Chapter 197: Unity

After the plan was finalized, Dong Hai's body was quickly transformed into a vanguard scout in distress. Ming Huashang also specifically asked Wei Zhu to confirm that Dong Hai only contacted Old Lady Feng, and King Qiao did not know this gang of bandits. Ming Huashang was relieved, and after repeated tests with Li Huazhang and Xie Jichuan to ensure that the oil paper package would not leak, they quietly rushed to Hanshui and pushed Dong Hai's body into the waterway upstream of Junzhou under the cover of night.

Amid the sparkling water, a soldier named Zhang Yao drifted slowly towards the Junzhou River with a carefully forged letter from home.

At the same time, a New Year's greeting letter signed by Su Xingzhi was also delivered to Ren Yao's desk. It looked like a common official greeting letter, but on the back of the letter was written Li Huazhang's plan with a special potion, reminding Ren Yao to take the Shangzhou and Junshui route and cooperate with Li Huazhang to attack Junzhou together.

The day after Ming Huachang issued the summons, he ordered the Xuanxiao Guards to split up into smaller groups and infiltrate Junzhou City as civilians. On the day the body was released, the Xuanxiao Guards, disguised as fishermen, stood guard by the river, ensuring that Dong Hai's body was discovered and successfully alerted King Qiao before leaving silently.

According to Li Huazhang's original plan, after the Jiannan Jiedushi withdrew his troops from Chuzhou, the Xuanxiao Guards lurking in Junzhou City would kill the guards and open the city gates. Li Huazhang led his men into Junzhou and directly attacked Prince Qiao's mansion, with Ren Yao supporting them outside. However, the premise of this plan was that Prince Qiao believed the false intelligence and persuaded the Jiannan Jiedushi to mobilize troops. They had done everything they could, and the rest was to do their best and leave it to fate.

Ming Huashang waited anxiously. On the fifth day after releasing Dong Hai's body, Chuzhou still showed no signs of withdrawing its troops. Instead, Prince Qiao sent a letter to Shangzhou, cordially inviting Li Huazhang to spend the New Year in Junzhou.

Xie Jichuan strongly objected, saying: "This must be the Prince of Qiao's Hongmen Banquet! It seems that the plan to use the corpse to spread false information has failed. While there is still time, we should quickly prepare a retreat."

Li Huazhang said, "I think the opposite of what you think. I think that Prince Qiao believed our intelligence, but mobilizing troops is not a trivial matter. He did not dare to believe it completely, so he sent the invitation to test me."

Ming Yuji was puzzled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Li Huazhang said, "Do you remember the year of the imperial examination? At the Jinshi Banquet, Ren Yao and I teamed up to play polo. The Prince of Qiao was also there. He must have known that Ren Yao and I were friends. According to his expectations, Ren Yao should come to Shangzhou and join forces with me to attack Junzhou. However, the intelligence said that Ren Yao would march westward and go down the Han River. He couldn't make up his mind, so he deliberately invited me. If I accepted the invitation, it would mean that I had not received any news that Ren Yao was coming to Shangzhou, and the intelligence was true, and Ren Yao was indeed going to join forces in Hanyin. On the contrary, if I refused to go, it would mean that the intelligence was false, and Ren Yao would still go to Shangzhou."

Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows and looked at Li Huazhang as if he was looking at an alien: "You are not really planning to go to Junzhou, are you?"

Li Huazhang nodded calmly, his eyes firm and clear: "Yes. In fact, I was worried before. The Xuanxiao Guards lurking in the city have no status and no geographical advantage. It is too risky for them to open the city gate. If I were to act as an insider, the effect would be better. Perhaps, this is God reminding us that I should be the one to go to Junzhou."

Ming Huashang read the invitation sent by Prince Qiao over and over again, and suddenly said, "Second brother, what you said makes sense. But Prince Qiao invited us as husband and wife. If you go, I will go with you."

When Ming Yuji heard that Ming Huashang was also going to follow Li Huazhang in going crazy, he immediately said, "No, it's too dangerous. If something goes wrong that day, you will become ready-made targets if you stay in Prince Qiao's mansion!"

"If we don't take the risk, we will have to sacrifice many Xuanxiaowei lives to clear the way." Ming Huashang had a calm face and a sweet voice, but her words were particularly stubborn. "Everyone's life is life. There is no reason why our lives are more valuable than those of ordinary Xuanxiaowei. If they can go to Junzhou, then I can go too."

Su Xingzhi has been recuperating in Shangzhou these days, and his condition has improved rapidly. Now he is able to move freely. He listened to the arguments silently. Intellectually, Li Huazhang's speculation made sense. If Li Huazhang could attend the banquet in person, it would greatly enhance the persuasiveness of the false intelligence. But emotionally, this is Ming Yuji's sister and brother-in-law. Who dares to guarantee that it is foolproof?

Su Xingzhi thought for a moment and said calmly, "I'll go too. Prince Yong will have to bring people with him anyway, so why not take me with him? At least I can protect Prince Yong and Princess Yong if danger arises."

Ming Huashang hurriedly asked, "How can this be possible?"

Li Huazhang also said, "No, you were injured while escorting my mother to Shangzhou. We already owe you a lot of favors. How dare we let you take risks in Junzhou? Mr. Su should just rest and recuperate in Shangzhou."

Su Xingzhi said calmly, "I escorted her out of my heart, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. King Yong doesn't need to feel that he owes me anything. My injuries have almost healed, and it's time for me to get out and move around."

Ming Huashang was willing to accompany Li Huazhang through thick and thin, but she didn't dare to let her sister's lover get into trouble. She was about to decline, but Ming Yuji suddenly spoke up: "He has a point. I am also a Xuanxiao Guard, and my ranking is higher than his. Now I ask for permission to go to Junzhou to carry out the mission. I hope King Yong will make the arrangements impartially."

Xie Jichuan seemed to chuckle softly. He patted his sleeves nonchalantly, stood up and said, "I'm sorry, in terms of ranking, I'm afraid I'm a little higher. According to the rules of Xuanxiaowei, the mission must be chosen by the person with a higher ranking first."

Li Huazhang looked at them, hesitant to speak, and finally sighed: "The situation in Junzhou is unclear and changing rapidly. There is no need for you to follow me and take risks."

"Who is doing this for you?" Xie Jichuan sneered, "Rebellion is imminent and people are suffering. I am doing this for the people of the Tang Dynasty."

Su Xingzhi also said solemnly: "As a court historian, it is my duty to speak out about the injustices of the world and protect the well-being of the people."

Ming Yuji glanced at Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang, and said coldly: "Who asked my sister to marry you? I can't just ignore you when you get into trouble."

Li Huazhang looked at the people in front of him, his heart was in turmoil. Among them were the sons of aristocratic families who were responsible for the revival of their families, the upright and upright top scholar from a poor family with a bright future, and the daughter of a noble family who had been separated for many years and had just returned to her family. Each of them had a different identity and background, and each had their own life and pursuits. But now, they were going to follow him to a place that he knew was a dangerous place. How could he, Li Huazhang, have the honor to meet such a group of life and death friends?

Of course, his wife was also among them. Li Huazhang lowered his eyes to look at Ming Huashang, who was also looking at him. She smiled sweetly at him, held his arm, and said, "We have already agreed that in this life, no matter whether we are poor or rich, whether we are prosperous or downtrodden, whether we are sick or alive, we will never leave each other again."

Li Huazhang silently covered Ming Huachang's hand and silently replied "OK". Then, he solemnly bowed and said to the three people in front of him: "Thank you for your support from thousands of miles away. The war is imminent, and I don't want to insult your kindness with those scenes and words. I just hope that we can work together, win the battle, and go and return together. When the war ends in the future, my husband and I will prepare a pot of good wine to thank you all, and we will not stop until we are drunk!"

Xie Jichuan, Ming Yuji, and Su Xingzhi all stopped smiling unconsciously, and Zheng Zhong crossed his arms in response, "A victory."

·

On December 16, the New Year was drawing near, red lanterns were hung in the streets, and the streets and alleys were filled with the flavor of the New Year. Junzhou was especially lively tonight, because the carriage of Prince Yong and his wife had just arrived at the city gate in the evening. Prince Qiao and the officials of Junzhou attached great importance to the event and held a banquet tonight to welcome Prince Yong and his wife.

In the Prince Qiao's mansion, Li Chongfu burst into tears as soon as he saw Li Huazhang. He took Li Huazhang's hand and talked about the past. Li Huazhang also treated him as a cousin. They both seemed to have forgotten Li Chongrun's death. Li Chongfu said, "The last time I saw you was at the banquet held in your Prince Qiao's mansion. In a blink of an eye, it has been three years."

That was when Li Huazhang had just regained his identity and was made a prince by Empress Wu Zetian. It was indeed a long time ago. Li Huazhang echoed Li Chongfu in reminiscing about the past. Li Chongfu sighed for a while, then pulled Li Huazhang aside and asked, "I have been away from Chang'an for a long time, and many of my relatives have become estranged. I wonder how Uncle Xiang Wang and Aunt Taiping are doing these years?"

Li Huazhang said, "In fact, I don't see Prince Xiang and Princess Taiping very often. I was ordered to come to Shangzhou to serve as an official at the beginning of the year, and I haven't heard from them for almost a year. However, Prince Xiang and Princess Taiping are blessed with great fortune, and I think both of them are in good health."

Li Chongfu sighed, "I am a man of little fortune. It's fine that I'm not welcomed in Chang'an, but you are the only blood of Prince Zhang Huai. Why were you also exiled to Shangzhou? When I first heard that you were coming, I thought the people below were talking nonsense, but later I found out it was true. Unfortunately, my status is not good. If I go to Shangzhou to find you, I'm afraid it will bring you trouble, so I can only bear it. The New Year is coming soon, and I'm used to being alone, but you and your wife are the favorites of the Empress Wu Zetian, but you have fallen to the point of spending the New Year alone in a foreign place. It's too sad, so I couldn't help but invite you to come. I missed my relatives too much, so I sent the invitation without informing you in advance. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble?"

Ming Huashang smiled but said nothing. Li Chongfu kept telling lies one after another. From what he said, it seemed that all the fault of Chang'an was that he was detained in Junzhou, and even inviting them to Junzhou was because he missed his relatives.

Li Huazhang was fully aware of Li Chongfu's probing, but he didn't show any of his thoughts on his face. He still responded politely and courteously: "Prince Qiao is being too polite. We are brothers with the same surname, so why should we cause trouble? It was clearly us who were impolite. We should have come to visit Prince Qiao and his wife as soon as we arrived in Shangzhou, but I had official business to attend to. If I left without warning, I would probably arouse unnecessary suspicion, so I didn't come. Fortunately, you and your wife didn't mind."

Li Chongfu stroked his knees and sighed, "You're right. Brothers with the same surname, what's the trouble? Our Li family has suffered too much. You have been living under the cage of a minister for many years, and I have also been imprisoned in Fangling, without a close friend around me. When I saw you, I felt that we were in the same boat, but it was a pity that I never had the opportunity to make friends. I thought that after all the hardships, there would always be happiness, but I didn't expect that after sending away one person with a different surname, another one would come. She targeted me, but you are the orphan of Prince Zhang Huai and a hero of the Shenlong coup. How dare she banish you to such a miserable place?"

Li Chongfu finally felt relieved when he heard that Li Huazhang was also avoiding Empress Wei, and gradually revealed his true colors. He hinted that Li Huazhang should join hands with him to overthrow the outsiders who had occupied the Li family's world. Li Huazhang was clear-minded and still had a cold and polite look, saying: "Thunder and rain are all grace from the emperor, and this is the duty of a minister. On such a good day, don't talk about state affairs, Prince Qiao, please."

Prince Qiao laughed and stopped talking, not going into the topic any further. Prince Qiao and Li Huazhang were toasting each other, and he asked casually, "This place is not like Chang'an, it's really boring, have you gotten used to it in Shangzhou in the past six months?"

Ming Huashang lowered her head to eat, being a qualified glutton. Li Huazhang said calmly, "It's okay. I don't feel bored. I used to be busy with trivial matters in Chang'an and never had time to accompany her. Now I have a rare leisure time. If I don't have official business, I will take her out for an outing. If she is too lazy to go out, we can make tea and cook in the mansion. It's much freer than in Chang'an."

Prince Qiao smiled and said, "I have heard that Prince Yong and his wife are deeply in love, and it is true. But my sister-in-law is so beautiful, no wonder Prince Yong loves her so much."

Ming Huashang smiled politely but awkwardly. Princess Qiao also interrupted and asked about some family matters. She sighed sincerely, "Princess Yong is so lucky. You have your father's love at home and your husband's love after marriage. Your brother is your husband. From childhood to old age, you have been together all your life. It's great."

Prince Qiao casually mentioned, "I heard that the Feng family in Shangzhou built a new garden. It is said that they invited the masters of Jiangnan to see it. I wonder if you have been there to have a look?"

Ming Huachang continued to eat, and sneered in his heart. Prince Qiao even knew that the Feng family had a garden in the south of the Yangtze River. He had heard too much detail. Li Huazhang was calm and replied sincerely, "No. The Feng family invited us many times, but as a vassal king, I should avoid suspicion and not make friends with local gentry, so I declined."

Prince Qiao said "oh" and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Ming Huashang tilted her head to look at Li Huazhang while serving tea. He was lying so seriously and honestly. Facing such a gentleman's face, who would suspect that he was talking nonsense as soon as he entered the door?

Li Huazhang held Ming Huashang's hand under the table and squeezed it gently. He took the teacup tenderly and wiped the corners of her mouth: "Drink slowly, be careful of the burn."

The two looked at each other, Ming Huachang looked like she was enjoying the show, Li Huazhang helplessly signaled her to stop. Seeing the two of them being so affectionate, Prince Qiao originally suspected that Li Huazhang was just acting, but now he really believed it. Li Huazhang had indeed lost his will and was only focused on his wife's stove.

Growing up in a minister's family, he lacked the aura of a king. No matter how capable he was, his horizons were limited. When Prince Qiao invited him to celebrate the New Year, he really only brought a dozen guards with him. Prince Qiao sighed a little, but he completely put aside his doubts. Judging from Li Huazhang's appearance, he didn't know the latest developments in Chang'an, otherwise he would never have the time to indulge in his son-daughter relationship.

Li Huazhang said that he had rejected the Feng family several times. It seemed that Feng Rong had not succeeded in the end. No wonder the Feng family had not replied to his letters recently. It turned out that they were embarrassed to see him. Prince Qiao figured out why the Feng family had lost contact. He didn't mind that Li Huazhang was still alive, and he persuaded Li Huazhang to drink.

It was a pity that Prince Qiao, who was too weak to be a hero, didn't know that Old Lady Feng had gone to hell before him, and under Wei Zhu's fingering, his confidant who was placed in Shangzhou to contact the Feng family was also thrown into prison. The instigator was Ming Huashang, whom he regarded as a beauty who brought disaster.

Under Ming Huashang's arrangement, many Xuanxiao Guards had sneaked into Junzhou City, disguised as peddlers and servants, and scattered around Prince Qiao, recording his every move, and even knowing who he met and who he wrote to yesterday. Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang were fully aware of Prince Qiao's movements, but Prince Qiao had no idea what happened in Shangzhou.

This is the lethality of intelligence warfare. Not only that, Ming Huashang also ordered people to infiltrate the people to find out who came and went around Prince Qiao, where they lived, what their temperaments were like, and when they went out every day. Under the peace and prosperity, a dark web has been silently woven, and the targeted prey is still enjoying itself unconsciously, dreaming of becoming a meritorious official of the new emperor.

Li Huazhang hated the atmosphere of drinking and never drank in private, but his alcohol tolerance was not bad. After three rounds of drinking, Li Huazhang's eyes were still bright and his expression was clear, but Prince Qiao was a little confused. Prince Qiao leaned on the armrest, not knowing whether he was really drunk or pretending to be drunk, and shouted to the sky: "I heard that my father was seriously ill, and I wanted to go back to serve him, but the queen did not allow it. Since God gave me birth to the Li family, why did he let me become a bastard? God will not tolerate me, God will not tolerate me!"

Li Huazhang seemed not to hear and said to Princess Qiao in a gentle and polite manner: "Sister-in-law, Prince Qiao seems drunk. Let's stop here tonight. Please send Prince Qiao back to rest."

After a night of hard work, Princess Qiao had a very good impression of Li Huazhang. She hurriedly ordered someone to help Prince Qiao up, and said embarrassedly: "You are new here, I should have personally escorted you to your residence, but Prince Qiao..."

"That's fine." Li Huazhang smiled and said kindly, "Sister Wang, go take care of Brother Qiao first, we'll do as we please."

Princess Qiao was extremely grateful and left after repeatedly saying that she was forgiven. If she knew what these two people had done, she would definitely not let them go free.

The wine glasses were clinking, the lights were bright, Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang were clearly standing in the center of the line of sight, but it seemed that no one could see them. Ming Huashang seemed to be too drunk to bear the effects of alcohol and leaned against Li Huazhang, her lips barely moving: "Brother Xie, Sister, Brother Su are all here, what should we do next?"

"Prince Qiao is not drunk. He will definitely write a letter to the governor of Jiannan tonight." Li Huazhang gently supported Ming Huashang and spoke calmly but fiercely, "We will take action after Chuzhou withdraws its troops."