When August comes, it seems that the entire city of Chang'an is busy celebrating the saint's birthday.
But Li Longji himself was a little unhappy. He was already sixty-seven years old. On this so-called "Long Live" day, his fear of death only deepened.
He used to study Taoism and alchemy with Sima Chengzhen, the "Baiyunzi". Sima Chengzhen lived to become an immortal at the age of ninety-six. Li Longji always thought that he should at least live longer than Sima Chengzhen, so he accepted the nun and became a monk.
"Xuan Jingzi" Li Hanguang was his master. A few years ago, Li Hanguang did a Qi check for him and said that his body was ten years younger than his actual age. Unfortunately, not long after, Li Hanguang requested to return to the mountain on the grounds that the scriptures of Maoshan were scattered.
These efforts did not prevent him from aging. In fact, his energy was much less than before. He just pretended to be diligent, which made Li Hanguang mistakenly think that he still had plenty of energy.
Of course, emperors also have this kind of pretense. Emperors are the least free people.
Especially in the past few days, Feng Changqing's memorial was delivered, detailing the battle between Anxi and the black-clad Dashi, and the news that was originally unbelievable to Li Longji was confirmed.
After Gao Xianzhi went back on his word and destroyed the Shi Kingdom, the prince of the Shi Kingdom contacted Zhuhu and the black-clothed Dashi to prepare to attack the four towns of Anxi. Gao Xianzhi decided to use offense as defense and led 30,000 troops to attack Dashi. After three months of trekking,
He arrived at the city of Talos and began to besiege it.
Talas City is the second largest city in the Stone Kingdom, and Samarkand, not far away, is where Dashi's troops are stationed. After learning about the Tang army, Dashi immediately organized a hundred thousand troops to support Talas City. Both sides
In the decisive battle on the Talos River, after five days of confrontation, Da Shiren paid heavily to bribe the Ge Luolu tribe in the Tang army. Ge Luolu suddenly rebelled and attacked front and back with Da Shi's army, leading to Gao Xianzhi's defeat.
On the other hand, Feng Changqing also described the war situation in detail, which was not as brutal as the impeachment of some officials in the four towns of Anxi.
The 30,000 people led by Gao Xianzhi were composed of 8,000 Tang troops, and more than 23,000 Geluolu troops and Bahanna troops. The betrayal of the Geluolu army triggered the surrender and rout of some Bahanna troops, forming a
Inflicted the biggest loss in this battle. After the defeat, Gao Xianzhi returned to Anxi with nearly 4,000 Tang troops.
This level of defeat would not cause the Anxi Army to lose its ability to control the Western Regions.
However, Ge Luolu's rebellion revealed that the Tang Dynasty's power to deter Zhuhu was diminishing. What needs to be alerted is that after Abisi defected, he defected to Ge Luolu.
Thinking further, Ge Luolu has always been controlled by the Uighurs. Although the Uighurs did not betray the Tang Dynasty, they failed to control Ge Luolu in a timely and effective manner, and there was a faint trend of alienation.
Thinking of this, Li Longji was not very angry with Gao Xianzhi, but he had to consider rewards and punishments, as well as the strategic changes towards the Western Regions and Tubo after this battle, which gave him a headache.
Continuing to look down, Feng Changqing mentioned the soldiers who made meritorious service in this battle.
"The situation was urgent. Li Siye rushed to guard Baishi. The road was narrow, and he marched forward on foot and on horseback. Huiba Khan returned with troops, and the road was blocked with supplies and supplies. Siye attacked fiercely with his hands and stilts, killing dozens of servants and horses, and the prisoners were horrified.
Let's go, the army will have to return..."
Li Longji suddenly felt a headache, closed his eyes, and shouted all the palace people out.
"Everyone get out!"
When the last palace lady left the hall, he suddenly threw the memorial in his hand out.
It was rare that he became so angry, not just because of defeat, but because the feeling of losing control occasionally surfaced.
The hall was quiet for a long time, but someone came in quietly, it was Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi was tall and strong, but it was strange that he could walk through the hall without making a sound. When he arrived at the imperial couch, he saw Li Longji sitting in a slumped posture, with his gray hair uncombed and messy.
When all disguises are taken off, this is just an old man who is nearly seventy years old.
"saint."
"Why do I feel everything is so bad after coming back from Lishan?"
"There will always be times when you are in a bad mood." Gao Lishi leaned over to pick up the memorial on the ground, glanced at it quickly, and did not make a fuss, but said in a calm voice: "It is the saint who is in a bad mood, not the situation. Wait.
When the saint is in a good mood, everything will get better."
Li Longji deeply agreed with this sentence. He is the emperor, and everything in the world will naturally be affected by his mood.
Gao Lishi said: "Sage, Mingjun through the ages, how many storms have you never seen? Now we are encountering ordinary problems, so we can solve them with ordinary methods."
"Therefore, I can't live without you."
"How many important ministers will the saint summon to discuss matters?" Gao Lishi put the memorial back on the imperial desk and prepared to comb Li Longji's hair.
"No."
Li Longji shook his head and said: "Let's take it away first and discuss it after the Qianqiu Festival."
After saying this, he also felt that he was feeling a little lethargic. He tried hard to make a wiser decision, but the tiredness made him hate from the bottom of his heart to deal with this complicated government affairs immediately.
It is a good decision to deal with it calmly after the holidays.
Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about the Qianqiu Festival?"
"As usual." Li Longji murmured: "I dreamed of Sima Chengzhen. He warned me that I must stay in seclusion for two days before my birthday and not see any foreign ministers."
"Back to the saint, Xue Bai is asking for an audience outside the palace, saying that he has something important to do. Should I go and drive him away?"
~~
On the fourth day of August, it was Yuan Siyi's turn to take up his post in the palace. As soon as the morning drum sounded, he rushed to Xingqing Palace.
It was dawn, and Chang'an City had just woken up from its slumber. Everyone's movements seemed slow. Only Yuan Siyi showed anxiety inadvertently. He turned over and dismounted before the horse stopped, dropped the whip and stepped forward before opening the door.
inside the palace gate.
Gao Lishi was resting in the veranda of the side hall, sleeping lightly, and woke up when he heard the slightest movement.
"How did you come so early?"
"I have something important to report to the saint." Yuan Siyi said, "How can I disturb the saint?"
Gao Lishi shook his head slightly, indicating with his eyes that the saint was not in a good mood.
The two have worked together for many years and have a great understanding. In the past, Yuan Siyi knew what to do with just one look. But today, he actually took two steps and said: "It is really an urgent matter and the stakes are very high."
Seeing that Yuan Siyi did not confide in him, Gao Lishi sighed: "Let's wait until the saint wakes up."
When the saint woke up, it was Yuan Siyi's turn to serve, so he naturally did not need to participate in this matter. Without a word of excuse, he had stayed out of the matter.
Yuan Siyi nodded and did not ask Li Shi to share the responsibility. It may be that she did not trust him.
However, from early morning to afternoon, the sun turned westward and stretched the shadows of the trees on the ground, so the saint never got up.
A young eunuch hurried over and reported, "Superintendent, the fireworks have begun to be transported into the city."
"Send more people to keep an eye on it."
Yuan Siyi frowned and hesitated whether to try to wake up the saint. After thinking for a while, he asked: "Where is Chen Xuanli?"
"General Chen seems not to be in the palace today."
"I asked where he is?!"
"This slave deserves to die, I don't know."
In a short time, there will be a curfew in Chang'an again. Thinking that tomorrow will be the Qianqiu Festival. Yuan Siyi finally gritted his teeth and entered the back hall. He said cautiously through the guards: "Saint?"
After calling twice in succession, there was movement on the imperial couch. Li Longji asked lightly: "What's the matter?"
"I dare not disturb the saint, but the matter is so important." Yuan Siyi considered it and said slowly: "I suspect that Xue Bai is using fireworks to assassinate the saint."
He did not immediately throw out his doubts about Xue Bai's life experience. In the absence of sufficient evidence, the matter was very taboo and it was not good for him.
So, he tried his best to tell the whole story so that it had nothing to do with him.
"Yang Xuan, the son of the right prime minister, and Xue Bai's classmates, went to the fireworks workshop two days ago. One of his followers accidentally saw arrow clusters mixed with the raw materials of the fireworks, and reported the matter to the Minister of Internal Affairs. The old slave dare not imagine, what if
What will happen if those arrow clusters and fireworks are shot at people? This old slave is ignorant, but the safety of the saint is the most important thing."
Li Longji sat up on the imperial couch, meditated cross-legged, closed his eyes and listened. Finally, he asked: "What do you want to do with it?"
"I dare you to cancel the fireworks ceremony and investigate the matter in detail." After Yuan Siyi finished speaking, he added, "I don't want to ruin the saint's elegance. This matter... is really risky."
To his surprise, the saint seemed very calm after hearing such a major conspiracy.
"There will be no curfew in Chang'an for the three days of the Lantern Festival. The ministers are always worried about fires and thefts. They don't understand the meaning of having fun with the people." Li Longji said slowly: "The fireworks ceremony cannot be cancelled."
"But……"
"Tomorrow night, I will go up to the Calyx Tower to watch the fireworks. Now that this matter has been announced to the public, it cannot be changed." Li Longji said: "You take my order and investigate secretly."
Secret investigation is obviously more difficult, which means that he can only conduct investigation without affecting the smooth progress of the fireworks ceremony, and there are too many constraints.
Yuan Siyi wanted to persuade him again, but he faintly heard the sound of drums coming from the palace wall. The evening drums had already begun to sound, and the saint had already made up his mind. He had no more time, so he had to accept the decree.
There was something strange in his heart. Could it be that the saint didn't care about his own safety?
Then, he thought of what the sage said, "Climb the calyx tower to watch the fireworks." He immediately understood that the sage would not stand under a dangerous wall.
In this way, as long as it was confirmed that Xue Bai really wanted to use fireworks to assassinate him, he would have accomplished a great feat.
~~
The fifth day of August is the Qianqiu Festival.
The morning light had just entered Chang'an City, and someone had already discovered that a big red carpet had been laid out in the large square in front of Xingqing Palace.
Preparations for the ceremony can only be carried out until noon, because the Qianqiu Festival is different from the Shangyuan Festival in that many performances are performed during the day.
The musicians had already set up various musical instruments downstairs in the calyx, adjusting them, and the sound of silk and bamboo gradually began to play. The big song they played and sang repeatedly was called "Qianqiu Music", also known as "Long Live Qianqiu", which is what the Jiaofang created.
It was specially composed for the birthday of the saint.
The sound of this song spread throughout Chang'an, making people immersed in their beautiful expectations for the saint.
Li Longji had already gotten up. After resting for two days and deliberately avoiding worrying about state affairs, his spirit improved a lot. At this time, he was sitting in front of the bronze mirror and the palace concubine was combing his hair.
Gong'e's slender fingers often smeared the black beans from a porcelain bottle, smeared it on the comb, and then gently combed Li Longji's white hair, and the white hair was gradually dyed black. This process took a lot of time, and the effect was
But he looks very good. Li Longji, with his full head of black hair, does look more than ten years younger.
After that, the palace maid picked some grease with a jade chopstick and carefully applied it on his wrinkles... When the imperial robe was draped on Li Longji's shoulders, the image of a majestic and romantic emperor appeared in the Xingqing Hall again.
"Ha ha."
Li Longji looked at the mirror and laughed heartily.
He seemed to have regained the wisdom and determination he had in his prime, and his originally chaotic thoughts had also opened up. Even his handling of the generals of the four towns of Anxi after the defeat of Talos became much clearer.
Although he still loves Gao Xianzhi, the defeated coach will definitely have to deal with it. He can call Gao Xianzhi back to the court and replace Anxi Jiedushi with Wang Zhengjian. Wang Zhengjian's achievements are mediocre. In this way, Gao Xianzhi will be sent to Anxi again in the future.
opportunity to save the situation;
Feng Changqing can be appointed as the deputy envoy of the four towns' camp and marching Sima. He has assisted Gao Xianzhi for many years and is familiar with the four towns of Anxi. He can help Wang Zhengjian stabilize the situation and reassure the soldiers of Anxi;
Li Siye received a reward to show that the emperor still supported the Anxi army;
In addition, An Sishun, the governor of Hexi and Shuofang Jiedu, was strictly ordered to put down the Absi rebellion as soon as possible and severely deter those Tibetan chiefs who dared to betray the Tang Dynasty.
As Gao Lishi said, what matters is the emperor's mood. As long as he is in a good mood, everything else will be better because of his mood.
"Let's drive."
The time soon came, and Li Longji got up and headed to the Huacalyx Tower with the aura of domineering the world. Numerous Jinwu guards led the holy cavalry, and the four armies of Beiya were displayed, raising flags, and wearing golden armor, which added to his endless aura.
In front of the Calyx Tower, three hundred girls were lining up.
Each of them is only fifteen years old, all tall, short, fat and thin, and as beautiful as flowers. They will perform the first dance after the saint arrives, which is "The Song of Colorful Clothes and Feather Clothes".
This song was originally danced by Yang Yuhuan, but it would be inappropriate to have the imperial concubine dance it in person for the officials to see every year at the royal banquet. Later, it was changed to dance by Zhang Yunrong and Xie Aman. The two daughters have grown older in recent years.
They were already twenty years old, so they formed a large dance group like this.
Every year, the three hundred girls are replaced. The saint gets older every year, and the girls who dance for him are fifteen years old every year.
"Beautiful!"
Even the well-informed Yang Guozhong couldn't help but sigh after seeing it. He called Yuan Zai, poured a glass of wine with his own hands and handed it to him to show his respect.
"You are a flower and bird envoy, you have done very well, very well."
"They are all cultivated by the right prime minister."
Yuan Zai pretended to be flattered and agreed, but he didn't think so in his heart.
While he was drinking, he looked to the other side and saw Xue Bai toasting in the direction of the saint. He took a sip, said something to the person next to him, got up and left the flower calyx building, and looked at the shape of his mouth.
It's "I have to arrange the fireworks."
Yuan Zai thought to himself that as long as Xue Bai was around, he would never be able to steal his limelight.
~~
Xue Bai wore a red robe at such a young age, making him a very dazzling presence among the children of a poor family. People simply couldn't believe that someone could climb to such a high position in such a short period of time.
But today, he is not conspicuous, because there are many princes and princes who are born as high-ranking officials in red robes, and even purple robes are not uncommon.
King Li Chu of Guangping, King Li Tan of Jianning, King Li Chenghong of Guangwu, King Li Chengcai of Dunhuang, King Li Yan of Xinping... Xue Bai was just standing chatting with these people, looking very harmonious.
He was not incompatible with these emperors and nobles because of his humble slave origin.
Walking down the calyx building, the girls in front of me threw up their long sleeves and straightened their slender upper bodies at the same time, creating an unspeakable grand scene. In the past, six or seven beauties standing in one place would make people wonder what to do.
No matter where you look, let alone three hundred people.
Xue Bai shook his head, avoided looking, and walked towards the palace gate. Along the way, he could see various performers waiting for the performance.
The floats, land boats, walking ropes, maruken swords, acrobatics, horns, and acrobatics, these shows were obviously enough to keep the imperial banquet going until night, when it was his turn to firework.
No, there is also the most grand performance - horse dancing.
Li Longji ordered people to teach 400 dancing horses, and they danced downstairs in Huaxe every Qianqiu Festival. This was the climax of the royal banquet in previous years, but the horses have not entered the venue yet. In addition, before the horse dance, there is a big dance
Elephant and rhinoceros performances.
"Xue Lang!"
Suddenly someone called out, a clear voice. Xue Bai turned around and saw Li Twelve Niang holding the sword again.
He stopped, waited for her to come forward, and asked: "You also want to sword dance today."
"Well, the master has recovered from his illness and she is leading the dance. Why doesn't Xue Lang watch from the calyx building and come to where we, the actors and acrobats, stay?"
"I'm the same as you." Xue Bai smiled.
He thought about the wedding banquet when Li Heng married Zhang Ting, when he and Gongsun Aunt and others were sitting together. At that time, he did not want to be a minister, and what he wanted was to get rid of the status of being regarded as an actor. Now he can see things more openly.
, who is more noble than whom?
Li Twelve Niang was very puzzled and asked: "How are you the same as me?"
"You performed the sword dance first, and then watched me perform the fireworks."
"OK."
While talking, the sound of argument came from the palace gate.
Xue Bai didn't even look over there and walked over directly.
At the palace gate, the carriage transporting fireworks was indeed blocked, but the argument was not fierce. Although the guards could be heard shouting orders, the words that responded to the orders were words that made one feel weak aura just from the sound of the voice.
"This is my first time entering the palace, so I don't understand these things. Please forgive me. But I have a talisman, and I entered the palace to set off fireworks according to the order."
"Items entering the palace must be inspected and dismantled!"
"Ah? Fireworks break when they are taken apart. That's what happens. If I send a roasted chicken to the palace, it's not appropriate to take it apart, right? The taken apart chicken may still be edible, but the taken apart fireworks must be set off.
It won’t work.”
"I don't care about this, I just follow orders!"
"This is really..."
Du Wulang was talking and his mouth was dry. He scratched his head and saw Xue Bai coming out of the palace. He quickly waved his hand and said: "We can't enter the palace here."
Xue Bai didn't have a good way to deal with this, but he just stepped forward and said to the guards: "I understand your difficulties, and you are all doing things for the saints. If it is difficult to decide this matter, how about asking for instructions?"
"Just wait!"
"good."
On the palace wall not far away, Yuan Siyi was watching this scene with squinted eyes.
He didn't expect that Xue Bai and Du Wulang could be so polite when they encountered difficulties when doing things for the saint. They really didn't have any anger at all. Without anger, those fireworks would naturally not light up.
"Superintendent, Xue Bai proposed to ask for instructions, but I don't know who should come forward?"
"Fu Chulin, please go there."
"Here."
Fu Chulin looked at Xue Bai's polite appearance from the palace wall, but in her heart she thought of the five men she sent out and never came back, and secretly cursed this ruthless and treacherous sycophant for being so pretentious.
He deliberately made a circle and rushed to the palace gate. He asked from a distance: "What happened? Ah! It's Xue Lang here, but who is making things difficult for you?"
"I dare not say it is embarrassing." Xue Bai said: "We want to enter the palace to set up fireworks, but according to the rules of the palace, we have to dismantle them. But if we dismantle them, the fireworks cannot be set off."
"I see." Fu Chulin said with a smile, "What's so difficult about taking it apart and putting it back together? It's a trivial matter."
"I can't pretend to go back."
"Here, Mr. Xue, please forgive me for my limited knowledge and my inability to understand why it cannot be put back together after it is dismantled."
"..."
Time passed little by little, a high platform had been erected in front of the calyx building, and the figure of the rope walker had appeared in the air.
Yuan Siyi watched the performance from a distance for a while, then lowered his head to see that Xue Bai and others were still talking to Fu Tilin in a leisurely manner.
It was clearly running out of time to arrange the fireworks.
Yuan Siyi couldn't help but wonder, how could a traitor who wanted to assassinate someone be so calm in the face of this situation?
He finally became a little shaken and suspected that he had guessed wrong.
He didn't want to stop the fireworks from entering the palace. Since the saint had taken precautions and was safe, and had decreed that the fireworks ceremony should go on as scheduled, he didn't dare to actually block the fireworks from the palace gate. The reason why he wanted to deliberately embarrass Xue Bai
, just to test his attitude.
"The great eunuch, Xue Bai, said that if it was too late, he would be too late. When the sage asks him to question him, he can only tell the truth."
"No rush, just wait a while."
Yuan Siyi thought for a moment and then ordered: "Go and tell him that the saint has canceled the fireworks ceremony."
"this……"
"go."
"Here."
Yuan Siyi continued to stare and saw the eunuch hurried to the palace gate and conveyed those words.
After Xue Bai heard this, his reaction was very dull. He raised his head and looked around, and then looked in the direction where he was.
After watching for a while, Xue Bai raised his hand and waved. Yuan Siyi frowned and finally decided to show up in person.
~~
"Supervisor Yuan is here."
When Xue Bai saw Yuan Siyi, he showed a puzzled expression for a moment and said in greeting: "Just now I thought that the words were unfounded, but Supervisor Yuan actually came in person. It seems that the saint has indeed canceled the fireworks ceremony... It's rude.
"
He said the last three words to the imperial guards. After that, he greeted Du Wulang and left.
"Xue Lang." Yuan Siyi called him and said, "You would rather leave than take apart the fireworks. But what's the secret?"
"Hidden secret?"
Xue Bai raised his eyebrows slightly.
This movement is so subtle that ordinary people can't even notice it.
However, Yuan Siyi was a master at observing faces, and once again confirmed Xue Bai's suspicion that he wanted to stab Jia. It was enough to test him here. He got the answer he wanted, and he won the first game of the confrontation.
Next, you can let them into the palace, keep an eye on where they place the fireworks, and find a more precise way to expose them.
A smile broke out on Yuan Siyi's face and she said: "I'm joking, you have to be more careful when it comes to things in the palace. Fireworks can't be dismantled, so I tried Xue Lang, don't worry about it."
"Don't dare."
"Then please."
Yuan Siyi turned around and was about to walk away.
"Superintendent Yuan." Xue Bai stopped him and said, "The Superintendent just mentioned the secret, and there is indeed some secret."
"What do you mean?"
Yuan Siyi was surprised and stopped, wondering what Xue Bai was doing, trying to dispel his doubts.
Xue Bai said: "Can I talk to Director Yuan alone?"
"please."
With doubts, Yuan Siyi led Xue Bai up the palace wall and stopped at a deserted crenellation.
From here, you can watch the performance on the other side of the calyx building. Xue Bai seemed to be attracted by the performance. He stood silently for a while, but then slowly asked: "Can I trust Superintendent Yuan?"
Yuan Siyi said: "It depends on what it is."
"Can I trust Superintendent Yuan's loyalty to the Saint?"
"That's natural."
"What if the saint is in danger and there will be a new king in the world?" Xue Bai said: "At that time, can I still trust your loyalty to the saint?"
Yuan Siyi's face hardened because of the first half of his sentence, and she said word by word: "My loyalty to the saint cannot be doubted in the slightest!"
"Okay." Xue Bai said: "Then I will risk my life and my family to tell the eunuch...I am being held hostage, and someone wants to use me to assassinate the saint."
"What?"
Yuan Siyi did not expect to hear such a sentence, and was shocked.
He was stunned for a while, and without having time to think about it, he immediately asked the question he was most concerned about at the moment.
"who?"
~~
Back in late July, in the cemetery in Jinchenggou, three men were sitting under the moonlight and talking.
"I told you that you don't believe me." Li Xiu said: "The person I serve now is my grandfather's enemy in the past, but he has always been kind to the officers and soldiers of Longyou."
"who?"
Li Xiu raised his fist to the east and said slowly and forcefully: "The prince of the dynasty."
Wang Lan's expression suddenly changed, and he remembered what happened when he followed Huangfu Weiming into the court.
He is a calm person, but at this moment he could not hide his excitement and asked: "What does the prince want to do?"
"The saint is old and dim. If this continues, the country will be in great trouble." Li Xiu sighed, and said casually and matter-of-factly: "The prince wants to help the country."
"Okay." Wang Nannan responded decisively without hesitation.
But Li Xiu asked: "The general is deeply favored by the king, so he is so straightforward, don't he realize that he has let down the saint?"
"The saint was unparalleled in his youth. He once saved the Tang Dynasty from water and fire, killed the Wei family, and destroyed the Wu family. Now we are just imitating the hero and supporting the Ming Dynasty. How can we be worthy of it?"
Li Xiu saw that Wang was rarely so heroic and knew that he was a trustworthy person, so he revealed the next secret.
"Presumably, General Wang also knows Xue Bai's name, right?"
Wang Nan said: "I know it."
"After Wang Jieshuai's accident, Xue Lang also put aside his prejudices and joined hands with the prince to help the country."
"Great." Li Sheng's eyes lit up.
Li Xiu took out a blood letter from his arms and said: "If the two generals are willing to work together for great things, please write down your names here tonight and promise to keep this matter secret, or you can take my head."
"
Wang Ruolan and Li Sheng looked at each other and took out their daggers. They cut their fingers and wrote their names in a flash.
There are many people in Longyou who tend to be in the East Palace.
After the name was written, Li Xiu put away the blood letter, raised the wine bag, and said: "Okay, from now on we will be brothers who live and die together, and share weal and woe."