Li Ye"s meaning was very clear, which was to plant Kang Chengxun"s a.s.sa.s.sination on Li Guochang.
For the Lulong Commissioner, it was difficult for them to fight against the Zhenwu Army, because the imperial court didn"t like their arrogance and they didn"t have high-ranking officials as their allies. If Li Ye was willing to help, Youzhou"s odds of success would be much bigger.
"There"s some... evidence, but not much hard evidence..." After his excitement, Zhang He thought calmly and then hesitated to say.
When Kang Chengxun went to Hedong to take office, Li Guochang always regarded him as a thorn in his side, especially after Li Guanshu"s death. In order to drive Kang Chengxun out of Hedong, Li Guochang secretly took some actions. It was possible for the Lulong Army, who paid close attention to the Zhenwu Army, to dig out some clues from his secret moves, if they tried their best.
However, these clues could only indicate that Li Guochang had evil thoughts about Kang Chengxun, but they couldn"t prove that the Zhenwu Army had a.s.sa.s.sinated Kang Chengxun.
Li Ye said, "There is no need for hard evidence. As long as there"s some evidence to make Li Guochang become the prime suspect of a.s.sa.s.sinating Kang Chengxun, it would be regarded as successful."
It was very difficult to prove Li Guochang"s crime of a.s.sa.s.sinating Kang Chengxun because it was hard to falsify evidence. However, it would be easy to find evidence to prove that Li Guochang had ever dealt with Kang Chengxun. In this case, by using w.a.n.g Duo and Lu Yan"s henchmen to publicize that Kang Chengxun was killed by Li Guochang"s men, most people would believe it.
Once it was heard by Li Cui, the emperor, what would he think?
Even if he wouldn"t punish the Zhenwu Army, he wouldn"t allow d.u.c.h.ess of Li to marry to the Zhenwu va.s.sal state so that the Zhenwu Army couldn"t have an opportunity to gain power.
In the final a.n.a.lysis, Li Ye"s plan was to slander Li Guochang.
Zhang He quickly understood Li Ye"s meaning and could not help but marvel. "Your Highness, your plan... could solve the problem fundamentally!"
Li Ye looked at Zhang He and said solemnly, "What is "your plan"? Does it have to do with me? I do nothing at all. I just want to ask for justice for the dead Mr. Kang."
He said his words without blushing, so Song Jiao could not help but glance at him.
Zhang He immediately understood and nodded. "Yes. You"re virtuous and concerned about the country. I admire you!"
The man in a Confucian robe behind Zhang He was also shocked by Li Ye"s effrontery.
Zhang He continued, "Kang Chengxun was Wei Baoheng"s right-hand man and he was forced to leave the va.s.sal state by Li Guochang, so the two of them should have a deep feud. But Wei Baoheng intends to put down his personal grievances and resolve contradictions with Li Guochang. If he succeeds, it will be a miracle... However, he takes it for granted."
Li Ye said, "Whether Wei Baoheng is taking it for granted or not, it depends on the result of you and the Lulong Army"s counterattack. If you succeed, we will be happy, but if you fail, Wei Baoheng will become a true hero in the world."
Zhang He said immediately, "You may rest a.s.sured that all people in the Lulong Army will definitely do their best!"
Li Ye nodded. "That"s good!"
Zhang He immediately got up and bowed low to Li Ye. "I will never forget your help for the Lulong Army!"
Li Ye smiled. "You"re welcome."
After sending away Zhang He and the others, Song Jiao returned to Li Ye"s room. Li Ye was lost in thought sitting in a chair.
Song Jiao suddenly smiled and said, "Wei Baoheng wants to resolve contradictions with the Zhenwu Army through d.u.c.h.ess of Li"s marriage in order to make the Zhenwu Army turn to his side. But if your strategy works, Wei Baoheng will lose the achievement of "taming" the Zhenwu Army and the Lulong Army will also be grateful to you. Therefore, the achievement of "taming" the arrogant va.s.sal state will be yours and your followers will increase in the future."
Li Ye glanced at Song Jiao. "Whether it will work or not is anyone"s guess."
Song Jiao sat down beside Li Ye with a big smile and stared at him for a long time, which made Li Ye feel uncomfortable. He gathered up his thoughts and said, "Aunt Song, what are you looking at?"
Song Jiao said slowly, "Anyway, I shall look at you with new eyes for you have such a strategy!"
Li Ye spread his hands. "Aunt Song, are you trying to say that I am different from my father."
Song Jiao was absentminded for a while, maybe she had recalled the past. "You"re really different."
Li Ye paused and suddenly said, "That"s because the situation is different now."
Instead of gossiping, the two people discussed some details in their plan.
Three days later, Li Ye went to the Chang"an Office on duty. As soon as he entered the door, he found that all the officials were in a hurry and looked anxious. It seemed that something big had happened.
Not long after Li Ye had sat down in the office, w.a.n.g Li rushed over and said to Li Ye, "Vice magistrate, something wrong has happened!"
"What has happened?"
"Yesterday, an official came to report late at night that a group of river bandits appeared along the banks of the Wei River in Huangli County. Autumn Gifts from the va.s.sal states, stored in the dock warehouse with a worth of 50,000 taels of silver, were ransacked. They haven"t made it to Chang"an City yet..."
"The warehouse was heavily guarded by soldiers and cultivators of Qi-refining. How could it be easily robbed?"
"According to the official, there were also masters of pract.i.tioners among the river bandits and there were traces of technique fighting on the spot!"
"There are river bandits appearing at the foot of the emperor. How could the world become so terrible?"
"Alas! Over the years, the warlords in the va.s.sal states have made insurrection from time to time, causing border trouble rampant. Moreover, horse bandits, river bandits, and mountain bandits are widespread!"
Li Ye kept silent, and after a while, he chuckled and thought. "Is it really coming?"
Chang"an Office was also known as Jingzhao Office, which governed the land of the capital. Its jurisdiction was not limited to Chang"an City, but also including the surrounding counties. In other words, the matter was also within Li Ye"s duties.
Before long, a message came, and Xu Shaomu gathered everyone together for a discussion.
When he came to the meeting hall, Li Ye found that all the important officials of the Chang"an Office were there. Xu Shaomu stood up with his hands behind his back and looked solemn. When everyone had arrived, he briefed the matter of the river bandits and expressed his feelings of indignation and his determination to bring the river bandits to justice. And then, he arranged people to Huangli County to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Li Ye was in charge of the matter of cultivators in the Chang"an Office, so he definitely needed to come forward. Therefore, Xu Shaomu ordered Li Ye to lead the case and hurry to Huangli County with other people. Li Ye was duty-bound to take the job.
After the discussion, Xu Shaomu asked Li Ye to stay and worked out some details of the case with him alone.
In the end, Xu Shaomu sighed. "There is something fishy about the matter and I"m afraid that there must be a dirty dog in the way."
Li Ye certainly knew who the dirty dog Xu Shaomu was talking about, so he said, "Now it"s a crucial time for you to compete for the best officials in the va.s.sal states. Since there are bandits appearing in the jurisdiction of the Chang"an Office, the emperor is bound to be enraged and blame you. If the matter spreads out, it will be a big blow to your prestige. Moreover, if the officials in the va.s.sal states know the matter, they may stay away from us and turn to Wei Baoheng"s side."
Xu Shaomu became serious. "If the matter is not handled properly, Wei Baoheng, as the ruling Prime Minister who leads all officials, will certainly take the opportunity to challenge the Chang"an Office. Perhaps there will be punishment and dismissal of a number of officials and I will bear the brunt. Then, he will put in his henchmen to take control of the Chang"an Office... It"s really hard to prevent his different kinds of means in our political compet.i.tion."
Li Ye said, "Anyway, I will go to Huangli County to check it out first."
Xu Shaomu nodded and looked at Li Ye. "The situation in Chang"an is changeable, so I must stay here. The matter in Huangli County counted on you."
Li Ye cupped his hands. "Please rest a.s.sured."
Li Ye went back to the vice magistrate"s office from the meeting hall. He discussed the details of his trip to Huangli County with w.a.n.g Li, including the names and numbers of people, and then they drew out a name list and a required supplies list—the latter mainly involved magic treasures, horses, and so on. w.a.n.g Li got down to it immediately.
It took half a day to get everything done. In the afternoon, Li Ye asked w.a.n.g Li to go to the city gate with the officials and the yamen runners first, and he would come later. Li Ye went back to Prince An"s Manor during the time.
Li Ye told Song Jiao, Li Zhen and Shangguan Qingcheng about the matter of Huangli County and then he asked Song Jiao to make an order to the cultivators in the Black Office. Some of them hurried to Huangli County to conduct a secret investigation in order to remove obstacles for Li Ye. Some of them followed him in secret as guards and backup force.
When Li Ye finished his arrangement, Song Jiao began to carry out it. Li Zhen frowned. "Your Highness, there is something fishy about the matter. I feel that it not only aims at Duke Lu and Mr. Xu but also aims at you!"
"Why?"
"First, it"s because of d.u.c.h.ess of Li... You stood in the way of Wei Baoheng"s alliance with Li Guochang."
"Secondly?"
"Secondly, Wei Baoheng... fears you!"
"What do you mean?"
"The day before yesterday, you defeated Li Keyong in public in Emperor"s son-in-law"s Manor. Li Keyong is known as the most talented person in the empire, who is expected to enter the Foundation stage and reach the Spiritual Master Realm in the near future! You have defeated him, so does it mean that you now are the most talented person in the world? And that you"re expected to enter the Foundation stage?"
Li Ye was silent.
Shangguan Qingcheng was surprised. "Even if Your Highness has a bright future, his cultivation is not high, while Wei Baoheng is powerful and has many followers and Jianghu masters on his side. Is it too much to say that he is afraid of Your Highness?"
Li Zhen shook his head and said seriously, "General Shangguan, you shall know that Your Highness... is Your Highness Prince An!"
Shangguan Qingcheng stunned for a while, and then she understood.
More than twenty years ago, the young Li Xian was also the most talented person in Chang"an City and expected to enter the Foundation stage. Currently, Li Ye"s potential wasn"t weaker than Li Xian"s. Didn"t it mean that Li Ye was very likely to be as powerful as Li Xian?
How powerful Li Xian was?
He was the most powerful master with outstanding cultivation in Chang"an and his cultivation was very close to the Foundation stage!
He was known as a hero who could save the country from danger!
He had his own palace and own army, enjoyed the same treatment of Three Ministries, and had military and political power in hand. He was a powerful minister to whom Prime Minister had to bow!
For such a Li Xian, who would not fear him and who would not be jealous?
Li Zhen continued, "Rumors have it that the old Prince An died from the envy of the ministers and the suspicion of the emperor. The Battle of Bagong Mountain was planned by Wei Baoheng... In the past, Wei Baoheng even wanted to kill the old Prince An. Therefore, currently, how would he allow Your Highness to make progress and become more and more powerful?"
Li Zhen paused. "Although Your Highness" cultivation is not high enough and he doesn"t have enough power, he has defeated Li Keyong, so he can"t be underestimated now. What"s more, the old Prince An"s followers were all over the world. When Your Highness was in trouble, they might not appear lest they could offend Wei Baoheng and get suppressed."
"However, if Your Highness has enough power to compete with Wei Baoheng and has hope to regain the old Prince An"s force, they will flock to Your Highness to follow him, whether for their comradeship with the old Prince An or for their future... When the time comes, how can Wei Baoheng compete with Your Highness?"
Li Ye remained silent.
Shangguan Qingcheng glanced at Li Ye and said doubtfully. "If the old Prince An suffered the disaster of Bagong Mountain because of His Majesty"s suspicion, how would His Majesty allow Your Highness to become powerful?"
Li Zhen shook his head. "In the past, the old Prince An was so powerful that he had dominated the court. Therefore, His Majesty supported Wei Baoheng to compete with him. Currently, Wei Baoheng is very powerful, so why can"t His Majesty support Your Highness to get rid of Wei Baoheng? Balance is the most important mean of an emperor!"
"As for the old Prince An... in the eyes of the emperor, all subjects can be taken advantage of and he can decide their life or deaths, who dare to disagree? To say the least, even if Your Highness knows something, can he rebel? You could only endure the past hatred as long as it doesn"t expose in public! The emperor blames all the crime to the powerful ministers, who dare to say no? If the emperor has made a mistake, his officials should be beheaded for him. How could the emperor himself be guilty?"
"To say the least, as for Your Highness... why can"t His Majesty crush him with the same mean before the matter has happened?"
Shangguan Qingcheng was dumbfounded and speechless.
Li Zhen looked at Li Ye and waited for his decision.
Li Ye chuckled and said to Li Zhen, "You"re very intelligent and I"m right about you... As for the trip to Huangli County, I don"t care whether Wei Baoheng aims at me or not. If Wei Baoheng didn"t order the river bandits in Huangli County, it would be fine. But if he did, it won"t be difficult to overthrow him when I have arrested the river bandits and have hard evidence."
Li Zhen was shocked. "Your Highness... you"re going to take the bull by the horns?"
Li Ye said calmly, "Nothing venture, nothing have."
Li Zhen still wanted to say something, but Li Ye waved his hand. "Well, you don"t need to say anything more. I have my own plans. If I can"t succeed this time, I won"t be in danger either."
There were some words that Li Ye could not tell him.
Since his rebirth, he had changed many things" trajectories of his last life, such as Li Guanshu"s and Kang Chengxun"s. He knew very well that it would affect a lot of Luck. He wasn"t sure whether things would happen in accordance with his last life in the future. Currently, the Huang Chao Uprising was imminent and he had no time to lose. Wei Baoheng must be removed from office as soon as possible to ensure that Li Yan was in power.
Even if there was any danger, Song Jiao was at his side to help him escape and save his life with her whole cultivation.
In addition, the most important thing was that his showing his cultivation in Emperor"s son-in-law"s Manor was to make Wei Baoheng fear. He had already considered Li Zhen"s worry.
Wei Baoheng was crafty and meticulous. It wasn"t easy to find out his mistakes in normal circ.u.mstances. These days, w.a.n.g Duo and Lu Yan had been collecting evidence of graft and malfeasance of Wei Baoheng in order to impeach him, but they had found nothing. That was proof.
In this case, if Li Ye wanted to bring down Wei Baoheng, he had to force Wei Baoheng to make a mistake.
So he defeated Li Keyong to make Wei Baoheng fear. He would have an opportunity to find out Wei Baoheng"s mistakes if Wei Baoheng took action with fear. Therefore, his goal would be achieved!