Recently, Chang'an has been like a big river in flood season, with surging water and turbulent undercurrents. But the Palace of the Prince of Wei quietly turned into a piece of fragrant bait at the bottom of the river. Whether it was the court officials or the famous relatives of Chang'an, they all swam towards it like hungry fish and turtles, almost closing the threshold of the Palace. Tread flat.
The reason for this situation is very simple. There is a rumor in Chang'an that King Wu is dead. Then, the future owner of the East Palace is none other than King Wei!
Who doesn’t want to get close to the future Emperor of Tang Dynasty as soon as possible
After nightfall, Li Tai saw off his last guest and one of his "good friends", Prince Consort Chai Lingwu, and let out a long sigh.
Du Zhenglun, the chief minister of the Wei Palace next to him, said: "Your Highness, from today's conversation, we can find out that Chai Prince Consort is still very upset about his failure to be elected General Zuowei. Originally, the post of General Zuowei was his father's. After Chai Shao died of illness, His Majesty the Emperor appointed Li Junxian as the general of Zuowei. At first, Li Junxian was just a guard of the Prince of Qin, and later he had little military merit. After holding an official position, he became a general of Zuowei! Tsk tsk! The power of the military has expanded so much in recent years that even a small figure like Li Junxian has risen to prominence!"
Li Tai touched his plump chin and smiled and said: "We are both consorts, Qin Mubai is in the sky, how many people know Chai Lingwu? Chai Lingwu thought that the post of General Zuowei left by his father was one thing, but for Qin Mu Bai's jealousy is the main thing. Apart from anything else, the royal relatives compete secretly every day for power, wealth, fame, and honor. , one is like a phoenix and the other is like a jackdaw, who would be willing to accept it? Besides, Chai Lingwu was born into a noble family, and his father was Chai Shao, the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty. Even my father respected his brother-in-law very much; his mother was My aunt, Princess Pingyang, is a famous female hero in troubled times. Who knows that her background is a hundred times better than that of Qin Mubai? Now their situation is so different, how can this make him feel so embarrassed? !”
Du Zhenglun said with a smile on his face: "What Your Highness said is indeed human nature. Now that Chai Lingwu is obedient to His Highness, it can be seen that he is fully counting on His Highness to take over the East Palace and rule the world as soon as possible. By then, there will be no need to worry about a leftist. The position of General Wei?"
Li Tai smiled and said nothing, contented.
Seeing that Li Tai was in a good mood, Du Zhenglun continued: "People like Chai Lingwu are everywhere in Chang'an! We must step up our efforts to win over them. And let them take the opportunity to build more momentum for His Highness, to show that His Highness's entry into the East Palace is what the people want. This It’s called striking while the iron is hot!”
"Okay, I'll trouble you, teacher, and make more arrangements!" Li Tai chuckled and agreed.
"Then I will move around more these days." Du Zhenglun also happily agreed. He thought to himself, seeing that it was certain that King Wei would become the crown prince, wouldn't I, the chief historian of the Prince of Wei and the teacher of the King of Wei, become the Grand Master by then? I have to take advantage of this time to work hard and gain support. My future will be limitless! Sooner or later, I will surpass my elder brother Du Ruhui, who died young, and create glory for my Du family!
"Now the Wei family has declined with the death of Wei Ting. If I can rise up in one fell swoop, by then, the Du family in Chang'an will surely become the number one wealthy family!" Thinking of this, Du Zhenglun couldn't help stroking his beard and hehe Laughed out loud.
Li Tai glanced at him sideways, "Why is the teacher laughing so happily?"
"Oh, your Majesty is thinking that good things are coming for His Highness King Wei, so he is happy from the bottom of his heart!" Du Zhenglun responded hurriedly.
"It's better not to get carried away!" Li Tai said in a low voice with his hands cut behind his back and his big belly, looking into the distance, "Have you contacted Zhao Chong recently?"
"No." Du Zhenglun glanced around, leaned over and whispered, "Since that day when he reported the death of King Wu, Zong Ying has never been seen again. A man like him, who is a green forest man, often comes and goes like flying over the walls. It's hard to find a trace. I left a mark at the contact point by the Weishui River as ordered by His Highness, but he didn't reply. From this, I guess... has he left Guanzhong? "
"Is this possible..." Li Tai frowned and said with a hint of melancholy, "Zhao Chong is a gangster. He is too cunning and difficult to control. I now feel that what he said at the time was 'Xiangyang' "Long Qi' is just a lie. To be honest, I regret that I believed him so naively. If this matter falls into the ears of my father, it will be a source of disaster!"
"Otherwise, I will send someone..." Du Zhenglun's face darkened and he made a move to eradicate the root cause.
Li Tai squinted at him and was silent for a moment, thinking, Wei Ting and Du Zhenglun are the leaders of the Wei and Du families in Chang'an, and they are also my confidants. Du Zhenglun is also my teacher. But in comparison, Wei Ting is frivolous and thinks too highly of himself, and is whimsical and foolish; Du Zhenglun is much more clever and tactful, and... cruel!
"The question is, how to find him?" Li Tai said calmly, "Compared with Zhao Chong, we are always in the light, and he is always in the dark. This Zhao Chong is like a loach in the gutter, it is really difficult to catch! "
"That won't cause any big trouble!" Du Zhenglun said, "I guess that Zhao Chong may have hid after learning about Wei Ting's death, fearing that he would be killed and silenced. Since he is afraid of death, that's why. Easy to handle!”
"What should I do?" Li Tai asked.
"Since he is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, he must value fame, fortune and wealth!" Du Zhenglun said, "As long as His Highness promises to give him a title and land so that he can be rich and enjoy peace forever, it will not be difficult to lure him out. Then we can... "
"But what if he doesn't believe it?" Li Tai asked with a frown, "Don't underestimate Zhao Chong, he is very cunning and cunning!"
"Then give him fame, wealth and honor first, and pretend to bribe him and keep him away from Chang'an!" Du Zhenglun said, "I suggest that Zhao Chong can change his name and surname, and then make him a county baron in a remote county. , give him good land, gold, silver, beautiful women, servants and concubines, let him be his rich farm owner, and give him a life-saving order - so you don't have to worry about him not being fooled!"
"This... the investment is huge enough!" Li Tai smiled meaningfully.
"How can you catch golden turtles without using scented bait?" Du Zhenglun whispered, "Now, Zhao Chong is the only hidden danger. If he can be eliminated, the whole Tang Dynasty will belong to your highness! - Then why bother putting in a little scented bait? bait?"
"What the teacher said makes sense!" Li Tai took a breath and agreed, "We have people in Zongzheng Temple, and it is a trivial matter to confer a county baron in a remote area. Then I will ask the teacher to handle this matter?"
"Your Majesty, I accept your order..." Du Zhenglun carefully accepted the promise, secretly rejoicing in his heart: Once Wei Ting died, I became the only most trusted person around King Wei! Look, His Highness has entrusted me with such private and important matters, which shows his trust in me! The King of Wei was smart and ruthless enough, and he was a man who did great things. Wei Ting really overestimated his abilities. He actually dared to steal from his master with selfish motives, and secretly framed the blame on King Wei. He deserved to die! With all his tricks, how could he be the match for King Wei? In the end, wasn't he used by the King of Wei to make wedding clothes for others and become a scapegoat? Fortunately, when Wei Ting asked me to join him and start working together, I reported the letter to the King of Wei early. Not only did I do nothing wrong, I also made great contributions and gained the trust of the King of Wei. Otherwise, wouldn't I be a dead body now? ...Although it is sad that the rabbit dies and the fox dies, I am not as stupid as Wei Ting. I will be loyal to the King of Wei with all my heart, and there will be no mistakes!
At this time, Li Tai said again: "My king, I still have a hidden worry..."
"Your Highness, now that the powerful enemy is gone, the general trend is that Zhao Chong will be able to solve it sooner or later. What worries does Your Highness have?" Du Zhenglun said.
Li Tai frowned, his plump face tightened a bit, and said, "Teacher, has he forgotten that there is Qin Mubai in Guanxi and an army of hundreds of thousands! If he learns that King Wu has been killed, What should I do if he rebels in order to protect himself? I'm not worried about him marching into Chang'an and asking me for punishment. However, due to this pressure, my father has been reluctant to establish a throne, and something will happen to Ye Changmengduo. What can I do?"
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry!" Du Zhenglun laughed confidently, "As far as I know, Changsun Wuji has moved Duke Wei Li Yaoshi, who has been retired for a long time, to take charge of the Tang Dynasty's military affairs, specifically to deal with Qin Mubai! It is said that this is still His Majesty’s decree after he wakes up!”
"Really?" Li Tai was overjoyed, "Why didn't I know?"
"This matter is a top secret! I have worked so hard to get the news from the palace insiders today, and I am waiting to report to His Highness." Du Zhenglun whispered in a low voice, "Your Highness, you can rest assured and wait until you become the prince. Well! Even though His Majesty is ill, even ten Qin Mubai can't make a difference! And I feel... His Majesty doesn't seem to be as seriously ill as we thought. He always wakes up at the most critical moment. Then arrange important things. For example, secretly summoning the Duke of Wei to lead the army to guard against Qin Mubai in Guanxi—this kind of skill is not something that Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others can do! "
"What you say makes sense, what you say makes sense!" Li Tai gasped and said with joy, "With Duke Wei in charge, everything is worry-free! Qin Mubai and Zhao Mubai are no match for Duke Wei! Moreover, The man named Qin is a student of Duke Wei. Would he dare to fight his teacher on the battlefield? Haha! Well, let Duke Wei go and deal with Qin Mubai... I will just pray at home every day. , I hope my father will recover soon!”
"It is true that your Highness is now confident of victory and everything is worry-free! Your Majesty, I would like to congratulate Your Highness in advance!" Du Zhenglun gave a long bow and fell down.
Li Tai laughed so loudly that all the fat on his body wanted to dance.
At this moment, Qin Mubai has already set foot on the border of Lanzhou. In front of us is the familiar field military camp fifteen miles outside Lanzhou City. Qin Mubai did not enter the city, but directly entered the military camp.
The coach who had traveled thousands of miles suddenly returned, surprising Pang Fei and other generals. Qin Mubai had no time to exchange greetings with them. After having a hasty meal, he called Pang Fei in private to discuss secretly in the tent.
"Teacher, you have traveled thousands of miles with no wind and dew all the way. You have lost a lot of weight and look very haggard. When the old lady and my wife meet later, I will definitely feel sorry for you." Pang Fei said.
"Is my mother okay? How is your family?"
"With the virtuous and virtuous Mrs. Chen presiding over the inside and outside of the family, everything is fine for the family and the young." Pang Fei replied, "It's just that the old lady misses her mentor very much. She kneels in front of the Buddha every day and prays for his safe return. By the way. "My disciple has not yet congratulated his mentor - Mrs. Ashina has just given birth to a son for her mentor. Mother and son are safe. The little junior brother looks exactly like his mentor and is very strong and cute. He is waiting for his mentor to come home and give him a name!"
"Really? That's great!" After hearing the good news, Qin Mubai, who had been running for thousands of miles under the stars and the moon, was exhausted and almost exhausted, showed a rare smile of relief on his face, nodded and said, " I’ll go home later, and we’ll talk about these family matters later. Now, I want to ask you a few important things!”