Li Zhen's army was stationed next to a small town called Qiming Fort about twenty miles south of Liucheng. This is also a must-pass way for Yingzhou to go south to Yuguan, and its geographical location is very important.

After defeating the Khitan conspiracy this time, the Khitans had to really seek peace from the Tang army. Then the conflicts within the Tang army also need to be sorted out, each performing its duties and taking charge of its affairs. However, the current situation is just the opposite. Di Renjie, who is in charge of diplomacy and military affairs, participated in the war, while Wu Youyi, who is in charge of marching and fighting, negotiated with the Khitans.

This is a result that neither side can accept, and they cannot explain it to Emperor Wu Zetian, so they need to coordinate and compromise with each other.

Li Zhen arrived at Qiming Fort yesterday afternoon. He originally planned to visit Wu Youyi today, but he did not expect that Wu Youyi would come to the door on his own initiative.

"General, please come in"

Li Zhen invited Wu Youyi into the tent with a smile, and then ordered the soldiers to serve tea. Wu Youyi seemed a little worried and had no intention of tasting the hot tea. He sat for a while, then slowly said: "Sun Wanrong sent someone to discuss with the Tang army. General Li should know."

"I heard a little, I don't know how I was talking about it?" Li Zhen asked with a smile on his face.

Wu Youyi shook his head, "I didn't have a detailed discussion with the Khitan. Does General Li know why?"

"If the general is willing to let me know, I will listen carefully."

"Of course I won't hide anything. I told the Khitan envoy the facts. I'm afraid that it would be inappropriate to reach an agreement with the Khitan. I'm going to suggest him to go to Yuguan to discuss in detail with the Prime Minister Di. I wonder if the Prime Minister Di is willing to negotiate with the Khitan envoy for a ceasefire and peace talks?"

Li Zhen understood what Wu Youyi meant. Wu Youyi spoke implicitly. In fact, he expressed his willingness to hand over the initiative in peace talks with the Khitan to Di Renjie, but Li Zhen also knew that Wu Youyi would not be so generous. Since he proposed to give up the peace talks with the Khitan, he must have the conditions.

Li Zhen bowed slightly and said with a smile: "Di Prime Minister served as the military commander of Guanjun, and the peace talks with the Khitan were indeed more smooth. I believe that Di Prime Minister is willing to accept this challenge. I wonder if I can do something for the general?"

Since both sides have made it clear, Wu Youyi is no longer polite. He also said frankly: "The battle that took place in Bailang Valley was Li Jinzhong to attack my logistics army. Fortunately, General Li Duozuo's counterattack caused Li Jinzhong to suffer a heavy blow. I need to use Li Jinzhong to boost the morale of the Tang army. I hope General Li can give Li Jinzhong to me temporarily."

This was the condition offered by Wu Youyi. He gave Di Renjie the opportunity to negotiate with the Khitan, but asked Li Zhen to hand over the Khitan chief Li Jinzhong to him. This would turn into his victory on the battlefield, which would wash away his crime of being reckless and inadvertent to go north.

After Wu Youyi finished speaking, he looked at Li Zhen nervously. He knew that he was in an extremely unfavorable situation. If Di Renjie wrote a report to the emperor, the emperor would definitely let Di Renjie lead the negotiations. Wu Youyi was not qualified to represent the negotiations between the Tang Dynasty and the Khitan.

The credit for discovering and defeating the Khitans was clearly irrelevant to him. As long as Li Zhen wrote a report in truth, with the wise master, he would definitely know the problem here, so Li Zhen had to hide something. This is what Wu Youyi asked for from Li Zhen.

Li Zhen was silent for a moment. He actually didn't care about this credit. He didn't want to turn against the Wu family because of this. More importantly, Wu Zetian appointed Wu Youyi as the general in order to make achievements in military merits. If all military merits were taken away by him, Li Zhen, it would only bring Wu Zetian's hatred for him, which was definitely not a wise move.

Before, Wu Zetian named him the governor of Pingzhou, and was already hinting him that he would not cross the line and give his military merits to the Wu family. So even if Wu Youyi didn't come to find him, he would take the initiative to find Wu Youyi. However, it seemed that Wu Youyi did not realize the key to the problem, which gave Li Zhen the opportunity to bargain.

Li Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "I can hand over Li Jinzhong to General Wu, but I also hope that the negotiations between the Prime Minister of Di and Khitan are in Yingzhou. After all, Di Prime Minister also serves as the governor of Yingzhou. He has the obligation to restore order and people's livelihood in Yingzhou. What does General Wu think?"

Li Zhen's condition was not too much, Wu Youyi felt relieved and smiled happily: "Then we will decide for one word."

Li Zhen also smiled and said, "It is indeed a very pleasant thing to work with General Wu."

"Each one another"

The two of them looked at each other and laughed tacitly.

At the end of Yuguan City, Li Zhen accompanied Di Renjie to take a slow walk under the moonlight. Di Renjie looked at the bright moon with his hands behind his back, and his heart was fluctuating. The war in Liaodong has ended, and he will soon return to Luoyang and become the prime minister again. After more than a year, the court has changed a lot. Can he still do something practical for the country and the people as before?

Di Renjie couldn't help but sigh softly, and Li Zhen asked in a low voice: "What are you worried about in uncle?"

Di Renjie said worriedly: "The court was originally a seven-phase system, but since the emperor removed Li Dezhao, it became a five-phase system without realizing it. Wu Sansi entered the cabinet. Zong Chuke was actually Wu clan. Su Wei had no backbone and would also rely on Wu clan. In the end, only me and Lou Shide were left, and they were both old. Once we retired from office, the new Wu clan school will inevitably enter the cabinet. The emperor is far-sighted and actually wants the Wu clan to gradually gain power. In addition, Wu Youyi led his army to fight the northern expedition. Once the military and political power of the Tang Dynasty was controlled by the Wu clan, the Tang Dynasty would change in the less than ten years."

Li Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "If Wu Sansi stopped being presumptuous, will my uncle think he can turn the situation around the court?"

"The Master is determined to let Wu Sansi take power, so it will not be so easy for Wu Sansi to stop his appearance. Unless Wu Sansi did something traitorous, which made the Master forced Wu Sansi to dismiss Wu Sansi under pressure. Such an opportunity is difficult to obtain."

"Maybe I can give it a try," Li Zhen said with a smile.

Di Renjie looked back at him and couldn't help laughing, "What the nephew does is often unexpected, but Wu Sansi was really dismissed, and the emperor really couldn't find a suitable Wu clan member for a moment, and he would have to use his old man in the end. Is there any way for the nephew?"

"I haven't thought about the solution yet, but Wu Sansi has many loopholes. Neiwei's eyes and ears should be able to find it. After returning to Beijing, I will start to implement this matter immediately."

Di Renjie nodded. If Wu Sansi was dismissed from preface, he would have no restraint and could slowly restore the court's clarity. He also hoped that Li Zhen could help him fulfill this wish.

There was no surprise in the subsequent negotiations. The Khitan almost completely accepted all the conditions proposed by the Tang army, released all prisoners of war and the abducted civilians, submitted a letter of apology to the Emperor of Tang, and the Khitan chief led his son to Luoyang, etc.

In late September, Wu Zetian issued another order, granting Di Renjie the prime minister and serving as the minister of the clerk, and the clerk of the clerk, and accepting the words, the censor of the Right Su Zhengtai, and was given purple robes and turtle belts. The news that Di Renjie was responsible for the prime minister was excited, which meant that the court, which had been shrouded in terror, would become more stable.

At the same time, Li Zhen also removed him from his temporary military post and re-elected as General of the Inner Guard, and would follow Di Renjie back to Luoyang.

In early October, after more than two months of trip to Liaodong, Li Zhen finally returned to Luoyang.

Compared with two months ago, Wu Zetian's mental state was much better, and the worries that could not be dissipated between his eyebrows were swept away by a series of happy events. The Tubo side brought good news. Lun Qinling and Tubo Zanpu were suspicious, which made Lun Qinling dare not mention the affairs of the four towns of Anxi again, and expressed his willingness to develop friendship with the Tang Dynasty.

The Turks also stayed away from Hexi under the threat of Wang Xiaojie's army. The Turkic Khan Ashinamochu sent envoys to Beijing to express their willingness to be the son of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and propose to the Tang Dynasty for his daughter. At the same time, the Turkic envoys returned all the abducted Hexi people. In addition, the Turkic envoys also hinted that the Tang Dynasty was willing to attack the Khitan with the Tang army under certain circumstances.

But what made Wu Zetian most happy was that the Liaodong issue was solved. The Khitan stopped the battle without causing big trouble. There were many factors here. The most critical factor was that Li Jinzhong was captured. The story of Li Jinzhong's capture was vague in Wu Youyi's report and it was written a little vaguely, as if it was related to Li Duozuo.

But Wu Zetian learned about the news that the Lu Long army led by Li Zhen had appeared in Liaodong, but Wu Youyi's report did not mention it at all, which forced Wu Zetian to be suspicious.

At this time, Gao Yanfu appeared at the door of the study room and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I'm back."

Wu Zetian turned around and asked, "What did Li Duozuo say?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, Li Duozuo did not say anything directly, but Chen Zi'ang, the army officer, told the old slave that it was Li Zhen who sent someone to inform Li Duozuo. In fact, Li Zhen discovered the Khitan army first. He cut off the retreat route of the Khitan army and captured Li Jinzhong, but in the end he handed over Li Jinzhong to King Jian'an."

Wu Zetian showed a sneer on her face. As expected, Li Zhen's army captured Li Jinzhong. In the end, Wu Youyi stole the credit, but she did not express her opinion and asked again: "Is Li Zhen in the inner guard office?"

"He should be here now"

"Transfer my order and summon Li Zhen to the imperial study to see me."

Gao Yanfu hurried to summon Li Zhen into the palace, but Wu Zetian felt very uncomfortable. She felt a deep disappointment. She gave the Wu clan members such a good opportunity, but they still couldn't grasp it. This shows the incompetence of the Wu clan members. How could such a clan members manage the country?

Wu Zetian paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, thinking about how to deal with the matter. Of course, she also understood why Li Zhen and Di Renjie did not submit a report of war. They gave the credit to Wu Youyi. It should be that they had understood their intentions, but Wu Zetian felt something was wrong. This kind of attack could only be deceived, but the army could not hide it in the army. Instead, the army would despise the actions of the Wu clan even more.

But if Wu Youyi's battle report was not allowed to gain such a face in the court and the country, Wu Zetian felt very embarrassed.

At this time, a eunuch reported outside the door, "Report to Your Majesty, General Li of the Inner Guard has arrived and is waiting for Your Majesty to summon him."

Wu Zetian nodded slightly, "Tell him to see him in Jin"

After a moment, Li Zhen quickly walked into the imperial study room, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "I am looking for His Majesty the Emperor."

Seeing that he was much thinner than last time, Wu Zetian knew that he had worked hard to go to Liaodong, and was a little moved, so she smiled and comforted him and said, "It's been a hard time for General Li to visit Liaodong."

"It doesn't matter if I am tired. The key is to complete the tasks entrusted by Your Majesty and fulfill the mission. I am deeply pleased."

“Good said”

Wu Zetian praised and said with a smile: "I have encountered any problems when I guard Di Xiangguo all the way to the north."

Li Zhen pondered for a moment, Wu Zetian was so experienced. He immediately saw Li Zhen's hesitation. Her face gradually calmed down and asked, "Did you encounter something halfway through?"

"We dare not hide it from Your Majesty. We did encounter a night attack by Qingzhou bandits in Qufu. We deployed it first and wiped out this bandit."

The bandits from Qingzhou ran to Qufu to attack Di Renjie, which was obviously unreasonable. She immediately guessed the reason and asked again: "Who instructed them."

Li Zhen shook his head, "They don't know that someone paid a thousand taels of gold to buy the head of the Prime Minister Di and entrusted an intermediary to negotiate with them. Later, Weichen learned that the intermediary who negotiated with them was also missing and had no idea where to go. There was no clue about this matter, so Weichen could not write a report to His Majesty."

Of course, Wu Zetian understood Li Zhen’s true intention of not writing a report. Everyone knew in their hearts that there were only a few people who dared to assassinate Di Renjie. No matter who found it, it would cause turmoil in the court. Therefore, Di Renjie remained silent and did not make things difficult for him.

Wu Zetian sighed slightly in his heart and said, "Well, I remember this matter, and I also want to ask you, what happened to the capture of Li Jinzhong?"

Li Zhen knew that this matter could not be hidden from Wu Zetian. The reason why he agreed to cooperate with Wu Youyi was just a gesture. Sooner or later, Wu Zetian would ask about it, but Li Zhen also had a slander in his heart, and he knew very well how he should answer.
Chapter completed!