Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 574 The Last Chance
In the evening, a few wisps of smoke rose from the military camp, and the soldiers lined up to receive their daily rations.

The best treated were Tian Shengong's personal guards, which numbered more than one hundred people, all of whom were elite soldiers selected from the army. Each of them was provided with steamed buns and meat at every meal.

The noisy sound reached the big tent. Tian Shenyu, who had slept for an afternoon, got up, walked out of the door, chatted with his personal soldiers for a few words, and went to find Tian Shengong with a piece of cake in his mouth.

"Brother, I heard that Du Wulang was here, why didn't you wake me up to meet him?"

"What did you do to see him?"

Tian Shengong was practicing calligraphy, standing in front of the desk calmly and leisurely, looking like a great man.

Although he was stationed in the camp, he still brought a lot of newspapers. His freehand words were written on old newspapers, copying a calligraphy book called "Yongwang Jijutie".

This copybook of calligraphy was made by some merchants imitating Xue Bai's handwriting based on rubbings circulating in the market. It also includes the poem "Nian Nu Jiao", which was a version from more than a year ago. Tian Shengong has already practiced his calligraphy quite well, and it has a certain charm.

"Brother, what's the point of practicing calligraphy all day?" Tian Shenyu leaned over to take a look and said, "Wulang is an old acquaintance of ours and a close friend of your Highness. It's so rude of me not to come out to meet him when he comes."

"I'm not afraid of being rude, but I'm afraid that you'll be speaking without restraint and make mistakes all day long."

Tian Shenyu said disapprovingly: "Your Highness sent Wu Lang here, so he must trust us."

As he was speaking, a personal soldier rushed to the tent and reported, "General, Du Wulang is here again."

Tian Shengong then put down his pen, frowned slightly, then turned to Tian Shenyu and said, "Go lie down."

"Why?"

"I said you fell off your horse."

"Do we have to go this far?" Tian Shenyu had not realized the seriousness of the matter before. Looking at Tian Shengong's increasingly gloomy face, he could not help but angrily said, "There are many people in the army who do that!"

"Go lie down first."

"Why are they targeting us? They are all guilty of arson, murder, looting, and killing innocent people to gain credit. They are just disliking our low births, or they are targeting us to deal with His Highness!"

"That's enough." Tian Shengong said, "I asked you to stay away, and I will deal with it myself."

"What else can we do? We might as well tell His Highness earlier." Tian Shenyu grinned, "I don't believe His Highness can leave us at this time."

"roll!"

Tian Shenyu was yelled at, and then he turned around and walked out, cursing, "Everyone is pretending. The military discipline is strict, and we should be frugal. Who the hell goes through life and death not to be the boss?"

On the way back to the tent, he met a close soldier.

"General, when will you take us to Pingkangfang to see the world? We have accumulated so much treasure, but it will be unsatisfying if we don't spend it."

"What's the hurry?" Tian Shenyu grabbed the other person by the collar and scolded, "When you finish the big thing, you will have a happy time."

"For a soldier who loves blood on the blade, he is afraid of losing his life but still having money."

"The days of advancement are still ahead, waiting."

Tian Shenyu then let go of his hand and returned to his tent.

In the tent, a fair-skinned and beautiful woman was squatting in front of a large box. The box was open and filled with gold and jade jewelry.

This was what Tian Shenyu originally wanted to present to Xue Bai, but Tian Shengong refused to allow it.

At this moment, the torch was lit, and the jewels in the box reflected the beautiful woman's face. Tian Shenyu felt proud and satisfied when he saw this scene.

"The general is back."

"come over."

Tian Shenyu took off his armor and took off his tattered military robe, revealing the smooth silk underneath.

In Jiannan, he always wore gold and silver openly, but this time when he returned to Chang'an, Tian Shengong said that His Highness advocated frugality and asked him to pay attention to this.

In fact, he didn't understand this at all. He neither understood His Highness nor his brother.

He unbuttoned his silk spring shirt, revealing his burly body covered in scars.

~~
The night gradually darkened.

Du Wulang told Tian Shengong that on his way back to Chang'an from Bashang, he relieved himself in the woods, which took too long, so he could not make it back to Chang'an in time, so he returned to the camp to stay for the night.

When night fell, he got up and walked out.

Outside the tent, two soldiers were standing by the campfire, keeping watch. Du Wulang waved at them and said, "I'll go get some water."

"there."

Tian Shengong set up the camp in a very organized manner. He ordered people to dig several large pits and cover them with wooden boards to use as toilets to prevent the spread of plague.

Du Wulang looked up for a while, feeling very embarrassed, and said, "It's so dark, please accompany me."

"Here."

"I really admire General Tian. He is the benefactor of my family."

Du Wulang talked about random things along the way, and finally asked, "During the battle to recapture Danggou City, were you under General Tian's command?"

"exist."

"Then did you also go after the Tibetan army?"

"No, we besieged the south gate of Danggou City, and every day we were digging and shooting arrows. The general only brought his personal battalion to pursue the Tibetan army."

"It's a pity to hear your tone, but did I miss the opportunity to make a contribution?"

When Du Wulang asked this, the soldier suddenly became a little nervous and quickly denied it, saying, "I have no regrets, I just want to kill the enemy and gain merit."

"Oh, I heard that General Tian Shenyu led his troops to inspect the terrain yesterday, and he hasn't come back today. Did he go to that... Sanguan Temple?"

"Yes."

Du Wulang didn't ask any more questions. On the way back, he took the wrong road several times and wanted to visit each tent, but he was stopped by the soldier every time and sent back to the tent.

After lying down again, he put his hands on his head and thought about it, but still couldn't confirm it. So he stood up again and looked outside. He saw that there was still a fire in Tian Shengong's tent in the distance, but he didn't know what Tian Shengong was doing at the moment.

~~
Tian Shengong is meeting an unexpected guest.

She was a charming and pitiful woman, and she brought a child with her. She cried as she spoke, as if she would not stop until she could arouse Tian Shengong's sympathy.

"In the early years, you went through hardships with him and saved his life several times. How is he repaying you now? I'm afraid you still want to rise to the top by relying on your old friendship with him, but I tell you, don't dream about it anymore. This path is completely blocked for you. He has a heart of stone. Since you went against his will and kept it a secret from him several times, he will definitely kill you."

Tian Shengong did not answer, but sat there listening patiently.

The woman's voice was very pleasant and didn't seem to make him feel sick at all.

"It is not enough for a person to have only one noble person in his life. It is not enough for the general to climb up one step if he wants to make progress. He can only let the general display this little talent. No matter what you do in the future, it will only be icing on the cake for him. Oh, he also dislikes you for allowing your soldiers to plunder and not obey Li Guangbi's military law. In his eyes, you will never be as good as Li Guangbi."

"What about you?" Tian Shengong said, "You look down on me even more."

"I respect the general's might, how dare I look down on him? I am just a weak woman, and the child is still young. If the general is willing to help, who else can my mother and I rely on in the future?"

This sentence is the most crucial. Although Tian Shengong's expression did not change, his eyes changed immediately.

His eyes fell inappropriately on the fullness of the woman's skirt, revealing a greedy look.

She is actually not too young anymore, as she is already a mother, but she is still very beautiful and at the peak of her charm.

Tian Shengong has seen countless people over the years. He would monopolize anyone he liked. But now, in front of this woman, although his eyes were looking down at her, he was actually looking up at her in his heart.

He was too humble and of low birth, and she was too noble. The sight of a noble woman making a weak request in front of him made his heart itchy.

One can imagine how happy he will be in the future when he has all the power in the government and makes this mother and son act according to his wishes.

Of course it is much more comfortable than relying on a strong and harsh monarch.

However, Tian Shengong swallowed his saliva and restrained himself, saying: "I have few soldiers and generals, and I cannot be relied on by you."

"The general has extraordinary powers. In today's Chang'an City, the general is the one who can truly decide the outcome with force. The saint is about to pass away. This is the last chance. This time, the general can see how powerful the forces that oppose him are."

Tian Shengong knew what she meant, his eyes flickered as he began to ponder.

Now almost all the troops in Guanzhong are tied down by Tubo, and his troops can indeed play a decisive role.

He was in no hurry to respond, waiting for the right price.

The woman waited for a long time, but he did not respond, so she said, "Perhaps, the general can capture us mother and son and present us to him as a reward, and see how much reward he can give you."

Tian Shengong stared at her voluptuous figure and finally said, "What can you give me?"

"If the general can turn the tide, he will be a great help to the Tang Dynasty and deserve to be called 'father' by my son."

As she spoke, the woman gently stroked the back of her son's head. The child was sensible and saluted obediently, crossing his hands and calling out, "Uncle Zhong."

At this moment, Tian Shengong felt incredible. He thought this was too ridiculous because he was not worthy of it.

Not only is he of low status, but he also holds a low official position. How could he deserve to be called Zhongfu by the royal nobles?
~~
At dawn, the palace gate slowly opened.

Du Xi and Du Jin had been busy all night in Shaoyang Courtyard. They sat in the carriage and closed their eyes to rest tiredly.

"Sister." Du Jin suddenly said, "Do you think there is any important official or noble in Chang'an City who can escape my eyes and ears?"

"The emperor's death is imminent, and many people are ready to make a move." Du Yan said, "You take yourself too seriously, and always think you know everything. But how long have you been in business? In Chang'an, the Tang Dynasty royal family has been despised by the nobles for more than a hundred years."

"My intelligence covers Chang'an, so I shouldn't fail to find any clues."

Du Yan shook her head and said, "The more arrogant you are, the more dangerous you are."

"What do you think?"

"Let's sort it out again after we go back." Du Yan said, "I guess we have overlooked some traces."

"Sister is saying that we also found some clues, but we didn't take them seriously..."

As he spoke these words, a subordinate rode his horse to the carriage.

"Second sister, something happened."

"explain."

"I followed your instructions and sent people to escort Zhang Ting and her son away, but my people died on the way and Zhang Ting and her son disappeared."

When Du Jin heard this, her face suddenly turned cold.

Promising Zhang Ting benefits, asking her to keep an eye on Li Heng, and then thwarting Li Heng and his son's plan to destroy Buddhism and cause trouble, helping Xue Bai to subdue Yang Yan, and stabilizing the government. This series of events was Du Jin's masterpiece.

She did not make things difficult for Zhang Ting afterwards.

Originally, she thought that she was doing this to take advantage of the revenge she had suffered in the past. However, when Zhang Ting laughed like a madman and talked about Li Heng's expression when she was divorced, Du Jin felt no ripples in her heart. She had long since stopped caring about these things.

Zhang Ting was very surprised at the time and asked, "Why? I avenged you. I made Li Heng lie in front of me like a dog and beg me not to divorce him." "Do you know who I usually sleep with?"

Zhang Ting was originally still smiling, but after hearing this, her smile gradually froze. She began to feel hurt by Du Jin for no apparent reason and said a lot of strange things.

"You know what? Li Heng had seen that you were ambitious a long time ago, and asked Li Jingzhong to drug you, fearing that you would kill Li Chu one day. But he made me give birth to Qi'er. Is it because I am not ambitious enough? Or... am I better than you?"

Du Jin asked, "Do you want to die?"

"Are you jealous of me?" Zhang Ting giggled again, as if there was something wrong with her brain.

Du Jin felt that there was no need to bother with such a crazy woman, so she ordered people to send the mother and son away.

Before today, she had never taken Zhang Ting seriously. Even Li Heng and Li Chu had become decadent, so what could Zhang Ting do?
But now Zhang Ting has become a person who has escaped her sight and whose identity is crucial.

Du Jin was very angry.

When she was angry, she didn't yell, but became more stern, muttering to herself: "I'm still not cruel enough."

Du Yan said: "What you need is not to be more ruthless, but to tolerate yourself making some mistakes."

"It's no use talking about this now, just think about where she can go."

As they spoke, the two sisters looked at each other and quickly thought of where Zhang Ting might have gone.

……

Xue Bai has been busy with state affairs recently and has not paid much attention to the struggle for power.

The war in the Qin-Long battlefield became increasingly intense, drought struck Henan again, the summer grain that should have been shipped from various places was delayed for various reasons, and there were problems with the grain transport, which caused the tax and salt revenue from Jianghuai to be stuck in Lianghuai.

Xue Bai suspected that some officials from the prefectures and counties did it on purpose. For example, Li He, the Henan Transport Commissioner, was Li Xian's brother. It is very likely that they detained the grain ships in order to trip him up.

Li Cong is about to die, and someone must be unable to hold back.

The only solution now is to send people to investigate while at the same time robbing Peter to pay Paul to deal with the situation.

This left Xue Bai with very few available men, and also consumed a lot of his attention.

For several days in a row, he was dragged by officials to discuss matters non-stop.

Originally, he thought that all the officials would force him to deal with Tian Shengong, but no one mentioned it in the past two days and let the matter ferment.

But the crisis has obviously not been resolved, and the rift in trust is becoming deeper and deeper.

On this day, Xue Bai had just had a rare break when he heard that the Du sisters had returned. He knew that something had happened again, so he hurried back to Shaoyang Court to meet them.

"Zhang Ting?"

"Yes, we suspect she is hiding in Tian Shengong's army."

Xue Bai looked outside the door and did not see anyone coming to report that Tian Shengong wanted to see him.

He then pondered for a moment and said, "I shouldn't send anyone to his army to ask for him."

"Send someone to investigate?"

Xue Bai paced a few steps and did not immediately send anyone to investigate Tian Shengong. Right now the trust between the two sides was very fragile and any slight disturbance could break it.

"Secretly summon Lao Liang and Jiang Hai back to the capital. You don't need to bring too many soldiers, but you have to be quick."

In this matter, Xue Bai did not use the official post horse, but wrote a personal letter, stamped it with his private seal, and asked Du Jin to send someone to deliver it secretly.

Du Jin took it and asked, "What about Tian Shengong?"

"I can't wait until the court officials force me to deal with him. I have to make a decision before they do." Xue Bai said, "Wait for Wu Lang and Diao Bing to come back and see if Tian Shengong has anything to say to me."

After the Du sisters left, Xue Bai returned to Xuan Zheng Hall, thought for a while, and summoned Guo Qianli to see him.

All along, Xue Bai had let Guo Qianli serve as the general of the Longwu Army, which was an important position. Logically, he should have replaced him with a more trusted confidant, but he thought Guo Qianli was very stable.

Others thought Guo Qianli was careless and sloppy, and he was not stable at all. But Xue Bai thought that stability was that Guo Qianli never sided with anyone. As a member of the imperial guards, his principle was to listen to whoever was the emperor, and he would not participate in any disputes over the throne, and he was really not interested in it.

After the Three Commoners Case, Li Longji did not kill Guo Qianli, and Xue Bai did not understand it at the time. But when Xue Bai was at the peak of his career, he never saw Guo Qianli come to express his loyalty.

With this mentality, you are less likely to be provoked.

Moreover, most of the imperial guards had followed Xue Bai in guarding Chang'an, so they could basically not cause any major chaos.

From this point of view, they are more reliable than Tian Shengong's troops.

However, after waiting for a long time, Xue Bai received a piece of news that surprised him very much.

"Your Highness, General Guo has been assassinated!"

The news came too suddenly. If it were someone else, they would be caught off guard or angry. However, Xue Bai remained calm and asked first, "How is the person? Is he dead?"

"Not dead, but seriously injured."

"Tell me slowly, what happened?"

"Today, General Guo was on leave, and he took his granddaughter to watch a play in the theater in the East Market. He was traveling incognito, with six followers. After watching the play, he saw a Huihe merchant arguing with someone on the road, so he ordered people to go and check what was going on. The crowd was in chaos, and suddenly someone stabbed General Guo with a dagger. He was holding his granddaughter, and he didn't have time to avoid it. He was hit, but he grabbed the other person's wrist and twisted it, so he survived. Later, his followers came to kill him, and the murderer saw that the assassination failed, so he committed suicide."

Xue Bai asked some more details, but the clues were already broken.

What is certain now is that Guo Qianli is definitely unable to preside over the situation in Beiya for the time being, and someone needs to take over his position temporarily.

Xue Bai needs to select someone he can absolutely trust, who has sufficient ability and prestige to lead the imperial guards in the shortest possible time, and it would be best if this person is not far from the capital.

He had to arrange this matter before Li Cong died.

At this point, Xue Bai knew that there was no need to waste time finding out the truth. The time left was only enough for him to complete the troop deployment and ensure that he could ascend the throne smoothly once Li Cong died.

Ascending the throne means winning, otherwise you lose, nothing else matters.

Whether Li Longji was the mastermind behind the conspiracy or not, he had to control Daming Palace and Taiji Palace, get the news of Li Cong's death as soon as possible, and control Li Longji.

Sometimes he would consider whether he could get rid of Li Cong without anyone noticing. But thinking that Dazha Lugong was in Qinlong and could invade Guanzhong at any time, Li Cong would benefit from living one more day.

~~
Chunming Gate.

Du Wulang had just entered Chang'an City when a group of yamen runners suddenly came up to him and asked, "Are you Wulang from the family of Mr. Du?"

"What's the matter?" Diao Bing asked in a deep voice.

Du Wulang quickly signaled to Diao Bing with his eyes that they were pretending to be Taoist priests and should not reveal their identities so as to let people know that His Highness was protecting Tian Shengong.

Then, the visitor said, "Today, the general of the Longwu Army was assassinated in the East Market Theater. Jingzhao Prefecture would like to ask Wulang a few questions. Please."

"Guo Qianli?!" Du Wulang was greatly surprised and asked, "How is he?"

"Don't worry, Wulang, the person is still alive. But this case is of great importance, and we still need Wulang's cooperation."

Du Wulang knew what it meant when the emperor's death was approaching and the general of the imperial guards suddenly met with an accident, so he quickly said to Diao Bing: "Go back and protect His Highness. I will go and find out what happened."

The current situation in Chang'an City seems to be inseparable from him.

Diao Bing was concerned about the situation in the palace. He knew that Du Wulang was now the prince's best friend and the prime minister's son, so he thought no one would dare to embarrass him. He was accompanied by many followers and guards. So he nodded and rushed back to the palace.

On this side, Du Wulang took a closer look at the visitor and said, "I often go to Jingzhao Prefecture, why haven't I seen you before?"

"This is my badge, and this is the official document from Jingzhao Prefecture. I have been promoted to Jingzhao Law Officer for more than two years, but I have never had the honor of dealing with Wu Lang."

"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that I haven't been caught for two years."

Du Wulang took a look at the talisman and said, "Your name is Wu Cou? Thank you for your courtesy."

"You're welcome, Goro."

Everyone then went to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Du Wulang asked, "Last time I went to Jingzhao Prefecture to take a little monk away, I didn't see you."

"That case is not handled by me."

"Why?"

Wu Cou did not answer this question until he entered Jingzhao Prefecture and was told that they would bring Du Wulang in for questioning. He then took out the document again.

"Is this... Li Shaoyin's seal?"

"Yes."

Du Wulang didn't know the difference between the approval documents of Li Shaoyin and Yang Jingyin. He looked around and greeted some familiar people. He also arranged for his followers to drink tea and wait in the front yard. Then he followed Wu Cou through the corridor and entered a public house.

"Just ask."

Wu Cou asked, "In the beginning, were the actors in the Jiaofang allowed to open a theater and perform under Wu Lang's arrangement?"

"Yes."

"This is the murderer, Wulang, do you recognize him?" Wu Cou picked up a portrait.

"I don't recognize it."

Du Wulang shook his head and said, "Although there were Hu musicians in the theater, I have no impression of them, at least not in the portraits. Can you show me the body?"

"No need." Wu Cou said, "The body is somewhere else."

"You won't take me with you?"

Wu Cou said, "There is another case. The wife and children of a family in Beijing are missing. Some people claim that they were taken away by the servants of the Du family."

Du Wulang was surprised and said, "Is there such a thing? There is such a wicked slave in my family?!"

Wu Cou picked up the two portraits again and asked, "Has Wu Lang seen them?"

Du Wulang took a closer look, was stunned for a moment, rubbed his eyes, hesitated, and said slowly: "Is this not the wife of Prince Zhong, Zhang?"

"It seems that Goro has seen her."

"What do you mean?" Du Wulang asked, "You...are you trying to deal with me?"

He couldn't quite believe it.

After all, things are different now. He used to be severely bullied by the son of Jingzhao Facao, but now his status is far beyond that of Jingzhao Facao.

"Investigate the case." Wu Cou looked righteous and said, "People in the market say that Wu Lang robbed women. I didn't believe it at first. But now women and children are missing. Although I am a low-ranking official, I have to investigate thoroughly."

Seeing how righteous he was, Du Wulang became extremely angry and said something that only the evil young man Jixiang would say.

"You want to touch me? Do you know who I am?!"

(End of this chapter)