Chapter 135: The dagger appears

Taihe City, which had been tossed by the death of Piluoge for a day, finally became quiet. In the evening, the martial law order was quietly lifted, but the streets were still sparsely populated. In recent days, the Tubo delegation was killed first, but the real murderer was not caught, and now the king suddenly died suddenly. What is going on in Nanzhao? Every Nanzhao person has a heavy heart. Who knows what will happen next? Establishing a new master means another battle. Perhaps only staying at home is the safest.

The night was deep, and the streets were filled with mist, with a faint murderous aura. Many people used white banners to mourn the late king, which looked extremely strange in the fog gray. Teams of patrol soldiers walked through the streets. Some of them belonged to the troops supporting Yu Chengjie, and some belonged to the troops supporting Ge Luofeng, but they were both wearing the same military uniforms and could only express their positions with silence.

Zhao Quandeng's mansion is in the south of the city. He is the chief of Qingping officials in Nanzhao. He lives in the largest house. More than a hundred family members and servants are all asleep at this time. Only Zhao Quandeng's study is still on. In the lights that are sometimes dim and sometimes bright, Zhao Quandeng can't sleep. He leans on his chair and silently recalls the showdown with Ge Luofeng tonight. He gave up Yu Chengjie who is stupid and unable to help him, and instead supports Ge Luofeng, who is clear-headed and has a vision. For the interests of the country, and of course for himself, Ge Luofeng has promised to be appointed as the internal calculating official (Prime Minister of Nanzhao). Tomorrow he will convince those stubborn White Barbarians to push Ge Luofeng to the throne. Only when Ge Luofeng ascends the throne can Nanzhao be strong and compete with the Tang Dynasty.

He looked carefully at the promise letter that Ge Luofeng gave him, carefully folded it and put it in close proximity. "Since Ge Luofeng has agreed to these conditions, tomorrow, we will convince the general Zhao Fuyuwang and general Du Luosheng of the army."

Zhao Quandeng looked at the dark night sky and felt a little anxious, "Why isn't the sky still dark!"

This is the third update, and it is the deepest sleep in Taihe City. Diagonally opposite Zhao Quan Deng’s mansion lived a large merchant from Nanzhao, surnamed Liu, who was in tea business and had been in the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao. The situation in Nanzhao has been unstable these days, and he is dispatching troops everywhere. His caravan is on the road. It has been several days and there is no news at all.

This time, it was a 5,000-stall cargo. Manager Liu was anxious and sat and lying all day long. His nerves turned into radar. The wind at the door blew the leaves and the leaves were moving. It was already the third day of the night. Manager Liu, who was half asleep and half awake, instinctively jumped out of the bed. He heard a little noise. In the silence, he heard it very clearly. There was movement outside and he couldn't even wear clothes. He rushed out of the living room like wind and headed straight to the gate, but when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped. It was wrong! In the middle of the night, how could his caravan enter the city? It was not his caravan, but his curiosity still made him look out through the crack of the door.

The street was quiet, and there was no one. Occasionally, a fallen leaf was swept up by the wind and drifted towards the night sky. The night sky was dull and there was murderous intent. Suddenly, he felt his eyes blurry. There seemed to be a figure flashing outside Lord Zhao's mansion opposite. Just as he was staring at Zhao Quandeng's mansion, a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of him, covered in a mask, and his ghostly eyes were staring at him gloomyly, and then disappeared. He was so scared that he shuddered into the house, stood in front of the hall and kept shaking, then closed the door and locked it.

The night was getting deeper, and there were rustling running sounds along the corner of the street, and there were slight sounds of horse hooves. These sounds stopped near Manager Liu's house. Manager Liu in the living room stood up, sat down, stood up and sat down again, and finally couldn't resist the desire to peep out. He looked out through the crack of the door. The more he looked, he became more and more frightened. His mouth was unable to go back. He saw hundreds of black shadows flashing opposite, like chasing shadows following the wind, some were distributed in the corner of the room, some gathered at the gate, all of them were Nanzhao soldiers. They were extremely quick, the house and trees held their breath, the leaves swayed gently, and the black shadows in front of the mansion moved, as if they were about to make an appointment.

Yes, slowly pulled the knife out of the sheath. In the night when the moon was dark and the stars were sparse, the blade was cold and the black shadows flew into the high wall. Soon the door lock broke and the whole door was creaking. A tall officer waved his hand and made a decision. A large group of soldiers rushed in. Suddenly, roars and fighting sounds came from the Zhao Mansion, followed by crying, but in just a moment, there was no sound. The group of soldiers rushed out of the door and disappeared at the end of the long street in the blink of an eye. Manager Liu blocked his ears in horror, stepped back, sat on the ground, and then lowered his eyelids weakly. When the nearby patrol soldiers rushed over, there was only a breath of death in Zhao Quan Deng Mansion.

Just as the soldiers of Nanzhao blocked the nearby streets, a black shadow carrying a man crossed the high city wall and soon disappeared into the night.

Like Zhao Quandeng, Ge Luofeng also had no sleep all night. When he was facing a desperate situation, suddenly the turn of things happened. Zhao Quandeng came to him and wanted to hand Nanzhao back to his hands, which made him see hope of ascending the throne again. Yes! He was longing for that position all the time. He had countless ideals to realize. He wanted to give birth to a powerful Nanzhao Empire in his own hands. He closed his eyes and recalled the compromises he had reached with Zhao Quandeng. At least half of the army and Qingping officials were from Baiman; in the future, Nanzhao established the Imperial Academy, at least half of the Imperial Academy quotas would be left to the Baiman children; Baiman retained his religion; after Nanzhao implemented the equal-field system, Baiman enjoyed priority in Yongye Field and the division of fields.

In this way, the Bai Barbarians enjoy privileges in terms of military, political, cultural, and economic aspects. This is what Bai Barbarians want to support Yu Chengjie ascend to the throne. Ge Luofeng responded to all the conditions at once. He was a pragmatic person. He first had to sit in that position and slowly abolish these privileges. He was familiar with the history of the Central Plains, and all political results in all dynasties were the product of compromise, so there was a saying of mean in the Han culture.

Ge Luofeng couldn't help but think of the secret that Zhao Quandeng told him, that the eastern part of Yunnan was lost, the Tubo delegation was killed, and his father was poisoned to death. All of this was the hands of a commander of the Tang Dynasty Guoyi, who was the secret envoy of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the master of the Nanzhao delegation this time. When he first heard this secret, Ge Luofeng thought of the recent situation and was shocked and sweated. As soon as his father died, the civil war in Nanzhao was on the verge of the outbreak. If Zhao Quandeng had not woken up in time, he would have really not be able to see the situation in front of him. What a vicious skill, a small commander of Guoyi would have been the secret envoy of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Even Ge Luofeng had to admire Li Longji for employed people. Unfortunately, the Tang Dynasty underestimated the people of Nanzhao.

After stretching his waist long, Ge Luofeng felt a little tired. He carefully put the copy of the promise signed on the table into a wooden box and walked towards the inner room happily. Today he wanted to relax, but before he could reach the door, a guard came to report, 'The man named Wang Bingge said that there was an urgent matter to ask to see the eldest prince."

"An urgent matter?"

Ge Luofeng's relaxed heart suddenly became hung. Although he didn't have a long relationship, he already knew that Wang Bing was steady. If he said something big, it would be a big deal. Sure enough, the news that Zhao Quan Deng's family was destroyed was like a thunder, which shocked Ge Luofeng, and was stunned. His face turned pale and his whole body trembled, as if he saw a five-step snake. He retreated, staggered and leaned on the chair, and sat down in a row. Countless hopes and ideals were like a pile of colorful bubbles, which only existed for a few hours and were suddenly shattered.

"Li Qing, you are such a ruthless method!" Ge Luofeng murmured to himself. He just heard Zhao Quandeng talk about the causes and consequences, and immediately learned about his power.

His heart felt severe pain, and he suddenly pulled out his handkerchief and covered his mouth. The white scarf gradually became dyed red.

"Big Prince, what's wrong with you!"

Duan Fuke, who had just arrived inquiry, was shocked. He suddenly turned around and stared at Wang Bingge and said sternly: "What happened!"

Wang Bingge slowly knelt down. When he was sending Wu Yulin out of the city, he found something happened to Zhao Quan and Deng's family. He thought it was a good thing, but unexpectedly it was the result. Suddenly, he understood that his stupidity had ruined the lord's affairs.

Ge Luofeng gently wiped off the blood on the corner of her mouth and waved her hand, "This is not about the military affairs, don't blame him!"

Sighing, he said to Duan Fuke: "Just just got the news that Zhao Quandeng was killed by Li Qing, but the whole family was wiped out. If I don't say it, I can guess that it must have been done by disguised as a soldier in Nanzhao. This bad debt will still fall on me tomorrow."

Duan Fuke's eyes showed a look of horror. Now that the lord just signed a contract with Zhao Quandeng, he killed the man before his moji was dry, and the contract he had just signed turned into a waste document. This knife was too fast and the means were too ruthless!

Thinking of this, he said without hesitation: "Lord, give me the copy of the contract. I'll go to Zhao Fuyuwang and Du Luosheng to expose Li Qing's conspiracy."

Ge Luofeng shook her head and smiled bitterly: "What's the use of exposing it? Zhao Quandeng betrayed Yu Chengjie. They will definitely say that they were good at killing. This matter cannot be explained in just a few words. Besides, they will not listen to your explanation."

He pondered for a moment and said in confusion: "The only thing I find strange about is that Zhao Quanden and I signed a contract with me is extremely secret. Only a few hours apart, how could Li Qing know? Didn't he kill Zhao Quanden because of this?"

Wang Bing each knelt on the ground, his head buried deep in his chest. The despair of the lord made him regret it so much that blood was about to drip from his heart. The steel teeth were almost bitten to pieces. Hearing Ge Luofeng's doubts, he raised his head suddenly, straightened his waist, raised his right hand and turned into a knife. He saw the force slashing, and the index finger of his left hand was cut off. He cut his way: "Your Highness, Prince, I once made a sworn brother with Li Qing, but because of his temporary kindness, I have ruined the great affairs of Your Highness. Now I have cut off my fingers and have nothing to do with him anymore. I will raise the head of others to apologize now!"

Ge Luofeng looked at him in surprise, and suddenly understood. He quickly tore off a piece of clothes to wrap his wounds. He patted him on the shoulder and praised him, "I like your honesty. You don't have to blame yourself for this matter, nor do you hate him. They are for the interests of their own country. Even I admire him. They are cruel, ruthless, profound and decisive. They will never be a thing in the pool in the future. This is a great talent. You will be sworn with him. It's a pity that I am enemies and not friends, otherwise I would like to sworn with him."

Ge Luofeng stood up slowly, and went away with depressedness. His bright eyes were full of determination and confidence. He smiled slightly, "The news about Zhao Quandeng will definitely be blocked. If I guess right, tomorrow they will invite me to ascend the throne in the name of Zhao Quandeng and take the opportunity to kill me."

Duan Fuke said urgently: "Then let's go now and go to Lishui to regroup and fight back."

Ge Luofeng shook her head and said decisively: "If I leave, Shi's father's crime will be confirmed. If I lose the people's hearts, it will be even more difficult to turn over again in the future. Besides, since I know their intentions, I will just use their plans and take risks. Maybe I can make a comeback."

He looked back at Duan Fuke, pressed his shoulder with both hands, stared at his eyes, and reminded: "If I can't come back, you and Duan Zhongguo will make my son king. If the Tang Dynasty does not admit it, you will surrender to Tubo and seek their support."

Looking at the lord's decisive look, Duan Fuke slowly knelt down, "I will definitely live up to my lord's trust."

Wang Bingge also said firmly: "Tomorrow I will protect my lord personally. As long as I have a breath, no one can imagine a hair."

Ge Luofeng guessed it well. At the same time when he decided to go to the appointment tomorrow, at Yu Chengjie's mansion, Li Qing handed a bloody contract to Yu Chengjie who was sleepy. The smell of blood suddenly woke him up. His hand, which was about to receive the letter, suddenly retracted as if he was bitten by a snake, and said in fear: "General Li, what is this?"

Seeing that he was scared, Li Qing sneered coldly: "This is the evidence that your Grand Tutor Zhao Quandeng has defected to Ge Luofeng. If I hadn't received a secret report, hum! Today next year will be your day of worship."

"What?" Yu Chengjie couldn't believe it, "My master, did he surrender to Ge Luofeng?"

His hands trembled and took the contract. He opened it, his eyes swept quickly, his face was pale. Zhao Quandeng, who had always relied on and regarded him as his father, actually betrayed him, as if the sky had fallen, Yu Chengjie was in a mess and didn't know what to do. After a long time, he said tremblingly: "Then I won't be the king of Nanzhao, give it to my elder brother. Do you think this is OK?"

Li Qing glanced at Yu Chengjie who showed fear, and cursed in his heart, "There is nothing!" But he laughed, suddenly he stopped laughing, staring at Yu Chengjie and said in a deep voice: "Since ancient times, emperors are the most ruthless. Ruoge Luofeng ascended the throne, the first thing he had to do was to kill your whole family, and the second was to kill your two younger brothers. He would never allow anyone who threatened his position to live in this world."

Yu Chengjie squatted on the ground with his head in his arms, tearing his hair in pain, like a child who had lost his parents, grinned at the corner of his mouth, and finally cried sadly, "Then what should I do, I'm really scared!"

"Get up! Get up!" Li Qing smiled and pulled him up, patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, I'm here! Our Tang Dynasty firmly supports you. This is not only verbally, but also by actions. As long as you follow my arrangements, I promise that you will ascend to the position of King of Nanzhao tomorrow. I just hope that you will not forget to reward me with some benefits at that time, haha!"

With Li Qing's careful comfort, Yu Chengjie's fear gradually faded away. He wiped away his tears with embarrassment and said sincerely: "If I could ascend the throne, I would definitely reward you heavily. Well! I would like to reward you twenty beauties, three thousand taels of gold."

Li Qing laughed, "The beauty will be spared, and it will be sold into one thousand taels of gold, a total of four thousand taels. What do you think?"

Yu Chengjie also laughed, "Okay! I promise you, and you can also pick a treasure in my Nanzhao treasure house." Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered what Li Qing said just now, and smiled on his face, and asked in horror: "You said you had started first, did you mean it?"

Li Qing nodded slowly, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, "That's right! Zhao Quandeng has been killed by me. Now before dawn, you will immediately find Zhao Fuyuwang and Du Luosheng, the generals who support you. I have an important thing to discuss with them, but you must not say that Zhao Quandeng was killed by me, but Geluofeng, otherwise even they will betray you!"

This chapter is so hard that even Lao Gao himself couldn't bear it. Although I tried not to write about blood and wrote about this family extermination from the perspective of a bystander, the results were always the same. I originally wanted to write about not killing women and children, but in fact it was impossible. First, I had to end the action in a very short time. Under that condition, I would not take too much into consideration. Second, I would rather kill three thousand by mistake than let one person go. Once Zhao Quandeng's wife and concubine knew that he had defected to Ge Luofeng, it would ruin a big deal if he said it. So I thought, since Li Qing did it, I would just be a little cruel.
Chapter completed!