Except for Princess Taiping's vague mention of the matter of Furong Garden, there was not much talk about the court at the family banquet. After the banquet, Li Dan said that he was too strong to drink and was unwell, so he consciously said goodbye and avoided it. Princess Taiping also took Linlang and the nurses to serve the little guy Xue Linyu, leaving Xue Shao and Wu Zetian.

"It's still early. Xue Shao, if you are not in a hurry to go home, how about you come and accompany me in the next game of Shuanglu? Wu Zetian sent out an invitation.

"The minister is happy to accompany you." Xue Shao agreed.

Wu Zetian loves Shuanglu, and everyone in the palace and outside the palace knows it. The former Lantian Gongzi was a top master of playing Shuanglu.

At the beginning of the flag game, Xue Shao played normally and did not leave a trace of emotion, and won a big victory. Wu Zetian not only did not feel that he was swept away and had no face, but he was addicted. She also said that this is the reason why she has always enjoyed playing chess with Xue Shao, because Xue Shao does not deliberately lose chess in order to take care of her face and affection like others. Play against the best players, even if you lose, you can still have real fun.

Including entertainment, Wu Zetian has the tenacity to challenge the strong and not admit defeat.

In the middle of the game, Wu Zetian suddenly said: "After you go back, you have to discipline Taiping." Now in the limelight, there are some things that you should not do, and some things that you should not say nonsense. Although she is a dignified princess and will not cause trouble to come out of her mouth, it is not a good thing to cause trouble for you after all. ”

"I see." Xue Shao nodded, knowing in his heart that Wu Zetian was not referring to the private meeting with King Luling, but Princess Taiping's repeated words to "kill that old horseman with a rod".

Princess Taiping is not the kind of little shrew in the market who scolds the street but doesn't dare to do it, she will really do what she says - Zhang Miao was at the beginning, didn't she die in the anger of Princess Taiping? Although Pei Yan is the ruling assistant of the government and the opposition, in the eyes of Princess Taiping, there is no essential difference between him and Zhang Miao.

The pride of the royal family is indeed not something that ordinary people can understand.

"You left Xiazhou and Shuofang's army, will something go wrong over there?" Wu Zetian asked a more important question.

Xue Shao thought for a while and said: "Although I rushed to help Hebei, Li Duozuo stayed behind in Fengzhou, Liu Youqiu sat in the Governor's Mansion, and even the Yinchuan Military Tun that will be developed has been arranged by a special person to be responsible. Unless there is a war that breaks out, it should not go wrong. ”

"Not bad." Wu Zetian smiled approvingly and said, "In just two years, you have suppressed such a large area and taken so many things away. In addition, I heard that you Shuo Fang 18 generals, all of them can stand alone. Su Wei, Liu Youqiu, Zhong Shaojing, and Li Xianyuan, including Li Xianyuan, have also done a good job under your command. This is rare, this is the result of you valuing talents, cultivating talents and knowing how to use talents! ”

Xue Shao smiled, "The Queen Mother is overrated." In fact, most of the teams of Xiazhou and Shuofang are the men and horses left to me by Pei Gong. The predecessors planted trees and the later people enjoyed the shade, but I just picked up a ready-made. ”

Wu Zetian smiled noncommittally and said, "Since there will be no change in Xiazhou and Shuofang, you might as well stay in Chang'an for some more time." ”

Xue Shao's heart moved slightly, and he nodded, "Okay." ”

Wu Zetian smiled, his expression was very relieved and happy.

Xue Shao could tell from Wu Zetian's smile that she especially needed me to provide a boost now. Keeping me by my side is equivalent to leaving Shuofang's 100,000 army by my side. After the emperor was deposed, the Manchu Dynasty had no master of the six gods for a while. Out of the inertial thinking of the Confucian scholars, they are more willing to follow a male superior than to support a female stream, not to mention that Pei Yan also has Liu Yizhi, who is the teacher of the new emperor Li Dan. As a result, there were already many courtiers who stood on Pei Yan's side. Now the contradiction between Wu Zetian and Pei Yan is becoming more and more acute, and Pei Yan's advantage is that he has the support of a large number of ministers, and he has basically mastered the right to speak in the court. And Wu Zetian's only advantage is that the new emperor Li Dan entrusted her to "temporarily" weigh the system.

How long can this "temporary" last, and when will the battle between Wu Zetian and Pei Yan be executed.

At this time, Wu Zetian lowered his voice a little and said: "Pei Yan, Liu Yizhi, Liu Qixian and others, what they think about day and night is to let the palace return to the inner court and return to the new emperor. Do you know what kind of heart they have? ”

Xue Shao frowned lightly and whispered, "The new emperor has grown up in the deep palace since he was a child, and he has never set foot in the court. Except for Liu Yizhi who was his teacher, he did not have any foundation and connections in the court. Once the empress dowager returns to power, the new emperor will be in power, and the new emperor will become a puppet. The ownership authority of Datang will fall into the hands of Pei Yan and others. They will become the ...... who control the Tang Dynasty Minister! ”

"That's right." Wu Zetian nodded, put down the chess pieces in his hand, and said seriously: "The power is too strong, and it has threatened the sanctity of the monarch's power." As you can see, the new emperor was a man of a calm temperament. Once he is really allowed to govern in person, the court of the Tang Dynasty will become Pei Yan's court. This Li family's country will become the Pei family's country sooner or later! ”

Xue Shao just nodded, thinking that although Wu Zetian's words were a little exaggerated, they might not be unreasonable. The temptation of power is better than a qiē. Who can conclude that after Pei Yan killed all his political enemies, he would not have the idea of replacing the emperor?

Desires and ambitions are not cultivated in a day, but are constantly expanding step by step!

"Pei Yan is now in power, and even I can't balance him." Wu Zetian said, "His only weakness is the lack of support from the army. Otherwise, he probably can't wait to drive our orphans and widows out of the palace and replace them himself! ”

Xue Shao frowned and said, "In the past few years, Pei Yan has been actively suppressing the leaders of the army, and trying his best to infiltrate the army, hoping to grasp some military power or win the support of a group of generals. Previously, he set up the main place to kill the mind, just to squeeze out Pei Gong. He was worried that after Pei Gong's victorious return from the Northern Expedition, he would join the cabinet and become his opponent. ”

"yes!" Wu Zetian sighed softly, "Now it seems that it is really a rather wrong decision to behead the mind. At that time, I wanted to stop it, but Pei Yan tried to admonish the first emperor, and the first emperor was moved by him...... I can't do anything about it! ”

Xue Shao nodded noncommittally, and said in his heart that it didn't matter whether Wu Zetian's words were true or not. The important thing is that Wu Zetian is taking the initiative to collect Pei Yan's "criminal evidence", obviously preparing for the liquidation of Pei Yan!

"Pei Yan has done a lot of things for the army, in fact, I know it in my heart." Wu Zetian said again: "With Wenxi Pei's family and Pei Yan's own identity, his daughter will never marry Cheng Qizhi. But because Cheng Qizhi is Cheng Wuting's son, this family business was achieved. It's just that this time Cheng Wuting must have disappointed Pei Yan - hehe! ”

In the end, Wu Zetian's smile obviously expressed a strong sense of approval for Xue Shao. Each other is a person who understands, and there is no need to say anything. Wu Zetian must have been able to think in his heart that the person who could persuade Cheng Wuting to leave at a critical juncture, who else could he be besides Xue Shao?

Xue Shao only smiled and said, "Previously, Pei Yan had recommended Tang Huaibi to sit in Xiazhou. It was an important military town in the Tang Dynasty, and after Wang Fangyi led the army to the Western Regions, there was a vacancy. He hoped that Tang Huaibi would be able to sit in Xiazhou and master the army, but he didn't expect Tang Huaibi to poke a big basket without arguing. When I killed Tang Huaibi, I once thought about whether I should take the opportunity to fight back against Pei Yan. Unfortunately, the war was urgent at that time, and I really lacked skills, otherwise I would have to go back to the court to visit him! ”

"It's useless, you can't participate." Wu Zetian smiled slightly and said, "To this day, even if everyone knows that the loss of Helong Sanzhou is Pei Yan's fault, we have no way to bring him down. Because Tang Huaibi has already used his own head to bear most of the responsibility, Pei Yan only shoulders one joint and several responsibility at most. This kind of crime is not enough to bring down Pei Yan. Unless, he himself made such a mistake! ”

Xue Shao's brows furrowed tightly, Wu Zetian had already made it clear that Pei Yan was not so easy to deal with, because the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty now regarded him as a leader. If you don't have enough reason to pull him, you will only be bitten by a snake instead of beating a snake.

The desire of the people is the greatest power of politics.

"Well, how's that okay?" Xue Shao asked tentatively.

Wu Zetian smiled slightly, picked up the chess piece again, placed it lightly, and said a word, "Wait." ”

"Wait?"

"That's right, wait." Wu Zetian said confidently and unhurriedly, "A person with swollen desires and ambitions will definitely not be able to bear loneliness. He can't stand the loneliness, so he will take steps or stretch out his hand. As soon as he makes a move, he will inevitably show his feet. This is called, it is still permissible for heaven to do evil, and it is impossible to live for oneself! ”

Xue Shaoshen nodded approvingly, that's right, this is Wu Zetian's style - experienced, forbearing, can gather momentum, is good at seizing opportunities and will be decisive when shooting!

"These days, you can accompany Taiping and Qi'er at home." Wu Zetian changed his tone and said with a smile: "You have only been married for two or three years, and you are out on the march most of the time. It's a little unfair to their mother and son. Take advantage of this time to compensate them well. ”

"Okay, I will." Xue Shao replied with a smile.

"If there is anything, you can come to the palace to see me." Wu Zetian said, "I have given an order to the guards and the generals of the Imperial Forest Army, and you can enter and leave the inner court freely at any time. ”

"Good ......" Xue Shao laughed very funny, isn't the right to freely enter and leave the inner court only the emperor can enjoy? The first emperor is gone, the new emperor is under house arrest, and there are 3,000 beauties in the harem...... I can't seem to take care of it!

"Youping is watching you, and I'm not afraid that you will mess around in the palace." Wu Zetian laughed.

"Ahem! ......" Xue Shao coughed bitterly, well, I seem to be thinking a little too much!