Before his death, Li Kui apparently lost his mind and called out the Li family who lived in Zhengzhou to threaten Xue Bai, unintentionally betraying his family.
But Xue Bai's decision to kill him was not a completely considered and safe move.
In the current situation, everything Xue Bai cares about, including his children, are still in the Eastern Capital. In the hands of the officials, he is just going on a patrol with a small number of guards, without soldiers and food. Once the fish is dead and the net is broken, everything will be lost.
He looked calm, but in fact he was under great pressure inside.
And until now, he has not found out the mastermind behind the scenes.
Such a big game should have been done by an expert, and Xue Bai would rather have a concrete opponent.
This opponent must have a high enough official position, a powerful enough power, and a deep enough talent, but he couldn't find anyone after much thought.
Of course there are people who have the strength to do this, such as Yan Zhenqing and Guo Ziyi.
Xue Bai always refused to believe that they were the masterminds. Sometimes when he thought about it, he admitted that this trust was purely based on his understanding of them, and he believed in their character and historical achievements.
In fact, many things have changed and no longer follow their original trajectory.
He has to see it with his own eyes to know the truth.
Before Li Kui's blood dried, Xue Bai called over Diao Bing and said, "I have to go back to the Eastern Capital."
This was a matter of course. Even Diao Bing had known it for a long time and immediately responded loudly.
"The final general will escort His Majesty back to the capital to the death!"
"No, you lead the team from behind, I will go back first."
"Your Majesty, go back alone?" Diao Bing asked in shock, "How can that be done?! Li Kui has already said that his people will rebel in Zhengzhou."
"It's precisely because of this that I had to quickly bypass Zhengzhou. I couldn't hide my whereabouts with you."
Xue Bai thought about it. It would definitely not be enough to rely on the few people Diao Bing led. Although there were not many people, he would need a lot of baggage, chariots, horses, and equipment. He would definitely be stopped in Zhengzhou. In such a small battle, even if he won,
It also wastes time.
It is better to stop marching eastward, rush back to Luoyang, and summon the world to contact his trusted generals as soon as possible.
This is to sacrifice the small for the big. According to this logic, no matter how worried Diao Bing is, Xue Bai is very determined.
He wiped off the blood splattered on his body and set off that day.
This area was where he fought against the Anshi rebels. He was very familiar with the terrain. Traveling alone, he didn't have to worry about anything and ran all the way. At night, he went to a posthouse in Bianzhou to stay.
The young man in the post house heard the sound of horse hooves and ran out early, saying hello and waving at the roadside.
"Sir, do you want accommodation?"
"live."
Although Xue Bai was anxious, he knew that he had to rest well before he could do anything, so he did not rush at night. He dismounted, gave the reins to the young man, and told him to feed the horses.
"Okay, don't worry, sir." The boy took a horse tag, split it into two, hung one on the horse rope, and handed the other to Xue Bai, "Please come inside."
Xue Bai entered the post house and saw two officials arguing in the lobby.
In the Tang Dynasty, there were hierarchical distinctions in the wing rooms of official post houses. Sometimes someone lived in a superior wing, and if someone with a higher official position came, he had to let him out.
Today, there is only one upper room left in this post house. It is a coincidence that the two people who came here are of the same rank and have the same position. One is the captain of Sishui County and the other is the captain of Yuanwu County. Both of them are unwilling to leave the upper room.
Give it to the other party, so they quarrel endlessly.
"Two young masters, how about this, you two live in this upper room together?"
"Absolutely! If it was possible for him to be nice and talkative at the beginning, now that I know he is such a domineering person, I will never live in the same house with him!"
The speaker was Yuan Wu County Lieutenant, who looked to be in his sixties. His hair and beard were all frosty white, and he was dusty and dusty, making his whole person look gray.
He thought he was older, so he glanced sideways at the other person and said, "Since you and I have equal official positions, let's compare our years. Whoever is older will get the apartment."
"Oh."
The Yuanwu county lieutenant ignored the other party's contempt, raised his head and stroked his beard, and said: "I am the third-year-old son of Emperor Zhongzong Jinglong. How about you?"
The Sishui County Lieutenant looked to be only in his thirties, so naturally he couldn't be older than him. He sneered again and said, "You have lived for more than fifty years to become a County Lieutenant. Are you still proud of that?"
He folded his arms and said: "There is no point in comparing who is wasting his years. It is better to compare who has a stronger backer. My mentor is Duke Yan Fujian!"
When Xue Bai heard this, he couldn't help but glance at the other party.
Nowadays, there are many high-ranking officials in the Yan family, and people pay attention to avoiding taboos, so they often refer to them by the place where they serve. This Yan Fuchuan refers to Yan Zhenqing's younger brother Yan Yunzang.
Yan Yunzang was first appointed to the Yanchang Order and was famous for his integrity. After Li Cong succeeded to the throne, he was appointed as a member of the Ministry of Rites, Wailang, and presided over the imperial examination for a period of time. After Xue Bai came to the throne, he was appointed as the Sima of Feizhou. He did many things when he took office.
A person who commits crimes and commits crimes makes the strong and powerful frightened.
In Xue Bai's impression, Yan Yunzang was a model of integrity and selflessness, but he never expected that he would have a disciple with a domineering personality.
At this time, when the Yuanwu County Lieutenant heard that the other party had a powerful relative like the Yan family as his backer, his expression immediately changed and he did not dare to argue with him anymore.
"In this case, then I can let you live in the apartment, or you and I can live together. We are both away from home doing business..."
"Oh."
The Sishui County Lieutenant smiled contemptuously again, ignored the steps mentioned in the Yuanwu County Lieutenant's words, rolled up his sleeves and left.
The Yuanwu county lieutenant stayed there, feeling embarrassed, and asked the boy in the post house for another room.
"Young Master, what a coincidence today. The people led by Cheng Jigong have all occupied the wing. Although his subordinates have no rank, they are still third-rank officials in front of the prime minister."
"All right."
The Yuanwu County Lieutenant didn't say much, and immediately nodded helplessly.
He has lived a long time, and he understands the truth. He knows that Cheng Jigong refers to the patriarch of the Li family's gu Zangfang in Longxi, and he was given the title of Cheng Ji County Duke. This kind of local snake has deep influence and is not easy to offend.
"Then where do I live?"
"Datongpu, Master, do you think it's okay?"
"..."
Xue Bai lay down on the Datong bunk, closed his eyes, and soon entered a half-dream and half-awake state.
His face was still covered with a wrap used to keep away dust when riding horses, and only his eyebrows and eyes were exposed and still stuck to the mud. He had not changed his clothes. He looked like a slovenly ordinary man who was in a hurry and mingled with other people on the street.
Inconspicuous.
"Squeeze a little, this bed is really hard."
Just when he was about to fall asleep, there was a voice next to him, but it was the white-haired Yuanwu County Lieutenant lying down next to him, mumbling incessantly.
"With so many muddy feet, you are the only one who is a little cleaner. Little brother, where are you going?"
"Dongdu." Xue Bai responded.
"What a coincidence, so am I." The Yuanwu County Lieutenant said, he sat up again, straightened his beard, and said solemnly: "I am the Yuanwu County Lieutenant, Liu Jie."
After saying that, he maintained his cross-legged sitting posture and did not move for a while, as if waiting for Xue Bai to pay homage.
However, Xue Bai was still lying down and said casually: "It turns out that it was Liu Shaofu who showed up to his face. It's disrespectful. It's disrespectful."
Liu Jie was not taken seriously and was a little disappointed. But there were so many dignitaries on the official road from Luoyang to Bianzhou, and he, a lowly official, had nothing to gain among them, so he had to lie down in frustration, but he was still talking.
Then, he chatted with Xue Bai familiarly.
"Well, Yan's disciple is domineering. You saw it just now. Why is he so arrogant? How can an official like him not bully the people when he is in the local government?"
"What will happen if Mr. Liu offends that disciple of the Yan family just now?"
"If you offend those powerful officials, you will naturally end up in a miserable way."
Liu Jie seemed smooth and understanding, but in front of so many people, he dared to discuss the current prime minister with strangers, which shows that he was also a talker.
This man lived into his fifties and sixties and was still working as an official. In addition to bad luck, he probably had even bigger problems of his own.
Xue Bai asked: "I heard that the Yan family has a pure and rigorous family style, respectful and prudent conduct, and is a teacher in the world. Is the reputation of the family very bad?"
"No matter how good the family tradition is, you still have a high and powerful position." Liu Jiecai lay down, quickly turned over and sat up, patted his thighs and said with emotion: "Think about it, she is a queen, she is a prime minister, and she has the power of following the dragon.
How many people have to gather around us? At this point, what’s the use of family tradition?”
"Liu Shaofu is saying that the Yan family is a powerful official?"
"Hey, I didn't say that." Although Liu Jie denied it, his expression clearly meant so.
Xue Bai asked: "These are all generalities. Do you have any specific examples?"
"Of course there is, how many people have died..."
Liu Jie spoke quickly and blurted out a response.
Then he realized that this was the Datong Shop of the post house, and there were so many people talking, and he had just announced his name, so how could he dare to talk about people in power.
He glanced at the people on the big street with a guilty conscience, and saw that they were all countrymen, all of whom were sleeping deeply, so he patted his heart in fear.
"Go to sleep, why am I talking to you, a commoner?"
The old county lieutenant woke up Xue Bai when he wanted to chat, regardless of whether he was about to fall asleep. When the conversation came to a topic that Xue Bai was interested in, he just fell asleep as soon as he said it, and he was also a blind person.
Although Liu Jie thought the bed was too hard, he fell asleep soon after and made an unpleasant snoring sound like a saw.
Xue Bai woke up a little and lay there with deep thoughts.
Today he realized that what he saw during his private interview incognito a while ago may not be the whole truth, because he still brought some people with him, and his whereabouts could be roughly grasped.
But what is the truth? Even if you have seen it with your own eyes and heard it with your own ears, it is not easy to tell whether a person is good or bad, but people's hearts are separated from each other.
What he saw today made his trust in Yan Zhenqing seem to be shaken.
Gradually, Xue Bai fell asleep, immersed in the smell of sweat and the sounds of snoring.
When he woke up again, Liu Jie beside him was no longer there.
Xue Bai had breakfast alone and was ready to set off. The young man in the post house diligently led his horse for him.
However, when Xue Bai saw the horse led by the boy, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
"This is not my horse," he said.
The horse he rode this time was a Dawan horse. It was all brown and red, except for a short section of hair on the four hooves that was white. It was named "Taxue". It was paid tribute by Feng Changqing after the Hexi Corridor was recovered. Not only did it run
Go fast and show great endurance.
But at this time, the boy in the post house brought another horse. Although it also had brown hair, it had a patch of variegated hair on its forehead, and it was far from the aura of a horse riding on the snow. No matter how far away it was, Xue Bai could tell it at a glance.
Can recognize the difference.
But the boy said: "How could it not be? Look, the numbers on the horse tags are clearly the same."
"But it's not my horse." Xue Bai said, "Bring my horse here."
"This is obviously true." The boy was very sure and said: "Last night, I was the one who greeted you at the door when you came. You handed me this horse and I tied it there. I will lead it to you this morning. From beginning to end.
It's him."
Xue Bai stared at his expression and saw that he had no doubts from beginning to end and was determined to be abnormal, so he ignored him and strode to the stables himself.
"You!"
The young man was annoyed, held the horse and stood in front of him, saying, "What are you going to do? If you don't want your own horse, how about robbing someone else's horse?!"
When he shouted, many people around him looked over.
"This is an official post! The horses you keep and give away are all with horse licenses. You can't go wrong. This is not a place for you to steal and change others!"
Xue Bai still ignored him and pushed him away with a flick of his hand. When he rushed to the stable, he heard a neighing sound in front of him.
He immediately shouted: "Treading in the snow!"
Soon, the clatter of horse hooves could be heard, and then someone could be heard shouting.
"Hush!"
"Hush!"
The sound of horse hooves was still ringing, and then, a figure turned around the house and jumped into Xue Bai's eyes. It was Ta Xue.
This Dawan horse is very smart. When it hears the owner's voice, it immediately turns around and runs towards it.
But there was still a person sitting on its back, struggling to hold the reins.
"Hush!"
"Juro, what's wrong?" After a while, several more riders came over, shouting to the man riding on the snow.
"This beast is disobedient."
"Ha, Juro, you pride yourself on your equestrian skills..."
Texue wanted to run towards Xue Bai, but the reins held its mouth tightly. It struggled several times, spinning in place, kicking its hind hooves, trying to throw the person off its back.
An ordinary person would probably have fallen to the ground long ago, but that man was really good at riding, and kept holding the horse tightly with his legs, no matter what, he would not be able to shake it off.
He yelled and cursed several times in succession, as loud as thunder. Seeing that the horse was still disobedient, he pulled the reins and slapped the horse's neck in an attempt to subdue the horse.
"Hey!"
Xue Bai was furious when he saw this. He reached out and took out a crossbow hanging on his body, intending to shoot the horse thief.
"What's going on?!"
Suddenly, a shout came, but another person turned around and rode towards him.
However, Xue Bai knew this person well. He was Li Qiyun, who was a Jinshi with him in the same year. Now he is an important minister of the imperial court and is worshiped as the Minister of War.
Li Qijun was born in the Li family of Zhao County. Because he was a direct branch of the Li family, he had a high status in the family. He was also a native of Zanhuang County. Therefore, after he came to power, he was called Zan Huanggong by his contemporaries. However, he did not know how he appeared here. He was not the same as the Li family in Longxi.
The children are together.
Xue Bai couldn't help but wonder, if Li Qijun recognized him, would he bow before him, or would he take the opportunity to kill him.
He was quite curious about this, so he stood there without moving, with a wrap wrapped around his face, so as not to worry about leaking the secret immediately.
Even if something goes wrong, he boasts that he is pretty good at killing people, seizing horses, and escaping quickly.
"What's going on?!" Li Qijun asked again.
"My horse." Xue Bai lowered his voice and pointed at Ta Xue.
Li Qijun then said to the horse thief: "Loosen the reins and come down."
As soon as the horse's reins were loosened, Taixue ran back to Xue Bai. The horse thief also turned over and dismounted, but he held the reins and refused to let go. He pulled the horse back a few steps and emphasized to Li Qijun with an innocent look.
.
"Your Majesty, this is my horse."
"Mine." Xue Bai said.
"I praise you, Your Majesty. This masked man wants to steal my red dragon horse because of his good equestrian skills and some horse-calling skills."
While he was talking, the boy also arrived with another brown horse and said: "Yes, I can prove that this was the horse that the masked man rode last night. It must have been Li Langjun's horse, Shenjun."
, I have evil intentions and want to steal something and change it."
"Is that so?" Li Qijun asked Xue Bai.
"No." Xue Bai replied solemnly.
"You are a thief, you are so bold and a scoundrel!" Mr. Li who stole the horse was so angry by Xue Bai that he looked extremely angry as if there was nothing he could do, "This Red Dragon Ji is me.
I exchanged a house in the Eastern Capital for a merchant from the Western Regions, do you think you can rob it?"
The boy also echoed: "Besides, Li Langjun's horse looks like a divine horse at first glance and is worth a lot of money. How can you, a poor man who sleeps in Datongpu, ride such a good horse? Look at what you are wearing,
Can you raise this divine colt?"
This statement made perfect sense. Xue Bai had nothing to say and was just waiting for Li Qijun's reaction.
Seeing that the masked man in front of him could not refute the boy, Li Qijun reached out and waved his hand gently, indicating that Li Julang would lead the horse and go first. Then, he stared at Xue Bai and said, "Take off the scarf."
At this moment, Xue Bai realized that he was far from able to change this feudal era.
Even though he repeatedly issued orders to strictly enforce the law in the world, in the official post set up by the imperial court, a descendant of a noble family could justly take away anything that belongs to ordinary people.
In the whole incident, what pissed him off the most was the fact that the boy shouted out "This is an official post" in a matter-of-fact manner.
From the beginning to the end, their expressions did not show the slightest bit of shame, and every word they said could not be truer. Because in their eyes, the civilians in front of them were nothing and not worthy of their shame.
Since Xue Bai was traveling alone, or in the Gyeonggi region not far from Dongdu, there were so many dangers, let alone ordinary people?
"I now suspect that you are a thief, take off the scarf!" Li Qijun raised his voice and shouted again.
So, Xue Bai grabbed his crossbow and prepared to kill people to escape.
"Prince Li Zan."
At this time, someone came over. It was the Sishui County captain who competed with Liu Jie for the superior wing last night.
"The lower official is Sishui Lieutenant Wu Wenhan, who has met Emperor Li Zan."
Wu Wenhan was domineering. When facing Li Qiyun, although he was polite, his expression was indifferent.
As he spoke, he handed the talisman that proved his identity to Li Qiyun for inspection, then pointed at Xue Bai, then pointed at Ta Xue who was being held by Li Shilang, and said: "This great horse from Dawan is indeed this one."
A traveler’s mount.”
"Yeah?"
Wu Wenhan was rude to Li Qiyun, and Li Qiyun's response was also very cold. After all, he is a high-ranking official and should have the airs he should have.
"Yes." Wu Wenhan was very sure.
"How do you know?"
"I happened to be in the hall when he arrived last night. I heard the sound of horse hooves and went back to take a look. I was deeply impressed by this horse."
Li Qijun said: "Can you see clearly at night?"
Wu Wenhan said: "There was a lantern in front of the post house, which illuminated its four legs. I thought at that time that such a magical horse was ridden by an ordinary traveler, but there are many people in the world who prefer good horses to well-dressed horses.
, not surprising.”
At the end, he added another sentence.
"It is not uncommon to find children from aristocratic families who behave in a reserved manner in the Heluo area."
Li Qijun said: "Is everything you said true?"
"If the truth hadn't been true, how could I have dared to offend Li Julang?" Wu Wenhan's words were polite, but his expression was sarcastic and arrogant.
Li Qijun then looked at Li Shilang and asked, "Say."
"This county captain colluded with this thief."
"Shiro, think it over before you speak." Wu Wenhan said, "As a disciple of Duke Yan, I will never give false testimony for a horse."
Only then did Li Julang's eyes change. He glanced at Li Qijun and saw that Li Qijun was glaring at him, and he couldn't help but be frightened.
He had no choice but to shout to the boy in the posthouse: "What's going on?!"
"Little man...it's all the little man's fault. He hung the wrong horse tag."
The boy in the post house slapped him immediately.
"Idiot." Li Julang cursed, dropped the reins in his hands, and took the brown horse from the boy's hand.
"Red Dragon Ji?" Wu Wenhan said with a smile.
Li Shilang didn't answer, got on his horse and followed Li Qijun's horse.
Li Qijun glanced at Wu Wenhan lightly, did not look at Xue Bai again, and walked away in a moment.
"Congratulations to the Emperor."
Wu Wenhan said with a smile, but without even looking at Xue Bai, he left without saying a word.
"You are also a fool, riding such a good horse out."
~~
On this day, Xue Bai left the post house and saw Liu Jie waiting in front with his horse.
"Aren't you an ordinary person?" Liu Jie asked.
"Liu Shaofu, I am just an ordinary citizen."
"I know, the children of the aristocratic family don't want to make it public." Liu Jie said with a smile, "How about you and I go to Dongdu together?"
Xue Bai wanted to refuse, but thinking of what happened this morning, he nodded.
The two then walked together, sometimes riding for a short distance, and when walking slowly, they rode side by side and talked.
"You are not lucky to be able to rescue the enemy today." Liu Jie said, "The Sishui Lieutenant named Wu is a man who loves to cling to powerful people. He sees that you have an extraordinary background and wants to make friends with you."
"I see."
Later in the conversation, Xue Bai took advantage of Liu Jie's arousal and asked: "Young Master Liu said that the Yan family is a powerful official, but why did he behave so domineeringly?"
"It's more than just domineering." Liu Jie said, "It's basically extremely vicious."
"How do you say this?"
"You don't know that that man, in order to protect his reputation, killed people and silenced them over the years, and he has lost countless lives."
"Who?" Xue Bai asked, "referring to the Prime Minister Yan Gong?"
Liu Jie nodded mysteriously. He was a little afraid to speak and stopped talking. But he was not a strict man after all. That afternoon, when Xue Bai naturally brought the topic to this matter again, he suddenly
Without paying attention, he started talking anyway.
"Oh, these things are actually known to everyone, and I killed one of them in my hands."
"In the hands of Mr. Liu?"
"Yes, I am a scholar who doesn't do well in business. I wrote a story about an official named 'Zheng Kai' who took a runaway slave as his disciple, recruited him as his son-in-law, and actually made him his son-in-law.
The emperor later made a conspiracy to support his grandson... Tsk, tsk, many details in that book are all consistent with Duke Yan, and if you check them, they can be used as evidence."
Xue Bai didn't care about the story and asked, "What happened to the scholar?"
Liu Jie raised his hand and made a gesture of cutting his neck, saying: "There is no way, the imperial censor came to take his life."
"Censor?"
"Yes, I have been a county captain all my life and have seen a lot. Today, the prime minister's methods of forcing people to kill dissidents are no less conceding than Li Linfu did back then. As you will know when you arrive in the eastern capital, there are widespread complaints."
Xue Bai asked: "Have Liu Shaofu been to Dongdu in recent years?"
"Not really, but I've heard people talk about it."
"..."
After chatting like this along the way, two days later, they bypassed Zhengzhou and arrived outside Luoyang City.
Over in Luoshui, Dongdu was watching, but pedestrians were talking a lot, saying that the prime minister would take the prince back to Chang'an soon...