Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 631 City Palace
Outside Daming Palace.

After a guard went in to report, he returned to Jianfu Gate and his attitude towards Du Wulang became much colder.

"Wu Lang, please go back. His Majesty does not want to see you."

"Can you please ..."

"No."

Du Wulang wanted to fight for it again, but was directly rejected.

He turned around and planned to leave, but thinking that he hadn't seen Xue Bai for a long time, he couldn't help but become more worried, so he stopped and said, "Then I might as well wait outside the palace gate until His Majesty sees me."

The imperial guard ignored him and muttered to himself, "You still don't submit to me even now. You really think you are someone important."

Although Du Wulang didn't hear clearly, he realized that since Yang Yuhuan's death, Xue Bai seemed to be angry with him and alienated himself from him.

In the past, he was a popular figure in Chang'an City, and everyone who saw him would flatter him. But on this day, officials came and went through the palace gate, but they all acted as if they didn't see him.

When the evening drum sounded, the sky gradually darkened, and a bright moon quietly climbed up the high palace wall. The imperial guards guarding the palace gate were replaced, and Du Wulang's stomach rumbled with hunger.

He was originally a person who had little perseverance in doing anything. If it were something else, he would have given up long ago. But this time, he suffered more and more but was still not summoned. He became more and more afraid and did not dare to leave.

After enduring a difficult night, at four o'clock in the morning, officials gradually arrived and lined up outside the palace gate to prepare for court.

Seeing this, Du Wulang simply moved over and tried to line up behind them, but was stopped as expected.

"I am also an official, preparing to go to court. This is my fish talisman."

According to the Tang system, only officials above the fifth rank had fish tokens, but Du Wulang was not of the fifth rank. His fish token was given to him by Xue Bai separately.

As a result, he was actually kicked out of the team, and experienced the pain of having a low official position for a rare occasion.

"If I had known this, I should have been more motivated in my daily life."

He was actually very anxious, but he was still standing aside and muttering some boring words to himself. At this moment, someone patted him on the back.

Turning around, I saw it was a little Taoist boy.

"It's you?" Du Wulang recognized this person as someone close to Li Mi. "Xianyun, right? Can Li Mi still come to court?"

"Goro, please follow me."

Du Wulang knew that Li Mi wanted to see him and was very reluctant.

Xianyun walked a few steps, and seeing that he was not following, he had no choice but to stop and asked, "What's wrong?"

Du Wulang whispered in his ear: "The situation is sensitive now. It's not appropriate for me to talk to Li Mi alone, right?"

"Wu Lang thinks too highly of himself. It's okay. Please follow me."

Although Xianyun is young and has the mentality of a child in private, he can sometimes show the calm temperament of a hermit.

Du Wulang then hurriedly followed, and soon he saw Li Mi resting in a carriage.

"Hey, I haven't seen you for a while. You look much more haggard."

Li Mi no longer had his original indifferent temperament, and his face, which originally had a strong vitality, was now filled with deep worry.

His brows were furrowed, and the wrinkles were filled with worldly trivialities.

It was like a piece of white jade falling into the mud and rolling around, or like a high white cloud being pressed into a heavy black cloud by water vapor.

Also as a prime minister, Yuan Zai seemed full of ambition and high spirits when he was in office.

"I have a few things I want to ask Goro."

"Okay." Du Wulang said, "But will you be able to attend the court in time?"

"Very soon." Li Mi said, "Has Wu Lang seen your Majesty since returning from outside the city?"

"No, I have been waiting since noon yesterday, but His Majesty has not seen me."

"Why do you think this is?"

Du Wulang said, "I helped His Majesty settle Madam Yang. When something like this happened, His Majesty blames me."

Li Mi said, "Since your majesty has entrusted this matter to you, you must have known that you could not hide it from Du Erniang, so the fault must not be yours. Your majesty is a sensible person, how could you be angry about this?"

"Although you don't understand and are against it, your majesty and Lady Yang are deeply in love. Have you heard the story of "White Snake"? I thought about it for a long time outside the palace today, and finally understood the story. The reason why Bai Suzhen is a snake demon refers to her past identity as a concubine. As for Fahai, it refers to the secular etiquette that prevented them from being together. He had long expected that someone would break them up. It was written that he was a monk, but he didn't expect it to be a Taoist priest. Alas, fate plays tricks on people... In short, your majesty's deep feelings for Lady Yang are buried in these subtle details, which are difficult for others to understand."

Li Mi didn't expect Du Wulang to be so sentimental and emotional, which made him a little rushed to go to court.

He had to interrupt Du Wulang and asked, "From what Wulang said, do you think Yang is really dead?"

"You ask me? Can I know better than you?"

"Just go with your gut feeling."

"Dead." Du Wulang thought for a moment, sighed and concluded, "Your Majesty is not angry, but sad, so he doesn't want to see me."

Li Mi murmured, "Then there is no room for redemption."

"Didn't you think of that when you assassinated me?"

"It was not me who assassinated her, it was Du Erniang." Li Mi said, "But I was wrong. I didn't expect His Majesty to execute the assassin and prove Princess Hezheng's guilt."

"You are being too clever and calculating, but you have ended up losing your life." Du Wulang didn't know where he had learned this line from. After a while, he asked again, "Does that mean that Your Majesty knows that Princess Hezheng was wrongly accused?"

"Yes." Li Mi said, "If he doesn't kill Princess Hezheng, he will have to kill Du Erniang."

Du Wulang was stunned.

He just thought of this point at this moment. In this case, he was the one who could least plead for Li Yuetu.

After thinking about it, his mind was in a mess. He couldn't help but say, "I really don't understand you people. Isn't it good to live a good life? You have to scheme against each other. It's fine for others, but aren't you an otherworldly expert? How can you not see through it?"

"Have you ever seen a cockfight? The cocks that have just finished fighting will definitely fight."

"Taoists also fight cocks?"

The palace drums had already sounded, and the morning court was about to begin. Li Mi was too lazy to argue with Du Wulang anymore, so he asked, "Before, when His Majesty returned to Luoyang from Zhengzhou incognito, did he see you first?"

"Yes, why are you asking? This happened a long time ago."

"I ask, you answer." Li Mi said, "Tell me in detail the circumstances of your meeting with His Majesty."

Du Wulang said: "If you don't tell me the reason, why should I tell you? Even if you are the prime minister, I am not an official under you."

Li Mi glanced at the morning court procession at the palace gate, helplessly saying in a low voice: "I need to find out how much His Majesty knows about Du Erniang's fake assassination."

“Why do you want to find out?”

"Only in this way can we save Du Erniang."

"I think you want to harm my second sister."

Du Wulang was easy to talk to, but he was not stupid. When he heard what Li Mi said, he was unwilling to tell the truth.

At this time, the palace gate was open and the morning court had begun. Li Mi had no choice but to go to the court first and said that he would talk to Du Wulang in detail later.

Du Wulang thought about it and concluded that Li Mi asked those questions in order to find more evidence to frame Du Jin.

He watched the officials enter the Daming Palace, looked around, and rushed to the Dali Temple.

When we arrived at the Dali Temple, it was already bright.

Du Wulang did not go in directly, but covered his face with a piece of cloth and looked around outside the yamen.

He had been in the Dali Temple Prison several times, so he had quite a few acquaintances. After a while, he waved to a clerk and said, "Warden Liu, come here."

"Hey, but Goro?"

These small characters were not as power-hungry as the officials, or perhaps they were not well-informed. They did not know that Du Wulang had lost the emperor's favor, so they were very happy to see him.

"Liu Warden, I want to ask you, has the Dali Temple appointed a new Sizhi, who was originally the lieutenant of Yuanwu County, named Liu Jie?"

"Yes, he and I have the same surname. We were one family three hundred years ago. Liu Sizhi is a talkative person."

"Please help me call him out to see me."

"Please come in, Wulang. It's been a long time since you came to our prison."

"No, I'll meet him outside."

Soon, Liu Jie came out. He looked quite old, but in good spirits and full of energy. Although he was not of high rank and not qualified to attend the court, he was still very excited to be promoted to a Beijing official after serving as a county lieutenant for decades.

Others didn't know where Liu Jie came from, but Du Wulang knew that he was the person who returned to Luoyang with His Majesty from Zhengzhou, and he could be considered to have a close relationship with His Majesty.

"Liu Sizhi, I have something I want to ask you."

"Goro is too polite, just give your orders."

Du Wulang took a breath and asked, "After you returned to Luoyang with His Majesty, did you come directly to see me?"

Liu Jie immediately became alert and asked with a smile, "Why are you asking about this, Wu Lang?"

Du Wulang was used to dealing with these low-level officials, and he was quick-witted at critical moments.

"To be honest, some confidential information was leaked at that time, but I know it was definitely not leaked by me. After thinking about it, I wonder if His Majesty was meeting someone else at that time."

There was a gleam in Liu Jie's eyes, and he stroked his sparse beard with his hand. No one knew what he was thinking, but he just didn't answer this question.

Du Wulang's eyes immediately showed sincerity, and he said, "This matter concerns my life. If you can tell me, it will be a great help to me."

Liu Jie pondered and glanced at him from time to time, as if he was considering the rewards and risks of helping him.

Finally, he spoke.

"I told Wu Lang about this, but I would risk my life."

"I will never forget Mr. Liu's kindness."

"In fact, after entering Luoyang City, Your Majesty first met another person. That person is now the most feared person in the court and the country..."

~~
After a court meeting, more than a dozen clan officials were sentenced to death or exiled.

The charges were obvious and the evidence was solid, but it was easy to find excuses to accuse someone. The ministers knew that the emperor did this only because he and the other leaders had sent people to kill Concubine Yang.

It is said that the affair between Concubine Yang and the current emperor has become a shame for the Li clan. Princess Hezheng has the courage and ability to erase this stain. She is a man among women and deserves admiration.

I heard that she has been arrested, but I don’t know how the emperor will deal with her.

Some people privately believed that even the assassination of Concubine Yang by Princess Hezheng was just an excuse, and the emperor just wanted to overthrow the Tang Dynasty.

The reason for this is that the case of the three concubines caused Li Qian to grow up among lowly slaves. Although she now holds a high position, she has actually been corrupted into a lowly person.

The morning ended in a depressing atmosphere.

Li Mi has not been to the Council of State Affairs recently, but has taken all the documents and seals back home.

The last prime minister to do this was Li Linfu.

Therefore, there were many people who pointed fingers at Li Mi, making sarcastic remarks in every possible way. "It seems that the Tang Dynasty's ancestral temple will be destroyed by Li Mi's clever plan."

Faced with these rumors, Li Mi always ignored them.

He returned home and went straight into the study.

Soon someone came in and reported, "We found it."

"explain."

"The official who returned to the Eastern Capital with the Saint was named Liu Jie. The Saint used his seal to act during those days."

Li Mi murmured, "No wonder we can't find it."

"We have already tried to get information from Liu Jie, and I believe we will get results soon."

"Don't let the saint notice it."

"Here."

The man retreated, and then Xianyun came over and said, "Master, the person you want to see is here."

"Invite him in."

A strong man wearing a bamboo hat entered the study. It was Guo Xi, the son of Guo Ziyi.

Li Mi looked up at Guo Xi and exchanged a few words of greeting first.

"Is Mr. Guo okay?"

"I am at home, feeling very comfortable."

“It makes people envious.”

Guo Xi sneered lightly, thinking that Li Mi was just making fun of him.

But before he came this time, Guo Ziyi repeatedly told him, "You can't blame Li Mi. He is responsible for what I failed to accomplish."

Guo Xi also heard about what had happened recently, and didn't want to waste time talking. He got straight to the point and said, "If you want to instigate us to start a rebellion, you'd better give up as soon as possible."

It was said that when Li Mi helped Li Heng fight for the throne, Guo Ziyi sided with Xue Bai; before that, when Guo Ziyi started a rebellion, Li Mi suppressed it. They had never been in sync with each other.

These loyal ministers of Li Tang were divided by this process of being wooed over and suppressed at times, making it difficult for them to work together.

"Don't worry." Li Mi said, "The world has finally settled down, and I will never allow war to break out again."

Guo Xi said: "Your Majesty has spared the Guo family. I am grateful for your kindness and will never betray you."

These words may not be sincere, it is possible that he did not trust Li Mi, but the words were said in a decisive manner, leaving no hope of persuading him.

What's more, Guo Ziyi had been dismissed from office and was idle at home, with no military power.

Li Mi then simply said, "Does Lord Guo have any contact with Princess Hezheng?"

This was the reason why he invited Guo Xi. Since Li Yuetu had visited Pugu Huai'en privately, then Guo Ziyi's uprising against Xue Bai might have been instigated by her.

Sure enough, Guo Xi's expression changed and he was no longer as arrogant as before.

"Will this incident involve the Guo family?"

"Tell me." Li Mi said, "How many times have you interacted with the princess? What did you discuss?"

"My grandfather did not start a rebellion because of the princess. It was because His Majesty refused to acknowledge the identity of the descendants of the Li family... In addition, in order to prove this to my grandfather, He Zhengqun told him that she had an affair with His Majesty."

"what for?"

"That's literally what it means."

Li Mi said, "Rather than letting His Majesty find out that the Guo family was involved in the case of Princess Hezheng, it would be better to let Lord Guo take the initiative to explain to His Majesty. After you go back, please ask Lord Guo to write a letter and explain the reasons in detail."

"What do you want to explain? My grandfather no longer has any power or position. He has already paid all the price he should have paid."

"Do you know how many people were executed and exiled today?!" Li Mi shouted with the power of a prime minister, "Does the Guo family want to end up like this?!"

Guo Xi did not want to listen to Li Mi, but he was not as smart as Li Mi and was soon frightened. After a few words, he agreed to pass the message to Guo Ziyi.

But he didn't know that Li Mi did this in order to let Guo Ziyi come forward to calm the situation.

Previously, Guo Ziyi was involved in a major case of treason, but Xue Bai did not kill him. Why?

It was not because Xue Bai was lenient, but because Guo Ziyi's prestige in the Shuofang Army was too great. Xue Bai was also afraid of causing a major change in the border army, so he kept things quiet and only imprisoned Guo Ziyi in Chang'an.

In other words, Guo Ziyi is still a very valuable bargaining chip in Li Mi's hand. Asking Guo Ziyi to plead for mercy can make Xue Bai carefully consider whether to expand the case.

Li Mi's arrangements went far beyond this.

He also wrote letters to Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing, Yan Gaoqing and other high-ranking officials, as well as Yan Zhenqing who was living in retirement in his hometown, asking them to submit memorials to advise the emperor.

The purpose is to let Xue Bai know that the forces supporting Li Tang are still very strong.

He made arrangements one after another, and soon Xue Bai also responded one by one.

First it was Guo Xi.

The very next day after Guo Ziyi submitted his memorial, two people visited Guo Xi and handed him a letter.

"Military Academy? What is this?"

"The Great Tang Officers Academy. If General Guo wants to return to the battlefield and inherit his father's honors, he only needs to study in the Military Academy for two years. If he passes all the tests, he can be reinstated and command the army again."

The person who was speaking was Cen Shen, who was wearing a military robe and looked majestic and heroic, which made Guo Xi envious.

But he still didn't quite believe it, and said, "Really? Someone like me who made such a big mistake..."

"This is an imperial decree. How can the emperor's words be false?"

The other man who came with Cen Shen was named Wu Jiu. He had a full beard and looked like a fierce man, but he had a calm and wise look in his eyes.

Guo Xi didn't know what this meant and didn't dare to agree to it immediately.

While he was hesitating, Cen Shen asked, "Do you know where I am working here?"

"where?"

"I have been in the Western Regions for several years. After returning to Beijing, I worked in the Honglu Temple, responsible for gathering intelligence from various countries." Cen Shen said, "You know that the national strength of our Tang Dynasty has been growing rapidly in recent years, while Tubo has been in internal strife. Just two days ago, His Majesty let the Tubo King Trisong Detsen return to his country."

Guo Xi's expression changed.

He understood the significance of this matter. In fact, he also knew that the Tubo princess had given birth to a son and a daughter in Chang'an. Although she never said who the father of the children was, he had some guesses.

"Once Trisong Detsen leaves, there will be changes in the west," Wu Jiu said.

"I might as well tell you one more thing." Cen Shen said, "In the first year of Zhengxing, a caravan set out westward, bringing news of the saint's ascension to the throne to the Western Regions. Unfortunately, the trade routes in the Western Regions had been controlled by someone, and they became captives. After being taken to the Tigris River, they found that a city comparable to Chang'an had been built there, named Baghdad. Do you know who it belongs to?"

"Who?"

"The Arabs who defeated Gao Xianzhi before." Wu Jiu said, "The Anxi Protectorate has already reported to the emperor and prepared the troops. Sooner or later, they will avenge their defeat!"

Cen Shen patted Guo Xi on the shoulder and said in an excited voice: "Come to the Lecture Hall. When you return to the battlefield, there will be many opportunities for a man to make achievements!"

"But……"

"There's nothing to worry about. If you want to achieve fame and honor on horseback, you can be a hero!"

"That's right. Everyone in history has seen that today's achievements surpass those of the ancients. Has General Guo never thought that one day his achievements will surpass those of his father?!"

Cen Shen and Wu were not good at sweet talk, but their passionate speeches could most impress Guo Xi.

After experiencing a major upheaval, the Tang Dynasty seemed to begin to emerge from the downturn and gradually regain its former heroic spirit.

"Okay!" Guo Xi finally responded loudly: "I'll go!"

Soon, he was isolated from the world in the Military Academy, and the Guo family was also isolated from the disputes in the court.

~~
When Li Mi learned that Xue Bai had released Trisong Detsen back to Tubo, he realized that Li Guangbi's idea of ​​intimidating Xue Bai had failed.

As expected, on the day Guo Xi entered the Military Academy, Xue Bai issued an edict to divide the post of Jiedushi of Jiannan Road into four parts, separating the power over the military, civilians, finances and law as he did with other roads, thus strengthening the court's control.

Soon after, he set up an important town in Yaozhou and appointed a man as the Yaozhou Pacifier. After stripping Li Guangbi of his power over civil, financial, and legal matters, he also reduced some of his military power.

The newly appointed Yaozhou pacification envoy was named Wang Tianyun, who was the general who followed Xue Bai to attack Nanzhao.

Faced with this series of changes, Li Guangbi showed no dissatisfaction.

Li Mi guessed that the reason might be due to Xue Bai's influence on Tubo and Nanzhao, and on the other hand, Xue Bai had already communicated with Li Guangbi in private and promised him great achievements, such as the position of marshal in the future expedition against Tubo.

In short, Li Mi had to admit that it was difficult for him to compete with the current emperor.

Immediately afterwards, he felt Xue Bai's counterattack.

The case of Princess Hezheng had not yet been closed and was still involving nobles. At the court meeting that day, a memorial caught Li Mi off guard.

"Liu Jie, the Chief Justice of the Dali Court, has reported that we have discovered that the identity of Zhang Guangsheng, the Deputy Protector General of Anxi, is not true. We suspect that he is actually Gao Xianzhi, the criminal who was sentenced to death by Emperor Xuanzong. I implore Your Majesty to investigate!"

"..."

When Li Mi heard this, he immediately understood that this was not an attempt to accuse Zhang Guangsheng, but the emperor wanted to clear Gao Xianzhi's name.

What does this mean?
This means that the current emperor wants to deny the imperial edict issued by Emperor Xuanzong to punish Gao Xianzhi.

That would inevitably require denying Emperor Xuanzong's strategic decision in the battle of Luoyang and Tongguan, and then denying Xuanzong's performance during the Anshi Rebellion... denying Xuanzong's achievements.

If not handled properly, this might be the beginning of Xue Bai replacing Tang.

But Li Mi didn't know how to object.

If he obstructed this matter, he would be obstructing Gao Xianzhi's redress. If he offended such a great general from the Western Regions, how could he protect the Li ancestral temple?

The most terrifying thing is that Li Mi realized that Xue Bai had planned this in advance, making it difficult for him to resist.

~~
"Is it true, as those people ridiculed me, that the Li clan's ancestral temple was destroyed because of me?"

After several days of not being able to think of a solution, the luster in Li Mi's eyes gradually faded.

That night, he was sitting in his study, feeling extremely worried, when suddenly someone came in quietly.

"Ah Lang, I found it."

"What did you find?"

Li Mi stood up and asked him, saying that he had been investigating too many things recently and couldn't remember which one this was.

"We found out who the Saint met first when he returned to Dongdu. It was Da Xi Ying Ying..."

"is it?"

Li Mi sat down slowly, as if thinking about something, and murmured, "So, he really knows everything."

Because of this, he was a little dazed and seemed to feel desperate.

(End of this chapter)