Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"What's weird? It's not just a day or two that the emperor has no hesitation in his body. King Pei is the leader of all the brothers. What should we do if we don't call King Pei back to supervise the country and assist in government? Are we going to find someone else from the clan? People? You should understand the principle of not being intimate when you are not close, right?"

"That's not necessarily the case! Everyone knows that the closest and most relied upon person in the world is not some clan relative, but General Wang Wenzuo. Even if the emperor is really in bad health and wants to find someone to supervise the country and assist the government, it would be a matter of recalling him. General Wang, not King Pei!”

"That's true. The reason why General Wang raised the army has been explained. Why is it King Pei who is assisting the government and not him? I wouldn't be willing to change it!"

"And have you ever thought that King Pei went out to the capital with General Wang to supervise Liaodong, but he came back so suddenly, saying that he was recalled by the emperor's urgent order? But if this is the case, why didn't the emperor give him the order? How about giving General Wang an edict? Anyway, it only takes the time to write a few words, doesn’t it?"

"Don't you think what General Wang said in his statement is true?"

"I dare not say whether it is true or false, but one thing is certain, that is, there is something fishy in this matter!"

Similar conversations are taking place under the roofs of every wine shop, hotel, and hall in Chang'an City. Although the tendencies and results of the conversations will vary depending on the status of the participants, one thing is certain. As the information from the outside world continues to increase, the residents of this metropolis are getting closer and closer to the truth of the high-level political changes that occurred not long ago.

Like all residents of the capital, in a sense, the residents of Chang'an City are quite "apathetic" to politics. To put it simply, as long as they are not members of their own family, they don't care who is sitting on the throne. Anyway, they will kowtow to whoever reaches that position. The reason is very simple. They have seen too many people, and one life span is enough. Long-term Chang'an people can even witness the funerals of Yu Wenhu and Li Shimin in person.

But there is a premise, that is, their vital interests cannot be harmed. This is why Wang Wenzuo forced Li Zhi to abdicate and supported Li Hong to ascend the throne so smoothly and calmly; while Pei Judao placed Li Hong under house arrest, and King Pei's supervision of the country was easy at first, but later became difficult. The reason was just poor water transportation. This incident has given Chang'an residents ample reason to be dissatisfied with this coup. Not to mention that with the news that Wang Wenzuo's army was marching south, a terrifying prospect appeared in front of everyone - a civil war of unprecedented scale was about to break out. No matter who wins or loses in this battle, Datang will be the loser. And as residents of the capital of the Tang Dynasty, they would definitely suffer misfortune as well.

So as time goes by, all strata and political factions in Chang'an City from top to bottom, from left to right, rarely speak with the same voice: "This war cannot be fought anymore, it must be calmed down immediately!" And! There is only one way to achieve this - the emperor returns to power, and then issues an edict to Wang Wenzuo to stop his troops. The rest can be done no matter how you do it, as long as you don't use the knife!

Tai Chi Palace, the queen's bedroom.

"Aye, what do you mean?" Queen Pei's eyes looked at Pei Judao without any emotion.

"This is a joint petition from the nobles of the clan!" Pei Judao coughed, placed the tightly rolled silk paper on the desk, and nodded to King Pei beside him: "Please take a look at it too!"

Queen Pei snorted coldly, grabbed it, and unfolded the letter. She just read two lines and said angrily: "This is really unreasonable. I beg your Majesty to take charge of the government and issue an edict to order Wang Wenzuo to withdraw his troops and return to Chang'an to assist the government! If this is the case, Pei Where does His Highness put it, and our Pei family, wouldn't it be possible to destroy the whole family?"

"Your Majesty the Queen!" Pei Ju said: "I have just said that this is a joint petition from the nobles of the clan, and I am just conveying it on my behalf. As for how to make a decision, please consider it with King Pei, and I am just executing it on my behalf! "

"What else can I do? Of course I'll reprimand them harshly, and then I'll scare the monkeys with a few others!" Queen Pei said angrily: "At this juncture, Aye, you still have time to play tricks with those useless snacks. You are really busy!"

"Sister-in-law of the Emperor, I'm afraid the servant has a deeper meaning!" King Pei on the side said hurriedly: "And from my perspective, this matter may not be that simple. If you use force, there may be something wrong!"

"His Royal Highness Jianguo is right!" Pei Judao glanced at King Pei. It was really sad that his daughter was not as clear-headed as a half-year-old child: "There are too many people in Chang'an City who don't want to see continued bleeding, especially on both sides. It’s all the blood of the Tang Dynasty! We can’t openly disobey their wishes!”

"So what? They don't have soldiers in their hands!" Queen Pei sneered: "If the emperor returns to power, he will definitely call Wang Wenzuo back, and then we will all be doomed!"

"Yes, they don't have soldiers, but Pei Xingjian does!" Pei Judao took out another document from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands: "This was just delivered. I suspect that he has communicated internally with many people in Chang'an! "

"Pei Xingjian has finally arrived!" Queen Pei grabbed the document and unfolded it. She quickly glanced at the text in front, and her eyes stayed on the few lines near the end: "I beg to see Tianyan to comfort the soldiers and horses." Lover’s heart!”

"This old man, this old man!" Queen Pei was already trembling with anger: "He actually, actually does this!"

"The matter has come to this, and there is nothing we can do about it. We can only act according to the situation!" King Pei comforted the queen and said to Pei Ju, "Your Majesty, what good advice do you have!"

"There is no good strategy. The current plan is to consider a retreat!" Pei Ju said: "If we can get Wang Wenzuo to withdraw his troops and enter the court, there will be hope!"

"You are crazy, let Wang Wenzuo enter the court!" Queen Pei said angrily: "Then he will kill King Pei first, and he will kill you and my whole family the second!"

"Your Majesty the Queen! What I'm talking about is disbanding the troops and entering the court!" Pei Ju said: "It would be worse to let him lead the troops outside. He now wants to occupy Hebei. And Pei Xingjian doesn't want to fight Wang Wenzuo at all. What do you think? what to do?"

"Then let's replace him with another general. I don't believe that no one in such a big Tang Dynasty can beat him, Wang Wenzuo!" Queen Pei said.

"Sister-in-law, I think it's not easy to find a general who can deal with Wang Wenzuo. When I went north with him, I saw him deploying troops and horses like an arm and a finger. Tens of thousands of horses could advance and retreat freely. He marched on the official road for dozens of miles every day. It’s not chaotic, I’ve never seen it before!” King Pei said.

"You know he is so powerful, so why did you come back to be the prisoner? Are you in a hurry to die?" Queen Pei was so angry that she couldn't vent her anger to her own father. King Pei just came to her door and she suddenly sprayed him. . King Pei has been a man of wealth since he was a child. He had never seen such a battle before. His face turned red and he was speechless. The scene suddenly froze. "Speak, why don't you say anything!" Queen Pei was already torn. Seeing Pei Judao and King Pei sitting on both sides without saying anything, she became even more annoyed: "You two grown men are facing life and death. If you don't say anything at this critical moment, do you expect me to be a woman and not be able to make a living?" At this point, she felt so angry and uncomfortable that she sat down on the ground and burst into tears.

Seeing how embarrassing the scene was, King Pei had no choice but to retreat silently. After walking out of the door, he felt an indescribable discomfort all over his body. He was reborn in an emperor's family. He had been favored by his parents since he was a child, and he was smart since he was a child. He was highly praised by the courtiers, and it can be said that nothing went as planned. But ever since he escaped back to Chang'an, seized power from his brother, and assumed the post of supervisor of the country, everything has gone wrong. It seems that everything in the world is having a hard time with him.

"Your Highness, it's already late. Do you want to go back to the palace?" the guard's voice came from behind.

"Go back to the palace?" King Pei looked around blankly. Wherever he looked, there were dark buildings, as if they were coming from all directions, making him breathless. He waved his hand in confusion: "I'm a little upset and want to relax. You guys, please don't follow me. Let me walk alone!"

The guards looked at each other in confusion when they heard this. Li Xian is now the supervisor of the country. His status is so valuable. How can he leave him alone? But since the other party has spoken, it is impossible for him to disobey the order. So everyone pretended to agree, and pulled the person thirty or forty steps away to show off.

King Pei walked around the palace. Although he grew up in this huge building complex, he only felt how big it was today. It is surrounded by long alleys, palaces and high platforms that rise like hills; squares as vast as a field are endless, with no end in sight, and it seems that the entire city of Chang'an is included. He walked aimlessly, and there was silence all around. Only the sound of the horses hanging on the eaves made in the wind, like a ghost. This reminded Li Xian of the horrific legends that had happened in the palace. When he was a child, he had heard many of them from his wet nurse. Every time, he was so frightened that he got into bed and covered his eyes, but next time Let the wet nurse tell you one more time. And every one of those terrifying legends seemed to begin on such a dark and windy night. Thinking of this, Li Xian couldn't help but shudder.

"Who! Don't you have eyes? You're bumping around everywhere!"

Just as Li Xian was considering whether to stop this walk, a stern shout came from the front. He stopped and said, "It's me! Who are you?"

"It turns out to be His Royal Highness the Supervisor!" As the lights flashed, several chamberlains appeared in front of them. They turned out to be night watchmen. They recognized Li Xian and quickly knelt down to apologize. Li Xian didn't bother to blame them. Just when he wanted them to leave, he suddenly felt that the illuminated palace on the left looked familiar, so he casually asked: "Where is that?"

"Reporting to His Majesty the Supervisor, over there is Shujing Palace!" the leader of the chamberlain replied carefully.

"Shujing Palace?" Li Xian heard something familiar, and after thinking for a moment, an idea came to his mind: "Brother Huang lives here now, right?"

"Yes, the emperor is resting in this palace now!" the leader of the chamberlain replied.

Li Xian nodded and said nothing. When the servants saw this, they did not dare to leave. They could only wait with bated breath. At this time, Li Xian's followers also caught up. They did not dare to come forward and disturb them, so they could only stand aside and wait. After a while, Li Xiancai shook his head as if he had just woken up from a dream: "I haven't seen Brother Huang for some time. I just happened to be here tonight, so I went to visit Brother Huang!"

Among the attendants, including Pei Judao, they were shocked when they heard that Li Xian wanted to see Li Hong. They hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him, but Li Xian scolded him: "Get out of here, there is no room for outsiders like you in matters between brothers." If you keep talking too much and don’t get out of the way, do you think I’m going to do harm to my sword?”

After all, Li Xian was the son of a dragon and a phoenix grandson. The few followers dared to block him, so only two of them were sent to report the news. The rest of the people surrounded Li Xian and entered the Shujing Hall, ignoring the ones who reported the news.

After a while, a palace maid came out and bowed to Li Xian: "The emperor has a decree. King Pei can only enter the palace alone. I will wait outside!"

"My brother obeys the order!" Li Xian bowed and followed the maid inside. When he reached the door, he stopped again, took off the sword from his waist and handed it to the maid and said, "If any unscrupulous people dare to intrude later, , you then use this sword to kill him, with merit and no fault!"

The palace maid was stunned for a moment, took the sword, and bowed to Li Xian: "I accept my order!"

Li Xian entered the palace. Li Hong's residence was in a side hall near the south. When he reached the door and asked loudly to see him, he heard his brother's familiar voice coming from inside: "Is it Ah Xian? Why are you here so late to see Brother Yu?" "

When Li Xian heard Li Hong's familiar voice, his heart warmed up, and he hurriedly walked towards the door. He was still seven or eight steps away from the bed before he knelt down and said, "The guilty minister Li Xian disturbed the emperor late at night! It's a capital crime!"

"Brother, why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this!" Li Hong, who was sitting on the bed, didn't know what was going on. He hurriedly said to the woman sitting next to the bed: "Concubine Yang, go and help A-Xian up and talk!"

Li Xian saw a pretty young woman walking towards him, but he didn't dare to let her help her, so he stood up quickly: "Brother, I was confused for a moment and did a huge disaster. I don't dare to ask for death, I only ask for help." It is a great virtue to be dignified and be buried with your parents in their mausoleum after death!" At this point, he started to cry, half ashamed and half afraid.

"Oh! What happened to life and death? Are you crying like this?" Li Hong smiled bitterly and said: "Get up and speak, get up and speak!"

Li Xian knelt on the ground but did not get up: "If the emperor does not agree to my request, I will kneel to death on the ground and still not get up!"

"Hey, why are you doing this?" Li Hong smiled bitterly: "Are you afraid that I will punish you to death because of the prison matter? How is this possible? Not to mention that you and I are brothers born from the same mother. Besides, you were not in Chang'an before. In Sanlang's army, the real behind-the-scenes person is definitely not you. You are at best an accomplice. At most, you will be fined a few years of salary and a few levels of official rank. What is the dignity of death? If I really kill you because of this matter, how can I have the face to see my parents after my death? Even though I don’t have the face to see them in the first place!" At this point, Li Hong's face became a little sad. (End of chapter)