It was late at night when the grain team arrived in Chang'an. Twenty miles away from the west city gate, Changsheng and others met officials from the Ministry of Rites waiting with lanterns. Seeing Changsheng, a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites hurriedly came forward and knelt down to pay homage, and then Conveying the emperor's oral instructions, Changsheng and others, as well as the grain team they were escorting, will enter the city through Mingde Gate at midnight tomorrow.
After receiving the order from the officials of the Ministry of Rites, Liu Tianlin and others immediately rushed to Changsheng to say goodbye and went into the city together with the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
Looking at Liu Tianlin and the officials from the Ministry of Rites leaving, Datou said, "Your Majesty, looking at this posture, the Emperor wants to go out of the city to pick you up in person."
Seeing that Chang Sheng didn't answer, Yu nodded and said, "Mingde Gate is the gate of the country. The emperor lets the prince go through the gate of the country, so naturally he has to go out to welcome him in person."
"He has some conscience," Datou said casually. "Not to mention far away, let's just say that the prince has made several great achievements in recent times. He wiped out all the Japanese pirates in Gupo Mountain. Not only did he recapture Qingyang, he also surrendered five people. Thousands of rebels. In addition, we got this life-saving food back from the Western Regions. Each of these is huge..."
Before Datou could finish speaking, Changsheng waved his hand and interrupted him, "Stop talking, give the order and rest on the spot."
After Chang Sheng said this, everyone on his side immediately went to work. Datou went to deliver the order to set up camp. Shi Xuanming and Yang Kai worked together to support the tent, while Yu Yi used the Right Eye method to rush back to the palace to pick up the official uniforms of everyone on his side. Tomorrow's scene will definitely be very grand. , everyone on our side should wear official uniforms.
Because it was too late, Changsheng did not talk much with Datou and others after settling down. The next morning, everyone got up early to dress. Changsheng took the opportunity to whisper, "When you see the emperor this time, you must be polite and thorough, and you must not complain. Reveal dissatisfaction.”
After everyone nodded in response, Changsheng said again, "Also, no matter what the emperor asks you to do, you must do it immediately and don't look at me."
"What do you mean? What does he want us to do?" Datou was confused.
Shi Xuanming glanced at the big head and said, "You are usually very smart, but why are you so careless at critical times? Your Majesty means that you must not let the Emperor feel that we only listen to your Majesty and not him."
"Oh, oh, I understand, I understand." Big Head nodded repeatedly.
After being properly dressed, everyone led the food team to the south gate. Da Tou drove Miss Bai to fly slowly into the air and followed the team forward.
When they were close to the south gate, Da Tou instructed Miss Bai to fold her wings and fly low, "Your Majesty, something is wrong."
"What's wrong?" Changsheng asked casually.
"Why are there people kneeling outside the south gate?" Big Head said.
"Is it an official or a common person?" Changsheng asked.
"No, they are prisoners. There are about twenty of them." Datou said.
Hearing Datou's words, everyone on our side looked at each other in confusion, and they were very confused. Everyone on our side returned home triumphantly, and what the hell was going on with the imperial court.
Datou continued to look far away, "They are all tied up, with death row signs stuck on their backs. Are they going to kill people in front of us and give us a showdown?"
Changsheng did not answer immediately after hearing this. After a brief pause, he asked, "What color are the prison uniforms they are wearing?"
"White." Datou replied.
"Is it dirty?" Changsheng asked again.
"It's not dirty, it's all quite new." Datou said.
Hearing Datou's answer, Chang Sheng knew what he was saying, "If I guess correctly, these prisoners to be executed are all civil servants and officials who have said bad things about us."
Without waiting for Datou and others to answer, Changsheng said again, "You guys in Khotan sarcastically complained about me to Fan Jingming, Liu Tianlin and others that day. It is impossible for them not to tell the emperor what you said. The emperor knows that we already know Some people are saying bad things about us behind our backs, so we took this action to give us an explanation."
After Chang Sheng finished speaking, everyone suddenly realized that just as Chang Sheng said, when Fan Jingming, Liu Tianlin and others rushed to the Western Regions that day, everyone on our side had already learned from Ni Zhuo that when they were not in Chang'an, the officials and officials in the court were doing things to everyone behind their backs. Slandered and slandered, they felt angry. When they saw Fan Jingming, Liu Tianlin and others, they couldn't help but taunt them with guns and sticks. All the Yulin generals would definitely inform the emperor about this when they returned to the court. In order to appease and comfort everyone on their side, the emperor We can only arrest and punish officials and officials who have said bad things about everyone.
After a short silence, Yang Kai spoke first, "We did this a bit hastily. The civil servants slandered us all behind our backs. We should not have gotten the news. After this incident, the emperor will probably doubt our placement around him." Eyeliner."
"There is no evidence, he is just a suspicion," Datou curled his lips and said, "Besides, he is already suspicious and doesn't trust anyone."
Changsheng did not answer the main question, but asked, "What is the scene outside the south gate?"
Datou replied, "Maybe it's not yet time, the emperor and all the civil and military officials have not come. Apart from the death row prisoners, there are only large groups of Yulin troops outside the door. The common people who want to enter the city are blocked outside."
Changsheng nodded and did not ask any more questions. He shook the reins and urged the horse to continue marching.
Datou had a far-sighted vision and could see clearly. When the hour was approaching, the band of the Ministry of Rites came out of the city first, followed by the civil and military officials, and finally the emperor's dragon chariot. Mingde Gate was the national gate, with a total of five door openings. The emperor walked in the middle, and the civil and military officials walked to the left and right. The band of the Ministry of Etiquette walked left and right.
Knowing that the emperor had arrived, everyone on our side sped up and arrived outside the south gate after half a stick of incense. A hundred feet away from the dragon chariot, everyone got off their horses and their heads floated to the ground. Together with Yang Kai and others, they followed Chang Sheng to the station. The emperor outside Mingde Gate.
When Changsheng and others dismounted, the ritual music began immediately, and the music played was triumphal music. The gongs and drums sounded together, majestic and festive, sonorous and powerful, and powerful.
As he walked quickly towards the emperor, Changsheng took the opportunity to look at the death row prisoners kneeling on the west side of the city gate with the corner of his eye. His previous guess was correct. These people were indeed civil servants and officials, and many of them were senior officials of fourth rank or above.
Changsheng and others walked quickly to the north, while the emperor walked slowly to the south with a smile on his face, followed closely by the imperial guards such as Liu Tianlin and Fan Jingming.
When they were still ten steps away from the emperor, Changsheng and others stopped walking and saluted, "The humble minister Li Changsheng comes to see the emperor. Long live my emperor, long live, long live."
Changsheng bowed deeply and bowed his hands, Datou and Yang Kai, who were on Changsheng's left and right, knelt down and bowed. Shi Xuanming and Yu Yi, who were on the left and right, performed Namaste.
"My beloved, please bow down without any ceremony." The Emperor stepped forward quickly, holding his arms and staring, "I have been waiting for you day and night, and finally I have been waiting for you to come back."
"Your Majesty is the True Dragon Emperor, the Nine-Fifth Emperor," Changsheng said seriously. "This time I condescend to welcome you in person, I am extremely frightened."
"My beloved minister is a brave and loyal minister, holding up his arms to the sky," the emperor said loudly. "A loyal minister sacrifices his life and the country to protect his country. He spares no effort to support you. I should personally greet the triumphant master outside the city."
After the emperor finished speaking, he waved to Datou and the others, "These generals fought bravely and bloody battles. They are truly role models for the armed forces and role models for generals."
After hearing this, Datou and others hurriedly bowed and saluted, expressing their gratitude and humility.
The emperor then took Changsheng's hand and walked slowly northward. As he walked, he inquired earnestly and showed great concern.
Changsheng can naturally distinguish between true and false. At this time, he can truly feel that everything the emperor says and does is sincere, without any pretense.
When Changsheng walks, he is always half a step behind the emperor and does not stand shoulder to shoulder with the emperor. As a minister, you must not ignore etiquette just because the emperor values and favors you. There is a difference between the emperor and his ministers. No matter how weak the emperor is, he is still the emperor, and no matter how strong the minister is, he is still a minister.
The emperor came in a dragon chariot this time. When he arrived at the city, he asked Changsheng to sit with him. Changsheng would not be rude and overstepped his authority. He then ordered the boss to fetch Young Master Hei, get on his horse and accompany him on the right side of the dragon chariot.
It wasn't until the dragon chariot took off and entered the city tower that Changsheng turned back to look at the Dai Zui civil servants kneeling outside the city. There were two reasons why he had been hesitant to speak before. One was to make sure whether the emperor was true. He wanted to kill these civil servants. Secondly, he hated these civil servants very much. Even if he didn't kill them, he would still scare them half to death.
At this time, he had got the answer he wanted. The emperor really wanted to kill these civil servants who were instigating the relationship between the emperor and his ministers, and it was not just a show.
After confirming the emperor's attitude, Chang Sheng could only take the initiative to speak. He first asked everyone why they were convicted, knowingly, and then generously excused everyone. He only said that there must be a misunderstanding, and he would wait until the truth was found out before making further arguments.
If he had to choose between the two, the emperor would sacrifice these civil servants without hesitation. Seeing that Changsheng was sincerely begging for mercy, the emperor ordered a suspension of execution and imprisonment.
Those convicted civil servants thought they would definitely die, but now they escaped from death, they felt very complicated. However, they were deeply prejudiced against Changsheng, and even if Changsheng interceded on his behalf, they did not appreciate it.
Changsheng really hated these ignorant and self-righteous civil servants, but he could not kill them all. Military generals were not enough to govern the country...
