What Zhao Chong said today was like the end game on a chessboard, with every step surprising and full of strangeness. Li Ke was considered a smart man. He couldn't help but be surprised and puzzled when he heard the end.
Naturally, Li Ke asked this question - "Why?"
Of course Zhao Chong knew what he meant by this question.
Because in everyone's opinion, King Wei is the person who wants King Wu to die the most. But Zhao Chong told Li Ke that it was King Wei who wanted to save him.
Any person with a normal mind will feel extremely weird and incomprehensible after hearing this.
"Why? I don't know either." Zhao Chong said, "My master will not explain to his subordinates any matters concerning his family. I will carry out his orders, that's all."
"Then what did he give the order?"
"It's a long story." Zhao Chong took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Probably King Wei got a secret report from the palace, saying that His Majesty the Emperor secretly recruited you to return to the capital. Anyone can guess what happened. It was related to the establishment of the crown prince. This was naturally a huge crisis for the king of Wei, so he summoned his close party leaders to discuss countermeasures. At that time, Wei Ting, the imperial censor, should have offered advice to the king. I wanted to get rid of you halfway, but King Wei... didn't agree."
Li Ke frowned, thought for a moment, and then nodded, "It makes sense. Although the fourth child really wants me to die, he will definitely not die at this time. Because in this situation, as long as something happens to me, he will be the biggest suspect. . The fourth child is not stupid enough to put himself in a disadvantageous situation, because he has always been smart, and he knows that his father always hates fratricidal brothers. Even if he gets rid of me halfway, he will not be able to become the prince. It’s very simple. My father will never give up his kingdom to a person who kills his brothers! So, although the person who wants me to die the most is the fourth child, he is the one who least wants me to get into trouble on the road!”
"But he can make you...disappear, can't he?" Zhao Chong smiled slyly.
Li Ke's expression changed, "What do you mean?"
"If you are the King of Wei and don't want King Wu to return to the capital, but you can't kill him, what is the best way?"
"Kidnapping? House arrest?"
"That's it!" Zhao Chong chuckled and said, "To be honest, Zhao still admires King Wei. On the surface, he seems careless and kind, but in fact he is as meticulous as hair. After Wei Ting returned home, He was quite angry and kept cursing secretly, "The King of Wei is not a wise master and will never become a great weapon." I guess the reason must be that King Wei Yanci rejected his plan to ambush him halfway, so Wei Ting decided to do it himself. On that day, he ordered me to lead people to set up an ambush on the only way to the pass to intercept and kill you. Not long after, I was secretly summoned by the King of Wei, who asked me about Wei Ting's movements. , There must be a difference of opinion between King Wei and Wei Ting. I also told King Wei of Wei Ting’s plan with the attitude of giving it a try. “What do you think King Wei said?”
Li Ke took a deep breath and sighed, shaking his head, "I guess the fourth child will say, there is no need to stop Wei Ting, you bring someone else behind. When Wei Ting's people take action, you will come to the rescue." Kill all Wei Ting's men, intercept the King of Wu and place him under house arrest."
"Yes, that's not entirely true." Zhao Chong smiled, jokingly and a little bit mean, and said, "Zhao has always thought that people in the Jianghu Green Forest are ruthless, but he didn't expect that people in the royal family have even darker hearts and hands. More ruthless.”
"What on earth did he say?!" Li Ke was a little angry and clenched his fists.
"He said..." Zhao Chong paused and then said it, "If King Wu dies in the melee, then that's it, let my people evacuate quietly as if nothing happened; if King Wu can break through, If you escape, Zhao will intercept you and kidnap you. By the way, he will kill all of Wei Ting's people. At the same time, don't forget to leave some clues for people to trace to Wei Ting. "
"So cruel!... Old Four, you are too cruel!" Li Ke's teeth gritted so hard that his bones made a sound.
"Yes!" Zhao Chong sneered at the corner of his mouth, "I have truly seen the viciousness and viciousness of King Wei, and even Zhao is ashamed of himself. If King Wu dies, the blame will definitely be placed on Wei Ting's head. It has nothing to do with him. Because there were more than one person present during the meeting in the Wei Palace, Wei Ting intercepted his words midway, and Wei Wang sternly refused. As everyone knows, Wei Ting was destined to be a scapegoat. Confused, because he did act secretly behind King Wei's back. If King Wu did not die, King Wu would disappear for a long time until he, King Wei, secured the East Palace, and then King Wu would be rescued by someone. By then, King Wei had secured his position in the East Palace, and King Wu had no choice but to offer him a life-saving favor. At the same time, King Wu could also be pleased. His rescue will also destroy all suspicions about King Wei from the outside world. At that time, people will feel that King Wei has been silently suffering the misunderstanding of the world, and his image will instantly become tall and glorious! "
"It is indeed a clever and seamless plan..." Li Ke frowned and looked sad and angry, and shook his head, "To be honest, even I have to admire the fourth child. His mental tricks are much better than mine."
"Is such a person more suitable to be an emperor?" Zhao Chong sneered.
Li Ke shook his head sadly, "I don't know..."
"It's a pity, it's a pity..." Zhao Chong said with a smile, "Jiang, after all, is old and hot. No matter how ruthless Wei Ting is, and how smart King Wei is, he can't defeat His Majesty the Emperor. Otherwise, I would say, such a person is suitable when… "
"you shut up!"
"Okay, I won't talk anymore." Zhao Chong smiled and said, "In total, I have been loyal to His Majesty the Emperor for some time, but I have never run an errand for him. However, I am like this A person can only do one errand. The second time, it didn't work. After learning about Wei Ting and King Wei's plan, I wanted to inform His Majesty immediately. Unfortunately, I couldn't enter the palace and couldn't see him. So I had no choice but to make my own decisions. On the one hand, I led more than 20 killers under Wei Ting to ambush on the only way to Anding County in Jingzhou; on the other hand, I sent out whistle pigeons and summoned them. More than a dozen of the Green Forest loyalists I secretly recruited are on standby. Your Highness, don't underestimate these dozen people. They are all top-notch experts like General Yin Yang in His Highness's house. He should be a good player when it comes to charging into battle, but when it comes to fighting in battles... He can't survive more than one or two rounds in Zhao's hands. But compared to those dozen people, the gap between Zhao and the eagle is just that."
Li Ke was speechless and just nodded. He didn't know much about things in the world. But Su Lianqing also worked in the palace once, and Li Ke also knew a little about the methods of people like her.
"So His Highness is quite safe here." Zhao Chong said with a smile, "The people in this Taoist temple are all my people in disguise. Moreover, as long as any suspicious person appears within a few miles of this Taoist temple, I will immediately You can get the letter. Also, neither Wei Ting nor King Wei knows about this place."
Li Ke nodded, "Just now you said that you were going to report my death to your master. Are you reporting to Wei Ting or to the King of Wei?"
"Both." Zhao Chong said.
"In other words, both Wei Ting and King Wei now think that I am dead?"
"That's right!"
Li Ke shook his head helplessly, "Aren't you afraid that they will kill you and silence you?"
"Of course I'm afraid." Zhao Chong said with a smile, "Now, my two masters want me to die as cleanly as possible. Therefore, Zhao did not go to meet them, but used a very special way "
"Well... you are really smart!" Li Ke said sincerely.
"Thank you." Zhao Chong said, "But unless my real master, His Majesty the Emperor, knows the truth and comes to save us, we will not be safe. But now, I can't show up again, and I can't tell the truth. To His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, we can only hope that the Jingzhou government will investigate the case and find Wei Ting's head, so that the court will know."
"I hope so..." Li Ke sighed and thought to himself: Zhao Chong is indeed an extremely shrewd old man. He did all this for his own benefit. He clearly knew that Wei Ting and King Wei would kill him sooner or later. The only way to get rid of this danger is to kill Wei Ting and King Wei. To achieve this, the only way is to take refuge in a more powerful master, and then I can only remain my father. Then, before he told me all the truth, he asked me for a death-avoidance charm, so that I could let him live a free life one day if I succeeded. Obviously, he was gambling, betting that my father would win, and that I would win... He was really not doing it for himself, and he was going to be punished by heaven and earth!
"Speaking of which, there are rumors in the market that Guanxi Qin Mubai has rebellious intentions. What's going on?" Zhao Chong's words interrupted Li Ke's train of thought.
"I don't know either." Li Ke shook his head, "I firmly believe that this is just a rumor! I would rather believe that the sun will set tomorrow than believe that Qin Mubai is going to rebel!"
"You don't believe it, but a lot of people are willing to believe it!" Zhao Chong said with a smile, "As everyone knows, King Wu and Qin Mubai are inseparable from each other. Now we have reached such a special critical moment. At the critical moment. King Wu is missing, and the rumors that Qin Mubai in Guanxi is going to rebel will probably make many people in the court even more panic."
Li Ke was shocked, "Yes! If we connect the two, it is inevitable that someone will spread rumors again, saying that King Wu used a trick to fake his own death and fled to Lanzhou to rebel with Qin Mubai? Or, Qin Mubai because of this Hearing the news of King Wu's death, he was so angry that he raised an army to avenge King Wu? "
"It seems that the latter is more likely!" Zhao Chong curled his lips and said, "Don't tell lies in front of a real person. If King Wu wants to fight for the throne, his biggest reliance is of course the Guanxi Qin who holds more than half of the Tang Dynasty's troops and half of the country. Young Marshal; and Marshal Qin’s biggest hope in the future is that King Wu can become the prince. If something goes wrong with King Wu... Marshal Qin will inevitably do something extraordinary to protect himself! "
"It's broken!..." Li Ke's expression really changed now, "Although I know that Mu Bai is so loyal and righteous that he can't have any objections, but if he knew that I was assassinated halfway, it's really hard to say what he would do. What an outrageous thing! - Even if you don't want to avenge me, if the fourth child becomes the prince, Mu Bai will be the first to be eliminated! How about a military commander with hundreds of thousands of troops?"
"That is to say... Qin Mubai, might he be forced to rebel?" Zhao Chong rolled his eyes, "Then the joke is really big! It doesn't matter who rebels in the world, only him... Haha! Then He has conquered the mighty Tubo and conquered the vast Western Region. If an army comes to invade the Central Plains, who can stop it?"
"This is not a question of who can stop it... No matter who loses or wins, then our country in Datang will be really over!!!" Li Ke sat up straight and bowed to Zhao Chongzheng, "Brother Zhao , please find a way to tell Qin Mubai the truth, otherwise, it will be a huge disaster!"
"Your Highnesses are already treated as brothers, how can Zhao bear this responsibility? Let me think about it, let me think about it..." Zhao Chong scratched his forehead and made a wry smile and said, "If only one of Qin Mubai's most trusted people could be sent to Lanzhou. , do you think it’s feasible to stop Qin Mubai?”
"Who to send?"
"Haha!" Zhao Chong laughed, "In the whole city of Chang'an, there is only one person that Qin Mubai trusts the most!"
"who?"
"Of course... Princess Gaoyang!!"
"I forgot that Gao Yang has returned to Beijing a long time ago." Li Ke frowned, "But how can we let Gao Yang know the truth?"
"There is no need to let her know the truth." Zhao Chong said seriously, "Think about it, if Qin Mubai rebels, who will be the most distressed? - The son-in-law leads troops to attack the father-in-law's family. How can this be unbearable for a daughter? So, now we What I have to do is not to report the news to anyone, but to send my people to continue to stir up trouble in Chang'an City and tell the truth about Qin Mubai's rebellion in Guanxi. The more realistic the story, the better. Your Majesty is anxious, and Princess Gaoyang will naturally become anxious as well. Then she will definitely take action!"
"This!..." Li Ke's eyes widened, "This is so inappropriate!"
"Your Highness, there is nothing inappropriate about this." Zhao Chong smiled and said, "After all, Your Highness, you are not really dead; Qin Mubai is not really going to rebel. This is called following the trend. Qin Mubai will be killed. The louder the rumors of rebellion spread, the greater the pressure on King Wei, because as long as King Wei dares to take over the East Palace, Guanxi Qin Mubai will dare to rebel! In this case, even His Majesty the Emperor must carefully consider it. , Even if King Wu is really dead, does he dare to appoint King Wei as the crown prince at this time? In other words, as long as you, King Wu, never see a dead person or a body, King Wei will never think of taking over the East Palace! The reason is that Qin Mubai's intimidation is so great that even His Majesty the Emperor has to be afraid of him!"
"!!!" Li Ke was shocked!
"What's wrong, Your Highness, did Zhao say something wrong?"
"That's right, nothing wrong at all." Li Ke took a deep breath, "Zhao Chong, it's such a pity that you don't become an official!"
"No, I have no interest in being an official!" Zhao Chong smiled, "Everyone in the world doesn't have a good impression of the government. Although we people are heretical and deviant, there are also some cruel and ruthless people among us. But most of them pay attention to the rules of the world and the loyalty of heroes... I won't say more. Your Highness, King Wu, after hearing what I said just now, don't you think Qin Mubai is a big hidden danger? ? If you become the prince or the emperor in the future, you will also want to get rid of it quickly? "
"No." Li Ke sighed and said, "The sword has a double edge, which can kill the enemy or hurt yourself. But if you abandon the sword and don't use it, you will become a real coward, and in the end you will have no choice but to be slaughtered by others. A person like Qin Mubai is a sharp sword. A king must respect him and make good use of him. If he destroys it because he is worried about accidentally cutting himself, what is the difference between losing food because of choking? - I admire you very much. He was the father of the Tang Dynasty. There were many talented people like Qin Mubai among his subordinates, such as Li Yaoshi and other famous generals, but I never saw him being afraid of anyone. He has never killed any hero, but is as close as a brother to his subordinates. This is the true hero. He has enough confidence and believes that he has enough ability and charm to make his capable men and heroes. We are convinced. I have always been the most shameless king like Liu Bang. In the final analysis, the reason why he keeps killing heroes is because he has no confidence and self-confidence. After all, he is a narrow-minded and short-sighted Xiao Xiao. Generations!”
"His Royal Highness the King of Wu, you are indeed brave and heroic, haha!" Zhao Chong smiled and said, "But there is a saying that people can't help themselves in the world. Now you are only the King of Wu. When you become the prince or On the day he became emperor, if he still had such thoughts and mind, then he would really be worthy of Zhao’s admiration!”
Li Ke also smiled and said, "Ke, I never like to say grand words. But I can really say these few words just now. Having said that, if one day I, Li Ke, can really achieve something, it all depends on Qin Mubai's success. To put it bluntly, Qin Mubai wants to take half of Datang's empire, but I know that even if he is given half of the empire, he won't take it. , I understand him, this is not his ambition!”
"Oh?" Zhao Chong smiled, "Then what does he want?"
"Fair clothes and angry horses, beauties and strong drinks; unrestrained and unrestrained, happy life!" Li Ke said, "Actually, if it hadn't been for the death of his father in battle, he might not have been able to inspire his soaring to the sky. He is just that kind of person, He just wants to live freely and freely, happily and wetly! He doesn't want to be bound by fame and wealth, let alone be influenced by worldly rules. If he is given a peaceful paradise, he will be happy to take his beautiful wife and concubine there. Enjoy a lifetime of happiness!”
"Yes! After all, he has what a man most wants to have in his life." Zhao Chong said, "I feel that Qin Mubai is a truly wise man. He knows how to be content and happy, and he also has his own bottom line and Principle. As long as you don’t actively provoke or force such a person, you will be able to live in peace.”
"So... if the fourth child becomes the prince or the emperor, Qin Mubai may really rebel!" Li Ke couldn't help but take a breath, "Because for the fourth child, Qin Mubai is a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh. Even if I Now that he's gone, the fourth child must be eliminated quickly! Because the fourth child himself doesn't believe that he can control Qin Mubai! I dare to say that if King Wei gains power, Qin Mubai's anger will be aroused again sooner or later! Once his fire is ignited, the consequences... I really can't imagine it!"
Zhao Chong grinned, "Didn't you just agree with that sentence - If you don't serve yourself, you will be destroyed by heaven and earth?!"