Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

"The Queen Mother has a decree. The army is advancing at full speed. We must reach Liangzhou City before dark!"

In the hoarse shouts of the knights, the army rolled up the smoke and rushed towards Liangzhou City.

Liangzhou, East Gate.

An old man wearing dark official uniform stood at the gate of the city with his hands behind his back. Behind him were hundreds of officials at all levels.

Everyone stared at the desolate Red Cliff in the distance with solemn expressions.

There, streaks of desert dust rose into the sky.

At this time, dozens of fast horses came from the official road, waving flags from a long distance away.

"Reporting to the Governor of the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor's Guards have been spotted fifteen miles ahead!"

Signaling Tan Ma to step back, Tang Wenyu flicked his sleeves and robe and said loudly to the officials.

"Everyone, put on your makeup and go with me to greet the Queen Mother!"

"Subordinate to obey!"

The officials bowed and began to arrange their attire. After finishing, they all went to the official road to welcome him.

About two-quarters of an hour later, a large-scale team appeared in front of everyone. The flag was the golden yellow dragon with Tang characters representing the royal family.

Seeing this scene, Tang Wenyu took a deep breath, bowed and shouted.

"I, Tang Wenyu, the governor of Liangzhou, led all his staff to see the queen mother. Long live my queen!"

The carriage stopped, and Wu Zetian's majestic voice came from the bead curtain.

"Tang Qing, please settle down."

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

Tang Wenyu straightened up and bowed his hands respectfully to Di Renjie.

"You are the current Prime Minister Di Renjie and Mr. Di Ge, right? I have always admired your name, and today I can finally see your face."

Di Renjie stroked his beard and smiled.

"Don't be polite, Governor of the Tang Dynasty. This time I and the Queen Mother are going to Liangzhou to meet with the King of Tufan, and we need your support."

"I don't dare, I don't dare. I have already prepared a carriage for the Queen Mother and you."

"Please follow me into the city!"

The governor of the Tang Dynasty smiled modestly, walked to the emperor, took the reins personally and led everyone towards Liangzhou City.

When passing by the east city gate, Di Renjie pointed to the smoke marks on the city wall and asked.

"What's with these black bloodstains, Governor Tang?"

Tang Wenyu was startled and smiled bitterly: "I don't know what Mr. Di Ge did. A few days ago, Tufan sent an army to attack Liangzhou City at night."

"They were repelled by Xiaguan and the Liangzhou army who came later. Many sergeants died suddenly due to the incident."

"It turns out that the Tufan people attacked the city." Di Renjie said solemnly.

"Liangzhou was the fortress of the Tang Dynasty guarding Xiguan. It has always been a battleground for military strategists."

"The burden on you is very heavy. Let's go back to the camp."

"Yes, Mr. Dige."

After the emperor's guards entered Liangzhou City, the heavy city gate slowly closed.

Immediately, thousands of heavily armed Liangzhou troops swarmed up the city wall, staring coldly outside the city.

Along the way, the huge guard force attracted the attention of many people, who were all curious about which important figure from the imperial court had come to Liangzhou to search.

As the people watched, the guards moved directly to the marching grounds to build a defensive line.

By the time Wu Zetian finished enjoying the royal banquet, it was already dark.

"What's wrong, Huaiying? I've seen you look worried since you arrived at Liangzhou City. Are you too tired?"

Wu Zetian took off her boots and put her feet in the basin and looked at Di Renjie and said.

Di Renjie squatted down and helped Wu Zetian wash her feet while thinking thoughtfully.

"Queen Mother, don't you think something is wrong in Liangzhou?"

"What's wrong?"

Wu Zetian frowned and did not notice what was wrong.

"There are tens of thousands of troops stationed at the Liangzhou defense line. How could the Tufan people go straight into the hinterland to attack a city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Aren't they afraid that the army will be attacked from both sides when they return for reinforcements?"

"Although I have never fought in a war, I know that this is not common sense." Di Renjie continued.

"Furthermore, for such a big event as attacking a city, it stands to reason that people in the city should be panicked, but do you think the people's expressions look like they've been involved in a bloody battle?"

Wu Zetian's smile faded, and her expression became uncertain.

"You mean that Tang Wenyu lied about the military situation and did not attack the city by the Tufan people at all?"

"But what's with the blood stains and large areas of smoke on the city gate?"

Di Renjie walked to the window and sighed: "If I guessed correctly, those dark blood stains should be the blood of the original soldiers guarding the city."

"They were killed and replaced on an ordinary late night."

As soon as these words came out, Wu Zetian stood up suddenly and said with a livid face.

"Are you saying that Tang Wenyu has the intention to rebel?"

"It's hard to tell now. I need to know more to deduce Tang Wenyu's intentions."

Di Renjie shook his head and looked at the Liangzhou sergeant outside the camp. Whether it was an illusion or not, he always felt that those people were not guarding.

But monitoring them!
The next day, early in the morning.

Di Renjie put on his regular clothes and followed Di Chun out of the palace.

If you want to find out the truth, sometimes the people are the best way to break through.

"Mr. Di Ge, what are you doing?"

Tang Wenyu, who came to ask for instructions, was surprised when he saw Di Renjie wearing regular clothes.

"Haha, the Queen Mother wants to try Liangzhou delicacies and asked me to buy some in person. I happened to follow suit to satisfy my greed."

Tang Wenyu rolled his eyes and said with a smile.

"Since the Queen Mother wants to try Liangzhou snacks, let Xiaguan, a local, accompany you around."

"How can this happen? The governor of the Tang Dynasty has important border responsibilities. How dare I do you such a favor?"

"Hey, what did Mr. Di Ge say? Normally, if you want to express your feelings, your subordinates don't get a chance. How can you miss it if you finally meet him?"

Di Renjie laughed and patted Tang Wenyu on the shoulder.

"That's alright, I'll bother the governor of Tang Dynasty."

In order not to attract the attention of the people, Di Renjie asked Tang Wenyu to change into a set of regular clothes, and the two of them strolled along the street.

Liangzhou is a key location on the Silk Road. Although it is not as good as Chang'an and Luoyang, it has its own exotic flavor.

From time to time, a few bearded businessmen from the Western Regions would pass by on the bustling street.

When he reached a restaurant, Di Renjie stopped and said to Tang Wenyu.

"Tang Prefect, there is a fragrant aroma here. How about we eat here?"

Tang Wenyu bowed and made a gesture of invitation: "Just as Mr. Ge said."

The two walked into the lobby, and a waiter took them to a seat by the window and sat down.

Not long after, two steaming bowls of Shami noodles and a plate of dough were brought to the table.

"Two distinguished guests, the sand rice in our shop is newly harvested from the desert. It is paired with the rich mutton soup to ensure that you two will enjoy your meal."

"Then let's try your Shami noodles!"

Di Renjie laughed and picked up a few noodles with his chopsticks and put them into his mouth.

At this time, a discussion came from the next table.

"Have you heard? There was a fight against Zhentian at the East City Gate the night before yesterday, and many people died."

"Didn't the Liangzhou government say that a small group of Tibetan troops launched a sneak attack?"

"Bah, if the Tubo people really attacked, that traitor Tang Wenyu would have escaped long ago."

"I heard from my brothers in the army that those who were killed were those who were unwilling to surrender..."

"boom!"

Tang Wenyu's expression changed.

He immediately slapped his palm on the table and stared at the shopkeeper next door.

I wish I could cut this talkative old guy into pieces with a thousand knives!

(End of this chapter)