Three months later, the first snow fell on the grassland.
Li Shimin finally came to Dingxiang City. The rebellion of the Bolingcui family was insignificant. When Li Shimin decided to return to the army, their demise was already doomed. Now in this world, there is no Bolingcui family. Li Shimin killed him.
After ascending to the throne, the most cruel imperial decree was made. The Boling Cui family destroyed the three Yi clans. The reason why there are no Yi Jiu clans is because the marriages between the clans are too complicated. If the Yi Jiu clan, none of the five surnames and seven sects can survive, then
Even Li Shimin's concubines were involved.
Moreover, the three Yi tribes already involve 100,000 people. If the nine Yi tribes have more than one million people, it would be too much of a crime.
In the end, the matter was settled by annihilating the relatives of the three Boling Cui clans. Dongchang's conspiracy was pervasive, and all those related to the rebellion, regardless of age or sex, were executed. Li Shimin used the method of killing chickens to scare monkeys, completely shocking
With the power of the clans and their understanding of the situation, the clans began to actively move closer to the court, and the aloofness of the clans began to collapse.
After learning that the crisis in Dingxiang had been resolved, Li Shimin appointed Li Jing as the general to conquer the East and continued the expedition against Goguryeo. However, he did not turn around and go back. Instead, he took 30,000 troops all the way west. On the way, he was delayed for several days in order to deal with the Boling Cui clan.
Beyond the sky, they were rushing all the way to Dingxiang City without stopping.
The battle report said that Li Mu was dead.
Li Shimin didn't believe it, and sent twelve explicit inquiries in succession, and he didn't know how many letters were sent by flying pigeons. However, no matter what the news channel was, he got the same answer.
Li Mu died. He died on the city wall of Dingxiang. He died just before Li Xiaogong's army entered the city. His head fell from the city wall along with the Yunlong flag given by the emperor.
At least 30,000 soldiers witnessed all this, it really couldn’t be more true!
The credibility of the news was clear, and the last illusion in Li Shimin's heart was shattered. He washed his face in tears and cried bitterly for more than a month. He was inexplicably sad and even confused. He was furious and sent an order to Li Xiaogong not to accept Amul's offer.
Surrender, more than 60,000 surrendered servants were killed on the spot outside Dingxiang City.
He sent an order to the literati all over the world, ordering them to write an article praising Li Mu's achievements. He requested that a monument be erected outside Dingxiang City to remember the achievements of Huben in the Tang Dynasty!
He sent an order to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to allocate funds to take care of the families of the Dingxiang garrison. The few lucky ones who survived, regardless of their previous official positions and qualifications, were all given the title of Viscount and Captain Guo Yi.
Anyone who dares to mention a single bad word about Li Mu will be executed immediately. Fang Xuanling was ordered to be dismissed from office, and all officials who had conflicts with Li Mu or who were celebrating the holidays were kicked out of the court and never used again!
Li Mu traveled a long way, passing through Chang'an without entering, and went straight to Dingxiang City.
None of this can alleviate the grief in Li Shimin's heart!
until……
He arrived at Dingxiang City.
The coffin was opened, and inside was a decapitated, charred corpse, with nothing identifiable. The right hand held the Shangfang Sword given by the emperor, and the little finger of the left hand was slightly raised, and it also looked scorched.
Li Shimin lay in front of the coffin and stared at it for a long time. He turned to look at Li Xiaogong and said, "Is this Li Mu?"
"Yes!" Li Xiaogong said in a deep voice, sadly: "It's him, poor child... Your Majesty, you didn't see the scene at that time. The enemy army was brutal and the fire burned the city. Li Mu's face was disfigured at that time... Minister
It's just a step too late, it's just a step too late..." As he said that, Li Xiaogong actually started crying.
Li Shimin looked at his performance coldly for a long time before saying, "Do you think I am a fool?"
Li Xiaogong raised his head with a confused look on his face: "Is your majesty too sad? This is Li Mu. Where did your majesty say this?"
Li Shimin was too lazy to argue with him. He looked at Li Siwen next to him and said, "Tell me, where did Li Mu go?"
Li Siwen cried loudly: "Your Majesty, my brother is right here. I don't want to believe that my brother is dead, but your Majesty... thirty thousand soldiers saw it, and I have to believe it!"
"Okay!" Li Shimin laughed angrily, pointing at the crowd and saying: "You are good, you are really good, join forces to bully the king... It's best not to let me find out anything, otherwise I won't be able to spare you!"
"Go ahead!"
Eunuch Gao stepped out and bowed: "Your Majesty, this old slave is here!"
"Check! No matter whether it's heaven or earth, find me Li Mu! I want to ask him face to face. In his heart, am I a narrow-minded person who can't tolerate him?! Find him for me!"
After that, Li Shimin turned around and left, settling in Xiangcheng. He didn't even stay for a day.
It was meaningless. When he saw this charred corpse, he knew that Li Mu was definitely not dead. He believed in the tragedy of that day, but the acting skills of Li Xiaogong and Li Siwen were so bad that if he believed it, it would be an insult to himself.
IQ!
Although he was angry, Li Shimin was happier.
Li Mu is not dead!
It’s better not to die!
…
"The evening breeze blows gently in Penghu Bay, and white waves follow the beach. There are no coconut groves to decorate the setting sun ~ just a sea of blue..."
Under the sun, a young man wearing sunglasses was lying on the beach with his legs crossed and singing a tuneless song.
Li Mu came to Penghu five days ago, and he and Li Shimin happened to be on the opposite side. Even when Li Shimin passed by Luoyang, he glanced at it from a distance, and then one of them headed east and the other west.
That day, he was indeed about to die. At the critical moment, an ax whizzed over, carrying the sound of wind breaking through the air. In an instant, the heads of dozens of enemy soldiers around Li Mu fell off. The one who fell under the city wall was
It rolled down accidentally.
Who else but Li Chongyi could have such great destructive power?
When Li Mu chased Tong'e and disappeared, Li Siwen told Li Chongyi the news via a flying pigeon letter. At that time, Li Chongyi had just settled his grudges and unified Mohe, and planned to go south to help Li Shimin according to Li Mu's plan. After learning the news, he immediately went straight to
Came from Dingxiang.
By coincidence, at the most critical moment, he finally arrived and rescued Li Mu.
Seeing Li Mu's appearance, Li Chongyi immediately went berserk. He led his ten thousand Mohe warriors and went straight to Amul. Before the drums were beaten, Amul was already dead. Thanks to Li Shimin, he ordered the trap to be killed, otherwise he would have been found.
The leader of the enemy army has no way to communicate with him yet.
After the matter was settled, Li Mu made the decision to "faked death".
In fact, it was Cui Wang who reminded him. Although Li Mu believed that Li Shimin might not attack him, it was always possible to accompany a king like a tiger.
Li Mu didn't want to live under such pressure, so faking his death and disappearing was the best choice for him.
Originally, he wanted to do something for the Tang Dynasty and this era.
But after so many things happened, Li Mu suddenly had a realization. History has its own trajectory. How much can one person change?
To put it simply, the earth will spin without anyone else, so don’t take yourself too seriously.
Moreover, in this campaign, the Tang Dynasty had actually annihilated the Western Regions and even eliminated Xue Yantuo in the north. Tuyuhun had been destroyed long ago. Although Tubo may recover, looking at the current situation, it is unlikely to cause any trouble.
On the Goguryeo side, there are gunpowder, flying balls, and tiger cannons. Victory is only a matter of time.
Anything else?
It's like a game that has been passed. Li Mu can't think of what else he can do.
It's time to AFK.
Li Mu put forward his own idea, and both Li Xiaogong and Li Siwen agreed. It was also easy to keep secrets. There were only a few people who knew that Li Mu was still alive. As long as they insisted that Li Mu had died in the battle, there was nothing Li Shimin could do if there was no proof.
Even if some clues are found, it doesn't matter. Faking death shows an attitude. Real death or fake death, it doesn't really matter. As long as everyone thinks that the person is dead, then he is dead.
Li Mu wrote a long letter to Li Shimin. The content in his heart was the memorial he had left at Bai Qiaoqiao's place. He added some words as his farewell to Li Shimin.
He told Li Siwen to wait until Li Shimin found out the clues before handing over this letter. If nothing could be found, just pretend it didn't happen.
Then he left. He went to Chang'an first, met with Bai Nao'er, and explained some things. He gave the Bashang Winery to Bai Nao'er and let him regard it as a family heirloom. After a few generations, Ba Nao'er
The wine in the winery has represented the highest level of winemaking in the Tang Dynasty. People have also forgotten who invented this high-altitude wine. Since the Bai family has been running it for generations, it is called "baijiu". This is a story later.
He went to Luoyang again and asked Ergou to bring all the properties in Luoyang to Li Tai. He asked him to supervise it and set up a foundation with all the money earned to keep it for the people who had paid for the defense of Dingxiang and take care of them.
Family. He also gave special instructions that there is a small village outside Chang'an City, which he specially set up to house Wusman's brothers. He asked Li Tai to find a way to give them the status of a good man, allocate land to them, and let them live well.
This is Usman's last wish, and Li Mu must fulfill it.
He met Tang Guan again and asked him to tell Mrs. Sun that there was no need to be sad, that he was not dead, and that he would come back to visit her or meet her if he had the chance.
Afterwards, he came to Yangzhou, met with people from eight prominent families, and finally formulated the "Sea Chapter". Then he went to sea from Yangzhou and came to Liuqiu (TW) to join his family.
In fact, he met a lot of people along the way. He didn't deliberately hide his whereabouts. He knew that hiding would be useless. Dongchang's gossip had become commonplace. If he couldn't find out, he might as well die.
But he believed that Eunuch Gao was not an unjust person. Although he was loyal to Li Shimin, he could also help him without violating his loyalty. After all, he owed him a favor. No favor could be owed until it was time to pay it back.
Gotta pay it back.
"Husband, what are you doing?" Li Zhien came skipping over wearing a 'swimming suit' cut by Li Mu himself. Li Mu's eyes widened and he opened his arms and said, "Come here, let me hug you..."
"Oh, it's nonsense again," Li Zhien snorted and said no, but he came over obediently and snuggled into Li Mu's arms: "Sister Qiaoqiao has cooked some food, do you want me to ask you to go back to eat?"
"Um...where are the others?"
"Sister Chen is choosing fabrics and talking about making some new clothes. Sister Tian'ai is discussing with the foreman about building a martial arts arena. Sister Ou is coaxing the children, and little Li Bai is bullying little Lingyue again, but Qingcheng is still good, eating
I have been sleeping when I was full, and I couldn’t wake up even if I was noisy..."
"Where's Yingluo?"
"Her!" Li Zhien's relationship with Wei Yingluo has always been estranged, and he deliberately did not mention her: "It seems that they are calculating some accounts. Really, I am obviously in charge of the accounts at home!"
Li Mu knew that Wei Yingluo was calculating the share of maritime trade. She couldn't understand these things when she told Li Zhien, so she simply mumbled over, kissed her, patted the sand on her body and got up.
"Husband, didn't you promise me to take revenge? When should we go to Silla?"
"Hey, are you still thinking about becoming the Queen of Silla?" Li Mu thought for a while and said, "Don't worry about this, someone will take care of it for us."
"Who is it?"
"Your Majesty, I'm already 'dead', but I still have this bit of kindness."
"Don't talk nonsense, what about death? We won't die even if we die!" Li Zhien thought for a while and said: "We must live a hundred years! We must always be together!"
"No more!" Li Mu pinched her nose and said, "We will never be separated in our lifetimes!"
"Um!"
…
Li Shimin returned to Chang'an, and the investigation into Dongchang's case was also completed.
Just as Li Mu thought, there were no clues. Although everyone in Dingxiang unanimously said that Li Mu was dead, they all saw it.
However, due to the large number of people, oversights are inevitable. After careful investigation, we learned a lot of information that Li Xiaogong and others deliberately did not tell.
For example, Li Chongyi brought 10,000 troops to the rescue, and Amul also died in Li Chongyi's hands.
For another example, Li Siwen didn't even shed a tear when he collected the bones of 'Li Mu'.
Although there is no real evidence, all the information shows that the person in the coffin is not Li Mu at all.
After Li Shimin read all the investigation details, he threw it on the table and said angrily: "Senior officer, tell me, what does this guy mean? What is he afraid of? Am I really that small-minded?"
"Oh... Your Majesty, what do you call an old minister?" Eunuch Gao thought for a moment and wondered why: "The Marquis did this to fulfill the kindness of the monarch and his ministers. Your Majesty was in the prime of his spring and Autumn period, and the Marquis was only twenty. The days will come later.
Well, I don’t believe it. How can he not show up for the rest of his life? Maybe he is just tired and wants to take a rest. There is no need to be serious, there is no need to be serious..."
"You are just He Xini!" Li Shimin sighed and said, "What else have you found? Present it together. Don't try to hide it for him. I am not a fool! You can't fool me!"
"Well, your Majesty is wise." Eunuch Gao took out the letter from his sleeve, presented it, and said: "Your Majesty, this is a letter that Li Mu left at Li Siwen's place. He pointed it out clearly. If your Majesty is in a hurry, you can take it again.
Show it to Your Majesty. You see, this fire paint is all intact and has never been seen by anyone."
Li Shimin checked it and opened the letter.
In addition to the principles and formulas of the tiger gun, flying balls, and gunpowder, the letter contains some suggestions from Li Mu on the future development of the Tang Dynasty. How to run the Silk Road, how to control the nomads, how to manage the peninsula... In his memory, several famous
The location of the iron ore and coal mines, as well as the future development of Datang's salt industry, mining industry, and cement plants. How to deal with the clans, nobles, and nobles, how to plan Chang'an and Luoyang, and what to do with the ports of Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, Taizhou, and Laizhou
Construction, etc., he gave suggestions on all the issues he could think of.
Li Shimin read it carefully, pondered for a while, and then lit a candle to burn the report that recorded the clues that Li Mu was not dead.
Afterwards, he kept the letter written by Li Mu close to him.
"High cadres, please remember this for me. After Li Jing destroys Goguryeo, he will take care of Baekje and Silla as well, and then set the former Silla land as a free trade port. The imperial court will not levy taxes on all trade.
"
"No taxes?" Gao Gan was afraid that he heard wrongly and confirmed: "Your Majesty, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Just do as you're told!"
"But..." Eunuch Gao wanted to say something more, but Li Shimin interrupted angrily: "I don't know why this guy said that. If you want to know, just find him for me and bring him to Tai Chi."
When the palace comes, I also want to ask him face to face!"
…
October 31, 2020, evening, 11:50.
Outside a game warehouse full of cyberpunk style, the lights turned on. A handsome young man came out of the game warehouse and stretched his muscles.
"Director Li Mu, how was the game test?"
Li Mu was silent. After a while, he slowly spoke: "The degree of realism needs to be lowered a little. It is too real and people will not be able to distinguish between virtuality and reality."
"Then tomorrow's press conference..."
"Execute as planned!" After a pause, he seemed to have remembered something and said: "By the way, Huya, I have read the report on the new project "Yanei". The press conference will end tomorrow and all the participants will be called.