Li Yuanji saw that everyone had doubts, but he did not explain it. He just asked Su Dingfang and Shi Wanbao to go down and prepare with the others.
The conquest of Liang was not a big war.
Compared with the countries that the Tang Dynasty had conquered in the past, the Liang Kingdom was really too small. The smaller ones were not as big as one, so it was enough for Su Dingfang, Shi Wanbao, Xie Shufang, Hou Junji, Li Daozong and others to take action.
What's more, he also equipped Su Dingfang and others with Yu Chigong, Cheng Yaojin and other veteran generals on the battlefield as assistants.
Therefore, when Su Dingfang and others went on this trip, I dare not say that they had everything they needed, but at least they were sure of it.
There is nothing worth paying attention to later. We only need to supervise the food supply and ensure that Su Dingfang and others will not go hungry, and then we can wait for good news.
In terms of food and grass, with Chen Shuda, the "housekeeper who knows how to manage the house", helping to keep an eye on it, I believe there won't be any problems.
After Su Dingfang and Shi Wanbao left, Li Yuanji said to Li Gang, Pei Ju, and Xiao Yu: "Now that the information we want to trick has been found out, there is no need to waste time with the Turks. Let the people from Honglu Temple
Based on the list given by Tang Jian, add another 10% and then pay it to them."
This is also done to prevent the Turks from making further progress.
After all, if you pay the Turks the full amount every time, or if you pay the Turks the full amount after the Turks secretly increase the amount, then the Turks will definitely get more and more, and the next time they come to ask for benefits, they will inevitably get more.
smuggled goods.
Therefore, it is necessary to beat the Turks and make them come back more leisurely.
Li Gang and others also knew the reason behind this, so they nodded and agreed without hesitation.
This time the discussion ended like this.
In order not to cause panic among the people inside and outside Chang'an City, and not to attract the attention of the Turks, Su Dingfang, Shi Wanbao, Xie Shufang, Hou Junji and others made preparations in secret.
In Su Dingfang, Shi Wanbao met with Xie Shufang and others. After telling Xie Shufang and others that the Tang Dynasty was going to take advantage of the conflict between the Turks and the Liang Kingdom, they started to use various reasons and excuses to regain the Liang Kingdom.
Ask the imperial court for troops and horses.
Those who knew the inside story remained silent on this matter, while those who did not know the inside story kept impeaching Su Dingfang and others for having ulterior motives.
However, the elders who knew the inside story did not speak up, and Li Yuanji did not speak up either. No matter how violent the impeachment by others was, it would not affect Su Dingfang and others at all.
At the end of November, Hou Junji borrowed 3,000 elite soldiers from the Twelve Guards in the name of someone in Youzhou using Luo Yi's banner to rebel, and together with 2,000 elite soldiers led by Fan Shixing, hurriedly left Chang'an City.
On the third day of December, Xie Shufang borrowed 3,000 elite soldiers from the Twelve Guards in the name of suppressing the rebellion in Duji Road, and together with more than 1,000 elite soldiers led by Cheng Yaojin, hurriedly left Chang'an City.
On the fifth day of December, Li Daozong also borrowed 3,000 elite soldiers from the Twelve Guards in the name of suppressing the Southeast Road bandits, plus 500 of his bodyguards, and 1,000 elite soldiers led by Li Junxian, and rushed to
Southeast Road.
It's just that after leaving Hangu Pass, this army went straight to Daizhou, and did not rush to the southeast road as mentioned in the memorial.
On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Prince Yugu of the Turks returned home with a full load of envoys. Now the Tang Dynasty no longer needed to find all kinds of lame excuses to secretly mobilize troops. Li Yuanji thought that there were still dissidents in Hebei Province and started to cause trouble.
In order to win the battle, he appointed Su Dingfang as commander, led Shi Wanbao and Yu Chigong, and led 20,000 elite troops to Hebei Province.
The use of troops this time was not done with much fanfare, nor did it cause much commotion. It was also in the name of exterminating disloyalty within Hebei Province, so it did not cause much trouble in Chang'an City.
Not long after Su Dingfang and others left, everyone in the Tang Dynasty happily prepared to celebrate the New Year. The aftermath left by Su Dingfang and others was wiped away by the upcoming New Year.
Everyone is preparing with smiles, some wearing red clothes, some hanging colorful decorations, some celebrating the harvest, some tearing cloth to make new clothes, making new furniture, buying a new house, buying a new girl, etc.
Everyone is looking forward to using the joy of the New Year to send away all the uncertainties of the old year and usher in all the health of the New Year.
】
The people in the palace are no exception.
Various preparations have been made since December 15th, including wearing red and colorful clothes, paying homage to the ancestors, and preparing new things.
There are also some people preparing for the Nuo opera festival that will be performed at the end of every year.
Since Li Yuan gave up his job this year and was no longer willing to serve as the officiant, Li Yuanji could only pull Li Jiancheng out to fill the role.
Although Li Jiancheng's current life is no different from Li Shimin's, he is the kind of person who wears the title of prince and lives a commoner's life.
But he is still a prince. In this very important sacrifice, if Li Yuan doesn't show up, he must be invited to be the chief priest.
Li Jiancheng was unwilling to serve as the officiant in name only, so Ma Zhou and other former members of the Qi Palace began to petition Li Yuanji to serve as the officiant.
With Li Yuanji's current status and the authority he holds, no one will make irresponsible remarks if he replaces Li Yuan as the officiant.
But Li Yuanji rejected the petition from Ma Zhou and others without hesitation.
Because in the Nuo opera festival at the end of every year, the person who plays Donghuang Taiyi is the most tired person.
Not only do you have to prepare your face and clothes in advance, but you also have to go through seven or eight rehearsals in advance. At each rehearsal, wherever you stop, you have to stand there for several hours without moving.
It seems like it doesn't take much effort, but in fact it's not only tiring, but also painful.
Because of the face, the clothes are not light, especially the face, which is carved from willow wood. It is a large piece of willow wood four inches thick, one foot long and one foot wide. The weight of the face carved from the willow wood can be imagined.
Wearing it and standing there for several hours without moving will make your neck crooked with fatigue.
In addition, the time of the sacrifice is at night, in the middle of winter, and the wind is like a knife wrapped in it. It will penetrate into people's clothes. However, the clothes used for the sacrifice are very large, and the places with holes are ventilated.
After a sacrifice, even if the face is not tired and the neck is crooked, the cold wind can kill half of the person's life.
And this process will continue seven or eight times.
So Li Yuanji said that he would not serve as the officiant.
Therefore, after Li Yuanji rejected the proposal of Ma Zhou and others, he did not hesitate to use coercion and inducement to get Li Jiancheng out of the East Palace and asked Li Jiancheng to serve as the officiant.
Li Jiancheng seemed to have guessed that Li Yuanji asked him to be the officiant in order to suffer for him, so he made a trick when he left the palace and asked someone to go to Liangyi Hall to say something to Li Yuan.
Then Li Yuan's decree came down.
Although Li Yuanji escaped the fate of playing Donghuang Taiyi, he did not escape the fate of playing the White Emperor of the West among the five emperors of Donghuang Taiyi.
Early in the morning, Li Yuanji was pulled up by Yang Miaoyan and began to try on Bai Di's face and clothes.
"This face was made last year. When you were not in Chang'an last year, it was Uncle Wang from Huai'an who wore it. Now it seems that Uncle Wang from Huai'an's face doesn't match yours, so I'll have to wait for someone to make a new one."
Li Yuanji stood there, letting Yang Miaoyan manipulate him like a carved wood sculpture.
Yang Miaoyan made gestures on Li Yuanji's face with her face and began to talk nonchalantly.
After finishing speaking, he picked up Bai Di's clothes and gave them to Li Yuanji to try on.
Although Bai Di's clothes were not as roomy as Donghuang Taiyi's, they still leaked air from all directions. If he stood on a high platform wearing such clothes for several hours, he would definitely be frozen to death.
So when Yang Miaoyan was fiddling with clothes, Li Yuanji couldn't help but said: "How about we ask Uncle Wang from Huai'an to come this year?"
Yang Miaoyan was stunned for a moment, and said angrily and funny: "This is a supreme honor. No one else can ask for it, but you throw it away like a shoe."
Li Yuanji doesn't care about the honor of playing a god, he cares more about whether he will get cold.
Compared with these gods and ghosts, your own health is obviously more important.
"Just say it's okay!"
Li Yuanji stared at Yang Miaoyan and asked.
Yang Miaoyan rolled her eyes and said, "If father hadn't issued an order, you could still refuse. Now that father has issued an order, if you refuse, you will have to go and talk to father."
"Then I'll go tell my father."
Li Yuanji went to find Li Yuan without hesitation.
Yang Miaoyan hurriedly stopped him and said angrily: "Is it worth it to make my father unhappy and have a conflict with him over this matter?"
Why isn't it worth it?
It’s not really about competing for the position of god, it’s just a performance. After the performance is over, there is no benefit other than getting some cold pork.
Why do you still want to act?
Do you have to risk your own health to perform?
Isn’t that to save face and suffer hardship?
If people of this era did not recognize this method of sacrifice and were very concerned about the idea of worshiping Zairong, they would want to change the method of sacrifice.
For example, lay a wreath to the ancestors and other gods.
Li Yuanji groaned in his heart.
Yang Miaoyan tugged on his clothes and arranged them while saying angrily, "You have a heavy responsibility now. You can't escape this kind of thing. If you escaped the first time, you won't be able to escape the second time. You can't escape the second time."
After the second time, you can't escape the third time.
One day, you still have to face it.
You might as well get used to it now."
This is true, but if there is a chance to be lazy, who is willing to suffer this sin?
Li Yuanji asked himself in his heart.
Yang Miaoyan seemed to see what he was thinking, and said quietly: "If you don't go, I can only go with Chengde. After all, my father has already decreed that if you don't go, your eldest son will have to leave."
On top.”
This can be said to be a killer statement.
Li Yuanji lost his temper in an instant.
If Li Chengde's little boy, who is not yet one year old, is allowed to participate in such a torturous sacrifice, Li Chengde will definitely die on the spot.
How can a father let his son risk his life to fill the vacancy for him just to be lazy?
So even though he was reluctant, after hearing this, Li Yuanji had no choice but to bite the bullet.
Seeing that her husband had been convinced by her, Yang Miaoyan smiled and arranged her husband's clothes. After finishing the arrangement and rehearsing with her husband for a while, she hurriedly went to ask the person who would be the prisoner to prepare her face again.