In the fifth year of Taihe, in September, the beginning of the child.

Jiannan Road, Xichuan, Chengdu Mansion, Jiedu Embassy Mansion.

The appearance of Xue Yuansheng finally made the balance of victory completely tilt in favor of Li Deyu. Li Huai, who had been holding his breath and concentrating, took a deep breath, Wei Rong, Liu Zhan and the rest of the Jiedu subordinates were relieved, while Wang Jianyan, the military envoy who had been watching the play, and his entourage suddenly felt bored.

And Li Zhi hadn't come back to his senses at the moment, and he was a little dumbfounded for a while. He couldn't believe that he had planned and calculated all the organs, how could he lose so badly in the end?

"Xue Tingshi," Li Zhi's lips trembled uncontrollably as he spoke, and he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Didn't you return to Hanzhou a long time ago?" ”

"Xue's sedan car naturally went back, but it was just a sedan car." Xue Yuansheng didn't look at Li Zhi either, his voice was full of banter, as if he was deliberately provoking Li Zhi, and sneered coldly: "It's the envoy of Li Zhi, who has never doubted Yuan Xian, and such trust really makes Yuan Xian feel grateful......

"Xue Yuanxian!" When Li Zhi heard this, he suddenly felt angry and bloody, and spit out words from between his teeth, at this moment, he couldn't care about losing his temper, and scolded Xue Yuansheng angrily: "I didn't expect you to be born like this, you are actually a villain with cunning words, defecting to the enemy party, and the head and rat!" ”

"Who's the villain?" Xue Yuanxian glared at Li Zhi fiercely and slapped his hand aside.

"Yuan Xian has never formed a party since he joined the office, and the conspiracy is not what Yuan Xian wants, but it is wishful thinking on the part of the envoy, telling Yuan Xian to ...... what he is planning" Xue Yuansheng said words, and squinted his eyes at Zhang Yijun and Li Deyu, "That envoy naturally can't blame Xue for what the envoy said, and explained the ...... to Li Gonghe."

Li Zhiben wanted to scold again, but took over the conversation for Li Deyu. Jiedu made the negative hand on his body, his voice was fierce, and he said coldly to Li Zhi: "You dispatched the tooth army without authorization and robbed Zhang Yijun to your mansion privately; He also fabricated accusations and framed a certain person. The overseer is here, and you have lost your position. You only have to verify the matter with his brother Linghu Xuan, and the inside of the secret letter that you forged his handwriting can be found sooner or later. If you are punished for several crimes, you will not escape death! ”

Li Deyu's words made Li Zhi's face stiff, his back was cold, his forehead was covered with fine sweat for some time, and he couldn't spit out half a word after snorting for a long time.

Li Deyu also knew that Li Zhi was at the end of his rope at this time, and many times, first hard and then soft, often did more with less, so he said lightly: "If you recruit from the truth now, you can also consider taking it lightly for the sake ......of you being a royal clan."

And this combination of soft and hard did not make Li Zhi's knees soft as Li Deyu wished.

Li Zhi took a deep breath, his face turned pale with anger, and the green tendons on his neck gradually appeared. He originally hoped that Li Deyu would be deprived of his power and demoted because of that confession in a few days. And he has been strategizing and planning for a long time, and he saw that he was only one step away from stepping into the court of Chang'an, and finally it was destroyed in the hands of this Xue Yuanxian. Thinking of this, Li Zhi's lips trembled uncontrollably when he gritted his teeth.

"Xue Yuanxian!"

Li Zhi roared angrily and picked up the tea cup on the table on his side and threw it at Xue Yuansheng, Li Deyu was shocked, everyone present did not expect Li Zhi to burst out, Xue Yuansheng didn't have time to dodge, and subconsciously blocked it with the sleeves of his robe. Before the teacup fell to the ground and shattered, Li Zhi had already pounced on Xue Yuansheng. At this moment, someone next to Li Zhi reacted quickly, and immediately choked Li Zhi's arm with the crook of his arm, making his upper body unable to move.

Before Li Zhi could look back, Zhang Yijun's cold voice was already heard in his ears: "I'm sorry to support the ......" With a flick of his fingers, Li Zhi only felt that his leg socket was pushed with his knees, and the whole person knelt down.

Li Deyu and everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, and the festival envoy cast an approving glance at Zhang Yijun, and then motioned to several soldiers in the palace to move forward and set up the furious Li Zhi.

"I am the envoy of Jiedu, a descendant of King Zheng, let me go!" Li Zhi struggled, his face flushed, and his head had already fallen off. And Xue Yuansheng also seemed to be apprehensive by Fang Cai's scene.

Li Deyu took a step forward, his eyes slightly narrowed to observe Li Zhi's complexion. After a long time, when Li Zhi seemed to be tired of scolding and hung his head silently, he asked with his hand: "You have lived in Xichuan for several years, although you and I have secretly discord and different political views, we will not share the sky." Why did you instruct Ling Fox to be silent and plot to assassinate Yu? ”

Li Zhi's hair was messy, and the anger accumulated in his chest seemed to dissipate, leaving only unwillingness and hatred, he squinted his eyes, gritted his teeth and said: "Li Deyu, Li Deyu, do you know?" Xichuan was originally peaceful and peaceful without you, but you came and broke all the rules! ”

"Taiping?" Li Deyu pointed to the outside of the hall, and interrupted angrily: "Nanzhao entered the Kou, plundered my subjects, soldiers came to Chengdu, and the lives were ruined, this is the peace you want?!" ”

"And what do you get by being so compassionate? Do you really think that those ignorant grass people will set up a statue for you and be grateful to you?! Li Zhi snorted coldly and roared: "I, Li Zhi, put my words here, even if there is no confession, this Victoria will not want to recover!" You Li Deyu don't want to sit as prime minister! ”

Everyone in the hall knew that Li Zhi was at the end of his rope, and they thought that Li Deyu would refute it sharply, but they didn't expect Li Deyu to be silent for a long time, as if he wanted to speak and stopped, and finally ordered the tooth soldiers to put shackles on Li Zhi.

"Let's ...... slowly" Li Zhi looked very tired, his eyes looked directly at Li Deyu, and he said expressionlessly: "Zhi has confessed, knowing that this time is a failure, can you ask before putting shackles on Zhi?" ”

Li Deyu nodded with an "um".

"After the accident in Yanning Building, how did Li Jiedu get the secret letter that Zhi wrote to Ling Hulu?"

Li Deyu didn't answer, but cast his eyes on the person next to him.

Zhang Yijun didn't respond immediately, and secretly thought about taking a step forward, although he knew that Li Zhi was powerless to return to heaven, and it seemed that he could tell the truth at this moment, but he was not sure that the secret stake of the Shuai Mansion who betrayed Sima Zhu was Li Zhi, so he cautiously modified the way he obtained the secret letter slightly, and said lightly: "It's a step ahead...... After the accident in Yanning Building, Yi Jun guessed that there must be physical evidence in Ling Hulu's house, and if he really found this secret letter, he deliberately left a corner in the brazier, so that the real murderer who came to deal with the scene mistakenly thought that the secret letter had been destroyed, so as to relax his vigilance. ”

Li Zhi was a little stunned when he heard this, and the questions in his heart surfaced one after another. He never thought that he would be brutally put on the spot by such an ordinary marshal's office staff with no official character.

He had already heard of Zhang Yijun's name: he was trusted by the handsome at a young age; The hidden Victoria is a dark pile period; It is even said that it was one of them who contributed to the surrender of Victoria.

Li Zhi secretly sighed that the world was unpredictable, and he only hated that he didn't listen to the words of Duan Ling of Weiyuan's army at the beginning, and when he robbed this person to the envoy's mansion, he should have attacked first and strangled him immediately.

The tooth soldiers outside the hall couldn't help but say, and quickly put shackles on Li Zhi, took him straight out of the mansion, locked him in the Yacheng prison, and waited for the follow-up.

Wang Jianyan, the envoy of the supervising army, was sitting on his seat, with a slight smile on the corner of his lips, Xichuan looked like this, and the situation was decided. Soldiers advocate capturing thieves and capturing kings first, and the same is true for party struggles. I can't help but sigh in my heart that Li Deyu acted cleanly and neatly, Li Zhi is the head of the Bull Party in Xichuan, Li Deyu urgently convened his subordinates this time, and the incident happened suddenly, skillfully avoiding the help of other Bull Parties to Li Zhi on weekdays. Li Zhi is guilty, and the rest of the Niu Party will not be able to become a climate, and in order to protect themselves, they will naturally be completely classified under Li Deyu, and the Xichuan Party dispute will be resolved.

While Wang Jianyan was amazed in his heart, he set his eyes on the cloth standing beside Li Deyu, and couldn't help but be interested. I remember that his name is Zhang Yijun, this person is a cloth cloth after all, but he seems to be trusted by Li Deyu. Although the details are unknown, it must be difficult to make Li Zhi confess today, without this person behind the scenes.

Wang Jianyan thought that since the overall situation had been decided, it was better to sell a favor to Li Deyu, which would be beneficial and harmless to himself, so he got up and gave Li Deyu a slight salute, put on a resentful look, and raised his voice: "I didn't expect Li Zhi to do such an unrighteous and rebellious thing...... If Li Jiedu is worried about the intervention and protection of the middle and high-ranking people in the court, our family can immediately go to the book to serve the province, and directly hand it over to the sage to read the matter, and Li Zhi will be questioned fiercely! ”

Li Deyu was about to return the salute, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Yijun on the side who seemed to be shaking his head slightly at him, and he suddenly realized that this was a rather trappping proposal.

If this matter is really reported to the Son of Heaven directly through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although the Xichuan Purges are close at hand, but the power in the DPRK and China is still the Niu Party, if this is slightly distorted and rumors are spread, this matter can be turned into a declaration to the people of the world that Li Deyu has taken refuge in the Beisi, and it is conceivable what the countless scholars who disdain the authority of the eunuch party will think at that time.

"Thank you Wang Jianjun for your kindness," Li Deyu replied with his hands crossed: "Li Zhi's actions are certainly unforgivable, but ...... I Tang has its own laws, and the criminals in the court and the Chinese should be tried by the three divisions, and the criminals in the feudal towns should also be checked by the law. Wen Rao is confident that Li Zhi will be able to deal with it fairly......"

Hearing this implicit rejection of the answer, Wang Jianyan just crossed his hands and smiled, and in his heart, he led the entourage of the prison army embassy to leave.

After sending off the prison envoy, Li Huai was deeply afraid of the people, so he hurriedly walked up to Li Deyu, bowed his hand, bowed for a long time, and said loudly: "Hua Yuan knows that Li Gong doesn't like compliments, and now Hua Yuan has to say, I never thought that you would not only be able to think about it, but also solve the case, and be as fast as the wind...... Huayuan is here, congratulations to Li Gong! Now that Li Zhi has pleaded guilty, Xichuan has no one to restrain him, which is really gratifying! ”

Li Deyu just smiled on his face. He knew in his heart that he was just doing a role in pushing the boat along the river, and the most important physical evidence was found by Zhang Yijun; In the end, the person who defeated Li Zhi relied on Xue Yuan, the assassin of Hanzhou. However, the princes present also knew that how to connect all the clues and evidence, and skillfully isolate Li Zhi and prevent his henchmen from supporting each other, was really something that Li Deyu could not do.

Li Zhi's imprisonment really filled the Shuaifu with a relaxed atmosphere that he hadn't felt for a long time, and the bureaucrats who had been suppressed and attacked by the Xichuan Niu Party on weekdays also felt angry.

Xue Yuanxian joked to everyone with a relaxed expression: "Now we just need to wait for the imperial court edict to be issued, and then Li Gong will send the army to burn the thirteen bridges and go straight to the heart of the Tibetan captive, except for the trouble of my Tang henchmen, it will be an immortal achievement." ”

Yuhou Weirong even quipped: "Is it time to reward meritorious deeds, and all the princes present will have a share?" It made everyone laugh.

However, in the laughter, Zhang Yijun on the side noticed that although Li Deyu had a light smile on his face, he seemed to hide a trace of solemnity in it. It was late, and after everyone had greeted each other, they saluted Li Deyu one after another, withdrew from the front hall, and went home to rest.

Zizheng.

The guards outside the temple began to patrol as usual. The candles in the hall were bright, but only the shadows of Li Deyu and Zhang Yijun were illuminated, and compared with the lively atmosphere, it seemed a little empty.

Along the pavilion road, Li Deyu and Zhang Yijun slowly paced side by side in the direction of the apse and the staff's residence. The two were speechless for a long time, and finally Zhang Yijun couldn't help but ask Li Deyu: "Now that Li Zhi is guilty and in prison, why does Li Gong seem to be worried?" ”

Li Deyu smiled bitterly, sighed, walked to the side of the pavilion, looked up at the cloudy night sky, and sighed with his hand: "Ling Hu Mu joined my shogunate alone when I was appointed as the envoy of Yicheng, although his family is a bull party, he is single-minded and loyal...... Now he was wrapped in a shroud and lying in a cold mortuary. Moreover...... Who would have thought that the laughter of the princes was only a few hours away from Ling Hu's death? ”

After Li Deyu finished speaking, he felt that his heart was covered with a layer of sadness. What everyone thinks and asks for is nothing more than their own official fortune and a bright future.

"Let me ask you......" Li Deyu stopped, looked at Zhang Yijun, and said the question that hung in his heart: "You already knew the night before that Ling Hu was going to drink in Yanning Building?" ”

Zhang Yijun lowered his eyes and looked at the carved fence of the pavilion, and Shaoqing raised his eyes to look at Li Deyu, and said sincerely: "Yijun knows ......"

"Then why didn't you stop him then? And why didn't you mention a certain word? ”

"Linghu is silent...... His destiny has been decided...... It's not in Yijun's hands," Zhang Yijun looked solemn, "Besides...... He used his own death in exchange for the Chengdu Niu Party to disperse birds and beasts, and the Xichuan Party fought for self-resolution, isn't it worth it? ”

Li Deyu looked at Zhang Yijun with some shock, he didn't expect that although Zhang Yijun was not very familiar with Linghu, he also had the friendship of colleagues and could say such cold-blooded words.

"In your opinion, are human lives all bargaining chips that can be exchanged?"

Zhang Yijun stood with his hands down, looking at the Jiedu envoy with blazing eyes, even if he was wearing a cloth robe, his temperament at the moment seemed to be far inferior to Li Deyu who was wearing a delicate purple robe, and said softly: "'Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Xiaoyi still hid ten thousand families. ’…… Yi Jun said, what I want in my heart is to prosper the Tang Dynasty and change the fate of the common people! How did the fate of the common people change? First eliminate the party contention to correct the court; the second pressure on the North Division to restore the imperial power; The second time to the right of Long, to the Yi Di; The second Qing Hebei to the Taiping ......"

Li Deyu was silent, Zhang Yijun paused, and said calmly and softly: "Didn't Yijun say that he hoped to use the surrender of Victoria to help Li Gong enter the court, so as to compete with Niu Sidian and suppress the North Division?" Isn't that the first step coming soon? ”

Li Deyu looked at Zhang Yijun's equally clear eyes, pondered for a long time, and sighed lightly: "You mean, there will be many deaths in the future." ”

Zhang Yijun slowly raised his jaw and looked at each other, and there was a hint of arrogance in his tone, "There is no reason why no one must die in this world, and naturally there is no reason why no one can't die......"