Wang's tone was choked, he opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. He sighed and said, "There is no need to accuse someone. If the Marquis says this, I have nothing to say."
"Look at what you said," Li Mu said displeased: "It sounds like I want to harm you. Old Wang, do you know that if I hadn't tried my best to protect you, Your Majesty would have killed you all long ago?
!”
Wang snorted and said nothing, but his meaning was very clear: I don't believe it.
"You don't believe it, do you?" Li Mu snapped his fingers, and Dugujiu came over and handed the Longquan Sword to Li Mu. Li Mu raised the sword flat and gestured for the torch to come closer, saying, "See clearly, what is this?"
Wang was disdainful at first, but when he took a closer look, his expression suddenly changed and he murmured: "This is the Longquan Sword, your Majesty actually..."
Li Mu snorted and said: "Do you believe it now?" He handed the sword to Dugu Jiu again and sighed: "Old Wang, I'm not talking about you. The biggest problem with you clans is that you are petty-minded. Not only are you petty-minded,
, I use my own heart to judge others, and I use my petty heart to judge the heart of a gentleman. You don’t believe that I speak for you, do you? If you can survive this misfortune, go and ask Your Majesty if I have spoken for you. If you survive,
If you don't go there, there's no need to know. Okay, just treat your kindness as a donkey's liver and lungs, it's up to you."
After saying that, he waved his hand and motioned for the left and right to take Wang down.
Wang was struggling fiercely in his heart. He didn't know whether he should trust Li Mu, but he knew that now that he couldn't see Li Shimin, Li Mu was the only life-saving straw. As for Eunuch Gao who was interrogating the assassin over there in the woods, he was a eunuch.
A wise master like Li Shimin would not take the eunuch's words into consideration!
"Master Hou!"
Wang finally made a decision. He didn't know where he got the strength to push away the Jin Yiwei who was trying to catch him. He threw himself in front of Li Mu and grabbed his trouser legs. Li Mu was startled and said, "What are you doing? You want to die with me."
?Hey! Why don't you want to take off my pants? Come on, pull him off!"
The royal guards on the left and right rushed forward like wolves and tigers, and pulled the king away. The king struggled hard and shouted: "If the Marquis is willing to rescue me, the Taiyuan Wang family is willing to obey, and please think twice!"
After shouting several times, Li Mu looked soft-hearted and waved his hand. The Jin Yiwei retreated, and the king rushed over again. Li Mu picked him up and said, "I am a soft-hearted person. Since I became an official in the court,
, we will deal with each other. Although most of the time, you are shameless and I am affectionate and righteous, but if you die in vain like this, I feel a little... Oh, that's all, there is no need to be swaying, anyway.
Whatever you say now, you will have to regret it after this time..."
Mr. Wang blushed and whispered: "I won't regret it..."
"Stop saying these useless words. In the final analysis, I am just working for His Majesty. The fate of you and the Wang family of Taiyuan depends on what Your Majesty says. If he calms down, there may be a turning point. He
If you are determined, there is nothing I can do. All I can do now is to delay as much time as possible and wait for His Majesty to calm down. Are you satisfied with my promise? Go and have a rest. Maybe Your Majesty will summon you at dawn.
Probably."
Although the king was not sure what Li Mu was thinking, but in this situation and hearing these words, he could not help but be moved to tears. He held Li Mu's hand and said: "The Marquis is so kind and virtuous that I can tie a grass ring around it."
It’s hard to repay, the old man is half buried in the earth, it doesn’t matter whether he lives or lives. It’s just that tens of thousands of direct descendants of the Wang family in Taiyuan, all in one thought of the Marquis, begged the Marquis to save him!"
"It's easy to talk..." Li Mu leaned into Wang's ear and whispered: "Old Wang, now that things have happened, I have to tell you something. Do you still remember that I once leaked it in front of you?
He opened his mouth and said that I have a third wife who is a lady of the world."
Wang was confused and had no idea what Li Mu meant by mentioning these things at this moment. He said blankly: "Master Hou..."
"Well, I won't hide it from you. My third wife is your niece."
Wang blinked, thought of an outrageous possibility, and murmured: "Could it be..."
Li Mu smiled and nodded, patted Wang on the shoulder and said: "We are relatives. If I don't save you, who will save you?" As he spoke, his expression became cold and he said: "I only care about you in this matter.
I said that if it is leaked, I will have a way to escape, but you, the Wang family of Taiyuan, may not be able to escape."
Wang hurriedly said: "I won't dare to reveal even a word!"
"That's good." Li Mu waved to the Jin Yiwei and sent Wang away, who still hadn't recovered from the shock. Wang turned around three times, still unable to believe that Li Mu dared to do such a thing and compete with the emperor.
Woman, do you want to die?
Dugujiu turned sideways and said, "Brother, you shouldn't say this, it will become a source of excuse."
Li Mu sat down, took a sip of tea, and said: "How can a person like Wang be fooled by a few words? If I don't give him some reasons and excuses, he won't believe that I will save him. Don't worry, he doesn't dare to say
Get out." After a pause, Li Mu asked again: "Where is Changsun Wuji?"
"Watching the interrogation in the woods."
"Bring him here."
Dugujiu nodded, and after a while, he brought Zhang Sun Wuji over.
Changsun Wuji's face looked a little ugly, and he looked like he had just vomited. Li Mu hurriedly asked him to sit down, with a frown on his face.
Changsun Wuji stabilized his mind and asked: "Why did you come to me?"
"Uncle Guo, I won't beat around the bush during this critical time. From the perspective of clan origin, we are relatives, and from the perspective of Changsun Chong, our relationship is not far away. I trust you, so I came to you for discussion. Just now you
When I came over from the woods, I saw those assassins. Although I only recruited one now, I must have known where they came from and whose family they belonged to. They couldn't resist for long. Before dawn,
I will definitely have to confess. Now that’s the dilemma for me.”
Li Mu took out the Longquan Sword and displayed it again, then lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty asked me to kill people, I"
Li Mu leaned close to Changsun Wuji's ear and said in a lower voice, "I don't want to kill him."
Changsun Wuji frowned and said, "Why?"
"It's obvious!" Li Mu spread his hands and said, "Your Majesty is so angry right now, if I really kill him. When your Majesty calms down someday and sees that half of the civil and military forces of the dynasty are gone, why don't you take it out on me? Besides, you
Have you forgotten what I do? I am the Minister-in-Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs! The Ministry of Internal Affairs is still counting on these people to open their business. If they are all killed, who will produce and transport, what else can the Ministry of Internal Affairs do? If the Ministry of Internal Affairs collapses, money will be lost.
Where do you come from? If you don’t have money, your majesty still comes to me. It’s all a chain of events, it’s a dead end!”
Changsun Wuji was still very cautious, and after careful consideration, he said: "Then are you going to save them? But His Majesty is so angry now, how to save them?"
Li Mu leaned forward and said: "I don't want to save the assassin. Of course I can't. The forces behind this must also be found. But it's better not to involve innocent people. If they are all killed, there will be no one to do it."
Aren't you alive? Moreover, I have a little plan. Let me think about it. Killing people can't solve the problem, and the gain is not worth the loss. It's better to take this opportunity to make a fortune, fill the treasury, and let these powerful families give some blood."
As he spoke, Li Mu glanced left and right, leaned into Changsun Wuji's ear, and whispered: "By the way, I will also let those who are truly loyal to Your Majesty get some sweetness."
There was something in the words, Changsun Wuji heard it, but he didn't dare to say anything, but he didn't dare to say anything. He felt itchy in his heart, struggled for a while, and then said vaguely: "Then what kind of person do you think is loyal to His Majesty?
?”
"Is this..." Li Mu did not give a direct answer, but pointed out: "Before the assassin came, His Majesty was talking about a word with me. He was quite emotional."
"What word?"
"Family and country are two words." Li Mu suddenly became serious and said: "Everyone puts family first and then country. I don't think so. For me, only when there is country, there is family. Without country, what is the point of talking about family? If the country is broken,
Then the family will perish! This is for an individual, but what about your Majesty? Your Majesty’s home is the country, and the country is your Majesty’s home! Therefore, only by running the country well can we have our own small family. Pursuing personal interests is a waste of time.
It's your nature, but you can't harm the country. In the same way, if someone contributes to protect everyone, His Majesty, as the head of the family, will naturally not treat him badly. When benefits are obtained, priority must be given to those who have contributed to everyone. Uncle Guo
Do you think it’s fair?”
Changsun Wuji nodded and said: "Of course it is very fair."
"I understand, so I won't say any more. Please rest peacefully. When Your Majesty wakes up, I will try to help you meet with Your Majesty. At that time, please persuade Your Majesty to calm down and tell you what I mean."
Your Majesty, killing people won’t solve the problem. If you kill someone to help, it’s still a good deal."
Changsun Wuji didn't say anything, he just said: "I will try my best."
"Send uncle Guo back to rest."
Li Mu got up and personally escorted Changsun Wuji for a while before turning back. He looked at the sky and saw that it would be dawn in more than an hour. Li Mu lay on the rocking chair, covered himself with a blanket, and took a nap.
Dugujiu jumped up a tree, sat on the branch, held two swords and narrowed his eyes.
Screams could be heard in the woods, but Li Mu was too tired to care. He fell asleep and couldn't hear them anymore.
…
In a blink of an eye, the sky was bright and the valley became more lively. Even if so many people were captured at night, they could not starve to death. They had to arrange meals. This was not a banquet for celebration. Even if Li Mu was rich, he could not afford to entertain them and did not arrange a cook.
, let the cooks in the garrison set up pots to make rice and cook porridge for the big guys to drink.
How can the food of the soldiers be any better? The clear soup and waterless gruel made all the big men look like bitter melons. Except before the founding of the Tang Dynasty, when they were fighting in all directions, when had they ever drank gruel?
When the bowl was filled with water, it was full of water. Once soaked in urine, it was gone. Many people protested.
Cheng Yaojin was hiding in his military tent and had just finished chewing a sheep elbow. When he heard the noise outside, he wiped the oil from his mouth, got out of the military tent, and cursed: "I wonder who has the nerve to say that? If it weren't for you
These civil servants are using all kinds of methods to deduct the budget of the Ministry of War. How can the soldiers live in such a miserable life? Complaining is nothing, this is how the army eats. If you don't eat, you will starve to death!"
His voice suppressed everyone's voices. Cheng Yaojin snorted, turned back to the military tent, wiped another piece of dried meat out, broke it open and threw it into his mouth to chew. He glanced at Li Mu next to him,
He said: "Boy, everyone outside eats porridge. Isn't it a bit unfair for us to eat meat here?"
"Uncle is absolutely right." Li Mu stretched out his hand to signal and said, "Why don't you go and have porridge with them? I won't be righteous myself, in the name of my uncle's integrity."
Cheng Yaojin threw the dried meat into his mouth, took a sip of wine, burped, and said: "They brought it upon themselves, I have no friendship with them!"
Li Mu quickly praised him: "Uncle has seen it thoroughly."
While he was talking, a voice came from the door. It was Sangou: "Master Marquis, the trial is over. The six confessions, signed and stamped, are all here."
Li Mu was overjoyed and shouted: "Bring it in."
Sangou came in and handed the confession to Li Mu with both hands. Li Mu threw him a piece of beef jerky. Sangou put it under his nose and smelled it, then put it in his arms like a treasure. Beef is a forbidden item among the people, and there is no place to buy it if you have money.
go.
Cheng Yaojin turned his head deliberately to avoid suspicion, but Li Mu did not hide it from him. He read while turning over the pages: "Taiyuan Wang family, Xingyang Zheng family, Fanyang Lu family, Qinghe Cui family, Boling Cui family,
The Li family in Zhaojun, well, there are five surnames and seven looks except the Li family in Longxi, and there is one in the family. What a coincidence." Li Mu handed the confession to Cheng Yaojin and said, "Uncle, do you think it's a coincidence?"
Cheng Yaojin didn't look at it, and thought to himself, I don't believe you, how can such a coincidence happen in the world? It must be your kid's fault! But a smart person wouldn't say that, so he quietly echoed: "What a coincidence?"
Yes, this is because you have no experience. The thieves are treacherous, intending to form gangs, and want to make His Majesty fearful. This is an act of coercion, and his intentions are to be punished!"
Li Mu "suddenly realized" and said: "Uncle has seen everything! Why didn't I think of that? They must be thinking, so what if they catch us, can the emperor kill them all? Tsk, tsk, tsk, these people really deserve to die.
Ah! My uncle’s eyes are as bright as fire. I will definitely tell Your Majesty that my uncle has seen through their tricks and I will give him a credit!"
"Pull him down!" Cheng Yaojin quickly waved his hand and said: "You kid, please don't blame me. My old Cheng's wife is the daughter of the Cui family of Qinghe, and I can't afford to offend her. Our Cheng family has always maintained neutrality. I am
I am loyal to His Majesty. Before Your Majesty speaks, I have no attitude, so don’t involve me."
Li Mu smiled and said: "It's just a joke, why are you serious..." Li Mu put the confession aside, looked at Sangou, and asked: "Do you have anything to say about the four who died?"
"I'm reporting to the Marquis that one of them is Wang Zhi's junior brother. He is a Jianghu man, called San'er. Wang Zhi doesn't know his surname. There are two others who are active in the Heshuo area.
He is the last outlaw hired by Wang Zhi with a lot of money..."
Sangou suddenly stopped. Li Mu frowned and said, "Didn't you ask?"
"I asked, and it turned out that he was... the sword and spear instructor of Prince Yan's Mansion."