Qin Mubai didn't remember how he left the Hongwen Pavilion and returned home under the watchful eyes of a group of people, and his spirit was a little tired and in a trance. I should be happy, but I can't.

This time, he really experienced what it means to be dangerous. A group of people sitting in a meeting can also decide the life and death of tens of millions of people. Although there are no swords, armor and staffs, it is better than a melee of ten thousand armies. 、

On the surface, Li Shimin came out at the last moment, turned the tide or made an arbitrary decision, and reversed the balance that had been completely tilted.

In fact, you can come up with a little dim sum, and Li Shimin is also very helpless!

On the surface, it seems that the cabinet meeting is aimed at the Lanzhou war and peace, but the actual core is the struggle for power and the contest of positions. The eldest grandson, Wuji, was the strong side, no matter how complicated the process was, but in the end he won.

This also means that the main battle faction has been completely defeated, and the party struggle in the court has completely fallen into a one-sided situation.

Of course, this is the last thing Li Shimin wants to see!

Especially when he saw that Li Tai, the prince of Wei, who had always been very important, also stood in the camp of the eldest grandson Wuji, he was really angry, and immediately expelled him from the Hongwen Pavilion.

It is said that the heart of the monarch is unpredictable, but in fact, it is simple to put it bluntly. Li Shimin wanted to cultivate a strong group to assist his successor to ensure a safe and stable transition of the Tang Dynasty after a hundred years. However, he absolutely did not allow a powerful minister to appear above the court.

It's paradoxical, but it's easy to understand.

If there is a court, there will be party strife, and only the two forces are evenly matched, and the emperor can control it. If one side is completely defeated and annexed, it means that there is only one faction left above the court. If this faction is united, even the emperor will not be able to control it.

Li Shimin still has such worries, and he doesn't believe that any of his sons can deal with a party of courtiers who are firmly embraced. Therefore, he very much hopes that Li Tai, who he has always valued, can show a little bit of character and courage at this juncture, dare to be the enemy of the eldest grandson Wuji, and dare to firmly stand on the side of the main battle faction with weak forces. However, Li Tai violated the covenant with Qin Mubai very unproductively, and stood in the queue of the eldest grandson Wuji like grass on the wall.

Therefore, when Li Tai walked out of the Hongwen Pavilion, everyone could clearly feel Li Shimin's disappointment, even despair!

If he is a hundred years later, no matter whether this throne is passed to Li Tai or Li Zhi, these two people will not be able to suppress the eldest grandson Wuji!

If so, what can I do?

Li Shimin's sadness is indescribable!

He needs the eldest grandson Wuji, and he has to beware of the eldest grandson Wuji; He trusts the eldest grandson Wuji, but he can't be unreserved. This is not because of a lack of personality, but because of the identity of an emperor who dictates that he must do this.

Perhaps, Li Shimin's helplessness is the root of his illness this time. He wanted to stay away from the court for a while to see what would become of Datang if he left Datang. The current result is likely to disappoint him - the eldest grandson Wuji is completely able to "dominate the rivers and lakes". The King of Wei, who he has always valued, has nothing to do at all, not only is it not as good as Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, but it is not as good as Wei Chi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, and Qin Mubai!

Sleek is sleek, and scheming is skilled, but on key issues, you must have your own position and attitude, which is the most basic bone of an emperor!

……

Li Shimin, whose face was a little gray and covered in a thick coat, stood by the window on the top floor of the Wude Palace, blowing the breeze over Chang'an, and squinting slightly into the distance.

Behind him, there were only Chu Suiliang and a eunuch who served his daily life.

"Sui Liang...... Tell me the truth. My son, is there no one who has become a weapon? Li Shimin said softly.

Chu Suiliang was stunned for a moment, and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, Weichen has written this sentence in His Majesty's notes." ”

"Whatever you want." Li Shimin said indifferently and said indifferently, "You don't have to write the following words, I just want to chat with you privately." ”

"That Weichen is not a living man next to His Majesty now, but an ordinary courtier." Chu Suiliang said.

"Hmm. Just, you are my nephew. Li Shimin nodded and said, "You tell me, why did Qingque stand in the camp of the eldest grandson Wuji today, instead of standing with Fang Xuanling and Li Tao?" ”

"King Wei...... There should also be King Wei's troubles! Chu Suiliang said, "Prince, a lesson from the past." ”

Li Shimin twisted his eyebrows and there was a trace of anger on his face, and he immediately coughed several times, slapped the window hard, and said angrily: "According to what you mean, is it possible that Cheng Qian was still knocked down by the eldest grandson Wuji?!" ”

"Wechen is a capital offense!" Chu Suiliang was suddenly shocked, "Weichen, that's not what I meant!" ”

"If this is not the intention, how can there be a capital crime?"

"......" Chu Suiliang was speechless for a while, and said after a long pause, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, lips are cold and teeth are cold, and rabbits and foxes are sad." Although this is not the case, but people's hearts are suspicious after all, and it is difficult to ensure that King Wei has no such thoughts in his heart! Thus...... It is also a last resort to succumb to the situation and be forced to side with the Lord's peace faction. ”

"Hmph......" Li Shimin snorted coldly and said, "Then he can be regarded as exquisite, and his ability to seek good fortune and avoid evil is really good." As everyone knows, he and his eldest grandson Wuji have always been at odds. At present, the eldest grandson Wuji is mainly assisting the young slave to supervise the country, and his decision surprised me, and the most hit at this time should be Qingque. It's good that he actually wags his tail and begs for mercy to the eldest grandson Wuji! Woe! It's sad! My son Li Shimin, how come he doesn't have the slightest bit of my character and blood? ”

"Smack, smack, smack!"

Three slaps in a row, Li Shimin slapped heavily on the window edge, and the gray paint was broken!

"Your Majesty's illness has not recovered, please calm your ......anger," Chu Suiliang persuaded softly.

At this moment, I am afraid that only Chu Suiliang can understand why the emperor is so angry. At that time, Li Shimin gave up the dragon chair above the court under the pretext of recuperation, firstly, to test the future of the court, and secondly, to force King Wei to "make peace" with the eldest grandson Wuji.

As a result, what Li Shimin didn't expect was that the eldest grandson Wuji actually uncharacteristically held out Li Zhi, who had never come to the stage, and would rather take the risk of violating the holy will than resolutely refrain from making peace with Li Tai. At this time, although Li Shimin was a little surprised and angry, fundamentally speaking, he still admired the eldest grandson Wuji's assertiveness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been "sick" for so long. He just wanted to see if the eldest grandson Wuji's choice was correct.

At this time, Li Shimin did not give up on Li Tai, the king of Wei. For so many years, Li Tai is the most suitable successor in his eyes. He really wanted to see Li Tai stand up at this time, shout and fight with the eldest grandson Wuji, fight a little bit of imperial demeanor and momentum, and show a little bit of the pride of the prince and the courage to do great things!

Although the party struggle in the court is not a good thing, Li Shimin knows very well that these contradictions have long existed and are lurking under the surface of the water over time, if they are to be resolved, it is better to let him break out!

But in this war, the thunder is really loud and the rain is small. Although the main battle faction has the support of the two big names, Li Tao and Li Daozong, and Fang Xuanling's unexpected joining, it is insignificant compared to the party of Changsun Wuji. At this time, Li Shimin was extremely looking forward to Li Tai standing up and saying no to the eldest grandson Wuji, even if he knew that he would lose in the end, he would lose vigorously and hold his head high.

But Li Tai didn't, he chose to shrink his neck and be caught in the crowd, hiding his head and tail.

When Qin Mubai passed by him and sneered at him, Li Shimin saw it from a distance and heard it.

At that time, he really wanted to rush forward and take Li Tai out, and slap a few ear scrapers fiercely to give him some backbone!

The depth of love is the responsibility of responsibility!

Chu Suiliang can fully understand Li Shimin's anger and disappointment!

Originally, Lanzhou was a war or peace, the diplomatic relations with Tibet were handled in this way, and how the Western Regions was operated, all of which had already had a blueprint in Li Shimin's heart. All of his hesitation was due to the fact that he did not have a clear understanding of the balance of power above the court.

Now it's clear to him. The civilian-official clique headed by the eldest grandson Wuji almost overwhelmingly defeated the main battle faction. In this matter, there is no right or wrong, only who wins and who loses. In Li Shimin's concept, his bottom line is not to allow the party struggle in the court to deteriorate further, and there will be a second prince and the king of Han, and he does not want a second pillar of the court like Hou Junji to be taken away.

In short, Li Shimin has already made up his mind that whichever side loses, he will help, protect, and support whichever side! First, the dead people in the court cannot be reborn and the catastrophe can be left, and second, it is necessary to make the strength of the two sides of the DPRK party equal......

When the meeting of Hongwenguan ended, people returned home and thought for a while, as long as they were not people with particularly bad brains, they all understood these two intentions of the emperor.

Therefore, Qin Mubai and a large number of other people, all of them worked hard and exhausted, and they also fought with the mentality of seeing death as home, in the final analysis, they just played a game similar to "throwing sandbags" with Li Shimin.

As a result, the only unlucky ghost who was hit was actually unexpectedly unexpected-Li Tai, King of Wei!

"I, I want to see Qin Mubai alone. Be secretive, you arrange. Li Shimin said suddenly.

"Where?" Chu Suiliang asked very much.

Li Shimin was stunned for a while, sighed, and said, "Let's get out of the palace, it's best to go out of Chang'an City...... The top of Jungnan Mountain. ”

After Qin Mubai went home, he fell asleep and ignored anyone. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I was hungry and sweaty, as if I had just recovered from a serious illness. I came out of the room to prepare the servants to arrange bathing and meals, but I saw that the door of the lamp room was still reading in the sister-in-law Shuang'er's room, so Qin Mubai walked over.

"Brother, you're finally awake. What's the matter, are you sick, sleeping like this in broad daylight? Shuang'er asked with concern, "Seeing that you are so tired, my mother is very worried, and I am afraid that it will disturb your rest, so I told us not to wake you up." By the way, there is a note here, which was left by Chu Suiliang. He waited for you for a long time and wouldn't let us call you, and when it was late at night, he left a note and left. ”

"Chu Suiliang?" Qin Mubai was very surprised to take it over, and when he unfolded it, the beautiful font was Chu Suiliang's handwriting, the ink was still fresh, and there were only eleven words on it: "Tomorrow will end at the top of Nanshan Mountain."

Qin Mubai twisted his brows, chuckled lightly again, and casually burned the paper against the candle.

"Brother...... What's the matter? Where did the Emperor see you? Frost asked curiously.

"What's the matter, I'm too lazy to think about those twists and turns, I'm tired enough! If you go tomorrow, won't you know? Qin Mubai said, "I'm hungry, get me something to eat." ”

"Okay, it's ready to be warmed in the pot!"

At dawn the next day, Qin Mubai, who didn't sleep at night and read in the middle of the night, went out early in the morning, took a pipa and rode on a horse, went out of Chang'an to Zhongnan Mountain, and came to the statue of the demon who was more than half under construction.

At this time, it is still early, and the glow on the top of the mountain is overflowing, like a fairyland. The construction workers were still washing and cooking in the shed in the distance, and it was still early to start construction. So Qin Mubai sat next to the statue and played a few pipa songs.

At this time, Li Shimin still did not come.

"You'er, I'm here to say goodbye to you." Qin Mubai whispered to himself, "I'm leaving Chang'an and going to Lanzhou, I don't know when I'll come back." However, I'll take your ashes with me, and you'll be with me, right? When I return victorious, I will play the lute here for you. ”

So, I played another song "Lanzhou Hong".

The construction workers probably guessed Qin Mubai's identity, so they all consciously stood far away, and no one came to disturb them.

At this time, a series of steady and slow footsteps sounded behind Qin Mubai, and when he looked back, it was Li Shimin wearing a thick cloak.

"Go on!" Li Shimin hid his hands in his cloak and wrapped it tightly, and smiled indifferently.

"I don't know if Your Majesty came to welcome you, please forgive Your Majesty." Qin Mubai stood up and saluted.

"No need to be polite." Li Shimin sighed, looked up at the rudimentary statue of the demon, squinted his eyes and admired the burst of glow, and said softly: "Biyuan is open to the fog, and Qiling is a beautiful city." The smoke peak is high and green, and the sun waves are shallow and deep...... It's a great place! ”

"Hmm......" Qin Mubai replied lightly.

"I have heard of the name of the demon girl, but unfortunately I have always been on the side, and I have never seen her ascend to the immortal first, which is a pity." Li Shimin said, "Mu Bai, you are still young, there are still many things to experience in this world, and you must bear them one by one." ”

"Your Majesty doesn't have to worry, Weichen naturally knows it in his heart." Qin Mubai said.

"I believe in it." Li Shimin smiled and nodded, and said, "For a person like you, ambition will not be buried by the love of children." Actually, I asked you to come here today for a private meeting because I have two things to tell you. ”

"Your Majesty, please." Qin Mubai arched his hand.

"The first thing is about your grudge with the Fang family." Li Shimin looked at Qin Mubai with burning eyes and said.

Qin Mubai's brows twisted slightly, and he nodded: "Weichen is indeed impulsive. If there is anything wrong, I am willing to be punished, and I am willing to go to the minister's place to be dealt with. ”

"A man is a big man, dare to do it. You're good. Li Shimin nodded approvingly and smiled, "But if you do this, you will be underestimating Fang Xuanling." His mind can accommodate mountains and rivers and huge seas, but can he tolerate you Qin Mubai? Actually, I admire him a little. At first, it was not you, not Gao Yang, but Fang Xuanling who came to expose the conspiracy between Li Yuanchang and Fang Yuai. ”

Qin Mubai was silent. Thinking of Fang Xuanling, who was sick and heavy but spoke loudly in the Hongwen Pavilion, he felt it for the first time...... Ashamed!

"Fang Xuanling killed his relatives in righteousness, not only exposed his son's crimes, but also confessed to me the crime of not teaching his adopted son, and he wanted to confess his guilt or resign and return to the field, but I rejected him. Therefore, he still performs the duties of a prime minister, loyally seeks the country and shares his worries, and does not change his position and attitude on major matters because of personal grudges with you, which is very rare. Li Shimin sighed with deep feelings, "That's why I said in the Hongwen Pavilion yesterday that I would rather die by myself than have a loyal minister like Fang Xuanling in the Tang Dynasty." ”

"Wechen knows that he is wrong...... Weichen's actions brought too much damage to Fang Xuanling. But at the most critical time, he repaid me with virtue, hey......" Qin Mubai sighed.

"He is right about things and not about people, which is the same as Wei Zheng." Li Shimin smiled, smiled a little proudly, and said, "I have always been very fortunate to have loyal ministers like Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng by my side. Mu Bai, you don't have to blame yourself. You have something to do with it, but you're not wrong. On the contrary, I appreciate your bloodiness and integrity. I have also been young and frivolous, and it is understandable that if anyone hurts my relatives, friends or women, I will not do it. Fang Xuanling, he can also understand. Don't underestimate his open-mindedness. ”

"Hmmm......"

"Mu Bai, I have something I want to ask you to help ......," Li Shimin said suddenly.

Qin Mubai was stunned for a moment, and arched his hand: "Please give instructions to Your Majesty." ”

"In the future, if there is a day when I go before Fang Xuanling, then ...... I ask you to protect him. After Li Shimin finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Qin Mubai, his eyes were very serious, and said, "Can you agree?" ”

"Yes." Qin Mubai looked back at Li Shimin's eyes and said affirmatively.

"Thank you." Li Shimin smiled slightly, turned his head and squinted his eyes slightly at the mountains in the distance, and said leisurely, "This is also the instructions of Empress Eldest Sun to me when she was dying...... Be sure to protect Fang Xuanling. ”

Qin Mubai was stunned for a long time after hearing this, and said with emotion in his heart: After the eldest grandson who died a few years ago, he had such foresight? Could it be that she had long realized that Fang Xuanling would one day be disallowed by his own brother, eldest grandson Wuji and others?

What kind of wise and intelligent woman is the eldest grandson queen who lies quietly in the Zhaoling Tomb? No wonder, Li Shimin still misses her!

"The second thing, I'm going to show you something." Li Shimin took out an excerpt and handed it to Qin Mubai.

Qin Mubai was slightly taken aback as soon as he got his hands on it, this kind of fold is a special fold for urgent military information at the border pass, he is too familiar with it!

Unfolded it, it was indeed a Lanzhou military emergency report, and it was his father Qin Shubao's own handwriting - blood book!

Qin Mubai was stunned after reading it!

It turned out that as early as six days ago, Qin Shubao had already resisted the decree and raised troops to fight back against the Tubo soldiers out of Gaochang!

He wrote a blood letter before raising the army, and was willing to bear the crime of resisting the decree, and personally led the army to go on the expedition, leaving Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche to guard the Lanzhou base camp, and ordered 20,000 elite Yue cavalry light soldiers to attack Gaochang from afar, and only brought Xue Rengui and Yuwen Hongtai two deputy generals!

Li Shimin looked at the distance and stood still, his face was a little tense.

"Your Majesty, this ......" Qin Mubai didn't know what to say for a while.

"This is what Chu Suiliang brought to me early yesterday morning. Even the eldest grandson, Wuji, doesn't know yet. Li Shimin said.

Qin Mubai suddenly pinched a cold sweat. What a disaster it would have been if this military newspaper had appeared at the Hongbunkan meeting! In this way, what needs to be discussed is not whether Lanzhou will send troops, but how to sanction Qin Shubao and a cadre of Lanzhou generals!

"Do you want to ask, since your father has already attacked, why did I send a marriage envoy to Lanzhou with Princess Wencheng?" Li Shimin said.

"Hmm......" Qin Mubai had to nod.

"Hey......" Li Shimin sighed helplessly and said, "That's because the people who died on the front line are already dead; I don't want anyone above the court to die at the hands of my own people. ”

"Weichen understands......" Qin Mubai nodded and said softly, "Your Majesty, in fact, you are the most difficult." ”

Li Shimin picked the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly, and said: "It's not easy to be a minister, and it's even more difficult to be a king." Since I am the emperor, I have to bear such a responsibility. There's not much to say. You too, Mu Bai. When you go to Lanzhou, you will not be under much pressure. The general will not accept the orders of the foreign king, and your father must have his reasons for resisting the order and sending troops. But since he has done so, he has already fallen into the trap. You look at it, how do you find a way to round this field? In addition, it is not so realistic to set foot in Tubo and the Western Regions after all, and the peace alliance is an inevitable outcome. Now that the war has been fought, 'seeking peace by war' is the only way out. You are not afraid of war, Lanzhou soldiers are not afraid of war, but the Tang Dynasty, you are afraid! ”

"Weichen, I understand......" Qin Mubai sighed deeply and said, "Your Majesty rest assured." Weichen went to Lanzhou, and he would not disappoint His Majesty, nor would he embarrass His Majesty. ”

"Good. With your two words, I am relieved. Li Shimin smiled knowingly and said, "There is one more thing I want to tell you. I have decided to let Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, serve as his daughter's marriage envoy and go with you to Lanzhou to manage the marriage ceremony. The position of the governor of Youzhou that he vacated was decided to ...... Temporarily transfer Li Ke back from Goguryeo to fill this vacancy. Anyway, the Goryeo Peninsula is peaceful for the time being. I can't afford to put my prince in the palace of Goguryeo and let others keep him in captivity like a hostage. ”

"Wechen knows." Qin Mubai replied softly, but his heart moved: Li Ke, after such a big detour and a big risk, he finally achieved the goal of 'going out to avoid trouble', and had a corner? …… The 'acting governor' of the Youzhou Metropolitan Governor's Mansion has an official position and power, which is not small! ……