Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Your Majesty is joking!" King Han waved his hand: "I am just a bad old man who wastes food in vain. Your Majesty is responsible for the world, and spending every moment is a sin!"

"Having an old man in the family is like having a treasure!" Li Hong said with a smile: "There are not many people of your generation in the clan, and the grandnephew has a lot to ask for advice! Don't you think so? Ah Yin?"

"Yes, yes!" Li Xian responded quickly: "Brother Huang just said that there are many difficulties in the affairs of the court. I was about to say that I could ask the elders in the clan, but my uncle came instead. What did you say? What a coincidence!”

"Is there such a thing?" King Han glanced at Li Xian and said with a smile: "That is really embarrassing for me. In the past few decades, I have been reading and painting all day long, drinking and drinking, and just sitting around when I am an official. It's just food and paintings, how can I answer His Majesty's inquiry?"

Li Hong originally had nothing to ask King Han, but when he heard what Li Xian said, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart and sighed: "I really have one thing that worries me. I just heard someone say when I had breakfast that a few days ago I heard that Wang Shangshu hosted a banquet at his house. The twelve guests only had two chickens, one goose, and more than ten eggs. There was not even mutton on the table, only a sheep head. When it was spread out, each guest could only get some. Soup. If the minister is like this, you can imagine the people in Chang'an City. How to deal with such a situation, uncle, do you have anything to teach me? "

"I have heard what your Majesty said!" King Han stroked his beard: "According to me, this means that the water transport has not been fully restored. After a while, it should be back to normal!"

"I hope so!" Li Hong sighed: "But it's because of my poor moral character that things have turned out like this!"

"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong!" King Han said with a smile: "If Your Majesty had bad virtue, the city of Chang'an would have been filled with blood and corpses everywhere. How could it be like today?"

Li Hong was stunned when he heard this. He hesitated and asked, "Why did my uncle say this?"

"After General Wang Wenzuo defeated Pei Xingjian, the capture of Chang'an was just a matter of time. If someone else were to be the emperor, it would be Emperor Wu of Liang who built Ye, and Empress Shu who ruled Chengdu. But General Wang not only did not attack Chang'an, but also ordered If it weren't for your majesty's kindness in transporting water, how could I have blocked it in the city?"

Hearing what Li Yuanjia said, Li Hong couldn't help but nodded slightly. Li Yuanjia felt that the two examples were quite clever: Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty encountered Hou Jing's Rebellion in the last years, Jianye fell after being besieged for several months, and the residents inside and outside the city suffered from starvation and war, leaving all casualties. ; And after the Shu Kingdom surrendered to the Wei army, large-scale massacres and wars also occurred, and the people of Chengdu suffered heavy casualties. These two wars had two things in common: the residents of the city were massacred during the war, resulting in heavy casualties; secondly, although the two monarchs were mediocre, they were not cruel, and they were even regarded as virtuous monarchs among the ancient monarchs. What Li Yuanjia meant by this was that virtuous kings such as Emperor Wu of Liang and the Empress of Shu could not avoid the massacre of the people after the city was broken, but Li Hong was able to protect the people in the city after the battle was defeated and Chang'an had no defense power. How can we say that he is a person of poor moral character if he is not safe?

"Hey!" Li Hong sighed: "Wang Wenzuo really had no intention of treason and usurping the throne. It's just that I sent King Pei and Prime Minister Zhang to convey the order to return to Chang'an to assist the government, but he planned to defeat Pei Xingjian and marched directly to Chang'an, which caused turmoil in people's hearts. , and he still refuses to disband the army and return to Chang'an? I really don't know what he thinks!"

"I don't know what General Wang is thinking!" King Han said with a smile: "But if Your Majesty wants to know, why not go to Shaanzhou in person and ask him face to face?"

"Ask him face to face?" Li Hong was stunned when he heard this: "Is this okay?"

"I think this is the best way!" King Han said with a smile: "There are many things that can be guessed at, so it is better to talk face to face for a while. Since Your Majesty feels that the general has no intention of treason and usurping the throne, why not ask him face to face?"

Li Hong's eyes flashed and joy gradually appeared on his face: "Yes, instead of guessing here, it is better to ask Sanlang face to face what he thinks and what difficulties he has!" Thinking of this, he grabbed it Holding the hand of King Han: "Uncle, thanks to you today, I have solved a big problem for me!"

"Really?" King Han said with a smile: "I'm just talking nonsense. Your Majesty trusts General Wang, otherwise he wouldn't think so, let alone agree, and maybe he would blame me!"

"How is that possible?" Li Hong relieved the difficult matter in his mind and felt very happy: "Then I will call Murong Miao here later and tell him that I want to go to Shaanzhou to meet Sanlang, and then... Let’s arrange the time! If it happens, the world will really be safe and peaceful!"

"This is also the result of His Majesty's holy virtue!" King Han bowed and bowed: "Otherwise, how could such matters be solved so easily!"

__________________________

Shaanzhou, governor's office.

The sound of the bow string cutting through the air was sharp and thin, and then there was the muffled sound of the arrow shooting through the grass target.

Wang Wenzuo was wearing a tight-fitting sheepskin short coat and sleeveless armor. He pulled the bow string behind his ear with his thumb on the thumb. Then he relaxed his thumb and flipped his left wrist holding the handle of the bow easily. The arrow drew a straight line and hit the five in the middle. The head of the straw target ten steps away suddenly aroused cheers from the guards.

"My master is indeed an excellent shot!" Sancho took out an arrow from the quiver on the side and held it up with both hands: "Shoot another round to open the eyes of the young men!"

"That's it!" Wang Wenzuo waved his arm and handed the horned bow to Sancho who was standing aside: "I haven't shot an arrow for a long time, and I feel that my muscles and bones are already soft when I wear the armor. If I shoot a few more arrows, it will be exposed!"

Sancho took the horned bow and handed it to the guard on the side to loosen the string and put it away. Then he asked Wang Wenzuo to sit down and rest while he unarmed Wang Wenzuo: "Master, why don't you go out of the city to encircle it, so that you can relax your muscles and bones?"

"A hunt?" Wang Wenzuo hesitated for a moment: "It's spring now, the season when all kinds of beasts reproduce. How can we shoot and hunt?"

"Then don't fight the big ones, hunt hares or something like that. There are so many of them, no matter how hard you fight, they won't become less!" Sancho said with a smile.

"Hunting hares?" Wang Wenzuo's heart was moved. In fact, even high-ranking officials in ancient times had a very boring life in their spare time. Hunting was probably a recreational activity that very few ancient people could enjoy more happily than modern people. Wang Wenzuo also liked it very much: "You know Where are the hares this season?”

Seeing that Wang Wenzuo was moved, Sanqiu hurriedly said: "I have already inquired about it. After leaving Shaanzhou City and walking northwest for more than 20 miles, there is a large salt flat. There are many hares there. The master can surround it a few times. It will definitely be a lot more fun!”

Wang Wenzuo was about to agree when he saw a guard coming in from outside. He bowed down and said, "General, we have an urgent envoy from Chang'an!" "Send him up!" Wang Wenzuo said.

After a while, the messenger came in. After saluting, he presented a letter with both hands. Wang Wenzuo opened it and looked at it, and his face suddenly became heavy. Seeing this, Sangqiu asked cautiously: "Master, has something happened in Chang'an?"

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "His Majesty summoned Murong Mu and said he would come to Shaanzhou in two days to see me in person!"

After taking off his armor, Wang Wenzuo returned to the room. He deliberately ignored anyone and methodically took off his sheepskin jacket, outer robe and sweat-soaked undershirt. The charcoal in the copper basin in the room was burning, but he still felt that his body was burning. Cold, damn, it was the first time he felt it was so cold here. The chill followed him like a shadow, making him miss the warmth even more.

With the help of the maid, he put on dry new clothes. Feeling suddenly overwhelming, he found a chair and sat down, tightened his belt, and fumbled to hang up his saber and dagger. It's so cold! As he thought, he recalled the time in those days. His wife and Ghost Room Yun were always with him. Their bodies were as warm as spring, but there was no warmth here, only cold blades and even more indifferent people.

Wang Wenzuo didn't know why his life turned out like this. As he got closer and closer to the peak of power, the warmth around him became less and less. The emperor is coming to see me, what should I do? Disband the army and go to Chang'an? Hell, no matter how good a craftsman is, it is impossible for a smashed porcelain basin to be restored to its original state, and it is impossible for him to go back to the past.

Capture His Majesty and then take him directly to Chang'an? If that were the case, he would have done so long ago. After defeating Pei Xingjian, only two thousand elite troops were needed to attack Chang'an. Although this great city is magnificent, it is almost impossible to defend from a military point of view. Chang'an is too big, the city wall is too long, and too straight, and there are not enough geographical obstacles. The north of Chang'an City is simply a huge hunting ground. There are too many weaknesses to choose from in the garden, and it is simply impossible to defend it with just the few defenders in the city. But the consequence of doing so means that he must face a large-scale civil war, especially the defenders of Longyou, Beiting, and Anxi who will inevitably turn around. Even if he can defeat them, it means that the Tang Dynasty will Half a century of effort on the west and north sides was in vain. He must deal with the Tubo and post-Turkic empires that are more powerful than in history. I am afraid that he will have to fight to restore the northwest territory of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty for the rest of his life.

Of course, Wang Wenzuo knew that most of his men didn't care at all. The reason was simple. For a considerable number of them, the "Datang Empire" was not so much the motherland as the oppressor. Regardless of whether they are Hebei people, Goguryeo people, Silla people, Baekje people, Japanese people, or Mohe people, they cannot have the feeling of a pious defender of the Tang Empire like Wang Wenzuo. Their loyalty is more to Wang Wenzuo. In other words, the military and political group with Wang Wenzuo as the core. Modern countries have mythologized many historical concepts for their own existence. The result is that Wang Wenzuo's subordinates feel that as long as Wang Wenzuo can become emperor, it does not matter even if he loses Guanxi and Shu; on the contrary, Wang Wenzuo himself feels that the territory of the Tang Empire Don't lose an inch of ground. If you harm the interests of the empire in order to seize supreme power, you will be reviled by future generations.

This was Wang Wenzuo's ambivalent mentality at this time. He knew in his heart that what he had done had actually shaken the pillars of the Tang Empire, but in his heart he hoped to maintain the strength and unity of the empire. Under this contradictory mentality, he behaved strangely. When he was only one step away from the throne of the Emperor, he stopped and began to wipe the stains on the throne vigorously. This strange behavior aroused various suspicions among Chang'an City and Wang Wenzuo's subordinates. As ancient people, they could not understand Wang Wenzuo's ambivalent mentality and could only explain it with loyalty and respect for others and courtesy.

"Master!" Sancho's voice came from outside the door. Wang Wenzuo raised his head: "What's the matter?"

"Tomorrow's hunting matter -" Sancho's voice clearly showed concern for Wang Wenzuo, and Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but feel warm in his heart. No matter what, this herd slave who had followed him since Baekje still cared about him.

"Please arrange it! Before your Majesty comes, I also want to loosen my muscles and relax for a while!"

"Okay, then I'll get ready right away!" Sancho smiled. Hearing the footsteps quickly disappearing from outside the door, Wang Wenzuo smiled. There was at least one person in the world who cared about him.

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Bang bang bang!

Lu Renji raised his head and frowned slightly. There could only be one person who knocked on his door so roughly: "Is it Twelve Lang? Come in and talk!"

The door was pushed open, and Lu Renji was surprised to find that besides Lu Twelve, there was Lu Zhaolin outside the door. He was surprised to find that Lu Zhaolin looked depressed and looked like a disaster was imminent.

"Shengzhi, what happened?" Lu Renji asked.

Lu Twelve looked back at the door, and after making sure that no one was there, he closed the door and said in a low voice: "The emperor will come to Shaanzhou in two days to meet the general!"

"Oh? There is such a thing!" Lu Renji was surprised. He looked at Lu Zhaolin: "Is this why you are doing this?"

"Uncle, don't you understand?" Lu Twelve said: "As soon as the emperor sees the general, the general will definitely return to Chang'an obediently. He will definitely disband the army before leaving. Isn't our battle in vain? ?”

"Shut up!" Lu Renji scolded Lu Twelve and turned to Lu Zhaolin: "Is this really true?"

Lu Zhaolin nodded: "The emperor is indeed coming to Shaanzhou to meet the general!"

"I'm asking if the general will really disband the army and go to Chang'an!" Lu Renji asked.

"The general hasn't said anything yet!" Lu Zhaolin said: "But according to my estimation, it is very likely to happen!"

"What's the reason?" Lu Renji asked: "Now that Chang'an is within easy reach, why would the general cut off his hands and go to Chang'an to hide in the tiger's den!"

"Uncle, you don't understand the relationship between the general and the emperor!" Lu Zhaolin said: "It can be said that it is the righteousness of the emperor and his ministers on the outside, and the kindness of the flesh and blood on the inside! Otherwise, how could the emperor come to Shaanzhou to meet the general?"

"The righteousness of the emperor and his subjects is entrusted to the outside, but the kindness of the flesh and blood is bound to the inside? Hahahahahaha!" Lu Renji seemed to have heard something ridiculous and laughed: "Shengzhi, how can there be such a thing in the world? You won't really believe it. Right?" (End of chapter)