Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 369

Chapter 369 Peak Of Mount Zhongnan

Qin Mubai did not remember how he had left Hongwen Library and returned home under the gaze of a group of people. He was a little tired and absent-minded. He should have been happy, but he couldn’t.

This time, he had truly experienced what it meant to be surrounded by dangers and killing intent. A group of people sitting in a meeting could decide the fate of millions of people. Although there was no saber soldier or armor staff, it was better than a chaotic battle between ten thousand troops. ,

On the surface, Li Shimin stepped out of his horse at the last moment, trying his best to turn the tide or the universe around, reversing the balance that had been completely tilted.

Actually, Li Shimin could figure it out with just a little snack. This was also a helpless move!

This time, the pavilion meeting was full of twists and turns. On the surface, it seemed to be aimed at the war in Lanzhou. In reality, the core was the struggle for power and the contest of positions. Changsun Wuji was the strong side. No matter how complicated the process was, he won in the end.

This also meant that the main warring faction had been completely defeated, and the court struggle had completely fallen into a one-sided situation.

Of course, this was the last thing Li Shimin wanted to see!

Especially when he saw that the prince he had always valued, King Wei, Li Tai, had also fallen to the ground and stood in the camp of Eldest Sun Wuji. He was so angry that he was expelled from Hongwen Library.

It was said that the Sovereign Heart was unpredictable, but it was actually simple to put it bluntly Li Shimin wanted to nurture a powerful group to assist his successor, so as to ensure a safe and stable transition of the Great Tang Dynasty after a hundred years. However, he absolutely wouldn’t allow any powerful officials to appear in the court.

This is contradictory, but understandable.

Only when the two forces were evenly matched would the emperor be able to control them. If one side was completely defeated and annexed, it meant that there was only one group left in the court. If the troops were to join forces, even the Emperor would not be able to control them.

Li Shimin still had such worries, and he didn’t believe that his son could deal with a court official party that was firmly in his arms. Therefore, he hoped that Li Tai, whom he had always valued, would show some courage and courage at such a critical juncture, dare to be enemies with Eldest Sun Wuji, and dare to stand firmly on the side of the weak main warring faction. However, Li Tai uselessly violated his pact with Qin Mubai and stood in the queue of Eldest Sun Wuji.

Therefore, when Li Tai walked out of Hongwen Library, everyone could clearly feel Li Shimin’s disappointment, even despair!

If he were to pass the throne to Li Tai or Li Zhi a hundred years later, neither of them would be able to suppress Eldest Sun Wuji!

As such, what to do?

Li Shimin’s sorrow was indescribable!

He needed Eldest Sun Wuji, and he also had to be on guard against Eldest Sun Wuji. He trusted Eldest Sun Wuji, but he couldn’t do it without reservation. This was not because of his lack of personality, but because of his status as an emperor, which determined that he had to do so.

Perhaps Li Shimin’s helplessness was the root of his illness this time. He wanted to stay away from the Imperial Court for a while and see what would happen if he left the Great Tang. The current result was likely to disappoint him-Eldest Sun Wuji was completely capable of “unifying Jianghu.” The King of Wei, whom he had always valued, did nothing at all. Not only was it not comparable to Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, but he was inferior to Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, and Qin Mubai!

Smooth to smooth, mind to mind, but on the key issues, you must have your own stand and attitude, this is the most basic bone frame of an emperor!

…

Li Shimin, with a slightly grey complexion and thick fur, stood at the edge of the window on the top floor of the Martial Palace Hall, blowing the breeze above Chang’an. He narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.

Behind him, there was only Chu Suiliang and a living eunuch.

“Suiliang … Tell me the truth. Isn’t it true that not a single one of my sons has succeeded?” Li Shimin said softly.

Chu Suiliang was stunned for a moment before cupping his hands and saying, “Your Majesty, this lowly official has written these words in Your Majesty’s notes.”

“Whatever.” Li Shimin indifferently whispered, “You don’t have to write the following words. I just want to have a private chat with you.”

“That lowly official is no longer the personal servant beside His Majesty. Instead, he is an ordinary official.” Chu Suiliang said.

“Mm. Just pretend that you are my nephew.” Li Shimin nodded his head and said, “Tell me, why did Azure Bird stand in the camp of Eldest Sun Wuji today instead of Fang Xuanling and Li Xu?”

“King Wei … should also have his reasons!” Chu Suiliang said, “Crown Prince, a lesson from the past.”

Li Shimin furrowed his eyebrows and a trace of anger appeared on his face. He immediately coughed several times and slapped heavily on the edge of the window. He said angrily, “According to what you said, could it be that Cheng Qian was defeated by Eldest Sun Wuji?”

“This lowly official is condemned to death!” Chu Suiliang was instantly shocked, “This lowly subject, this is definitely not the intention!”

“Since that’s not the intention, how can we commit a capital crime?”

Chu Suiliang was stunned for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, it is said that the lips are cold and the teeth are cold, and the rabbits and foxes are sad. Although the truth is not so, people are still suspicious. It is hard to guarantee that King Wei will not have such thoughts in his heart! As a result, he was forced to stand on the side of the peace faction due to the situation.”

‘”Hmph” Li Shimin snorted coldly and said, “Then he is exquisite. His ability to seek good fortune and avoid evil is really good. Everyone knew that he and Eldest Sun Wuji had always been at odds. At present, Eldest Sun Wuji is advocating assisting the Nascent Slave Supervisory Kingdom. This decision of his surprised me. At this moment, it should be the Azure Sparrow that is being hit the most. He was actually begging for mercy from Eldest Sun Wuji! Sad! How sad! How come my Li Shimin’s son doesn’t have the slightest bit of courage and courage? ”

“Pa, pa, pa!”

After slapping three times, Li Shimin heavily slapped the window edge, causing the grey paint to shatter!

Chu Suiliang softly advised, “Your Majesty’s illness hasn’t healed yet, please calm down …”

At this moment, only Chu Suiliang could understand why the Emperor was so angry. At that time, Li Shimin used the excuse of recuperating to give up the dragon chair in the Imperial Court. First, he wanted to test the future of the Imperial Court. Second, he wanted to force the King of Wei and Eldest Sun Wuji to “make peace.”

To Li Shimin’s surprise, the eldest Sun Wuji actually brought out Li Zhi, who had never stepped onto the stage before, and would rather take the risk of disobeying the sacred will than make peace with Li Tai. At this moment, although Li Shimin was a little surprised and angry, he still admired Changsun Wuji’s ideas. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been “sick” for so long. He just wanted to see if Eldest Sun Wuji’s choice was correct.

At this time, Li Shimin did not give up on King Wei Li Tai. For so many years, Li Tai was the most suitable successor in his eyes. He really wanted to see Li Tai stand up at this moment and fight against Eldest Sun Wuji. He wanted to fight with a bit of imperial demeanor and aura, and show a bit of prince’s pride and courage to do great things!

Although it wasn’t a good thing for the Imperial Court to fight, Li Shimin knew that these contradictions had existed for a long time and had been accumulating under the surface of the water. If he wanted to resolve them, it would be better for him to erupt!

However, this war was really loud and rainy. Although the main warring faction had the support of Li Ji and Li Daozong and Fang Xuanling, they were still insignificant compared to the eldest Sun Wuji party. At this time, Li Shimin looked forward to seeing Li Tai stand up and say no to Eldest Sun Wuji. Even if he knew that he would lose, he would still lose heavily and hold his head high.

However, Li Tai did not. He chose to hide his head in the crowd with his neck shrunk.

When Qin Mubai passed by and sneered at him, Li Shimin saw and heard it from afar.

At that time, he really wanted to rush forward and pull Li Tai out and slap him hard to give him some backbone!

The love is deep, the responsibility is deep!

Chu Suiliang could fully understand Li Shimin’s anger and disappointment!

Originally, Lanzhou was at war with Tibet, so how to handle the diplomatic relations with Tibet and how to manage the Western Regions had long been a blueprint in Li Shimin’s heart. All of his hesitation was because he didn’t have a clear understanding of the comparison of powers in the court.

Now he knew. The civil service group led by Changsun Wuji had almost overwhelmingly defeated the main faction. In this matter, no one was right or wrong, only the winner and the loser. In Li Shimin’s view, his bottom line was not to allow the court party struggle to deteriorate further, and there would be a second Crown Prince and Hanwang, and he did not want a second Hou Junji, such as the pillars of the court, to be pulled away.

In short, Li Shimin had already made up his mind that whichever side lost, he would help whichever side, protect whichever side, and support whichever side! First, the dead people in the court who cannot reproduce the catastrophe must leave. Second, we must make sure that the strength of the two sides of the court is evenly matched …

When the meeting in the Hongwen Pavilion ended and everyone returned home to think for a while, as long as they weren’t people with bad brains, they understood the Emperor’s intentions.

Therefore, Qin Mubai and the rest of the crowd went all out and fought each other as if they were going to die. In the end, they only played a game like “throwing sandbags” with Li Shimin.

In the end, the only unlucky person who was hit was actually the King of Wei, Li Tai!

“I want to see Qin Mubai alone. If you want to keep it a secret, arrange it.” Li Shimin suddenly said.

“Where is it?” Chu Suiliang asked superfluously.

However, Li Shimin was stunned for a long time. He sighed and said, “Come out of the palace. It’s best to leave Chang’an City … the top of Zhongnan Mountain.”

After Qin Mubai returned home, she fell asleep and ignored everyone. She fell asleep until midnight, her entire body covered in sweat and hunger, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness. Qin Mubai went out to prepare the servants for the bath and food, but the door was still open when she saw that the light was still on in Shuang’er’s room, so Qin Mubai walked over.

“Brother, you’re finally awake. What, are you sick, sleeping so foolishly in broad daylight?” Shuang’er asked with concern, “Seeing that you are so tired, mother is very worried and afraid of disturbing your rest, so she warned us not to wake you up. Right, here is a note left by Chu Suiliang. He waited for you for a long time but did not let us call you. When it was late at night, he left the note.”

“Chu Suiliang?” Qin Mubai took it out in surprise and opened it. It was Chu Suiliang’s handwriting, and the ink was still fresh. There were only eleven words on it: “Tomorrow at the peak of Zhongnan Mountain, wait for you”.

Qin Mubai knitted her eyebrows and smiled as she casually burned the paper note at the candle.

“Brother … what’s the matter? The Emperor actually saw you there?” Shuang’er asked curiously.

“Who cares about him? I’m too lazy to think about the twists and turns. I’m tired! I’ll find out if I go tomorrow, won’t I?” Qin Mubai said, “I’m hungry. Get me something to eat.”

“Alright, I’ve already prepared it. It’s all warmed up in the pot!”

The next day, at dawn, Qin Mubai, who had not slept and read in the middle of the night, went out early. He took a pipa with him and mounted his horse. He went out of Chang’an and went up Zhongnan Mountain, arriving in front of the statue of Yao’er, which was half constructed.

It was still early at this moment, and ten thousand streaks of multicolored clouds overflowed from the top of the mountain, as if they were in the Immortal Realm. The construction workers were still washing up and cooking in the distant shed, and it was still early to start. Thus, Qin Mubai sat beside the statue and played a few pipas.

At this time, Li Shimin still hadn’t come.

“Yao’er, I’m here to say goodbye to you.” Qin Mubai whispered to himself, “I’m leaving Chang’an for Lanzhou. I don’t know when I’ll be back. However, I’ll bring your ashes with me. You should be with me, right? When I return victoriously, I’ll play the pipa here for you.”

As a result, he played another song, “Lanzhou Hong”.

The construction workers had probably guessed Qin Mubai’s identity as well, so they all consciously stood far away without anyone disturbing them.

At this moment, a series of steady and slow footsteps sounded behind Qin Mubai. He turned around and saw Li Shimin wearing a thick fur cape.

“Keep playing!” Li Shimin wrapped his hands tightly in his cloak and smiled indifferently.

“I wonder if His Majesty has come to welcome me. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.” Qin Mubai stood up and bowed.

“There’s no need to be too polite.” Li Shimin let out a long sigh. He looked up at the embryonic statue of Yao’er and narrowed his eyes to admire the flowing clouds. He said softly, “Bi Yuan Kai Wu Xi, Qi Ling Jun Xia City, Yan Feng is tall and verdant, the sun waves are shallow and deep … It’s a good place!”

“Mm” Qin Mubai replied softly.

“I have long heard of Miss Yao’er’s name. Unfortunately, it has always been a miserable thing. It’s a pity that I didn’t see her ascend to the Immortal realm first.” Li Shimin said, “Mubai, you are still young. There are still many things that should be experienced in this world. You have to endure them one by one.”

“Your Majesty, there’s no need to worry. This lowly official naturally knows.” Qin Mubai said.

“I believe.” Li Shimin smiled and nodded his head. “For someone like you, your ambitions will not be buried by your sweethearts. Actually, I have two things to tell you when I invited you here for a private meeting today.”

“Your Majesty, please show me.” Qin Mubai cupped his hands and said.

“The first thing is about your grudge with the Fang Clan.” Li Shimin said as he looked at Qin Mubai with burning eyes.

Qin Mubai frowned slightly and nodded, “This lowly official is indeed impulsive. If there is anything wrong, I am willing to be punished, and I am willing to go to Fang Xianggong’s place to be dealt with.”

“A man, you dare to be a man. You’re a good man.” Li Shimin nodded in approval and smiled, “But if you do that, you will be underestimating Fang Xuanling. Is his heart capable of accommodating mountains, rivers, and seas? Actually, I admire him a little. At first, it was not you, not Mubai, but Fang Xuanling who came to expose Li Yuanchang’s plot with Fang Yiai.”

Qin Mubai was speechless. This was the first time he felt … ashamed when he remembered that Fang Xuanling in the Hongwen Pavilion, who had a heavy body, but every single word was loud and forceful!

“Fang Xuanling righteous extermination, not only exposed his son’s crime, but also confessed to me adopted son don’t teach, he pleaded guilty to ambush or please resign back to the field, I have rejected him. Therefore, he still performs the duty of a prime minister, loyally seeking the kingdom to share our worries. It is very rare for him to change his stance and attitude on major issues without the slightest bit of personal grudge with you. ” Li Shimin sighed deeply. “That’s why I said in the Hongwen Museum yesterday that I would rather bury the heavens myself than lose a loyal minister like Fang Xuanling in the Great Tang.”

Qin Mubai sighed and said, “This lowly official knows my mistake … This lowly official’s actions have caused too much damage to Fang Xuanling. However, at the most critical moment, he repaid my grievances with kindness. Ah …”

“He is right and wrong, just like Wei Zheng.” Li Shimin smiled proudly and said, “I have always been very glad to have such loyal officials as Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng by my side.” Mubai, you don’t have to blame yourself. You may have gone too far, but you’re right. On the contrary, I greatly appreciate your courage and honesty. I have also been young and arrogant before. If anyone hurts my friends, relatives or women, I will not obey them. This is understandable. He could understand Fang Xuanling. Don’t underestimate his heart. ”

“En …”

Li Shimin suddenly said, “Mubai, I have something I want to ask you for help with …”

Qin Mubai was surprised and stunned for a moment. He cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, please give me your orders.”

“In the future, if one day I leave before Fang Xuanling, then … I ask you to protect him.” After Li Shimin finished speaking, he turned to look at Qin Mubai with a serious expression and said, “Can you agree?”

“Yes.” Qin Mubai looked into Li Shimin’s eyes and said with certainty.

“I thank you.” Li Shimin smiled slightly and turned to look at Shan Xia in the distance. He said leisurely, “This is also what Empress Chang Sun told me before she died … You must do your best to protect Fang Xuanling.”

After hearing this, Qin Mubai was stunned for a long time. He sighed in his heart, “After the eldest grandson’s house that passed away a few years ago, he actually had such foresight?” Could it be that she had long since realized that Fang Xuanling would one day be rejected by his own brother, Eldest Sun Wuji, and the others?

What kind of wise and intelligent woman was that Eldest Sun Empress who was quietly lying in the Zhaoling Mausoleum? No wonder Li Shimin still missed her!

“The second thing, I want to show you something.” Li Shimin took out a fold and handed it to Qin Mubai.

Qin Mubai was slightly shocked the moment he got it. This memorial was a special memorial for emergency military intelligence at the border. He was too familiar with it!

He opened his eyes and saw that it was indeed the Lanzhou Military Intelligence Emergency Report. Furthermore, it was his father Qin Shubao’s own blood letter!

Qin Mubai was dumbfounded after reading it!

It turned out that six days ago, Qin Shubao had already rebelled against the decree and attacked Tibetan soldiers out of Gaochang!

Before he arose, he wrote down a blood letter, willing to bear the crime of resisting the decree, and personally led the army, leaving Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche guarding the Lanzhou base camp, lit up twenty thousand elite cavalry light soldier and attack Gao Chang far away, only with Xue Rengui and Yuwen Hongtai lieutenant!

Li Shimin’s expression was a little tense when he saw that he was standing still in the distance.

“Your Majesty, this” Qin Mubai didn’t know what to say.

“This was given to me by Chu Suiliang early yesterday morning. Even Commander Sun Wuji doesn’t know.” Li Shimin said.

Qin Mubai immediately broke out in a cold sweat. If this military newspaper appeared at the Hongwen Library Conference, how catastrophic would it be! In this way, the discussion was not whether Lanzhou would send troops, but how to sanction Qin Shubao and the group of generals of Lanzhou!

“Do you want to ask, since your father has already attacked, why did I send a wedding messenger to bring Princess Wen Cheng to Lanzhou?” Li Shimin said.

“Mm” Qin Mubai could only nod.

“Ah” Li Shimin sighed helplessly and said, “That’s because the people who died on the frontlines are already dead. I don’t want anyone else to die at the hands of my own people in the Imperial Court.”

“I understand” Qin Mubai nodded and said softly, “Your Majesty, you are the most difficult one.”

Li Shimin raised the corners of his mouth and smiled. “It’s not easy to be a minister, it’s not even easier to be a monarch,” he said. Since I have become the emperor, I have to shoulder this responsibility. There was nothing to say about what was within his duty. You too, Mubai. You’re under a lot of pressure to go to Lanzhou. Your father must have his reasons for dispatching troops to defend against the imperial edict. However, since he had done so, he had already left behind an excuse. It’s up to you, how should you think of a way to end this situation? In addition, flattening Tibet and the Western Regions was not so realistic after all, and the alliance was the inevitable outcome. Since they had already gone out to battle, the only way out was to seek peace through war. “You are not afraid of war, Lanzhou soldiers are not afraid of war, but the Great Tang Imperial Court is!”

“I understand …” Qin Mubai sighed deeply and said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. I will not disappoint Your Majesty after I go to Lanzhou. I will not make things difficult for Your Majesty.”

“Alright. With these two words of yours, I can rest assured.” Li Shimin smiled knowingly and said, “I have a small matter to tell you.” I have decided to let Jiang Xia King Li Daozong act as his daughter’s wedding gift messenger and follow you to Lanzhou to manage the wedding gift. I have decided to temporarily transfer Li Ke back from Goguryeo to fill the vacancy in the position of Commander-in-Chief of You Prefecture that he left empty. In any case, the Korean Peninsula was temporarily at peace. There’s no need to put my prince in Koguryo’s palace and let others keep him like a hostage. ”

“I know.” Qin Mubai cupped his hands and replied softly, but his heart was moved. Li Ke, after taking such a big detour and taking such a big risk, he finally achieved his goal of’escaping disaster ‘, and had a corner? … The deputy governor of the Governor’s Mansion of You Zhou, his position and power are not small! …