At this time, there was another grand banquet in the Taiji Palace, but compared with the previous times, this banquet was really full of laughter and laughter, and there was no such vague atmosphere of depression and tension as before. Today's banquet is for Ji Si. Now that Meng Yong has regained control of Luodu, the crisis in Luodu has been temporarily resolved, and Ji Si is about to embark on his journey home. Together, these reasons make Yingping hold a farewell banquet. reason.
Ji Si's face glowed red, and she smiled in response to the congratulations from the officials of the Tang Dynasty. Yingping, on the other hand, looked at Ji Si from a distance, with a smile on his lips, but he quickly hid his smile to avoid being noticed by others.
At this moment, Yingping is still a little proud, because now it seems that his decision is quite wise. Ji Si is by no means an ordinary person. Although the future is unpredictable, he can make Ji Si owe him such a big favor. It's not a bad thing after all.
Watching everyone at the banquet changing glasses, Yingping gradually became bored. He yawned secretly, and tears moistened his eyes uncontrollably. Yingping raised his hands and rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he found a vague figure appearing in front of the case. He squinted and took a closer look. It turned out to be Chang Zhishan standing in front of him with a wine cup held high.
Yingping straightened up immediately, put on a kind smile, and said with a smile: "General Chang, long time no see."
Chang Zhishan has almost faded out of the government and the public in recent years. Except for some major celebrations and occasions where he will appear, the rest of the time is really no different from retreating. Nowadays, Yingping's feelings towards Chang Zhishan are somewhat complicated. From the extreme disgust before to the gratitude for the unexpected soldiers to rescue him at the critical moment, the relationship between Yingping and Chang Zhishan has undergone earth-shaking changes, especially now that Chang Zhishan Shan was completely far away from him, and the two rarely crossed paths no matter when or where they were. Time had completely washed away all the disgust and dislike he had for him before. Therefore, facing Chang Zhishan again at this time, Yingping felt a sense of gratitude. The joy of meeting again after a long absence.
"In recent years, my old injury has recurred, causing inconvenience to my legs and feet. Therefore, it is inconvenient for me to come to the palace to pay homage to the Holy One. I hope that the Holy One will understand me."
Chang Zhishan always speaks so deeply and steadily.
"General Chang is the late emperor's legionnaire, and he is also the pillar of our Tang Dynasty. It should be me who goes to visit the general at his residence." Yingping said with a smile.
Facing Yingping's praise, Chang Zhishan just smiled faintly. He raised his lamp and said, "Old minister, I came here to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for this banquet opportunity -"
"Thank you? Thank you for what?" Yingping felt strange.
"Previously, Your Majesty acted righteously to save the granddaughter of the old minister. This old minister has always kept it in mind."
"Uh...oh! Are you talking about the little girl named Tang'er? Haha——"
"Exactly!"
"That little girl is also destined to me. I like her very much. If you have time in the future, you might as well bring her into the palace to play with me."
"The Holy Lord's grace, I am so grateful that I shed tears——"
Seeing Chang Zhishan bow deeply and expressionlessly, Yingping rolled his eyes again. He leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice: "General Chang Xiaotian...where is he now?" Leading troops?"
Chang Zhishan was slightly startled and said, "Back to the Holy Master, Quan Zi is still leading the troops in the Shence Camp."
"Oh... I'm still in the Shence Camp..." Yingping looked like he suddenly realized it, and then made a puzzled expression and said: "I heard that General Chang Xiaotian was very good at commanding and running the army when he was in the pass. Even the barbarians outside the pass were very scared after hearing his name. Why is he now staying in the Shence camp to command hundreds of soldiers? With General Chang Xiaotian's ability, he is more than capable of guarding the pass. In this way, wouldn't it be overkill? ?”
Listening to Yingping's comments about his son, Chang Zhishan's expression still did not fluctuate much. He replied calmly: "The dog is stubborn and difficult to discipline. Now he stays in the capital to guard the gate for the emperor. It is a kind of training for him. , Besides, all affairs in the army are now controlled by General Gongsun. He has his own plans for making this arrangement, old minister..."
After Chang Zhishan said this, he didn't say any more. He just raised the wine cup high and drank it all in one gulp. Seeing that Chang Zhishan was hesitant to speak, Yingping couldn't ask any more questions, so he had to laugh and tell the story, and then he also picked up the wine glass and drank it all.
After drinking the cup, Yingping saw that Chang Zhishan was still standing there with no intention of leaving, so he asked: "Um... General Chang, is there anything else you can do?"
Chang Zhishan put down his wine cup and asked solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have something I don't understand and I would like to ask you boldly——"
"General Chang, it doesn't matter." Yingping casually picked up a grape from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.
"May I ask Your Majesty, about the Zhou-Chen rebellion to seize power... did Prince Ji Si seek out His Majesty in advance?"
"Cough-cough-cough-"
Hearing this sentence, Yingping was startled and almost inhaled the raisins in his mouth into his trachea. He coughed violently and quickly picked up the teacup on the table and took a few sips. After his breathing calmed down a little, he waved his hand and said decisively. : "No! Impossible! Absolutely no such thing! Did General Chang hear any rumors?"
Seeing Yingping reacting so violently and being so steady as Chang Zhishan, he couldn't help but frown slightly, but he quickly returned to normal and said respectfully: "I am too worried, I hope the Holy One will forgive me."
"Haha... Being mature and prudent, worrying too much is not a bad thing..." Although Yingping felt guilty, he still felt very strange in his heart. Chang Zhishan would never come like this for no reason. There must be some reason for his reminder like this. . Thinking of this, Yingping asked: "Did General Chang discover anything?"
Chang Zhishan looked at Yingping first, then lowered his head slightly and shook his head.
"That……"
"Your Majesty, I just feel that there is something wrong with Zhou Chen's rebellion."
"Improper? What's wrong?"
"It's not that the changes in Zhou and Chen were inappropriate, but that the reaction of the Northern Wei Dynasty was inappropriate."
"Northern Wei Dynasty? You mean the female prime minister?"
Chang Zhishan nodded and said: "After hearing about the mutiny, Meng Yong asked the Northern Wei Dynasty to also send people to Luodu to talk. It would be understandable if the female prime minister refused forcefully, but the female prime minister actually agreed. The old minister felt... there is a big problem here. Something is wrong.”
Yingping was slightly stunned, obviously he didn't quite understand what Chang Zhishan said.
Seeing Yingping's disbelief, Chang Zhishan continued: "The female prime minister will not tolerate threats to the prime minister at all. She will eliminate anyone who threatens her interests. This time Meng Yong raised his troops to control the little prince's faction. The female Prime Minister will never let it go, and I think the Holy Master should advise Prince Ji Si to slow down and proceed with caution!"
Yingping thought for a moment. He had also heard that Meng Yong used the young prince as a threat to ask the female prime minister to send someone to go for peace talks, but there was nothing wrong with it in his opinion. After all, as Ji Si said, Zhou Chen was sitting in Sishui Pass. There is no danger of troops approaching the city for the time being. At this time, Chang Zhishan suddenly doubts the matter from the perspective of the female prime minister. Yingping really feels that it is a fantasy.
Yingping smiled and said, "Are General Chang's words a little... too cautious?"
"Since Your Majesty has his own considerations, I won't say anything more." Seeing that Yingping still didn't want to believe his words, Chang Zhishan didn't explain anymore. He bowed slightly and retreated.
Seeing Chang Zhishan retreating, Yingping raised his hand and wanted to say something. After all, this was Chang Zhishan's good intention. He didn't want to pour cold water on others, but he felt guilty when he thought of the agreements he and Ji Si had reached privately. , so he had to watch Chang Zhishan leave silently, and then discuss it with Ji Si when he met in the future.
…
The night after the banquet, for the first time, Yingping did not let Zhitang come to bed. He lay on the bed and tossed and turned. He did not close his eyes for almost the whole night, but kept thinking about the words Chang Zhishan said during the banquet. But after a night of hard thinking, I really couldn't find any reason or find anything wrong with Zhou Chen's situation to dissuade Ji Si from returning home. In the end, I had no choice but to say a few words when bidding farewell to Ji Si, asking him to be careful when he returns to Luodu.
Under the watchful eyes of all the civil and military officials of the New Tang Dynasty, Ji Si embarked on the road back to Luodu.
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In the largest restaurant in Luodu, there were only a few people in the building that used to be full of guests. Due to the recent changes in the situation in the country, the people of Luodu have chosen to stay at home to avoid unnecessary disasters.
Qin Jingqing was sitting in the restaurant at the moment. The pastries on the table were lying there motionless, not a single piece missing. It was obvious that he was not in the mood to enjoy these exquisite pastries at all.
Qin Jingqing picked up the tea cup and before he could put the tea into his mouth, there was a sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him. He quickly put down the tea cup and turned around to look, and found that it was still the diligent waiter who came up. He couldn't help but feel in his eyes. There was a hint of disappointment, but then he breathed a sigh of relief, as if he felt relieved about it again.
Today is the day he agreed to meet with Meng Yong. It has been ten days since he last met and said goodbye to General Meng. To be honest, these short ten days are longer than ten years for Qin Jingqing. The situation in Luodu was changing rapidly. He felt extremely isolated, helpless and nervous in a foreign land. This also made him a little sensitive now. He would be suspicious even when he met a beggar on the street. He suspected that this was It was not sent by Meng Yong or any other force to test and monitor him.
Yesterday, he had received a message from Ji Si, saying that Ji Si had returned to Zhouchen, and what he needed to do was to confirm again whether the little prince and Prime Minister Feng's party had really been controlled. Only by confirming these, his Only when the mission is completed can Ji Si appear. Things have come to this point, and Qin Jingqing will grit his teeth and finish it no matter what. Although he feels very uncomfortable being caught between various forces, he still actively moves among them in order to get out of it as soon as possible.
Thinking that maybe in the near future he could return to Chang'an safely, see his father, and hug his wife and daughter, Qin Jingqing couldn't help but feel wandering.
Just as Qin Jingqing was thinking wildly, there was another heavy sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. However, compared with the previous times, there was obviously more than one person coming this time. Qin Jingqing looked back and saw Meng Yong's figure appearing at the top of the stairs, followed by a group of soldiers wearing armor and carrying swords at their waists. Seeing that the person coming was Meng Yong, Qin Jingqing's tense mind relaxed slightly, but before he could speak, he heard Meng Yong ask -
"Where is His Royal Highness now?"
Seeing Meng Yong's expression showing some anxiety, Qin Jingqing smiled awkwardly and said, "I don't know either..."
"What!?" Meng Yong frowned, obviously he was surprised and unhappy with such an answer.
After experiencing the "intimidation" given to him by Meng Yong when they first met, Qin Jingqing was still a little afraid of this decisive general. Meng Yong was dissatisfied, Qin Jingqing bit the bullet and said: "General Meng, the prince just sent a message to me, saying that he has returned to Zhouchen, but as for where he is, I really don't know..."
"When will His Royal Highness be willing to summon his ministers?"
"Anytime, just let me...let me..."
Meng Yong stared at Qin Jingqing coldly. This look that was almost questioning made Qin Jingqing shudder involuntarily. Qin Jingqing looked away and tried not to look at Meng Yong, and said: "Just let me see the little prince and Prime Minister Feng with my own eyes...just one glance...just one..."
Qin Jingqing's voice became smaller and smaller, for fear that Meng Yong would become furious after hearing his request.
Sure enough, after listening to Qin Jingqing's request, Meng Yong's face became even more ugly. He clenched his fists and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly unconsciously, as if he felt extremely uncomfortable with the thousands of words stuck in his throat.
"Your Highness...does this mean you don't trust me?" Meng Yong gritted his teeth and spat out these words, and anyone could feel the anger in the general's chest at this time.
"No, no, no..." Qin Jingqing waved his hand quickly and explained: "It's not that the prince doesn't trust the general, it's just that His Highness was wandering all the way and was assassinated several times on the way to Chang'an. It can be said that he was surrounded by dangers and almost died on the way. Although he is now fortunate The general was loyal and turned the tide, sending troops to eliminate the rebels and take control of Luodu, but His Highness was already frightened. I had to confirm with my own eyes that Prime Minister Feng had... been 'controlled' before Your Highness dared to show up..."
In fact, Ji Si sent people to leave Qin Jingqing with only one sentence: Qin Jingqing must confirm that Prime Minister Feng has been controlled by Meng Yong, otherwise Ji Si will never show up. Qin Jingqing can understand Ji Si's caution. Ji Si is far away in Chang'an, and he only knows the situation in Luodu through letters. If everything in Luodu is a play sung by Meng Yong and Prime Minister Feng, then Ji Si will be doomed once he appears. . Although he trusts Meng Yong, he must be on guard against others in a complicated situation, even if he is his confidant!
It's understandable, but it's understandable that this task was given to Qin Jingqing, but it made him have a big head. He was just running errands for Yingping, so he could not represent Ji Si or Yingping. How to make Meng Yong accept this condition without threatening his own safety was a headache for him. Therefore, it was not until just now that he made up such a reasonable-sounding reason to explain why Ji Si asked him to do this, so as to prevent Meng Yong from being unhappy and detaining him.
Meng Yong stared at Qin Jingqing, who was like a chicken facing a bird of prey, with nowhere to escape. Suddenly, Meng Yong stood up and walked towards the stairs. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He turned his back to Qin Jingqing and said, "Take Mr. Qin to the prison in the camp——"
