Rows of soldiers stood outside the temple gate, and the guard stretched for several miles.
"Hush!"
Jiannan Jiedushi Li Mi hurriedly got off his horse, and when he was still far away, he strode towards the temple with a look of deep thoughtfulness on his face.
When he arrived outside the door, he was actually stopped, his face darkened, and he shouted: "Don't you recognize me?!"
"Jie Shuai, there is a saint inside."
Li Mi looked suspicious, but still softened his tone and said, "I want to see the saint."
At this time, he was confronting the Tibetan soldiers and horses in Anrong City. After receiving some news one after another, he had to rush back temporarily.
After waiting for a while, Cui Yuan, the deputy envoy of Jiedu, came out of the temple. He bowed and said, "The saint is resting. I will take Commander Jiedou to meet him."
After saying that, Cui Yuan turned around, first pointed at the plaque of "Great Sage Ci Temple" on the temple door, and said: "These four words are the sage's edict."
Li Mi looked up and saw that Daci Temple had replaced the plaque with a new one. The writing on it looked like the emperor's handwriting. Of course, the plaque was carved and could be imitated.
"How did the saint come to Shu County?" Li Mi asked.
"Zen Master Wuxiang traveled around the world and met a saint when he walked into Shu. He led the saint south from Chencang Mountain to Hanzhong, where he met Lu Qi." When Cui Yuan said this, he paused and reminded: "These two people
Now he is highly trusted by the saints."
"who are they?"
"Zen Master Wuxiang was originally a prince of the Silla Kingdom. His common surname was Jin, his given name was Wuzhen, and his Buddhist name was Wuxiang." Cui Yuandao said: "Lu Qi is the queen of Lu Zhongcheng who died in Luoyang."
Li Mi asked again: "Do you know what happened in Chencang? Why is there still a decree from Lingwu? Also, I heard that the saint came alone, where are the courtiers?"
He asked so many questions at once, but Cui Yuan answered them with only one simple sentence.
"I don't know either."
In fact, Cui Yuan was not the first official in Hanzhong to receive the saint. It was after Yan Wu and Gao Shi led their troops northward that Lu Qi led the saint to see him.
At the beginning, the saint often used to angrily scold those rebellious people, but when they secretly escorted the saint to Shu County, the saint's anger seemed to have gradually subsided, and he began to remain silent about the Chencang incident and paid more attention to some pragmatic matters.
Things, such as Jiannan’s military strength, food and grass.
Cui Yuan was able to figure out the holy intention, which was nothing more than to declare loyalty to the king at the moment, and to break up with King Qing's rebellion. As the days gradually became more stable, the saint did not want to return to turmoil immediately.
After passing through the courtyard gates one after another, the two finally stopped.
"The saint is right in front, let's wait here." Cui Yuandao.
Li Mi glanced at the Zen room in the depths of the courtyard wall, and said slowly: "The saint has always believed in Taoism, not Buddhism. Now that I have arrived in Yizhou, I don't live in Xuanzhong Temple, but in Daci Temple?"
"What do you mean by Jieshuai?" Cui Yuan did not answer immediately, but asked instead, "You don't doubt that the saint is fake, do you?"
Li Mi said: "Recently, all kinds of news are too confusing and difficult to distinguish. I heard that there are many people pretending to be holy masters in Hanzhong?"
"It's true." Cui Yuan whispered, "The reason why the saint lives in Daci Temple is because it was Zen Master Wuxiang who led him out of the Qinling Mountains and to Hanzhong. It was Zen Master Yinggan of Daci Temple who first gave him alms.
Got porridge..."
"Since Zen Master Yinggan is a monk at Daci Temple in Yizhou, how did he come to Hanzhong?"
Cui Yuan didn't want to answer his persistent questions and said, "Has Jieshuai ever met a saint before?"
Li Mi said: "I once served as a censor in the palace, and I have seen the saints in person."
"That's it. Commander Jie will know it as soon as he sees it."
After waiting for a while, Lu Qi and Zen Master Wuxiang finally came out of the courtyard, met Li Mi and took him inside.
Li Mi walked through the courtyard and entered a Zen room. He saw an old man sitting in the room, protected by a group of soldiers.
Out of suspicion arising from what he had just seen and heard, he did not salute immediately, but first looked around warily, and then his eyes fell on the old man's face.
The saint in his impression was still the same high-spirited person in his prime. At first glance, the old man in front of him had white hair and a haggard face. He did not recognize it immediately, but was worried that Cui Yuan had been deceived. So he took two steps forward.
, look at it more carefully.
These two steps shocked the other party.
"What do you want?!"
Suddenly hearing a loud shout, Li Mi quickly stopped, and then he hurriedly knelt on the ground and said: "Your Majesty Li Mi, the rescue is late, please forgive me!"
He finally saw clearly that he was really a saint in front of him. Although his appearance was much older, ordinary people would never have this kind of divine power.
The distance between the two was a little close, which made Li Longji feel a little uneasy, which made him very unhappy, and then made a certain determination.
Fortunately, Lu Qi had already stepped over and stood between him and Li Mi, so that he would not be on pins and needles.
"I love you for your life."
Li Longji opened his mouth to comfort Li Mi for a few words, and then the emperor and his ministers responded with regret.
"Over the years, I have trusted the wrong people and made many big mistakes. After this trip to the west, I suddenly realized that I should work hard to restore the prosperous world."
Listening to these inspired words, Li Mi was suddenly moved, and even his eyes were red and he shed tears. First, he reported the current situation in Jiannan and reminded the saint to pay attention to the movements of Tubo. After that, he mentioned that King Zhong Yu Lingwu proclaimed himself emperor.
One thing.
"That's because he mistakenly thought that I was buried in a mountain fire. He didn't know that I was blessed by God." Li Longji did not comment on the matter for the time being. He had his own considerations. "I heard that you sent Yan Wu and Gao Shi to support you.
Chang'an?"
"yes."
The order Li Mi received was to be ready to pick up the troops. After all, Li Longji was planning to enter Shu, so he would not let the soldiers and horses from Shu County leave. In other words, Li Mi was the one who made the decision to send troops to Guanzhong, so he must
There is an explanation.
"I... I mistakenly believed the rumor, and please punish me."
"I know you are here for the country."
Li Longji comforted Li Mi and observed him. After confirming that he was not a domineering general who was easily forced to rebel, he issued several imperial edicts.
The first step is to promote Yizhou to "Nanjing" as the companion capital of the Tang Dynasty. Regardless of Chang'an, Taiyuan, and Luoyang, and regardless of what the move of the capital to the south means to the entire Tang Dynasty, this is the political need of the saint Li Longji.
The emperor's location is the capital of the country.
The second holy will is to reward the meritorious officials. Li Mi will be promoted to Zhongshu Ling, Zheng Guogong, and his brother Shu Han will be the deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. Cui Yuan will be appointed as Zhongshu's minister, and he will be the same as Zhongshu's sect, and he will also be a swordsman.
Nanjie Du Envoy; Lu Qi is the minister of the family, Tong Zhongshu Pingzhangshi, concurrently the Du branch envoy, and the Nanjing Taoist Observer...
Li Mi was very shocked by this. He seemed to have been promoted to the prime minister, but he lost his real power. The sage appointed three prime ministers at once. Only Cui Yuan and Lu Qi had real power and both, so they obviously didn't trust him.
But he just bowed his head and thanked him.
When Li Mi retreated, Li Longji looked at Cui Yuan and Lu Qi and said: "The strong wind knows the strong grass, and the chaos knows the loyal ministers."
The first half of this sentence was said by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and the second half was said by him. Then, he murmured softly: "I know that you and others are loyal ministers, but I don't know whether Li Mi is a loyal minister."
Li Mi's attitude towards the saint just now did not make Li Longji feel his loyalty.
"Don't worry, saint." Cui Yuandao said: "I have already arranged the pick-up arrangements in Shu County as entrusted by your right minister. The people selected as escorts are all elite soldiers loyal to your majesty. Li Mid will not endanger the safety of the saint."
Li Longji nodded, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Yang Guozhong still knew what was on his mind and acted accordingly, and was loyal.
In short, he took Li Mi's military power and appointed Cui Yuan and Lu Qi as his new prime ministers with real power.
~~
After leaving the temple gate, Cui Yuan turned around, glanced at the plaque of "Great Shengci Temple", smiled, and said to Lu Qi: "Li Mi hasn't figured it out yet, from the moment he stood here, he has been plotted by me.
Already."
"You deliberately made him suspect that the saint was a fake."
"Yes." Cui Yuandao said: "I deliberately delayed it by showing him the emperor's imperial letter first and not answering his questions to make him suspicious. Naturally, he would lose his composure in front of the saint."
Lu Qi smiled and said, "Aren't you afraid of actually forcing him to rebel?"
"He is a rigid person and will not rebel." Cui Yuan said: "We have worked together in Shuzhong for many years, how can I not understand him?"
Lu Qi nodded and took another look inside the mountain gate.
Being able to manipulate Li Mi in the palm of their hands was something they expected, but they didn't expect it to be so smooth.
In addition, today they suddenly discovered that the mind of the wise emperor who created the prosperous age was actually very easy to figure out. As long as they accurately guessed the fear of the saint, they could easily control the saint.
He is older and fainter than expected.
The two looked at each other and smiled silently, without expressing their understanding.
~~
In the temple, two monks walked into the meditation room.
Li Longji looked at them with a smile on his face. These two monks, one named Wuxiang and the other named Yinggan, were both his saviors.
At that time, he was trapped on the plank road at the top of Chencang Mountain. It was completely dark, so he dared not move forward for fear of falling into the abyss. Fortunately, a precious chicken led him to the top of the mountain while croaking.
In the Iron Temple, Zen Master Wuxiang is in the Iron Temple.
Although Wu Xiang was young, he was from the Wang family of Silla. He was compassionate and gave Li Longji food, asked him to change into a cassock, and took him down the mountain and out of the dangerous place.
But crossing the Qinling Mountains is not that easy. The two of them ate all the dry food halfway through and almost starved to death. Fortunately, they met Yinggan, a qualified monk from Daci Temple who cared about the common people.
He gave them all the food he had.
Now, when it comes time for Li Longji to repay them, he has always been generous and will not treat his benefactors badly.
"I plan to expand Daci Temple and expand it into a royal temple and a palace. I will also give each Zen master a thousand acres of fertile land so that you can better help the people..."
Wuxiang and Yingqian were happy to hear this, and they called "Amitabha" repeatedly to express their gratitude.
When they left the Zen room, they saw an old monk sitting cross-legged on the ground. He was the abbot of Daci Temple, looking at them with compassionate eyes.
"Zen Master." The two men stepped forward and saluted: "Good news, the saint is going to expand the temple."
"Isn't it a good thing to carry out large-scale construction projects when all life is in ruins?" The old monk asked with a long sigh: "How long do you two plan to bluff and deceive in the hidden temple?"
Wuxiang and Yinggan were startled and felt guilty. They quickly lifted the old monk up and rushed him to an empty Zen room, whereupon he started to speak.
"We have rescued the saint, how can we call it bluffing?"
The old monk pointed at Wu Xiang and said, "You are not the prince of Silla."
Pointing to Yinggan again, he said: "You are not a monk who hides the temple."
Then, he added: "How can you two, who are not even my Buddhist disciples, use the banner of Buddhism to deceive others? You deceive the emperor and disrespect the saints. You know this is a capital crime."
Wu Xiang was shocked, and quickly fell to the ground, saying: "Master Zen, have mercy on me, I am also a miserable person. I had no choice but to dress up as a monk to avoid being a monk. Because I couldn't speak clearly, I was always looked down upon by others, so I said that I was the prince of Silla."
, I beg Zen Master not to expose the villain."
The old monk shook his head and said slowly: "You haven't told the truth yet."
Wu Xiang didn't expect him to have such magical powers. When he looked around and saw his majestic appearance, he was so shocked that he had to whisper and call him.
"The villain really didn't want to save the saint at first. He just saw how impressive he was in speaking and wanted him to beg for help with the villain... and cheat together. Later, I found out that he was real."
"Amitabha."
The old monk turned to Yinggan.
Yinggan had no choice but to say: "The villain is indeed not a monk from your temple. He just saw that they had valuable items when they were in the Qinling Mountains, so he said that he was a monk from Yizhou to guide them."
The old monk said: "What I say is not true, how can this poor monk save you?"
"Yes." Ying Gan had no choice but to lower his head and continued: "The villain originally wanted to secretly drug them and take away their belongings, but then he didn't expect... he was really a saint."
The old monk's eyes showed compassion and he said slowly: "Have you ever thought about it, saints are smart and will see your lies sooner or later. Where will your lives be by then?"
"I beg Zen Master to spare my life and never tell the saint."
Wuxiang, Yinggan kowtowed and begged for a long time. When he looked up, he saw that the old monk had closed his eyes and rested, and seemed to have fallen asleep.
The two of them looked at each other, their eyes communicated, and they already had the intention to kill. If they killed the old monk, maybe the matter would not be exposed. So, they kept raising their chins towards each other, signaling the other to kill him.
In the end, seeing the old monk's profound Buddhist teachings, the two of them did not dare to take action. Forced by their poverty and low status, they did some sneaky things, but their hearts were not evil.
Finally, the old monk opened his eyes and said slowly: "There is no need to expand the temple, but the poor monk wants to go to Tianzhu to ask for the Mahavira Sutra and the Brahma Jiayu Sutra. You two are willing to go with me."
.”
"This... we saved the saint, but we want to enjoy glory and wealth."
"On one side is the great path of Buddhism, and on the other side is the unpredictable Sacred Heart. You can choose for yourself."
~~
A few days later.
When Li Mi met the saint, he mentioned a trivial matter.
He handed a list of monks to Li Longji and said: "Your Majesty, I discovered that there is no Zen Master Yinggan in the Daci Temple..."
"Why are you checking him?" Li Longji was displeased, his face remained calm, but with a smile, he asked lightly: "Checking my savior, do you suspect that I am a fake?"
"I don't dare!"
"How do you want me to prove to you that I am me?"
"I am guilty, but I have no intention of doing so." Li Mi still put down the list of monks in his hand and said, "I am just worried about your majesty's safety."
"My dear, I misunderstood. I'm just joking with you." Li Longji waved his hand and said, "Leave it alone, I will look at it."
Without Gao Lishi present, he felt very inconvenient. Without the eunuch among them, he could only say a lot of things to his ministers in person. He lost the ability to talk and laugh inappropriately.
After Li Mi left, he still picked up the book on the ground. After reading it, his eyes showed doubts. He called Cui Yuan and ordered: "Go and check."
Cui Yuan paid homage to the prime minister, thinking about reviving the world, and was busy working on the military and food accounts. He did not expect to do such small things for the saint, but Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong had always been around the saint, so he had to accept the order.
If he had discovered this matter, he would not have taken the initiative to tell it. But since the saint asked him to investigate, he found out everything clearly after only seven days.
"There is no doubt that Zen Master Yinggan is a fake monk. His real name is Yin Yishi. He is a thief in Mianzhou. He committed a major crime and fled north. As for Zen Master Wuxiang, I sent someone to test it quietly, but he did not know how to speak of Silla.
language."
Li Longji was silent for a long time. He had always been indifferent to emotions and anger, but at this moment he could not control his dejection.
"Bring them here."
He used the word "press", which revealed his murderous intention. The life-saving grace of the two people seemed to him like a mockery.
Cui Yuan was a little surprised. He originally thought that this was just a trivial matter and His Majesty would not go into details. So at this time, he sent people to arrest the two people.
After that, the reward he got was once again beyond his expectation.
"Your Majesty, they left yesterday and went to Tianzhu with Zen Master Zhishen to obtain Buddhist scriptures."
"Leaving?"
Li Longji was furious and asked: "Is this the defense of Daci Temple? How many living people left under the eyes of the guards and you didn't know it?! Where did you put my safety?!"
Cui Yuan suddenly became ashamed and bowed down to apologize.
He suddenly ascended to a high position and became prime minister in this chaotic situation. There were not many officials in Shu County who could help. Although he was full of ambitions to turn the tide, he was really unable to do what he wanted and was exhausted.
"I will never live in Daci Temple again." After all, Li Longji did not trust Buddhism and felt deeply uneasy, so he made a decision immediately.
"I invite your majesty to stay temporarily at Xuanzhong Temple." Cui Yuandao said: "Xuanzhong Temple is not far from Jiannan Jiedushi's camp and is safer."
"Xuan Zhong Guan?"
Li Longji murmured the name, waved his hand and said, "Let's arrange it. Also, send a fast horse to chase the person back."
"According to the decree."
Cui Yuan wiped his forehead and left in a hurry.
Li Longji stayed alone in the house and suddenly felt extremely lonely.
He recalled that on the way through the Qinling Mountains, Wu Xiang would carry him on his back every time he encountered dangerous roads. He recalled that Ying Gan would set up firewood on the tidal flat to cook porridge. They also went hunting and roasted meat but said that he was a monk and could not
He ate meat, but broke the precept and killed animals for him.
Bullshit break!
There was a loud noise, and Li Longji suddenly pushed all the pens, inks, papers, and inkstones on the table to the ground, with murderous intent in his eyes.
He had to kill them, he couldn't stand being kept in the dark by such a clumsy lie.
But in reality? He has been deceived by countless lies for ten years.
He said, "I haven't left Chang'an for ten years and nothing happened to the world." He thought he was wise and mighty but it was bullshit... Thinking of this, he fell down.
~~
A ray of red light suddenly descended and landed near Xuanzhong Temple and Jiannan Jiedu Envoy Camp.
Someone followed the light all night and dug out a stone.
~~
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Auspiciousness is coming from heaven, auspiciousness is coming from heaven!"
It was just dawn, and Lu Qi bowed down in front of Li Longji with some excitement, and presented a piece of simple and natural jade with both hands. He was extremely excited.
A beautiful maid was already there today. She stepped forward to take it and handed the jade stone to Li Longji's hand.
He squinted his old eyes and saw several naturally formed lines above, which were clearly two characters.
"Heaven returns."
Li Longji murmured these two words and pondered: "What do you mean?"
"Tianhui, Tianhui." Lu Qi was also thinking, and then suddenly said: "I think it is time for the 'Emperor to return to Luan'. Your Majesty will definitely put down the rebellion and return to Luan soon."
Li Longji nodded, knowing that this was arranged by local officials, but it was not appropriate to ruin this auspiciousness, so he stroked his beard and laughed and said: "God bless the Tang Dynasty, and I have decreed that this place be renamed Tianhui."
"According to the decree."
Lu Qi just received the order and heard that a post horse was coming from a distance.
Now that the Nanjing imperial court has just been established, they are most concerned about the trends in various places, and immediately summoned the post envoys to come forward to report the news.
"Good news, good news! Wang Shi has repelled the rebels and defended Chang'an!"
However, what is very embarrassing is that the post envoy was sent from Guanzhong to various places to report victory. When he set out, Cui Qianyou had just retreated from Chang'an City, and he ran all the way. At this time, he did not know that the saint had arrived in Shu County.
When he kept shouting good news and was led to Li Longji, he naturally did not think that he was a saint. Instead of saluting, he said: "You officials in Shu County are easily deceived. The saint is in Chang'an, how can he be here?" this?!"
Li Longji would not be as familiar with such a low-level soldier. When others asked him angrily, he waved his hand and pardoned the post envoy's crime, and asked in detail about the situation in Chang'an City.
When he learned that Xue Bai had invited the Holy Master to return to Beijing with Gao Lishi, Chen Xuanli, and Yang Yuhuan, his eyes flashed with anger. Then he heard that the "sage" told the world that he had vindicated the three common people's cases and sealed the deal. Xue Bai was the King of Peking, and his anger hurt him deeply...
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Suddenly hearing this sentence, Li Longji came back from his thoughts.
Li Mi looked happy and reported: "In response to the auspiciousness of the 'Heaven Return', His Royal Highness the Crown Prince defended Chang'an, and His Majesty returned to Luan soon."
He stationed in Shu, suppressed Nanjun, and defended Tibet. He may have done a good job in military affairs, but he was obviously not a person who was good at guessing the will of the Holy Spirit.
Li Longji was unhappy and had the intention of deposing Li Mi, but he nodded and said calmly: "I came to Nanjing to coordinate the troops, horses, food and grass, and defeat the enemy in Guanzhong. There is no rush to return to Luan."
After shooing away these ministers who did not understand the holy will, he only left Cui Yuan and Lu Qi behind to ask them what they thought of the situation.
"I think this is not a bad thing."
Cui Yuan was the first to speak. He felt Li Longji's anger and found that Li Longji had calmed down, so he said: "Since King Zhong has proclaimed himself emperor, he will not abdicate again. Although King Qing defended Chang'an, he was caught between Zhong and Zhong. Between the king and the rebels, their food and grass supplies must depend on Shu County. I think that I should pass the decree to King Qing and order him to respect himself and serve as a holy king."
What he meant was that there was still a way to control Li Cong and Xue Bai and regain power.
Although Li Longji hated Xue Bai, he also believed that this was the best way to take the overall situation into consideration and nodded.
However, Lu Qi had a different opinion.
"I believe that although King Zhong will not abdicate the throne again, he can honor His Majesty as the Supreme Emperor and attend state affairs in the name of the Supreme Emperor. Now that King Qing is guarding Chang'an and has won the support of the people, if he welcomes His Majesty back to Luan, he will be placed in an empty pavilion.
"
His meaning is simpler, just comparing who needs Li Longji more between Li Cong and Li Heng.
The current situation is that although they can control Chang'an's food through Shu County, in terms of their behavior, Li Cong and Xue Bai are much less controlled than Li Heng.
Li Longji weighed the two people's opinions and finally said slowly: "Send a decree to Li Heng..."