123. Monthly Pass for Father and Son of Monarch and Minister)
Li Jie did not come to Chang'an with the others from Dahe Longmen, which made Zhang Dongyun a little regretful.
If there is a subordinate in the ninth realm, many things he wants to do will become easy.
In the entire Eastern Tang Dynasty, there were only three Ninth Realm practitioners, and Li Jie was the fourth.
With his personal protection, City Lord Zhang doesn't have to worry even if he leaves the confines of Invincible City for a walk.
It's a pity that City Lord Zhang should continue to live in the city now.
There is another person who also feels deeply sorry for what happened to Li Jie.
That is the current ruler of the Eastern Tang Dynasty, Tang King Li Xuanxin.
Let Li Jie slip away and get the news that his son Li Yi and others were also wiped out.
This made King Tang feel very uncomfortable.
While he ordered his master to return to the court, he also ordered relevant personnel to focus on collecting intelligence from Chang'an, Qingyun Temple and Baima Academy.
"Even Gao Yu..." Li Dong, the old prince who was traveling with King Tang, was shocked when he heard the news.
There was no emotion in Tang Wang's tone: "Ninety percent of the time, it was Li Yi who did it."
When the old prince Li Dong heard this, he remained silent.
He had naturally heard the rumors that Gao Yu was the illegitimate son of the Tang Dynasty King.
The reason why Li Yi wanted to kill Gao Yu is self-evident.
The old prince didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing, so he could only stay silent.
Fortunately, the king of Tang did not ask his opinion.
On the way back to the royal capital, Luyang City, news and intelligence from all sides came back one after another.
"The Situ family, the Zheng family, Wang Zhen Guan, and Jing Yue Tower all ordered people to come and appease him."
The King of Tang calmly ordered: "Qingyun Temple, over at Baima Academy, bring gifts to express condolences to Master Qingye and Dean Hong."
The entire army that was wiped out under Chang'an City this time was, in addition to profit, the leader of one party.
They were trapped in Chang'an, declaring that the Situ family, the Zheng family, Wang Zhen Guan, and Jing Yue Tower were all leaderless.
At this time, it is the most unstable and dangerous moment for the four families.
Strictly speaking, except for the Situ family, the other three families did not have close relations with the royal family of the Eastern Tang Dynasty.
At the moment, it seems that they are taking advantage of the opportunity to eliminate the subjugation, so that their respective autonomous areas will be completely brought under the control of the Eastern Tang Dynasty royal family.
But with the great threat of Chang'an City, the king of Tang had no choice but to be gentle at this moment.
After all, these four families followed his lead in the Eastern Tang Dynasty and attacked Dahe Longmen and Chang'an.
Now that the leaders of various families have fallen, the Eastern Tang royal family must appease them and help them resist possible foreign enemies.
Only in this way can the royal family of the Eastern Tang Dynasty continue to unite other forces within the territory to deal with Chang'an City.
Now, if Wang Zhenguan, Jing Yue Tower, Zheng Family Knife, other famous sects, and wealthy families were to stab Wang Zhen Guan in the back again, they would inevitably have no idea in their hearts.
"Old minister, I obey the order."
After leaving the royal capital Luyang City, Lu Meng, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Tang Dynasty, who came to pick him up, lowered his head and said, "I will make arrangements now."
Qingyun Temple and White Horse Academy gave the same rhetoric.
Hong Xiao, the dean of Baima Academy, was intercepted by a mysterious Confucian master from outside the Eastern Tang Dynasty, and therefore failed to rush to Chang'an.
Taoist Qingye, the master of Qingyun Temple, also claimed that he was blocked by a mysterious Taoist master on the way and was unable to join Li Yi and others in Qinzhou Mansion, and even lost money to his junior brother, Taoist Huangye.
Although both families said that their opponents were mysterious and could not tell the details of the fight in a short period of time, the implicit meaning behind their words hinted that Chang'an City was supported by forces outside the Eastern Tang Dynasty.
This may even be the nail that other dynasties hammered into the Eastern Tang Dynasty.
What the truth is, no one knows.
Because everyone who went to the vicinity of Chang'an to inquire for information all disappeared without a trace.
I don’t know how Chang’an City was able to screen out all the experienced spies without missing any one.
It is difficult to verify the claims of Qingyun Temple and Baima Academy. Only news shows that two wars did break out outside Longbei County.
On one side are two Confucian masters fighting against each other, and on the other side are two Taoist masters competing.
However, because the fight was too fierce and the level of both parties was too high, most people did not dare to get close, so it was difficult to confirm the details.
The royal family of the Eastern Tang Dynasty had no choice but to hold their noses and admit it, and sent people to visit Hong Xiao and Qingye Zhenren to express their condolences.
The king of Tang returned all the way to the royal capital, Luyang City, and the crown prince Li Hong and others hurriedly came forward to pick him up.
"Where are Hu Yinghua and others?" Returning to the palace, King Tang asked.
"All of them are under custody and can be interrogated at any time." Crown Prince Li Hong replied and at the same time ordered people to bring in all the key members of the Hu family.
Hu Yinghua and others were brought to the main hall. Their bodies were covered with torture instruments, but there were few scars.
They were not tortured in prison.
When he was captured before, on the one hand, there was an insider in the family, and the enemy was cooperating inside and outside. On the other hand, Li Hong and others were already stronger than Hu Yinghua and other Hu family members, so everyone in the Hu family was quickly captured.
At this moment, facing the King of Tang, Hu Yinghua looked calm: "Your Majesty, to this day, Hu has nothing to say and only wants to die quickly."
"Although I am furious that the Chen family defected to Chang'an, at least I understand what they are thinking. I am completely confused about what you did to the Hu Qing family." The king of Tang looked down at Hu Yinghua.
Hu Yinghua's tone was calm: "Your Majesty is just pretending to be confused. In recent years, my Hu family has been living with its tail between its legs, but at last we have not suffered the King's butcher's knife.
However, the family's development space was limited. Not only could they not leave Chaohe County, but even Chaohe's ancestral business was squeezed by the king's orders.
Hu wanted to seek some heavenly and earthly treasures and recuperate his energy and blood to attack the eighth realm, but he was also stuck by the king.
If things go on like this, the butcher's knife will fall one day, right?
Hu naturally does not want to live through such a frightening and restless life."
The king of Tang Dynasty did not get angry, but asked calmly: "Chang'an, will you allow your Hu family to continue to grow?"
"At least, he is more tolerant than the king." Hu Yinghua said.
What he said was true, but the most important reason for defecting to Chang'an was not mentioned.
He was shocked by the power of Chang'an.
Between the Eastern Tang Dynasty and Chang'an, Hu Yinghua bet that Chang'an would win.
But he didn't mention it at the moment.
The more the Tang king underestimated Chang'an and the less clear he was about Chang'an's true and false talents, the better.
Tell him that Chang'an is powerful, and he will not spare the Hu family just because he is afraid of Chang'an. Instead, he will only become angry on the spot.
"You are stubborn and deserve to die. Your heads can serve as a warning to the world." The crown prince Li Hong said coldly from the side.
But the King of Tang waved his hand: "I'm not busy. I'm more tolerant than Hu Qing's family thought."
He said to the manager of Ouchi Ma on the side: "Detain him."
Manager Ma took the order and took Hu Yinghua and others down for re-custody.
"My son, I have overstepped my bounds just now. Please forgive me, father." The prince, Li Hong, bowed and said.
"It doesn't matter."
The King of Tang shook his head: "After taking them away, take good care of them. They should be tried as they should be tried, but no one should be killed."
"Yes, father." Li Hong thought carefully.
The King of Tang glanced at him: "The Hu family just defected to Chang'an. Their fate cannot be controlled by Chang'an."
"My father means..." Li Hongruo realized something.
"Let's see if we can bring back a few people." King Tang said, "Not all people are dead."
"Second brother and fourth brother." Li Hong nodded.
But King Tang shook his head: "Let's see how their injuries are."
"Yes, Father." Li Hong understood.
"Prepare an imperial envoy to go to Longbei County to negotiate peace with Chang'an." The king of Tang said.
Li Hong took the order and retreated.
He knew that the king of Tang, who had always been scornful of others, did not really want to negotiate peace with Chang'an.
It's just a gesture to confuse the enemy.
Li Yi and others suffered a big setback this time and suffered heavy losses, but they did not completely damage the foundation of the Eastern Tang Dynasty royal family.
The Zheng family, Jingyue Tower, Wang Zhen Guan, are not the basic foundation of the royal family.
The royal family, Baihong Peak, Songyang Academy, Gyeongbok Palace and other places are the ones.
Of course, there is also the Cheng family.
This loss to the royal family of the Eastern Tang Dynasty can be said to be a unilateral loss to Muping County Prince Li Yi to a certain extent.
Whether it's him or his mother's family, the Situ family.
In addition, as long as the king of Tang himself is still there, the royal family of the Eastern Tang Dynasty will not be able to overcome it.
The war potential of the Eastern Tang Dynasty was still extremely huge.
However, they cannot focus solely on fighting Chang'an.
Qingyun Temple and Baima Academy are still there.
If the two families could be allowed to fight to the death with Chang'an first, that would be what the royal family would like to see the most.
Of course, there are difficulties in this...
When the crown prince Li Hong came out of the palace, a tall young man happened to meet him on the road.
"Murong, have you returned to Beijing?" Li Hong saw the other party and asked first.
"See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The visitor saluted: "I have been ordered to return to the capital and meet with the King."
"I heard about Pavilion Master Gao, and I feel deeply sorry for it."
Li Hong comforted the other party: "My father, Wang Han, will not blame you for this. He summoned you to Beijing to meet the saint. It should be for Mingguang Pavilion's errands."
"I understand, thank you, Your Highness." The other party bowed again, said goodbye, and left for the palace.
In the palace, Prince Tang stood back and watched the tall young man approaching.
"At this moment, I am not sure whether you were really born as a baby, or whether you killed my son and replaced him, like you are now?"
The king of Tang Dynasty looked at "Murong Pavilion" below.
"Murong Ting" smiled slightly: "You worry too much."
He unbuttoned his shirt.
On the blank skin of his chest, two cracks suddenly appeared, crossing into a "cross" shape, and blood gushes out from them, but it seemed to be bound by something and did not break away from his body.
"Even if I am reincarnated, this scar will always follow me. If I had not been reincarnated, I would have died long ago." The young man sighed slightly.
The King of Tang asked: "Now, how should I treat you?"
"I just want a place to stay to avoid being discovered by my enemies. I will be satisfied if I can continue to be in Mingguang Pavilion."
"Murong Ting" seemed to be showing weakness in his tone.
At the same time as he spoke, the two intersecting cracks in the shape of a cross on his chest began to squirm and heal again.
His skin returned to smoothness, and the injuries just now seemed like hallucinations.
"After so many years of cooperation, I believe in you." King Tang said calmly.
"Murong Ting" smiled: "I don't dare cooperate. It's my turn to thank the king for your protection and help him with some small favors in return."
The king of Tang Dynasty said: "Mingguang Pavilion will be handed over to Murong Ting."
The young man's demeanor changed, like a minister meeting the king: "I, Murong Ting, obey the order and thank the king for your kindness."
"What do you think of Chang'an?" asked the king of Tang.
Murong Ting said: "Although the claims of Qingyun Temple and White Horse Academy are not entirely true, I agree with their statement that Chang'an should have been created by people outside the Tang Dynasty."
The king of Tang's expression remained unchanged: "Northern Yan? Western Zhou?"
"I can't be sure about this," Murong Ting replied.
King Tang looked at him: "It's because I haven't seen the city in person or interacted with the people inside, right?"
Murong Ting nodded: "Your Majesty will see you thousands of miles away."
King Tang stared at him closely: "With your cultivation strength, you should be able to secretly explore the details of that city, right?"
Murong Ting smiled bitterly: "The king overestimates the humble ministers."
King Tang looked serious: "You dare not go, could it be that... there are masters above the Nine Realms there?"
"I'm not sure about this." Murong Ting replied: "But if we have to test the depth, I'm afraid my identity will be exposed and I will attract enemies. Therefore, I ask the king to understand my difficulties."
King Tang exhaled softly: "It's not okay to know yourself but not know the enemy."
Murong Ting said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured about this.
Although I don’t know why Hong Xiao from Baima Academy retreated, but with his temper, he will go to Chang’an again sooner or later.
At that time, we can take the opportunity to see how much Chang'an really has."
The king of Tang asked: "What if Hong Xiao loses?"
"Hong Xiao's defeat does not mean that your Majesty will be defeated." Murong Ting said: "With Hong Xiao at the expense of the opponent, Your Majesty can strike later."
Li Xuanxin, the king of the Tang Dynasty, was a king who was really ready to conquer the world.
Before Li Jie of Dahe Longmen showed his true strength now, the Eastern Tang Dynasty only had three ninth realm practitioners: the King of Tang, the Master of Qingyun Temple, and the Dean of White Horse Academy.
But in fact, just a few years ago, it was more than this number.
At that time, the top forces in the Eastern Tang Dynasty were still "Four Courts, Four Paths, Seven Sects and Nine Families".
But now, one major academy, two major sects, and three major aristocratic families, including the Chen family, have become history.
Among the Ninth Level masters killed by King Tang himself were three including the former head of the Lingxiao Sect.
However, at this moment, facing Murong Ting's praise, Tang Wang showed no joy and just looked at the young man in front of him quietly.
"When the time comes, let's get Master Qingye, and the humble ministers will sacrifice their lives to accompany you, and we will fight together with you in Chang'an," Murong Ting said.
"It's God's blessing to the Tang Dynasty that I love you and try your best to help me." The king of Tang Dynasty said slowly.
"The king has given you a reward, but I dare not accept it." Murong Ting smiled and lowered his head.