In the inner hall of the Xuanzheng Hall of the Ming Dynasty, Li Heng stood upright in front of a large polished bronze mirror, wearing a black crown worn only on major occasions such as the Ming Dynasty meeting to worship the heaven.
With royal dignity.
This is the first time he has worn such a grand costume since he ascended the throne. Today is also the first auspicious day since entering Chang'an. He will wear this gongmian and go to the Ancestral Temple to worship his ancestors and tell the great ancestor Taizong that his spirit is in heaven and that his unworthy descendants have been lost.
After nine months in Chang'an, we finally took it back. The Tang Dynasty sheji you created through all the hardships is still there. As long as I, Li Heng, am still breathing, I will never let it fall into the hands of outsiders.
Li Fuguo slipped in from the side door of the inner hall, stood hunched behind Li Heng and whispered: "Li Siye entered Chang'an from Chunming Gate today and is temporarily staying in his Xiliang Palace in Guangfufang."
Li Heng just sighed: "He came really late. He must have made the other two wait impatiently."
"He is a veteran, and he is a meritorious minister who has made first-class achievements. It is right for others to wait."
Li Heng didn't care about Li Fuguo's heart-breaking words. He just looked down at himself tall and tall in the bronze mirror. Several young eunuchs who were arranging his robes and belts were running around, looking quite hard.
Li Fuguo did not wait for the emperor to ask further questions and continued to report the situation: "He brought only one entourage and swaggered into the city. It seems that he is confident."
Li Heng's face showed a slight displeasure, and he said coldly: "Why should he be afraid? I have no intention of harming him?"
Li Fuguo felt the emperor's strange gaze and quickly bent his body lower.
"He divided his command into three armies and stationed them respectively at Bashang, Xiliu and Xiangji Temple. These three places are all no more than a day's journey from Chang'an."
Li Heng's movement of adjusting the crown and belt froze for a moment, and then he turned back and said: "I know all what you said. Guanzhong is a flat land without barriers. What difference does it make where he stationed his troops? Don't interrupt at tomorrow's court meeting.
, how to arrange it will wait until I test his attitude. I woke up last night and thought about it carefully. The number of troops stationed in Guanzhong that are not under Li Siye is not even one-third of his direct line. If he is like An Lushan
, a careerist like Hou Jing...it really makes my hair stand on end when I think about it."
Li Fuguo knelt down firmly on the ground with a thump, and squeezed out tears from his eyes and said: "This...this is all the fault of the slaves and ministers. If it weren't for our incompetence, how could your Majesty not have an army of his own?"
, you deserve to be frightened like this!"
"Hey, what are you doing? I don't blame you." Li Heng quickly bent down, helped him up and said with emotion: "I know your loyalty to me, but you have always been impatient and eager for success. In the world,
Haste makes waste in everything, not to mention that the appointment of generals involves not only power, but also the safety of the world, so we must be even more cautious."
At this time, the eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen walked into the palace gate and stood behind the two men, bowed and crossed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the auspicious time is coming. Please go to the Ancestral Temple to worship your ancestors."
Li Heng's expression suddenly became solemn and solemn. He turned back and faced the palace door, holding his robe in both hands and slowly walked outside.
…
Li Siye rode the Zhaoye Jade Lion on Chunmingmen Street. Although the walls and other buildings on both sides did not suffer any major damage, he could clearly feel that Chang'an today is completely different from the past, not only because of the view.
There were many dead bodies inside, not just because every household had people wailing and pushing the bodies to bury people outside the city. The city's grace and splendor had disappeared on the first day after the city was destroyed.
.
This kind of thing is like the first time of virginity. After breaking the city, it only happens zero or countless times. After losing it, people who rely on this city lose their sense of security.
He could see men and women begging on the streets everywhere. Among them was a crazy woman waving her tattered sleeves and dancing back and forth on the street. Pedestrians looked sideways to avoid her.
Li Siye was riding his horse and passed near her. The crazy woman suddenly stopped in front of his horse and said with a twitching smile: "Uncle, I'll dance for you, and you can give me a piece of biscuit, okay?"
Kubani waved his riding crop as if to whip her, but Li Siye reached out to stop him. He saw the familiar face under the woman's disheveled and dirty hair, and blurted out in shock: "Mrs. Xu?"
The mad woman was still shaking her head and seemed to have no reaction to the name. A kind-hearted old man hurriedly pulled her away from the horse and said, "She seems to be really crazy. How dare you stop the imperial official's horse?"
Li Siye pointed at Madam Xu and asked the old man: "Where are her family members?"
"Alas," the old man let out a long sigh: "They were all killed by the rebels. His husband secretly hid the treasures in Zuo Zangku. The rebels chased him back to his home and burned the yard.
She also beheaded her husband and two children. She only escaped death because she went back to her parents' home to borrow rice."
The country is broken, the mountains and rivers are there, and the city is springy and lush. Everything familiar to Chang'an is shattered in the heart. All those beautiful people and things have now flown away like smoke.
At this time of crisis in the world, he is still weighing ambition and power. As a soul of future generations, the first thing to do is to change the trajectory of history forever and prevent this disaster from becoming an eternal scar for the nation. In order to achieve this
To achieve your goal, you need to remove the stumbling blocks that stand in front of you one by one. The pursuit of higher power is only used as a tool to better achieve the goal, and you cannot put the cart before the horse and blindly pursue the desire for power and forget your original intention.
He turned back from his horse and told Kubani: "Now that the disaster has just passed, go and see which Taoist temple is better in Chang'an City and arrange for her to go in and practice Taoism."
Kubani said in embarrassment: "Look at her appearance, which Taoist temple is willing to accept her as a disciple?"
"Then give more money. If Yan Xiaosi were here, he would never raise any difficulties with me."
Kubani immediately sighed like a student who made a mistake and stayed to deal with the difficult problem at hand.
He first stuffed a bunch of money into the old man and asked him to keep an eye on the crazy woman not to freeze to death. He immediately went to the palace to get the money and went to inquire about the Taoist temples in Chang'an City one by one.
Li Siye rode his horse and walked along the road. He was shocked to see the dilapidated places. He remembered that when he first came to Chang'an, it was such a prosperous scene. What is the situation like now?
…
On the third day after entering Chang'an, he went to the Daming Palace in the early morning to attend the court meeting and accept the emperor's so-called reward. Today was the moment for him and Emperor Li Heng to weigh their determinations and test each other to see who was stronger.
Those attending the court today were the emperor's prime ministers and ministers. Li Fuguo, Li Heng's internal minister, stood on the steps holding a whisk in his hand. The position he stood in was slightly different from the position Gao Lishi stood in the past. Gao Lishi
Standing next to the pillar on the right side of the imperial staircase, the courtiers could hardly notice his presence. But Li Fuguo was now standing directly in front of the emperor, like a barrier separating the emperor and the courtiers.
Wearing a purple official robe, he looked like a powerful minister and said loudly:
"Xuan Yushi, Doctor, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, the three towns' camp Jiedushi, Xiliang King Li Siye has an audience!"
"Xuan Yushi, the doctor, has made peace under Zhongshu's family, and Guo Ziyi, the envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, has come to see him."
"Xuan Yushi Zhongcheng, and the Minister of War Wang Sili came to see you."