Chapter 3928: Go straight to the point
The mountain breeze blew in from the window, and there was a faint sound of water in the distance. It was cool and refreshing, but it could not dispel the gloom in the minds of several Guanlong bosses in the hall.
No matter how strong the desire to control Guan Long is in his heart, any of Guan Long's children have to admit that it is precisely because of the existence of Changsun Wuji that Guanlong became so brilliant and powerful after Zhenguan. Without Changsun Wuji, Who dares to say that this true leader is confident that he can bring the Guanlong clan to such heights, maintain its foundation in a future surrounded by wolves, and even make a comeback?
It is no exaggeration to say that Changsun Wuji is not only the leader of Guan Long, but also the backbone of Guan Long.
Once this backbone is broken, the once majestic Guanlong clan may just sink and fall into the dust...
However, the current situation is like this, who can do anything?
The reason why the Guanlong clan is in its current state is all caused by Changsun Wuji. Now if someone has to stand up and take responsibility, it has to be him. No matter how much others feel sorry for or worry about Guanlong's future, they will never do it. Maybe take his own life instead.
Fortunately, Changsun Wuji was also a prominent figure in the world. He had already seen everything in the world clearly. He was not disappointed by everyone's silence. Instead, he smiled, sipped his teacup, and said slowly: "Since we first planned to start the incident, On that day, I have already failed It is said that everything is planned by man and accomplished by God. How can anything be perfect in this world? Now that we have been defeated, I feel guilty for causing everyone to be implicated. If I could just die to end the current crisis, it would be a worthy death."
Several people looked at each other and wanted to say some words of comfort, but the words came to their lips but could not come out.
This mutiny was indeed planned by Changsun Wuji, but when he approached various families and asked them to send troops to invade Chang'an, who didn't have luck in their hearts and try to seek more benefits? If he succeeds, everyone will follow him to the next level. If he fails, Changsun Wuji will have to bear the blame alone. This is unfair.
Of course, everyone knows that this is unfair, but no one will stand up and take responsibility for Changsun Wuji at this time.
So, it’s better not to say anything...
*****
There is Ba Ling Pavilion outside Chunming Gate, not far from the west side of Ba Bridge, with Bashui on the left and Baling Pavilion in the distance. Under the clouds and drizzle, the grass is green in the distance, the mountains are like black, and the Han family mausoleum can be vaguely seen.
In front of the pavilion, the officers and soldiers of Zuo Wuwei took three steps to one post and five steps to make a sentinel. They made the guards within a few tens of feet in the vicinity watertight. In the distance, there were light cavalry patrolling back and forth. No one was allowed to get close.
Regardless of the East Palace or Guanlong, both sides have the idea of putting the other party to death. Cheng Yaojin does not want to be responsible for the assassination of a big shot on both sides when he is ordered to broker a truce, thus causing an uproar...
In the slanting wind and drizzle, a motorcade came from the south. The scouts had seen the emblem of the Yuwen family on the carriage early, and they reported to Cheng Yaojin on horseback. Therefore, Cheng Yaojin, wearing a raincoat, came out of the pavilion and headed south for more than a hundred miles. Zhang, stood by the road to greet him personally. When the carriage approached, he stepped forward to salute. Yuwenshi smiled informally and invited him to board the carriage, and they arrived at Ba Ling Pavilion together.
Cheng Yaojin had already expected that Yu Wenshi and his representative Guan Long would come instead of Changsun Wuji, and he didn't take it seriously. Changsun Wuji's fate was almost doomed. No matter whether the negotiations could be reached or what the final result was, there would always be Someone is responsible for this mutiny, and except for Changsun Wuji, no one else has that qualification.
As the Yuwen family is second only to the Changsun family in terms of strength among the Guanlong clan, it is conceivable that after the death of Changsun Wuji, they will inevitably take over their position as the leader of the Guanlong clan and be the leader of the Guanlong clan. With him participating in the negotiations, In fact, he is more suitable than Changsun Wuji.
When they arrived at Ba Ling Pavilion, they got out of the car together. Just as they were about to enter and chat for a while, they saw a scout galloping towards him: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived at Chunming Gate. Please prepare to greet him, Marshal!"
Cheng Yaojin and Yuwen Shiji were both startled. They looked at each other and saw each other's surprise: The prince actually came in person? !
The current situation in Chang'an seems to have been settled, but due to the strong intervention of the army led by Li Ji whose position is unclear, everything is full of unpredictable risks. Especially for the prince, going out of the city to participate in negotiations is tantamount to exposing himself to everyone. The Sixth Prince of the East Palace can guard Chang'an City, but it is difficult to ensure the prince's safety outside Chang'an City.
Cheng Yaojin glared at Yuwen Shiji and warned: "Now the outside of the city is my territory. Duke Ying must not risk the disdain of the world, otherwise don't blame me for being unkind!"
The Guanlong Clan has been entrenched in Guanzhong for more than a hundred years. It is deeply rooted and intertwined with all forces. Although it is completely defeated and life and death is in danger on the surface, no one is sure how much hidden strength it has secretly.
Even if there was a nail planted by Guan Longan in the Zuowuwei he built, he himself could not guarantee it. What if he assassinated the prince while he was out of the city to participate in negotiations... Just thinking about it made Cheng Yaojin feel scared. Sweating and frightened.
At the same time, I secretly admired the prince's courage. Even Changsun Wuji, a man who was destined to die, did not dare to come. Why did the prince take such a risk?
Yu Wenshiji shook his head and sighed, and said helplessly: "Gong Lu has worried too much. The failure of this military remonstrance is already certain. Everyone in Guanlong is ready to accept failure and is willing to pay all the price. How can they be lucky enough to make this happen?" The situation is in turmoil, will there be another incident? ”
Unless he was loyal and patriotic and couldn't bear to harm His Highness the Crown Prince, the overall situation had already been decided. Even if the assassination was successful, what would it do to the situation? In order to subdue Guanlong and use it as a knife against the powerful families in Jiangnan and Shandong, Li Ji will still suppress Guanlong to the end, severely weakening Guanlong's foundation, leaving only one breath for each Guanlong family to survive...< br>
On the contrary, both Dong Gong and Li Ji tried to control the court, not only to prepare strength to fight against the clans in Jiangnan and Shandong, but also to prepare for and confront each other. Under such a confrontational situation, it was possible for Guan Long to obtain relatively better conditions, and Yu Wen Shiji was stupid to assassinate the prince at this time.
Cheng Yaojin felt relieved and sighed: "It's not my fault, but the prince's safety is really important. I dare not ignore it in the slightest."
Yu Wenshiji said nothing and nodded to show his understanding.
Li Ji's position is unclear to this day, but in fact, all the measures are not conducive to the East Palace. As the person who organized the negotiation, Cheng Yaojin is also controlled by Li Ji. Once the prince is harmed outside the Chunming Gate, it will be difficult for him to remove the suspicion. If you are good, you have to carry a big blame. You will carry it for eternity and you will never be able to shake it off...
The two stood in front of the pavilion, looking at the tall and towering tower of Chunming Gate not far away.
At this time, the city gate opened. Under the gentle breeze and drizzle, Li Chengqian, wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, led the way out of the city gate. Li Junxian and Li Daozong were guarding him, followed by dozens of forbidden troops. A group of people and horses galloped across the suspension bridge, and the horses' hooves stepped on the bridge board with a "rumbling" sound, like rolling thunder, and its momentum was rapid. While the flags were flying, an unconcealable spirit surged out.
In a moment, they arrived in front of Ba Ling Pavilion like wind and lingering clouds.
Cheng Yaojin and Yu Wenshiji stood in front of the pavilion. When they saw the prince in front, they didn't mind putting his noble body within the possible range of bows and arrows. It was obviously to express their great trust in him, so they happily burst out laughing, When Li Chengqian rode his horse up to him, he reined in his horse and stood still. He quickly trotted up and reached out to hold the reins of the other man's horse, helping the prince to dismount. Then he knelt down on one knee and performed a military salute: "General, I will see your highness the prince!"
Yuwen Shiji on the side also quickly bowed his head to the ground: "I have seen Your Highness."
Li Chengqian took a step forward, helped him up with both hands, and said with a gentle smile: "No need to be polite, get up quickly! Before leaving, I suddenly had something to deal with, so I was delayed for some time. I hope you don't blame me."< br>
"I dare not."
The two of them hurriedly said in unison, looking up at Li Chengqian's face. They saw that his previously fair and fat face had long since lost weight, and his cheeks were even somewhat sunken, making his round face longer. The dark bags under his eyes showed an unconcealable look of haggardness. , but his eyes are extremely bright, and his smile is still warm and generous.
Li Chengqian raised his eyes and looked at the Zuowu guards standing around, and said with a smile: "The soldiers under Lu Guogong are all strong and brave, and they are all the merits of the East Palace. I am very pleased."
Cheng Yaojin was a little embarrassed. Although this Eastern Expedition was a complete victory and he himself had made great contributions, it was the navy that had been excluded before that finally determined the overall situation and captured Pingrang City. This left hundreds of thousands of Dong The entire army was disgraced, and His Majesty even fell from his horse in the army...
For a moment, he was not sure whether the prince's words were comforting or sarcastic. Fortunately, he did not answer the words, bowed slightly and said: "The storm is getting heavier. Your Highness, please come into the pavilion."
Li Chengqian nodded, walked in the middle, and entered Ba Ling Pavilion.
It is said to be a "pavilion", but it is actually a very large post station on the east side of Chang'an. In addition to the pavilion on the bank of Ba River, there are dozens of continuous houses with all kinds of accommodation and food, and the scale is not small.
A monastery facing the river behind the pavilion was the main venue for this meeting. The indoor furnishings were exquisite and not luxurious. A small red clay stove had already lit a charcoal fire to boil a pot of spring water, which was gurgling with white steam.
Cheng Yaojin dismissed the indoor waiters, leaving only three people present.
Yu Wenshiji then asked the prince to take the seat, and knelt down beside him to get water and make tea.
There was a breeze blowing outside the open window, and raindrops fell in the river. The Ba River was rushing and flowing, and there was a faint roaring sound.
Li Chengqian looked at the surging Ba River and sighed, his eyes full of sorrow: "The weather has been bad in the past two years. Heavy snowfalls in winter and frequent floods in summer have made life difficult for the people in Guanzhong. Now this military change has delayed this year's spring plowing. , the people are already starved of food. If winter comes and spring comes next year, how will they survive? Prosperity and prosperity cannot withstand a disaster. We must bear this in mind and not do it again. "
Yu Wenshiji did not expect that the prince would attack so directly. He started to attack as soon as he sat down, which caught him off guard. His tea-making hand paused slightly, and he couldn't find the right words for a while.
After all, as the initiator of this mutiny, the entire Guanlong must bear responsibility for the current situation of the people in Guanzhong...
After a moment of silence, he placed the brewed tea in front of Li Chengqian and said solemnly: "Guan Long is naturally willing to take responsibility for Guan Long's fault."
The situation has developed to this point, and it is not enough to shirk responsibilities and admit mistakes. Moreover, the future of Guanlong clan is not all about whether or how much responsibility to bear, but about the game between Donggong and Li Ji.
Having made Guan Long's attitude clear early, he could just sit back and watch Dong Gong and Li Ji bickering and fighting.
However, the prince obviously did not intend to let him stay out of the matter, and immediately said: "Responsibility cannot be shouldered in just one sentence. Empty words are the most useless. There must be some sincerity."
Yu Wenshiji was puzzled: "What does Your Highness mean..."
Li Chengqian had some free time and said calmly: "Guanlong's wealth has attracted the attention of the world. Even the national treasury is not as good as it is. What's more, after the successive eastern expeditions and mutinies, the national treasury is destitute... It is better to sell off the properties of each family in Guanlong." Eighty percent is used to relieve disasters and relieve the people. Since Guanlong originated from Guanzhong, it should also benefit Guanzhong, so that the people of Li can appreciate Guanlong's kindness and wash away the sin of rebellion, killing two birds with one stone."
Yu Wenshiji's expression changed, and his heart skipped a beat.
Such a sharp and unreflective style is very different from the prince's previous temperament, which shows the attitude of the East Palace towards Guan Long.
He glanced at Cheng Yaojin from the corner of his eye and saw that this guy seemed to be deaf to the prince's words. He picked up the teacup and sipped the tea slowly...
His heart suddenly sank.
Before coming here, Guan Long was indeed prepared to pay a huge price, such as giving up central power, promising that a group of nobles would no longer participate in court affairs, such as introducing a few Guan Long disciples with a certain status to shoulder the responsibility...
But it definitely does not include handing over the family property of the Guanlong clan. (End of chapter)