People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1081 The day after tomorrow, Li Jingye dies

Luoyang, outside Houzai Gate.

Thousands of black-armored cavalry spread out densely behind them, their long spears hanging slantingly, holding their breath and concentrating.

For a while, there was only the sound of the horse's hooves and the slight wheezing of the horse's nose.

There is no other sound.

Silently, there was murderous intent.

Li Xuan stood in the street pavilion outside the city, calmly looking at the entire Luoyang City.

He knew that countless people in Luoyang City were staring at him since he came back.

When he was in Luoyang, he almost massacred the entire Guangli Fang.

After a trip to Chang'an, Emperor Xiao died in his hands.

Now he has returned to Luoyang with only one purpose, and that is Li Jingye.

In the whole of Luoyang, if anyone has anything to do with Li Jingye at this time, there is only one word he will face - death.

The butcher's knife was in Li Xuan's hand.

Li Xuan did not enter the city, but she had already given a great shock to some people in Luoyang City.

……

A white homing pigeon suddenly took off from the city of Luoyang and flew towards the west.

It flew towards Chang'an.

The sound of rapid horse hoofbeats sounded from behind, and Zhao Gong quickly rushed over with a group of people.

"Dalang, that's the homing pigeon just now. It flew out from the home of the Prime Minister of Henan County. The people who came from Chang'an also entered the home of the Prime Minister of Henan County." Zhao Gong pulled the horse and told the story in a few words.

Li Xuan looked to the side, Zhou Qian nodded, and then quickly led the people to pursue the pigeon in the direction it flew.

Homing pigeons are not capable of everything. They cannot travel long distances, fly at night, or carry too much information...

There are even people who deliberately intercept homing pigeons. Once the secret is leaked, there will be big trouble immediately.

But now, Li Xuan's people are blocked here, and others dare not easily cross them to the west.

"Uncle, give me an order. From now on, every door in Luoyang will only be allowed in and out within half an hour. No one is allowed to use carrier pigeons to send messages. Then Qianniuwei will directly arrest the Henan County Magistrate, ransack his home, and see Let’s see if there are any other clues.” Li Xuan looked at Zhao Gong.

Zhao Gong nodded and looked at Li Xuan: "What about you, Da Lang?"

"Let Dalang do Li Jingye's affairs. Uncle, you can't do it well." A trace of worry flashed across Li Xuan's expression.

Although Zhao Gong was a secret guard and highly trusted by Empress Wu, this kind of thing would inevitably lead to revenge from countless people afterwards.

It's not that anyone really wants to target Zhao Gong.

It's just that some people are deeply favored by Li Ji. They may not do anything Li Jingye asks them to do, but if something happens to Li Jingye, they will instead plead for mercy and shout that they are wronged.

They will even verbally attack and attack those who attack Li Jingye.

Of course, these people are just pretending, but if there are too many such people, it will definitely be a big trouble.

Li Xuan doesn't care, but Zhao Gong may not be able to bear it.

"It doesn't matter." Zhao Gong could see what Li Xuan was thinking, waved his hand, and said with a smile: "Don't worry about it. Those who are close to Li Jingye can just send more people to visit afterward. Uncle, I don't have to worry about it." Pay attention to those people, one or two gossips won’t kill you, and sometimes it’s not a bad thing to retreat.”

Li Xuan raised her eyebrows and immediately heard other meanings in Zhao Gong's words.

It was destined that Li Xian was deposed and Li Xian came to power.

If Li Xian still acts in the same style as Li Hong and Li Xian, then the conflict between him and Empress Wu will still be inevitable.

At that time, if Zhao Gong was still at the front, he would inevitably become cannon fodder.

Just like Qiu Shenji and Ming Chongyan before, they simply took advantage of this moment to retreat to avoid the subsequent storm.

"Okay." Li Xuan nodded in agreement, then looked up at Luoyang City to one side and said, "Then please ask my uncle to give an order and use imperial envoys to put Luozhou Prefecture on alert for half an hour?"

"Is half an hour enough?" Zhao Gong raised his head and looked to the west.

"That's enough. Half an hour is enough for us to get the upper hand."

……

The loud sound of horse hooves resounded on the mountain road south of the Weihe River.

A magnificent temple appears at the end of the mountain road, Huashan Xiyue Temple.

Beyond the Xiyue Temple, the majestic five peaks of Huashan Mountain appear in the field of vision.

It stands thousands of feet tall, with steep peaks and beautiful peaks. It stands on the outside of the ridge, as if it had been carved.

The mountain is steep and straight, the earth is majestic, the sky is high and the sun is shining, and rain falls on half of the wall.

Huashan.

"Hey!" Li Xuan reined in the horse, and thousands of cavalry behind him stopped at the same time, showing great momentum.

Zhou Qian in front hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the carrier pigeon has ascended to the North Peak."

"Where are the real people in Huashan Temple?" Li Xuan's eyes fell on the wizards behind.

Xiyue Temple is a temple dedicated to King Jintian, the god of war on Huashan Mountain in Xiyue.

The people responsible for guarding this place are local shamans. However, these shamans appear to be priests of the temple, but in fact they are inextricably related to the Huashan Taoist Temple on the mountain.

After all, the Tang Dynasty ruled the world and Taoism was the state religion.

"Witch Zhou Song, I have met the King of Nanchang." Wearing a black witch robe, a middle-aged shaman in his early forties stepped forward and bowed to Li Xuan.

"I ask, do you answer?" Li Xuan looked sideways at Zhou Song,

"Yes!"

"How many people are there on the mountain now, how much food is there, and are there water sources?" Li Xuan asked very directly.

After a slight pause, Zhou Song saluted and said: "There are now more than 240 people on the mountain. More than 40 of them are Taoist monks and Taoist disciples from various Taoist temples on the mountain. There are also 200 people who are armed and armored sergeants. Just now we were There were people watching at Xiyue Temple, but they left before the king came."

Li Xuan nodded calmly, looked at the towering and steep Huashan Mountain in the distance, and said, "Since ancient times, there has been one road in Huashan Mountain. Isn't this right?"

"Your Majesty, there is only one way, and it is extremely difficult." Zhou Song nodded solemnly.

"Is there no place where I can hang a rope?" Li Xuan raised her head and looked at Zhou Song.

Zhou Song was startled for a moment, then he raised his hand and said: "Huashan Mountain is steep and has jagged rocks. If one or two people risk their lives and descend at night, it is hard to say that they will not be able to descend if they are prepared."

"I understand, but if you want to go down the mountain at night, I'm afraid there will be more noise." Li Xuan smiled softly.

"Yes, Huashan Mountain is more than 600 feet high and extremely steep. If you go down the mountain at night, you may be in danger of death if you are not careful. You must be more careful." Zhou Song took a deep breath and looked solemn.

He has now gradually heard Li Xuan's thoughts.

"Before today, have you ever heard that someone came down from here directly without going through the mountain road?" Li Xuan's face became serious.

"Reporting to the prince, no." Zhou Song said with cupped hands: "On the short mountain road, we have indeed used ropes to fall from the side of the mountain road, but we have to return to the mountain road after all... Huashan Mountain is too dangerous, the most dangerous in the world. Your Majesty, go up there. Then you know.”

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction, looked to the side, and said: "Send the order, mobilize five hundred people to attack the mountain immediately, stop when it gets dark, and then block the mountain road; attack the mountain again at Zishi, and stop when encountering obstacles; Maoshi Right, let’s attack the mountain again, with a more aggressive attack, until dawn.”

"Here!" Zhou Qian immediately handed over his hand and quickly made arrangements.

"The remaining five hundred people will set up traps along the foot of the mountain. All possible roads to go down the mountain will be blocked." After a slight pause, Li Xuan looked up at Su Baotong beside him and said, "After that, except for those left behind, All those on duty should rest."

"Here!" Su Baotong didn't hesitate at all, and immediately led people to set up along the foot of the mountain.

The man on the top of the mountain is the living grandson of the British Duke Li Ji, and he has a true biography of Li Ji.

If he hadn't been too good at taking risks, I'm afraid Li Ji would not have written a letter in person not to allow him to contact the Sixteenth Guards army before his death. Today, everything finally came true.

Li Xuan understood better that Li Jingye's ambition was deeply hidden in the deepest part of his heart and had not been erased for more than 40 years.

Everyone has ambitions, but most people will have their ambitions tempered by reality little by little, but Li Jingye is different.

As the direct grandson of Li Ji, no one in the world would help him smooth out his ambition.

Li Xian, Li Xian, and Li Dan also had ambitions, but their status as the emperor's parents and children gave them the qualification to have such ambitions.

But Li Jingye does not have such an identity.

Perhaps in Li Ji's heart, there was only one person who might actually kill Li Jingye in the future.

Empress Wu.

……

The sound of fighting came from the foot of Huashan Mountain, but it was not intense.

Li Xuan did not come to the battle in person because he knew that Li Jingye would not be at the foot of the mountain at this moment.

He was at the top of the mountain, waiting for Li Xuan to attack.

In the east side hall of Xiyue Temple, Zhao Gong kept pacing back and forth while looking at Li Xuan who was writing a memorial.

Finally he stopped, looked at Li Xuan and asked, "Dalang, do you really think Li Jingye is at the top of the mountain?"

"Why did uncle have such questions?" Li Xuan stopped writing in surprise and looked up at Zhao Gong.

Zhao Gong rubbed his hands uneasily and said, "With Li Jingye's insidiousness, could he not be hiding on the top of the mountain, but in a Xiyue Temple like this?"

"No." Li Xuan shook his head and said: "Firstly, we came fast enough; secondly, uncle, although you and I have not done many things, your secret guards have already done many things. , in the entire Xiyue Temple, all places where people can be hidden have been searched; the third time..."

"how?"

"Li Jingye wants to hide here. He needs someone to help him eat, drink, defecate, and sleep. He can't even be seen by others, so there is only one person who can help him."

"Zhou Song?" Zhao Gong understood immediately.

"Keep an eye on Zhou Song and ask the kitchen about the increase or decrease in meals during these days. Basically, there is a certain number." After a slight pause, Li Xuan said softly: "For many things, as long as they leave traces, they will be found. With Li Jingye’s character, he doesn’t dare to gamble.”

"What are you afraid of betting on?"

"He didn't dare to bet that his nephew would ignore the possibility of him hiding here." Li Xuan smiled softly, and then said: "Uncle may not know that the first three generations of hosts here were not from Huashan Temple, but from Huashan Temple. He is from Lou Guan Dao, my nephew has just written a memorial, please ask Your Majesty to send the real person from Lou Guan Dao to come here."

"What exactly do you want to do?" Zhao Gong looked at Li Xuan and asked, "Do you really want to block Li Jingye on this mountain?"

"What else?" Li Xuan raised her head, looked at Zhao Gong seriously and said, "Li Jingye chose Huashan simply because the road in Huashan is difficult up and down. If ordinary people attack the mountain easily, they will inevitably end up in a disastrous defeat, even for their nephews. Same... maybe he is still setting some kind of trap waiting for his nephew, so the nephew will not see him and suffocate him to death."

"According to the host, the food on the mountain is enough to feed fifty people for three months?"

"Li Jingye has two hundred people, which means that there is only enough food for 250 people at the foot of the mountain for eighteen days." After a slight pause, Li Xuan said seriously: "But Taoist disciples never eat much, two meals a day is enough. But sergeant, I'm afraid even three meals a day is too little. During the war, the consumption doubles, and it is a miracle that he can eat for twelve days."

"You mean, we can see the outcome within ten days?" Zhao Gong stared at Li Xuan. Suddenly, he frowned and asked, "But His Majesty only gave you three days."

"So after my uncle returns to Xi'an tomorrow, Dalang will have people attack for a day, and then completely destroy the only trail down the mountain."

Li Xuan looked at Zhao Gong and said seriously: "If he can't come down, we can't go up either. After three months, we will go up the mountain to collect his body. But the day after tomorrow, Dalang can report to Your Majesty that Li Jingye is dead." .”

(End of this chapter)