Prince Wu's Mansion was almost completely busy, and it was only at dawn that the work was completed, and everyone was ready to go. Li Ke asked everyone to rest for an hour or two and set off at that hour.
In fact, Qin Mubai was not busy with anything, and some chores were taken care of by his subordinates. He took a nap for a while and returned to the Qin Mansion near dawn to say goodbye to his family.
Qin Shubao still got up early and was practicing martial arts and horse riding in the backyard, already sweating profusely. Qin Mubai came to the backyard to find him and told him about going to Jiangzhou.
"That's fine, you should leave Chang'an for now!" Qin Shubao didn't say much, "My father just wants to remind you that there is no sense of superiority among the officials outside the capital. Those state and county officials have been together for a long time, and they are deeply entangled with each other. , the outsiders are also very powerful. Although they are respectful and obedient to those who come from the court, they also have their own strategies for dealing with people in the officialdom, which are not easy to deal with. . You are on a business trip with Li Ke this time, and you represent the dignity of the royal family. You must be careful not to make any mistakes. "
"Don't worry about the child, don't worry, father." Qin Mubai accepted the words with his hands raised, and then talked to Qin Shubao about the idea of bringing Yao'er girl and the orphans to live at home.
Qin Shubao thought for a while and nodded: "Okay. My father has heard of the reputation of this evil girl for a long time. How can I sit back and let her be defiled by a prodigal like Han Wang Yuanchang? Bring her and those orphans. ! Although the Qin Mansion is small, it can still accommodate them. Although the father is incompetent, Han Wang Yuanchang does not have the courage to come to the Qin Mansion of Liji Twelve to do evil. It is a good thing to do for God. Your mother and sister and I have nothing to do, so we can help Miss Yao'er take care of those orphans."
"Thank you, father!" Qin Mubai was greatly relieved. Unexpectedly, my father, who usually looks cold and aloof, is actually so kind and full of justice in his heart. With him here, I can rest assured!
In fact, Li Shimin has always treated his old ministers very well. Even if he has "retired to the second line", Li Shimin has never ignored him, and he has never done anything to "kill the donkey". During the Zhenguan Dynasty, there were dozens of heroes who founded the country, and later there were the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion who were famous in later generations. These are powerful explanations.
It is precisely because of emperors like Li Shimin that the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty did not "have all the good bows hidden in the flying birds, and the cunning rabbits have died and been cooked by the lackeys", but instead became more noble. Although some people rose to great heights (such as Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji), and some gradually declined and faded out of the stage (Qin Shubao is the representative), as long as Emperor Li Shimin is alive, these founding heroes will never Even if they are forgotten by people, they will not be reduced to a vulnerable group that can be exploited by others.
Moreover, Emperor Li Shimin has always been most disgusted with people from the royal family oppressing their ministers and preying on the common people. If something like this happened, instead of protecting his shortcomings, he would have stricter requirements on members of the royal family and implement double standards.
Therefore, although Han King Li Yuanchang ran rampant in Chang'an City because of the favor of the late Emperor Gaozu, he did not have the courage to provoke the founding fathers like Qin Shubao. Otherwise, if the emperor finds out, regardless of who is right or wrong, the emperor will definitely take advantage of Li Yuanchang first.
Later, Qin Mubai said goodbye to his mother and sister, packed up his clothes at home and made some simple greetings before preparing to go to Prince Wu's Mansion and set off with most of the people. Before leaving, Qin Mubai handed over his family affairs to his sister Shuang'er. Although I have not lived in this new home for a night, it is still a home at least. Although the sparrow is small and has all the internal organs, there are several people in the house to manage. All the money, items and contract accounts are now handed over to Shuang'er, the little housekeeper.
Shuang'er was a little reluctant to let Qin Mubai leave, but at the same time she was a little proud and happy: "Hee hee! When the third brother is away, I will be the eldest father of your family! As long as I have free time, I will go to your house to take care of you. By the way, I’m going to take Yao’er and the little girls to your house to play with you as much as you like!”
Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled: "It's up to you. As long as it's not burned on fire."
Mother Liu smiled and patted Shuang'er on the head: "You wild girl! Your brother asked you to help take care of him, not to let you dominate. By the way, if Miss Yao'er and the others come, can't they live here? If you are used to it, please invite them to live with your brother. Anyway, your brother is not at home now, so the house is empty. Your father... He is too serious, and I am worried that Yao'er and the others are not used to it. "
"I know, mother!" Shuang'er snickered happily, "If we go to my brother's house, we will really be free! No one will care about us!"
Qin Mubai shook his head helplessly and smiled: "There are no tigers in the mountains, and monkeys are kings. Okay, I'm leaving. Mom, little sister, please take care of yourself!"
Later, Qin Mubai arrived at Prince Wu's Mansion. Everyone was already having breakfast and soon got ready to go. Qin Mubai put on his horse and walked in front with Li Ke, leading an army of hundreds of people to drive out of the palace and onto Chang'an Avenue.
"Mu Bai, let's go to the West Market and Zhuque Street." Li Ke said.
"Understood." Qin Mubai smiled knowingly. Li Ke's intention is obvious. From Prince Wu's Mansion to Chang'an, Jinguang Gate is actually the closest. But he deliberately went around the West Market and Zhuque Street, undoubtedly to let more people know that he, Li Ke, was traveling according to orders and was back on the stage.
Sure enough, when the citizens of Chang'an saw this well-equipped and somewhat dazzling team from a distance, they all looked up eagerly. Li Ke wore a formal purple deer-dragon royal robe and a three-beam Jinxian crown. He walked in the front with a radiant appearance and a graceful appearance. Qin Mubai was fully dressed, with gold armor, unicorn robe, and a sword hanging on his waist. He was also holding the Qin family's "Tiger Head Chiselled Gold Spear" which was eight feet long and weighed dozens of kilograms and was displayed for the first time. The majesty is truly eye-catching.
Behind the two men were Li Ke's "King of Wu of the Tang Dynasty" flag and the Qilin battle flag dedicated to Baiqi. Whether they were Baiqi or the private soldiers of Prince Wu, they were all tall horses, high-grade bright light armor and scarlet battle robes.
It's hard for such a group of people to walk down the street without making a fuss.
Seeing them approaching from a distance, the citizens consciously stepped out of the way to watch on both sides, and there was a murmur of discussion among the crowd.
"Is that King Wu? I haven't seen him so arrogant for a long time. He has been hiding for a long time, where are he going this time?"
"It must be that he was traveling on errands, otherwise he wouldn't be so public. Last time I heard that he was demoted from the post of governor and went back to Chang'an to reflect on himself behind closed doors, it must have been more than half a year, right? Now he is back on the stage again."
"It is said that the King of Wei and the Crown Prince are fighting openly and secretly, and everyone has forgotten about the King of Wu. I didn't expect him to come out again... This city of Chang'an is going to be even more lively!"
"Hey, isn't that Baiqi? This time when King Wu was on an errand, the emperor actually sent Baiqi to accompany him. It seems that he was going to do something important! It seems that the emperor did not forget King Wu. He actually sent all his own guards Give it to him. We have never heard of such preferential treatment from the prince or the king of Wei!"
…
The group of people did not walk very fast. They walked through the city of Chang'an in a swaggering manner, deliberately trying to make a scene. Qin Mubai secretly thought that Li Ke was announcing his "high-profile return" to everyone. For more than half a year, his palace has been as quiet as dead water without any disturbance. It seems that he can't bear the loneliness. Furthermore, the ministers and ministers who had been good friends with him in the past all stayed away from him when he was in trouble, and each turned to the prince or the king of Wei. This may have made him a little annoyed. To show off deliberately like this now is to slap them in the face. Or maybe they have shown their flag and intend to recruit a group of people to come back and serve again.
It seems that Li Ke is not really willing to "be a Taiping Prince" as he said. In fact, he is still a bit ambitious.
After leaving Mingde Gate, Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief. The look on his face was quite soothing, as if he felt as happy and relieved as letting go of a big stone in his heart.
"Mu Bai, do you know how I feel now?" Li Ke suddenly asked.
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "The spring breeze is proud of the horse's hooves."
"No, no!" Li Ke took a long breath again and said, "I feel like I suddenly regained my freedom after being locked in a cage for a long time. But I haven't breathed for a while. The air outside Chang'an City did not see the magnificent mountains and rivers. Just now I looked up at the city of Chang'an and the 800-mile Qinchuan River. It was really refreshing and refreshing. "
"When fish enter the sea and birds fly into the sky, that's probably it." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Your Highness, this is a rare opportunity. We must do our best on this Jiangzhou errand. Moreover, it should be done well. If If you make a slight mistake, all your efforts will be wasted and the consequences will be disastrous.”
"Of course I understand." Li Ke frowned and said, "There is no fairness in the world. Some people do wrong things all their lives, but as long as they do one thing right, they will always be right; some people A person does good things throughout his life, but if he does one thing wrong, he will always be wrong. "Mubai, you and I are probably both of those people."
"That's true." Qin Mubai responded with a chuckle, thinking: Li Ke finally vented his dissatisfaction. Is he alluding to Li Chengqian? This man was incompetent and had a lot of bad records, but because he was the first son born to Empress Changsun, he became the crown prince in an undisputed manner. He, Li Ke, was recognized as the most emperor-like and capable prince, but because he was a concubine, he was basically destined to have no chance of becoming the heir apparent. If he wants to "compete for the heirloom", his own lineage and background alone will be an almost insurmountable mountain.
He compared me to the same kind of people as him, which was actually correct. To put it bluntly, Baiqi is a bodyguard, and he should do his job well. When the emperor and members of the royal family are safe, his job is considered to be done well. But as long as you make a mistake once, it will be irreversible. This time, before I took the initiative to make a mistake, I stepped into a dangerous situation because of Princess Gaoyang's "framing". It can be seen that this seemingly glorious Baiqi Envoy is actually a thankless and high-risk job.
"Your Highness, General Qin, the disaster is like a fire, so we should set off quickly!" Quan Wanji came forward and said.
"Okay, let's not talk anymore - pass on this king's order to rush to Jiangzhou and move forward quickly!"