Anyone who has ever seen a wildfire knows that it is very easy to extinguish a wildfire before it burns. In the summer, the natural mountain forest, the leaves are luxuriant, and it is not so dry that there is no water at all, and it is definitely not so simple to burn.

But once the mountains and forests are artificially ignited, they really burn up and become the climate. It will be like a whirlwind and clouds, which cannot be stopped by manpower, and cannot be extinguished in any way.

The only way to extinguish the fire can only be achieved by cutting down all the surrounding trees to form a barrier and waiting for nothing to burn inside.

If the fire is not extinguished in time, it is possible that this mountain fire will burn for a month, and it will stretch for dozens of miles to burn into white ground! By no means alarmist!

And this time, the fire in the Huangyu Mountain Ridge, where Cuiwei Palace is located, was definitely ignited by people with ulterior motives, and even used fire oil in the workshop under the Ministry of Industry in Chang'an City.

The quality is absolutely top notch!

Brother Ji walked out of the palace in a hurry, looked down the mountain, and suddenly his face changed greatly.

Well, you don't really need to look closely, because the smoke has already risen, and it is on both sides of the mountain road down the mountain. Under the scorching sun, the firelight was not obvious, but the scorching waves were still faintly coming.

The chimney effect, smoke and heat both go to high places.

was dizzy from the sun, and Brother Ji retreated back to the main hall of Cuiwei Palace, and his face instantly became extremely gloomy.

The probability of this wildfire burning him to death is low, but the adverse impact caused by this fire cannot be underestimated. What exactly does the man behind the scenes want to do?

"Lux, you didn't send someone to Chang'an City to move rescue soldiers, did you?"

Brother Kei asked, staring at Colliers.

"Back to the saints, the slave just asked the accompanying Shence soldiers to put out the fire, and did not send anyone back to Chang'an. The mountain road is blocked and you can't go down the mountain, and Cuiwei Palace is still safe for the time being. ”

Colliers cautiously admonished.

There are two layers of danger in Kego at the moment:

The first layer was that the mountain fire could not be controlled, and finally burned everyone in Cuiwei Palace to death.

But this possibility is actually very small, because near the top of the mountain, there is a large pool formed by a mountain stream, which is also the source of water for Cuiwei Palace.

There is water to keep out the fire.

What is really worrying is the second layer.

There was a fire, and in order to put out the fire, the establishment of the Shence Army was chaotic, and the situation was also chaotic. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be no people fishing in troubled waters under the mountain who want to go up the mountain to assassinate in the name of firefighting.

Besides, can each of the eunuchs and palace maids around Brother Ji guarantee their loyalty and will not be bribed by others? Could it be that each of these divine soldiers can guarantee loyalty to Brother Kei?

Maybe there is no need to question their loyalty to Datang, but whether these people are of the same mind as Brother Ji himself or not, that's two words.

Once the fire breaks out, will these people take advantage of the chaos to assassinate?

"No one is allowed to leave Cuiwei Palace! I'm here waiting for help! ”

Brother Ji ordered in a deep voice.

After speaking, he returned to his original seat, and then pointed at Li Xuan and shouted, "The prince should come and sit too!" ”

A sneering look flashed on Li Xuan's face, and he slowly walked to the cushion opposite Brother Ji, knelt down and sat down, without saying a word.

If the emperor doesn't run, the eunuchs and palace maids can't run. Gao Lishi took the saber handed over by Brother Ji, stood beside Brother Ji and Li Xuan with the sword in his hand, and raised the sword to cut people if he didn't agree with him.

"Stand down!"

Brother Ji waved his hand lightly and said, his tone extremely calm. After saying this, the forbidden guards, eunuchs and palace maids in the main hall all came out. There are only three left: Li Longji, the crown prince Li Xuan and Gao Lishi.

"Let's be honest, I don't blame you, didn't you really put this fire?"

Brother Ji frowned slightly, looked at Li Xuan and asked. Suspicious of dark ghosts, Brother Ji now looks like a thief, especially Li Xuan, who is extremely suspicious.

Li Xuan is in this Cuiwei Palace, he will definitely die when the mountain fire comes, could he burn himself like this?

Who would be so stupid as that?

Ordinary people definitely won't, but this Li Heng can't say for sure, because Li Jing was with Brother Ji at the beginning, and at that time, this prince had the intention of dying with Brother Ji. Who would dare to say that he doesn't have that heart now?

But if it's not Li Xuan, then who else can it be?

Is it the Yongwang Li Lan who "ventilated the news"?

Or maybe it's some prince who has heard the wind and moved?

Or even the clans of the Ji Ge brothers?

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has been common for Li Tang to fight in the same room, which one will it be this time?

A lot of questions flashed through Brother Ji's mind, but now what needs to be clarified is whether Li Cheng is the person behind the scenes.

"The child said, "I didn't do it, do you believe it?

The child said that I did it, and the saint believed it?

What is the point of admitting or denying it? ”

Li Jing replied indifferently, like a fire under the mountain, which has nothing to do with him.

His words directly broke Brother Ji's defense! This Tang Dynasty emperor, who thinks he is in control of everything, was so angry that he couldn't say a word for a long time!

Indeed, no matter what Li Xuan says, Brother Ji will not withdraw his suspicions about him!

And Li Heng is also loveless now, lying flat and rotten, making Brother Ji helpless.

"When I return to Chang'an and Xingqing Palace, I will kill you!"

Brother Ji said to Li Xuan through gritted teeth.

"Sage, you are the lord of the world, you can do whatever you like, you are free, anyway, children don't matter."

Li Xuan's face was full of sadness and joy, as if the person Ji Ge wanted to kill was not himself.

"Stand down, I don't want to see you!"

Brother Ji waved his hand tiredly, he was afraid that if he continued to talk about it, he would really stab this unscrupulous son to death in person.

Ji Ge's killer weapon to suppress many princes is the various thoughts of these people about the throne. However, once the princes lost any thoughts of the throne and lost their enthusiasm for aristocratic life, it was like a dirty oil rag.

Anyway, it's all casual!

"The boy is gone."

Li Xuan saluted Brother Ji, and then walked out from the back door of the main hall of Cuiwei Palace.

After he left, Brother Ji let out a long sigh, and his figure looked a little lonely. Intuitively, he believes that Li Xuan should not be the mastermind behind the scenes, if so, it can only show that he is really good at pretending! Pretending to hide it from everyone!

"Lux do you say I'm doing something wrong?"

Brother Ji looked at Colliers and asked in a low voice.

"What's wrong with a saint?"

Colliers asked rhetorically with a stunned expression.

"Yes, what I gave him, he can't refuse.

If I want to take him, he will not refuse.

Why does he hold a grudge? ”

From the words of Colliers, Kego heard the privilege that belonged to the king. Originally, he still had a little bit of self-blame, but after hearing this, he dispelled his thoughts.

"Sage, there should be a path to walk down the mountain from Cuiwei Palace. This was something that the slave had overheard about back then, but now the path may have been hidden by trees and weeds. ”

Gao Lishi suddenly leaned over and whispered.

"Huh? Seriously? ”

Hearing this, Brother Ji was overjoyed, and his hanging heart suddenly relaxed.

Then he thought about it again, this road Gao Lishi knows, will some people who have a heart also know?

A "small" question appeared in Ji Ge's heart, and the ease he felt just now went away with the wind.

Will someone be waiting for them on this narrow and inaccessible path? Could it be that it would have been fine, but it turned out to be a small road out of things?

"At the moment, it's better to keep things the same."

Brother Ji said in a deep voice, suppressing the impulse in his heart.

"The slave sent someone to look around."

Gao Lishi said cautiously, for fear of making the more and more suspicious emperor doubt himself for no reason.

"Well, that's fine. But if you can, try not to take the path down the mountain, I ...... Just sit in this Cuiwei Palace, and watch the ghosts and ghosts in Chang'an City under the mountain, how to perform! ”

Ji Ge looked at the black smoke at the end of his vision and said, with a murderous intent in his tone.

……

In front of the inner gate of Yilulu City, the core of Qiuzi Town, Fang Chongyong and his party at both ends of the stone bridge were confronting Gao Xianzhi and his subordinates, and the atmosphere was quite tense.

"Alas, Fang Jieshuai! Why are you here, Fang Jieshuai!

What are you doing, why don't you salute when you see Fang Jieshuai? Do you want to be punished by the imperial court? ”

Just when the two sides were at loggerheads, a middle-aged man in a red palace uniform burst out from behind Gao Xianzhi, a middle-aged eunuch to be exact.

It was the eunuch Bian Lingcheng who was often sent out by Colliers to the border town!

He pointed at the guards behind Gao Xianzhi and scolded loudly, his tone was extremely stern!

Seeing Bian Lingcheng playing a round field, Gao Xianzhi, who was in a dilemma at the forefront, also got off the donkey, walked straight across the stone bridge, and saluted Fang Chongyong with his fists: "Ambassador Fang has worked hard from afar, and the last general has military affairs in front of him and cannot meet him from afar, please forgive me." ”

"Where is the senior deputy protecting this, a certain view of the Anxi armies, quite majestic, with the spirit of a king! This is all a good way to protect and govern the senior vice-president! ”

Fang Chongyong laughed heartily, stepped forward and affectionately pressed his hands on Gao Xianzhi's shoulders and patted them again!

As soon as these words came out, the tense atmosphere was instantly resolved, and Gao Xianzhi glanced at Bian Lingcheng beside him with gratitude, but happened to see Bian Lingcheng sighing helplessly, and suddenly felt that something was wrong in his heart.

Gao Xianzhi made a gesture of invitation to Chongyong and said: "There are many people here, it is not a place to speak, Ambassador Fang will invite you inside." ”

"Please!"

The two walked hand in hand, as if they had been with their superiors and subordinates for many years, and they couldn't see the posture of the two sides that were almost on fire at the previous moment.

After entering the inner city of Yilulu City, that is, the former Qiuzi Palace, Fang Chongyong took a look around, and it could be regarded as gaining some knowledge.

The inner city of Ilulu was built on the mountain, and not only was there a palace on the top of the mountain, but even a storage room was dug in the middle of the mountain, and the walls built around the mountain were ten zhang high! Width can run a horse!

If the outer city of Elolu and the city of horses are chaotic and not well planned; Then the inner city, that is, the rebuilt Qiuzi Palace, was clearly arranged by the Tang Dynasty.

It is not only well-planned, but also scientifically arranged.

What was once a royal palace has now become a large military camp!

The officers of the Anxi Army and their families, the officials under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Prefecture and their families, all lived here, and the inner city was also divided into many areas, separated from each other by a thin inner wall.

In particular, the storehouse for storing grain and wine occupies a large area. Due to the dry climate, the inner city also deliberately dug a large cellar filled with all kinds of supplies.

said that Gao Xianzhi was arrogant, and sure enough, the other party had arrogant capital, and Yilulu City was Gao Xianzhi's biggest capital.

In history, the Anxi Army had few expeditions to Xiaobolu, not because there were few Anxi soldiers, but because of the road conditions and supply bases along the way, it could only support so many people at most, and the Anxi Army was far more than that!

Coming to an oversized signing room that was obviously converted from a palace, there were many officials and officials busy going in and out.

Fang Chongyong was led by Gao Xianzhi to a separate "study" in the palace to discuss important matters. It is said to be a study, but there are no books on the shelves, and all kinds of treasures are displayed. Different types of gemstones, different styles of gold crafts, etc., are just a few, but they all exude a heroic atmosphere.

There were only three people allowed to enter the "study", Fang Chongyong, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng. After they entered, they all looked solemn, and they did not reproduce the breezy wind outside the inner city gate.

Seeing that no one spoke, Bian Lingcheng smiled at Fang Chongyong and said, "Fang Jieshuai, I know that you are a little dissatisfied with the senior deputy Duhu. It's just a little misunderstanding here. You can't talk about it without saying it. ”

Bian Lingcheng made a "little" gesture, and Gao Xianzhi on the side didn't speak, waiting for Bian Lingcheng to play a round.

"This ambassador just wants to know, without a certain order, the senior deputy Du Hu went around to collect baggage and wanted to send troops to Tocharo, why is this?"

Fang Chongyong asked expressionlessly, his eyes looking directly at Gao Xianzhi, and his tone was serious.

"Ambassador Fang, the last general is actually doing this to balance Tibet.

Within Tocharo, there are tribes who want to take refuge in Tibet, just like the little king of Bolu marrying the princess of Tibet. After the matter was completed, my Datang fell into passivity and has not been able to solve the matter so far.

In order to avoid the situation in Tocharo from getting out of control, the last general wanted to be led by the pro-Tang faction within Tocharo and clean up those tribes who tried to defect to Tibet in advance.

Then pull these Tocharian soldiers and attack Little Bolu together. After the little Bolu has gained a foothold, then clean up the big Boru. In this way, the door of the Tibetan invasion of the Western Regions could be blocked. ”

Gao Xianzhi said with a sincere face.

Although his words are not unreasonable, they also sound like that, and they are "preemptive", which is quite feasible.

But this can't explain why Gao Xianzhi left Fang Chongyong alone! To put it bluntly, Gao Xianzhi just felt that this wave was nine out of ten, and he wanted to make meritorious contributions himself.

If it was Fang Chongyong who led the Anxi army on an expedition, it would be the other party eating meat, and Gao Xianzhi, the deputy capital of Anxi, would drink some soup.

What enterprising general would want to be dispensable and follow others?

This is a structural contradiction, not a personal vendetta. Because there are only so many military merits, if you take it, others will not be able to take more, and those people will naturally be unhappy with you, which is a very simple and straightforward truth.

There is no such thing as hello, hello, hello, everyone.

"The Tocharian envoy asked the sage for help, and the sage ordered the slave to be the overseer, and came to the city of Ilolu to supervise the execution of the high deputy capital guard, and cooperate with the high deputy capital to protect the errand.

The sage just hoped to do what he could and not let Tocharo fall to Tubo, but the matter was not as complicated as Ambassador Fang thought. ”

Bian Lingcheng hinted very explicitly, and shook the pot by the way.

The meaning of the saint is "do what you can", but when it comes to Gao Xianzhi, it becomes "a big fight", that is his own problem.

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong looked at Gao Xianzhi, stretched out his hand and said coldly: "Senior Deputy Protector, please show the Holy Decree to this ambassador." It's not that I don't believe in the senior deputy to protect it, and you and I have no personal grudges. It's just that the duties of this ambassador are given by the saints, and the official position and power are also given by the saints, and he can't live up to the grace of the saints, so he really can't turn a blind eye to this. ”

Sure enough, when Gao Xianzhi heard this, his facial muscles tightened, and he immediately sighed lightly, reluctantly took out a yellow silk scroll from the drawer, presented it with both hands, and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

The latter opened the scroll in front of Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi, and read it at a glance.

Well, understood, but not completely.

Fang Chongyong repeatedly weighed the pros and cons in his heart.

The holy decree of Brother Ji did not say anything about the little Bolu at all, let alone the big Bolu, and even the word Tubo did not appear. In easy-to-understand terms, it means that the Tocharian region is unstable, the political situation is turbulent, and some tribes ask for help from Datang, hoping that Datang's forces will intervene in it.

Since Tocharian is the state of the Tang Dynasty, it is naturally necessary for the Tang Dynasty to send someone over there to uphold justice.

Therefore, I sent the eunuch Bian Lingcheng to follow the Tocharian envoy to the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, and asked the Anxi Deputy Protector Gao Xianzhi to deal with this matter as appropriate.

As for what kind of "discretionary" method should be used, it is not said in the holy decree, and of course it is unlikely that it will be written clearly on such an occasion.

Fang Chongyong is figuring out at the moment, what does Brother Ji mean, is it sending troops? Or not to send troops?

After turning around in his mind, Fang Chongyong felt that according to his understanding, it should be said that Brother Ji still wanted to send troops to interfere in Tocharo's internal affairs.

He just doesn't want to look too ugly!

This nature is a bit like the Tang Dynasty sending a "delegation of military advisers" to Tocharian to direct the locals to fight, and pull one faction to fight another.

You say I'm intervening? Nothing, it's all your tribes fighting each other.

This policy is very flexible, and it can be described as easy to advance and retreat.

And when it came to Gao Xianzhi, it became the Anxi Army sending troops to Tocharo, and after it was done, it continued to sweep the big and small Bolu.

Make a great achievement!

and so on, will Brother Ji still dislike that his territory is too big? Will you still dislike that Datang has won too many battles?

If you can win, Gao Xianzhi will make a steady profit!

If he wins, Gao Xianzhi can find an excuse at will, for example, Tocharo's internal opposition is strong, and some people in Tocharian are disrespectful to Datang, etc., and the Anxi Army has to raise the prestige of our Tang Dynasty!

It seems reasonable to say this, anyway, Brother Ji is also a person who completely looks at the results, and there are no taboos if he wins.

Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong took the holy decree in his hand, then slammed the table and yelled at Gao Xianzhi: "Gao Xianzhi, you are so bold that you dare to accept a bribe from the Tocharian envoy in private!" ”

Suddenly, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng were stunned in place, their eyes flickering, and the expressions on their faces were unnatural.

(End of chapter)