Zhao Hui snorted, his nostrils pointing to the sky, his expression filled with unwillingness and anger.
The scheme to frame the Tang Army was hatched by Wulon Yangguo and Zhao Daiwen. He was just an executor. But after the incident, he was demoted to a civilian, while Zhao Daiwen was not only unscathed but also got his original troops, greatly increasing his strength. How could he not be angry?
In other words, the bad idea was someone else's, but in the end, the unlucky one was Zhao Hui. He exchanged his huge loss for Zhao Daiwen's glory. It could be said that he sacrificed himself for others, and this was obviously not what Zhao Hui wanted.
"Fourth Brother, we are now grasshoppers on the same rope. Why do you have to be so calculative? What's mine is yours."
"Hmph, what a nice way to put it. If we were switched, you wouldn't say that. Abandoning the rook to save the king. You really know how to play the game."
Zhao Hui was still full of complaints. It was natural for him to fall from the position of Four Prime Ministers to an ordinary person. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if they were in his shoes.
Zhao Daiwen could understand the discomfort in Zhao Hui's heart. If this matter happened to him, it would be difficult for him to maintain his calm. However, he did not regret it. Mu Dayong was Zhao Hui's trusted aide. Since Mu Dayong was already arrested, Zhao Hui had to take responsibility to shut the mouths of the officials.
In addition, as soon as he learned that Mu Dayong was arrested, he immediately sent his subordinates to find Mu Dayong's family and used this to blackmail Mu Dayong to protect themselves.
Zhao Daiwen sighed, gently stood up, and walked to Zhao Hui. "Fourth Brother, you should know that once our plan succeeds, I will be the Lord of Dongnu Province, and you will be my Internal Minister. Your position is much higher than that of the Four Prime Ministers. Why do you care about the immediate gains and losses? Winning the final victory is the most important thing. At present, Ang Lee's existence poses a great threat to us. We should unite and eliminate Ang Lee as soon as possible, and then realize our plan."
Zhao Hui was stunned when he heard this. He was so angry that he almost forgot the important matter.
A few months ago, Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen went to the border area to inspect. They also accepted the invitation of Wulon Yangguo of Tubo to visit the Tubo Border Military Camp to improve their understanding and mutual trust.
However, after visiting the Tubo Border Military Camp, the two of them felt as if they had lost their souls. They felt uneasy. The Tubo Army's equipment and military were far better than the Dongnu Province's Border Military Camp. There were all kinds of heavy heavy weapons filled the entire camp. this made the two felt that once Tubo launched an attack on Dongnu Province's border, Dongnu Province's army, it was impossible to stop them.
Of course, the two of them definitely did not know that this was a trick of Wulon Yangguo of Tubo to deceive the enemy. The Tubo Border Military Camp did indeed have some heavy heavy weapons, but the number was very limited and they were not very big. It was definitely not as many as what Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen saw. The large number of heavy heavy weapons they saw were all fake goods. They looked very scary, but they could not be used at all. They were not as magical as Wulon Yangguo introduced them.
The catapult was more than 20 steps long, and each projectile weighed more than three kilograms. If such a heavy weapon accurately hit the watchtowers of Dongnu Province, it was inevitable that they would be destroyed. However, such a big weapon could not be used at all, and it was impossible to guarantee a hit rate. This could only scare Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen, who had never used a catapult before. Wulon Yangguo's goal was obviously achieved.
After frightening the two of them, Wulon Yangguo then went to visit the border army of Dongnu Province. He pointed out how much damage the watchtowers of Dongnu Province would suffer if they were hit by a giant catapult. Zhao Daiwen and Zhao Hui were so scared that their backs were covered in cold sweat.
Seeing that Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen had completely believed in the strength of the Tubo Border Military Camp, Wulon Yangguo officially began his plan. He pointed out bluntly that Tubo wanted to compete with the Tang Empire for hegemony, and Dongnu Province must be conquered. In order to prevent people from being plunged into misery and suffering, Zan Pu sent him to persuade them to surrender. However, the Queen of Dongnu Province did not know what was good for her. She actually disobeyed Zan Pu's order and planned to go to Chang 'an City to express goodwill to the Emperor of the Tang Empire. This angered Zan Pu, and the consequences were very serious.
Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen were so scared that they did not even dare to breathe. However, Wulon Yangguo changed the topic. He pointed out that as long as the two of them were willing to submit to Zan Pu, Zan Pu would temporarily not attack Dongnu Province. He would also help the two of them to seize the throne of Dongnu Province, and let Dongnu Province get rid of the bad habit of women making decisions.
In this way, as long as Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen submitted to Tubo Zan Pu, not only could they avoid the disaster of war in Dongnu Province, but at the same time, they could also obtain more benefits.
People were selfish, and there was no selfless person in the world. Under the influence of Wulon Yangguo's flowery words, Zhao Hui and Zhao Daiwen secretly expressed their loyalty to Tubo Zan Pu on the grounds that the people would be spared from the disaster of war. In this way, there was the scene of the spies of Dongnu Province guiding the Tubo assassins to assassinate Zhao Yefu.
Wulon Yangguo's plan was to let Zhao Yefu die in Chang 'an City and shift the blame to the Tang Empire. However, Ang Lee's sudden appearance saved Zhao Yefu and safely sent Zhao Yefu back to Queen's City. He also wiped out the Tubo assassins on the way. This completely disrupted Wulon Yangguo's long-planned plan. At the same time, it also destroyed Zhao Daiwen's attempt to smoothly seize the power of Dongnu Province.
"Great Minister's reminder is right. I was confused for a moment and almost forgot the important matter. Damn it, damn it."
Zhao Hui hit his head regretfully and said worriedly, "Great Minister, this Ang Lee is extremely cunning. We first instigated the Five Xiangs to kill him, and then we planned to shift the blame to the Tang Army. In the end, he saw through all of it. Besides, the current situation is not very favorable to us."
Zhao Daiwen waved his hand and said, "It's not that Ang Lee is too cunning. It's that we are too stupid. Shifting the blame to the Tang Army was a good plan, but we made it too fake. We killed six families and left a lot of Tang Army equipment. Isn't it obvious that we are shifting the blame? If we made it more real, Ang Lee may have been killed by us."
"Humph, it's all because of those useless trash. They don't even know how to shift the blame to others. And that damn Mu Dayong, he actually gave the game away. If Great Minister hadn't found his family in time, maybe we would have been prisoners now."
Zhao Daiwen nodded gently and said, "Your words remind me that Mu Dayong was not the only one who carried out the mission at that time. If the others were caught, wouldn't we be in danger?"
"Great Minister, you mean …"
"Leave no one alive."
As Zhao Daiwen spoke, he made a gesture of killing.
Zhao Hui nodded gently and agreed with Zhao Daiwen's approach.
"Great Minister, the current situation is not good. What should we do next?"
Zhao Daiwen sighed and said, "Deal with the matter of silencing people first. As for what to do next, I will discuss it with Great Minister."
"Okay, I understand."
After Zhao Hui left, Zhao Daiwen still sat in the darkest corner of the study, thinking about what to do next. Although what he was doing was rebellious, he didn't think so. He felt that he was protecting all the people of Dongnu Province from being slaughtered by the Tibetans. This was obviously the act of a great hero. He was a great hero, not a traitor.
Twenty miles outside the south gate of Queen's City, Ang Lee and Li Kunxiong led more than a dozen guards and rode slowly on the mountain path. The purpose of their trip was to find the Prime Minister of Dongnu Province, Zhao Jingnong.
However, Zhao Jingnong's whereabouts were uncertain. It was not easy to find him smoothly. At the very least, Ang Lee searched for half a day without finding anything.
There were endless mountains all around them. On the terraced fields that were cultivated halfway up the mountains, there were occasional figures of people farming. Every time this happened, Ang Lee would lead his men to ask around. However, these people didn't seem to know where Zhao Jingnong was. Every time Ang Lee asked, all he got was a shake of the head and a wave of the hand. It could be said that he didn't find anything.
"Big Brother, there are mountains everywhere. If there is no one to guide us, even if we search until next year, we won't be able to find the Prime Minister."
Li Kunxiong looked at the surrounding mountains with a confused expression.
"Lieutenant Li, why don't we call more soldiers and spread out to search? This way, we might have a higher chance of finding the Prime Minister."
Ang Lee quickly waved his hand and said, "We came out to find the Prime Minister to ask for his help. We can't let more people know."
"Big Brother, according to the current search method, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Ang Lee reined in his horse and thought for a moment. "Since the Second Minister asked us to come here to find the Prime Minister, it is enough to say that the Prime Minister is nearby. These farmers have been farming here all year round. It is impossible that they don't know where the Prime Minister is. Maybe our questions were too stiff and should have been more polite."
"Lieutenant Li, these people are always shaking their heads and waving their hands. They might not even understand what we are saying."
Ang Lee was stunned and immediately understood that he had made a mistake. He was in a hurry to find the Prime Minister and didn't communicate with the farmers in detail. He didn't even talk to them. He only saw them shaking their heads and waving their hands and immediately left. This was his mistake.
"There are four or five people on the terraced fields ahead. You all stay here. I will go alone."
Ang Lee jumped off his horse and had everyone wait by the side of the road.
Sure enough, when Ang Lee talked to these people, they didn't understand what Ang Lee was saying at all. However, when Ang Lee communicated with them in Tubo language, they immediately understood.
The southern part of Dongnu Province was all mountainous. The people here did nothing but farm. They didn't have the opportunity to learn the language of the Tang dynasty. Naturally, they couldn't understand Ang Lee's official language of the Tang dynasty.
After Ang Lee brought Zhao Yafu out, the farmers gradually relaxed their vigilance and pointed to a mountain peak not far away. After that mountain peak, they would arrive at the valley where Zhao Jingnong was.
Ang Lee was overjoyed. He thanked them and left. Then, he led a group of people and galloped to the mountain peak in the distance.
Dongnu Province was located in the southwest of the Tang dynasty. It was a mountainous country. More than 90% of its territory was mountainous. The rolling mountain range was the unique symbol of Dongnu Province.
After galloping up the mountain, Li An saw a valley with a sizable area. Hundreds of watchtowers were densely distributed in the valley. If it weren't for the commoners pointing the way, he wouldn't have thought that there would be such a beautiful valley behind such an inconspicuous mountain. To be continued.
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