"Three hundred people? What does this little thing want to do? I thought 'Myth' would be a secret armed force. The number of people is too small and it's not grand enough." Li Zhi shook his head and said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you should know that these three hundred people were carefully selected by the prince, and they are all the best among hundreds. Three hundred people is already a terrifying thing." Bai Chun looked up at Li Zhi and said.
"As a crown prince for many years, it is understandable that he has cultivated some forces of his own. But if there are only these 300 people, don't you think Li Hong is disappointing? As a crown prince, he will be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the future. If there are only these few people, I am afraid they are not worthy of his ambition." Li Zhi shook his head regretfully, wondering in his heart whether he had given the little thing a difficult task.
There was no expression on Bai Chun's face. He lowered his eyes again and looked at the carpet under his feet without saying a word.
"How many people does the Prince's Sixth Commandery have now? Based on his conscription system, how much money does it cost per year?" Li Zhi asked with interest.
"The six rates add up to a total of 14,000 people, with 2,000 people in each rate, and there are still 2,000 people... The command is in my hands. The average cost per person is about 300 strings of cash." Bai Chun answered truthfully.
"Why are there so few people? According to the six-man system, the number should be around 30,000. Why is it less than half? Oh, did he not add more people later?"
Li Zhi remembered that at the beginning of the year, the Qianniu Guards and the Prince's Right Guards had a training exercise. In the end, the Prince's Right Guards defeated the Qianniu Guards. He paid a gambling sum of 1,000 taels of silver to Li Hong, and bought Li Hong's 15,000 men at 100 taels of silver per person.
"Have I been fooled by that little guy again?" Li Zhi murmured as he recalled the situation after the duel when Li Hong bargained with him for the purchase of 15,000 people with a grin.
...
...
"Your Majesty, yes. The prince cannot afford the salaries of 30,000 people, so he..."
"Okay, little thing, you can do it. You have never been polite to me. You little bastard, you have cheated your father out of a lot of money! No wonder he was laughing so happily at that time! Then I feel more balanced. At least the things he stole are worth this money, right?"
Bai Chun still looked down at her feet and said calmly, "Your Majesty, from what I understand, the things lost in the herbal medicine room cannot be measured in gold or silver."
"Snap." The red brush in Li Zhi's hand was broken into two pieces. "Why do you think so?"
Li Zhi's voice became a little cold, and the domineering aura of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty emanated from him. The majesty of the emperor was clearly visible at this moment.
"Although I don't know what the prince is doing, I can feel from the craftsmen coming in and out that this thing is probably much more precious and important than the crystal, glass, mercury and other items made by the prince in the past. The guards of the restricted area have never been strict. The most important task of the prince's left guard has always been in the medicinal food room. Moreover, this month the prince has lifted the restrictions on crystals and glass in various countries. It can be seen that in the prince's heart, everything in the medicinal food room is probably much more important than these."
"Who are the people coming in and out?"
"Most of them were poached from various medicine shops, including blacksmiths, carpenters, and various craftsmen such as sorcerers. Moreover, I know that in the beginning, whenever these people returned home or came into contact with anyone, they were secretly protected or monitored by the people of Mythology."
Li Zhi leaned back in his chair weakly. Although he gave Li Hong the questions to test him, if the stolen items were of too great importance, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
"Where are those things now?" Li Zhi asked in a deep voice.
"With my order, I'm afraid we can leave Guanzhong area early tomorrow morning, and reach Yumen Pass in another eight or nine days." Bai Chun's tone remained calm.
"Is there any way to get it back?"
"I don't know, but if the prince can find Liang Jianfang's body earlier, maybe he can still get it back. Another possibility is that I will tell the prince..."
"No!" Li Zhi interrupted Bai Chun's proposal. If Bai Chun reminded Hong'er, it would be equivalent to letting the prince know exactly that he was the one behind all this, which was against the royal rules.
Li Zhi stood up and looked at the night outside the window through the glass. The bright, reflective glass made his figure seem dim and even strange.
"Yangwu, notify the Ministry of War, expedite the expedition for 800 miles, and strictly check all carriages on the road leading to Yumen Pass, including all pedestrians. Remember, this also includes carriages carrying the orders of the Crown Prince's Mansion of the Eastern Palace. Yes, including royal carriages. We must do our best to slow down Helan Minzhi's speed to Yumen Pass." Li Zhi finally gave an order decisively for the first time.
After hearing Li Zhi's words, Bai Chun felt relieved for no reason, but on the surface he remained calm and showed no emotion at all.
Liang Jianfang was killed by his own men, and he was the one who ordered Bai Chun to mobilize the left guard and instructed Helan Minzhi to secretly transport the things to the Western Regions.
Just when Li Zhi was having a headache over Li Hong's trivial matters, Wu Mei was also lamenting in her palace, wondering if she had pushed the little thing too hard.
I have never called myself "Ben Gong" in front of Li Hong, but when I met Li Yifu that night, I used this term to address Li Hong.
Before Li Yifu could resolve the problem between himself and Li Hong, he gave him another one. He imprisoned his Prince's Secretary Xu Yushi for not avenging Zi's murder.
In addition, he had instructed Lanling to tell Li Hong about the smuggling of his two uncles. Could the little guy handle it all at once?
Moreover, if Li Hong wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly, his aunt and Helan Minyue would also be implicated. Isn't this too harsh for Li Hong, who is only ten years old?
Mangzhong stood in front of Wu Mei just like Bai Chun stood in front of Li Zhi, with his head down, looking at his feet, and saying nothing.
However, Mangzhong's face was much paler. This was because he deliberately spoke too much in front of Li Hong at the instruction of the Queen, and he was beaten with a hundred boards by the Ministry of Eunuchs.
"Does he have a clear plan?" Wu Mei looked out the window and asked.
"Reporting to the Queen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has dispatched the 'Myth', but I have no idea what exactly he is doing there."
"Is the 'myth' his last resort? What does he want to do with the 'myth'? It is not easy for Li Yifu and Xu Yushi to walk out of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice safely. Is he going to break out of the prison?" Wu Mei murmured as she thought about Li Hong's unconventional behavior. When he was younger, he was always afraid of chaos in the world. Facing such a test, would he make a big mess?
After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't think of how Li Hong would rescue Li Yifu and Xu Yushi who were imprisoned in the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. She shook her head and asked thoughtfully, "Have you ever tried to contact that lawless man?"
"Replying to the Queen, I am incompetent. Neither I nor Xia Zhi have the opportunity to come into contact with Lawless. Moreover...and Lawless is just like their name. They should only have eyes for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Go away. Take good care of the prince in the next few days." Wu Mei waved her hand and pondered alone in the study, wondering if she was too anxious. Had she forced him into a corner with no way out?
This little guy is just ten years old, but his behavior never seems like that of a teenager. Instead, he behaves more like an adult. This often makes me underestimate his age when making predictions.
But when Li Zhi and Wu Mei knew that they were testing Li Hong at the same time the next day, their minds went blank! One of them sat in Ganlu Palace in a daze, and the other sat in the Queen's Palace with a dull look!
The couple never thought that they would both give Li Hong a difficult problem at the same time. After a moment of silence, their first reaction was to call a halt to the test, but how could the undercurrent that had already begun to turn stop just by saying so?
Just as the two of them had spent the whole morning restlessly, they both received news at the same time: Li Yifu's daughter and son-in-law were killed because of buying and selling official positions. However, all signs indicated that the buying and selling of official positions had nothing to do with Li Yifu. The case was more like that Li Yifu's daughter and son-in-law secretly bought and sold official positions in the name of Li Yifu to commit fraud, and were killed after being discovered.
Xu Yushi's son Xu Ziran was also killed. After the Ministry of Justice investigated the case immediately, it was determined to be a revenge, but Xu Yushi did not know that Xu Ziran had shot and killed others.
Part of the mercury was recovered, but it was found in the residence of Lady Han Guowu Shun. Crown Prince Li Hong did not immediately go to his aunt's residence to hold her accountable, nor did he summon Lady Han Guo to the Eastern Palace.
After hearing the news, Li Zhi and Wu Mei thought at the same time: Is the little guy starting to break the situation and fight back? His methods are really cruel!
But in the afternoon, there was no more movement in the East Palace. In the following days, Crown Prince Li Hong's skateboard never appeared in various places in the East Palace, nor in the Imperial Palace.
The prince seemed like a different person. Every day, apart from going to Chongwenguan, he would practice calligraphy in the study, as if the things that were bothering him had nothing to do with him anymore.
The court was filled with regret over the murder of Li Yifu and Xu Yueshi's children, and the public opinion suddenly changed. The censors repeatedly impeached the Ministry of Justice for inaction and for being helpless in dealing with the murder case in Chang'an and unable to find any clues.
Such an abnormal phenomenon in the court and the plot twist of impeachment against Li Yifu and Xu Yueshi made Li Zhi and Wu Mei curious about Li Hong's "myth". They seemed to see the murderous atmosphere and strong smell of conspiracy coming out of the East Palace.
This was something they had never thought of. They had never thought that Li Hong would use this method to protect Li Yifu and Xu Yushi. This was also the only means to protect the two of them, and the only way to change the direction of impeachment against Xu Yushi and Li Yifu in the court.
"Myth" is like a shadow that comes and goes without a trace. Li Zhi tried to force the Ministry of Justice to investigate the murder case in the court, but the Ministry of Justice shook its head like a rattle, thinking that this case was just like the crime scene and there was no need to investigate further.
Li Zhi began to feel a little worried. Ever since the mercury was recovered, Li Hong had become extremely quiet. This quietness made him worried, because the mercury was recovered from Wu Shun. With Li Hong's vengeful character, would he let his aunt go so easily?
So now he must find ways to protect Wu Shun and her daughter from danger before Li Hong takes any action. They must not fall into the hands of this little bastard, otherwise he will be skinned alive if he doesn't die.
Moreover, he was also worried about the harem. Was the mercury found in Wu Shun's house secretly instigated by the queen? Did the queen want to use Li Hong to separate the ambiguity between herself and Wu Shun and her daughter?
Wu Mei, who is in the harem, is not having a good time now. It would be a lie for her to say that she doesn't care about the adultery between Wu Shun and Li Zhi. What's more, her own niece is also involved. It makes her feel like a stone is blocking her heart, making her chest very uncomfortable. Whenever she thinks of this matter, she wants to execute Helan Minyue immediately!
Moreover, Wu Mei also knew that Helan Minzhi's involvement was definitely Li Zhi's expression of dissatisfaction with her, because she doted on Helan Minzhi, even more than she cared for other princes, which must have made Li Zhi feel uncomfortable.
Li Hong is waiting at this moment. He is waiting to see if the things stolen from the herbal medicine room can be recovered, so that he can decide what to do next!
But he also knew that no matter whether the items stolen from the herbal medicine room could be recovered, the undercurrents between him, his father, and his mother had begun to slowly develop into a situation that none of them could control.
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