On the wasteland, the wind howled by, and a skull swayed and fell to the ground.
A leg bone rolled with the wind and sand to the feet of a Tibetan boy. He leaned down and picked it up.
"Nobutong, what are you looking at?"
"I want to make a bone flute."
The Tubo boy named Ye Butong looked at the bones in his hands, his eyes bright, filled with love and longing for music.
"Haha, these bones can't be made into a bone flute. Good bone flutes are made from eagle bones, while bad ones are made from the bones of sixteen-year-old girls. Those who died on the battlefield are old and have loose bones."
Yebutong giggled twice, then picked up the bone and brought it back to the camp.
He walked quite far, and a huge camp gradually appeared in front of him, with more and more people around him.
Suddenly, a long horn sounded.
The cavalry roared in, shouting in Tubo.
"Assemble!"
"Everyone gather, the general will lead us into Chang'an!"
"Enter Chang'an..."
Nobutong ignored the shouts, only listened to the melody of the horn and whistled along with it.
His whistle was not sharp, but it was a trumpet full of murderous spirit that made people feel soul-stirring.
After walking for a while, he came to his station. As soon as his master Lang Jiezan saw him, he took out a whip and whipped him.
"Are you running around again? Why don't you go on an expedition with me?!"
Yebutong was Lang Jiezan's slave and his guard. Lang Jiezan was a down-and-out son of the Lang family. Because his family had old friendship with Da Zha Lu Gong, he was able to serve in Da Zha Lu Gong's army this time.
I thought that taking the Tang Dynasty was a good job, but I didn't expect it to be a tough battle. From last year to this year, not only did we not get any gold, silver or jade, but many guards died.
Therefore, Lang Jiezan had no choice but to let young slaves like Ye Butong mount horses and fight with him.
Ye Butong had nothing, not to mention armor and weapons. The horse he was riding on didn't even have a saddle or stirrups, only a broken bit and reins, which together with the horse belonged to Lang Jiezan.
The only things that belonged to him were a pair of tattered clothes and a dagger, and he also belonged to Lang Jiezan.
"Enter Chang'an!"
Teams of small teams gathered into a vast army and began to march eastward.
Nobutong rode his horse and wandered along the road.
He neither looked at the road nor pulled the reins, he just held a stone and polished the bones he had picked up.
This is a very labor-intensive matter.
Ahead, Lang Jiezan was looking for someone to talk to about this strategy.
"General Shandorel has attracted the main force of the Tang army in Qinlong. We bypass Guo Ziyi and attack Chang'an directly."
"In this case, if Guo Ziyi catches up, we will be in danger of being attacked from both sides."
"The general knows what he is thinking. Have you seen the Han man next to the general? That is a general of the Tang army in Jingzhou. Because he participated in the internal fighting in the Tang Dynasty, he escaped and joined the general, bringing with him great military intelligence."
The person who was talking to Lang Jiezan was a general under the command of Ma Chongmu, Dazalu Gong's younger brother, so he knew a lot of inside information, which made Lang Jiezan envious.
"Then can you win this battle?"
"Let me tell you, the Emperor of Tang is going to die. When we get to Chang'an, they won't even have an emperor."
Lang Jiezan raised his eyebrows, once again excited about this long battle that made him very tired.
The front of the team.
Under the tall banner is Dazalu Gong.
He is in his forties and in his prime. Although he is not tall, he is very strong. His face is covered with curly beard and his eyes are sharp. He looks energetic. His hair is disheveled, as if
A yak on the plateau.
At this time, he was riding a horse and playing with a telescope in his hand.
"You mean, this was also made by Xue Bai?"
"yes."
The person who answered had short hair, only an inch long, and was wearing monk's robes. He was Li Qiwu who had escaped from Chang'an.
Li Qiwu had just arrived in the Tibetan army. The expression on his face was not happy, because he actually despised Dazalu Gong from the bottom of his heart and disliked the strong stench of this barbarian, which was like cow excrement.
Mixed with mutton, it is mixed with the smell of blood from years of battlefield fighting.
The reason why Li Qiwu came this time was because he had been ordered by Li Longji to contact Da Zhalu Gong and use his military strength to seek restoration.
"General, it is better to call him 'Li Qian'." Li Qiwu said, "Although he is rebellious, the Supreme Emperor has never denied his identity."
Dazaru Gong said: "I heard that he also made the huge stone cannon that was used to attack Stone Castle City?"
"Yeah, I have to admit, he is a genius."
"In that case, why don't you pass the Tang Dynasty into his hands?"
Li Qiwu sighed and said, "Shall I tell a story to the general?"
"Okay." Dazaru said respectfully.
"Many years ago, I served as the governor of Shaanxi County, dug the Yellow River canal transport, and dug up auspicious signs in Taolin County to offer to the Emperor. The Emperor was very happy about this and renamed Taolin County Lingbao, and changed the reign name to '
Tianbao'. But after Li Qian took charge of the country, the first thing he did was to issue an edict not to allow any more auspicious gifts from various places. Li Qian also had a confidant named Hu Laishui, who was from Pinglu County on the other side of Taolin County. His mother-in-law was drafted back then.
The laborer was swept away by the water of the Yellow River. For this reason, Hu Laishui hated me very much. After he became powerful, he often spoke ill of me in front of Li Qian and wanted to get rid of me."
This story is very long. Although Dazalu Gong can understand Chinese, he still pondered it for a while before he understood it. In short, Li Qiwu and Xue Bai did not get along.
But based on this alone, he still didn't dare to believe Li Qiwu, so Li Qiwu told a second story.
"In those years, I served as an official abroad and did not return to Chang'an. But I still have a large house in Chang'an. It is located in Xuanyangfang, the best location. It covers a large area and is adjacent to the house of Mrs. Guo Guo."
Speaking of this, Li Qiwu also explained Yang Yuyao's identity to Da Zhalu Gong, and vividly described the comparison between Yang Yuyao and Chang'an dignitaries in terms of luxury. Unfortunately, the power of words still cannot restore the story of that year.
The prosperity of Chang'an.
"My house occupies a vast area and is as luxurious as Mrs. Guo's house."
When talking about this matter, Li Qiwu looked completely proud and boasted.
Dazhalu Gong was also very yearning after hearing this, and thought to himself that if one day he could attack the city of Chang'an with troops, he would definitely break into the city, ruthlessly rob the children of gold and silk, and return home with a full load.
"After Li Qian came to supervise the country, he issued an edict prohibiting comparisons among nobles in Chang'an and limiting the size of officials' homes. I had to sell my ancestral home. I knew at that time that Li Qian was not of the same mind as us. He was hypocritical and wanted to please the common people.
Let’s do the surgery.”
"Another thing happened before. During the Tianbao period, when I was still the governor of Jingling County, I let the guests live in the house in Chang'an. I accidentally knocked over the candles and drained the water, and the fire spread to Mrs. Guo's house.
At that time, Li Qian was there, in darkness with Mrs. Guo Guo's sisters."
Dazalu Gong raised his eyebrows and asked: "How could it be? According to your Han people's etiquette, the seniority is wrong, right?"
"At that time, Li Qian's identity had not yet been revealed." Li Qiwu said: "Moreover, those shameless and despicable people don't care about this at all and only think with their lower bodies."
"You Tang people are so dirty."
Dazhalu Gong commented, thinking about the romance in Chang'an City, but he also felt yearning in his heart.
Li Qiwu sneered twice and said: "In fact, the situation is far dirtier than the general thought. The 'sisters' I just mentioned refer to Yang Taizhen, the favorite concubine of the Supreme Emperor. That night, she happened to go out of the palace to have an affair with Li Qian.
Yes, he was trapped underground in the ruins due to the fire. It was because of this incident that the Emperor began to doubt their affair."
"Since Li Qian came to prison, not only did her confidants Hu Laishui slander me in every possible way, but she was also dissatisfied with me because of the Yang sisters. She would not reuse me and would definitely get rid of me sooner or later. Such a narrow-minded person will never
No matter what, we will never allow him to ascend the throne and take power."
Hearing this, Dazalu Gong understood more about the intrigues between the Li and Tang royal families. Li Longji would rather unite with foreign enemies than let his lost grandson succeed to the throne. There were quite complicated grievances behind it.
Gao Hui had promised him before that when he arrived in Chang'an, it would be a time when Emperor Li Cong of the Tang Dynasty had just died and the court was in chaos. Now that Li Qiwu is here, he can understand the whole story better through these secrets and past events.
I also have more confidence in the plan.
But at the same time, Dazalu Gong's original awe for the Tang Dynasty also faded away, and he began to feel contempt. It turned out that the Tang emperor, who was so powerful among all nations, was just a man with seven emotions and six desires.
"Don't worry, we have invited the general this time, and he will definitely be able to help the Supreme Emperor get rid of his evil grandson." The Han general riding on the other side said loudly.
He is Gao Hui, who was originally a general in Jingzhou. He has been secretly conveying military information to the Tubo army. In the previous battle, it was precisely because of his intelligence that Dazalu Gong defeated Guo Ziyi's army and caused Wang Nan's troops to go elsewhere.
.
Li Qiwu once reported Gao Hui to Xue Bai, but Gao Hui was actually ready to flee at that time. This cruel trick once allowed Li Qiwu to gain Xue Bai's trust, and he contacted some powerful people in Chang'an City, including Li Chenghong.
, but unfortunately it was finally discovered by Yan Quanming.
"When the time comes, Lord Tang must not forget the promised reward." Dazalu said with a respectful laugh.
"That's natural." Gao Hui and Li Qiwu responded in unison.
The army marched until evening and was very close to Pingliang City, which is one of the gateways to Chang'an.
Dazhalu Gong ordered to station at Hushan on the north bank of the Xijing River.
He was not in a hurry, but Li Qiwu was more anxious than him. When he heard that the camp was set up, he immediately ran to urge him.
"General, what's going on? This place is only a few hundred miles away from Chang'an. If Li Qian's sentinel horse discovers us, we can expedite the news for five hundred miles and the news can be sent to Chang'an in one day."
Dazalu said respectfully: "You also know that it is a post message that changes people and horses. My army cannot run as fast as sending a post message, the horses will burst their lungs. Since we can't kill Chang'an in one day, it will be the same whether we arrive early or arrive late.
of."
"How could it be the same?" Li Qiwu said: "If we arrive one day earlier, the Supreme Emperor will be able to control the situation one day earlier."
"When your emperor dies, the funeral will take seven days. Our army has come so far to Chang'an. Isn't that enough?"
"But if the news reaches Chang'an, Li Qian will deploy precautions in advance, and it will be difficult to fight."
Dazalu said respectfully: "If the news reaches Chang'an, Li Qian's troops will only be afraid and take refuge with the Supreme Emperor. If so, we won't have to wait for us to arrive, and we will be done."
Li Qiwu heard the slander, but he didn't dare to express his anger and remained silent.
He lingered for a while, glanced at Dazalu Gong, and suddenly asked, "Has the general been drinking?"
Dazarugong waved his hand, but he was indeed a little confused and suffocated, as if he was drunk.
He was not the only one in the army like this. Many soldiers and herdsmen felt tired and weak, lethargic and dizzy, with chest tightness and diarrhea. Because they lived on the plateau with thin air all year round, every time they went to a lower altitude, they would feel tired because they were not used to this.
I felt a little drunk from the thick air.
On the contrary, every time the Tang army invaded Tubo, they were often unable to adapt to the thin air there.
This year I have adapted to the height of Longshan Mountain. As we headed east today, the terrain became lower and lower. By evening, Dazalu Gong had already yawned several times.
"As you can see, our soldiers have been fighting fiercely for more than a year, and they are so tired now that they have to go to a place with such a bad climate."
Li Qiwu was stunned for a moment, wondering why he immediately changed his attitude at night when he was talking so well in the morning.
"General, what do you mean?"
Dazarugong half-squinted his eyes and said casually: "This march is harder than expected."
Li Qiwu said: "What?"
"The Tang Dynasty was rich and prosperous. We helped the Emperor to quell his rebellion, but we only got a small reward, and the soldiers were very reluctant."
Li Qiwu then understood what Dazalu Gong meant and said, "In that case, I'll ask the Emperor to give him another 20,000 pieces of silk. How about that?"
Dazarugong waved his hand lazily, and a soldier immediately unfolded a map and placed it in front of him.
He tapped his finger lightly and pointed at the location of Anxi and Beiting on the map without saying a word.
Li Qiwu understood that this meant that Tang Dynasty should cede Anxi and Beiting.
He was very embarrassed. He stood there and hesitated again and again, and finally said: "I can't make the decision on this matter. Why not wait until we get to Chang'an to report to the Ming Emperor for further discussion?"
Dazalu Gong was not in a hurry, smiled slightly, and said: "That's fine."
Li Qiwu had no choice but to plead in every possible way, promising more gold, silver, jade and silk, and finally made Dazalu Gong promise to arrive within five days.
After leaving the tent, he felt angry and couldn't help but curse secretly.
"Eating dog intestines, I don't know what you, a barbarian, have planned. I thought that if you send troops to scare Li Qian, you can receive the reward from the Supreme Emperor. If you delay the march, you still want to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. You don't keep your word, and you have no idea.
A villain who doesn’t know the etiquette of poetry and writing!”
Despite the criticism, Li Qiwu also believed that Dazalu Gong had grasped the schedule of the march just right. Marching slowly in this way while inquiring about Chang'an could indeed allow the Tibetan army to take their time and maximize their interests.
Anyway, in just a few days, can the situation change drastically?
Thinking about this, Li Qiwu walked through the camp all the way. Suddenly, Li Qiwu's ears twitched and he stopped.
He faintly heard the sound of a flute.
Being extremely sensitive to music, he immediately walked a certain distance in the direction of the sound. Gradually, he heard the gentle and melodious sound of the flute clearly, and he felt like he was returning to his original nature.
"As expected."
Li Qiwu murmured, quickened his pace and continued to move forward.
To be able to hear such excellent flute music among these barbarian soldiers, in his opinion, there are only a few people in the world who can play with such level.
The Supreme Emperor, King Si Qi, Li Guinian... who ended up living here?
As the sound of the flute got closer, the tents in front became more and more dilapidated, and there were even no tents at all. The dirty-clothed slaves lay on the ground, like stones blending into the space between heaven and earth.
Li Qiwu is a very elegant person. He likes tea, poetry, Zen, and music even more.
It is precisely because of this that he is regarded as the one who is deeply loved by Li Longji in the clan, but it is also precisely because of this that he was jealous of Li Linfu and was demoted to Jingling. Although he was frustrated in officialdom, his love for elegance was
Comes from the heart.
After stepping on the land full of cow dung, Li Qiwu finally saw the flute player.
He originally thought it would be a famous person captured by the Tibetan army, such as Dong Tinglan, Lei Haiqing and so on.
But under the moonlight, what he saw was a thin figure.
It was a young man who was playing his flute with his eyes closed and his breath was as even as the breeze blowing through the mountains.
He was completely unaware of Li Qiwu's approach.
When the song ended, the young man raised his head and looked at the moon in the sky.
"Blowing the Qiang flute to close the mountains and the moon, I don't have to worry about the golden boudoir." Li Qiwu said with emotion.
The young man turned back with fearful eyes and asked: "Poetry?"
"What?"
Li Qiwu was stunned for a moment, and unexpectedly discovered that the young man in front of him was actually a Tibetan and a slave.
It was hard for him to believe that such beautiful flute music actually came from a Tibetan boy. But music is just like that. It is the most important thing in the world, and therefore it is also the most precious.
"Tang poetry, it's Tang poetry, did you read it?" the young man asked, his eyes full of longing.
"You like poetry?"
"Yes." The young man nodded vigorously.
Li Qiwu asked: "What's your name?"
"Nobutong."
"Who taught you that piece of music just now?"
"I have no one to teach me." Nobutong tried his best to speak the Chinese he knew, "I like to play the flute."
With that said, he handed the flute in his hand to Li Qiwu.
What surprised Li Qiwu was that it was actually an extremely rough bone flute. The texture of the bones was not good, and there were a few cracks during the manufacturing process.
"Is this an eagle flute?" Li Qiwu said, "You call it 'Rao'."
"Bone flute, the bones I picked up."
Li Qiwu smiled, handed back the bone flute, and took out a xun he carried with him from his sleeve.
He nodded to Nobutong, and then started playing, playing a piece of music composed by Li Longji, "The Music of the Cup."
In terms of technical skills, he was much superior to Nobutong, but this time he knew that his playing could not be completely immersed in the music like Nobutong.
After finishing the song, Li Qiwu handed the xun to Ye Butong.
"Thank you."
Nobutong was overjoyed, his eyes shone with surprise, but he asked: "Really?"
"Reward you."
This immediately became the most precious thing Nobutong owned. He quickly took it with both hands, put it to his mouth and started playing without wiping it.
It was also the "Qingbei Music". When he played it for the first time, he was very unskilled and made many mistakes and flaws. However, there was inexplicably more emotion in his music, something more touching.
Li Qiwu stroked his beard with satisfaction.
He once heard that people in Anxi would go to the vast desert to look for gems. Although they were likely to become bones buried under the sand, there was a very small chance of finding a unique treasure.
This Tubo boy Ye Butong was the treasure he found. He planned to dedicate him to the Emperor.
When asking for a slave, Li Qiwu only needed to discuss with the slave's owner. He bought Yebutong from Lang Jiezan for ten pounds of tea.
"I can catch as many worthless slaves as I want. Tea leaves that cannot be grown in Tibet are valuable." Lang Jiezan said.
After bringing Ye Butong back, Li Qiwu called for an interpreter and told Ye Butong a story.
"When I was the prefect of Jingling, I met a man who looked very much like you. He was from a humble background and was ugly, but I saw his talent at a glance, tea ceremony. After my appreciation, he has now become famous.
Sooner or later you will hear the name of the tea sage who spreads all over the world, his name is Lu Yu."
Ye Butong opened his mouth excitedly and said, "Lu Yu, Tea Sage, I know."
This is a studious slave.
"You will be the next Lu Yu I discover."
"I don't know how to make tea."
"You can play." Li Qiwu said, "I will dedicate you to the Emperor. He will soon rule the world again, and you can become his favorite musician. Do you know Liyuan?"
Nobutong shook his head, but he was obviously very interested in this matter. He stared at him tightly and couldn't move his eyes away, his eyes were bright and full of curiosity.
Li Qiwu couldn't help but smile and patiently talked about what the pear garden was like and the prosperity of music during the Tianbao period.
Ye Butong was so fascinated by what he heard that he even trembled with excitement.
If he were Da Zhalu Gong, he would definitely try his best to march eastward and help Li Longji restore his power.
For such a monarch with superb musical skills, Ye Butong felt that it was natural for him to help him annex Tubo.
It's a pity that he is just a little slave.
It doesn't matter, Da Zha Lu Gong and Li Qi Wu will take care of those important things, and he only needs to go to Chang'an to pay homage to the Supreme Emperor.
The army marched again, and Yebutong was already full of longing.
However, three days later, news came from the front, which was completely beyond the expectations of Dazalu Gong and Li Qiwu.
~~
"Both the Lord of the Tang Dynasty and the Supreme Emperor passed away, and Li Qian has ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor..."
"What?!"
Li Qiwu screamed and fell to the ground.
He put everything on the line and placed a bet, but just at the opening moment, he lost everything. Unlike some gamblers, at least they lost slowly step by step and enjoyed the process.
Li Longji, Li Cong, Li Heng, and Li Chu were all dead. He didn't even have anyone to rely on, and he couldn't gain Xue Bai's trust. Returning to Chang'an would only lead to death.
Li Qiwu had no intention of listening to the information anymore and only thought about his own future. After much deliberation, he decided to flee to Anxi.
However, just as he was about to ask, Dazalu Gong suddenly stood up and issued a military order.
"Send the order, the whole army will march immediately and attack Chang'an!"
Dazalu Gong actually changed his original attitude of being in no hurry and did not intend to attack any prefectures and counties along the way, but wanted to drive directly to Chang'an.
For him, before, he still had the idea of sitting on the sidelines and profiting from the situation. Now that the results of the internal fighting in the Tang Dynasty have come out, he can seize the fruits of victory as quickly as possible.
"General, I want to go to Anxi for you..."
"Want to leave?"
Dazalu Gong actually patted Li Qiwu on the shoulder and said, "You are also a member of Li Tang's clan. Do you want to be the emperor?"
"What?"
"I'm actually very far away..."
Before Li Qiwu finished speaking, he was already taken away without even a chance to refuse.
Perhaps the news of the approaching Tibetan army really scared Xue Bai.
The very next day, news came back from the front again——
The emperor of the Tang Dynasty personally marched to fight Dazhalu Gong, and he had already marched past Liquan.
The two sides unexpectedly met on a narrow road...