After Li Longji arrived in Xianyang, he was supposed to rest for a day before setting off for Chang'an, but Xue Bai was concerned about the war situation in Hebei and asked him to return to Chang'an that day.
Li Longji was dissatisfied with this. He had been working non-stop on the way from Zitong. He was not an ox or a horse, so why couldn't he take a break after finally arriving in Xianyang? He then asked Gao Lishi to find Li Cong and express his dissatisfaction.
own attitude.
Half an hour later, Gao Lishi came back and reported: "Your Majesty, the ceremonial chariot is ready, shall we set off back to Beijing now?"
"Did he turn a deaf ear to my words?" Li Longji was displeased, "I said I don't want to leave now."
Gao Lishi had no choice but to persuade him: "Xianyang is not far from Chang'an. If we drive a little further, the Emperor will be able to stay in Chang'an at night."
"This is not a question of whether it is far or not." Li Longji said angrily: "They dare to treat me as a puppet!"
As he said that, he shook his sleeves vigorously, then looked up at the door and saw that those elite soldiers were sent by Xue Bai, and finally went out gloomily.
When he saw Li Cong again, he would inevitably despise the eldest son for being weak, and scolded this waste in his heart for not being able to make decisions on even the smallest matters, and he was still Xue Bai's puppet.
When Li Cong brought the horse over and helped him mount, he took the opportunity to ask quickly in a low voice: "As the emperor, can't you even decide where to go?"
"Father, the ceremonial schedule has been decided long ago, and all the officials are well prepared. A single move can affect the whole body."
"It seems that you haven't been able to win over even a single official." Li Longji sighed, deeply disappointed that his son had no means.
He got on his horse and showed a happy smile in front of all the ministers.
Li Cong was not angry, thinking that if Li Longji had not suppressed him in his early years, this would have happened. Fortunately, his face was covered with scars, and his emotional changes could not be seen. His filial piety was all expressed in words, and he said loudly: "The child is the father of the emperor."
Lead the horse."
"No, you are the emperor. How could an emperor do such a lowly job?"
Li Cong respectfully replied: "A child is first the son of the father, and then the emperor."
These words seemed very filial. After hearing this, the surrounding officials praised the saint's virtue. Li Longji couldn't help but look back at Xue Bai who was behind him. Xue Bai's expression was dull and he was distracted because he didn't know what he was thinking.
I always felt like he was mocking this hypocritical scene.
The team finally left the Xianyang Palace, and the horses were lifted up quickly. Li Cong finally no longer had to lead the horse, but he did not dare to gallop in front of Li Longji. Instead, he led the way from the front, like a servant and guard.
Every time Li Cong acted like this, Li Longji had to respond, otherwise he would let his ministers gossip. He was also very tired, but he had to rack his brains to think of something to say to show his father's kindness and son's filial piety.
So he laughed twice and smiled: "I have been the emperor for nearly fifty years and have never felt noble. Now that I have become the father of the emperor, I finally feel noble."
Gao Lishi laughed a few times and added a few interesting words, adding some fun to the happy atmosphere. However, he didn't notice that Li Longji's eyes dimmed after he spoke.
The officials accompanying the rear listened, and some whispered a few words.
"The country is in crisis, and the Supreme Emperor has not mentioned a word about the war situation in Hebei. The people are suffering, and he only cares about his own dignity."
"You don't understand this. In such a situation, what else can the Supreme Emperor say?"
"Listen to his words and watch his actions. Where the Emperor's thoughts are has been obvious to everyone in the world. Is it because I don't understand, or do you all only care about power?"
Nowadays, the reason why Xue Bai has power but Li Longji has no power is precisely because of this kind of support. After the Anshi Rebellion, people were fed up with the old and fatuous Li Longji. They believed that among the princes and grandsons, King Yong was the most virtuous and had the greatest contribution.
It can assist the emperor in managing state affairs.
Of course, the lingering shadow of the Tang Dynasty is still there, and Xue Bai can have such a reputation because many people believe that he is the true grandson of the emperor.
~~
In the evening, the team entered Chang'an. When Yi Jia was walking on the royal road of Zhuque Street, the whole city was crying.
Xue Bai was riding on the horse, listening to the cries, and couldn't help but wonder what they were crying about. Do they miss Li Longji too much, or do they think they can return to the stable life of the past?
Ahead, Gao Lishi reined in the reins, turned to Xue Bai, and said: "King Yong, the Supreme Emperor wants to live in Xingqing Palace, but from the looks of it, he seems to be going to Taiji Palace, right?"
Xue Bai replied: "When the rebels attacked the city, the east wall suffered the most serious damage. Xingqing Palace has been devastated by the war and is no longer suitable to live in. Please ask the Supreme Emperor to live in Taiji Palace."
They all know that Xingqing Palace is located outside the palace garden and adjacent to the market. If Li Longji lives in Xingqing Palace, it will be convenient for him to communicate with officials and nobles, while living in Taiji Palace will be a secluded life and easier to control.
.
"It doesn't matter if it's dilapidated." Gao Lishi showed a kind smile and said with a slightly flattering tone: "The Supreme Emperor has lived in Xingqing Palace since his residence. He is a nostalgic person and is used to it. Taiji Palace is humid.
He is old and frail and may not be able to bear it any longer."
Thinking back to that Yuan night many years ago, when the two were walking on the corridor of Xingqing Palace, Gao Lishi protected Xue Bai, who was still a lonely young man at that time, with an awe-inspiring and inviolable majesty. But now, his tall figure has changed
He became rickety, the corners of his eyes became densely wrinkled, and he no longer had the strong posture in front of Xue Bai.
Logically speaking, Xue Bai should repay him, but Xue Bai seemed very unkind.
"For decades, people all over the world have been getting used to the Emperor, the officials selected by the Emperor, and the taxes set by the Emperor. Now, let's let the Emperor get used to it, okay?"
Gao Lishi was stunned, feeling that Xue Bai was a little ungrateful, but it was this cold attitude that made him unable to persuade him any more, so he had no choice but to follow Li Longji to Tai Chi Palace.
Li Longji has always disliked Tai Chi Palace. When he checked in, he tripped over the threshold of the palace and no palace maid came to help him.
Because of this incident, he lost his temper alone that night and smashed several porcelain bottles.
When Gao Lishi came over, he saw the mess all over the ground. He didn't know why the always wise Emperor had a sudden attack, so he quickly stepped forward to comfort him.
"Why are you doing this, Your Majesty? If people mistakenly think you are dissatisfied, it will only lower your prestige."
"I have fallen to this level." Li Longji pointed to the marks of swords and axes on the pillars of the dormitory, "Even my residence is such a dilapidated house that cannot be repaired. They insult me, insult me!"
It was left behind by the Imperial Guard who robbed the palace when he escaped from Chang'an. In recent years, Chang'an didn't even have a palace supervisor, so it really didn't bother to repair it.
What was even more difficult for Li Longji to accept was that he could sense that the main target of the officials, eunuchs, guards, and even the maids was no longer him. This transfer of power left him with a huge gap.
Unfortunately, venting and crying will only make him laughable like a child.
Fortunately, there were only him and Gao Lishi in the dormitory for the time being. It was ridiculous, as he had accumulated too much depression in his chest. When he returned to Chang'an, he had mixed emotions and finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
"When I was here, I was so heroic. After we eliminated Empress Wei and brought peace to peace... Heaven did not protect me, but now, I have fallen into this state!"
Gao Lishi hurriedly said: "The Emperor doesn't have to be like this."
"It doesn't have to be like this?" Li Longji raised his head in shock. He didn't know whether he wanted to hurt Gao Lishi or himself. He patted the royal couch under him hard and asked, "Then tell me, did the traitor fight with me here?"
Tai Zhen Yun Yu?!”
Gao Lishi had never thought that there would be such a problem. He couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, shook his head and said: "This is absolutely not the case."
"You still want to hide it from me. I saw the two of them hugging each other in Chencangshan. I even heard about their scandal in Shu County! His dog paws...dog paws..."
"Your Majesty, you must never believe in folk rumors!"
But Li Longji became more and more enthusiastic as he talked, as if this was the only way he could feel sad and sad.
At this time, another eunuch came over and carefully asked for an imperial letter from Li Longji to appease He Lan Jinming. He had no choice but to hold back his tears and write down the pen with an extremely reluctant and humiliating mood.
, copied the imperial letter and asked Gao Lishi to hand it over.
When Gao Lishi turned around again, he saw Li Longji sitting there in despair, no longer crying, but with a self-deprecating bitter smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, please rest in peace?"
Li Longji pointed to his nose and murmured: "I am a puppet."
Feeling sad, he muttered a poem.
"Carving wood and stringing threads together makes an old man look like a real man."
"After a while, everything was quiet, and it still seemed like a dream in life."
That night, Li Longji didn't sleep all night. He sat in his bedroom with his back bent and was in a daze all night.
Gao Lishi stayed up all night with him, and finally fell asleep sitting on a wooden bench at dawn. In a daze, he was shaken awake by Li Longji.
"I know my crime." Gao Lishi said quickly, "Your Majesty, what is this..."
He suddenly noticed that Li Longji's expression was much calmer, and he was not as self-defeating as he was last night.
"I figured it out."
"The Great Emperor?"
"I was wrong before. I believed Wu's words and killed the three sons. I also believed in Hu'er, which caused a great chaos." Li Longji said, "I will hold a banquet and invite them all. I will admit the past in front of my children and grandchildren.
's fault."
"King Yong..."
"This child has suffered the most, but I haven't officially recognized him yet." Li Longji murmured, "We have to recognize him."
~~
"Royal banquet?"
Xue Bai was a little surprised when he heard this request in the midst of his busy schedule, but since this request was made by Li Longji, it was not so strange.
Nowadays, the imperial court is short of money and food due to countering the rebellion. In his opinion, it is not suitable to have too many banquets. After hearing this, he refused directly and said: "The Supreme Emperor has returned from Shu County and traveled across mountains and rivers. It is better to rest for a while first.
We will celebrate after Shi Siming is pacified."
Unexpectedly, Li Longji was very persistent in this matter, and repeatedly asked Gao Lishi to convey his desire to hold a family banquet.
Gradually, many members of the Li and Tang clan believed that there should be a family dinner for the Supreme Emperor and King Yong to recognize each other. Even in the end, some officials, including Yan Zhenqing and Yuan Zai, advised Xue Bai not to lose his reputation because of this trivial matter.
Xue Bai just realized that in the eyes of these officials, he was really the grandson of the emperor Li Qian.
He also wanted to see what kind of medicine Li Longji was selling in his gourd, so he ordered a family banquet to be arranged. The standard was not high, and it was necessary to show that today's people are frugal.
…
Li Cong squinted at the two side dishes on the table and was stunned for a while.
There was both meat and vegetables, a small plate of radishes, a small plate of salted fish, and several pieces of pancakes, so it was quite filling.
As the emperor, he and Li Longji sat side by side in the top position, but slightly to one side, giving up the throne to the Supreme Emperor.
"The war in Hebei has not yet been decided, and the soldiers cannot wrap their bellies. I will eat together with the soldiers." Li Cong quickly reacted, picked up a piece of Hu cake, rolled it up, and showed it to all the clan members.
Since it was a family banquet, the guests were all Li Longji's direct descendants, princes, princes, princesses, and princesses. Although not all, there were dozens of them. Everyone first congratulated the Emperor on his return to the capital, and then raised their glasses to celebrate the occasion.
Tang Xingfu.
??????55.??????
On the third glass of wine, Li Longji stood up tremblingly while holding the glass, with a sad look on his face, and said: "Today, I want to admit my mistake to you."
Everyone also stood up.
Li Longji looked at Xue Bai, with a look of love and guilt, and said: "Li Qian, come here."
He waved, like an old man who loved his grandson calling his grandson, even looking a little pitiful.
This made Xue Bai feel a little uncomfortable. He would rather Li Longji be hostile to him with viper-like eyes like he did a few days ago.
"The Great Emperor."
"This is a family dinner, we should call 'Aweng'." Li Longji patted his thigh in annoyance, his hand holding the wine glass was still shaking a little, he looked at Xue Bai with expectant eyes, and said in a flattering manner:
"Call 'Aweng'."
Xue Bai will do whatever it takes to get power, and it doesn't matter if he calls him out. But now that he has obtained the power, it's ridiculous to see Li Longji acting like this.
What's more, after he promised Feng Changqing that he would not use the name of the emperor's grandson to usurp the country, his mentality seemed to have changed.
So he stood there with his hands folded and didn't answer.
"Good boy, are you still blaming me?"
Li Longji staggered forward, stood two steps in front of Xue Bai, hunched over, looked up at Xue Bai's face, and said sadly: "I was wrong, I shouldn't have listened to Wu's greedy words and ordered the execution to be abolished.
The third brother Li Ying...you want me to depose the Queen of the Wu family, so you don't blame me?"
"Father! How to do this?"
Princess Xianyi immediately stood in the palace and said: "The queen was born of a noble family. She inherited the beauty of Qi and was promoted to a high rank in the back court. She gave birth to children for her father. Didn't the father posthumously give her the queen because of his true love?"
If my father deprives her of her ancestral hall today, aren’t you afraid that the world will say you are heartless and unjust?!”
She was also anxious, and Yang Hui didn't have time to stop her and make her say such stupid things.
Without the filter of power, she looks even stupider.
Xue Bai also regretted a little, leaving the pile of business to do and running over to watch the father and daughter perform.
"And him." Princess Xianyi raised her hand and pointed at Xue Bai, "Who knows if he is really Li Qian..."
"Kneel down!"
Before she could finish her words, Li Longji suddenly shouted and shouted with an angry face: "He is your nephew, you have caused him to live in a humble place and go through hardships without any guilt?! Do you want me to do the same to you?"
Wasted?!"
Princess Xianyi was so frightened that she knelt down and cried immediately.
Seeing this situation, Li Cong wanted to say something, but he had no experience and could only continue to watch the confrontation between Li Longji and Xue Bai.
"I have already guessed that you are my grandson."
After a long time, Li Longji spoke again, looking deeply at Xue Bai, as if he wanted to reach out to hold his face, but did not dare. He just said: "On Yuan Ye in the sixth year of Tianbao, I saw you for the first time, and I felt amiable.
, I have been protecting you since then, but I was too weak to admit that I was wrong, so I tried to make you become the number one scholar..."
Xue Bai, however, could only recall that night of the Yuan Dynasty, when Li Longji was enjoying himself with all the people and was arrogant about claiming to be a god.
Li Longji said with great joy: "I have known for a long time that if it were not for my grandson, how could he be so talented? How could he compose "The West Chamber" for me be so in line with my wishes?"
"Presumably, the Supreme Emperor knows my identity and thinks that Yang Shenjin has evil intentions in wanting to claim me as his son?" Xue Bai asked, with a subtle hint of ridicule in his words.
Li Longji did not nod in agreement, but sighed: "It seems that you still don't believe me."
He told Gao Lishi: "There is an old palace maid who serves Princess Boping. Her name should be Ge Niang. Send someone to find her and see if she is still in the palace."
As soon as these words came out, even Gao Lishi was a little surprised and turned to look at Boping Princess Li Yiniang.
Li Yiniang is the daughter of Li Ying, and has been named a princess now. She and Li Qian are twins, and she has always been the one who most believed that Xue Bai was Li Qian. However, since she was taken out of Yeting, although she often saw Li Cong, she rarely saw him again.
As for Xue Bai, at the banquet today, her eyes were always fixed on Xue Bai, and she almost never looked away.
At this time, she heard that the Emperor was looking for Ge Niang, so she quickly asked her servant to summon Ge Niang.
In her opinion, there was no need to prove that Xue Bai was Li Qian. What the Emperor wanted to prove was his love and care for his grandson.
Soon, Ge Niang arrived. When asked about Li Qian, she immediately told her.
"My slave once saw King Yong visiting Princess Boping in Yeting, and the sister and brother recognized each other. King Yong said at that time that he would treat the princess the best in the world. Later, the bandits attacked Chang'an, and King Yong indeed assisted His Majesty in defending it.
Chang'an, picked up the princess..."
From the perspective of this old palace concubine, King Yong wanted to recover his origins, and the Supreme Emperor wanted to recognize King Yong. This was a happy event for everyone, and she would definitely try her best to facilitate it.
"I ask you, did I know about this after Li Qian went to Yeting?" Li Longji asked.
"The Supreme Emperor must have known about it. At that time, General Gao had asked for a slave."
A gentle smile appeared on Li Longji's face, and he asked again: "Do you know how I recognized this child?"
Ge Niang kowtowed and said, "I don't know."
"You are their nurse, how could you not know? Think again."
Ge Niang raised her head, looked at Xue Bai, and said, "It's because King Yong looks very much like the Supreme Emperor when he was young!"
"That's true, but it's more than that." Li Longji shook the wine glass in his hand, drank it all in one gulp, and said, "I can tell from his drinking capacity."
"My slave, I remembered." Ge Niang said: "When King Yong was three years old, the Supreme Emperor dipped his chopsticks in wine and fed him. With just a little bit of wine, King Yong was drunk for a whole day..."
Li Heng lowered his head and was busy rolling and eating biscuits. Hearing these conversations, he couldn't help but frown.
He didn't understand what the Supreme Emperor was doing. To prevent the country left by his ancestors from falling into the hands of rebels, the best thing to do was to declare that Xue Bai was pretending to be the emperor's grandson, remove his title, remove his military power, and depose him.
But Li Longji was actually trying hard to recognize the traitor at this time. What did this mean? Did he betray the clan of the Tang Dynasty?!
Even Li Cong was surprised and puzzled by Li Longji's actions.
The reason why Li Cong recognized Xue Bai as Li Qian was because he needed Xue Bai to safeguard his throne. But after receiving Li Longji's recognition, he gradually no longer needed Xue Bai's help. Now it was time to unite the clans and burn the bridge across the river.
Unexpectedly, Li Longji turned his army around.
Why?
It seems that Xue Bai is really Li Qian?
"General Gao, you have known for a long time that he is Li Qian and my grandson, right?" Over there, Li Longji had already asked Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi responded: "Yes, I have known this for a long time."
"Many people have guessed this matter in the past few years. I still want to hide it. Firstly, I don't want to admit my mistake. Secondly, I am afraid of damaging Datang's face. Therefore, I will not hesitate to denounce him as a traitor." Li Longji said,
"Now that I think about it, it was a big mistake."
This is also the thinking of some people in the world after he announced that Xue Bai was a rebel and Li Heng sent troops to fight against the rebellion. They believed that they were motivated by selfish motives. Now that Li Longji has admitted it, the matter has been revealed.
In the palace, including Li Yiniang and Li Yuetu, many clan members couldn't help wiping away tears after hearing this. A small number of people were happy to have found a descendant of the Li family who could guard the Tang Dynasty, and more people were happy that the saint finally realized his mistakes and could correct them.
.
After being stubborn for so long, the country's affairs collapsed, and now the saint finally figured it out.
Li Longji looked around, waved to Li Yuetu, and said, "He Zheng, come closer."
Li Yiniang originally thought that the Supreme Emperor would recruit her, but was a little disappointed when she saw this.
Back then in Yeting, she clearly got the promise of the "closest person", but now she is far from feeling that closeness with her twin brothers.
Li Yuituo obediently stepped forward and said: "The Supreme Emperor."
"I once wanted to betroth you to 'Xue Bai'. Do you know why?"
"Did the Emperor not recognize his grandson at that time?"
"I had some speculation at that time, and it was just for testing that I took this step." Li Longji sighed, "Now that I think about it, I am really old and confused."
Li Yuetu lowered his head and said coquettishly with some dissatisfaction: "Aweng only cares about finding a relative and doesn't care about his granddaughter."
"It's my fault, it's my fault." Li Longji stretched out his hands, clearly patted Xue Bai and Li Yuetu's shoulders, and said sincerely: "You two are brothers and sisters, so we cannot be husband and wife. We must live in harmony in the future."
"Yes." Xue Bai responded.
"My granddaughter knows." Li Yuetu also responded.
Li Longji was very happy and said: "I have made a big mistake, but now I can still have children and grandchildren, and enjoy the happiness of a family. What else is there to be dissatisfied about? Haha, let's have a banquet."
Xue Bai then returned to his desk and sat down.
Li Yuetu glanced at him and whispered: "Brother, congratulations."
"Um."
Xue Bai responded dullly. For some reason, he didn't feel happy, even though this was exactly part of his original plan.
The next moment, he felt someone standing in front of him. When he looked up, it was Li Longji who did not return to the superior's case, but stood in front of his case.
"Come."
Before Xue Bai could get up, Li Longji had already leaned over and picked up the chopsticks on the table.
The chopsticks were handed out steadily and picked up the eyes of the salted fish on the plate.
Seeing this, Xue Bai frowned slightly, and the fish eyes had been brought to his mouth.
"I remember that you loved eating fish eyes the most when you were a child. At that time, you asked me to feed you." Li Longji said with nostalgia and a loving tone: "I am old, and I can finally feed you fish eyes again.
"
Xianyu's eyes were wide and dull, and he looked a little disgusting when he placed them next to his mouth.
Xue Bai did not open his mouth.
Li Longji did not take away his chopsticks and still stood there with his hunched body, which made all the clan members feel very unbearable.
"King Yong, the Emperor is feeding you, why don't you open your mouth quickly?" Gao Lishi couldn't help but urge.
Li Chu was sitting opposite. Seeing this situation, he suddenly understood and could vaguely guess why the Emperor was acting out of character.
Now, no matter whether it is said in public or an edict is issued to announce that Xue Bai is a fake, with Xue Bai's power, the news will not reach Chang'an, but will lead to death. At that time, Li Longji was in Shu County and Li Heng was in Lingwu.
The road is not open yet, let alone now?
It's better to take a step back and the situation will suddenly become clearer.
If they take a step back and gain the understanding of their ministers and workers, they will still be the supreme emperor, a saint, a loyal king, a king of Yu, a grandfather, an adoptive father, an uncle, and an elder brother.
Li Chu looked at Xue Bai again, with a trace of mockery in his eyes——
"Today my grandfather fed you fish eyes. If you don't eat it, it would be unfilial. What about tomorrow? You have too many things to blame. Since this 'fish eye' is what you want, you have to eat it even if you don't eat it."