"It was all because of Sanlang's accession to the throne that he separated the couple!" The emperor sighed: "Let's do this! After your wife returns to Chang'an, the court will give her a second-grade imperial edict!" Without waiting for Wang Wenzuo's refusal, he waved He waved his hand and said: "Sanlang, there is no need to refuse. I am now the emperor. You just obey the order!"
"I am now the emperor!"
Hearing what Li Hong said, Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but be startled, and then he laughed: "I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for your kindness!"
"Okay, okay!" Li Hong was very happy when he saw that Wang Wenzuo did not refuse. He said "ok" several times and sighed: "A few days ago, someone advised me to move the Emperor and the Queen Mother out of the Daming Palace. Alas! These! No one knows the difficulty of the widow. It is the full moon day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there are not even a few close people around the widow. After that incident, the Emperor and the Queen Mother naturally needless to say, and several brothers have also become estranged invisibly. A lot. Saburo, I only understand what it means to be alone!"
Wang Wenzuo opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He could understand Li Hong's mood at this time. Unlike other Tang princes who launched palace coups and ascended the throne in advance, Li Zhi was suffering from wind disease and was unable to handle the affairs of the state. , so Li Hong was entrusted with the task of supervising the country as soon as he came of age, and he was not targeted by the highest power seat. Although Queen Wu later wanted to target Wang Wenzuo to weaken the prince's status, before the queen's plan could work, Wang Wenzuo launched a coup and directly made Li Hong the emperor.
In other words, other Tang princes were tortured and suppressed by their fathers in every possible way, and the original relationship between father and son had long been destroyed. Therefore, after they ascended the throne, even if they felt a little guilty, they would disappear as soon as they thought about what happened to them. . However, Li Hong had not been suppressed by Li Zhi, and Empress Wu had this intention, but Wang Wenzuo took away her power before she could take action. Li Hong naturally felt a lot of guilt for his parents, and saw that the Mid-Autumn Festival was about to take place. When he arrived, his longing for his relatives naturally grew stronger. Seeing that his ministers still refused to listen and urged him to drive his parents out of the Daming Palace, he naturally felt even more uncomfortable.
"If Your Majesty doesn't want your parents to be too far away, that's human nature!" Wang Wenzuo said.
"What Sanlang means is that they can continue to stay in Daming Palace?" Li Hong asked.
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven and the Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles. You can do whatever you want!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "But you should also know the reason why those ministers hope that the Supreme Emperor and the Queen Mother will not stay in the Daming Palace!"
"Of course I know, but -" Li Hong paused for a moment: "But -"
"But those are your parents after all, right?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"Yes!" Li Hong's face turned red: "I don't think there's anything wrong with them staying in the Daming Palace, right?"
"It's really nothing, as long as you do one thing first!" Wang Wenzuo said.
"One thing? What thing?" Li Hong asked.
"Give birth to a royal son early and establish a prince!" Wang Wenzuo said: "As long as the country has a prince, everyone will feel at ease. After people's hearts are settled, it doesn't matter whether the emperor and the queen mother live in Daming Palace or Taiji Palace, it will not affect the overall situation!"
Li Hong was also a smart man and understood immediately. The reason why those ministers repeatedly asked him to expel Li Zhi and the Empress Dowager from the Daming Palace is very simple. They are worried that if one day they make a mistake and their parents are restored successfully, then those who support them now will have their homes confiscated and exterminated. . And if they have a son and are established as a prince, even if something happens to them, they can continue to support their son's accession to the throne, and they will not just sit back and wait for death.
"I understand!" Li Hong nodded.
"Your Majesty, as long as you understand!" Wang Wenzuo nodded. He suddenly lifted the front of his official robe and knelt down in front of Li Hong: "I have one more thing, and I must apologize to Your Majesty!"
"Apologise?" Li Hong was stunned. He didn't expect Wang Wenzuo to act like this. He quickly stretched out his hand to help Wang Wenzuo up: "With your contribution, Sanlang, even the biggest sin can be overcome. Get up and speak quickly." That’s it!”
"No!" Wang Wenzuo kowtowed and refused to get up: "Gong is merit, fault is fault, how can it be offset? I have concealed something from your majesty for many years, which is a serious crime. Your majesty, please listen to it first before making an opinion! "
Seeing Wang Wenzuo's firm tone, Li Hong could only sigh: "Forget it, Sanlang, tell me! What on earth is going on?"
"Your Majesty, do you still remember that not long after I met you, I had a banquet in the East Palace, heard someone crying in the Yeting Palace at night, and later met the two princesses?"
"Of course I remember!" Li Hong sighed: "I begged my father for this matter, so that the two sisters could escape from prison and practice in the temple. I originally wanted to intercede for the two sisters after a while and let them I was able to leave the monastery and live a normal life. But I didn’t expect to encounter the Chang’an riots soon, and the two of them disappeared. It was probably unfortunate, and I was really unlucky!”
"Both princesses are safe and sound!" Wang Wenzuo said solemnly.
"What?" Li Hong was stunned when he heard this, thinking he heard wrongly.
"The two princesses are safe and sound!" Wang Wenzuo repeated: "Although Her Majesty the Queen promised to release the two princesses on the surface, she still held a grudge in her heart and sent people to assassinate them. The two royal highnesses rode in the city In the confusion, they killed the people who were guarding them, escaped, and were met by my men. I secretly took the two highnesses out of Chang'an and have been hiding them until now. Please forgive me!"
"So, my two sisters are still alive?" Li Hongda was overjoyed: "Then, where are they now?"
"They are all in the Japanese country!" Wang Wenzuo said: "The two highnesses have extraordinary bearings. If they stay with me, I am afraid that they will attract attention and harm them. Therefore, after I put down the rebellion in the Japanese country, I placed the two highnesses in the Japanese country. . Your Majesty, if you want to see them, I will write a letter and ask them to come to Chang'an!"
"Okay, okay, okay, okay!" Li Hong looked excited and said hello several times in a row. He stretched out his hand to help Wang Wenzuo up: "Sanlang, is this the crime of concealment you mentioned? Hey, this is clearly a credit, why? Talking about sins? Our Li family’s own scandals involve you, and we owe you a lot for your hard work. Without you, my two sisters’ lives would not be safe. In future generations, I don’t know how many people will laugh at these flesh and blood. The matter of cannibalism! Please revise the book quickly and invite my two sisters to come back!"
"It's easy to say, but it has to have a name, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Li Hong clapped his palms lightly: "Looking at my appearance, I am so happy and confused! Later, I will ask the Ministry of Rites to name my two sisters princesses and call them back to Chang'an!"
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When we left Tai Chi Palace, the sky was already dark. Wang Wenzuo jumped on his mount and was about to leave when he found Zhang Wenguan coming over: "General Wang, Your Majesty has been chatting with you for a long time!"
"Your Majesty has great trust, and I am sincerely afraid that I may be burdened with such a heavy responsibility!" Wang Wenzuo got off his horse, and although he was quite tired, he still wanted to finish the play.
"General!" The distance between Zhang Wenguan and Wang Wenzuo has shortened to only one punch left. He smiled: "I originally thought that after that night, you would trust me more!"
"What do you mean?" The smile on Wang Wenzuo's face disappeared and became cold.
"My meaning is very clear!" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile: "Without my cooperation, the crown prince's enthronement that night might have been successful, but it would certainly not have been so smooth!"
"Mr. Zhang!" Wang Wenzuo frowned: "You have already received the reward, haven't you? Your Majesty will not forget everything you have done!"
"Of course, of course!" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile: "But General, I'm not talking about your Majesty, but you!"
"I?"
"Yes, you! And me!" Zhang Wenguan pointed at Wang Wenzuo and then at himself: "You and I should trust each other more!"
"I don't quite understand what you mean!" Wang Wenzuo said, "Excuse me, Mr. Zhang, where do you think you don't trust you enough?"
"Let's put it this way!" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile: "If you and I discuss today's matter in advance, then Pei Judao and Dai Zhide will not be able to interfere with your affairs at all in the political hall!"
"Pei Shizhong and Dai Xianggong are both loyal ministers of the imperial court, and Pei Shizhong is your Majesty's father-in-law. Even if they have disagreements with me, they just have different views. This is normal. They and I are both out of public interest!" Wang Wenzuo said: "As for The Political Affairs Hall is a place that assists the emperor in governing the world, and is not a hall for Wang to express his opinions. Even if we have different opinions, how can we interfere with my affairs?"
"Really?" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile: "It's best if the general thinks so, but it seems that some people don't think so!"
"Then what do they think?"
"They feel that Your Majesty is too trusting and too close to you, General. If possible, they hope that you can stay away from His Majesty! For example -"
"Like what?"
"For example, you leave the Political Hall, or you no longer take charge of the Nanya Forbidden Army! You must be one of the two!"
"Really? What do you think about Mr. Zhang?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"Me?" Zhang Wenguan laughed: "As a prime minister, the most important thing is to gain the emperor's trust. The most important person in the world who can gain the emperor's trust is you. If you want to stay in the Political Affairs Hall , we must first gain your trust. Pei Shizhong and Dai Xianggong don’t even understand this truth, so sooner or later they will be kicked out of the Political Affairs Hall?"
"Being driven out of the political hall?" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "Xiangong Zhang really thinks highly of me!"
"Really?" Zhang Wenguan's expression became serious: "Zhang has seen what happens to people who look down on you!"
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Changshoufang, Ling Jiyou's house.
Bang bang bang!
A heavy knock on the door woke Wang Bo up from his sleep. He had a bad habit of staying up late, so he naturally woke up late when he went to bed late. He struggled to get up from the bed and looked out the window. It was already completely bright. Ling Jiyou should have gone to the Criminal Department long ago by this time.
"Ah Heng, Ah Heng!" Wang Bo called his slave's name twice, but no one answered. He must have something to do when he went out. He cursed twice, rolled out of bed, put on his coat, put on his shoes, and shouted: "Coming, coming!"
The courtyard door was opened, and Wang Bo looked at the scarlet-robed man outside with some confusion. Soon he shuddered and came to his senses: "Who are you -?"
"Are you Prince An of Jiangzhou?" Xu Xuwen asked impatiently, "Why don't you kneel down to accept the edict?"
Wang Bo was overwhelmed by the sudden ecstasy. Could it be that Wang Wenzuo's recommendation had an effect and Your Majesty wanted to reuse me? He subconsciously bent his knees and knelt down: "Prince An of Jiangzhou accepts the imperial edict!"
As the edict was read out, Wang Bo's ecstasy was like a torch immersed in a bucket, which was quickly extinguished, followed by fear and despair: "Wang Sheng is wild and rude, has both ends, and no loyalty. He is greedy for wealth and lacks integrity. I originally wanted to punish him severely, but I thought he was not without talents and ordered him to go to Jiaozhi to fulfill his filial piety to your father. He cannot return home unless ordered to do so!"
"Prince An, thank you!" Xu Xuwen sneered after reading the edict.
"Thank you!" Wang Bo stretched out his hands dullly and took the edict. If it was a bolt from the blue when Li Zhi drove him out of Chang'an last time, then this time he slowly fell into the quagmire, watching the quagmire submerge his chest, throat, chin, nose, eyes, and finally his whole person It sank without leaving a trace. In his mind, he recalled the descriptions of Cochin Annan that he had read when he was a child. Miasma, epidemics, barbarism, loneliness, everywhere he looked were barbarians who could not understand the language and were no different from wild beasts. Obviously the emperor felt that the death penalty was too much for him. He was merciful and allowed himself to go through painful torture before dying in despair to satisfy him.
"The sage has said that you must leave Chang'an before dark!" Xu Xuwen said: "Come here, pack your bags for Wang Sheng. If you are too late, you will be violating the order!"
"Yes!" The accompanying eunuchs responded in unison. They swarmed in, quickly tied Wang Bo's luggage into a package, and then pushed and shoved them out of the house, all the way out of the city, as if driving someone away. a prisoner.
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While Wang Bo was embarking on the long journey to Jiaozhi, King Luo Bin, another poet among the Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty, was busy with a new conspiracy.
"Brother, when Wang Wenzuo was in a humble position, you went to see him every three days. Now that he is prosperous, why don't you go to see him?" Li Jingyou asked.
"Those people are just mediocre people, how can they compare with Brother Ling!" King Luo Bin said with a smile.
"Haha!" Li Jingye laughed: "Second brother, you still don't understand. It was precisely because Wang Wenzuo was in a humble position at that time. No matter how I went to find him, others would not take him seriously. But now he is already a very powerful person. Sir, if I go to find him, what do you think the world will say?"
"Now all the people who want to meet Wang Wenzuo have lined up outside the shop, why are you one more?" Li Jingyou sneered: "If the world has to say a few words for you to meet Wang Wenzuo, even a hundred tongues won't be enough!"
