The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 280 Trust
Wang Sili smiled mysteriously and analyzed, "I have studied the tactics of the King of Shou. Although he is willing to fight against Tubo, he is unwilling to sacrifice too many soldiers' lives. Therefore, he will definitely wait until the food and grass are prepared before looking for the right time to act. The King of Shou needs to wait for the right opportunity, which will waste a lot of time. If the deputy commander does not wait for the right opportunity and can fight quickly, and the Crown Prince helps from the court, the Saint will definitely agree."

"That makes sense." Geshu Han nodded, took a sip of tea, thought for a while, and said, "But Prince Shou is the governor of Longyou after all. The mobilization of troops and logistical support all require his consent. If he interferes, I will definitely return in defeat. At that time, let alone the credit, whether I can save my life is a question."

Wang Sili asked, "Does the deputy commander have any plan for taking Shibao City?"

Geshu Han said: "Shibao City has been fought over and over. Tubo must be defending it tightly. A surprise attack will not work. We can only gather a large force to attack and use the lives of the soldiers to pave a way out."

Wang Sili sighed secretly and said, "This kind of fighting style requires the full support of the King of Shou. He will definitely not agree. So this is the only last resort."

"What's the plan?" Geshu Han asked.

Wang Sili said: "Please transfer away from Helong."

Geshu Han asked, "Do you want me to hide?"

"You can only hide." Wang Sili's eyes were deep. "No matter how favored Prince Shou is, it's only temporary. The world will eventually fall into the hands of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It's hard to say who will suppress whom by then."

Upon hearing this, Geshu Han looked at Wang Sili unconsciously.

From Wang Sili's words, Geshu Han roughly understood that Wang Sili was now a member of the prince's party and followed the prince wholeheartedly.

Also, although Wang Sili seemed to be quite strategic, he did not have a clear understanding of the war and the political situation.

In terms of war, he had no idea how to attack Stone Castle.

In the court, Prince Shou now controls four towns and has an army of more than 200,000. With the power of the current Jiedushi, let Prince Shou develop for a few more years. By then, even if the saint passes the throne to the prince, it is still a question whether the prince can accept it.

Geshu Han pondered for a long time and said to Wang Sili: "I understand what you mean. You can go back first."

"Yes." Wang Sili stood up, saluted, and stepped back.

After Wang Sili left, Geshu Han went out and found Li Sheng.

Li Sheng was training soldiers in the army at this time. When he saw Geshu Han, he saluted and said, "Greetings, Deputy Envoy."

Geshu Han smiled widely, invited Li Sheng to his tent, and asked the others to leave before saying, "General Li, we have been working together for nearly two years. How have I treated you in the past two years?"

Li Sheng said: "The deputy envoy has been very kind to me."

"I know you are a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment." Geshu Han patted Li Sheng's shoulder and whispered, "Let me ask you something. What did His Royal Highness Shou Prince say to you, Gao Shi, and Ma Lin when he met with you in secret?"

Li Sheng's voice remained unchanged as he said, "I talked about some military affairs and asked about the situation in the army."

Geshu Han said, "If you want to ask about military affairs, why doesn't Your Highness Prince Shou ask me? Even if it's about the Lintao Army, I'm the deputy commander of the Lintao Army. I know the Lintao Army best. Don't hide it from me."

Li Sheng remained calm and said, "The deputy envoy was drunk yesterday, so His Royal Highness Prince Shou asked me to go and question him."

"Is it that simple?" Geshu Han wondered.

"It's that simple." Li Sheng said with certainty.

"Okay." Geshu Han still didn't believe it, but from Li Sheng's attitude, he knew that Li Sheng would not say it.

He walked out of the tent with a sad face, feeling very depressed.

Li Sheng looked at Geshu Han's back and thought, "When Prince Shou was not yet a military governor, Huangfu Weiming and Gai Jiayun killed and arrested anyone they wanted. If Prince Shou really wanted to target you, he would have plenty of ways to do it. This is enough for Prince Shou to worry about."

...On the other side, not long after Geshu Han left Li Sheng's tent, Zhang Guangsheng reported the matter between the two to Li Heng.

After listening to this, Li Heng said, "It seems that Li Sheng can still be used for the time being."

Zhang Guangsheng suddenly realized and said, "It turns out that your highness met with Li Sheng and others secretly not to target Geshu Han, but to test whether they can be used."

"I guess so." Li Ying replied.

In fact, Li Heng secretly met with Li Sheng and others not only to test whether Li Sheng could be used, but also to deal with Geshu Han.

Just as Li Sheng thought, Li Heng did have many ways to deal with Geshu Han.

For example, he could investigate Geshu Han just like he investigated Gai Jiayun and Huangfu Weiming, and with the style of the border troops, he was guaranteed to find evidence of Geshu Han's guilt.

But if he does this, it will be like the matter between Qibi Zhong and Wang Daqing, with wide-ranging implications. He will be in a dilemma whether to deal with it or not.

Or, he could even use conspiracy and trickery to kill Geshu Han directly. Given his current importance, Li Longji would not delve into it for the time being.

But we will not pursue it for now. In the future, he will be held responsible for everything, and this will also be recorded in the glorious history books.

Therefore, after careful consideration, he chose the option of alerting the enemy.

He alarmed Geshu Han, making Geshu Han think that he was going to make a big move and forced Geshu Han to take action. As long as Geshu Han made the first move, whatever he did would be on the high ground of justice.

Zhang Guangsheng didn't know that Li Ying had such a deep plan, so he asked again: "Your Highness, should we send someone to keep an eye on Gao Shi and Ma Lin?"

"No need." Li Heng smiled. "Gao Shi and I have a deep friendship. Ma Lin is a loyal and upright person. They are both trustworthy people."

Zhang Guangsheng was slightly startled, and said, "Your Highness is far-sighted and has both civil and military skills. I admire you very much, but there is one thing that Your Highness has not done well enough."

"Oh?" Li Heng became interested and asked, "Which point?"

Zhang Guangsheng said: "Your Highness is too sincere and too easy to trust others."

Hearing this, Li Heng stood up and said, "Perhaps you are right, but if a person cannot trust anyone in his life, then life will be too lonely and too tiring. Take you for example, I will always trust you, and if one day I fail in this way, I will accept it."

Zhang Guangsheng was deeply moved when he heard this. He knelt on one knee and clasped his fists, saying, "Your Highness gave me my life. I am where I am today because of your kindness. Your Highness has been so kind to me that I have no way to repay you. I can only follow you with my life and swear to follow you until death."

"General Zhang is truly a gift from heaven to me." Li Ying was also very moved and helped Zhang Guangsheng up.

Zhang Guangsheng's eyes were slightly red as he thanked Li Ying again.

Li Ying looked at Zhang Guangsheng and felt a little guilty.

Because what he just said was not from the heart.

The reason why he trusted Gao Shi and Ma Lin, in addition to the so-called friendship and character, was that he knew that these two people's current interests were consistent with his.

The rise of these two people was closely related to him. They could not rely on Li Heng or Li Linfu, so they could only rely on him, their immediate superior.

Moreover, with Geshu Han's fall, the two of them will have more opportunities to perform and advance.

(End of this chapter)