The news of Emperor Li Shimin's sobriety is still kept strictly confidential. Even the only people in the harem who knew about it were Concubine Yinde and Princess Gaoyang. The next day, he asked Princess Gaoyang to personally invite someone to meet her secretly.
Princess Gaoyang didn't know why her father still kept making secrets even though he was sober, and she didn't want to ask. But what she didn't expect was that the person Li Shimin was eager to summon after he woke up was not Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, nor Li Jing and Chu Suiliang, but Tai Shiling, Li Chunfeng!
The king and his ministers talked secretly for about half an hour, and no one knew what they said. But a short time later, Li Chunfeng left the palace and disappeared.
Bingzhou military mansion.
Li Zhi, the half-grown prince of Jin Dynasty, has been uneasy since he first set foot here. The five hundred soldiers of the Royal Forest Army who accompanied him protected him day and night, but he was still frightened and uneasy, with the sound of wind and cranes everywhere he could see.
Because he was in Bingzhou and heard about the assassination of his third brother, King Wu. It was at this time that the governor-general of Bingzhou stayed behind, and Wei Ting's son Wei Daiji came to see him secretly. He said that he had received a secret report that someone was planning to ambush the king of Jin on the way, and asked the king of Jin to go to the palace and take shelter temporarily.
Li Zhi was young and timid, so he was almost scared to death on the spot. Without thinking about it carefully, he followed Wei Bai and hid in the military mansion. From then on, I wished I could sleep with five hundred soldiers in my arms every day. Even when I went to the toilet, I had to use armor to clear the way.
Soon afterwards, Li Junxian followed Li Jing's instructions and found King Jin at the Bingzhou Military Mansion. At the same time, it also brought news that Wei Ting committed suicide out of fear of crime!
At this time, Wei Tingqi knelt down and cried bitterly, confessing to King Jin and Li Junxian, saying that it was his father Wei Ting who asked him to take the time to assassinate King Jin when King Jin came to Bingzhou to worship his ancestors. Wei Daiji didn't dare to disobey his father's orders, but he also didn't dare to commit murder. So he made up an excuse to hide King Jin, neither killing him nor letting his father's people find King Jin again, and then left everything to fate.
Wei Baiji also said that his father was treasonous and committed such a treasonous act, and his failure was actually expected. However, Wei was unable to dissuade his father, who was thousands of miles away. Faced with a dilemma, he had no choice but to take the next step and hide King Jin. Now that the truth has been revealed, Wei is willing to go back to Chang'an with the King of Jin and Li Junxian to accept the crime.
Both the King of Jin and Li Junxian believed that Wei Daiji not only had no fault, but also had merit. However, this matter still has to be arbitrated by the court's laws to be considered safe. However, the situation was turbulent at this time, so Li Junxian suggested that it would be better to send a letter to Chang'an to report that the King of Jin was safe, and then wait in Bingzhou for a while. After the situation in the court becomes clear, Li Jing, Changsun Wuji and others will send people to take King Jin back to the capital.
Li Zhi heard that Wei Ting was responsible for the assassination of King Wu and that Chang'an was in such chaos. He wished he could hide in the military mansion for a while longer, so he agreed without hesitation.
Within a few days, a person whom no one expected, known as the "Emperor's Secret Envoy", came to the Bingzhou Military Mansion. This person is Taishi Ling Li Chunfeng!
He brought the imperial edict from Emperor Li Shimin and asked Jin Wang, Li Junxian and Wei Bai to follow Li Chunfeng's instructions. What to do specifically, the edict did not say.
At first, Li Junxian was doubtful, especially Li Zhi. He was not familiar with Li Chunfeng at all, and the edict was ambiguous, so he refused to leave the military mansion until death.
In desperation, Li Chunfeng had no choice but to say: "His Royal Highness King Jin, Your Majesty secretly ordered me to come to Bingzhou for the sake of His Highness's safety."
"My safety?" Li Zhi had been frightened enough these days, and now he was even more panicked, "Is there someone else who wants to kill me?"
Li Chunfeng smiled bitterly, "It's for His Highness's... future safety!"
"What do you mean by this?" Li Junxian and others asked in confusion.
Li Chunfeng had no choice but to tell the truth, "Let's put it this way... I am traveling under secret orders. One is to take King Jin back to the capital; the other is to ask King Jin to rescue His Highness King Wu!"
"King Wu? My third brother?!" Li Zhi asked in shock, "Isn't he dead? Where is he?"
Li Chunfeng smiled bitterly and said: "Prince Jin comes with me, don't you know?"
Hearing this, the alert and keen Li Junxian and Wei Baiqi both understood - Li Chunfeng's words revealed the secret!
For the sake of King Jin's "future safety", he was asked to rescue King Wu! - Doesn’t this mean that in the future, King Wu will surely take over the East Palace and rule the world? Only then will the King of Jin who is kind to King Wu have room for survival!
So the two of them came together to persuade the King of Jin to listen to Li Chunfeng's words and go to rescue the King of Wu!
Li Zhi no longer hesitated, "If I can really save Third Brother, even if it means taking some risks, I'm willing to do it! Let's go!"
At the last minute, Li Chunfeng put forward a strange suggestion - put Wei Daizi in a cage and take him to Chang'an as a prisoner. He also made a big fanfare along the way, saying that the King of Jin put down the Bingzhou rebellion and captured the bandit leader, and was taking him to Chang'an. On trial!
Li Zhi and others were shocked and asked Li Chunfeng why he did this? Li Chunfeng's only explanation is that this is a special arrangement by His Majesty!
Why do people dare to ask more questions? I had to do as I was told.
So not long after, the King of Jin set out to leave Bingzhou and go to Chang'an. Along the way, there was great fanfare and publicity about King Jin's "contribution to quelling thieves."
…
A few days later, Prince Wei's Mansion.
Shi Du Zhenglun, the head of the Palace of the Prince of Wei, ran in in a panic and shouted: "Your Highness, something bad is going on!!"
Li Taizheng was listening to the beauty singing leisurely. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when he heard the shouting and yelled: "Why are you panicking?"
Du Zhenglun hurriedly scolded the attendants on his left and right, and whispered: "I heard that King Li Zhi of Jin was returning from Bingzhou, and he was escorted by Li Junxian. Along the way, they promoted King Jin's achievements in pacifying the thieves with great fanfare. There was also a prison car accompanying him. The one wearing the coat is Wei Ting’s son, Bingzhou’s left-behind Wei, who is waiting for a price!”
Li Tai didn't react for a moment and blinked, "What's going on? Wei Ting committed suicide out of fear of crime. His son was probably an accomplice, so he was arrested and imprisoned. What does this have to do with me?"
"Oh, Your Highness!!" Du Zhenglun said impatiently, "Think about it, who is Li Junxian? Baiqiling, His Majesty's favorite general! How did he go to Bingzhou, and how did he find King Jin? ? Didn't Wei Daizi get arrested and imprisoned in Bingzhou because he was assigned by his father to assassinate the King of Jin in Bingzhou? Now that the incident is revealed, the arrest of King Jin is bound to bring fire to us! "
"Why did it burn to us? The more I heard, the more confused I became!" Although Li Tai was taken aback, he was still puzzled and said, "Wei Ting rebelled alone and had nothing to do with me! I still don't understand He was reported and accused, so he committed suicide out of fear of the crime, wasn't he?"
"The key lies here, your Highness!" Du Zhenglun almost stamped his feet and shouted, "At the beginning, Your Highness asked me to deliberately reveal the news to Wei Ting and force him to commit suicide! Wei Ting was also afraid of Zhulian. The clan had no choice but to commit suicide out of fear of sin. How could he not hate His Highness in his heart?"
Li Tai was startled, "You mean, he might let his son bite me back and drag me into the water?"
"Who says otherwise!" Du Zhenglun said sadly, "Now it seems that Wei Ting is not stupid. Although he attacked King Wu, half of his motive was to eliminate dissidents for his nephew, King Ji Li Shen, and the other half It was for revenge. King Jin had also disappeared for so long. Unsurprisingly, it must have been done by Wei Daiji under the orders of his father. But they did not kill King Jin to eliminate future troubles like they did with King Wu. Your Highness, think about it, why is this?"
Li Tai's expression became serious, he pondered for a moment, and said, "A thief shouts to catch a thief, killing two birds with one stone?"
"Exactly!" Du Zhenglun clapped his fists and exclaimed in surprise, "Wei Ting is such a cunning old man! He may have left a way out because he was worried that one day His Highness would kick him out as a scapegoat! So, he let his When your son is in Bingzhou, he hid King Jin first and used it as a way to save the Wei family! In the end, if Wei Ting succeeds in getting rid of King Wu and His Highness you in Chang'an, then King Jin will be worthless and will definitely be killed. On the other hand, if something happens to Wei Ting by mistake, then Wei Ting will become a hero who kills relatives and protects the King of Jin. He will also expose your highness's various crimes. In this way, not only will you have merit! It saves the Wei family and can avenge Wei Ting; moreover, the King of Wu is dead, and if you, Your Highness, perish because of this, the only one who can be established as the prince is Jinzi - Wei Ting is waiting for a price, and there will be others. The merit of protecting the Lord!”
"This!..." Li Tai's expression changed drastically!
"This means that Wei Ting is very likely to have left something with his son Wei for a price? As soon as King Jin and his party return to Chang'an, they will hand over evidence... to slander this king?"
Du Zhenglun was startled and his voice trembled, "This, this... I haven't thought of this yet! Wei Ting, this old and immortal fox, would not hesitate to die for such a vicious plan to kill two birds with one stone, or he would have succeeded in his own rebellion. To succeed, either his son Xianyu turned around and became a hero in protecting the Lord! According to this analysis, it is very likely that he really left something to Wei Daizi to testify against His Highness, the King of Wei. The purpose was to completely defeat His Highness. Support the King of Jin and make the Wei family a member of the Conglongwang clan! - Wei Ting, this old bastard, is so ruthless and vicious!"
Li Tai stared at Du Zhenglun, his face turned pale, and he thought to himself, Du Zhenglun, who always regarded himself as a famous scholar, only knew that he was good at reciting poems and composing poems, but he didn't expect that he could use swear words in a hurry!
"Your Highness...what should we do now?" Du Zhenglun asked anxiously with cold sweat on his head.
Li Tai swallowed hard and gritted his teeth.
"The matter has come to this, there is no other way!" Li Tai's eyes widened, "We must not let Wei wait for a price and return to Chang'an!"
"But he is traveling with King Jin in his carriage, and there are also Li Junxian and five hundred imperial guardsmen accompanying him!" Du Zhenglun said with a panicked look on his face, "What should we do?"
"Where is Zhao Chong? Isn't assassination his specialty? Has Zhao Chong been contacted?"
"Still no news!"
Li Tai slapped his forehead heavily, "When it's time to hire people, no one is available!... Why aren't there one or two capable generals around me?!"
Du Zhenglun's eyes lit up, and he eagerly leaned into Li Tai's ear and said, "Why don't we let the royal soldiers transform into bandits, intercept the road halfway, and kill Wei Daiji and King Jin and his entourage, so as to avoid future troubles forever!"
Li Tai's face changed, "Confused! This is a blatant rebellion! ... Moreover, the opponent has five hundred royal guards, including hundreds of elite cavalry soldiers. How can the mere royal palace troops be used?"
Du Zhenglun gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, "Now that the situation has come to an end, I have no other choice, so I will do my best - my son now holds the post of governor of Puzhou. Puzhou is the only way from Bingzhou to Guan Nei, and the King of Jin and his party We must settle down here. Don't you have a few capable men in your highness's house? Let them rush to Puzhou at night! I'll attach a letter and ask Quanzi to make arrangements, and then let the men in the house try to poison Wei Bai. Silence first and then talk!”
"I didn't expect that the severed head of a dead snake could open its mouth and bite someone..." Li Tai's eyes rolled around, and after thinking anxiously for a while, his face tightened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I have no choice but to do this for now! - Remember , you have to start cleanly and quickly, without leaving any evidence!"