Early the next morning, the woman took the young man down the mountain together, to buy pork and cabbage for Mu Zhaotong, buy old wine and peanuts, and greeted Mu Zhaotong when she left, Mu Zhaotong was the only one left in the courtyard, and the old man who was a little staggering moved a small bench and sat in the yard to look at this and that, this is his yard and his grave, so he can't really let it out easily.

Even if the mother and son have been living here for more than ten years.

A sliding pole stopped outside the small courtyard, and Xun Zhi got down from the sliding pole and walked a few steps: "Ge Lao." ”

Mu Zhaotong shook his head slightly after seeing the expression on Xun Zhi's face: "Defeated again?" ”

"Defeated."

Xun Zhi walked to Mu Zhaotong's side and bowed his head and said: "Everything is done according to the elder's orders, and things are developing according to the elder's expectations, but I didn't expect it to be the last step...... Elder Ge said that if Shen Leng knew the news of Han Zhaozhi and Ye Liuyun's injuries, then Shen Leng would definitely return, and he did come back. ”

Mu Zhaotong snorted: "He is my enemy, and my son died in his hands...... So I've been letting myself know as much as I can about this person, he was born in a bitter and humble background, not to mention whether it is the emperor's species, just say that it is not easy to survive in that environment since childhood, probably only become two kinds of people, one of them, because he has suffered too much grievances and too many sufferings, so he is ruthless in his bones, people are in the dark, so his heart is also dark, he can sacrifice everything else for himself, no matter who he is, I originally thought that Shen Leng would definitely become such a person. ”

Mu Zhaotong was silent for a moment and then continued: "A person who has never seen anything, after he has a position of power and wealth, people's concepts will change drastically, he will never allow everything he has gained to be lost so easily, he will become a beast for this glory and wealth." ”

Mu Zhaotong glanced at Xun Zhi: "This is my initial judgment, so at that time, I always felt that Shen Leng was not difficult to kill, and there was no need for me to arrange anything personally, he would expose his true nature because he was greedy for power, status, wealth, and that, and the emperor liked him only for a while, and he would be disgusted after a long time." ”

Xun Zhidao: "But Shen Leng doesn't seem to have changed. ”

"yes...... That's the other kind of person I'm talking about. ”

Mu Zhaotong picked up his small purple clay pot and took a sip of tea: "The person who survived that environment has always been sincere and friendly to people, he is the only one I have ever seen, I have observed him for several years and finally determined that he will not become a beast, I am very disappointed...... So this made me sure of another thing, when the person he cares about is in danger and is hurt, he will go out of his way to protect it. ”

Mu Zhaotong glanced at Xun Zhi: "For Shen Xiaosong, he can give up everything, so I calculated that he would return to Chang'an, and he would even deliberately let the emperor know that he went back, and he was willing to sacrifice himself to let the emperor remove all his official positions and titles and reduce him to a commoner, so as to protect Shen Xiaosong and protect the people he cared about." ”

"Of course, even if he doesn't have this mind, it's the same, after the emperor knows it, it is inevitable that someone will participate in Shen Leng, so it is irresistible to remove his military power and become a common man, I have countless ways to make him die or life is worse than death, and the most important thing is that the military power of the water division also has a way to move."

Xun Zhi sighed: "However, I underestimated the emperor's love for him. ”

"So, ah......"

Mu Zhaotong said: "It seems that seven or eight times out of ten, he is really the emperor's species." ”

Xun Zhidao: "Lai Cheng in the court came forward to talk to many people, so he didn't go up, our people want to ask the attitude of the elder of the pavilion, is it still on the book?" ”

"No, there's no point."

Mu Zhaotong waved his hand: "The emperor is already breaking his own rules, even if the person who is desperate to expose me continues to write and participate in Shen Leng, it is meaningless, I don't do anything that outweighs the loss, the emperor is a principled person, but when he even breaks the rules for Shen Leng, what principles are there?" ”

Xun Zhi sighed: "Then give up the opportunity to fight so many people's lives in exchange?" ”

"It's not a big deal."

Mu Zhaotong said: "If you don't break it, you can't stand it, when you came to see me in that small village in Fangcheng County, I had a long talk with you, and I told you at that time that there is no chance of winning against someone like Emperor Daning, he occupies the right time and place, everything is in his hands, and our only chance is to make the emperor think that we have lost, and there is nothing to lose again...... I deliberately exposed all of the queen's preparations, you know what I mean. ”

Xun Zhidao: "The student understands that what the elder means is to make the emperor think that all the preparations of the queen have been dug up, and there is nothing to threaten him, and in this process, the emperor will be disappointed in the crown prince, and finally abolish the prince, of course, the best ending is to let the emperor kill the prince with his own hands...... All the arrangements of the empress are abolished, and the crown prince is dead, and the emperor will lose his guard. ”

"Nope."

Mu Zhaotong shook his head: "You missed a step." ”

Xun Zhi was stunned: "Missed a step?" ”

Mu Zhaotong stretched out a finger: "I told you, the first step was to expose all the preparations of the queen, and they were pulled out by the emperor one by one, so that he thought it was his own ability, but in fact, we naturally let him find out." ”

He stretched out his second finger: "The second step made him completely lose trust in the prince, and then prompted the prince to rebel, and finally the emperor killed the prince." ”

Mu Zhaotong stretched out his third finger: "The third step is the most important...... When the second step is completed, the emperor will not think that all the troubles of his henchmen have been solved, and I ...... At that time, it will be my turn to die, after I die, the emperor will really breathe a sigh of relief, when I died is learned, if I die casually, why do I have to go to great lengths to come out of the Babu Alley of Chang'an City. ”

Xun Zhi's face turned slightly pale: "Pavilion old ......"

Mu Zhaotong waved his hand: "It's nothing, don't feel sad for me, what else do I have to give up at my age, it's just life and death, my son has already taken half of my life when he left." ”

Xun Zhi looked at the old man with white hair in front of him, and for the first time experienced the determination and fear of the avenger.

"Everyone in Fengning Guan is dead, and one of the five-colored deer in Weiyang Palace is dead."

Mu Zhaotong said with a smile: "Do you know why I gave up so many important chess pieces? ”

"The students don't know."

"It's to make the emperor suspicious, even painful."

Mu Zhaotong continued: "I said just now, I deliberately let the emperor pull out all the things prepared by the queen, Feng Ningguan and the people in the inner guards were exposed, the emperor will not feel relaxed, but will have doubts, suspecting who else in the Weiyang Palace is the queen's person?" If it weren't as I expected, the death of Fengning Guan Daoist and Congchi's death were not the end but just begun, and once Han Zhaozhi recovered, he would immediately investigate the entire Weiyang Palace. ”

Xun Zhi's face changed greatly: "Elder Ge even calculated that Han Zhaozhi would not die?" ”

Mu Zhaotong smiled: "Those few people can kill Han Zhaozhi casually? Of course, if Han Zhaozhi died, it would be a good thing for me, Han Zhaozhi started to investigate the people in the Weiyang Palace, a large number of people will be expelled, the emperor has already abolished the queen and exterminated the descendants, and the separation of his wife has just begun, I want him to suffer a hundred times and ten times more than mine, I don't want to rebel and subvert this empire, it wasn't from the beginning, I just want to make him suffer. ”

Xun Zhi only felt a chill in his back.

Yes, the queen was moved out of the imperial mausoleum and abolished, and the entire Yang family was destroyed, this is what Mu Zhaotong wants to see, and everything has happened.

The emperor abolished the queen and destroyed the descendants, is he happy?

Of course he won't be happy.

Mu Zhaotong said: "When I die, the emperor will breathe a sigh of relief, and then lead the troops to the northern Xinjiang to drive the expedition in person." ”

Xun Zhi knew that this sentence was the key, but now he didn't understand what cards Mu Zhaotong still had in his hand to play, the queen's arrangements and preparations were abolished, and in the end, even Mu Zhaotong had to send a human head himself, what else could hit the emperor at that time?

He couldn't figure it out, but the confidence in Mu Zhaotong's eyes made him sure that he was sure that he was winning.

"Shen Leng is not important."

Mu Zhaotong said in a flat tone: "It's just one of the parts of letting the emperor experience the pain of losing a son, I want to let the people he cares about die before him one by one, and the continuous blows will be felt, and I will beg for death after the death of the prince...... When I die, you will know all the follow-up arrangements, I wrote a letter before and handed it to a person I trust, and when I die, this letter will be handed over to you, which can be regarded as paving a way for you, Mr. Xun Zhi, I know that you have a great talent for governing the country, and I also promised you to give you a stage, you just have to wait. ”

Xun Zhi lowered his head: "Elder Ge still has to think twice." ”

"I'm nothing."

Mu Zhaotong got up and walked to the small rockery, holding the rockery in his hand, he looked so old that he couldn't even straighten his waist.

"I don't give you a glory and wealth for you, there is always someone to clean up the mess, and because I don't have anyone to entrust, you have a good temperament, I will send you a life reversal, and you promise me one thing."

"Elder Ge, please speak."

"My wife."

Mu Zhaotong glanced back at Xun Zhi: "All things will be concluded when the emperor is on a personal expedition, and no one can take care of her at that time, can you help me?" You don't have to give her food and clothing, just let her live well. ”

Xun Zhi leaned over and bowed: "No matter whether things are successful or not, no matter what the final outcome is, the students will make arrangements for the old lady to spend the rest of her life in peace." ”

"I can trust you."

Mu Zhaotong walked over and patted Xun Zhi on the shoulder: "So the final blow I handed it over to you, and when you get the letter, you will understand everything, my arrangement for so many years, the next few years are related to the killing of my son, but the first ten years were a duel between me and the emperor, he spent twenty years to empty the power in my hands, and I spent twenty years to arrange it to make him unhappy, think about it, if the last one is done, he will be very, very unhappy." ”

He smiled, like an old fox.

"Me...... The acting is better than anyone else, I don't say it, and no one can see through it. ”