Inas suddenly had an impulse, and almost wanted to tell Shen Lie directly that she was not He Sijia, and the maid Anya was the Turkic princess.

However, when the words came to her lips, she held back again.

What if, the cunning Saint Tang people are just deceiving themselves? The identity of the princess who had worked so hard to hide was completely exposed.

In other words, even if the other party really intends to exchange hostages, they may not believe the real and fake princesses, and in the end, it will make the situation more complicated and put He Sijia in danger.

Thinking of this, Inas tried her best to suppress her nervous and tangled emotions, and pretended to be casual and said, "Lord Shen, I also believe that Father Khan will care more about me. However, there is one thing that I am curious about and want to ask you. ”

"It's okay for the princess to speak up."

Inas smiled faintly: "Why does Lord Shen stare at Lao Jianhua?" You know, in terms of my identity, isn't it more valuable to you Saint Tang? ”

Shen Lie's face was calm: "Shen's beloved wife and daughter were all killed by the thieves back then. No matter what the cost, I will catch him, so to speak, the princess understands. ”

Inas didn't expect that there was such a deep hatred between these two people, and she was stunned on the spot for a while, and after a long time, she sighed softly: "Please forgive me, for letting you mention something sad." ”

Shen Lie smiled faintly: "It's okay." Shen has long been used to it. ”

Inas secretly grasped the other party's heart, and tried to say: "My lord, I am willing to cooperate with your substitution, but there is a small condition. ”

"Oh? Tell us about it. ”

"I wish I could take that maid with me," Inas cautiously said, "She has been by my side for many years, and her feelings are very deep, and I can't bear to leave her alone in a foreign country." ”

She observed Shen Lie's reaction and added, "If you don't agree, then I'd rather stay in the imperial capital." Please believe me, as long as I don't want to, there are a hundred ways to sabotage your plan and make it impossible for you to get Lao Jianhua. ”

Shen Lie once again showed the same puzzled expression as before, but he replied: "This is a small matter, it shouldn't be a problem." ”

Seeing that the other party nodded, Inas finally put her mind at ease, and Yingying got up: "If there is nothing else, I will go back first, and please arrange for the maid to come back to me as soon as possible." ”

Shen Lie was noncommittal about this, and asked instead, "Oh yes, there is one more thing, I want to hear what the princess has to say." ”

"What?"

"Xu Youchang, do you know the princess?"

Inas first looked at Shen Lie, who was sitting on the opposite side, and then said word by word: "He is the great hero of the Holy Tang Dynasty who captured me with his own hands, how dare he not know him?" ”

Shen Lie smiled: "Really? How did Shen hear that there was someone else who captured the princess? But it doesn't matter, what matters is, why does Xu Duwei care about you so much? ”

Inas showed a funny look: "He cares about me? How did I not know? ”

"The last time Shen went to visit the princess, as soon as the front foot left, Xu Youchang also went to the small courtyard of Xuanzheng Fang on the back foot," Shen Lie stared at Inas: "It is said that his Xuanjia Army has nothing to do with the Turkic prisoners of war, I don't know what you all talked about?" ”

Inas was just about to speak, but Shen Lie suddenly raised his hand to stop her, and continued, "The princess had better be honest about this matter. Otherwise, it will directly affect Shen's decision on whether or not to return your maid. ”

Inas was stunned for a few snaps of her fingers, and then sneered: "To be honest, I'm afraid adults won't believe it." Your General Xu has taken a fancy to my maid Anya, and has come to the door several times, and the person he wants to visit is not me, but his beloved girl, how about it? Are you satisfied with this answer? ”

-

The year 820 of the Holy Tang Dynasty is destined to be an extremely restless year for Emperor Li Chengwu.

In the early spring of this year, the six northern states suffered a drought rarely seen in history, and the hungry people were everywhere. Not long after, another major earthquake occurred in the Southwest Sword Pavilion, affecting hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

The imperial court opened the treasury and worked hard to provide disaster relief, and finally settled all the victims in the south and the north, and suddenly there was a military situation in the ghost desert of western Xinjiang.

The army of 150,000 blood wolf clans of the Turkic Empire is roaring, and the thirty-six countries are in an emergency!

There was no way, Sheng Tang hurriedly cheered up and sent his most elite legion to join forces with the Zhenjiang Protectorate to resist the enemy, and finally drove the Turks out.

However, before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, Taifu Nian, who could be called the mainstay of the court, was sent by Taifu Nian, who died suddenly of illness due to overwork.

The pillars of the country once collapsed.

The political situation of Shengtang suddenly fell into panic.

At this time, the Xuanjia Legion, which had made great achievements, suddenly followed the commander Xie Guang back to Middle-earth without meeting the will, and staged a great scene of soldiers coming to the imperial capital.

For the sake of the overall situation, Li Chengwu finally chose to forbear this matter. Whether it was the imperial envoys and officials who wrote one after another, or the secret report of the Reverse Scale Division, he ignored it, but rewarded the Xuanjia soldiers heavily.

But unexpectedly, the emperor's tolerant grace did not make Xie Guangzhi of Shangzhu State restrained. On the contrary, the commander of the army intensified and further extended his hand to the court.

In just a few months, the Ministry of War, Guozijian, Jiangnan Province, from the central to the local, many important officials of Tan Shiwen and his family were overthrown by Xie Guang, and the contradictions between the two sides became increasingly intensified.

Li Chengwu tried his best to appease Tan Shiming all day long, while trying to persuade Xie Guang, he couldn't help but be embarrassed and anxious.

After surviving until the end of the year, Li Chengwu thought that as long as he persisted and persevered, he would be able to get through this unfortunate year, and he might be able to improve a lot in the coming year.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

After all, this year is not over yet, and of course it is not good.

Approaching the Spring Festival, there was a rumor in the imperial capital that the guardian of the Holy Religious Covenant and Taifu Nianjin Song passed away, and the emperor moved the idea of breaking the contract, planning to abolish the crown prince Li Xuance and set up Li Xuanye, the king of Huai'an, as the crown prince.

This rumor, full of vicious rumors, suddenly shocked Li Chengwu to restlessness.

He was lazy, fun-loving, and out of tune, all of which he admitted, but he never thought of breaking his original oath and betraying his royal brother.

What's so good about being an emperor? I don't want my son to suffer this sin!"

This is the truest thought in Li Chengwu's heart.

At the same time, as the emperor, he also knows very well that the rumors of the abolition of the crown prince are by no means the boring speculation of good people, and behind this, there is an extremely strong conspiracy flavor!

In order to find out what happened, Li Chengwu specially ordered the Reverse Scale Division to launch a secret investigation, and it was necessary to find out as soon as possible who was responsible for such a vicious sowing of discord and what was the purpose.

In addition, he also asked Jing Zhaoyin's Mansion to strictly investigate the wine shops and teahouses in the city, and if anyone is found to spread rumors in public, he will immediately take them down and detain them for questioning.

However, what Li Chengwu didn't expect was that Jing Zhaoyin and Liu Zhong didn't care about the people who reported and arrested the rumors, but first sent a complaint.

Xie Guang, the commander of the Yipin Military Marquis, Shangzhu State, and Xuanjia Legion, led troops to storm the imperial court office without authorization, and deceived the monarch!

Li Chengwu's head was two laps bigger, and he felt annoyed. He pointed to the fold and asked Shen Lie, who was standing at the foot of the imperial steps, "Do you know about this?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister was at the scene at the time," Shen Lie looked unhurried: "I was fortunate to witness the whole process with my own eyes." ”

Li Chengwu was slightly stunned: "Where are you?" Why don't you stop Xie Guang? ”

Shen Lie: "Shangzhu Guo claims that Qi Ying is a deserter from the Xuanjia Army, and he has important military information on him, and he cannot afford to lose. For this reason, Weichen can't compete with it. ”

"Nonsense!" Li Chengwu said depressedly: "Others don't know your true identity, don't Xie Guang and Liu Zhong know either?" The long history of the reverse scales represents me, what reason can't you come forward to carry it first, you have to get it to the point where you can't get it, and you come to give me a problem, it's just infuriating! ”

Shen Lie smiled and shook his head: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger." It is precisely because the Reverse Scale Division is His Majesty's person that it is even more difficult for the minister to come forward easily, otherwise it will ......"

Li Chengwu knew what he wanted to say, and waved his hand helplessly: "Okay, I don't really want to blame you." Tell me, what do you think about this? ”

Shen Lie said with a serious expression: "Xie Guang does have bad intentions, and what Qi Ying represents is probably not just Lao Jianhua. ”

Li Chengwu was also serious: "You mean, there are ...... Turkic? ”

"Most of the time you can't be wrong." Shen Lie bowed slightly: "The Turks, Lao Jianhua, and Xie Guang, the three of them must have some kind of collusion in private, and the thing they are trying to do may be the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang." ”

Li Chengwu was silent for a moment, and then said faintly: "It looks like it's similar to what I guessed at the beginning." The Turkic Empire has coveted the western frontier for a long time, and it is by no means something that can be stopped by a few hundred thousand blood wolf armies with a casual fight. And they are afraid of the national strength and military strength of the Holy Tang, and if they want to succeed, they need to rely on internal response. Our Shangzhu country is the best candidate. ”

"It's not all," Shen Lie analyzed: "Xie Guang also has his own calculations, and the Turks will never be able to buy him with money and treasures." In addition, Lao Jianhua, who has been absconding in fear of crime, was once the person of King Jin, and he was involved in the situation at this time, so it is likely that he has other thoughts. ”

Li Chengwu nodded: "I agree with what you said." Lao Jianhua is not simple in itself, and now it has become the link between the Turks and Xie Guang, and catching him is the key to the whole incident. Only with solid and sufficient evidence can we pry Xie Guang. You know, his current prestige in the army is almost unmatched, and I sometimes feel helpless. ”

Shen Lie knew in his heart that the emperor's worries were not unreasonable.

The kings of the Holy Tang Dynasty were all brave and brave heroes in the world, and the armies of the dynasty were naturally honest and loyal under the dual suppression of imperial power and military power. However, Li Chengwu is an emperor who doesn't like to fight and can't fight, and the process of succeeding to the throne is a little unjustifiable, so he has never been able to really control the armed forces of Shengtang.

For many years, the imperial family, the Taifu, the military department, the commander of the legion, and the governor of the state capital have all run military affairs in a state of mutual containment and relative balance, which has led to the fact that generals like Xie Guang can have the opportunity to secretly form a party and rise rapidly.

As soon as Nian Jinsong died, the DPRK and China no longer had the strength to suppress the commander of the army, and Xie Guang immediately became arrogant and domineering.

In the long run, the political situation is in jeopardy.

Including Li Chengwu, many people have already seen the clues. However, it is one thing to see it, and it is another thing to dispose of it properly.

Xie Guang is not the prince who was arrested and killed, not the military department Shangshu, the Jiangnan Assassin History, and the Guozi Priest Wine, he is a famous general with more than 100,000 elite troops in his hands, and if he wants to bring him down, it is far from enough to just put on a hat of "no minister".

There must be ironclad proof!

With solid evidence of the crime, plus careful military preparations, no one would be able to move Xie Guang, not even Li Chengwu.

As a close secret minister, Shen Lie certainly understood the emperor's distress. Now he is blindly holding back and retreating, just so that he can win completely one day.

He sighed secretly and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the matter of exchanging Princess Yingyang for Lao Jianhua has already begun to be arranged, and I believe that there will be results soon." In addition, the minister has secretly ascertained that Xu Youchang, the hussar commander of the Xuanjia Army, is indeed as the princess said, because he likes her maid Anya, so he often comes and goes, and he is not acting secretly on the orders of Xie Guang. Not only that, but the minister also learned that Xu Youchang had a lot of complaints about Xie Guang's recent practices, indicating that they were not all the way. ”

Li Chengwu nodded slightly and took a long breath: "That's good." Alas, after all, he is a child of the Xu family, and I don't want him to really get on Xie Guang's ship. In that case, you go and pass the decree, invite the old general Xu Lie into the palace, and I can rest assured to talk to him about the rest of the matter. ”