Recalling the heyday of Kaiyuan in the past, the small town still contained thousands of families.
The rice is dripping with fat and the corn is white, and both the public and private warehouses are abundant.
There are no jackals or tigers on the roads of Kyushu, and the sunrise is auspicious for a long journey.
Qi Wan and Lu's carriages and carriages are moving in shifts, and the men plowing the fields and the women mulching trees keep up with each other.
The saint in the palace plays Yunmen, and all the friends in the world are glued together.
——Excerpt from "Remembering the Past" by Du Fu
…
On September 24, Guangzhou reported: "The Great Eclipse and the Persian coalition forces surrounded the city. Governor Wei Li fled over the city. The coalition forces looted warehouses, burned houses, and sailed across the sea."
Seeing this report, Bai Fu hurriedly sent the news to the Persian general Alberts to let him know the details.
…
In winter, on October 5th, Suzong consecrated King Li Chu as the crown prince and changed his name to Li Yu. On May 19th of this year, Suzong had already consecrated Li Chu as the crown prince, but for some unknown reason, he mentioned it again here.
All the court officials were confused. Only Princess Qingluan, Bai Fu and others knew the reason for Suzong's change of heart.
Along with this, Suzong suddenly began to reward his ministers, granting them rewards according to the rank of civil and military officials and imperial guards.
Since regaining the two capitals, Suzong has never given any rewards to his ministers.
The court's explanation to the outside world was that after the newly minted Qianyuan Chongbao was issued, the court had money and silk in its hands as a reward.
…
The crown prince's position was secure, and Prince Li Chu finally felt relieved. It was inconvenient for Li Chu to come forward, so he asked Princess Qingluan to express his gratitude to Bai Fu on his behalf.
Seeing that the conflict between the imperial brother and Bai Fu had eased, Princess Qingluan was overjoyed. When she left the palace that day, she made a special trip to entertain Bai Fu.
Since it is a banquet for Bai Fu, we cannot eat or drink in the Bashu Guild Hall, otherwise it will become a free meal again.
Princess Qingluan worked hard and finally summoned Bai Fu out of the Bashu Guild Hall.
Bai Fu thought to himself: "That's fine, since I went to Mount Zhongnan for military training, I haven't been to Chang'an City for a long time."
The two of them took their attendants to the well-known wine shop in the West City, the "Exalted Immortal House". This place is famous for Li Taibai. Every time Li Bai got drunk at the "Exalted Immortal House", he would publish a masterpiece and become famous all over the world. The owner of the wine shop simply decided
The restaurant was renamed "Exiled Immortal Restaurant".
The weather is relatively cold today, with heavy clouds and a howling north wind. Princess Qingluan is afraid of the cold, so she wraps herself in thick fur and hides in the carriage.
Bai Fu rode beside him, walking slowly.
It was freezing cold, and there were not many pedestrians on the street. A broken ox cart creaked along the street. When he saw the princess's driver, the driver hurriedly drove the ox cart aside and stopped, shivering, and let Luan drive.
As he drove past the bullock cart, Bai Fu looked sideways and saw that the driver's face was dusty, his temples were gray, and his fingers were dark. The bullock cart was loaded with a cart full of charcoal.
"It turns out he is a charcoal seller." Bai Fu thought to himself, "He came out to make a living in such a cold weather. He probably wanted to take advantage of the cold weather and sell it at a good price."
The carriage soon arrived at the "Exalted Immortal Building". On the street in front of the wine shop, dozens of women and children squatted under the wall, wearing single clothes and with grass signs on their heads.
Princess Qingluan asked curiously: "It's such a cold day, and they are not staying at home. What are they doing here? Is it to beg for food?"
Bai Fu sighed: "They are all children from poor families. It is estimated that the family is in trouble. They come here not only to beg for food, but also to sell their children and daughters."
Princess Qingluan was shocked and said: "It's not easy to conceive in ten months, why do you want to sell it? Don't you feel distressed as a parent?"
Bai Fu said sadly: "How can I not feel distressed?! Who would sell his own flesh and blood if he couldn't live anymore?
On the other hand, by selling the child, the child can still have food to eat and may be able to live. With his biological parents, he may not be able to survive this winter."
When Princess Qingluan heard this, she burst into tears. She took away all the money from Bai Fu. Regardless of the severe cold, she got off the carriage, walked to the wall of the square, and distributed the money in her hand to the poor in turn.
women and children.
Everyone knelt on the ground, kowtowed and thanked the Bodhisattva for coming to earth.
Princess Qingluan burst into tears and cried: "It's too cold. Everyone, please go back quickly and have a warm meal to warm your body."
…
The "Exalted Immortal Tower" was full of guests, including many royal relatives and descendants of aristocratic families. They had a banquet here, fisting and playing, and the sound of silk and bamboo could be heard endlessly. Compared with the cold wind hunting outside the building, the place was extremely noisy and life was like a dream.
From time to time, a disheveled singer would rush out of the room holding a musical instrument, followed by a drunken young man staggering after her.
Not to mention Princess Qingluan, even Bai Fu couldn't stand it. In the past, these dandies could only be so unbridled in brothels and singing houses, but now even restaurants are not clean.
After a period of life and death chaos, not many people cherish the hard-won peace.
Instead of restraining themselves, the dandy boys became more unscrupulous and indulged in drunkenness and dreams. Even the boys from aristocratic families who used to have lights at midnight and chickens at five watch also threw away the books of sages and lingered in the entertainment venues, enjoying life and squandering money with the attitude of having wine now and getting drunk now.
youth.
The world is declining and people's hearts are not as old as they used to be...
A thought came to Bai Fu's mind: "The war is about to break out. I and Bashu'erlang have been thinking so hard about it and eating and sleeping late at night. Is it just to protect these people?"
…
When they boarded the restaurant's private room and faced a crowd of delicacies, neither of them could swallow it.
Princess Qingluan sighed and said to the maid: "Let the guys take all these meals away and give them to the poor children at the door."
Princess Qingluan smiled apologetically at Bai Fu and said, "Brother Fu, I wanted to treat you to a nice meal, but it seems we have to wait for another time."
Bai Fu felt the same and smiled.
Princess Qingluan sighed: "I think about the time when the rice was dripping with fat and thousands of families had it, and the public and private warehouses were abundant. Every household in Chang'an would not close their doors at night, and they would not pick up things on the road. Now, the people have no food to eat, and no clothes to cover their bodies. This is the responsibility of our Li Tang royal family.
What a shame."
Bai Fu consoled him: "Let bygones be bygones. What we have to do now is to end the war as soon as possible and let the people return to their homes and resume farming."
Bai Fu smiled warmly, and Princess Qingluan's eyes were full of gratitude. She raised her wine cup and said, "Brother Fu, thank you. Thank you for saving my master, thank you for making my father and brother reconcile as before...
There are so many places to thank! I’d like to thank Qingluan for doing it first!”
…
The two were chatting when they heard a commotion downstairs.
Opening the window and looking out, I saw a messenger in yellow clothes and several men in white clothes, walking majestically through the street. They were the eunuchs and servants of the palace.
The charcoal seller I met just now saw the guards and wanted to take a detour to avoid it. Unexpectedly, the guards were sharp-eyed and took three steps at a time to cut off the charcoal cart.
Seeing a cart full of good charcoal, the head of the eunuch's eyes lit up and he waved his hand. The servants rushed forward, hung half a horse of red silk and a foot of silk on the head of the cow, and used it as money to buy charcoal, shouting
The bullock cart was pulled towards the palace.
A cart of charcoal weighed more than a thousand kilograms. The old charcoal seller was reluctant to part with it, but looking at the wolf-like guards, he had no choice but to drive the cart while wiping his tears.
Princess Qingluan was furious and said: "These slaves in the Chamberlain's Mansion dare to openly plunder, I can't do it illegally!"
Having said that, he rushed downstairs to intervene with force.
Bai Fu stopped in front of the princess, shook his head and said: "Since you are a eunuch of the Chamber of Commerce, you are relying on the influence of Li Fuguo, the chief chamberlain. You have a special status, so don't provoke them easily."
Qingluan Gongzhi was filled with anger and said: "I am the majestic Princess of the Tang Dynasty, am I still afraid of these eunuchs?"
Bai Fu said: "This person is sinister and vicious, and he will definitely retaliate. Even Mr. Li Mi retreated three feet away. Your brother-in-law almost lost his position as crown prince. Don't make any more strong enemies at this time."
Once Li Fuguo and Queen Zhang join forces, you and the prince will be no match for you. You must not make the same mistake as your brother Li Tan, King of Jianning."
When it comes to Prince Li Tan of Jianning, Princess Qingluan remains silent. The dignified prince has died in Xiaoxiao's quarrel, how can he guarantee that he can defeat the empress and the number one eunuch celebrity?
Bai Fu comforted him and said, "Don't be sad. Wait a moment, I will go downstairs to make arrangements. When the old man delivers the charcoal to the palace gate, I will have someone pay the charcoal to the old man. Don't worry, it will only be more, not less."
.”
Bai Fu's smile was bright, like a ray of sunshine dispelling the cold winter.