Zhou Xu had been doing business in Guazhou City and was familiar with everything in the city. He also knew Fu Junheng's nature. After listening to Lai Ji's words, he shook his head and said, "Mr. Lai, I didn't mean to pour cold water on you, but Fu Junheng was promoted by Su Dingfang. It's very difficult to instigate Fu Junheng, especially to let Fu Junheng deal with Su Dingfang. "
After a pause, Zhou Xu continued, "Fu Junheng looked down on Su Dingfang in the early days, but he has been convinced by Su Dingfang. In particular, he is upright and fair in his dealings. It's quite difficult to persuade such a person to surrender. "
Lai Ji said, "Zhou Xu, I'm not trying to instigate a rebellion, nor am I taking the initiative to do so. This time, I'm trying to make Fu Junheng surrender even if he doesn't want to. That's what I'm trying to do. "
Zhou Xu said, "Mr. Lai, you mean to coerce Fu Junheng."
Lai Ji smiled and said, "That's what I mean."
Zhou Xu was silent for a while and said, "But how are we going to coerce Fu Junheng? Fu Junheng is the Chief Historian of Guazhou City. He is powerful and has guards around him. It won't be easy for us to take down Fu Junheng quietly. "
Lai Ji smiled and said, "As I said, it's not a conventional instigation, so you don't have to worry. You know Fu Junheng's father. I'll take down Fu Junheng's father first, and then instigate Fu Junheng. "
"Wonderful!"
After Zhou Xu heard it, there was a moment of pause, and then his face immediately showed a look of admiration. He said, "Mr. Lai, you really have a divine plan. You hit the nail on the head. Fu Junheng is an extremely filial person. Every morning and evening, he goes to pay respects to his father. If we have Fu Junheng's father in our hands, then it will be easy for us to coerce Fu Junheng to do things. "
Lai Ji said, "Yes, that's what I mean. What I want to do now is to take down Fu Junheng's father. You are in charge of the news in the city. Tell me how to take down Fu Junheng's father. "
Zhou Xu looked quite excited and continued, "Mr. Lai, Fu Junheng's father is about 60 years old and has a good physique. He had a habit of going to the Swallow Lake in the city after lunch every day. Yanzi Lake was located in the southeast area of Guazhou City. It was a slightly larger lake and connected to a river that ran through Guazhou City. It was a branch of Mingshui within Guazhou. However, the river was very shallow, but the water was clear, and there were some shade trees beside Swallow Lake. Many old people were playing chess and chatting under the shade of the trees. Fu Junheng's father has nothing to do, so he plays chess every afternoon. "
Lai Ji said, "This is an opportunity!"
After a pause, Lai Ji said, "Zhou Xu, make some arrangements tonight. When Fu Junheng's father goes out tomorrow afternoon, your men will capture him. Remember, don't hurt him at all. "
Zhou Xu said confidently, "Don't worry, Mister Lai. It's just catching an old man. It's not a big problem. I'll take care of this matter. I guarantee that the task will be completed. "
Lai Ji said, "That's good."
Zhou Xu said, "Mr. Lai sneaked into the city at night. You must be very tired. Rest early. If you have nothing to do tomorrow morning, you can go out for a walk. I promise I'll bring them here in the afternoon. "
Lai Ji said, "There's no need to go out for a walk. It's easy to leak the news. Zhou Xu, you also go and rest early. I'll be waiting for your good news tomorrow afternoon. "
"Yes!"
Zhou Xu immediately agreed.
After agreeing, he first sent Lai Ji and Mordor to rest, and then he himself went to rest.
Lai Ji, Zhou Xu, and the others were all ready. They slept soundly, but on the city gate tower, Su Dingfang was nervous. He was worried about the safety of Guazhou City, so he couldn't sleep at night. He was still thinking about the battle. During the day, he had already arranged for people to quickly spread the news of Hou Junji's defeat.
First, there was the news of the failed assassination of Du Qi, and then there was the news of Hou Junji's defeat. Su Dingfang could imagine Li Shimin's anger. He must be extremely disappointed and angry.
It was on this night that the news of the failed assassination reached Chang 'an.
Late at night, Li Shimin was already asleep.
When Tang Zhen received the news from the sentries, he heard that it was related to the assassination of Du Qi in the Western Regions. He didn't dare to delay and immediately went to the bedchamber to carefully wake Li Shimin up.
Li Shimin sleepily asked, "What's the matter?"
Tang Zhen said, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the Northwest Longyou Circuit was sent back by Su Dingfang."
When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately got up. Tang Zhen hurriedly put a thin robe on Li Shimin and handed him the letter. Li Shimin's expression was slightly anxious. He quickly opened the letter and saw the news of the failed assassination.
Li Shimin's cheeks twitched.
His expression was cold.
Failed!
Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then got up and said, "Pass down the decree, summon Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng to the palace for a discussion."
"Yes!"
Tang Zhen immediately arranged it.
Then, he helped Li Shimin put on his robe and went to the side hall. It was summer now and the weather was hot. Fortunately, the side hall at night was rather cool and not particularly hot.
Li Shimin sat down and thought about the failed assassination. Time passed unknowingly. When he heard footsteps, Li Shimin looked up and saw Wei Zheng, Zhangsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling walking over together. The three of them bowed to Li Shimin and sat down.
Li Shimin went straight to the point. "We just received news from Su Dingfang that Hou Junji's assassination of Du Qi has failed."
Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng's expressions changed.
Their expressions were rather serious.
Du Qi wasn't someone to be trifled with. Moreover, after touching Du Qi's tiger butt, it was very easy to cause a commotion. Zhangsun Wuji's expression was even more unsightly. When Zhangsun Chong returned to Chang 'an, he said that Du Qi had sent word that if the Tang dynasty wanted to deal with Du Qi again, Zhangsun Chong might be sent as a hostage again.
Last time, when Li Shimin received Su Dingfang's memorial, when discussing how to deal with Hou Junji's operation, Zhangsun Wuji suggested to wait and see. He felt that they could give it a try. Although Zhangsun Wuji didn't take the initiative to deal with Du Qi, Hou Junji's action against Du Qi was equivalent to the Tang dynasty dealing with Du Qi. If Du Qi acted shamelessly and sent his son to the Western Regions as a hostage, the situation would be bad.
Li Shimin said in a low voice, "Let's talk about it. What should we do now?"
Wei Zheng said, "Your Majesty, this subject won't say too much about this old topic. If I say too much, Your Majesty will be disgusted. What I want to say is that the only thing we can do now is to appease Du Qi's anger. Once Du Qi sends his troops to attack the Tang dynasty, the consequences will be unimaginable. Thus, we have to calm Du Qi down. "
"Your Majesty, this subject objects!"
Fang Xuanling immediately objected to Wei Zheng's suggestion with a disapproving look.
Li Shimin asked, "What does Xuanling mean?"
Fang Xuanling said, "The Tang dynasty is the center of the world. It's not appropriate for them to take the initiative to apologize to Du Qi. This subject suggests that we wait and see for now. In addition, we need to make use of Du Qi to plot against Tufan. It's not appropriate for us to take the initiative to send troops. Let's see how Du Qi reacts. Then, we'll go with the flow. "
Li Shimin said, "Xuanling's suggestion is good. I agree with this analysis."
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, this subject also agrees with Prime Minister Fang's suggestion. However, this subject believes that there are two things we need to do now. First, arrange for people to closely monitor the situation in Longyou Circuit and report it promptly. Second, mobilize the army and get ready. Once there's a change in Guazhou in the Western Regions, we'll immediately send troops to deal with it. "
Li Shimin said, "Wuji's suggestion is good. Let's do it this way. The three of you come down and discuss this matter. "
"Yes!"
The three of them replied in unison.
As it was already late at night, the three of them didn't stay for long. They got up and left.
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