Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Ah!" Li Hong sighed: "Although the enemy country is destroyed, the old man is withered. By the way, I heard that the king's governor was the first to pacify Goguryeo this time. Have you seen him in Pyongyang? Is he safe?"

Hearing Li Hong asking himself about Wang Wenzuo's recent situation, Li Jingye couldn't help feeling jealous in his heart. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Is Your Highness asking Wang Wenzuo? He is fine. In fact, this time Pyongyang was defeated without a fight. The two brothers Quangai Nanjian and Quangai Nanchan were not in the city at that time, and the king of Goguryeo launched a coup in the city at that time, and then Kaesong surrendered!"

"Well, I've heard about it!" Li Hong said with a smile: "Avoiding the real and attacking the weak is the beauty of the art of war! It's a pity that the king's governor refuses to teach the art of war in the East Palace, but it's not surprising. The widow also has his abilities, and will also think about going to the frontier to make contributions and make a name in history, instead of staying in the East Palace to waste time!"

Hearing the prince's words, Li Jingye's heart became more and more as if bitten by flies, feeling extremely uncomfortable, he couldn't help saying: "His Royal Highness is the prince of the country, serving His Highness in the East Palace is a serious business, how can you say that you are wasting your time?"

The prince's face changed slightly, and he said in a cold voice: "Whether Wang Wenzuo is in the East Palace or at the border, he is serving for the widow, for the father, for the Tang Dynasty, no one else can say what is right or wrong!"

As soon as Li Jingye said something, he knew that he had said something wrong, and before he could recover, he heard the scolding from the crown prince, so he could only bow down and apologize: "Jingye slipped his words, please redeem your highness!"

The prince snorted coldly and signaled Li Jingye to stand up. After this incident, the atmosphere in the venue has undergone subtle changes.The prince re-walked to the coffin and leaned over to inspect Li Ji's corpse. He noticed that the corners of the corpse's mouth were slightly upturned, and seemed to be smiling blankly. This strange expression made Li Hong suddenly shudder, and he subconsciously slapped Trembling, he took a step back.

"Your Highness, what's the matter?" the accompanying East Palace official asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing, it's just that the British Duke's expression is a bit strange, as if he's smiling!" Li Hong said in a low voice.

"Laughing?" The Eastern Palace official looked at it and said in a low voice: "It's a little bit, but it's nothing. Your Highness, there will always be some strange changes after death. It's almost time, we can go!"

Li Hong nodded, and walked towards his horse. Perhaps it was a psychological effect. He felt that there was a smell of salted fish under the aroma in the air, which made him even more reluctant to stay beside the coffin.

With an order, the drums sounded again, and the yellow umbrella moved on Suzaku Avenue again, but this time it was from Mingde Gate to Suzaku Gate.Pedestrians on the side of the road saw that the East Palace was making way for the coffin of the Duke of England. Behind the coffin were hundreds of people in undyed sackcloth, including men, women, and even children. The captured nobles of Goguryeo will follow the coffin of the great general to the cemetery.

Tai Chi Palace, Lingyan Pavilion.

At dusk, the rain outside had stopped, and the hall was dark and quiet. The last ray of sunset slanted in from the window, casting a layer of red light on the murals on the wall.The censer candles on the side flickered, leaving layers of black shadows on the wall, and these black shadows slowly and firmly fell to the floor.

With a slight squeak, the door was pushed open, and the emperor Li Zhi came in. He waved his hand, and the servant who followed behind him was like an alert old dog, quietly exiting the door, and Carefully close the door, leaving Li Zhi alone.

The emperor walked to the wall, raised the candlestick in his hand, and had a good look at the murals on the wall: the painting on the wall is the emperor's favorite imperial horse, and it was on these horses that he rode to defeat Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, etc. at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Heroes conquer thousands of miles of rivers and mountains.Then there are portraits of people, which are the famous "24 Heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" in later generations.The Son of Heaven stopped in front of the first portrait, his body trembling slightly, and those familiar eyes were glancing at him, as if he was about to issue a warning!

"Uncle!" Tianzi groaned, he felt his back ached, and an invisible hand was pushing him, and he would kneel down in a second.

"I know that Xu Jingzong said that your rebellion is a false accusation, but as long as you stay in Chang'an for a day, the widow and Mei Niang will not live in peace. That's why I plan to let you go to the southwest to live temporarily for two years, and wait until everything is stable here. I asked you to come back again, but I didn’t expect you to die like this! Alas, why couldn’t you step back and let me change Yi Meiniang as queen?” Li Zhi let out a long sigh, he thought everything had been forgotten , but when facing that portrait in this Lingyan Pavilion, all the lies and excuses disappeared, shame and helplessness chased him like a beast, gnawing at his heart.

Standing in front of the portrait of Changsun Wuji for a long time, Li Zhi began to walk through the portraits: Li Xiaogong, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yuchi Jingde... Finally, he stopped in front of the penultimate portrait, After gazing for a long time, he sighed: "You are the last person to come here, Duke of England. Please rest assured that no matter what happens to your future generations, your portrait will stay here forever. As long as there is a day in the Tang Dynasty, your reputation Don't fall!"

Walking out of Lingyan Pavilion, it was already completely dark, the accompanying servant stepped forward lightly, took the candlestick from the emperor's hand, he pricked up his ears, and silently followed Li Zhi about a step and a half behind, trying his best not to let him go. The Son of Heaven pays attention to his own existence.

"Where is the prince now?" Li Zhi asked suddenly.

"I've already returned to the East Palace!" The servant replied: "The crown prince greeted the Duke of England's coffin today. It was raining a little. After the work was over, he felt a little uncomfortable, so he went back to rest!"

"Oh? Has the doctor seen it?" Li Zhi stopped.

"I've asked the doctor from the East Palace to have a look!"

"Let the imperial doctor go and have a look. In addition, take a hundred pieces of Shu brocade, candied fruit, and buttermilk from the widow, so that the prince can rest well, sooner!"

"According to the order!"

For Li Hong, the prince, Li Zhi is still very satisfied, not to mention Renxiao himself, the most important thing is that he is quite calm in dealing with things. In him, Li Zhi saw the shadow of himself when he was a child.Although I am not in good health, but with such a prince and the help of the queen, even if there is an emergency, there is no problem.

When Li Zhi returned to Daming Palace, Mrs. Wu was already waiting for him at the dining table. She stepped forward to greet him and said angrily, "Your Majesty, aren't you sick? Why did you go out again?"

"Oh, the widow has gone to Lingyan Pavilion!" Li Zhi smiled, and he sat down on the brocade couch: "I felt something, so I went to see the portrait!"

"Lingyan Pavilion?" Wu's eyes flickered: "All the heroes of the late emperor have passed away!"

"That's right, Duke Ying is the last one!" Li Zhi sighed, covering his face with his hands, and after a while he sighed leisurely: "Until today, I don't think that the late emperor really left!"

Wu Shi didn't speak, but gently stroked her husband's hand.Maybe only she can understand the deep meaning behind Li Zhi's nonsensical words.As the de facto founding emperor of Li Tang, Li Shimin is famous in history books for treating heroes well, and the 24 heroes of Lingyan Pavilion are the representatives.Beginning with the Xuanwumen Incident in the ninth year of Wude, in the following decades, the center of the political stage of the Tang Dynasty was occupied by Emperor Taizong and his group of heroes.

After Li Shimin passed away in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, this group of heroes did not withdraw immediately. Changsun Wuji, Li Ji and others continued to be in charge of the government after Li Zhi ascended the throne as important ministers, and they borrowed "Fang Yi" soon after. "Love Conspiracy Case" as an opportunity, a big cleansing was carried out on the court, and almost all the talented and courageous talents in the clan and relatives were wiped out.

Of course, among them was the king of Wu, Li Ke, who once competed with Li Zhiyou for the throne, but most of them were just people who had quarrels with Changsun Wuji on weekdays.After the "Fang Yiai's Rebellion Case", the court hall was empty, and those who remained were all following the example of Changsun Wuji and others.While Li Zhi praised him on the surface, he became jealous deep in his heart.He who is familiar with history books will never forget what those heroes did after the death of Liu Bang and Empress Lu.

Based on the relationship between Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi's nephew, if it weren't for the "abolishing the king and establishing martial arts" later, Changsun Wuji and others should not have such a fate.But even so, after Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were exiled and died successively, the heroes of Zhenguan did not completely withdraw from the political arena. Li Ji was the last of them. He passed away after establishing such a great achievement as the eradication of Goguryeo.It was only then that Li Zhi could get rid of the shadows left behind by those giants, that's why he said what he just said.

After a long time, Li Zhicai opened his eyes again, picked up the cup, took a sip of buttermilk, and said, "Awu, what do you think of the Duke of England making Wang Wenzuo the commander-in-chief of the Anton Governor's Mansion?"

"Isn't that not good?" the queen asked: "Gaoguryeo Xinping, Wang Wenzuo is resourceful and good at fighting, and won Rong Di's heart. Is he a good candidate?"

"Wang Wenzuo is indeed very suitable to be the commander of the army! But should he be transferred back to accompany Hong'er in the East Palace for two years?"

"Accompany Hong'er for two years?" Wu Shi asked, "Your Majesty, is this for—?"

"Add an arm to Hong'er!" Li Zhi said: "And also add some affection to the Tian family, and he has not yet married a wife. By then, he will be married in Chang'an, give birth to a child, and it will not be too late to go out and lead troops!"

"That's true! But he has just been appointed as the commander of the army, and it's best to be transferred back to Chang'an in two years!" Wu Shi nodded. She already understood what her husband meant. Wang Wenzuo is only in his early thirties. If it is true, at least he can be a general for 20 years, and he has won the trust of the prince, so he is a good trustee.Talents like this should be included in the ruling group through marriage and the aristocratic life in Chang'an, so that they can be used with confidence.

"That's right, let's wait two years!" Li Zhi said with a smile: "There is one more thing, Xue Rengui has arrived in Longyou, he wrote back two days ago, and said in the letter that it is not possible to get it quickly for the Tibetans, but it must be delayed. Unexpectedly, this flying general who went down the Tianshan Mountain with three arrows would be so cautious!"

"General Xue knows how to be cautious, this is also a blessing for the country!" Wu said with a smile: "But your Majesty, do you really plan to use troops against the Tibetans?"

"En!" Li Zhi nodded: "If Qinghai is not guarded, Longyou will be restless; if Longyou is not guarded, not only will Guanzhong be in turmoil, Anxi will lose contact, and Beidi will be connected with Xirong, so there will be no peace in the Tang Dynasty. Three years in Longshuo The fact that the widow did not send troops was only because Liaodong was unable to do so, and now that Goguryeo has been destroyed, the imperial court can draw an arm from the east, so it is natural to send a large number of troops to show the Tubo people a little color!"

"That's right. Although the Tubo people have been obedient on the surface these years, they have made great moves in Xichuan and Qinghai, so they can't be underestimated!"

"No matter how powerful they are, they are just a bunch of barbarians!" Li Zhi smiled: "By the way, the peonies will be blooming in a few days, how about I go to Luoyang later?"

"Luoyang?" Wu's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "That's very good, I want to go to Luoyang Temple to give alms, unexpectedly, His Majesty said it first!"

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Yangzhou.

Before sunrise, the dog wakes up from the penthouse shared by his companions.

The dog is always the first to wake up, huddled under the blanket with his companions to be warm and comfortable, he can hear their slight breathing, he turned over and sat up and groped, the cat complained sleepily, and then wrapped himself in the blanket Turn your back.The cold outside made goosebumps on the dog's naked body. He quickly put on his clothes in the dark, and when he was fastening his belt, he heard the cat's voice: "Ah dog, do me a favor, give me my clothes." I!"

The dog fetched the clothes, and the cat writhed under the blanket, got into the clothes, and then climbed out of the blanket.The companions who were still asleep threatened the two guys who disturbed their sleep in a daze.

By the time the two of them climbed down the ladder leading to the attic on the roof, the adults had already boarded the boat in the ditch behind the house. Like every morning, the adults yelled and told the teenagers to move faster.The dog's task is to untie the rope from the post, throw the rope to the cat in the boat, and push the boat away from the dock, while the adults try to pole.When the ship left the pier, the dog leaped onto the deck.

For quite a long time after that, the teenagers had nothing to do, their strength was too weak to paddle the pole, and they could only sit on the deck and play hutch.Let the boat move forward in the darkness before dawn, passing through intricate small canals.The pre-dawn sky was pink and blue, and the air had a pungent salty smell (Yangzhou was so close to the coast at the time), which foreshadowed good weather ahead.

The boat sailed along the long canal into a small river, and then through dense reeds. When she passed through the reeds again, she had entered the Yangtze River.At that time, the estuary of the Yangtze River was much deeper inland than it is today, and the river near Yangzhou was also much wider than it is today.The adults hoisted a reed sail and drove the boat to a sandbar in the distance.