Among the princes of the Tang Dynasty, the eldest son Li Hong and the second son Li Yi both had powerful maternal clans as their backing.
Both the Cheng family and the Situ family had no reservations and placed heavy bets on the two of them.
The Cheng family was ordered by the eldest son Li Hong to take action and compensate Cheng Jingyuan. Cheng Luo, two seventh-level scholars, were in Chang'an.
Not to mention the Situ family, the head of the family, Situ Jinsheng, was killed at the foot of Chang'an City along with Li Yi.
Except for Li Hong and Li Yi, none of the other sons of the Tang King had such a strong mother clan.
The ninth son, Li Qiong, was born from a palace maid. Among the princes of the Tang Dynasty, he was always inconspicuous.
However, being inconspicuous does not mean that he has no dreams, and his mother's low status does not mean that Li Qiong has no future at all.
He quietly enlisted Xuan Yiyi to support him. Obviously, Li Qiong was not an easy man either.
However, can he ensure that he and Xuan Yiyi go back and forth instead of completely becoming each other's puppet?
In the Daming Palace, Zhang Dongyun smiled slightly.
The Mr. Wuyun he projected calmly looked at the two people in front of him: "No wonder Xuan Yiyi also participated."
Over in Hexi County, Li Qiong and the old prince Li Dong commanded the Eastern Tang army. They struggled with the people in Chang'an and were put at a disadvantage.
Just recently, Elder Xuan suddenly arrived with a group of disciples to support Li Dong, Li Qiong and others and help them relieve the pressure from Chang'an.
Although Chang'an currently has the upper hand in Hexi County, the forward momentum has been affected again.
"This view is just to cooperate with His Highness the Ninth Prince, to be arrogant and submissive in front of the King of Tang, and has no intention of being an enemy of Chang'an."
Liang Zhen, the elder of Xuan Dao Dao, said: "I hope Chang'an will forgive me for the offense I caused. I am here to apologize."
Mr. Wu Yun was unmoved: "So, you will continue to offend next time, right?"
On the side, Xing Liande, the general manager of Li Qiong's mansion, hurriedly said: "I don't dare. Your Highness and Xuan Yiyi have never had any intention of being an enemy of Chang'an. On the contrary, Your Highness sent me here specifically to negotiate peace with Chang'an."
Mr. Wu Yun glanced at him: "Representing himself or Dong Tang?"
Xing Liande replied: "Your Highness secretly sent me to Chang'an in my own name."
"His weight is a bit too light." Mr. Wu Yun said bluntly.
Xing Liande and Liang Zhen looked as usual and were not angry.
"Sir, you don't know something."
Xing Liande explained: "Not only has His Highness reached a tacit understanding with the Taoist priests of Xuan Dao, but he also has other Austrian aid outside of the Tang Dynasty."
Mr. Wu Yun did not ask further, but nodded slightly: "That's pretty much it, let's continue."
Xing Liande said respectfully: "The Tang Dynasty has repeatedly provoked wars and disrespected Chang'an. His Highness has always been deeply worried. Unfortunately, the King refused to change his original intention, and His Highness had no choice."
He raised his eyes and met Mr. Wu Yun: "But if Datang can change its monarch, then the dispute between Chang'an and Datang will be eliminated immediately..."
Before the old man finished speaking, he was interrupted by Mr. Wu Yun: "There is no need to stop. The victory or defeat has been determined for a long time. The Eastern Tang Dynasty just brought about its own destruction."
His tone was matter-of-fact, as if he was stating objective facts that were already in front of everyone.
Xing Liande was choked by one sentence and found it hard to answer.
"Guan Chang'an is not a man who kills indiscriminately." Liang Zhen, the elder of Xuan Dao, said from the side: "God has the virtue of good life, I believe that you are not determined to see the people's blood flow into rivers."
Mr. Wu Yun said calmly: "I follow the example of my Majesty. It is true that I am not bloodthirsty, but I will never tolerate those who bring it upon themselves."
He glanced at Xing Liande and Liang Zhen: "I will not neglect friends who have good intentions. Since Li Qiong has this intention, there is no harm in talking about it."
Xing Liande was overjoyed and was about to answer when he heard the old man in black in front of him continue: "However, I can't bear to be heard from anyone. If you want to talk, Li Qiong will come to Chang'an to see me."
Xing Liande and Liang Zhen looked at each other.
The other party may have raised this point, and they expected it.
But when it comes time to respond, it's not that easy.
When Li Qiong comes to Chang'an, let's not say whether Chang'an will suddenly launch an attack and detain the person. The risk to the King of Tang is not small. If the news spreads back to the capital of Luyang City and the King of Tang knows about it, then His Highness the Ninth Prince will be
If you can't eat, you have to walk around.
"Sir..." Xing Liande was thinking about his words when he saw Mr. Wu Yun in front of him directly picking up the tea cup, clearly to see off the guests.
The subtext could not be clearer:
Li Qiong himself is not here, so there is no need to continue the discussion.
Xing Liande and Liang Zhen had no choice but to say goodbye to Mr. Wu Yun.
They quietly slipped out of Chang'an, then changed roads to Hexi County, where they met with Li Qiong and asked Li Qiong to make the decision himself.
In Moyang Mansion, Hexi County, Xing Liande and Liang Zhen met Li Qiong.
Li Qiong first greeted Liang Zhen: "Taoist Liang is here. Please sit down quickly. Taoist Song has gone to Huiyan Mansion."
"It's okay, Senior Brother Song. Pindao and Manager Xing are here this time because they have something that needs to be decided by His Highness himself." Liang Zhen returned the greeting.
After listening to Xing Daorong's narration, Li Qiong pondered slightly, and then smiled:
"Okay, then I will go to Chang'an City in person. It just so happens that I have always wanted to see with my own eyes how magical this city is."
Xing Daorong hesitated slightly: "Your Highness, Chang'an once detained envoys..."
"Then if we take action, we will detain you two." Li Qiong smiled, and then said with a more serious expression: "If you want to achieve great things, you cannot avoid the city of Chang'an."
He put his hands behind his back, walked outside the door, and looked at the sky in the distance:
"No, it should be said that thank God for sending this city, which not only consumed the strength of the eldest brother and the second brother, but also attracted the attention of the father.
The location is just right. In the future, we can block the Western Zhou Dynasty and let them fight each other."
"Your Highness, you have been patient for many years. I'm afraid you may be taking some risks this time..." The old butler was still a little worried.
Li Qiong nodded: "It is a risk, but the purpose of forbearance is to wait for the opportunity. Now that the opportunity arises, you must seize it. It is worth taking some risks for this."
He took a deep breath: "If you want to get to that position, you are surrounded by thorns. How can it be without any risks?"
Xing Daorong said: "The old man will accompany His Highness to Chang'an."
"You stay here and make a false impression for me so that no one will discover that I left Hexi County."
Li Qiong said: "Please, Master Liang, come with me to Chang'an again."
"Okay." Liang Zhen nodded.
Xing Daorong immediately helped Li Qiong make arrangements and prepare a substitute.
Li Qiong, with the help of Liang Zhen, quietly left Moyang Mansion and headed eastward out of Hexi County toward Chang'an City.
After they arrived in Qinzhou Prefecture, they quietly contacted Chang'an City. Wu Qiong appeared again and led Li Qiong and Li Qiong in disguise into Chang'an.
Li Qiong watched as he walked. After seeing the scene in Chang'an with his own eyes, he hesitated in his heart.
His previous judgment was correct, Chang'an is very strong, and with the help here, he will definitely be able to ascend to the big position.
But precisely because Chang'an is very strong, it may become a serious problem in the future.
Can the method he expected to check and balance Chang'an really work?
Li Qiong was thinking in his mind.
However, the hesitation only lasted for a moment. The next moment, His Highness the Ninth Prince of Dongtang reaffirmed his belief.
He and Liang Zhen entered the Tianshu Hall.
Mr. Wuyun projected by Zhang Dongyun is waiting for them in the palace.
"Junior Li Qiong, I have met my senior." His Highness Li Jiu greeted Mr. Wu Yun very respectfully. He was not proud of his status, but greeted Mr. Wu Yun in the same way that juniors would meet their seniors.
"No courtesy." Mr. Wu Yun seemed to be very talkative: "Sit down."
After Li Qiong and Li Qiong sat down, Mr. Wu Yun asked: "I heard your subordinates mentioned before that you have other preparations outside of Dongtang?"
Li Qiong nodded: "Don't tell lies in front of the real person. This junior has some connections in Xichu."
The Western Chu Dynasty was located south of the territory of the Western Zhou Dynasty and southwest of the Eastern Tang Dynasty. There were also many masters in the territory.
"I see."
Mr. Wu Yun nodded: "Although Li Xuanxin is over eighty, according to his life span, he still has several decades to live. If you want to ascend to the position of the leader of the Eastern Tang Dynasty, what are your specific plans?"
Li Xuanxin, the king of the Tang Dynasty, was a master in the ninth level. If he embarked on the path of spiritual practice, his life would generally be prolonged, but martial arts and Confucianism were exceptions.
If you take these two paths, even if you reach the height of the ninth realm, your life span will still be limited. You will die at about one hundred and fifty years old, but relatively speaking, you will not age so early.
"Although Confucianism says that a son should never speak of his father's faults, the younger generation must admit that many of their father's decisions were inappropriate no matter how unwilling they are."
Li Qiong said slowly: "If things go on like this, it will be harmful to the country. We need to ask him to abdicate."
Mr. Wu Yun smiled: "I don't think Li Xuanxin would be willing."
"So, I have come here to beg Chang'an for help, and to join me in asking my father to abdicate." Li Qiong said.
"You must know that life and death are determined by fate." Mr. Wuyun said calmly.
Li Qiong was silent, then spoke again after a moment: "A sword and a gun have no eyesight. Sometimes there is nothing we can do about it."
"Swords and guns have no eyes, but I have eyes." Mr. Wu Yun suddenly smiled.
When he smiled, Li Qiong and Liang Zhen suddenly felt a bad premonition in their hearts.
Mr. Wu Yun looked at the two of them with a smile: "To depose Li Xuanxin, it is enough for me, Chang'an, to help. As for Western Chu, let them stay quietly. If you use Chu to attack Tang, you will ascend to the throne and your reputation will not be good, right?"
Li Qiong's heartbeat almost skipped half a beat.
Then Mr. Wu Yun didn't finish his words: "Not even the Western Zhou Dynasty."
When Li Qiong heard this, his heart sank slightly.
He wanted to use the two dynasties of Western Zhou and Western Chu to contain Chang'an in the future and check and balance each other. Only then could he have a stable position in Luyang City.
However, with such thoughts in his mind, Li Qiong kept his face calm: "Of course, this junior can trust my senior and Chang'an."
Having said that, when it comes time to take action, they will naturally hide it from Chang'an and ask the Western Chu Dynasty to strike later.
However, Li Qiong saw the smile disappear on Mr. Wu Yun's face at this time: "Frankness is the basis of our conversation today. Your words are not entirely untrue. Are you here to amuse me?"
Li Qiong was shocked: "Senior is generous, but this junior has no such intention..."
He couldn't understand why the other party suddenly turned against him.
However, without giving him any more room to explain, Mr. Wuyun had already stretched out his hand, and dark clouds appeared in the sky, covering Li Qiong and Liang Zhen.