It's hot in the middle of summer.

Huaqing Palace was built in Shanyin in Xixiuling, which was much cooler than Chang'an City.

Yang Yuyao may have been a snake in her last life, very afraid of heat, and returned to her other business in Lishan before finally recovering from the hot state.

She invited a group of little ladies to play in her other business, dressed coolly, and no man was allowed to approach, not even Xue Bai.

Li Tengkong thought that he would have more opportunities to get along with Xue Bai when he arrived in Lishan, but he didn't expect this to be the case, and when he put his luggage, he reluctantly looked back at him, and Yang Yuyao's urging was in his ears.

"Ignore this stinky man, let's play cards and chess by ourselves...... You must look good when you wear this ice silk. ”

Xue Bai was stopped outside the door, and when he looked at it, he saw that the ice silk in Yang Yuyao's hand was as transparent as ice and as white as snow, and it must indeed look good when he wore it.

Seeing his eyes, Yang Yuyao blinked, showing a narrow look, she deliberately wanted to make Xue Bai hold back her anger.

Trapped in the vivid fragrance of this prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, people don't have the heart to care about business, Xue Bai is still like this, not to mention the officials next to him.

He sometimes put himself in Li Longji's shoes to think about it, and he also knew that this emperor had endured many temptations that ordinary people could not imagine. However, the emperor is not an ordinary person after all, and he must have perseverance far beyond ordinary people, at least he must be happy in the world after tomorrow.

After settling the family members into Yang Yuyao's other business, Xue Bai finally refocused on his own affairs, and summoned Shi Zhong and Li Xiu to inquire, and learned that they had not found the documents that Li Linfu had read before he died.

"If Li Shilang didn't remember or say it wrong, then the person who took the document did it unconsciously." Shi Zhong said, "I investigated, but the Dao Tong of the Xiaoyao Hall didn't notice any traces. ”

"I'm not lying!" Li Xiu reiterated it, a little anxious.

Xue Bai still believed him, nodded his head, and muttered: "Not at Yang Guozhong's place, I tested him, but he didn't know about it. ”

Shi Zhong said: "That's the ...... of the Inner Servant Province"

Xue Bai suddenly raised his hand and looked into the distance.

He lives next to Yang Yuyao's other business, where the terrain is very high, and in the pavilion you can see the mountain road at the foot of Li Mountain, and only to see a cloud of dust and smoke coming from afar. Like a long snake that swims extremely fast.

"There's an urgent report?"

Xue Bai turned his head and ordered Diao Bing to bring the clairvoyant mirror, raised it to look, and saw that the knight who came on a horse was stained with blood.

As soon as the clairvoyant mirror moved, he saw Yuan Zai.

"Something's wrong!"

Xue Bai immediately asked Shi Zhong and Li Xiu to investigate again, and he went straight to the palace gate.

When he arrived at Jinyang Gate, he saw that Yuan Zai was being helped to dismount, and a guard stopped him in front of the palace gate, so he shouted hurriedly.

"My father-in-law has been assassinated, send someone to chase him!"

"My father-in-law is the heir of Wang Zhonghe, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and he was assassinated......"

Xue Bai listened to this sudden news, stopped, and in his sight, Yuan Zai's face was full of horror, which formed a sharp contrast with the splendid Huaqing Palace in front of him.

The news of the fall of a generation of famous generals is like a stone thrown into the lake, stirring up ripples, maybe it will roll up the storm, and it may soon subside.

"What's going on?" Xue Bai stepped forward and asked.

Yuan Zai turned his head and saw that he was coming, and immediately had a backbone, and turned to help him: "We were attacked in Baqiao, send someone quickly, and we can still catch up with the murderer." ”

Xue Bai asked, "What about Wang Jieshuai?" ”

"Zhangren, he ......" Yuan Zai's throat rolled and said, "He has been assassinated." ”

Xue Bai's face sank, thinking about the impact of this matter on Hedong and even the situation in the world, and he was worried. But his worries are not a day or two, and he has truly achieved the worries of the world first.

The sound of hurried horses' hooves sounded again, but this time it was Yang Guozhong who rode his horse to arrive.

Seeing Xue Bai, Yang Guozhong couldn't help but be surprised, and before he put down the horsewhip, he asked, "How did Ah Bai arrive so quickly?" ”

Xue Bai said: "I am a scholar and a saint. Seeing that there was an urgent report, he hurriedly came to standby. ”

This errand of the Son of Heaven's close ministers is quite convenient for him to inquire into the confidential affairs of the court.

Yang Guozhong and Yuan Zai were already very familiar, Zhao Yuan Zai stepped forward and listened to him tell the general story of Wang Zhonghe's assassination, first surprised, and then his eyes flashed, thinking about how this matter would affect his future.

In the battle of Nanzhao, he and Wang Zhongji also worked together, and Xue Bai and Yuan Zai could regulate the relationship between them. Yang Guozhong also hopes to get the support of Wang Zhonghei, so that he can reach a balance with An Lushan, which is in the north, otherwise he, the new right minister, is not as powerful as An Lushan in his military power, how can he dominate the world? But this is only the best situation expected, in fact, Wang Zhongsi looks down on him at all, and he wants to suppress the prince, and he wants to get rid of Wang Zhongsi, the prince's brother-in-law.

At this time, Wang Zhongji was assassinated, and if others thought that he did it, it would seem that he had no means.

~~

Li Longji was in a much better mood after arriving at the Huaqing Palace, and last night he was drinking in the wind in Xixiuling, drinking happily, sleeping late, and not waking up until noon.

It wasn't until Colliers called several times outside the door that he opened his eyes in a daze.

"Enter."

"Saint, something happened." Gao Lishi stepped inside, rushed to the imperial couch but did not speak immediately, but waited for a while, until Li Longji came to his senses and was not too caught off guard, before he spoke: "Wang Zhongji has been assassinated. ”

With that, he held his breath and waited for the saint's reaction.

In the second year of Kaiyuan, Wang Haibin was killed in battle by the Feng'an army, and the saint adopted the nine-year-old Wang Zhonghei, which has been nearly 38 years. After so many years of kindness between monarchs and ministers, father and son, it is difficult for Gao Lishi to imagine what kind of mood the saint would feel when he heard about the death of Wang Zhonghei?

"Assassinated?" Li Longji muttered, woke up from his sleep, and asked, "Who is the mastermind?" ”

Gao Lishi couldn't feel his emotion, and replied respectfully: "I don't know yet." Yang Guozhong, Xue Bai, and Yuan Zai are waiting outside the palace gate to see if the saint is summoned. ”

"Pass it on."

"Yes."

After Gao Lishi stepped back, Li Longji sat alone for a while, digesting the news, and finally sighed slightly, with a relaxed expression on his face.

He couldn't remember what the nine-year-old Wang Zhongsi looked like at all, he had seen too many children and courtiers in his life. Now the deepest impression of Wang Zhonghei is the sentence Li Linfu said, "I have long been in the palace with King Zhong, and I want to respect the prince."

Li Longji was experiencing the feelings brought about by Wang Zhonghe's death, and a few pretty palace ladies entered the hall, and in front of him, they were blessed and asked softly: "Sage, do you want to change your clothes?" ”

"Have you ever been stuck in the throat by a fish bone?"

"Slave maid, there have been."

"How did you feel when that thorn was pulled out?"

Several palace ladies lowered their heads, not knowing why the sage asked this, thought about it, and replied, "It should be...... Comfortable. ”

"Comfortable?" Li Longji listened, didn't react much, patted his hand lightly on the futon, smoothed out a trace of folds on the satin, and said lightly: "Let's change clothes." ”

He stood up, stretched out his arms, and let them drape him in the royal robes, and a sense of majesty rose up.

When he arrived at the Flying Frost Palace, Yang Guozhong had already led Xue Bai and Yuan Zai to wait.

Without waiting for them to salute and speak, Li Longji spoke first, his voice was gloomy, and his words were full of anger.

"My adopted son, my military secretary, and my prince's right guard are the generals...... Killed! ”

"Your Majesty's condolences!"

Yang Guozhong was still preparing his speech, but he didn't expect the saint to be so sad and angry, so he hurriedly comforted him.

Li Longji said: "The son I have raised for thirty-eight years and the general who has made great contributions to me was assassinated at the feet of the Son of Heaven on the way to meet me. ”

"The minister is guilty, and as the prime minister, he can't prevent it from happening, and the minister is at fault in this matter." Yang Guozhong said in panic.

Li Longji looked at him with a cold gaze, silent, as if examining him.

After Yang Guozhong was scolded a few words, he felt that the saint seemed to think that he had ordered someone to do this, and he couldn't help but feel wronged. But the saint didn't say it explicitly, so he couldn't explain it at all.

Wei Jiansu, the squire of the military department, had already taken refuge in him, and if Wang Zhongsi did not deal with him after taking office in the military department, it would reduce the authority of him, the right minister, in the army, and he did have the motive to get rid of Wang Zhonghe...... Li Longji even allowed it, but he absolutely did not allow the use of such means, which would bring about a lot of bad effects.

Under the scrutiny of the Son of Heaven, Yang Guozhong's heart was disturbed, and the rhythm of his answer was also chaotic, so he preemptively said: "The minister will thoroughly investigate this matter, find out the murderer, and give the saint an explanation." ”

Only then did Li Longji look away and said, "Yuan Zai, you say." ”

Yuan Zai didn't expect the saint to know his name, so he was flattered, and responded: "Back to Your Majesty, I implore Your Majesty to send troops to catch up with those murderers first, not only to find out the mastermind, but also to prevent them from causing trouble in Gyeonggi again." ”

It's hard for him to be able to speak clearly and deal with it properly in this situation. seemed to have made a request, but it did not embarrass the Son of Heaven, but gave a preliminary decision and pushed the process of handling the matter to the next step.

Li Longji had a very good impression of Yuan Zai, thinking that he was a very good courtier, and immediately approved his request.

Xue Bai said: "Your Majesty, before Wang Zhonghe's southern expedition, he left Han Xiulin to stay in Hedong, and he had the right to do things in Hedong, and now he was assassinated. Did you first pass the edict to Hedong and make it clear that Han Xiulin would make it possible to do his job so as not to cause chaos? ”

This is to embarrass Li Longji, he doesn't trust Wang Zhonghe, and he has no impression of the candidates he recommends, let alone think that Hedong will have any trouble because of Wang Zhongsi's death.

What can go wrong? Hedong is the Hedong of the Tang Dynasty, not the Hedong of Wang Zhonghe.

But at this time, Li Longji did not show this kind of emotion, and only said: "This military affairs can not be decided in a hurry, and we will discuss it again." Xue Bai, Yuan Zai, you go to chase with the Long Wu Army. ”

Later, he accentuated his tone and said loudly: "I want to crush the bones of the murderer and scatter ashes to sacrifice the heroic soul of Axun!" ”

"Ah Xun" is Wang Zhonghe's nickname, and Li Longji called it so, which made the weight of this sentence a lot heavier.

Yuan Zai's eyes were red when he heard this, he saluted solemnly, and responded: "The minister swears that he will definitely chase down the murderer, hate Grandpa, and live up to the trust of the saint!" ”

Xue Bai's reaction was a little calmer, and he followed: "The minister obeys the order." ”

They took their leave and hurried to Baqiao, ready to seek justice for Wang Zhonghe.

"Yang Qing, you stay."

Li Longji retreated left and right, leaving only two henchmen and Yang Guozhong, and said lightly: "If you have something to say, say it." ”

"The saint is wise." Yang Guozhong said: "Today's events, the minister is not unaware of it. The minister noticed that some barbarians from Nanzhao had come to Chang'an disguised as a merchant traveler, intending to recapture the body of Ge Luofeng, and the minister had ordered Jingzhao Yin Xian Yu Zhongtong to take careful precautions, so that they would not have a chance to take advantage of it. He was about to arrest them on the outskirts of the city, but he did not expect that Wang Zhonghei only took a small number of guards out of the city and was attacked by them. ”

When he said that, the whole thing gave a very different impression.

But Li Longji still blamed him and said: "Since you know about this, why don't you let Wang Zhonghei be on guard and send someone to protect him?" ”

"The minister sent someone to visit him." Yang Guozhong said, "As far as the minister knows, he is very sick and unable to get up, and the palace is heavily guarded. The minister really didn't expect him to be in such a situation, and he could rush to Lishan, it was the minister's negligence. ”

Li Longji narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "When the barbarians arrived in Chang'an, you didn't expect them to assassinate Wang Zhonghei?" ”

"As far as the minister knows, they should have been assassinated by Zhongtong Xian, so they temporarily changed their target. After all, in the battle of Taihe City, the main force to break the city was Xian Yu Zhongtong. Although Wang Zhonghe's name is Zhensaibei, he is not familiar with the topography of Yunnan, and he fell ill at that time, and the credit was slightly smaller. ”

As he spoke, Yang Guozhong felt Li Longji's aura and added another sentence.

"The minister is not prevaricating, in this matter, the minister did make a big mistake. Because of Wang Zhonghe's bad temper, the ministers were angry with him and didn't care too much about his protection. ”

This sentence of "bad temper" made Li Longji think it was true, but he would not believe Yang Guozhong so easily, and was keenly aware that there was still a secret in this matter.

"I don't care if I use my hands or not, I will report to me after I find out."

"Yes, it's just ...... Can the minister secretly investigate? Yang Guozhong asked, posed as an old man seeking the country, and continued: "The minister also thinks that it is best to keep this matter a secret, and it is appropriate to only say that Wang Zhonghei has died of illness to the outside world. ”

Li Longji also agrees that no matter what the truth is, he does not want to cause panic or affect his prestige as a son of heaven.

~~

Xue Bai brought Guo Qianli and his subordinates from Beiya.

They rode their horses westward from Lishan, and finally arrived at Baqiao in the evening, without caring for their horsepower.

In the distance, I saw the corpses and blood stains on the ground, but there were no people around, only some pedestrians and vendors standing far away, pointing and whispering.

"Lady?"

Yuan Zai didn't see Wang Yunxiu, looked around, and shouted loudly.

On the way here, he had already told Xue Bai about the situation. The thugs rushed up to Wang Zhonghe's carriage, and before they had time to defend it, they slashed into the carriage several times, and the blood spattered the whole carriage.

After that, the murderers calmly pulled the carriage and drove to the Qinling Mountains in the south, Guan Chongsi and Wang Yunxiu fought desperately to kill the enemy, and after resisting the initial offensive, they gathered the remaining generals, and chased after them knowing that the number was less than the other party, only to let Yuan Zai come back to report the news.

At this time, the officers and soldiers were brought, and Yuan Zai did not stay in Baqiao for a long time, and immediately led the people to chase them to the south.

The sky had gradually darkened, the setting sun had disappeared into the mountains, and the roads were dark, so they had to slow down, light torches, check the ruts on the ground to find directions, and gradually entered Hongqing Mountain.

In the middle of the night, there was finally movement ahead, and when I caught up with the front to take a look, I saw that more than ten people were besieging and killing several people, and among the several people who were besieged, there were Guan Chongsi and Wang Yunxiu.

"The Tang Army is here! Walk! ”

As soon as the officers and soldiers arrived, some of the murderers shouted in barbarian language.

Guo Qianli didn't say a word, he immediately stretched out his bow and set up an arrow, and shot an arrow at the knee of a murderer, before ordering the forbidden soldiers to kill him.

The murderers first killed the wounded who fell to the ground, and then quickly rushed into the mountains and forests, and their movements were swift, and they soon disappeared into the darkness.

Guo Qianli's soldiers are tall and tall, wearing majestic armor, far less flexible than the other party.

"Eat dog intestines, the southern barbarian is running so fast, keep chasing!"

Yuan Zai stepped forward and hugged Wang Yunxiu and asked, "Are you okay?" ”

"It's fine."

Wang Yunxiu was quite calm, but he was covered in blood and murderous. She hugged her husband for a moment and immediately pushed him away, and continued to chase him.

"No, Grandpa's bones haven't been snatched back yet."

Xue Bai rushed forward to stop her and said, "The forbidden army will chase." Let me ask you, Wang Jieshuai was really assassinated? Brother Gongfu said that the murderers cut him and took the carriage away, but did not actually confirm that Wang Jieshuai had lost his breath. ”

Wang Yunxiu seemed to have hope because of Xue Bai's words, and looked at him deeply, but finally lowered his head and said: "I can't live, Grandpa is seriously ill, he was stabbed several times, bleeding nonstop, and was taken away and bumpy for a whole day...... I just hope to get his bones back. ”

At this point, she didn't show any softness, and the knife in her hand was still dripping blood on the ground.

"Found it!"

Suddenly, in the distance, a Long Wu sergeant shouted loudly.

Wang Yunxiu immediately rushed out with an arrow, except for Guan Chongsi, who was the fastest runner, passing through the rugged mountain road, there was no place for carriages to pass in front, so those murderers threw the carriage here.

The dragon warrior sergeants held torches and rushed to the fallen carriage and opened the door.

A bloody headless corpse was presented to everyone.

"Zhang...... Father-in-law? Yuan Jae was taken aback and didn't dare to recognize each other.

"General!" Guan Chongsiru was drained of strength, the knife in his hand fell, and then the person also knelt on the ground, knocking his head on the ground, as if he had lost his soul.

"Grandpa?" Wang Yunxiu muttered, wanting to rush forward, but was hugged by Yuan Zai.

"Eat dog intestines." Guo Qianli was furious and shouted: "The murderer took Wang Jieshuai's head, chase it for me!" ”

Xue Bai took a torch, stepped forward, and observed the corpse wordlessly.

After a while, someone patted him on the back, but it was Guo Qianli, motioning for him to come aside and talk.

"Xue Lang, is that really Wang Jieshuai?"

"The size is right, and the scars on the body are not wrong." Xue Bai said: "It won't be wrong. ”

"That'...... Wang Jieshuai's head was cut off by the Southern Barbarians, which is a great event. Guo Qianli said: "I look stupid, but I also know that the sage beheaded Ge Luo Feng Liwei, if he was retaliated back by the Nanban, it would be inappropriate." ”

"General Guo is not stupid, he is fast-talking. These words should not have been said. ”

"I'm polite to you." Guo Qianli asked, "You say, what should we do?" ”

He seems to regard Xue Bai as a staff member again.

"It may not be Nan Zhao's hand." Xue Bai said, "Let me check, there may be other hidden circumstances in this matter." ”

"Then you check."

Xue Bai then went to see a few corpses left behind, and saw that those murderers were all dressed as business travelers, and one of them had a customs clearance document in his arms, and looked at the seal on it, it was indeed from Anning City all the way north, through Tuodongcheng, Xiezhou, Yizhou, Liangzhou and other large and small prefectures and counties to Chang'an.

All traces indicate that these people are indeed from Nanzhao, and even Xue Bai has not found a flaw.

He even thought about it, if these people were really from Nanzhao, who would send them? Duan Jianwei? It is unlikely, Nanzhao's family is also a family, and it must be based on the interests of the family, and it should not be so loyal to Feng Luofeng.

He walked up to the injured murderer who was shot by Guo Qianli and asked, "Who instructed you?" ”

The other party pursed his lips tightly and did not answer, as if he could not understand his Chinese.

Xue Bai thought for a while, leaned down, and said in a low voice: "You have already revealed your flaws, if you are really a dead soldier from Nanzhao, you will not kill your mouth before evacuating." ”

The injured man still didn't speak, but Xue Bai looked directly into his eyes, but he clearly felt that the mood in his eyes had changed slightly.

Xue Bai understood and said, "It's useless for you to hide it, it's better to talk to me about what you want." ”

He was always silent in response.

Wang Yunxiu couldn't bear it anymore, stepped forward with a knife, and said, "If you don't want to say it, let me cut him with a thousand knives to avenge Grandpa!" ”

"I'm not in a hurry to torture, I've already found out that someone is behind him." Xue Bai said, "This matter is deep, but we can see if we can seek justice for Wang Jieshuai." ”

Xue Lang is saying...... Didn't the Nanban do it? ”

"Possibly."

Wang Yunxiu said: "Is someone harming Grandpa?" I will never let him go. ”

"Don't worry." Yuan Zai also stepped forward, took Wang Yunxiu's shoulder, and comforted: "The saint has made an order, and he is bound to avenge his father-in-law's hatred, and cut off the murderer's head to pay tribute to the soul of his father-in-law's man in heaven." ”

The voice fell, and a shout came from the side of the mountain forest.

Someone shouted and asked, "General Guo is ahead?!" ”

"Who?!" Guo Qianli immediately responded.

After a while, a general rushed forward and hugged his fists and said: "General Jin Wu Weilang, Xian Yuhao, I have seen General Guo." ”

"You've come just in time." Guo Qianli was overjoyed to see that there was support so soon, and pointed to the southeast direction: "You take your people to outflank the past." It's dark at night, so there's no need to search carefully, but don't let them escape......"

"General Guo, I'm here to deliver the word."

Xian Yuhao was willing to participate in the pursuit, but he had a will, so he had to interrupt Guo Qianli to speak, and it was important to pass on the will first.

Guo Qianli said: "Spreading the word doesn't prevent you from reinforcing it, you have brought a lot of people, so you can spread the word quickly." ”

"Holy oracle, Wang Zhonghei is a pillar of the Tang Dynasty, and he has a lot to do with it. Today's matter involves important national secrets, and it must not be spread to the outside world. ”

"Of course I do." Guo Qianli patted his chest and said, "I'm not a talkative person, I won't talk nonsense, you should be chased." ”

"General Guo is afraid that he does not understand what the last general means." Xian Yuhao had to remind again: "The meaning of the sage is not to spread the news of Wang Jieshuai's assassination, and it can only be said that he died of illness to the outside world." It's okay to chase the murderer, but you can't make a big show. ”

Guo Qianli was stunned for a moment and muttered, "Died of illness? Can ......"

He also listened to the order, lowered his voice, attached it to Xian Yuhao's ear, and said: "But the head has been cut off, what kind of disease is this?" ”

Xian Yuhao didn't know what kind of disease this was, so he had to be silent.

At the end, he clenched his fists and said, "The last general will lead people to hunt down, but only to chase thieves." ”

"Well, go ahead, go ahead."

Guo Qianli couldn't help but lose his enthusiasm, although it was also a pursuit, but the pursuit of the great rebels who attacked the important ministers was of course different from the pursuit of ordinary thieves.

And the will of the Son of Heaven is the one that can influence his feelings the most.

Xian Yuhao didn't leave immediately, but pointed to the corpse on the ground, as well as the injured prisoner, and said, "General Guo, forgive me, I have to take these people away." ”

Xue Bai, Yuan Zai, Wang Yunxiu, Guan Chongsi and others who were standing on the side watched this scene with different moods.

"If Grandpa died of illness." Wang Yunxiu opened his mouth and asked Yuan Zai: "Then, how can you severely punish the murderer and pay tribute to his heroic soul in the sky?" ”

Yuan Zai hesitated for a moment and said, "It's just not a big fanfare, and this is also for the reputation of the father-in-law." ”

"Grandpa is not a traitor, he died for the community, what is unseemly? Why cover it up? ”

"This ......"

Yuan Zai couldn't answer, and he was silent, which was completely different from the attitude of the face saint.

(End of chapter)