The Grandmaster Strategist

Chapter 17 The turmoil behind the scenes

The medical saint Sang Chen was collecting herbs deep in the mountains. On the day he came out of the mountain, he saw Emperor Yong's imperial notice and knew that Suiyun was on the verge of death. In three days, he galloped thousands of miles to Chang'an and arrived at Prince Yong's Mansion. Suiyun's life was hanging by a thread. With a wonderful hand, Zhe Nai was reborn, but his body became weaker and weaker from then on.

--"History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties Biography of Jiang Suiyun"

As soon as Sang Chen arrived at the palace, he went straight to Hanyuan, took a few imperial doctors and Xiao Shunzi to help, and stayed behind closed doors, only giving various orders from time to time.

Li Zhi was waiting outside the door, feeling extremely anxious. Pei Yun's injuries were completely healed. When he heard that Sang Chen had arrived at Prince Yong's Mansion, he also came and waited outside the door. He was very grateful to Jiang Zhe and followed his method to communicate with his master. After the discussion, although the two uncles did not speak, they had already acquiesced. Although it went against the Buddhist concept of compassion, they could not care less. Pei Yun was their carefully trained disciple to protect the Dharma, and he must not have anything to do with Fengyi Sect. . For this reason, they specially gave Jiang Zhe one of the two small pills he had.

Everyone waited outside for a whole day, and it wasn't until the next night that they saw Sang Chen and others walking out with tired faces. The medical sage is already in his seventies. Although he is old and has white hair and beard, he is still in good health. The doctors have almost taken turns in the past two days, but he has never left the door.

When he walked out of the room, Sang Chen saw Li Zhi at a glance, stepped forward and saluted, "I would like to thank Your Highness for your hard work. If His Highness had not used precious medicine to prolong his life, Sui Yun would not have been able to wait for me to save him." '

Li Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, sat down softly on the chair brought by the guards, and said tiredly: "Mr. Sang, I want to thank you for rescuing Mr. Jiang." '

Sang Chen smiled slightly and said: 'Suiyun and I share the same love for our ancestors and grandchildren, so it is natural for me to save him. However, although he is safe now, the rest of his recovery will still take a lot of effort, and the old man has no choice but to bother His Highness. '

Li Zhi stood up quickly and said: 'Of course, even if Mr. Sang doesn't tell me, I will ask you to stay in the palace temporarily. No matter what you need, please tell me. I will not let you down. '

Sang Chen nodded and said: "I'm tired too. Please prepare a place for me. I'll come back tomorrow to diagnose and treat Suiyun. I'll live in Hanyuan, so I can take care of Suiyun's body at any time." '

Li Zhi repeatedly promised that he had already asked people to prepare a residence for Sang Chen in Hanyuan.

At this time, the princess sent someone to persuade Li Zhi to go back to the palace to rest. These days, Li Zhi almost lived and ate in Hanyuan and did not go back at all. Now he finally felt relieved and returned to his residence. The princess took his two companions with him. The concubine and the maids waited on Li Zhi to bathe and change clothes. After a delicious meal, Li Zhi finally lay on the bed and fell asleep without any worries.

When he woke up, it was already three o'clock in the morning. Li Zhi got up. Two maids came over to help Li Zhi tidy up his clothes. Li Zhi smiled and said, 'Where is the princess? '

The princess came in from outside and said with a smile: 'Your Highness is very happy. Just now Hanyuan sent someone to report that Jiang Sima has woken up. '

Li Zhi was overjoyed and said: "The name of the Medical Sage is indeed well-deserved. Suiyun woke up after one night." '

The princess suppressed a smile and said: 'Your Highness, it's been two days and I can't wake you up from your sleep. Mr. Sang came over to see you and said that you were working too hard in the past few days and it would be fine if you woke up. '

Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "No wonder I'm hungry. Come quickly and get some food. I'm going to Hanyuan to visit Mr. Jiang." '

The princess took Li Zhi to eat outside. As she walked, she said, "Your Highness will take Rou Lan with him later. I dare not tell her about Jiang Sima these days. She has cried and made trouble several times." '

Li Zhi nodded and said: 'Okay, you can accompany me there, and then go into the palace and tell Chang Le. '

The princess looked at Li Zhi in surprise and said, 'Didn't Your Highness say this was inappropriate? '

Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "As soon as Changle knew that Jiang Sima was seriously injured, he immediately gave half of the Scrophulariaceae gifted to her by his father to the king. Two days ago, he sent someone to ask if he needed the other half. If the medical sage had not yet Come, I'm afraid I really need to borrow Scrophulariaceae. It seems that Changle really has a deep affection for Jiang Sima.

Even if I can't fulfill her wish, I don't want her to worry all day long. '

The princess nodded and said: 'Okay, let's do this. I will take Roulan into the palace with me, and I will show it to Concubine Zhangsun. Although this child is young, she is smart and cute, and Changle also likes her very much. '

Li Zhi nodded, and the princess continued: "Your Highness, although you let General Qin and the others go, you have been keeping people under surveillance these days, and they are doing so blatantly. Yesterday, Mrs. Qin came to visit in person and told me that it was definitely not Qin Qing's fault, but The general locked up Qin Qing and questioned him carefully. Li Zhi said coldly: "Let me discuss these matters with Sui Yun before we discuss them. If he did it, I will never spare him." '

The princess hesitated and said: "Your Highness, you and the prince are on the same level now. If you offend General Qin again, I will really not be at ease. Moreover, the Xiahou family is deeply favored by the emperor. Princess Jingjiang is here again on the order of her father. No matter which one is offended, it will be very troublesome. '

Li Zhi paused for a moment and said calmly: 'It's nothing. Some things will have to be resolved sooner or later. It's just that if Qin Qing really did such a thing, it would be a disgrace to the family. '

The princess said cautiously: 'I don't think this child will do this. The general has a strict upbringing. This child has a kind nature. Although he is a little reckless, he cannot do such a secret attack. '

Li Zhi hesitated for a moment and said nothing. He had already asked Qin Qing personally, and Qin Qing made no secret of what happened that day. He was sure that someone provoked Qin Qing, but he was not sure that Qin Qing had not fallen into a trap. After all, besides what happened that day, Apart from Jiang Zhe, there was no other witness alive. Even if Qin Qing told the truth, he did not rule out the possibility that he might have taken advantage of someone's assassination to add insult to injury. However, the matter was so important that Li Zhi did not want to tell the princess. He just said lightly:' This king will judge impartially. '

In any case, Prince Yong's Mansion has finally calmed down for the time being. In the past few days, everyone in the Prince's Mansion has been on their feet, and now everything is calm. Of course, the turbulence in the dark is not something ordinary people can understand.

In the prince's residence, Lu Jingzhong stared blankly at the information in his hand, and suddenly tore up the paper angrily. After a moment, he got up and walked out of the room, and walked to the palace door. He heard singing and dancing going on inside. Lu Jingzhong shook his head, He walked in quietly and saw Prince Li An sitting at the top, lazily looking at the graceful dance of the dancers. When he saw Lu Jingzhong came in with a bad look, Li An waved his hand and all the dancers and musicians retreated. Going down, he asked: "Why is the young master so worried? Isn't it because Jiang Zhe's life has been saved? Our goal was not to save his life." '

Lu Jingzhong said worriedly: 'Your Highness, I have read the information carefully these days and found that we have made a big mistake. '

Li An was stunned, sat up straight and said, 'Why did Young Master say this? '

Lu Jingzhong said: "Your Highness, I used to think that although Jiang Zhe was a national scholar, to be honest, we have no shortage of civil and military talents. Therefore, although he has extraordinary military and national policies, I don't care much. As long as His Highness ascends the throne." After that, if he is willing to serve, it will not be too late. His Highness is not the emperor anyway, so there is no need to rush to recruit talents and arouse the emperor's suspicion. The minister also secretly laughed at King Yong for not knowing how to behave. Even if Jiang Zhe is talented, he will not be included in the center. What's the use? The original minister's suggestion to assassinate Jiang Zhe was just to provoke a conflict between King Yong and General Qin. Unexpectedly, the situation that day was strange, and another group of assassins took the lead. Although they failed, the people we arranged succeeded. Later, His Highness also saw King Yong's reaction, and then I thought that we had stepped on King Yong's vitals. '

Li An nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. We have made things difficult for our second brother many times over the years. Never have we seen him so tough. He first went to his father to cry and then sent the Guards into the city. He even gave him the Scrophulariaceae rewarded by his father." He even borrowed Scrophulariaceae from Princess Changle, and even Lao Liu got up on the pole to fawn over her. Thinking of this, Gu became angry. Why was Liu brother so confused? Did he still take Gu into his eyes? '

Lu Jingzhong said: "It was these that made me suspicious. After carefully reading the old information, I realized that I had neglected my duty. This Jiang Zhe, I used to think that he was a pillar of talent, but after careful consideration, I found out that this person is actually A wizard who is good at conspiracy. '

Li An raised his eyebrows and signaled Lu Jingzhong to continue speaking. Lu Jingzhong said: "This man is famous for his literary talent. He is the counselor of Prince Nanchu De. At first, I didn't find it strange. I just thought he was just a subordinate. And what we learned Regarding intelligence, although I knew that Prince De trusted him, I did not see any strategies he offered. Although I knew that he handled military affairs well, I felt that it was irrelevant. These days, I collected all the battle reports of Prince De and found that only in Jiang When Zhe was in his army, Prince De's tactics became strange and vicious. Jiang Zhe also killed the King of Shu in a song. Although it was said to be a good story, everyone thought it was Prince De's order and Jiang Zhe was just trying to catch a knife. But now that I think about it, it may not have been Jiang Zhe's own intention. However, Jiang Zhe was ill for several years after that, so no one noticed it. If I hadn't read all the information about Nan Chu, I might not have been able to discover this. '

Li An smiled and said: 'Are you too worried, Young Master? These are all things that have no evidence? '

Lu Jingzhong said: "There is indeed no evidence, but Your Highness, why did King Qi want to compete with King Yong for this person, and this time he sent expensive medicines? Didn't His Highness say that Liang Wan had reported to Your Highness that both King Yong and King Qi had Let her pay attention to Jiang Zhe, but we thought that King Yong appreciated Jiang Zhe's talent. His Highness knew that King Yong loved talents as much as he loved it. As for King Qi, he always acted nonsense, so His Highness did not take it to heart. Now it seems that King Yong and Qi I'm afraid everyone in the king knows how powerful this person is. Only the prince and his ministers regard Jiang Zhe as a talented scholar. It is said that a blind leaf can't see Mount Tai. King Yong is using his respect to make us believe that Jiang Zhe is like Qu Yuan and Jia Yi. A famous person, but we have overlooked that this person is really a first-rate counselor. '

Li An said: "Young master is careful, Gu knows it, but he is too worried. This person has not made any achievements since he took refuge with King Yong." '

A trace of vigilance flashed in Lu Jingzhong's eyes and he said: "This is exactly what I am worried about. The so-called good warriors have no great achievements. In addition, if I guessed correctly, this person's plans should be ruthless and strict, and he is not strict in one pattern. I'm afraid We would have fallen into a trap, so I originally hoped that he would die, but I didn't expect that such serious injuries would allow him to escape. '

Li An comforted him and said, "Young Master is extremely talented. No matter how talented that person is, he is still no match for Young Master. At worst, we will send another killer." '

Lu Jingzhong's eyes first flashed with pride, but he shook his head and said: "This is another thing that has been ignored by us. There is a hidden master beside him, named Li Shun. It is said that he is a eunuch in the Nanchu Palace. When the city was destroyed, he took refuge with Jiang Zhe and was brought back by King Yong. I checked the information about this person afterwards and found that it was very rare, because this person was almost always inseparable from Jiang Zhe. Jiang Zhe lived in seclusion, and so did this person. , His Highness knows that Prince Yong’s Mansion is like an iron barrel and is difficult to penetrate, especially as Jiang Zhe is surrounded by many guards. Our spies did not pay attention to this person at all. According to Xiahou, that Li Shun’s martial arts has already arrived. In terms of superficial appearance, unless you are a master of his level or a person who is good at tasting, it is difficult to see his depth. Our spies were really inferior in this regard and did not pay special attention, so they ignored this person. , according to Xia Hou, this person's martial arts must be far superior to him. If we send another killer, I'm afraid it won't work. '

Li An looked uneasy and said: "Young Master, what do you think we should do?" '

Lu Jingzhong said: "There is no need to worry too much about the so-called troops coming to block it. It's just that we have to be more careful. Once His Highness ascends the throne, there is no need to worry. If the situation is urgent, we will send some powerful killers. No matter how high Li Shun's martial arts is, he can still Is it higher than that person? '

Li An nodded and said, 'Young Master is right. So should our business slow down? '

Lu Jingzhong said: "That's not necessary. Xiahou said that the assassin was most likely sent by Nan Chu. I don't believe that a surrender from Nan Chu would collude with the Jinxiu Alliance, and I don't believe that he is in trouble." There is no power at all. Now King Yong is in dire straits. We just took the opportunity to have a few fights. When King Yong noticed it, we had quit. But His Highness, I still advised His Highness to stay away from Xia Jinyi. He was having an affair with Jiang Zhe. He came into the house only after the conflict. I was worried that he had different intentions. '

Li An said impatiently: "Young Master, you know that although Xia Jinyi had a conflict with Jiang Zhe, it was because of the Guanzhong connection, and even Jiang Zhe would do what he did. Besides, I Someone was sent to monitor Xia Jinyi. Apart from being intimate with Xiu Chun, he was busy rehearsing songs and dances. Jiang Zhe was seriously injured this time, and Prince Yong's palace was in chaos. If he was a spy, he should pretend to be indifferent if he didn't particularly care. But you also know that although he is curious, But there was no sympathy at all, and he even ridiculed the people of Prince Yong's Mansion. In addition, he got Xiuchun. If he was a spy of Prince Yong's Mansion, he wouldn't be busy collecting intelligence these days. Besides, such a person who only knows how to show off his emotions. , I'm afraid the second brother won't like him. Don't worry, I won't let him know any secrets. This kid is not the same material. '

Lu Jingzhong frowned and stopped admonishing him. He couldn't say that His Highness had been seduced and indulged by Xia Jinyi these days, which had caused some people's dissatisfaction. He couldn't persuade him to do this.

Li An waved his hand and said: 'Okay, Young Master just strengthens the surveillance of Prince Yong's Mansion, don't worry about it. ‘Lu Jingzhong had no choice but to say yes.

Li An's expression changed at this time and he said: "There is just one thing that makes me very uneasy. King Qi did not warn you and me about Jiang Zhe in advance, and now he is trying to please you. Do you think King Qi has other intentions?" '

Lu Jingzhong said: 'Your Highness, who in the world has no selfish motives? I think that King Qi just likes talented people. Your Highness should not mind this selfishness. '

Li An glanced at Lu Jingzhong with some dissatisfaction and said: 'Since you said so, I can forget about it, but you have to pay close attention to King Qi, I don't want everyone to betray their relatives. '

Lu Jingzhong's expression remained unchanged and he said: "I must pay attention to King Qi's actions. If Your Highness is worried, you might as well ask Empress Lan. She and Princess Qi are from the same sect, so she will definitely know something." '

Li An said coldly: "I have already asked Mrs. Xiao. She said that Princess Qi told her that it was King Qi just because Gu Nian Jiang Zhe had cured his poisonous wounds. I knew about this, so I didn't Keep it in mind, after listening to your words today, Lao Liu’s words must be untrue. It’s better for you to pay attention to this matter for Gu. Gu will never allow another King Yong to appear. '

Lu Jingzhong said respectfully: 'I obey your order. '

In a house in Chang'an, Xiahou Yuanfeng was standing in the garden, admiring the first blooming plum blossoms. It was already the end of February, and several early plum blossoms were in bud. At this time, a young man in Tsing Yi hurriedly came from behind. , seeing the young master with a face as handsome as a plum blossom under the early spring sunshine, he was stunned for a moment, and then said loudly: "Sir, the guest wants to see you." '

Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled slightly and said: 'That's good. ‘After that, I cut a plum blossom, put it in the vase, and walked to the guest room holding the vase. Entering the guest room, he put the vase on the table, and the faint fragrance of plum blossoms immediately filled the room. He said lightly to the middle-aged man on the bed: 'Vicious hands and evil hearts, are your injuries healed? '

Poison Hand Xiexin looked coldly at the handsome young man who rescued him that day, and said solemnly: 'My injury has healed, can you tell me what conditions you have? '

Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled and said: 'I have one thing to tell you. Unfortunately, Jiang Zhe and Jiang Suiyun have escaped. '

Poisonous Hand Xiexin's heart tightened, but he said coldly: 'Then you, the oriole, didn't take advantage. '

Xiahou Yuanfeng said calmly: "Logically speaking, you are a Nanchu spy. I should kill you, but I really don't want to kill you. After all, our goals are not conflicting. If you are willing, I can give you another one." An opportunity to assassinate, you are willing. '

The poisonous hand sneered evilly: 'Do you think I am an idiot? Jiang Zhe must be closely guarded now, and Eunuch Shun will not leave his side now. '

Xiahou Yuanfeng's eyes lit up and he said, 'Are you familiar with Li Shun? '

Poison Hand Xiexin saw through his thoughts and said lightly: "I'm not familiar with it, but I have monitored Jiang Zhe for a while and know that he often comes in and out of Jiang Zhe's mansion. I just didn't expect that his martial arts is so strong. If he hadn't been here this time, , I'm afraid I'll die on my doorstep. '

Xiahou Yuanfeng said calmly: 'The interrogations in the capital have been relaxed a lot these days. If you are willing, I can send you out of the city. '

The poisonous hand and evil heart said coldly: 'What is your purpose? '

Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled and said: 'My purpose is very simple. I want you to draw the attention of Prince Yong's Mansion. While they are hunting you, I hope you can make them believe that it was Qin Qing who conspired with you to murder. Of course, I will try my best to help you escape back to Nanchu. If that doesn't work, please end it on your own. You know who Qin Qing is. I think the dispute between King Yong and General Qin is also good for you, Southern Chu. '

Poisonous Hand Xie knew in his heart that it was a narrow escape mission, so he said calmly: 'That's fine, at most I can give you my life back, but you also have to do one thing, you have to kill Jiang Zhe within two years. '

Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled, raised his hand and swore an oath: 'Xiahou Yuanfeng has sworn to kill Jiang Zhe within two years. If he violates this oath, he will be punished by heaven and earth. '

Poison Hand Xiexin said calmly: 'Although I don't believe your oath, I believe you must kill Jiang Zhe. Otherwise, unless you don't let him know who shot that arrow for the rest of your life, you will definitely die at his hands. '

Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled slightly. When he saw Xiao Shunzi's incredible Qinggong that day, he knew that His Highness the Crown Prince had offended a very terrible enemy, so he improvised and rescued the assassin who killed Jiang Zhe first, hoping that he could achieve his goal. , but the person who shot that arrow was not him. If Poisonous Hand hadn't thought so, how could he have obeyed his own arrangements? Thinking of the killer Huangque, Xiahou Yuanfeng thought maliciously, I wonder if that person is clear Someone also aimed a bow and arrow at him? Things in this world are no coincidence. Who would have thought that three waves of killers would arrive at Hanyuan at the same time?

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like