Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

It turned out that Guo Ziyi was about to leave Chang'an, and he would no longer be able to live in the mansion bestowed upon him by the emperor.

—Because in addition to a luxurious mansion, Li Longji also gave him the official title of Shuofang Jiedushi, who was in charge of a key area in Lingzhou in the northwest. His main task was to resist the invasion of northern foreign tribes. If foreign enemies such as the Turks and Tibetans invaded, Guo Ziyi had to do his best to resist them.

The position of Jiedushi was not low, and he was very powerful in the region he was in charge of.

However, taking up a post in such a border region will be very difficult.

Li Mao laughed: "What? We've been through thick and thin together for so long, what's wrong with me sending you to Lingzhou? Besides, I'm just going there on the way. I still need to go to Yinshan to pick up Jing Qing."

Speaking of Li Jingqing, Guo Ziyi couldn't help but say with a touch of melancholy, "Yes, how could I forget this? Before, in order to let us go to Luoyang with peace of mind, Jingqing guarded the Yinshan Grassland alone and confronted the Wolf Army."

Although the Wolf Army has become much more subdued since then and has basically reached an agreement to cease its incursions, their demand for a marriage alliance has not yet been fulfilled. Therefore, Li Jingqing is undoubtedly under considerable pressure.

Therefore, Guo Ziyi felt guilty: "Then I must take up my post as soon as possible so that Your Highness can go and meet Jing Qing sooner. But this time, after I go and return... I'm afraid we'll have to finalize the marriage alliance."

Upon hearing this, Li Mao couldn't help but sigh.

Who was the best candidate for a marriage alliance?

He knew that both the Wolf Lord and Princess Aya had their eyes on him, the Prince of Shou, but he had just married Wei Qiongying. If he were to marry the Wolf Lord's daughter as well, it would probably scare Li Longji so much that he would jump off the dragon throne.

Li Mao said, "The matter of a marriage alliance needs to be considered carefully."

Guo Ziyi nodded, understanding Li Mao's predicament, and said no more.

The two chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the side of a tall pavilion on the east side. The pavilion was surrounded by guards, and it was clear that the control was very strict.

Upon seeing the two approach, the guards immediately intervened: "Halt! Who are you? This is royal territory; no one is allowed to trespass!"

The name Tianji Pavilion suggests it's an intelligence agency.

This was an intelligence agency that Gao Lishi had established in Chang'an on Li Longji's orders. From beginning to end, Gao Lishi was in charge of it all, and these people were all assassins that Gao Lishi was allowed to keep. Apart from Gao Lishi himself, even if Li Longji wanted to enter the Tianji Pavilion, he would be stopped by them.

Guo Ziyi's face darkened when he saw someone reprimanding Li Mao like that: "Do you know who this person is? If you hurt or damage him, several heads won't be enough for you to chop off!"

The guards were completely unfazed by these threats, showing no fear whatsoever of Li Mao's identity. This attitude infuriated Guo Ziyi, but since Li Mao himself hadn't said anything, he couldn't press the matter further.

Li Mao was easygoing; even treated like this, he could still laugh: "We won't go in. We'll just wait here. When Pavilion Master Gao comes out, he will lead us in."

Gao Lishi's position in the Tianji Pavilion is Pavilion Master. This is their territory, so calling him "Eunuch Gao" would be a bit disrespectful.

Seeing Li Mao's reaction, the guards' expressions softened somewhat.

A moment later, Gao Lishi came out from the Tianji Pavilion to greet him.

His attire at this moment was completely different from when he was in the palace and by Li Longji's side. He wore a black, tight-fitting outfit, his hair was tied up high, and although his face still had some feminine features, it exuded more of the decisive and ruthless aura of a ruler.

No wonder all the problems were quickly solved as soon as Gao Lishi took action.

Such a person seems to be born not to be confined to the palace as a eunuch, but to realize his value in a place like this!

"I'm late, please come in." Gao Lishi led the two into the Tianji Pavilion.

After wandering around for a while, Li Mao realized something was wrong.

It's important to understand that places primarily focused on intelligence gathering have always kept many carrier pigeons and gyrfalcons for delivering messages, and have also trained personnel specifically for intelligence gathering...

It's not that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion doesn't have these things, but the place gives off a more serious and gloomy feeling, and there's even a faint smell of blood in the air. The carrier pigeons and gyrfalcons all look anxious and tense, and when someone occasionally comes along, they don't look like intelligence agents at all, but rather like a sinister assassin.

Gao Lishi quickly noticed Li Mao's unusual behavior and said with a smile, "Does Your Highness feel that the atmosphere here is off, and that it's not just a simple matter of transmitting intelligence?"

Having his thoughts read, Li Mao made no attempt to hide them and readily admitted it.

Gao Lishi patiently explained, "Your Highness, having fought on the battlefield, knows the importance of intelligence. Intelligence has always been obtained through undercover agents. The agents trained in the Pavilion have all had hands scarred from seeing blood. Otherwise, how could they successfully complete their missions and protect the intelligence in their hands?"

That's true. Throughout history, the transmission of information has always been based on a list of names.

Thinking of the anti-Japanese war dramas he had watched, in which intelligence agents were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect intelligence, Li Mao immediately understood Gao Lishi's meaning.

He nodded repeatedly and said, "Eunuch Gao is indeed wise. If you think about it carefully, it would be very dangerous for the Tang Dynasty and the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion if someone who doesn't know martial arts and has never experienced life and death were to possess important information."

The fact that Gao Lishi could understand this point and even had his spies practice the life-and-death tasks required of assassins proves that his thinking was already very advanced.

The existence of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion is that of a secret service agency.

It is somewhat similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot of later generations.

Li Mao was acutely aware of this and increasingly felt that Gao Lishi was a very rare ally. He had to firmly keep Gao Lishi on his side; otherwise, Gao Lishi would side with Li Longji, which would always be a major hidden danger!

Even now, Gao Lishi and Li Longji still have a good relationship as emperor and minister.

Li Longji could distrust his own son, but he trusted Gao Lishi.

How can we sow discord between him and Li Longji...?

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Guo Ziyi's voice: "Your Highness, come and see! These gyrfalcons are of excellent quality. I suppose these are the ones that flew from Chang'an to Xianyang in a day and a night before?"

Guo Ziyi was curious about everything, especially things that could be used in battle, which amplified his curiosity.

Li Mao quickly snapped out of his reverie and went to look at the gyrfalcon.

Gao Lishi said, "This gyrfalcon only recognizes one master in its lifetime; it was specially bred by us. This kind of breed needs to be cared for from the moment it hatches to be usable, so we can't just give it to Governor Guo. However…"