Chapter 3805 Private Meeting
For Fang Jun, Princess Linchuan gnashed her teeth and hated him to the bone, wishing that he would die violently under the might of the Guanlong army and be shattered to pieces!
However, things are unpredictable. My husband, Zhou Daowu, accompanied His Majesty Li Er on the Eastern Expedition. He thought that he would secure a solid military exploit and become a well-known force in the military. However, the Eastern Expedition army failed to return, even though it had made a furious advance at the beginning. , when attacking the city, Zhou Daowu showed little performance, and in the end he only had the task of escorting the prisoners back to his country.
In the winter in Liaodong, there was heavy snow and the road was difficult to travel. After Zhou Daowu led the prisoners back to Liaodong Town, they encountered heavy snow and were unable to move forward. The prisoners lacked clothing and food, and countless people died of cold and hunger. Once Zhou Daowu failed to carry out these responsibilities, he would be demoted. It's inevitable.
On the other hand, Fang Jun was excluded from the Eastern Expedition. People ridiculed him and watched as Nuo Da's achievements in the Eastern Expedition could not be shared. As a result, the army went to the Eastern Expedition, the situation in Guanzhong suddenly changed, and foreigners invaded, Fang Jun almost Use your own power to protect the sky and turn the tide, your reputation shocks all directions, and your military power spreads beyond the territory.
He even rushed to Chang'an from thousands of miles away from the Western Regions and defeated the Guanlong army that was sure of victory. He was defeated and defeated. Hearing his name made him feel terrified!
If Li Ji sided with Guan Long and sent troops to defeat the East Palace army, Fang Jun would be unable to cover up the defeat. When the prince was deposed, he would also be implicated.
But if Li Ji doesn't plan to side with Guan Long, the victory in the East Palace will be unshakable, and Fang Jun will almost solidify his position as the number one person under the prince's command...
This made Princess Linchuan feel even more aggrieved than her own husband's defeat.
……
After Zhang Liang paid an audience with the princesses, he withdrew. Chai Xu returned from nowhere and asked Zhang Liang to have a banquet across the courtyard.
When he entered the courtyard, Chai Xu kept walking and led Zhang Liang straight through the hall to the backyard. A flower stand has been set up against the wall, and there is a moon gate between the flowers and trees. At this moment, there are more than ten powerful men in powerful clothes standing guard here, and no outsiders are allowed to approach.
Chai Xu stepped forward and gently pushed the moon door open, and he and Zhang Liang raised their feet to enter. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of them, and there was a cave.
Countless towering ancient trees are lush and green, and the leaves are green and fresh under the light rain. A green brick-paved corridor under the trees winds towards the end of the forest, with moss attached to it, making it cool and quiet. Deep in the woods, Sanskrit music could be heard faintly.
Princess Baling's Mansion was originally a part of Mingfu Temple. Unexpectedly, there was still a door to communicate with each other. This made Zhang Liang have an idea in his heart for no reason - if Princess Baling was dissatisfied with Chai Lingwu and wanted to steal a man It's really convenient.
The Tang Dynasty adopted Taoism as the state religion, and Buddhism was severely suppressed. Life was difficult for all the monks in the world, and there were many good and bad ones. It was inevitable that some of them looked sanctimonious, but were actually full of dirty thoughts...
At the end of the woods, there is a courtyard with several monasteries and surrounded by forest springs. It is lightly raining, the springs are gurgling, and the environment is extremely quiet.
Chai Xu went first, Zhang Liang followed, and went straight into the monastery, ignoring the several hunky and powerful generals in front of the door.
Stepping on the smooth floor, I came to a coffee table in front of the window. Changsun Wuji, who was dressed in a brocade robe, was already sitting here. He was taking the boiling spring water from the stove, pouring it into the teapot, and then pouring it with his own hands. Tea, smiled at Zhang Liang and motioned for him to drink.
Zhang Liang stepped forward and bowed to the ground, then lifted up his robe, knelt down and sat opposite Changsun Wuji, picked up the teacup, and took a sip.
Changsun Wuji also picked up the tea cup and looked up at Chai Xu.
Chai Xu could only show a smile, reluctantly bowed and pushed out of the monastery, and waited outside the door with the generals of the Changsun family...
Changsun Wuji took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "This is this year's spring tea. It's not a famous brand, but it has a mellow taste. I like it very much."
He was in a very good mood and his face was full of spring breeze.
Li Ji sent Zhang Liang to Beijing to express his condolences at Princess Baling's mansion. This was considered a gesture, and it may also be an attempt to show his position to all parties, maybe Guanlong or the East Palace. Changsun Wuji was not sure. But everything must be treated with all the energy, this is his consistent habit, so when he heard that Zhang Liang entered Princess Baling's mansion, he immediately came here and asked Chai Xu to contact him to see if Zhang Liang would come to meet her.
Since Zhang Liang represents Li Ji in this trip, no matter what he thinks in his heart, if Li Ji has no intention of Guan Long, he will definitely not dare to come to meet him in private.
Now that he is here, it means that at least Li Ji is not hostile to Guan Long... Under the current dangerous situation, how can such a revealed information not make him feel happy?
Zhang Liang put down his teacup, looked serious, and said slowly: "I came here this time to meet with Duke Zhao on the order of the British Duke. The Nanyang Duan family has violated the bottom line by massacring civilians and plundering villages, so they sent troops to annihilate them. It is really inappropriate It is an ordinary military operation. I hope Mr. Zhao will not over-interpret it. This is the end of the matter."
Changsun Wuji was astonished: "What Nanyang Duan family?"
Zhang Liang looked at his expression and couldn't tell the truth from the fake, and asked curiously: "Is it possible that Duke Zhao has not found out yet?"
Changsun Wuji became increasingly puzzled: "What happened?"
Zhang Liang then recounted in detail how the Nanyang Duan clan robbed villages, massacred people, and was annihilated by Zuo Wuwei...
Changsun Wuji looked gloomy, but there was a turmoil in his heart.
He coerced and lured the world's elites into Guanzhong to support the mutiny. However, these elite private armies were not regular troops and lacked training. They did not understand military laws and disciplines. It was expected that they would disobey orders and commit crimes in private.
It's just a Duan family in Nanyang. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with the overall situation. This is not important.
The Duan clan in Nanyang massacred people and plundered villages. In fact, it was last night that Cheng Yaojin sent troops to annihilate the Duan clan in Nanyang in the morning, and it was already approaching evening. As the commander-in-chief of Guanlong, he had not received the news yet. It can be seen that although the clan's private army has a large number of people, The crowd was scattered, even fearing and guarding against each other. It was difficult to take advantage of the strength of the troops. They were defeated one after another at the hands of the East Palace army. It was really not unfair.
Of course, the situation is almost certain at this moment, so this is not important.
The important thing is that Cheng Yaojin sent troops to annihilate the Duan family in Nanyang without authorization, and the intention revealed by this... If Li Ji hadn't made the immediate decision to send Zhang Liang, he would have been unable to tell who Cheng Yaojin was after receiving the news that the Duan family in Nanyang was wiped out by the Eastern Expedition army. What Yao Jin did without authorization was still a military order issued by Li Ji. He must have concluded that Li Ji had completely sided with the East Palace, and then made an extremely violent reaction.
Since Li Ji sent Zhang Liang to explain, he obviously didn't want him to mistakenly think that the Eastern Expedition army was already on the side of the East Palace. Does this mean that Li Ji was also dissatisfied with the prince, so he sat back and watched Guanlong overthrow the East Palace and establish a crown prince instead?
All speculations seem to have returned to before. Li Ji was dissatisfied with the prince's favor and trust in Fang Jun, and was worried that his position would be challenged by Fang Jun after the prince ascended the throne, so he sat back and watched Guan Long depose the East Palace, and then rushed to Chang'an at the critical moment to install a prince. , to achieve the purpose of "holding the emperor to order the princes", and then to hold great power, reaching the pinnacle of power ministers...
Changsun Wuji's thoughts were racing, and he looked at Zhang Liang with a frown: "What does the British Lord want?"
Zhang Liang shook his head: "I don't know either."
Changsun Wuji certainly knew that Zhang Liang could not know Li Ji's real plan, but after all, Zhang Liang was in the army and working under Li Ji, so he could always get some clues from Li Ji's words and actions, so he whispered: "Fang Jun Arrogant, domineering, downright The rebellious act has now made the prince unhappy, and the death of Chai Lingwu is unfathomable... Duke Yun is a founding hero and a military giant. Although he still lacks some qualifications to become the prime minister, he is qualified for the position of Minister of the Ministry of War. ”
Zhang Liang's heart was beating loudly, and his mouth was a little dry, so he resisted not raising a cup of tea to relieve it.
The information revealed in these words is very huge. First of all, Chai Lingwu's death was very strange, and Changsun Wuji's intention was that the prince secretly took action and blamed Fang Jun... This actually makes sense, after all. Fang Jun repeatedly ignored the prince's orders and started war against Guanlong without authorization, which caused the peace talks between the two sides to be suspended several times, making the East Palace precarious and the danger doubled.
Secondly, Changsun Wuji implicitly expressed that he would fully support his bid for the post of Minister of War in the future. In the past, the position of Minister of War was only one of the six ministries in name. In fact, when military power was in the hands of the emperor, it was not even a handyman. He could only be busy with logistics and supplies, including the weapons department, archery department, etc. The business of these yamen in Nufang cannot be influenced.
However, after Fang Jun took office, a series of operations greatly enhanced the authority of the Ministry of War Yamen, and it became an existence almost on par with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs. It also allowed the Minister of War to directly enter the political hall to participate in political affairs, and even became one of several powerful officials in the Military Aircraft Department. One of the ministers.
If he could become the Minister of the Ministry of War, he would be one of the most powerful men in the court. How could Zhang Liang not be tempted? (End of chapter)