Chapter 28 Chapter Nine: Li Ping
It was two o'clock at night, and the room in the west wing of the Prime Minister's Mansion still had no candles lit.The thin moonlight poured in through the gaps in the panes, slightly diluting the sticky darkness and becoming the only cool light source in the room.A wisp of light smoke rises from a copper censer in the shape of a beetle in the corner, outlining a meandering trajectory in the air, like a flying dragon that has been freed from its shackles, lingering for a long time.
Li Ping sat calmly on the carpet, with both hands resting on his slightly protruding lower abdomen, the index finger of his right hand slowly rubbing the back of his left hand, his eyes fixed on the blue-glazed arc of the tea bowl in front of the desk.A servant stepped forward, lifted the lid, and poured the freshly brewed tea into the tea urn; the dark brown water sank into the bottom of the urn, and an elegant fragrance of tea gushed out.Li Ping's expression became somewhat blurred in the rising fog.
"My lord, the tea is ready."
Li Ping didn't speak, just waved his hand to make the servants back away, then poured himself a cup, and took a sip slowly.The slightly bitter aroma lingered on the tip of his tongue, making him intoxicated in an inexplicable touch for a moment, he couldn't help but close his eyes slightly, his body trembled slightly, and his limbs felt indescribably comfortable.He has never been sure whether the pleasure of tasting tea lies in the tea itself or the relaxed feeling of transcending the mundane and forgetting the sophistication for a moment.
The moonlight outside the window was still clear. Li Ping put down his cup, stroked his gray beard, and let out a weak sigh inadvertently. The beard is a man's annual ring, which carries the ups and downs of a person's life, and also records Feeling the sadness of the torrent of time that never returns, the deceased is like a husband... I am already forty-nine years old, and there is still one year left before the age that the master said to know the destiny.Gently stroked down with his right hand, his fingertips gently slid over each strand of beard, and each strand made him think endlessly, as if he was flipping through a yellowed history book. The guards are gradually drowning...
How many years have you known Kong Ming?
Li Ping still clearly remembers that his first meeting with Kong Ming was in Chengdu in the 19th year of Jian'an.At that time, his name was Li Yan, and he was just a surrendered general in Sichuan, while Kong Ming was a military advisor under the late emperor's command.At that time, Li Yan, like other Liu Zhang's old minions, was anxious and uneasy, not knowing what his position would be under the new regime.So when he heard that Kong Ming would come to appease him as Liu Bei's special envoy, Li Yan's first reaction was nervousness, and panic born of nervousness.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Kong Ming entered the mansion, he took the initiative to come forward, smiled and helped Li Yan who was prostrate on the ground, and affectionately called him "Zhengfang".The thirty-four-year-old Zhonglang Jiang has a gentle affinity, which easily dispels his anxiety.Li Yan had never seen a person's eyes so vividly express the person's heart and mind before.Mencius has a famous saying: "What exists in people is better than the eyes. The eyes cannot hide the evil. If the chest is upright, the eyes will be clear." It is really the best footnote.
Kong Ming told Li Yan that Liu Bei hoped that Li Yan and other old ministries would understand that he attached great importance to the old generals in Central Sichuan: he had no suspicions and would not take any suppression measures; on the contrary, the consolidation of the new regime still needed to rely heavily on them These veterans, they will be the cornerstone of Liu Bei's regime.Kong Ming's voice was like wind blowing sand, delicate and slow, as if every word had been carefully thought out.These words finally relieved Li Yan's nervousness. He didn't know whether it was because of Liu Bei's assurance or the charm of Kong Ming's voice itself, and he was convinced unconsciously.
After the business talk, Kong Ming talked with Li Yan for half a day.They found that they have a lot in common, especially in the concept of governing the country: both of them firmly believe that the Confucian rule of virtue is just a propaganda show;When talking about why the new Liu regime was self-sufficient, the two said in unison: "Lyuk!" Then they looked at each other and laughed.
Later, Li Yan heard that Kong Ming commented on him after he returned: "A man is as good as his name, and a man is as good as his character." Soon, Li Yan was named General Xingye, and was appointed by Kong Ming to participate in the compilation of the law of Shuke.It was an unforgettable time working together...
...Li Ping forcibly pulled himself out of nostalgic thoughts, but forgot the natural smile on his lips.The edge of the tea bowl in his hand is still hot, the heat is still steaming, and the tea fragrance curls out of the bowl mouth and into his nose.Li Yan took a deep breath, immersing himself in this refreshing atmosphere...
... In the third year of Zhangwu, Yong'an Palace.Li Yan stood in front of the palace door with his hands down, his shoulders drooping, his face sinking like water, but his eyes were fixed on the road in front of the palace.In the gate behind him, Liu Bei, the founding king of Shu Han, was quietly spending the last moment of his life.
Li Yan was summoned to Baidi City in October of the second year of Zhang Wu.Before setting off, he was still Qiang as the prefect, but after arriving in Baidi City, he was unexpectedly appointed as Shang Shuling by Liu Bei.Li Yan was both excited and surprised by this appointment: What was exciting was that the "Shang Shuling" held such a humble position, and it was a great honor to be able to take on this position, who must be the emperor's confidant; He is highly valued, but he is a demoted general after all, and neither his seniority nor his political affiliation are qualified enough to take on this position.
What worries him especially is, what should Kong Ming, who is the prime minister, think about this after knowing about it?You know, both the government and the opposition believe that Kong Ming deserves the position of "Shangshu Ling", and Li Yan has always felt apologetic about it.In the next few months, Kong Ming and him were all in correspondence, and Li Yan had no way of guessing his attitude.
At the beginning of the third year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei became seriously ill, and Kong Ming rushed to Baidi City immediately.When Li Yan thought that he was about to face him as "Shang Shuling", he felt a little uneasy.He once asked himself whether he would take the initiative to let the virtuous, and the answer was no; in the past few months when he was the "Shang Shuling", Li Yan felt that the eyes of the people around him looked at him completely differently, and he felt a kind of The satisfaction of a sense of accomplishment.
At this time, there was a rush of horseshoes from the darkness in the distance, Li Yan raised his head hastily, and saw a light carriage galloping from the west, and a dragon flag with a gold-rimmed purple background was erected high on a corner of the carriage, which was The most urgent traffic flag.The carriage drove directly to the front of the palace, and then Kong Ming hurried out of the carriage.Li Yan noticed the dust all over Kong Ming's body, his messy temple hair, and his eager and tired eyes. Obviously, he flew from Chengdu in one breath, changing cars without changing people.
"Kong Ming..." Li Yan went up to meet him, hesitant to speak.Kong Ming asked eagerly at the first sentence: "Where is the lord?" Li Yan swallowed back what he wanted to say, and silently pointed to the door behind him.Kong Ming said in a low voice, "Thank you Zheng Fang." Then he hurried into the palace, Li Yan felt a little relieved, and followed Kong Ming.
Liu Bei raised his head with difficulty, looked at Kong Ming who was hanging his head in front of the couch, and then at Li Yan who was kneeling a little further away; probably realizing that his time was approaching, this hero's eyes were unusually calm.He coughed slightly, curled up his withered right hand, turned his gaze to the cold ceiling, and said slowly:
"Your talent is ten times stronger than that of Cao Pi, and you will definitely be able to achieve great things..." Liu Bei paused for a while, and his tone was normal, "If my son is successful, please help him with all your heart; if he is not successful , it would be better to let you rule this country..."
Although Liu Bei's voice was low, it sounded like a thunderbolt to Kong Ming and Li Yan's ears.Li Yan, who was kneeling beside him, clearly saw that Kong Ming's whole body was shaken, and he threw himself on the ground with a thud, crying tremblingly: "How dare I not do my best, and help the young master with all my heart, until I die."
At this moment, Li Yan's heart skipped a beat. He noticed that Liu Bei glanced at him over Kong Ming's shoulder.Although it was only a short glance, the meaning it conveyed could not be more obvious.Li Yan only felt that his back was drenched with sweat, and his whole body was stiff and unable to move.
"Square."
Liu Bei called softly again.Li Yan hurried towards the couch and knelt side by side with Kong Ming.Liu Bei said slowly: "I entrust you with the title of Protector of the Central Government, to oversee all military forces at home and abroad. From now on, you and Kong Ming will be my ministers to the Gu, and the great cause of the revival of the Han Dynasty will rest on your shoulders..."
Li Yan said that he obeyed the order, but he didn't dare to turn his head to see Kong Ming's expression.He is now the Central Guard in charge of the Chinese army and foreign armies, controlling the power of the entire army, and he seems to be the only real power figure in the entire Shu Han who can stand against Kong Ming.Liu Bei's intentions are self-evident. He is worthy of being a generation of heroes, and he will have such a scheming before his death.Li Yan felt an extremely contradictory emotion growing in his heart.
In the early morning of the next day, Liu Bei died.Li Yan found Kong Ming and told him that his qualifications and ability were not qualified for the post of the Central Guard, and he was willing to hand it over to Kong Ming, and he went back to continue to be the prefect.Kong Ming stared at him sternly for a long time before he yelled: "Zhengfang, how can you say such a thing! The late emperor died only a day ago, why did you forget his last words? Now the situation in the world is uncertain, You and I are both ministers of Tuogu, if you walk away at this time, how can I alone support the great cause of the Han Dynasty? This is the time when we should cooperate sincerely, and the military and government should work together, Zhengfang!"
Li Yan found that for the first time he was confused by Kong Ming's eyes, but now it is not so easy to see through those penetrating eyes...
"Military and political affairs should work together, hehe." Li Ping muttered these words, raised his brows, and smiled self-deprecatingly.Three years after that conversation, Kong Ming impressively led the army to march south as the prime minister, but as the protector of the central capital, he still stayed in Yong'an, and never entered the power center of Chengdu again.Since then, the two powers of military and government have been concentrated in one person.While the relationship between the two men remains fairly close, the political dimension of the friendship has grown.
At this time, the night is getting darker, and the night wind is blowing outside the window, bringing some coolness to the house, and the tea in the bowl has changed from hot to warm.Li Ping turned the teacup that was no longer hot in his hands, tilted his head to enjoy it for a moment, and brought it to his lips again to take a sip.This time the warm tea is not as mellow as the first sip, the aroma gradually fades, and the astringency becomes stronger.Li Ping only felt a sharp bitterness spread from the tip of his tongue, and his heart throbbed, as if he was brought out by this sip of tea with all kinds of grievances and injustices...
... Li Yan stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, absently admiring the pot of camellias on the porch, and looking towards the door from time to time.Finally, the sound of footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and Li Yan quickly looked away, as if he was not in a hurry.The governor of all Chinese and foreign military forces has been living in Jiangzhou for several years, and his scope of functions is only slightly more than that of a prefect.
His son Li Feng walked to the back with a roll of papers in his hand, handed it forward respectfully, and said, "Father, there is a reply from Chengdu." Then he signaled Li Feng to back down.
After his son left, Li Yan quickly tore apart the silk rope, opened the document and read line by line with his eyes wide open.The more he read, the more disappointed he became, and his anger was almost beyond words. In the end, he almost slapped the document on the desk heavily, making a muddy thud.
"Kong Ming, how could you do this!"
Li Yan has been stubbornly calling Zhuge Liang Kongming.At the beginning, this was purely because of the close relationship between the two, but later, it became Li Ping's way of venting. He always believed that he was an important figure in the Shu Han, an important minister second only to Kong Ming.And now he can only find some comfort in words.
Last month, it coincided with the third anniversary of the opening of Zhuge Liang's office, Li Yan decided to write to the imperial court to put forward his long-awaited request.Since Kong Ming was able to open the mansion, even if he was unable to do the same thing as Tuo Gu's minister, he should still be promoted within the scope of his power.Li Yan hoped that the five counties of Jiangzhou in the eastern part of Shuhan and adjacent to Soochow could be set aside as an independent state, and he would serve as the governor of the state and open a government in Xinzhou.This can finally satisfy my self-esteem.
Li Yan felt that this request was not too much, and Kong Ming should have considered the friendship between the two of them to some extent, but now this application was coldly rejected by the court—that is, Kong Ming—with no room for change.The reason for the imperial court is: at present, the enemy in the north needs to maintain stability in the rear, and there is no need to do more administratively.Li Yan felt that his reserve was trampled on by Kong Ming again.
"I'm Minister Tuogu, not the guard of a small place. You are just afraid that I will endanger your authority! Kong Ming, Kong Ming, is this big man from your Zhuge family? Who is the late emperor's last words? ?”
The more Li Yan thought about it, the angrier he became. Before his death, the late emperor deliberately promoted himself to the position of the guardian of the central government, just to check and balance Kong Ming.Such intentions could not be expressed under the current political environment, so he could only smolder in his chest, seeing Kong Ming sitting on the throne, but he was at a loss what to do.Li Yan only felt extremely bored in his heart. Suddenly, a thought flashed through him. He walked quickly to the desk, laid out paper and ink, and wrote with a pen:
"...The Duke of the Ming Dynasty ruled through changes, was clear and smooth, and his talents overflowed the four fields. He was both civil and military. The swarm rises, the foundation of the strong, Lai Minggong is at peace; Cao Miu is panicked, Sun Lu is silent, Gai is afraid of the majesty of the king and dare not look at the dynasty; but the Minggong is benevolent, and he is sympathetic , so that Li and common people enjoy their careers, Lu Yan has no shame, weathered and disciplined, and far away from Jinnan Man. Its merits and virtues, the world would rather not know evil? Although Jiang Shang and Zhang Liang in ancient times, they are as contemptuous as they are.
"The Duke of Ming has made great contributions to his red virtue, and he has made great achievements; the court respects him, and Yizhou leads him. He has thousands of hopes, and he is a public figure. For example, please go up now, beg for a ride on the big pilgrimage, admire the crown of Dagon, and receive nine awards. Tin, divided into vassal tree screens; formerly inherited Zhou Gong’s virtue, and later established the late emperor’s long-cherished wish. These three generations of decrees were made by Han Emperor Ming. Since then, the Ming Gong has made mistakes, and everyone will be happy, and everyone will be enthusiastic. People’s hearts can be used, and great plans can be planned. Yeh..."
Li Yan wrote quickly with a breath of anger. Mingli's letter was full of praise, but in fact it was insinuating that Zhuge Liang had already grasped the real power, but he was only short of Jiuxi.After finishing writing, he immediately closed the envelope and sent someone to send it to Zhuge Liang's mansion immediately.A month later, Zhuge Liang replied with a letter, in which he reprimanded Li Yan for having unreasonable thoughts, how can he be greedy for wealth and honor before the great cause of the country is achieved.
Regarding this, Li Yan could only think that Zhuge Liang had no sense of humor, but he thought of Kong Ming's embarrassing face when he read the letter, and he felt much more at ease.In fact, he didn't think that Kong Ming would be a powerful minister, but he just wanted to use this to mock the prime minister who doesn't like gossip...
... Li Ping couldn't help laughing out loud when he thought of this.In any case, he was very proud of this prank in his heart, and proudly drew a circle in mid-air with his right index finger.He flicked the wide sleeves of his robe to drive away the few insects flying around the mouth of the bowl, and took another sip from the bowl. Putting down the tea bowl, the smile on Li Ping's face stopped, as if he suddenly thought of something painful.There was still no candle in the room, and the penetrating moonlight outlined Li Ping as a black shadow like a Weng Zhong.The black figure was stunned for a while, and let out a long sigh in the darkness. This sigh sounded so old and helpless.
The tea in the teacup is half gone, and the water is already half cold.It was time to add water, but Li Ping had no intention of doing so. He just leaned his body back against the wall, closed his eyes, and hung his hands in front of his knees, as if he was exhausted...
... On March 15th in the ninth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang suddenly decided to send troops to the Northern Expedition ahead of schedule, but he had not mentioned a word in front of Li Ping before that.Li Ping, like other lower-level officials, was not notified until the last moment, only in time to see off Prime Minister Zhuge.
Before leaving, Zhuge Liang only used some bureaucratic rhetoric to encourage the officials staying in Hanzhong, but he didn't say anything to Li Ping alone, not even a gesture or a look.It seems that Li Ping is not a good friend who has known each other for many years, but just an ordinary official.
Li Ping didn't get angry about this. After he returned to Nanzheng Prime Minister's Mansion, he ordered a few words about the dispatch of food and grass, and shut himself in the room to drink by himself.It's not tea, it's wine, spirits.With a strong self-esteem, he felt as if he was dragged into the public, and then slapped severely; a majestic Duxiang Hou was transferred from Jiangzhou to Hanzhong as the prime minister before the festival. He is a miscellaneous man in the house, and he is in charge of food and grass; he is second only to Prime Minister Zhuge in name, but in fact he can't even participate in the decision-making of sending troops, so he can only see him off like a fool.Is there any more humiliation than this?
"I am also Minister Tuogu. I am the protector of the central government who was personally appointed by the late emperor! We were supposed to unite in governance, Kong Ming, you stole my country!"
Li Ping yelled frantically in his heart, he even wanted to replace this madness with an actual impulse.But he didn't, years of ups and downs in the officialdom let him know that such an impulse is meaningless.He just gulped down bowl after bowl, letting the alcohol burn his lungs and nerves.In this crazy anesthesia, there is only one thing that Li Ping still maintains a clear understanding: the friendship between him and Kong Ming has since disappeared...
... The water in the cup is exhausted, only a few pieces of brown tea residue curled up at the bottom of the cup, they have been washed and sucked, just like autumn leaves, the essence is exhausted, and the bowl noodles have returned to coolness.Li Ping put the bowl of tea that he drank for half a night back on the table, emptied the tea leaves, and carefully wiped the tea bowl with a piece of silk.
Next, he stood up from the carpet, held the tea bowl high and threw it to the ground.There was a crash, and the teacup turned into dozens of pieces, scattered on the green brick floor.Li Ping's eyes became resolute, he had already made a decision.
A dark cloud quietly covered the moon, and the whole room fell into true darkness.Just at this moment, another person opened the door and entered the room, his face blurred in the darkness.
"I'm ready." Li Ping said to him calmly.
"Then let's go on the road." Zhulong also replied in the same calm tone.
After Xun Xu received Luo Shi's report, he did not take immediate action.Although the evidence provided by Luo Shi is important, it is not sufficient. It is still impossible to prove whether this is a simple corruption case or a part of a conspiracy.To clarify this, it is necessary to know all the persons who may have access to the inventory paperwork and have the opportunity to modify it.
It is impossible to answer this question immediately, because all departments, including Liangtian Cao, are off work.Xun Xu and Du Bi had no choice but to wait until tomorrow, that is, May 6th, before starting the investigation.
Originally, he wanted to confront Cheng Fan directly overnight, but was stopped by Du Bi.
"If it is found that the revised inventory documents are related to Cheng Fan or Li Ping, then the conclusion will be clear. Wouldn't it be better to go to him with solid evidence at that time?"
Hearing Du Bi's words, Xun Xu's face darkened, and he nodded reluctantly, admitting that what he said made sense.
"Just wait patiently for tomorrow." Du Bi stroked Xun Xu's back, "We will gain something."
However, in the early morning of May 6th, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, far exceeding Jing'an's imagination.
"Martial law in the whole city?"
Xun Xu asked in bewilderment.He and Du Bi were carrying an official document signed by Yao You personally, and were about to go to Liangtian Cao to investigate, but they were stopped by Asheer who had just returned from the outside.
Asheer didn't bother to wipe off his sweat, and said out of breath, "Yes, it was the emergency martial law order issued by the Prime Minister's Mansion this morning, and now all the gates of the city have been closed."
"What's the reason?"
"I don't know, I only know that the emergency level is Class A!"
The originally noisy room suddenly fell into a dead silence, everyone froze in place, as if they were frozen by Asher's words.Xun Xu, who had already reached the door of the room, stopped in his tracks, not hiding his shocked expression at all.The city defense alert level of Shu Han is divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Level A alert only means one thing: the enemy is approaching the city.And Nanzheng City only reached the second-level alert even when the Wei army invaded from Ziwu Valley in the eighth year of Jianxing.
Pei Xu, who was on the side, asked in surprise: "Could it be that the Wei army bypassed our army's main force in Qishan and attempted to attack Nanzheng?" Xun Xu categorically denied: "This is impossible. Nanzheng's security circle has been extended to Chenggu and Akasaka. , there is an early warning period of two to three days, and it is impossible to not notice until the enemy is approaching the city." At this point, Xun Xu turned his attention to Asher: "Has the Prime Minister's Office mentioned this information?"
Asher shook his head: "The Martial Law Order of the Prime Minister's Mansion did not make any additional explanations. I specifically asked my friends in the garrison to inquire about it. They only received orders, and they didn't understand the situation outside."
"So, is there any movement in the armory?"
"No."
Xun Xu frowned, it was really strange.If there are indeed foreign enemies approaching, then the prime minister's mansion should explain the situation to the garrison troops, and open the armory to prepare the equipment for the defense of the city.Now the Prime Minister's Mansion has only issued a simple martial law order, but has not taken any other measures, which is really suspicious.
Thinking of this, Xun Xu raised his eyes to look at Du Bi, whose expression was equally stern: "Do you also think this has something to do with Zhu Long and Li Ping?"
"The order came from the prime minister's mansion, and the garrison troops carried out the order. It's hard to imagine any other possibility..." Xun Xu said here, waved his hand and made a decisive gesture, and said quickly: "Fuguo, food I’ll trouble you to go to Tian Cao’s place alone. I’m going to the Prime Minister’s Mansion to see what Li Ping is up to.”
Asheer, who didn't know the inside story, opened his mouth in surprise when he saw that Xun Xu called Li Duhu like that.Before he could ask a question, Xun Xu said to him again: "Where's the Nanzheng Peripheral Surveillance Report from yesterday? Did you get it?"
"That's why I went out just now, but all the city gates have been closed, the person who sent the report can't get in, and I can't get out either."
"Tell them that you are from the Jing'an Department, and you must get this report no matter what." After Xun Xu finished speaking, he turned to Pei Xu, speaking quickly: "You stay in the 'Taoist Temple', as soon as there is something important new When the information comes in, send someone to notify me immediately."
"Understood, Xun is engaged."
"Quickly, go do it!"
Xun Xu finished his explanation cleanly, clapped his hands, pulled the sides of the burqa vigorously, and walked out of the "Taoist Temple" quickly.There must be some deep motivation behind this inexplicable martial law order. This sense of oppression made Xun Xu's low fighting spirit unknowingly revived. He vaguely felt that it was almost time to confront the enemy head-on.
As soon as he entered Nanzheng, Xun Xu immediately felt a burst of tension rushing towards his face.There were very few pedestrians on the street, and the few ordinary people were all in a hurry, apparently having received a warning.From time to time, teams of Han army garrison troops ran back and forth, and the chaotic footsteps made a low rumbling sound on the loess ground, raising a layer of smoke and dust.The Suzaku letter flag used for martial law in the distance has been raised high, and the drums of Xuanwen are beating one after another.
Although the garrison did not know the order of the Prime Minister's Mansion, they deployed and controlled Nanzheng City as quickly as possible, showing extremely high efficiency.
All the way from Jing'an Division to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Xun Xu kept thinking about what Li Ping's purpose was.And Cheng Fan, what kind of role does he play here?And is Hu Zhong really without suspicion?The two friends of Xun Xu haven't shown up recently, and they seem to be very busy; although Xun Xu tries to avoid contact with them, they rarely come to Xun Xu on their own initiative, which is extremely rare in the history of the three of them's previous contacts.
Xun Xu rode fast all the way, and the soldiers along the way saw that he was wearing an official uniform and did not stop him. Soon he turned to Nanzheng Central District, and the blue roof of the Prime Minister's Mansion was already in sight.At this moment, he suddenly reined in the reins, and the horse under his crotch shook its head and snorted in dissatisfaction.
In front of the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion, a dozen Han soldiers in gray-brown heavy armor stood with spears, standing in a semicircle and surrounded the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion tightly, posing as a gesture of repelling people thousands of miles away.Xun Xu recognized them as the guards directly under the Prime Minister's Mansion, who were responsible for the defense of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
But the question is, why did they put on such a posture, as if the prime minister's mansion was about to be attacked by the enemy?Xun Xu pinched his chin lightly, shook his head, pulled the reins, and let the horse wade slowly.
When Xun Xu was about to approach the prime minister's mansion, a guard in the queue stood up, stopped the horse's head with a thick arm, and shouted angrily: "Who! Don't come forward!"
Furious, Xun Xu took out the famous thorn from his bosom, shook it, and said coldly: "I am Xun Xu, who is in charge of Jing'an Division. I have an urgent matter to see Li Duhu." Hearing Xun Xu's official title, the guard was stunned , Immediately the expression on his face changed slightly, but the person still stood in front of him.He cupped his fists and gave a salute, and then said in a respectful tone: "Xun Zong, I'm sorry, Li Duhu is discussing important matters in the mansion, and he ordered no one to enter."
"Mine is an emergency situation." Xun Xu took a step forward, almost nose to nose with the guard.
"Li Duhu's order is to die, and no one can disturb him with any excuse."
Xun Xu became more and more suspicious, he opened his eyes and scolded loudly: "Get out of the way! If you delay the military plane, can you bear the responsibility?!" The guard was not moved by Xun Xu's words at all, he just repeated what he said before .These guards are only loyal to the top person in charge of the prime minister's mansion, and they are not afraid of such threats.
"Li Duhu specifically instructed that unless it is Prime Minister Zhuge, no one else is allowed to enter."
Hearing the guard's words, something suddenly flashed in Xun Xu's mind, his eyes froze, and he immediately asked, "Did Li Duhu tell you this sentence himself?"
The guard looked at the officer suspiciously, and replied, "Of course it was an order from the captain."
"Did your captain personally follow the orders given by Li Duhu?"
"Well... it's an official document received in the early morning."
Xun Xu's face became more and more gloomy: "That is to say, none of you have seen Li Duhu in person?" The guard turned his head and cast his inquiring gaze at his colleague. The other guards shook their heads, and one of them said: "We When I arrived at the post, the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion was locked, and no one entered."
"Do you know who Li Duhu is discussing with?" Xun Xu asked unwillingly.
The guard shook his head impatiently, turned the spear in his hand sideways, and stopped talking.Xun Xu didn't continue to stalk him, he rode on the horse and stared at the prime minister's mansion for a while, then turned his horse's head and ran quickly towards the south gate of Nanzheng.
At this time, the city was much cleaner than usual. The civilians hid in their houses, while the soldiers mostly concentrated on the walls on all sides. The empty streets only echoed with the sound of drums and horseshoes.Xun Xu lay flat on the horse, kept yelling "driver", and ran towards the south gate quickly.Although his expression was calm, his teeth were clenched tightly on his cheeks.Suddenly, Xun Xu saw something out of the corner of his right eye, pulled the reins sharply, turned to the street on the right parallel to the main street, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Asheer!"
It turned out that Asher was running in the opposite direction to Xun Xu on the street on the right.Hearing the cry behind him, he immediately turned his head to look. When he saw that it was Xun Xu, he hurriedly turned his horse to meet him.
After the two met, Xun Xu immediately asked, "Have you got the report?" Asher shook his head in shame, and said dejectedly, "I almost got into a fight with them. Death order, opening the door is a death penalty, no matter what I say, they are not allowed to go out."
"Didn't you say that you are from the Jing'an Department and are on a mission?" Xun Xu held the rein, with uncontrollable anxiety in his tone.
"I almost said that I am Prime Minister Zhuge, there is nothing I can do..." Asher spread his hands, and said helplessly, "Why don't we take them together tomorrow? I guess the martial law won't last long."
"Tomorrow will be too late!"
Xun Xu yelled at Asher, this was the first time he lost his temper with his subordinates.Asher stared at Xun Xu in bewilderment, not knowing how important this surveillance record was, to make his boss lose his composure.He muttered about what to say, but didn't know what to say.Xun Xu waved his hands, then scratched his head in despair, and said loudly to Asher, "You, go back to the Jing'an Division immediately and ask Pei Xu to gather all the people who can be mobilized, as well as the best horses. Hurry up!"
"Well, what about you?"
"I'm going to get Fuguo back. Remember, I will get everyone ready to go when I return to the 'Taoist Temple'! There must be no delay!"
"Yes, I understand."
Asher didn't dare to say anything more, he just whipped the horse back, and the horse was in pain, and with a long hiss, it rushed forward quickly.Seeing him leave, Xun Xu urged his horse to gallop towards the grain field Cao.
As soon as they arrived at Cao's outer courtyard in the grain field, Xun Xu felt relieved when he saw Du Bi's bay red horse still tied to the tree.When he reached the gate of the courtyard, he dismounted from his horse, and before he could tie the rein, he stepped into the gate of the grain field.
"Who are you looking for?" An official came over and asked.Xun Xu shouted hurriedly: "Where is the man from Jing'an Division today? Where is he?" Seeing Xun Xu's fierce look, the official shrank his neck in fright, and stuttered a little: "He, he is in the tent... "Xun Xu pushed him away and ran straight to the tent.
Before reaching the tent, Xun Xu shouted loudly in the corridor: "Fuguo! Fuguo!" When Xun Xu arrived at the door, Du Bi just heard the sound and poked his head out to look.When he saw it was Xun Xu, he couldn't help being taken aback.
"Xiaohe, didn't you go to the prime minister's mansion?"
Xun Xu didn't answer, and asked directly: "Fuguo, have you come to a conclusion?" Du Bi had never seen Xun Xu so anxious, he hesitated for a moment, and replied: "There are preliminary results, but they are not rigorous enough. , I'm comparing horizontally..."
"Just tell the conclusion, is it Li Ping or Cheng Fan?" Xun Xu interrupted him rudely.
Du Bi looked at Xun Xu in surprise. He actually talked about such a confidential matter openly here?But Xun Xu's sharp and indisputable eyes gave Du Bi no room to question him.
"It's Li Ping." Du Bi let out a long breath, and put down the brush from his hand. "I checked all the inventory procedures. He is the highest-level approver, and only he has the authority to modify the data without being noticed by others. I checked the inventory document review records on April 19, and saw Li Ping Name—earlier that day, Luo Shi had just filed the correct data, and the data released the next day was already falsified.”
"I see, it really is so! Li Ping, that villain!" Xun Xu clenched his fists and yelled as if no one was watching, causing the clerks on the side to show timid and frightened expressions, and whispered to their colleagues.
"What do you understand?" Du Bi was completely confused by Xun Xu's actions.
"Come with me, let's talk on the way!" Xun Xu grabbed Du Bi's sleeve and ran towards the door.
The two rushed to the gate of Liangtian Cao, mounted their horses and galloped in the direction of Jing'ansi.Along the way, the horseshoes were flying. Du Bi was not very good at riding such a fast horse, so he could only lean down and hug the horse's neck, and asked Xun Xu in a slightly embarrassed way, "What happened? Why do you look so nervous?"
"I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion just now and found that it was blocked by soldiers. According to the guards, they followed Li Ping's order to guard there, and no one was allowed to enter the mansion to disturb Li Ping." Xun Xu stared straight ahead. , quickly told Du Bi his thoughts, "What's interesting is that none of them knew what happened inside the prime minister's mansion; when they arrived, the gate of the prime minister's mansion was closed."
"What does this mean?"
"This incident alone doesn't explain anything, but combined with the hasty martial law order and the results of your investigation just now, we can see what Li Ping's intentions are."
Du Bi tightened his grip on the rein, and he immediately guessed it too.And Xun Xu said it first:
"I estimate that Li Ping has actually left Nanzheng, and he is most likely traveling with Zhulong. His purpose of issuing martial law and sealing off the prime minister's mansion is to use his power to deliberately cause chaos in Nanzheng and delay any possible An action to disrupt their escape plan. In this way, when the entire Nanzheng city was still besieged by an enemy that did not exist, Li Ping and Zhulong had already embarked on the road to Wei Guo leisurely. Those loyal prime ministers Mansion guards guard an empty mansion, so that everyone will think that Li Ping is still discussing affairs in the prime minister's mansion, and the effect of martial law tricks will last longer..."
"It seems that the tricks he played on the grain and grass are also motivated by the same motive."
"That's right, but it's just for different people. The modified data may be just the tip of the iceberg. Li Ping may have tampered with the entire delivery process, in order to prove to Prime Minister Zhuge that the food and grass are safe, so you can rest assured. Confrontation on the front line. In this way, he can maintain his identity as the highest person in charge of Hanzhong, and use this authority to create conditions for his escape—such as the martial law order.”
"It's really a meticulous plan, and it's definitely a long-term plan."
"Maybe this is Zhulong's masterpiece, he really knows the inside story." Xun Xu sighed.
杜弼问道：“你现在能确定他的身份了吗？成蕃还是狐忠？”荀诩摆了摆手，用一种非常苦涩的语气回答：“还没，其实现在只要去他们各自家里看一眼就会知道，不在家的那个肯定是。可惜我现在没时间去查这件事——何况烛龙的身份现在其实已经无关紧要，我们现在首要任务是尽快阻止李平的出逃。”
“这倒是，那么你知道他会走哪一条路线吗？”
“这就是我为什么急于拿到昨天南郑外围监视记录的原因了，李平如果逃走的话，一定会路过其中的一个哨所……”荀诩又甩鞭催了一下胯下的马匹，“我们现在回道观，裴绪应该已经动员好了全部人手。我们尽快出城取得报告，确认李平的逃亡路线，追上去！”
杜弼回首看了看远处城门顶楼飘扬的旗帜，不无忧虑地说道：“现在的问题是，要如何突破城门的封锁。”
“不错，这是我们目前最大的问题……”
很快荀诩就知道，他这句话大错特错了。
当他们两个人即将进入“道观”所在城区的时候，看到阿社尔迎面飞骑而来。荀诩一愣，快马一步，冲过去大声喊住他，问他是否通知了裴绪。
阿社尔宽阔的额头沾满了汗水，眼睛中还留存着极度的震惊。他看到荀诩，大喊一声：“荀从事！”声音里满是惶然。
“发生什么事了？”杜弼这时候也从后面赶了过来。
“道观……道观……”阿社尔结巴了几次，才组织起通顺的语言，“道观被一批卫戍部队士兵包围了！！”
一阵堪比朔漠冬夜的冷风吹入荀诩身体，象元戎弩箭一样钉入他的胸膛。荀诩按住胸口忍着心脏抽搐的疼痛，强作镇定地问道：“究竟是怎么回事？你见到裴绪了吗？”
阿社尔擦擦额头的汗，回答道：“我返回靖安司后，跟裴大人转达了您的交待。还没等我们有所行动，忽然外面就冲来一大批卫戍部队的士兵，将道观团团包围。为首的队长跟裴大人认识，他说这是上头的命令：今天早上从丞相府发给他们一封公函，说靖安司内部隐藏有敌人内奸。在奸细身份确认之前，禁止任何人离开靖安司。”
“这封公函自然也是李平签署的喽？”
“是的，而且授权级别相当高，连姚大人都束手无策。队长虽然表示同情，但他说这是公务，不能通融。我是趁包围圈还没形成，从一个后门跑出来的。您可千万不能回去！”
荀诩听完阿社尔的话，在马上保持着沉默，一种混杂着愤怒、懊恼、沮丧与昂扬斗志的情绪流遍了他的全身。毫无疑问，这是李平在逃亡前特意为荀诩准备的一步棋，一步令靖安司瘫痪的狠棋。
那些士兵不知道自己的最高上司已经逃亡了，他们仍旧忠诚不渝地执行着命令。这是蜀汉军队最大的优点，而现在却变成了一个最为棘手的麻烦。尽管李平已经不在，他的权力仍旧发挥着效果。丞相府与靖安司之间陷入全面对抗，而靖安司毫无胜算可言。
荀诩缓缓地环顾四周，心中忽然意识到：靖安司在南郑城内突然之间被彻底孤立了，现在四周全都是敌人。
一直以来，靖安司从事的是组织内的清洁工作，他们活跃在自己人中间，努力寻找隐藏其中的敌人。但是今天，荀诩第一次真切地感觉到，整个靖安司置身于敌人环伺之中。
“我们现在该怎么办？”
阿社尔的语调失去了弹性，他看起来非常不适应这种状况。在他身旁，杜弼捏住缰绳保持着沉默，但他的表情显示他与阿社尔有同样的问题。
目前整个靖安司都被卫戍部队监控起来，而且有理由相信司闻曹的其他分司也遭到了控制；李平和烛龙很可能已经踏上了前往魏国的路，而荀诩等人却仍旧被困在南郑城中进退两难。这种濒临失败的感觉荀诩似曾相识，让他无法不回想起两年前那次刻骨铭心的失败。但是，面对着这一次的极端劣势，荀诩反而迫发出一种超越了挫折感的气势，他捏了捏下巴，眼神中除了锐利还多了些别的什么东西。
杜弼注意到了这一细微的变化，他不失时机地问道：“现在，整个南郑城中唯一能够自由活动的情报人员恐怕只剩下我们三个了，你打算怎么办？”
“……不，也许是四个。”荀诩用右手食指顶着自己的太阳穴，偏过头若有所思地回答。相比起刚才的急躁，他现在显出异乎寻常的冷静。
在杜弼和阿社尔继续追问之前，他拨转马头，说了一句：“我们走。”然后策马朝着城里的某一个地方而去。其他两个人对视一眼，也抖动缰绳紧跟上去，现在他们没什么别的选择。