At this kind of moment, there are not many people who can find the most critical point in the complex world as calmly and soberly as Shangguan Yangyu and accurately, but there are always some.

Chao Xiaoshu's house is on the second street of Chunfeng Pavilion in Dongcheng.

He hugged the child, sat next to the old father, whispered, and dipped the tip of the chopsticks in the wine and stretched it to the child's mouth, without waiting for the child to lick it curiously, Linzi hurriedly grabbed it and glared at him fiercely.

Today is the birthday of the old lady, the court did not hold a banquet, only invited some close people, the brothers of the Fish and Dragon Gang, from their respective yamen, came over early with gifts.

Thinking of the new emperor's accession to the throne, the undercurrent of Chang'an City is surging, and the banquet in the court house must be that the elder brother has something to explain, and after everyone kowtows to the old lady, they quietly wait to listen to the instructions, but Chao Xiaoshu did not say anything superfluous at the banquet, it is such a picture of family peace.

At this moment, the steward of the house hurried in and whispered a few words. The people at the banquet were not slightly shocked when they heard this, but they didn't react to Xiaoshu, and said indifferently: "What gifts did Your Highness give?"

The steward took out the gift list and reported it carefully, not daring to make any omissions.

A large part of the gifts Li Yu sent to the court house were given to the old lady of the court—there were boxwood canes, as well as a side of Shoushan stone, as well as lake crabs from Daze, Jiujiang double steamed from Hebei County, Chen Kum Kee fat powder and palace silk for Mrs. Chao, and the rest were countless toys for children.

Listening to the voice of the steward, he raised his eyebrows slightly at Xiaoshu, he didn't expect His Highness to give these homely gifts, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Continue to eat and drink." ”

So the brothers continued to eat and drink.

At the end of the banquet, I went to the back garden to listen to the play to the old lady. Mrs. Chao Xiaoshu went to rest with the child in her arms, and all the stewards were invited out of the flower hall, and the rest were the brothers of the Fish and Dragon Gang.

Chao Xiaoshu held the teacup and shook it gently, and said, "You are not the men of the rivers and lakes now, you should be more low-key." Especially Chen Qi, these days, you don't pay attention to the shift of the guard office, even if Xu Chongshan suspects you, don't pay attention to it, Qi Si, you let the brothers in the gang be quieter. ”

He hadn't taken care of the Ichthyosaurus Gang for a long time. But what he said was still like a holy decree to the Ichthyosaurus Gang, Chang Siwei and these people had already left the Ichthyosaurus Gang on the surface and served in the imperial court, but they would never object to his arrangement, and they would not even ask.

The only person who would ask was Chen Qi. Because he is the brains of the Ichthyosaurus Gang.

"How do you arrange it over there?" Chen Qi looked at the middle-aged man who was sitting silently on the right side, and said: "His Royal Highness's response is very decent, we can only admit it, but Fifth Brother is now in charge of the Xiao Cavalry Camp, and it is definitely impossible for him to continue to be silent in the palace." It always takes him to give a clear attitude. ”

Chao Xiaoshu put down the teacup and said: "Many of the brothers are now serving in the court, since they are officials, of course they have to share their worries for the court, and they can do whatever they want according to the old rules of the Tang Dynasty." ”

There was silence in the flower hall, although everyone admitted that what Chao Xiaoshu said was right, but now it was not the same as before. There are a lot of things that everyone still can't understand.

Chen Qi looked at the brothers, frowned slightly, and said, "I understand what everyone is worried about. But I don't think there's any need to worry, there can't be a problem with the edict, because it's too easy to debunk. You must know that at the time of His Majesty's death, there were at least tens of thousands of people in Helan City who could testify. ”

Liu Wu has always been silent, his current official position is the highest, and his position is the most important. Only at this time did he look at Chao Xiaoshu and asked with a solemn expression, "Big brother." Did His Majesty tell you back then that the throne would be passed to whom?"

He shook his head at Xiaoshu, thinking about the real big brother of the Fish and Dragon Gang, thinking of the former friend, who was no longer seen, and couldn't help but have a touch of tiredness between his eyebrows.

"During this time, people don't have to do anything. He said.

Qi Si had a headache and asked, "Do you want to wait like this?"

Chao Xiaoshu said, "What we have to do is wait. ”

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for the queen mother and Master Huang Yang to return to Chang'an. ”

"What if they don't come back?"

"Then there is a problem. ”

......

......

The horses' hooves flew, and the extremely soft turf soaked in the rain flew up in pieces that had been kicked.

More than ten Tang horsemen drove into the northern camp, whether it was a knight or a war horse, they all looked extremely tired, with rain and mud spots on their bodies, and they looked very wolf.

The captain of the Peking University Battalion, after comparing the papers, welcomed the more than ten horsemen into the barracks as quickly as possible, and then summoned the conscripts to prepare to arrange hot water and food for these guests.

The general who led the more than ten Tang cavalry said: "I want to see the general, and I will talk about other things later." ”

The captain was shocked when he heard this, and thought to himself that in such a short time, he rushed from Gushan County to Beidaying, thinking that he was so tired and miserable that he even had to meet the general without resting, what happened?

The young general from Gushan County was none other than Huashanyue.

This person has a deep family background, and has the full support of the princess's family, he served as the head of the Sanzhou town army at a young age, and the army under his command is stationed in Gushan County, whether it is status or strength, it should not be underestimated, he proposed to see the general as much as possible, and the Beida battalion could not find a reason to push.

In the General's Mansion, General Xu Chi glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window, was silent for a long time, and then turned around, looked at Hua Shanyue and said, "Before the rain stopped, you left?"

Hua Shanyue replied respectfully, "Yes, uncle. ”

Xu Chi said: "Young people are always so impatient, you must know that soldiers are a big thing, you must not be careless, as the head of the Sanzhou town army, leaving the camp alone, it is already a violation of military regulations, if you have an accident on the road, and not mention how your parents are sad, how to explain to the court?"

Hua Shanyue suppressed his exhaustion and said, "The matter is urgent, so I came in a hurry. ”

General Xu Chi has always been low-key and calm, even if he listened to the urgency of the matter, his face still did not change, he was silent for a long time again, and then said slowly: "Do you know that I didn't want to see you?"

Hua Shanyue knew that the general had already guessed his intentions, and said with a smile: "But my uncle finally chose to see me, which means that you are willing to listen to what I have to say." ”

Xu Chi said: "I know what you are about to say, it is Her Royal Highness the Princess...... Or what His Majesty wants to say to me today, but I still recommend that you don't say it. ”

Hua Shanyue was slightly stunned and asked, "Why?"

Xu Chi said: "Because those words must be disrespectful, and I ...... I don't want to tie you up with my own hands. ”

Hua Shanyue said: "If my uncle still thinks that it is disrespectful after hearing my words, then don't say that you bind me, even if you cut off my head, I will have no complaints." ”

Xu Chi looked at his eyes quietly and said, "The grain and grass sent to Helan City by Beidaying left the city the moment the heavy rain stopped, do you think what you want to say is still meaningful?"

Hua Shanyue said sincerely: "The general has a misunderstanding about His Majesty and His Highness. No one has ever thought of cutting off the grain and grass in Helan City, and no one will be shameless enough to play any conspiracy against the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, His Royal Highness's request to the general is actually very simple, I just hope that your follow-up actions will be slower. ”

Xu Chi's eyebrows slowly raised, his voice became cold, and he asked, "Why do you want to be slower?"

Hua Shanyue did not flinch from his gaze, and said: "Uncle has always been known for his calmness, the first emperor put Beidaying in your hands with confidence, and now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the undercurrent of Chang'an City is surging, and it is not peaceful, the queen mother will return to Chang'an one day later, and Datang will be more stable, in this case, why can't it be slow?"

Xu Chi said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is still in Helan City, do you want me to ignore it?"

Hua Shanyue said: "Your Majesty always returns to Chang'an City on the day of return, but Chang'an City can't afford to stop a turmoil. ”

"What a childish statement. Xu Chi said expressionlessly: "If these are the words, it will be difficult for His Highness to convince me, on the contrary, I will begin to wonder what His Highness's intentions are." ”

Hua Shanyue said: "The edict was announced in front of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, if there is a problem, I believe that someone in Chang'an City has already secretly informed my uncle, but since until now, no one including the queen mother has secretly reported to my uncle, then your suspicion is meaningless." ”

There was a sudden slight chaos in front of the general's mansion, and there was an urgent military situation, Hua Shanyue said: "The military situation is important, uncle will deal with it first, and we will continue to talk about this matter later." ”

After a while, Xu Chi finished dealing with the military situation, returned to the house, looked at Hua Shanyue, who was standing next to the bookshelf with a book and reading, but actually didn't know where to fly, and said, "There is some movement in the Golden Horde's court. ”

Hua Shanyue didn't expect the general to report the emergency military situation to himself, and frowned and said: "I galloped from Gushan County, and changed four batches of horses on the way, I know better than anyone how difficult the road after the rain is, and it is even more difficult to think about it on the wasteland, and the convoy can barely pass through it, how can a large number of cavalry move? The grassland cavalry is relatively light, and it has an advantage for me to ride in this climate, in this case, my uncle should be more cautious." ”

"All in all, you just want to persuade me to take Helan City more slowly. ”

General Xu Chi stared into his eyes and said, "Don't use the Golden Horde's court to influence my judgment with the possibility of an ambush, because my cavalry will never be ambushed. Your Highness is a smart person, and you know that I will only obey Your Majesty and act according to the laws of Tang, and if you want to convince me, you must have other means. ”

Hua Shanyue took out several dossiers tightly wrapped in oilcloth from his arms and gently rested them on the table.

"According to His Royal Highness's original intention, you can convince your uncle without taking out these things, that is the best result, because once these things are spread, they will greatly tarnish the reputation of the Tang Dynasty and the first emperor. ”

Xu Chi heard what he said so cautiously, the expression on his face became cautious, he walked behind the desk, slowly opened the files, and his eyes became colder and colder as he read.