It was pouring rain outside the window again, and the winter night in Chang'an was cold and damp, making people breathless.

The charcoal fire in the house burned so much that it drove away the cold and dried the people. Li Mao pulled the door and walked out, the cool breeze was excited, he shivered, and his head suddenly cleared up a lot.

After the crown prince was poisoned, his body was weak, his body could not move, his mouth could not speak, whether his sick and disabled body could last until the day he ascended the throne, he needed to gamble, and how long he could live after ascending the throne also needed to gamble, and what would happen in the middle, and he needed to gamble.

Li Mao has never liked gambling, and he feels that leaving everything to luck is irresponsible to himself. But now, he has no choice but to leave everything to luck.

If you don't gamble, a gamble is a big gamble.

Later that day, the Shangdu Jinju Yuan advocated the New Year, and the judges Zhong Jian and Chen Ru came to Zheng Zhuzhu's house to congratulate the New Year. The motives for the three of them to come here are not simple, they are either bewitched by others, or they have taken advantage of others, they are acting as lobbyists for others, which Li Mao can feel.

Zhang Henian and others have been stationed in Beijing for many years, and they have been circling among various factions all day long, and after a long time, it is sometimes easy to forget their own sect.

Li Mao felt ridiculous and helpless about his subordinates' behavior of eating inside and out, and felt helpless, when the water is clear, there are no fish, and when people are observed, there are no fugitives, many times, he can only pretend to be confused.

About dusk, Lin Ying also rushed over, carrying a secret letter from Yunzhou in his arms, the letter was written by Gao Mu, but the tone was Li Shigu's, Li Shigu told Li Mao to keep an eye on every move of Daming Palace, and clearly instructed him to help the prince stabilize his position as much as possible.

This was the first time that Li Shigu had taken a clear-cut stand on the matter of the abolition of the crown prince.

Wang Shuwen and Wang Ling, the cadres of the prince's faction, sang the argument of suppressing the feudal town, but secretly they were entangled with the feudal town, on the other hand, the major eunuch families who held the real power in the capital were friendly with the feudal town, but secretly they were busy drawing a clear line with the local feudal town.

This can be glimpsed from the protection of Luo Ling, the former school secretary of Shu Wang Li Yi.

Inconsistency in words and deeds is a necessary quality for mixing officialdom, and the so-called listening to his words and watching his deeds is easier than the difficulty of his actions.

After a comprehensive weigh, Yunzhou decided to bet the treasure on the side of the prince. This coincides with Li Mao's position, and the latter can finally secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

But Li Shigu also raised his own worries, the new monarch is weak, the time to enjoy the country is difficult to determine, if it is too short, it will be a little more than worth the loss to spend his efforts to assist him, so he focused on the three words "as much as possible", reminding Li Mao to do what he can.

After reading the letter, Li Mao stretched his waist. Lin Ying said: "There is also an envoy from Yunzhou, so it is inconvenient to come here to meet you. ”

Li Mao said: "You arrange, I'll go to see him at night." After speaking, he changed his words: "The envoy has been tired all the way on the saddle horse, you first arrange for him to rest for the night, and I will see him again tomorrow." Lin Ying said: "That's fine, look calm." ”

Seeing Lin Ying away, Li Mao summoned Qingmo and instructed him to go to the Sixteen Kings' Mansion to meet Li Jie, the king of Yun'an, and ask him to meet him tomorrow in Daxiangguo Temple.

After breakfast on the second day, Lin Ying sent Chen Yuan to pick up Li Mao, and after Li Mao took the throne, Lin Ying recommended Chen Yuan to Li Mao, and Chen Yuan became a secret liaison between the two in the name of sending letters.

The envoys from Yunzhou were Li Jing, the former assassin of Caozhou, Li Yacheng and Zhao Jinglai, the leader of the bronze tiger head.

Zhao Jinglai is Li Mao's old friend, Li Jing and Li Yacheng are no strangers to Li Mao, but it is the first time that the three of them appear in front of Li Mao at the same time, this combination is very strange, Li Mao is a little surprised.

He glanced at Lin Ying, who was also looking at him, his eyes a little embarrassed.

Zhao Jinglai said: "Don't blame him, I didn't let him say it." ”

Zhao Jinglai took out a codex from the pocket of his underwear and handed it to Li Mao, this codex was issued by Li Gon, the nominal general manager of the copper tiger head, Li Gon successively served as the deputy envoy of the soldiers and horses in front of the Pinglu Army, the deputy envoy of the soldiers and horses of the Yangdao Army, the Marquis of Yu, the Don't Drive in Laizhou, and the Assassin of Yizhou.

Before being promoted to the governor of Xijing, he was impeached and lost his official position for the crime of "corruption", and after returning to Yunzhou from Xijing, he became the secretary of Yunzhou, using this identity as a cover.

When Li Mao disposed of Li Fang in Li Shigu's courtyard, Li Gon personally supervised the formation in the name of taking Li home, and observed Li Mao's actions nearby.

This is also a big boost for Li Maoneng to rise step by step in the copper tiger head system.

This point was not realized until Li Mao became the leader of the Western Kyoto.

For Li Gon, Li Mao is grateful and respectful, not only because he is a veteran of Ziqing, Li Shigu's uncle, a senior senior in the copper tiger head, and now a nominal boss. More importantly, because of his vision and courage, Li Gon has been the head of Xijing, and from what Li Mao can grasp, he has thrown himself into the ground for the five bodies that he admires in this predecessor.

Compared with him, Wang Bingchen is a narrow-minded and short-sighted clown.

According to the rules of the bronze tiger head, although the chief steward does not hold real power, all official documents must be confirmed by the chief steward's codex, otherwise they are invalid. Even the order of the envoy of the festival must be countersigned by the chief governor.

Li Gon announced an appointment in the Codex: with Li Mao as the guard, the right flank of the pro-army Yang Dao Army, and stationed in the cities of Liaodong.

There are two people who have succeeded Li Mao in his current position, Lin Yingquan took the western Kyoto consulate, and Li Jing served as the superintendent of western Beijing.

This appointment came so suddenly, which caught Li Mao a little off guard, Rao is his cultivation over the years has become more and more profound, most of the time he can be happy and angry, this time he still can't stop being stunned.

Zhao Jinglai explained: "Liaodong is the hometown of my Tang Dynasty, the place where the Pinglu army became an army, and the place where the old days were fortified. This place is fertile for thousands of miles, rich in products, controlling the countries of Xi, Khitan, Murowei, Jian, Silla, etc., and bordering Youzhou, the strategic location is very important. Liaodong and Ziqing face each other across the sea, if Liaodong is taken, Ziqing will have an additional northern barrier, and there will be more bargaining chips with the imperial court. Although this place has been reduced to dust, there are still hundreds of Han Chinese forts living along the coast and along the river, who are looking forward to returning to their homeland day and night, and if they can be properly managed, there will be a period of recovery. ”

After a pause, he said: "The marshal is determined to run Liaodong, and has asked the imperial court to use you as the envoy of Liaodong to concentrate on Liaodong." ”

Li Mao said: "Sent by the marshal, Li Mao should obey his orders, but the situation in Liaodong is chaotic, and it is not appropriate to raise the banner of the envoy at this moment, so he must slowly plan it and wait for the time to come." ”

Li Jing said: "In the matter of Tuliao, your main responsibility, the marshal will respect your opinion." ”

Li Yacheng said: "Your appointment has been drafted by Hanlin, and you can arrive at Zhongshu Sect tomorrow, and the official certificate will be issued soon, without further ado, you should deliver it as soon as possible." ”

Li Mao said: "I have my own arrangements for this. ”

It wasn't until the three of them were sent away that Li Mao's mind calmed down. He guessed that Li Shigu wanted to bet on the treasure but didn't want to cause trouble. There has long been talk of recovering the lost territory of Liaodong in the DPRK, but everyone knows that it is a daunting path, and no one is willing to use his life, and now he is invited to serve as the Liaodong Economic Strategy Envoy for Liaocheng Prefecture, which satisfies the wish of the Son of Heaven.

The Son of Heaven is terminally ill, and time is running out, so he has come up with such a good thing to make his old man happy, I believe that no one will object, and some forces will even do their best to "help" Li Mao and send him out as soon as possible.

In this way, Li Mao has nothing to do with Ziqing, what inappropriate things he does in the future is his own business, he Li Shigu is at most a sin that he does not know, for Ziqing, who stands in Shandong, what the emperor can do is nothing more than symbolically punish him for two months, but he can't shake his foundation at all.

Understanding Li Shigu's intentions, Li Mao deliberately made a deal with Li Jing and Lin Ying.

He first used abdominal pain as an excuse and didn't see the two of them for two days, and then said that he had a toothache and was inconvenient to speak, so he couldn't do the handover, so he left the two alone. Li Jing and Lin Ying also understood Li Shigu's intentions, so they cooperated with Li Mao to make a play.

At the first great court meeting after the year, the Son of Heaven announced the use of Li Mao, the former servant of the imperial history, as the Liaocheng Prefecture Assassin Shi Chong Liaodong Economic Envoy, and the Manchu Dynasty congratulated the Son of Heaven on his wisdom. Li Shineng was happy that he had found a loyal minister who had recovered his hometown in Liaodong before he died, and gave Li Maoyu a golden talisman and a sword from the Son of Heaven to help his momentum.

In the old days, the Tang Dynasty set up the Andong Metropolitan Protectorate to govern Liaodong, under which there were Liaodong Prefecture, Gebezhou, Jian'an Prefecture, Bohai, Raole, Songmo Six Governors, of which Songmo, Bohai, Raole Governors were served by the Hu chieftain.

Before the Anshi Rebellion, the Pinglu Army controlled Liaodong, and the war broke out, and the Pinglu Army went south to Ziqing, and Liaodong fell into Hu Chen. After that, and set up Liaodong Economic Strategy Envoy to manage Liaodong, the rise and fall of the times, such as the Lulong Army Jiedu envoy or Yingzhou Assassin Shi concurrently served as this position, just as the Fengxiang Jiedu envoy concurrently served as the Hexi Longyou Jiedu envoy and Anxi Duhu, but the imperial court declared the ownership of the lost land, to inspire the determination of future generations to recover the lost land, the nominal military government, in fact, did not have much power.

Although Li Mao's official position is not high, he is already a celebrity in the capital, and this appointment proposed by Li Shigu in Ziqing, different people will naturally come to different interpretations, but there is one thing that tends to be the same, that is, Li Shigu does not plan to go to the troubled waters of the capital.

A nominal envoy appointment was quickly lost in many military affairs, but for Li Jie, this was like a bolt from the blue, so as soon as he met Li Mao in Daxiangguo Temple, he said angrily: "Li Mao, how can you pick your son and leave at this time." Is this the work of the great husband, cough cough cough ......"

Li Mao said: "Since the king knows my identity, I won't explain much, although I have lost the position of the head of the Jindu Academy, there are still some forces available in Xijing, and the undercurrent of Chang'an is surging, and Yun Shuai is afraid that I will act rashly and do something out of the ordinary." Then I was relieved of my authority. Now I'm alone, I'm powerless, and I can't help the king's affairs. ”

Li Jie frowned, was silent for a long time, and said: "You really have a heart, I can show you a clear way, if you lose, it will not affect Yunzhou, it will be, and it will be of great benefit to you and Yunzhou." ”

Li Jie gritted his teeth and told Li Mao a big secret: he had recruited a group of dead soldiers in the city and prepared to use them in extraordinary times. (Dissertation College)