Outside the city of Samajian, the Tang army was in the camp.
Qin Mubai rode on a horse, wielding a bow, and galloped on the galloping road of the campus, practicing riding and shooting.
Three arrows were fired, but not only did not one hit the red star, but one missed the target and missed the target far away.
The sergeants accompanying him were shocked and stunned, and they all thought to themselves: What happened to the young marshal today? What a loss! When it comes to archery, apart from General Xue Rengui, no one in the Guanxi Army can match the splendid shooting of the young marshal!
"No more practice today!" Qin Mubai reined in his horse, threw his bow, and jumped off the horse. His face was indeed gloomy, and he was obviously in a bad mood.
"Master, are you worried?" Qin Shi stepped forward and took the horse, and asked carefully.
Qin Mubai walked forward with his hands cut behind his back without saying a word. Qin Shi didn't dare to ask any more questions and had no choice but to take care of the horses.
"Qin Shi, come to my tent later."
"Yes, Master."
After saying that, Qin Mubai left. The sergeants on the left and right held their breath and did not dare to say a word, for fear of offending the commander. Qin Shi looked at Qin Mubai's back worriedly and thought to himself: It's rare to see the master so upset. What is going on
Due to his great contribution in the battle of Huanyue Valley, Qin Shi, a lowly slave, was awarded the rank of Wu Sanguan "from the fifth rank guerrilla general" by the imperial court, and was promoted to the title of Wujin County Prince. With his residence and official title, he is already an upright "noble". But he always only regarded himself as the "Qin family dog slave" and refused to even change his title.
Later, Qin Shi came to Qin Mubai's military tent and saw Qin Mubai looking at his armor in a daze, with a rather serious expression. He called out carefully, and Qin Mubai came back to his senses and said to him: "Qin Shi, I have something for you to handle."
"Master please give me your orders!"
"This errand is unusual and not easy to handle. But now, you are the only one who deserves my trust the most, so I can only send you." Qin Mubai said solemnly.
Qin Shi bowed down in earnest, "Qin Shi is willing to go through fire and water for his master, no matter what!"
"Get up." Qin Mubai helped him up, then walked outside the tent and scolded the guards on the left and right, and then whispered to Qin Shi, "I want you to go back to the Tang Dynasty, from Lanzhou all the way to Chang'an, right in Shifang Spreading rumors secretly among them!”
"What rumor?"
"Let's just say that Qin Mubai is arrogant and arrogant, and wants to conquer the Western Regions with his own troops and become king!"
Qin Shi was stunned for a moment, "This!... Master, why do you want Qin Shi to do such a thing that is not good for the master?... I, I won't do it even to death!"
"Don't be anxious, listen to me." Qin Mubai pressed his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "The situation is delicate and urgent now, so I have no other choice."
"I don't understand." Qin Shi shook his head dullly, "I only know that it's not okay to speak ill of the master!"
Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Okay, let me explain it to you briefly. Otherwise, if you have a knot in your heart and are unwilling to do things, you won't be able to do it well."
"Okay, okay." Qin Shi nodded repeatedly.
Qin Mubai then said: "To tell you simply, there is a big fight in Chang'an for the position of crown prince. As you know, I have a close friendship with the King of Wu. In terms of the court, we are in the same camp. "Everyone here will suffer a loss and both will be prosperous. If King Wu fails to seize the throne this time, I will probably be purged by King Wu's political enemies in the future, do you understand?"
"I understand." Qin Shi still frowned in confusion, "But why are you spreading rumors about the master's rebellion?"
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "Rumors are naturally rumors and cannot be true. But the more unfavorable the rumors are to me, the easier it will be spread to the ears of certain people in the court. This 'certain people' means I am the political enemy of the King of Wu. The King of Wu relies on me the most if he wants to seize the throne. If rumors spread to Guanzhong that Qin Mubai has rebellious intentions, then both the emperor and my political opponents will have to be careful. Treat it with caution. If they are unfavorable to King Wu at this time, wouldn't they be more likely to rebel against me? Furthermore, His Majesty the Emperor has to consider the stability of the country and the stability of the army when considering the choice of prince. , if the King of Wu is safe and sound and is established as the crown prince, then I, Qin Mubai, will definitely have no reason to rebel and establish myself as the king; on the contrary, if someone plots to kill the King of Wu or the King of Wu fails to seize the throne and is deposed, then... "
"The villain seems to understand a little more." Qin Shi nodded and said, "Master is trying to protect His Highness King Wu in a different way, right?"
"Smart!" Qin Mubai praised with a smile, "That's what I mean. It's not only to protect King Wu, but also to protect myself. Because I don't want to become the second Hou Junji, do you understand?"
"I understand..." Qin Shi breathed a sigh of relief, but frowned, "But in order to protect King Wu, the master has to let his reputation be damaged..."
"People are not afraid of slanting shadows, it's okay. I don't really want to rebel." Qin Mubai nodded with a smile, "It is precisely because of these rumors that I can lead the troops back with integrity to prove that I When the 300,000 to 400,000 Kansai troops return to Lanzhou, no matter who they are, they will have to consider the strong backing behind King Wu... Even if there is no guarantee that King Wu will succeed in establishing the throne, at least he will be able to do so! How can we keep him safe?"
"The master's good intentions for His Highness King Wu are really touching." Qin Shi said emotionally, "I'll pack up and return to the Central Plains immediately!"
"Be careful along the way." Qin Mubai patted him on the shoulder, "I have to work hard for you again. You can change your name and surname, disguise yourself as a horse dealer, and go back to Lanzhou with the Han caravan. Later I will I will give you twenty fine Dawan horses. This is a great gift given to me by the kings of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu. You can take these horses back to Lanzhou and give them to Pang Fei privately, asking him to keep them in the army. Breeding to improve the war horse breed of our Kansai Army."
"Well, the villain has remembered... After the villain leaves, the master must take good care of himself." Qin Shi knelt down and said goodbye.
"Get up." Qin Mubai helped him up again and said with a smile, "You are also a big shot with an official title. Stop calling me a villain and a master. Don't kneel on the ground even if you have nothing to do. It's unseemly. Wait until the beating is over. After returning to Chang'an from the war, you have to buy land, marry a wife, settle down, and build a family business. "
Qin Shi grinned with a toothy smile, "I don't want anything, just follow the master and make a living! From now on, I will be wherever the master is. If I can serve the master's food and daily life, Qin Shi will be satisfied in his life!" "
"Silly!" Qin Mubai shook his head helplessly and smiled, "Okay, let's not say more. Go get ready and let's set off now!"
"Well, the villain is gone!"
After arranging Qin Shi, Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was in the Western Region, Qin Mubai knew that Chang'an must be tense and tense right now. Li Ke is alone, how can he be the opponent of Changsun Wuji and the King of Wei
Although the battle between Ping and Fan made Li Ke famous, once he returned to the court, Li Ke only had fame and achievements. How could he compare with the many entangled members of King Wei's party? In the court, the number of people means public opinion and the right to speak. What's more, Changsun Wuji had great power in both the government and the public, and the King of Wei had been operating in a tower near the water for a long time. Although in the past two years, Emperor Li Shimin has not trusted Changsun Wuji as much as before, nor has he valued Wei Wang Li Tai as much as before, but a skinny camel is bigger than a horse... Unfortunately, Li Ke is a horse.
After several days of thinking, Qin Mubai's mind was very clear - Li Ke must become the prince of the East Palace. This is no longer a simple matter of personal relationship between the two, but the connection and unity of their interests!
If the King of Wei becomes the crown prince, he will definitely implement Changsun Wuji's strategy of governing the country in the future, making civil affairs the mainstay, stopping military expansion, reducing military expenditures, and reducing the authority of the generals. Then, eliminating the military party that originally supported King Wu will become their first priority.
By then, Qin Mubai will bear the brunt and will become the first person to be purged!
On the other hand, if the King of Wu succeeds to the throne, he will be able to achieve unity with Qin Mubai with his disposition similar to Li Shimin's "enterprising and aggressive military strategy" and his consistent advocacy of "governing both civil and military affairs and pioneering and enterprising". Then, Qin Mubai's political life will be extended indefinitely, at least he will not become the target of killing!
In the political field, there has always been a naked struggle for power and a life-and-death contest, and intrigues and intrigues are inevitable. There are no true gentlemen here, because such people would have died long ago.
Qin Mubai wants to support King Wu to take over the East Palace, which is both private and public. And in the face of such a big deal, he has never hesitated to use some unconventional means, just like when he faked the death of Dafeichuan, he used unexpected weapons to win.
…
In the afternoon, a messenger was sent from the palace of King Kang, saying that the princes of the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu and Qin had invited Qin Mubai to the palace to enjoy singing and dancing and a dinner. Qin Mubai declined politely due to poor health.
For several days, the palace sent out several invitations, but Qin Mubai did not go. The intention was very clear, he wanted to avoid the queen of Kang State.
From that night of lingering, Queen Pearl's heart seemed to be embedded in Qin Mubai's body, and she could never take it back. But now that everything is going on, Qin Mubai doesn't care about the love between his children, and he doesn't want to go in and out of the forbidden area frequently and make people laugh. After all, one is a feudal official of the Celestial Dynasty and the other is the king of Kang State, and there is no clear relationship between the two of them as husband and wife. How can they hook up day and night, and the bones of the queen’s husband are not even cold to the bone!
When romance comes, Qin Mubai doesn't want to be pointed at and scolded from behind.
A few days later, Yuwen Hongtai returned from the Sam River with one hundred thousand troops and horses allocated to him by Qin Mubai. He handed over the order to Qin Mubai, saying that according to the instructions of Qin Mubai, Su Dingfang had made peace with Numan, the commander-in-chief of Dashi. The other party also agreed to Qin Mubai's alliance strategy and was willing to withdraw its troops. From then on, Dashi and Kangju State would face each other across the river and govern each other, maintaining non-aggression and friendly exchanges. Numan also specially sent a messenger to return with Yuwen Hongtai, giving him gifts to thank Qin Mubai - a golden scimitar that Numan wore, a handful of jewelry, and three good horses. He also said that the generals of the Dashi Kingdom would make peace with the Tang Dynasty and conclude an alliance with the Tang Dynasty.
Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief: Very good! Finally, the threat of the cannibal was temporarily resolved and precious time was gained! Numan was a smart man and knew that the Tang Dynasty had established a firm foothold in the Western Regions and had established its dominance in the Western Regions. He was a step too slow, and now it was impossible for him to forcefully invade and compete with the Tang Dynasty for the hegemony of the Western Regions.
"Fortunately, there has been neither a formal open-faced war with the Food Country nor a complete elimination of the potential threat from the Food Country. As the saying goes, 'The flying birds are all good and the bows are hidden', as long as the Western Region still faces the Food Country, If the country is threatened, then I, Qin Mubai, will not be laid off for a day!" Thinking of this, Qin Mubai secretly smiled, "Destroying Tubo, pacifying the Western Regions, there will be fewer opponents. But the Dashi Kingdom... I want to write to the imperial court and tell them that this is a big Western country with a strength comparable to that of the Tang Dynasty. It must be treated with caution and guard against it. It is necessary to unify the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu into one country to help me guard against powerful enemies, and to establish a general governor's office here. Gather more troops and horses in case of unexpected events..."