The next day, Xue Shao went down the mountain to the Weishui camp. Yuenu and Xuanyunzi took Liu Erniang together, took the customs clearance document issued by Xue Shao to their Xia Guan, and took the first step out of the customs and went to Helong.

It was inconvenient for women to accompany them in the army, and the two sides agreed to meet in Yinchuan Juntun.

Xue Shao went down the mountain to the Weishui camp to inspect the troops.

Because he was traveling lightly, Xue Shao did not bring logistics support troops this time, so each sergeant of the Jumping Army was equipped with three war horses. In addition to being used for riding, the horses also had to carry the soldiers' weapons, armor, rations, and other things.

The Jumping Army is well-trained and in a very short time everything is ready and ready to go.

For Xue Chuyu and this army, it is difficult for Xue Shao to find anything that he is not satisfied with. He briefly discussed the march route and other matters with Xue Chuyu, Guo An and others, and if there were no more problems, the troops would be mobilized tomorrow.

On this night, Guo An received a secret letter from Zhao Qi, the master of Hongmen Hall, saying that if there was something important, he must personally ask to see Xue Shao himself.

Although Zhao Qi was once a member of Xue Shao's subordinates, he is now a "gray person" in the Jianghu sect. If there were no special circumstances, he would not openly show his face, let alone take the initiative to ask to see Xue Shao.

So that night, Xue Shao secretly walked out of the barracks and met with Zhao Qi in a field on the outskirts of the Great Wall.

"Master, God has moved!" Zhao Qi got straight to the point.

Xue Shao frowned slightly, "What's the matter?" ”

Zhao Qi said: "Recently, one of the brothers among the Eighteen Ospreys of Hongmen accidentally learned from an old friend of the Green Forest that someone was secretly gathering some of the minions who had obeyed Lai Junchen's orders and wanted to do something big. After hearing the news, the subordinates did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly sent capable people to investigate carefully. As a result, it was learned that the person who wanted to gather these minions was Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong's brother Zhang Tongxiu. The subordinates immediately sent people to keep an eye on Zhang Tongxiu, and it turned out that since the second day of the Shangyuan Festival, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong have frequently entered Zhang Tongxiu's mansion, as if they were planning some conspiracy. So his subordinates personally infiltrated Zhang Tongxiu's mansion to eavesdrop on their conversation, and found that the conspiracy they were brewing was actually aimed at the master. ”

Xue Shao couldn't help but smile, "Do they still want to use this group of gangsters to assassinate me?" ”

"This, the subordinates have not yet found out." Zhao Qi said, "The subordinates only vaguely heard that they wanted to instigate some conspiracy while the main one was leaving Beijing. The subordinates felt that the matter was too big to delay Russia, so Starry Night came to report to the master to know. ”

"Well done." Xue Shao approved, and then said, "Then have you found out why they are pointing the finger at me?" ”

"Yes." Zhao Qi said, "When my subordinates eavesdropped, I heard that Zhang Yizhi was shooting and scolded the master. The foul language is unbearable, and the subordinates dare not rephrase the original words. What they mean is to accuse the master of stealing the limelight from their two brothers during the Shangyuan Festival. ”

"Shangyuan Festival? Thunder? Xue Shao was a little confused.

"Probably, the master and General Yuguan accompanied the empress to the gate of heaven." Zhao Qi reminded, "Originally, it may have been the ministry of the two Zhang brothers. ”

Xue Shao suddenly laughed, "Two sissies who grew up eating rouge and gouache, if the empress really dares to take them out of the gate of heaven during the Shangyuan Festival, it will really be a loss of face for the Great Zhou Dynasty." ”

"The head of the sissy?" Guo An next to him laughed, "This word is fresh." ”

Zhao Qi also smiled, "As the so-called horses don't like to have long faces and don't know how to be ugly, they must feel that they deserve to take the place of the master and the Jade Crown General." ”

Xue Shao smiled noncommittally and no longer argued about this issue, but said: "Erzhang has long been dissatisfied with me, and the matter of the Shangyuan Festival is at most just an excuse and a reason. If you want to attack me when I am far away from the capital, the opportunity is good. ”

"Yes." Guo An said, "Once we are away from Beijing, it is difficult to save the fire from far water." If the two blows the pillow wind in the empress's ears, and then mobilizes others to instigate some conspiracy, it is really not easy to deal with. ”

Xue Shao said: "You mean, Erzhang gathered these gangsters to collect evidence of my crimes?" ”

"Quite possibly." Guo An said, "These gangsters used to be the minions of Lai Junchen, and they were especially good at picking bones in eggs, and even framing them. What if they really dig into the ground and track it down......"

Guo An didn't say any more.

Because Xue Shao knew very well in his heart that no official could withstand the investigation of nitpicking. Not to mention anything else, in front of me, didn't I see Liu Erniang just now? If those minions dig out the matter of Aiyan and Krakus, it will be really difficult for him to explain to the empress and the court. If this matter is publicized by someone who adds oil and vinegar to it, I am afraid that the reputation of this world will also be ruined.

"Master, do you want to strike first and kill those minions?" Zhao Qi asked.

"This kind of minions that can be hired for money, if you kill a batch, he can immediately change a batch, what's the point?" Xue Shao said, "To capture the thief, we still have to capture the king." ”

"Please also ask the master to order!"

Xue Shao paced and thought about it, thinking that he had made a villain at this juncture, and he was really a little unlucky. Indeed, the presence of Aiyan and Krakus is considered a weakness of his own. Although he has never done anything to betray the interests of the country because of their mother, he can't stand the nonsense of people with ill intentions who use the topic to play. Once there are rumors, no matter how you want to explain or justify, it will become darker and darker.

"Xue Shuai, otherwise, let's go back to our senses first to solve the trouble, and postpone before we leave?" Guo An proposed.

Xue Shao waved his hand, "Wouldn't that make it clear to tell others that I am a thief?" ”

"Then I'll stay and improvise." Guo An said, "Zhang Cheng and Wu Yuan followed, and the scouts were commanded. ”

Xue Shao pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "You and Zhao Qi will immediately leave to return to the Shendu and discuss this matter with Princess Taiping first." Small things, you assist her in the whole cooking. Big things, you have to inform me as soon as possible. In the event of a major change or even defeat, remember that the first rule is always to save your life. As long as I'm not dead, there's still hope for a turnaround. ”

"Yes!"

Xue Shao pondered for a while and said, "After you return to Shendu, you can start to investigate the crimes of the brothers Zhang Yizhi, Zhang Changzong and Zhang Tongxiu. Collect them and give them to Princess Taiping, then ask Princess Taiping to find Li Zhaode and Song Jing. These two are both iron-clad ministers and have never been accustomed to those faces, and they will definitely not let the two brothers have a good time. In short, I have to find a way to get the two Zhang brothers and others into a troublesome lawsuit before me. Although the empress is particularly fond of Erzhang, it is difficult to get to the sky if she wants to bring them down now. But if you want to achieve the effect of encircling Wei and saving Zhao, it should not be difficult. ”

"Clever plan." Guo An said, "That subordinate and Brother Zhao will leave immediately and rush back to Luoyang in the starry night." ”

"Good. Be careful along the way! ”

Guo An and Zhao Qi left immediately.

Xue Shao got on his horse and walked back to the barracks, thinking as he walked: I can be regarded as a big tree now. Although I've always been unaccustomed to looking at Erzhang, after all, it's a dog bullying, and I haven't thought about killing them yet. Unexpectedly, they took the initiative to kill me.

After thinking about it carefully, Xue Shao felt that he and Er Zhang really didn't have any fundamental conflicts of interest except for some missight between each other. Now that he has become an enemy, it is really different from the path of Pei Yan, Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen.

In the final analysis, Erzhang is just a pair of playthings for the Empress. They have no political consciousness at all, let alone politicians, not even conspirators. They just instinctively want to be in the limelight, want to grab profits, and seize power. As soon as they see someone stealing their limelight or blocking their money, they will want to kill.

To put it nicely, this is God blocking and killing God and Buddha blocking and killing Buddha.

To put it mildly, this is a dog biting a mosquito and barking at the sky.

This is completely the logic of the thinking of fools and children.

The more Xue Shao thought about it, the more funny he felt, and the more he thought about it, the more helpless he felt. In these years, what kind of cat and dog can also jump on the court a few times. Although the court in charge of Wu Zetian is open-minded and energetic, it can be generally called Qingming. But it is true that it has fed a lot of filthy villains, and has smeared a lot of black on the history in front of you.

Thinking of this, Xue Shao couldn't help but take a deep breath, and said in his heart I really don't want to finally break with Wu Zetian because of these villains......

The next day, Xue Shao led 3,000 jumpers to leave the Weishui camp and rushed to the Helong border pass. The announcement of his trip to the outside world was to inspect the military deployment of Helong towns and border defenses, as well as to requisition the war horses raised by Helong herding horses to fill the six idle stables of the imperial court.

Therefore, Xue Shao was jokingly calling himself a horse herd all the way, and this time he came with troops just to pick up grass and find horses.

Guo An returned to Shendu and met with Princess Taiping privately to inform her of the matter.

Princess Taiping's lungs were about to explode suddenly, thinking that she had personally recommended the two to her mother at the risk of Dayun, and was scolded by Xue Shao for this, which was the first time since the two got married. Unexpectedly, within a few days of turning his head, Erzhang was "ungrateful" and wanted to hack himself!

Although the second one is aimed at Xue Shao, this is no different from that of Princess Taiping.

The more Princess Taiping thought about it, the more angry she became. She hadn't smashed a cup or kicked a table in years, but she did it today.

Linlang stood beside him with a sword. They had no doubt that Princess Taiping would immediately give an order and ask them to pick Zhang Changzong's brothers.

But Princess Taiping didn't.

She smashed things and sent out an evil fire, because she was holding back her unloved, and she was afraid of anger and carried away to do stupid things. Now that I have vented, I can think calmly about how to deal with the trouble in front of me.

"Your Royal Highness Princess, Duke Xue asked our subordinates to secretly collect the evidence of the Zhang family's brothers, and then submit these incriminating evidence to the Imperial Historical Observatory." Guo An said, "In this way, it may be anti-customer-oriented." ”

"Xue Lang's brain is really good." Princess Taiping's eyes lit up suddenly, "Let's do this first, and then we'll improvise." Now I'm going to go to the palace to find out, and by the way, I'll remind Shangguan Wan'er to be careful. Guo An, everything outside the palace depends on you! ”

"Your Royal Highness, please rest assured."

Princess Taiping immediately changed her clothes, boarded the carriage, and went to the palace. Along the way, she was thinking with hatred: she really regretted that she didn't listen to Xue Lang's admonition at the beginning, and she sacrificed her face in a daze. It's good that I was bitten by my own dog!