Pang Fei asked Qin Mubai what he wanted to know, and Qin Mubai asked with a split head-

"Is there any definite news of King Wu?"

"Nope. **()" Pang Fei shook his head in embarrassment, his answer made Qin Mubai a little disappointed.

Qin Mubai wrinkled his brows and said, "Could it be that King Wu was really assassinated?" ”

Pang Fei replied: "After hearing about this, I immediately sent my confidants to secretly go to the Jingzhou case to investigate. As a result, the Jingzhou government sealed the news very tightly. I only found out that the imperial court sent Chu Suiliang to investigate the case in person. In addition, there is a survivor in King Wu's entourage, that is, the military captain of King Wu's mansion, Yin Yang! ”

"Yin Yang?" This news made Qin Mubai a little surprised, and he said: "I know him very well. At first, I worked together with his Yuwen Hongtai in the Wu Palace, and it was a good relationship between brothers. So where is he now? ”

"I don't know." Pang Fei shook his head, "It is possible that he will still stay in Jingzhou, or he may have returned to Chang'an with Chu Suiliang." The people I sent worked hard in Jingzhou, but it was difficult to find out any valuable information, let alone contact Yin Yang's few people who knew about the case. ”

Qin Mubai touched his chin and fell into contemplation, and after a long time, he said, "Did Chang'an send someone?" ”

"I went, but I haven't come back yet." Pang Fei's face was embarrassed, and he lowered his voice a little and said, "After the case of King Wu, all the passages leading from Kansai to Guannai have been strengthened and passers-by have been strictly checked. In particular, it is very difficult for all the officials and generals under the Lanzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office to go to the Guannei, and they have to be interrogated at various levels, just like supervising prisoners. Therefore, I suspect that the people I sent to Chang'an to inquire about the news did not come back so quickly. ”

"What do they mean by that?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but be a little annoyed, "Have you used my Guanxi Army and Lanzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion as thieves?" ”

Pang Fei sighed and said, "If I tell my mentor one more thing, my mentor will definitely be even more angry when he hears it......

"Say!"

"I have several colleagues who were born in the Hundred Cavalry, and I also know my mentor, and they serve in the military governments of Longzhou, Jingzhou, and Qizhou in the western Xinjiang area. We often exchanged letters and had a very good relationship. Pang Fei said, "Not long after King Wu's case, someone from them told me in a secret letter that the imperial court had issued an order to gather most of the military soldiers in Guanzhong and go to Chang'an to strengthen the garrison. Furthermore...... The Mingzeng sentry posts in the western Xinjiang area are secretly investigating, and there is a vague intention to guard against our Kansai army! ”

Hearing Pang Fei's words, Qin Mubai's heart was half cold.

However, Pang Fei also said that all this is just "vague", which is not enough to prove. Qin Mubai has always been calm and didn't do anything, but said lightly: "The heart of guarding against people is indispensable." We are not afraid of shadows, let them go! - However, since the imperial court has reacted in this way, I feel even more that the current situation of King Wu is not optimistic. or has been assassinated, but the court has kept the news tightly secret; Or, it was the imperial court itself that had a big problem and made such an emergency response to prevent turmoil in Kyoto! ”

"Turmoil in Kyoto?" Pang Fei blinked his eyes and pondered, and said, "Actually, rumors stop at the wise, as long as there is still His Majesty the Emperor in the court, there will be no chaos." Also, even if Wu Wang really has any accidents, as long as he finds out the truth, catches the murderer, gives an explanation to the people of the world, and then appeases all parties, there will be no big chaos. Although we don't have any definite news of Chang'an yet, I have an ominous premonition when I see such rumors from Xijiang to Guannai......

"Do you think something happened to the emperor?" Qin Mubai's eyes shone with a gleam.

"That's it!" Pang Fei whispered in surprise, "Unless His Majesty the Emperor has an accident and the court loses its master, it will be so tense and chaotic!" ”

Qin Mubai's eyebrows furrowed, the expression on his face became even more cold, and he nodded and said in a deep voice: "If that's the case...... Then my Datang country is really going to be messy! ”

Seeing Qin Mubai's face, Pang Fei took a deep breath! - Looking at his situation, isn't he preparing to make a little emergency self-help "reaction" to these actions of the imperial court!

"As you said, no matter how life and death King Wu is, no matter how rumors spread, as long as His Majesty the Emperor is still presiding over the court, then there will be no danger and everything will be worry-free." Qin Mubai said with a serious expression, "But if His Majesty the Emperor falls and ignores political affairs, then the power of the imperial court will definitely fall into the hands of King Wei and Eldest Sun Wuji and others!" …… Such a situation will be very unfavorable to us! ”

Pang Fei's expression also tightened, and he continued: "Coupled with the rumors about the teacher that are now rife, I am very worried that someone in the court will take advantage of this and attack us sooner or later!" Because, if King Wu is gone, the future prince and emperor will undoubtedly be King Wei. Then, the first stumbling block to be eliminated is the teacher, these people from our Kansai Army! ”

"But—what if King Wu doesn't die?" Qin Mubai asked rhetorically.

Pang Fei was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to answer, and hesitated: "That's a different situation." But looking at the current situation, even if King Wu is not dead, he must have been hiding and not in Chang'an, or he was kidnapped and lost his freedom! Otherwise, why would Chang'an be so tense to guard against my Kansai? ”

"Clever!" Qin Mubai nodded and praised, "Pang Fei, you are getting stronger and stronger now, and your analysis is very reasonable." That's right, if King Wu was ambushed but not killed, then Jingzhou would not be guilty of blocking the news so tightly. As a result, Chang'an will not be the current scene of rumors. The reason for this is nothing more than two possibilities. First, King Wu is dead; Second, even if King Wu is not dead, he is missing! Even the people in the court, including the emperor, didn't know where King Wu was! ”

"That's right, with such an explanation, it makes sense." Pang Fei said, "If King Wu has any three strengths and two weaknesses, it is easy to think of how his mentor will react, so the imperial court will take strict precautions against my Guanxi army!" ”

Qin Mubai's eyes narrowed. In the slit of his eyes, a murderous aura faintly overflowed.

"Take precautions?" Qin Mubai said word by word, "I, Qin, am a hero loyal to the Tang Dynasty, when did I become a chaotic minister and thief?!" ”

"Hey......" Pang Fei sighed helplessly and said, "Teacher, hundreds of thousands of soldiers in my Guanxi Army, including all the people in Lanzhou, are all loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Over the years, we have been born and died here in Lanzhou, and how many brothers have been buried in the yellow sand with blood; How many people have sacrificed their husbands and sons to support our army? When we defeated a strong enemy through hardships and completed the expansion of territory for the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court guarded us like a thief...... It's really chilling! ”

Qin Mubai closed his eyes and let out a long breath, "Forget it...... That's politics! ”

"Teacher, what should we do now?" Pang Fei asked.

"I'll leave two things to you." Qin Mubai said, "First, continue to send capable people to Guannei to investigate the whereabouts of King Wu and find out the direction of the imperial court; Second, Zhang Bang showed the people, informing all the soldiers and civilians under the Lanzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion that I, Qin Mubai, had conquered the Western Regions and returned triumphantly! Then prepare to hold a celebration meeting in the Lanzhou Metropolitan Mansion, and invite all the officials above the seventh grade under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion and representatives of the gentry and the common people to participate. I'll think about the rest. ”

"Okay, students will do it right away." Pang Fei agreed, although he was anxious, but since Qin Mubai had returned, Lanzhou had the backbone, and he was no longer so hesitant in his heart. He knew that Qin Mubai had always disliked showing off, and the reason why he deliberately held a "celebration party" this time was to show his loyalty to the imperial court to people from all walks of life in Lanzhou, and to smash rumors in the market so as to stabilize the hearts of the people and the army.

As long as there is no chaos in Lanzhou, Pang Fei believes that Qin Mubai can solve the affairs of the outside world.

After learning some general information from Pang Fei and ordering the next few events, Qin Mubai prepared to leave the barracks. When leaving, he deliberately looked around the barracks and felt good. After leaving Lanzhou for a long time, he handed over the military and political power to Pang Fei's agent, and this kid seemed to be working very hard. Seventy percent of the 100,000 troops left in Lanzhou were new troops, and after this period of training, they had become several percent hot, and their spirit was also very sufficient, and they had inherited the passion and courage of the Guanxi Army.

Looking at the army in front of him, Qin Mubai couldn't help but think to himself, there are 100,000 troops here in Lanzhou, plus the 300,000 troops that Xue Rengui and Yuwen Hongtai are waving back in the rear, Lanzhou will soon have an army of 400,000, and it is an elite army that has gone through a hundred battles!

Thinking about it from another angle, if he was an emperor and a courtier, it was indeed impossible to turn a blind eye to the 400,000 troops in Guanxi after Li Ke's accident. As everyone knows, in recent years, there have been many wars around the Tang Dynasty, and most of the soldiers and horses in the interior have been transferred to the frontier battlefield.

Moreover, except for some elite recruits of the imperial city guards, even if the number of other idle soldiers is huge, how can they be compared with the tiger and wolf army of the Kansai Army, which has experienced the essence of bloody battles?

If Kansai really wants to rebel, Chang'an may not be able to withstand it!

Just thinking of this, Qin Mubai furrowed his brows, and doubts arose in his heart, and said secretly: With Li Shimin's wisdom, since he knows that the military strength of Chang'an and Kansai is so disparity, why do you still put on a "thief-proof" posture to stimulate me? Isn't it easier to hurt my heart and force me to rebel? Although I would not be naïve to think that Li Shimin is a saint and will never be afraid of his courtiers, with his usual skill and style, at this time, he will take the lead in appeasing and praising me for being promoted to the rank of knight, and then summoning me, a great meritorious hero, to Beijing to "protect the king of Qin", which is the best policy.

But why, at this critical time, the emperor played such a stinky move?

"This is so unreasonable!" In Qin Mubai's heart, such a surprise question rose up, and he continued to think, "This is really not like the emperor's usual technique. I guess there are two possibilities for this. First, Li Shimin suddenly fell ill or even died, and the power of the court fell into the hands of the eldest grandson Wuji and Li Tai and others. They must have been afraid that I would ask for the guilt and avenge Li Ke, so they struck first and set up a defensive position for Qiang. According to this analysis, it is very likely that Li Ke is really dead, and he died at the hands of these two people; The second possibility, that is...... The Emperor is testing me in a very dangerous and mean way! ”

Thinking of this, Qin Mubai's heart was like a lightning flash, both startled and bright, and he raised his eyebrows and said to himself: "If it is the first possibility, I don't have to say it, the world of the Tang Dynasty will really be chaotic." Even if I, Qin, don't raise troops to ask for the guilt, then the eldest grandson Wuji and Li Tai can't suppress the feudal officials and generals and marshals in other places, and the world will be in chaos, and even end up like the end of the Sui Dynasty. If so, I'm not afraid. The army of 400,000 tigers and wolves in Guanxi is in my hands, and the territory of the Western Regions is backed by thousands of miles, and Li Daozong of Mobei and Li Daozong of Liaodong have a lot of relationship with me, who can move me? If it's the second possibility...... So!! ”

"Then Li Ke is not dead!"

"Li Shimin is testing my loyalty to the Tang Empire and my mind and bottom line! He wants to take advantage of the chaos to cut off some resistance and then make Li Ke the prince, and in the future, let me become Li Ke's assistant and the pillar leader of the Tang Dynasty military circle! ”

Qin Mubai closed his sore eyes, raised his head, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "Just like Li Shimin in history treated Li Tao." After appointing Li Zhi, a cowardly son, as the crown prince, Li Shimin found a trumped-up charge and demoted Li Tao, the then military brain, from his military power. Then wait for the crown prince to ascend the throne and then give Li Tao a heavy responsibility to restore his position, so that the new monarch can show kindness to Li Tao in order to control it. At the same time, it is also a test of Li Tao's loyalty and bottom line. At that critical juncture, if the wronged and degraded Li Tao can't hold his breath and complain, or makes some other outrageous moves, it means that the new monarch will definitely not be able to control him in the future, and Li Tao will be a dead end! Li Shimin will definitely get rid of it as soon as possible and cut off the troubles for the future new monarch! ”

"Is this what is called, the heavens descend on the Si people?" Qin Mubai sighed deeply and muttered, "Could it be that all of this is just the emperor's mental tricks?" ”