Therefore, the Wu family's
His status has never been high.
After Li Cong ascended the throne, Wu Mingyuan was dismissed from his official position, but he was always cautious and was not close to the loyal kings. Later, he bribed Dou Wenyang and found an official position as Jingzhao Facao.
He worked carefully and rarely made mistakes, so when Xue Bai came to supervise the country, he was not dismissed.
When the imperial court exterminated the Buddha before, Li Chu was about to make a move, and Wu Min did not make any move. However, this time he suddenly stood up and openly provoked the forces of the East Palace. Xue Bai could indeed get rid of him with an edict.
"He did it on purpose."
"On purpose?"
"Wu Minu did two things today. One was to find out that the Du family had taken away Zhang Ting's mother and son, and the other was to find Yang Yuhuan while tracking down Zhang Ting. He was destined to be unable to do these two things.
He said he couldn't find Yang Yuhuan, but even if he found her, he didn't have the strength to take her away, so why did Wu Minu do this? What he wanted was not the result, but making the matter bigger."
Du Jin said: "He wants to make people think that we are attacking Li Heng's wife and children, and wants to spread the news about your affair with Yang Yuhuan. Even if you get rid of him now, the courtiers will oppose your succession.
Already have one?"
"Well, fighting for power is nothing more than two things. One is military power, and the other is name."
"What are we going to do?"
"Strength defeats skill."
~~
When Wu Chou returned home, the first thing he did was to grind ink, spread paper, and write a suicide note.
Detailed his recent experiences in office.
First, when Prince Zhong’s Mansion sent someone to report the case, the prince burst into tears and lamented that he could not even protect his wife and children. Wu Minao didn’t think too much about it. No matter what kind of power struggle was involved behind the matter, he was just fulfilling the duties of an official.
After trying hard to investigate and search, he learned that the Du family sent people to take away the orphans and widows from Prince Zhong's Mansion. During the investigation process, Wu Minao also met the hidden Concubine Yang, and uncovered a story that shocked the world.
scandal……
Now, he knew that his life was cut off and he would soon be brutally murdered, so he left a suicide note to prevent the truth from being buried.
After writing his suicide note, Wu Min took a leisurely bath, dressed neatly, and sat in the main hall to wait.
He was waiting for the imperial court to issue an edict to remove him from his official position, or even punish him, leading to a major case.
But from afternoon until dark, the door remained motionless and no one came.
Only the servants at home came over and asked: "Alang, do you want to eat?"
"Is the kitchen cooking?"
"No."
Wu Min said: "Let the kitchen cook as usual."
After that, Wu Minao waved to the dark place in the yard, and a guard came in front of him.
He handed over the suicide note and said: "I have done everything I can do."
"But you didn't find Concubine Yang."
"Is it important?" Wu Minao asked, "What's the difference?"
"You also failed to anger Dong Gong."
"This is not important anymore." Wu Min said: "No matter what he does, nothing that will happen can stop him."
"I understand."
The guard took the suicide note and walked around behind Wu Minu.
"puff."
A dagger was thrust into Wu Min's back and out of his chest.
Blood spattered all over the floor, and Wu Minao, who was sitting there, lowered his head, lifeless.
~~
Daming Palace, Xuanzheng Hall.
Fan Lao received an edict and said in a voice without confidence: "Your Highness, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to take on such a big responsibility."
The reason for this is that the edict in his hand was that Xue Bai appointed him as the general of the Shenwu Army and temporarily commanded the Imperial Army on behalf of Guo Qianli.
Compared to the famous generals fighting across the borders of the Tang Dynasty today, he does have a dim reputation, a humble background, and no combat experience in commanding large battlefields. He used to be just a smuggler selling pig iron. Because he defected to Xue Bai early, he
be able to jump.
Commanding the imperial army and guarding the palace city is a huge responsibility for him, especially in this current situation.
"Do you know why I use you?" Xue Bai asked.
Fan Lao was sincere and said: "Because the war in Tubo is very urgent, I am the only one who is still in Chang'an."
"Because I can trust you, and you come from a rough background and are ruthless enough to kill people."
Hearing the next sentence, Fan Lao was stunned, but there was a slight glint of confidence in his eyes. At least he knew where to put his efforts.
"I am willing to die for His Highness, but I am afraid that even if I die, it will delay His Highness's important affairs."
Xue Bai said: "This time it's not marching and fighting, it's just killing people. You can do it."
Fan Lao was worried a lot. He was afraid that he would not be able to suppress the forbidden troops, and he did not know whether he would be able to tell who should be killed by then. He waited honestly for Xue Bai's further instructions.
"The saint is about to die."
Xue Bai uttered this sentence, which represented his trust in Fan Lao, and said: "There will be people who are not convinced by my ascension to the throne. What you have to do is very simple. Whoever dares to oppose, you will kill...
If no one objects, that’s fine.”
"Here!"
After the explanation was completed, Fan Lao left the Xuanzheng Hall, but Xue Bai did not deal with the official documents as usual.
He sensed the conflict looming before him.
In the past few days, Li Cong has become increasingly decadent, as if he might die at any time; the news of Wu Cou's death has spread, and there are a lot of discussions in the city; over in Sichuan and Sichuan, Li Guangbi's memorial has also arrived, confirming Tian Shengong's robbery of the people.
The courtiers came forward one after another to severely punish Tian Shengong.
Xue Bai planned to comply with their wishes and remove Tian Shengong's military power.
This move may force Tian Shengong to rebel. Xue Bai is waiting for Lao Liang, and Jiang Hai leads his troops to Chang'an to control the situation.
He wants to ascend the throne and become emperor, and now he is only one step away from this goal.
Since taking charge of the country, Xue Bai has not been satisfied with his political achievements, but he also boasts that he has brought some good changes to the Tang Dynasty. Compared with the original history, he has made the country and the people less turbulent.
But recently, he also realized something - the world didn't know about this kind of good change.
Officials and people had previously praised his wisdom and had high expectations for him, hoping that the prosperous age would soon be restored. However, people could not see the long-term shortcomings faced by the Tang Dynasty. The people's livelihood was poor and the national treasury was empty.
Understand why he advocates frugality.
What I have to admit is that this year of poverty, coupled with the constant war in the northwest, has worn away most people's confidence in Xue Bai. They don't know the changes he has brought, and they only appreciate him for not being able to do more.
Well but disappointed.
Nowadays, whether in officialdom or among the people, this kind of sentiment must be spreading. People around Xue Bai never told him this, but he knew it.
It can be seen from the death of Wu Min that people were discussing the suicide note and dissatisfaction with the East Palace was quickly brewing.
It's like dark clouds are gradually accumulating, the weather is getting duller, and storms are coming.
Just wait for Li Cong to die.
At this time, one wave was over and another wave was rising. Li Yan, Li Shen, Li Qiu, Li Yiniang and others entered the palace at the same time, asking to see Li Cong and begging to serve at Li Cong's side.
Li Cong was about to pass away naturally. If there hadn't been various conspiracies, Xue Bai would not have allowed the officials and nobles to witness it. Now that they are allowed to serve Li Cong, Xue Bai will not be able to block the news and take the lead.
But at this time, if he prevents others from seeing Li Cong, there will definitely be many rumors accusing him of killing Li Cong.
It was the lesser of two evils, so Xue Bai agreed to the matter.
At the same time, another major incident was finally revealed.
On this day, Yan Quanming hurriedly asked for an audience and reported: "Your Highness, I have discovered that the person who secretly contacted Dazalu Gong must be King Guangwu Li Chenghong."
Xue Bai frowned.
He clearly remembered that day when he happened to meet Li Chenghong in Furong Garden. Thinking that he had changed history, he asked Li Chenghong to come forward to entertain the Tibetan envoys. Li Chenghong also did a good job.
"Sure?"
"At that time, Li Chenghong was responsible for receiving the Tibetan envoys who arrived in Chang'an. I then investigated him, but did not suspect him at first. However, after an investigation, I found that every time he met the Tubo Zanpu family, he was honest and upright, but when he met Daza
Lu Gong's confidants are all secretive. His uncle has written down all these people and made a list, so there is no doubt that they are unmistakable. After further investigation, he found that Li Chenghong often inquired about information from Li Xian and passed it to Tibet through tea vendors and monks.
"
"Why did he do that?"
Yan Quanming was very reliable in his work, and said again: "I have brought the person here, would your Highness ask him personally?"
"Bring him here."
After a while, Li Chenghong came in timidly with his neck scrunched up. When he saw Xue Bai, he showed a look of fear, fell to the ground and said, "Your Highness, I don't want to do this either!"
Yan Quanming said: "I thought King Guangwu was a bold and talented man who dared to become a traitor."
"No, it's really not the case. I don't want to be a traitor." Li Chenghong simply did it and said, "At that time, Dazhalu Gong's envoy suddenly said that after hearing that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was under the control of others, Tubo was willing to send troops to help the saint...
...When I heard this, I was frightened! I was going to tell you, Your Highness, about this, but Li Qiwu stopped me and refused to tell me. This made it a big mistake, but I was actually
My heart goes to His Highness!"
Obviously, it is impossible for these clans to have their hearts set on Xue Bai.
That is to say, they are obedient when Xue Bai is strong. Whenever Xue Bai shows some flaws, or if someone else throws out a bait that can deal with Xue Bai, they will bite it without even thinking.
Time and time again, it only showed that they could not agree with each other, and Xue Bai gradually became impatient.
Li Chenghong continued: "Li Qiwu had ulterior motives. He threatened me and refused to let me report the matter to His Highness. He also said that he would ask the saint for his opinion. I...I was threatened with my life by him, and I had no choice but to go forward.
He said that the saint is willing to borrow troops from Tubo, and asked me to agree to Da Zha Lugong's conditions, let the Tibetan people send troops to help, and agree on rewards and marriage, so that Da Zha Lu Gong can take advantage of this contribution and become the regent of Tubo.
king."
As he confessed, he became more and more frightened as he spoke. Feeling Xue Bai's murderous intent, his voice became more trembling, and gradually he even cried.
Xue Bai became calmer and calmer, and asked: "Is he really a saint?"
"Yes, Li Qiwu said he was a saint." Li Chenghong said: "Your Highness Mingjian, in fact, I didn't do anything. Li Qiwu did everything in my name. In the end, it was all between him and Dazalu Gong.
Contact people.”
Xue Bai looked at Yan Quanming and asked, "Where is Li Qiwu?"
"I will send people to arrest him as soon as I find out about this matter." Yan Quanming said: "However, Li Qiwu fled to Tibet yesterday. I am still investigating how he escaped."
Xue Bai then ordered: "Check what information they have sent to Tubo, and order us to go down and impose martial law on Chang'an City and search for Li Qiwu."
"yes."
As soon as this happened, they already realized that something was wrong.
The clan is not difficult to deal with. The seemingly colorful moves are nothing more than inciting Tian Shengong to rebel and pouring dirty water on Xue Bai. Xue Bai has the confidence to suppress them even when his troops are exhausted and faced with difficulties.
But if the clan and the Tubo soldiers and horses join forces, things will become much more difficult in an instant.
Sure enough, within a few days, an urgent report came from the west.
Due to the leakage of military information, Qinlong suffered a huge defeat on the battlefield. Dazalu Gong used surprise troops to attack and besieged Guo Ziyi's troops.
In addition, Wang Jinpo secretly reported that Pugu Huai'en had colluded with the Uighur Yidijian and was frequently in contact with Dazhalu Gong's envoys. He was afraid that there might be a joint force and the collapse of the Qinlong defense line was imminent. He asked the court to temporarily avoid the Eastern Capital.
These messages were unclear, and Xue Bai had no way of understanding the specific situation on the front line, so it was naturally difficult to make a judgment.
Presumably even Wang Rao, who was on the battlefield, couldn't fully understand what happened.
All Xue Bai can do for the time being is to block the news and mobilize as many troops as possible to support Qin Long.
However, someone with ulterior motives was obviously adding fuel to the flames. While the report was urgently delivered to Xue Bai's hands, the news that "the Tibetan army had invaded Guanzhong" had spread throughout Chang'an City, and people were suddenly panicked.
No matter who wants to prevent Xue Bai from ascending the throne, he has already made a fool of himself...