Ang Lee ordered not to pursue the assassins for two reasons. First, he was worried that there were other assassins nearby. If he was lured away, Yu Chengjie's life would be in danger. Second, he knew the identity of these assassins. These assassins were most likely loyal to the Five Zhao. Kill them …
Yu Chengjie's four personal guards were mainly responsible for ensuring Yu Chengjie's safety. If Ang Lee did not pursue the assassins, it was even more impossible for them to pursue the assassins. The five assassins were lucky to be able to escape unfettered.
"General is …"
"Ang Lee, Lieutenant of the Tang dynasty's Right Dragon Army, is here to pay a visit to Nanzhao's Second Prince."
Ang Lee was neither servile nor overbearing. His voice was loud like a bell.
Yu Chengjie, who was hiding under the bed, and the three attendants gathered around the bed heard it clearly. It was Ang Lee. That's right, it was the Tang Army Lieutenant who was going to escort them to the capital.
"Second Prince, Lieutenant Li is here. Please come out quickly."
The three attendants reached out to pull Yu Chengjie. After all, Ang Lee was right outside. If Ang Lee saw Yu Chengjie hiding under the bed, it would be a very embarrassing thing. Not only would Yu Chengjie and his attendants lose face, but the entire Nanzhao would lose face as well.
"Assassins, are all the assassins gone?"
Yu Chengjie had some lingering fear.
"Second Prince, the assassins have been driven away by Lieutenant Li. We are safe now."
"Second Prince, please come out quickly. If Lieutenant Li sees …"
Yu Chengjie heaved a big sigh of relief when he heard that the assassins had been driven away. It was not until now that he suddenly realized that he was hiding under the bed. This made him feel very embarrassed.
"Why is Xiao Wang under the bed? What's going on? Quickly pull Xiao Wang out."
Yu Chengjie pretended to be confused. He quickly grabbed the attendants' hands and climbed out from under the bed. He quickly tidied up his clothes and put on the air of a prince.
"Second Prince, Lieutenant Li requests an audience."
Yu Chengjie shook his clothes, sat cross-legged on the seat of honor, and pursed his lips. "Let him in."
"Officer Li, this way please."
Ang Lee signaled Kun Xiong and Fei Yu with his eyes, telling them to stay outside while he walked in alone.
"Ang Lee, Lieutenant of the Right Dragon Martial Army of the Tang dynasty, pays respect to the Second Prince."
Ang Lee was neither servile nor overbearing. He cupped his hands and saluted Yu Chengjie.
Yu Chengjie looked at Ang Lee casually, paused, and said softly, "Xiao Wang has been waiting in Yizhou City for three whole days. Finally, Field Commandant Li is here. Now, we can set off for Chang 'an City immediately."
"Second Prince, I've only brought a small number of troops to Yi Zhou City. Most of them will arrive tomorrow afternoon. I hope Second Prince can stay in Yi Zhou City for one more day."
"I want to stay for another day."
Yu Chengjie was very dissatisfied. He looked at Ang Lee and said, "Xiao Wang has been waiting in Yi Zhou City for three days, and the assassins have already arrived. Now, he wants to wait for another day. Humph!"
His tone was quite arrogant. Of course, Yu Chengjie did this to establish his power in front of Ang Lee, so that he could point fingers at Ang Lee along the way.
Ang Lee smiled faintly. "If Second Prince stays in the Courier Hostel, no matter how powerful the assassins are, they won't dare to assassinate Second Prince."
"What do you mean, Lieutenant Li?"
Yu Chengjie stared at Ang Lee angrily.
Ang Lee was not afraid of him. He said seriously, "If I'm not wrong, the assassins should have expected that Second Prince would go to the Spring Lady's House. Therefore, they set up an ambush near the Spring Lady's House. If Second Prince didn't have four guards with excellent martial arts, I'm afraid that the assassins would have succeeded."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the guards with admiration. The guards also looked at Ang Lee with the same look. After all, the four guards had seen Ang Lee's performance just now. They admired Ang Lee's excellent martial arts.
Yu Chengjie did not seem to hear the sarcasm in Ang Lee's words. Instead, he looked proudly at the four guards beside him and said proudly, "These four guards are the warriors of the Nanzhao Palace. Before we left, Father specially sent them to protect Xiao Wang."
When Ang Lee heard this, he felt a little emotional. Pi Luoge had united the Six Zhao by force and set fire to the Songming House, burning the Lord of the Five Zhao to death. Therefore, Pi Luoge should be very clear that there were many people in the Five Zhao who wanted to kill him.
Yu Chengjie was his son, so he would inevitably become the target of assassination by the remnants of the Five Zhao. In order to protect his son from being assassinated, he handed over his four warriors to Yu Chengjie and asked them to protect Yu Chengjie with all their might. This seemed to show that Pi Luoge still loved Yu Chengjie very much, or at least hoped that he would live well.
Parents in the world love their children dearly. As parents, there was no one who did not love their children dearly.
At this moment, Ang Lee understood this sentence more deeply.
At the same time, Pi Luoge's love for Yu Chengjie was also a good thing for Ang Lee. This would more or less increase Yu Chengjie's chances of winning the throne, so that Nanzhao would be ruled by a person who was not very capable. In this way, it would not pose any threat to the Tang Empire.
"It turns out that the King of Yunnan was already prepared and sent his warriors to protect the Second Prince. It seems that the Second Prince is deeply favored by the King of Yunnan and will definitely inherit the title of the King of Yunnan in the future."
Ang Lee praised and tested Yu Chengjie's reaction.
Sure enough, the expressions of Yu Chengjie, his followers, and his guards all changed.
Inheriting the title of the King of Yunnan was an extremely sensitive topic in Nanzhao. Almost no one dared to talk about it publicly. But Ang Lee actually said it casually, which naturally made them very nervous and vigilant.
Yu Chengjie narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at Ang Lee. He paused and smiled slightly. "Captain Li really knows how to joke. Father's title naturally belongs to the First Prince. How could Xiao Wang dare to have extravagant hopes?"
"Of course not."
Ang Lee waved his hand and said seriously, "Since ancient times, the most important thing in the succession of the throne is nothing more than bloodline, concubine, and elder. Among these three points, the most important is naturally bloodline. The closer the bloodline of the monarch, the more qualified one is to inherit the throne. Only then can one consider the order of concubine and elder."
Yu Chengjie's followers and four guards were so shocked that they held their breaths. They didn't understand what Ang Lee wanted to do. Why did he talk about such a sensitive topic as soon as they met? It caught them off guard, but they couldn't directly object.
Seeing that the people in the room were a little panicked, Ang Lee let go of his courage and continued, "I don't know much about Nanzhao, but I heard that the First Prince is not the biological son of the King of Yunnan. How can such an outsider be qualified to inherit the title of the King of Yunnan?"
"Cough, cough, cough. Captain Li, be careful with your words. This is Nanzhao's internal affairs. It's better if you don't interfere."
One of the followers was worried that if he continued, it would be a plot to seize the throne and hurriedly stopped him.
Yu Chengjie was also worried that the four guards his father gave him had the task of monitoring him. He also hurriedly said, "Captain Li, Xiao Wang and you hit it off at first sight. Let's not talk about these heavy topics. Drink, drink, and get drunk. Hahaha."
"Okay, since the Second Prince is so interested, I will accompany you. However, I have never been drunk in my life."
"Hahaha, good. Xiao Wang will definitely be friends with Captain Li."
Yu Chengjie changed his initial arrogant attitude and was very warm to Ang Lee. Of course, this was mainly because Ang Lee mentioned a sensitive topic just now. It was obvious that he was biased. In other words, Yu Chengjie could clearly feel that Ang Lee supported him.
Yu Chengjie also knew that he didn't have much of an advantage in the fight for the throne. The First Prince Gelofeng had made many contributions to the country and had a lot of prestige in the military and the court. If he wanted to fight against Gelofeng, it was especially important to get the support of the Tang dynasty.
This time, he volunteered to go to Chang 'an because he listened to his strategist's suggestion. He wanted to take advantage of the great opportunity of pleading for Pilogue to move around Chang' an and seek the support of the imperial court of the Tang Empire for his succession. Naturally, Yu Chengjie was very happy that Li An offered to support his succession.
Ang Lee was only a small captain in the Tang dynasty. His position was not high, but Yu Chengjie had heard a little about Ang Lee's achievements. He believed that Ang Lee would have a bright future. It was naturally the best thing for Yu Chengjie to make friends with such a supportive and promising general of the Tang dynasty.
Of course, Ang Lee chose to support Yu Chengjie because Yu Chengjie was not bold enough and his ability to govern was far inferior to Gelofeng. Choosing such a person to succeed the throne of Nanzhao was extremely beneficial to the Tang dynasty.
Both sides took what they needed. Letting Yu Chengjie succeed the throne of Nanzhao was in the common interest of both sides. Yu Chengjie seemed to understand this in his heart, so he dared to go to Chang 'an to ask for the support of the Tang dynasty. He couldn't allow the country of Nanzhao to be handed over to an outsider.
In order to drink to his heart's content, Yu Chengjie chose a private room by the window and asked four guards to stand guard outside the door. Three of his confidants stayed in another room to drink with Kun Xiong and Fei Yu.
After the assassination in the Spring Boudoir, hundreds of Tang dynasty's soldiers from the city arrived in a very short time and tightly surrounded the Spring Boudoir. Even a fly couldn't fly in. Therefore, Yu Chengjie didn't have to worry about his own safety.
Ang Lee was born with a good constitution and a high tolerance for alcohol. He was the type of person who wouldn't get drunk after a thousand cups. Yu Chengjie, on the other hand, had been drinking for many years and also had a good tolerance for alcohol. The two of them frequently clinked glasses and chatted happily.
Alcohol could stimulate people's nerves and make them excited. It could also make people say things that they didn't dare to say in normal times.
After Yu Chengjie drank too much, he couldn't hold back his words. From time to time, he complained in front of Ang Lee that his father had adopted Gelofeng, a wild child. It should have been easy for him to inherit the throne, but now he was extremely passive. It was even very likely that he would lose the right to inherit the throne in the end.
When Yu Chengjie was depressed, he was also at his weakest. Ang Lee seized this opportunity and boldly expressed that he would always support Yu Chengjie in order to maintain the historical tradition of bloodline inheritance.
As the Second Prince of Nanzhao, Yu Chengjie didn't doubt Ang Lee's motives for supporting him. Of course, even if he knew Ang Lee's motives, it didn't matter. His goal was to seize the right to inherit the throne of Nanzhao. As for other things, he didn't need to care too much.
"Captain Li, Xiao Wang wants to tell you something from the heart today."
Yu Chengjie looked at Ang Lee with a drunken expression and said sincerely, "Xiao Wang doesn't have great talent and vision, and his talent is not as good as Gelofeng's. However, Xiao Wang's loyalty to the Tang dynasty can be seen by Heaven and Earth. If Xiao Wang can really inherit the title of King of Yunnan, Xiao Wang will definitely follow the lead of the Tang dynasty and be a good subject."
Ang Lee wouldn't believe Yu Chengjie's sincerity so easily. However, Yu Chengjie's aptitude was average. Even if he had disloyalty to the Tang dynasty, he didn't have the ability to pose a real threat to the Tang dynasty. Yu Chengjie was a person that Ang Lee didn't worry about.
"What the Second Prince said is right. Although this humble official's position is low, this humble official is as loyal to the Tang dynasty as the Second Prince. This humble official and the Second Prince are both loyal subjects of the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee followed Yu Chengjie's wishes and smiled slightly.
"Yes, yes, yes, Commandant Li said it very well. Xiao Wang and Commandant Li are both loyal subjects of the Tang dynasty. Both are loyal subjects of the Tang dynasty. Hahaha …"
Yu Chengjie smiled apologetically, expressing his loyalty to the Tang dynasty.
Ang Lee smiled faintly and looked at Yu Chengjie. "The Second Prince must have something important to do in Chang 'an City this time, right?"
Yu Chengjie nodded slightly and pretended to be sincere. "Commandant Li should have heard that King Cuangui and Cuan Chongdao of the Cuandi Clan killed Zhu Lingqian, the City Builder of the Tang dynasty, and openly rebelled against the Tang dynasty. This is really treacherous and everyone has the right to punish them. As the King of Yunnan of the Tang dynasty, my father naturally can't sit idly by. Therefore, he sent Xiao Wang to Chang 'an City to ask the Emperor of the Tang dynasty for permission to lead the army to suppress the Cuandi rebellion and share His Majesty's burden."
"Oh, so it seems that the King of Yunnan is really a loyal subject of the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee smiled faintly and stared into Yu Chengjie's eyes.
Yu Chengjie frowned. "Commandant Li, Nanzhao has always been loyal to the Tang dynasty since our ancestor gave up the Dragon. We have never done anything to betray the Tang dynasty. Commandant Li should be very clear about this."
Ang Lee smiled gently. "Of course, I know that the previous Lords of Nanzhao have always been loyal to the Tang dynasty. However, this time, the King of Yunnan volunteered to lead the army to suppress Cuandi. Is it just to share the burden of the Emperor of the Tang dynasty?"
"What do you mean, Commandant Li? Why is Xiao Wang getting more and more confused?"
Yu Chengjie's eyes flickered.
Ang Lee stared into Yu Chengjie's eyes and said word by word, "I want to say that on the day the Cuandi rebellion is quelled, Cuandi is a province of the Tang dynasty or Nanzhao's territory."
"This …"
Yu Chengjie's eyes suddenly panicked. He paused and said with a smile, "Commandant Li, you really know how to joke. Nanzhao's entire territory belongs to the Tang dynasty. Of course, Cuandi is also part of the Tang dynasty. Why? Do you doubt my Nanzhao's loyalty to the Tang dynasty?"
Although he tried his best to explain, Yu Chengjie knew very well that his father, Pi Luoge, did have the ambition to annex Cuandi. As the second prince of Nanzhao, it was impossible for him not to know about this. However, Ang Lee could see through this, which surprised him quite a bit. At the same time, he realized that Ang Lee was much shrewder than he thought. It would not be so easy to deceive Ang Lee.
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