The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 437
How deep is the love? Deep mountain evening sun and late autumn rain.

——Excerpt from Nalan Xingde (Qing Dynasty)

……

In the morning of the past few days, the court hall was quite uneasy.The ministers had a fierce quarrel in the court.The focus of the debate is: how to punish the rebels who surrendered to the rebels when the two capitals fell.

Prior to this, Emperor Suzong ordered Li Xian, the Minister of Rites, and Lu Chen, the Minister of War, to conduct detailed envoys respectively, and together with Chief Prosecutor Cui Qi, jointly tried the cases of rebellious courtiers such as Chen Xilie.Li Xian ordered Li Qiyun, the censor in the palace, to be the judge in detail.Li Xian and Li Qiyun handled cases fairly and leniently, while Lu Yan and Cui Qi were too strict and harsh.

……

Bai Fu avoided these commotions, and kept his hands on the book in his court room.

Although Bai Fu deliberately kept a low profile, his arrival still attracted the attention of many young clerks in the household department.Every day when Bai Fu passed the courtyard of the Household Department, many young scribes nodded to him with reverent eyes.

Although Bai Fu was not a martial artist and had never won a Jinshi, he was famous in the court and the public for his impressive achievements.Bai Fu's experience is so legendary that it's hard not to adore him, especially the young man who is full of vigor.

Many of these low-ranking officials came from poor families, and they needed a role model like Bai Fu.

This day, Bai Fu was studying hard in the East Wing, when he heard a commotion outside the room, and someone knocked on the door lightly.Bai Fu's entourage opened the door, and two young clerks pushed and shoved into the room.

The one at the head blushed and said: "My lord, my next son Yansi is a clerk of the household department. He was entrusted by you and dared to invite you to the dinner."

Bai Fu put down the scroll in his hand, and said with a smile, "We are all colleagues, so you're welcome. If you want to find me, you might as well speak up."

Sun Yansi saw that Bai Fu had no airs, so he said boldly: "It's nothing wrong. We heard that the general was transferred back to the household department to recuperate. Your Excellency will tell us about the process of defending Suiyang and the bloody battle against Xiangji Temple. I wonder when Your Excellency will be free?"

Bai Fu smiled and said: "Okay, I can do it for these two days, depending on your time."

Sun Yansi was overjoyed and said, "My lord, how about tonight?"

Bai Fu was about to nod his head when he heard a loud laugh outside the door, saying: "Not tonight, we have to take General Bai away today!"

Before the words were finished, the door curtain was lifted, and two luxuriously dressed people walked into the room. They were the sons of Prince Qing——Siqing King Li Qiu and Xinping County King Li Yan.

Seeing the two young lords present, Sun Yansi and others hastily left.

Bai Fu bowed his hands to his colleagues and said with a smile, "I can only apologize for my two old friends visiting today. In two days, I will personally invite all brothers to gather."

Sun Yansi and the others beamed with joy, bowed to the two young princes and then retreated.

In the decisive battle on New Year's Eve, brothers Li Yan, Li Qiu and Bai Fu formed a deep friendship. They haven't seen each other for many years, but their relationship remains the same.The three hugged and laughed.

……

When he came to Prince Qing's mansion, Bai Fu couldn't help being taken aback.In the past, the dance pavilion and song stage of Prince Qing's Mansion had a beautiful scenery and was so prosperous.Now it has been looted by the rebels and is in dire straits.

Thinking of King Qing's earnest love for him, Bai Fu felt a little sad.

Li Yan sighed: "The first time I came back to the mansion, I felt the same as you. Fortunately, the father left early, otherwise he might be very sad."

Bai Fu said: "My lord, how did you get here all these years?"

Li Qiu said: "We first escaped from Chang'an with the Supreme Emperor. After Ma Weipo divided the troops, we rushed to Shuofang when the rebels were busy plundering Chang'an and had no time to pursue them.

The journey was extremely dangerous. First, at the bank of the Weishui River, he suddenly encountered the rout of Tongguan soldiers. It was difficult to distinguish in the dark, and they killed each other. More than half of them were killed or injured.

After crossing the Wei River, he traveled northward via Fengtian and galloped for more than [-] miles day and night.When they arrived at Xinping, Anding and other cities, most of the defenders abandoned the city and fled.

Thanks to Li Tan, the king of Jianning, escorting soldiers and horses all the way, repelling the bandits many times..."

Li Yan coughed softly, Li Qiufang felt lost in words, quickly changed the topic, and said: "We didn't settle down until we arrived in Pingliang and entered the jurisdiction of Shuofang."

Li Yan looked sad and cried: "We escaped by chance, but the ministers, generals and their families who did not escape in time were all trapped in the devil's den and suffered disasters.

Men, young and old, from white-haired old men to infants, were hacked and killed, and no one was spared.Princesses, concubines, maids of honor, and court wives who were hiding outside the palace were brutally abused.

Not long after the rebels occupied Chang'an, Sun Xiaozhe captured and killed Princess Huo, the elder sister of the Supreme Emperor.Numerous concubines, sons-in-law, emperor's grandsons, princesses, county owners, etc. were disembowelled and their hearts were cut out to pay homage to An Qingzong, the son of the thief.

More than 80 people, including Yang Guozhong, Gao Lishi's cronies, and princes and ministers hated by the bandits, were beaten to death with iron bars in the street, and their brains were smeared on the ground.

In addition, the rebels searched and arrested day and night, and escorted the captured important court officials, princesses and concubines to Luoyang in prison cars.The whole of Chang'an is like a hell on earth..."

The three of them sighed for a long time, and Bai Fu asked, "After the recovery of Luoyang, have all these female relatives returned safely?"

The two brothers Li Yan and Li Qiu looked at each other without speaking.

Bai Fu asked anxiously: "Could it be that something happened to these thousands of women?"

Li Yan sighed and said: "Although most of the women's relatives were recovered, many women's families turned them away because they were insulted and stained by the rebels. Many women committed suicide and many women became nuns. , escape into the empty door."

Bai Fu was furious. He slapped the table and knocked down all the teacups and saucers: "Beasts are not as good as they are! Are they still human! They are all his wives, concubines and children. It is a tragedy in the world to fall into the rebel army. It is a fluke that we finally survived to recover." It’s a blessing to be alive. If you don’t thank God for reuniting your family, how can you force these women to death!”

"Hush!" Li Yan made a silent gesture and said, "Brother Fu, speak carefully!"

Bai Fu was furious, and said, "What's wrong?"

Li Qiu said: "There are many nobles and relatives of the current dynasty in here."

"Come on." Bai Fu said.

Li Qiu said: "Let's not mention other people, let's talk about an old acquaintance of yours - Li Chu. The Supreme Emperor fled, and the incident happened suddenly. When Guangping King Li Chu fled west, he only brought his concubine Cui - that is, Yang Guifei's sister, the daughter of Mrs. Han and The beloved concubine Dugu. Oh..."

When he said this, Li Yan gave Li Qiu a hard look, and Li Qiu quickly covered his mouth.

Bai Fu glanced at Brother Li Yan with an intriguing expression.

Li Qiu spread his hands and said helplessly, "You also recognize this Dugu family. She is Dugu Xiaozhong, the eldest daughter of the Minister of Industry, Duguying.

After the death of the old lord Dugu, his mother, Mrs. Pei, disregarded Duguying's objection and insisted on marrying Miss Xiaozhong to Li Chu, the king of Guangping. "

Seeing Bai Fu's expression as usual, Li Qiu felt relieved and continued, "Except for these two concubines, the other female family members of King Guangping were all taken to Luoyang by bandits, including Shen Shi, the biological mother of Prince Guangping's eldest son Li Shi."

Li Chu regained Luoyang and met Shen Shi in Yeting Palace, the eastern capital.But Li Chu thought that the Shen family had been defiled by An Lushan and other thieves for a year, and he had lost face.Therefore, he was unwilling to take him back to Chang'an Guangping Palace, but let him live and die in Luoyang. "

Seeing that Bai Fu's anger was still there, Li Yan hurriedly persuaded him, "Brother Fu, Li Chu, the king of Guangping, had a lot of conflicts with you before, but he holds the power of soldiers and horses in the world, and he is about to be crowned prince. Please bear with me, Brother Fu. Don’t be caught by it.”

Bai Fu snorted coldly, and said nothing, his heart was full of contempt.

"Ruthless is the emperor's family!"

When Yang Yuhuan paid homage to the tombstone of the noble concubine at Maweipo, the scene of crying on the ground came to mind again.

"Li Longji is fatuous and unscrupulous. He used traitors a lot, lost the two capitals, and fled in a hurry. In order to quell the mutiny of the three armies, he used white silk to give the woman he said he loved the most to death. Such a fickle heart, how can he be worthy of being a father?"

When Li Chu fled, he only took Concubine Yang's niece and the eldest daughter of the Dugu family with him. He didn't love these two more, but the family behind them.

It's just a pity for Miss Xiaozhong.Marrying into the emperor's family is a blessing or a curse, how can I know..."

　There is no evidence for rivers and mountains in the present and ancient times.Amidst the sound of drawing horns, the grazing horses came and went frequently.Who can speak of desolation?The west wind blows the Old Dan maple.

　　There used to be countless grievances.Tie Ma Jin Ge, Green Tomb at Dusk Road.How deep is the love?The sunset shines in the deep mountains and the rain in the deep autumn.

　　——"Butterfly Love Flower · Out of the Frontier" Nalan Xingde (Qing Dynasty)

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)