Late at night, Chang'an City.

There is a faint starlight tonight, but at the end of spring and early summer, even if there is only a faint starlight, the night can still be called bright.

An inn in Chang'an City has come to an end at this time, the shopkeeper is still cleaning up the leftovers left by the guests, and the innkeeper is at the counter with the faint light to settle the account, and the abacus is crackling by him.

And at this time, several black-clothed people suddenly rushed in, the shopkeeper couldn't help but exclaim loudly, and the innkeeper was so frightened that he suddenly hid under the counter.

The man in black had a knife in his hand, and he was about to slash at the shopkeeper, but at this time, one of them suddenly stopped: "Don't waste time here, finding those two people is the key." ”

After speaking, the man suddenly put the knife on the neck of the shopkeeper and asked, "Where do Gao Chen and Ma Dai live?" ”

The shopkeeper was already frightened and incontinent, although he was in the crowd all day long, but it was the first time he had encountered a fatal situation like today, so that when the man in black asked him a question with a knife, he was so stumped that he couldn't speak, his heart was very anxious, he knew very well that if he couldn't say it, he was afraid that he would die, so although he couldn't speak, he still tried his best to think of ways to let this group of people in black know the answer they wanted.

"Lou...... Upstairs ......" shopkeeper said, pointing to the second floor with his finger, but he really couldn't say the words below, and at this time, another man in black had already pulled the innkeeper out, after all, the innkeeper had experienced more things than the shopkeeper, although he was also afraid, but the words were clear.

"How many masters...... Spare your life, the two of them are in two rooms in the number A and B! ”

After hearing the news, the group of black-clothed people did not hesitate anymore, and immediately flew towards the second-floor house, but at this time, four or five people suddenly rushed out of the second floor, these four or five people looked strange, and there was always a smile on their faces.

After the two sides met, the men in black were a little surprised, and immediately asked, "Are you from that road?" ”

The five people smiled coldly: "Anyway, it's not with you!" After saying that, they started it, these people are Hu Fei's friends, it may be okay for them to steal chickens and touch dogs, but if they want to fight and kill, it is a little bit worse, so it has always been their practice to strike first, because only in this way can they take the lead.

The fight is about to break out, these people are obviously not the opponents of those men in black, but these people are extremely flexible, although they can't beat these men in black, but it is not easy for these men in black to kill them.

The two sides were so deadlocked for a cup of tea, two people suddenly flew in outside the inn, these two people were extremely fast, martial arts were extremely high, as soon as the two of them made a move, the situation immediately changed, those black-clothed people were defeated and retreated, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace.

The victorious side obviously didn't want to kill, otherwise those people wouldn't have been able to get away with it.

The last two people to come in were Jiang Ying and Lin Yun, and after thanking those friends, they immediately went upstairs to wake up Gao Chen and Ma Dai, and after explaining what happened, they took them to Su Mansion.

Several people entered the Su Mansion, and after seeing Su Wuming, Su Wuming explained to them, and then led Gao Chen and Ma Dai out of the house.

The three of them got into the carriage and quickly disappeared into the night, Gao Chen and Ma Dai were a little nervous, but they were not nervous because of the previous assassination, but they were nervous about seeing the emperor soon.

The palace at night has an indescribable beauty, the lights are bright, the quaint palace walls and palaces look so hazy in the night, if it is autumn, there may be smoke here, and at that time, I am afraid that some people will mistakenly think that this is a fairyland.

Su Wuming took the token of walking in the palace, and was directly led to the imperial study by the eunuch, at this time, Li Yan had already seen the music almost, and when he heard Su Wuming ask to see him late at night, he was very surprised, and he was puzzled, I don't know why Su Wuming came to the palace to see him so late.

After Su Wuming saluted, Li Yan asked, "Su Aiqing has something important to say?" ”

Su Wuming bowed down and said: "Back to the emperor, exactly, and it is a big event, please ask the emperor to retreat." ”

When the surrounding eunuchs heard Su Wuming's words, a fierce light immediately appeared in their eyes, not everyone around these emperors was loyal to the emperor, they had already been bought by various forces, and their value was that they could hear all kinds of news about the emperor, if they didn't have this value, how could the forces of all parties please them again?

Li Yan frowned slightly, but he still waved his hand to those eunuchs, and after the eunuchs bowed and retreated, Li Yan asked: "Su Aiqing, what do you have to say now, you can say it!" ”

Su Wuming nodded, and said: "Tonight, Gao Chen and Ma Dai, who came to Chang'an City to participate in the talent competition, were assassinated by a group of black-clothed people, and fortunately escaped, because they had competed together, so they immediately came to Weichen's mansion to ask for help. I wonder if the emperor is willing to summon the two of them? ”

As soon as Li Yan heard that the person who came to Chang'an City to participate in the talent contest was assassinated, he was suddenly furious in his heart, isn't this to find trouble with him, and after snorting coldly, he ordered: "Let the two of them come in!" ”

Gao Chen and Ma Dai entered the imperial study resignedly, and after kneeling, they didn't dare to raise their heads, nor did they dare to speak, just waiting for the emperor to ask, Li Yan glanced at the two of them, and saw that Ma Dai was already in his forties, and was very curious, so he asked: "If you have anything to say, just talk about it." ”

Gao Chen glanced at Ma Dai, Ma Dai nodded slightly, and then Gao Chen said: "Back to the emperor, both of us are border generals, and we have a secret room to report when we enter Beijing this time, but it has been difficult to reach the heavens, and finally I came up with a way to participate in the talent competition, in order to see the saint and explain the situation at the border pass clearly." ”

Li Yan heard that this matter was related to the situation at the border pass, and he couldn't help but feel nervous, since ancient times, the border pass has been an important place, there are soldiers and generals, it is a place to protect the family and defend the country, of course, it has always been suspicious of the emperor, if there is a general who wants to rebel, I am afraid that it will be too late for the emperor to get the news.

"Tell me, what's going on at my border?"

"Back to the emperor, not long ago, the imperial court transported a batch of grain and grass to the border pass, but when it was transported to the barracks, there was only one-third left, and more than half of it was missing, the general was very anxious, and even made several twists and turns to the court, but there was no response, so he sent the two of us here to meet the saint, but I didn't expect that our traces were discovered, and we were assassinated tonight."

After Gao Chen said these words, Li Yan was already extremely angry, he was the emperor, he naturally understood the severity of what Gao Chen said, there were people who dared to deduct grain and grass, and dared to suppress the folds, they must be bold people, and even, in their hearts, they already had the idea of rebellion, otherwise how could they dare to act like this.

Although Li Yan was angry, he hadn't lost his mind yet, he glanced at Su Wuming and asked, "Su Aiqing, what do you think should be done about this matter?" Li Yan wanted to promote Su Wuming for a long time, maybe this time was an opportunity, and he could also take the opportunity to test Su Wuming's skills to see if he could handle this matter well.

Su Wuming naturally didn't understand what Li Yan was thinking, and after listening to the emperor's words, he hurriedly replied: "This matter is very strict, and it must be investigated and dealt with strictly, otherwise there will be chaos in the Tang Dynasty again." ”

"Oh, Su Aiqing said it in detail!"

"Back to the emperor, there are two aspects of the strict affairs of the matter, one is the border pass, if the soldiers at the border pass can't eat, how can they fight, how to protect the family and defend the country, if the enemy visits, I am afraid that the border pass of the Tang Dynasty will not be protected; The second is that within the imperial court, what is the grain and grass, generally only those who want to rebel will hoard grain and grass, judging from the current situation, this group of people is very powerful, and the ambition is greater, and the intention of rebellion has been revealed, I am afraid that what they are waiting for now is just an opportunity. ”

What Su Wuming said was very reasonable, after listening to it, Emperor Li Yan bowed slightly, and at this time, he suddenly had a new idea in his heart, does he not have military power in his hands from time to time, if he can get the support of the border generals this time, he Li Yan is not afraid of those eunuch vassal kings.

After thinking about it like this, Li Yan said to Su Wuming: "Okay, I will leave this matter to you to handle, and I must find out that gang of rebellious ministers and thieves." ”

After Su Wuming received the order, he hurriedly bowed down and retreated, Gao Chen and Ma Dai were about to kneel, Li Yan suddenly shouted: "The two Aiqing came from thousands of miles away, it can be seen that their loyalty is commendable, I have an important matter to explain to you, the two Aiqing and calm down first!" ”

When Gao Chen and Ma Dai heard this, they were overjoyed and excited, they hated to shed their blood for the emperor.

Li Yan told Gao Chen and Ma Dai what he thought in his heart, and after listening to it, they immediately said that they would be loyal to the monarch in this life, and then left the palace, and after some preparations, they left Chang'an City overnight.

The imperial study was calm, but at this time, Li Yan's face showed a smile, he finally realized the benefits of being an emperor, if he was just to maintain the responsibility of maintaining the foundation of the Tang Dynasty before, then now, he felt that he finally had the right that the emperor should have, the right to kill, the right to decide, and of course, the right to give grace.