After leaving the Yue Palace, Li Hui did not return to Dali Temple, but rode back to the Pu Palace. He frowned, and immediately summoned the subordinates who were in charge of keeping an eye on the eldest princess of Anxing in the study room of the outer courtyard, and gave them the names of the two Hu merchants in the Western Regions, ordering them to hurry up to verify.

Xu was so preoccupied that he didn't even care about eating at night, and he was busy adjusting the distribution of manpower in Beijing. The eldest princess of An Xing and the Yang family are important, but this force that entered the capital silently and almost succeeded in framing the Yue Wangfu should not be underestimated, and must be paid enough attention. Even the manpower of the Pu Wangfu has always been a little insufficient, and it is necessary to send out special personnel to investigate the matter as clearly as possible.

So, when the prince returned, he saw Zhang Fu's mother coming over with a worried face: "Wang Langjun, San Lang has locked himself in the study for most of the day. Not only are we not allowed to approach at will, but we don't even need to send us an evening meal, how can this be good? Isn't something wrong? Do you need to send someone to deliver a letter to the big man in Luoyang? ”

"Mother Fu, don't worry, I'll go and take a look first." The prince comforted her with a warm voice, and went to the study with the food box in his hand. Seeing that he was coming, the subordinate who was guarding outside the door of the study stood silently and did not have the slightest intention of hindering him - after all, everyone in the mansion knew that this Wang Langjun was like another master of the Pu Wang's Mansion, and his own little county king had always been defenseless against him.

The candle flame in the study was slightly dim, and Li Hui's face was hidden in the shadows, as if with a heavy gloomy color, which was very different from the usual slightly smiling appearance. Seeing this, Wang Zixian couldn't help but feel a little worried in his heart, his brows furrowed, and he gently sat down beside him.

The slight sound of the rubbing of the clothes brought Li Hui back from his contemplation. After noticing that his best friend was beside him, he didn't realize that his expression had gradually softened: "It seems that Uncle should have a good conversation with you?" You were left in the palace for lunch and evening food, and you were not released back until now? ”

"I just had lunch with the saint. It's a pity that eating with this majesty, no matter how delicious the delicacies are, they taste bland and tasteless, and even the dumpling soup we have tasted on the street is not as good. Wang Zixian carefully studied his expression, "After leaving the palace, I went back to the vine garden to discuss with my husband about today's visit. How? You didn't go home in the morning? Could it be that he went to Dali Temple to check the case? Judging from the current situation, it is probably only the case that has changed that will make him so worried.

Li Hui was not surprised that he was able to guess his itinerary lightly, nodded and said: "Originally, I just wanted to check the file, but I didn't want the old fox of the three divisions to be here, so I went to the Yue Wangfu." The second father didn't hide his secrets, and said a lot - but we guessed wrong this time - this case may have something to do with Princess An Xing, but she may not be the mastermind behind the scenes. ”

"How so?" The prince opened the food box and brought out a plate of delicate snacks and two cups of camel's trotter soup. These foods are still warm and have an enticing aroma. It was only at this time that Li Hui felt a little hungry in his stomach, so he used a few pieces of crystal dragon and phoenix cake to cushion it.

"The second father gave the names of the two Hu merchants in the Western Regions - the names are very ordinary, but their whereabouts are very secretive, and they disappeared when they left Lanzhou. Speaking of which, we have ordered someone to follow Princess Anxing for three or four years, but we have never seen any close contacts between her mansion and Hu Shang in the Western Regions. Perhaps, the eldest princess of Anxing and the Yang family attracted our attention on the bright side, so that we didn't realize that there was another undercurrent in Chang'an City at some point. If he didn't find out this undercurrent, he would never be at ease. This time it was the Yue Wangfu that was dealt with, and the next time it was the turn of the Pu Wangfu.

The prince's expression moved slightly, and he said in a low voice: "We are indeed a little negligent, but not everyone may be so careless. He remembered that earlier, the appearance of the emperor's majesty stroking his short mustache and smiling, and he couldn't help but admire it in his heart. Whatever the reason for this majesty's suspicion, this suspicion may be true.

In Li Hui's puzzled gaze, he handed him the camel's hoof soup unhurriedly, and then asked without answering: "You have also read my answer sheet on current affairs, and do you think that those words in it touched the saint and were enough for him to appoint me as the first leader?" ”

"......" seemed to have figured out something, and Li Hui was slightly moved, "Support the Qin system, oppose the Zhou and Han Dynasty's external emphasis and internal lightness!" I remember that my grandfather wanted to split the land and divide the kings in his early years, but later he had no choice but to give up because of the opposition of the prime ministers, even my grandmother and uncle. Could it be that there are still people secretly promoting the division of the seal, which makes my uncle vigilant? ”

The so-called external weight and internal lightness is to follow the example of Zhou and Han, and wantonly seal the princes and kings outside Gyeonggi, and the fiefs are completely under the jurisdiction of the princes and kings, just like a country within a country - as long as the kings become more powerful and the fiefs are more extensive, the fiefdom and prestige of the Son of Heaven will inevitably gradually become smaller and lighter under the squeeze. Just like a thousand years ago, when the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period rose, the people of the world only knew the King of Qin and the King of Chu, and Zhou Tianzi's status as a monarch existed in name only. Hundreds of years ago, after the Han Dynasty divided the kings, the princes and kings repeatedly plotted rebellion. In order to suppress the princes and kings, the Son of Heaven had to implement the "Decree of Tui'en" to divide his country and his descendants, which stabilized the prestige of the imperial court.

The prince bowed slightly: "Today's sage also mentioned this matter. Although it is an understatement, there are turbulent waves hidden in it. Moreover, when I traveled in Longyou Road and Guannei Road, I also heard many local scribes talk about the division of seals. If someone hadn't secretly contributed to the trouble, how could this matter have caused heated discussions among the scribes? ”

Hushang ...... in the Western Regions Packet......

Suddenly, Li Hui's eyes lit up, and he actually started the case, pulling Wang Zixian to the wall where the Tang Dynasty map was hung. The prince Xianshun carried a lamp in his hand, and the dim light shone on the map, from Chang'an all the way to the places where the Western Regions passed, and appeared in their field of vision one by one.

"Now in the royal family, only the Gaozu lineage remains in Chang'an, and as distant relatives of the same clan, the kings of Yong'an County, the King of Hejian County, and the King of Jiangxia County either stay in the fiefdom, or hold important positions on the edge of the town, or idle clouds and wild cranes, and the lives are completely different." At this moment, Li Hui felt that it was worth his hard work to memorize all the royal clan genealogy, otherwise, how could he know the situation in the clan well?

"I also remember that these three county kings all fought the world with Gaozu back then, and their military achievements were impressive." The prince said, "Their lineage still leads the military power? "The sage's brothers who have been guarded against all have received false positions, and they dare not get involved in the government at will, but the clan brothers hold the power and dominate one side. The comparison between the two is simply ridiculous and pathetic. If you change who is the emperor, you will never be at ease.

"Yes, the three county kings who inherit the title now are all the governors of the town." Li Hui stretched out his hand and pressed it on the map, from west to east, and said slowly, "The king of Yong'an County, the governor of Shazhou, has guarded Yumen Pass for twenty years. He is the brother of his grandfather, and he is already in his sixties. His grandfather wanted to recall him back to Chang'an for retirement, but he bluntly said that he didn't like the lingering sound of silk and bamboo in Chang'an, and only wanted to listen to the sound of the majestic military drum, so he stayed in Shazhou to defend against the Western Turks. His dependents were scattered in Lingzhou and the fiefdom of Taiyuan Mansion. ”

"The previous king of Jiangxia County, who served as the governor of Lingzhou, and later transferred to the governor of Shuozhou, died of illness a year ago. Now the successor to the throne of the county is his only son who is only 20 years old, and is currently guarding filial piety in the fiefdom of Ezhou. This son was born frail, and his uncle intended to let him move to Chang'an with his family. After the period of filial piety, the king of Jiangxia will probably move his family to Chang'an and receive idle jobs to live. ”

"The king of Hejian County, he has been the governor of Shengzhou for ten years, and he is in the prime of life. Speaking of which, when he inherited the title of county king, it was exactly sixteen or seventeen years ago. However, his fiefdom and the governor's mansion are all in Hebei Province and Hedong Province, and he should have never been to Lingzhou, Lanzhou, Liangzhou and other places in Longyou Road and Guannei Province, and he will not have much contact with Hu Shang in the Western Regions. ”

"Except for these three county kings, the rest of the clan are just idle clans. And King Jing is Zong Zhengqing, who has never held military power; King Peng and King Lu were the governors of the capital from afar and had no real power. Speaking of this, Li Hui also smiled bitterly, "Speaking of which, the prince is almost always idle, but the prince of the county is very important—perhaps it is because their blood is far enough that grandfather and uncle can trust them as brothers." "If the blood relationship is closer, it is a threat to the throne, so although the title is high, he does not dare to let him hold great power.

"According to common sense: the clan brothers seek a big position, and the name is not right; If a brother seeks a big position, as long as the excuse is clever enough, it is enough. The prince replied sharply, "But the human heart will never be satisfied. Who can be sure that these 'loyal' brothers will not have resentment, jealousy, and dissatisfaction in their hearts? They have military power in their hands, and if they manage it properly, who says that they can't change the world? It's all the Li family, isn't it? ”

Li Hui sighed helplessly: "What's wrong with the Yuanzhi clan? There is a knighthood to enjoy, but there is no need to tremble. Thousands of miles away from Chang'an, as long as you don't do anything about adultery, you can live freely. Why can't you think about it so much-you want to rebel? ”

"The title of the Yuanzhi clan has dropped again and again, and sooner or later it will be lost to everyone." The prince shook his head, "What's more, how can a person who can have a different heart be satisfied by looking for ordinary glory and wealth?" Presumably, he had already coveted the throne of the Son of Heaven. Perhaps, when the case of seizing the heir happened more than ten years ago, he found an opportunity. What was the power of Princess Anxing at that time? The Yang family just gave a son to the sage who was the king of Jin at that time. ”

"You mean, the remnants of the so-called robbery case were all saved by him? Should you just listen to him? Li Hui groaned slightly, "The eldest princess of Anxing and the Yang family are just pawns that he supports on the bright side?" Trying to get them to get the attention of others, and he's doing it quietly—quietly? ”

"Yes, the rise and ambition of the Yang family is really a little strange. It should have been privately instigated by him, maybe he planted chess pieces around Princess Anxing and the Yang family. The prince's eyes were clear, and his expression was determined, "However, the eldest princess of Anxing is by no means light enough to drive her descendants, and she will not obey him in everything." If this time it is smooth, it should be pushed on the eldest princess of Anxing as in the past. Instead of breaking those two Hu merchants, this person should be exposed. ”

In this way, the contradiction between Princess Anxing and this person will definitely get deeper and deeper...... It may be our chance in the future. Li Hui's gaze slowly moved from Shazhou on the map to Shengzhou and Ezhou," ...... Who the hell will it be......"

"Don't worry, there is no evidence now, and no matter how much you guess, it is in vain." The prince took him by the hand and brought him back to the bookcase, "It is better to drink the camel's hoof soup first." ”

Li Hui's waist stiffened slightly, and he relaxed quietly. The prince did not notice it, and his demeanor was as usual.