The struggle that occurred at night in Fangling County did not affect Li Zhen's plan. The next morning, he brought several warriors to Xiaoen Temple, and Di Yan also followed him. She did not know the true identity of Master Hongfu.

"Old Li, the county town is full of trouble, but you came here. Is this temple very important?" Di Yan asked in confusion.

Li Zhen smiled slightly, "Let Lai Junchen and Governor Yang go to fight, we won't participate for the time being. If necessary, they will come to me. Generally speaking, I still like to watch the fun."

Di Yan was still a little worried, and she whispered to Li Zhen: "Governor Yang and my father have a good relationship. They passed the Mingjing subject together. When I was a child, he often came to my house. He served as the governor of Fangzhou and was recommended by my father. I was very worried that he could not beat Lai Junchen."

Li Zhen glanced at Di Yan and saw her face full of sorrow, so he comforted her with a smile: "Don't worry, behind this governor Yang is Xingtang Association. He will not lose to Lai Junchen. Even if he is in danger, I will not stand by. It's just that now is not the time for me to take action."

As the two of them said, they came to the gate of Xiaoen Temple. Li Zhen turned over and dismounted and said to Di Yan: "Help me be warned around you. If someone peeks around, please notify me immediately."

Di Yan nodded and turned to the several buzzards and said, "Come with me."

She led a few warriors into a bamboo forest. Several people divided the work and set up a warning around the temple. Li Zhen walked up the steps. A monk immediately came up to meet him and clasped his hands and said, "Would the donor come to fulfill his wish or incense?"

"I want to see your abbot, he knows me."

Li Zhen took out his prayer post and handed it to the monk. The monk glanced at the prayer post, his eyelids leaped twice, and he hurriedly said, "Please wait."

He turned around and ran into the temple in a panic. Soon, the monk came out again, his face calmed a lot, and he smiled and said, "Principal Li, please follow me."

Li Zhen followed him into the gate and came to the yard behind the presidency, "Please wait for the commander."

Li Zhen walked into the courtyard and saw Master Hongfu holding a bamboo broom in his hand and sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard. Li Zhen stepped forward and bowed, "I've disturbed Master."

Master Hongfu seemed not to see him, so he put down his broom, turned around and walked into the Zen room. Li Zhen also followed him in, and it was the last time Li Xian met his room.

"Please sit"

Master Hongfu asked Li Zhen to sit down, and a young monk served them tea. Li Zhen bowed and said, "I met in a hurry last time and didn't talk to the master in detail. Li Zhen has many things to ask the master."

"Is your master in good health?" Master Hongfu asked lightly.

"When we broke up last year, he was not in good health. I was worried that he would travel to the Central Plains for a long distance, but he insisted on leaving. However, I received news from my master not long ago that he is not bad now and is living a peaceful life."

"He's actually not calm."

Master Hongfu's eyes fell on Li Zhen's sword again. Li Zhen understood and untied the sword from his waist, put it on the table and pushed it to him, "This is the master's heirloom, and it is the object to return to the original owner."

Master Hongfu took the long sword and gently stroked the scabbard, but returned it to Li Zhen, "Li Jingye is dead, I have nothing to do with him. This sword was given by your master. Please hold it away."

Li Zhen nodded silently, and he pondered for a moment and asked again: "I came to see the master today. Actually, I want to ask about the Xingtang Association again. Lai Junchen is investigating with all his strength, and I am worried-"

"What do Commander Li want to know?" Master Hongfu said with a smile.

"I want to know how many members of the Xingtang Association are still there in Fangzhou? Is there any force that is lurking in the Xingtang Association?"

Master Hongfu stretched out four fingers, "There are only four people at present, I am the only one in Xiaoen Temple, and Gan Enxin, he is responsible for contacting, and there are two more you should know

"Is it the governor Yang and His Highness the King of Luling?"

Master Hongfu nodded, "There is no other power except the four of us. The warriors of the Xingtang Association had withdrawn to Chang'an last winter."

"Is Princess Taiping a member of the Xingtang Association?" Li Zhen asked again.

"She is not"

Master Hongfu shook his head slowly and looked at Li Zhen with sharp eyes, "Why would you ask her?"

"Recently, some people are using the name of Xingtang Association to make trouble."

Li Zhen then told the story of the ambush of the Dali Temple officials and Lai Junchen's subordinates, and finally said: "When they leave, they will throw down a bronze medal from the Xingtang Association, which is obviously implying that the Xingtang Association exists. I want to find out what background is this group of mysterious people?"

Master Hongfu's expression also became solemn. He pondered for a long time and said slowly: "Didn't Commander Li realize that they were just clicking to the end? He did not really betray Xingtang Club."

"I also saw that either they did not have the truth about the Xingtang Association, or they did not want to betray the Xingtang Association. I think the former is likely to be, but their target is His Highness, King Luling. If they discover the Xingtang Association in Fangzhou, His Highness, King Luling, cannot escape the suspicion."

"You're right. This group of people is indeed targeting the prince, but why do you suspect that it is Princess Taiping, not the Wu family or other forces?"

"It's not the Wu family. Wu Sansi and Lai Junchen are all ally. He will not kill Lai Junchen's people. The reason why I suspect Princess Taiping is because the people from Taiping Mansion have not appeared yet. Although Wu Furong appears, she is leading the inner guard. I have a intuition that Princess Taiping will never be out of the matter."

Master Hongfu smiled slightly, "General Li, this is just your guess. I think Princess Taiping doesn't want something to happen to Prince Luling. Although she has a bad relationship with Princess Wei, Prince Luling is her brother after all."

"Maybe I have a little personal grudge with her, so I always think of her."

"Actually, Commander Li didn't know that there were many forces in the Tang Dynasty, not just those in Luoyang. For example, the Xingtang Association, did Commander Li know before coming to Fangzhou?

Li Zhen shook his head, and Master Hongfu smiled and said, "Chang'an also has a relative Longhui, which is a symbol of the alliance between the four Guanlong nobles. The Dugu family, Changsun family, Dou family, and Yuan family, they have strong financial resources and have a great influence in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Gaozong and Dangjinzi moved the capital to Luoyang in order to get rid of their control over the court.

Of course, Guanlong will always support the Li royal family. The mysterious people cannot be them. There are also Goguryeo people. After Emperor Gaozong destroyed Goguryeo, hundreds of thousands of people were moved to the Central Plains. Many Goguryeo nobles have been trying to restore the country and formed a powerful force in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the Japanese people-"

"Japanese" Li Zhen was surprised. Does Japan also have power in the Tang Dynasty?

Master Hongfu smiled, "Thirty years ago, the Battle of Baijiangkou, the Tang army and the Silla army defeated Japan, and the Baekje coalition. Although the Japanese surrendered on the surface, they planned to make a comeback in their hearts. I heard from Gan Enxin that he encountered Japanese samurai in Yangzhou a few years ago. Japanese samurai were very active in the Tang Dynasty, but Commander Li had not met them yet."

Li Zhen didn't speak for a long time and felt ashamed. He really didn't have enough knowledge and only thought about Princess Taiping. However, he didn't know that the Tang Dynasty was strong and there were countless forces lurking in it.

Like the Tubo people he met in Gaochang, the bizarrely missing Tocharis warriors, even the Khitans and Turks, they all hope that the Tang Dynasty would fall into chaos so that they could fish in the water.

At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps came from the yard, and the captain Lu Jin reported at the door: "Report to the commander, there is an emergency."

Li Zhen stood up and walked out of the room and asked, "What emergency?"

"Lai Junchen left Fangling County early this morning."

"Where did he go?" Li Zhen asked again.

"The specific whereabouts are unknown, but he left the city from Dongmen and took away all his subordinates."

Li Zhen was indeed deeply surprised by Lai Junchen's unexpected departure. He knew that Lai Junchen's character was cunning and cruel, and he was extremely resilient and tried every means to achieve his goals. Although he encountered setbacks last night, he must not think that he gave up. On the contrary, Lai Junchen would not give up.

Thinking of this, Li Zhen immediately returned to his room and said goodbye to Master Hongfu, left the temple and ran towards the county town. He was about to reach the county town. Li Zhen slowed down his horse. At this time, Di Yan caught up and asked, "Old Li, I think Lai Junchen would just play hard to get?"

"Do you think he hasn't gone far?" Li Zhen asked with a smile.

"It can be seen from the Lan Zhenyu case that Lai Junchen is not a person who gives up easily. He has nothing in Fangzhou, so he is willing to leave it, so I think he will come back."

“Great progress”

Li Zhen gave a thumbs up and smiled approvingly: "Since I followed me, my thoughts have become clearer and clearer-"

Seeing that there was no warrior following him, Di Yan punched Li Zhen on the back and said coquettishly: "Tell me clearly, what does it mean to follow you? When will I follow you? I'm just here to join in the fun."

Li Zhen quickly raised his hand and smiled, "It's me that I can't speak accurately, I ask Miss Di to help, that's OK."

“This is almost the same”

Di Yan glared at him, "Be careful when speaking in the future. It's easy for me to speak. If you meet Miss Wang, Miss Zhang, etc., it depends on your suffering."

Li Zhen didn't dare to say more, but just smiled with a bitter face. Di Yan glanced at him, then asked again with a smile: "Did I analyze it wrong?"

"Actually, I think he was a fake shot and retreating to advance, but I can't be sure what Lai Junchen's real purpose is."

"Then what are we doing in the county?" Di Yan asked.

"When I meet the governor Yang Pei, I hope he can understand his dangerous situation and not wait for death."

"Do you think Governor Yang will listen to your advice?"

"No," Li Zhen shook his head, "He definitely won't listen to my advice, and he can't listen to a word."

Di Yan was even more puzzled, "Since that's the case, what will we persuade him to do?"

Li Zhen smiled, but did not answer Di Yan's words. He gently whipped the war horse and accelerated the horse to chase several guards not far ahead.
Chapter completed!