The cost of burning a forest was a dead man.

The burning of the mountains and forests outside Chang'an City has attracted the attention of many powerful officials. There is no small matter in the world. The forests were burned at night, and the fire lit up half of the sky. The generals who were guarding Chang'an were alarmed and sent people one after another.

Ask about the reason at Yanpingmen.

Just in case, the Jingzhao Mansion ordered all the officials to close the gates, and all Wuhou went to patrol the streets. Each guard camp mobilized troops and horses to strictly guard the gates of Chang'an City, and sent out scouts thirty miles away to search for the enemy.

The entire capital of the Tang Dynasty entered a state of emergency war preparation because of a fire.

At the edge of the woods outside Yanping Gate, the captain who ordered the fire was standing dejectedly next to the corpse. A man who looked like a general was kicking the captain's butt hard.

This brainless guy ordered the forest to be burned down and made such a big noise that the whole of Chang'an was alarmed. He actually dared to ask him for credit with a shameless face...

After kicking him, the general squatted down and looked carefully at the corpse at his feet in the dim light of the torch.

The corpse was wearing ordinary linen clothes, and his appearance turned out to be that of a foreigner. His beard and hair were light yellow, and his eyes were gray. When he opened the baggage he carried with him, he found that in addition to some simple clothes, there was only a few dozen coins in the baggage.

.

The lieutenant on the side looked a little ugly. If the person he caught was a spy or an enemy, he might be able to get away with setting fire to the forest. If the person he shot was an innocent civilian, he would be subject to military law.

There was nothing suspicious in the baggage, and the general ordered a body search. The body was searched from inside to outside, but nothing suspicious was found.

When the captain was about to despair, a sergeant who was searching the body looked hesitant and whispered hesitantly to the captain that the clothes on the body seemed a little strange to the touch.

The captain was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered to peel off all the clothes from the corpse and touch them inch by inch. Finally, he discovered the secret in the ordinary linen clothes. This clothes actually had an interlayer, and inside the interlayer was a white painting.

Silk cloth, the silk cloth is densely covered with writing.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down weakly. He had narrowly escaped disaster.

The general read the words on the silk cloth carefully, then his expression changed drastically, and he looked gloomy and did not make a sound for a long time.

After a long time, the general folded the silk cloth and said in a cold voice: "This matter is of great importance. The body and this secret letter will be sealed and sent to Jingzhao Mansion. No one with knowledge of the matter will leak a word. Anyone who violates this will be executed."

Jingzhao Mansion received the hot potato and did not dare to waste a moment. The governor personally sent the secret letter to Yushitai Mansion Office.

After the Yushitai received the letter, there was a sudden chaos. No matter what time it was, Chen Xilie, the left prime minister, and Yang Guozhong, who was about to be the right prime minister, were invited to the Yushitai from the palace in the middle of the night. Everyone passed on the secret message.

Behind the circle, Yang Guozhong looked shocked and angry, while Chen Xilie closed his eyes and said nothing.

After a long silence, Yang Guozhong said in surprise: "Mr. Chen, do you think this secret letter...is it true or false? Could it be that someone forged it to maliciously frame a loyal minister?"

Chen Xilie still looked like a good old man, and he laughed and said: "Whether it is true or not, you and I can't tell clearly. This matter is of great importance, and I am afraid that I will have to disturb the Holy Spirit."

So, this hot potato went around in circles in the middle of the night and was finally sent to Xingqing Palace.

Li Longji was woken up by Gao Lishi in the middle of the night, and the secret letter was handed to him.

Opening the secret letter, Li Longji's expression changed immediately.

The secret letter had no beginning and no signature. Literally, it was just a letter that looked like an account book, similar to a work report.

But Li Longji saw the difference.

If this is a ledger, then it is a ledger that can kill people.

The letter detailed that by the end of last winter, the three towns had purchased a total of 50,000 pieces of winter clothes, mined more than 400,000 kilograms of pig iron, and made more than 50,000 weapons of all kinds, including swords, halberds, hooks, sickles, and shields. The imperial court had allocated more than 50,000 pieces of winter clothing.

Local procurement and hoarding of military rations totaling 100,000 shi...

The above are considered normal, and Li Longji can see that they are required for the normal consumption of soldiers and horses in the border town.

The second half of the secret message is a bit unusual.

At the back of the secret letter, the candidates for the commander-in-chief of each army and brigade in the three towns were written in detail. What is interesting is that the commander-in-chief of each army and brigade above originally had Han names, but the Han names were all marked with a line with a brush and added next to them.

A barbarian name.

One stroke after another, the generals of the armies and brigade above have been gradually replaced by Hu people, and it is difficult to see the names of Han people.

Not only that, the secret letter also had a string of intriguing names written on it, with a number after the name. Some were three thousand five thousand, and some were even ten thousand.

As for those intriguing names, Li Longji knew at a glance that they were the names of Khitan and Xi people.

Khitan and Xi are currently at war with the Tang Dynasty, so what do these names and numbers mean?

At the end of the secret letter, there are still some names and numbers written. These names and numbers are familiar to Li Longji. These people are all courtiers of Chang'an, some are ministers, and some are supervisory censors of Yushitai. Among them, the most

He is an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs. From the assistant minister to the chief executive, it is almost infiltrated.

All the contents of MeXin are roughly like this.

There were no treacherous words or any sign that something was wrong.

But looking in Li Longji's eyes, it was shocking.

He never expected that a secret letter filled with only names and numbers would actually send a chill through his bones.

Who wrote this letter, who it was to be delivered to, and what the names and numbers on it meant. The answer was already in Li Longji's mind, but he couldn't believe it.

"Where's the messenger?"

Under the dim palace lantern, Li Longji's expression was uncertain.

Gao Lishi said softly: "The messenger was found to be acting suspiciously by the gatekeepers. When the soldiers wanted to arrest him, the messenger fled into the woods outside the city. The soldiers set fire to the forest, forced the messenger out, and was shot to death by random arrows."

After a moment of pause, Gao Lishi added: "The Yushitai reports that the messenger is a barbarian."

Li Longji said coldly: "There are imperial ears and eyes in all the border towns. Is there any abnormal news sent back to Chang'an by the ears and eyes?"

Gao Lishi thought for a while, shook his head and said, "Nothing unusual."

Li Longji opened the secret letter and read it again, and then snorted contemptuously: "Childish trapping tactics, ha, do you think I am a fool?"

Throwing the letter on the table, Li Longji stretched and said tiredly: "Tell Yushitai to suppress this matter and pretend that nothing happened. Then tell Jingzhao Mansion to check this letter."

The source of the letter must be someone maliciously trying to frame Zhongliang, how can I tolerate him?"

Gao Lishi respectfully accepted the order.

Li Longji was wearing a yellow robe and walked a few steps barefoot on the smooth floor. His steps became slower and slower, and his expression gradually became startled.

Those strings of names and numbers have become an image that cannot be erased from his mind.

Fan Yangping's three towns in the east of Luhe were the main barriers to the north of the Tang Dynasty. He asked his most trusted An Lushan to guard the barriers. In order to repay An Lushan's loyalty, Li Longji completely let him have the local military and political power in the three towns. But this letter

The appearance of the secret letter made Li Longji uneasy.

Is the secret letter really a forgery? Is it really to frame An Lushan?

So, what if it is true? Those names and numbers, even if half of them are true, are enough to show that An Lushan harbors evil intentions and his intentions can be punished.

Can An Lushan's loyalty be trusted when people's hearts are separated from each other?

Li Longji's expression was calm, but his heart was already in turmoil.

In his later years, he seemed to be incapable of setbacks and blows. If An Lushan really harbored evil intentions, then he would be the most failed emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji quickly regained consciousness and bit the tip of his tongue hard.

Can't believe it, can't believe it!

There must be evil thieves plotting against loyal ministers. I am a wise king, how can I be deceived by such despicable tricks?

An Lushan is a loyal minister, there is no doubt about it.

…………

Without warning, people were inexplicably caught in a huge storm in Anlu Mountain in Chang'an.

After dawn, Li Longji, who had been awake all night, got up. Gao Lishi came to report, and the Prince of the East Palace and Yang Guozhong asked to see him together.

Li Longji was quite surprised. Since Li Linfu's death, the prince and Yang Guozhong had stopped dealing with each other and had gradually become incompatible with each other. Why did they seek an audience together today?

Then Li Longji's face darkened, probably because of the secret letter last night. It seemed that he couldn't hide it, and the news had spread.

Gao Lishi was ordered to summon the two of them into the palace. After the two entered the palace and saluted, Li Longji smiled. Before he could go through the process of greeting and caring for the ministers, Yang Guozhong said first: "Your Majesty, I came to the palace today specifically for last night's secret message."

Come."

Li Longji raised his eyebrows, said oh, and then looked at the prince. Seeing that the prince looked calm, he obviously came here for this matter.

Li Longji frowned and said, "I already know that the letter was framed by thieves and cannot be trusted."

Yang Guozhong's temperament has changed today, and his personality has also changed. His whole person has become full of justice and concern for the country and the people, and even shows an extremely rare edge.

"Your Majesty, I think that whether it is true or not, I should check it out. The letter was sent to the Yushitai by Jingzhao Mansion last night. Both I and Prime Minister Chen have read it. This letter is shocking. I was so frightened that my hands and feet were cold.

Until now, I am still a little weak. Your Majesty, this letter appears strange, but you must check what is written on it."

Li Longji snorted coldly: "Yang Guozhong, I know that you are at odds with An Lushan. Don't think that I don't know what you are thinking. Just because of a secret letter from an unknown source, I will send someone there."

Wouldn’t it hurt the border guard general’s heart to check Sanzhen?”

Turning to stare at the prince, Li Longji's tone became colder: "What about you? Do you want to investigate An Lushan too?"

Li Heng's expression remained calm, and he said calmly: "Father, this is what I mean. Father, please don't get angry in a hurry, please listen to what I have to say..."

Li Longji snorted coldly: "You tell me."

"Father, the content of that secret letter can no longer be concealed. Even the Eastern Palace of my son has heard about it. In order to capture the person who sent the letter last night, the city guards set fire to a forest. It can be said that the whole city knows that the world

When everyone is talking about it, even if my father doesn't believe it, he still has to make some judgments to cover up the public opinion in the world."

Li Heng said softly: "My son believes in the loyalty of Commander An Jie, but he is afraid of everything. The contents of the secret letter are too terrible. If even one of them is true, it will be a disaster for the Tang Dynasty. Father,

Your Majesty, I believe that if you trust one person, you cannot trust the whole country. Trust belongs to trust, and what should be investigated must be investigated clearly... What if it is true?"

Yang Guozhong followed up with a finishing blow and said: "Your Majesty, An Lushan holds 200,000 troops and horses in his hands."
Chapter completed!