The Jinglong Temple in Chongrenfang looks even more desolate in winter. A layer of uneven thickness of frost has condensed on the grass and trees in the courtyard, as well as on the hard ground under the feet. Some stubborn grasses were frozen to death when they were born.
With a few peaks emerging, beautiful ice flowers can still be formed.
Li Siye's Liuhe boots walked over it. He was wearing a heavy brown cloak and walking among the frost-covered branches. These trembling branches seemed to have dropped snowflakes on him.
When he came to the door of the Moon Cave, he saw two Taoist boys standing at the door. Their hands holding the whisks were red from the cold, so they had to retract them into their sleeves, leaving only the handle and tail of the whisks exposed.
There was snot twitching under the tip of their noses, but they were reluctant to wipe it with their sleeves. They lowered their heads and hung the brushed pendant out of thin air, and then blew it off with their fingers.
"The visitor is Dr. Li."
"Exactly," Li Siye took out a silk handkerchief from his arms and handed it to the Taoist boy and said, "Here, wipe it with this. Later, go into the hall and take turns to avoid the cold wind. Don't just stand outside all the time."
The two Taoist boys turned around and watched with confused eyes as the big man who needed His Highness to wait passed by them like a gust of wind.
He walked into the hall, walked around the statue in the center, and climbed the old wooden stairs to the second floor. He could see the bronze bell hanging above the hall. The statue was so high that his eyes seemed to be looking straight at the second floor.
It made him feel a slight sense of urgency.
He had already heard the sound of tea from a room next to the door. The people inside also heard his footsteps and took the initiative to open the lattice door. Sure enough, it was Li Mi who was wearing a green Liuyun robe standing there.
At the door, he saluted and crossed his hands.
After not seeing each other for so many years, Li Mi has undergone major changes in appearance and temperament. A beard has grown above his lips, making him look more mature and stable.
"Doctor Li, I haven't seen you for several years, but you have already made great achievements and achieved extraordinary honors."
"It's an inappropriate choice of words. Meritorious service is enough, but extraordinary glory is too much. All the glory in the world belongs to the saints."
His eyes bypassed Li Mi who was standing at the door, and directly saw Prince Li Heng who was sitting cross-legged inside. Then he bowed to the prince and crossed his hands and said, "The last general, Li Siye, is here to see your highness, the prince."
Li Heng sat up with his body supported on the ground, walked slowly to Li Siye, held his hand and said with emotion: "I haven't seen him in recent years, but I have heard a lot about the general's deeds. Now you have won the expedition to eat."
It's a pity that I can't congratulate you personally when you return."
Facing the prince's kindness, Li Siye didn't have much trouble in his heart. This once loyal king, now the prince has experienced and practiced the utilitarian nature of dealing with others through repeated defeats in the struggle, and every move has its purpose.
Naturally, he couldn't appear too plain, so he bowed and crossed his hands again and said: "His Highness's generous treatment, I dare not accept it."
Li Heng smiled brightly, turned around and pointed at the sheep felt spread on the ground and said, "General Li, please sit down. I still have many old stories to tell you."
Li Siye no longer refused, and knelt down diagonally opposite Li Heng. Li Mi sat beside them, taking care of the tea soup in the tea cup.
Stir it for a few times, and then tap it on the pottery to make a clear sound.
Li Mi filled a cup of tea for each of them and placed it in front of them.
"Thank you."
Li Heng looked up at the partitions and beams of the roof, and felt a lot in his heart. Then he thought of the white hair that could not be hidden under his head, and finally said sadly: "Looking back on the past, we are not the only ones sitting in this Jinglong Temple.
There are also my mentors He Jian, Huangfu Weiming, my brother-in-law Wei Jian, Wang Zhongsi, and Li Shizhi. Unfortunately, things have changed, and now we are the only ones left."
Sitting next to him, Li Mi shook his fingers violently, dropped the tea spoon in his hand, and quickly turned around to comfort the prince: "Your Highness, don't be too sad. If it weren't for their sacrifices in the past, we wouldn't be able to sit here today. There are still people beside you."
There is me and General Siye."
Li Siye disagreed with some of Li Mi's words. Some of the people who left should not have been sacrificed. Perhaps because of their indifference to their own safety, they were hit by Li Linfu again and again and lost their lives.
The root cause was the emperor's distrust of his son, and Li Linfu was able to find a gap in the cracks in family ties and continue to expand them.
Li Siye also spoke to comfort Li Heng: "Your Highness, Chang Yuan is right. People cannot always live in the past, nor can they be affected by the shadow of the past. All the dormancy and patience we do are for the present and the future."
After hearing this, Li Heng raised his sleeves and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. Li Siye squinted his eyes and watched, wondering if Li Heng's behavior was also a performance, deliberately showing his emotional and nostalgic side in front of himself and Li Mi.
.
He also thought that the prince would not be so awesome. If he really had Uncle Liu's various acting skills and abilities, at least his past situation would not be so unbearable.
"Siye is right. You should not only think about the past, but also think more about what to do in the future."
Li Siye said in his heart that this is just chicken soup for the soul. I still have a lot in my stomach if you want to hear it.
Li Mi took a sip of tea and started today's theme: "Since the incident of Wang Weld's rebellion, Li Linfu began to be alienated by His Majesty, and Yang Guozhong began to be favored. The next thing we can do is to secretly help Yang Guozhong
, completely overthrow Li Linfu."
To overthrow Li Linfu and support Yang Guozhong is actually to ruin the prosperity according to the predetermined track. But is there any other way? Li Linfu is already dead. Even if Yang Zhao does not need to overthrow him, he will quit sooner or later.
The stage of history. Due to the narrow-minded prime minister's exclusion of dissidents during his time in power, the prime minister's team within the DPRK has become empty and corrupt. Chen Xilie and Wei Jiansu are submissive and have no independent opinions. Yang Guozhong has great ambition and talent. He has no virtue and no ability.
The monopolization of power by people will cause the entire society to enter a slippery slope.
There is no reliable person around the emperor, so even a useless person like Yang Guozhong can dictate the imperial court and do whatever he wants.
Li Heng turned to Li Siye and asked: "Doctor Li have any opinion on this? Doctor Li? Doctor? Siye?"
It seemed that he had fallen into deep thought. Li Heng called out three times before he woke up, turned around and crossed his hands: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Li Heng sighed and said, "What do you think about us secretly helping Yang Guozhong deal with Li Linfu?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly." Li Siye clenched his fists and unclenched them: "Li Linfu must be confused."
"Huh? What?"
"What I mean by "fuzzy" is that he is finished. He has controlled the government for sixteen years and has spent most of his energy and holy family members. Now that Yang Guozhong can rise, it is enough to show that your majesty has lost support and patience for him. He has lost power.
Once the symptoms appear, for a person who has held power for a long time, the loss and pain of being powerless will become the last straw that breaks his back."
After saying this, Li Siye said solemnly and firmly: "The only problem now is that sooner or later, Yang Guozhong will succeed Li Linfu as prime minister, but your highness, think about it, compared with Yang, will he perform worse?"