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In the afternoon, an army of three thousand cavalry drove out of Yonglefang, slowly sailing on Zhuque Street, with murderous intent, and the army drove out of Mingde Gate.

The news of Zhang Huan leaving Chang'an and returning to Longyou suddenly spread throughout the city. He was shocked, regretful, worried, and secretly happy. There were many different opinions on the reason for Zhang Huan's departure, and various versions were everywhere, but the most widely circulated was that Zhang Huan returned to Longyou in anger and wanted to attack Hanzhong on a large scale.

Someone reported the news to Pei Jun, but Pei Jun used the excuse of being busy with official duties and chased them out to stay after they had handled the matter. Zhang Huan had already left. Someone quietly told Cui Yuan, who only smiled but didn't say anything, and knew everything. Someone reported to Cui Xiaofu, who was shocked at first, and then fell into deep thought.

Zhang Huan suddenly left, as if he had beaten a drum, and the sound echoed heavily in everyone's heart and tasted it. At the same time, the fast cavalry who mobilized their troops rushed out of the city gate and rushed towards Hedong, Huaixi, and Hanzhong.

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As night fell quietly, a cavalry team of hundreds of people guarded a carriage, galloping silently on the streets of Fangnei.

The light in the carriage was dark, and only two people were sitting vaguely. They were discussing something in a low voice. Occasionally, the lights on the roadside shot into the cracks of the car curtains, reflecting a rough and arrogant face.

He was Cui Qinggong, the prince of Ruyang. The person sitting opposite him to talk to him was his chief aide Ma Siyi. Ma Siyi was about forty years old and had a thin monkey face. He was a Jinshi and had no hope of joining the officialdom and defected to Cui Qinggong as his aide. This man was cruel and vicious and unique in his eyes. It was him who suggested to Cui Qinggong to cut off the grain transportation and extort the court. The successful attack made Cui Qinggong's long-cherished wish that Cui Qinggong had longed for many years and had not achieved it. Ma Siyi was thus deeply trusted by Cui Qinggong.

Compared with Zhu Li's intention to become emperor, Cui Qinggong's ambition was slightly worse, which also has something to do with his origin in a famous family.

He only wanted to separatist one side and become the king of the two Huai Rivers for generations. For this reason, he tried his best to expand his army, but did not set up a corresponding system in time to restrict it. As a result, two years ago, Li Xilie in Huaixi and Li Huaiguang in the Central Plains were independent. These two incidents brought a heavy blow to Cui Qinggong, and his mentality of surrendering to the Tang Dynasty also quietly changed.

At this time, Cui Qinggong went to Zhu Li's mansion. Zhu Li was his subordinate when he was in the Jinwu Guard. Cui Qinggong always looked down on him. In addition, they had no interests and had no interests. Cui Qinggong simply refused to deal with him, but in the past few days, Ma Siyi tried his best to urge him to give up his prejudice and join forces with Zhu Li to deal with Zhang Huan.

It was Zhang Huan, a common enemy, that made Cui Qinggong finally put down his airs and went to visit Zhu Li in person.

"Does sir think this assassination was really done by Zhu Li?" Cui Qinggong was still a little skeptical about the assassination that happened last night. He had been dealing with Zhang Huan for many years and knew that it was not so easy for him to get trapped.

Ma Siyi gently stroked the goatee and smiled, "It must be a matter of sending people to assassinate, otherwise Zhu Li will not remain silent, but it is also obvious that Zhang Huan is making a big fuss about this matter. If I guess correctly, he will take the opportunity to march towards Hanzhong, but how could Zhu Li sit and wait for death? Whether the two armies are fighting or not, it is an opportunity for the prince. On the one hand, he can take advantage of the court's time to look east and prepare for the battle in Huainan, and on the other hand, he can join forces with Zhu Li to deal with Zhang Huan, so as to pull Zhu Li into the prince's tent again, and truly become a force in the court that competes with Pei Jun. What do the prince thinks?"

Although I visited Zhu Li, Cui Qinggong was always a little doubtful. He hesitated for a moment and said, "The strategy of taking the opportunity to prepare for Huainan is extremely clever, and Guangling is rich in the world is exactly what I need, but Zhu Li's reputation is too bad. Taking him as a subordinate may affect my reputation."

Ma Siyi knew that this was Cui Qinggong's vanity was still causing trouble. He expanded his army in Huaibei, collected money and grain, and was clean. He couldn't help but look down on this person in his heart. He sneered secretly: "Prince, why should those who do big things be careful? Since the court has already named Zhu Li the prince of Hanzhong and allowed him to enter the cabinet, it means that the court has accepted him. Why care about reputation? What's important is the real interests, seized Huainan, forced the Chu family to be loyal to the prince, and then used Li Xilie to threaten Xiangyang, attracting cooperation from the Wang family. In this way, the Zhu, Chu and Wang families are loyal to the prince and have half of the southeastern Tang Dynasty. Why should they be afraid of Pei Jun at that time?"

Cui Qinggong was silent for a while, and Ma Siyi's extremely utilitarian remarks finally moved him. He nodded slowly, "Okay! Since I'm here, I'll listen to you this time."

As the two were talking, the carriage suddenly stopped. Cui Qinggong opened the curtain and looked forward. He saw shadows under the night sky, with a thousand people a hundred steps away, and from time to time, people shouted and neighed.

When he saw a guard exploring the way back, he asked unhappily: "What happened ahead?"

"Report to the prince, there is General Zhu's convoy ahead. A carriage broke down and blocked the street."

Ma Siyi suddenly asked, "Which General Zhu?"

"It's Zhu Li."

Cui Qinggong was shocked. He and Ma Siyi looked at each other. At the same time, they realized that Zhu Li was about to rush back to Hanzhong. Cui Qinggong immediately ordered the guards: "Go to inform Zhu Li, just say that I have something big, and I want to have a secret talk with him in the street."

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In Sanqiao Town, twenty miles west of Chang'an, Zhang Huan's large team of troops had been stopped for almost an hour. Before that, dozens of his commanders had rushed to Kaiyang and Longxi counties, ordering the 50,000 troops stationed there to move closer to the border of Fengxiang Mansion. He also secretly sent envoys to Fengxiang to contact Han Qing, the judge of Fengxiang Army. At the same time, he sent a message to Hu Weiyong and explained his strategy to him.

Now, he only has to wait for news from Chang'an.

Zhang Huan leaned in the car and closed his eyes to rest for almost an hour, but there was still no news. His three thousand personal soldiers were the most elite among the Xiliang army. Although the lord had no instructions, none of them showed displeasure or commotion, and no one spoke. The team was neat, and everyone's eyes were as cold as water, waiting for orders. In the darkness, this army was as solemn as a mountain.

Suddenly, the dense sound of horse hooves came clearly from the east, and Zhang Huan's eyes opened a slit slightly, and the news he was waiting for finally came.

The informant rushed over, jumped out of Zhang Huan's carriage, and reported loudly: "Report to the Governor, Zhu Li, under the escort of a thousand cavalry, has left Chang'an and is coming quickly toward this side.
Chapter completed!