Under the Danfeng Gate of the majestic Daming Palace, a chamberlain wearing a green robe walked in small steps to the waiting officials outside.
Looking at the officials solemnly, the green-robed chamberlain immediately announced in a loud voice: "The Queen of Heaven has a decree to announce that the prince of Nanchang County will see you at the Zichen Palace."
Wearing a purple robe with five pythons and five chapters, and a black three-color seven-beam crown, the young and handsome Li Xuan took two steps forward, distanced himself from the officials, and then bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Li Xuan Purpose."
The green-robed servant was in front, and Li Xuan followed behind, heading towards the Zichen Palace.
The noble officials waiting behind them looked calm. Only the fifth and sixth grade officials further behind looked around curiously.
Li Xuan lowered her eyebrows and followed the green-robed servant solemnly and respectfully without looking at him at all.
There are three main halls in the Daming Palace. Hanyuan Hall is the main hall of the Daming Palace and is where major celebrations and court meetings are held. Directly north of Hanyuan Hall is the Xuanzheng Hall, where the emperor listens to government affairs. Zichen Hall is located to the north of the Xuanzheng Hall and is often The place where one listens to the dynasty and takes matters seriously is the inner dynasty.
On weekdays, it is Empress Wu who handles government affairs here.
In the majestic hall, countless soldiers of the Forbidden Army stood silently in silence. Empress Wu sat on the main seat of the hall and reviewed each memorial.
Li Xuan straightened her chest and raised her head, strode into the center of the hall, stopped, and then bowed her hands and said: "I am the king of Nanchang County, get on the light chariot, captain, general councilor, don't drive to Wuzhou, inspector Zuo Qianniu Wei Zhonglang will , Li Xuan, the young minister of Honglu Temple who inspects the school, pays homage to the Queen of Heaven. May the Queen of Heaven be blessed and safe."
Li Xuan's voice was clear and powerful, gently echoing throughout the Zichen Hall.
Empress Wu looked up in surprise, and when she saw Li Xuan's heroic and upright appearance, her expression softened slightly. She placed the purple jade pen in her hand on the table on one side, and then looked at Li Xuan: "King of Nanchang!"
"Your Majesty is here!" Li Xuan responded in a deep voice, solemn and solemn.
"You have returned from Wuzhou. Come and tell me whether the Tianyin Sect has been pacified?" Empress Wu's sharp eyes seemed to penetrate all of Li Xuan's thoughts.
Li Xuan did not dare to hesitate at all, and immediately replied: "Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, the Tianyin Sect has been pacified, the people of Muzhou and nearby states no longer miss Tianyin in their hearts, and the Tianyin Goddess has gradually been replaced by Taoist Taiyin Emperor and Buddhist Yueguang. Replaced by the Bodhisattva, even though the theory of the Tianyin Goddess is still spreading in some corners that cannot be taken into account, it is slowly dying and is no longer able to become a threat to the Tang Dynasty."
"By the way, the Technique of the Age of Gods." Empress Wu was a little surprised, nodded, and said in agreement: "This is indeed a wonderful move. King Nanchang, can you tell me how you came up with the Art of the Age of Gods?"
"I don't dare. I report to the Queen of Heaven. I often read history, Jin Shu, Early Han Shu, Later Han Shu, Shi Ji, Spring and Autumn Period, Classic of Mountains and Seas, and have dabbled in it. That day, I was talking about the Emperor Jun with Mr. Zian, and I suddenly felt like this. Thoughts." Li Xuan answered honestly.
Empress Wu laughed and said with satisfaction, "Yes, that's the truth. Did I think you would say that this is the Taoist technique of destroying mountains and cutting down temples?"
"The art of the Taoist sect is vain, but the art of the Gods is quite sinister. Although I use it, I don't like it." There was a trace of heaviness and a trace of fear on Li Xuan's face.
"Are you doubting the history books?" Empress Wu immediately said what Li Xuan didn't mean clearly.
"Historical books are ultimately the words of the historians. It is right that the historical pen is as iron as iron, but sometimes the historical pen is as sharp as a sword. For example, what the historical records say about the generals of Wei and Hussars. It would be inappropriate to include them in the biographies of sycophants." Li Xuan looked solemn for a while.
"Wei Qing, Huo Qubing." Empress Wu sighed softly, then raised her head, looked at the young and handsome Li Xuan, smiled calmly, and said, "I forgot, the King of Nanchang is the same age as the Hussars General, no wonder."
"I also have the ambition to seal the wolf as my Xu, but it's a pity..." Li Xuan bowed her hands and couldn't help but sigh.
"It's a pity that Duke Wei has already finished his work." Empress Wu finally couldn't help laughing.
After a while, she finally waved her hand and said, "Since the King of Nanchang said that the Tianyin Sect has been completely pacified, then let it be completely pacified, but the King of East China Sea and the King of the West Region are still there."
Empress Wu's face had become completely solemn, and Li Xuan finally understood the reason why Empress Wu asked that before.
It turns out that she was talking about the King of the East China Sea and the King of the West Region. No wonder she asked whether the Tianyin Sect had been pacified.
"Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, the King of the Western Regions is Kumarajiva, the master of the Tubo Kingdom. All he needs to do is to tell the world that the Tianyin Sect is a female cadre of Tubo, and then he can be attacked at the same time. As for the King of the East China Sea... the King of the East China Sea has a cold temperament, even if Even though the Tianyin Sect was destroyed, it has never appeared, which shows that the Tianyin Sect is nothing more than a chess piece. As the chess piece of the Tianyin Sect becomes increasingly unusable, the King of East China Sea will abandon it completely."
Empress Wu nodded solemnly, and then asked: "King of Nanchang, who do you think the King of East China Sea is?"
Faced with Empress Wu's question, Li Xuan looked a little hesitant for a moment. After thinking for a while, she still spoke: "Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, King Donghai's name will inevitably lead to people being associated with the kings of the clan. I once suspected King Yue. I passed King Cao, but in the end it turned out that I was wrong. As for the true identity of King Donghai, I have some doubts. The name King Donghai is just a smoke bomb he threw out."
"King Yue, King Cao, it turns out that you have suspicions about Prince Hailing." Empress Wu nodded slightly. She had to admit that this suspicion did have some truth.
Hailing itself is the ancient East China Sea.
Coupled with the relationship between Hailing County Prince Li Yuanji and Taizong Emperor Li Shimin, it is not unreasonable for Li Xuan to link Hailing County Prince and Donghai King.
"Yes, but after many battles, I did not find that King Cao and King Yue were involved in this matter. Moreover, in my humble opinion, I am afraid that Empress Gu will not be associated with the descendants of Emperor Taizong, so I turned my attention. To other places." Li Xuan bowed slightly.
Empress Wu couldn't help but frown and asked: "Where?"
"Chang'an!" Li Xuan said with absolute certainty.
Firstly, he had already guessed the identity of the King of the East China Sea; secondly, Yun Hebi, the Demon Sect's Hidden Ji Sect, had said that the Tianyin Sect's inheritance ceremony would be held in Chang'an in six months, so how could Li Xuan allow it to happen.
"I understand." Empress Wei thought for a moment, then asked, "By the way, I heard that when you found Empress Wei's body, you protected it as soon as possible."
For a moment, Li Xuan felt an even sharper gaze falling on him. He quickly raised his hands and said, "Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, I had to do this because I received a secret order."
With that said, Li Xuan took out the memorial from the sleeve that the emperor had sent to him through the channel of the East Palace. The female official Zheng on the side immediately stepped forward to take the memorial and then placed it in front of Empress Wu.
Empress Wu opened the memorial casually, and while reading it, she asked casually: "If you had not received the secret order, what would you have done with Empress Wu's body?"
"Reporting to the Queen of Heaven, the court has regulations. After the traitor is executed, the disposal of her body should be handled by the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the palace together. I have no authority."
"Then assuming you have this authority, perhaps, I will ask you this question now, how would you answer it?"
Li Xuan took a breath of cold air from the bottom of his heart. This was what he feared the most. He sincerely handed over his hands and said, "I believe that the body of the queen should be kept properly and then buried properly in a good place. A stone monument should be erected. If the court can With one or two rewards, you can win the hearts of the people of Muzhou."
Empress Wu was suddenly surprised and said with appreciation: "Yes, it can indeed be so. It seems that the King of Nanchang has gained a lot from his tenure in Wuzhou!"
"I just used all the things I learned in the past on the government affairs of the court." Li Xuan bowed again.
"It's a good thing to be mature and prudent. Is this empress really afraid that if you say that she will crush her body into ashes as soon as possible?" Empress Wu looked at Li Xuan with a half-smile.
Li Xuan quickly raised his hand and said, "I have indeed thought so, but under the imperial edict, I have no other choice."
"What if I ordered you to crush the remains of Empress Wu and raise them to ashes?" Empress Wu suddenly spoke, while staring at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan quickly cupped her hands and said, "As long as the Queen of Heaven gives orders, I will obey them. Even if it means completely destroying Queen Mother's body, I will not hesitate at all."
Seeing Li Xuan raise his head firmly, he could clearly see his eyes were clear.
Whatever Empress Wu said, whatever the Emperor said, as long as there is
Li Xuan will obey the laws and orders.
This was the best way he could think of to completely avoid the conflict between the two.
Empress Wu took a deep look at Li Xuan, and then said: "You are not bad, you have done a good job, but what if I have different orders from His Majesty?"
Empress Wu's words made the atmosphere in the entire hall become extremely depressing.
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, lowered her body and said: "The Queen and Your Majesty look down at the sky and the earth, their eyes are naturally the same. Why are they different? It's just a slight difference. I am incompetent and should act according to orders. Once the decree comes, I will do it." .”
"Hahaha..." Empress Wu couldn't help laughing, shook her head, and said, "Although the King of Nanchang is a bit cunning, he still has rules in doing things. I won't embarrass you. Let's talk about business."
Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. This level was finally passed. He quickly raised his hands solemnly and said, "Please show me the Queen."
"Now that the Tianyin rebels are dead, Tubo will follow. There have been several wars between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, with victories and defeats." At this point, Empress Wu paused slightly, looked at Li Xuan and asked, "King Nanchang, Tang Dynasty If there is another war with Tibet, what strategy do you think should be adopted?"
"Lure the enemy to go deep, intersperse movements, divide and cut, gather and annihilate them." Li Xuan immediately expressed his opinion without any hesitation.
He had seriously thought about this matter. When he found out that the King of the Western Regions was Kumarajiva, the Tubo State Preceptor, Li Xuan knew that the overt and covert struggle between Tang Dynasty and Tubo was more intense than he imagined.
A war between the two sides in the future is unavoidable.
"Luring the enemy deeper?" Empress Wu didn't think about it at the first place. She looked at Li Xuan with a surprised look on her face and couldn't help but asked: "This is my attack on Tibet. How do we lure the enemy deeper... No, what do you mean? It’s the Tubo’s method of warfare.”
Li Xuan once again bowed deeply and said: "Tian Hou, this method is feasible for Tibet, and it is also feasible for our country. If we can lead the Tibetan army down from the plateau and choose the battlefield below the plateau, our army can use all its strength to annihilate it. , and then kill them on the Tubo Plateau and wipe them out in one fell swoop."
Empress Wu's expression calmed down, she frowned slightly and said, "In other words, you don't agree with going to the plateau to fight Tibet."
Li Xuan looked solemn and bowed again.
Empress Wu was deep in thought. After a moment, Empress Wu said in a deep voice: "It is conveyed that the King of Nanchang has made great contributions to the plan and a thousand households have been granted the title... It is conveyed that the king of Dechang County is gentle and virtuous, and he has been promoted to the king of Dechang County. "Chaoyi Lang Liu Yuanlang taught his daughter well, and he was promoted to the rank of Sanguan, and was awarded the title of Chaosan Dafu."
"Your Majesty, Li Xuan, thank you for your holy grace!" Li Xuan bowed her head to the ground with an excited expression.
Empress Wu waved her hand for Li Xuan to stand up, and then said: "You are too young to be granted a title, so you will grant it to others."
"I understand, thank you for your grace."
"Okay, serve the court well from now on, then step down."
"Here!" Li Xuan slowly retreated.
Empress Wu looked at his back, frowned slightly, lowered her head, and saw a memorial: "Your Majesty Xue Li reports on the Tibetan affairs..."
