Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"That's not surprising!" Hu Youcheng said with a smile: "Either send her to the palace, or don't go. If something so unclear has caused trouble in the city, where can the queen put her face?"

"That's true!" Liu Peiji nodded: "But it's strange to say that since the emperor goes to Yang's house so frequently, it means that he is very fond of Yang Sijian's niece, so why not welcome her into the palace? The emperor is now around There aren’t many people around, so making a concubine is just a matter of words!”

"I don't know about this. Maybe it's because the emperor thinks it's not the right time yet?"

Just as Liu Peiji and Hu Youcheng were talking about Pei Judao as usual, Pei Judao's voice suddenly came from the hall: "Liu Shilang, Liu Shilang of the Ministry of Revenue!"

Liu Peiji and Hu Youcheng exchanged glances. Seeing the look in each other's eyes that said, "I wish for more blessings," they hurriedly responded and hurried to the case: "Shizhong Pei!"

"How much money and grain are available in the official warehouse in Linqing, Hebei? Ask your subordinates to check quickly and report a number to me before noon!" Pei Judao asked directly without going around in circles.

"I'm going to check immediately!" Liu Peiji responded, turned around and left. Hu Youcheng came up to meet him and asked, "What did the servant ask you?"

"Let me check the money and grain figures in Linqing's official warehouse. It seems that the situation in Liaodong is very bad this time. There is going to be a big move!" Liu Peiji lowered his voice.

"Even the money and grain from the Linqing official warehouse have to be moved?" Hu Youcheng exclaimed. The Linqing warehouse in the Tang Dynasty was located in Cangshang Village, Linxi County, Xingtai City, Hebei Province today. The Yongji Canal in the Sui and Tang Canals flowed here. At that time, the Tang Dynasty transferred goods from Jianghuai, Henan and other places. A considerable part of the incoming grain money and silk was stored here, and then distributed and supplied to military towns in Hebei, Liaodong and other places. It was known as the Northern Treasury of the country.Pei Judao asked people to count the grain money and silk in Linqing warehouse, which showed that the war situation in Liaodong had deteriorated to the point where it could no longer be solved by the local army, and a large number of troops had to be mobilized from Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other places to go north to support.

"Well, although Mr. Pei is a bit selfish, he still doesn't dare to mess with such military affairs!" Liu Peiji whispered: "It seems that the general's days in Chang'an are not long!"

"The general is leaving Chang'an?" Hu Youcheng's eyes widened: "Will the emperor let him go? Your majesty cannot live without him for a day, and the water transportation is only half done. You can't give up halfway, right?"

"This is not a matter of whether the emperor will let him go, but whether the general can sit still or not!" Liu Peiji said: "Have you forgotten where the general started? If Liaodong is really in complete chaos, how could the general have done that? The merits of starting a business have been wiped out. If my guess is correct, even if Pei Shizhong doesn't say anything, the general will take the initiative to ask for help! Things like rectifying water transportation can be postponed, but how can we postpone the war? "

"It's true that you think clearly!" Hu Youcheng sighed: "But Chang'an has finally settled down a little. Now that the general is gone, those caring people in Chang'an City will not be so honest!"

"Yes, but what can we do? Forget it, I'll go back to the household department first. The waiter is urging me hard!" Liu Peiji sighed and walked quickly out of the hall.

The Zhengshi Hall was not the only place in Chang'an City that received this shocking news. In the afternoon and evening of that day, and as late as noon the next day, many interested people in Chang'an City learned about all this. Some of them were happy, some were sad, and some were sad. Some are uneasy, some are full of hope, and all kinds of moods form a huge ukiyo-e.

Daming Palace.

Empress Wu lay on her back in the bathtub, letting the sulfur-scented hot spring water flood her body. Her maid carefully scrubbed her body with a sponge soaked in soap locust liquid until her skin turned red. The other two maids were trimming her nails. After combing her hair, she rolled her dark hair into small curls and placed it on the edge of the bath. The maid also brought a dozen of the Queen Mother's favorite floral mixed essences, dripped them on her fingertips, and massaged her from her shoulders to behind her ears. muscles.

This is Empress Wu's unbeatable program every afternoon. She likes soaking in hot springs and massage very much. She believes that it can not only relieve fatigue, but also maintain youth forever. Perhaps for her, this is second only to power.

There was a slight voice outside the bathroom, and Empress Wu heard it, but she ignored it. What else could she enjoy now?After all, she was already far away from the center of power, so she shouldn't have anything to disturb her anymore.

The conversation stopped. It must have been that the visitor was repelled by the maid outside the bathroom.Empress Wu closed her eyes with satisfaction and continued her enjoyment.But soon a voice broke the silence of the bathroom.

"Your Majesty! There is urgent news from Liaodong! Xincheng has been captured by the Goguryeo rebels. The Silla people have sent troops to attack the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion. The situation is critical!"

Empress Wu opened her eyes and glanced at the worried face of the palace maid in front of her: "I have abdicated with the Supreme Emperor, and there is no need to disturb me anymore about these things!"

"I heard there are rumors in the court that General Wang will be sent out of Chang'an to Liaodong to lead the armies to attack the rebels and Silla people!"

"Oh!" Empress Wu sat up from the bath. The hot spring water slipped from her smooth body and splashed. The maid on the side quickly brought a dry towel to wipe the water on her body.

"Let's be clear! What is Wang Wenzuo's attitude? Where is the Holy One?"

"General Wang has just rushed back to Chang'an and has not expressed his position yet; many ministers in the court have written letters asking the Holy One to send generals out of the capital to quell the rebellion, but the Holy One has not expressed his stance!"

"Well, you just suppressed the memorial without rejecting it or giving instructions?" Empress Wu asked.

"Yes!"

"Hahaha!" Empress Wu laughed. She walked to the wicker chair and sat down. She wore nothing but a broad robe. Perhaps it was because she had just walked out of the bath. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining with excitement. Light.

"Pour me a glass without adding water!" Empress Wu raised her chin and pointed to the crystal wine bottle on the table on her right. The palace maid hurriedly filled a glass of wine. The bright red wine was like blood, rippling in the cup. Empress Wu took a sip. After taking a sip, the wine stained his lips as red as blood: "This coward, without Wang Wenzuo, he doesn't dare to do anything. Even the big seat has to be snatched by others to invite him to sit on it! Very good, you are the only one now. , I want to see if you will fall from it!"

Everyone in the room lowered their heads, wishing to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. These words can kill people!

"Bring a pen and paper!" said Empress Wu.

"According to the order!"

Empress Wu took the paper and pen and put it away with a swipe. The quick-eyed palace maid saw that there was only a short line of words on the paper: "Be patient, the throne will be yours after all!" "Send this letter to Prince Pei's Mansion immediately. Hand it to Xian'er with your own hands!"

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Wang Wenzuo's Mansion.

"Sanlang, Baekje is the place where we made our fortune. If Baekje is gone, Japan will be unstable. The trade between Liaodong and Goguryeo is growing rapidly every year. Not to mention our soldiers, there are many Baekje and Goguryeo." , People from Liaodong, you must not make any mistakes!" Cui Hongdu's voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly in the yard. Veins were beating on his temples. Cui Yunying had never seen this close relative so excited. .

"If I ask you to lead the army, I mean to ask you to be the commander-in-chief of the military forces in Hebei, Liaodong, Xiongjin, Japan and other places, as well as a champion general. Can you go there in my place?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"No!" Cui Hongdu shook his head: "Sanlang, I really want to say yes, but I can't. Unlike you, I can make so many warriors with different languages ​​and customs willingly stand under your banner. Go into battle and fight, really, for those rebels, your name is worth the weight of thousands of troops. If you want to pacify Liaodong as soon as possible, it must be you!"

"What about Master Chen, He Bayong and the others?"

"Just a few of them?" Cui Hongdu sneered: "I can't do it, but they can? Sanlang, don't hesitate. I know you don't want to leave Chang'an and feel that the emperor can't live without you, but you learn to make choices. If you leave Chang'an, the emperor You are still the emperor, but if you lose Liaodong, Baekje, and Goguryeo, you may not be who you are now!"

Wang Wenzuo fell into silence. Cui Hongdu on the side did not dare to urge him. He could only wink to Cui Yunying on the side. Cui Yunying could not be urged and had to whisper: "Sanlang, are you worried that His Majesty will not agree to your going to Liaodong?"

"No, as long as I ask, Your Majesty will never refuse!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "It's just that as a minister of the Zhu Kingdom, I can't just act on my own interests. The situation in Chang'an is very delicate now. If I just leave like this, Some unforeseen things are likely to happen in Chang'an!"

"Husband, are you talking about something that is not good for His Majesty?" Cui Yunying asked: "Aren't there General Cui and General Murong? They command the North Gate Forbidden Army, and together with Pei Shizhong, who dares to cause trouble?"

"Yunying, you don't understand!" Wang Wenzuo showed a wry smile: "Our Imperial Guards of the Tang Dynasty, especially the North Gate Imperial Guards, are often unreliable! They have their own brains."

"Have your own brain? What do you mean?" Cui Yunying asked in confusion.

"Most of these people were selected from the nobles of the Yuan Dynasty, and they are inextricably linked to the nobles of Chang'an. The people inside all want to interfere in the affairs at hand, and then rise to the top in one step." Wang Wenzuo sighed: "When I was here, I may not be able to suppress them, let alone after I leave Chang'an!"

"So that's what it is?" Cui Yunying exclaimed, "Then why not deal with it in advance?"

"The North Gate Imperial Army is the emperor's own army. If we want to eliminate people on a large scale and replace them, it will be too involved. It is already very rare for me to be able to stuff Murong Ku and Cui Hongdu into the army as generals. The middle-level officers can't get involved at all. Even if I can insert it, but I can’t find anyone suitable enough to replace it right now!”

"You can explain these concerns to the emperor!"

"Yunying, you still don't understand!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "I'm not saying that the officers and men of the North Gate Forbidden Army are disloyal to the Emperor. On the contrary, their loyalty to the Emperor is unquestionable. As long as the Emperor himself has no problems, they will They will definitely obey the orders, but if there is something wrong with the emperor himself, such as falling ill, comatose or other circumstances, and unable to issue orders, then the situation will be different. At that time, these soldiers of the North Gate Forbidden Army will use their own There are many ways to be loyal, and these ways of being loyal may not be what we want to see, do you understand?"

Wang Wenzuo's words actually revealed the truth about many palace coups in ancient China. Many times, modern people read history from a modern perspective and divide the two factions of ancient coups into those who were loyal to the emperor and those who were not loyal to the emperor.In fact, most of the time in ancient times, any faction was loyal to the emperor, or at least superficially loyal to the emperor.The emperor himself would not express his position clearly most of the time, but maintained an ambiguous attitude to maintain the balance of power and benefit from it.This is of course good for the emperor, but it also brings about a problem: How should the emperor's imperial guards stand in line?

Theoretically, the emperor's imperial guards do not need to take sides, as long as they act in accordance with the emperor's will. However, the party who actively carried out the palace coup is not a fool. When he launches the coup, he will definitely try every means to prevent the emperor from openly expressing his position, or at least block the emperor's relationship with the emperor. Contact between the Praetorian Guards.When the overall situation has been decided, the emperor can only follow the trend. A typical example of this is the Xuanwumen incident.Li Shimin was able to set up an ambush inside Xuanwu Gate to attack Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's brothers, and Yuchi Jingde was able to wear armor and hold a spear on Li Yuan's cruise ship, which must have been inseparable from the acquiescence of the North Gate Imperial Army stationed at Xuanwu Gate.Therefore, at this critical moment, the middle and upper-level officers of the Forbidden Army are very knowledgeable about how to understand "loyalty".

While the house was arguing over whether Wang Wenzuo should leave Chang'an and go to Liaodong, Sanqiu came in from the outside. He whispered to Wang Wenzuo: "Master, the eldest princess is outside asking for an audience!"

"Why is she here?" Wang Wenzuo frowned.

"I must have heard about the war in Liaodong!" Cui Hongdu said.

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Invite her in!"

Li Xiayu was wearing a gray-black hooded cloak, with only a pale face exposed. She smiled at Wang Wenzuo: "I know all the news about Liaodong, are you troubled now?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Wang Wenzuo admitted his embarrassment frankly: "Your Majesty needs me to stay in Chang'an, but my soldiers and generals are also looking forward to the return of the commander-in-chief. They also need me, and I have a responsibility to them! "

"Then go!" Li Xiayu said: "I know what you are worried about. In fact, it is not difficult to solve, really!"

"What do you mean?" Wang Wenzuo frowned.

"Let everyone else step aside, Sanlang, I want to talk to you alone!" Li Xiayu said.

Wang Wenzuo didn't speak, he nodded, and everyone else silently retreated, leaving only him and Li Xiayu.

"Let the damned people die, and Chang'an will be at peace!" Li Xiayu's eyes were quiet and bright, like a lake: "You don't have to do anything, just give Wu Xiaoyi to me, and then quietly Get some sleep and everything will be fine before dawn tomorrow!”

"Are you crazy?" Wang Wenzuo's face changed drastically: "How could you do such a thing-" (End of Chapter)