Chapter 135: Dagger

Taihe City, which was tossed by the death of Pi Luo Ge for a day, finally quieted down, and in the evening, martial law was quietly lifted, but the streets were still sparsely populated, in recent days, first the Tubo mission was killed, the real murderer was not caught, and now the king suddenly died, what is going on with Nanzhao! Every Nanzhao person is heavy in their hearts, who knows what will happen next? Establishing a new master means another fight, and perhaps only staying at home is the safest.

The night was deep, the streets were filled with mist, and there was a faint murderous aura, and many people put up white flags to mourn the late king, which looked very strange in the fog and gray. Groups of patrolling soldiers walked through the streets, some of them belonging to the troops supporting Yu Chengjie and some of them belonging to the troops supporting Ge Luofeng, but they all wore the same military uniforms and could only express their position in silence.

Zhao Quandeng's mansion is in the south of the city, he is the chief of the Nanzhao Qingping official, and the house he lives in is also the largest, with more than 100 family servants, all of whom have slept at this time, only Zhao Quandeng's study is still lit, in the flickering light, Zhao Quandeng can't sleep, he leans back on the chair, silently recalling tonight's showdown with Ge Luofeng, he gave up the stupid and can't support Yu Chengjie, and instead supports the clear-headed, visionary Ge Luofeng, for the interests of the country, of course, also for himself, Ge Luofeng has promised to make him the internal arithmetic official (Prime Minister of Nanzhao), tomorrow he will persuade those stubborn white barbarian generals to put Ge Luofeng on the throne, only Ge Luofeng ascends the throne, Nanzhao can be strong, and can fight against the Tang Dynasty.

He carefully read the letter of commitment given to him by Ge Luofeng, carefully folded it, and put it close to his body. "Since Ge Luofeng has agreed to these conditions, tomorrow, no matter what, I will persuade the army general Zhao Fuyu Wang and the army general Du Luosheng."

Zhao Quandeng looked at the dark night sky, and felt a little anxious, "Why is it not bright yet!" ”

At this time, it is the third watch, it is the deepest moment of sleep in Taihe City, there is a big businessman of Nanzhao living diagonally opposite Zhao Quandeng Mansion, surnamed Liu, doing tea business, has been going back and forth between Datang and Nanzhao, these days the situation in Nanzhao is unstable, troops are being dispatched everywhere, his caravan is on the way, it has been several days, there is no news at all.

This time it is 5,000 pieces of goods, Liu shopkeeper is anxious, restless all day, nerves become radar-like, a little wind blowing at the door, all as his caravan back, the night has reached the third watch, half-asleep Liu shopkeeper instinctively jumped up from the bed, he heard a little noise, Wan Lai in the silence he heard very clearly, there was movement outside, even the clothes did not have time to wear, he rushed out of the guest hall in the wind, went straight to the door, but to the door suddenly stopped, no! In the middle of the night, how could his caravan enter the city, it was not his caravan, but curiosity still made him look out through the crack in the door.

The street is quiet, no one, occasionally a fallen leaf is swept up by the wind, floating into the night sky, the night sky is dull, hidden murderous intentions, suddenly, he felt that his eyes were flowering, there seemed to be a figure flashing outside the mansion of Lord Zhao opposite, just as he was staring at Zhao Quandeng's mansion, a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of him, masked, ghost-like eyes were staring at him gloomily, and then disappeared all at once, he was so frightened that his soul was scattered, and he quickly shrank into the house, stood in front of the foyer and trembled, and then closed the door and locked it.

The night was deeper, there was a rustling sound of running along the corner of the street, and a slight sound of horses' hooves, these sounds stopped near the shopkeeper Liu's house, the shopkeeper Liu in the guest hall got up, sat down, got up and sat down again, and finally couldn't restrain the desire to peep, and secretly looked out through the crack in the door, the more he looked, the more frightened he became, and the wide mouth could not turn back, he saw hundreds of black shadows flashing on the opposite side, like chasing the wind with the wind, some were distributed in the corners, some gathered at the gate, all of them were Nanzhao soldiers, They moved very quickly, the house and the trees were holding their breath, the leaves were swaying gently, the black shadows in front of the house moved, as if they were about to make an appointment, slowly drawing the knife out of the sheath, in the night when the moon was dark and the stars were sparse, the cold light of the blade was pressing, several black shadows flew into the high wall, and soon the door lock broke, the whole door was creaked open, a tall officer waved his hand, gestured decisively, a large group of soldiers rushed in, suddenly, there was a roar and fighting in the Zhao Mansion, followed by a cry, but only for a moment, there was no sound, and the group of sergeants quickly rushed out of the gate, disappeared at the end of the long street in the blink of an eye, shopkeeper Liu blocked his ears in horror, retreated again and again, sat on the ground with his buttocks, and then lowered his eyelids weakly, and when the soldiers patrolling nearby arrived, there was only a breath of death in Zhao Quandeng's mansion.

Just as the Nanzhao soldiers blocked the nearby streets, a black shadow carrying a man on his body quickly disappeared into the night from the high city wall

Like Zhao Quandeng, Ge Luofeng also had no sleep all night, when he was facing a desperate situation, suddenly the peak turned around, Zhao Quandeng came to him, and wanted to return Nanzhao to his hands, which made him see the hope of ascending the throne again, yes! He longs for that position all the time, he has countless ideals to realize, he wants to give birth to a powerful Nanzhao Empire in his hands, he closes his eyes, and is reminiscing about the compromises reached with Zhao Quandeng, at least half of the army and Qingping officials must be from Bai Man; In the future, Nanzhao will set up Taixue, and at least half of the Taixue quota will be reserved for the children of Baiman; The white barbarians kept their religion; After the implementation of the equalization system in Nanzhao, Bai Man enjoyed priority in both Yongye Field and Koufen Field

In this way, regardless of military and political, cultural, and economic, the white barbarians enjoy privileges, which is also what the white barbarians want to get by supporting Yu Chengjie's accession to the throne, all the conditions Ge Luofeng should be in one mouthful, he is a pragmatic person, first of all, he wants to sit in that position, and then slowly abolish these privileges, he is familiar with the history of the Central Plains, all dynasties, all political results are the product of compromise, so there will be a saying of moderation in Han culture.

Ge Luofeng couldn't help but think of the secret that Zhao Quandeng told him, Yundong was lost, the Tubo mission was killed, and his father was poisoned, all of this was from the hands of a Tang Guoyi Duwei, this person was the secret messenger of the Tang Emperor, and was the behind-the-scenes master of the Nanzhao Mission, when he first heard this secret, Ge Luofeng thought of the recent situation, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, as soon as his father died, the civil war in Nanzhao was on the verge of breaking out, if it wasn't for Zhao Quandeng waking up in time, he really couldn't see the situation in front of him clearly, so vicious wrist, A small Guoyi Duwei turned out to be the secret envoy of the Tang Emperor, and even Ge Luofeng had to admire Li Longji's ability to employ people, but unfortunately, the Tang Dynasty still underestimated the Nanzhao people.

Long stretched, Ge Luofeng felt a little tired, he carefully put away the copy of the signed commitment on the table into a wooden box, and walked towards the inner room happily, today he wants to relax, but before he can reach the door, a guard came to report, "The man named Wang Bingge said that there is an urgent matter to ask to see the eldest prince." ”

"Urgent?"

Ge Luofeng's relaxed heart suddenly hung up, although the relationship was not long, but he already knew that Wang Bing was stable, if he said that there was a big event, it must be a big thing, sure enough, the news that Zhao Quandeng's family was destroyed was like a thunderbolt, and Ge Luofeng was stunned and stunned, his face turned pale, his whole body trembled, as if he saw a five-step snake tourist, he stepped back, staggered back on the chair, and sat down at once. Countless hopes and ideals are like a pile of colorful bubbles that only exist for a few hours before they suddenly burst.

"Li Qing, you are so ruthless!" Ge Luofeng muttered to himself, just after listening to Zhao Quandeng talk about the cause and effect, he immediately understood his power.

His heart ached violently, and he suddenly pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, and the white silk scarf was gradually dyed red.

"Prince, what's wrong with you!"

Duan Fuke, who had just arrived to inquire about it, was stunned, he suddenly turned his head and stared at Wang Bingge, and said sharply: "What happened!" ”

Wang Bing slowly knelt down, he was sending Wu Yulin out of the city, he found that something had happened to Zhao Quandeng's family, he thought this was a good thing, but this was the result, suddenly, he understood that his stupidity had ruined the lord's big thing.

Ge Luofeng gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and waved his hand, "It's none of the soldiers' business, don't blame him!" ”

With a sigh, he said to Duan Fuke: "I just got the news that Zhao Quandeng was killed by Li Qing, or the whole family was destroyed, not to mention that I guessed, it must have been done by disguised as a Nanzhao soldier, and this bad debt will still be planted on my head tomorrow." ”

Duan Fuke's eyes showed a look of horror, now that the lord had just signed a contract with Zhao Quandeng, before the ink dried, he killed the killer, so that the contract he had just signed immediately became a piece of paper, this knife is too fast, and the means are too ruthless!

Thinking of this, he said without hesitation: "Lord, give me a copy of the contract, and I will go to Zhao Fuyu Wang and Du Luosheng to expose Li Qing's conspiracy." ”

Ge Luofeng shook his head and said with a wry smile: "What's the use of you exposing it, Zhao Quandeng betrayed Yu Chengjie, they will definitely say that the killing is good, this matter can not be explained in a few words, and besides, they will not listen to your explanation." ”

He pondered for a moment and wondered: "The only thing I find strange is that Zhao Quandeng and I signed a very secret contract, and there was only a few hours apart, how could Li Qing know, didn't he kill Zhao Quandeng because of this matter?" ”

Wang Bing each knelt on the ground, his head buried deep in his chest, the despair of the lord made him so remorseful that his heart was about to drip blood, the steel teeth were almost bitten, hearing Ge Luofeng's doubts, he raised his head, straightened his waist, raised his right hand and turned his palm into a knife, only to see the strength of the split, the index finger of the left hand was cut off in response, he cut the iron: "Your Royal Highness the prince, I once bowed to Li Qing, just because of the momentary benevolence of His Royal Highness to ruin His Highness's major affairs, now I cut off a finger, and since then I have nothing to do with him, I will now go to the head of others to apologize!" ”

Ge Luofeng looked at him in surprise, suddenly understood, quickly tore off a piece of his shirt to cover his wound, and patted him on the shoulder and praised: "I like your honesty, you don't have to blame yourself for this matter, and don't hate him, each other is for the benefit of their own country, even I appreciate him, ruthless, deep and decisive, the future is definitely not a thing in the pool, this is a great talent, soldiers, you and he bow, and do not insult you, but it is a pity that I am not friends with him, otherwise even I want to bow to him." ”

Ge Luofeng slowly straightened up, his depression was gone, his bright eyes flashed with firmness and confidence, he smiled slightly, "Zhao Quandeng's news will definitely be blocked, if I guess correctly, tomorrow they will definitely invite me to ascend the throne in the name of Zhao Quandeng and take the opportunity to kill me." ”

Duan Fuke hurriedly said: "Then let's leave now and go to Lishui to regroup and come back." ”

Ge Luofeng shook his head and said categorically: "If I leave, Shi's father's charges will be confirmed, and I will lose the support of the people, and it will be even more difficult to turn over in the future. ”

He looked back at Duan Fuke, pressed his shoulders with both hands, stared into his eyes, and admonished: "If I can't come back, you and Duan Zhongguo will make my son king, if the Tang Dynasty doesn't recognize it, you will take refuge in Tubo and seek their support." ”

Looking at the lord's resolute eyes, Duan Fuke slowly knelt down, "The minister must live up to the lord's trust." ”

Wang Bing also said firmly: "Tomorrow I will protect the lord closely, as long as I have a breath here, no one will think of touching the lord a single hair." ”

Ge Luofeng guessed well, at the same moment when he decided to go to the appointment tomorrow, in Chengjie's mansion, Li Qing handed over a bloody contract to Yu Chengjie, who was sleeping, and the smell of blood suddenly woke him up, and the hand he was about to receive the letter suddenly retracted as if it had been bitten by a snake, and said in fear: "General Li, what is this?" ”

Seeing that he was scared, Li Qing sneered: "This is the evidence that your Taifu Zhao Quandeng has taken refuge in Ge Luofeng, if I hadn't gotten the secret report to strike first, hum!" Next year, today will be your memorial day. ”

"What?" Yu Chengjie's ears couldn't be believed, "My master he, he took refuge in Ge Luofeng?" ”

His hand trembled and took the contract, opened it, his eyes swept hurriedly, his face turned pale with fright, Zhao Quandeng, who he had always relied on and regarded as his father, actually betrayed him, as if the sky had fallen, Yu Chengjie was in a state of confusion, he didn't know what to do, and he said in a trembling voice for a long time: "Then I won't be the king of Nanzhao, give it to the eldest brother, do you think this will work?" ”

Li Qing glanced at Yu Chengjie, who was showing fear, and scolded secretly in his heart, "Something that has no interest!" But he laughed, suddenly laughed, stared at Yu Chengjie and said: "Since ancient times, the emperor's family has been the most ruthless, if Ge Luofeng ascends the throne, the first thing he will do is to kill your whole family, followed by killing your two younger brothers, he will never allow anyone who threatens his position to live in this world." ”

Yu Chengjie squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, tearing his hair in pain, like a child who had lost his parents, the corners of his mouth grinned, and finally he cried mournfully, "Then what do you say I should do, I'm really scared!" ”

"Get up! Get up! Li Qing pulled him up with a smile, patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Our Datang is resolutely supporting you, this is not only in words, but also in action to express, as long as you listen to my arrangement, I guarantee that you can ascend to the throne of the king of Nanzhao tomorrow, I just hope you don't forget to reward me with a little benefit at that time, hehe! ”

Under Li Qing's careful persuasion, Yu Chengjie's fear gradually disappeared, he wiped away his tears embarrassedly, and said sincerely: "If I can ascend the throne, I will definitely reward you heavily, en!" I will reward you with twenty beauties, three thousand taels of gold. ”

Li Qing laughed, "The beauties are exempt, folded into a thousand taels of gold, a total of four thousand taels, what do you think?" ”

Yu Chengjie also laughed, "Okay! I promise you, in addition, you can also pick any treasure in my Nanzhao's treasure house. Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered what Li Qing had just said, a smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and he asked in horror: "You said just now that you started first, did you mean?"

Li Qing nodded slowly, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, "That's right!" Zhao Quandeng has been killed by me, now before dawn, you immediately send the army that supports you to find Zhao Fuyu Wang and Du Luosheng, I have an important matter to discuss with them, but you must not say that Zhao Quandeng was killed by me, but by Ge Luofeng, otherwise, even they will betray you! ”

This chapter is written in such a way that even Lao Gao himself is a little unbearable, although I have tried not to write about the blood, and write about this extermination operation from the perspective of a bystander, but the result is always the same. I originally wanted to write not to kill women and children, but in fact it was impossible, first, to end the operation in a very short time, under that condition, it would not be too much to take into account, and second, it would rather kill three thousand by mistake than let one go, once Zhao Quandeng's wife and concubine knew that he had taken refuge in Ge Luofeng, it would be a big deal to say it. So I thought, since I let Li Qing do it, I just want to be ruthless.

Historically, the Tang Dynasty did support Yu Chengjie and sent envoys to help him, but in the end it was Ge Luofeng who won, and the reason why the Tang Dynasty failed in eastern Yunnan and failed in Nanzhao, I can't find the details, but according to Lao Gao's understanding, it is related to the fact that the means of the Tang Dynasty envoys are not ruthless enough.