The sky gradually became brighter and the battle was over. Apart from several injured, none of the cavalry were killed, while more than 90 horse bandits were killed, with less than twenty people breaking through.

The ground was covered with corpses of horse bandits, and even the chief general Liu Jiyong died under the arrows.

The team simply cleaned up the battlefield. Li Xiu sent a soldier to Beijing with Liu Jiyong's head to report his merits, and continued to lead the team to march westward.

At the same time, Li Mao also returned to Chang'an and handed over to Zongzheng Temple.

The new Zongzheng Temple Minister Li Huang hurried to the palace to meet the emperor Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, the Eighteenth Emperor came to Zongzheng Temple early this morning to hand in the mission. Frankly speaking, I don't agree with the completion of this mission."

Li Longji looked at Gao Lishi in surprise and asked in confusion: "Why?"

"Your Majesty, he captured the horse bandit thief Liu Feiteng, but this Liu Feiteng had already committed suicide halfway, and in fact there was only one corpse.

Weichen found an official who was familiar with the situation in Liangzhou to identify him. The official said that the deceased was Liu Jian, a wealthy family in Liangzhou, and not Liu Feiteng. The deceased and Liu Feiteng were uncles and nephews, and were not the same person.

Secondly, Liu Jun was kind and generous, had a good reputation in Liangzhou, and had no bad record. It is probably difficult to explain that the eighteenth son of the emperor arrested him for no reason and caused his death.

Third, the report submitted by the Eighteenth Emperor did not mention the matter of suppressing bandits at all. I don’t understand how the Eighteenth Emperor understood this mission? It did not meet the task requirements at all. I really couldn’t recognize him for completing the mission.”

After listening to Li Huang's account, Li Longji was really annoyed. This task was arranged by him, and asking his son to go to Liangzhou was indeed a form of walking, so the task was naturally done by others.

The final result should be perfect. I captured Liu Feiteng, wiped out the Ma bandits, and obtained evidence that Liu Feiteng colluded with the governor of Liangzhou.

But now the result is different from the original idea.

Li Longji asked Gao Lishi dissatisfiedly, "Gaoqing, how did you explain to him?"

Gao Lishi knew very well that Li Mao should be too anxious and he shouldn't have come back so soon.

In front of Li Huang, Gao Lishi had no choice but to say clearly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, when I was instructing the mission, I made it clear that the essence of this mission is to completely wipe out the horse bandits that ravaged Hexi and obtain evidence that the Liangzhou Governor Yuan Jin secretly supported the horse bandits. This is called the Purple List mission. Weichen doesn't know what he thought?"

"Then you go and ask clearly what he thought?"

"I obey the order!"

.........

“Isn’t this a form?”

Li Mao was very dissatisfied and said to Gao Lishi: "When I left, Mr. Gao made it very clear that I just went to Liangzhou Lu to show up and would not let me encounter danger. General Zhang Baojun of Liangzhou told me that Liu Qi, a wealthy family in Liangzhou, was Liu Feiteng. I believed him and then he bet Liu Feiteng back to Beijing. Why is it my responsibility now?"

Gao Lishi was very annoyed. Li Mao was implied that everything had nothing to do with him, it was someone else's fault.

He would not even make a fraud, but it was a thousand miles away from Li Xiu. If such a prince becomes the crown prince, everyone will suffer.

Gao Lishi suppressed his anger and said, "Your Highness, I told you at that time that you were asked to stay in Liangzhou and come back when the matter was done. But now the bandits have not been annihilated, and they have captured Liu Feiteng and the wrong person. Liu Ka has a good reputation in Liangzhou. His Highness has killed him. Once the Regent holds this, there will be big trouble later."

"It's not unaware of how dangerous it is for me to stay in Liangzhou. Whether it's Yuanjin or Liu Feiteng's sons and nephews, I can kill me at any time. Since it's just a walk, why should I be in danger?"

"Your Highness, Thirty-Balang's mission is a hundred times more dangerous than you, but he still went there without hesitation. It's not a way of doing things, but a real sword and gun. When Your Highness complains about others, do you still think about what his own problem is?"

Li Xiu was Li Mao's reverse scale, and Gao Lishi's words immediately changed his color.

Li Mao stood up and said, "I know what you want to say to me. You just want to say that I am incompetent and can't compare to Thirty-Balang. You can do whatever you want! At worst, I will not do it as a county magistrate. Being a commoner will fulfill your wishes, hum!"

Li Mao snorted heavily and left, making Gao Lishi so angry that he almost fainted.

...........

There is a reason why Li Mao didn't take Gao Lishi seriously. He also has his own capital, that is, his mother's pillow wind. His mother can convince the emperor and help him cheat in the royal mission. This is the powerful power of pillow wind.

If it was half a year ago, Gao Lishi couldn't bear it, but now Gao Lishi's attitude has changed somewhat subtlely.

Gao Lishi changed with the change of the emperor's attitude. Gao Lishi found that in the past half month, the emperor had five days more time to go to Wu Jieyu's place to maintain health than to go to Wu Huifei's place.

Before Wu Jieyu was inscribed into the cold palace, she was very favored by the emperor. On the one hand, the emperor had a compensatory heart, and on the other hand, it was because the emperor valued Li Xiu more and more.

It was when Gao Lishi discovered these subtle changes that he realized that the emperor was beginning to get tired of Concubine Wu Hui.

This is also an inevitable trend. In the past, the emperor was checked and balanced by the regent, and the power in his hands declined. The emperor could only get comfort from women, and Concubine Wu Hui could satisfy this.

Now the emperor gradually has the right to speak, and his energy has begun to focus on the government affairs and devote himself to the affairs of the court every day. At this time, he needs a more spiritual relaxation at night, and his age also makes him pay more attention to health preservation.

At this time, Wu Jieyu's open-mindedness and good health care were undoubtedly what the emperor needed the most. The ability of his youngest son Li Xiu also made the emperor value Wu Jieyu more.

It was precisely because he saw through the emperor's thoughts that Gao Lishi no longer tolerated Li Mao's rudeness to him.

"Your Majesty, I have talked with Shibalang. He does not think it is his own problem. He believes that His Majesty did not consider it thoroughly for him. The responsibility is not on him, but on his Majesty that he did not make any arrangements."

Li Longji's face sank, "Did he say that?"

"He did not mention His Majesty openly, but said that you did not arrange things well and it had nothing to do with him!"

"Then what?"

"Then Bei Zhi criticized him for not coming back in such a hurry. He said that Liangzhou was not safe and said that since it was just a formality, why did he be in danger?"

"Damn it!"

Li Longji punched the table hard, and was extremely disappointed.

‘Walk-in-the-form!’ was what he said to Concubine Wu Hui and also what he comforted Concubine Wu Hui, but he hoped that Li Mao could be more successful and take responsibility. At least Li Mao could cooperate with the army to destroy the bandits.

But now, Li Mao not only did not give him any comfort, but also caused him great trouble. He actually killed the local famous people. What should he do if he asked him to deal with it?

Li Longji paced back and forth in dismay, and Gao Lishi said again: "Your Majesty, once this matter is spread, it will inevitably become a laughing stock. It is best to find an excuse for Shibalang to return to Beijing and make this matter ended."

"Are you worried that Liu Jian's death will be captured by the Regent?"

"Your Majesty, Liu Ka is Liu Feiteng's uncle. He has been covering Liu Feiteng for many years. It is not wrong to arrest him. His death was suicide. It can be said that he committed suicide fearing crimes. These are actually small problems. What I am worried about is not to let Shibalang destroy the system of doing tasks. This is a big deal."

Li Longji nodded, "You are right. Go and tell the Regent, and I just want to say that I am worried that Li Mao will alert the enemy, so I temporarily canceled this task."

"I obey the order!"

After pausing, Li Longji asked again: "What do you say to Concubine Wu? I want to hear your beloved?"

"I suggest that Your Majesty tell the truth. The Eighteen Lang is not capable enough. If he enters the Eastern Palace, it may not be a good thing for Your Majesty."

This sentence is not so much about Wu Huifei's Concubine, but rather a reminder to Li Longji that when Li Mao entered the Eastern Palace, the regent will definitely find ways to urge him to ascend the throne as soon as possible."

Li Longji immediately understood and nodded, "I know what to do!"
Chapter completed!