Tibet

Li Ye quite admired Wei Feng, Lei Wanchun's new staff, for his clear thinking and sophisticated eyesight, and he could see his own layout clearly. What was even more rare was that after Wei Feng rescued Tian Chengsi, he gave up the wealth that was easily available, and his loyalty The heart is commendable.

Li Ye immediately named him the sixth-rank Cheng Yilang. Once Wei Feng ceased to be a staff member, he could be directly promoted to the governor.

In the temporary marching tent, Wei Feng smiled and said to Li Ye: "Your Highness, Tian Chengsi can be said to be a scheming and cunning person. Today he calls you brother and sister, but tomorrow he stabs you in the back. He is not trustworthy, but he also has advantages. , that is, he is very tactful, aware of current affairs, and very pragmatic in his work. This can be seen from his attitude towards businessmen. As long as he pays taxes to him, he will never discriminate and businessmen will be treated as honored guests."

Li Ye nodded, "What do you think he will do next, sir?"

Wei Feng pondered for a moment and said: "Tian Chengsi will definitely understand the profound meaning of His Highness's letter of challenge to them. If I guessed correctly, he will send an envoy to express his gratitude. In fact, he is here to test His Highness's attitude. His Highness can directly tell the envoy his intention. .”

"Will Li Baochen listen to him?" Li Ye asked again.

Wei Feng laughed, "As long as Tian Chengsi retreats and Li Baochen is unable to support himself, he will retreat honestly. Your Highness does not need to worry."

Just as he said this, a soldier outside the tent reported, "Your Highness, Tian Chengsi sent his staff Wei Jizhong to ask for an audience!"

Li Ye gave Wei Feng a thumbs up and asked with a smile: "Are you familiar with Mr. Wei Jizhonghe?"

Wei Feng nodded, "He and Beizhi are from the same clan. The Wei family in Qinghe is also one of the famous rich families in Beizhou, but he is a scholar and Beizhi is the prison chief. We have never been able to urinate in the same pot, and we basically ignore each other. Your Highness, this person is Tian Chengsi’s confidant and has won Tian Chengsi’s trust. If you can win over him, it will be like putting an eyeliner around Tian Chengsi.”

Li Ye smiled and nodded, "If you don't want to see him, sir, you can avoid it first!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Wei Feng bowed gratefully and retreated.

Not long after, the soldiers led Wei Jizhong into the marching tent. Wei Jizhong bowed and saluted, "In the next Wei Jizhong, it is the staff of Tian Shijun, the envoy of Wei Bo Jiedu, who is here to meet His Highness the King of Qi!"

Li Ye smiled and said: "Since Mr. Wei can come, let's talk frankly!"

"This is exactly what Tian Shijun meant. Tian Shijun said that it can be seen that His Highness has no intention of killing everyone. How about we talk about how to end it?"

Li Ye narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "One of the important reasons why I didn't kill everyone is that you didn't plunder, rape, burn or kill. This is my big taboo. Sir, please go back and tell Tian Shijun and Li Baochen, If they plunder when they withdraw, I will definitely pursue them to the end and kill all their troops!"

Wei Jizhong was solemn, bowed and said: "I will definitely tell you this because of my humble position!"

Li Ye nodded, "There is nothing to say. Lead the troops to withdraw from the four states and go back as they came. Then write a letter to the court to plead guilty and give the court some face. Let the matter be settled and tell Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen, Treat the people well when you return, and maybe in the future I will take this into account and leave them some descendants."

King Qi's strength and tyranny made Wei Jizhong tremble. He actually came here with selfish motives. Tian Chengsi, who originally thought he was very powerful, was so afraid of King Qi.

He began to feel that his allegiance to Tian Chengsi was not a long-term solution.

He actually wanted to see with his own eyes whether Li Ye was as powerful as the legend said.

At this moment, Wei Jizhong finally realized that the young prince with eyes like daggers in front of him was the future ruler of the Tang Dynasty. If he could get this opportunity to stand in front of him, should he seize this opportunity?

But this also meant betrayal to his lord. He struggled in his heart, and his desire for the future finally melted his loyalty to Tian Chengsi. He mustered up the courage to whisper: "Your Highness, can you give me a chance?"

Li Ye glanced at him and said calmly: "Opportunities have to be earned by yourself, not just because I want to give them to you!"

Wei Jizhong understood what King Qi meant, not what he said, but what he did.

He said in a deep voice: "Reporting to your highness, Tian Chengsi's original plan was to have a quick victory. He was very worried that Li Zhengyi would send troops to Dizhou, and he was also worried that Zhu Tao would take back Cangzhou. So he was encouraging Li Baochen to seize Mozhou. In fact, he was sending Zhu Tao to Mozhou. The disaster was directed to Li Baochen first. He wanted to be a fisherman, waiting for the crane and the clam to compete, and then he would benefit.

Now that the war is not going well, he is eager to withdraw to Weizhou and seize the prime minister's defense in the future. Your Highness does not need to worry about Tian Chengsi. However, Li Baochen may not be willing to give up Xingzhou and Mingzhou, so Your Highness must pay attention to Li Baochen. "

Li Ye nodded with satisfaction and suddenly asked: "The emperor's eldest grandson Li Shi was assassinated by Tian Chengsi, right?"

"Exactly! It was Li Fuguo's arrangement. Tian Chengsi wanted to gain Li Fuguo's favor. In fact, he had no interaction with the emperor's eldest grandson. At the same time, he also wanted to put the blame on Li Xilie and let the court attack Li Xilie first. This is what Tian Chengsi is best at. The method kills two birds with one stone."

Li Ye knew from Peng Haiyan that Li Shi was not assassinated by Li Xilie at all, but was framed. He suspected that it was Tian Chengsi. Although Tian Chengsi had no motive to assassinate Li Shi, Li Fuguo owned it, and Li Fuguo borrowed Tian Chengsi It would be natural for the assassin to attack.

Now Wei Jizhong has confirmed Li Ye's guess, but this Wei Jizhong is a useful person. With him by Tian Chengsi's side, he can keep track of Tian Chengsi's movements at any time.

"Mr. Wei went back and told Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen, first, I want them to withdraw from the four states in Qiu Wugui. Second, I will only give them five days, starting from tomorrow morning. Third, go back and tell Li Baochen, If he does not accept my plan and wants to continue to occupy Mingzhou and Xingzhou, I will deliver 10,000 barrels of kerosene to Zhu Tao so that he can taste the burning of the city again."

"I resign from my humble position!"

"Go! Someone will naturally come to you then."

Wei Jizhong walked out of the marching tent. When the cool breeze blew, he suddenly felt a little guilty. After all, Tian Chengsi treated him well, and it seemed that he should not betray his lord like this.

But this trace of guilt only flashed through his mind, and then disappeared without a trace.

Forget it, if you don't do it for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth. Now that you have done it, let's do it to the end!

Wei Jizhong sped up and walked towards his men and horses waiting for him.

Li Ye was studying the sand table alone in the tent. Although Wei Feng was very good as a counselor, Li Ye decided to leave him to Lei Wanchun. Lei Wanchun was prone to hot-headedness and really needed such a calm and wise adviser by his side.

The next night, Li Ye got the news that Tian Chengsi had led the army to leave Anyang County and march eastward quickly. This should be what Wei Jizhong said. Tian Chengsi was worried that Li Zheng had taken the opportunity to send troops to Dizhou, and he was also worried about Zhu Tao. He sent troops to Cangzhou, but his current base was empty, with only five thousand people.

Since he could not get Xiangzhou and Weizhou, he decisively withdrew his troops.

Li Baochen also withdrew his troops, and withdrew his troops due north to Mingzhou. Li Baochen could only withdraw his troops to Mingzhou. Due east was Weizhou, Tian Chengsi's hometown, and he could not go there. To the northeast was Beizhou, which was also Tian Chengsi's home. territory.

He could only go to Mingzhou first, then retreat to Xingzhou, and return to his own territory from Xingzhou. To the north is his territory Zhaozhou, and to the northeast is his newly acquired Jizhou.

Li Ye did not follow Li Baochen northward. He ordered Xi Wanli to lead 10,000 cavalry to follow Li Baochen from a distance until he withdrew from Xingzhou.

It is useless to reason with a hero like Li Baochen. Only with a real threat will he weigh the pros and cons and realize that retreat is a wise choice.

Li Ye knew very well that Li Baochen's biggest threat was the brothers Zhu Tao and Zhu Si in the north. Who allowed him to take advantage of the civil strife in Youzhou to seize Hengzhou and Dingzhou belonging to the Zhu brothers?

I believe that if ten thousand barrels of kerosene fell into the hands of the Zhu brothers, it would be enough to keep Li Baochen awake at night.