Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 515 Chapter 522
More than 300 miles north of Yizhou is Zitong County.

This place is backed by Zilin in the east and Tongshui in the west. It is the southern gate of Shu Road.

In October, winter came, the sky was cloudy and rainy with a light mist. A group of people and horses hurried to Qiqu Mountain in the north of the county. As it was getting dark, the leading knight had to rein in his horse.

"There is an inn ahead!"

"Your Majesty, it's dangerous to travel at night. Why don't you rest here for a while?"

Chen Xuanli turned his horse around and rushed to Li Longji's horse, helping him off the horse. Lu Qi rushed over and supported Li Longji's other side, then staggered into the dilapidated posthouse.

When the Jiannan Army mutinied, they offered almost no resistance and simply fled the palace, running all the way to Liangzhou.

After escaping here, Li Longji was very tired and asked, "Will the rebels not chase us again?"

"In this weather, they must stop."

In the rear, Zhang Yi's leg wound had not healed yet, and he was helped off the horse with difficulty. However, the wound was still agitated when he entered the posthouse. He grimaced in pain and felt uneasy.

He originally thought that Li Longji and Li Heng were far superior to Li Cong and the young Xue Bai behind him in terms of both reputation and ability. However, since An Lushan's rebellion, Li Longji's series of stupid moves finally made him realize that following such an old emperor would not have a future even if he really fled to Liangzhou.

Looking up, you can vaguely see a temple on the mountainside in the mist.

So, when everyone retreated to the lobby of the posthouse, Zhang Yi pretended to be weak and knelt before Li Longji, saying: "Your Majesty, I am seriously injured and I am afraid I cannot go to Liangzhou with you. I beg you to retire from your post... From now on, I will become a monk."

The last sentence is very important. If he did not express his intention to shave his head and become a monk, Li Longji would definitely think that he wanted to surrender to the rebels.

Zhang Yi deliberately put on a desolate and lost expression, his eyes full of regret. Although he wanted very much to continue his journey north, he was helpless. He had no choice but to abandon the secular world, cut off all emotions and no longer participate in power struggles.

"Consort?"

Princess Ningqin was extremely surprised when she heard this. She rushed to Zhang Yi without caring about anything and said, "What do you mean by becoming a monk? How could you make such a decision without consulting me?!"

Zhang Yi had had enough of her, which was one of the reasons why he wanted to become a monk. He coughed twice and said weakly, "I am seriously injured. I can't drag you and the emperor down any longer."

"What's the serious injury? It's just an arrow in the buttocks." Princess Ningqin shouted, "Prince consort, you can't become a monk. I won't allow you to become a monk."

Zhang Yi didn't want to pay attention to her, fearing that she would continue to ruin his future life, and whispered, "Stop talking nonsense."

He bowed to Li Longji again and said, "I beg the Emperor to grant my blessing."

“An old horse in the stable still has ambitions to run a thousand miles. A martyr in his old age still has ambitions.”

Li Longji first recited the poem in a gloomy tone, then stood up and paced a few steps, stroking his long gray beard, and slowly said: "I am already seventy years old, and I still have great ambitions. How old are you? How can you be so depressed?"

Zhang Yi was ashamed and cried, "How can I, a mere common man, compare myself with the emperor?"

This sounded nice. If someone else had retired, Li Longji would have let him go, but Zhang Yi was different.

"Get up." Li Longji stepped forward and helped him up with his old but still strong arms, saying, "Cheer up. I still need you to testify to prove that Xue Bai pretended to be my grandson. He is a fake and a traitor. These are the words you said to me in person. I want you to prove it to all the officials in Chang'an!"

Zhang Yi was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Yes, Xue Bai is a lowly slave adopted by Xue Xiu. He was a traitor from birth, and many people can testify to this."

"Who else can testify?"

Zhang Yi couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Princess Ningqin, thinking that all the members of Xue Xiu's family who were sheltered in that mansion were killed by this vicious woman, so how many witnesses were there?
He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Princess Xianyi and her husband Yang Hui can testify to this."

Li Longji shook his head and said, "I need you."

Zhang Yi stammered, "I am willing to die for the Emperor..."

Before he could finish his words, he finally fainted on the ground due to excessive blood loss and days of running around, as if only Buddhism could save him.

Li Longji was displeased when he saw this, and the feeling of being deserted by his friends and relatives became even stronger.

The sky grew darker. At night, Li Longji tossed and turned. In a daze, he seemed to hear some noise in the distance.

"Sanlang...Sanlang..."

He suddenly remembered Yang Yuhuan's call to him in the Chang'an Palace, but when his mind became clearer, he thought that Yang Yuhuan might be making love with Xue Bai at this time, and his heart became even more painful, so he could no longer sleep.

So he stood up, pushed the door open, and saw Chen Xuanli moving a chair and sitting outside the door guarding it. He didn't take off his armor, but seemed to be asleep.

"Saint." Chen Xuanli woke up after hearing the noise and inadvertently called Li Longji by his old title.

"I seem to hear someone calling 'Sanlang', come out and take a look."

Chen Xuanli listened attentively for a while and replied, "That's the bell on the mountain temple ringing. The sound is 'dang-dang' 'dang-dang'."

Li Longji said sadly: "Hearing the bell on a rainy night makes me heartbroken."

"Your Majesty is overly worried."

"Do you have a piano?"

"I will go find it right away."

Chen Xuanli hurriedly asked people to find musical instruments, but he was in a hurry when he was driven out of the palace this time, and he didn't bring any heavy zither and drums. He only found a short flute from an accompanying actor.

"I want to compose a new piece of music, let's name it "Rainy Bells"."

Li Longji took the flute, wiped it with his sleeve, and didn't even mind that it was used by someone else. He put it to his lips and started to play.

The flute sounded melodious and plaintive, as if telling his lament that no one could understand...

"It's really here!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the inn, and the sound of the flute stopped abruptly.

Li Longji put down the flute in his hand, looked at Chen Xuanli in surprise, stammered, and finally asked: "The posthouse is surrounded?"

Chen Xuanli was unaware of this and was stunned for a long time before answering: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty fell asleep. Your Majesty is guilty."

~~
"Consort!"

Princess Ning ran to the lobby of the inn in a panic, rushed to Zhang Yi's side, kept pushing him, and said, "What should we do? The rebels are chasing us."

Zhang Yi was planning to continue to faint, but she pushed him too hard and he was so shaky that he had to open his eyes to stop her, mumbling, "Stop pushing."

"What should we do? The rebels have surrounded us."

Zhang Yi had been thinking about this matter. He believed that he had a special status and was the most qualified to prove that Xue Bai was the emperor's grandson Li Qian. In other words, he was the key person who could give Xue Bai the title of orthodoxy, and Xue Bai would definitely not kill him.

However, they had a grudge against each other before, and with his status as the son-in-law of the emperor, it was impossible for him to be reused after he helped Xue Bai to usurp the throne. Once Xue Bai consolidated his position, he might be killed to silence him.

Now surrounded in this post house, there are few ways to protect himself. After much deliberation, Zhang Yi decided to become a monk, which not only showed that he would rather leave the world than surrender to the bandits, but also separated himself from the Li Tang royal family, and he would have more room to make choices in the future as a monk.

"Help me shave my head." Zhang Yi said, "I want to become a monk."

"Then what should I do?" Princess Ningqin said angrily.

"You should become a monk too." Zhang Yi advised, "Don't forget that you were the one who killed all the orphans in that house."

Princess Ningqin turned pale with fear, and quickly called over her attendants, saying, "Quick, shave my head and my husband's head!"

The inn had a limited number of guest rooms, so Lu Qi also stayed in the lobby. Seeing Zhang Yi and his wife's behavior, he was disgusted and cursed: "Zhang Yi, you have received the grace of the country for generations, but when the country is in danger, why don't you stand up and escape into Buddhism?"

"I fought for my country and was seriously injured. I am unable to move. Now that the emperor is in danger, I want to die for him. But if I die, who will reveal Xue Bai's conspiracy?"

"you!"

Lu Qi was jealous of Zhang Yi's possession of the immortality talisman written in red ink and iron contract, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

However, he could not give up the position of prime minister that he had already obtained, and hurried to embrace the emperor and escape. However, there was a loud bang at the gate of the inn, and the imperial guards retreated.

The rebels have already rushed out the door.

"The Emperor is being held hostage by treacherous officials. We must rescue him and escort him back to Chang'an!"

Following this loud shout, a group of Jiannan soldiers stepped through the gate and appeared in Lu Qi's sight. He knew that the "traitor" they were talking about was himself, and he couldn't help but shudder.

"stop!"

At this moment, Yan Wu arrived with Jiang Hai, Tian Shengong, Tian Shenyu and several other generals, and shouted: "Don't hurt the emperor!"

Then, he asked the imperial guards standing in formation in the courtyard, "The Holy Saint is eagerly waiting in Chang'an to meet the Emperor and his son, but you are holding up your swords to stop him. Are you planning a rebellion?!"

His imposing manner was so intimidating that some of the imperial guards were so frightened that they wanted to put down their swords.

At this moment, Li Longji's voice came.

"I think you're going to rebel!"

Everyone turned to look, only to see Li Longji had arrived under the protection of Chen Xuanli. Standing in a safe place at the rear, he said, "I was not held hostage by treacherous ministers. It was because my unworthy son was bewitched by treacherous people that I, in order to protect the country, took the opportunity to travel south despite my old age. Yan Wu, now that I have personally ordered you to surrender, it is not too late for you to repent."

Yan Wu resisted the pressure and said, "The emperor said this because he was held hostage by treacherous officials."

"I am not confused yet!" Li Longji said, "There is no treacherous minister. You leave immediately."

Jiang Hai thought that this confrontation would never end, so he pointed at Lu Qi and shouted, "That's the traitor. Kill him!"

This is the way to purge the imperial court. After seeing blood, he will see if Li Longji still dares to be tough.

After saying this, Jiang Hai was the first to take action. He raised his knife and walked forward to chop Lu Qi.

"Stop this thief!" Chen Xuanli ordered the imperial guards to stop him.

The two sides started fighting in front of Li Longji.

The originally enraged Jiannan Army soldiers chased here, but their anger had subsided a lot. They hesitated to rebel in front of the emperor, and many people did not dare to act. Including Yan Wu, he had a sullen face and did not give any orders.

On the contrary, Guo Qianren, who was of low rank and low position, ignorant and fearless, dared to rush towards Lu Qi.

Seeing this, Chen Xuanli hurriedly protected Li Long and retreated.

Lu Qi was also terrified and wanted to escape. The first time he fought with Xue Bai, he was in danger and asked his grandfather to send him out of Chang'an. When he encountered danger again today, the first thing he thought of was to find his grandfather.

But his grandfather is dead.

"You can't kill me!" Lu Qi exclaimed, "My grandfather died in Luoyang, and everyone admired him! You can't kill me!"

Following these words, he felt inexplicably relieved, and looking again, the imperial guards seemed to be working harder to resist the rebels. It was obvious that his grandfather would protect him even if he died.

"I am a traitor? My grandfather served in office for ten years and was always upright and unyielding. He defended his position without hesitation and died for his country!" Lu Qi became more excited as he spoke, and his voice became much louder. "My grandfather was posthumously named 'Zhenlie'. He was in a difficult situation and was forced to surrender in court robes. He was still generous and indignant, and he listed the crimes of the bandits and tyrants. As the descendant of such a loyal minister, you say I am a traitor?! I have ministers who protect me..."

"puff."

Lu Qi was still shouting loudly when he suddenly felt his neck falling down. For a moment he saw a headless corpse and then he lost consciousness.

If the son of this loyal minister had died earlier, he might have been able to keep the flag and emblem that his father had exchanged his life for.

The head fell to the ground and someone picked it up.

"The traitor Lu Qi is dead! Please ask the emperor to return to the capital!"

The murderer was Tian Shengong.

He was greatly favored by Xue Bai, and was able to follow Wang Zhongsi to fight in Longyou and pacify Nanzhao. He rose from a small soldier to a general, but he never found a way to repay Xue Bai. The difficulty in inviting the emperor back this time was not in fighting, but in determination.

Even a strong man like Yan Wu hesitated at the critical moment, but Tian Shengong was much more resolute, because many years ago, he had done something extremely treasonous with Xue Bai.

Li Longji heard the shouting and turned around to see Tian Shengong holding Lu Qi's head high. He still refused to surrender and shouted, "Stop him!"

When Tian Shenyu saw that his brother had killed Lu Qi, he immediately chased after Li Longji.

His steps were not fast, but each one was very big, and he was getting closer and closer to Li Longji. When the imperial guards came to stop him along the way, he chopped them down with a single blow of his sword.

"Traitor, how dare you?!"

Chen Xuanli was furious, and personally took up his sword to meet Tian Shenyu, raising his eyebrows and shouting angrily: "Don't stop!"

Many years ago, the Tian brothers were still small soldiers in the Right Guard. They had seen Chen Xuanli, who was then the general of the Longwu Army, from afar. Their awe and respect for Chen Xuanli at that time were beyond words.

The suppression of their official positions and momentum made them as small as ants in front of Chen Xuanli at that time.

Chen Xuanli had long been accustomed to the feeling of being superior. He could make people submit with just a shout, so he forgot that he had not taken action for many years.

The two fight.

"Tiger--"

Tian Shenyu swung his sword, thinking that he would have to fight with the general of the Longwu Army for several more moves, but...

"puff."

Another head fell to the ground. Chen Xuanli was still glaring with anger and domineering until his death. Until his helmet fell to the side, his full head of white hair showed that he was very old.

Everyone was stunned, including Tian Shenyu. He had never thought of killing Chen Xuanli at first. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind - that's all.

What was strange was that the imperial guards had been under Chen Xuanli's command for a long time, but at this moment they were all silent, as if they were all frightened. The originally chaotic and noisy inn became quiet.

After a long time, Tian Shengong finally shouted.

"The traitor is dead! Please ask the emperor to return to the capital!"

Jiang Hai and Yan Wu also shouted: "Please ask the emperor to return to the capital!"

So everyone looked at Li Longji, waiting for him to speak.

The blood on the ground slowly flowed down the stone steps to Li Longji's feet. He tried to speak several times, but no sound came out.

The bells in the distance were still ringing in the wind, making clear sounds, as if urging him to return to Chang'an.

"Dang...Dang..."

~~
The next day, Li Longji sat there dejectedly, watching the wind blow up Zhang Yi's long hair, and sneered in his heart, "What an ugly thing to do."

He had deep feelings for Zhang Yien, but in times of crisis, Zhang Yi let him down.

"The Great Emperor."

Suddenly, he heard a voice calling him. Li Longji turned around and saw a man walking into the posthouse with a bent back. It was Gao Lishi.

When the two met, they burst into tears and cried loudly.

"I left Chang'an a long time ago to serve the Emperor. When I arrived at Jincheng County, I encountered rebels. When I arrived at Chencang, Prince Zhong fought with Prince Qing. When I arrived at Liangzhou, I was detained again. A few days ago, they allowed me to come..."

After hearing this, Li Longji knew that Xue Bai had made up his mind to take him back, so he deliberately detained Gao Lishi and waited until this moment to appease him.

He looked out the door for a long time and asked, "Where's Taizhen?"

Gao Lishi's body froze, his face was filled with grief, he lowered his head and wiped his tears, and said: "The imperial concubine... passed away due to illness."

"what?"

"The imperial concubine missed the saint so much that she fell ill before leaving Chang'an. She continued on her journey despite her illness and died at Mawei Posthouse."

"Really?"

"I have seen it with my own eyes and dare not hide it from the Saint."

Li Longji was stunned for a while, with suspicion in his eyes. He did not believe what Gao Lishi said, but he knew that this was the most decent answer.

If he pressed the issue further, he might end up losing the last bit of his dignity.

For a moment, it was boring.

"Grand Emperor, the situation in Guanzhong has been settled." Gao Lishi advised in a low voice: "For the stability of the Tang Dynasty, allow Prince Qing to ascend the throne."

After a long while, Li Longji finally responded in a buzzing voice: "I can allow my son to ascend the throne."

"Yes."

The two did not say anything more. Gao Lishi thought that in his current situation, he could not care about those things. He only cared about serving Li Longji well and making his loyal servant's life come to an end.

Finally, Li Longji patted his knees in boredom and sighed, "Go back, go back..."

~~
At this time, Shi Siming's 130,000-man army was stationed in Hebei, eyeing Luoyang. However, outside of Guanzhong, except for a few counties in Hedong and Henan, many places in the country still followed Li Longji's orders and did not cooperate with the court in Chang'an to suppress the rebellion.

Only when Li Longji was "escorted" back to Chang'an could the situation where government orders could not be issued by a single door come to an end.

Half a month later, the Tang Emperor Li Cong personally left Chang'an and went to Xianyang to welcome the retired emperor back to the capital.

This was a great event. Thousands of people from Chang'an and Xianyang gathered together, separated by the imperial guards, and stood far away on both sides of the road, craning their heads to witness the reunion of the Tang royal family.

After experiencing the previous war, the royal family reconciled, as if symbolizing that the world would return to peace.

The ceremonial officials obviously shared the same sentiment. The music they used was "Taiping Music", and more than a thousand Liyuan musicians were employed. The event was grand, and even King Yong, who advocated frugality, rarely agreed to such a grand event.

The emperor's carriage was still a long way off, but Li Cong had already been waiting by the roadside. The crown prince Li Qu, the loyal prince Li Heng, the Yu prince Li Chu and other princes were standing downstairs, all with admiring expressions on their faces.

Xue Bai, the envoy who secretly sent people to invite Li Longji back, stood behind Li Qu and his brothers in a low-key manner, looking very much like a descendant of the Li family.

Finally, Li Longji arrived.

According to etiquette, the father and son of the royal family should not meet directly on the roadside, but first send the emperor to Wangxian Palace in Xianyang City. After a little tidying up, he went up to the South Tower and accepted the worship of all officials.

As the emperor for more than forty years, Li Longji was very familiar with this kind of worship. He sat high above, listening to the cheers of countless people, and once again felt the pleasure that power brought him.

However, a figure wearing an imperial robe standing at the head of all officials hurt his eyes... It was Li Cong.

Li Cong also bowed to him with a very respectful gesture. The first thing he did after the ceremony was to take off his imperial robe and put on the purple robe of a minister to show his loyalty and filial piety to Li Longji.

"Your son is incompetent and immoral. I was ordered to lead the army to fight and supervise the country on behalf of your father. In order to calm the people's hearts, I temporarily took over the throne. Now I will return the throne to your father!"

Seeing him so panic-stricken, Li Longji laughed in his heart, but his face was full of emotion. He quickly went down the South Tower, rushed to Li Cong, stroked Li Cong's shoulder, and said with tears in his eyes, "The destiny is in your hands, and the people's hearts are in your hands. You drove away the rebellion and allowed me to spend my old age in peace. This is your filial piety!"

Li Cong also burst into tears, prostrated himself on the ground, held Li Longji's feet, and said, "I failed to escort my father, and I am guilty."

"You have done a great job. You are a wise ruler of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Longji looked at Li Cong's back, sighed, took the imperial robe, put it on Li Cong again and said, "This should be worn by you, the emperor."

"I don't dare."

Li Cong was still struggling, but Li Longji insisted on giving the throne to him. He had no choice but to accept it and put on the imperial robe again.

In an instant, more than a thousand officials in the palace cheered.

"We, your servants, will see the two saints meet again today, and we will die without regrets!"

Li Longji was brought back to Chang'an. This was exactly what Li Cong and Xue Bai needed him to do. This action was already an acknowledgement in front of the people of the world that Li Cong's throne was legitimate.

When he did this just now, he tried not to look at Xue Bai standing behind him, for fear that he would lose his temper and scold the rebel in front of everyone. But Chen Xuanli's death made him afraid, and he knew that Xue Bai really dared to kill people.

It was not a dead-end situation yet. After all, Li Cong was still his eldest son, so it was fine to acknowledge Li Cong's throne. After Li Cong had secured the throne, he would naturally understand that it was time to cross the river and burn the bridge, and not let the throne fall into the hands of outsiders.

Then, Li Longji looked at Li Qu, Li Shen, Li Yan and others, nodded with satisfaction, and said: "Good children, you have become useful people."

At this moment, he finally could not ignore Xue Bai standing behind Li Yan, and the two looked at each other.

Xue Bai's eyes were calm and open, showing neither admiration nor shame for stealing Li Longji's things. Li Longji was furious when he saw him like this, but he could only suppress his anger and turned to look at Li Heng and Li Chu on the other side.

Li Heng had to admit that he was very jealous of the untidy imperial robe that Li Cong was wearing. From today on, no one could call Li Cong a rebel. The honor of guarding Chang'an and welcoming back the emperor should have been his.

He didn't know how to face Li Longji's disappointed look, so he lowered his head. Resentment rose in his heart again. He thought to himself, if it weren't for this old fool who had been suppressing him, how could this have happened?

"You are all my blood." Li Longji spoke again, slowly saying: "Fathers, sons and brothers, we should work together to protect the clan society."

"Your subjects are respectfully listening to the instructions of the Supreme Emperor."

Li Cong, Li Heng and others quickly responded.

Only Xue Bai watched this scene with great interest. Although he knew that Li Longji's words were directed at him, he was not afraid.

So far, he is still the one who has preserved the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)