Chapter 315 A big gamble
Li Heng wanted to use the war to control Hexi, and An Lushan wanted to use the war to control Hedong. They wanted to go together.

As Li Heng was thinking, He Jin walked in slowly, sat on the other side of Li Heng, and said, "It's not easy to do business with the Huihe people. They only want to trade horses, and they have been cooperating with other Sogdian merchants for a long time."

Li Heng asked: "Other Sogdian caravans?"

"Yes." He Jin frowned. "Because of your highness's help, the He family became the number one caravan on the Silk Road and seized the business areas of other caravans. They had no choice but to find another way. It happened that An Lushan was in charge of Hebei Road, close to the Huihe. He also claimed to be the incarnation of the God of Light, so he summoned other Sogdian caravans to trade with the Huihe."

"I see." Li Heng asked the butler to bring the map and examine it carefully.

He Jin asked curiously, "What is your highness looking at?"

Li Heng said: "Hebei is a tax-intensive area. If An Lushan opens up a new trade route with the Huihe, he will have too much money in his hands."

He Jin said: "The countries in the northeast all trade with the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, compared with the northwest, the northeast not only has smooth land transportation, but also developed water transportation, and the transportation of materials is much more convenient than the northwest."

Li Heng nodded and thought, "Now An Lushan has power, money, and talent. He just needs an opportunity."

He Jin didn't know what Li Heng was thinking, so he asked, "Your Highness, what are you going to do with the Huihe next?"

Li Heng said: "Maintain mutual trade and develop peacefully."

He Jin said: "If Your Highness does not find some wars to fight, the people under your command will not be able to achieve merit, and the Saint will probably think that Your Highness is not ambitious."

"A general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of men." Li Heng sighed and said, "Given the current situation in the court, my father has no intention of managing me. Moreover, my greatest value lies in fighting against Tubo. Now as long as I don't make any mistakes, I will lead the war against Tubo when the court is ready."

He Jin smiled and said, "In that case, Your Highness can stay at home and spend more time with us?"

Li Heng shook his head and smiled, saying, "The military and politics of Hexi are not simple either. There are farming, commerce, military training, fighting corruption, and investigating empty salaries. Each of these things requires a lot of effort."

He Jin said: "Other generals are thinking of colluding with the corrupt, collecting empty salaries, and actively provoking wars. Only Your Highness cares about the people."

Li Heng smiled back and said nothing more.

……

Changan.

After Yang Guozhong went to Jiannan, he felt even more that political struggle was like gambling. Either you lose or I lose, there is no middle ground. So he decided to go all in and gamble with Li Linfu.

After making up his mind, he wrote a memorial to Li Longji, and before submitting it, he visited Chen Xilie.

After the two of them exchanged symbolic greetings, Yang Guozhong got straight to the point and said, "During the previous trial of Wang Yu, the Right Prime Minister favored Wang Yu many times. There must be collusion between them. Is the Left Prime Minister willing to join me in impeaching the Right Prime Minister?"

Chen Xilie's expression changed slightly, and he immediately smiled and said, "Since Doctor Yang thinks so, just write the letter yourself. Why do you need to call me?"

Yang Guozhong smiled and said, "Forgive me for being blunt. If the Left Prime Minister wants to protect himself, he should also look at what happened to the previous Left Prime Ministers. Zhang Jiuling returned to his hometown, Li Shizhi was forced to commit suicide, and all the other officials who threatened the Right Prime Minister, such as Wei Jian, Yang Shenjin, and even Wang Zhongsi, were either killed or demoted. Does the Left Prime Minister really think he can protect himself?"

How could Chen Xilie not know these things? He just didn't want to think about them. Now that Yang Guozhong said it so bluntly, he could no longer hide his hesitation.

Yang Guozhong continued, "The left prime minister and the right prime minister are both prime ministers. You abide by the law, but no one cares about you when you work in the government hall. The right prime minister ignores the law and works at home, but there are many people at his office. Don't you feel a little bit unwilling? The left prime minister is also a child of a noble family, a genius, and famous all over the world when he was young. Do you want to be judged by the history books for thousands of years as a vain person who is unable to do anything?"

There was already fire in Chen Xilie's eyes.

Yang Guozhong continued, "Even if the Left Prime Minister doesn't care about his reputation, you are a disciple of the sage. When facing evil people, don't you want to seek justice for the victims? Don't you want to clear up the world..."

"That's enough!" Chen Xilie interrupted Yang Guozhong, and after a long silence, he said, "Doctor Yang is righteous and righteous, so it's natural for you to submit the petition. If you need my testimony, I am willing to testify."

Yang Guozhong was overjoyed. He took out the memorial from his bosom and handed it to Chen Xilie with both hands, saying, "Please read it, Left Prime Minister." Chen Xilie took it and looked at it carefully, then said, "Present it to the Saint. I will not break my promise."

Yang Guozhong said: "Thank you, Zuo Xiang."

The next day, Zichen Palace.

Yang Guozhong presented a memorial to Li Longji, impeaching Li Linfu and Wang Yu for collusion.

Li Longji glanced at it briefly, threw the memorial on the table, and said, "Got it."

Yang Guozhong was not disappointed when he saw that Li Longji had no intention of punishing Li Linfu, because he knew that with Li Longji's trust in Li Linfu, an impeachment would not cause any big waves, but the seeds of suspicion had been planted.

That night.

Li Longji and Gao Lishi returned to the Purple Palace together. Li Longji looked at the memorial on the dragon case by candlelight and asked, "Has the Right Prime Minister known that Doctor Yang impeached him?"

Gao Lishi said: "I have learned about it."

Li Longji asked, "Has the person who spread the news been caught?"

Gao Lishi said, "We have caught him. I have taken him to the palace. Does Your Majesty want to summon him for questioning?"

"No need." Li Longji shook his head. "Kill him. Don't make it public. Summon the left prime minister to the palace for questioning tomorrow."

"Yes." Gao Lishi bowed and accepted the order.

……

Yang Guozhong's Mansion.

At this time, Yang Guozhong was personally selecting beautiful women, but he was not selecting beauties for concubines. Instead, he was selecting some tall and beautiful maids to fan him in the summer and block the wind for him in the winter.

Yang Guozhong was enjoying his selection when a maid came to report, "Ah Lang, Liu Luogu wants to see you."

"Liu Luogu?" Yang Guozhong looked puzzled and asked, "Isn't he one of An Lushan's staff members?"

The maid said, "That's right."

Yang Guozhong hesitated for a moment, asked the beauty pageant girl to leave, and then said, "Let him in."

"Yes." The maid went out, and soon brought Liu Luogu to the lobby.

As soon as Liu Luogu entered the room, he carried in a box, bowed to Yang Guozhong, and said with a smile: "Doctor Yang is even more charming now."

Yang Guozhong knew how he looked, so he didn't care. He said, "No one comes to see you for no reason. What's the matter, General Liu? Please tell me directly."

Liu Luogu introduced the boxes that were carried in and said, "When the Prince of Dongping heard that Doctor Yang was promoted, he wanted to come and pay a visit to him. However, there was a war going on in the front and he couldn't spare the time. He could only send some Fanyang specialties to congratulate Doctor Yang."

"What specialty?" Yang Guozhong was not shy about asking. He opened the box and a large box of jewelry came into view.

Yang Guozhong couldn't help but smile and said, "Thank the Prince of Dongping on my behalf."

Liu Luogu said: "The Prince of Dongping also brought good news to Doctor Yang."

(End of this chapter)