Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 525 Emperor Gaozong's Anger
"Denggao, have all the arrangements for tomorrow's polo match been made?"

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival again, and Gao Zong, who had just recovered, was in a good mood. He came to the back garden early in the morning, admired the chrysanthemums for a while, and casually asked about the polo match.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the slaves have made arrangements early in the morning, and there will be no mistakes."

Cheng Denggao was leading a large group of eunuchs and maids to accompany him. Hearing Gao Zong's question, he rushed over and replied with a flattering smile.

"Well, that's good. I don't have much hobbies, but I still like polo. On this festival, it's a good occasion to have fun with the people."

Gaozong was obviously very satisfied with Cheng Denggao's answer, so he nodded with a smile and said a few gossips.

"Your Majesty is truly the Holy Son of Heaven. It is really a blessing to never forget the common people, slaves and maidservants to enjoy the grace of heaven."

Cheng Denggao was able to ascend to the high position of the eunuch of the rites, so he was naturally very good at talking. Following Gaozong's tone, he slapped a big flatterer without knowing where he was going.

"Slick-tongued, don't play with me like this, that's all, well, Mei Niang and Xian'er will also go tomorrow, although it is to have fun with the people, but safety matters must not be neglected, and it is not too much to be careful .”

Naturally, everyone loves to hear pleasant words. Although Gao Zong scolded Cheng Denggao in his mouth, the smile on his face showed his usefulness.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, this servant will go and have a look."

Cheng Denggao naturally didn't dare to disobey Gaozong's instructions, so he responded with a flattering smile, and led a few young eunuchs to leave the back garden in a hurry. It's easy to say.

"Your Majesty, this servant has something to report."

In fact, Gaozong didn't really care about the security issue. He ordered it to be ordered, but he didn't take it to heart. He didn't care whether Cheng Denggao was really going to do business. Excitedly, he planned to take a stroll in this pleasant back garden, but before he could take a step, he suddenly saw a little eunuch snatched from the attendants and fell to his knees , reported aloud.

"Ok?"

Gaozong was taken aback when he heard the words, and then saw that the person kneeling in front of him was Liu Qiming, a small official who was usually in charge of him personally. Although he was slightly displeased in his heart, he didn't show much. One sound.

"Your Majesty, my maidservant Meng Lang has committed suicide. However, this matter is about the safety of the country, but my maidservant dare not just sit back and watch it. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

The emperor's displeasure was no small matter, even though Liu Qiming had come here with the will to die, he couldn't help being flustered, so he kowtowed several times and confessed his crime in fear.

"speak!"

Gaozong has paid little attention to government affairs these years, but it does not mean that he can ignore the safety of the country. Hearing Liu Qiming's strange words, he frowned involuntarily, stared at Liu Qiming suspiciously, and moved his lips , Spit out a cold word.

"Your Majesty clearly learned that the flames of war are raging in Hexi, and the military report has been rushed to court for several days, but it has been suppressed by others. So far, there has been no big discussion on this matter. The crisis at the border has emerged, and the situation of war is urgent. Although slaves and servants are lowly people, they will never die. If you dare to forget the country's worries, please Your Majesty to observe clearly."

Liu Qiming kowtowed his head several times, and his forehead was bleeding because of it, but he didn't care to wipe it off. He looked at Gaozong with reddish eyes, and reported the report with grief and indignation.

"What? There is such a thing? Where did you get the news, tell me!"

Upon hearing Liu Qiming's words, Gao Zong was taken aback, his complexion changed wildly, and his voice trembled, and he began to scold.

"Your Majesty calm down, Your Majesty calm down, it's not because the slaves are lying, the truth is true, the slaves have a family brother Liu Wei, who works in the Ministry of War, and he received the urgent military report. After it was forwarded, there was no news. During the period, I felt that I had a heavy responsibility, so I told my majesty the truth, and what I said was true, so I ask your majesty to examine it carefully."

Gao Zong's voice was urgent and quick, which immediately made Liu Qiming, who was already extremely nervous, tremble suddenly, but he didn't dare to hesitate at all, and hastily kowtowed a few times, telling the whole story come out.

"Bastard! Drive Deyang Palace!"

Although Gaozong was a little cowardly, he was not a fool. He could hear that Liu Qiming's words had many flaws, but he didn't expose them on the spot, because he only cared about whether the military situation was true. After dealing with the business, I don't care about it, and I don't bother to pay attention to Liu Qiming's repeated kowtows. He waved his big sleeves, ordered the eunuch to bring the soft chariot, and stepped forward. Go to the front palace.

"His Majesty is here!"

Today is not the morning sun, and there is no scene of thousands of officials gathering in Deyang Palace, the front hall is silent and empty, only the imperial study room is still somewhat popular - Empress Wu is exchanging opinions with Pei Xingjian, the prime minister on duty who came to report the matter , while Wu Chengsi, Fan Lubing, Wei Jingye, Jia Dayin and other ministers of Empress Wu's party stood at the head, interjecting a few words from time to time, holding the stinky feet of Empress Wu openly and secretly. Hearing the sound of singing and drinking outside the study room, the group of people did not dare to neglect themselves. They all stood up straight and stood solemnly facing the screen. The steps came out from behind the screen.

"Come on and see Your Majesty!"

As soon as Gaozong turned out of the screen, all the ministers dared not be negligent, and they all bowed and paid homage incessantly.

"Humph!"

Gaozong was obviously in a very bad mood, he didn't pay attention to everyone's greetings at all, he just snorted coldly, and walked over to the first few without stopping.

"I have seen Your Majesty before."

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. In fact, there is really no urgent government affairs. Empress Wu came to the imperial study today to discuss matters. Originally, she just wanted to gather with all her confidants and give up some words of encouragement. The prime minister, Pei Xingjian, arrived unannounced, and what he took out was a document on the river project. Empress Wu naturally had to deal with it. After all, the governor of Hedao is the longest-running yamen of Empress Wu. No matter how small it is, it is a big matter for Empress Wu, but Gaozong arrived with a full face of anger before the discussion, which made Empress Wu unavoidably suspicious, but she dared not bring it to her face. He could only walk forward cautiously, and greeted him in an extremely gentle tone.

"Ah."

Although Gaozong was in a rage, his fearful nature remained unchanged, and he didn't dare to show Empress Wu's face easily, but the unhappiness in his heart was too much, so he just let out a soft voice , is an expression of dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, it is really my own fault to make you unhappy."

Empress Wu didn't know the real reason for Gaozong's anger, but she didn't really care about it. It's not once or twice to control him to deal with this kind of situation. When dealing with it, he is very handy. Don't ask the reason, first admit the mistake , enough to dispel most of Gaozong's hostility, this is one of the little tricks commonly used by Empress Wu. It has been used in the past, and it can be said to be tried and tested. I have never missed it, but this time it didn't work. , the gloomy look on Gaozong's face did not show any signs of diminishing, on the contrary, it became more serious.

"Your Majesty, you are..."

Seeing that the situation was not right, Empress Wu immediately changed her attitude, from mourning to surprise in an instant, and asked half-spoken questions in an aggrieved manner.

"Hmph, Mei Niang, has there ever been an emergency military report from Hexi?"

Gaozong was very cowardly in other aspects, but he was always extremely tough when it came to foreign military affairs, and he was never ambiguous about military affairs. He asked about the military newspaper.

"Your Majesty was angry because of this matter. This is indeed my concubine's fault. This matter is also true. There is indeed such a military report. According to Xian'er, the Tubo bandits are messing around again, but the scale is not large. , with the ability to show off, I should be able to deal with no worries, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, so I am not in a hurry to tell Your Majesty that it is indeed my mistake, and I ask Your Majesty to forgive me."

As soon as Gaozong asked about the Hexi Military News, Empress Wu's heart immediately "thumped", knowing that there must be something wrong in the harem, but because of this, Empress Wu issued a strict order not to allow others to talk too much It's not for anything else, I just don't want to watch Li Xian continue to grow. Naturally, such dark thoughts can't be put on the table, but it's not difficult to fool Gaozong. Empress Wu didn't even frown After a while, a set of "reasonable and reasonable" rhetoric has been concocted.

"Well……"

There is really nothing wrong with Empress Wu's words. Gao Zong was afraid of his inner self, so he couldn't keep his temper. His face softened, and he wanted to comfort Empress Wu with a few casual words, so he revealed the matter to the past. , but before he could say anything, he saw Pei Xingjian, who was standing blankly at the bottom, suddenly stand up, and he couldn't say anything later.

"Your Majesty, I have also heard about the Hexi Army Report. The military situation is on fire, so there must be no delay. I implore Your Majesty to make a holy decision."

Pei Xingjian stepped out without looking at Empress Wu's gloomy, stinky face, which was so gloomy that water dripped from it, and said without expression.

"This one……"

Although Gaozong himself did not understand military strategy, since he came to power, he has fought the most foreign wars among the three emperors of the Tang Dynasty. He knew that what Pei Xingjian said was right, but these words were obviously contradictory to Empress Wu. I don't know if time should agree or not.

"Your Majesty, Xian'er is handling this matter. I think it's better to call Xian'er and ask."

Although Empress Wu wished to crush Pei Xingjian, the "Cheng Yaojin" who had been killed halfway, she didn't bring it to her face, but smiled, and lightly and deftly shifted the responsibility to the crown prince. on the head.

"Xuan."

Since last year, empress Wu has been in charge of all major affairs in the court. This was originally arranged by Emperor Gaozong. He naturally knew it very well. Hearing that such an important military and state event was actually pushed to the crown prince by Empress Wu, he felt in his heart Some people couldn't help being suspicious and dissatisfied, but they didn't say much. They just waved their hands impatiently and squeezed out a word.

(End of this chapter)