"Alas!" Li Hong sighed: "Although the enemy country is destroyed, the old age will wither. By the way, I heard that the commander-in-chief Wang was the first to conquer Goguryeo this time. Did you see him when you were in Pyongyang? Is he okay?"
Hearing Li Hong asking him about Wang Wenzuo's current situation, Li Jingye couldn't help but feel secretly jealous. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, are you asking about Wang Wenzuo? He is very good. In fact, Pyongyang City fell without a fight this time. The two brothers, Quangai Nanjian and Quangai Nanchan, were not in the city at that time, and the King of Goguryeo launched a coup in the city at that time, and then Kaicheng surrendered!"
"Well, I've heard about it too!" Li Hong said with a smile: "Avoiding the truth and attacking the fictitious is the beauty of the art of war! It's a pity that Governor Wang refused to teach the art of war in the East Palace, but this is not surprising, if I have the ability like him, and I would also like to go to the frontier to make contributions and leave a name in history, instead of staying in the East Palace and wasting my time!"
When Li Jingye heard what the prince said, his heart became more and more like a fly biting him. He felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't help but said: "His Royal Highness the prince is the crown prince of the country. Serving His Highness in the East Palace is the official business. How can he say that he is wasting his time?"
The prince's face changed slightly, and he said coldly: "Whether Wang Wenzuo is in the East Palace or at the border, he is serving for the widow, his father, and the Tang Dynasty. No one else can say what is right or wrong!"
As soon as Li Jingye spoke his words, he knew that he had said the wrong thing. Before he could make amends, he heard the prince scolding him, and had to bow down to apologize: "Jingye made a mistake, please atone for your sins!"
The prince snorted coldly and motioned for Li Jingye to stand up. After this, the atmosphere in the field had changed subtly. The prince walked back to the coffin and leaned over to look at Li Ji's body. He noticed that the corners of the body's mouth were slightly upward, as if it was smiling blankly. This strange expression made Li Hong suddenly feel shuddered, and he subconsciously shuddered. Shivering, he took a step back.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" the accompanying East Palace official asked in a low voice.
"It's nothing, it's just that the British gentleman's expression is a bit strange, he seems to be laughing!" Li Hong whispered.
"Are you laughing?" The official from the East Palace looked over and whispered: "It's a bit, but actually it's nothing. Your Highness, there will always be some weird changes after death. The time is almost up, we can set off!"
Li Hong nodded and walked towards his horse. Perhaps it was a psychological effect. He felt that there was a smell of salted fish under the aroma in the air, which made him not want to stay next to the coffin.
Following an order, the drums sounded again, and the yellow umbrellas moved on Zhuque Street again, but this time from Mingde Gate to Zhuque Gate. Pedestrians on the roadside saw the coffin of the British Duke being opened under the East Palace. Following the coffin were hundreds of people wearing undyed linen clothes, including men, women, and even children. The captured nobles of Goguryeo will follow the coffin of the great general to the cemetery.
Taiji Palace, Lingyan Pavilion.
At dusk, the rain outside had stopped, and the hall was dark and quiet. The last ray of the setting sun slanted in from the window, casting a layer of red light on the murals on the walls. The candles in the incense burner on the side flickered, leaving layers of black shadows on the walls. These black shadows slowly but surely descended to the floor.
With a slight creak, the door was pushed open, and the emperor Li Zhi came in. He waved his hand, and the chamberlain who followed him silently exited the door like an alert old dog, and He carefully closed the door, leaving only Li Zhi alone.
The emperor walked to the wall and raised the candlestick in his hand to see the murals on the wall clearly: painted on the wall were the late emperor's favorite horses. It was on these horses that he defeated Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and others in the late Sui Dynasty. The heroes conquered thousands of miles of rivers and mountains. Then there are portraits of characters, which are the famous "Twenty-Four Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" in later generations. The emperor stopped in front of the first portrait, his body trembling slightly, and those familiar eyes were staring at him, as if he was about to give advice!
"Uncle!" Tianzi groaned. He felt that his back was sore. An invisible hand was pushing him, and he would kneel down in the next second.
"I know that Xu Jingzong's accusation that you rebelled is a false accusation, but as long as you stay in Chang'an for one day, the widow and Mei Niang will not be able to live in peace. That's why I plan to let you live in the southwest for two years until everything is stable here. I asked you to come back again, but I didn’t expect you to die like this! Oh, why couldn’t you give in and let me change Mei Niang to be the queen?” Li Zhi let out a long sigh, he thought everything had been forgotten But when facing that portrait in this Lingyan Pavilion, all the lies and excuses turned into nothing. Shame and helplessness were like wild beasts chasing him, biting at his heart.
After standing in front of the portrait of Changsun Wuji for a long time, Li Zhi began to walk past the portraits: Li Xiaogong, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yuchi Jingde... Finally, he stopped in front of the penultimate portrait. After staring for a long time, he sighed: "Mr. British, you are the last person to come here. Please rest assured that no matter what happens to you in the future, your portrait will stay here forever. As long as the Tang Dynasty lasts, your reputation will be Don’t fall!”
After walking out of Lingyan Pavilion, it was completely dark. The accompanying chamberlain stepped forward lightly and took the candlestick from the emperor's hand. He pricked up his ears and followed Li Zhi silently, about one and a half steps behind, trying his best not to let go. The emperor pays attention to his own existence.
"Where is the prince now?" Li Zhi suddenly asked.
"Already returned to the East Palace!" the chamberlain replied: "The prince received the British Duke's coffin today. He got caught in the rain and felt a little uncomfortable after the event. He went back to rest!"
"Oh? Has the doctor seen it?" Li Zhi stopped.
"I've already asked the doctor from the East Palace to take a look!"
"Let the imperial doctor take a look. In addition, I will take a hundred bolts of Sichuan brocade, candied fruits, and buttermilk from me to let the prince have a good rest. It will be better as soon as possible!"
"According to the order!"
Li Zhi was still very satisfied with Li Hong, the prince. Not to mention Renxiao, the most important thing was that he was quite calm in dealing with things. In him, Li Zhi saw the shadow of his own childhood. Although he is in poor health, with such a prince and the queen as his assistant, even if something happens, there will be no problem.
When Li Zhi returned to Daming Palace, Mrs. Wu was already waiting for him at the dining table. She stepped forward to greet him and said angrily: "Your Majesty, aren't you sick? Why did you go out again?"
"Oh, I went to Lingyan Pavilion!" Li Zhi said with a smile, and he sat down on the brocade couch: "I felt something, so I went to see the portrait!"
"Lingyan Pavilion?" Wu's eyes flashed: "The late emperor's heroes have also passed away!"
"Yes, the British Duke is the last one!" Li Zhi sighed and covered his face with his hands. After a while, he sighed leisurely: "Until today, I feel that the late emperor has really left!"
Wu didn't speak, but gently stroked her husband's hand. Perhaps only she could understand the hidden meaning behind Li Zhi's meaningless words. As the de facto founding emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin was famous in history books for treating his heroes well and being with them throughout history, and the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion were among them. Beginning with the Xuanwumen Incident in the ninth year of Wude, in the following decades, the center of the political stage of the Tang Dynasty was occupied by Emperor Taizong and his group of heroes.
After Li Shimin passed away in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, this group of heroes did not withdraw immediately. Changsun Wuji, Li Ji and others continued to run the government as Tuogu and important ministers after Li Zhi ascended the throne, and soon after borrowed " Taking the opportunity of "Fang Yiai's rebellion", a large-scale purge was carried out in the court, and almost all the talented and brave people in the clan and relatives were wiped out.
Of course, among them was Wu King Li Ke, who once competed with Li Zhi for the throne, but most of them were just people who had quarrels with Changsun Wuji in daily life. After the "Fang Yiai's Rebellion Case", the court hall was completely empty, and those who remained looked down upon Changsun Wuji and others. While Li Zhi praised him on the surface, he was afraid of him deep down. He who is familiar with history books will not forget what those heroes did after the deaths of Liu Bang and Queen Lu.
Based on the close relationship between Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi's nephew and uncle, Changsun Wuji and others would not have ended up like that if it hadn't been for the "deposing of the king and establishing Wu" later. But even so, after Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were exiled and died successively, the Zhenguan heroes did not completely withdraw from the political stage. Li Ji was the last one among them. It was not until 668 AD that the late emperor had passed away for nearly twenty years. He passed away after accomplishing the great feat of wiping out Goguryeo. Only then could Li Zhi get rid of the shadows left behind by those giants, so he said what he just said.
After a long time, Li Zhi opened his eyes again, picked up the cup, took a sip of buttermilk, and said, "Ah Wu, the British Duke appointed Wang Wenzuo as the marching commander of the Anton Protectorate. What do you think?"
"Isn't this bad?" the queen asked, "Wang Wenzuo is a good candidate for Xinping in Goguryeo because he is resourceful and good at fighting. He has won the hearts of Rong and Di."
"Wang Wenzuo is indeed very suitable to be the commander of the march! But should we transfer him back and stay with Hong'er in the East Palace for two years?"
"Accompany Hong'er for two years?" Wu asked: "Your Majesty, is this for——?"
"Give Hong'er a helping hand!" Li Zhi said: "It will also add some affection to the Tian family, and he has not yet married a wife. It will not be too late to marry him in Chang'an, give birth to a child, and go out to lead troops!"
"That's true! But he has just assumed the post of March Commander Shi. It would be best to transfer him back to Chang'an in two years!" Mrs. Wu nodded. She already understood what her husband meant. Wang Wenzuo is only in his early thirties now. If nothing happens, If so, he would be able to serve as a general for at least twenty years, and he would be trusted by the prince, so he would be a good person to entrust. Talents like this should be brought into the ruling group through marriage and aristocratic life in Chang'an before they can be put to good use.
"Yes, let's do it in two years!" Li Zhi said with a smile: "One more thing, Xue Rengui has arrived in Longyou. He wrote back two days ago, saying in the letter that the Tubo people cannot be taken quickly and must be taken slowly. ! I never imagined that this flying general who shot down the Tianshan Mountains with three arrows would be so cautious at times!"
"General Xue knows how to be cautious, which is also a blessing for the country!" Wu said with a smile: "But your Majesty, do you really plan to use troops against the Tubo people?"
"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded: "If Qinghai is not defended, Longyou will be uneasy; if Longyou is not defended, not only will Guanzhong be in turmoil and Anxi will be lost, but also Beidi will be connected to Xirong, and the Tang Dynasty will never have peace again. In the third year of Longshuo I have not sent troops just because there are things in Liaodong that I have not been able to deal with. Now that Goguryeo has been destroyed, the imperial court can lend a hand from the east, so naturally it will send out troops in a large scale to give the Tibetans some color!"
"Yes, although the Tubo people have been submissive on the surface in recent years, they have made great moves in Xichuan and Qinghai, and they can't be looked down upon!"
"No matter how powerful they are, they are just a group of barbarians!" Li Zhi smiled: "By the way, the peonies will bloom in a few days. How about we go to Luoyang later?"
"Luoyang?" Mrs. Wu's eyes lit up and she said with a smile, "That's very good. I also want to go to Luoyang Temple to give alms, but I didn't expect that Your Majesty would say it first!"
——————————————————————————
Yangzhou.
Before sunrise, the dog wakes up from the rooftop cabin shared by his companions.
The dog was always the first to wake up. He huddled under the blanket with his companions for warmth and comfort. He could hear their gentle breathing. He turned over and sat up to fumble around. The cat complained sleepily and then wrapped himself in the blanket. Turn your back. The cold air outside made goosebumps appear on the dog's naked body. He quickly put on his clothes in the dark. While fastening his belt, he heard the cat's voice: "Ogou, do me a favor and give me my clothes." I!"
The dog fetched the clothes and the cat wriggled under the blanket and got into the clothes before crawling out of the blanket. The companions who were still asleep threatened the two guys who disturbed their sleep in a daze.
By the time the two of them climbed down the ladder leading to the attic on the roof, the adults had already boarded the boat in the canal behind the house. Like every morning, the adults were yelling at the teenagers to move faster. The dog's job was to untie the rope from the post, throw the rope to the cat on the boat, and then push the boat away from the dock while the adults struggled to hold the pole. When the ship left the dock, the dog jumped onto the deck.
For a long time after that, the teenagers had nothing to do. They were still too weak to row the poles, so they could only sit on the deck and play hachi. Let the boat move forward in the pre-dawn darkness, passing through intricate small channels. The sky before dawn was pink and blue, and there was a pungent salty smell in the air (Yangzhou was very close to the coastline at that time), which indicated that the weather would be good in the future.
The boat sailed along the long canal into a small river, and then into dense reeds. When she passed through the reeds again, she had entered the Yangtze River. At that time, the Yangtze River's estuary was much deeper inland than modern times, and the river surface near Yangzhou was also much wider than modern times. The adults raised a reed sail and drove the boat to a sandbar in the distance.
