In the Ganlu Hall, Li Zhi was shocked when he heard that Changsun Ze had come to report that the two princesses Yuzhang and Jinyang had disappeared last night. He shouted: "People who are so tightly guarded can disappear. Is it possible that I disappear one day?"
I know, what did you do wrong?"
Changsun Ze looked very ugly and couldn't understand why the person disappeared.
"Have you checked everything?" Li Zhi asked.
"Back to Your Majesty, I have checked all the palace gates. I didn't see the two princesses going out, nor did I see anyone suspicious coming in. I deserve to die. Please punish me, Your Majesty." Changsun Ze quickly apologized.
"Both of them can't see it, you deserve to die." Li Zhi scolded him. When he saw Chang Sun Wuji coming in a hurry, his face looked very ugly, so he suppressed his anger.
"Your Majesty, the eunuch who sent the message has returned, saying that the King of Han has put forward three conditions before he is willing to go south to pursue Tibet." Changsun Wuji said slowly while saluting, but his eyes glanced at his son Changsun Ze with a bit of questioning.
Changsun Ze said nothing with a cold face.
When Li Zhi heard that there were still conditions, he became even more angry and asked: "As a minister, I should be conscientious and loyal to the king, but I actually put forward conditions? This is simply unreasonable. What is he trying to do?"
Changsun Wuji and his son did not answer the conversation and kept looking at their noses and hearts.
Li Zhi did not wait for a reply, his face became even uglier, but he had to suppress his anger, suppressed it, sat down, and asked with unknown thoughts in his eyes: "Uncle, what are the three conditions?"
"First, on the grounds that the troops are exhausted, the army has no food, the army is owed pay for half a year, the morale of the army has fluctuated, and it is difficult to fight again, the imperial court is requested to supplement the army of 200,000 for half a year's food and pay to calm the morale of the army..."
"He has such a big appetite, where did he get the 200,000 troops?" Li Zhi interrupted angrily.
Changsun Wuji curled his lips and didn't answer. Where did it come from? Of course it came from the lion's mouth. No need to ask?
Li Zhi was so angry that his mind couldn't turn around for a while. He was not stupid. He quickly thought of something and became even more angry.
At this moment, Li Zhi somewhat understood his father's angry mood, and suppressed his anger and continued to ask: "What else is there? Say it all together."
Changsun Wuji continued: "Secondly, the hunt down to the south to kill Tibet will take a long time, and it will be difficult for people to eat and chew horses. Then please ask the court to advance half a year's food and military pay; thirdly, marry Princess Yuzhang."
"What... more than half a year?" Li Zhi was so angry that he ran away on the spot. He put the notebook on the desk and swept all the pens, inks, papers and inkstones to the ground. He stood up and clenched his fists, wishing he could find someone to fight to relieve his anger.
But when he thought of Qin Huaidao's illustrious military exploits and that the imperial court was no match, his anger receded like a tide, leaving only helplessness and bitterness.
"What does uncle think we should do?" Li Zhi was exhausted physically and mentally, and his voice became hoarse.
Changsun Wuji smiled indifferently and replied: "The old minister deliberately sent his servant to convey the order, which was extremely humiliating. Unexpectedly, the King of Han could hold back and did not directly attack Chang'an. The imperial court had no excuse to send troops to quell the chaos. This shows that this son is in trouble.
There is only one solution for now, negotiation."
"Who is going to talk?" Li Zhi asked.
"House Chancellor!"
"How can the prime minister be willing to do this if he has been ill in bed for many days?" Li Zhi asked.
"Then let him wish."
A fierce look flashed in Changsun Wuji's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Fang Xiang has the world in his heart, and the last thing he wants to see is the resurgence of weapons, so he will definitely be willing to go. I will leave this matter to the veteran, but the bottom line of the negotiation must be decided by the Holy One."
, What the veteran means is that we can provide food, grass and military pay, but not giving it will chill the hearts of all the Qinwang’s troops and lose their righteousness and popular support, but we cannot give more, after all, the court is also in trouble, so why not just give the army of 100,000 people the food, grass and military pay they need for half a year."
"Okay, let's do it like this." Li Zhi was exhausted mentally and physically, and nodded in agreement.
"What about Princess Yuzhang?" Changsun Wuji reminded.
"He's gone." Li Zhi felt like killing someone and looked at Changsun Ze.
"Gone?" Changsun Wuji also looked at Changsun Ze and asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"
Changsun Ze had no choice but to explain the situation again.
Changsun Wuji was shocked when he heard that someone had disappeared inexplicably. It was a harem, and there were countless internal guards guarding each door, and they were all trustworthy members of his own family. It was difficult for people to fly even with wings, so how could they disappear?
After all, he was an old fox. Instead of being incompetent and angry, Changsun Wuji suppressed his anger, thought quickly for a moment, looked at Li Zhi and said, "Will you go back to Hongyi Palace?"
Li Er was under house arrest in Hongyi Palace. It was not impossible that he was hiding inside, but Li Zhi didn't know clearly and looked at Changsun Ze.
Changsun Ze quickly said: "I checked, but it's not there."
Changsun Wuji thought again for a moment and said in a deep voice: "The harem is a forbidden area where outsiders cannot set foot. How could people disappear inexplicably? Could it be that they flew out? Check, we must find out, otherwise the harem will not be peaceful."
"Father, the internal guards are investigating!" Changsun Ze said quickly.
"It's useless. If you can't find out, I'll tell you how I'll deal with you." Changsun Wuji cursed. Without the Yuzhang, food, fodder and military pay alone would definitely not be enough to appease the Hanzhou army's march south. What should we do?
After thinking for a while, Changsun Wuji continued: "Let Nan Yasi start moving and search the city with the details of the arrest. We must find the person. In addition, send someone to Qinjiazhuang to have a look."
"Qinjiazhuang?" Li Zhi's face changed slightly.
Changsun Ze came to his senses and said in disbelief: "Father, do you mean that Qinjiazhuang took action and rescued people? I heard that Qinjiazhuang mastered the method of flying, and they would not use that method to rescue people.
Did he fly out? How did he get in?"
"Idiot, don't you know how to investigate? Also, these flying methods are too dangerous and must be stopped and Qinjiazhuang should be handed over." Changsun Wuji said with a gloomy face.
"Hand it over, what if you don't?"
"What are the weapons in your hands for?"
Changsun Ze reminded: "But if we start a fight... and anger the King of Han?"
"Remember, on the pretext of tracking down the princess and the murderer, we must not lose our righteousness." Changsun Wuji warned, wishing that Qin Huaidao would attack Chang'an in a rage. If he does it, he will be a traitor, and he will lose the support of the people, and everyone will have access to the rebel officials and thieves.
By punishing them, the imperial court can stand on the commanding heights of justice, condemn them, and send troops to quell the rebellion.
Changsun Ze didn't understand the meaning, but he didn't dare to disobey his father and went to do it quickly.
Li Zhi understood Changsun Wuji's method, but did not object. After Changsun Ze walked away, he said: "Uncle, I will leave you fully responsible for this matter. I am a little tired."
"Old minister, resign!" Changsun Wuji secretly rejoiced. The only thing he wanted was to take full responsibility.
Watching Changsun Wuji leave, a flash of unknown regret flashed in Li Zhi's eyes. Looking at the portrait of the Holy Queen hanging on the wall, he felt complicated and remained silent for a long time.
…
Changsun Wuji left the imperial city and hurried to the Duke of Liang's mansion.
In the study, Fang Xuanling was reading a book. He was a little surprised when the housekeeper came to report. After decades of ups and downs in the officialdom, his political acumen was so strong. He immediately realized that the person who came was not good. After thinking for a moment, he guessed the purpose of his visit. His face changed and he quickly warned:
"Housekeeper, send someone immediately to inform Madam to evacuate as planned. You must act quickly."
"Master, is this really the next step?" The butler's expression changed drastically.
"You have been with me for many years, but have you ever seen me make a mistake in my judgment? Changsun Wuji doesn't go to the Three Treasures Hall for any reason. Go quickly. It's better to make a mistake than not to do it. It's time to leave."
"Then what should you do?" The housekeeper was anxious.
"I'm staying here to stall for time. Don't worry. Changsun Wuji is cunning, suspicious, and afraid of death. He will save my life to negotiate with the King of Han in the future. I will be fine, but my family is different. Go quickly. In addition, you
Go and bring Changsun Wuji here in person, if someone else goes there it will arouse his suspicion, that old fox is very cautious."
"Understood!" The butler left in a hurry.
"The imperial court, has it come to this point?"
"Your Majesty, did you ever expect to reach this point?"
Fang Xuanling murmured to herself, her eyes full of unwillingness and helplessness.
Not long after, Changsun Wuji came over and saw Fang Xuanling reading leisurely. He was not polite, sat down aside and said with a smile: "Fang Xuanling is so elegant."
"I don't dare. I'm not a prime minister. I'm just an idle old man. I don't know why Lord Changsun is here to visit?" Fang Xuanling put down the book with an indifferent expression, but there was a hidden edge in his words.
The two had worked together for decades and were very familiar with each other. Changsun Wuji went straight to the point and said: "The Prime Minister is a sensible person, so I will tell you straight. The King of Han annexed Xianyang and refused to go south to pursue Tubo on the grounds that his troops were exhausted.
We are asking the imperial court for a year's supply of food, fodder, and military pay for two hundred thousand soldiers and horses. The imperial treasury is in short supply. How can we afford it? Your Majesty hopes that Mr. Fang will pay a visit for the sake of the common people in the world, so as to prevent war from starting again."
"What's the bottom line of the negotiation?" Fang Xuanling asked, already guessing the court's plan.
"One hundred thousand soldiers and horses will receive half a year's food, fodder, and military pay. No matter how much more the court can afford, the government will be clear about the state of the treasury."
"When will we go?" Fang Xuanling asked tentatively.
Changsun Wuji felt something was wrong. It was too smooth and too calm, so he tentatively said: "Of course, the sooner the better. Don't worry, Mr. Fang. If you are not here, the safety of the house will be left to me to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
"You threaten me?" Fang Xuanling said pretending to be angry.
"What are you talking about, Prime Minister? Now that Chang'an is in turmoil, even Princess Yuzhang and Princess Jinyang have disappeared in the palace. How can the Duke of Liang's palace be safe? By the way, the King of Han also has a condition. He wants to marry Princess Yuzhang. What else needs to be done?
The Prime Minister has been working around a lot, and when Tubo is captured, the Holy Father will give him a large reward, personally host the wedding, and celebrate it with everyone." Changsun Wuji gave the instructions seemingly casually and did not disclose the disappearance of the princess, but in fact he had a murderous intention.
If you don’t go, the Duke Liang’s Mansion will not be safe!
"Half a year is too short, I'm afraid we won't be able to talk." Fang Yiai has been in official circles for a long time and is very skilled in delaying time.