Zhongshu, Menxia and Shangshu had just finished reporting to Wu Mei and Li Hong, when Li Qiao, the official of Yushitai, and Di Renjie, the minister of Dali Temple, asked for an audience outside the palace gate.
Li Hong and Wu Mei looked at each other. From the face of his mother, Li Hong did not see that his father ordered his mother to supervise the country. The queen looked excited and agitated. Looking at her expression, at this moment, she was filled with excitement. A hint of solemnity and hidden worry.
When Di Renjie and Li Qiao arrived, the urgent decree they carried was exactly the same as the content of the imperial decrees of Zhongshu, Menxia, and Shangshu. They were all to assist the queen in supervising the country.
However, the participation of Dali Temple and Yushitai has a hint of suppression and supervision. Dali Temple and Yushitai are equivalent to the procuratorate and court in the previous life, but they have some differences in their functions.
And Li Zhi ordered him to assist in supervising the country, also with the intention of supervising the queen. After all, the emperor and the prince of the Tang Dynasty had all fled to Liaodong. This huge country was handed over to the queen. If there were no ministers to assist, I am afraid that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty should be Impeachment, or asking him to retreat quickly and come back.
Li Hong looked at Long Ma's solemn eyes and thought that the empress's solemnity might not be due to the assistance of Dali Temple and Yushitai, but due to her own attitude.
Looking at the eyes of other people, Li Hong understood clearly and was more certain of his understanding.
These people are probably worried about whether they will go to Liaodong, right? No wonder they were worried because the imperial edict came too urgently and also used the word 'save the driver'. Especially the word 'save the driver' would obviously make the queen mother and the minister have wild imaginations.
Because these two words do not appear in my imperial edict? What does it mean? It shows that when the father issued the edict, the edicts given to himself, the queen, and the ministers were written separately.
The empress and the ministers used the word "rescue" in their orders, but her own order was to get out of here quickly, which would make people guess whether my father really encountered something unexpected in Liaodong? And you hid the word "rescue" from His Highness the Crown Prince
What does this mean? No wonder he was afraid that he would think too much, that he would think something bad happened to his father in Liaodong, so he was unwilling to leave Chang'an for Liaodong. He would use an excuse to stay in Chang'an, waiting for the news of his accident to be confirmed, and prepare to inherit the throne.
It's not too different from Li Hong's guess. Whether it's Wu Mei, Di Renjie, Li Qiao, Pei Yan and Cen Changqian, they all have this worry in their hearts more or less.
Everything now depends on the initiative of His Highness the Crown Prince. What they can do is meaningless. After all, His Highness the Crown Prince has too much power. The two positions of Shangshu Ling and Jingzhao Fu Yin are enough for His Highness the Crown Prince to find the right one. A reasonable excuse not to leave Chang'an.
Moreover, because they hold these two positions, it is impossible for these ministers to succeed if they want to persuade His Highness the Crown Prince who refuses to leave!
Although Jingzhao Prefecture Yin is not an actual official, that is compared to other people. Jingzhao's chief official, Zong Chuke, is the prince's man and controls the troops and horses around Chang'an City. As long as His Highness the prince is unwilling to go, he will The queen couldn't do anything to him for a while.
What's more, the Crown Prince's Guard is still in the hands of His Highness. In Chang'an City today, except for the Queen's persuasion, no one can put effective pressure on him.
Li Hong looked at his mother with a smile, and couldn't help but think of the history of his mother's struggle for power with Li Xian, and finally demoted Li Xian to a commoner.
At that time, his father was still by his mother's side, and her mother was able to dismiss Li Xian as a commoner because of her vague sense of uneasiness.
If I really don't go to Liaodong now, I'm afraid that starting from tonight, the relationship between myself and the Queen Mother will follow the old path of fighting between the Queen Mother and Li Xian.
Therefore, no matter how stupid Li Hong is, he would never do this. If his mother hadn't immediately recruited Li Xian and Li Zhe into the palace in order to prove his innocence after Li Zhong and Helan Minyue were killed today, maybe Li Hong would still show up. There was a trace of worry, but at this moment, he was not worried at all.
"Mother, I plan to leave early tomorrow morning. As for the etiquette of setting out for the expedition, I will not comply with it." Li Hong looked relaxed and looked around the ministers and said.
Wu Mei's eyes brightened obviously. After hearing Li Hong's words, like other ministers, she couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. But at the same time, Wu Mei also found that when His Majesty was away, she had no feelings for His Royal Highness. However, this idea was calmed down by Li Hong within a short time.
"That's very good. Since your father has urgently called for you to rush to Liaodong immediately, then as the prince, you naturally cannot delay." Wu Mei hid the fluctuation in her heart and said calmly.
"You all go down, Ren Yaxiang, inform the prince's personal guard Lieutenant Tu Qi, and assemble three thousand troops overnight, and set out for Luoyang immediately at nine o'clock tomorrow. Order: Shangshu's right servant shoots Zhang Wenguan, and immediately drafts a letter to Lou Shide, Yin of Henan Prefecture, and tomorrow Before the time comes, we must prepare enough ships for 3,000 people. If there is any delay, we will kill them without mercy." Li Hong turned his head and thought for a moment before saying.
Lawless is still wandering around in Liuzhao with Tiefutu. He has no way to use the power in his hands. He is the only one who, as a polished commander, personally leads the troops. Moreover, the number of troops that the East Palace can recruit now is only four thousand, but he still has Can't take them all away.
The chiefs of the three provinces, Dali Temple, and Yushitai were truly relieved after hearing Li Hong's decisive and resolute order. But as for what will happen, it still depends on whether the prince is really like this tomorrow morning. As I said today, I led my troops to Youzhou via the waterway Yongji Canal, and then prepared all supplies such as food and grass before heading to Liaodong.
After the minister left, Li Hong waved away the palace maid and Wang Lou beside Wu Mei. The mother and son slowly walked out of the toilet. The moonlight shone like a wash on the palace floor, as if it was paved with a light layer. Silver frost.
"Mother, I plan to leave a thousand men for you to dispatch. Hua Meng and Jingzhe will also stay in the East Palace, waiting for your dispatch at any time. If you are not sure about the use of troops, you can ask Quan Yi to assist you. He He can be regarded as a brave and well-known general in Anxi." Li Hong and Wu Mei stood on the steps of the palace, looking at his mother Long's calm face and said sincerely.
"Aren't the Jinwu Guards in this palace enough for your mother to dispatch?" Wu Mei asked softly as she watched the Jinwu Guards' armor transform into Silver Guards under the moonlight.
"The Jinwu Guards are naturally sufficient, but over the years, you and your father have never replaced the Jinwu Guards in large numbers. I am afraid that some of them are no longer loyal to you and your father. It is not impossible for them to be bribed by others. I am afraid of you. It would be troublesome if someone restricts us from spending the money." Li Hong's worry is not impossible.
The Jinwu Guard has been guarding the imperial city with tens of thousands of people over the years. If someone wants to bribe some people, it can be done within a few years. If there is any emergency at that time, I am afraid that the Queen Mother may not necessarily All can be mobilized.
Whether Li Xian had any spies in Jinwu Guard was a question mark, but at least as far as he knew, there were many eunuchs and maids in the palace who were very close to Li Xian.
Wu Mei nodded happily. It seemed that her eldest son was her eldest son after all. She had not misjudged the person. She originally thought that he would shirk the blame and delay time, but she did not expect that Li Hong could be so decisive. I have to say, Hong Er's move was beyond her expectation, but it was not in vain that she had loved him all these years.
"Okay, my mother accepts it. I will give these thousand people to Bai Chun and let her lead the troops for me. But now that we are talking about this, my mother has something to ask of you, Li Hong." Wu Mei is She kept Bai Chun by her side, but she also knew that it would be impossible for Li Hong to take Bai Chun to Liaodong tomorrow.
"Look at you, you are starting to offend me as you talk. If you have any requests, just say it, even if it means demolishing the Daming Palace and rebuilding it again... Ouch... I'm just kidding." Li Hong didn't dare to hide. , because the queen looks more emotional at this time, and her eyes are a little moist, maybe sand has blown into her eyes.
"Just now you were talking about the loyalty of the Jinwu Guards. The Empress Mother happened to have a list in her hand. It seems that there are quite a few people among these hundred people who are not very loyal to your father. Let's take a look and replace one of these people. "Batch." Wu Mei's bright eyes were no longer moist, but instead revealed a hint of murderous intent.
"You're talking about the... crossbow guards, right?" When Li Hong heard that there were a hundred people, he knew they were the one hundred people who were hiding in every corner of the palace, holding sniper crossbows.
Wu Mei nodded lightly, and Wang Lou walked out of the shadows in time. He handed a list of names to Wu Mei, and then Li Hong took it.
Li Hong put them in his arms without even looking at them. He knew without even thinking that these people were probably people related to Li Xian. The mother's move was also a disguised way of repaying him for her decisive decision to go to Liaodong.
But in this way, the relationship between the queen mother and Li Xian... was a complete break. Since she helped the eldest son and betrayed the people in the hands of the second son, although she created a conflict between the two, she also put herself in a situation where involved in this conflict.
After all, with Li Xian's intelligence, I'm afraid he won't be able to figure out the real intention behind his mother's summoning him and Li Zhe to the palace tomorrow, when he goes to bed tonight.
"Go back, we will go on an expedition early tomorrow morning, and the queen mother won't see you off." Wu Mei looked at Li Hong, who started to dislike Wang Lou again, and wanted to get rid of the unfilial son quickly.
Wasn't it because he didn't follow his request just now and stayed away when he was talking to him? As for scolding Wang Lou over such a trivial matter
"I told you to stay away, so you just hide in the shadows? Oh, even if I can't see you, I'm hiding away. You think I'm a fool and you're just trying to fool me." Li Hong said that "dogs rely on human power", just say a kick to Wang Lou, and in this short time, he was about to be kicked into the Xuanzheng Hall.
Fortunately, in the end, the queen came to the rescue, grabbed someone's ears, threw him down the steps, and then led Wang Lou, who had his tail tucked tightly, into the harem.
(End of chapter)