Since the withdrawal of troops from Liaodong, His Majesty has been under the protection of the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" and no one can see him. This situation was fine for a day or two, but nearly a year has passed, and His Majesty Li Er has never shown up. Who doesn’t murmur in his heart?
It's just that His Majesty's prestige and Li Ji's severity caused the entire army to remain silent on this matter, not daring to say anything or ask questions. However, there were inevitably many speculations in private, and the military's morale was in confusion.
If Qiu Xiaozhong and others had not guessed that His Majesty was dead, they would not have dared to do such a thing of disobeying military orders...
But this time involves not only His Majesty's majesty, but also Li Ji's military management. Who dares to state it openly?
Li Ji's face turned livid, he slapped his palm on the table and shouted angrily: "How outrageous! The imperial physician of the army treated your Majesty with great care, but you uttered curse words and tried to disturb the morale of the army. Do you know what crime you should be guilty of?"
Cheng Yaojin said from the side: "If you are found guilty, you should be executed!"
Yuchi Gong glared at Cheng Yaojin angrily: "There are a lot of rumors in the army nowadays. Don't you, Cheng Yaojin, have any doubts about it?"
Cheng Yaojin shook his head like a rattle: "It's not me, I don't have it, don't talk nonsense!"
Yuchi Gong angrily glared at the troublemaker Cheng Yaojin. Cheng Yaojin opened his eyes and stared back. His eyes were originally big, but now that he is old and his eyelids have become loose, they become extra big when he stares. Most people can't compare with him. Li Ji just said He was so stunned that he was defeated...
"You two are done!"
Li Ji waved his hand with a headache, and said respectfully to Yuchi: "Don't mention this matter again in the future, otherwise I will spare you, but military law cannot. Don't force me."
He also knew that the matter of His Majesty's life and death affected the entire army. Countless people were secretly speculating that the rumor was that Yu Chigong just raised it in person. This kind of thing could not be avoided at all, unless His Majesty Li Er was allowed to come out and make a circle in front of the entire army. .
This is obviously impossible...
But fortunately, the situation has developed so far and is extremely close to ending, and it can't be hidden for a few days.
But Yuchi Gong refused to give up. He said solemnly: "My loyalty to Your Majesty can be seen from the sun and the moon. No matter when or where I am, I am willing to go through fire and water, even to the death! I just want to ask the commander, has your Majesty ever left anything behind?" A posthumous edict? If there is one, please show it to me. No matter what is stated in the edict, I will do my best to help you complete it. Even if thousands of arrows pierce your heart, I will never change it!"
It is almost everyone's guess that His Majesty passed away. If this is true, then His Majesty must have left a legacy and entrusted it to Li Ji to take care of his funeral affairs and fulfill his wishes.
Since the withdrawal of troops from Liaodong, Li Ji's various unreasonable behaviors have made the whole army more and more convinced of this suspicion. Everyone was saddened by His Majesty's death, and they were all willing to fulfill His Majesty's legacy, so they suppressed their respective armies. There was no big fuss.
Otherwise, simply based on Li Ji's prestige, I am afraid that these hundreds of thousands of troops would have already started internal strife and fallen apart. At the very least, Cheng Yaojin and Yu Chigong would not blindly obey Li Ji's inexplicable orders...
Now the army is stationed in Tongguan, the battle in Chang'an City is in full swing, and the East Palace and Guanlong have suffered heavy casualties. The final victory or defeat is obvious. By that time, everything will be revealed. There is no need to hide it anymore, and it is impossible to continue to hide it. .
But if we wait until that time, Yuchi Gong and even all the forces in the army will be too passive. They cannot prepare in advance and can only think about countermeasures when the situation comes. How can they be willing to do so?
On the side, Cheng Yaojin, who had been causing trouble for Yuchi Gong, suddenly said quietly: "Yuchi Jingde, you have gone too far. The commander-in-chief has always been fair and honest, and he convinces people with reason. How can he hide something from us? Commander-in-chief, This Yuchi Jingde's stupid mind is not very clear, and it is useless for you to explain to him. We might as well take out His Majesty's will, so that the entire army can complete His Majesty's will wholeheartedly, so as not to guess around all day long. , if you don’t say anything about hurt feelings, it can easily ruin His Majesty’s important affairs... Are you right?”
Li Ji's face sank like water.
There was wind and rain outside the window, and his heart was also filled with ups and downs...
He understood that the purpose of these two people coming here today was to force the palace, either to force His Majesty to come forward or to see His Majesty's last edict. Otherwise, they would never give up.
These two people are too senior, have too many military exploits, and have too high prestige. Even if Li Ji is the chief minister and the commander of the army, he may not be able to suppress them. Once these two people confront the interests of their respective families, their power , and thus have an idea, it will be a serious threat to the overall plan.
Not to mention anything else, just one of these two people joining Donggong or Guanlong at will is enough to have a destructive impact on the current situation that has been managed with great difficulty, and it is even very likely that all plans will fail.
But Li Ji didn't have the guts to really confess to the two of them...
After pondering for a long time, Li Ji finally shook his head under the eager gazes of the two men, and said slowly in a low voice: "It is true that you have thought too much about this matter. As the commander-in-chief of the army, I tell you that this matter is best That's it, otherwise, if you continue to make trouble, it will cause serious problems, and the gods will not be able to save you! This is all, take care of yourself!"
Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong looked at each other, and both could see the shock in the other's eyes.
Although Li Ji didn't say anything, he actually said everything. His Majesty... was really dead.
Cheng Yaojin was more attentive and suddenly remembered that saltpeter and other substances had been sent to the army from time to time. He knew about the ice-making business that Fang Jun cooperated with the King of Wei, and also knew that the main raw material for making ice was Saltpeter... It can be inferred from this that the saltpeter is used to make ice.
When does the military need so much ice?
Its usefulness is obvious...
The door of the room was open. The soldiers saw the boss talking in the room and the atmosphere was tense. They did not dare to approach the door to replace and repair the room easily. The wind and rain were raging outside the door, and gusts of wind carried the cold and humid air in. The candles on the desk were The fire flickered, illuminating the faces of the three people.
After a long time, Yuchi Gong finally exhaled slowly, stood up, and bowed his arms to the ground: "I will be rude today, but if you don't understand it, and you can't get over this obstacle in your heart, I will ask the commander-in-chief to apologize to you someday."
After saying this, without waiting for Li Ji to respond, he turned around and walked out.
He didn't wear the raincoat that was left at the door, so he just walked out. The strong wind carried raindrops and poured them down on him like a torrent. His clothes were soaked instantly, but he seemed to be unaware and walked step by step into the darkness of the rain curtain.
Inside the house, Cheng Yaojin suddenly sighed, raised his head, and looked at the roof.
My heart was filled with shock and mixed feelings...
Then he stood up, without saying a word, bowed his hands in a slight salute, then walked out of the door with his hands behind his back, and disappeared in the dark night in the rain.
Only Li Ji sat at the desk and was lost in thought. After a long while, he reached out to pick up the jug and wanted to pour himself a glass of wine. As a result, the jug tipped over, but not a drop of wine came out. He shook the jug and put it down casually. On the table, he cursed in a low voice: "Two drunkards!"
Then he stood up and stood in front of the window. His eyes seemed to be looking out the window at the majestic Tongguan City Tower in the rainy night, but in fact there was no focus...
The soldiers behind him quickly lifted up the broken door and smashed it with hammers and nails. They quickly repaired it and closed the door before everyone exited.
Only then did Li Ji come back to his senses, shook his head, and sighed: "Your Majesty, why bother..."
*****
In the East Palace, the prince also stayed awake all night.
At about nine o'clock in the morning, the wind and rain became more and more violent, and the rain fell from the sky like a pouring water, gathering into streams and flowing freely on the ground.
Li Junxian walked quickly from the direction of Xuanwu Gate, took off his raincoat in front of the Prince's residence, handed it to the chamberlain in front of the door, straightened his clothes, and walked into the house without caring about his soaked boots.
Li Chengqian was sitting behind the desk, dealing with stacks of official documents. Several candlesticks were placed throughout the room, and the candlelight was burning high, as bright as day.
Li Junxian entered and greeted him with a greeting: "General, I will see you at last, Your Highness!"
Li Chengqian put down his brush, raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, and asked the waiter on the side to make a pot of tea. Then he stood up, walked to the chair by the window and sat down, and asked calmly: "Is there any news from the Xuanwu Gate?"
Li Junxian said: "Until now, the Duke of Guo has made no move."
Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "It seems that perhaps it was the Duke of Yue who persuaded him to join forces, and the Duke of Guo may not have his own way."
Since Li Tang came to Guanzhong, lived in Taiji Palace and ruled the world, Xuanwu Gate has become a top priority.
It can be said that whether the Xuanwu Gate is safe means that the emperor is safe; no matter who wants to usurp the Xuanwu Gate, the first thing to do is to attack the Xuanwu Gate. When my father launched the Xuanwu Gate rebellion, he conquered the Xuanwu Gate in advance. The gate is constantly guarded, otherwise it is still unclear who will win in the mutiny in the ninth year of Takeori...
To this day, Xuanwu Gate is still the gate of life and death.
If Zhang Shigui had ulterior motives and suddenly blocked the Xuanwu Gate at the critical moment, then he, the prince, would be unable to fly and would have to be annihilated by the swarming rebels in the inner gate...