At the court meeting a few days later, Chen Xilie, the Prime Minister of the Left and Minister of War, knelt on the ground and reported the war to the border troops.
Anxi Jiedu envoy Gao Xianzhi led an Anxi army of 30,000 people to attack Dashi. He penetrated more than 700 miles to Talas City and met Dashi's soldiers. The two armies held a stalemate for five days. The Tibetan soldiers Ge Luolu rebelled and fought against Dashi.
During a flanking attack on the Tang army, Gao Xianzhi was severely defeated. All his soldiers were killed or wounded, with only a few thousand left.
Fan Yang Jiedu envoy An Lushan led three troops totaling 60,000 people to attack the Khitans, with Xi's 2,000 cavalry as guides. The Xi people rebelled, joined forces with the Khitans, and attacked the Tang army. The Tang army was defeated.
After talking about these two major defeats, Chen Xilie confessed his crime. The civil and military officials in the court were all uneasy. According to Li Longji's temper, he would get angry and punish the officials severely.
However, the imagined holy wrath did not come.
Li Longji, who was sitting on the throne, had deep circles under his eyes. He had not slept for many days and his whole body was depressed. After listening to the report, he just said "I know."
Seeing that His Majesty did not make arrangements for the aftermath of the war, Chen Xilie was a little at a loss and could only turn his eyes to Li Linfu aside.
Li Linfu had no expression on his face and said nothing.
Seeing this, Chen Xilie could only stand up and retreat into the ranks.
Next, many officials reported on their duties. Li Longji became more and more irritable as he listened. Finally, he waved his hand and said, "The meeting is adjourned. Government affairs are as usual. Please consult your right minister."
After saying that, Li Longji did not wait to retreat from the court, but stood up and left the court directly under the watchful eyes of all the officials.
All the officials looked at each other in confusion. The emperor's words meant that the court meeting would not be held in the next few days. If you have any questions, just ask your right minister Li Linfu directly.
Li Linfu remained expressionless and just bowed to see His Majesty leave.
The court meeting dispersed. No matter how flattering the officials were, Li Linfu refused to speak, listen, or stop. He went straight out of the imperial city and, with the support of his son Li Xiu, got into the carriage of the Li family. He was reading a book.
When the carriage was driving, Li Xiu couldn't wait to say to Li Linfu: "Father, in the palace..."
Li Linfu waved his hand to signal Li Xiu to shut up.
Returning to the mansion, Li Linfu first entered the Yanyue Hall, then screened away the others, and then asked Li Xiu: "Has your Majesty ever been to the Xingqing Palace these days?"
Li Xiu: "No, Your Majesty has been living in Xineiyuan these days."
Li Linfu: "Keep an eye on Xingqing Palace. If your Majesty goes there, you must report it in time."
Li Xiu nodded in agreement and asked cautiously: "Is father worried that the saint will miss his old relationship?"
Li Linfu: "It is not a trivial matter to mess up the harem. In addition, the perpetrator is His Majesty's favorite concubine. No matter how affectionate the saint is, I am afraid he will not let it go."
Li Xiu hesitated for a moment, full of curiosity, and couldn't help but ask: "Father, that Zhou Jun is just a slave tooth man, is he really having an affair with a noble concubine?"
Li Linfu: "I have looked at Zhou Jun's past, and Hongzhi's maid is right. It's easy to change a country's nature, but it's hard to change it. In the past, Zhou Jun was a promiscuous man, and he was always in love with women. Even if he later changed his mind, it was just a
It's just a matter of hiding his true nature. Princess Wanchun has a very high vision, and she even agreed to take a concubine for him. This shows Zhou Jun's method of dealing with women."
Li Xiu nodded first, and then asked: "Everything in the palace has been arranged. Just in case, do you want to find someone with your majesty?"
Li Linfu shook his head and said: "Over there in the palace, don't act rashly. Xiu'er, please remember that if you speak and do things very carefully, you should make three points true and three points false, but leave the remaining four points blank."
Li Xiu: "Leave it blank?" Li Linfu: "In order to make others believe in you and achieve the desired goal, you must mix truth with lies, so that there is some falsehood among the truth, and there is truth among the lies. This is the reason why most ordinary counselors
We all understand...but there is actually another point that is more important. That is, some key points should not be stated explicitly, but steps should be designed so that the people in the game can finally "guess" the "truth" based on the clues laid out.
And that 'truth' is just the result you want to achieve in the end, it can be called 'blank space'."
Li Xiu seemed to understand but Li Linfu sighed when he saw this: "Not everyone has understanding. Among the younger generations of the Li family, there is not a single person with wisdom. I am worried that the Li family will only be able to retreat and rely on wealth in the future, but there is no way."
It’s time to get on top again.”
Li Xiu looked ashamed and bowed to plead guilty.
Li Linfu waved his hand and said: "It's just because of nature, it's not your fault... Let's talk about another thing. This time there was chaos in the harem, I only targeted Zhou Jun, but not Pang Zhonghe. Do you know why?"
Li Xiu thought about it for a while, but couldn't figure it out. He just said he didn't know.
Li Linfu: "Because behind Pang Zhonghe stands King Shou, and King Shou is the proof of the future wealth of the Li family."
Li Xiu thought about it carefully, and suddenly an idea flashed: "My father once said that King Shou was hated by the saints because of his concubine entering the palace. It is possible that this matter in the harem will make it possible for King Shou to ascend the throne again."
?”
Li Linfu smiled, nodded and said: "Concubine Yang was originally the concubine of Shou. Your Majesty doted on the concubine, but stayed away from the Shou Wang. The most fundamental reason was that he was worried that after Shou Wang ascended the throne, there would be a gap in his heart due to old things. This time there would be chaos in the harem.
, it is an opportunity to mend the relationship between the saint and King Shou. As long as the case is confirmed, it can first hit Zhou Jun, secondly, demote the Yang family, and thirdly, it can pave the way for King Shou to ascend to the throne, but it is a plan that kills three birds with one stone.
."
Li Xiu nodded and repeatedly called his father to be thoughtful and foresighted.
On the other side, Bachuan Huaqiong Tower.
In the huge courtyard, there were flowers and beautiful scenery, but it was deserted and there were no guests.
She Hongzhi, dressed in red, and Xie Qin, dressed in green undergarment, sat at opposite ends of the pavilion, with a stone table in the middle as a partition.
She Hongzhi looked at the color of Bachuan Lake outside the carved window, and her face lost the frivolity of the past. She just said softly: "The building is about to collapse, and it is not supported by a single tree. It is better to find a way out as soon as possible than to sit back and wait for death."
Although Xie Qin's face was haggard, her eyes were firm. She said to She Hongzhi: "The matter has not yet come to an end, so how can we determine life or death?"
She Hongzhi paused for a moment, looked at Jie Qin, and said sincerely: "Zhou Jun cannot defeat the right prime minister."
Jie Qin's expression did not change, but she remained silent.
Seeing this, She Hongzhi added: "Those who are powerful in the world all regard others as pawns, taking life and death away from them, and have no shame. What's more, Zhou Jun was born as a slave man and rose from a humble position to a high position.
Those who put themselves above others and are of no use to them will sooner or later be cast aside and never even look at them again."
Xie Qin looked at She Hongzhi with regret and pity on her face.
She Hongzhi was stunned, frowned and asked: "What? What I said is wrong?"
Xie Qin: "Now that I think about it, She knows that she has a lot of bad luck, but she has never met a man she can trust for the rest of her life."
She Hongzhi laughed: "Have you watched too many dramas on weekdays? There are so many daughters in the world and so many heartless men, so how can there be any trust for life? You regard Zhou Jun as your confidant, so what does Zhou Jun think of you? He has a princess.
As a wife with a concubine and a beautiful maid, what weight do you have in his heart? When a disaster strikes, will he consider your safety?"
Xie Qin smiled slightly: "You don't know him, and you don't know me either."
An angry look appeared on She Hongzhi's face, and she said in a deep voice: "You and I are both Beili tricksters. We used to have the same interests and respect each other. Hongzhi now wants to find a way out for you. I don't know how to appreciate it!"
"
After saying that, She Hongzhi stood up, took off a emerald-haired hairpin from her bun, put it on the stone table, and said: "The Right Prime Minister has long known that Hua Qionglou is involved in a lot. As long as you are willing to surrender to the Right Prime Minister, then
Telling all the information will be extremely valuable in the future. Hongzhi left this hairpin, if you think about it clearly, bring it to me."
Xie Qin sat on the same spot without getting up. She looked outside the courtyard and said quietly: "One day when Mr. Zhou returns to Bachuan, I will hold a grand banquet in Huaqiong Tower, and I will invite She Douzhi to be my guest."
She Hongzhi first snorted coldly, then walked away calmly, and then dropped another sentence: "I know the good news, I hope you and I can live to see that day."