Some days later, Zhou Jun rode a horse and accompanied Yin Yu and Yang Yuhuan to the palace.
Yang Yuhuan, who was sitting in the carriage, looked at the scenery outside the window and said quietly: "The prime years will never come again, and it will be difficult to get back to the morning again. The past events are vivid in my heart, but it is easy to lose time, but it is hard to keep the years.
Yin Yu said from the side: "Everyone who has seen Lady Yuhuan is astonished. In terms of appearance alone, your fame has already spread throughout Liangcheng. You are no longer in your prime."
Yang Yuhuan shook his head and said with a smile: "A woman in her forties is old and pearly. The praises from others are just flattery and cannot be taken seriously."
Yin Yu: "Madam Yuhuan, you belittle yourself. You were not like this before."
Yang Yuhuan: "After experiencing so many twists and turns, I still walked through the gate of hell. I gradually figured out some things and gradually realized some truths. Looking back now, I just feel that I was ignorant and ignorant.
After passing through life and death, it’s like waking up from a dream.”
Zhou Jun was beside the carriage, listening to the conversation between the two women and looking towards the long street in the palace.
Because Li Longji was seriously ill and needed to seek medical treatment, coupled with the passage of time, the emperor's authority was not as strong as before. Therefore, the guard in the palace has been relaxed a lot, and it is no longer like before.
Whistle.
The carriage arrived in front of the gate of Chengyu Hall. Gao Lishi, the chamberlain, knelt beside the gate with his limbs on the ground.
When Yang Yuhuan saw him, he looked disgusted and closed the curtains of the carriage.
Zhou Jun pulled the reins, looked down at Gao Lishi, and saw that the latter was thin and had a dull expression.
Zhou Jun shook his head and entered the gate directly.
Led by a group of personal guards, Zhou Jun led Yin Yu and Yang Yuhuan through the side corridor and arrived at the door of Li Longji's bedroom.
After the servants pushed open the bedroom, Zhou Jun stepped into the room and was surprised when he saw the emperor on the couch.
Li Longji, who was tortured by illness and worry, could no longer see his human form at this time.
There was almost no flesh and blood on his face, and the shape of his bones was clearly visible under the skin, like a walking corpse, unable to move.
However, what surprised Zhou Jun was that the eyes of such a terminally ill emperor who had suffered from multiple strokes were unusually bright.
When someone enters the house, Li Longji can quickly turn his eyes to the direction of the sound.
In Zhou Jun's view, this does not seem like his condition has improved, but more like a return to the past.
Looking at the three people entering the house, Li Longji tried his best to move his mouth and said two words with all his strength: "Chang'an..."
After Yin Yu heard this, he quickly replied: "Father, Erlang drove away the rebels in Chang'an City, and Xijing has now returned to the Tang Dynasty."
When Li Longji heard this, he looked pleased and said in a low voice: "Zhou Erlang... did a good job."
Zhou Jun just nodded and did not speak.
Li Longji: "I... don't have much time..."
When Zhou Jun heard this, he became wary and his eyes slowly turned cold, guessing that the emperor might start to explain his funeral arrangements.
Li Longji: "All my sons have mediocre qualifications... Only the consort Zhou Yilang can protect the Tang Dynasty and bring peace to the world..."
Hearing this, Zhou Jun was stunned.
Li Longji's evaluation of him was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Zhou Jun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has given you too much praise."
Li Longji looked at Zhou Jun: "Mr. Zhou... I ask you, would you like to change your surname to Yizong and join the Li family tree?"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.
Yin Yu asked in a trembling voice: "Father, what do you mean...?"
Li Longji: "I intend to adopt Erlang as my adopted son... The child of you and Erlang will naturally change his surname to Li... In the future, if I follow my ancestors, Zhou Erlang will inherit the family as a clan member."
system…”
When Zhou Jun heard this, he was stunned on the spot.
He did not expect that Li Longji would take the first step and propose the plan of changing his surname to Yizong.
When Zhou Jun and Feng Changqing discussed, they decided on several ways to become emperor.
Changing the surname to Yi Zong, forcing the emperor to abdicate, and even using force if necessary, is one of them.
However, there will be many troubles in obtaining the throne through this method.
Among them, the biggest one is that in the future, I will be restrained by the words Li and Tang.
Therefore, in comparison, Zhou Jun is actually more inclined to change the situation and rebuild the world.
However, establishing a new dynasty would be more troublesome and more difficult than inheriting the throne of Li and Tang.
The Northern Tang Dynasty now occupies Anxi, Beiting, Hexi, Hebei, and Guanzhong areas. Among them, the Anxi and Beiting areas have the highest loyalty. If Zhou Jun establishes a new dynasty, the people of these two places will definitely follow.
However, from the perspective of population distribution, the total population of Anxi and Beiting is only 1.5 million, while the population of other places such as Hexi, Hebei, and Guanzhong is close to 10 million.
If Zhou Jun really established a new dynasty, there would definitely be people in Hexi, Hebei, and Guanzhong who were sympathetic to the old Tang Dynasty. By then, there would be internal divisions, chaos in the world, and the original situation would be even more complicated.
Li Longji, who was lying on the hospital bed, looked at Zhou Jun and said, "I intend to adopt you as my adopted son, but you must also agree to my three requirements..."
Zhou Jun frowned and said, "Your Majesty, please speak."
Li Longji: "First, on the day you ascend the throne, I want you to swear an oath to heaven not to disobey the Tang Dynasty; second, after you succeed to the throne, you must treat the clan well; third, my imperial mausoleum was previously placed in Pucheng, Guanzhong.
He will be buried here later."
After talking about these three conditions, Li Longji seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
He clenched his jaw and began to twitch incessantly on the bed. His appearance was terrifying.
When Yin Yu saw this, he quickly called the imperial doctor.
When the doctor arrived and stabilized Li Longji's condition with golden needles, Zhou Jun took him outside and asked: "I see that Your Majesty is thinking clearly and speaking as usual. How could he suddenly become ill?"
The doctor saluted Zhou Jun and said: "Reporting to the Prime Minister, your Majesty is sometimes sober and sometimes confused. In fact, your body has been exhausted. Now you are just relying on your mind to survive because of your obsession."
The doctor's remarks were almost the same as Zhou Jun's expected reflection.
So Zhou Jun asked again: "In your opinion, how long does your Majesty have?"
The doctor looked around and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid it will be less than ten days."
Zhou Jun sighed and nodded to express his understanding.
His Majesty was seriously ill, and Yang Yuhuan insisted on staying in the palace. Zhou Jun first sent Yin Yu back to the palace, and then went to minister in the Ministry of Secretariat.
Along the way, Zhou Jun has been thinking about a question.
Should he agree to Li Longji, change his surname to Yi Zong, and ascend the throne as emperor? Or should he simply do it all at once and establish a new dynasty?
Zhou Jun thought hard for a while, and finally went to the meeting hall of Shangshu Province, intending to write a letter and send it to Kong You in Chang'an City, asking the latter for analysis and countermeasures.
Halfway through writing the letter, Feng Changqing suddenly rushed in from outside the courtyard, walked straight into the hall, and shouted: "Prime Minister, Hehuang Army Report!"
Zhou Jun stopped writing and looked outside the door. Seeing Feng Changqing's serious face, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Bad news?"
Feng Changqing nodded.
Zhou Jun said in a deep voice: "Say it."
Feng Changqing: "The West Route Army defeated Shibao City, entered Dafeichuan, and confronted the Tubo army at Tuohe Pass. The Tubo Mountain Wei Army climbed up the cliff from Longyang Gorge, attacked Moliyi in the rear camp, and cut off the
The supply line of the West Route Army. The West Route Army had no choice but to retreat to the north. In order to cover most of the troops, Commander Shen Shugong led 10,000 Tang troops to cut off the rear and died in the battle south of Qieji City."
When Zhou Jun heard this, the pen in his hand fell on the desk, and the ink stains stained the paper.
