Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 279: Take advantage of your younger brother!
Mount Li, Hot Spring Palace.

Today is a mixed bath.

In addition to Wu Meiniang and Concubine Zheng, Li Zhi brought other concubines to the hot spring palace, Jiulongtang.

The pool was filled with smoke. Li Zhi was lying comfortably on Liu Chong'er's thighs, while Xu Jin was rubbing his back.

In the pool, Zhu Zhenlian and the other two talented people were talking in low voices, occasionally letting out a burst of silver bell-like laughter.

Taking a warm bath in the summer is not a comfortable thing, but the three girls were very interested in it.

They showed off their graceful limbs in the pool and glanced at the emperor from time to time, hoping to attract his attention.

It was a pity that Li Zhi was too comfortable and almost fell asleep, so he had no time to see them.

At this time, Jiang Shanggong walked in from outside.

She wanted to report something to Li Zhi, but seeing that the emperor had his eyes half-closed and looked drowsy, she didn't know whether she should go forward to report.

Xu Jin noticed her, stood up and walked over, and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?"

Concubine Jiang whispered, "My lady, Grand Eunuch Wang has sent this servant to come in and deliver a message saying that General Wang from the Imperial Household wishes to see Your Majesty."

Xu Jin nodded, returned to Li Zhi, and said softly, "Your Majesty, the general of the inner guard king requests an audience."

Li Zhi slowly opened his eyes, sat up, patted his face, and said, "I understand. You guys continue to bathe. I'll go and take a look." He put on a bathing cloth and left the hot spring.

The weather was warm today, so Li Zhi went straight to the warm room outside wearing a bathing robe and barefoot.

Not only Wang Jishan but also Bilus was waiting in the room. He was one of the persons in charge of the internal affairs office's intelligence work on the Arab side.

After the two men exchanged greetings, Li Zhi first looked at Bilus and asked, "But is there any news from the Arabs?"

Bilus nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the Arabs have sent a message saying that they have no intention of going to war with the Tang Dynasty and are willing to withdraw from Kangguo. They also hope that the Tang Dynasty will abide by the agreement and not interfere in the affairs of India."

Li Zhi was surprised and asked, "Did they really withdraw from Kangguo?"

Perrus said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Arabs are extremely cunning. They say they are willing to withdraw, but then they find an excuse, saying that the new king they supported has lost their control and is unwilling to return the throne."

Li Zhi pondered and said, "In other words, if Kangguo wants to restore its independence, it still requires us to send troops to help the King of Kangguo?"

Bilus said, "That's right. When the time comes, the Arabs may secretly help us."

Now that the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs have already torn their relations apart, it is not surprising that the other side is secretly trying to trip them up.

Kangguo was a big country among the Nine Clans of Zhaowu, and Li Zhi did not expect them to really return the Kangguo regime honestly.

No matter where the battlefield is, the final word will come from force.

Li Zhi thought for a moment and then ordered, "Send a message to the Ministry of War, have Pei Xingjian contact the countries in the Western Regions and prepare for war."

The biggest problem in overseas operations is logistics.

A very important point in the success of this attack on Tubo was that the advantages of the younger brother were fully utilized.

Although the younger brothers are not strong in combat, they are very close to Tubo and can make up for the problem of insufficient troops and reduce the burden of the Tang Dynasty's expedition.

The same applies to dealing with the Western Regions. Kangguo was infiltrated by the Arabs, and the other eight countries of the Nine Zhaowu Clans must have been very scared.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty summoned them to jointly recover the former territory of Kangguo, and these eight small countries would definitely be very active.

The Tang Dynasty only needs to send a small number of troops and organize them in the center.

Wang Fusheng listened to Li Zhi's instructions and agreed.

Li Zhi turned his gaze to Wang Jishan and asked, "Does Lord Wang have something to report as well?"

Wang Jishan said, "Your Majesty, I have recently captured three groups of Baekje spies in the city. I find this unusual, so I have come to report this."

Baekje was joining forces with Khitan and Goguryeo and was ready to take action. Wang Jishan suspected that this matter was related to military affairs, so he came to report it.

Li Zhi recalled what Liu Renyuan had said a few days ago, and his heart froze. He asked, "What information did you get from the torture?"

Wang Jishan said, "At present, we only know that they came to Chang'an to look for someone. In addition, Baekje may have a stronghold outside Chang'an. I am trying my best to send people to search for them."

The suburbs are not as large as Chang'an City. Even if the Internal Affairs Office sends out all its personnel, it will be difficult to search every place, so Wang Jishan's tone is uncertain.

Li Zhi said: "I understand. Is there anything else?"

Everyone said no, so Li Zhi asked them to leave.

Li Zhi returned to Tangchi, and Wang Fusheng picked out a clever eunuch and asked him to go to the Ministry of War to convey the imperial edict.

It was already afternoon when the eunuch rode back to Chang'an City.

When he arrived at the Ministry of War, he learned that Xiao Siye had already resigned.

The Ministry of War was very busy with the war against Tubo a while ago. Recently, the officials breathed a sigh of relief and left the office earlier. Even Xiao Siye left work early.

The eunuch was an efficient person, so he did not ask anyone else to convey the message, but went to the Xiao Mansion in person.

In the study of the Xiao Mansion, Xiao Siye was receiving another guest.

This was not the first time Zhou Daowu visited Xiao Siye. Although their relationship seemed average on the surface, they actually had a very good personal relationship, which saved them the trouble of exchanging pleasantries.

"Brother Xiao, I'm in trouble." Zhou Daowu went straight to the point.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties. Although he held a military command, he had a refined temperament and looked more like a scholar.

Xiao Siye poured him a cup of tea and asked with concern, "What happened? Is there anything I can help with?"

Zhou Daowu said with a gloomy face, "I was tricked by a woman."

"woman?"

Zhou Daowu lowered his head slightly and said, "You know, the princess is too strict, so I sometimes go out to eat secretly. I just didn't expect it to ruin everything!"

Xiao Siye said in a deep voice: "What happened? Does the princess know?"

Zhou Daowu smiled bitterly and said, "If she knew, at most she would drive that woman out of Chang'an. It's not a big deal. I...ah..." He sighed, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

Xiao Siye frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Zhou Daowu's face darkened as he said, "That woman stole my fish talisman and seal!"

Xiao Siye cried out in surprise, "What? You're too careless!"

The fish token is an official's certificate. If you lose the fish token, it can easily be used by others to commit illegal acts.

The imperial court had issued a strict order that if the fish token was lost, the consequences would be a deduction of salary at the very least and a demotion at the worst.

Therefore, in order to prevent the fish token from being lost, officials would carry a fish bag with them to prevent the fish token from being exposed.

The same applies to seals.

In a sense, losing the seal is more serious, because officials do not need to carry their seals all the time. Losing it in this case shows the official's carelessness. Naturally, the court would not reuse such an official.

Xiao Siye said in a deep voice: "What is her purpose? Does she want money, or does she want to force you to marry her?"

A vein etched across Zhou Daowu's forehead as he gritted his teeth and said, "After she stole it, she never came back to look for me. I sent people to look for her, but she and her husband disappeared!"

Xiao Siye's heart sank.

It's okay if you can figure out the other party's purpose, but the problem is that if the purpose is unclear, anything can happen.

Zhou Daowu continued, "Di Renjie came to see me yesterday and said that the bitch was dead."

The more Xiao Siye listened, the more surprised he became. He asked, "Dead?"

Zhou Daowu said, "Yes, according to Di Renjie, it seems that he was killed by Zheng Xuankai."

Xiao Siye rubbed his hedgehog-like beard, his eyes flickering. "I remember you had a good relationship with Zheng Xuankai, right?"

Zhou Daowu said in a deep voice, "We can be considered fellow believers. He was the one who introduced that bitch Jin Yan to me. I was a little skeptical of him at first, but who knew he would actually kill Jin Yan!"

Xiao Siye asked, "Why did Di Renjie look for you?"

Zhou Daowu glanced at him and said, "Don't worry, he didn't discover anything about the fish talisman and the seal. He only came to ask me a few questions because I was sending people to look for Jin Yan and her husband."

Xiao Siye nodded and said, "Then what do you need me to do for you?"

Zhou Daowu said in a deep voice, "Jin Yan's house has been guarded by the Dali Temple yamen runners. I can't go in to retrieve my things. I know you have a good relationship with the Minister of Justice Dou Dexuan. Could you ask him to help me retrieve the fish token and seal?"

The Ministry of Justice also has the power to investigate cases. Besides, it is not competing with the Dali Temple for the case. It is just a trip to Jin Yan's house to take something, which is not difficult.

Xiao Siye thought for a moment and said, "This is an easy matter to handle, but it's a little strange. Since Di Renjie took over the case, didn't he send anyone to search Jin Yan's home?"

Zhou Daowu said, "He must have focused all his attention on Zheng. He hasn't mentioned the fish talisman to me anyway."

Xiao Siye nodded and was about to speak when the guard came to report that a eunuch wanted to see him, and it seemed that he was sent by the emperor.

Zhou Daowu sighed, "You've already returned home, yet His Majesty still sent someone to convey his order. This shows how much His Majesty values ​​Brother Xiao."

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "I guess something happened on the front line again. I'm going to receive an order." He walked out of the study.

After a cup of tea, Xiao Siye returned to his study. Zhou Daowu hurriedly asked, "What decree did His Majesty convey?"

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, this involves confidential matters. I'm really sorry that I can't tell you."

Zhou Daowu nodded and said, "Since this is a military matter, it should be done this way. Then I'll take my leave. I'll leave you with the fish seal."

That night, Xiao Siye went to visit Dou Dexuan and explained the situation to him.

The next morning, an official from the Ministry of Justice brought people to Jin Yan's home to inquire about the case.

The officials of the Dali Temple originally thought that the Ministry of Justice was trying to steal the case and were quite hostile towards them.

Later in the conversation, I learned that they had only heard that the case involved Zheng, so they came to take a look and would not intervene, so I let down my guard.

However, officials from the Ministry of Justice searched Jin Yan's home but did not find the fish token or seal.

Xiao Siye arrived at the Zhou residence and told Zhou Daowu the situation. The latter murmured, "Could it be that the thing is on the corpse?"

Xiao Siye frowned and said, "If it was on the corpse, how could Di Renjie not have discovered it?"

Zhou Daowu smiled bitterly and said, "I heard from Di Renjie that the body disappeared. It might have been disposed of by Zheng's people in advance."

Xiao Siye said in a deep voice: "Well, I will help you find Zheng and ask if they have the things."

Zhou Daowu stared at Xiao Siye and said, "Brother Xiao, if you can help me get through this, I will never forget your kindness!"

Xiao Siye laughed and said, "Is there any need to talk about this between you and me?"

After saying goodbye to Zhou Daowu, he headed towards Zheng Mansion.

However, after arriving at Zheng's house, Zheng Xuanguo avoided the topic and refused to explain the matter of the corpse.

Later, Xiao Siye asked anxiously and explained Zhou Daowu's situation. Zheng Xuanguo then confessed honestly that the body they dug up was not Jin Yan's body, but a male body!
After Xiao Siye returned and discussed with Zhou Daowu, they both began to send people to look for Jin Yan's body.

Just when Zheng, Xiao and Zhou were looking for the body, Di Renjie suddenly came to visit Zheng's house.

Zheng's servants led him to the outer hall of Zheng's mansion, where Zheng Rentai personally entertained him.

Zheng Rentai said in a deep voice: "Di Siqing, if you have anything to say, just ask. There is no need to look at me like you are interrogating a criminal."

Di Renjie said slowly, "I didn't treat Lord Zheng as a prisoner, nor did I treat your son as a prisoner. It's a pity, why did Lord Zheng treat your son as a prisoner?"

Zheng Rentai was stunned and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Di Renjie asked, "If you didn't consider your son a criminal, why did you cover up for him and destroy the evidence?"

Zheng Rentai said coldly: "I don't understand what you are saying."

Di Renjie said, "You may not have understood what I said just now. I said I didn't treat your son as a criminal. Do you know why?"

Zheng Rentai asked: "Why?"

"Since Jin Yan is not dead, your son is naturally not a criminal."

Zheng Rentai stood up suddenly and said in a lost voice, "She's not dead?"

Di Renjie said calmly, "You should know the answer, right? Could it be that you dug up Jin Yan's body?"

Zheng Rentai took a deep breath, his tone softened a bit, and he forced a smile and said, "Di Siqing, could you tell me in detail what happened?"

Di Renjie said, "Jin Yan's original intention was to steal something from Zhou Daowu. Through your son, she got to know Zhou Daowu and successfully stole the item."

"After stealing it, Zhou Daowu would definitely not let it go, so she thought of a way to fake her own death and escape."

"Your son certainly didn't lie. It was Jin Yan who wanted to kill him. During the struggle with Jin Yan, he accidentally stabbed Jin Yan with the scissors."

"However, all of this was Jin Yan's plan. The scissors only pierced the blood bag that Jin Yan had prepared in advance. Your son mistakenly believed she was dead, so he took her outside the city and buried her."

Zheng Rentai was surprised and delighted, and said, "That's how it is! I was wondering why Xuan Kai would kill someone!"

Di Renjie said slowly, "This is just my speculation at the moment. I hope you won't hide anything and tell me the truth. Only then can my speculation be confirmed."

Zheng Rentai said hurriedly: "Of course, we didn't dig up Jin Yan's body, but a male corpse."

Di Renjie was moved and asked, "A male corpse?"

Zheng Rentai continued, "Di Shaoqing, to thank you for uncovering the truth, I can tell you another secret. The things that were stolen from Zhou Daowu were his fish talisman and seal!"

Di Renjie's eyes flickered as he asked, "Can you take me to see the body first?"

Zheng Rentai extended his hand and said, "Of course, please follow me."

(End of this chapter)