Changsun Wuji and others were shocked when they heard the news that King Jin was missing.
It is understandable if the King of Wu returned to Beijing incognito with only a few men and was ambushed on the way; then, King Jin, who was traveling north on behalf of the emperor to worship his ancestors, brought with him two hundred elite Longwu Guard Yueqi and three hundred The Jinwu Guards' honorary cavalry and a hundred personal guards of the Hundred Cavalry!
A total of six hundred people disappeared openly in a place like Taiyuan, the northern capital, which is shocking!
"General Li, you went to Taiyuan, where were you looking for King Jin?" Li Jing asked calmly.
"Of course it's the government offices, as well as places like the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Imperial Mausoleum!" Li Junxian replied.
Li Jing asked again: "Do the state officials, governors, and people in the imperial tomb of the Imperial Ancestral Temple say that the King of Jin has left?"
"yes."
"There are no traces of King Jin's stay at any of the stations along the way?"
"yes."
Li Jing raised his eyebrows slightly and said: "Then there is only one possibility - the King of Jin is still in Taiyuan, the northern capital, or at least still in Bingzhou!"
Li Junxian, Changsun Wuji and others were all shocked, "How is this possible?"
Li Jing stroked his long beard and said: "Five or six hundred people, as long as they leave the capital and take the official road, they will leave traces. Is it possible that they can disappear out of thin air? At that time, General Li was eager to find King Jin, and there was no one in Taiyuan. When he found it, he thought that King Jin was on his way home and missed it on the way, so he rushed to catch up. It can be seen that he probably missed an extremely important place and did not look for it. "
"where?"
"Bingzhou Military Mansion!" Li Jing's eyes flashed and he said, "No one except the army can do it to make five or six hundred people disappear without a trace at the same time! And I guess that either the King of Jin was captured by the Bingzhou Army. He was kidnapped; or the King of Jin deliberately hid there and kept the news strictly sealed. Otherwise, how could even the governors and governors of Taiyuan not know the exact information about the King of Jin?"
At this time, Fang Xuanling was slightly surprised and said: "The army of the Bingzhou Governor's Palace is our northern barrier of the Tang Dynasty. The commander of the Governor's Office is none other than the British Duke Li Ji. However, he led his army to Mobei to quell the Xue Yantuo rebellion. He has not yet been able to quell the Xue Yantuo rebellion. Return. The one left behind in Bingzhou is Li Ji’s favorite general, Zuo Wuwei General Wei Beiji, the son of Wei Ting!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone broke into a cold sweat! !
"It's Wei Ting again!"
"Don't be impatient!" Li Jing raised his hand, frowned and thought for a moment, and said, "As far as I know, although Wei Daizi is from a famous family, he is modest, prudent and loyal. In the early years when I conquered Tuyuhun, he served as the grain and grain officer of the rear army in our army, so I have a good impression of him. With my ability to understand people, Wei Daiji should not be able to commit such rebellion. What's more, if he really wanted to cause trouble and harm King Jin, it would be too stupid, because everyone in the government knew that King Jin was going to the Northern Capital to worship his ancestors, and he would dare to do anything detrimental to King Jin. They are all openly rebelling. Isn't that asking for death? Don't say that he is just a small governor of Bingzhou, with only 300,000 to 50,000 troops in his hands. Even if Li Ji's main army of 200,000 people has returned to him, he I don’t dare to make such a mistake!”
"What Mr. Wei said makes sense!" Everyone agreed. Fang Xuanling said: "So, it is more likely that the King of Jin hid in the Bingzhou Military Mansion? In other words, instead of detaining the King of Jin, Wei Daiji secretly hid him for protection. Don’t let him return to Beijing?”
"It's very possible." Li Jing frowned, "In other words, Wei Baiji must know something!"
At this time, Changsun Wuji looked livid and groaned: "It's useless for me to guess here! Otherwise, let me and Chu Suiliang lead a hundred cavalry to capture Wei Ting first!" Or, call the King of Wei and ask him everything!"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, thinking secretly that Wei Ting was King Wei's confidant. If Wei Ting really did something strange, it would be absolutely impossible for King Wei to say that he had no knowledge of it. In this way, even if King Wei was not the mastermind behind the scenes or participated in these rebellious actions, he would still be responsible for the crime of covering up and concealing it!
Seeing that everyone was silent, Changsun Wuji simply asked Li Jing, "Mr. Wei, what do you think?"
"I think it's better not to act rashly." Li Jing said, "Since we have no evidence, if we take people or interrogate the King of Wei, we may cause greater trouble and plunge the government and the public into chaos and panic. Moreover, now the King of Wu and the The life and death of Prince Jin is uncertain. If the two princes really fall into their hands, I will wait for any changes in Chang'an, which may endanger the lives of the two princes. That would be very bad! "
"Hateful!" Changsun Wuji's teeth gritted to the bone, "Foreign bandits caused trouble, so we just took it upon ourselves. I never thought that in today's Tang Dynasty, there would still be internal thieves causing trouble! No matter who they are, they cannot be forgiven!"
"Situ, calm down." Li Jing took out the tiger talisman token and gave it to Li Junxian to look at it and said, "The only solution now is to bother General Li and make another trip to Taiyuan. There is no need to bring more troops and quietly go to Bingzhou Military Mansion to investigate. After all, we must find out the news about King Jin and ensure his personal safety. You are bringing the royal commander, and I am sure that no one in Bingzhou will do anything wrong to you - Your Majesty's Tiger Talisman is here! The hundreds of horses under your command will be killed first and then reported. You can go ahead and capture the thieves and capture the king!"
"No! The general will leave immediately!" Li Junxian received the military order and hurried away again, sweating profusely.
"Here in Chang'an, things are still loose on the outside and tight on the inside." Li Jing said, "Now let's not let out any news, everything will continue as usual. Let the thieves think that we are still unaware. I will go to the 361 prefectures in Guan today. The soldiers and all the imperial city commanders will strictly defend the imperial capital and the imperial city to ensure that Chang'an is impregnable and your majesty will be safe!"
"According to what Duke Wei said." Changsun Wuji still respected Li Jing, and he bowed his hand and said, "Then Fang Xuanling and I will still sit in the Hongwen Hall and preside over the daily court meetings and handle the government affairs of the court. Chu Suiliang, you Keep an eye on Wei Ting secretly and step up the investigation of King Wu’s whereabouts!”
"Yes!" Chu Suiliang promised.
Li Jing added, "Saving people comes first!"
"Then we'll split up and take action!"
In the evening of the same day, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were in the Hongwen Hall, replacing His Majesty the Emperor's golden batch with Prime Minister Zhu Biao, and approved the memorials submitted from all over the country.
Changsun Wuji kept thinking about the affairs of several princes in his heart. Changsun Wuji could not calm down and was a little restless. He held the memorial in his hand but could not read it. Fang Xuanling saw that Sun Wuji was full of distress and resentment, and tried to persuade him a few words to relax his mind, but to no avail, so there was nothing more to say.
A traitor in the court caused trouble and harmed the prince. It was a big trouble for Fang Xuanling, Li Jing and others, but for Changsun Wuji, it was a family scandal, and it hid the risk of death!
Others don’t know that his eldest son, Sun Wuji, still doesn’t know what His Majesty the Emperor has always hated the most
The shadow of the Xuanwu Sect has always shrouded the heart of Emperor Li Shimin. After being the emperor for so many years, what he has been most worried about is his own son.
If the case between King Wu and King Jin is really related to King Wei...then what Li Shimin worries and hates the most has finally happened!
What are the consequences
I can not imagine!
With a "pop" sound, Changsun Wuji threw down the memorial in his hand and stood up, "I can't help it anymore! Come here, prepare a car!"
Fang Xuanling was startled and looked at Changsun Wuji in astonishment, "Where does Situ want to go?"
"I'm going to Prince Wei's Mansion to ask him clearly!"
"No!"
"Why not?" Changsun Wuji snorted and said angrily, "My uncle, today I am not Prime Minister Situ, but his uncle, okay?"
"This..." Fang Xuanling frowned immediately, stood up and walked to Changsun Wuji, saying softly, "What if we scare the snake and harm the lives of King Wu and King Jin?"
"I don't think he dares!" Changsun Wuji flicked his sleeves, "Needless to say, I must go to the fourth son and ask for details! Don't say that he is His Majesty's beloved son and my nephew, even if he is the current crown prince Or my biological son, as long as he is confused at this critical moment, I, Changsun Wuji, will definitely kill him and not spare him!"
Fang Xuanling was stunned for a moment, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop Changsun Wuji, so he sighed softly and said: "Since Situ insists on going, Fang can't stop him. But... no one can stop this huge disaster. We will admit it unless we have very strong evidence to prove it.”
Almost as soon as Fang Xuanling finished speaking, a person stumbled in from the gate of Hongwen Hall, and even the doorman did not dare to stop him. I saw the man entering the gate and running towards the government office where Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling lived. As he ran, he shouted, "Uncle, save me!"
Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were both surprised. Officials in other government offices in Hongwen Hall were also frightened and ran out. When everyone saw it, it was not the King of Wei!
Changsun Wuji hurriedly yelled, "No spectators allowed, everyone exit the Hongwen Hall!"
"Yes..." All the officials retreated and closed the door.
Only Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Wei Wang Li Tai were left in the room. Li Tai was sweating profusely, his face turned pale, and his whole body was trembling. He knelt down to Changsun Wuji with a plop: "Li Tai is guilty and has come to confess. Uncle, please save me!"
"What's your crime?" Changsun Wuji asked.
"I... I was careless for a moment and forgot to inform the court of a huge matter. This led to the assassination of King Wu!" Li Tai knelt on the ground and said in fear.
"What's such a big deal?" Changsun Wuji asked with a gloomy face.
Li Tai told Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling that that day he invited Wei Ting and others to discuss in the palace. If King Wu returns to Beijing and is established as the prince, where will we go? At that time, Wei Ting suggested to the King of Wei that he simply kill the King of Wu halfway to avoid future troubles.
Speaking of this, Li Tai cried out heartbroken: "At that time, I was furious and refused categorically. I even scolded Wei Ting in front of everyone and expelled him from the palace. I didn't expect... Wei Ting actually took matters into his own hands and sent out a killer. I intercepted and killed King Wu on the way!"
To Li Tai's expectation, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling did not show any surprise when they heard this "big news". Instead, they looked at each other and sneered.
Li Tai was a little panicked now: Strange, why are they not surprised at all? Did you already know this
"His Royal Highness the King of Wei, did you just say - 'captured' the King of Wu?" Fang Xuanling frowned and said, "Why didn't you say he was kidnapped or assassinated, but 'captured'? , do you know that King Wu has been assassinated? "
"Ah? This... this!" Li Tai suddenly gasped: What a cunning Fang Xuanling!
"Say!" Changsun Wuji roared!
"Yes, yes!" Li Tai knelt down with sweat and trembled, "Just now my men reported to me, saying that the killer sent by Wei Ting has... killed the King of Wu!"
"What?!" Changsun Wuji was shocked and furious, "How do you know, who told you?"
The sweat on Li Tai's face fell to the ground, and he said without daring to raise his head: "There is a confidant in Wei Ting's mansion who was once the editor of my literature library and has a close relationship with me, so Leaked the news to me privately..."
"Smart words, full of nonsense!" Changsun Wuji couldn't hold back anymore and finally exploded, raising his foot to kick Li Tai!
Fang Xuanling was startled, and hurriedly hugged Changsun Wuji tightly, and whispered in his ear, "Situ, calm down! The King of Wei is the master, and we are the ministers!"
"He has clearly reached a critical moment and betrayed his accomplices to protect himself!" Changsun Wuji said angrily, "Otherwise, how could he wait until Wei Ting had succeeded and King Wu had been killed before returning the favor! Isn't it just to get rid of him? relationship, and then put all the blame on Wei Ting!"
"Uncle, you are wronged!" Li Tai burst into tears, his head banging on the ground, and cried, "Wei Ting acted on his own initiative in private, and I did not know about it in advance. Moreover, he also It was just a casual remark, but I didn't care about it. I didn't expect him to be so evil and actually take action! Then, I just learned the news through a secret report from his palace officials! Come find your uncle and report the case!”
"Then why didn't you report it earlier?" Changsun Wuji scolded angrily.
"Everyone knows that Wei Ting has an old feud with the King of Wu. He drank a lot of wine at the banquet that day. I thought he was just drunk and angry, so I didn't take it to heart at the time. And..." Li Tai hesitated. After a moment, he said, "I remember that he is my elder and an important minister of the imperial court. How can I betray him and let him bring disaster to the whole family just because of a word? I can't bear to do such an unjust act." !”
"I forgot that you took Wei Ting's daughter as your concubine!" Changsun Wuji gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "Even now, you are still putting money on yourself and passing all the blame on your father-in-law? Okay, okay, I’ll take Wei Ting first and let him confront you—somebody!”
Li Tai, who was lying on the ground, actually breathed a sigh of relief! I thought to myself: Confrontation is the best way to go! Without confrontation, how can I, Li Tai, be shown to be innocent? The assassination of King Wu was indeed done by Wei Ting alone and had nothing to do with me! ...Fortunately, I asked Zhao Chong to keep an eye on Wei Ting secretly and learned that King Wu had been killed. Otherwise, everyone in the world would think that it was me who killed King Wu, and I would be killed by him!
"This is called striking first to gain advantage! Wei Ting, Wei Ting, don't blame me! People who don't care for themselves will be destroyed by heaven and earth. It's better for you to die than for me to die!"