Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 270

Chapter 270 As Motionless As a Mountain
Bad news has wings.

The news of the Dengzhou mutiny spread like a plague across the north and south sides of the Han River. Just across the river, the people of Xiang and Deng prefectures were as shocked as thunder, causing an uproar and panic on both sides of the strait!

In the peaceful era of the universe, the Land of Jingxiang was not the border of the army, yet it was actually a war disaster, how could it not frighten people? Jing Xiang, who was located in Shannan Road, had been enjoying peace since the establishment of the state in the Great Tang Dynasty. He was immersed in the blessings of the prosperous era, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, ignoring the flames of war.

It has been nearly twenty years since Geli was born.

Now there was a sudden mutiny overnight. There was going to be a war. The civilians who had stayed open at night were almost at a loss. The entire city of Xiangyang was in a state of chaos. The merchants in the harbor desperately rushed to transport the cargo from the ship and hid in the city to take refuge; The people in the city were all returning to their homes with their doors and windows tightly shut. There was a scene of apocalyptic terror in a chaotic world. There were also people who dragged their sons and daughters to prepare to move their families to flee, like leeches on hot pots that were terrified all day long.

Actually, all of this happened in a short day. Less than a few hours after Li Ke and Qin Mubai received the news, the entire Xiangyang was shaken.

Qin Mubai no longer dared to doubt the ability of people to deliver information in this era of no telecommunications and no Internet. Deng Zhou was a hundred miles away from Xiang Zhou, and only then did he learn of the Flying Clipper, and the citizens soon learned of the news.

If it was at the border where war was still raging, this kind of thing wouldn’t have much of an impact. However, for the Xiangzhou Continent, which had always been like this for a long time, the consequences of this sudden chaos were indeed very serious.

When Li Ke and Qin Mubai returned to the secretariat office, they didn’t have time to sit down and talk or discuss for a moment. They immediately went into a series of stressful work.

Of course, the first task was to appease the people and increase their vigilance.

Li Ke quickly called county magistrates and county magistrates under the rule of Xiangzhou, and officials of Huitong Prefecture solemnly clarified the rumors and stated their positions, preferring to die rather than collaborate with the Dengzhou rebels. And issued a number of decrees, ordered officials to calm down the people to strengthen law and order, the implementation of the sky ban, river ban and land ban, strict investigation of the population, arrested the Dengzhou rebel spies on the river, put an end to rumors and rumors. From today onwards, the secretariat of the Prefecture produced a list of orders every day to show King Wu’s determination to promulgate a series of special edicts to stabilize the current situation in Xiang Prefecture. We will severely punish all criminals who commit berserk crimes …

Qin Mubai didn’t have to worry about the fact that he had the power to assist Li Ke in government affairs. In fact, his burden was no lighter than Li Ke’s.

Deng Zhou and Xiang Zhou were separated by a river, and they held the title of Han River. Li You rebelled and even framed Li Ke and Qin Mubai for conspiring with him. His intentions could be considered vicious. Qin Mubai knew that his intentions were only two levels. One was to force him and Li Ke to rebel against him and Li Ke, forcing them to rebel against him; The second was to confuse the public and create chaos, causing the nearby prefectures and counties to fall into a panic. He took advantage of this opportunity to profit.

Now, it seemed that his second goal was about to be achieved. Deng Xiang two states flat thunder, the people into an unprecedented panic. Normally, these remote inland counties weren’t well prepared for war. The city walls weren’t strong enough, the military forces weren’t strong enough, and they didn’t have much combat experience. If Li You and the others took advantage of this chaotic situation to attack and uproot some prefectures and counties, it wouldn’t be difficult. Moreover, it was hard to guarantee whether they would suddenly send troops to cross the river and rush to Xiang Prefecture. If the han river misses, xiangyang, the port city that does not have a strong city thick pond, will face the rebels naked spear, gupta can be dangerous!

Therefore, Qin Mubai and Li Ke divided their affairs. Li Ke commanded the government to control the people, while Qin Mubai returned to the military manor and allowed Pang Fei to lead 800 White Wave Navy troops to the surface of the Han River as quickly as possible. More than 20 Divine Fish ships lined up on the surface of the river between the Eight Ghosts Crossing and the military port. In addition, more than ten cavalry patrols were dispatched along the river, and they kept vigilant day and night, severely interrogating pedestrians and business brigades, and vigilant against Dengzhou spies.

The rest of the manor army, soldiers do not unload armor, horses do not get off the saddle, day and night pillow, ready to fight at any time!

Xiangyang had not smelled the aura of the beacon fire for twenty years. Dou Ran’s sword was pulled out overnight, and everyone shouted and hissed. There really was a bit of a chaotic aura, causing everyone’s nerves to tighten.

The clear autumn air seemed to freeze.

After spending several hours arranging the troops, Qin Mubai didn’t need to rest. He took several guards and rushed to the secretariat’s mansion to discuss the next step with Li Ke.

When he first received the news, Li Ke did not hesitate and decided without hesitation that he had to make his stand clear and draw a clear line with Li You. This decision coincided with Qin Mubai’s, so the two of them immediately split up. Now, the first step of pacifying the people’s livelihood and deploying military forces has been completed.

Next, the two of them finally had to carefully conspire to deal with the big trouble across the river.

The four gates of Xiangyang City were under martial law, and the interrogation was very strict. Countless people fled from the port and entered the city, swarming into a crowd. Looking around, they lined up directly from the city gate to the riverside, and the vast sea of people was like a dragon’s carriage. These are all merchants who come to the port to do business and travellers who come and go. The sudden change caught them off guard, as if they had been struck by a natural disaster. The Prefecture sent out all the yamen attendants and recruited hundreds of soldiers from King Wu’s Mansion to take charge of martial law at the city gates. They struggled to maintain order, but there wasn’t much chaos.

As the sky darkened, the four gates of Xiangyang finally closed. They did not stop the people from flowing out and all of them entered the city. However, as a result, the pressure of law and order in the city increased, and the secretariat had no choice but to dispatch a lot of government officials and personal guards to patrol day and night.

It was dark when Qin Mubai entered the city. After the Heavenly Taboo, apart from the patrolling guards, only the patrolling soldiers were left on the streets. Northport Flower Street, which used to be a night-time party, fell into silence without a trace of light.

The Fire Cloud Horse’s hooves stepped on the hard bluestone slab as it let out a loud sound from afar. The loneliness and solemnity of today were in stark contrast to the prosperity and tranquillity of the past. It made Qin Mubai feel as if he had passed by in another world, so there was no need to mention the fear in the hearts of the ordinary people.

Qin Mubai deliberately walked around to Wu Meiniang’s house and knocked on the door.

“Who?” A vigilant and panicked question came from inside.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s me, Qin Mubai.”

“Ah, it’s General Gu Ye!” The door shouted in surprise and quickly opened the door.

Just as Qin Mubai walked in, she saw Wu Meiniang and a large group of women walking over and immediately asked, “Mubai, what’s going on?”

Qin Mubai glanced at these people. All of them were women who had followed Wu Meiniang from Chang’an to open a restaurant in Xiangzhou to do business. At this moment, they all looked at Qin Mubai with panic and anxiety. All of them had looks of anticipation and longing for protection. They looked at Qin Mubai eagerly. Only Su Lianqing was still indifferently scratching the ends of her hair, and her pair of charming eyes looked around as if she didn’t care about anything.

“Li You rebelled and accused King Wu and I of conspiring with him. Now that the city is under martial law, you can stay at home and hide, but you don’t need to be afraid of anything.” Qin Mubai said concisely. He waved his hand and a few Baiji guards walked over. Qin Mubai instructed, “All of you, stay here and be on guard. If anyone trespasses on the looters while the chaos is around, kill them all!”

“Yes!” The guards didn’t say anything and answered straightforwardly.

This action was like giving the women present a heart-strengthening shot. Many people immediately smiled and clapped their hands in celebration.

In times of chaos, there was nothing that made people feel more secure than a soldier. Especially a group of women.

“With this girl here, what are you afraid of!” Su Lianqing smiled and said, “General Qin, you used your power to seek personal gain. You sent the soldiers to protect your wife.”

“So what? If you can’t even protect your own woman, how can you protect others?” Qin Mubai sneered and ignored her. He only said to Wu Meiniang, “Meiniang, don’t worry, everything will be fine. Those who are clear are those who are muddy. Li You just wants to fish in troubled waters. This kind of low-level trick can’t deceive others.”

Wu Meiniang nodded with a worried expression. She scolded the women and said to Qin Mubai privately, “Mubai, although rumors are limited to the wise, they are often the most hurtful. Especially when they reach the ears of suspicious people, they are quite unfavorable. You should take precautions as soon as possible.”

Qin Mubai nodded. He understood what Wu Meiniang meant. These rumors must have spread to the capital and entered the emperor’s ears sooner or later. The Emperor was one of the most peculiar people in the world, whether he was a wise man or a fool, whether it was a rumor or a fact, whether he believed it or not-the doubts in his heart were hard to dispel.

In short, the emperor’s attitude towards rebellion was to believe in it rather than believe in nothing. To put it nicely, it was precautionary; To put it more unpleasantly, there was no king who was not suspicious!

It was still unknown how the Emperor would react when he heard the news. It was hard to say how the political enemies in the court who were hostile to King Wu and Qin Mubai would add fuel to the fire. In short, the most troublesome person in the world right now was not Li You, who claimed that Thallium was determined to gamble to his death. Instead, it was Li Ke and Qin Mubai, whom the rumors referred to.

“Hey, Li You has rebelled. I wonder what Gaoyang will think!” Wu Meiniang seemed to have said this inadvertently, but she suddenly stabbed the nerve in Qin Mubai’s heart.

He couldn’t help but tremble in his heart as he thought, “Back then, Ling’er went to the capital with Li You.” Now that Li You had “escaped” and ran to Dengzhou to rebel, where would Ling’er be?

Although he didn’t want that to happen, Qin Mubai estimated that most likely, Li You had already kidnapped Ling’er to Dengzhou. Otherwise, why would he bring up Xiangzhou King Wu and Qin Mubai for no reason? Clearly, he had a trump card in his hand!

“Mother Mei, take care. I’m leaving first.” Thinking of this, Qin Mubai was so worried that he hurriedly bid farewell and left.

‘”Wait–” Wu Meiniang suddenly stopped him.

“What else?” Qin Mubai Xuan asked.

Wu Meiniang walked forward and looked up at him. She shook her head, “It’s fine. I know you must be very anxious and worried right now. I’ve never seen you with such a serious expression and hurried footsteps. I may not be able to help you at this time, but please remember. No matter what you do, Meiniang understands you. Meiniang will always be with you.”

“Mm” Qin Mubai stared at her and nodded. Suddenly, he lifted her face and kissed her red lips. Then, he turned around and strode away without turning back.

Wu Meiniang knitted her eyebrows and looked at Qin Mubai’s background. She murmured, “This is a torment between the Li Imperial Clan’s brothers and fathers. It is also a test for Gaoyang and Mubai.” Mubai was one of the most complex characters. He was not only the emperor’s trusted subordinate, but also a close brother to Li Ke. He also loved Gaoyang deeply and had a complicated relationship with Li You. Among these people, the hardest and most difficult choice to make was precisely Mubai … how could loyalty and love be all four?

When they arrived at the secretariat of the manor, they saw that this place was brightly lit, and the soldiers and officials who entered and exited the manor walked endlessly. In the main hall of the secretariat’s mansion, Li Ke was worried and his mouth was dry, and he was discussing with a group of officials about arranging various government affairs.

“General Qin is here! General Qin is here!”

Someone cried out in surprise when they saw Qin Mubai arrive.

Li Ke also raised his eyebrows excitedly, “Please!”

Qin Mubai strode into the main hall in full military uniform. Kong Wu clasped his fists and bowed, “General Qin Mubai greets His Highness Prince King Wu!”

There were more than twenty officials present. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, as if they had taken a reassuring pill.

“Mubai, it’s good that you’re here. There are a lot of things that we can’t decide. We still need you to decide.” Li Ke hurriedly waved his hand to Qin Mubai, called him to the secretariat table, and gave him several folders.

Qin Mubai opened his eyes and saw that it was all about how to gather and mobilize grain, how to open the treasury and mobilize weapons, how to arrange armed defense in the prefectures and counties, and how to prepare for war by urgently recruiting government troops.

Qin Mubai expressed his opinion on the proposal to set up some grain defenses and decided on a way to deal with it. Then, he said, “Your Highness, do you want to arise at this time?”

Li Ke blinked his eyes in surprise, “It’s already been so long, when are we going to wait for the troops?”

“Arise to crush King Qi?” Qin Mubai asked with a serious expression.

“Of course” Li Ke looked at Qin Mubai suspiciously with a natural expression. “Don’t tell me you don’t approve of me doing this?”

Qin Mubai did not answer directly. Instead, he said, “Excuse me for a moment.”

“Alright” Li Ke entrusted the matter at hand to Quan Wanji and went to the study room with Qin Mubai.

“What’s wrong, Mubai? Shouldn’t I raise my flag to demand rebellion now to prove my innocence?” Li Ke asked anxiously as soon as he sat down.

“Raising a flag to seek rebellion is something that must be done, but not now.” Qin Mubai said resolutely.

“Why?” Li Ke asked in surprise, “I don’t disappoint Li You. Li You disappoints me. He doesn’t care about kinship. He even framed me for conspiring with him. Shouldn’t I go back on my word and use facts to shatter rumors to prove my innocence?”

“Your Highness, you are too anxious. You are not calm enough. Once you calm down, you will understand that any prefecture or county can arise to seek rebellion. Only the Xiang prefecture cannot take the lead.” Qin Mubai said.

Li Ke raised his eyebrows in surprise, took a deep breath, and fell into deep thought for a long time.

Qin Mubai did not disturb him and allowed him to think. He knew that Li Ke’s wisdom, especially his sensitivity to politics, was not inferior to his own. However, it was because Li You’s incident this time was too exciting for him that he lost some of his calm in a moment of anger.

After a long time, Li Ke finally opened his mouth and said, “In that case, I should write a letter to Father Emperor first to clarify the facts, and secondly to order a crusade?”

“Right.” Qin Mubai nodded decisively, “Your Highness is wise. Li You is obsessed with seeking his own death. The tree is overconfident. His defeat will come sooner or later. Whoever takes care of him will be able to do it easily. However, who was going to clean it up, and how to clean it up, were things that were important to him. First of all, we must take the initiative to dispel the Emperor’s suspicions; Secondly, no matter how unbearable Li You is, he is still your brother. If you take the initiative to destroy Li You without asking for your orders, even if you succeed in the end, you will not be able to escape the infamy of’brother versus disciple versus wall ‘. Especially the Emperor. He must think that you are anxious to criticize your brother in order to get rid of him. What does he think? “It’s just like when you two were young, you two were having an awkward fight. No matter how wrong Li You was, as a big brother, you can beat him to death and cripple him in one go, and then sue your father?”

“That makes sense!” Li Ke nodded heavily, but he was somewhat worried. “What if Father Emperor doesn’t listen to me and doesn’t let me arise to fight against him?”

“As expected, His Majesty will definitely not let you send troops. Li You’s rebellion was originally a family misfortune. As a father, how could His Majesty let another son take care of this unworthy son? Even if he wanted to clean up the door, he would definitely borrow other people’s hands to do so.” Qin Mubai said.

‘”That’s right. According to Father Emperor’s personality, he really won’t let me raise my flag against Li You and watch our brothers kill each other. This has always been the last thing he wants to see, so why would he take the initiative to arrange it?” Li Ke frowned deeply and sighed deeply. “Actually, I don’t want to fight against Li You to the death.” But this time, he really chilled my heart and disappointed me. And if I don’t do that, I’ll be wronged and implicated by him. In addition, there is no lack of people in the Imperial Court who use this opportunity to spread rumors that I, Li Ke, have dissent. At that time, even if I am innocent, I will not be able to get away with it. ”

“No. In the end, the facts will prove everything.” Qin Mubai said calmly.

“How can I prove it?” Li Ke said worriedly, “It’s inappropriate for me to arise. My father will definitely not agree to my request! Do you want me to sit in Xiangzhou and wait for the gods and buddhas of the heavens to come down from the mortal world to clear my grievances for Li Ke?”

“There’s no need for the Gods and Buddhas of the Heavens to descend to the mortal world. I, Qin Mubai, Qin Mubai said calmly.

“You?” Li Ke’s eyes widened in shock, “What … can you do?”

“Arise against the decree!” Qin Mubai said resolutely.

“What?!” Li Ke was shocked, “You’re crazy! You know that father Emperor won’t allow me to arise against him, but you want to arise against the decree? Isn’t this courting death?”

“I will be outside, but I will not accept your fate. Your main text, my main martial artist, I have the final say in the battle.” Qin Mubai said, “The Emperor doesn’t want to see you fight against each other, but he will definitely want to see you prove your innocence. However, no matter how you explain this matter, it is useless. You can only speak with facts. Therefore, I, someone from Qin, have to resist the decree and attack Li You to destroy him before I can do it.”

After hearing Qin Mubai’s words, Li Ke’s mouth widened and his eyes widened. After a long time, he did not return to his original state. He muttered, “Then, if you refuse to obey the decree, isn’t it also a capital offense?”

“Then we’ll talk about it at that time.” Qin Mu smiled and said calmly.

At this moment, he thought in his heart, “I clearly resist the imperial edict, but I coincide with the emperor’s heart.” At that time, the merits and demerits would be balanced, and nothing would happen. Li Shimin will not give a decree and will really let Li Ke and I fight against Li You. By doing so, he showed that he was paranoid, and that he was trying to be short-sighted. On the other hand, I might as well show some pettiness and impatience. If I resist this imperial edict and arise to destroy Li You on my own, it will complement Li Shimin’s heart and protect Jun Yan for him. Of course, these words can’t be told to Li Ke. Otherwise, letting him know that it’s not a good thing for me to have such an imperial heart.

“Have you really decided?” Li Ke asked worriedly.

“Yes. I’ve never been more resolute.” Qin Mubai said decisively, “As expected, Ling’er is definitely in Li You’s hands. That’s why he is so unscrupulous, so openly slandering and planting stolen goods on us.” What we need to do now is not to exterminate Li You or clear the name of the crime. Instead, he did not move like a mountain to stabilize the current situation in Xiangzhou, and then, like the county magistrates of other neighboring states, he wrote to request orders, not to act too anxious and special. Right now, no one says that we are anti-thieves or anti-Party. Our duty is still to protect the people at peace. ”

“Good, that’s very good. It really enlightens me!” Li You patted his forehead a few times and said happily, “That’s right, we’re not anti-thieves. Rumors are just rumors, they won’t become reality.” All we need to do is to do our own thing–to protect the people of the Realm, that’s all! Originally, Father Emperor emphasized these two words to us princes more than once. I didn’t expect that I would forget them at the critical moment. On the contrary, you understand it more thoroughly than I do, and you are also calmer and wiser. “Qin Mubai, Royal Uncle Jiang Xia is right. You are indeed a rare genius of Wang Zuo!”

“Too much praise.” Qin Mubai smiled faintly and said, “Your Highness, in Li Jingchuan’s military book, it is said that a good general commands the army as calm as Mount Tai, moving as fierce as a gale.” It wasn’t easy to hit him with one blow, so it was the best way to use troops. Right now, there must be a lot of people eager for us to arise as soon as possible and fight to the death with Li You. They watch the show, or they make up rumors. We are going to arise, who knows if we are going to seek rebellion or surrender? Deng Xiang two states at the border of the county, tuen have mansion soldiers. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the chaos to earn a sum of money from these generals? Originally, they had only targeted Deng Zhou for the promotion reward, but when they saw us move, there might even be people who were eager to target us. At that time, he won’t ask us whether we are here to put out the fire or to rob us. He will first give us some credit for putting out the fire and rob us. What do we do? Was he going to explain to them with just a meat mouth, or was he going to fight back with troops? Since he was someone who took advantage of the fire to rob, he would definitely not listen. Fight back … Alright, we’ll really become usurpers! ”

Hearing this, Li Ke almost broke out in cold sweat and murmured, “That’s right!” Not to mention the distance, nearby places like Jingzhou and Anzhou, there were amphibious warhorses and barracks. There was chaos in the nearby provinces, so it was barely justifiable for them to go and calm down. If we also arise, they might really take advantage of the rumors to rob us as if we were rebels and ask for rewards. Perhaps this was exactly what Li You’s crafty plan was trying to achieve. He wants to create chaos and force us to take action. Then he confuses right and wrong and adds chaos to the chaos, so that he can take his poop in the chaos. ”

“That’s right. The rumors themselves are ridiculous. Few people will really believe them, but if they reach the ears of people with ulterior motives, they will become weapons that pose a great threat to us.” Qin Mubai said, “Therefore, all the people in the world can now raise their troops to demand rebellion. Only the Xiang Province must not move as fast as a mountain! Your Highness, it is not appropriate to delay. Immediately divorce your letter and rush 600 li to send Chang’an!”

“Alright, I’ll trouble you to help me sharpen the ink!”

Without saying a word, Li Ke personally took out the four treasures of his study and wrote a watch. The ink was still fresh, so he handed it to Qin Mubai to take a look.

“Is this written properly?” Li Ke asked.

“Sure.” Qin Mubai nodded and said, “If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow, His Majesty the Emperor of Chang’an will know about the rebellion in Deng Zhou.” His Royal Highness’s watch could only arrive in Chang’an at this time the day after tomorrow. In other words, there was a time difference of one day. During this time, with His Majesty’s wise and decisive personality, he must have already reacted and sent out generals to fight back. By the time the imperial edict returned to Xiangzhou, Deng Zhou should have already started fighting. Therefore, even though we are not recruiting troops or preparing for battle, we still need to secretly prepare for battle! As soon as the imperial edict arrives, I will immediately lead my troops to cross the river to seek rebellion! ”

“Mubai, I’m going to make things difficult for you again.” Li Ke tightly knitted his brows and patted Qin Mubai’s shoulder. He stared at him and said, “I didn’t expect Li You to be so stubborn and do such an extreme action. I didn’t expect Yin Yang to be so incompetent. I have already dismissed him as a soldier to see what happens next.”

Qin Mubai smiled and nodded, “Things are tricky, but I believe there will be a day of peace.” Don’t blame too much on Yin Yang. As expected, Li You was intercepted by Yin Hongzhi. Yin Yang escorted them all the way to the Black Tortoise Gate of the Great Brightness Palace. They were still safe and sound. Who would have thought that Yin Hongzhi would intercept Li You and Gaoyang in front of the Black Tortoise Gate with such deliberation? In addition, it must be Yin Hongzhi’s scheme to frame us for spreading rumors. “Although Li You is unbearable, he is not so vicious and sinister, nor is he so old and smart.”

“Yes, just as I thought.” Li Ke snorted dejectedly and said, “This old thief is the only one who can bewitch Li You to such an extent. Back then, Xiangzhou was busy with the ritual and was too noisy and chaotic, so we could only act in secret. Next time … No, there will definitely not be another time! This time, Mubai, you must kill this old thief!”

‘”Mm” Qin Mubai nodded lightly and thought to himself, “Is it the Hand Blade of Yin Hongzhi?” I really want to tear him apart. Now, only by killing this old thief can we clear our suspicions of Li Ke and me.

But the question is, should I kill her in front of Ling’er or behind her back? Do you want to cut off his dog head with your own hands, or do you want to order someone else to use a knife?

…

After that, how should I face Ling’er?