"It's good to understand!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Don't look at me now. I am very majestic, but in fact I am just an empty airs. In the past, I was in the dark, and no one knew what I was doing, so no matter what I did, it was easy; now I Standing in the bright light, everyone's eyes were fixed on me, looking for faults and opportunities, wishing that I would fall from the air immediately, smash my head and bleed, so that I could replace it. The beautiful ones are easy to break, and the bright ones are easy to stain. A good reputation is hard to live up to. When we hire people, we should not only look at their reputation, but also whether they can calm down and get things done. Do you understand? "
"My subordinates will remember it!" Ijilianbod said solemnly.
The carriage overturned, the axle broke, and the dying packhorse lay on the side of the road, groaning in despair.
"Are you okay?" Wang Zhaotang asked with a frown.
"Captain Wang, I'm fine!" Langri lied...and loudly, as if this would make the lie come true. "And you?"
"Hell!" Wang Zhaotang spat: "The axle is broken and the packhorse is dead. How do you think I can get better?" He scratched his chin. His beard was already half white. He looked not only ugly. Some, much older, and even more grumpy: "Your face doesn't look good. How are your hands?"
"Same old!" Langri moved his bandaged fingers to show him that the burns left by the fire at Red Mountain Castle were very serious. More than two months had passed, but he still had not fully recovered. He didn't feel anything at all that night, and then the pain started, which made him want to roll on the spot. Liquid leaked from his cracked red skin, and frightening blood-filled blisters covered his fingers, as big as cockroaches. "The doctor said it's getting better. There will be a lot of scars on my hands, which will be ugly, but they won't prevent me from shooting my bow and arrows."
"It doesn't matter if you have scars, you are not a girl anyway!" Wang Zhaotang shook his head: "But your good luck in this life should have been used up when you escaped, that's why you are so unlucky now, and it involves me!"
Langri smiled noncommittally. He already knew that Wang Zhaotang was a survivor of the Battle of Dafeichuan. There was no doubt that he would hate the Tubo people very much. It was not easy to treat him like this.
"Forget it, it's not far from Chang'an anymore!" Wang Zhaotang looked at Lang Ri's hand: "Can you still ride a horse?"
"No problem!" Langri nodded: "I can tie the reins to my forearm!"
"Tie it to your arm?" Wang Zhaotang snorted coldly: "As long as the horse is slightly disobedient, you will break your head!"
"No, my equestrian skills are very good. When I was studying abroad in Chang'an, I was a frequent visitor on the polo field!" Lang Ri said with a smile: "If I really fall, I can only blame myself!"
Wang Zhaotang looked at the sky and sighed: "That's all we can do. Anyway, it's less than twenty miles away from Chang'an City. If we want to get a new carriage, I don't know how long it will take! Guo Si, Get off your horse and ride for this Lord Tubo!"
A Tang Army knight behind him reluctantly jumped off his horse and led his mount in front of Lang Ri. Lang Ri got on his horse, put the reins on his right arm, kicked the horse's belly with his foot, and spurred his mount around. A circle: "What, I didn't lie!"
Wang Zhaotang muttered, made a gesture to move on, and said to the subordinate who gave way to the horse: "Guo Si, just stay by the carriage and keep an eye on the things. I will send someone to clean it up when I get to Chang'an!"
The horses' hooves hit the hard rammed earth, making a crisp sound that merged with the sound of cicadas on the poplar trees beside the road. Langri looked at the fields and trees on the roadside, as well as the village houses everywhere. The last time he saw this scenery was when he came to Chang'an as an overseas student, he couldn't help but subconsciously said:
"Young man has no customary charm, and his nature loves hills and mountains. He falls into the dust net by mistake, and has been gone for thirty years. Birds in the wild are nostalgic for the old forest, and fish in the pond are thinking about their old abyss. They have opened up the wilderness in the south, and they have returned to their gardens and fields. They have a square house of more than ten acres and a thatched house. Eighty-nine rooms. The back eaves are shaded by elms and willows, and the peach and plum blossoms are in front of the hall. The distant village is warm, and the smoke in the ruins is lingering. Dogs bark in the deep lanes, and roosters crow on top of the mulberry trees. The courtyard is dust-free, and the empty room has plenty of leisure. I have been in the cage for a long time. Here, we can return to nature."
"Returning to the Countryside by Mr. Wu Liu?" Wang Zhaotang asked.
"Not bad!" Langri nodded: "When I came to Chang'an to study abroad, I often traveled around with my friends, focusing on the mountains and rivers!"
"Do you have any friends in Chang'an?" Wang Zhaotang looked at the Tibetan exile in surprise: "Who are they?"
"It's been many years, and I can't remember it for a while!" Langri smiled: "If I want to talk about the most recent one, it would be Wang Wenzuo. I heard that he has become famous in Chang'an recently. Is it true? "
Hearing Wang Wenzuo's name, Wang Zhaotang swallowed subconsciously and nodded vigorously.
——————————————————————————
The headquarters of General Zuo Wuwei.
"The Tibetan exiles sent by Longyou have arrived? Are they outside the door?" Wang Wenzuo put down the document in his hand: "Okay, let them in quickly!"
"Yes!" Li Bo responded and hurried out to pass the news. Wang Wenzuo stood up and walked to the door. He planned to give the visitor a good impression of a humble corporal. But the familiar face of the visitor surprised him: "Langri, how could it be you? Your name is not on the document sent by Long You?"
"It's not surprising, because I reported a false identity!" Langri said with a smile.
"Why do you do this?" Wang Wenzuo asked puzzledly.
"Because I don't want to die in a daze, Qinling has placed a large bounty on my head, and he is also very good at using his time!" Langri said: "I don't want to finally escape from Tubo, only to be trapped in a daze. Stabbed to death with a dagger in a corner!"
"It seems that he hates you very much!" Wang Wenzuo looked at Lang Ri's bandaged right hand: "It has not healed for so long, it seems that the injury is not serious!"
"Yes, his brother died in my hands, using the thing you gave me. It's a pity that I originally aimed at him, but missed! As for this hand!" Langri sighed: " A fire was set off in Qinling, and even the silver reliefs on the walls of Hongshan Castle melted. To escape from such a fire, you have to pay a price, right?" He raised his right hand and waved it in front of Wang Wenzuo. : "What's wrong, won't you invite me in for a drink?"
"Of course, please!" Wang Wenzuo recovered from the shock of the information revealed in the other party's words and made a gesture of invitation. The Tang Dynasty and Tubo were really twin brothers. Not only did they love and kill each other for two hundred years, but a palace coup broke out almost at the same time. They forced Li Zhi to abdicate in Chang'an and installed the crown prince on the throne; while Qinling launched a military coup in Luosuo, Tubo In the coup, Mangsong Mangtsen Zamp was killed and Mangsong Mangtsen Zamp’s young son was installed as the new Zamp. The only difference was that Qin Ling's methods were much rougher than his own. He almost didn't shed a drop of blood when he carried out the coup, but this one simply burned the palace down!
"This wine is really good!" Lang Ri clumsily put down the wine glass with his bandaged hand and exhaled a long breath: "One more glass!"
"I'm not stingy!" Wang Wenzuo filled up Langri's wine glass himself: "But your injury hasn't healed yet. It's not good to drink so much wine, right?"
"Haha!" Langri laughed: "If I didn't die from Qinling's fire and sword, I wouldn't have died from just a few glasses of wine!"
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo could feel the madness hidden in the other party's words: "But don't drink too much, after all, you should still have something to say!"
"Not bad!" The madness in Lang Ri's eyes disappeared. He picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. He slammed the glass on the counters: "This is the last glass. If you have anything to ask, please tell me. Bar!"
"The whole story, this is what I want to know!" Wang Wenzuo asked: "From beginning to end, tell me bit by bit!"
"What is there to know about this? It has already happened!" Langri sighed and said: "Actually, what happened is very simple. Zanpu wanted to kill Qinling and his brother and wipe out the Gar family. That's it. Let me set a trap, but the assassination failed. I only killed Qinling's brother. He escaped from the Red Mountain Fort, then gathered an army and defeated the army loyal to Zamp, and then set fire to the Red Mountain Fort. I After escaping from the tunnel, Zamp and the others were burned to death!”
"Then why didn't Zampu escape with you? And I saw the letter from Longyou Town said that Qinling supported Mangsong Mangzanzampu's son as the new Zampu. Isn't that child in Hongshan Castle?"
"Mangsong Manzan Zamp is unwilling to leave the Red Mountain Castle. He would rather live and die with the castle built by his grandfather!" Langri paused for a moment: "After the war, Zamp's wife took his son to escape from the Red Mountain Castle. Shanbao, go back to your parents’ home!”
"So, after the failed assassination, Zamp was actually abandoned by his wife?"
"Yes!" Langri smiled bitterly: "Even I underestimated the strength of the Gar family. If I had known earlier, I would have definitely tried to dissuade Zamp from doing this!"
"Perhaps Mansong Manzanzampu is not ignorant of the strength of the Gar family, he just doesn't want to wait any longer!"
"Maybe!" Langri sighed: "But it doesn't matter. Qinling won and we lost. At least until Xin Zanpu comes of age, no one in Tubo dares to resist Qinling!"
"How old is Xin Zamp this year?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"Just born last year!"
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo let out a long breath: "It will take at least ten years before he can take charge. It seems that Longyou of the Tang Dynasty will have to endure at least ten years of hard life!"
"Have you never thought of personally sending troops to conquer Qinling?" Langri asked.
"Compared with fighting Qinling, the Tang Dynasty has more troubles to deal with!" Wang Wenzuo said with a wry smile: "And you must have heard about the crown prince's ascension to the throne, right? I can't leave Chang'an in a short time!"
"By the way, I remembered it!" Lang Ri said with a smile: "There has just been a palace coup in the Tang Dynasty. Congratulations!"
"There is nothing to congratulate, I have no choice but to do so!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "If I didn't do that, I would probably be a prisoner by now!"
"Really?" Langri looked at Wang Wenzuo suspiciously, then smiled and said: "Forget it, this has nothing to do with me anyway. Tell me, how do you plan to arrange for me?"
"It's hard to say now!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "After all, this kind of thing is not something I can decide alone. All the ministers in the political affairs hall and the emperor have to give their approval before it can be done. If my estimate is correct: you either Recruit Tubo people to surrender in Longyou, or raise them as rich and idle people in Chang'an, the probability of the latter is higher!"
"Hmph! Will you use me as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations and give it to Qinling after you squeeze it dry?" Lang Ri asked.
"This -" Wang Wenzuo didn't expect the other party to speak so directly, and was a little embarrassed: "It's unlikely. After all, Qin Ling's appetite is too big, and the two sides can't reach an agreement in a short time!"
"You told the truth this time!" Lang Ri said with a smile: "Actually, you Tang people have a lot of appetite. The eldest brother on both sides let alone the second brother. Even if Qin Ling can temporarily suspend the war and negotiate peace with you in Longyou, it will only be because he is in other places. There are moves in the direction to prepare!”
Wang Wenzuo smiled noncommittally and said nothing. Of course, Langri's words meant to sow discord between Tubo and Tang Dynasty to prevent himself from being used as a bargaining chip for peace talks and handed over to Qinling, but they were not lies. Tubo in the seventh century AD was an extremely expansionary military empire, and the war with the Tang Dynasty was just one of several ongoing wars. Especially after Qinling came to power, since the main interests of the political faction he represented were in the newly expanded territory, even if he negotiated a truce with Tang Dynasty, it only meant that he would use more of his strength to attack other battlefields. , because otherwise, Qinling would not be able to satisfy the growing appetite of his supporters.
"But I heard all about it on the way to Chang'an. Now you have the final say in the Tang Dynasty!" Lang Ri looked into Wang Wenzuo's eyes: "After all, it was you who helped the current Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to the throne. He can still I won’t listen to you!”
"This is the Tang Dynasty, not Tubo!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "His Royal Highness was able to ascend the throne because he is kind and loving, and he is the eldest son of the Supreme Emperor. Moreover, he has been ordered to supervise the country. The Supreme Emperor was not in good health, so The throne was passed to His Highness the Crown Prince in advance, not because of me, so the stories you heard are all nonsense!"
"Really? At least the emperor trusts you. No matter what you say, the emperor will seriously consider it, right?" Lang Ri stared at Wang Wenzuo, his eyes shining.
"You can think so!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Do you have any plans?"
"Wang Wenzuo, you should know the story that 'the wizard Shen Gong moved from Jin to Wu, and began to connect Wu and Jin, and the two countries are better', right?" Langri said with a smile.
"Shen Gong, the witch minister?" Wang Wenzuo tried his best to remember for a while, and then asked: "You mean the Qu witch from Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period?"
(End of chapter)
