Tibet

Not long after, Li Mi and Liu Yan hurried over. The three of them sat by the brazier to warm themselves up and drink tea. Li Ye told them the news of Ji Guangchen's sudden death.

Li Bi pondered for a moment and said: "Your Highness, this matter is actually a good thing. Ji Guangchen has gradually matured. He will soon separate from Your Highness and become an independent warlord. From the beginning of the year to now, the long history reports I have seen have been perfunctory. There were many mistakes, and the report that was originally every two months became one every six months. In addition, two months ago, the humble official sent people to Xiangzhou to investigate the tax situation, and found that the actual taxes of the people in Jingxiang were much higher than The taxes mentioned in their report.”

Li Ye was stunned, "How come I don't know about this?"

Li Bi said calmly: "Your Highness, I don't know the reason for Beizhi. Is it because he increased taxes without authorization, or did he also levy a share of the tax to please the court? I planned to investigate and tell Your Highness again, but I didn't expect it." Something happened to Ji Guangchen."

Li Ye also knew Li Mi's consistent style. He would never report to him in a hurry what he had not figured out himself. Every report Li Mi made was well-prepared.

Li Ye asked Liu Yan again, "What do Liu Sima think?"

Liu Yan pondered for a moment and said: "I feel that Ji Guangchen's death is a bit strange."

"Why do you say that?"

"The key is that the timing is wrong. Hebei and the Central Plains have stabilized, Li Zhen's rebellion has failed, and Pugu Huai'en's rebellion has been quelled. Doesn't Li Lin have any thoughts of expansion?"

Li Ye immediately understood what Liu Yan meant, "Sima thinks Ji Guangchen was plotted by Li Lin?"

Liu Yan said calmly: "What I actually want to say is that both the emperor and Li Lin have the intention to plot against Jing Xiang. Ji Guangchen's sudden death is by no means that simple. Li Lin is 50% suspected, and the emperor is also 50% suspected."

Li Mi also nodded and said: "Your Highness, what Liu Sima said makes sense. How could Ji Guangchen die suddenly when he was not even fifty years old? There must be something wrong here. I suggest that Your Highness send people to Jingxiang immediately to control the Jingxiang army." , wait and see what happens!”

Li Ye walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "I have ordered Lei Wanchun and Ji Shouchun to lead 3,000 troops to Xiangyang and take over 30,000 Jingxiang troops. However, I did not think about the death of Ji Guangchen. I am worried that something will happen to Jingxiang. , we would be a little out of reach.”

Li Mi made a decision immediately: "I suggest that I delegate power to Lei Wanchun. I only tell him the principles and let him decide the rest."

Li Ye nodded. In fact, his principle was very simple, that is, he did not want to fall out with the court for the time being.

After a heavy snowfall stopped for about half a month, in early December, another heavy snowfall came across the sky, causing the entire Longyou, Hexi and Shuofang to fall into silence.

The white land turned into a world of ice and snow, the rivers froze, the ground was frozen, and thick snow blocked the roads, making it difficult even for camels to travel. Only then did it become completely quiet.

However, the county town was still very lively. The army and the people worked together to shovel the snow in time, so the roads could be walked and carriages could pass.

The Chinese New Year is less than a month away. Every household is preparing to celebrate the New Year. Officials have also received New Year benefits. All officials have the same, three sheep, two stones of rice and five pounds of salt for each family. The petty officials also get a little less. , a sheep, a stone of rice and two pounds of salt.

The family members of soldiers are the same as those of minor officials, but there are no ordinary people. Only when Hexi was captured, each household was given a sheep, but that was to celebrate the victory and share the spoils, and was by no means a welfare.

Li Ye and the officials knew very well that the promotion of rice is a grudge against a grudge. If you give it this year, you will give it next year. But if you don’t give it the year after next, everyone will jump and curse Jiedu Mansion. This is human nature. Few people remember benefactors and they hold grudges. There were so many people, so we only divided the spoils for the celebration once, and never again.

In fact, this benefit is not worth much, it is just a kind of kindness. Sheep in Longyou are very cheap, and you can buy one for a few hundred coins. Rice is not expensive, fifty coins per dou of rice, and forty coins per dou of wheat.

Ordinary families celebrate the New Year and buy rice, meat, and other things. Three or four guan is enough. However, three or four guan is almost a month's wages for an ordinary family, so ordinary families have to be frugal at ordinary times and only at the end of the year. Have money to spare.

Every year, the most relaxing and comfortable time for Li Ye is winter. He doesn't have to worry about war or the court, but this year seems to be an exception.

That afternoon, Li Ye had just received a message from Dugu Ming's Flying Eagle, and Lei Wanchun had already taken the lead and obtained the military power of the Jingxiang Army.

The Eagle Letter also mentioned what happened in the court. Emperor Li Heng decided that Huaixi Jiedushi Li Huan would take over Xiangyang Jiedushi. However, Emperor Li Heng did not realize the urgency of the problem and sent eunuchs to Huaixi to arrest Li Huan first. He was recalled to Chang'an to report on his duties, and then he was appointed as the governor of Jingxiang.

After the messenger and Li Huan came and went, and after a few days of taking up their posts, the court received news that Lei Wanchun had taken over Jing Xiang's army before Li Huan set off from Chang'an.

Dugu Ming added at the end, 'Ji Guangchen's sudden death was strange! ’

Li Ye thought to himself, "This must be the news that Dugu Ming has also received."

Li Ye paced back and forth in the official room with his hands behind his back, still thinking about Jing Xiang's incident. It seemed that Ji Guangchen had indeed been plotted against him, but who was the person who plotted against him, Li Lin or Li Heng?

At this time, if Li Ye felt something, he turned around and saw Li Mi standing at the door. Li Ye smiled and asked, "Is there something urgent, Chief Minister?"

Li Mi walked in and said with a smile: "The people I sent to Jingxiang to investigate have returned and brought back detailed information."

Li Ye wondered: "Is the road still open now?"

"My man had already arrived in Longyou before and was trapped in Weizhou due to heavy snowfall. He borrowed two camels and rode them back."

Li Ye nodded. To go to Guanzhong, you have to cross Longshan Mountain. Heavy snow blocked the road, but if you ride a camel between the Longyou states, you can still pass.

"What news did you bring?"

"Your Highness, as expected from his humble position, Ji Guangchen charged heavy taxes. In addition to raising the army, he also used a large amount of money to bribe Li Fuguo and others. He made the officials and people in Jingxiang angry and resentful."

"This bastard!"

Li Ye cursed angrily and asked: "Then, have your men investigated his sudden death?"

"Reporting to your highness, when the humble subordinate left Xiangyang, Ji Guangchen was still fine. He did not know that Ji Guangchen was dead."

Li Ye nodded, "What else?"

"There is also news from Chengdu that Li Lin is also gathering troops. About 30,000 troops have been gathered, but their whereabouts are unknown."

Li Ye said slowly: "It seems that Ji Guangchen is more likely to be killed by Li Lin. If he is the emperor, he should have been prepared and would never delay it for so long and let us seize the opportunity."

"Your Highness is right. If the emperor took action, he would definitely let Liang Chongyi, the governor of Nanyang Jiedu, take over Xiangyang, annex the Jingxiang army, or transfer Li Huan to Nanyang in advance. He would not give us any chance at all. Obviously, the emperor did not If there is no preparation, then Ji Guangchen's death has nothing to do with him."

Li Ye sighed softly, "Li Lin immediately gathered his troops. There is a high probability that it will be him."

"Fortunately, His Highness responded quickly and sent Lei Wanchun to quickly take over the Jingxiang Army!"

Li Ye took out a map of Jingxiang and unfolded it on the table. There were three roads from Bashu to Jingxiang, and one took Hanzhong to Xiangyang. This road was definitely not feasible. Li Lin's army had to capture Hanzhong first.

Another way is through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and the third way is up the Yongdao Road, but the Yongdao Road is a mountain road, which is very difficult to walk. It is winter again, and the mountainous areas will freeze, which is obviously unrealistic, so now Li Lin sends troops He could only take the Three Gorges Road. The waterway would be intercepted by the Jingxiang navy, but it would not prevent him from taking the land route.

Li Mi pointed to Kuizhou on the map and said: "Li Lin has long had the ambition to annex Jingxiang. He has stationed 10,000 troops here. There should be a large amount of grain and grass supplies here. I estimate that this place will become the logistics for Li Lin's army." Important place.”

Li Ye nodded, "I also think that Li Lin's army can only use the Three Gorges Road. I will notify Lei Wanchun with an eagle letter tomorrow morning."

"Your Highness, the imperial court must also be stable!" Li Mi reminded.

Li Ye was convinced that the imperial court really needed to stabilize things first.