Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Why, how could this happen?" Yanliang was stunned by the huge information contained in Di Renjie's words. He stared at Di Renjie in stunned silence, and even forgot to read the letter.

"Master, please read the letter first!" Di Renjie reminded: "Time is running out, you must make a decision immediately!"

"Well!" Yan Liang hurriedly opened the letter and read it carefully. After he finished reading the letter, he sighed: "How could this happen? The leader of the rebels turned out to be the samurai who swore allegiance to me. They wanted me to return to Nanjing as soon as possible. Bo Jing! Mr. Di, what do you think we should do?"

"Looking at what the letter said, the reason why the rebel leader revolted was also because of a land dispute!" Di Renjie said: "Put this aside for now. Young Master, do you want to go back?"

"That's natural!" Yan Liang said: "After all, I am the king of Japan. There is chaos in the country. How can I not return home?"

"Okay, since you are going back to the country, there are two things: first, who will replace you to guard the new city? Second, how many troops will you bring back to the country?"

"Leave the guarding of the new city to General Xue! He is a senior general in the country and has great prestige! As for my return to the country? Why should I lead troops? Could anyone be against me?" Yan Liang asked.

"I'm sorry to say this bluntly, sir, it's better for you to take General Xue to the Japanese country. We are in troubled times now, so it's better to have less trouble. As for the soldiers and horses, there is chaos in the country at the moment, and Yuan Aolie is the most important general of the country. Don’t you think it’s a little strange that he died so mysteriously?”

Yan Liang heard the implication of Di Renjie's words and nodded: "I understand what Mr. Di means. How many troops do you think we should bring?"

"You don't need many soldiers and horses. Two thousand cavalry on foot is enough! But there must be a thousand fine cavalry inside. The horses on the Japanese side are not as strong as the Liao people. The knights mostly use bows and arrows, so they are not as good at charging into the battle. As for the new city, You can choose Sha Zha Xiangru. This person was originally a surrendered general of Baekje. Even if he wanted to do something, he couldn't command the local generals. Monk Shen can pacify him with his backhand!"

"Okay, I'll do as Mr. Di said!" Yan Liang nodded: "Then when I return home, I'll ask Mr. Di to come with me, so I can ask you about everything!"

"I obey your orders, sir!" Di Renjie bowed.

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Shaanzhou.

The emperor's guard of honor is like a dazzling river made of brocade, gold, and silver. It flows toward Shaanzhou City in a mighty manner. It is four or five miles long. It consists of the left and right Yulin troops, the accompanying maids, chamberlains, and It consists of ministers, princes and nobles, as well as a large number of servants, vehicles and livestock that serve them. The biting north wind flapped countless flags in the ranks, forming a long river of color.

There were many familiar faces to Wang Wenzuo in the queue. He could name many of them, but most of them only had impressions but could no longer name them. He could only lament that he was getting old. If he was in Baekje and When he was in Japan, he could call out the names of soldiers and officers before a battle, and even tell them where they were and when they made military exploits, but now he can no longer do it.

"Sanlang!" The young man who came out of the dragon chariot made a familiar voice. Wang Wenzuo quickly got off his horse, knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, Wang Wenzuo!"

"Quit the body!" Li Hong's voice was trembling. He took a few steps forward, grabbed Wang Wenzuo's arm, looked up and down, and sighed: "Ai Qing has aged a lot this time to quell the chaos. It's really hard work."

"Serving the country is really my duty!" Wang Wenzuo bowed and stood up: "The capital is in turmoil, the palace has undergone sudden changes, and it is really my fault to trouble Your Majesty!"

"That's all!" Li Hong's expression changed slightly, and he sighed: "This is all in the past, so don't mention it again. Sanlang, the affairs of the court cannot be separated from you. When will you return to the court to preside over the matter?" affairs of state?"

Wang Wenzuo didn't expect that the emperor would ask such a direct question. He hesitated for a moment and replied: "The matter of water transportation has not been completed yet! I still want to——"

"Isn't there Mr. Yiji Lianbode? I remember that he was in charge in the past, and now it is still up to him!" Li Hong interrupted Wang Wenzuo's excuse: "You are the pillar of the Tang Dynasty. If you are transported by water, Delaying here is really an insult to your talents!"

"To answer your Majesty's question, Ijilenbode is not in the army now!" Wang Wenzuo smiled bitterly: "Something happened in the Japanese country, and I asked him to go back and help that child!"

"Something happened to the Japanese country?" Li Hong was stunned when he heard this, and his attention immediately returned to Wang Wenzuo. After all, in his opinion, it was just a small and mean country, and there was really no need to worry too much about it. He forced a smile and said: "If Yi Jiqing comes in person, it must be solved. Forget it, let's talk about it first in the city! It's really windy outside!"

"Your Majesty, please get on the dragon chariot, and the ministers will guide you!" Wang Wenzuo said hurriedly.

Wang Wenzuo first sent the emperor back to the dragon chariot, and then got on his horse. As the leader of the emperor's ceremonial guard, this was a great honor, but Wang Wenzuo did not feel the slightest joy in his heart at this time. The emperor's intention was very clear - he must return to Chang'an as soon as possible. Any excuses would be useless, but did he really want to go back?

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At certain times, Hu Liang was glad that he was just an illegitimate son. For example, at the banquet attended by the emperor, he could sit behind a few tables in the side hall, pick up the jug and fill it up for himself, and sit with his father's guards. Enjoy the taste of fine wine and delicious food, instead of sitting in the main hall, wrapped tightly in robes, not daring to move.

Because the city of Shaanzhou had just been damaged by the war, there were not many large buildings in the city that were well preserved and undamaged. The space of this side hall was not large. The braziers at the four corners made the room steamy, and the surroundings were filled with various kinds of fragrances. There was the aroma of delicious food and fine wine, and officers from all over were whispering to each other. There was a musician playing the pipa and singing a ballad next to the screen in the corner of the side hall. The rising tone of the song, Hu Liang tried to hear clearly what the musician was singing, but under the din of clinking wax plates and drunken conversation, he couldn't hear anything clearly from five or six tables away.

The banquet for the emperor to receive the emperor and wash away the dust has been held for more than two hours. Hu Liang and his father are separated by two corridors and a small courtyard of about 100 square meters. He and the emperor are sitting next to each other. He probably has nothing to eat and nothing to do. He had to drink, but Hu Liang could talk and laugh loudly here, eat and drink at will, which made him very satisfied.

From the time he could remember, Hu Liang knew that Yan Liang was different from all his brothers. Everyone showed an incredible respect to him, as if the person in front of them was not a child or a teenager, but a man. A god is, at least, a god who resides in a human body. The only one who is not like this is the eldest princess, but even a fool can see that the eldest princess regards Yanliang as her own child and loves him like a mother. For this point, Morira has been able to take it calmly. After all, his mother is just the daughter of a small shrine priest, a by-product of his father's loneliness during the war; The master of the Sixty-Six Kingdoms Warriors, the master of Akitsu Island (the ancient name of Japan).

Of course, this difference in status is not without its benefits. Hu Liang does not have to bear the attention and expectations of so many people. He can mix with the servants and followers at will, and no one will surround him and prevent him from doing this. Don't let him do that. He could sit at the same table with the guards around his father and listen to each other's stories of war, hunting, and affairs with relish. He bet that it would be much more interesting than what Yanliang faced. "Do you know?" A Mohe guard stretched out his hands and stretched his arms to the limit: "In the river in our hometown, the salmon can grow to be so thick that I can barely hold it with both hands. Three or four people It’s so long that every year around the time of white dew, countless salmon will swim upstream from the sea. There are so many fish that you can even step on their backs to run from the drinking side to the other side of the river. We paddled on the birch Use a kayak to rain heavy rain with a harpoon and net, then cut open the belly, peel off the skin, and dry the fish meat. The skin is then tanned and made into clothes. There is no need to farm or hunt, and you only rely on the annual salmon. I can eat enough!”

"Wearing fish skin clothes, I guess your people must smell very bad!" A Khitan guard next to him laughed: "Especially the women, they must smell as fishy!"

"Nonsense!" Mohe's face flushed with anger from the laughter around him: "As long as you scrape the fish skin clean and dry it in the sun, it won't be smelly at all. Foxes and bears also stink, so don't fox and bear skins stink? ?”

Hu Liang listened to the quarrels and jokes of these guards with a smile. He knew that although these rude people would argue, they would never get into a fight. At most, they would just wrestle in the yard outside and never use a knife. People who lose will never hold grudges. He has seen enough similar things during this time.

"Hu Liang, so you're staying here!" asked a familiar voice.

"Master Cao, it's you!" Hu Liang stood up quickly. There were many masters who taught Wang Wenzuo's sons martial arts, and Cao Wenzong was probably the most skilled one among them. These children all admired this man with excellent martial arts and loyal personality. Teachers are very respectful.

A guard next to him quickly stood up and made room for Cao Wenzong. Cao Wenzong sat down, picked up Hu Liang's wine glass, and took a sip: "Sangluo wine is very mellow, Hu Liang, how much have you drunk! "

Hu Liang smiled and said nothing.

"It seems that you secretly drank a lot behind my back in the past! Forget it, you are not a child anymore!" Cao Wenzong smiled, took a piece of the roasted lamb next to him, and put it into his mouth. The juice flowed from the corner of his mouth. flowed out.

After Cao Wenzong finished eating the meat, he found a cup, drank the mutton down with Sangluo wine, and said with a smile: "What's wrong, why don't you go to the hall where the general is? I remember you should be qualified to sit there!"

"I think it's a troublesome place over there today!" Hu Liang said with a smile: "When I went to greet my father in the morning these days, I found that his eyes were all dark, probably because he was worried about the emperor's affairs!"

"You can actually discover these!" Cao Wenzong looked at Hu Liang in surprise: "Really, you have a pair of eyes that are good at discovery. If I had this kind of eyesight at your age, I would not have gotten into the bad luck that happened later! "

"Then you won't have the chance to meet my father!" Hu Liang said with a smile.

"That's true!" Cao Wenzong smiled: "Yes! Blessings and misfortunes depend on it. It's hard to tell clearly between blessings and misfortunes!"

"So, father is really in trouble?" Gu Liang asked.

"Yeah!" Cao Wenzong nodded: "The emperor hopes that he can stay in Chang'an and preside over the government, but he doesn't want to do that!"

"Then why don't you refuse?" Hu Liang asked: "The emperor shouldn't be able to force his father to stay now, right?"

"Yes, in fact no one in the world can force your father to do anything!" Cao Wenzong said: "But the problem is that he doesn't want to say no to the emperor, do you understand?"

"I don't quite understand!" Hu Liang said, "But it's nothing. What can I do?" He is a smart man and knows that there must be a reason for Cao Wenzong to come to him at this time.

Cao Wenzong looked at Gu Liang in surprise. The child's sensitivity in front of him surprised him again. Why didn't he notice it before? He hesitated for a moment: "The general hopes that you can replace him! Stay in Chang'an!"

"How is it possible for me to replace him?" Hu Liang asked in surprise: "The emperor wants him to stay and handle the government affairs, how can I do this!"

"You don't understand, the emperor actually has no shortage of people who can take charge of the government on his behalf! What he wants is for your father to stay in Chang'an, so that he can feel at ease! Your father is too powerful, do you understand?" Cao Wenzong tried to explain? .

"You mean, I go to Chang'an to be a hostage?" Hu Liang asked.

Looking at the young man's shining eyes, Cao Wenzong suddenly felt guilty. He nodded: "Actually, it can't be said to be a hostage. It should be said to be a marriage. The emperor has a sister and plans to choose one of the generals as his son-in-law. , got married, thinking that Qin and Jin are good!"

"The emperor's sister is marrying me?" Hu Liang was surprised: "Isn't this impossible? Even if we get married, it should be Yanliang, right? After all, I am only my father's -"

Cough!

Cao Wenzong coughed twice and kept Hu Liang's unseemly words in his stomach: "This is just a reason, and it hasn't been decided yet. The emperor's sister is still young, and it will take at least several years for her to get married. You understand. ?"

Hu Liang nodded. He probably understood that the emperor wanted a hostage, but he didn't want to make it too embarrassing, so he used the marriage with his sister as an excuse. Anyway, it was still early for the real marriage, as long as one could stay in Chang'an. The reason is enough. But the problem is that there are so many reasons like this, why use marriage with the emperor's sister?

Seemingly sensing Hu Liang's doubts, Cao Wenzong sighed: "Don't think too much about it. The emperor wants to see you anyway. You straighten your clothes and come with me to meet the emperor!" (End of Chapter)