Lanting prelude

Chapter 69
Not all of Wang Hongyi's cards were played.Although the outcome of failure is irreversible, he still has one last move at least, that is to burn everything together, and die together with Li Shimin!

Jiucheng Palace, located in Qizhou, more than 300 miles northwest of Chang'an, was built in the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty. It is called the first palace in the Tang Dynasty.Since the reconstruction, Li Shimin has visited here four times in the sixth year, seventh year, eighth year, and 13th year of Zhenguan to escape the summer heat. Each time he stayed here, the shortest time was four or five months, and the longest time was more than half a year.

Jiucheng Palace is located in Tiantai Mountain on the north bank of Dushui. It is adjacent to Tongshan Mountain in the east, Fenghuang Mountain in the west, Shijiu Mountain in the south, and Bicheng Mountain in the north. ;The ancient trees in the mountains are dense, covering the sun and the sky, which is really a resort for summer and summer.

On March 17th of the 3000th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin drove from Chang'an. His retinue included Changsun Wuji, Li Ke, Li Zhi, Zhao Dequan, dozens of officials from Dianzhong Province, and led 800 Wuhouwei and [-] Xuanjiawei. Hundreds of eunuchs, eunuchs and palace ladies each, with cars rumbling, horses rustling, guards of honor and flags flying, passed through Xianyang, Wugong, Linyou and other places, and arrived at Jiucheng Palace at noon six days later.

When the mighty convoy of emperors slowly entered Yongguangmen, the south main gate of the palace city, the palace supervisor Deng Chongli and deputy supervisor Cui Shao had led the palace officials, the master secretary and other officials to wait here for a long time.

An official accompanying the Emperor Luan saw Deng and Cui from a distance, and immediately galloped towards them.

This official is about forty years old, with a clear face, and his name is Yin Xiuwen. He is the Shangshe Fengyu of the Dianzhong Province, and he is in charge of the emperor's daily life, soup and bathing, and sweeping.This time the emperor was lucky enough to visit ninety percent of the palaces, so he was naturally in charge of the daily affairs.

Seeing Yin Xiuwen coming on horseback, Deng Chongli and Cui Shao hurried up to meet him.

The official rank of Shangshe Fengyu is the fifth rank, the palace supervisor and deputy supervisor are respectively the fifth rank and the sixth rank. Of course Deng and Cui must respect Yin Xiuwen.However, Yin Xiuwen was very modest, so he immediately got off his horse and greeted the two of them.

"Deputy Supervisor Deng, Deputy Supervisor Cui," Yin Xiuwen looked a little anxious, "Have the three halls of Xianheng, Yurong, and Paiyun been cleaned?"

Deng and Cui were startled at the same time, and they couldn't help looking at each other.

There are no less than dozens of halls and pavilions in Jiucheng Palace. Among them, Dabao Hall and Danxiao Hall are the largest, followed by Xianheng, Yurong, and Paiyun Halls. Every time the emperor comes, he stays in Dabao Hall.So Deng and Cui were a bit puzzled by Yin Xiuwen's question: Even if the emperor wanted to change places this time and didn't want to live in the Great Treasure Hall, at least it would have to be the Danxiao Hall, right?The other three halls are much different in scale and specifications. Does the emperor want to live in these side halls this time?
This frightened Deng Chongli and Cui Shao.

Ever since they received the emperor's imperial edict to escape the summer heat, they ordered people to tidy up the Dabao Hall and the Danxiao Hall according to the usual practice in previous years. , as small as melons, fruits and pastries, are carefully prepared according to the emperor's specifications; although the other three halls have also been cleaned, they are usually only for the accompanying prime ministers and princes to stay, and they are not so careful in all aspects. If the emperor launches a surprise attack, They were caught off guard.

"Ask Yin Fengyu," Deng Chongli was very surprised, "Didn't the Holy Majesty always stay in the Great Treasure Hall in previous years? This year... is he going to move? But no one notified the official in advance!"

Yin Xiuwen smiled bitterly: "To tell the truth from Supervisor Deng, the Holy Majesty has just issued a verbal order saying that he wants to change places this year, but the Holy Majesty did not specify which hall to change, so I have no choice but to ask the two of you."

Deng and Cui looked at each other again.

"Yin Fengyu, according to His Majesty's intention, don't we have to make preparations for every palace?" Cui Shao frowned.He was the youngest of the three, and he was a little impatient.

"Cui Shao!" Deng Chongli said in a deep voice without waiting for Yin Xiuwen to reply, "Even so, we have to hurry up and prepare!"

"Don't worry, both of you." Yin Xiuwen hurriedly said, "In my opinion, those too small palaces and pavilions will not live there, just tidy up Dabao, Danxiao and the other three palaces."

"It's already noon, and it's not easy to clean it up." Cui Shao muttered in a low voice, "If you can't clean it up, who should take the responsibility?"

"I'll do it!" Deng Chongli stared, "If you have the time to complain, why don't you hurry to work?!"

"Yes, my subordinates are going now." Cui Shao looked annoyed, and turned around and shouted at the dozen or so palace officials and masters who stood by the side of the road, "What are you still doing in a daze, hurry up and follow me!"

Everyone was startled, and hurriedly followed Cui Shao into the palace gate.

"Excuse me, Supervisor Deng, I'll ask the people below to help." Yin Xiuwen cupped his hands, immediately got on his horse, turned around and galloped away.

"Thank you, Yin Fengyu." Deng Chongli cupped his hands, looking thoughtfully at the back of Yin Xiuwen galloping away.

At the same time that Emperor Luanjia arrived at Jiucheng Palace, in a cave on Mount Bicheng in the north of the palace city, five people were watching intently around a roll of topographical maps.

They are Xiao Junmo, Wang Hongyi, Wei Laoliu, Xi Yan, Hua Linger.

Xi Yan and Hua Ling'er only participated as Xiao Junmo's "friends in the world". Wang Hongyi didn't know that they were members of the Tianxing League.And although Wei Laoliu had fought against Xiyan in Zangfeng Mountain Villa, he felt a little uncomfortable when they saw each other, but since the bosses of both sides have joined forces, they have nothing to say.

"Everyone, before finalizing the final action plan, let's familiarize ourselves with the terrain and defense situation of Jiucheng Palace." Xiao Junmo said, drawing two circles, one large and one small, on the periphery of the map with his hands, "Jiucheng Palace has inside and outside. There are two city walls, the outer city has a circumference of about 1000 steps, and there are three gates in the north, east, and south; the circumference of the palace city is about 2000 steps, with a gate in the north and a south. Among all these gates, the most important It is the north main gate of Miyagi - Xuanwu Gate. According to the information sent back by Mr. Crow, the Marquis Guard brought by Li Shimin, there should be [-] people stationed here; One thousand are stationed everywhere in the palace city."

"Next, let's take a look at the situation of the various halls in the palace." Xiao Junmo pointed to a place on the map, "This is Danxiao Hall, located on the top of Tiantai Mountain in the west of Miyagi. It has a panoramic view inside and outside. It is the main hall of the entire Jiucheng Palace, and there is a side hall next to it, the Xianheng Hall, but according to information, these two halls are only used for sightseeing, not Li Shimin's sleeping hall."

With that said, Xiao Junmo pointed to another place on the map: "Li Shimin's sleeping hall should be here. The Great Treasure Hall is located at the northernmost end of the palace city, about fifty feet away from the Danxiao Hall, and next to it is the Yurong Hall. It is next to the heavily guarded Xuanwu Gate. As for the deployment of the Xuanjia Guards, 'Crow' is not very clear, I can only speculate based on experience. I estimate that at least 400 of the 300 Xuanjia Guards will be stationed in the Great Treasure Hall , the other 100 people were scattered and stationed in other halls, and the last [-] people were patrolling between the halls..."

"Aren't they sleeping?" Hua Ling'er suddenly asked in surprise, "Everyone stands guard and patrols all night?"

Xiao Junmo smiled: "I haven't finished my sentence yet. Normally, whether it is Wu Houwei or Xuanjiawei, they will be divided into two shifts in the first half of the night and the second half of the night. Losing half is the exact number of troops on duty. But everyone, don’t forget that once the fight starts, the sleeping half of the soldiers will come out in no time.”

"So, we must be as close as possible to the Great Treasure Hall in a concealed state." Wang Hongyi continued, pointing to a certain place on the map, "Our current location is two miles outside the north gate of Waiguo City. Three o'clock tonight , 'Crow' will meet us at the north gate and provide us with more than [-] sets of armor for military guards. We will use these [-] elites in disguise, plus 'Crow' and a dozen of his brothers, Sneak in from the North Gate of Outer Guocheng and the Xuanwu Gate of Miyagi, and approach the Great Treasure Hall..."

"How far is the distance between Xuanwumen and Dabaodian?" Xi Yan asked.His current pseudonym is Yan Xi.

"Brother Yan got the point." Wang Hongyi chuckled, "The distance between the two places is thirty feet. And this distance is the key to the success or failure of this operation! Because after passing the Xuanwu Gate, you will enter the defense zone of Xuanjia Guards Now, although we are wearing the armor of Wuhouwei, if 50 people suddenly appear, the Xuanjiawei must be alert, so I said, we must get as close as possible to the Great Treasure Hall before being exposed. As long as half of the brothers break into the Great Treasure Hall, we will I am sure to kill Li Shimin!"

"What about after killing him?" Xi Yan frowned, "How do we get out?"

"Hahaha!" Wang Hongyi laughed loudly, "After killing the dog emperor, we will be the masters of Jiucheng Palace, why should we get away?"

Xi Yan was puzzled.

"Mr. Ming Zang means that we will divide our forces into two groups." Xiao Junmo took over the words, "In addition to the road of the Great Treasure Hall, there is also a group of people responsible for eliminating Li Ke and Li Zhi, and capturing Changsun Wuji alive. If successful, Let Changsun Wuji order in the name of the prime minister to order everyone to lay down their weapons. In addition, 'Crow' is also the chief of the Marquis Guards. As long as Li Ke dies, all the [-] Marquis Guards will obey his orders. At that time, we will not Is he the owner of Jiucheng Palace?"

"It's not just the Jiucheng Palace," Wang Hongyi said confidently, with his hands behind his back, "When we return to Chang'an, announce the identity of Xiao Lang's royal family, and issue a will in the name of Li Shimin, we... no, Xiao Lang is Li Tang You are the masters of the world! You will all become heroes of the new dynasty!"

"That's great, when the time comes, make me a great general." Hua Ling'er beamed with joy.She is now aliased as Lin Hua.

"Miss Lin's heroism is admirable!" Wang Hongyi clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "I believe that you, a heroine general, will not be inferior to that Princess Pingyang who established the Women's Army!"

Hua Ling'er was immediately elated, and said to Xiao Junmo: "How about boss, you future emperor, will you make me a general?"

Xiao Junmo smiled: "Mr. Ming Zang has promised you, how dare I say no?"

"My nephew's words are wrong." Wang Hongyi hurriedly said, "You are the emperor, how can I overstep?"

"Sir, don't say that." Xiao Junmo said, "If it weren't for you, I would be just a fugitive now, and I can't even be a commoner, so how dare I hope to be an emperor? If that day really comes, this junior will definitely worship you as a minister , and respect you as Zhongfu."

Throughout the dynasties, those who were honored as "Zhongfu" and "Shangfu" were often powerful officials. To some extent, they even controlled the fate of the dynasty more than the king, such as Jiang Ziya in the Zhou Dynasty, Guan Zhong in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Lu Buwei in the Qin State. Received this title.Now that Xiao Junmo proposed it on his own initiative, it undoubtedly fell into Wang Hongyi's hands, and he was overjoyed.

Wang Hongyi let out a burst of laughter, cupped his hands and said: "Since my nephew is so affectionate and righteous, I would rather obey my orders than be respectful!"

Seeing that they were talking so lively, Wei Laoliu couldn't help feeling left out, so he said, "Sir, let's talk about the plan. Just now we said that the troops will be divided into two groups. How will the other group sneak into Miyagi? What is the strategy?"

"Yes, let's get down to business." Wang Hongyi said, "Let Xiao Lang continue."

"Mr. Wei, please look here." Xiao Junmo pointed to a long dotted line from west to east on the map, and said, "Do you know what this line means?"

Wei Lao Liu looked at it and shook his head.

"This is an underground drainage channel. One end is in the valley of the Beimafang River in the west, and then from west to east, it passes through the two city walls of Waiguo City and Miyagi City. Below the Imperial Palace. According to the information of 'The Crow', the accompanying prime ministers and princes in previous years usually lived in these two halls. Presumably, Li Ke, Li Zhi and Changsun Wuji are no exception. Our brothers along the way, There are seven to eighty people, and they intend to sneak into Miyagi through the sewers, and then attack Tiantai Mountain to capture the second hall of Danxiao and Yurong."

"But..." Wei Laoliu frowned, "The sewers are usually guarded by iron bars, right?"

"That's right, from the Beimafang River to the foot of Tiantai Mountain, it's more than a mile to say the least. In addition to the iron gates at the exits at both ends, there will be at least three in the middle. However, we can use all the first four. Use brute force to force it open, because no one will hear the movement, only the last one, at the exit of Tiantai Mountain, there must be soldiers standing guard nearby, so brute force cannot be used."

"what is it now?"

Xiao Junmo didn't answer, but looked at Wang Hongyi.

"When the appointed time comes, there will be someone there to meet you." Wang Hongyi said flatly.

Wei Laoliu was overjoyed, and blurted out: "It seems that besides 'Crow', there are still people from us in Jiucheng Palace?"

Wang Hongyi glanced at him coldly.Wei Laoliu realized that he was talking too much, so he quickly shut up.

"Boss, how to divide the work tonight?" Hua Ling'er asked Xiao Junmo.

"My husband and I led thirty brothers to sneak in from the Xuanwu Gate, aiming at the Great Treasure Hall. The three of you led the rest of the brothers to enter through the sewers and raid the second hall of Danxiao and Yurong."

"No, I want to be with you." Hua Ling'er pouted.

Wang Hongyi couldn't help being surprised to see her suddenly showing a childlike attitude, as if she had some ambiguity with Xiao Junmo.

Xiao Junmo felt slightly embarrassed, and quickly coughed: "Miss Lin, we are at war..."

"That's right, what I'm talking about is fighting." Hua Ling'er sensed that Wang Hongyi was looking at her, so she said sternly, "What's the point of killing the prime minister and the prince? If you want to kill, you have to kill the emperor, and that will be fun!"

These words are very suitable for Wang Hongyi's appetite.He laughed a few times, and said to Xiao Junmo: "Nephew, since Miss Lin has such a heroic courage, let's help her."

Xiao Junmo smiled lightly and said nothing.

At this moment, a subordinate hurried in and whispered something into Wang Hongyi's ear.Wang Hongyi's expression changed, he waved his hand, and the subordinate retreated.

Xiao Junmo looked at each other with Xi Yan and Hua Linger, and then looked at Wang Hongyi: "What's wrong, sir?"

Wang Hongyi was silent for a while, then sighed softly: "The 'Crow' just sent the news that Li Shimin might not stay in the Great Treasure Hall tonight."

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment.

"This old fox! Then where will he live?" Wei Laoliu said angrily.

Wang Hongyi shook his head.

"Then according to Mr.'s opinion, what should we do?" Xiao Junmo asked.

Wang Hongyi pondered for a long time, then glanced at the sky outside the entrance of the cave: "It is still a few hours before dark, we can discuss a contingency plan first, and then wait for further news."

As the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an has a population of one million, but the distribution of the population is extremely uneven.Since Lifang in the north is close to the imperial city and Miyagi, and there are two cities in the east and west, most of the dignitaries, wealthy businessmen and tycoons live here, resulting in an extremely dense population in the northern area.In contrast, the population in the south of the city is much less, and many Lifangs are quite empty. It is said in history that "fireworks are not connected, plowing and planting, and rice paddies are connected." Although it is located in the imperial capital, it looks like a deserted village in the wild.

Yongyang Fang, located in the southwest corner of Chang'an City, is such a desolate and desolate Li Fang.

Since Wang Hongyi attacked Zhilan Tower at night, he moved to a house in the northwest corner of the square.

The house stands alone in an uncultivated wasteland, surrounded by wild buckwheat and weeds, and there are no other houses nearby. The nearest neighbor is a small temple more than half a mile away.

Three days ago, Chu Lisang and Luxiu were brought here by Wang Hongyi's people, and then they were locked in a small courtyard at the back of the house.Three meals a day are delivered to the room, and some melon and fruit snacks are delivered from time to time. There is also a large wooden barrel for bathing in the room. They take care of every aspect, but their scope of activities is only two bedrooms that are connected. The windows were nailed from the outside with long wooden strips, and the doors were locked. There were more than a dozen strong men guarding the front and back of the house day and night, making it impossible for them to leave.

Chu Lisang was anxious to know the whereabouts of Xu Wanniang and Dai Lisi, but he couldn't do anything, so he wandered around the house anxiously.

That night, near the second watch, Chu Lisang couldn't think of any other way, so he could only pretend to have abdominal pain and roll all over the floor.Green Sleeve also patted the door panel, yelling outside.

From Chu Lisang's point of view, the guards couldn't find a doctor to come to the door in the middle of the night, so they must take her out to find a doctor, so that she could take the opportunity to get rid of the guards and get away to inspect the whole house.

But she never expected that Wang Hongyi had already prepared a doctor in the house.

As soon as she made a fuss, the guards called the doctor.

The doctor was an old man in his sixties with a kind face, and he understood what was going on as soon as he took the pulse, so he whispered: "Girl, it's cold on the ground, don't torment yourself."

Chu Lisang turned over and sat up, and pressed a hairpin against his throat: "The girl can only torment you, go!" Then she grabbed his collar and stood up.

The doctor hurriedly raised his hands and said with a wry smile: "Girl, it's useless for you to kidnap the old man, those people outside don't care about my life or death."

Chu Lisang was startled: "Aren't you from them?"

"The old man was also arrested by them." The doctor looked helpless.

Chu Lisang had no choice but to put down the hairpin: "How long has it been?"

"It's been months."

Chu Lisang's eyes lit up: "Is there someone else locked up in this house?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Are they two women?"

The doctor nodded again.

Chu Lisang was both surprised and delighted: "Where are they locked up?"

The doctor looked embarrassed, lowered his head, picked up the medicine box and walked towards the door.The green sleeve standing on the side stood up and stopped: "You don't want to leave if you don't tell me!" The doctor said with a mournful face, "You two girls, we were all captured by them, and we are all hard-fated people, why bother to force us like this?"

"Old man, it is precisely because we were all arrested that we need to help each other and escape from here!" Chu Lisang walked in front of him, "As long as you tell me where they are locked up, I promise you, I will keep them safe." You get out too."

"This statement...is it true?"

"No lie!"

The doctor hesitated for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Well, let me tell you, they are all locked in the dungeon."

"Dungeon?!"

Chu Lisang did not expect that Wang Hongyi kept saying that he took good care of them, but it turned out to be the case!

"How are they? Are they all okay?" Chu Lisang was full of worry.

"Everything is fine." The doctor said, "It's just that I've been imprisoned for a long time, and I'm a little weak, but there's nothing serious about it."

Chu Lisang breathed a sigh of relief: "Where is the dungeon?"

"Just under the stables in the northeast corner of the back yard."

Chu Lisang thanked the doctor, asked where he was being held, promised to rescue him too, and then sent him away.Luxiu said worriedly: "Miss, even if we know where they are locked up, we won't be able to get out!"

"There must be a way." Chu Lisang frowned.

The night was dark, and the Jiucheng Palace surrounded by mountains was flickering with lights.

At around [-] o'clock, a black figure hurried towards the Xuanwu Gate from the direction of the Great Treasure Hall, avoiding several groups of Xuanjiawei patrols along the way, and finally came to a tree not far from the Xuanwu Gate.He looked around vigilantly, then took out something from his arms, hid it in the tree hole, and then looked at the Xuanwu Gate with his head.

The tower of Xuanwu Gate is brightly lit, and there are many guard posts.

General Wei Ting, Marquis of Zuo Wu, was patrolling under the tower, saying something to the soldiers standing guard.

The black shadow under the tree picked up a stone and threw it out, then turned around and quickly sank into the darkness.The soldiers on the other side of the tower heard the movement and called out "Who is it?" Just as they were about to come over, Wei Ting stopped him: "Stand at your post, I'll go over and have a look."

Afterwards, Wei Ting walked slowly under the tree, looking around for no one, bent down and took out the thing from the tree hole.

This is a little note.With the light of the tower in the distance, Wei Ting took a look, then stuffed the note into his mouth, swallowed it in one gulp, and then walked back to the tower as if nothing had happened.

About half an hour later, in the cave of Bicheng Mountain, Wang Hongyi, Xiao Junmo and others who were still discussing the contingency plan finally received the latest information about the "crow".The subpoenaed subordinates said: Li Shimin finally decided to stay in the Great Treasure Hall.

Everyone couldn't help laughing.

Wei Laoliu was furious: "I went back to the Great Treasure Hall after making trouble for a long time. Is this Li Shimin playing tricks on us?!"

"Li Shimin is cautious by nature, and of course he won't disclose the specific place where he will stay until the moment before going to sleep." Xiao Junmo smiled wryly, "He can't trick us by doing this, but it's just a pain for the officials who arrange the living."

"Boss, it will be midnight soon, let's do it!" Hua Ling'er was gearing up.

Xiao Junmo looked at Wang Hongyi.

Wang Hongyi looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "According to the original plan, act!"

Afterwards, the crowd left the cave and divided into two groups: Wang Hongyi, Xiao Junmo, and Hua Ling'er led more than [-] capable men and rushed towards the north gate of Waiguo City; Wei Laoliu and Xi Yan led the remaining sixty or seventy men to go Go north to Mafang River.

When the three-watch clapper was sounded in Jiucheng Palace, Wang Hongyi arrived at the north gate of Waiguo City all the way on time.After sending out the secret signal, Wei Ting and his subordinates who had been waiting here for a long time appeared immediately, and at the same time brought more than thirty pairs of military guard armor.

Only now does Xiao Junmo know that Wei Ting is the "crow".No wonder Wang Hongyi and Wei Laoliu were able to escape from the net of tens of thousands of forbidden troops in Lishan that day.

Everyone put on their armor, and then followed Wei Ting into the north gate swaggeringly.

After a stick of incense, they entered the palace city from the Xuanwu Gate Tower.

The journey went very smoothly, because between the two city gates was the defense area of ​​Wuhou Guards, and in Jiucheng Palace at this time, besides Li Ke, Wei Ting was the highest officer of Wuhou Guards.

However, from the moment they entered the Xuanwu Gate, it was the Xuanjiawei's defense zone, and they had to be ready to fight at any time.

After walking ten feet in the direction of the Great Treasure Hall, they encountered the first patrol team of Xuanjiawei.

"Who is here?" The other party shouted in a deep voice.

"Wei Ting, General of the Marquis of Wu." Wei Ting reported his family name.

"Password?"

"Yun's Longguan." Wei Ting calmly said, "Return the order!"

"Turtle Picture Phoenix Ji." The other party responded.

Xiao Junmo knew that these two lines of passwords were both from the "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription". The inscription was written by Wei Zheng and Ouyang Xun by order, and they were erected beside the Danxiao Hall on the top of Tiantai Mountain.

The two groups of people approached gradually, and stood at a distance of one zhang.

"General Wei, it's past the third watch, where are you going with so many people?" The leader of the soldiers looked vigilant.

"At the order of His Highness the King of Wu, strengthen the patrol and defense in the palace." Wei Ting was very calm.

Li Ke is now the co-chief of the two guards. It seems that there is nothing wrong with him temporarily dispatching Wu Houwei into the Xuanjia defense area.The opposing soldier thought for a while, then cupped his hands and left with the team.

Wei Ting secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Xiao Junmo came up from behind and patted him on the shoulder: "General Wei is calm and calm, I admire him!"

Afterwards, everyone continued to move towards the Great Treasure Hall, and encountered two patrols on the road, but Wei Ting used the same method to confuse them.It wasn't until they were six or seven feet away from the Great Treasure Hall that they really encountered a hard stubble.

The defense here is extremely strict, with three steps, one post and five steps, one sentry. The team leader is a Zhonglang general from Xuanjiawei.

"This person's surname is Duan Mingli. He has been in Xuanjiawei for many years. He has always done things cautiously and rigidly, without showing respect." Xiao Junmo stood in the team and whispered to Wang Hongyi beside him.

"Notify the brethren, prepare to do it." Wang Hongyi stared at the palace in front of him with burning eyes.

As Xiao Junmo said, after hearing Wei Ting's words, Duan Li sneered coldly and said, "General Wei, your defense zone is at the Xuanwu Gate. If His Highness King Wu wants to send someone to pass on an order to you, he will definitely pass through me." Defense zone, how come you received the order, but I didn't know it?"

"That's the order I received." Wei Ting smiled slightly, "It's not too late for General Duan to know."

Duan Li put his hand on the handle of the knife at his waist: "Empty words are nothing, please show your Highness's warrant."

"I'm sorry, but all I received were verbal orders."

"Then I'm sorry too. Without a warrant, you can only go back." Duan Li said, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of soldiers on both sides immediately gathered over.

"General Duan is so obstructive, is he trying to make Wei Mou unable to pay the job?"

"Duan is just performing his duties. As for whether General Wei can deliver the job well, that is your business and has nothing to do with me."

"So, we have nothing to talk about?" Wei Ting raised his eyebrows and put his hand on the handle of the knife.

Duan Li drew out his saber with a bang, drew a line on the sand in front of him, and said to the left and right: "Brothers, listen, anyone who dares to cross this line will be killed without mercy!"

"Obey!" All the soldiers agreed in unison, and all drew out their sabers.

At the same time, the people on Wei Ting's side also had their knives in their hands.At this moment, a soldier standing on Duan Li's right head suddenly made a move, and the dragon's head knife cut across Duan Li's throat quickly and soundlessly.

Blood spattered out.Duan Li's eyes were wide open, and before he even had time to hum, he fell straight to the ground.

This instant reversal left everyone dumbfounded, only Wang Hongyi had a sinister smile on his lips.

Xiao Junmo couldn't help but look shocked.

How many people who hide hidden rudders are lurking in the Tang court? !

Those Xuanjia guards reacted quickly after being stunned for a short moment, and the nearest six or seven people drew their knives at the same time, chopping the secret worker into a meat paste.At this time, Wei Ting and others had rushed over, and the two sides started a scuffle.Wang Hongyi, Xiao Junmo, and Hua Linger exchanged glances, and together they led their capable men to fight a bloody path, and rushed straight to the Great Treasure Hall at an astonishing speed...

Wei Laoliu and Xi Yan led their troops into the sewer from the east bank of the Beimafang River, broke through four iron fences along the way, and arrived in front of the fifth fence after half an hour.

There is Tiantai Mountain above their heads, so they can only wait here, waiting for that "person of their own" to come to meet them.

Almost a quarter of an hour ago, Jiucheng Palace Supervisor Deng Chongli arrived at the foot of Tiantai Mountain.

The dozen or so Xuanjia guards standing guard here all recognized him, so they simply asked the password and let him move about on his own.Deng Chongli strolled to the entrance of the sewer, and suddenly found a person standing under a pine tree not far away.

"Who's there?"

That person came from the shadows, it turned out to be Yin Xiuwen.

"Yin Fengyu?" Deng Chongli hurriedly cupped his hands, "It's so late, you haven't rested yet?"

"Can't sleep! Come out for a walk." Yin Xiuwen smiled, "Isn't Deng Gongjian still asleep?"

"Oh, I didn't feel sleepy, so I looked around." Deng Chongli's eyes flickered, "I'm a little busy today, and I'm afraid I'll make mistakes, so I went around again."

"Have you been tormenting you enough today?" Yin Xiuwen showed concern, "I think you don't look very well, so go to bed early if you have nothing to do, and just leave the inspection to the people below."

"I'm born to work hard." Deng Chongli smiled wryly, "I'm really worried if I don't do another round of inspections myself."

"Deng Gongjian is conscientious, admirable!" Yin Xiuwen patted him on the shoulder affectionately, "Okay, you are busy with your work, I will go to sleep first."

"Yin Fengyu, go slowly." Deng Chongli bowed, watched Yin Xiuwen go away, and then his face turned cold, and he walked back to the entrance of the sewer quickly, looked around, and ducked in with his head down.

The two walls and steps of the sewer are made of neat stones.Holding a pine torch, Deng Chongli carefully walked down the moss-covered stone steps.After walking about [-] levels, I went down to a platform, and there is a waterway under the platform.Deng Chongli raised the torch a little higher, and saw a black figure in front of him, standing with his back to him, facing the iron fence not far away.

"Now you can talk, right?" Deng Chongli took two steps forward, his tone a little displeased.

"You are finally here." Cui Shao turned around with a smile on his face.

"Is there anything you can't say on the board, and you have to make an appointment with this ghost place?"

"Haha, you said that well, what a ghostly place!" Cui Shao took a few steps towards him, "The reason why I asked you to come here is because my subordinates know that this place will be haunted tonight!"

Cui Shao deliberately emphasized the last two words, and Deng Chongli couldn't help shivering.

"What kind of tricks are you playing?" Deng Chongli was annoyed, "Didn't you say that there is an inner ghost in our palace? Tell me, who is the inner ghost?"

"Inner ghost? No, no, you heard it wrong, I'm talking about haunted ghosts. Tonight, there will be a group of ghosts..." Cui Shao suddenly pointed at the dark fence, "Come out from there!"

Deng Chongli was taken aback: "What do you mean? You mean...someone will sneak into Miyagi from here?"

Cui Shao smiled darkly and nodded.

"Impossible!" Deng Chongli subconsciously stretched his hands to his waist, where hung a large bunch of keys for various access control, never leaving his body all day long, even sleeping under the quilt.

"How is it impossible?" Cui Shao smiled coldly, "Take a closer look, is the key to that fence still on you?"

On the iron gate not far away, there is a thick iron lock.

Deng Chongli was startled when he heard the words, and immediately took out a large bunch of keys from his waist.

At this moment, a person suddenly jumped out from the dark behind him, covered his mouth with one hand, and stabbed him in the back at the same time.

Cui Shao strode forward, took the torch in his hand, and of course snatched the key chain from his other hand.The man behind withdrew his knife and pushed Deng Chongli to the ground.His face was revealed, and he turned out to be one of Deng Chongli's subordinates.

Deng Chongli fell into a pool of blood, staring at the two in shock and anger: "You, you are..."

"Yes, we are the inner ghosts!" Cui Shao grinned grimly, shaking the key chain in his hand, "Thank you for sending the keys here yourself. Later, I will open that door and let more ghosts in. .Tonight, we will bloodbath Jiucheng Palace!"

Chang'an, Yongyang Square.

At midnight, the small courtyard at the back of the house suddenly caught fire.

The guards turned pale with fright, hurriedly broke open the doors and windows, and rushed in to fight the fire.Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Chu Lisang suddenly jumped out from the back window and disappeared into the night in no time.Some guards quickly chased after him.

The rest of the guards were busy carrying water to put out the fire, but they didn't notice another figure broke through the roof and jumped out.This person was extremely agile, jumped up from the roof, quickly swept over several roof ridges, and quickly rushed to the northeast corner of the backyard.

This person is wearing green sleeves, but she is Chu Lisang!
After a while, she came to the stable in the northeast corner.There are only two guards here, and the others have run to put out the fire.The soaring flames attracted their attention, and Chu Lisang easily knocked them out.She took out the key to the dungeon from one of them, and then pushed aside a pile of weeds in the corner of the stable, only to find a locked wooden door on the ground.

She opened the wooden door and descended the wooden ladder to the dungeon.

The light in the dungeon was dim, and there was only a lamp hanging on the innermost wall. There was a person sitting vaguely on the ground, with his back to the prison door, and he was wearing Xu Wanniang's clothes.

"Auntie..." Chu Lisang choked up, and ran over quickly.

But the strange thing is that Xu Wanniang remained motionless, as if she didn't hear her voice at all.

Chu Lisang couldn't care less about being puzzled, and quickly ran behind Xu Wanniang, calling "Auntie" again.

Xu Wanniang remained motionless.

Chu Lisang was full of suspicion.At this moment, seven or eight men in black suddenly jumped out from the surrounding darkness and surrounded her.Then, that "Xu Wanniang" slowly turned around and looked at her with a smile.

This person turned out to be a doctor!
Wang Hongyi, Xiao Junmo, and Hua Linger led more than twenty elites all the way into the Great Treasure Hall.

This fight all the way really made Xiao Junmo feel thrilling!
The reason is not because of the tenacious resistance of the Xuanjia guards guarding the main hall, but whenever Xiao Junmo's attack was blocked, the undercover agent of Mingzang Ruo suddenly showed his true colors and killed the armored soldiers who were fighting side by side, making Xiao Junmo They were able to tear open a gap and continue to break into the inner hall.

And the undercover agents of Mingzang Ruo not only included Xuanjiawei, but also officials from the Dianzhong Province, eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and even several court ladies!

After these people were exposed, in order to cover their attack, they often took the initiative to stand in the rear, and were quickly hacked and killed by the Xuanjia guards.

There is no doubt that they are a group of dead soldiers who can sacrifice for Mingzang at any time!
Xiao Junmo was amazed and sighed—what kind of magical power does Wang Hongyi have that can make them so loyal and willing to work for him? !
And what surprised Xiao Junmo even more was: how many dead men hidden in the ninety percent palace? !
After just a stick of incense, they successfully entered the inner hall.

The large and luxurious dragon bed is located in the center of the inner hall, surrounded by translucent golden curtains, and there is a person sitting inside.But when Xiao Junmo saw this person's face clearly, a wry smile appeared on his face.

Li Ke.

The person sitting on the dragon bed turned out to be Li Ke in full armor.

Obviously, what they received just before the action was still a piece of false information - Li Shimin was not here at all!
Realizing this, Wang Hongyi couldn't help scolding his mother, and then swung his knife to rush forward.

"Leave it to me." Xiao Junmo stopped him, "I have a little friendship with King Wu, so let us settle it ourselves."

At this time, those Xuanjia guards who were blocked just now had chased in, Wang Hongyi, Hua Linger and their subordinates had to turn around and fight.Holding the blood-dripping dragon head knife, Xiao Junmo walked straight to the dragon bed, and met Li Ke's eyes across the curtain.

"You have finally come to this step." Li Ke said coldly.

"Do I have a choice?" Xiao Junmo smiled lightly.

"I saved you in Lishan, and I lost my crown prince because of it. Is this how you want to repay me?"

"I saved you twice, and you paid me back twice. We are even, and neither owes the other."

"So, today either you die or I live?"

"It seems so, neither of us has a choice."

On the other end, Wang Hongyi slashed and shouted: "Jun Mo, don't talk to him, do it quickly!"

Xiao Junmo held the handle of the knife with both hands, and slowly raised the dragon head knife, as if the knife was extremely heavy: "Come on, His Highness King Wu, let all our grievances be settled tonight!"

Li Ke's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and then he let out a snarl, jumped up from the dragon bed, pierced the curtain with the horizontal knife in his hand, and the tip of the knife was straight at Xiao Junmo's eyes.

The dragon head knife flashed coldly.

With a clanging sound, the two blades intersect, and the lingering sound is long...

Cui Shao successfully opened the iron fence and met Wei Laoliu, Xi Yan and others in time.

At this time, Wang Hongyi's route had just entered Miyagi from Xuanwu Gate, and the battle had not yet started.

After leaving the sewer, Cui Shao and the chief secretary used passwords to open the way, while Wei Laoliu, Xi Yan and others followed closely to carry out assassinations, clearing Xuanjiawei's sentry post and small patrol team one by one.Soon, they climbed to the top of the mountain without anyone noticing, and touched a forest in front of Danxiao Palace.

"Is the target inside?" Wei Laoliu asked Cui Shao.

"Only Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi." Cui Shao spat, "Where did Li Ke go?"

When Wei Laoliu heard this, he immediately hesitated.

"Let's do it!" Xi Yan said, "Kill one and count as one, so as not to delay the battle opportunity, and the night will be full of dreams!"

"This brother is right!" Cui Shao echoed.

Wei Laoliu thought about it again, and then waved his hand: "Go!"

In the dungeon, Chu Lisang glared at the old man pretending to be Xu Wanniang: "So you are not a doctor!"

"No, the old man is indeed a doctor." The old man stood up and smiled, "It's just that the old man has another identity, that is, the right envoy of Ming Zang under the seat of the master. The old man's surname is Yan, and his color is Yan."

Chu Lisang sneered: "Yan Youshi is so old, and still playing such dirty tricks?"

Yan Youshi didn't think it was disobedient, but instead laughed: "Miss, please forgive me, this is all the master's order, and this old man has no choice but to do it."

"Why did Ming Zang ask you to do this?"

"Ever since I took you over, Mr. has expected that you will not be safe, and will definitely do everything possible to find Xu Wanniang's whereabouts." Yan You said, "So, Mister decided to conduct an experiment."

"Experiment?" Chu Lisang frowned, "What do you mean?"

"If you really desperately want to find Xu Wanniang's whereabouts, then sir, let me tell you the truth, lest you do anything to hurt yourself." Yan Youshi said, and added, "You know , Mister has always cared about you."

When Chu Lisang heard that he was going to tell the truth, his eyes lit up immediately: "Then tell me quickly, where are my aunt and Dai Lisi?"

A subtle look flashed across Yan Youshi's eyes, and he smacked his lips, as if he was a bit embarrassed to speak.

Chu Lisang caught his strange expression, and then carefully looked at the clothes on his body. He was sure that it was Xu Wanniang's clothes, and there were several clusters of dark red blood on his chest.

She was startled suddenly, with a hint of ominous premonition in her heart.

"Tell me the truth, my aunt and the others... Is something wrong?"

Yan Youshi said: "Sir, you have to agree to one thing before telling you the truth."

"what's up?"

"You must stay here honestly, no more troubles, no more escape."

"Okay, I promise you."

Chu Lisang thought, whether I run or not depends on what you want to tell me.

Xiao Junmo and Li Ke fought dozens of rounds around the dragon bed, but they were still tied.

While defending against the swarming Xuanjia Guards, Wang Hongyi secretly observed their battle situation, feeling very anxious in his heart—a quick decision is the most important thing in a surprise attack, and the longer it drags on, the worse it will be for our own side!
Several times, Wang Hongyi wanted to get away to help Xiao Junmo, but he was always entangled by his opponent.

Just when he was upset, Xiao Junmo suddenly yelled loudly from behind the dragon bed, followed by the blunt sound of a weapon piercing into the armor.Wang Hongyi hurriedly turned his head, and through the curtain of the dragon bed, he saw Xiao Junmo and Li Ke were tightly pressed together, and half of the dragon head knife in Xiao Junmo's hand was exposed from Li Ke's back.

Got it!
Overjoyed, Wang Hongyi tried his best to cut down a Xuanjia guard in front of him, and then shouted at Xiao Junmo, Hua Linger and the rest of his men: "Let's go!"

Behind the dragon bed, Xiao Junmo suddenly pulled out the dragon head knife, and a stream of blood sprayed out, staining the curtain red.

Li Ke opened his eyes round, covered his abdomen with his hands, and slowly fell backwards.

Xiao Junmo squatted down expressionlessly and closed his eyes for him.

"Let's go Junmo, don't dawdle!" Wang Hongyi yelled again, leading Hua Linger and others to retreat to the side door.Xiao Junmo gave Li Ke a last meaningful look, and quickly ran towards the side door.

Blood gurgled from the wound on Li Ke's abdomen...

After rushing out of the Great Treasure Hall through the side gate, they found that the outside was already in chaos.

After the battle started, the Wuhou guards stationed at Xuanwumen came out in full force.Once outside the Great Treasure Hall, they saw their chief and a group of brothers fighting with Xuanjiawei, and heard Wei Ting yelling "Xuanjiawei has rebelled", of course he joined the battle group without saying a word.Although Wu Houwei was not as skilled as Xuanjiawei, he was able to firmly suppress Xuanjiawei with his large number of people.

Taking advantage of the indiscriminate killing between the two sides, Wang Hongyi, Xiao Junmo, and Hua Linger led the rest of the dozen or so people to the nearby Xianheng Palace, but Li Shimin was still nowhere to be seen.Immediately afterwards, the crowd broke into four or five palaces one after another, but they still found nothing.Finally, in a forest near Jinxiu Pavilion, they bumped into a straight chief of Dianzhong Province.Just as Wang Hongyi was about to swing his saber, the man hurriedly called out "Sir", and quickly gave the signal for Mingzang Ruo to connect.Wang Hongyi was overjoyed and hurriedly asked where Li Shimin was now.The man replied: Li Shimin is hiding in the Paiyun Hall about one mile southeast of the Great Treasure Hall.

Everyone was overjoyed, and immediately led the way by this person, and rushed to Paiyun Palace quickly.

Paiyun Hall is a small and medium-sized hall in Jiucheng Palace. It is far away from the main hall and surrounded by luxuriant trees, making it look deep and quiet.Dozens of Xuanjia guards stood in front of the hall, all on high alert, all of them holding knives in their hands.After observing quickly, Wang Hongyi ordered Zhichang and other men to attack from the front to attract the attention of the guards, and then went around to the back of the hall together with Xiao Junmo and Hua Linger.

The defense at the rear of the hall was relatively lax, and the three of them quietly eliminated seven or eight guard posts, and entered the inner hall smoothly.

The lights in the inner hall were dim, obviously Li Shimin deliberately did it to cover up his travels.

At this moment, Li Shimin was pacing back and forth in the hall with his sword hanging from his waist, wearing casual clothes, while Zhao Dequan, Yin Xiuwen and a young eunuch stood beside him, not daring to show his breath.

"What's the situation outside? Why hasn't anyone talked back?!" Li Shimin asked in a deep voice with an angry look on his face.

"Go back to everyone," Zhao Dequan said tremblingly, "Many people have been sent to inquire, and there should be news soon. In addition, there is King Wu at the Great Treasure Hall, who will surely kill those thieves. Please don't worry."

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is important for you to take care of your dragon body." Yin Xiuwen also hurriedly said, "King Wu has always been brave and will not disappoint His Majesty."

"You are wrong, King Wu has already gone to hell."

A haughty and proud voice suddenly sounded, Li Shimin and others were startled at the same time, and they were all stunned.

Wang Hongyi came from the dark, with Xiao Junmo on the left and Hua Linger on the right.

Li Shimin was astonished, and drew out his sword with a swish.Zhao Dequan, Yin Xiuwen and the little eunuch hurriedly stood in front of him.

The three of them walked five steps away and stood still.Wang Hongyi thought for a while, then took another step forward, then looked at Li Shimin, and said with a smile, "Li Shimin, didn't you always want to catch me? Now that I've come to your door, you must be pleasantly surprised, right?"

Li Shimin met Wang Hongyi's gaze, silently confronted him for a moment, and then burst out laughing loudly.

Wang Hongyi frowned slightly: "Li Shimin, you are so happy that you are dying?"

"Yes, I'm happy, I'm very happy!" Li Shimin said calmly, "I wanted to catch you in my dreams, but unfortunately I couldn't do it. Now, with a little trick, you took the initiative to send the head here. How could I not?" Happy?"

Wang Hongyi frowned even deeper, and countless images flashed through his mind in an instant.Suddenly, he realized something. Just as he was about to raise the knife in his hand, Xiao Junmo and Hua Linger had already put the knife on his neck from left to right.

"Wang Hongyi, it's over." Xiao Junmo snatched Wang Hongyi's knife and threw it aside, and said calmly, "Enough blood has been shed, it's time to end it all."

Wang Hongyi stared at Xiao Junmo, his eyes were burning with a flame of astonishment and anger...

Danxiao Hall is a three-storey pavilion in the shape of "Hui", which can be seen on all sides, surrounded by an open atrium, with a pond in the courtyard, and an exquisite octagonal pavilion beside the pond.

When Wei Laoliu, Xi Yan, and Cui Shao came in with six or seventy people, they did not encounter any decent resistance along the way.Such an unusual smoothness made Wei Laoliu's heart a little creepy.It wasn't until he reached the atrium and saw Li Zhi and Changsun Wuji sitting leisurely in the pavilion drinking tea that he suddenly realized that this might be a trap.

He shouted hoarsely at his subordinates: "Retreat!"

However, it was too late.

As soon as the word "withdraw" flew out of his mouth, hundreds of Xuanjia guards rushed out from the surrounding rooms and surrounded them, obviously catching a turtle in an urn.

What Wei Laoliu didn't expect was that before he could recover, Xi Yan, who was standing beside him, made a sudden attack and pierced his neck with a horizontal knife.

Blood spurted out.

Wei Laoliu's eyes were wide open with anger, his left hand was covering his neck that was gushing blood, and he raised the knife with his right hand to fight back, but halfway up the knife, it fell powerlessly, and then he fell straight on the ground, dying in an instant.

At least one-third of this group of people are Xi Yan's subordinates, so as soon as Xi Yan made a move, several of his subordinates attacked at the same time and eliminated Cui Shao.Immediately afterwards, they teamed up with the surrounding Xuanjia guards and began to massacre those dozens of Wei Laoliu's subordinates.

Due to the huge disparity in the strength of the two sides, and the fact that Wei Lao Liu was dead, these subordinates had no leader and the morale of the army was scattered, so the battle did not last long.After only a cup of tea, these people all fell into a pool of blood.Of course, Xi Yan also paid a certain price.At the end of the battle, there were only a dozen people around him, and he himself was stabbed in the shoulder, half of his shirt was soaked in blood.

In the pavilion, Li Zhi stood up, with a smile on his face, and clapped his hands lightly a few times to show his appreciation to Xi Yan and others.

Out of courtesy, Xi Yan clasped his fists together and bowed.

But no one expected that at the moment he bowed, hundreds of Xuanjiawei archers suddenly appeared on the corridor on the second floor, all of them were on the string, and all of them were fully drawn.At the same time, the surrounding Xuanjia guards quickly retreated, leaving the huge atrium to them.

Xi Yan reacted in an instant, uttered a loud shout, and rushed towards the Bajiao Pavilion with a knife.

In the pavilion, Li Zhi smiled grimly, and waved his right hand downward.

Arrows like locusts flew from all directions immediately, and shot Xi Yan and his men into hedgehogs in an instant.

Xi Yan shot no less than twenty arrows densely from head to toe.

Before he fell to the ground, he screamed with the last of his strength: "Li Zhi, I'll fuck your eighth generation ancestor!"

The bloody scene at the end was not in the original plan.Changsun Wuji stood up in astonishment, watched Xi Yan and the others slump down one by one, he couldn't help but gasped.

"Pheasant slave! What are you doing? They are Xiao Junmo's people, not Wang Hongyi's disciples, and they have made meritorious service just now, how can you..."

"Uncle is right." Li Zhi said lightly, "Because they are Xiao Junmo's people, we should take this opportunity to solve them smoothly to avoid future troubles. Is there anything wrong with me doing this?"

Changsun Wuji thought about it, Xiao Junmo was not an ally of himself and Li Zhi, and taking this opportunity to eliminate his influence was indeed not wrong, and it could even be said to be quite a far-sighted approach.It's just that doing this is a bit shameful after all, so it's hard to accept it in my heart for a while.

"How can you explain to Xiao Junmo that you are so cruel?"

"It's simple." Li Zhi still smiled, "I will tell him with great pain that his brothers died in the action, and they died for my Tang Dynasty! Then I will ask the father to pay a lot of compensation them."

Changsun Wuji glanced at him and said nothing.

Tonight, Li Zhi seemed to be a completely different person... No, maybe he was such a person in the first place!

Thinking of this, Changsun Wuji couldn't help feeling a little worry in his heart.

In the dungeon, Yan Youshi told Chu Lisang how he followed Wang Hongyi to attack Zhilan Tower at night a few months ago.

That night, Wang Hongyi and Wei Laoliu sneaked into the Zhilan Building with a dozen or so capable men, and were attacked by the old man who guarded the hospital, killing two brothers and injuring one.After they killed the old man, they bumped into a woman at the top of the stairs, killed another brother, killed her, and rushed to the second floor.

At this time, the three women upstairs all woke up.The little maid ran out first, and was cut down by Wei Laoliu with a knife. Unexpectedly, Dai Lisi appeared from behind and stuck a pair of scissors in Wei Laoliu's back.Fortunately, this woman doesn't know martial arts, so she doesn't penetrate deeply.Wei Laoliu was furious, turned around and stabbed her in the abdomen.

Wang Hongyi didn't want to kill Dai Lisi, so he stopped immediately when he saw this.Wei Lao Liu withdrew his knife.Doris stumbled and ran to Xu Wanniang's bedroom, just as Xu Wanniang came out to greet her, she hugged her.This is why Xu Wanniang has blood on her body.

Dai Lisi lay in Xu Wanniang's arms, called "Mother" and died.Xu Wanniang was distraught.Wang Hongyi ordered people to take Xu Wanniang away, but Xu Wanniang struggled to break free, saying that she would leave by herself, and asked who they were and why they killed them for no reason.Wang Hongyi looked ashamed, and said: "Sister-in-law, I was a close friend of Prince Yin back then, so I offended you by coming today without invitation. But I don't mean anything malicious, I just want to transfer you to a safer place."

Xu Wanniang obviously didn't know who the "hidden prince" was, and she looked confused.When Wang Hongyi realized it, he changed his mouth and said it was "Bishamon".Xu Wanniang was shocked, and tears flowed from her eyes.

Seeing this, Wang Hongyi was also full of sadness.

At this moment, something that no one expected happened—Xu Wanniang took advantage of their unpreparedness and suddenly rushed up the corridor, climbed over the railing, and fell from the second floor.

Wang Hongyi and others were shocked and ran downstairs in a hurry.

Xu Wanniang was seriously injured, and she knew it was going to die.Wang Hongyi's eyes were red, he hugged Xu Wanniang, and asked her if she had any last words.Xu Wanniang looked at him, her eyes suddenly became very clear, and she said this: "Tell Jun Mo, I went to reunite with his father, so don't let him be sad. His father and I will watch him in the sky, and we will forever Accompany him..."

After speaking, Xu Wanniang died.

Wang Hongyi shed tears silently.After a long time, he ordered Wei Lao Liu to take away the bodies of Xu Wanniang and Dai Lisi.Wei Laoliu was a little puzzled, and asked what was the use of taking away the corpse.Wang Hongyi slapped him suddenly, and said angrily: "We can't let Xiao Junmo know that his mother is dead, we can only make him think that we kidnapped her, do you understand?!"

Only then did Wei Laoliu suddenly realize, he gave himself a few more mouths, and then ordered his subordinates to lift up the bodies of Xu Wanniang and Dai Lisi, and left with Wang Hongyi...

After listening to Yan Youshi's words, Chu Lisang had already burst into tears.

Hearing Dai Lisi call Xu Wanniang "Mother" before she died, Chu Lisang's tears welled up in her eyes, and after hearing Xu Wanniang's last words, the tears crawled down her face unstoppably.She didn't expect that Xu Wanniang's mind would become so clear when she was dying that she would leave Xiao Junmo's last words.It can be seen from this that when she saw Xiao Junmo for the first and last time, when the mist in her eyes suddenly cleared, she actually recognized Xiao Junmo as her son, so Only then can he involuntarily call out Prince Yin's nickname "Bishamon".

"Where did you bury my aunt and Dai Lisi?" Chu Lisang asked, holding back the sadness in his heart.

Yan Youshi sighed, "It's on Gaoyang Plain in the west, next to Prince Yin's tomb."

"Since everyone is buried, what are you doing with your aunt's clothes?"

Yan Youshi smiled wryly: "Sir, the reason to keep the clothes is to keep Xiao Junmo in mind in the future."

When Chu Lisang heard this, his heart felt sore again.In the past few months, Xiao Junmo has always believed that his mother was just kidnapped by Wang Hongyi, but in fact, Yin and Yang have long been separated forever.She really can't imagine what Xiao Junmo will do when he learns the truth...

At this time, there was a noise at the door of the dungeon, and then I saw Luxiu being escorted in by several men in black.A rope was tied to her body and a piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth, so she could only struggle desperately and whine repeatedly.

"Let go of her!" Chu Lisang glared at Yan Youshi.

"I will let her go, but..." Yan You said, "In order not to cause accidents, this old man must separate the two of you. I hope Miss will stop acting rashly, otherwise, this old man will have no choice but to use her for surgery." Signal those people to take the green sleeve out.

"Now, Miss can only be wronged to stay here for two days." Yan Youshi continued, "Mr. gone."

When Chu Lisang heard the words, he couldn't help worrying about the situation of Jiucheng Palace.

A few days ago, when Xiao Junmo told her about Jiucheng Palace's plan, the only concern was Xu Wanniang who was kidnapped by Wang Hongyi.Chu Lisang then volunteered, saying that Wang Hongyi had planned to "pick" her up so that she could find out where Xu Wanniang was.Xiao Junmo was worried about her safety, so he firmly refused at first.But Chu Lisang said that she was Wang Hongyi's daughter, and he would only guard against her, and would definitely not hurt her.Xiao Junmo thought for a long time before finally agreeing to this method.

At this moment, Envoy Yan You had taken his people away, and there was silence in the dungeon.

Chu Lisang sat on the ground sadly.

She prayed to God over and over again in her heart to bless Xiao Junmo's smooth actions and his safe return...

Jiucheng Palace, Paiyun Palace.

Wang Hongyi stared angrily at Xiao Junmo with his blood-red eyes: "Boy, you plot against me with Li Shimin today, don't you think about your own tomorrow? With your identity, how can Li Shimin let you go?!"

Xiao Jun smiled silently.

"Oh? What does Mr. Mingzang want to say?" Li Shimin put the knife into its sheath, pushed away Zhao Dequan and others who were standing in front of him, and said with great interest, "What is Xiao Junmo's identity, can you tell me?"

Wang Hongyi sneered: "I'm afraid I'll scare you if I say it."

Li Shimin laughed: "I have never been afraid of anything in my life. Tell me, I will listen!"

"Do you know whose son Xiao Junmo is?"

"Isn't it Xiao Henian?"

"Xiao Henian is just his adoptive father."

"Oh? So, he still has a biological father?"

"Of course!"

"Then who is his biological father?"

Wang Hongyi grinned grimly, and said word by word: "It's the Prince Yin who was killed by you back then!"

However, to his surprise, Li Shimin's expression didn't change at all after listening, only his eyebrows moved: "Is that all? What's the fuss about?"

Wang Hongyi was dumbfounded.

Of course he didn't know that as early as ten days ago in the middle of the night, Xiao Junmo had sneaked into the Tai Chi Palace and had a long and frank talk with Li Shimin all night...

That night, Xiao Junmo disguised himself as an eunuch and forced Zhao Dequan to take him into the Ganlu Hall.At that time, Li Shimin was still studying "Lanting Preface" at his desk, and suddenly felt as if there was a person standing beside him. When he looked up, his expression changed immediately, and he turned around and picked up a sword, and put the tip of the sword against Xiao Junmo's forehead with a swipe. Shen Sheng said: "Xiao Junmo, you are so brave, you dare to break into my bedroom! How many heads do you have?!"

"I only have one head. Your Majesty can take it at any time if you want it." Xiao Junmo said calmly, "However, why did you take the initiative to send the head here tonight, doesn't Your Majesty want to ask?"

Li Shimin thought for a while, then smiled coldly: "Okay, then tell me, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I'm here today because I have something important to report to Your Majesty."

"What's the matter?"

"The background of the minister."

"Original?"

"Yes. I'm just Xiao Henian's adopted son, and my biological father is someone else."

"Birth father?" Li Shimin frowned, "Who is your biological father, and what does it have to do with me?"

"If it's an ordinary person, of course it has nothing to do with His Majesty. It's a pity that the minister's biological father is not only related to His Majesty, but also has a deep relationship."

Li Shimin's brows furrowed deeper, and he vaguely sensed something: "Speak."

Xiao Junmo stared at him, and said slowly: "The biological father of this minister is His Majesty's elder brother—the hidden prince Li Jiancheng."

As soon as this remark came out, it was like a thunder on the ground, which shocked Li Shimin's whole body, and even the hand holding the sword trembled violently.

"Impossible!" Li Shimin's expression changed suddenly, "Where did Prince Yin come from with a son like you?! You dare to bully the emperor face to face, aren't you afraid that I will destroy your three clans?!"

Xiao Junmo smiled wryly: "If Your Majesty really wants to destroy the three clans of officials, I'm afraid my Li Tang royal family will be wiped out."

"Presumptuous!" Li Shimin Longyan was furious, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will kill you immediately!"

"Your Majesty, calm down." Xiao Junmo was very calm, "I fully understand your mood at the moment. When I first learned the truth, I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately, this is the truth."

"What evidence do you have? How dare you say that?"

Xiao Junmo knew that he would definitely ask such a question, so he took out a stack of letter paper from his arms and handed it over.Li Shimin wanted to pick it up, but he was afraid that Xiao Junmo would be unfavorable to him, so he hesitated.

Xiao Junmo smiled: "Your Majesty, if I wanted to harm you, I would have done it just now, why wait until now?"

Li Shimin was right when he thought about it.Just now, he buried himself in the desk and was completely defenseless. He would have already moved if he wanted to.After hesitating for a moment, he finally took the letter paper, went back to the imperial case and sat down, put the sword on the case, and then glanced at Xiao Junmo again.

Xiao Junmo has been standing quietly in place.

Only then did Li Shimin turn his gaze to the letter paper.Suddenly, familiar running script fonts caught his eyes.

Wei Zheng!

This is clearly Wei Zheng's word that he is all too familiar with.Therefore, before reading the content, Li Shimin believed half of it in his heart.Because Wei Zheng was Prince Yin's confidant back then, how could the truth about Xiao Junmo's life experience told by him be false?
As Li Shimin read it page by page, the secret, tortuous and tragic past of that year appeared before his eyes one after another.Seeing the end, Li Shimin's heart was full of mixed feelings and mixed feelings, and even the circles of his eyes were slightly red.

Xiao Junmo looked at him, and waited until he calmed down a little, before saying: "Your Majesty, do you believe it now?"

Li Shimin fell silent.

"Your Majesty, I know that after I tell the truth, I'm afraid I will die, but before I die, I still want to do something for the court. I hope Your Majesty will allow me."

"What's the matter?" For some reason, after reading this letter, Li Shimin felt a faint guilt in his heart.

"I hope to help the imperial court catch Wang Hongyi, and completely eradicate all his secret operations in the imperial court!"

Li Shimin suddenly raised his eyes, and smiled coldly: "What a big tone! If Wang Hongyi and the gang of rebels are so easy to deal with, why should I wait until today?"

"Yes. It is precisely because they are difficult to deal with that I risked my life to enter the palace to offer advice to His Majesty."

"What's your plan?" Li Shimin was dubious.

"Wang Hongyi has always wanted to join forces with the minister to assassinate His Majesty. The minister just wanted to take advantage of this, and use his tricks to lure the snake out of the hole, and then catch them all in one go."

"Haven't you already joined hands in Lishan?" Li Shimin teased, "If you are really the orphan of Prince Yin, then why don't you agree to him? I am your father-killing enemy!"

"Your Majesty, although I am the orphan of Prince Yin, I am a courtier of the Tang Dynasty. When I joined the Xuanjiawei, I swore an oath to defend the country and Your Majesty to the death! Unless I die, I will never die." I will break my oath!" Xiao Junmo said solemnly, "As for what happened in Lishan Mountain, I knew beforehand that the person was His Majesty's substitute, so I did it. I explained this matter to His Majesty King Wu at that time, and His Majesty can verify it." .”

"Even so, is the substitute who killed me innocent?"

"Yes, I am guilty, but I have no choice but to."

"What do you have to do?"

"Chen's mother was kidnapped by Wang Hongyi. If I don't pretend to join forces with him, my mother's life will be in danger."

"What?" Li Shimin was taken aback, "Your mother was kidnapped by him?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. As Grand Master Wei said in his letter, Wang Hongyi has been secretly looking for the whereabouts of my mother, and finally kidnapped my mother."

Hearing this, Li Shimin felt more guilt in his heart: "So, Wang Hongyi has been coercing you with this?"

"Yes, that's why I'm planning to use my tricks."

"But your mother is still in Wang Hongyi's hands, so wouldn't she be more dangerous?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your thoughts. But since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult, and ministers can only be loyal to the court first, and then be filial to my mother."

Li Shimin was slightly moved when he heard this, and he took a breath: "Well, loyalty is commendable! Then tell me about your strategy, how to completely eradicate Wang Hongyi and his rebellious party?"

Xiao Junmo immediately revealed the entire Jiucheng Palace's summer vacation plan.

Li Shimin frowned after listening, and said after a while: "Your plan is to put me in danger!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's not that I didn't worry about this, but Wang Hongyi's influence has been in the court for many years, and no one knows how many details of the hidden rudder are hidden in the outer court and the inner court; if this method is not used, Even if Wang Hongyi is captured and killed, it will be difficult to uproot the entire Mingzang Tuo forces lurking in the imperial court!"

Li Shimin thought for a long time, and had to admit that Xiao Junmo was right, so he agreed in principle.Afterwards, they discussed various details of the plan.Li Shimin kept asking questions, and Xiao Junmo answered them fluently. It was not until the rooster crowed and the east was white that the whole plan was finalized.

After getting along and discussing this night, Li Shimin suddenly felt that being with this young man was very harmonious and comfortable.

In fact, it is not surprising that he and he are uncles and nephews, Li Shimin thought.

"Junmo..." When Xiao Junmo was about to leave the palace, Li Shimin stopped him, walked up to him, and said, "I promise you, if this happens, I will give you... everything you deserve. "

Xiao Junmo understood what the emperor meant, and knew what he should do, but at this moment, without further words, he cupped his fists and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Long En!"

At this moment, in the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, Wang Hongyi finally realized that the situation was over.

He found helplessly that after fighting Li Shimin for so many years, he still lost in the end, and this time he was completely defeated, and there was no possibility of a comeback.

However, this does not mean that Li Shimin can have the last laugh.

Because Wang Hongyi's cards were not all played.Although the outcome of failure is irreversible, he still has one last move at least, that is to burn everything together, and die together with Li Shimin!

Wang Hongyi was expressionless, and secretly winked at someone.

The little eunuch behind Li Shimin made a sudden attack, took out a dagger from his sleeve, and quickly stabbed Li Shimin in the back.

At this time, everyone thought that the dust had settled, and even Xiao Junmo relaxed his vigilance.It wasn't until the little eunuch mobilized that he suddenly realized it, so he rushed forward, pushed Li Shimin away, and at the same time kicked the little eunuch away.And at this moment of lightning, Yin Xiuwen suddenly raised his right hand, and a sleeve arrow shot out from his cuff.

Originally, this arrow was also aimed at Li Shimin, but because Xiao Junmo pushed him away and stood in his position, the sleeve arrow shot straight at Xiao Junmo's chest.

Xiao Junmo kicked the little eunuch flying just now, his center of gravity was unstable, and he had no time to dodge.Seeing that the sleeve arrow was approaching suddenly, Hua Ling'er flew to block it, and the sleeve arrow sank into her chest.

Yin Xiuwen was furious, and was about to raise his hand to shoot again, when suddenly he was punched heavily in the back of the head, fell to the ground and fainted immediately.The person who punched this punch was Zhao Dequan.

Taking advantage of this chaos, Wang Hongyi rushed towards Li Shimin.Li Shimin drew his sword in his hand and was ready to fight.But at this moment, a group of Xuanjia guards came in and surrounded Wang Hongyi, and the leader was actually Li Ke!
Li Ke held a bloody head in his hand and threw it at Wang Hongyi's feet.

Wang Hongyi took a closer look, and suddenly his eyes were tearing apart.

That was Wei Ting's head.

Seeing that Li Shimin was already safe, Xiao Junmo quickly picked up Hua Linger who was on the ground.

In just a few moments, her entire face turned purple.Obviously, the sleeve arrow in her hand was smeared with poison.

"Miss Hua..." Xiao Junmo's eyes were red and anxious.

"It's been a while, you... still won't call me Ling'er?" Hua Ling'er managed to show a smile.

Tears welled up in Xiao Junmo's eyes: "Ling'er..."

"Okay, I can die in your arms, I, Hua Linger... have no regrets in this life." Hua Linger smiled again, and then a dark red blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

With trembling hands, Xiao Junmo raised his head and yelled at Zhao Dequan, who was stunned by the side: "What are you doing in a daze, go and call the imperial physician!"

Zhao Dequan came back to his senses, and just as he was about to leave, Hua Linger's head was hooked down, and he remained motionless.

Xiao Junmo was startled, and immediately hugged her tightly in his arms, tears streaming down his cheeks.

At this time, Wang Hongyi was subdued.Several Xuanjia guards pressed him firmly to the ground.Li Ke squatted in front of him, and said with a smile, "Are you wondering, I have already died in front of you, how come I came back to life?"

Wang Hongyi struggled desperately, letting out a low growl like a wild animal.

It turned out that Li Ke had tied a pack of sheep's blood around his waist inside the armor in advance. Xiao Junmo's knife actually pierced through his armpit. Although it pierced through the armor, it only pierced the blood pack, not Injury to flesh.But at that time they deliberately stood behind the dragon bed, Wang Hongyi was busy fighting, and couldn't see the actual situation clearly through the shadowy curtain, so he took it for granted that Xiao Junmo had stabbed Li Ke.Later, after Xiao Junmo pulled out the knife, another stream of blood splashed on the curtain, and Wang Hongyi became more and more convinced that Li Ke was killed.

Li Shimin walked to Xiao Junmo's side and patted him on the shoulder as a sign of comfort.

At this time, the eunuchs and court ladies who had been hiding on purpose to cooperate with the operation came out one after another and began to clean up the battlefield.Zhao Dequan ordered his men to take a brocade quilt, and lightly covered Hua Linger's body.

Xiao Junmo stood up numbly, watching her body being carried out reluctantly.

At the same time, Wang Hongyi, Yin Xiuwen, and the little eunuch were also taken away by Xuanjiawei.Li Shimin watched their leaving backs, and suddenly said: "Jun Mo, I have a question that I can't understand, I wonder if you can help me solve it?"

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"That little Huangmen, at most sixteen or seventeen years old, has been in the palace since he was a child. How did Wang Hongyi win over him, and how did he turn him into a dead man? Could it be that Wang Hongyi knows some magic to bewitch Is it human?"

Xiao Junmo thought for a while, then smiled lightly: "Yes, Wang Hongyi does have magic, and he can indeed confuse people's hearts."

Li Shimin heard something in his words: "Oh? How do you say it?"

"What I'm going to say next may be disrespectful to His Majesty, please forgive me."

Li Shimin chuckled: "Have you done less disrespect to me? Just say it, and I will forgive you for your innocence."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I guess, if you go to check the family background of the little yellow family, you will be able to find the person who died on June [-], the ninth year of Wude among his family elders." Xiao Junmo said slowly, "either It was an uncle, or a grandfather, or even a father whom he had never met. In the same way, most of the dead men in the Jiucheng Palace tonight must have the same family history as this little Huangmen. Therefore, Wang Hongyi's magic, In fact, it’s just two words—revenge. As long as he can awaken these people’s belief in revenge, wouldn’t he be able to easily confuse and even manipulate people’s hearts?”

Li Shimin was stunned.

But after a sudden realization, there was only a wry smile.

He never expected that after such a long time, the bloody smell of the coup d'état has not dissipated, and it still permeates the Tang court and the hearts of many people.He thought that the sunshine of Zhenguan's prosperous age would surely dispel the darkness of that night in the ninth year of Wude, but he didn't realize until today: he was wrong.

It turns out that people's hearts are not so easy to let go of hatred.

In fact, Xiao Junmo was able to analyze the mentality of these dead men so thoroughly, isn't it because he also has this kind of "revenge" complex in his heart?
Fortunately, the young man chose to let go and forgive in the end.

For this alone, Li Shimin felt that from now on, he must be kind to him, compensate him, and give him everything he deserves.

(End of this chapter)