The Dragon Boat Festival is here, and Abba holds a banquet in the Hall of Light for all the ministers, and Li Zhiyun is also invited. He came to Tai Chi Palace in a carriage. Under the guidance of a chamberlain, he came to the door of Guangming Palace. He walked in and took a look. It was really lively inside. In addition to the guests who had already arrived, there were also some officials from Guanglu Temple. Make preparations before the banquet.
Li Zhiyun saw Li Mi, who was talking to a subordinate. Li Zhiyun knew that Li Mi did not come to the banquet, but to serve the banquet. After Li Mi defected to the Tang Dynasty, his father named him Guangluqing, Shangzhuguo, and Xingguogong. Among them, Shangzhuguo was an honorary title, and Xingguogong was a title. Both of them were false titles. His real position was Guangluqing.
Guanglu Temple is one of the nine temples of the imperial court. It has official positions such as Qing, Shaoqing, and Chief Registrar. It is responsible for the royal family's meals. It has four departments: Taigong, Yaozang, Liangying, and Zhangmin. Like today, the meals for the imperial gatherings of hundreds of officials Supply is of course also within the scope of Guanglu Temple's responsibilities.
Li Zhiyun walked over to say hello. When Li Mi saw him, he quickly raised his hands and said, "His Royal Highness, King Chu, are you here?" Li Zhiyun returned the courtesy and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Li."
"The King of Chu is welcome," Li Mi said, and said to the official next to him, "Take the King of Chu to his seat."
Li Zhiyun followed the official to his seat and sat down. This year's Dragon Boat Festival banquet is the same as in previous years. Seats are set up along both sides of the main hall, with about three or four rows on each side. The space in the middle is left open as a place for palace maidens and colorful girls to perform. Most of the ancient banquet styles were like this. The hall was filled with tables as in later generations, and there was almost no performance stage set up in front, because that would make it difficult to decorate the emperor's throne. Should the emperor and ministers be allowed to sit on an equal footing and mingle with each other? This is not in line with the etiquette of the divine right of kings, but also undermines the majesty of the emperor. Abba and Pei Ji sat on the same soft couch together, but Liu Wenjing strongly objected. If he sat with the ministers regardless of their rank, wouldn't he be drowned in spittle? It is also inappropriate to place the emperor's throne opposite the stage, because then when the ministers watch the performance, their buttocks will be facing the emperor, which is a crime of disrespect.
The seats on both sides of the hall were occupied by court ministers on one side and relatives of the emperor on the other. As the prince, the eldest brother naturally sat at the top of the first row. The second brother and fourth brother were not in Chang'an, so Li Zhiyun sat next to the eldest brother. Below him were the princes and princes from Chang'an, and behind him were the princesses, concubines and other female family members and other members of the royal family.
Sitting opposite, the two prime ministers, Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing, naturally sat at the top of the first row, while the other ministers sat according to their rank and status.
Li Zhiyun waited not long before all the guests arrived. After a while, Abba, surrounded by many chamberlains, walked into the hall and sat on the throne. So, the banquet officially began, and officials from Guanglu Temple began to serve food. For large-scale banquets such as those held by the imperial court, food is not allowed to be served in advance, otherwise it will not comply with etiquette. The officials of Guanglu Temple will serve the food after all the guests have arrived.
According to the etiquette of the imperial court, food for the emperor and the prince must be presented personally by Guanglu Qing, while for the prince and below, the food must be presented by the Shaoqing and other officials according to their respective statuses.
Li Zhiyun didn't care who served him food. What he cared about was that the delicious food was served quickly so that he could enjoy it. But Pei Ji was different. In the court, he could sit on the same couch as the emperor, and Guang Luqing would offer food. Couldn't he still enjoy it? So, when a young minister came to his seat with a tray, Pei Ji coughed deliberately, then raised his head and pointed his nostrils at the ceiling. Shaoqing naturally understood what the Prime Minister meant. He could neither advance nor retreat while standing there. He was extremely embarrassed and could only turn his head and look at Li Mi with pleading eyes.
Li Mi felt that the eyes of the people around him were focused on him. He felt his cheeks were hot, so he had no choice but to step forward, took the tray from Shaoqing's hand, and placed it respectfully on Pei Ji's desk. Liu Wenjing saw it and was certainly not convinced. He wanted to compare with Pei Ji everywhere, so he followed the same pattern. Li Mi had no choice but to serve him food.
After serving food to the two prime ministers, Li Mi walked out of the Guangming Palace, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Today, this ugly person is considered a big shame. It is enough to bring food to the emperor and the prince, but who are Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing? They are just two slaves, are they worthy of being asked to carry plates and bowls? I think back then, he, Li Mi, was also the overlord of one side, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in his hands. When he was powerful, even Li Yuan paid homage to him, but now he has been reduced to such a state. How can it not be embarrassing? It wasn't until this moment that Li Mi truly realized the warmth and coldness of the world, the impermanence of life, and tasted the misery of living under someone else's roof.
In the evening, Li Mi returned to his mansion, locked himself in his study, and sat in front of a candlelight, like a piece of wood sculpture. He recalled the battle between himself and Wang Shichong. He had recalled this battle countless times. He didn't understand why the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
After Li Mi destroyed Yu Wenhuaji's 100,000-strong army, he suffered heavy losses among his elite soldiers and generals, so he returned to Jinyong City, the base of the Wagang Army. In September of that year, Wang Shichong took advantage of Li Mi's exhaustion after the war to launch an attack. He led 20,000 elite troops and 2,000 cavalry to intimidate Yanshi. He set up camp on the south bank of the Tongji Canal and set up a pontoon bridge on the Luoshui River to prepare for a decisive battle. At this time, Li Mi was proud and complacent, no longer caring about the soldiers, and had little savings in the treasury. After winning the battle, he did not even distribute the spoils to the soldiers, which made the generals of the Wagang army alienated. Wang Shichong took advantage of the situation to attack the Wagang Army and defeated several generals of the Wagang Army. After Li Mi learned about it, he ordered Wang Bodang to guard Jinyong City and Bing Yuanzhen to guard Luokou Cangcheng. He led his elite troops to Yanshi to fight. Wang Shichong forced himself to cross the Luo River, and the two sides fought at the foot of Mang Mountain. As a result, Wang Shichong defeated Li Mi. Pei Renji, Zu Junyan, Cheng Zhijie and others of the Wagang Army were captured by Wang Shichong. Bing Yuanzhen, Shan Xiongxin and others surrendered to Wang Shichong one after another. The Wagang army suffered heavy losses, and Li Mi was forced to flee eastward to Wulao Pass.
Li Mi thought of Zhai Rang again. Zhai Rang was really a rare good man who never fought for power or profit. He took a fancy to Li Mi's talents and recommended him to be the leader. It can be said that everything Li Mi obtained later was given by Zhai. However, Li Mi believed the slanderous words of the minister and killed Zhai Rang.
At that time, Zhai Rang's Sima Wang Ruxin persuaded Zhai Rang to appoint himself as the leader of the family and in charge of government affairs in order to seize Li Mi's power, but Zhai Rang refused. Zhai Rang's elder brother Zhai Hong was rude. He said to Zhai Rang: "You should be the emperor yourself, why should you give it to others? If you don't want to be the emperor, let me do it!" After hearing this, Zhai Rang just laughed and did not let go. In the heart.
Later, Zuo Chang Shi Fang Yanzao offended Zhai Rang and felt very frightened, so he told Li Mi about the situation and repeatedly advised Li Mi to kill Zhai Rang. Li Mi was finally moved. He invited Zhai Rang, Zhai Hong, Zhai Rang's nephew and others to drink, and dismissed the guards, leaving only the strong man Cai Jiande standing with a sword. Before eating, Li Mi took out a good bow and asked Zhai Rang to practice archery. As soon as Zhai Rang fully drew his bow, Cai Jiande slashed Zhai Rang from behind with a knife. Zhai Rang fell down in front of the bed, roaring like an ox. Cai Jiande killed Zhai Hong, Zhai Rang's nephew, Wang Ruxin and others. Xu Shiji escaped out the door and was slashed in the neck by the soldier guarding the door. Fortunately, Uncle Wang stopped him loudly from a distance. Shan Xiongxin knelt down and begged for his life, and Li Mi released him. People on the left and right were very frightened and doubtful, not knowing what to do. Li Mi said loudly: "I joined the uprising with everyone, and originally wanted to eradicate the tyranny. But Zhai Rang only committed tyranny and insulted all his officials, regardless of superiority or inferiority. Today, only Zhai Rang's family will be killed, and it has nothing to do with you." He He ordered people to help Xu Shiqin up, placed him under a tent, and personally applied medicine to him. Zhai Rang's troops were about to disperse, so Li Mi sent Shan Xiongxin to convey his condolences. Immediately, Li Mi rode to Zhai Rang's army alone to express his condolences and concern. He let Xu Shiji, Shan Xiongxin and Wang Bodang command Zhai Rang's troops respectively, which finally stabilized the morale of the army. However, Li Mi's generals began to have suspicions and uneasiness, which also laid the groundwork for Li Mi's subsequent failure.
After Li Mi was defeated by Wang Shichong, he wanted to go to Liyang. Someone said: "When he killed Zhai Rang, Xu Shiji almost died. Now that he has lost, he goes to him. How can we be safe?" After much discussion, they finally decided. Go to Guanzhong and join the Tang Dynasty. Li Mi was still very popular with the military, and more than 20,000 people entered the customs with him. Later, some of Li Mi's old generals also led their troops to submit to the Tang Dynasty and were placed in various places by the court.
The night was already dark, and Li Mi was not tired at all. He spread the paper, grinded the ink, and splashed the ink. His handwriting was elegant and free, and the ink dots covering the paper looked like teardrops:
In the early days of the golden breeze, the jade dew withered in the late forest; this evening, the poor travelers are depressed and their hearts are hurt; the wild fields are flat and the reeds are close together, and the villages are deserted and the quinoa is deep; I look out and listen to many feelings, and I move to lean on my lapel alone. What is the purpose of my lapel? I feel regretful and nostalgic for the past; the customs of Qin are still not settled, so what hope will Han Dao have? Fan Kuai was a disciple in the market, and Xiao He was an official with swords and pens. Once fortune comes, his name and posthumous title will be passed down through the ages. It is a shame to say that the heroes in the world live in vain.
This is a five-character poem written by Li Mi when he lived in seclusion in Huaiyang. Reading it again now, it has a special flavor. A burst of sadness came to Li Mi's heart, tears filled his eyes, and the crystal teardrops fell on the rice paper "plop-plop-dap".
At this moment, the door was lightly knocked twice. Li Mi quickly took out his handkerchief and wiped the tears on his face, then gently wiped the tears on the paper, then folded the paper and put it on the desk. "Please come in," he said in a thick nasal voice.
The door was pushed open, and Lonely Chunyan walked in carrying a tea cup. She gently placed the tea cup in front of Li Mi, looked at him and said, "Husband, it's so late, why don't you go to bed?"
"Oh, I'm not sleepy yet, you go to bed first."
