On September 11th, the third year of Yifeng, just after the Double Ninth Festival, the Dashi envoys, which numbered more than 300 people, accompanied by General Liu Ziming of You Xiaowei, rushed to Chang'an City, so they went to Honglu Temple to submit the imperial document.
After the book was written, officials from the Ministry of Rites were sent to place it in the Lifan Courtyard. As soon as the news spread, the whole capital was abuzz with heated discussions about war and war. It was very lively.
"Your Highness, General Liu Ziming is here."
No matter how noisy outside, Li Xian ignored it. It wasn't that he didn't care, but the autumn harvest was just around the corner. There were so many submissions coming from various states, that Li Xian was so busy that he didn't even have time to breathe. He was immersed in the official documents.
In the midst of the rush, I saw Gao Miao hurriedly turning out from behind the screen, rushing to the front, and hurriedly reported.
"Oh? Ziming is here, okay, Xuan!"
Although he was burdened with official documents, Li Xian was still very happy when he heard that Liu Ziming had arrived. He put the pen in his hand on the pen holder and gave instructions with a smile.
"promise!"
Now that Li Xian had made his announcement, Gao Miao didn't dare to neglect him. He hurriedly responded and hurriedly exited the study. Without turning around, Liu Ziming, who was wearing bright armor, walked in from the outside.
"I will see you at last, Your Highness!"
Liu Ziming had not seen Li Xian in the past two years since he left Hexi. When he saw Li Xian sitting high and looking at him with a smile on his face, Liu Ziming's eyes immediately became wet and he quickly rushed forward.
He bowed and performed a standard military salute.
"No need, Zi Ming has had a hard journey, please come and show Zi Ming your seat!"
Looking at Liu Ziming's slightly weathered face, Li Xian couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart. He suddenly remembered the scene when they first met in Lantian. Now nine years have passed, and the shy young man back then is now
He has grown into a high-ranking general, which really made Li Xian feel quite emotional. After being stunned for a while, he smiled, raised his hand, and greeted him cordially.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Liu Ziming thanked him respectfully, and then sat on the brocade pier carried by a group of young eunuchs in an orderly manner, with a tall and straight military posture, as if he were listening respectfully to Li Xian's instructions.
"Well, now that Ziming has become a big official, the rules have become stricter. Look, he has the demeanor of a general in front of me."
As soon as he saw Liu Ziming acting so well-behaved, Li Xian couldn't help but laugh.
"Your Highness, the last general..."
Liu Ziming has been Li Xian's personal guard commander for many years, and he has always been very naughty. Among all the personal guards, he is the most unruly Liu Ziming. Now that he was revealed to Li Xian's face, his face turned red.
, I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to say.
"That's all, just relax in front of me."
After Li Xian teased Liu Ziming, he didn't hold on to him. He laughed and waved to indicate that Liu Ziming shouldn't be nervous.
"Hey, Your Highness is considerate of me. I'm sorry, I'm leading the troops now. If I don't show off when I come out, those guys below will rebel."
When Li Xian said this, Liu Ziming smiled shyly, and his true colors were immediately revealed.
"Oh? Hahaha... I haven't been this happy for a long time. Come and tell me how the war ahead is going."
Li Xian was amused by Liu Ziming's naughty attitude and burst into laughter. After laughing for a long time, he asked about the serious matter.
"Replying to Your Highness, after our army annihilated the enemy's 150,000 troops in the Surhan Valley, we marched directly into more than 40 cities, with overwhelming force and almost no resistance. By the beginning of May, we had recovered the entire territory of Persia, and by the beginning of June
, the food army was concentrated at the border, but they did not fight across the border. Instead, they sent envoys to test, saying that there was an envoy who wanted to go to Chang'an to negotiate peace with the Tang Dynasty. After discussion with General Lin and the other generals, they thought that among them
Perhaps he was sincere, so he sent his general to lead his troops to escort the envoy to Beijing. The journey went smoothly without any setbacks."
When it came to business, Liu Ziming didn't dare to be arrogant anymore. With a solemn look on his face, he briefly described the cause and effect of the matter.
"Well, is it stable ahead?"
Li Xian did not comment on what Liu Ziming said, but thought quietly for a moment before continuing to ask.
"If we attack, we may encounter difficulties, but our rules must be stable. After our successive great victories, our morale is strong, and with the help of eight thousand reinforcements sent by General Wang, the enemy will definitely defeat our army even if they attack with all their strength!"
"
When talking about the situation on the front line, Liu Ziming was very confident and gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.
"Well, Ziming has been tired from riding the horse all the way, so let's go down and rest first. I will host a banquet for you tonight."
Li Xian didn't ask any more questions, just smiled and waved his hand, and pushed Liu Ziming away, but he himself fell into deep thought...
Two flowers bloomed, one on each side. Not to mention that Li Xian was deep in thought in the study room of the East Palace, but in the Palace of the Prince of Yue, Li Zhen was also convening all his confidants to discuss the visit of the Dashi envoys.
"Wushuang, Shoude, you should already know the matter, so I won't say more. Let's talk about it. Do you have any ideas about this?"
The Caizhou case has come to an end long ago, but Li Zhen's mood has never really calmed down, because the blow he received was too great. No matter how strong Li Zhen's nerves are, there are some parts that he can't bear, and he is seriously ill.
After a few days, he had just recovered, but his complexion was still not very good. If he had not vaguely seen that there was something strange about the arrival of the Dashi envoys that could be dealt with, he would not have had the intention to gather people for discussion.
"My lord, my son-in-law thinks that this is a good opportunity for us to take advantage of the situation. As long as we operate it properly, the prince's son will not be able to eat and walk away!"
In the Yue Prince's family, Pei Shoude had always been as famous as Chen Wushuang, and because he was the son-in-law of the Yue Prince, he considered himself the number one counselor of the Prince's Palace. However, after several unfavorable attempts, his status had gone from bad to worse, and he was getting anxious.
In order to save this unfavorable situation, and because he thought that he had clearly seen the "truth" behind the war and the fog, he did not want to be upstaged by Chen Wushuang anymore, so he hurriedly responded to his own judgment.
"Well, go on."
Li Zhen's original intention was to take the opportunity to trick Li Xian, so she would not fail to see something fishy. The only uncertainty was how to deal with this black hand, and she would not have any objection to Pei Shoude's judgment.
"Your Majesty, it is clear that the reason why the war and peace disputes are raging now is nothing more than the struggle between the empress and the prince. For the country, peace should be the most advantageous choice, but for the heavenly family, war should be the choice.
The difference lies in the word "military power". The fundamental purpose of the empress's actions is to reduce the military power in the hands of the prince. Once this is achieved, the prince will have nothing to rely on. He will be nothing more than fish and meat on the board.
It’s time to strike. The key now is who will lead the peace negotiation. If the son-in-law’s predictions are correct, the empress and the prince will definitely quarrel over the candidate for the peace negotiation. Why doesn’t the prince take advantage of the situation and firmly hold the power of the peace negotiation?
At that time, war and peace will not be the final decision of the prince."
As soon as he saw Li Zhen acquiescing to his judgment, Pei Shoude became more energetic and hurriedly expressed his views in detail.
"Hmm..., what do you think of Wushuang?"
This was what Li Zhen originally had in mind, and she was certain of it. After all, no matter in terms of status or identity, there were very few people who could compare with him in the civil and military circles of the Manchu Dynasty. If he came forward to dispute the power of peace, others would think that It would be difficult to veto it. Coupled with Empress Wu's push, no matter how hard Li Xian persisted, he would definitely gain an advantage in the court meeting. Of course, if he thought so, if he really wanted to do it, Li Xian would Zhen still couldn't help but have some doubts in her heart, because Li Xian was not a good person to get along with. If he were to stand out as a special force, he would shoot himself in the foot. He didn't dare to make a decision easily, and thought to himself After thinking for a while, he still asked the question to Chen Wushuang, who was silent.
"Replying to the prince, I think that Brother Shoude's analysis is indeed good. This time, the empress does intend to take this opportunity to reduce the military power of His Highness. However, this is not the key. The person who really wants to do this should be the Holy One! Precisely because Therefore, it may be difficult to achieve this peace agreement. There is no need for the prince to personally handle it. He only needs to help the queen beat the drum during the court meeting. As for the person who presides over the peace negotiation, the prince might as well recommend His Highness the Crown Prince to do it. Already."
Chen Wushuang obviously did not agree with Pei Shoude's suggestion. He frowned slightly and revealed the key point of the matter in just a few words.
"Um?"
Upon hearing what Chen Wushuang said, Li Zhen couldn't help but froze, and remained silent for a long time. She couldn't figure out the secret of recommending Li Xian to preside over the peace talks, so she had to cast doubtful eyes on Chen Wushuang.
"Your Majesty knows it well. Anyone who negotiates for peace must eventually make some concessions. If a bottom line is set in advance, even a clever woman may not be able to make a meal without rice."
Although Li Zhen didn't say anything, Chen Wushuang could see where Li Zhen's doubts were at just one glance, so he nodded lightly.
"Bottom line? Hmm... wonderful, wonderful. If the prince takes over this matter but can't come up with the results, let's see how he can continue to run rampant. Well, very good!"
Li Zhenyuan was not a dull person. When Chen Wushuang mentioned this, he immediately woke up and couldn't help but cheer.
"Your Majesty, please don't be anxious. Since we have contributed so much this time, we can't do it in vain. We gave it to you. Your Majesty should give you some of the benefits. The fourth prince is currently idle, so why not It might as well be done together with this matter."
Chen Wushuang was not a kind person. Although he had decided to take this opportunity to submit a letter of surrender to Empress Wu, he would never forget to seek the benefits he deserved for his side.
"Yes, that's exactly what it is. Shoude, I'll go find that boy Ge Gong and tell him what I want."
Li Zhen has always been very decisive in her actions. Now that she has made a decision, she can act very quickly.
"No, my son-in-law will do it right away."
Seeing that all his efforts were in vain, Pei Shoude felt really unsatisfied. However, since Li Zhen had given the order, he did not dare to have any objections, so he could only respond respectfully and hurriedly exited. I went to the study room and went to handle the relevant matters myself without mentioning...