On a crisp and sunny morning in autumn, Li Mu finally saw the city wall of Chang'an City.
This journey took nearly a month, not because of the slow pace, but because of the military system of the Tang Dynasty. The military system of the Tang Dynasty inherited the military system of the Sui Dynasty. Based on the farmers of the equal land system, the world was dominated by
There are 634 military offices at the strategic points of each road, state, and county, collectively called Zhechong Prefecture. They are divided into upper, middle, and lower levels according to the size of the establishment, and are collectively referred to as Fubing.
The army of the government is divided into the inner government and the outer government. The inner government is the garrison in the capital area. Together with the three guards of the capital's guard army and the three guards of the prince's three palaces, they are collectively called the southern army. Correspondingly, the emperor personally inspected the Bei Ya forbidden army.
The Sixth Guards Army is also called the Northern Army. The former are mostly under the jurisdiction of the Jinwu Guards of the Sixteenth Guards under the prime minister, and are stationed in the Suzaku Gate in front of Taiji Palace. The latter are usually led by princes or officials in the inner court, and their military ranks belong to the Sixteenth Guards.
The gatekeepers live in the imperial garden. They are the garrison in the capital area, guarding Chang'an and will not move rashly.
Usually when a general goes on an expedition, he will bring his own soldiers with him, and then lead several battalions of soldiers and horses from the inner palace according to the emperor's order, and then gather soldiers from Zhechongfu along the way to form a large army. When the general returns to the court, these soldiers from Zhechongfu will
They have to go back to their respective families, and some money will be given when the group is disbanded. After the military department has finished counting the military achievements, rewards will be given. This is mainly to prevent the generals from relying on their own troops and having evil intentions. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, every victorious commander-in-chief returned home.
The first thing the Qing Dynasty did was to sideline the Qing emperor. The emperor was driven out by his own generals before he could even sit down. Therefore, after the Sui Dynasty unified the world, they strictly ordered the government soldiers not to be summoned or to enter the capital. The Tang Dynasty basically followed the Sui Dynasty's rules.
The old system, this rule has been passed down.
Therefore, although Li Ji's army had more than 50,000 people, those who followed him back to the capital were only a few thousand. They were all his family generals and the three battalions of forbidden troops that he took with him when he set off from Chang'an. These people arrived
After Chang'an, we have to return to the base camp to report. The army has been reduced to pieces and cannot pose any threat to the imperial power.
This is an iron rule. If any general does not act according to the rules, it is tantamount to rebellion. Of course, Li Ji would not do such stupid things, so he dismissed the soldiers along the way and did it very carefully, which wasted some time.
Li Mu was naturally very anxious. Counting the days, his wife Sun should have arrived in Chang'an for more than half a month. He knew the news because seven days ago, he met Wang Hu and his party who had returned from the escort mission. Wang
Hu was worried about what happened in Dingxiang City. After the handover of the escort, he immediately set off to rush back, and happened to bump into Li Ji's army. After this back and forth, time was calculated.
He was anxious, but Li Mu was actually not very worried because Wang Hu told him that he had sent Mrs. Sun to Tang Jian's house. Tang Jian heard that she was Li Mu's mother and agreed without saying a word. Wang Hu left before leaving
At that time, he also went to visit Mrs. Sun. Tang Jian took great care of her. He specially built a small courtyard and arranged for a maid to serve her. Li Mu guessed that Mrs. Sun could not endure much hardship, but she was worried about her and wanted to be there sooner.
Just meet Mr. Sun.
After passing Baqiao, the three battalions of the Forbidden Army also returned to their respective camps. Only dozens of Li Ji's generals and soldiers were left. When they arrived at the city gate, the eunuchs from the palace were already waiting here, and Li Ji entered the palace directly.
The emperor went to meet the saint. But Li Mu also had people to entertain him. Li Ji sent someone to deliver a message early. His younger brother Li Bi was waiting here. After seeing the ceremony, Li Bi asked the generals to go home to reunite with their wives and children. He led Li Mu and
Bai Qiaoqiao, Wang Hu and other soldiers living in the Li family returned to Cao Guogong's mansion on the west side of Zhuque Street.
"This cross-yard was cleaned up yesterday. It was in a hurry and poorly prepared, so don't pick on it. If you need anything, just ask, just treat it like your own home, you're welcome. I already said in my brother's letter yesterday that you and
Siwen's kid has become a sworn brother, so he is no different from my nephew. If you don't mind, just call me second uncle." Li Bi was a very kind man with a smiling face, similar to Li Ji.
Big difference. Since people had said this, Li Mu certainly would not be shameless and immediately called him "Second Uncle", making Li Bi laugh.
After coming to the flower hall and sitting down, Li Mu said: "Second uncle, I want to ask something. Do you know where Mr. Tang Jian's residence is?"
"Lord Tang Jian?" Li Bi glanced at Li Mu, as if he was afraid of making a mistake. He suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "Looking at my memory, I almost forgot that you are the one who risked his life to escape the camp mentioned in the elder brother's letter.
The righteous man who delivered the message! Mr. Tang’s residence is not far away from our home. We are on the west side of Zhuque Street, and he is on the east side, not far across the street. Why, do you want to meet Mr. Tang to catch up on old times? "
"Ah, no, no, no." Li Mu quickly waved his hand. Tang Jian was over fifty years old. He was looking for someone to reminisce about the past, so he explained the reason and said, "My mother has been harassing Mr. Tang for a long time. I
Since we have come to Chang'an, we should take my mother over and reunite her."
"Yes! That's the right thing to do!" Li Bi said with a smile, stroking his palms: "It's really commendable that you have such filial piety. But it's not too late. Let's take a rest today, and wait for my eldest brother to come back in the evening, and then have a good meal.
It's time to wash away the dust. If you have anything to do, it's not too late to do it tomorrow. If you're worried about your mother, I'll just send someone to tell her, that's all."
The master had already said so, and Li Mu didn't dare to force him. He nodded with a smile and said, "Then I'll trouble my second uncle."
"No trouble, why bother." Li Bi smiled and waved his hand, stood up and said, "I'll make arrangements right away. You guys have a rest first. I'll call you again before dinner."
With that said, Li Bi left. Li Mu didn't come back until he reached the door across the courtyard. He saw Bai Qiaoqiao looking at an ornament in the flower hall in a daze, looking like he wanted to touch it but didn't dare to touch it. He felt funny in his heart and walked over to put it.
He picked up the ornament and put it in Bai Qiaoqiao's hand, saying, "If you want to see it, pick it up and look at it. What are you afraid of? No matter how valuable this thing is, can it be as valuable as the thing in my arms?"
Bai Qiaoqiao was shocked and said: "You still have that thing with you? Didn't you give it to the general?"
"I wanted to give it to my uncle, but he said it would be better for me to present it to His Majesty myself when His Majesty announces me to the palace." That day, Li Mu and Li Siwen paid homage as a joke, but Li Mu himself didn't take it seriously.
Unexpectedly, Li Ji took it seriously and asked Li Mu to change his name to uncle. This was of course a good thing. For such a thick-skinned guy like Li Mu, he would naturally follow the stick. Bai Qiaoqiao was too embarrassed to change his name and still called him the general.
Before he finished speaking, Li Bi's voice came in from outside: "Eldest nephew, hurry up! Someone from the palace announces your entry into the palace to be a saint!"