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

Chapter 766: Using yourself as bait, everyone gets involved
The Marching Marshal's Mansion on Taozhou Road has a wide courtyard and bright morning light.

Li Xuan wore a blue robe, stretched and casually walked into the backyard. The maid on one side quickly placed breakfast on the stone table on the east side.

Just as Li Xuan sat down, Li Zhu's hurried footsteps sounded, and soon he came to the side and stood with his hands tied.

"What's the matter?" Li Xuan casually picked up a small steamed bun and put it on a plate aside.

Li Zhu cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Reporting to the prince, Zhang Shijun's wife is here."

"Come again?" Li Xuan looked up in surprise.

Li Zhu nodded and said: "Yes, she came yesterday morning. First she wanted to see His Royal Highness, but His Highness said no, and then she said she wanted to see the prince. His subordinates said that the prince was checking the state treasury the night before. He was busy all night and during the day. She reluctantly left while she was resting, but came again in the evening, and her subordinates said that the prince had gone to check the warehouse and asked her to look there."

"She must not have been found, that's why she came back today." Li Xuan couldn't help but chuckle, shook her head and said, "It seems that someone wants to determine the daily whereabouts of me and the King of England."

Li Zhu stood on one side, silent.

Li Xuan put the steamed bun in her mouth, bit it gently, and the soup immediately flowed into her mouth.

After a moment, Li Xuan said: "Go and bring people in."

"Here!" Li Zhu immediately accepted the offer, then quickly turned around and left.

Li Xuan picked up another small steamed bun and put it in her mouth.

Li Xuan ate very slowly. Before half of the steamed dumplings in the basket were eaten, Zhang Qiniang came outside.

She is wearing a green goldfish-patterned chest-length skirt and a white gauze covering her body. She is slightly taller than an ordinary woman. She is graceful and graceful when walking, but she has the feeling of a weak willow supporting the wind. The delicate flowers are shining on the water, the light willows are demure. To do.

Qiniang Zhang Lu'er stopped three steps away, then she blessed herself slightly and said softly: "I am Zhang Lu'er, I have met the King of Nanchang, the prince Qianqiu."

Li Xuan turned her head, looked at Zhang Luer calmly and said, "Get up."

"Here!" Zhang Luer stood up and looked up, and a pale face like a pear blossom appeared in front of Li Xuan.

When he stood up, a touch of whiteness on his chest suddenly appeared in front of Li Xuan's eyes.

Li Xuan looked at this scene calmly.

After Zhang Qiniang stood up, as if nothing had happened, she took out a confession from her sleeve, moved her hands forward, and handed it to Li Xuan respectfully.

The previous scene happened again, but this time it lasted longer and was more justified.

Li Xuan reached out directly, took the confession, glanced at it, put it aside, then looked at the stone bench opposite and said, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Qiniang bowed slightly again, then she straightened up and sat down.

Li Xuan asked calmly: "Have you gone to see His Royal Highness?"

Zhang Qiniang lowered her head and said, "His Highness seems to be busy and has no time to see the little girl."

Li Xuan nodded, her eyes fell on the xiaolongbao on the table, and then she said casually and perfunctorily: "Well, His Highness has indeed been busy."

"So, the little girl asked her uncle to write a confession carefully. All the past contact between him and Ma Zhi, as well as the events after that, were all written in detail. There was no omission." Zhang Qiniang's face revealed. He gave a sad smile: "The little girl's mother died early, and Aye has been busy all the time. It was my uncle who raised the little girl all the way. Seeing him like this, although the little girl hates it, she still hopes to save his life. ."

Li Xuan nodded, his eyes falling on the confession. Indeed, Chen Xia wrote very detailed things about himself, but there were some very sensitive things missing, and there were also things related to others. He didn't write much at all. .

"Are you sure nothing is missing here?" Li Xuan looked up at Zhang Qiniang and said calmly: "If nothing is missing, I will hand it over to Yushitai and Dali Temple for you."

Zhang Qiniang couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, and her heart sank. The King of Nanchang was obviously dissatisfied with this confession.

Zhang Qiniang quickly lowered her head to look at the confession aside. After reading it carefully, Zhang Qiniang frowned and said, "My lord, is there anything wrong? The records are very detailed!"

"Really?" Li Xuan raised her head lightly, and her sneer eyes fell directly into Zhang Qiniang's eyes. Zhang Qiniang immediately handed over her hand: "Can you please give me some advice?"

Li Xuan stretched out her chopsticks, picked up a small steamed bun, and then said softly: "Didn't you ask him why he would think of hoarding food and grass behind the army when the war between Tang Dynasty and Tubo was about to happen? To drive up food prices, you must know that this is Taozhou, not some unknown corner of the country."

Zhang Qiniang was stunned. The reason why Chen Xia did this was naturally because someone was instigating him behind his back.

The person who was secretly instigating was Zhang Luer, her father, and even some unspeakable figures. Ma Zhi was just a role in fueling the flames.

"Go back and ask. If he can explain all the reasons behind this, then maybe he can escape death, but if he cannot do this, then in the end, he will have to go to the guillotine. "After Li Xuan finished speaking, she put the steamed bun into her mouth and bit it open.

Zhang Qiniang stood up, and then said: "Qiniang understands, Qiniang will go back right away." Li Xuan finished her breakfast, then waved her hand, and the maids around came over to finish everything.

Li Xuan returned to the hall. There were also countless people busy in the hall. The sand table in the center of the hall had been perfected to Hezhou.

Mountains, dense forests, rivers and villages, everything is clearly visible.

Li Xuan's eyes fell on the Rouge River in the center. There were two galloping roads on both sides of the river, which could lead directly to Hezhou.

Li Xuan looked south from the Rouge River. The mountains and rivers in the south were undulating, some were steep and some were gentle. Finally, Li Xuan's eyes fell on a secret valley twenty miles away.

There seems to be a mountain road that leads directly from the valley to the middle section of the Rouge River, where the mountain wall is steep. However, on the east side of the steep mountain wall, there is a gentle slope that extends from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, which is just convenient for horses to charge.

Looking at that gentle slope, Li Xuan's breathing became heavy.

After a long time, Li Xuan suddenly turned around and headed towards the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

In the Grand Marshal's official residence, there are also many officials who are busy non-stop. Yao Lingzhang, the commander-in-chief of the British Empire, is directing his men to make statistics and calculations.

Li Xuan slightly arched her hands towards Yao Lingzhang, and then said: "Chang Shi, His Royal Highness, are you free now?"

"Yes, yes, as long as the prince comes, His Highness will be free at any time." Yao Lingzhang looked at Li Xuan with eager eyes.

"In that case, please go in and inform Chang Shi." Li Xuan nodded calmly.

Seeing Li Xuan being so polite, Yao Lingzhang breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment."

Watching Yao Lingzhang enter, Li Xuan stood calmly on the spot without looking around. Soon, Yao Lingzhang came out, then raised his hands to Li Xuan and said: "Your Majesty, please!"

Li Xuan nodded lightly and then stepped into the inner room.

Li Xian was sitting on the couch, holding a book in his hand and reading it carefully.

Li Xuan came in from the outside. Li Xian looked up tiredly and said bitterly: "Uncle Wang, the matter is very serious. More than [-]% of the grain in the warehouses has been stolen and sold in the nearby three states and six counties. If it cannot be compensated, it will be inevitable." It won’t have any impact on the army.”

"Ask Di Renjie and Lu Yuanfang to come to Taozhou more slowly. Your Highness will give them the warrant directly. Using the official document from the Marshal's Office on the March to the Tao River, he requires the governors of each state to find the reason for the loss of grain and find a way to make up for it, whether it is killing people or ransacking homes. After all, everything must be prepared before the war begins, otherwise, everyone from the governor down will be imprisoned."

Then, Li Xuan smiled lightly and said: "Your Highness, don't worry, Lu Yushi and Di Si Cheng can take care of everything."

"I hope so." Li Xian sighed and said, "The Tubo people really caught the greed of people this time."

"There's one more thing." Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Li Xian and said, "After something like this happened this time, I'm afraid other marching roads will strictly investigate the grain storage matters in prefectures and counties. These matters will inevitably be involved in the aristocratic families in each state." Therefore, there will not be too many heads of aristocratic families coming to visit at the moment, so His Highness can handle it by himself. Tomorrow, I will go to Hezhou as expected, and Duke Yan and Hezhou also need to find out the details."

Li Xian was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile: "Has it been five days?"

"After the minister leaves, I would like to ask your highness to strictly guard the door. Don't let strangers into the house if it is not necessary. Even if someone comes, only one or two people are allowed to enter. Please remember this." Li Xuan said, bowing slightly, His face was solemn.

Li Xian nodded seriously and said, "Uncle Wang, don't worry, Xian has written it down."

"In this way, I can rest assured. After the affairs in Hezhou are properly handled, I will return to Taozhou within three to five days." Li Xuan stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I still have to go to the military camp, and the things there also need to be done. With the arrangements in place, the whole of Taozhou is not as peaceful as it seems.”

Li Xian nodded and said, "Uncle Wang, don't worry, Sanlang will be careful."

Li Xuan turned around to leave. Li Xian looked at Li Xuan's back and left with a melancholy expression.

……

At the Governor's Mansion, Zhang Qiniang handed a short note to Zhang Yungong, and then said: "The King of Nanchang just went to the military camp, and it should be to arrange for his guard and duty after he leaves."

"From the night before to now, the King of Nanchang has only been inspecting the state and county grain depots, and has not done much else. His Royal Highness is also at the Marshal's Mansion and has not left." Zhang Yungong raised his head and said softly: "Then tomorrow, everything will be as it should be. Scheduled to proceed.”

"Aye, is it true that Taozhou cannot be defended by the three thousand Tubo cavalry?" There was a trace of unwillingness in Zhang Qiniang's expression.

Zhang Yungong shook his head calmly and said: "If there were fewer people, we could still defend according to our strength, but the right guard cavalry is not in our hands and we cannot make an active defense. We can only use them to delay the Tibetan attack, and then lead the His Royal Highness has escaped from Taozhou, and whether he goes to Zizhou or Hezhou, we can easily handle it."

"At that time, what if the court investigates?"

"It is the duty of the King of Nanchang to protect the safety of His Majesty the King of England. His Majesty investigates it. It is because the King of Nanchang rashly abandoned His Highness the King of England and went to Hezhou before he could find out whether Taozhou was safe. All the sins are his. ." Zhang Yungong's light words lured Li Xuan into the trap.

Zhang Qiniang nodded slightly and said softly: "If so, then tomorrow, everything depends on the King of Nanchang."

(End of this chapter)