When Chang'an and Luoyang were in decline due to a rebellion, there was a popular saying in the world called "Yang Yi Yi Er", which means the prosperous place in the world, headed by Yangzhou, Yizhou is rich in products, but
for second.
A few months ago, Li Xuan, the governor of Guang County, was appointed as the transshipment envoy of Henan Province. The new governor is still from the Tang Dynasty clan. He is the successor of Prince Zheng Li Xiyan, the 13th son of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty Li Yuan, after Prince Zheng Li Yuanyi.
Li Xiyan was over sixty years old at the time, and he became an official as a member of the clan, hoping to govern the place well and revive the Tang Dynasty.
But not long after he took office, he received a decree from the saint asking him to donate treasure.
There have been frequent wars in the past two years, and the people's taxes are already heavy. The saint did not abide by his promise of light corvee and low taxes when he ascended the throne, and always had to replenish his internal funds. Li Xiyan couldn't help but feel disgusted, and blamed the eunuch Dou Wenyang.
Before the donation was completed, in March, the imperial court issued a decree strictly prohibiting the people from celebrating the Shangyuan Festival in the old calendar, which made Li Xiyan even more difficult.
It should be noted that Yangzhou is the busiest place for night markets in the world. As early as the Tianbao period, Li Longji once asked his ministers where the Lantern Festival was held best. He thought that the answer would be Chang'an, but someone replied, "The lights and candles are gorgeous, and the hundreds of people celebrate the Lantern Festival best."
The display of the play, the ladies vying for beauties, the beauties and beauties, there is nothing better than Guangling in the world."
It was only when Li Xiyan arrived in Yangzhou that he learned that this city did not have a curfew. While the nearby places were stagnant and depressed due to the Anshi Rebellion, Yangzhou took the opportunity to become the only city in the Tang Dynasty that did not have a curfew.
In order to facilitate business, merchants broke the restrictions between streets and markets and opened the doors of shops along the street towards the long street. Vendors set up stalls on the street day and night.
Every night at night, tens of millions of lights in the streets are illuminated by the bright moon, and beautiful prostitutes on high-rise buildings flaunt their red sleeves.
Under such circumstances, how could Li Xiyan forbid people from setting off lanterns on the Lantern Festival in the old calendar?
Yong Wang Li Lin saved him from this trouble and used a rebellion to prevent the Chang'an Emperor from paying attention to Yangzhou anymore.
But Li Xiyan's troubles did not end there. On the one hand, he was worried about the peril of the country, and on the other hand, he was also afraid that Li Lin would come down the river to attack Yangzhou. He was so worried that he had trouble sleeping and eating all day long.
It was in this situation that he got a message.
"King Yong? Has he arrived in Yangzhou? He has sent troops to attack?!"
Li Xiyan almost jumped up and immediately ordered the city gate to be closed to resist the enemy.
But the gatekeeper who came to report the news quickly said: "No, no, King Yong came to Yangzhou alone to visit."
"Is it possible?"
Li Xiyan didn't believe it at all. In his eyes, Xue Bai held great power and coveted the big position. Such a tiger-like figure must now be planning to take advantage of the Yongwang chaos to seize power. Either go to Chang'an or return to Fanyang to support his troops.
With self-respect, it is impossible to come to Yangzhou.
"Where are the others?"
"Gone."
"What's going on? Tell me quickly."
"The villain heard someone calling Li Bai's name while guarding the city gate, so he looked over there and saw Li Bai talking to his friends. He introduced a young man next to him and called him King Yong."
As soon as Li Xiyan heard this, he knew it was a bluff. He shook his head and said, "You dare to come and make random reports without retreating."
He knew that someone had dared to impersonate him when the Supreme Emperor visited Shu. As a result, the trick of impersonating powerful people became popular. How could a city gatekeeper know Li Bai?
Soon, he put this matter behind him and continued to worry about state affairs. He was even more worried because he thought of King Yong.
The next day is the Lantern Festival in the lunar calendar.
News came that King Yong's rebels had gone north and met the king's troops who were suppressing the rebellion in Dengzhou. In this way, the war obviously would not spread to Yangzhou. Of course, the people of Yangzhou breathed a sigh of relief and caught up with the festival.
It's about celebrating.
It’s only evening, and from the Wansui Bridge in the south of the city to the Zuofang Bridge in the north of the city, the lights on Yangzhou’s main street are already bright and full of pedestrians. As night falls, more lanterns are lit.
When a full moon hangs in the sky, the beautiful scenery of Twenty-Four Bridge has been illuminated by moonlight and lights.
Li Xiyan was worried. Not only was he worried about a fire, but he was also worried about being reported to the court if something went wrong, so he personally led some government officials to inspect the city.
Different from the East and West markets in Chang'an, or the South and North cities in Luoyang, Yangzhou city is divided into large and small markets, both of which are located in the center of the city, showing the prosperity of merchants.
Because there are many large and small rivers such as Zhuo River, Hangou River, and Guan River passing through the city, there are many awning boats and many bridges, giving it a Jiangnan water town style.
Li Xiyan had to cross a Kaiming Bridge to go to the big city. Before he reached the bridge, he saw that the front was blocked.
People gathered around the river or stood on the bridge, stretching their necks and looking desperately at a painting boat on the Guan River. Some people carried their children on their shoulders, and some climbed up the stone pillars beside the bridge.
The railings of high-rise buildings by the river were also lined with beautiful prostitutes and guests, either holding lanterns or waving scented handkerchiefs, cheering and cheering.
"Why are we crowding here? What if there's a stampede?" Li Xiyan frowned and ordered the government officials to disperse the crowd.
He didn't want to squeeze into the crowd and turned around to walk away.
At this moment, a poem came to his ears.
"The night bridge is lit up with stars, and the water and sails are close to the bullfighting."
Li Xiyan stopped and looked back, and saw that people were singing this poem, but in the dim light, he could not see who had written this poem.
He then grabbed a spectator and asked, "Who is composing a poem?"
"In the water...no, on the boat, Li Taibai and King Yong were writing poems on the awning boat!"
"That was Li Bai's poem just now?"
Li Xiyan was very surprised and thought that if the poem was written by Li Bai, it showed that he was really here.
It seems that a liar pretended to be King Yong and deceived Li Bai. No, Li Bai had exchanged poems with King Yong at Lantian Station in his early years. How could he not recognize this?
"No, it's King Yong's turn."
"Are you saying that the poem just now was written by King Yong?"
Li Xiyan then let go of his hand, pushed aside the crowd and walked forward.
"Give way, give way."
In such a lively night market, people did not care whether he was a clan member or a prefect, they would huddle together and not let him pass, and would clap and cheer him from time to time.
Finally, the sparkling water of the Guan River caught his eye, and he heard the clear conversation.
"If Saburo is like this, I will have to take out my old poems."
Li Xiyan squeezed forward, but the futou fell to the ground and could not be found in the chaos. There was a scholar next to him who scolded him for being vulgar and not knowing etiquette at all.
Fortunately, the awning boat also fell into his eyes.
A handsome figure stood on the bow of the boat, drinking wine with his head raised. Then he poured the wine from the pot into the river and said with a sigh: "Master Meng will be happy if he can see you."
Following this sentence, he recited loudly: "My old friend bids farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and the fireworks descend from Yangzhou in March."
Li Xiyan squinted his eyes and saw that this person was actually Li Bai.
He took another step forward, looked attentively, and saw another young man beside Li Bai. He had a straight figure, a majestic appearance, and an aura of grace.
What kind of person could compel Li Bai to compose new poems due to poetry exchanges with him, so he could only deal with old poems?
"Hahaha."
Li Bai recited a poem, waved his sleeves, and lost all the desolation of missing his old friend. He laughed and said: "You have to drink this glass of wine no matter what. I respect you on behalf of Master Meng."
"Li Taibai, don't be shy, I haven't lost to you in poetry."
Xue Bai didn't know how many drinks he had drank, and he was already a little drunk, but Li Bai still drank another drink.
After taking this drink, his body began to sway with the boat, and the bright moon in the water seemed to be swaying with him.
The poetry was also shaken out.
"But there are also poems?"
"besides."
"Okay, come on!"
For a time, the onlookers on the bridge cheered one after another, and the beauties upstairs danced their sleeves to add to the fun.
Xue Bai glanced inside the awning, then looked at the moon in the water, raised the empty cup, and chanted.
"Ms. Xiao's face is so thin that it's hard to shed tears, and her peach-leaf brows are prone to sadness."
"The world is divided into three parts on a bright moonlit night, and two parts are Yangzhou's scoundrels."
The originally noisy scene fell silent.
It is not difficult to make Yangzhou lively tonight, but what is difficult is the silence at this moment.
"good!"
After a moment of silence, there was thunderous cheers.
The breeze blew by, bringing with it a wisp of fragrance. The beautiful prostitutes on the tall buildings threw down their handkerchiefs and flew lightly in the air. Unfortunately, they failed to land in the awning boat, but one of them landed on Li Xiyan.
on the head.
Only then did he realize that the awning boat was still slowly flowing downstream, and he quickly chased it.
On the boat, Xue Bai was in high spirits and kept urging Li Bai to drink. Before Li Bai could put down his glass, he recited another poem.
"Ten miles long street with endless markets, watch the gods on Yueming Bridge."
"Life is only suitable for death in Yangzhou, where the Zen wisdom mountain is bright and the tomb field is good."
Li Bai just finished the glass of wine, laughed loudly and said, "I am the banished immortal", and simply raised the wine bottle to his mouth and drank.
Xue Bai laughed, followed by another song, one after another.
"The wine shop is in the down and out rivers and lakes, the waist is slender and the palm is light."
"After ten years of dreaming about Yangzhou, I won the lucky reputation of a brothel."
~~
When Xue Bai woke up, his head was extremely dizzy.
When he was with Li Bai, he would inevitably drink more than he could drink. Last night he probably drank four or five drinks, which was considered an improvement.
Sitting up on the couch, he could smell the faint fragrance in his nose and observed the side room.
Spring comes earlier in the south than in the north, and even the sunlight shining through the window panes is full of joy. Through the bead curtain, I can see many newspapers and storybooks, and calligraphy and paintings are hung on the walls. The handwriting is beautiful.
Yan Yan's handwriting.
This is the house he bought in Yangzhou. It was the home where he gave Yan Yan refuge during the war in the north.
He felt very comfortable and lay back down again.
The door opened with a "squeak", and someone walked in carrying a bowl of hangover soup. It was Qing Lan.
For two years, Xue Bai couldn't get along with her. When they met two days ago, it was the time when they were getting married. Therefore, the hangover soup was put aside without drinking it. The two of them had a good time with each other, which made them even drunker.
.
"Mr. Lang, my wife is a little angry."
"Um?"
Xue Bai and Yan Yan met the day before yesterday. They were very happy and did not think she was angry.
"Is it because I was drunk last night?"
"I don't know." Qinglan said, "We woke up in the morning, but after waiting for a long time, my husband didn't wake up, and my wife went to the yard angrily."
Xue Bai then stood up and walked into the courtyard.
This house is quite large, and the gardens here are not as square and symmetrical as those in the north. The gardens in the south pay attention to taking advantage of the situation to create a winding path leading to a secluded artistic conception.
After bypassing two bamboo gardens, Xue Bai got lost.
When he reached a fork in the road along the pond, he was hesitating about which way to go. Suddenly, small pebbles fell out of the flowers on the side and landed on the path with a thud.
Xue Bai looked into the flowers and saw a colorful skirt running away in panic.
It was Yong'er, the maid next to Yan Yan. She saw him standing on the pavilion and felt anxious for him, so she had to remind him.
Yong'er led the way and finally looked back. Seeing Xue Bai following him, he quickly ran into the back garden, where Yan Yan was doing Tai Chi, muttering "big fool" and so on.
"Madam, your husband is here."
Yan Yan turned around and saw Xue Bai. She ignored him and waved Yong Er away. She even gave her a lesson, "You're in a hurry." Then she went to boxing on her own.
Two years later, she no longer looked as sickly as before. She looked slimmer and had a healthy blush on her cheeks.
Xue Bai stepped forward and stood beside her naturally, doing a set of punches with her while laughing at himself about how he had just lost his way and making fun of his own embarrassment.
Yan Yan just said "hum".
"Are you angry? I went to the lantern market with you last night and it was fine."
"Obviously I was drinking with Li Taibai, but he said he would accompany me to the lantern market. Li Taibai is currently using soft words to coax the wife of the clan, but she is more sensible than you."
Xue Bai was amused when he heard this and said, "I am too ignorant. I just want to apologize to you."
Yan Yan glanced at him, turned her head and said, "This is not the only thing you have done to offend me."
"Okay, you eat something and settle the accounts with me one by one."
After Yan Yan heard this, she pursed her lips slightly as if she wanted to laugh, but held it back.
The two of them sat in the garden, and Yong'er served tea.
Yan Yan picked up a sweet-scented osmanthus cake and took a small bite. She felt her lips and teeth were fragrant. When she turned around, she saw that Xue Bai was not eating and was looking straight at her.
She then stepped on him lightly.
"See what I do?"
"I haven't seen you for a long time. Let's see how you have changed." Xue Bai looked back, seeming a little embarrassed.
Yan Yan clapped her hands and said: "Okay, now I will settle the accounts with you, one by one. Let me ask you, what is the meaning of the poem 'Win the reputation of a brothel'? I haven't seen you in two years. Are you here?"
Is it already such a famous name in Huanchangjian?"
It turned out that her dissatisfaction over the past two years had erupted because of this poem.
Xue Bai was already a little drunk when he was composing the poem last night and did not think thoroughly.
He touched his nose and replied: "This poem is actually written from Li Taibai's perspective."
In this way, it will be appropriate.
Yan Yan then spared him and said: "Let me ask you again, you said that we were sent to Yangzhou to escape the war. Why did you send me here, but they could stay with you when you were free?"
"That was an accident. I have been busy quelling chaos in the past two years, so I don't see her very often."
"It seems that you want to see them often?" Yan Yan added: "When I got married, my husband's name was 'Xue Bai', but later he changed his name to 'Li Qian'. Everyone in the world knew about it.
But I was the last to know."
She didn't look fierce, her voice was quite soft, but her sparkling eyes looked very serious.
"As your wife, you don't tell me anything because I'm not trustworthy, right?"
Xue Bai said: "It's because you are still young and I don't want you to get involved in these turmoils."
"Hmph, I'm young, so how much older are you than me?" Yan Yan refused and complained: "You act old and arrogant all the time, don't think I didn't see you, you still jump up and imitate tree branches when you walk.
childish."
"Okay." Xue Bai did not avoid these questions. He met her eyes and said, "I won't hide these things from you in the future. I will just discuss them with you."
"Then are you really the son of Prince Ying?"
Xue Bai smiled bitterly. It was of little significance to talk about these things now, but rather quite risky.
Yan Yan just wanted to make things difficult for him. She smiled proudly and stopped asking questions. She changed the subject and asked, "Do you like older women?"
"What?"
"There are rumors in the market that you have an affair with Concubine Yang..."
At this time, Qinglan hurried over and said: "Mr. Lang, I have a visitor asking to see you. It is the prefect of Guangling who has come to visit."
Xue Bai then stood up and said, "I'll go see him."
~~
In terms of seniority, Li Xiyan was Li Longji's uncle. When Xue Bai met him, he should be treated as a junior.
But Li Xiyan just waved his hand and asked him not to talk about etiquette. He didn't know whether he didn't recognize Xue Bai's clan status or was not interested in these red tapes. He asked straight to the point: "Why did you come to Yangzhou?"
"Before, I sent my family to Yangzhou to escape the war. Now that the war has passed, I have some free time, so I came to pick them up in person." Xue Bai responded calmly.
"The war in the north has passed, but war has started again in the south." Li Xiyan asked: "Li Lin said that you sent someone to contact him and agreed to start a rebellion, but is it true?"
"If I want to rebel, how can I come to Yangzhou alone?" Xue Bai said, "If the saint orders me to return to the capital, I will set off immediately; if he orders me to relieve my power, I will hand over the seal of the general marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. I can do it.
I have done everything, and I am loyal to the sun and the moon, but the world still doubts me, so believe it or not."
Before, Li Xiyan also firmly believed that Xue Bai wanted to usurp the throne, but now he saw with his own eyes that Xue Bai had indeed abandoned everything and went to Yangzhou. Would a person with ulterior motives and evil intentions do this?
He had to admit that Xue Bai was a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty.
"I believe in you." Li Xiyan then sighed, "The current prince is your biological brother. If you can sincerely assist you, you can become a virtuous king for a generation. The story of a brotherly relationship, a relationship between the king and his ministers, will last forever. The rest is extraordinary.
Don't think about your duties. As long as you stick to your duties, people's misunderstandings about you will be eliminated sooner or later."
Xue Bai listened impatiently to what he said and responded: "I have no intention of being in officialdom anymore. I only hope to be able to leave my secular duties and travel around the world."
"It's time for the country to employ people, especially for a clan that needs young and talented people like you. Don't belittle yourself." Li Xiyan gave a few words of false persuasion.
Xue Bai pretended that he had no intention of fighting, but in fact, if Li Cong really dared to take away his power, he would definitely not make it easy for Li Cong.
Li Xiyan came to test Xue Bai today. He did not think that Xue Bai came to Yangzhou just to pick up people, and asked: "Are you worried that Li Lin will go down the river and occupy Yangzhou?"
"I heard that the imperial court has sent Wang Shi to quell the rebellion. I believe there will be a great victory soon."
Xue Bai showed an attitude that it had nothing to do with him, as if he would not care about anything if he was under suspicion.
While he was talking, he saw a servant rushing outside the lobby and gestured to him to indicate that there was an urgent message to be delivered.
Seeing this situation, Xue Bai had a guess in his mind, and instead of reading the urgent letter in front of Li Xiyan, he calmly waved the servant away.
After talking for about two-quarters of an hour, someone from Li Xiyan hurried over.
"Prefect, urgent report from Dengzhou!"
"What's the matter?"
Li Xiyan heard a bad news instead of a good news, but an urgent one, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.
Sure enough, his men stepped forward quickly and whispered: "Wang's army has been defeated. The rebels have defeated Cui Yuan's main force and have gone straight to Shangzhou."
Li Xiyan was shocked and turned to look at Xue Bai, then left.
Xue Bai watched him go away, then called the servants just now, took the urgent letter, opened it and saw that it was indeed from Dengzhou.
His information was more detailed, and he knew that Cui Yuan was still intending to surrender and was not ready for war. He was suddenly attacked by Ji Guangchen, the general under Li Lin, and had to retreat quickly.
Ji Guangchen led his troops to catch up, but Cui Yuan's side quickly formed a rout because the commander and supervisors had fled.
As a result, the defense of Wuguandao, which was originally difficult to attack, was also destroyed, and Chang'an was shaken.
This situation was exactly the same as when Li Longji forced his brother Shu Han to go out to fight in Tongguan. It can be seen that the court did not learn a lesson at all. The so-called "posterity will regret it but not learn from it."
Xue Bai read the information and wrote a letter to Du Jin who was still in Chang'an. He sent someone to deliver it on the fastest horse, and then turned around to look for Yan Yan.
As soon as he left the Houyi Gate, he saw Yan Yan sneaking back on tiptoes and was caught by him.
"Eavesdropping on what I'm talking to?"
"I'm curious." Yan Yan said, "I'm also concerned about national affairs."
"I won't allow it next time." Xue Bai said, "I will naturally tell you what I can tell you."
"Okay." This time it was Yan Yan who did something wrong. She quickly changed the subject and said, "I thought you came here because you expected King Yong to go down the river to pacify him."
Xue Bai said: "Can I still pacify him alone?"
"Don't you want to take the opportunity to control Jianghuai?" Yan Yan blinked and said narrowly: "Now your plan has failed?"
Xue Bai shook his head and said, "I really miss you, so I came to pick you up."
He was still thinking about the current situation in his mind, and blurted out this sentence casually.
Yan Yan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became quiet. She fiddled with her skirt for a while before letting out a dissatisfied snort.
"I don't believe it."
"I promised you." Xue Bai said.
Yan Yan asked: "Do you remember everything you promised me?"
Xue Bai had long thought that he had told Yan Yan that they should consummate their marriage after the rebellion was put down.
He was worried that her illness could not be tolerated, so he secretly observed her again. Later, she noticed her gaze again, and he looked away again.
He was obviously old and experienced, but strangely, every time he looked into Yan Yan's bright and clear eyes, he always felt a little embarrassed for no reason.
"I'm asking you something."
"I remember." Xue Bai replied, but he was a little worried that Yan Yan didn't remember.
He then tried to hold her catkins, but she didn't hide. She glanced up at him and then lowered her eyes, showing the shyness of a girl.
This is a gesture she has never had before. The ignorant little girl back then has now grown up...
It was night in Yangzhou, which added a bit of poetry to Xue Bai.
He saw that the girl's shy face could not hold back tears, and her peach-leaf brows were tightly knitted together. She was so beautiful.
The moonlight was bright and clear. If the moonlit night in the world were divided into three parts, he felt that all three parts would belong to Yangzhou.