"Commander Zhang, we are extremely surprised by the death of Prince Shun, but you sealed off the Marquis' Mansion. Do you think you don't take the Li family of the Zhenxi Marquis' Mansion seriously?"
Although Li Wei is gone, his brothers and son are still here.
They have been giving enough face to Prince Shun these days, cooperating with him and meeting all his requirements. Now that Prince Shun has died unexpectedly, the people under Prince Shun dare to step on the heads of their Li family.
Commander Zhang's face was grim, and his attitude was firm. "The arrow was shot from the Li family. From now on, anyone who cannot prove his innocence is not allowed to leave the Marquis' Mansion."
The one thousand imperial guards brought by Prince Shun have now all been sent out to search the surrounding area, and the city gates have been closed.
The Li family gathered together. Li Wei's eldest son, Li Bozhen, frowned and said, "The most urgent task now is to send someone to intercept the messenger to the court, and then quickly inform my father of the death of Prince Shun in Liangzhou before he enters the capital."
Everyone present knew the consequences of Prince Shun's death in front of the Li family mansion in Liangzhou. No matter who killed Prince Shun, the Li family could not escape responsibility.
Previously, the third prince came to deliver military supplies, but his salary was stolen.
Prince Shun lost his life when he entered Liang Province. How could the emperor not be furious?
"Brother, do you mean that father should disobey the imperial order? What happens after that? If the court sends someone to settle accounts..." Li Yanfeng hadn't finished speaking when everyone's expressions changed.
Li Wei's second brother, Li Hongyuan, was a timid man. He said worriedly, "If we write a letter of apology and cooperate with the court to find the murderer of Prince Shun, our Li family might be safe."
"Uncle, you're wrong. Who can guarantee that the person who killed Prince Shun isn't among us? What if they're found out?" Li Yue, the usually silent third son of the Li family, said, "I agree with my eldest brother. We should hurry and inform father so he can get a set of rules!"
Li Bozhen and Li Yue had always been at odds. Hearing Li Yue's words, he wasn't happy that Li Yue was on the same side with him. Li Bozhen narrowed his eyes and asked, "Prince Shun's death wasn't your fault, was it?"
Li Yue frowned, his eyes sharp and intimidating. "Brother, be careful with your words. I am also a member of the Li family. We all rise and fall together! Besides, why would I kill him?"
Li Yanfeng said, "What's the point of arguing about this now? The most important thing is to tell my father right away."
"Prince Shun only brought a thousand imperial guards, and the people on the city walls are all from my Li family. We should quickly send people out of the city to intercept the messenger."
"I'm afraid my father has already arrived in Kyoto. I want him to leave before the news of Prince Shun's death reaches Kyoto."
What will you do after leaving and returning to Liangzhou?
Thinking of what Xia Feng had said, Li Yanfeng's breathing became a little rapid.
Although the imperial court seems to be powerful now, Liangzhou also has an army of over 100,000 and controls the important area of Hexi. In fact, its finances have always been rich, and its soldiers and horses are strong. If it really fights with the imperial court, it is still unknown who will win.
Although being labeled a traitor is unpleasant, history is written by the victors.
Immediately afterwards, the Li family's guards broke into the Hou Mansion and clashed with the imperial guards.
"Are you planning a rebellion?" Commander Zhang shouted angrily.
Li Bozhen snorted and sneered, "How dare you, a mere commander, lead troops to surround the First Rank Marquis' residence without an imperial order? It wouldn't be excessive for us to kill you."
"Commander Zhang, take your men and lay down your weapons. My Li family will cooperate with you to find the real culprit. If you continue to be stubborn, don't blame me for being rude."
"Sir, the Li family is about to rebel. We can't stay in Liangzhou anymore. We should leave first." A soldier whispered to Commander Zhang.
In the chaos, some imperial guards suffered casualties.
Commander Zhang is not stupid. This is the Li family's territory. If they really want to confront each other, they have several times more troops than him, so he has no chance of winning.
"Tell your people to stop first." Commander Zhang raised his voice.
Li Yanfeng said to Li Bozhen, "Detain all the people and trap them in the city."
The Li family's people have already broken through the siege and left the city to chase the person who reported the news. Without Li Wei's order, the Li family members are still a little hesitant about what to do.
In the end, the imperial guards were trapped in the city and retreated to the southwest corner.
Commander Zhang hurriedly sent out only one person to report the news. Li Bocheng ordered the blockade of towns and passes, and many people were chasing after him.
The group sent by Commander Zhang to report the news was forced to split into three groups, and the Li family's people naturally had to track them separately.
An Xi and Yu Song secretly helped the court officials escape, and secretly told someone a small route to leave Liangzhou.
Xiao Feng designed the death of Prince Shun in the Li family in order to provoke confrontation between the Li family and the imperial court.
If the emperor knew of Prince Shun's death before Li Wei, even if it wasn't out of paternal affection, he would have held Liangzhou responsible, and it was hard to say whether Li Wei could return to Liangzhou safely. As long as the messenger arrived in Beijing before the Li family let Li Wei know, the situation would develop as he expected.
Thus, the gunpowder developed by Old Man Lu played a huge role. Wan Jinlan and Wei Xian led their men to blow up the mountain road on the only way to the border between Yongliang and Liang. After the explosion, they hid in the mountains. The people from the Li family who went to report the news began to take a detour to find a way, which delayed them for most of the day.
Xiao Feng naturally didn't want Li Wei to come back. Li Wei was the backbone of the Liangzhou army and the backbone of the three sons of the Li family. Losing Liangzhou where he was in charge would benefit him.
Commander Wang and others are still trapped in the city, and the Li family has already begun investigating the death of Prince Shun.
The "archer" Zhang Baoquan had been sent out of the city by Xiao Feng and had returned safely to the mountain stronghold.
The news of Prince Shun's death in the mansion of Marquis Zhenxi was transmitted back to Kyoto at an express speed of 800 miles.
The Li family also knew that the interception was unsuccessful, and they ran all the way. The atmosphere in Liangzhou has been quite tense these days.
The court had been fighting with Prince Su for half a year, and the cost was enormous, but the situation was still deadlocked. Emperor Jian'an got used to it.
However, the news of Prince Shun's death in Liangzhou was like a slap in the face of Emperor Jian'an.
It was not that Emperor Jian'an cared much about his son, Prince Shun, but Prince Shun's death seemed to be making fun of him. In order to appease Liangzhou, he provided food and silver, and gave the marquisate as he said, but the Li family did not take him seriously.
Although the death of Prince Shun might not have been caused by the Li family, it was indeed an accident on his territory, and the emperor could not help but investigate. How to investigate this matter really troubled him.
If we were to ask who was the happiest person to hear the news, it would be Xiao Minghuan.
Xiao Minghuan almost laughed out loud, remembering the way Prince Shun looked down on him before he left the capital. Now, in this entire court, his father had only one useful prince, so who else could be crowned heir?
As the entire court was discussing the matter, Xiao Minghuan said in a resounding voice, "Father, my brother died a violent death in Liangzhou. I am willing to lead the troops to investigate the cause of my brother's death!"
"The Third Prince values loyalty and righteousness, and his courage is truly commendable!"
"The people of Liangzhou are very tough. The Third Prince is not afraid of danger in his quest for justice for Prince Shun. It is truly astonishing."
…
Some ministers did not forget to "fight for the throne" at this time and flattered Xiao Minghuan to make him feel comfortable both physically and mentally.
These good-for-nothings never imagined that the relationship between Liangzhou and the imperial court was delicate at the moment, and it was very likely to lead to an irreversible situation.
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