Chapter 280: Take your brother as a guarantee
Jiaozhi Provincial Administration, Nanhai County, Panyu City.

The sky was gloomy and the moisture in the air seemed to condense into water droplets, sticking to the skin and making it extremely uncomfortable.

It was on such an uncomfortable yet ordinary day that excited shouts suddenly rang out from the Governor’s Mansion, which was rebuilt on the ruins of the Nanyue Palace:

“Governor, the emperor’s envoy has arrived!”

“welcome.”

Several figures came out of the hall, and before they had taken two steps, they were seen coming here under the guidance of a minor official.

“Marquis Pingnan, please don’t be so polite. Just read the decree first.” The leading eunuch was exhausted, with sweat all over his cheeks. He stopped the false courtesy, wiped the sweat off his face and spoke directly.

“Angel please come up.”

“Well, in the second year of Yuanfeng, in June, the emperor issued an edict, saying that Li Guangli, the governor of Nanhai County and Marquis of Pingnan, had performed his duties conscientiously and made many achievements in governing the area.”

“The emperor heard that the Marquis of Pingnan was a man of great talent and wisdom, so he appointed him as the vanguard general, commanding the soldiers and prisoners of Jiaozhi County, and preparing for war. In mid-autumn, he marched to Kunming.”

“Respect it.”

The old eunuch hurriedly read the imperial edict, forced a smile on his face, and handed it to the person in front of him. “The imperial edict contains many flattering words, and I have omitted a few. You, Marquis Pingnan, can read it carefully later. I hope you won’t blame me.”

“How dare you.”

Li Guangli took the imperial edict with a calm expression and instructed the officials around him, “Prepare bathing and food for the angel.”

The eunuch who announced the imperial edict had traveled all the way south to Lingnan. He was exhausted and mentally and physically tired. At this moment, he only wanted to read the imperial edict hastily, hand over the difficult task as soon as possible, and take a breath.

Li Guangli also went on the road and ordered someone to take them to their residence.

As soon as the leader left, a man who was listening to the imperial edict in the hall said happily: “Grandmaster, the emperor is going to use you again. Your chance to turn things around and return to the capital has come!”

The words fell.

All the officials on his left and right showed excitement and ecstasy on their faces.

But although they showed their joy on their faces, Li Guangli, the prefect, remained indifferent and his expression remained calm. Seeing this, the shouting in the house gradually stopped.

Pu Cang, who had spoken earlier, looked at his colleague and said hesitantly, “Sir, is there anything wrong?”

Since Li Guangli lost power, many court officials who had attached themselves to him were implicated. Even though the Crown Prince’s Palace had not yet taken action to settle accounts with them, they all consciously stayed away from the court.

Some asked to be sent away, while others followed him south.

Pu Cang, former Imperial Counselor and current Chief Clerk of Nanhai County, belongs to the latter.

Now, after looking forward to it for a long time, the dawn of the Fourth Prince’s family’s rise to power has finally arrived. Why doesn’t Marquis Pingnan look happy?

“Wait.”

Li Guangli stood in the hall, holding the imperial edict in his hand, and said only this one word.

Others didn’t know what they were waiting for, but they didn’t wonder for too long. In less than half a minute, a eunuch from the imperial edict team returned to the main hall.

“Greetings, Marquis Pingnan. I’m here on orders from the Commandant of Xielü. Here’s a token of trust.” The eunuch handed over a thumb-sized jade pendant for inspection.

Li Guangli took it and knew it was correct after just a glance. At this time, a different expression appeared on his face, his eyes were gloomy, and he asked:
“What is the reason for this imperial decree? Is it because of the favor from the fourth prince?”

“Or something else?”

Upon hearing this, the faces of the officials around him suddenly changed. Pu Cang was shocked. After Pingnan Hou asked this question, he suddenly came to his senses.

Yes, the imperial edict appointing Pingnan Hou as the front general is not necessarily a signal for His Majesty to re-employ him and turn the tables. It may also be a means of liquidation and design by the Crown Prince’s Palace!

Fortunately, the eunuch shook his head.

“The appointment edict has nothing to do with the fourth prince, and it is not a trap. Your Majesty appointed Pingnan Hou as a general. According to the speculation of the commander of the music department, it is because the general who led the army…”

Talking and talking.

He suddenly stopped talking, looked around, and seemed to be about to say something.

Li Guangli raised his eyebrows slightly, looked around, and said in a deep voice: “Pu Cang stay, and the others go and do their work.”

Upon hearing this, all the officials bowed, turned around and left.

After everyone else left, the eunuch restrained himself and continued, “In recent years, the power of the Wei and Huo families has been growing day by day. Your Majesty has become wary and has taken many precautions.”

“The troops under the command of Wei and Huo have been leading the battles in succession. According to the commander of the music department, Your Majesty is dissatisfied and therefore appointed the Marquis of Pingnan.”

“He asked me to bring a message: If we win the autumn war, we will be able to return to the capital. Now is the perfect time!”

Hear the words.

Li Guangli, having put his worries aside, pulled the corner of his mouth, and a smile finally appeared on his face. It was heartfelt and intermittent, wild and fierce, yet extremely restrained.

After being exiled to Lingnan and wasting four years there, he finally got his chance!

Li Guangli subconsciously touched his left shoulder. The pain there always came back on rainy days. It was the pain left by the aftereffects of an arrow piercing his shoulder.

Countless days and nights.

The hidden pains reminded Li Guangli not to forget Chang’an, and even more so, not to forget the people and things in Chang’an.

to be frank.

Li Guangli was very grateful to Huo Qubing. If it weren’t for the heroic arrow shot by the General of Cavalry back then, how could Li Guangli have such a clear desire today?

He thanked Huo Qubing!
all the time!
With fire burning in his heart and ambition rising in his eyes, Li Guangli, in a state of emotional excitement, held the imperial edict tightly in his hand.

“Captain Xielü suggested that the Marquis of Pingnan could take advantage of the opportunity to send troops to Kunming to recall his former retainers and staff, recruit them to serve in the army, gain military merit, and take the opportunity to return to the court.”

In the hall, the eunuch whispered, “If the Marquis of Pingnan asks the court for an order to recruit troops, His Majesty will most likely turn a blind eye.”

Here, it refers to Shangguan Jie and others.

After hearing this, Li Guangli suppressed his thoughts and thought, “It should be so. Does my second brother have any other instructions?”

“that’s it.”

“Pu Cang, take him away, and I’ll give you ten taels of gold.”

When Pu Cang settled the people and returned, joy reappeared on his face. He was overjoyed. He walked up to Li Guangli and said in a very low voice:
“Governor, it seems that our plan to praise and kill Wei and Huo has succeeded! When you return to the capital, His Majesty will definitely use you as a balance…”

“Silence!”

Li Guangli, who had already taken his seat, glanced at him and said sternly, “What does this have to do with me? Don’t mention it again!”

Pu Cang was startled, and immediately bowed with a serious expression, “Yes!”

There was silence in the hall for a moment. Li Guangli stopped looking sternly and turned to look at the imperial edict on the table with a sad gaze.

“It is indeed a good opportunity. I also believe that what my second brother said is correct. The situation in Chang’an has indeed changed, but I still have some doubts.”

“Where?” Pu Cang asked cautiously.

“If Your Majesty really had a sense of war and fear towards the Grand Marshal, the Grand General, and the famous General of the Cavalry, how could he have let everyone know about it?”

Li Guangli stared outside the hall and said in a cold voice: “Also, several times when he led troops, he was related to the old subordinates of Wei and Huo, so Your Majesty was dissatisfied.”

“My second brother actually knew about this rumor?”

Pu Cang’s face tightened, and he licked his lips, “The governor meant that the commander of the music department…”

“No.” Li Guangli waved his hand, “I said, I believe in my second brother.”

“That?”

Li Guangli looked towards Pu Cang, and after a while, he said in an inexplicable tone: “I suspect that the rumor was deliberately leaked to my second brother by His Majesty.”

“Those speculations and the situation in the court were all conveyed to me by His Majesty through my second brother, allowing me to make a decision.”

Li Yannian, the commander of the music department, was able to know the secrets of the high-level game, understand the emperor’s mind, and finally secretly send the news to Lingnan. Is it because – the emperor wanted him to know and wanted him to send it! ?

Pu Cang’s heart was cold, his eyes were filled with horror, hesitating for a long time, and said in a dry voice: “Prefect, are you…worrying too much?”

The insecure feeling of being completely seen through and calculated by the emperor, as if he was being played with in his palm, made Pu Cang instinctively reject this conjecture.

Li Guangli did not answer.

He looked at the imperial edict on the table again, and actually he already had the answer in his mind.

Li Guangli had no fear or worry at all about whether he was being plotted against by His Majesty or whether he would be used by His Majesty in the future.

instead.

He felt a sense of solid joy, more solid than appointing himself as a former general.

Being able to be used by others means that one is valuable; being able to be used by the emperor means that one has an opportunity. He is not afraid of being used by the emperor, but is only afraid that he is not worthy of being used!
Think about this.

Li Guangli’s eyes suddenly became sharp, and he no longer hesitated. Pu Cang, who was standing beside him, noticed the change in Pingnan Hou’s mood. He suppressed his previous trembling and asked:

“Grandmaster, no matter what your majesty thinks, this is an opportunity to lead the troops to the battle. Do you want to issue a decree to start preparing the army from now on?”

“Of course, but before that…”

Li Guangli stood up slowly and said expressionlessly: “Before I seize the opportunity, I have one more thing to do.”

Something to make up for the shortcomings.

Having already fallen once, Li Guangli will never fall again…

West of Panyu City.

On the second floor of a brothel, the smell of lewdness and sweat after pleasure filled the room. A man was lying on the bed, with two white bodies entangled on both sides.

The three of them were overworked last night and were sleeping soundly.

“Oh!”

Suddenly, the door of the gate was violently kicked open, startling the man and woman on the couch and waking them up immediately.

When the two women saw the man coming, they screamed and quickly pulled their clothes to cover their bodies, but the man only glanced at them and angrily shouted:
“Are you blind? Don’t you know it’s me?!”

“I know.” Pu Cang, who broke into the house with his soldiers, said coldly, “I know it’s Si Lang. It’s you I’m looking for.”

Li Jia Silang, that is, Li Guangli’s fourth brother, Li Ji.

Li Ji is now much fatter than before, with puffy eyes and reeking of alcohol. When he sits, fat grows on his neck.

As if filled with alcohol and sex…

Seeing that Pu Cang, who used to be polite to him, was now like he had taken the wrong medicine, Li Ji no longer cared about his nakedness, and pointed directly outside the house, saying impatiently:

“Go, go, go, wait until I wake up before you talk.”

“I’m afraid Shiro will have to sleep somewhere else.”

Before Li Ji could glare at him, Pu Cang waved his hand and shouted, “Come on, arrest Li Ji and put him in jail!”

The soldiers in the room had received orders long ago, and when they heard the command, they pounced on Li Silang like wolves and tigers, casually put a piece of clothing on him, held him down with their backhands, and walked away.

The clients and prostitutes in the brothel heard the noise and looked out. When they saw that the person who was caught was Li Silang, they were horrified.

They were shocked, and Li Ji was even more shocked.

Still not understanding the situation, he kicked and struggled, shouting angrily: “Pu Cang, are you crazy? You’re arresting me!?”

“The one I caught is you!”

Pu Cang came out of the house and shouted in front of everyone in the hall: “Li Ji, you are the brother of the governor, but you don’t abide by the law, don’t think about serving the country, and instead are full of evil!”

“The governor didn’t know before, you kept him in the dark, but now the victim has come to the governor’s mansion, and the governor has just learned that you raped, robbed, and committed all kinds of evil!”

“Absolutely appalling!”

Pu Cang’s face first showed anger at his lack of resistance, then he said righteously, “The governor fainted because of you. I am extremely sad and grief-stricken, but the law cannot tolerate this!”

“Today, the governor will kill his own relatives for the sake of justice!”

“Drag him away, put him in jail, and bring him to justice!”

Li Ji, who had been dragged downstairs, was extremely panicked, with fear written all over his face. His situation suddenly fell into the abyss, and he subconsciously shouted and begged: “Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

“I want to see my brother, I want to see my brother——”

The sounds of struggle and shouting echoed through the streets and alleys, all the way to the prefectural government’s residence, and the shocked discussions of the people also spread along the way.

The prefect actually wants to put his own brother in prison?

Some people exclaimed, “Is he really going to kill his own relatives for the sake of justice?” Others suspected that Li Silang had committed many crimes in recent years, but he had never been punished before, so why did he do it today?
Could it be fake?
Many people believed that the prefect was acting, but at noon that day, all suspicions were dispelled.

Li Ji, who had been in prison for less than half an hour, was taken directly to the east street entrance of the city and executed for the crimes of raping a woman and allowing a slave to kill someone!
The executioner raised his sword high and then brought it down heavily.

puff!
The head fell to the ground and blood splattered three feet away.

Dead, Li Ji is dead. The prefect Li Guangli put his own brother who had committed crimes to death in accordance with the law, in front of many onlookers. They saw it with their own eyes, his own brother!
It’s true…very satisfying!
The prefect is a good official who serves the people!
Regardless of those who were previously shocked, suspicious, or unbelieving, at this moment, they all praised their governor for his ability to distinguish right from wrong, his integrity, and his selflessness.

It’s really…

The blue sky of the people of Nanhai County!
Cheers and shouts resounded throughout the streets. How much of them were genuine and how much were just for fun was only clear to the people who were cheering.

In the prefect’s mansion.

Pu Cang listened to the commotion in the city and said with a complicated expression: “Li Ji is the governor’s brother after all. Even if he wants to be killed, he can just borrow a knife. Why should the governor use his own name?”

“The people are stupid and can be deceived, what’s the point of praising them?”

“The officials in the court, and even Your Majesty, are all well aware of these tricks, and will only think that the governor is cold-hearted, heartless and cruel…”

Pu Cang swallowed the words of advice that followed, because there was no need to say them. The matter was done, Li Ji had already been beheaded.

In fact.

There is really no need for Pu Cang to say anything, not a single word.

Li Guangli didn’t listen at all. He just stood there indifferently, looking up at the sky.

It doesn’t matter what happens to the people, he doesn’t care. He just wants to create a scene to let everyone know that he, Li Guangli, would sacrifice his own relatives for the sake of justice.

then.

I will use this opportunity to tell His Majesty the Emperor in Chang’an that I can even kill my own brother to relieve your worries. When I return to the court, what will happen to Wei and Huo? ?

Your Majesty, I will definitely do whatever you want me to do!

I guarantee it with my own brother’s head!
The emperor used Li Yannian to communicate with Li Guangli through the air, and Li Guangli replied, also through the air. His choice was firm and loyal.

As for his own brother, who he used to communicate with across the air, the one who caused him to be demoted to Lingnan and almost ruined the Li family, was Li Ji.

As a shortcoming, his death was worthy.

Boom.

After a muffled sound in the sky, dark clouds began to rain. The noisy sounds in the city gradually disappeared, replaced by the sound of rapid rain.

The rain in southern Xinjiang was heavy and fast, pouring down, hitting the eaves, the stone slabs, and the execution ground where people had just been beheaded.

The raindrops gathered into a stream and flowed north along the ditch.

The rain was blood red…

(End of this chapter)