Li Shimin put a futon under his buttocks and sat cross-legged on the ground. In front of him was the map that Li Tai presented to him. The sky was getting darker and darker, so Eunuch Gao crept out and asked the eunuch to light the palace lanterns early so that Li Shimin could
Can see more clearly.
Although the imperial court was on holiday, Li Shimin's affairs did not diminish at all. In the past few days, Li Shimin's hair was almost turning white in order to choose the person suitable to assist He Luo'u, Tuli's son.
Suddenly, the mechanism rang, Li Shimin raised his head and looked over, and Yuan Tiangang hurried in.
Li Shimin put his eyes back on the map and said, "Ai Qing came here so late, what's the big deal?"
"Your Majesty!" Yuan Tiangang said with a serious face: "Marquis Zhulu falsely conveyed the imperial edict to Prince Zhenla, saying that your Majesty will send five hundred Jinwu Guards with a secret edict to mediate the war between Funan and Zhenla. I learned about it through the bad people in Honglu Temple.
I don’t dare to comment on this news, so I came here to report it to Your Majesty.”
When Li Shimin heard the words "falsely conveying the imperial edict", his fingertips trembled for a moment and then calmed down, without a trace of emotion on his face.
"Where did he find Jinwuwei?"
Yuan Tiangang replied: "It's not the Jinwu Guards, but the Jinyi Guards. I inquired and learned that after Li Mu left Honglu Temple, he went to the suburban valley. There are three hundred Jinyi Guards, plus the 200 people eliminated in the previous selection, exactly five
Hundreds of them were led by his sworn brother, Li Chongyi. Li Mu falsely claimed that going to Zhenla Kingdom was an opportunity to make achievements. Now the people in Jinyiwei don't know the truth, and they are all working hard to make some achievements.
Woolen cloth!"
"Oh, he does know how to say it." Li Shimin chuckled, looked up at Yuan Tiangang, and said: "My dear, don't panic, Li Mu is not pretending to pass on the imperial edict, but actually got my secret edict. What he did is completely
It's all under my instruction. It was originally a secret, but I didn't expect it to be detected and found out by bad people. It's good, as my eyes and ears, bad people are very effective."
"Ah?" Yuan Tiangang looked confused. He never expected to get such a reply. Based on his many years of experience, he judged that Li Shimin's words were pure nonsense. He definitely had no prior knowledge of Li Mu's false transmission of the imperial edict.
Otherwise, it would not be this reaction. It’s just that Yuan Tiangang couldn’t figure out why Li Shimin wanted to cover up for Li Mu. This was an infringement of monarchy. Since ancient times, anyone who steps on this red line will definitely die. Even the prince, if he dares
Spying on the monarch's power is also the consequence of being deposed. What is so special about Li Mu that allows Li Shimin to protect him like this?
I can’t figure it out, I really can’t figure it out!
But Yuan Tiangang is a smart man after all. Even if he can't figure it out, he will not expose it, let alone get to the bottom of the problem. After being stunned for a while, Yuan Tiangang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is ridiculous, the bad guy just did his job."
Since there is nothing to do, I will retire."
"Wait a moment."
Li Shimin called out to Yuan Tiangang, and then ordered: "Find a way to sneak into the Zhenla Mission. If you have any news, please send it back in time and let me know."
"According to the decree."
Yuan Tiangang responded, got into the office and left. He thought to himself that he had indeed guessed correctly. Li Mu had indeed falsely conveyed the imperial edict, and His Majesty was covering it up for him. Although he could not guess the inside story, His Majesty wanted to plant his informants.
Judging from this action, he must be dissatisfied, but he hasn't said it yet.
Will this incident become the beginning of a rift between the monarch and his subjects?
Yuan Tiangang's mind moved, and a person suddenly appeared in his mind.
Zhenla Kingdom is located further south in the extreme south of the Tang Dynasty. This trip will definitely pass by Shuzhou, cross the Shiwan Mountains, pass through Wuman, and then reach Zhenla. The main altar of the Snake Spirit is in the Shiwan Mountains.
I wonder if that woman knew the news.
How about I sell her a favor?
…
A huge bonfire rose in the valley, lighting up the surroundings like daylight. Li Mu didn't leave, and neither did the students. When Dugujiu came back from home, Bai Qiaoqiao and Li Zhien also followed. There were many people in the valley.
, it’s actually three times more lively after the holiday than without it.
When he lived in the valley, Li Mu always slept in the carriage. But today Bai Qiaoqiao and Li Zhien came, and the carriage's small bed couldn't fit in, so he had to set up a tent to live in. Fortunately, there were many unused tents, and Li Mu pretended to be
When I was about to set up a tent, I just picked up a horizontal pole. The students who were working saw it and hurriedly put down their work and ran over to help.
Li Mu pretended to refuse twice, but he couldn't refuse, so he reluctantly put down the horizontal pole and handed over the matter of setting up the tent to Changsun Chong.
Not far away, several students from the blacksmith group were helping him install the furnace. They had people doing everything for him, so Li Mu was free. He watched Changsun Chong and others busy with his hands behind his back. After staying for a while, he felt a little bored.
, at this time before, he could always find trouble to hurt Changsun Chong, but now, Changsun Chong has done so well that he can't even find a reason to hurt him.
This kind of plot of 'the young man of the aristocratic family changes his ways from evil to good' was something Li Mu never expected. He was caught off guard and felt awkward no matter what.
Changsun Chong was at a loss and could only turn his attention to other people. Li Mu looked left and right and found a person, Ma Zhou. This guy was very thoughtful and left a deep impression on Li Mu. However, when he arrived
On the first day in the valley, after being punished by Li Mu, he never expressed any opinions again. He just ran and worked every day and sat wherever he was told.
Because he was quite old and slow to learn things, he gradually disappeared from everyone, and there was nothing surprising about him. Gradually, Li Mu forgot about this person and didn't pay much attention to him.
Li Mu frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Come here."
Ma Zhou was covering the tent with his classmates. When he heard Li Mu's voice, he stopped what he was doing and came to him.
"The students have met the principal."
"I have told you so many times that you don't need to practice discipleship. I have not accepted you as my disciples, just your principal." The two strolled to the river. Li Mu glanced at Ma Zhou and said, "I remember,
Your name is Ma Zhou, and you are the accountant in the house of General Chang He, the lieutenant general."
"Ah, yes, he is a retainer." Ma Zhou wanted to explain, but suddenly saw Li Mu frowning, and quickly closed his mouth again, Quan took it as acquiescence.
"Don't be too nervous. I don't know how to eat people. I'm just a little bored and want to find someone to chat with." Li Mu glanced at Ma Zhou and said, "I remember that when we first entered the valley, you once expressed your opinion.
.It’s been more than a month now, do you have any thoughts about what’s going on in the valley?”
"The student has no more ideas." Ma Zhou said respectfully: "When I was working today, during the break, I heard Chang Sun Chong talk about the principal's discussion of 'the unity of knowledge and action'. It was an eye-opener for the student. Only then did the student understand what was going on in the student's heart.
All problems are caused by ignorance. I no longer dare to question the principal’s actions at all.”
"This is not the answer I want. I still hope that the students in the school can have their own ideas." Li Mu said this, but he also knew that he could not hear anything interesting from Ma Zhou's mouth, and suddenly a thought came into his mind.
He had an idea and asked: "Ma Zhou, if I send you to Zhenla to do something, will you be willing?"
Ma Zhou looked hesitant, thought for a moment, and nodded. Li Mu saw that he looked strange and said, "If you have concerns, it's okay to say so. I just have an idea, and I don't mean that you have to go."
"The student came to Chang'an alone and stayed at the home of General Chang He. It seems that he has no worries, but..." Ma Zhou hesitated for a moment and said, "The student has a doubt in his heart, and he doesn't know whether to talk about it or not."
"It doesn't matter if you tell me."
"The students think that it is not appropriate for the Marquis to falsely convey the imperial edict."
Hearing this, Li Mu was immediately horrified. He looked at Ma Zhou with raised eyebrows and said, "Who told you that I faked the imperial edict? Where did you hear the news?"
Ma Zhou hurriedly bowed and said: "Unless someone leaked it to the students, it was completely made by the students themselves. If the students are wrong, please forgive me, principal."
"Are you thinking wildly?" Li Mu frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Why do you think of me pretending to pass on the imperial edict?"
"The students inferred based on the old practices of the Tang Dynasty and the previous dynasties. The Tang Dynasty was only more than ten years old, and most of them followed the old practices of the previous dynasties. However, neither the Tang Dynasty nor the former Sui Dynasty had any precedent of interfering in the wars of Zhenla, Funan and other countries. Again.
Thinking of the principal's behavior, the students boldly guessed that Jinyiwei's trip to Zhenla had nothing to do with the imperial court or His Majesty. It was sent by the principal privately to make nonsense. Please forgive me."
You're talking nonsense, but your guess is so accurate? Is this guy's insightful, or am I just too careless?
Li Mu looked at Ma Zhou and said: "Since you guessed that I was falsely preaching the imperial edict, why were you willing to go to Zhenla? Don't you know that falsely preaching the imperial edict is a capital crime, and if you get involved, you won't be able to escape death?"
"That's what the students think." Seeing that Li Mu could still talk pleasantly, Ma Zhou relaxed a lot and said, "The principal is a very smart person and will not put himself in danger. Since the principal has done this, he must
There is a back-up plan, so even though the students can’t guess it, they don’t have to worry about it.”
"He is indeed a talent." Li Mu raised his thumb and said, "Exactly what I expected. He has both vision and judgment. He is a very good talent."
Ma Zhou was overthinking. How could Li Mu have any back-up plan? He just had an intuition that Li Shimin was reluctant to kill him. As long as he waited until the rice seeds were brought back and the grain was grown, the credit would offset the fault. If there was any back-up plan,
, this was a back-up move. But in front of Ma Zhou, Li Mu could never tell the truth, so he might as well use Po Xia Donkey to pull off the trick.
Li Mu patted Ma Zhou on the shoulder and said: "You are the talent I want to find. This time Zhenla and his party really need you to go with them." Li Mu looked at Ma Zhou with burning eyes and said: "We are going to Zhenla Kingdom now.
, involves a major matter related to people's livelihood and the country. But what we are doing now may not be understood, and may even be life-threatening. So, are you still willing to do it? Ma Zhou, can I trust you?"