Lonely Chunyan looked at Li Mi, who still had traces of sadness on his face, and asked with concern: "Husband, are you worried about something? Can you tell your wife?" Upon hearing this, Li Mi quickly denied it: "No, no, no ." Lonely Chunyan did not continue to ask, but picked up the piece of paper on the case, opened it and looked at it, then folded it and put it back to its original place, saying: "Husband, as a wife, I know that you are depressed. Husband, you are a good person. He was an all-powerful hero, but now he is not only dependent on others, but also humiliated in every possible way by the powerful officials in the court."
Lonely Chunyan saw that Li Mi did not say anything and continued: "Although I am a wife, I am also aware of your current situation. Let's talk about my cousin Li Yuan. How could he ever be worthy of you? I think back then, if not You held back the imperial army in Luoyang, how could he capture Chang'an so easily? It can be said that you also have a share of the credit for the great Tang Dynasty. But how did Li Yuan treat you? The official position he gave you was just Isn’t this an errand of serving others to deliberately demean and humiliate you?”
When Li Mi heard Lonely Chunyan say these words, he couldn't help but look at her in surprise, and hesitantly asked: "You... aren't you Li Yuan's cousin? How can you talk about him like that?" Lonely Chunyan's originally calm eyes suddenly filled with emotion. Wu Qi said in a cold voice: "It's true that he is my cousin, but he is also my enemy!" When Li Mi heard this, he was surprised: "He is your enemy?" Lonely Chunyan nodded and said: "He killed My eldest brother."
"Ah? Who is your eldest brother?"
"Lonely Thoughts."
Li Mi thought for a while and finally remembered. He had heard someone say before that Lonely Huai'en was the Minister of Industry of the Tang Dynasty and was executed by Li Yuan for treason. He didn't expect that Lonely Chunyan was actually Lonely Huai'en's sister. Li Mi always thought that Lonely Chunyan was a nail arranged by Li Yuan to monitor his every move. Therefore, Li Mi never dared to open his heart to her. What he didn't expect was that Lonely Chunyan had a brother-killing feud with Li Yuan.
Li Mi was silent for a moment, and then said what was in his heart: "Madam, as a husband, I am really not satisfied with the current situation. Not only me, but also my soldiers have many complaints. I remember that when we first arrived in Guanzhong, the court treated us The supply was very poor, my soldiers had no food for several days, and some officials in power extorted money from us. But then again, the emperor, the prince, and the king of Chu treated me well."
Lonely Chunyan snorted coldly and said, "It's the father and son who killed my eldest brother. I have an sworn hatred with them!" Li Mi raised his head, his eyes met Lonely Chunyan's cold eyes, and he actually shuddered in his heart. Then he stopped making any sound.
Laoya Ridge, Wagang Military Camp. Wang Bodang rode his horse back from outside, drove it into the camp gate, dismounted, handed the reins to the soldiers, and then walked towards the central military tent. At this time, the grain officer came over, clasped his fists and said, "Commander, I didn't get the grain."
"What's going on? Isn't there an approval document?"
"It doesn't matter if there is an approval document. It must be sealed by the treasurer before the granary can distribute the grain. But the treasurer won't stamp it."
When Uncle Wang heard this, he glared and said, "Why doesn't he give me a stamp?"
"I didn't say why, I just didn't cover it."
Wang Bodang thought for a moment and said, "Well, let me go there myself." After that, Wang Bodang immediately called a few soldiers and rode towards Chang'an City with the grain officer.
The more than 20,000 troops Li Mi brought to Guanzhong were divided into two groups. One group was commanded by Wang Bodang and stationed at Laoyaling; the other group was commanded by Gao Jifu and stationed in Huazhou to guard the Changchun Palace together with King Li Xiaoji of Yong'an. .
The military camp was only thirty or forty miles away from Chang'an City. Wang Bodang and his party worked hard and entered the city in less than half an hour. They came to the Hubu Yamen and found the treasurer. The treasurer is a middle-aged man, as lean as a salted fish. He has a long, wrinkled face with a few whiskers under his chin, and his dignified appearance makes it obvious at a glance that this man is a treacherous and mean man.
Wang Bodang is a military man. He likes to speak directly and does not use roundabout ways. As soon as they met, he asked the other party why he didn't stamp it. The treasurer raised his eyelids and glanced at him, and said slowly: "There are countless people who come to me to stamp their seals every day. How can I stamp them all? I have to weigh who I stamp and who I don't stamp, right?"
"You—!" Wang Bodang was choked and speechless.
The treasurer ignored him and picked up the tea cup on the table, sipping the tea and humming a ditty leisurely. Wang Bo must understand that this guy is deliberately making things difficult and obviously wants to rip him off. However, this batch of food is of great importance. If it is not shipped back, his more than 10,000 brothers will run out of food. Thinking of this, Wang Bodang gritted his teeth, took out the only gold bar left on his body, and slapped it on the table.
When the treasurer saw the yellow gold bars, his eyes immediately shone, and he said with a smile: "If it had been like this, wouldn't it be over?" After saying that, he picked up the gold bars and put them into his sleeves, then stretched out his hand and said, "Approval."
Wang Bodang quickly turned around and took the approval document from the grain officer's hand and handed it over. The treasurer took out the seal and stamped it with a large vermilion seal.
After walking out of the Hubu Yamen, Wang Bodang handed the approval document back to the grain officer and said, "Hurry up and transport the grain back, otherwise, our brothers will starve tomorrow." The grain officer took the approval document and said, "Yes."
Wang Bodang was in a bad mood and did not want to go back to the military camp immediately, but wanted to talk to Li Mi. After he broke up with the grain officer, he took several soldiers to Li Mi's mansion.
Wang Bodang walked into the front hall and met the housekeeper. The butler didn't wait for him to ask, and said: "The master is in the back hall, and Mr. Jia is also there." Wang Bodang nodded and came to the back hall in a familiar way. When he walked into the room and took a look, he saw Li Mi sitting on an Arhat bed, and a middle-aged man sitting on a horse stool opposite. This man has a slender figure, fair face, and a short beard under his chin. He looks like a Confucian scholar. His name is Jia Guifu, and he is Li Mi's close aide.
Wang Bodang walked over and clasped his fists and said, "Lord." Li Mi nodded and said, "Are you here? Sit down." Wang Bodang moved a horse stool and sat down next to Jia Guifu.
Li Mi was complaining to Jia Guifu about the banquet at Guangming Palace that day. This incident greatly stimulated him. Li Mi had been in a distinguished position for a long time. When he first surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he once said to his subordinates: "I have millions of troops. Once I am disarmed and return to the Tang Dynasty, there are hundreds of cities east of Mount Wei. If they know that I am here, if they send people to recruit them, they will surrender." , they will all come to submit. Compared with Dou Rong, who came to Emperor Guangwu, my contribution is not small, can you not give me an important position?" But the actual situation was not in line with his wishes, so Li Mi's heart Disappointment and imbalance are inevitable.
Wang Bodang originally wanted to complain to Li Mi, but he didn't expect that Li Mi would complain more than him. After Li Mi finished speaking, Uncle Wang said: "Master, we can't stay in this pass any longer. The Tang Dynasty doesn't regard us as its own people at all..."
As they were talking, they suddenly heard someone arguing loudly in the front yard. After a while, the housekeeper hurried in and reported: "Master, a group of government officials broke into the yard and claimed to search the mansion." Upon hearing this, Li Mi frowned and said, "Why did they want to search the mansion?"
"Said he wanted to arrest a thief."
Li Mi thought for a while, stood up and said, "Come with me and have a look." Wang Bodang and Jia Guifu followed Li Mi to the front yard, and saw a dozen Zaoli with knives and sticks standing in the yard. He was quarreling with his servant. The housekeeper said loudly: "Stop making noise, the master is here!"
Li Mi stood on the steps, scanning the gang of slaves, and said, "Which of you is the leader?" A government servant in his thirties stepped forward and said, "I am."
"Who are you? What do you want to do when you come to my house?"
"We are Wannian County police officers. We are chasing a thief. Someone saw him running into this mansion, so we have to search."
Wang Bodang, who was standing next to Li Mi, glared and said, "Damn it, this is Guanglu Qing's mansion, how dare you search it?" The squad leader glanced at him and said nonchalantly: "Not even anyone else's mansion. A search must be conducted.”
"presumptuous!"
Jia Guifu waved to Wang Bodang, then walked down the steps and came to the squad leader. He said pleasantly: "Brother, we were all here just now and didn't see the thieves come in." After that, he took out his clothes from his sleeves. A piece of silver ingot was handed over, "Thank you for your hard work, these ten taels of silver should be used to buy wine for the brothers."
The squad leader took the money, weighed it twice in his hand, and said, "This gentleman is quite good at getting things done. Okay, I'll give you a favor and go search elsewhere." After saying this, he waved his hand and led the officials away. go.
When the three of them walked to the back hall, Li Mi said: "Isn't this Chang'an City under the jurisdiction of Chang'an County? Why do the officials from Wannian County come here to do errands?" Jia Guifu said: "My lord, I don't know. There are one hundred and ten people in Chang'an City." Eight lanes, fifty-four lanes to the east of Zhuque Street are under the jurisdiction of Wannian County, and fifty-four lanes to the west are under the jurisdiction of Chang'an County." After hearing this, Li Mi nodded and said, "That's it."
Their conversation was interrupted by a group of government officials who broke in. After sitting down, Li Mi said: "Bodang is right. I don't want to stay in this pass anymore. I plan to report to Li Yuan and say I want to go." I told him that although many of my generals surrendered to Wang Shichong, they did not mean it. As long as I persuade them, they will definitely switch to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan will definitely believe it after hearing this. As long as he lets us go If we leave, then we will fish into the rivers and birds return to the mountains and forests." Upon hearing this, Wang Bodang said yes repeatedly, and Jia Guifu also agreed.
"Why do you just want to escape?!" As soon as he finished speaking, Lonely Chunyan walked in.
When Wang Bodang and Jia Guifu saw each other, they stood up in fright. They looked at Lonely Chunyan and then at Li Mi. Li Mi waved his hand for them to sit down and said: "Madam is of the same mind as us. She and Li Yuan have a brother-killing feud, and her brother is Lonely Huaien."
Both Wang Bodang and Jia Guifu had heard about Lonely Huaisi's rebellion and were punished. When they heard about it, they felt relieved. After Wang Bodang and Jia Guifu sat down again, Li Mi looked at Lonely Chunyan and said, "Madam, if you have anything to say, just say it." Lonely Chunyan nodded and said, "Have you ever thought about it? Even if Li Yuan lets go If you leave, you will not be allowed to take the army with you. Without the army, you will be dependent on others wherever you go, so what is the difference between staying here and staying here?"
After hearing this, Wang Bodang and Jia Guifu nodded frequently, feeling that Lonely Chunyan's words made sense, and their faces became solemn. Li Mi frowned and said, "What should we do according to Madam's wishes?"
"The only one in the Tang army who can fight is Li Shimin." Lonely Chunyan said, "But now he is attacking Xue Ju in Longxi, and all the best soldiers and generals of the Tang army have been taken away by him. Chang'an City is now empty of troops, why don't you take the opportunity to capture Chang'an City? As long as Chang'an City is captured, your old troops will definitely come to join you, and you can make a comeback. When your power becomes stronger, you can fight Li Shimin again. As long as you defeat Li Shimin, then the entire country of Datang will be It’s yours!”
