"Hyah!"
Soon, the carriages arrived outside the Imperial City. Fang Xuanling alighted from the carriage and couldn't help but feel worried. Something big must have happened for His Majesty to summon them in the middle of the night.
"Brother Fang!"
"Brother Zhangsun!"
"Brother Li …."
Most of the people who could be summoned by Li Shimin in the middle of the night were important officials of the imperial court. Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Ji, and other important officials of the imperial court came one after another.
After greeting each other, they didn't say anything else and entered the palace at the same time.
When they arrived at the Taiji Palace, they found that Li Shimin was already waiting there. Everyone was shocked and quickly went forward.
"His Majesty summoned us in the middle of the night. Did something big happen?" Fang Xuanling asked.
Zhangsun Wuji secretly observed Li Shimin's expression. As the person who was most familiar with Li Shimin, Zhangsun Wuji found that although Li Shimin looked calm now, he was already uneasy.
"You will know when you see it." Li Shimin took a deep breath and handed over the urgent letter in his hand.
"Tubo!"
When the officials saw the urgent letter, their faces suddenly changed and they shouted in a low voice.
Zhangsun Wuji suddenly understood the reason for Li Shimin's uneasiness. He didn't know if it was because he was worried about the secret formula of the gunpowder being leaked or because he was worried about the safety of the Mo family's son.
Fang Xuanling couldn't help but frown and said, "The Old Man always thought that Merton deliberately targeted Tubo before. Now it seems that Merton's worry was right. Tubo is really ambitious."
For a long time, Mo Jiazi had a deep prejudice against Tubo. Originally, the officials thought that Mo Jiazi deliberately targeted Tubo because of Princess Changle. However, Tubo revealed his true colors step by step. Previously, he joined forces with the Tuyuhun tribe to kill Murong Shun, who was supported by the Tang dynasty, and made it look like the Tuyuhun had internal strife. Now, 5000 Tubo cavalry ambushed the firearms department, which was a blatant declaration of war against the Tang dynasty.
"This is I's fault. I didn't see the movements of Tubo's army in time and let the firearms department suffer this disaster." Li Ji looked ashamed and took the initiative to bear the responsibility.
Now that the Minister of War, Hou Junji, was going to fight against Gao Chang, Li Ji was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of War. Naturally, the Ministry of War couldn't escape the blame of the 5,000 Tubo cavalry lurking outside Jade Gate Pass.
"Don't blame General Li. Who would have thought that Tubo and Tuyuhun colluded? Not only did they intend to encroach on the Tuyuhun, but they also targeted Merton and the firearms department." Fang Xuanling shook his head and said. No one would have thought that Tubo would be so ruthless. First, they used Tuyuhun to attract the attention of the Tang dynasty and tried to besiege the 100,000 Tang Army. After failing, they actually set their sights on the most confidential firearms department of the Tang dynasty.
"But Your Majesty, don't worry. The firearms department has thousands of soldiers and horses, and they also have peerless weapons like gunpowder. In addition, Merton has created miracles time and time again. Perhaps this time, he can also come back from the jaws of death." Zhangsun Wuji comforted, but his words were watertight, trying to please both sides.
All the officials nodded and comforted Li Shimin. Only then did his frown slightly relax.
"This matter must be thoroughly investigated. Why would Tubo's 5,000 cavalrymen quietly lie in ambush outside Jade Gate Pass? They must be sure that the firearms department will be alone. I heard that after the great victory of Gao Chang spread, both the people and the government said that they wanted Merton to come back as soon as possible to accompany Gao Chang in giving birth. Today, it seems that the methods of the mastermind behind the scenes are extraordinary!" Li Shimin said coldly.
Everyone was shocked and immediately understood the meaning of Li Shimin's words. The mastermind behind the scenes manipulated public opinion and did something that affected the decision of the imperial court. How could Li Shimin tolerate this?
"Yes! We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. "Fang Xuanling and the others solemnly said. Tubo actually reached out to Chang 'an City. Not only could Li Shimin not tolerate this, even they could not tolerate it.
"Let's do this in secret." Li Shimin also did not forget to order.
All the officials nodded and immediately knew that Li Shimin was taking care of Princess Changle's emotions.
The urgent news in the middle of the night naturally alarmed many people. However, under Li Shimin's deliberate suppression of the matter, it quickly calmed down. After all, there were many things that the government had never disclosed to the public.
However, for two whole days, the people of Chang 'an City found that the government's interrogation was particularly strict, especially for the barbarian merchants. Almost the entire West City had been under martial law.
After two days of investigation, some of the Tufan spies lurking in Chang 'an City were uprooted. Even the spies from other small countries were implicated, and they were also implicated.
When Li Shimin saw so many spies in Chang 'an City, he could not help but turn pale. Fang Xuanling, who was reporting to him, said helplessly, "Your Majesty, according to the spies of Tubo, they were only instructed by Lu Dongzan to deliberately spread the news in Chang' an City that Princess Changle had a hard time during pregnancy and that Merton should come back to accompany her because of his hard work. Other than that, they did not know anything else."
Li Shimin sneered and said, "So, there are also people in the Tang dynasty who colluded with Tubo, intending to leak the state secrets of the Tang dynasty and kill the officials of the Tang dynasty."
Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "We can't rule out this possibility, but the Minister thinks that this matter can't be investigated any further. Those who can speak to the Empress and Princess Changle must be high-ranking officials and noblewomen. They are not disgusting. I'm afraid that most of them are thinking for Princess Changle. If all of them are investigated, I'm afraid it will cause a great uproar."
"The person behind this is really cunning!" Li Shimin said bitterly.
If it were an ordinary person, Li Shimin would definitely order a strict investigation. However, it involved the high-ranking officials and noblewomen of Chang 'an City, which involved complicated matters. These high-ranking officials and noblewomen were the most gossipy. They might be able to pull out the circle of noblewomen in Chang' an City. Once a large-scale investigation of these high-ranking officials and noblewomen was carried out, it would cause a great impact and would certainly not be able to hide it from Princess Changle.
"But Your Majesty can be at ease. No matter how crafty the person behind the curtain is, they've still left behind many clues that can be used against them. These high-ranking officials and noble ladies are just spreading rumors. The person who can truly influence Marquis Mo's return is definitely within the Anxi Protectorate. According to the courier, Marquis Mo also sent someone to report the attack to Gao Chang. I'm sure that General Hou will be on his guard and will find some clues.
Li Shimin slowly exhaled and said, "Then let's leave it at that for now. Su Dingfang has already gone to the Firearms Supervisor. Let's wait for the next piece of news."
Fang Xuanling had just left when Empress Zhangsun sent a messenger to inform him that Princess Changle had entered the palace.
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel a headache. After Gao Chang's victory, although Princess Changle had sternly refused to let Meton return first, after Gao Chang's news of the Firearms Supervisor's triumphant return, Princess Changle immediately began to visit the palace more frequently. Each time, she would use a roundabout way to inquire about Meton's whereabouts.
This made Li Shimin extremely fearful of Lu Dongzan. This person was an expert at manipulating people's minds. He had a firm grasp of Princess Changle's mind and was even using it to play with everyone in the palm of his hand.
"Lu Dongzan, Tubo!" Li Shimin took in a deep breath. For the first time, he formally turned his gaze to this country that he had never paid any attention to.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
