Zhang Xun asked curiously: "I wonder what kind of great opportunity this is, would you bother to come here and tell me?"
"That's it..." Envoy Yanqi looked around and looked very cautious. Zhang Xun smiled and said: "There is no one around, so if you have something to say, it doesn't hurt to say it."
"Let's talk about it." Yanqi envoy came to Zhang Xun's ear and muttered for a while. Zhang Xun could listen calmly at first, but later he looked horrified, shook his head repeatedly, waved his hands, and said: "How can this happen? Don't do it.
You say that I don’t have such intention, even if I have such intention, I can’t harm my son-in-law? Now that you are Yanqi’s envoy, you should understand the truth of this. My son-in-law is leading the army outside, and he is already despised by everyone in the court.
, If he makes me the King of Gaochang, my previous achievements will become a stain, and if someone comes forward to slander His Majesty the Emperor, wouldn’t I have killed my son-in-law?"
"Stop talking, I will never accept it!"
The envoy Yanqi said anxiously: "Tian Khan has a universal mind, and your son-in-law has made great achievements. How could he kill the hero? The current situation is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. If you miss it, you will never get it again."
No, you don’t think about yourself, but also think about future generations!”
Zhang Xun smiled and said: "It's not that you don't know, I only have one daughter. At my age, do you still want to have another child? I don't want to, I don't want to, my messenger, don't say any more, not to mention that I don't have such intention.
I don’t have this intention. Even if I have this intention and intention, I am not from Gaochang. Can the people of Gaochang elect me to be king?”
"But--"
"Stop talking. If nothing happens, I will arrange a place for you to rest. If you want to leave, I will prepare horses for you."
After that, Zhang Xun called the waiter outside and said: "Go and bring the best horse over and give it to the envoy."
"Alas -" Envoy Yanqi sighed helplessly when he saw that Zhang Xun had made up his mind. He walked out of the house and saw that the waiter had already brought the horse over. He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly there was a hint of enlightenment in his heart.
He recalled what Zhang Xun had just said and understood. It was not that Zhang Xun did not want to be the king of Gaochang, but he was worried that the people of Gaochang would not support him. Moreover, he finally said that he would arrange a place to live or lead a horse, but when he did it,
He directly arranged to bring the horse here, and his intention was very obvious. He wanted to be a lobbyist and let the people of Gaochang take the initiative to elect him as our king.
How treacherous!
As treacherous as Mr. Weng!
The envoy Yanqi cursed secretly and rode away. The slander was a slander, and he had to do what he had to do. As soon as he walked not far away, four guards followed him. The leader said: "The city magistrate is afraid that it is not safe for the envoy to travel alone.
, let us have a few escorts.”
When envoy Yanqi heard this, he once again confirmed his suspicion. It was indeed the case, and he was not wrong.
In the room, Zhang Xun coughed for a while, raised his hand, and a ghostly figure flashed out of the shadows, saying: "Chief, what are your orders?"
"How are the arrangements going in Gaochang?"
"Don't worry, our people have already taken care of the city lords of all major cities."
Zhang Xun took a pill, calmed down, and said: "Things have come to this point, which is much better than expected. At least until now, none of our people have been lost. After this incident is over, you take your people
Go dormant, this kid Li Mu is a ghost, I'm worried that he will find some flaws."
"yes."
The ghost responded and escaped into the shadows again.
…
The Dingxiang Alliance arrived as scheduled without any disturbance. On the Turkic side, the Great Khan Nishu came personally, while on the Tang Dynasty side, Li Mu Pei Shang Fang Bao Sword replaced Li Shimin who could not be present. Since the Turkic people were already on the list,
P.S., it is not considered a neglect. Both sides read out the covenant in their own language, and then offered sacrifices in the field. They dug a hole and buried the swords, bows and arrows brought by both sides to show that they had stopped fighting and made peace.
A stele was cast on it, with the covenant engraved in Chinese characters on the front and the covenant in Turkic characters on the back. The names of the witnessing countries and envoys were engraved on both sides. The name of the stele is the "Zhi Ge Stele", which means that the two countries will stop fighting and never use force again.
At the end of the ceremony and just as he was about to step off the alliance platform, something unexpected happened.
"Master Hou!"
I saw people kneeling down under the alliance stage, like a chain reaction, more and more. Li Mu and Ni Shu stood on the high platform, their faces full of astonishment. Immediately, Li Mu became furious, pulled out Shang Fang's sword, and scolded:
: "Who are you? What are you kneeling on the ground for? What are your intentions?"
"Please Lord Marquis make the decision for the people of Gaochang!" an old man shouted while pulling his neck. After that, he picked up an umbrella from the ground like a magic trick. Li Mu pressed down Shang Fang's sword and frowned: "Old man, what is this?
Things?"
"This is the Ten Thousand People's Umbrella signed by the people of the twenty-two cities of Gaochang. Please make the decision for the people of Gaochang!"
"Wanmin Umbrella?" Li Mu couldn't help but be moved, and gestured to Li Siwen in the audience. Li Siwen walked over and took the umbrella. When he brought it to the stage, Li Mu opened the umbrella and saw that it was densely packed with small regular scripts, all of which were the same.
a name.
Li Mu put down his umbrella and said in a deep voice: "Why did you write Wanmin Umbrella to ask for help? Could it be that you want to take my head off my neck, Li Mu?"
The old man knelt down in fear and shouted: "The Marquis has thought wrong. The people of Gaochang did not mean this. On the contrary, the Marquis killed the Gaochang royal family and divided the land equally among us. The people were all grateful and shed tears. We want to ask the Marquis to make the decision, but this is not the case."
thing."
"What's that?"
"We..." The old man seemed a little afraid, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Master Hou, the people of Gaochang want to beg Master Hou not to allow Gaochang to be merged into the Tang Dynasty."
"What?!" Li Mu was furious, pulled out Shang Fang's sword again, pointed it at the old man, and said, "How dare you say it again?"
"Master Hou!" The old man banged his head on the ground and cried: "Master Hou, I risk my life to remonstrate with you! Master Hou! Although the people of Gaochang also migrated from the Central Plains, they have been here for hundreds of years.
, although the people of Gaochang speak Chinese, they have lived together with the Hu people for a long time, and they have inevitably been infected with the habits of the Hu people. Their clothing, habits, etc. are not in line with the Central Plains. If it is merged into the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will definitely send officials to manage it, and the people are worried
Conflicts will arise. After all, not everyone can have the magnanimity of a Marquis. If another Ju family comes and repeats the same mistakes, the people of Gaochang will suffer."
"In addition," the old man raised his head and glanced at Li Mu, and said bravely: "The reason why the Marquis killed the Ju family was because Ju Zhisheng killed his father and seized power. The Marquis led the king's army to avenge the country's leader Ju Wentai, and because Ju Zhisheng
After offending the Tang Dynasty, they killed all the Ju family. After a closer look, Gaochang State was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty classified Gaochang as the governance of the Tang Dynasty, it would be unfair and unsatisfactory. The teacher would have no reputation and would not be able to convince the public.
"
"you!"
Li Mu glared angrily, and was about to get angry when he suddenly saw envoys from various countries on the left and right looking over. He gritted his teeth, suppressed his temper, and said: "That makes sense, but now that the Gaochang royal family has no descendants, how can Gaochang Guozuo be continued? You can't assign them at will.
Isn’t it ridiculous to be the King of Gaochang alone?”
"Master Marquis, I have here a petition from the people of the twenty-two cities of Gaochang. I respectfully ask Master Hou to read it."
Li Mu drooped his eyelids and hummed: "It turns out that I have already prepared it. Siwen, bring it to me."
Li Siwen walked over and took the petition over again. Li Mu opened the petition, glanced at it, threw it on the ground, and cursed: "You old man, you want to expose me to disloyalty."
Is this the state of being unfilial, benevolent, and unjust? Come on, please kill this idiot!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two guards came over and arrested the old man. The old man shouted loudly, but the other envoys didn't know what he meant, and they all bowed to ask. Nishu bent down and picked up the petition. After reading it, he looked at it
The furious Li Mu glanced at him, sighed helplessly, and thought to himself, I have fallen into this kid's trap again, it seems that this drama is over when I appear on the stage, and if I don't accompany him in this drama, it will be over.
"Wait a minute!"
Ni She spoke up, and the scene instantly became quiet. After all, he was now the Great Khan of the Western Turks, and his status was respected. No one dared to disrespect him.
Nishu unfolded the petition and said: "You don't have to be confused, let me tell you the content of the petition. The petition says that the people of the twenty-two cities of Gaochang jointly petitioned Zhang Xun to succeed Gaochang.
Guo Zuo, the people of the twenty-two cities of Gaochang are willing to honor Zhang Xun as the new king of Gaochang." Nishu looked at Li Mu and said: "Master Hou, I think this is not unreasonable. Since he is the person recommended by the people of Gaochang, it means that
The people's expectations are very high, and the Tang Dynasty has no intention of occupying Gaochang, so it's okay to agree."
Li Mu was furious and said: "Anyone else can do it, but not this person!"
"Why not?"
"He..." Li Mu gritted his teeth and said, "He is my father-in-law! Great Khan, tell me, if I agree to do this, wouldn't I become a person who uses power for personal gain? How will I, Li Mu, walk in the world in the future? How will I face this?"
How can I, Your Majesty the Emperor, face the world's repeated comments? No, I can't do it. Even if you kill me, I will never agree!"
"Oh, Lord Marquis," Ni Shu said earnestly, "I once heard that in the Central Plains, there is a moral character of 'not avoiding relatives and enemies when promoting virtuous people.' Those who have this moral character are called gentlemen. Now there is a Ten Thousand People's Umbrella, and the petition is here
This shows that this is the wish of the people of Gaochang. How can it be that the prince is using his power for personal gain? Your attitude is all seen by this Khan, the envoys from various countries, and the people who are watching the ceremony. Is this a lie?"
"Profuse sweat!" Li Mu said anxiously: "It's not what you think! You know me, my character is straightforward, and I don't have any authority. Just because of this temper, I don't know how many people I have offended.
Those scholar-bureaucrats all hate me to the core and wish they could find a reason to kill me. If I agree to do this, wouldn't I be giving them an excuse? No, no!"
"It's all right!" Ni Shudayi said Lingran: "What you see in the eyes of a villain is naturally an act of a villain, but I have known His Majesty the Tang Emperor for many years and know what he is like. He is a gentleman and will never interact with him.
You are treated like a villain. If you are worried about the criticism of those scholar-officials, it is easy to handle. I will bear witness for you." After saying that, he looked at the envoys from various countries next to him and said: "You have also seen it, don't you want to
Will you testify for Mr. Hou and tell the truth?"
The envoys from various countries are not fools. When things have progressed to this point, they all know what is going on. In this situation, whoever tells the truth will die. Not only will he die, but the country behind him will not get better either.
You don’t need to be taught how to do it.
The crowd shouted: "We are willing to jointly sign a petition to explain this matter."
The common people also knelt down and shouted: "We are willing to testify for the Marquis and will never let the Marquis bear the infamy."
Thousands of people chanted, and Li Mu was moved to tears. He looked at the people and envoys in the audience and sighed repeatedly: "You are forcing me, you are forcing me!"
"Please Lord Marquis make the decision for the people of Gaochang!"
"Alas!" Li Mu sighed and gritted his teeth: "Okay, then I will risk my life and take risks for a while! Siwen, invite my father-in-law to come!"
Li Siwen responded, and not long after, Zhang Xun arrived. Zhang Xun was just a city magistrate and was not qualified to appear at the alliance ceremony, but he also came to help with the work. When Li Siwen found him, he was
Helping prepare the banquet after the ceremony. Because there were not enough cooks, he was wearing an apron and cooking haggis soup. When Li Siwen dragged him over, he was still holding a spoon in his hand, looking confused about the situation.
Li Mu looked at Zhang Xun, told the story, and said: "My father-in-law, the people of Gaochang have elected you to be the king of Gaochang. Are you willing to agree?"
"No, no, no!" Zhang Xun turned pale with fright. He threw the spoon in his hand on the ground and waved his hands repeatedly: "How can I be so virtuous and capable as to be the king? I don't dare!"
The old man who presented the Wanmin Umbrella stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please do not refuse. Your virtues are admired by the people of Gaochang. The throne of Gaochang belongs to you."
Zhang Xun said again: "Where did I get my virtue? Could it be that the old man recognized the wrong person?"
"Little old man, I definitely did not admit the wrong person. It was because of you that the people of Gaochang were able to trade with the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, you never made it difficult for the people. You treated the merchants who passed by with a gentle and consistent attitude, which is exactly what Tianke said.
As Khan said, that is why the people of Gaochang want to ask you to be their king."
"It's necessary. I'm just a small official in the Tang Dynasty. I just follow orders. How dare I claim credit? I accept the old man's wishes. I really don't dare to claim the throne!"
"Your Majesty!" The old man suddenly knelt down and said in a hoarse voice: "You can just accept it. Do you have to force me to reveal the secret?"
Li Mu said in a deep voice: "Tell me what the secret is! Even now, do you still want to hide it?"
"Alas!" The old man sighed and said, "I have no choice but to say it. In fact, you are a person of royal blood."
Zhang Xun said hurriedly: "How is it possible? My surname is Zhang, I am originally from Lingzhou, and I have nothing to do with the Ju family."
"Of course you have nothing to do with the Ju family, and the little old man is not talking about the Ju family's Gaochang. The little old man is talking about the Zhang family's Gaochang. The Gaochang Kingdom was originally the hometown of the Cheshi Kingdom, and the Kan family established the Gaochang Kingdom.
But it was destroyed by Rouran, and was replaced by the Zhang family. Ten years later, the Ma family usurped power. The Ma family reigned for five years, and the Ju family destroyed their clan and replaced them. And you are the descendants of the Zhang family in Gaochang. The jade pendant on your body
, is the evidence!”
Zhang Xun looked down at his jade pendant, as if he didn't understand what the old man was saying at all.
Li Mu asked at the right time: "How did you learn about this thing that happened more than a hundred years ago? What evidence is there?"
"The ancestor of the little old man was once the lord of Futu City during the Gaochang period of the Zhang family. When the Ma family usurped power, it was Lingzhou City where the ancestors escorted the royal bloodline. If the king's ancestral home is Lingzhou, then there is no mistake!"