Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 187 Li Siyan, the leader of the rebels

The soldier took a deep breath, as if he had used up all his strength, and finally uttered a name with difficulty: "It's... it's Lord Li, Li Siyan."

Hearing this name, Wu Tao felt a "boom" in his mind, and he felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand. Li Siyan, the gentle and knowledgeable Lord Li, the most trusted counselor of Hu Bugui, the Li Siyan who had talked and laughed with them and discussed state affairs, was actually the leader of the rebels? !

Hu Bugui's face instantly turned livid, he clenched his fists, his knuckles turned white, his eyes were full of disbelief and anger. Li Siyan was promoted by him, and he trusted him even more than his own brothers, but he betrayed him and the country, how could he accept this?

The two of them were silent for a long time, and a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere filled the study. Wu Tao tried hard to calm her chaotic thoughts. She knew that now was not the time to be sad and angry. They had more important things to do.

"This matter must not be leaked." Wu Tao lowered his voice and said firmly, "We can't alert the enemy before we have solid evidence."

Hu Bugui took a deep breath and nodded. He also understood the seriousness of the matter. Li Siyan was in a high position with deep roots in the court. If his true identity was revealed now, it would likely cause unrest in the court and the country, and even make the rebels desperate and do something even crazier.

"I will get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible and will never let Li Siyan go unpunished!" A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Hu Bugui's eyes. He would never let go of anyone who betrayed the country and him.

Wu Tao knew that what awaited them would be a more difficult battle, a battle that not only concerned their life and death, but also the fate of the country. She held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, giving him silent support and encouragement.

The two returned to the palace, where the emperor and the empress had been waiting for a long time. Upon learning that Hu Bugui had returned triumphantly, the emperor and the empress smiled with relief, but when their eyes met the solemn expressions of Hu Bugui and Wu Tao, their smiles gradually froze on their faces.

"What's wrong? What happened?" The queen keenly noticed that the atmosphere was wrong and asked with concern.

Hu Bugui and Wu Tao looked at each other and understood in their hearts that this matter could not be told to anyone for the time being, not even the emperor and the empress.

"It's nothing serious, but..." Hu Bugui paused, quickly organizing his words in his mind, "It's just that I can't feel at ease as long as the rebels are not eliminated."

Wu Tao also echoed, "Yes, those rebels are very cunning. We must find their hiding place as soon as possible and catch them all in one fell swoop to eliminate the trouble forever."

After hearing their explanation, the emperor and the empress were still a little confused, but they did not ask any further questions.

However, what they didn't know was that a bigger storm was quietly brewing...

After Hu Bugui and Wu Tao left the palace, they returned to the palace without stopping. In the study, the two sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed to be frozen. Li Siyan's betrayal was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up thousands of waves and disrupting all their original plans and deployments.

"Li Siyan has been in the court for many years and has a deep foundation. We must act carefully, otherwise we will alert the enemy and the consequences will be disastrous." Wu Tao broke the silence with a hint of worry in his tone.

Hu Bugui nodded, a cold light flashed in his deep eyes, "I have sent people to secretly monitor Li Siyan's every move. If he is found to have any unusual movements, he will be arrested immediately."

However, Li Siyan acted faster than they expected. Using the reputation and connections he had accumulated in the court over the years, he began to secretly spread rumors against Hu Bugui, saying that he was too powerful to be controlled by the emperor, had his own troops, and intended to rebel.

These rumors spread rapidly in the court like a virus. Some officials who were already wary of Hu Bugui began to keep their distance from him, and those officials who were like fence-sitters turned against him and began to slander Hu Bugui in front of the emperor.

In a short time, Hu Bugui went from being a god of war admired by everyone to being the target of public criticism and was pushed to the forefront. In the court, undercurrents were surging, and a conspiracy against Hu Bugui was quietly unfolding.

Faced with this sudden change, Hu Bugui did not panic. He knew that the more he had to stay calm at this time, the more he had to stay calm. He knew that Li Siyan's purpose was to anger him and make him lose his composure, thus revealing his flaws.

"We can't just sit there and wait for death. We must take the initiative." Wu Tao knew very well that we were in a passive position at this moment. She suggested, "We must find evidence that Li Siyan colluded with the rebels, so that we can bring him to justice and clear your name."

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao with admiration. He knew that this seemingly weak woman was actually very strong inside and always gave him support and encouragement when he needed it most.

So, the two began to secretly investigate Li Siyan. They sent people to sneak into Li's mansion to look for evidence of his collusion with the rebels. At the same time, they also began to secretly visit officials who had close relations with Li Siyan, trying to find a breakthrough.

After some efforts, they finally found some clues. It turned out that Li Siyan was an important official in the court on the surface, but he colluded with foreign countries behind the scenes, secretly funded the rebels, and intended to subvert the Tang Dynasty.

What shocked them even more was that they found a secret letter in Li Siyan's study, which recorded in detail Li Siyan's communications with foreign envoys and their conspiracy to attack the Tang Dynasty.

"It seems that things are more complicated than we thought." Hu Bugui looked at the secret letter in his hand, frowning, with a trace of solemnity in his eyes.

Wu Tao also realized the seriousness of the problem. Li Siyan’s connection with foreign countries was not just treason. There might be a bigger conspiracy behind it, a conspiracy that was enough to subvert the entire Tang Dynasty!

 Undercurrent

Hu Bugui held the secret letter tightly in his hand, and the letter paper was deeply wrinkled in his palm, just like his mood at the moment, heavy and confused. The things described in the letter were far more complicated than they expected. Li Siyan was not colluding with just a few rebels, but had a close connection with foreign forces.

"It seems that we have underestimated Li Siyan's ambition and the forces behind this rebellion." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice, with a hint of solemnity in his tone.

Wu Tao frowned slightly, thinking carefully about the contents of the letter, trying to find more clues. "The letter mentioned that Li Siyan had secret meetings with foreign envoys many times, all in a courtyard on the outskirts of the city. We may be able to find more evidence there."

Hu Bugui nodded and immediately arranged for his confidant to go to the villa to investigate. He and Wu Tao continued to sort out the existing clues, trying to find more enemies hidden in the dark. As the investigation deepened, they found that Li Siyan's connection with foreign countries was closer than they thought, and could even be traced back to several years ago. In order to achieve the goal of controlling the Tang Dynasty, foreign forces had already planted spies in the court, and Li Siyan was the most critical link among them.

"This Li Siyan is really good at hiding things!" Wu Tao couldn't help but sigh, her tone full of anger. She couldn't imagine that a seemingly loyal court official could actually do such dirty things behind the scenes.

"The deeper he hides, the more serious his crime is." Hu Bugui said coldly, "We must not let him succeed!"

In order to completely crush Li Siyan's conspiracy and restore peace to the Tang Dynasty, Hu Bugui and Wu Tao decided to take the initiative to expose Li Siyan's crimes to the public. However, Li Siyan was an important official in the court after all, and he had a deep foundation in the court, so it was not easy to bring him down.

"We need an opportunity, an opportunity that will make him unable to refute." Wu Tao said after careful consideration.

Looking at Wu Tao's serious expression, Hu Bugui's heart moved. He knew that Wu Tao must have a plan in mind.

"I've thought of a way that might work." Wu Tao's eyes gleamed with a gleam of light, "We can take advantage of Li Siyan's greed and set a trap for him to fall into."

Wu Tao told Hu Bugui his plan in detail, and Hu Bugui was impressed. He knew that although Wu Tao's plan was bold, it was not out of the blue, but was carefully considered and made use of modern people's understanding of psychology.

According to Wu Tao's plan, they will spread the news that a treasure has been found outside the city, and deliberately leak the news to Li Siyan. With Li Siyan's greed, he will definitely find ways to take the treasure for himself. And they can take advantage of this opportunity to catch Li Siyan in one fell swoop.

In order to make the plan more foolproof, Wu Tao also used his modern knowledge to design some mechanisms and traps, and arranged people to ambush secretly, waiting for Li Siyan to fall into the trap.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the final moment. However, on the eve of the banquet, Li Siyan, who was supposed to be in disarray, disappeared without a trace.

Hu Bugui and Wu Tao realized that their plan might have been leaked! Li Siyan's abnormal behavior made them realize the seriousness of the situation. A bigger storm might be brewing quietly...

The night was deep, and the glazed tiles of the palace reflected a faint glow under the moonlight. In the imperial study, the emperor and the empress sat opposite each other, both of them with fatigue on their faces that could not be concealed.

"Who do you think leaked the news?" The emperor rubbed his eyebrows, his tone full of fatigue.

"I have sent people to thoroughly check the palace, and found nothing unusual." The queen sighed softly, "It seems that the problem still lies in the court."

"I have always believed that although Li Siyan had ambitions, he was ultimately concerned about his status and did not dare to act rashly. I did not expect that he would be so bold and presumptuous as to collude with foreign nations and attempt a rebellion!" The emperor slammed the table, furious.

"Your Majesty, calm down. Li Siyan is now like a lost dog. I believe he will be caught soon." The queen consoled him softly, "It's just that..."

The queen hesitated to speak, and the emperor saw this and asked, "Just what?"

"But, I am worried that there may be a bigger conspiracy behind this matter." The Queen frowned slightly, "Although Li Siyan is an important official of the court, I am afraid that he alone cannot mobilize such a huge force."

The emperor was silent. The queen's worries were not without reason. Although Li Siyan was in a high position, he was only a civil official after all. This rebellion involved military generals. There must be other forces secretly controlling it.

At this moment, a guard came hurriedly and reported: "Your Majesty, the prince wants to see you."

"Announce it quickly!" the emperor said immediately.

A moment later, Hu Bugui, dressed in military uniform, walked into the imperial study.

"Your son pays homage to the Emperor, Father, and the Empress, Mother." Hu Bugui bowed.

"No need to be polite." The emperor motioned Hu Bugui to stand up and asked, "What's the situation?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, I followed the plan and released the news to the public, and I also deliberately revealed it to Li Siyan, but..." Hu Bugui paused, his tone was solemn, "Li Siyan did not take the bait, but disappeared without a trace as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth."

"What?!" The emperor and the queen were both shocked when they heard this.

"I suspect that our plan may have been leaked." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice, "Li Siyan's abnormal behavior shows that he has sensed the danger and made preparations in advance."

"Could it be that Li Siyan's accomplices are still in the court?" The queen's face changed.

"We can't rule out this possibility." Hu Bugui nodded. "Moreover, I suspect that the person who leaked the information must be of high status, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to grasp our plan so easily."

The emperor's face was terribly gloomy. He looked around with a sharp gaze, "I want to see who dares to betray the court and betray me!"

The atmosphere in the imperial study was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. Hu Bugui and Wu Tao looked at each other and saw a hint of solemnity in each other's eyes. They knew that a bigger storm was approaching quietly, and they were already in the center of the storm and could not escape.

Who leaked their plan? What kind of power is hidden behind Li Siyan? Can Hu Bugui and Wu Tao find a breakthrough in the numerous difficulties and crush this conspiracy?