Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"The future?" The queen suddenly pushed Pei Judao down: "How can there be eggs under the overthrow of the nest? Father, you are so stupid!" After that, she rushed out desperately, her hair disheveled as if she was crazy, No one dared to stop her.

"Your Majesty!" Pei Judao climbed up from the ground with difficulty. His back had been injured just now. He smiled bitterly and apologized to Li Hong on the couch: "My daughter just now——"

"It's okay! Once I say something, it's hard to catch up, so don't worry!" Li Hong interrupted Pei Judao's explanation.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Pei Judao lowered his head in embarrassment. He wanted to kneel down and salute Li Hong, but the real pain in his back made him suspect that he might not be able to get up if he knelt down. It seemed that Li Hong saw his embarrassment.

"Servant Pei, please step aside first! I would like to have a few words of respect with King Pei!"

"Yes, yes!" Pei Judao, as if he had received an amnesty, exited the palace with difficulty, and the eunuchs who came in followed him out. Although he had never witnessed it with his own eyes, Pei Judao could feel the eunuchs looking at him based on his intuition. There has been a subtle change in the sight. If just now I could drive them at will, just like the most docile hunting dogs; now these hunting dogs have changed their masters, and will tear themselves into pieces with just a whistle.

Heaven Prison.

Lightning pierced the sky, and the blue-white sky reflected the black outline of the pagoda's spire. Six heartbeats later, thunder sounded like a drumbeat in the distance.

The jailer escorted Murong Mu through a narrow alley, past a rusty gate, and in front of a black yard. The cold wind that came in his face was like a knife, and he couldn't help but shiver in his thin clothes.

"Hurry up!" The jailer behind him pushed hard, and Murong Miao almost fell down. He was a strong man, but the heavy shackles on his shoulders made it difficult for him to straighten his waist. He knew what must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't have been suddenly thrown back into prison and subjected to such abuse. Could it be that Shaanzhou had been captured? Or is there something going on with General Wang? If so, then give me a happy death! He thought to himself.

"Go in!" shouted the jailer behind him. Only then did Murong Miao notice a black doorway on his right. He walked up the steps, passed through the doorway, and came to a dark side hall. He found the warden sitting next to a table. There was a brazier next to him, with a dark red light flashing inside. He was bending over and roasting something in the brazier. Seeing this, Murong Nao's eyes couldn't help but shine with yearning.

"Boss, the prisoner has been brought!" the jailer said.

"Hmm!" The warden glanced at Murong Miao. He was an ugly guy with a short and stocky build. He had broad shoulders like a blacksmith and almost no neck. A thick gray-white beard covered his chin and extended to With two cheeks, a broad forehead with a mostly bald head, rosacea and thick lips, he straightened up: "Take down the wooden shackles and untie the shackles on your hands, and bring him here!"

The jailer did as the warden said. Murong Moo felt a sense of relief that he had never experienced before. He stretched his body and said, "Thank you!"

"Are you Murong Piao?"

Murong Miao nodded, enjoying the warmth from the brazier. As he got closer, he could smell an aroma. Something must be roasting in the brazier. He swallowed secretly and was imprisoned for the second time. Since then, he hasn't had a decent meal, which left him starving.

"Rebellion, traitor, traitor!"

Murong Mu was angered by the warden's accusation: "I have never betrayed anyone! I have always been loyal to the emperor and the general!"

"Occupy Shaanzhou, cut off water transportation, and let the people of Chang'an starve! Is this how you are loyal to the emperor?" The warden's eyes showed a fierce light: "Thanks to you, my relatives and friends are all starving, from the old man to the emperor. To the child!”

"That's because of the treacherous ministers who imprisoned the emperor! We were forced to do this!" Murong Miao argued weakly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the warden said coldly: "But your people occupied Shaanzhou, cut off water transportation, set fire to granaries and water ships, and starved the people of Chang'an. Isn't this correct?"

"Burn down the granaries and cannons?" Murong Mu keenly caught the information unintentionally revealed in the other party's words: "You mean Shaanzhou has fallen?"

"It should be said that they were recaptured by Master Wang!" The warden corrected viciously: "You should understand your situation now, right?"

"I'm done!" Murong Mu told himself. He now understood why he was thrown into prison for the second time: "Kill me!"

"What a beautiful idea you have!" the warden sneered: "The higher-ups don't want you to die yet, although I don't know what the use is of keeping you!"

"Then why did you come to me tonight?" Murong Mu asked.

"You're lucky!" The warden snorted coldly: "Someone paid a large sum of money to protect you, you can guess who it is!"

"I don't know!" Murong Nao thought for a while and finally shook his head helplessly.

"A woman, an old woman!" the warden said with a smile: "She gave me two hundred dollars and two bacon legs in exchange for letting you eat well and sleep well in prison! If you can stay in prison every day, If I live five more days, she will give me another bacon leg of this kind. The bacon leg is very fragrant and my two grandsons like it very much. So I decided to give up hatred and live well. Come on, you can eat some too. Let's go!" He pushed the brazier forward, and Murong Piao could see that there were more than a dozen pieces of roasted and cracked taro in the brazier. He quickly grabbed one, quickly peeled off the skin without caring that it was hot to his hands, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it.

"It's delicious. Eat big. When you're full, go back and have a good sleep!" the warden laughed.

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

When the sun shone on Chang'an City again the next day, everyone in the city, from the nobles and ministers to the common people, were shocked by what had happened. The emperor, who had been recuperating in seclusion for many days, returned to take charge and removed King Pei from his position as supervisor of the country; the queen committed suicide by taking poison; Pei Shizhong, the de facto prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, was also stripped of his official title and handed over to the Tribunal of Justice for trial.

Faced with this series of explosive news, the people of Chang'an did not whisper and make irresponsible remarks at first as they did in the past. They proudly analyzed the relationship and deduced some hidden facts to prove that they had foresight and had connections with senior officials. Some unknown close relationships may even lead to endless arguments and huge sums of money bet. Most people in Chang'an were stunned by the sudden and rapid turn of events, and even forgot to take the opportunity to boast, which was their favorite entertainment.

"This, this doesn't sound real!"

"Yes! If I hadn't witnessed that Pei Shizhong's mansion was sealed, the imperial army came to raid the house, and the whole family was imprisoned, I would think it was a dream now!"

"Seeing him build a Zhulou, watching him entertain guests, watching his building collapse, it's true that the world is impermanent, and glory and wealth are just fleeting clouds, passing away in the blink of an eye!"

"Yes, the father is a servant and the daughter is the queen, which can be said to be extremely rich! But in the blink of an eye, the father is a prisoner and the daughter is in the dark. It is really amazing!"

"You, an ordinary citizen, still lament about others? Even if they are only rich for one day, it is better than you living like this for a lifetime!"

"Then let me choose or let me live a few more days! Looking at the attitude of the superiors this time, the Pei family is probably going to annihilate the three clans!"

"Nonsense, even the queen committed suicide by taking poison. What kind of big case is this? A big and extremely wealthy family like this will either have nothing to do, or it will be a major event that will destroy the whole family. And you just have to wait and see, this time The matter must not only involve Pei Judao's family, but also involve hundreds of families and tens of thousands of people. According to me, half of the mansions in the towns near the imperial city will have to change their owners!" "Not bad!"

"Yes, that's the truth!"

"That's right. The willow tree at the entrance to the West Market will be three feet tall again!"

The excitement of the citizens of Chang'an is not without reason. In this kind of city, the upper and lower classes are actually isolated and alienated from each other. The upper class is the political and cultural elite from all over the country, while the lower class is the descendants of the locals and surrounding farmers, so Chang'an In fact, the citizens' attitude towards the internal strife among the upper class is actually a kind of drama. They see these superior people who are usually aloof and like gods being killed, exiled and humiliated in groups like livestock; most citizens even It’s not that I’m gloating over my misfortune, I’m just looking at the fun and not taking it too seriously. They discussed with great interest how many mansions would be vacant, how many slaves would flow into the market, and whether the rare utensils flowing into them could be missed in the black market, as if all this had nothing to do with them.

"But no matter what! It is a good thing that the emperor returns to take charge!" A bald man said in a final tone: "At least it is a good thing for us!"

"Old Chen, what do you say?"

"First of all, the emperor's closest friends are the generals. As soon as he takes office, he will most likely issue an edict to recall the generals, so there will be no need to fight! Otherwise, once a war breaks out, the lives in the north and south of the Yellow River will definitely be destroyed, and there will definitely be many of our Chang'an descendants. Will they be transferred to apply for military service, how many will come back alive in the end?"

"That's right! Swords and guns have no eyesight. It's better not to fight. Besides, General Wang's men are also soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. They are all his own children, so what's the use?"

"The second thing is that the water transportation matter can finally be settled. Don't forget that it was General Wang who organized the water transportation in the first place. With his ability, it won't be long before the price of grain returns to 20 cents per bucket of rice!"

"If so, that would be great!"

"This is really good news!"

"Yes, if this continues, my family will really not be able to survive anymore!"

"How about we go to the Zhuque Gate together to petition the emperor to send important ministers to recall the general back to the court to rectify the water transportation as soon as possible?"

"Yes, that's a good idea!"

"Yes, this is the most important thing! Let's go together!"

"Go together, go together, if you don't go, you won't be from Chang'an!"

Just like the first ripples brought by the breeze, as the number of participants continues to increase, it flows along the streets of Chang'an and gradually merges into an unstoppable torrent, surging towards Zhuque Gate, and finally in front of Zhuque Gate. , countless arms were waving, and they shouted in unison: "Summon the general back to the court! Order the water transportation!"

"Restore twenty cents per meter!"

"Stop the war and transport food!"

Political Hall.

"Hey, Sir Liu, do you feel any noise outside?" Zhang Wenguan asked.

"Sounds outside?" Liu Peiji listened attentively: "It seems there is indeed it, but I can't hear what it is!"

"Let's go outside and listen!" Zhang Wenguan took Liu Peiji and was about to go out. A civil servant hurriedly came in from the outside with a frightened expression: "Two gentlemen, there are tens of thousands of people gathered outside Zhuque Gate, and the momentum is huge!"

"What?" Zhang Wenguan was surprised: "What about the Forbidden Army?"

"The Forbidden Army has closed the city gates and ordered the sergeants to go to the city to put on armor and be on guard! However, they were afraid of the crowds outside and did not dare to go out to suppress them for a while. They just ordered troops to be mobilized for reinforcements!"

"Yes!" Zhang Wenguan nodded: "I will report this to Your Majesty first. This is probably the work of Pei Judao's remnants. You are really brave!"

At this time, a gust of wind blew from the south, bringing a burst of shouting from the Zhuque Gate. Liu Peiji heard it just right. He coughed: "Ms. Zhang, the situation does not seem to be what you think. Most of these people have nothing to do with Pei Judao. relation!"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Wenguan frowned: "What do you know?"

Liu Peiji smiled and said: "Mr. Zhang, listen carefully. These people are shouting like they are recalling the general, and the price of rice is twenty cents. How could they be Pei Judao's remnants?"

Zhang Wenguan listened carefully for a while and couldn't help but laugh: "Fortunately, Mr. Liu, you have sharp ears. Otherwise, if I reported him like this, wouldn't it be a crime of deceiving the emperor?"

"The emperor is kind and will not blame you for this!" Liu Peiji said with a smile: "But this at least shows one thing, the people are determined! It is really a blessing for our Tang Dynasty!"

"Yes! If we can just eliminate this disaster, it will be a blessing for the Tang Dynasty!" Zhang Wenguan sighed: "A few days ago, whenever I think of Pei Xingjian and Wang Wenzuo each carrying hundreds of thousands The army was killing each other to the death, and I shuddered, whoever wins between the two of them, the Tang Dynasty will lose!"

"That's right!" Liu Peiji's heart moved: "Let's see, just recruiting General Wang back to Chang'an won't be enough!"

"How to say?"

"Think about it. Although it is Pei Judao's intention that Pei Xingjian leads the army, it is still the intention of the imperial court. If the imperial court calls the general back to assist the government, how will he arrange it?"

"If this is the case, I'm afraid Pei Xingjian will leave a big problem!" Liu Peiji sighed: "Look at it from Pei Xingjian's perspective. He was originally transferred back to deal with Wang Wenzuo. Now that Wang Wenzuo has joined the government, he will continue to go back. Guarding the border, isn't he afraid that Wang Wenzuo will hate him and attack him? "

"This shouldn't be the case, right? After all, Pei Xingjian has never really fought against Wang Wenzuo?"

"There may not be real swords or guns, but there must have been times when we regarded each other as enemies! This is enough to make people feel wary!" (End of Chapter)