Zhuang Wenzhong's eyes were blindfolded, and he didn't know where he was taken, but he knew that the warrior Lai Junchen who escorted him was intercepted and killed halfway, but he was taken away by another group of people and finally escaped from Lai Junchen's clutches. He was nervous, expectant, and a little scared in his heart.

At this time, he felt that he was being pushed into a room. Someone took off the black cloth that was covering his eyes, and the eyes suddenly became brighter. After a while, his eyes slowly adapted. He saw more than a dozen burly men standing around him, sitting in front of him, looking at him coldly. Zhuang Wenzhong recognized this person, which was Li Zhen who was fighting side by side with him in Yangzhou.

"It's you?" Zhuang Wenzhong screamed in vain. It turned out that it was Li Zhen who intercepted and killed Lai Junchen's warrior.

"Unlock his rope"

A warrior in the inner guard broke the rope on Zhuang Wenzhong's hand with a knife. Zhuang Wenzhong rubbed his numb wrist and felt very ashamed. He knew that he had given the gold medal to Wu Sansi and caused trouble.

"Please sit in Zhuang Duwei"

Although Li Zhen cut his rope and asked him to sit down, his tone was very cold. Zhuang Wen sighed heavily and said, "General Li, I don't want to betray you, I just... went to Beijing to move around and wanted to get through the joints. Unexpectedly, when I heard from the Ministry of War that the Emperor was dissatisfied with me, I went to ask Wu Sansi--"

Li Zhen waved his hand and interrupted him, "The Lord is dissatisfied with you because she does not know your contribution to suppressing the rebellion. Prefect Lin's detailed report has not been sent to the Ministry of War, but the Lord has read my report. I believe that she will not only not punish you, but also reward you. Commander Zhuang is too impatient."

"Hey, I'm too scared and trust Wu Sansi too much, but the result was that Zhuang Wenzhong was in great pain and could not continue to say anything.

Li Zhen looked at him for a while, gave a wink to the surrounding warriors, and let them all go down. Only the two of them were left in the room. Li Zhen then said slowly: "Why did you confess to Lai Junchen?"

Zhuang Wenzhong waved his hand in a hurry, "I didn't tell him anything, he... He didn't have time to interrogate me, it should be today. In fact, I don't know anything. I just want to capture Li Yuanjia's logistics camp, and I don't know that the commander has occupied Jiangyang County."

"But you gave Li Yuanjia's gold medal to Wu Sansi"

Zhuang Wenzhong's face showed regret and sighed: "I don't know the meaning of that gold medal. If I knew it, I wouldn't give it to Wu Sansi easily. My life was almost thrown on that gold medal. I hate it."

Li Zhen also knew that Zhuang Wenzhong knew nothing, and he just got the gold medal inadvertently, but Li Zhen knew very well how important Zhuang Wenzhong was to Lai Junchen. Lai Junchen could use Zhuang Wenzhong to weave the charges, tamper with the facts, and connect himself with the gold medal.

Even Lai Junchen could be able to ⊥ Zhuang Wenzhong falsely accused Li Xian or Li Dan and Li Yuanjia of secret contact. After all, Zhuang Wenzhong was the commander of Yangzhou and participated in the quellation of the Li Yuanjia Rebellion, so his testimony was quite convincing.

Li Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "Master Zhuang, although I am very angry with you, Li Zhen is a person with a clear distinction between gratitude and grudges. I will not forget that you helped me in Yangzhou, so I rescued you from Nai Junchen. Now I will find a place to hide you. After this matter is over, I will let you go back to Yangzhou."

Zhuang Wenzhong was secretly grateful in his heart, and he leaned over and bowed and said, "Zhuang Wenzhong remembered the life-saving grace of Commander Li."

Li Zhen immediately ordered the warrior to take Zhuang Wenzhong down,

At this time, Zhang Li walked in. It was Zhang Li who led the warrior to take advantage of the chaos to rob Zhuang Wenzhong. He also shot Lai Feng with an arrow in the grass that was one person tall.

Zhang Li smiled and said, "I thought the commander wanted to kill him and silence him, but I didn't expect the commander to save him."

Li Zhen smiled and said, "In Chengdu, if I could save Yang Pei, I would never kill him. After all, they were all local ministers, and the consequences of random killing were very serious.

Of course, I can also kill Zhuang Wenzhong to silence him, but in this way, my Yangzhou officials and I will completely turn against each other. However, if we save Zhuang Wenzhong, we can pull Lin Qing over from Wu Sansi. I have calculated the gains and losses in my mind."

Zhang Li gave a thumbs up and praised: "The leader's vision is long-term and saved Zhuang Wenzhong, so he won over Lin Qing. This is a good deal, and I admire him for his humble career."

"Don't make me crazy soup," Li Zhen said with a smile.

"The humble position is not an exaggeration. Today, the commander calculated Lai Junchen's plan to lure troops. In the end, the mantis stalked the cicada and the oriole behind him was indeed better than Lai Junchen. However, the humble position was worried that Lai Junchen would use any means to be detrimental to the commander."

Li Zhen nodded, "I have already thought of this. Lai Junchen began to stare at my mansion, and must have also stared at my eldest sister, so I sent her to Mingxiu Villa for a while, so I would have no worries."

Li Zhen walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky and said slowly: "Let's let go of our hands and fight Lai Junchen. I saw who laughed the last time?"

In Princess Taiping's Mansion, Zhang Quan, the deputy leader of the Taiping Mansion, knelt on the ground and reported in detail to his master, Princess Taiping, their failure to seize Zhuang Wenzhong, and finally cried: "I am humble and incompetent. Not only can I complete the tasks assigned by Your Highness, but I also lost nineteen brothers. Please punish him severely."

Princess Taiping couldn't say a word for a long time, but she actually fell into Lai Junchen's plan to lure troops. Although Zhang Quan was indeed incompetent, she made this decision. Although she was so angry that she couldn't make it happen.

At this time, Gao Jian next to him asked: "Brother Zhang just said that it was because of a special situation that distracted Lai Junchen's attention, which allowed you to break through successfully. What is the special situation?"

Zhang Quan thought for a while and said, "I didn't see it, but a brother saw that Zhuang Wenzhong was robbed. Lai Junchen yelled on the side of the carriage."

"Being robbed?" Gao Jian frowned, "Can you be sure?"

"It should be no mistake. Bei Yi asked several brothers, and they all saw it."

Gao Jian and Princess Taiping looked at each other, and they understood almost at the same time. It was probably Li Zhen who took action and intercepted Zhuang Wenzhong.

Princess Taiping couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She lost her troops and generals, but in the end she actually made a profit. Why didn't he help him?

Gao Jian seemed to understand Princess Taiping's dissatisfaction, and smiled and said, "Li Zhen didn't know that His Highness the Princess was also involved in the Xingtang Association. If the princess could reveal something to him before, maybe he would change his plan and cooperate with the princess' actions."

Princess Taiping waved her hand and asked Zhang Quan to retreat. Zhang Quanru was released again, and quickly bowed and slowly retreated. As soon as she walked to the door, Princess Taiping said to him coldly: "You are not good at doing things, don't think I will let you go, I will settle the score with you later."

Zhang Quan's heart that had just been relieved was suspended again. He smiled bitterly in his heart. Princess Taiping has always been ruthless in his charge. How could he think she would let him go?

He had no choice but to agree and retreat.

Gao Jian didn't dare to persuade Princess Taiping. Nearly twenty brothers died, someone would always take responsibility. Even if the princess was brave enough to take responsibility, the people below could not escape, let alone she was never a person who criticized herself.

Princess Taiping walked to the window with her hands behind her back, pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Gaolang, do you know why I must participate in this case?"

Gao Jian shook his head, "I don't know the humble position."

"Because I went to Yangzhou once three years ago, signed my name on the Xingtang Association Oath List and pressed my fingerprints. Now, Lai Junchen seems to be dealing with Li Zhen on the surface, but I know in my heart that his fundamental goal is to deal with Xingtang Association. Only by using the Xingtang Association case to completely defeat the Li family royal family, can Wu Sansi have the opportunity to take office, and he Lai Junchen can escape the liquidation."

Princess Taiping turned around and looked at Gao Jian, "I am also the Li royal family. How can I allow a despicable villain to ruin the honor of the Tang royal family so unscrupulously.

Gao Jian said calmly: "The princess is right. Lai Junchen is a crazy mad dog. He has caused many families to be destroyed. He fully supports the princess to attack Lai Junchen."

Princess Taiping pondered for a moment and said, "I also want to use this opportunity to win over Li Zhen. How likely do you think is it?"

"Wei Zhi feels...frankly speaking, he has difficulties, and the possibility is not too great, but you can give it a try."

Speaking of this, Gao Jian smiled and said, "I am willing to talk to him again for the princess."

At night, in the small tavern in Fushanfang, Li Zhen met Gao Jian again. The two sat down. Li Zhen filled Gao Jian with a glass of wine and said with a smile: "I am the only one at home these days. I basically eat outside every day and rarely go home. It's a coincidence that I happened to come back today and met Brother Gao."

"It seems I'm lucky"

Gao Jian picked up the wine glass and smiled, "I met Qiao Zhonglang yesterday, and he was very grateful to Commander Li for his willingness to help him."

After pausing, Gao Jian said again: "President Li, don't blame him. He and I have been classmates and friends for ten years. We talked about everything. He didn't tell anyone except me, and I was also keeping my mouth shut."

Li Zhen sneered and said, "Does Princess Taiping also include?"

Gao Jian nodded slowly, "Including her, I didn't tell her about this at all. Commander Li, not everything I will tell her."

Gao Jian's explanation made Li Zhen feel a little more comfortable, "I understand, thank you Brother Gao for being honest, but I have no idea about Qiao Zhonglang's wife's disappearance yet. Please tell him and please be calm."

"I know, I will tell him."

Gao Jian pondered for a while and said, "I came to see Commander Li today for Princess Taiping. At noon today, a fierce battle occurred on the official road to Beimang Mountain. Commander Li should know."

Of course, Li Zhen knew that Gao Jian came to him for noon. He only realized after talking to Zhang Li that the group of black-clothed warriors who tried to intercept the carriage were Princess Taiping's people. Li Zhen also knew that Princess Taiping would come to him, so he went home to wait tonight.

Li Zhen smiled and said, "It was indeed an accident today. I sent Zhang Li to wait for an opportunity to intercept Zhuang Wenzhong. I didn't know that you would take action, so I did not give Zhang Li specific instructions. Everything was decided by him when he came. I hope Brother Gao told Princess Taiping that she could understand."

"I advised her like this. In fact, it was because of your appearance that Zhang Quan was able to finally break through the siege and was not wiped out. Speaking of which, she should also thank Commander Li. I believe she can understand it. However, she would rather cooperate with Commander Li to deal with Lai Junchen. I wonder what Commander Li wanted?" Gao Jian asked Li Zhen tentatively.

Li Zhen didn't say anything for a long time. He said in silence for a long time: "Lai Junchen has seriously threatened the Li royal family. I believe that Princess Taiping will not be out of the matter. I am very grateful for your honesty. I am willing to treat each other with sincerity. My original intention is to be willing to cooperate with Your Highness Princess, but I have difficulties. I believe that Princess Taiping and Brother Gao understand in their hearts."

"Does Commander Li need to get the consent of Shangguan Sheren?"

Li Zhen nodded silently, Gao Jian felt helpless. Although this result was as expected by him, Li Zhen's clear statement still disappointed him. He pondered for a moment and said, "Have Commander Li asked Shangguan Sheren?"

"I didn't ask her, but I believe she saw it very clearly. If she felt that she needed to cooperate with Princess Taiping, she would definitely give me some hint, so there was no need to ask her. Asking would make her feel distrustful of me, but--"

Li Zhen deliberately stopped talking, and a smile appeared on his face, "With Brother Gao's intelligence, I should know what I want to say below."

Gao Jian also laughed, "Teacher Li wants to say that there is no need to show some cooperation, so that it will not make Commander Li feel embarrassed. Is that true?"

Li Zhen gave a thumbs up and praised: "I am worthy of being the number one think tank of Princess Taiping, which makes me deeply admire it."

Gao Jian bowed slightly, thanking Li Zhen for his praise, but he didn't want to show too much modesty. This was the fact. Gao Jian smiled and said, "Can Commander Li tell me where to deal with Lai Junchen?"

Li Zhen pondered for a long time and said, "I have repeatedly considered this issue. I decided to break through the case of Qiao Zhizhi's wife's disappearance."
Chapter completed!