Chapter four hundred and fiftieth chapters of love
How deep is love? The sunset in the mountains and the autumn rain.
——Excerpt from "Butterfly Love Flower·Crossing the Fortress" by Nalan Xingde [Qing Dynasty]
…
In the mornings these past few days, the court was quite unquiet. The ministers started a fierce quarrel in the court. The focus of the dispute was: how to punish the rebel ministers who surrendered to the rebels when the two capitals fell.
Previously, Suzong ordered Li Xian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Lu Xian, the minister of the Ministry of War, to be the chief prosecutor respectively, and together with the chief prosecutor Cui Qi, they jointly tried the cases of Chen Xilie and other rebellious court officials. Li Xian ordered Li Qijun, the imperial censor in the palace, to be the judge of the detailed investigation. Li Xian,
Li Qijun handled the case fairly and leniently, while Lu Yan and Cui Qi were too harsh and harsh.
…
Bai Fu avoided these disturbances and stayed in his court room, holding on to the scroll.
Although Bai Fu deliberately kept a low profile, his arrival still attracted the attention of many young scribes in the Ministry of Hubu. Every day when Bai Fu passed by the courtyard of the Ministry of Hubu, many young scribes nodded to him with reverential eyes.
Although Bai Fu was not a martial artist and had never won the imperial examination, he was famous in both the government and the public for his impressive achievements. Bai Fu's experience was so legendary that it was hard not to admire him, especially the young and energetic young man.
Many of these low-level officials came from poor families and needed a role model like Bai Fu.
On this day, Bai Fu was immersed in studying in the east wing room, when he heard a commotion outside the house, and someone knocked on the door. Bai Fu opened the door, and two young scribes walked into the house, pushing and shoving.
The leader blushed and said, "Your Excellency, I am Sun Yansi, a clerk in the Ministry of Household Affairs. Entrusted by others, I have the courage to come and invite you to a dinner party."
Bai Fu put down the book in his hand and said with a smile: "We are all colleagues, so you are welcome. If you come to me about anything, you may as well speak up."
Sun Yan had already seen that Bai Fu had no airs, and bravely said: "It's nothing. We heard that the general was transferred back to the household department to recuperate, and we prepared some wine. Firstly, we wanted to cleanse the general. Secondly, we wanted to take this opportunity to invite you."
Sir, please tell us about the process of guarding Suiyang and the bloody battle at Xiangji Temple. I wonder when you will be free?"
Bai Fu smiled and said: "Okay, I can do it for these two days, it depends on your time."
Sun Yansi was overjoyed and said: "Sir, how about tonight?"
Just as Bai Fu was about to nod, he heard a loud laugh outside the door, saying, "Not tonight, we are going to take General Bai away today!"
Before he finished speaking, the door curtain opened, and two richly dressed people walked into the house. They were the sons of King Qing - King Siqing Li Qiu and King Xinping County Li Yan.
Seeing the two young princes arriving, Sun Yansi and others hurriedly left.
Bai Fu bowed to his colleagues and said with a smile: "My two old friends are here today, so I can only apologize. In two days, I will personally make arrangements and invite all the brothers to a gathering."
Sun Yansi and others were delighted, bowed to the two young princes and stepped back.
During the decisive battle on New Year's Eve, brothers Li Yan, Li Qiu and Bai Fu formed a deep friendship. After not seeing each other for many years, their feelings remained the same. The three of them hugged each other and laughed.
…
Arriving at Prince Qing's residence, Bai Fu couldn't help but be startled. In the past, the dance pavilion and singing stage of Prince Qing's mansion was so prosperous and beautiful. Now it has been looted by the rebels and is in a state of decline.
Thinking of Prince Qing's sincere love for him, Bai Fu felt quite sad.
Li Yan sighed: "The first time I saw him after returning home, I felt the same as you. Fortunately, my father left early, otherwise he would have been very sad."
Bai Fu said: "Little prince, how did you get here all these years?"
Li Qiu said: "We first escaped from Chang'an with the Supreme Emperor. After Maweipo divided our forces, we rushed to Shuofang while the rebels were busy plundering Chang'an and had no time to pursue.
The journey was extremely dangerous. First, on the banks of the Weishui River, we encountered a sudden encounter with the defeated troops at Tongguan. It was difficult to tell in the dark, and they killed each other, killing more than half of them.
After crossing the Wei River, they headed north via Fengtian and galloped for more than 300 miles day and night. When they arrived at Xinping, Anding and other cities, most of the defenders abandoned the city and fled.
Thanks to Li Tan, the king of Jianning, who escorted all the way with his soldiers and horses, the bandits were repelled many times..."
Li Yan coughed softly, and Li Qiu realized that he had made a mistake. He quickly changed the subject and said, "We didn't settle down until we arrived in Pingliang and entered Shuofang's jurisdiction."
Li Yan looked sad and cried: "We were lucky enough to escape, but the ministers, ministers, ministers and their families who did not have time to escape were all trapped in the devil's cave and suffered a disaster.
Men, young and old, from gray-haired old men to infants, were hacked to death, and no one was spared. The princesses, concubines, maids and wives of the court who were hiding outside the palace were brutally humiliated.
Shortly after the rebels occupied Chang'an, Sun Xiaozhe captured and killed Princess Huo, the elder sister of the Supreme Emperor. Many princesses, consorts, emperor's grandsons, princesses, county heads, etc. were cut open and their hearts removed to pay homage to An Qingzong, the son of the thief An.
More than 80 people, including Yang Guozhong, Gao Lishi's cronies, and the princes and ministers hated by the thieves, were beaten with iron rods in the street, their heads smashed, their brains were smeared on the ground, and their deaths were horrific.
In addition, the rebels searched day and night and escorted the captured court officials, princesses, concubines and other female family members to Luoyang in prison cars. The whole of Chang'an was like a hell on earth..."
The three of them lamented for a long time, and Bai Fu asked: "After retaking Luoyang, did all the female family members return safely?"
The two brothers Li Yan and Li Qiu looked at each other without speaking.
Bai Fu asked anxiously: "Did something happen to all these thousands of women?"
Li Yan sighed and said: "Although most of the female family members have been recovered, many women's families have turned them away because they were humiliated and tainted by the rebels. Many martyr women committed suicide, and many women became nuns.
, escape into the empty door."
Bai Fu was so angry that he slapped the table and knocked down all the cups and saucers: "They are worse than animals! Are they still human beings? They are all his wives, concubines and children. Falling into the rebel army is a tragedy in the world. It was a good luck to survive until the liberation."
It’s a blessing to be alive. If you don’t thank God for reuniting your family, how can you force these women to death!”
"Hush!" Li Yan made a silent gesture and said, "Brother Fu, be careful what you say!"
Bai Fu was furious and said, "What's wrong?"
Li Qiu said: "There are many relatives and nobles of the current dynasty here."
"Just tell me." Bai Fu said.
Li Qiu said: "Let's not mention others, let's talk about an old acquaintance of yours - Li Chu. The Supreme Emperor fled. Suddenly, when King Guangping Li Chu fled to the west, he only took his concubine Cui - that is, the daughter of Concubine Yang's sister, the Korean lady, and
Beloved concubine Dugu. Oh..."
When he said this, Li Yan glared at Li Qiu fiercely, and Li Qiu quickly covered his mouth.
Bai Fu glanced at Brother Li Yan with an intriguing expression.
Li Qiu spread his hands and said helplessly: "You also recognize this Dugu family. She is Dugu Xiaozhong, the eldest daughter of Duguying, the official of Zuowei Weilu, who joined the army.
After the death of the old feudal lord Dugu, his mother, Mrs. Pei, ignored Dugu Zhonglei’s objections and insisted on betrothing Miss Xiao Zhong to Prince Li Chu of Guangping.”
Seeing Bai Fu's expression as normal, Li Qiu felt relieved and continued: "Except for these two princesses, all the other female relatives of Prince Guangping were kidnapped to Luoyang by the bandits, including Shen, the biological mother of Prince Guangping's eldest son Li Shi."
Li Chu regained Luoyang and saw the Shen family in the Yeting Palace of the Eastern Capital. However, Li Chu believed that the Shen family had fallen into the hands of An Lushan and other thieves for a year, and had already been tainted and lost his face. Therefore, he was unwilling to send her
He was taken back to the Prince's Palace in Guangping, Chang'an, but left to fend for himself in Luoyang."
Seeing that Bai Fu's anger was still lingering, Li Yan quickly advised him: "Brother Fu, King Li Chu of Guangping has had a lot of trouble with you before, but he holds the power of the world's military and is about to be crowned prince. Please bear with me, brother Fu.
Don’t let them take advantage of you.”
Bai Fu snorted coldly and remained silent, his heart filled with contempt.
"Ruthless is the most imperial family!"
When Yang Yuhuan paid homage to the imperial concubine's tombstone in Maweipo, the scene of her crying on the ground came to mind again.
"Li Longji was stupid and ignorant. He used traitors and traitors, lost two capitals, and fled in a hurry. In order to quell the mutiny of the three armies, he used Bai Ling to give death to the woman he said he loved most. How can he be worthy of being a king's father if he is so ruthless?"
When Li Chu fled, he only took Concubine Yang's niece and the eldest daughter of the Dugu family with him. He didn't love these two people more, but he loved the family behind them more.
It's just a pity for Miss Xiao Zhong. How can we know whether marrying into an emperor's family is a blessing or a curse..."