More than three hundred miles north of Yizhou is Zitong County.
This place is surrounded by Zi Lin in the east and Tongshui in the west. It is the south gate of Shu Road.
It was winter in October, with heavy rain and light mist. A group of people and horses hurried to Qiqu Mountain in the north of the county. Because the sky was getting dark, the leading knight had to rein in his horse.
"There is a posthouse ahead!"
"Your Majesty, it's dangerous to travel at night, why don't you just rest here?"
Chen Xuanli returned to his horse, rushed to Li Longji's horse, and helped him off the horse. Lu Qi, who was on the side, took two steps forward, supported Li Longji's other side, and staggered into the ruined post house.
When the Jiannan Army mutinied, they barely resisted and escaped from the palace, running all the way to Liangzhou.
After escaping here, Li Longji was very tired and asked: "The traitors won't come after them again, right?"
"With the weather like this, they must have stopped."
At the rear, the wound on Zhang Yan's leg had not healed yet. He was helped off the horse with difficulty. When he entered the post house, the wound was still affected. He grinned in pain and felt uneasy in his heart.
He originally thought that Li Longji and Li Heng were far stronger than Li Cong and the young Xue Bai behind him in terms of name and ability. But since the An Lushan rebellion, Li Longji's series of stupid moves finally made him realize
If you follow such an old emperor, even if you escape to Liangzhou, you will no longer have a future.
Looking up, I could faintly see a temple on the mountainside through the mist.
So, when everyone fled to the lobby of the post house, Zhang Bian pretended to be weak and bowed down in front of Li Longji, saying: "Your Majesty, I am seriously injured, so I may not be able to go to Liangzhou. I sincerely ask you to serve as an official to the Supreme Emperor... From now on, I will become a monk."
Be a monk."
This last sentence is very important. If he did not express his intention to become a monk, Li Longji would definitely think that he wanted to surrender to the traitors.
Zhang Bian deliberately put on a desolate and melancholy expression, his eyes full of regret. Although he desperately wanted to continue traveling north, he had no choice but to abandon the secular world, cut off his love and sex, and no longer participate in power disputes.
"Consort?"
Princess Ning was shocked when she heard this. She rushed to Zhang Bian's side and said, "Why do you want to become a monk? How could you make this decision without consulting me?!"
Zhang Bian had already had enough of her, which was one of the reasons why he wanted to become a monk. He coughed twice and said weakly: "I am seriously injured, and I can no longer drag you and the Emperor down."
"Why is the injury serious? It's just an arrow in the hip." Princess Ning shouted, "Consort, you can't become a monk, I won't allow you to become a monk."
Zhang Bian didn't want to pay attention to her, for fear that she would continue to ruin his future life, so he whispered: "Stop saying stupid things."
He saluted Li Longji again and said: "I beg the Supreme Emperor to grant your permission."
"The old man is always ambitious, but his ambition is to reach a thousand miles. In his old age, a martyr is still ambitious."
Li Longji first read this poem in a melancholy tone, stood up, walked a few steps, stroked his long gray beard, and said slowly: "I am seventy years old, and I still have great ambitions. How old are you?
So depressed?"
Zhang Bian felt ashamed and cried: "I am an ordinary person, how can I compare with the Supreme Emperor?"
This was a nice thing to say. If someone else had taken up the official position, Li Longji would have let him go, but Zhang Bian was different.
"Get up." Li Longji stepped forward, helped him up with his old but still strong arms, and said: "Cheer up, I still need you to testify that Xue Bai is pretending to be my grandson. He is a fake.
Rebel. These are what you have said to me personally, and I want you to prove it to all the officials in Chang'an!"
Zhang Bian was stunned for a moment and responded: "Yes, Xue Bai is a lowly slave adopted by Xue Xiu. He has been a rebel since he was born. Many people can testify to this."
"Who else can testify?"
Zhang Bian couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Princess Ning Qin, thinking that all the Xue Xiu family members who had been sheltered in the house were killed by this vicious woman. How many witnesses were there?
He hesitated slightly and said, "Princess Xianyi and the consort Yang Hui can testify."
Li Longji shook his head and said, "I need you."
Zhang Yan pursed his lips and said: "I am willing to die for the Supreme Emperor..."
Before he finished speaking, due to excessive blood loss and running around for days, he finally fainted and fell to the ground, as if only Buddhism could save him.
Li Longji felt unhappy when he saw this, and his feeling of betrayal and alienation became even stronger.
The sky was getting darker. At night, Li Longji tossed and turned, and in a daze he seemed to hear something in the distance.
"Sanlang... Sanlang..."
He suddenly remembered Yang Yuhuan calling him when he was at Chang'an Palace, but as soon as his mind became clearer, he thought that Yang Yuhuan might be having a rough time with Xue Bai at this time, which added a lot of pain to his heart, and he couldn't sleep anymore.
.
So he stood up and pushed the door open. He saw Chen Xuanli moved a chair and sat guarding the door. He didn't take off his armor, but he seemed to be asleep.
"Saint." Chen Xuanli woke up when he heard the noise and accidentally called Li Longji by his previous title.
"I seem to hear someone calling 'Sanlang', come out and take a look."
Chen Xuanli listened for a while and responded: "That's the bell on the mountain temple ringing, and the ringing is 'Dang Rang' and 'Dang Rang'."
Li Longji said sadly: "Hearing the bell on a rainy night can break your heart."
"Your Majesty is too worried."
"Is there a piano?"
"I'll go find him right now."
Chen Xuanli hurriedly asked people to find musical instruments, but when he was kicked out of the palace in a hurry, he didn't bring the heavy piano and drums with him at all. He only found a piccolo from an accompanying actor.
"I want to compose a new song, let's call it "Raining Bell"."
Li Longji took the piccolo and wiped it with his sleeve. He didn't mind that someone else had used it, so he put it to his mouth and started playing.
The sound of the flute is melodious and melodious, as if weeping and complaining, as if telling his lament that no one can understand...
"Sure enough, it's here!"
Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the post house, and the sound of the flute suddenly stopped.
Li Longji put down the piccolo in his hand, looked at Chen Xuanli in surprise, pouted, and finally asked: "The post house is surrounded?"
Chen Xuanli didn't know about this and was in a daze for a while before replying: "I...I am asleep. I am guilty."
~~
"Consort!"
Princess Ning ran to the lobby of the post house in a panic, rushed to Zhang Bian's side, kept pushing him, and said, "What should I do? The traitors are chasing me."
Zhang Yan originally planned to faint, but she pushed him too hard, so he had to open his eyes to stop her and murmured: "Stop pushing."
"What should we do? The traitors have already surrounded us."
Zhang Bian had been thinking about this matter. He believed that he had a special status and was the most qualified to prove that Xue Bai was the emperor's grandson Li Qian. In other words, he was the key figure who could give Xue Bai the title of orthodoxy, and Xue Bai would definitely not kill him.
However, there had been quarrels with each other before, and coupled with his status as consort, it was impossible for him to be reused after helping Xue Bai in his attempt to usurp the throne. When Xue Bai stabilized his position, he might be killed to silence him.
Now surrounded by this post house, there are few ways to protect himself. Zhang Bian thought about it and decided to become a monk. This not only showed that he would rather be born in the world than to be degraded as a thief, but also he could separate himself from the Li Tang royal family.
In the future, I will have more room to make choices as a monk.
"Help me get tonsured," Zhang Bian said, "I want to become a monk."
"Then what should I do?" Princess Ningqin said angrily.
"You should also become a monk." Zhang Bian advised, "Don't forget that you were the one responsible for the death of all the orphans in the house."
Princess Ningqin's face turned pale with fright. She quickly called her attendants and said, "Quickly, shave me and my consort!"
The number of guest rooms in the post house was limited, so Lu Qi also rested in the lobby. Seeing Zhang Bian and his wife behave like this, he was very disdainful and cursed: "Zhang Bian, you have been favored by the country in this life, but you don't stand up when the country is in danger.
Are you going to escape into Buddhism?"
"I fought for the country and was seriously injured and unable to move. Now that the Emperor is in danger, I want to die as a martyrdom. But if I die, who will expose Xue Bai's conspiracy?"
"you!"
Lu Qi was jealous that Zhang Bian had the talisman to avoid death, which was like an iron contract written in an elixir, and he was so angry that he could only grit his teeth.
However, he could not give up the position of prime minister that he had obtained, and hurriedly wanted to support the emperor and flee. However, there was a loud noise at the gate of the post house, and the imperial troops retreated in.
The rebels have already rushed outside the door.
"The Supreme Emperor has been kidnapped by a traitorous minister. We are going to rescue the Supreme Emperor and escort him back to Chang'an!"
With this loud shout, a group of Jiannan soldiers walked through the gate and appeared in Lu Qi's sight. He knew that the "treacherous minister" they were talking about was him, and he couldn't help but shudder.
"stop!"
At this moment, Yan Wu arrived with Jiang Hai, Tian Shengong, Tian Shenyu and other generals, and shouted: "Don't hurt the Supreme Emperor!"
Then, he asked the imperial guards arrayed in the courtyard: "The saint is eagerly awaiting his arrival in Chang'an, waiting to reunite with the Supreme Emperor and his son. Are you trying to stop him with your sword? Do you want to rebel?!"
His imposing manner was so frightening that some of the Imperial Guards wanted to put down their swords.
At this moment, Li Longji's voice came over.
"I think you are going to rebel!"
Everyone turned around and saw that Li Longji had arrived under the protection of Chen Xuanli and stood in a safe place at the rear, saying: "I was not held hostage by traitors. I was seduced by traitors because I was an unworthy son. In order to protect the clan, I
Fang traveled to the south with his old body. Yan Wu, now that I personally command you to surrender, it is not too late for you to repent."
Yan Wu resisted the pressure and said: "The Supreme Emperor said this because he was kidnapped by traitorous ministers."
"I'm not confused yet!" Li Longji said: "There are no treacherous ministers, so please step aside immediately."
Jiang Hai thought that this confrontation would go on forever, so he immediately raised his hand and pointed at Lu Qi, shouting: "That's the traitor, kill him!"
This is Qingjun's betrayal. When he sees the blood, he will see if Li Longji still dares to be strong.
After saying this, Jiang Hai was the first to take action, raised his sword and went forward to kill Lu Qi.
"Stop this thief!" Chen Xuanli shouted and ordered the imperial army to stop him.
The two sides started fighting in front of Li Longji.
The originally angry Jiannan soldiers chased him here, but their anger had subsided a lot. They hesitated to plot rebellion in front of the Supreme Emperor. Many people did not dare to take action. Even Yan Wu had a calm face and did not give any orders.
On the contrary, it was Guo Qianren, who was in a humble position, ignorant and fearless, who dared to charge towards Lu Qi.
Upon seeing this, Chen Xuanli quickly protected Li Long and retreated.
Lu Qi was also frightened and wanted to escape. The first time he fought with Xue Bai, he was killed and asked his grandpa to send him out of Chang'an. When he encountered danger again today, the first thing that came to his mind was to find his grandpa.
.
But his grandpa is dead.
"You can't kill me!" Lu Qi exclaimed, "Everyone admires my grandpa on the Death Day in Luoyang! You can't kill me!"
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With these words, he felt an inexplicable peace of mind. Looking again, the imperial guards seemed to be working harder to resist the rebels.
It can be seen that his grandfather can protect him even if he dies.
"Am I a treacherous minister? My grandpa has been in office for ten years and has been unyielding. He has kept his position and forgotten his body. The country is in danger!" When Lu Qi said it later, he became more energetic and his voice became much louder. "My grandpa's posthumous title is
Called 'Zhenlie', I am embarrassed and weak, but I am stubborn even though I am in court service. I am still generous and angry, and accuse thieves and owl gangsters of their crimes. After such loyal ministers, how can you say that I am a treacherous minister?! I have ministers who protect me..."
"puff."
Lu Qi was still shouting when he suddenly felt his neck falling down. In an instant, he saw a headless corpse, and then lost consciousness.
If the son of a loyal minister had died earlier, he might have been able to keep the honor that his father had paid for with his life.
The head fell to the ground, and someone picked it up.
"The traitor Lu Qi is dead! Please return to the capital!"
The murderer was Tian Shengong.
Thanks to Xue Bai's kindness, he was able to follow Wang Zhongsi to fight against Longyou and defeat Nanzhao. He became a general from a mere pawn, but he never found anything that could repay Xue Bai. The difficulty in inviting the Emperor back this time was not the fighting, but the
determination.
As strong as Yan Wu, he was a little hesitant at critical moments, but Tian Shengong was much more determined, because many years ago, he had already done treasonous things with Xue Bai.
Li Longji heard the shouting, turned around and saw Tian Shengong holding Lu Qi's head high. He still refused to give in and ordered: "Stop him!"
When Tian Shenyu saw that his brother had killed Lu Qi, he immediately chased after Li Longji.
His steps were not fast, but every step he took was huge. He was getting closer and closer to Li Longji. The Imperial Guards stopped him along the way, but they were all knocked down by his sword.
"Rebel, how dare you?!"
Chen Xuanli was so angry that he personally faced Tian Shenyu with his sword, raised his eyebrows and shouted angrily: "Don't stop yet!"
Many years ago, when the Tian brothers were still serving as pawns in the Youxiao Guard, they met Chen Xuanli from a distance, who was then the general of the Longwu Army. Their awe and respect for Chen Xuanli at that time was beyond words.
The suppression of official position and momentum made them as insignificant as ants in front of Chen Xuanli at that time.
Chen Xuanli has long been accustomed to the feeling of being superior and can make people surrender with just a command, so he forgot that he had not done anything for many years.
The two fight.
"Tiger--"
Tian Shenyu swung his sword, thinking that he would have to fight with General Longwu Army several times, but...
"puff."
Another human head fell to the ground. Chen Xuanli was still glaring with anger and domineering until his death. Until his helmet fell to the side, and the white hair on his head showed that he was very old.
Everyone was stunned, including Tian Shenyu. He never thought of killing Chen Xuanli at first. At this time, he only had one thought in his mind - nothing more.
The strange thing is that everyone in the forbidden army, who had been under Chen Xuanli's command for a long time, was silent at this time. They seemed to be frightened, and the originally chaotic and noisy post house became quiet.
After a long time, Tian Shengong shouted.
"The traitor is dead! Please return to the capital!"
Jiang Hai and Yan Wu also shouted: "Please return to the capital!"
So, everyone looked at Li Longji, waiting for him to speak.
The blood on the ground slowly flowed down the stone steps to Li Longji's feet. He tried to speak several times, but was unable to make a sound.
The bell in the distance was still ringing in the wind, making a clear sound, as if urging him to return to Chang'an.
"Dang rang... dang rang..."
~~
The next day, Li Longji sat there slumped, watching the wind blowing up Zhang Bian's severed hair, and muttered in his heart: "There are so many ugly things."
He was very kind to Zhang Bian, but in times of crisis, Zhang Bian failed him like this.
"The Great Emperor."
Suddenly hearing a call, Li Longji turned around and saw a man walking into the post house with his body bent, it was Gao Lishi.
When the two met, they burst into tears and cried profusely.
"The servants left Chang'an to serve the Emperor. They met the rebels when they reached Jincheng County. When they arrived at Chencang, King Zhong fought with King Qing again. When Liangzhou was detained again, they allowed them to do so a few days ago.
Come here, slave..."
After Li Longji heard this, he knew that Xue Bai had made up his mind to take him back, so he deliberately held Gao Lishi until this time to comfort him.
He looked outside the door for a long time and asked, "Where is Taizhen?"
Gao Lishi's body stiffened, his face looked sad, he lowered his head and wiped away tears, saying: "Your concubine... she died of illness."
"What?"
"The imperial concubine missed the saint so much that she fell ill before leaving Chang'an. Regardless of her illness, she continued on her way and died at Mawei Station."
"real?"
"This servant has seen it with his own eyes and dare not hide it from the saint."
Li Longji was stunned for a while, with suspicion in his eyes. He didn't believe Gao Lishi's words, but he knew that this was the most honorable answer.
If pressed, he might tear off the last of his dignity.
For a while, it was boring.
"Your Majesty, the situation in Guanzhong has been settled." Gao Lishi persuaded in a low voice: "For the sake of the stability of the Tang Dynasty, let's allow King Qing to ascend the throne."
After a long time, Li Longji responded angrily: "I can allow my son to ascend the throne."
"yes."
The two of them didn't say anything more. Gao Lishi thought that he couldn't care about his current situation. He only cared about serving Li Longji well and letting his loyal servant have a beginning and an end to his life.
Finally, Li Longji patted his knees in low spirits and sighed: "Go back, go back..."
~~
At this time, Shi Siming's 130,000-strong army was stationed in Hebei and was eyeing Luoyang. However, outside Guanzhong, except for Hedong and several counties in Henan, many places in the world still followed Li Longji's orders and did not cooperate with the Chang'an court in suppressing the rebellion.
However, Li Longji was "escorted" back to Chang'an, and it was possible to end the situation where the decree was not issued.
Half a month later, Emperor Li Cong of the Tang Dynasty personally left Chang'an and went to Xianyang to welcome the Emperor back to the capital.
This was a great event. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Chang'an and Xianyang. They were separated by the imperial guards and stood far away on both sides of the road, stretching their heads to witness the reunion of the Tang royal family.
After the previous war, the Tian family has reconciled, which seems to symbolize that the world will return to peace.
The etiquette officials were obviously in the same mood. The music they used was also "Taiping Music", and thousands of Liyuan musicians were used. It was a huge event, and it was rare for King Yong, who advocated thrift and servants, to agree to such a grand event.
It took a long time for the Emperor's ceremonial driver to arrive, but Li Cong had already been waiting at the roadside. Prince Li Qiu, loyal king Li Heng, King Yu Li Chu and other princes and princes were lined up downstairs, with expressions on their faces.
Feeling of admiration.
Xue Bai, the main envoy who secretly sent people to invite Li Longji back, stood behind Li Qiu and his brothers in a rather low-key manner, looking very much like a descendant of the Li family.
Finally, Li Longji arrived.
According to the etiquette system, it was not appropriate for the father and son of the Tian family to meet directly on the roadside. Instead, they first sent the Supreme Emperor to Wangxian Palace in Xianyang City. After a brief rectification, they climbed to the South Tower and then accepted the worship of hundreds of officials.
As emperor for more than 40 years, Li Longji was very familiar with this kind of worship. He was aloft, listening to the shouts of countless people, and felt the pleasure of power again.
However, the figure in imperial robes standing at the head of the officials stung his eyes... That was Li Cong.
Li Cong was also paying homage to him, and his movements were very respectful. The first thing he did after saluting was to take off his royal robe and put on the purple robe of a courtier, to show his loyalty and filial piety to Li Longji.
"My son has no virtue and incompetence. He was ordered to lead the army to conquer the country. He supervises the country on behalf of his father. In order to calm people's hearts, he temporarily took over the throne. Now he returns to his father's place!"
Seeing him acting in such panic, Li Longji chuckled in his heart, but his face was full of emotion. He quickly walked down the south building, rushed to Li Cong, stroked Li Cong's shoulder, and said with tears streaming down his face: "Destiny is here.
You, people’s hearts are with you, you drive away rebellion and enable me to spend my old age peacefully, this is your filial piety!”
Li Cong also cried loudly, fell to the ground, held Li Longji's feet, and said: "I failed to escort my father. I am guilty."
"You have done a great job and are a wise king of the Tang Dynasty."
Li Longji looked at Li Cong's back, sighed, took the imperial robe, put it on Li Cong again and said: "This is what you, the emperor, should wear."
"I don't dare."
Li Cong was still struggling, but Li Longji insisted on giving up the throne to him. He had no choice but to accept it and put on the imperial robe again.
Suddenly, more than a thousand officials in the palace cheered.
"I will see the two saints meet again today, and I will die without regrets!"
Li Longji was brought back to Chang'an, Li Cong, and this is what Xue Bai needed him to do. This action already recognized Li Cong's throne as legitimate in front of everyone in the world.
When he did this just now, he tried not to look at Xue Bai who was standing behind him, because he was afraid that he would be angry and scold this traitor in front of everyone. But Chen Xuanli's death made him fearful, knowing that Xue Bai
He really dares to kill people.
It's not a dead end yet. After all, Li Cong is still his eldest son, so there is no harm in recognizing Li Cong's throne. After Li Cong secures the throne, he will naturally understand that he should burn bridges and prevent the throne from falling into the hands of outsiders.
So, Li Longji looked at Li Qiu, Li Shen, Li Yan and others again, nodded happily and said: "Good boy, you are successful."
At this time, he finally couldn't ignore Xue Bai standing behind Li Yan, and the two looked at each other.
Xue Bai's eyes were calm and calm, without any admiration or shame for stealing Li Longji's things. Seeing him like this, Li Longji was furious, but he could only suppress his anger and turn around.
He looked at Li Heng and Li Chu on the other side.
Li Heng had to admit that he was very jealous of Li Cong's untidy imperial robe. From today on, no one can call Li Cong a traitor anymore. And the honor of guarding Chang'an and welcoming back the Supreme Emperor should have been
his.
He didn't know how to face Li Longji's hateful eyes. He lowered his head, resentment rising in his heart, and secretly thought that if this old fool hadn't been suppressing him, why would he be here?
"You and others are all of my blood." Li Longji spoke again and said slowly: "Father, son, brother, we must work together to protect the clan."
"I would like to listen to the instruction of the Supreme Emperor."
Li Cong, Li Heng and others responded quickly.
Only Xue Bai watched this scene with interest, knowing that Li Longji's words were directed at him, but he was not afraid.