The news that the Kunpeng fleet had defeated the main force of Bao Yuchun's army at Jingkou soon spread back to the imperial capital.

For a moment, the government and the opposition were overjoyed, and the whole city was jubilant.

The balance of war is completely tilted, and the final victory is not far off!

Li Bing was so happy that he danced with his hands, and praised the Zhenjiang Army as the pillar of the country when he met people, and even praised Gong Chengze with a lot, saying that it was definitely a wise move for him to hand over 600 warships to the Zhenjiang Army before.

Inexplicably got the emperor's appreciation, Gong Chengze couldn't help but feel happy in his heart, he hurriedly went to Tian Mu, planning to take the other party to the newly opened top green building "Cuiwei Pavilion" in the imperial capital to celebrate.

didn't think about it, Tian Mu, who has always loved going to that kind of place, refused.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to go, I really can't get out." Tian Mu explained apologetically: "The emperor will have a big operation in the past two days, and I must be in charge of the Reverse Scale Division." ”

Gong Chengze wanted to ask what the big action was, and he didn't even have time to drink a meal of flower wine, but when the words came to his mouth, he swallowed it back. The Beiya Reverse Scale Division is the private soldier of the Holy Tang Emperor, and what he does has always been a secret matter, unless he is full of food and support, he should never ask too much.

"That's okay, since Brother Tian is busy with official business, the younger brother won't bother. Let's go another day, another day, I'll ask the boss to keep Miss Shiqi for you, hahaha. Say goodbye, say goodbye! ”

After Gong Chengze left, Tian Mu couldn't help but sigh lightly, secretly blaming himself for his miserable life.

The only remaining fool like Gong Chengze can make great achievements in a daze, but as the first close minister of the Holy Tang Dynasty, he is not even as good as a small pro-Xun Yi guard.

At present, in order to regain the favor of the emperor, he still has to secretly work hard and prepare to wrestle with all parties, which is really pitiful and tragic.

According to the reports of his subordinates, at present, the Haw Par Rider and the Horse Mansion are constantly secretly accumulating strength. The tiger and leopard cavalry deliberately transferred two hundred masters to Ouyang Lin's command, obviously with the emperor's approval; And the Fuma Mansion also secretly activated the hidden personnel of the Zhenjiang Army Intelligence Department in the imperial capital, and more than 30 elite spies entered the mansion to stand by.

However, the actions of these two groups of people also made Tian Mu quite puzzled:

Ouyang Lin's various deployments at this time basically revolved around the county government prison in Wannian County, indicating that he most likely wanted to set traps here to lure some important targets to take the bait. So, who exactly is he going to fish?

Wei Zixuan's spy accomplice? Lao Jianhua's secret agent?

At the same time, it should be Princess Li Xi of Fenyang who is presiding over the overall situation. This royal noblewoman is not simple, and has a lot to do with Li Jiangyao and the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army. Who will she target?

Rui Ji? Or what other more important person?

Tian Mu thought about it for a long time and decided that it would be better to bury some nails in advance, so he used the powerful vein of the Reverse Scale Division in the imperial capital to arrange for eight Reverse Scale spies to sneak into the prison under various names. Among them, two secret agents acted as jailers, and the other six, four men and two women, were scattered in various areas according to different charges.

After arranging these things, Tian Mu met with Cheng Dong, the official of Zhenguo, in private and reported the current situation to him.

Cheng Dong was originally reluctant to get involved in this matter. Because there are not only Ouyang Lin supported by the emperor, but also the seven princesses and the concubine mansion of Li Jiangyao's family, and the rebel traitors of Lao Jianhua, it is light to say that the situation is chaotic and complicated, it is simply a cannibalistic abyss full of fog.

Whoever gets involved in it may never recover.

However, he couldn't stand his sister Cheng Wen's repeated urging, and finally had to bear it.

Cheng Wen has been gaining momentum lately. Not only is the queen's position becoming more and more stable, and the harem is gradually being exclusive to her, but many traditional nobles in the court and the central government have also seen the situation clearly, and they have begun to move closer to her, quickly forming a new political force.

Under the manipulation behind the backs of these people, Emperor Li Bing had already nodded a few days ago and agreed to let Cheng Dong, the official of Zhenguo, enter the court to participate in politics, and planned to give the post of a member of the Criminal Department.

At this critical juncture, Cheng Dong couldn't disobey the queen's thoughts, so he had to reluctantly take on the responsibility of the liaison and help Cheng Wen remotely direct Tian Mu's actions.

After listening to Tian Mu's words, Cheng Dong snorted casually: "Your judgment is purely mediocre self-disturbance. Who Ouyang Lin wants to arrest, or who has already been caught, what can you do? Do you want to snatch it from the other party? ”

Tian Mu was stunned for a moment, and said embarrassedly: "Guogong, you can't say that." Whether it's Ouyang Lin or Li Xi, they must be secretly planning something now, not to mention what these plans are, but for the court situation, it must be extraordinary. What the lower officials mean, let's hide in the dark and observe, if there is really some conflict between the tiger and leopard riding and the horse mansion, then let's sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and wait until the end to come out to take advantage of the fisherman, isn't it very good for the queen mother and you? ”

"How can you be sure that the goal of the Pony Mansion is to ride the tiger and leopard?" Cheng Dong was a little displeased: "The conflict between the two of them is nonsense no matter how you look at it." Unless, like Wei Zixuan, the Horse Mansion is Lao Jianhua's spy. Lao Tian, do you think Murong Xue is a traitor? Or is Princess Fenyang a mole? ”

Tian Mu was slightly stunned: "Uh...... Both, none of them quite like that. ”

Cheng Dong said depressedly: "That's not it." All your judgments now are based on the fact that the Haw Par Rider and the Pony Mansion are at a hostile angle. Maybe things are just the opposite of what you think, Ouyang Lin plans to use Rui Ji to deal with the rebels, Murong Xue and Li Xi also plan to deal with the rebels, and in the end, if the two of them join forces to act together, what are you going to fish? What's the benefit? ”

Tian Mu smiled when he heard this, and said, "Guogong, you don't know anything about this. Xia Guan guessed that Ouyang Lin's current goal was probably not as simple as the rebels. Do you think, Wei Zixuan, as Lao Jianhua's biggest spy in the court, has completely collapsed now, why does Ouyang Lin bother so much and continue to waste time on those small fish and shrimp? ”

Cheng Dong put down the melon in his hand and said strangely: "You mean, Ouyang Lin has begun to change his goal and is ready to deal with the Horse Mansion?" ”

"To be precise, he doesn't want to deal with the Horse Mansion, but he plans to deal with Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army!" Tian Mu sneered: "Don't forget, in fact, Xia Guan, like Ouyang Lin, is to serve the emperor, and whoever the emperor sees as a threat, we will shoot at whom." It's just that Ouyang Lin is being favored now, so he rushed to the front. But on the other hand, I know him best. ”

Tian Mu paused and continued: "The Zhenjiang army has just won another big victory, and even Bao Yuchun's naval fleet has been killed by them, and the next step is for several major main army corps to cross the river, and the days of the southern rebels are coming to an end." In the future, who will become the biggest threat to the emperor, do you need to say? ”

Cheng Dong thought about it seriously: "Lao Tian, you have some truth. Ouyang Lin brought down Wei Zixuan and captured Rui Ji, it is said that the rebels' spy network in the imperial capital has suffered heavy losses, and there is really no need to do any tricks. Well...... In this way, he should have someone else in target. In this way, blind guessing is not good for action, and even more bad for the queen, you still try to figure out the real purpose of the tiger and leopard riding in Wannian County as soon as possible, and then we can formulate countermeasures. ”

"The lower officials listen to the Guogong," Tian Mu agreed: "It's easy to ride the tiger and leopard over there, but I'm afraid the Horse Mansion will be more troublesome." It's hard to find out who they're targeting. ”

Cheng Dong thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "You said before that Rui Ji used to be Murong Xue's woman, and now it seems that she has bitten Li Jiangyao, right?" ”

Tian Mu nodded: "Yes, the tiger and leopard rider has the eyeliner of the reverse scale division inside, and they sent out the news that Rui Ji confessed to Ouyang Lin that Li Jiangyao was secretly joining forces with Lao Jianhua and was preparing to be unfavorable to the imperial court." Of course, this statement is so absurd that even the emperor does not believe it. ”

Cheng Dong said in a deep voice: "I guess, the target of the Horse Mansion is Rui Ji. Whether it was because she framed the capital protector of the Zhenjiang Army, or because she wanted to get more news of the rebels from her, Murong Xue and Li Xi all had reasons to get Rui Ji into their hands. ”

Tian Muyin smiled compassionately: "The prince of the country is wise. Now you should understand why the lower officials said that they might have a conflict, right? ”

Cheng Dong was also interested at this time: "If it can really cause a conflict between the two sides, it will be a good opportunity." At the very least, the emperor can focus all his attention on this matter and ignore us. Lao Tian, what are you going to do? ”

Tian Mu leaned closer and said mysteriously, "I have two ideas. The first is to press the troops first, and wait for the tiger and leopard to ride and the horse mansion to make trouble first; The second is that when the two sides are fighting, the lower officials' anti-scale division will make a big move to control them all. At that time, no matter whether Rui Ji or any big man in the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army, we will all want it! ”

Cheng Dong bowed slightly when he heard this: "Okay, just do it." Lao Tian, if this matter can be done, I will ask Niangniang for great credit for you, and it is not a problem to add an official to the knighthood! ”

Tian Mu was immediately overjoyed, and hurriedly said that he would go all out.

The two were chatting hotly, and suddenly a spy from the Northern Ya Reverse Scale Division came to the living room in a hurry under the guidance of the housekeeper of the Guogong Mansion.

Tian Mu couldn't help but be stunned when he saw this, knowing that something must have happened, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?" ”

The spy subconsciously glanced at Cheng Dong, who was sitting next to him, and then bent down to Tian Mu's ear, and said in a low voice: "My lord, we have brothers who have been attacked. ”

Tian Mu was curious: "When is it?" Which brother was attacked? Where was the attack? Who did this to you? ”

Faced with this series of questions, the agent frowned, and then replied carefully: "I just received the news. A few days ago, Erqi received a secret tip, saying that a group of guys with suspicious identities were on their way to the imperial capital, and they were afraid that there was some conspiracy danger. They sent three brothers to Lantian to investigate, but they didn't expect ...... Just yesterday, all three were killed. ”