Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 750 Unique

Yanliang nodded blankly. He didn't quite understand what his father meant by "passing one more level", but he didn't ask further. Wang Wenzuo felt his son's confusion and smiled: "I have done a lot of things in my life, either to fight against thieves for the country or to be forced to do nothing, and I can say that I am justified, but this time it is a little different, so I don’t want them to get involved, so I have to solve it alone!”

"Father, without He Ba, Yuan Aolie and the others, you would have won this time!" Yan Liang said.

"Good boy!" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "You are right. We, father and son, are of the same mind, so what difficulties can we not overcome?"

--------------------------

Chang'an and Guangtong Canal.

This was not the first time Li Xian returned to Chang'an, but he still wanted to see from the canal whether the capital of the empire was as it was before he left. He left here more than a year ago. In the gorgeous carriage, he was used as Wang Wenzuo's hostage and sign. He looked back through the gap in the car window, listened to the creaking of the wheels, and watched Daxing City getting smaller and smaller. Now, he I want to watch her rise from the horizon and slowly grow bigger.

So he rejected the envoy's suggestion and chose a car and boat to enter the Guangtong Canal. The sailors on both sides shouted slogans and stepped on the water wheel hard, causing large splashes of water. Li Xian pulled up his hood to block the splash and drew his neck. Look at the countryside.

The river was very crowded, with canals loaded with goods from all directions coming one after another. In order to make way for Li Xian, some canal boats leaving Chang'an even had to move to the shore, and it was completely dark. This narrow canal is like a blood vessel, feeding the heart of the empire.

Daxing City slowly rose from the horizon. Li Xian was surprised to find that as it got closer and closer to Daxing City, the width of the channel became wider and wider. It could already be said to be a lake, which was not in his memory. , he turned back and asked the messenger: "What is this? How do I remember that there was no such lake when I left?"

"Report to Your Highness!" The messenger bowed his head respectfully: "This is Guangyun Lake. You remember it well. It was built after you left Chang'an. It is for the purpose of berthing for canals and merchant ships!"

"Oh?" Li Xian looked at the large number of boats and ships on the lake and the numerous piers on the lake with interest, and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, we should have dug a lake here long ago, so that I don't have to go there every year. Luoyang has enough food! By the way, who dug this lake? It’s really a meritorious official!"

"It was Yiji Lianbode, the director of transportation in Shaanxi Province, who reported to the emperor that he built this lake! After it was completed, the emperor was very happy and named it a doctor of Tongyi!"

"Doctor Tongyi? That means he has fallen to the fourth rank? My brother is very generous!" Li Xian smiled, and suddenly his expression changed slightly: "Igilian Bode? Was this person a subordinate of Wang Wenzuo before?"

"Yes, this is the one recommended to the court by General Wang!"

Li Xian did not speak, and his face was covered with a dark gauze. The messenger did not dare to say anything, so he could only stand aside with his head bowed. After a while, he heard Li Xian sigh leisurely: "Wang Wenzuo has so many talented people under his command!"

The envoy on the side didn't know how to answer and could only remain silent. Of course, Li Xian didn't need him to speak. He stood on the deck and quietly watched Daxing City rising slowly from the horizon, and finally the whole city appeared in front of him. .

This is the heart of the empire, the unparalleled imperial capital Chang'an City. Li Xian's heart is full of excitement. After going through countless twists and turns and hardships, he finally came back. When he left with Wang Wenzuo, he knew very well why he wanted to leave Chang'an. There was only one real reason after getting rid of those high-sounding words - his brother didn't trust him. He himself did not want to stay in Chang'an when his most trusted person, Wang Wenzuo, was not in Chang'an.

Although Li Xian knew in his heart that his brother was right, the feeling of being kicked out of the house was really uncomfortable. However, God is still fair. His brother is seriously ill and in bed, with no one in charge. Pei Judao sends a secret envoy to invite him back to Beijing, while Wang Wenzuo is still fighting with those barbarians in the distant dense forest. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Your Highness, the ship has docked!" The messenger's voice interrupted Li Xian's thoughts, and he nodded and looked towards the shore.

There were not many people on the dock. There was only one carriage and a dozen guards. Neither the carriage nor the guards had any conspicuous markings. Li Xian nodded with satisfaction. The less people knew he was back at this time, the better. He walked down the rickety gangplank and walked to the carriage. The curtain was opened through a gap, revealing Pei Judao's old wrinkled face.

"His Royal Highness King Pei!" Pei Judao showed a smile: "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Me too!" Li Xian quickly got on the carriage: "How is brother Huang's situation now?"

"It's not very good!" Pei Judao's voice had a muddiness unique to the old man, as if there was always a mouthful of phlegm in his throat that he had not spit out: "Since the beginning of autumn this year, His Majesty's health has not been getting better. He has been getting sick every three days. I am resting in the palace and cannot go to court normally. Political matters can only be discussed by a few of us old guys from the political hall. After winter, it gets even worse. I often can’t even get out of bed. A few days ago, Tell me whether you want to go to the hot spring palace at the foot of Mount Li to rest."

"What's the result?" Li Xian asked.

"It was rejected by Her Majesty the Queen!" Pei Judao replied slowly: "The reason is that the emperor's body is already weak. Wouldn't it be worse if he puts himself through such trouble?"

"Your Majesty the Queen? I take it you are against it, Lord Attendant?" Li Xian said with a smile.

"King Pei is joking, this is all what the queen means!" Pei Judao also smiled: "Actually, for me, it might be better for the emperor to go to Lishan Mountain, don't you think so?"

"Haha!" Li Xian smiled and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Since the emperor's brother is so ill, he has never thought of calling Wang Wenzuo back?"

"According to my opinion, Your Majesty missed General Wang very much, and also thought about letting him come back to take charge of the overall situation. But in the end he held back!" Pei Judao said with a smile.

"Hold it? What do you mean?" Li Xian asked.

"I am arrogantly speculating. There are only two possibilities: First? Your Majesty feels that although his health is not very good, his health has never been very good. He feels that this time it is because of the cold weather in winter that he has not been able to survive this period. Things will get better next winter; what about the second thing? His Majesty feels that if Wang Wenzuo is recalled, all the progress in the Northeast will be wasted, so he wants to endure it for a while longer!"

"Hmph!" Li Xian sneered: "Brother and Wang Wenzuo get along well with each other! Compared to my biological brother, he is closer to Wang Wenzuo!"

"It's not surprising!" Pei Judao smiled: "Brothers from the Tian family! Naturally, there is no kindness from flesh and blood. General Wang is such a great hero and loyal to himself. How rare is this kind of minister? It would have been Pei Pei. When the king sits in that position, I'm afraid you will look at him more seriously than other brothers, right?" Li Xian glared at Pei Judao, and Pei Judao didn't shy away. He just looked at him with a smile. After a few minutes, Li Xian nodded: "Pei Judao What he is saying is that if I ascend the throne as emperor, I will also be very fond of Wang Wenzuo!"

"It's a pity that Wang Wenzuo can only do this to His Majesty, and he wouldn't do it to anyone else!" Pei Judao sighed: "This must be the reason why Your Majesty is so kind to him!"

"What do you mean?" Li Xian frowned: "Do you think Wang Wenzuo will not surrender after I ascend the throne?"

"It's not that he won't surrender, but he will probably raise troops!" Pei Judao said with a smile: "I just said that General Wang will only serve one person, and that is His Majesty!"

"Yes, but the emperor brother has no son, and Concubine Yang only gave birth to a daughter. Even if the order is followed, it will be my turn after the emperor brother!" Li Xian asked in confusion: "The emperor brother is ill, so why not?" It is only natural for me to supervise the country, right? This is an internal matter within our Li family, is it his turn as an outsider to comment?"

"Haha?" Pei Judao seemed to have heard something extremely funny, so he laughed, which made Li Xian laugh so hard that he didn't know what to do. After a few minutes, he stopped laughing: "If others are really like this, have you forgotten, King Pei?" ?Wang Wenzuo has intervened in the affairs of the Li family before. You think he is an outsider, but he may not think so!"

"Have you ever interfered?" Li Xian's face changed drastically: "Are you talking about the matter of him supporting the emperor's brother to ascend the throne?"

"Yes, King Pei, just remember it!" Pei Judao smiled: "Others may think so, but not Wang Wenzuo. If nothing else, did you get His Majesty's edict when you returned to Chang'an from Fan Yang? No. Why do you want to return to Chang'an with the imperial edict? Based on this alone, he will never let you go!"

"But, what does this have to do with him?" Li Xian said angrily: "I am the emperor's brother and the marching marshal. He is just my long history, why should he care about me?"

"Why? With the troops and horses in his hands!" Pei Judao said with a smile: "Why did Emperor Gaozu enter Chang'an and Emperor Taizong conquered all directions? Why should Wang Wenzuo care about you? There is only one person in the world who can't do it with his hands. If the soldiers and horses here are reasonable, then he is your brother. Today, except for your brother, there is nothing in the world that he dares not take care of!"

"With soldiers and horses? He only has so many soldiers and horses, but he dares to raise his troops to cause chaos!" When Li Xian heard this, his face turned red and white, angry and frightened: "Shizhong Pei, how can we pacify Wang Wenzuo? "

"It's very simple, strike first to gain advantage, strike later and suffer disaster!" Pei Judao sneered: "Where was Fan Yang when you left him?"

"I heard they are fighting the Mohe rebels in the north!"

"How far is it from Fan Yang?"

"I don't know about this!" Li Xian frowned: "Is this important?"

"Of course it's important!" Pei Ju said: "After you leave Fan Yang, his people will definitely not dare to make rash claims. They must first report to him, and then he will rush back to Fan Yang from the front line. The time it takes is The key is, if you can seize control of Guanzhong before he rushes back to Fan Yang and send a messenger to Fan Yang, then all he can hold are the soldiers and horses outside Guan. Even if something happens, it will not be difficult to deal with it. If he gets to Fan Yang first, Then I am afraid that the whole of Hebei will fall into the hands of Wang Wenzuo, and the imperial court will probably station heavy troops in Jinyang, Heyang, and Hulao to guard it!"

"Jinyang? Heyang? Hulao?" Li Xian was frightened. Jinyang was the land of Longxing in the Tang Dynasty, the capital of Bingzhou, and the military and political center of the empire after Chang'an and Luoyang; Heyang was the barrier of Luoyang. , the triangular hub connecting southwestern Shanxi, southwestern Henan, and Hebei. Hulao is the key pass from the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River into the Luoyang Basin. These three places are the entire eastern barrier of the Chang'an-Luoyang axis of the Tang Empire. In other words, Pei Judao meant that if Fan Yang was thrown away, Li Xian would be prepared to lose half of the world.

"Others may not be like that, but General Wang is different!" Pei Ju said: "Do you remember that he treated the scholars of Hebei favorably when he was in Chang'an, and this time he sent troops to Hebei and was delayed for a long time? He has dealt with a lot of Hebei. To be honest, the people of Hebei have been a little dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty since the rebellion of Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai, and they have become more and more dissatisfied over the years! This time there is an opportunity for Wang Wenzuo to raise an army, and it will definitely be very lively by then !”

"It's difficult. Could it be that Wang Wenzuo thought of fighting and causing chaos at that time?" Li Xian asked.

"That's not true!" Pei Ju said: "Let's put it this way, when your brother is in power, he is trying to win over the people of Hebei in order to conquer Dongyi and bring long-term peace to the Tang Dynasty; when your brother is not in power, he is doing this with ulterior motives and disobedience. Heart. The same thing is different if the person in office is different!"

"So, it's my fault!" Li Xian couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this: "As long as the emperor is in power, Wang Wenzuo will be the pillar of the country, and the two of them will be wise and loyal. When it's my turn, everything will be fine. It’s turned upside down.”

"It's not bad to say that!" Pei Judao nodded: "But you have come to this point, can you still turn back?"

Li Xian shook his head: "Is it still too late?"

"There is an official road from Chang'an to Fan Yang, but there is no official road from the frontier to Fan Yang!" Pei Judao said with a smile: "Besides, the chaos in the Northeast has not been calmed down for a day, and it will be difficult for General Wang to free his hands. So based on this calculation, you The chances of winning are still higher!”

"That's good, that's good!" A proud smile finally appeared on Li Xian's face: "Then when can I enter the palace?"

"Tomorrow is the birthday of my wife. According to the custom, my daughter will come to my mother's house to celebrate her mother's birthday. What do you think, Your Highness?" Pei Judao said with a smile.

"It's indeed good!" Li Xian said with a smile: "Then everything will be arranged by the waiter!"

Late at night the next day, at the gate of Tai Chi Palace.

According to the practice of the Tang Dynasty, after dark, the palace gates were locked and could not be opened unless there was a special edict to isolate the inside and outside and ensure the safety of the palace. The task of guarding the palace gate was undertaken by the North Gate Imperial Army. The person in charge of the North Gate Imperial Army at that time was Cui Hongdu.

"By the order of Her Majesty the Queen, open the door!" The eunuch's sharp voice sounded particularly harsh in the night.

(End of this chapter)