Chapter 186 Betrayal
After hearing this, Empress Xiao hugged her husband and cried bitterly. Who is Lord Changcheng? He is Chen Shubao.

When Yang Guang was still the Prince of Jin, he led Yang Su and others to pacify the south of the Yangtze River and captured Emperor Chen in one fell swoop. He was so full of vigor and vitality. But now he actually despises himself as a defeated general of the past. It can be seen how depressed his morale has been.

The couple hugged each other and cried until the moon was at its highest point. Then they supported each other and returned to the bedroom. The queen cheered up and helped her husband wash and comb his clothes, and even brought a basin to wash his feet herself.

"Your Majesty, Jiancheng is back. He is your nephew, and his wife is my niece. If you really want to be the Duke of Changle, then..."

Yang Guang did not get angry. He patted his wife's head with pity and said, "It is precisely because of this that he is least likely to spare my life. But if it were you, perhaps you could have a good end under the hands of them."

Yang Guang turned his head to look at the gold-backed mirror beside him, and looking at his much older face, he said to himself: "What a nice neck, who should chop it off?"

Empress Xiao hugged his legs and cried, "Your Majesty, why do you say that?"

Yang Guang looked at himself and smiled: "No matter how noble or humble one is, happiness or sorrow, it doesn't matter!"

The emperor suddenly burst into song, and the sound of the singing, accompanied by the queen's crying, echoed in the public garden. All the palace maids wept. If the emperor was gone, what honor would they, the servants, have?

Outside the palace, Shen Guang secretly came to see the imprisoned Li Shimin and said, "Second Master, are you really not leaving? It doesn't matter whether you go to Chang'an or Taiyuan. Why waste time here?"

Li Shimin was writing a letter to his fiancée, Zhangsun Wugou. They should have gotten married a long time ago, but his grandmother passed away suddenly and he was imprisoned in Jiangdu, so the marriage has been delayed until now.

He carefully put the letter into the envelope. The smile on Li Shimin's face took a while to fade away, which made Shen Guang frown.

Li Shimin asked, "Are the Xiaoguo troops still fleeing?"

The brave soldiers are all men from Guanzhong. They responded to the emperor's call in order to make achievements, not to leave their homes and serve as guards in Jiangdu.

Besides, there were already many vagrant wanderers in it. Without the majestic emperor, how could he restrain them?

Since last year, some soldiers have been escaping at night. The emperor thought at the time that it was because they had no wives or concubines and could not stay in Jiangdu for long, so he ordered that all the unmarried girls and widows in Jiangdu be gathered in the camp so that the brave soldiers could choose at will.

This did have some effect, but not much. This method might be more effective for other armies. The officers and soldiers of the Xiaoguo Army were all children of wealthy families with land and businesses in Guanzhong. They were not local hooligans who could not afford to marry wives and concubines.

As a result, they defected one after another. The emperor had no choice but to kill them indiscriminately. Any fleeing soldiers caught would be beheaded, and the officers responsible would also be severely punished. This helped to curb the situation a little.

Shen Guang replied: "My subordinates Sima Dekan, Yuan Li, and Pei Qiantong formed cliques everywhere, and even won over Yuan Min, the internal historian, Zhao Xingshu, the tiger tooth general, and Meng Bing, the eagle general.

Now they are so rampant that they are making appointments day and night, and openly discussing defection in public, without any scruples at all."

"The Emperor doesn't know?"

"The emperor knew about it, and killed the person who complained, pretending that he didn't know."

Li Shimin laughed out loud: "How ridiculous it is to cover one's ears and steal the bell."

Shen Guang didn't smile. After all, the emperor was very nice to him.

"They didn't look for General Shen, but none of your soldiers have ever escaped."

Shen Guangying said: "Of course I have looked for him, but I can't leave yet. I have to protect His Majesty."

Li Shimin stood up and said, "I see you are not guarding the emperor, but Jiangdu. Is this what my brother meant?" Shen Guang did not speak. Li Shimin frowned and said, "He should die. I am not leaving because of this. If he does not die, the King of Dai will be useless, and the world will not be at peace!"

Li Shimin tapped Shen Guang's chest and said, "Don't forget what the emperor has done, don't forget why you approached the emperor, and don't forget the people of the world for the sake of small favors!"

Shen Guang's face turned pale. He did not forget, but it was also true that the emperor showed some courtesy and trust in him.

But under the pressure of Li Shimin's sharp gaze, Shen Guang could only nod.

A few days later, Yuwen Zhiji, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Works, found Sima Dekan, the Tiger Guards, and commented on their escape plan: "Although the Lord has lost power over the world, his authority is still in effect in Jiangdu. If you flee, you will be pursued and killed."

This is also the reason why they have been discussing the matter openly but have not taken any action yet. The emperor does not want to expose it, but it does not mean that he can tolerate it after it is exposed. In addition to the Xiaoguo Army, Jiangdu still has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Everyone hurriedly asked for advice. Yuwen Zhiji gestured with his knife and said, "The Xiaoguo Army is the army that protects the emperor. Instead of defecting, it is better to kill the emperor once and for all. If we kill the emperor, there will be no pursuers."

Sima Dekan and the others were stunned. After a long while, they said with difficulty: "Commander Shen Guang has great prestige and is also your Majesty's confidant. Moreover, your Majesty has a forbidden person by his side..."

When they heard this, they were shocked. Wasn't the commander of the imperial guards beside the emperor the brother of the person in front of them, Yu Wenzhi, the general of the Right Guard of Duke Xu?

In other words, as long as Shen Guang is dealt with, this matter will have great potential.

...............

The Wagang army, which had already occupied the Luokou Warehouse, split into two factions. Zhai Rang insisted on using food and fodder to slowly expand the army. Anyway, Luoyang City could not be escaped, and there was no need to worry about reinforcements from other places. It could be taken sooner or later.

After receiving the news of Li Jiancheng's return, Li Mi became anxious and uneasy. He knew too well the impact that Li Jiancheng's return would have. This was a top Guanlong noble whose family background and reputation surpassed that of Yang Xuangan in the past.

Moreover, Li Jiancheng and Yang Xuangan had not waited for the right time, place and people. Li Mi was so jealous that his teeth were about to break. If he continued to slow down, the army expansion would not be completed and Li Jiancheng would unify the world.

Only by doing as he said, opening the granaries to release grain and winning the hearts of the people, could he gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the shortest possible time and have a chance to seize the world.

But Zhai Rang disagreed. No matter how much Li Mi tried to persuade him, this mediocre man with no ambition just refused to do as he was told. Li Mi wanted to kill Zhai Rang, but with Xu Shiji watching him closely, he had no chance at all.

Split the family! This was the last resort. If Li Jiancheng hadn't come back, he could have gradually sidelined Zhai Rang, but now he didn't have the time.

Zhai Rang didn't want to agree at first, but Xu Shiji made him agree. Zhai Rang asked, "Is this your idea, or did you give instructions in advance?"

"If you want to recruit Li Mi as your own, you must make him suffer a little."

Zhai Rang waved his hand: "That means my lord didn't order it. I object to that, but I am no match for you. So this is your idea, and I have no choice but to agree."

Xu Shiji sighed: "You will be rich and powerful!"

Zhai Rang smiled without saying anything and just patted the fat around his waist.

...............

(End of this chapter)