The city is light and dusty, and the guest house is green and willow-colored.

Persuade you to have a glass of wine, and there is no reason to go out of Yangguan in the west.

In April of the eighth year of Tianbao, the sky is changeable, yesterday was still sunny, it was so hot that people put on a short placket, suspected that summer was coming, but the next day it rained, the rain and fog were gray and misty, bringing a trace of cold, the climate of the Tang Dynasty was much warmer and wetter than now, the rivers and rivers were vertical and horizontal, the willows on the bank were lush, the mountains in the distance were green and green, there was a sense of picturesque rivers and mountains.

Chang'an Baqiao, since ancient times is the place to usher in, a straight official road from east to west passes under the post pavilion, to the east is to go to Hedong, Luoyang Yuan prosperous place, and to the west is the Gobi Desert, poplar sunset.

In the past few days, there has been an endless stream of officials who have said goodbye to Baqiao, and tragicomedy scenes have been staged one after another, with full ambition and thousands of miles; There are bitter tears and sighs, life is like a dream; There are also people who get drunk with a tincture of cheese, are stuffed into a carriage by their colleagues and dream of saying goodbye to Chang'an.

At this time, several household colleagues in the post pavilion were bidding farewell to Li Qing, a small square table, a few glasses of light wine, most of the officials wore green robes, wore cage crowns, and each raised a wine glass to him.

"Squire, this is going to the Western Regions, the outside of the Sai is dusty, and I hope I cherish it, come! I'll toast you first! ”

Zhang Yun, the head of the household, drank all the wine in his hand, and smiled at the officials behind him: "Everyone hurry up, don't miss the squire's itinerary." ”

"The waiter can return to Shazhou, it is the emperor's compassion, I hope to take care all the way!"

A group of officials such as Wei Jiansu, Shaoqing Zhang Qian of Taifu Temple, and other officials also stepped forward to say goodbye one by one, at this time, a carriage came from a distance, splashing a large splash from time to time, and there were hundreds of iron cavalry guards next to it, and the momentum was overwhelming.

"It's Li Linfu here!" Everyone invariably looked angrily at Zheng Ping, a member of the household department, he was Li Linfu's son-in-law, and this matter must have been said by him.

But Li Qing knew that this matter had nothing to do with Zheng Ping, and he made Li Linfu survive. How could he not come and win himself over at this time?

Moment. Li Linfu pulled the white skirt and strode up the hill, only to see that he was energetic, ruddy, and dying when he was forced by Yang Guozhong a few days ago, on the day Li Qing was sealed to the Western Regions, Li Qing sent part of the evidence of the Suzhou case as promised, including King Qing's handwritten letter and some of Li Li's personal belongings, and in the evening Li Linfu visited King Qing Li Cong, under the pressure of ironclad evidence, Li Cong was forced to agree to cooperate with Li Linfu. Li Linfu also promised that Yang Xuan's murder case could be settled, and after a series of negotiations and concessions, Yang Guozhong finally suspended the encirclement and suppression of Li Linfu, so that Li Longji had no choice but to give up the resignation.

Before Li Linfu went up the hill, he heard his loud laughter from afar, "The waiter is leaving, why don't you tell the old man!" The officials in the pavilion walked outside the pavilion one after another to make a way.

Li Qing hurriedly greeted him. also smiled: "Xiangguo is busy with official business, how dare Li Qing disturb." ”

"No matter how busy you are, you have to come to see off the waiter."

Li Linfu entered the pavilion with a smile, but when he saw Zhang Yun at a glance, he couldn't help but smile and said, "It turns out that everyone from the household department is here." I said how cold and lonely Shangshu Province is today. ”

Zhang Yun hurriedly returned the salute and smiled: "These two days are the days when the officials from abroad leave Beijing, yesterday sent Cui Qiao to Lingnan, and tomorrow will send Yang Shenjin to Taiyuan, this kind of parting, presumably Xiangguo also feels the same!" ”

"Yes!" Li Linfu pointed at Li Qing and said with a smile: "Like Li Shilang, I am reluctant to let him go." But the emperor ordered it, and there was nothing to be done. ”

He stepped forward and patted Zhang Yun on the shoulder, and said in a low voice: "I want to say a few words alone with the waiter, Zhang Shangshu may be convenient?" ”

Zhang Yun glanced at Li Qing, slightly puzzled, but his face did not show it, and waved his hand to everyone: "It's not early, I'll go back first!" ”

Everyone saw Shangshu speak. He drank the wine in his hand, and stepped forward to talk to Li Qing for a few words. He took his leave.

Li Linfu saw that everyone was far away, so he ordered the guards to guard the surroundings and not let anyone come up, he pulled Li Qing to sit down, took out a letter from his arms, and smiled: "Do you know why the old man sent you to Anxi?" And not Longyou or Hexi. ”

Li Qing didn't know what he meant by this, seeing that he was holding the letter but not giving it to himself, he knew that he must have something, so he shook his head and said: "Li Qing doesn't know, please give Xiangguo advice!" ”

Li Linfu didn't say any more, he walked to the pavilion with his hands behind his back, looking at the scene of the drizzle, several horse-drawn carriages drove on the narrow Guan Plain, galloping along an official road, the road was lined with verdant trees, and the fields were shrouded in a silver-gray mist.

He suddenly turned to stare at Li Qing, "Can you hand over all the evidence of the Suzhou arson case to the old man?" ”

This sentence sounded unrelated to his previous sentence, but Li Qing knew that there must be a major event in the letter in Li Linfu's hand related to his going to the Western Regions, and he wanted to exchange it with himself!

"Does that also include Li Li?" He smiled slightly.

Li Linfu nodded, "Now King Qing told everyone that Li Li went to Jiangnan to repay his mother's wishes, but the old man knows that he must still be in your hands, and since you have been transferred, he has no effect on you, so it is better to hand it over to the old man, and the old man will exchange some secrets of Gao Xianzhi with you." ”

Li Linfu frankly admitted that Li Qing fell into contemplation, he has been thinking about his relationship with Li Linfu these days, although this alliance is only driven by interests, but he does need the support of a real power faction in the DPRK to counter Yang Guozhong to wear small shoes for himself after sitting down, Zhang Yun and his personal relationship is good, but help is also accidental, can not always provide support, and Gao Lishi only cooperates with himself in major matters, and he does not interfere in daily government affairs.

Therefore, Li Linfu is a good collaborator, as long as there is no evidence of collusion, once he falls, he will not be able to affect himself in the future.

He smiled slightly and said: "Xiangguo's words are heavy, since he has spoken, I will give Xiangguo is, how can I talk about the word 'exchange'?" However, people are living and can't be detained for a long time, so it's better for Xiangguo to be released earlier. ”

Li Qing knew that the evidence of Li Linfu's arson case was to control King Qing for a long time, so it would be better to give it to him, but these evidences could only be managed for a while, the Suzhou arson case was only needed by the situation, and it would be meaningless after a long time, especially Li Li, who couldn't be detained all the time!

However, Li Qing had seized a batch of his letters in the lair of King Qing in Suzhou, spanning more than a dozen years, although the content of the letters themselves was not a major problem. But if it is related to something that happened at the time of writing the letter. It is extremely unfavorable to King Qing, for example, there is a letter written to one of his wives and uncles in the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan, saying that you should not look ahead and backward as a person.

If you want to benefit yourself, you have to strike first, and the place where this sentence can be used is very reasonable, but the time of the payment is three days after the former wife Li Ying and his two brothers were killed, which is extremely unfavorable to Li Cong.

These letters can also be used to hang Li Linfu's appetite, but you have to know what secrets Gao Xianzhi has first. Thinking of this, Li Qing took out a ring from his arms, handed it to Li Linfu and said: "The thing is stored in the cabinet of the East Market, and it will be extracted from this ring, as for the person, I will order someone to send it to Xiangguo." ”

Li Linfu was overjoyed, he took the ring and carefully put it into his arms. This time, King Qing easily pressed Yang Guozhong to make concessions, which made Li Linfu find that there must be some kind of ulterior deal between them, and Yang Guozhong was very jealous, so as long as he could control King Qing. also controlled Yang Guozhong.

So Li Linfu decided to further woo Li Qing, one is that he has evidence of King Qing, and the other can also lead him to a foreign aid, although Zhang Qiu and Qiong's death is related to himself, but he actually died in the hands of Li Longji, as long as Li Qing knows this. He may not hate himself, and as a person who mixes in the officialdom, if he keeps hating this matter, then it is impossible for him to achieve the position of the third rank in just a few years.

Li Linfu handed the letter to Li Qing and said with a smile: "There are some of my protégés and former officials in Anxi, you may wish to accept them, it will be useful in the future." ”

Speaking of this step, Li Qing understood in his heart. Li Linfu wanted to form a long-term alliance with himself, and he accepted the letter with a happy smile on his face. But seeing that Li Linfu had the intention of saying goodbye, he reminded him: "Xiangguo just said that Anxi is tall and handsome.

Li Linfu looked up to the sky and smiled, pinched Li Qingdi's hand, and said to him in an intimate tone: "The coming day is long, and I will tell the waiter carefully in the future." ”

Li Qing saw that he did not fulfill his promise, and secretly scolded this old fox in his heart, and wanted to hang his appetite, but he forgot that he didn't think like this.

At this time, Li Linfu looked down, Li Qing knew that he was going to greet someone, so he smiled slightly: "Actually, the last time I went to Suzhou, I also found some old letters from King Qing, and if you think about the content carefully, it will be really interesting if you think about it, if Xiangguo is interested.

Sure enough, as soon as his words fell, Li Linfu turned around, his eyes couldn't hide his surprise, he hurriedly patted Li Qing's shoulder, pressed him down, touched his nose again and smiled: "This rain is heavier than just now, I can't go back for a while, why don't we talk again." ”

"Li cleans your ears and listens!"

Li Linfu sat down, he pondered, and said slowly: "Anxi is not as good as Longyou and Hexi, it not only wants to prevent the northward advance of Tibet, but also to prevent the eastward advance of the big food in the west, the strategic location is very important, but my Tang Dynasty has not many troops in Anxi, only 20,000 people, which is also the reason why the garrison is far away and the food consumption is too huge. This time, the old man recommended you to be the deputy of Gao Xianzhi and take charge of government affairs, in fact, he also wanted to give you more opportunities, but he didn't expect the emperor to add you as the governor of Shazhou, which confirmed some of the old man's conjectures. ”

Speaking of this, Li Linfu quickly glanced at Li Qing, and saw that his eyes were calm, not affected by the sudden turn at the end of his words, Li Linfu also had to admire him for being calm, just like two bargaining people, in order to buy Li Qing's letter, Li Linfu kept raising the purchase price, but the seller Li Qing was silent, unable to understand his bottom line, Li Linfu had to sigh secretly and continued: "The emperor's deep meaning of adding you to the assassin history of Shazhou and the governor of the Doulu army is definitely not what some people say, the emperor misses the old or something, and the old man dares to guarantee, This must have been decided after much deliberation by him. ”

At this time, Li Qingdi's eyes began to brighten, as if he had realized something, Li Linfu's heart was secretly happy, he was finally a little tempted, but some words could not be said too obviously, so he said implicitly: "Anxi Jiedu is the least military in the ten major festivals, but it is the only place to send eunuchs to supervise the army, Shilang, do you understand what the old man means?" ”

Li Qing's pupils at this time have gradually shrunk into a line, he finally understood, he has been thinking about why Li Longji assigned Shazhou to Anxi, and also added the establishment of three thousand troops, he knows that this is by no means Li Longji's nostalgia, it should have a deep meaning, but the so-called authorities are confused, Li Qing has not figured out this matter, until he mentioned the prison army just now, Li Qing suddenly realized, in fact, this is Li Longji's old trick, use himself to suppress Gao Xianzhi, and at the same time let Gao Xianzhi suppress himself.

He was the deputy of Anxi and was in charge of government affairs, Li Longji felt that his power was still a little weak, so he returned Shazhou to himself and increased his troops, so that he had enough strength to compete with Gao Xianzhi.

Li Linfu's analysis is very accurate, Li Qing can see it thoroughly, this is indeed the case, since the Tianbao five years after the Huangfu Weiming incident, Li Longji began to carry out a secret investigation of the border general's private placement army, he is especially worried about Anxi, which is related to its special geographical location, if Gao Xianzhi is willing, he can easily build a country in the Western Regions, he also found out that Gao Xianzhi and Tuqishi are too close, and there are even nearly 10,000 Tuqishi cavalry, which makes Li Longji very annoyed, but Anxi has been in war again and again, and he is not good at transferring Gao Xianzhi for a while, So, he adopted a compromise strategy and ordered Bian Lingcheng to be the supervisor of the army and monitor Gao Xianzhi from time to time, but he was afraid that Bian Lingcheng would be set up, so he took the opportunity of putting Li Qingwai in Anxi to set up a game again, so that the two could check and balance each other.

"Thank you Xiangguo, Li Qing knows in his heart, this trip to Anxi, he will live up to Xiangguo's hopes, and I also hope that Xiangguo can support more money and food in the court, so that Li Qing will have an elite army as soon as possible."

After Li Qing finished speaking, he decisively took out the letter written by Li Cong to his wife and uncle from his bag, solemnly handed it to Li Linfu, and said sincerely: "Zhang Qiu Xiangguo's death, Li Qingxin understands that the root is not in Xiangguo, and I hope Xiangguo will remember the lesson of abolishing the East Palace this time, and don't let the birds be shot out." ”

Li Linfu silently looked at this old opponent for many years, felt his sincerity, and his heart was also moved, he gently pressed Li Qing's shoulder, and said with a slight smile: "It has always been my pleasure to be an opponent with you, but I have never tasted what it is like to be friends with you, I have to give it a try now, take care!" See you next spring! ”