Jieyu Tower was originally in the embrace of Banyue Lake, surrounded by water on three sides. This building was built on the high point of the peninsula. It has a double-story structure with three floors and double eaves. The overall shape is a concave character.
Chen Bing jokingly called the East Building the Ajie Building because it has one more corridor and one room (that is, it is larger) than the West Building.
Li Dan carefully observed the difference between its shape and the exterior wall window lattice under the light, and concluded that the west building was added later, and it should be later than the east building. Chen Bing was shocked when he heard this!
They crossed the trestle that curved back and forth over the fish pond between the two floors. After communicating with Chen Bing with their eyes, the attendants who stood solemnly on the bridge bowed and handed over their hands. From their temperament and posture, Li Dan could tell that although these people had no weapons in their hands, But he was obviously a guard with martial arts skills.
The sound of pipa came from upstairs. Chen Ji looked up and introduced with a smile: "This is "Hazy Moon", a piece composed by the late king. Your Highness must have felt uneasy when he listened to this piece tonight." After that, he said A gesture of invitation signaled Li Dan to go upstairs.
However, the prince is not upstairs. Here are the eunuchs, female officials, maids, and musicians. Seeing them coming up, they all immediately bowed and saluted. Li Dan was startled for a moment before he realized that they were doing this because of Chen Bing behind him.
When I came to the place where the pipa was playing, I found a curtain hanging at the entrance of the stairs, and two women sitting on the embroidered pier behind them. They were a pair playing together, and it didn't stop even when he came up.
Looking forward, a man in white clothes with long hair shawl and a small bun on his head is hesitating to write in front of Zhang Shu's desk.
Li Dan strode forward, stood five or six steps away, clasped his fists and raised his hands: "Excuse me, are you His Highness the Prince of Fengning County? Your Majesty, Li Dan, is late. Please forgive me!"
"Uh, Mr. Li, that's wrong." Chen Bing caught up from behind and said in a low voice in a hurry. While saluting the man, he quickly introduced: "This is His Highness's younger brother Yicheng Gong. I am a slave to Yicheng." A courtesy to the public."
"That's all, Lao Chen, you know I never like these cumbersome etiquette." The man put down his pen and turned around.
Li Dan's eyes lit up when he saw him with a tall figure, a round face, and a pair of clear eyes. He wore a silver satin jacket under the white linen Taoist robe, tied loosely with a yellow silk ribbon, giving him an unruly look.
"You're in your own garden, relax. Farewell, my dear." There was a smile on his fair face, and the ends of his mustache on his upper lip drooped slightly. He looked up and down and nodded:
"Are you Li Dan? I thought you were a tall, dark man with a broad face and a broad nose, and eyes like bells, but you turned out to be a scholar, with thicker shoulders." After speaking, he cupped his hands:
"My name is Zhao Kuo, not the one from the Changping War. My courtesy name is Zongrui. People call me Yicheng Gong. You can call me whatever you like. I don't care what you call me. A name is just a name. If you have a name, you can call me Duke Yicheng." What do you want it to do? Are you right?"
He said so many things in succession that Li Dan couldn't keep up with what he could handle. He managed to hold back his laughter but quickly bowed when he had no time to do so. Then he finally said, "I've met Mr. Yicheng." Then he looked around and saw no one else. He was puzzled. Asked:
"Are you alone upstairs? What are you doing?"
"Here!" Zhao Kuo pointed toward the sky, and saw a full moon like a silver basin hanging in the sky outside the wide open window.
"Today the moon is full, and I was looking for some fun with Brother Wang. Unexpectedly, he asked me to write a poem about the full moon. Otherwise, I would go home and be in a daze by myself. I would have no wine to drink and no music to listen to! So I I’m just thinking hard here.”
"Ah?" Li Dan frowned, looked at the moon again, and asked, "Is His Highness in a bad mood? Otherwise, why would he make it difficult for you to compose a poem for you?"
"I'm in a bad mood." Zhao Kuo came closer and whispered, "I'm polishing my armor alone! You want to take my fat nephew out of the city tonight, it's no wonder he's in a good mood!"
"He won't lose his temper, will he?"
"It's hard to say." Zhao Kuo suddenly rolled his eyes: "Maybe you can write a wonderful poem to make him happy, and he won't curse when he's in a good mood."
Li Dan looked at him, then at the pen and paper on the case. Looking back at Chen Bing with his eyebrows lowered and silent, he thought to himself: Humph, these two brothers are not setting up a dragon gate here to test me, are they?
"Well... I'm pretty good at fighting, but my writing is a bit ordinary." He said deliberately awkwardly.
"Hey! I've heard of your name, Li Sanlang, a long time ago!" Zhao Kuo bulged his eyes: "'The sudden movement of the blade scares the birds, and the movement of the grass reveals murderous intent. To be able to compose such a poem, one should sing to the moon. It’s not that difficult!”
"How about I tell you a joke to see if it can make His Highness smile?" Li Dan thought badly, this must be a trick! Don’t you know what’s hidden behind the poetry?
"No, no! Those are just tricks played by singers and storytellers. How can they be allowed to live in a refined society? I heard that Li Sanlang is the son of Duke Li Wencheng, and I also heard that your younger brother was the youngest in the province last autumn. Scholar.
Is it possible that the eldest son of your concubine is not as elegant as his legitimate son, or maybe your poem... wasn't written by yourself? "Zhao Kuo blinked deliberately.
Li Dan was vomiting, he had no choice but to bring out his father's memorial tablet and use Li Shuo as his legitimate son to suppress him. "If I don't write poetry, will I not be able to see His Highness?" he asked.
"I'm afraid I won't even be able to see my nephew!" Zhao Kuo said with a smirk on his face.
Li Dan licked his lips and looked back at Chen Bing. The old man was pretending to fight mosquitoes with a whisk, but he didn't seem to hear him.
"In this case, Li Dan obeys his orders. But... the pill is here, so don't get it if you are in a hurry." Li Dan smiled slightly and said, "I would like to ask Yicheng Gong to write first, and I can just add the tail."
"Ha! You're cunning!" Zhao Kuo couldn't laugh or cry. He turned around and glanced in a certain direction. Li Dan glanced in his direction and saw that the curtain on that side had moved. "Okay, I'll do it first!" Zhao Kuo picked up the pen and licked the ink again, thought for a while, and wrote:
The moon that comes late to Shinshu shines upon today’s people perfectly.
Jiyang Mountain is high, and the wild geese are on their way back.
The pity child is still young in the distance, and the clear light spreads the traces of crying.
Youyou return to your hometown and talk to your relatives about your kindness.
This means that when a father sees the moonlight, he misses his son far away and looks forward to his early return. After writing, Zhao Kuo handed over the pen: "Well, it's your turn now, right?"
Li Dan smiled and handed over his hand. He took it without saying anything, just licked it in the ink pool, and started writing with the remaining edge, and the running script was completed in one go. Zhao Kuo tilted his head and looked behind his back with his hands behind his back. After looking at it, he put his hands down. All I saw was his poem:
Go up alone to the two buildings to soak up the autumn cold, the bright moon is like water and the sky is like water.
The clear light on the river spreads for thousands of miles, and the head of the river and the tail of the river last for a year.
"What a poem, what a spirit!" Zhao Kuo exclaimed unconsciously.
"Where, where? In fact, Duke Yicheng is better than me in terms of length, calligraphy, and literary talent. I admire him very much!" Indeed, Zhao Kuo's mastery of Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy is so real that it makes people feel relaxed and happy.
"Poems are not won by the number of words."
Li Dan followed the sound and saw a young man walking out from behind the gauze curtain. He was not as tall as Zhao Kuo, but his face and beard were somewhat similar.
He wore a gauze brocade robe with a jade belt hanging around his waist. A small and exquisite jade crown on his head was matched with a jade hosta to cover the bun on his head. A belt made of red silk thread was tied to his chin, with two turquoise stones at the end. bead. Chen Bing hurriedly pulled Li Dan's sleeve to signal him to salute.
"I have seen the county prince Qian Sheng!"
"That's all." Zhao Lu waved his hand: "That's what my brother said just now. We are not going to the palace for a court meeting here, so there is no need to pay too much attention."
After he finished speaking, he walked over and read the two poems, nodded and smiled: "The second son is a talented person in my family, and this one is really good. I just read this poem alone, and I'm afraid I will miss my son even more!"
"Brother Wang's criticism is that after all, I still haven't made you happy, sin, sin!" Zhao Kuo lowered his head and made a face, then raised his head with a smile and handed over his hands in apology.
Zhao Yan did not comment on Li Dan's poem, but only looked him up and down, and then said with a smile: "The leader of the Qingshirt Team who is famous among thousands of people in eastern Jiangxi turns out to be you. It's really different from what I imagined! But if you can make powerful enemies tremble, you must have something special about you."
After saying that, he waved and said, "How about having a drink with me? Your Fengquan wine is so expensive and hard to come by that I have been coveting it for a long time!" Then he turned around and walked towards the Nuan Pavilion inside.
"Chitose is ridiculous. You can't believe the rumors in the market. I went to the teahouse to hear it myself..."
"Oh, what's the result?" Zhao Kuo was very interested.
「
Finally escaped, alas! I really can't bear to hear it anymore, what's going on? "When Li Dan told what happened in Wannian, the two brothers laughed.
The host and guest sat down and gradually the conversation got to the point. Li Dan told them that the carriage had arrived outside the palace gate, and there were also accompanying lancer guards. While pouring wine for the prince, Chen Bing said: "Those are all real elites. Tsk tsk, this old slave is frightened when he looks at it. I really don't know how Lord Li can control these men!"
"Those people are all veterans who have retired from hundreds of battles. There are also veterans selected from regular soldiers who are good at fighting. The lowest level is sergeant, and they have participated in no less than five battles and achieved military exploits.
With their protection, safety along the way will be assured. Li Dan paused after saying this, clasped his fists to the north and said:
"His Majesty sent his ministers to Shangrao. The reinforcements are only superficial. The inner hope is to bring His Highness to the capital. After attending the Queen Mother's Christmas ceremony, he will return with the troops who came to aid eastern Jiangxi.
However, I heard that His Highness was unwilling to leave, so I specially invited him to the throne to confirm His Highness's intentions. "
"You are worried that I will be influenced by others or even blackmailed by public opinion, right?" Zhao Lu picked up the wine glass: "Do you think Gu is like that?"
"Actually, your Highness may not know that when I came to Shangrao this time, I collected scattered and abandoned forts along the way. I gathered more than 3,000 officers and soldiers and more than 2,000 young men who could be organized into auxiliary troops or regiment training. In addition, I collected tens of thousands of grains and fodder. After recapturing Guangxin, they seized 30,000 shi of grain and fodder accumulated there and are now transferring them to Shangrao.
In this way, Shangrao's troops are well-prepared and can resist the attack of thirty to forty thousand enemies without any problem. What's more, His Majesty has already sent an order to send reinforcements from Zhejiang and Fujian into southeastern Jiangxi, two of which are directed at Guangxin Prefecture... "
After listening to Li Dan's introduction, both brothers' faces lit up and they nodded frequently.
"Gu understands what you mean." Zhao Lu thought about it and said, "But because of this, Gu cannot leave Shangrao." His attitude was firm in his words:
"The army and the people are united and unite with one heart and one mind. Only then can Shangrao be defended. Only then can the bandits' intentions of harming the city and calling themselves "lonely, Taoist and widowed" be thwarted. As long as they are alone, Lou Thief cannot even step into the palace!"
"Yes!" Zhao Kuo put the cup heavily on the table: "At that time, I will also put on my clothes and stand at the palace gate with Brother Wang. I want to see with my own eyes how those rebellious ministers and traitors trampled on the descendants of the Zhao family. The corpse walked in!"
Li Dan almost sprayed out. You are dead and can you still see it? But she asked, "Chitose is worried about the dangers and high mountains and dangerous roads on the way to transfer?"
Zhao Ting smiled: "Didn't you bring a specially made carriage?"
"Yes, I specifically informed Yu Qian's carriage factory to carry out modifications. It will not be a problem to seat three or five people inside! And it has been specially processed. It is lighter and softer than ordinary carriages. It only shakes slightly and does not have any big bumps." Li Dan answer.
"When the war is over, I will buy a few cars to try out. But let's forget it this time!" Zhao Lu said: "Let Xiao Tan take the test ride for me first. If Gu is worried about the journey, how can he entrust the prince to you?" "
After he finished speaking, he pointed with his hand: "Although this is not Gu's fiefdom, it is just like Gu's hometown. Who can ignore his neighbors for his own safety? If there is such a person, how can he have the face to come back and face him again? Where are the folks?
In the past, King Xiang wandered by the river and said that he had no face to see the elders from Jiangdong. Is he worse than the ancients? ” He sighed, drank the wine in the glass, and continued:
"Your Majesty sent you here. Gu understands his thoughts. Please pass this "Greetings and Apology Notes" to His Majesty on behalf of Gu. If you want to leave a bloodline for Gu's branch, Xiaotan is enough!
Before Caiqing arrived, Gu had authorized his second brother to form a regiment of the Zhao clan's descendants, bodyguards, and retinues in Shangrao City, to coordinate with the Ceremonial Guard Department to inspect and protect the city.
In order not to cause trouble to Shangrao County, all the direct clan members moved into the palace and were placed in various side halls and redundant barracks and courtyards. The palace, Yicheng Gong and Xuancheng Gong's mansions jointly funded and provided food support. "
Li Dan was shocked. This was completely different from what he knew in his previous life, when the Ming Dynasty clan was scattered during the war! "Then, isn't that a large number of people?" he asked doubtfully.
"Not many, just clan members within the fifth server. We have roughly calculated that there are only about a hundred people, plus their servants and guards, not many, we can still bear it!"
Zhao Kuo waved his hand nonchalantly: "Money and food can be earned as long as the Lou thieves are driven away, but if the city is destroyed and the family is destroyed, so what if we have ten thousand gold?"
"Duke Yicheng is so right!" Li Dan gave him a thumbs up. Not only did he have a good impression of this free and easy Duke of the clan. "Then, I am going to set off tonight. I wonder what kind of retinue your Highness has prepared for the Crown Prince?"
"That's them." After Zhao Yan finished speaking, he clapped his hands, and the two women playing music outside came in with their pipa in their arms and their heads lowered. Only then did Li Dan notice that the sound of pipa had disappeared at some point.
"Two women?" Li Dan asked in surprise, "Aren't they eunuchs?"
"The eunuchs are also ready. Chen Bing, go and ask them to take the prince downstairs to make preparations. Let the carriage come in and wait at the gate of the South Garden." Seeing Chen Bing going out to deliver a message, Zhao Bing sighed and said gently to the two women. :
"Both of you, raise your heads. This is Mr. Li Sanlang and Mr. Li. Come forward and salute." After hearing this, Li Dan couldn't figure out their identities, so he stood up to return the salute, but was stopped by the prince's signal. I had to sit in a chair and receive their blessings.
He supported each other with his empty hands, and then realized that the two of them looked similar, and asked in surprise: "Are you sisters?"
"Hey, you guessed it right away!" Zhao Kuo introduced with a smile: "Her two sisters are named Wu, and they are both from Xingguo. When the Miao Rebellion was suppressed, her father was captured in Ganzhou, so he sacrificed the two daughters to avoid guilt. To the general who leads the troops.
Unexpectedly, it was discovered that the guy had taken too many bribes, and the imperial court ransacked his home, arrested him, and sent him to prison. The two sisters were about to be sent to the Jiaofang Department. My brother Wang heard that he was very pitiful, so he redeemed her as an adopted daughter and taught writing, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing.
The one on the left in the pink skirt is called Ning'er, who is seventeen years old this year, and the one on the right is her sister Abin, who is fourteen years old this year. "
Li Dan saw that both of them looked shy and felt a little confused. "Since Chitose has already arranged for a concubine to accompany him, why bother adding two more women?"
"After all, eunuchs are not as meticulous and gentle as women."
"Then... is it okay to find two nuns?"
Zhao Kuo became a little impatient: "Why don't you, Li Sanlang, understand? The city is in chaos, how can Brother Wang rest assured to let her and the two of them stay in the city? Why don't we marry you Li Sanlang and take care of the eldest son? Wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone? ?」
"Uh, what? Marry me?" Li Dan was shocked. Before they could say anything else, Ning and Bin ran out, covering their faces with "Oh!"
"You two hurry up and get ready. We will set off with Sanlang soon!" Zhao Kuo shouted after them.
"No, no, Lord Yicheng, please wait!" Li Dan felt a little dizzy. Why was he talking about the crown prince and having two more women?
"It doesn't matter if there are two more people in the carriage to take care of you. The key point is... Chitose, what kind of regulations do you have? I am confused." He turned his face upward and bowed repeatedly.
The two brothers laughed: "Look, the mighty Li Sanlang also has times like this!"
"No, Your Highness doesn't know something. I have already discussed the marriage in Yuqian, and we just have to go to the bridal chamber." Li Dan quickly explained.
"Don't be too nervous." After hearing what he said, Zhao Qi became serious again and said, "These two children have been kept at home alone for many years and are regarded as treasures. Originally, I wanted to give Ning'er to the second child as a concubine, but unexpectedly His wife firmly refused to let him in, so he had to give up.
I stayed at home for another year, and now I encountered this kind of thing. ” He suddenly stopped and calmed down before continuing:
"This building was actually renamed for her sisters. Alas, it's a pity that there is no such thing as a banquet! I just said I would stay in Shangrao and fight to the end, but the outcome is hard to predict.
I don't want to see these two flowers being killed while they are still in bud, so I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to take them away from Shangrao. In the future, I have no objection to taking care of Xiaotan or staying with you. As long as they live a comfortable life, I will be satisfied. "
"But……."
"Nothing but, this is the king's decree!" Zhao Kuan said with a serious face.
Zhao Lu waved his hand to stop his younger brother and said sincerely to Li Dan:
"To be honest, her sisters didn't want to leave at first. Later, Gu told them to marry you as my concubine, and Ning'er proposed to test your talent, and that's when the poem-writing phase just started. Don't be upset.
, it was Gu who had no choice but to think of this method in order to get them to agree to leave. "
"This is really your approach," Li Dan said, dumbfounded. "How can I explain it when I go home? How should my subordinates discuss it?"
"Externally, you should just say that they are responsible for taking care of Xiao Tan. As for how you explain when you go home, you can make your own decision."
"But what should they do if they regret it in the future?"
"That's the path they chose themselves." The prince said. Li Dan had nothing to say.
Chen Bing walked upstairs and said that everything was ready and the prince's luggage had been loaded into the car. Li Dan stood up and said, "Qiantose, Lord Yicheng, why don't you go see the prince off?" The two of them had this intention.
Everyone came out and walked to the west gate of the garden. When they looked up, they saw a large group of people. Zhao Kuo had sharp eyes and immediately whispered to his brother: "Why is the princess here too?" The crowd parted to let them walk to the carriage.
Zhao Principle, who was dressed like a young man, bowed respectfully to his father. Zhao Miao patted his head and smiled, and then asked his wife softly: "There are foreign ministers here, why are you here too?"
"My son is going to travel far away, how can I not give him a gift as a mother?" the princess said, her eyes turning red. Seeing that she was sad, Li Dan hurriedly came forward to greet her. The princess then shifted her attention and blessed him, thanked him for her hard work, and asked him to take care of her.
Li Dan heard that her voice seemed very young. When he took a peek, he felt that she was in her early twenties, but she seemed soft and frail. There were always two maids supporting her.
Next came the Crown Prince's official farewell. The little baby said what he had been taught all morning and kowtowed on the carpet. Then Wu Ning and Wu Bin came up to say goodbye.
Li Dan suddenly felt that the princess's voice had been raised three times, as if she was the mistress of the house, giving instructions many times.
Then she watched her son get into the car accompanied by the two girls, turned around and opened a celadon bowl from the tray held by the maid, grabbed some salt from it and threw it in front of the car (an ancient custom was to sprinkle salt to drive away ghosts when going out).
Then he watched the maids sprinkle salt all over the carriage, before turning around and leaving with a group of maids wiping away tears.
Li Dan looked at her back and suddenly realized that these two sisters had to go. Sooner or later they would not be able to stay in this family!
After they left, the princess could probably have a good sleep and drink a glass of sweet water. No wonder the prince looked like he was being left alone, and his eyes were still fixed on the carriage.
Finally, the two eunuchs who were traveling together came up to accept Prince Fan's instructions.
Since he could not stay here for a long time, Li Dan hurriedly bid farewell to the prince and the Duke of Yicheng. He pointed at the things placed on the ground and said with a smile: "I came from a far away battlefield and didn't bring anything good. These are the local products I brought with me. Your Majesty accepts it!"
After saying goodbye, Chen Bing was still sent out, and he should have returned the same way. But outside the west gate of the palace, the deputy general and the prefect were waiting to see the prince off, and they all exchanged pleasantries.
Li Dan told them to set up an ambush to lure the enemy tonight, and in the middle of the night, he asked the lieutenant general to send a team of a thousand men out of the city quietly to help.
He also promised that after the battle, the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers, 2,000 young men gathered outside the city, and the three catapults that came with them would be left in the city.
The prefect was very happy to have 5,000 men to strengthen the garrison, and Lieutenant General Yu knew that Li Dan was going to give him a big reward for his achievements. The two of them agreed to all his requests, and their relationship became even closer.
