The camp of Shuofang Jiedushi was now temporarily turned into a palace. The space was naturally smaller, but it could make the newly established imperial court work much more efficiently.
Whenever news comes, the new king is sitting in the hall, and the shouts can be heard from far away.
"Your Majesty, the envoy is back!"
Li Fuguo walked into the hall. The purple robe he wore showed the majesty of the court minister, and the steps under his feet did not lose the flattery of a domestic slave, giving him a unique temperament.
Li Heng's hair has turned a lot white recently, and his face is full of sadness. He was discussing something with Zhang Ting in a low voice. Zhang Ting said "I have a way" and was accidentally interrupted by Li Fuguo.
"Which messenger is back?"
"Li Chengcai, Shi Dingfan and others who borrowed troops from the Uighur Khan are back. They also brought the eldest son of the Uighur Khan. They can enter the city tomorrow."
"Finally, we have good news." Li Heng muttered to himself, and with a little more energy, he said: "Tomorrow I will personally go to welcome you, and let all the civil and military officials come to strengthen the power of the Tang Dynasty."
He had been very worried recently. He originally thought that Li Longji died in Chencang before he dared to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor. Unexpectedly, he was now very passive.
Yesterday, two more news came. After Li Guangbi supported Chang'an, he turned to Li Cong; and Guo Ziyi suddenly suffered a stroke after marching to the surrender city of Zhongshou and suspended his march. In short, the situation is gradually tilting towards Li Cong.
Therefore, Li Heng had to place more hopes on Uighur.
The next day.
When the envoy's team entered the city, the civil and military officials of the Lingwu court were already waiting in line. When the court was first established, there were only a few dozen people, but now there are more than two hundred people. All the officials have come out, and they look somewhat powerful. .
In addition to the clan, the first among the generals is Feng Changqing, followed by Pugu Huaien.
Pugu Huai'en is a tall Tiele man with a big beard and a very ferocious appearance. In fact, his personality is very simple. He is a straight-minded person who does not take detours when thinking and is extremely fatal in doing things.
Because Li Hunter deliberately won over him, gave him rewards, gave him clothes, and took him to eat with him. After drinking, he confided in him his ambition to regain the Tang Dynasty. Pugu Huai'en burst into tears of gratitude. He was actively training his army recently, preparing to serve the new emperor to the death.
Among the civil servants, Du Hongjian, who had made great achievements in supporting the establishment, did not stand at the top. He very humbly gave up his position to Fang Guan, a famous minister who had arrived in Lingwu not long ago.
Fang Guan had served as a minister in the past few years, which was the position of Prime Minister. He was an important arm of Li Heng when he was in the East Palace. Unfortunately, he was later involved in Xue Bai's case and was demoted out of Chang'an.
After hearing that Li Heng ascended the throne, Fang Guan traveled all night to come to serve him. Now he has been named the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and is the prime minister under Tong Zhongshu. He is wearing a purple robe and is very elegant. He is the leader of the Lingwu court. Dinghai Shenzhen.
Standing there waiting for Li Heng, Fang Guan was closing his eyes and concentrating. Suddenly he heard someone behind him whispering, "The prodigy is here." He turned around and glanced back, only to see Li Mi wearing a feather coat. , standing at the bottom of the official position, looks very abrupt among the purple and red.
He then walked over and said, "Changyuan, please stand up here."
Li Mi stood still and did not want to come forward. He waved his hand and said: "I am a poor man without an official or salary. It is not appropriate to be among the hundreds of officials and ask for a room."
Fang Guan was still waiting to continue the invitation, but when he heard a eunuch calling him over there, he had to stop talking and stand back to the front position.
When Li Heng arrived in the palace, he looked around and first looked at Li Mi. He waved repeatedly and said with a smile: "Chang Yuan, stand closer."
Fang Guan said slowly with a relaxed tone: "I just tried to persuade Li Mi to stand in front of me, but he claimed to have no official or salary and refused to do anything. He asked the saint to worship him as prime minister."
They valued Li Mi because they knew that Li Mi was truly capable and was an unparalleled talent. In prosperous times, wizards could be put aside for later use, but in today's troubled times, wizards are urgently needed.
But Li Mi's state of mind was different from a few years ago. He broke through the power struggle and lost his previous respect for the imperial power, becoming more free and easy. When Li Heng once again proposed to make him prime minister, he still refused.
"Is Chang Yuan meeting me?" Li Heng emphasized his tone, as if Li Bi would not give him face if he refused.
He had been very worried recently, worried that Li Longji's appearance in Shu County would alienate his subordinates, so he had to win over Li Mi to feel at ease.
Li Mi then said: "I am a homeless person. I don't ask for high-ranking officials, generous salaries, good land and beautiful houses. I provide advice to Your Majesty. I just want to be able to sleep on the emperor's knees after recovering the two capitals, and to scare the emperor."
Prison, let them report the "guest star invades the throne of the emperor", and if the astronomy moves, then all the wishes in life will be enough."
His tone was serious, but what he said was a somewhat absurd thing. Many people in the palace couldn't help but laugh. The atmosphere relaxed, and Li Heng's insistence was resolved.
The way Li Mi made jokes seemed a bit like the lazy monk he met before, so he said at the time that he "stole the Zen master's fantasy."
Li Heng laughed loudly, and was happy because of the intimacy shown by Li Mi's talk about pillowing knees, but he still asked Li Mi to stand at the top. Anyway, he could stand anywhere, so Li Mi didn't care, so he gave him a cloth in common clothes.
Standing in front.
After this courtesy between the monarch and his ministers, the envoy from the other side also arrived. As the drum music started, Li Chengcai, Shi Dingfan and others led a young Uighur man into the palace.
That young man from Huihe was the eldest son of Gel Khan. He was only in his early twenties. Although he could also speak Chinese, he spoke very stumblingly. When he announced his name, the interpreter hesitated and said that he could be called "Ye".
Protect the Crown Prince".
Li Heng frowned slightly when he heard this, but now that he had something to ask for, he thought of calling him the Crown Prince instead of having to argue with him on such trivial matters.
Prince Ye Hu showed his curiosity about the Tang Dynasty. He looked at the small hall with his big bright eyes and praised the magnificence of the Tang Palace.
"This is the first time for foreign ministers to visit the Tang Dynasty, and it is also the first time to see such a big city."
These words made Li Heng feel slightly embarrassed, thinking that Prince Ye Hu was ridiculing him. But he carefully looked at the clear and innocent eyes of the other party and confirmed that the other party was probably just ignorant.
Sure enough, Prince Ye Hu said later: "Our royal capital is built at the foot of Yu Dujun Mountain. It is only half the size of Lingwu City. The palace city has two gates and a watchtower."
Li Chengcai stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, I arrived at Yudujun Mountain and met Gel Khan. He admired the Tang Dynasty very much and wanted to marry his daughter to me."
When he said this, he paused, and a trace of bitterness flashed in his eyes. Privately, he was not willing to marry the other party. He said he was a Uighur princess, but in fact she was a woman with rough, dark skin and a bad temper. He married a Uighur woman as his wife. A legitimate son would be a legitimate son if he gave birth to a son. He really didn’t want his legitimate son to carry the Uighur bloodline. In comparison, he would rather let the clan’s daughter marry and get married.
But there was no way, the country was in crisis, and as a member of the Tang clan, he had no choice but to make sacrifices, and Li Heng would surely repay him.
"Okay!" Li Heng was delighted and immediately rewarded Li Chengcai.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Li Chengcai accepted the reward, took two steps forward, held up a letter of credence with both hands, and said: "This is Gel Khan's request to agree to send troops. Please take a look at it."
Li Fuguo quickly went over to take it and presented it to Li Heng.
Li Chengcai lowered his head and secretly observed Li Heng's expression. Seeing that he remained calm, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In the palace, Li Heng didn't say much, he just held a banquet in honor of Prince Ye Hu.
That night, there was a royal banquet at Lingwu Palace. After three rounds of drinking, Li Heng just left his two sons and some trustworthy ministers to discuss the terms of borrowing troops with Prince Ye Hu in detail.
~~
Prince Ye Hu is a real person, especially when he is drunk, he becomes even more heroic.
"The Khan admired the Tang Dynasty very much. He married his daughter to the Tang Dynasty and hoped to marry the princess of the Tang Dynasty. Only by marrying can both parties work together to kill the enemy."
Li Heng only hesitated slightly, then quickly nodded and agreed, saying: "I will marry my daughter to Huihe."
"Thank you, saint." Prince Yehu was overjoyed and said: "The Uighurs are willing to fight for the Tang Dynasty, but the men will definitely die in the battle and a large number of cattle, sheep and horses will be lost. Your Majesty must be rewarded. The Khan asked that he wait until the country is recovered. The city of Chang'an belongs to your Majesty, and the women, slaves, money, and food in the city must all return to Huihe."
Regarding this matter, Li Heng had already read Li Chengcai's memorial and was deep in thought without speaking.
Fang Guan frowned and said, "Isn't that reasonable? Just list the rewards you need."
"No number." Prince Ye Hu shook his head and said: "When the Huihe people fight, the spoils are divided into half. This is the rule. Compared with the city, the people and property in the city are not half as important. This is what the Khan admired the Tang Dynasty. Give in."
"How are you going to take away the gold and silk children of Chang'an?"
"Don't worry about it. After entering the city, the Tang army only needs to let us rob and capture it for a few days."
Prince Ye Hu still opened his clear and innocent eyes when he spoke, but the dagger in his hand was still cutting the flesh.
He just said that the meat at the imperial banquet was too old, so he ordered some meat that was half-cooked. When he cut it with a knife, the blood juice overflowed. He didn't use chopsticks, so he ate it with his hands, so the corners of his mouth were filled with tears. Blood.
No matter how innocent he is, no matter how much he talks about admiring the Tang Dynasty, his barbarity has offended many officials in the hall.
"Crack!"
As soon as there was a sound, Li Tan stood up, raised his hand and shouted angrily: "How dare you speak out the wild words of wanting to rob the capital of the Tang Dynasty and not beg your Majesty for your sins?!"
Prince Ye Hu swallowed the meat in his mouth, looked at Li Tan with puzzled eyes, and said: "This is the rule of Huihe. If the Tang Dynasty doesn't agree, just don't borrow troops from us. Why are you angry?"
Li Tan became more and more angry, clenched his fist and said: "If you offend the power of the Tang Dynasty, you will be punished!"
The two people were about the same age, and when they got together like this, they became angry with each other. Prince Ye Hu threw away the dagger in his hand, walked into the hall, knocked on his chest and said, "Let's fight?!"
"good!"
Li Tan raised his eyebrows and immediately tied up his clothes and stepped forward.
In fact, he is by no means as impulsive as he appears, but he knows very well that negotiations cannot be based on what the other party says, especially when it comes to matters of principle. He must fight back resolutely and show the courage that Datang should have.
"Stop!" Li Heng shouted.
The two young people in the hall didn't listen and were already striding towards each other.
"Tiger--"
Amidst the sound of breaking wind, Prince Ye Hu punched out with swift force and fierce force. He was extremely confident in his own power. This punch could directly kill a cow.
"Bang!"
Prince Ye Hu's fierce punch actually missed. Li Tan didn't make many moves. He just dodged slightly and the man stepped in front of him. He punched him directly in the face and broke it.
Ye protects the bridge of the prince's nose.
Before he could cry out, Li Tan raised his knee and hit him hard on the lower abdomen, so painful that he bent over like a shrimp.
These two blows were clean and powerful, like thunder, and Li Tan took the lead first, and then Li Tan was about to elbow Prince Ye Hu on the back. At this moment, someone rushed forward and hugged Li Tan.
"Stop it!"
"Get away!" Li Tan looked back and saw that it was Li Chu who was pulling him, so he changed his tone and said, "Brother, let go."
"Stop fighting."
"Anyone who wants to rob our capital of the Tang Dynasty will die!"
Li Tan was still struggling, but his eyes suddenly blurred, and he received a slap with a "pop" sound. When he looked closely, Li Heng was already in front of him.
"Grandpa."
"Henan and Hebei have fallen, the people are in dire straits, and the rebels are raging. Did you let them die?!"
"My son, I am ashamed, but..."
"Get out!" Li Heng shouted angrily.
Li Fuguo quickly led a group of imperial guards forward, pulled Li Tan, persuaded him kindly, and pulled him out.
"Your Highness, calm down."
They gradually walked away, and there was another "pa" sound outside, and someone was slapped.
When Li Fuguo returned to the hall, half of his face was red and swollen, but he lowered his head deliberately, not wanting Li Heng to see it, so as not to blame Li Tan. But how could Li Heng not see it? For him,
If a son dares to hit someone around him who is carrying out the holy will for him, he is slapping him in the face.
Li Chu went to support Prince Ye Hu and asked him to sit down again, saying, "My younger brother has been rude and disrespectful since he was a child. You don't have to pay attention to him."
Fortunately, Prince Ye Hu had a good temper and did not make trouble with them. He only wanted to rob the people of Chang'an.
The courtiers nearby did not dare to make a decision on this matter, and they all carefully observed Li Heng's face.
Li Heng was very embarrassed, pacing, thinking, and finally sighed.
"In this situation, when the Tang Dynasty was in danger, not only was Hu Ni wreaking havoc. Moreover, even my father and brother were deceived by the rebellion."
Having said this, his expression became solemn and his tone increased.
"You know, Xue Bai is not the son of my second brother Li Ying. He is undoubtedly the son of Xue Xi, pretending to be a clan member, deceiving the world, and intending to overthrow the Tang Dynasty. I have found sufficient evidence for this matter, but I am afraid that there is not enough time. He
We have lured Li Guangbi into Chang'an, annexed his troops and horses, and are about to collude with Hu Ni. I am incompetent and cannot guard the ancestral temple and the country."
Everyone here is Li Heng's confidant, he doesn't need to prove anything, he just needs to express his stance.
After the ministers sighed a few times, someone turned to Prince Ye Hu and asked, "How many troops can Uihe send?"
"Four thousand cavalry."
Prince Ye Hu answered very confidently. Although the number was small, Huihe cavalry often had three horses per person and were skilled in riding and shooting. Even if they had four thousand cavalry, they would still be a formidable force.
All the ministers shook their heads, feeling that selling the city of Chang'an for four thousand cavalry would be too despising the ancestral temple and the country. After all, this was a dirty business of betraying the country's people. For a while, all the ministers did not dare to speak, pretending to think.
.
Another important question is, how many more troops do they need to defeat Xue Bai and Hu Ni and take back Chang'an?
It was impossible for Li Heng to speak in person about this kind of thing. Seeing this situation, he frowned and waited silently.
It was Li Fuguo who knew Li Heng's intentions best and reminded everyone in a low voice: "Not only Chang'an, but also the imperial court wants to recover the two capitals. Can Huihe send 10,000 troops?"
"Two capitals? Ten thousand people?"
Prince Ye Hu didn't understand at first, but after chewing for a while he finally understood - Xue Bai was difficult to deal with, and the Tang Dynasty needed Huihe to send 10,000 troops. Correspondingly, Huihe could be allowed to rob Chang'an and Luoyang of the children of gold and silk from the two cities.
~~
"Brother, how was your conversation with the Uighurs last night?"
"Don't worry, my grandfather didn't agree to his request. Instead, he persuaded him to send troops, and he will be rewarded later."
Before dawn, Li Tan, who had not slept all night, found Li Chu and asked about what happened last night.
Li Chu's reaction was calm and he put off the matter of borrowing troops from Huihe in one sentence. After that, his face became more solemn and he said: "I have something important to tell you."
"Brother, that's all."
"It has been found out that Xue Bai is not my cousin, he is the son of the deposed Prince Ying."
Li Tan said: "Brother is in Lingwu, how did you find out?"
"Zhang Bian said it," Li Chu said, "Zhang Bian knew very well what happened back then. He had an old relationship with Princess Tang Chang, and Princess Tang Chang married Xue Xi. He always knew that Xue Xi had an extramarital affair, and he also
That's Xue Bai. In other words, Xue Bai has never left Zhang Bian's sight since he was born, and he has never been a member of the Tang clan."
"Then...how could Prince Qing recognize him?"
"It's just greed." Li Chu said: "According to the envoy who returned from Fan Yang, Shi Siming also said that Xue Bai and An Lushan had colluded for a long time. I have asked Zhang Bian to hand over more evidence to the Emperor."
Li Tan said: "Brother, I have never been on Xue Bai's side, but guarding Chang'an is now..."
"I know." Li Chu patted his shoulder and said, "I know you want to put the overall situation first, but do you know that the country left by your ancestors may be usurped and subverted at any time?"
Li Tan was speechless.
Li Chu said: "The only plan for now is to hope that the Supreme Emperor will wake up soon and no longer be deceived by Xue Bai."
"Then, you really can't rob Chang'an?"
"Don't you still believe me?" Li Chu said, "Since childhood, have I ever lied to you?"
"Brother Xin."
After the two brothers discussed the matter, Li Tan left.
Li Chu watched his back, turned around and headed towards Prince Ye Hu's residence.
As soon as he arrived at the place and entered the door, he heard someone calling: "Brother!"
Li Chu turned around and saw that Prince Ye Hu was rushing towards him. He then showed a smile and said, "I was worried that you would forget about me as a brother when you wake up."
"I won't forget it!"
Prince Ye Hu stepped forward, hugged Li Chu affectionately, and said: "I have a half-brother named 'Yidi Jian'. Although he is my brother, he has always wanted to kill me. But my brother and I
Although you are sworn brothers just last night, our friendship is closer than that of real brothers!"
Li Chu was silent for a moment and patted Prince Ye Hu on the back.
"Me too."
"Brother, don't worry, I will go back to Governor Yu's mountain to gather troops and horses immediately to help you ascend the throne."
"Good brother..."
~~
Shu County.
Li Longji took a deep breath, raised his head, sighed happily, and murmured: "You said you wanted to have a child for me."
Fan Nu was stunned for a moment and remembered some past events... She had actually worked hard. Once, she secretly summoned Xue Bai in front of her during the Tai Chi Palace Spring Banquet.
"The slave family is useless and has disappointed the saint."
"No, it's not too late." Li Longji murmured: "The old man is helpless, but his ambition is a thousand miles. The martyrs are ambitious in their old age."
Recently, he wants to have another child more than ever, even though he already has hundreds. What he wants now is not inheritance, but to prove himself.
Fan Nu then looked overjoyed, prostrated herself and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the holy scripture."
"Tell me, what you saw and heard in Lingwu, when Li Heng ascended the throne, were you glad that I passed away?"
"The slave family has been detained and doesn't know much." Fan Nu said, "It's just that King Zhong gave His Majesty a temple name."
"Oh? What is it?"
This matter is very unlucky. Others have always avoided it and dare not tell Li Longji. But Fan Nu is different. She is a pillow person and can whisper in private.
"I don't know what those things mean. I just say what I heard and ask the saint to forgive me."
"Tell me." Li Longji was also curious about what kind of temple name he would have behind him.
"Dai...Daizong." Fan Nu whispered: "They say that the achievements of the saints in the Tang Dynasty are like that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The temple name of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was Shizong, so the saints should do the same, but to avoid the taboo of Emperor Taizong's name, the temple name
Dai Zong."
This is a very high temple title, but Li Longji frowned slightly and sneered.
He never liked others to compare Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty with him, because the courtiers always liked to use the incident of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to force the crown prince Liu Ju to death in his later years to admonish him, which made him very disgusted. And he believed that the achievements of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were not enough to compare with him.
He is comparable.
"Li Heng still wants to ridicule me for being harsh on him, and that's all he has to offer."
Fan Nu said: "Prince Zhong did not agree to use the word 'Dai'. He said that His Majesty's martial arts can only be demonstrated by temple names such as 'Jing', 'Xuan', and 'Sheng', but...the officials refused,
King Zhong was also helpless, so he put the matter on hold for the time being."
Li Longji said calmly: "I am still alive and well, and he dares to give me a temple title."
Having said that, he could still feel a trace of Li Heng's filial piety towards him. In fact, he knew in his heart that Li Heng still maintained his achievements from the posthumous name.
"I don't know what happened next."
Fan Nu actually doesn't care who she wants to say good things to, and now she only lives for herself. Li Heng promised her many benefits; but over there, Xue Bai rejected her last time and rescued Yang Yuhuan in Chencang, but he didn't
After saving her, the original kindness finally turned into a faint resentment, but it is not important anymore, and there is no possibility of seeing her again in the future.
"Which one is going to be used?" Li Longji murmured to himself, still curious.
Within two days, all the kings and ministers from Chang'an arrived.
As a result, Yizhou City finally had the style of "Nanjing".
Li Longji was very happy and received many people in one day. When he saw Wei Jiansu, he was very surprised. He thought that Li Cong would appoint Wei Jiansu as his prime minister, so he couldn't help but praise him greatly.
"I once dreamed that I was picked up by a filial son after falling down. Gao Lishi said that seeing a filial son in plain clothes is 'seeing Su'. You are indeed loyal. I am waiting for you to help me create a prosperous world again."
In short, with loyal and capable ministers like Wei Jiansu, Nanjing's government affairs will be stable.
Later, when talking about the events in Chang'an and hearing that the rebellion was about to be put down, Li Longji showed a pensive look on his face, regaining the composure of an emperor and his unpredictable thoughts.
While chatting, he also talked to Wei Jiansu about some ministers who were still in Lingwu, guessing who would come over after hearing that the Holy Master was in Shu County.
"Fang Guan has a reputation of being loyal and upright, so he must be the first to arrive." Wei Jiansu said, "Although Zhang Bian is a close relative, he missed the opportunity to pay homage to the prime minister, so he will not come."
Li Longji shook his head and said: "I don't think so. My virtuous son-in-law has been favored by the country in this life, how can he not come?"
Wei Jiansu knew Zhang Bian well and did not think that Zhang Bian would come to Shu County to wade into troubled waters.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, Zhang Bian arrived and said that he had urgent matters that he wanted to report to the Holy Spirit in detail.
Li Longji seemed to have expected this, and immediately agreed to meet him, and except for a few close personal guards, he turned away everyone else.
~~
There was a map placed in the main hall of Huitian Palace, and the latest news that Cui Qianyou's troops were forced to the Shaoling Plain was also marked on it. Li Longji first glanced at the map, and then looked at Zhang Bian.
"I heard that Li Heng gave me a temple name. He was deeply afraid that I was still here."
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Bian quickly bowed down and said, "No, he didn't dare to take the temple title for Your Majesty, because he always held the hope that Your Majesty is still alive, and I am absolutely telling the truth!"
This kind of thing would be known upon investigation, but Li Longji didn't bother to ask further questions and just kept a sullen face.
Zhang Bian waited for a while and then said: "I am here because of Xue Bai's life experience."
"I shouldn't expect Li Heng to surprise me." Li Longji murmured, "Tell me, is he my grandson?"
"no."
Zhang Bian had already shown his attitude by calling him "Xue Bai" instead of "Li Qian".
Li Longji said: "I want to see the evidence."
"I have a lot of evidence," Zhang Bian said, "I dare to ask Your Majesty...Did Xue Bai send the imperial concubine to Shu County?"