The winter rain mixed with snow particles hit the window of the imperial study, "poof" sound.

In previous years, the snow particles would re-condense into ice with the surrounding rain before they melted, freezing the silk cloth that pasted the window like glass. But this year, this interesting view will not be there again. The water stove continuously feeds the hot water into the radiator through a special pig iron pipe, and then carries the cold water away. The entire imperial study becomes as warm as late spring for twelve hours a day.

Emperor Ying Tianshen Dragon loved the sound of hot water passing through the pipes, which made him feel very peaceful.

He was ousted from the throne that year and was placed in Luling for a long time. The winter in Luling was not only cold, but also damp, which tortured him to the point that he often suffered from pain.

Therefore, whenever the weather becomes cold and wet, those unpleasant memories will appear in his mind, making his mood irritable and depressed. This year, however, the hot water flowing in the pipes of the water stove dispelled the cold and dampness together, leaving him with only dryness and warmth.

This set of water stoves, as well as the other more than 30 sets of water stoves in the palace, were all "extorted" by him from Zhang Qian, the young superintendent of the ordnance superintendent. There are also more than ten sets of "blackmailed" water stoves and silver hot pots, which he gave to his younger brother Li Dan, his sister Princess Taiping and several other royal relatives.

All the royal relatives who were given two items wrote a special seal to thank him. And in the watch seal, he is full of praise for the water stove. As far as he knows, in Chang'an City, the water stove has quickly replaced the brazier and has become the first choice for dignitaries and dignitaries to warm up in winter.

This can be done outdoors or in another room to isolate both the charcoal and the smoke from the occupants. Hot water, on the other hand, delivers warmth wherever it is needed. It is not only warm, clean, but also effectively avoids the worry of carbon poison being inhaled, and it is not an exaggeration to praise the "ingenious workmanship".

In the depths of his heart, Li Xian, the Emperor of Yingtian Shenlong, loved this object far more than windmills, machine wells and water gates. The combination of the latter three things, although powerful, completely solves the problem of waterlogging in Chang'an City. But the beneficiaries are mainly the people of Nancheng. Since the day of its completion, Daming Palace has not been plagued by waterlogging, whether there are windmills, wells and water gates, the days are the same!

However, Li Xian just thought about it in his heart. In any case, you can't say it in public. Otherwise, there will definitely be a large number of officials who will rush to the first place and spray him for not knowing the suffering of the people. Although, although those officials have endured hardships in their lives, they may not be as much as the emperor of him, and it is likely that they can't even distinguish between leeks and wheat seedlings.

"Holy Lord, the Holy Queen sent the female history of the Shang Sleeping Bureau to ask for instructions, where is the Holy One going to rest tonight?" The voice of Gao Yanfu, the general of the prison gate, slowly sounded beside Li Xian, making his good mood disappear in an instant.

Not because of Gao Yanfu himself, but because of the question asked by Queen Wei.

The house is as warm as spring, and people will be full of life. Merriam-Webster is three years younger than him, and his body is flexible and strong because of his regular yoga practice. He has been unable to do it for more than two years in a row. Although Webster never complained about anything, he even recommended other concubines to sleep for him. But every time the pleasure was over, he felt powerless and guilty when he saw the resentment in Webster's eyes.

This feeling should not be expressed in the mouth, let alone seek medical advice. As an emperor, he has been ousted from power by his biological mother once, and has been slandered by many powerful ministers as unqualified. If he had to take medicine to help him even be a man, he would have failed too much in his life!

"Tell the female history that I need to correct the recital today, so I will rest in the dormitory next to the study. Let the queen and monk sleep in the bureau, and there is no need to arrange any concubines to come and serve. Secretly sighed in his heart, Ying Tianshenlong Emperor turned his back to Gao Yanfu and ordered with a smile, lest the old eunuch see the pain on his face.

And Gao Yanfu, the general of the prison gate, is most competent in that he never snoops on things outside his duties. After listening to Li Xian's instructions, he immediately bowed down to receive the order as usual, and then walked out of the imperial study quickly.

"I'm just tired, I'll get better after two days of rest!" Just as when he was unable to do anything with his feelings, Li Xian himself anesthetized himself with words. Then dragged his fat and heavy body and slowly moved towards the bookcase.

Today's bookcase is neatly divided into two stacks. The slightly higher stack on the left is the servant Xiao Zhizhong, the counselor Li Jingbo, the superintendent of the imperial history Pei Yi and other more than a dozen people, the number of temples extravagant and the crime of overflowing monks and nuns, and persuaded Li Xian to hand over the assassination of the young eunuch Zhang Qian to Yousi to investigate to the end. Crack down on the arrogance of Buddhism, and since then have formulated strict regulations to limit the number and size of monasteries, as well as the distribution of degrees.

Among them, some officials even listed specific figures: In Dunhuang alone, the total number of men and women is only 220,000, but there are more than 280 Buddhist temples. Half of the land in the area was encroached upon by Buddhist temples, and the people all became tenants of monks. The monastery has never paid any taxes to the government, but has asked the people to work for the monastery for various reasons, which is called Buddhist service. Whoever refuses to obey will be instructed to drive the ruffians from the land at best, and at worst they will be left without their bones.

There are also ruffians and scoundrels, who regard themselves as "walking" in the world, abducted and deceived by the Buddha, take over lawsuits, and do all kinds of evil. The government sent officials to arrest them, and these people hid in the Buddhist temple. The monks will naturally come out, thinking that the Buddha gate is a pure place, and block all the servants outside the door.

In addition, the slightly shorter stack of folds is on the Ministry of War, Shangshu Zong Chuke, Taifu Qing Ji Ne and Taichang Qing Zheng Su and others. -for-tat with Xiao Zhizhong and others. It is insisted that Buddhism has the function of educating the people, and a large-scale Dharma ceremony is held every year to pray for the blessing of the country, which should not be moved lightly. And it was determined that the assassination of Zhang Qian was just a personal grudge and had nothing to do with Buddhism as a whole, nor did it mean that Buddhism did not respect the imperial court.

Whenever there was such a dispute in the court, Li Xian, the Emperor of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, would never make a decision on the spot. Even if he already agrees with the views of Xiao Zhizhong and others in his heart, he must postpone it for one or two days, and then make a final decision at a certain court meeting.

This is the imperial technique that his mother, the Great Sage Empress, taught him through words and deeds. The main benefits are twofold, first, to avoid making bad decisions on impulse and then backsliding. Secondly, it is to make the ministers feel the mystery of the emperor, and they easily dare not dare to take control of the government.

"This country is mine after all!" Pushing the two stacks aside, Li Xian boredomically reached for the drawer under the bookcase. There were all the pieces he had read, and felt that it was worth taking them out once in a while and looking at them again, or that he was not in a hurry to deal with for a while, so whenever there was nothing important to do, he would find a few copies and turn them over.

The first piece of music that he pulled out made his eyes bend, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. It was the devotee of the water stove, and the complaint of Zhang Qian, the young superintendent of the ordnance superintendent, was very different from other people's notes in terms of style and font. "Chenben is a grass people, Weinan farming for a living, fortunately he was promoted by the saint to ......"

"You farm for a living, I have never seen a farmer who dares to sell a medicine for 100,000 yuan!" Gently throwing the fold on the bookcase, Li Xian shook his head with a smile.

Except that the beginning part imitates the teacher's table, which is somewhat nondescript. The credit listed on the fold is genuine. According to Li Xian's understanding, not counting the water stove that is "grunting" around him at the moment, alcohol, windmills, water wheels, water gates, and the iron stove that ordinary people in Chang'an City can afford to use, no matter what kind of object, it can be called beneficial to the country and the people.

And the recent public display of the dragon car made Li Xian even more impressed. According to the gunpowder (alcohol) formula that Gao Yanfu got back later, Li Xian specially ordered people to use the dragon car for testing. Wherever it is sprayed, the flames soar into the air, the water does not extinguish, and the earth pressure does not go out!

The secret is actually all about gunpowder (alcohol) with a fixed proportion of sulfur, flour and vegetable oil. The new formula of gunpowder (alcohol) can no longer be used as a medicine to clean the wound. But when burned, the power is more than doubled. It is no less than the fierce fire oil produced in the Western Regions, and for Datang, this thing is far easier to obtain than the fierce fire oil, and the price is definitely affordable.

"But unexpectedly, the evil monk bullied his minister's family background, and he actually came to the door to humiliate him, and stabbed him in the back ......when he was on the street", this sentence is also well written. Grabbing the fold again and scanning it a few more times, Li Xian nodded and secretly made a decision in his heart.

Whether it is public or private, he must sneak out for Zhang in this tone.

This person was single-handedly raised by him, the emperor, even if it is really related to the destruction of the White Horse Temple, it should be that he, the emperor, ordered the Dali Temple to find out the true evidence, so that it can be dealt with according to the law. What is the matter of a few monks indiscriminately stabbing on the street? Where is the face of the imperial court, and where is the national law of the Tang Dynasty? What's more, the cause of this incident was that the monk went to block the door and blackmail?

"Gao Jian Men-" Thinking that Monk Hui'an first went to blackmail Zhang Qian, it was very likely that it was because of Princess Anle. The flames in Li Xian's heart began to roll, raised his head, and called out to the door.

Gao Yanfu, the general of the prison gate who would appear as soon as he shouted, did not make any response this time. The door of the imperial study was gently pushed open by the two eunuchs, and his wife in distress, Wei Wushuang, the Holy Empress of Shuntianyi of the Tang Dynasty, walked in gracefully surrounded by seven or eight palace maids.

"Gao Yanfu was driven to rest by his concubine!" Bringing a bowl of soup from the lacquer plate held by the palace maid behind her, Empress Wei gently persuaded like the wife of an ordinary person, "Don't work so the saint, there are some things that are arranged for Xiao Servant to do, which is far better than working hard yourself." This chicken soup is cooked by the concubine herself, and it is boiled according to the taste you liked before. ”

As he spoke, he took a spoon from the lacquer plate. I fed the chicken broth in the bowl to my husband with my own hands.

"Wushuang, thank you for your hard work!" The anger in Li Xian's heart was quickly extinguished by his wife's tenderness. He smiled and thanked him, and opened his mouth obediently.

The soup is filled with deer antler velvet, codonopsis and other things, which is far from the umami he once liked. However, for the sake of his wife's own cooking, he couldn't bear to refuse. Take one sip after another, and drink heartily.

Ordinary rich and noble families, Sensei said that he became a prince, I am afraid that the wife of a man from the founding county will not cook in person anymore! And Wei's, from the time when the husband and wife were in distress, cooked soup for him, and persevered until she became the holy queen of Shuntianyi.

A warm sensation from the lower abdomen to the chest. Li Xian's face quickly showed a happy and satisfied smile, and after a while, he drank the soup cleanly.

handed over the bowl and spoon to the palace maid to take away, and Empress Wei poured a cup of tea for Li Xian and himself with his own hands. then sat opposite Li Xian on the brocade pier that he originally used to ask the minister the right question, and still accompanied her husband to deal with "important matters".

The water stove began to make a pleasant "gurgling" sound again, and the temperature in the room suddenly became hotter. It's so hot that you can barely get dressed. Li Xian, who had nothing "important" to deal with tonight, suddenly felt a little irritable. Looking up at the opposite side, I saw that my wife had removed the mink fur, and her body, which was no longer young, looked particularly round and jade in the candlelight.

"Let's all go outside and wait, when the emperor needs it, I will call you again!" Between the old husband and wife, they have long been familiar with each other to the point of having a clear heart. Feeling her husband's hot eyes, Empress Wei immediately shook her head and commanded softly.

"Yes!" The palace maids agreed in a low voice, and turned to leave. After a while, there were only two husband and wife left in the study.

"Qilang, the concubine recently learned a new dance, do you want to see it?" Smiling playfully as the two of them did when they were newly married, Empress Wei slowly got up and lightly stretched her jade arms.

The candlelight flickered, and in an instant, the rain outside the curtain was sparse and the wind was sparse.

When the wind and rain first stopped, the husband and wife were in the dormitory connected to the study, hugging each other, and each other seemed to feel a little unfinished.

"I didn't mean to snub you!" Li Xian's weak heart has become a habit, his eyes are half-closed, and he explained in a low voice, "I have been very upset recently, and sometimes I need to be quiet to think about how to deal with the government. ”

"What the concubine knows, the concubine is not good, and she can't leave the saint all the time!" Empress Wei used her jade-white arm to prop up her body, and then raised her other hand and gently plucked the white hair from Li Xian's head. "Especially when it rains on a cloudy day, the concubine feels lonely. I always think uncontrollably of the time when Bao'er was born, and almost every day was stormy! ”

A boundless pain quickly engulfed Li Xian, making his heart twitch for a while, and at the same time, he felt even more guilty.

"Bao'er" is the name of Princess Anle. In the winter when Bao'er was born, he had just been relegated to Luling. The whole family is at risk of being killed by a holy decree from the mother. The local officials in charge of monitoring his residence fell into a trap and even deprived most of his rations and clothing. As a result, after Princess Anle was born, she had no clothes, so she could only tear off a large piece of silk cloth from his torn robe and wrap it first......

"It's because the concubine is not in good health, and when she mentions these unhappy things, she should be beaten, she should be beaten!" Keenly feeling that Li Xian's body was trembling, Wei raised his hand and gently patted his plump buttocks through the quilt.

"Wushuang, don't mess around!" The pain in Li Xian's heart was dispelled away by his wife's naughty movements, raised his eyes, and shook his head gently, "Just mention it, it's all over anyway." The queen mother, the queen mother also passed away this year! ”

"Yes, the queen mother passed away this year!" Empress Wei gritted her teeth and sighed. It is impossible to tell whether it is for Wu Zetian's death to be happy or sad.

"Alas—" Li Xian sighed faintly when he heard it, his eyes closed, and his heart was mixed.

Folk say that tiger poison does not eat children. Wu Zetian, the mother, killed her own son, but she was not merciful. Not to mention those nominal sons, even the four biological ones were killed by her.

At the beginning, Li Xian was relegated to Luling, thinking that he would definitely die. Whenever a messenger arrived from Chang'an, he was so frightened that he sweated. There were even several times when I had the idea of taking the initiative to seek death, hoping that after I took the initiative to die, my mother would raise her noble hand and let go of her wife and children.

Thanks to his wife Wei Wushuang at that time, she was assertive, stopped him, and persuaded him to resign himself to fate. Anyway, in the end, it's just a dead word, suicide and being killed, it's the same. and did not hesitate to borrow usury to bribe the officials who were surveilling, so that they could say more good things about Wu Zetian's performance, and not slander.

"At that time, thanks to Master Hui Fan, he not only lent money to our husband and wife to open up the joints, but also invited him to be in the same door in Chang'an in the name of the Buddha's compassion, and persuaded his mother to put down the butcher's knife to our family." There was another wife's voice in his ears, and the scenes of the year were sent back to Li Xian's mind.

"I have already named him the prince of Shangyong, from the third grade of silver Qingguanglu doctor. He built the Shengshan Temple in Luoyang, spending 400,000 copper coins, and the imperial history suggested tracing the origin of the money, and I have always kept the music in the middle. The tenderness and sadness in his heart were quickly replaced by vigilance, Li Xian turned over and sat up, leaned on the soft pillow at the head of the bed, and solemnly emphasized. There are also his senior brothers, junior brothers, and uncles, a total of nine people, whether or not they really pleaded with the queen mother for me, I have all been crowned dukes, and I have also given them five to three grades of dismissal! ”

He asked himself if he was a person who knew gratitude, when the husband and wife were in Luling, in order to deal with the officials who supervised him, he did not hesitate to borrow money from Buddhist temples. And the monk Huifan, at the risk of losing his money, secretly lent him more than 30,000 hangs.

This money not only allowed him to successfully turn all the officials who monitored him into his protectors, but also allowed the whole family to temporarily get rid of the worry of freezing and starvation. This favor, he Li Xian has always kept in mind. After ascending the throne, he was not stingy in repaying it. But human affection belongs to human affection, and state affairs belong to national affairs......

"Holy Lord, the concubine didn't say that you treated Engong slowly!" Empress Wei squeezed Li Xian under the quilt, and the most abundant part pressed against the latter's chubby body, leaving an irresistible tenderness.

The gloom on Li Xian's face immediately dissipated. smiled and patted his wife's fragrant shoulder, and responded softly, "I don't blame you, then we will be in trouble, there are many people who fall into the well, and there are few charcoal in the snow." Therefore, you should never forget the righteous deeds of the monks. ”

"Thank you for your magnanimity!" A low sound sounded in Wei Hou's nostrils. Immediately, he pressed his body tighter, and the hot breath blew Li Xian's neck hot, and his heart itched, "The reason why the concubine mentioned this matter is because the concubine secretly made a wish to the Buddha at that time. If the Buddha can bless the saint to pass this difficulty and return to the throne, the concubines will be willing to lead the practice and become the disciples of Buddhism forever. ”

"Wushuang, it's hard for you!" His heart was filled with tenderness again, and Li Xian hugged his wife and thanked him in a low voice. "In those days, it was only you, and I would rather live and die with me."

"The concubines are the same now, they only wish to live and die with Your Majesty." Empress Wei hugged Li Xian's thick neck with her backhand, and her voice was gentle and resolute, "Qilang, everyone in the world can bear you, but the concubine will not." Concubines, concubines......"

Speaking of emotion, she suddenly lost her words. Two lines of clear tears flowed down his cheeks, ticking down Li Xian's shoulders.

Li Xian was "burned" by tears, and suddenly felt a little panicked. Quickly hugged her to her chest with his hand, and at the same time gently stroked her back, "Don't say this, don't say this, it's all over, it's all over." You like to worship the Buddha, and the Buddha who worships you is. I haven't stopped you? As for Hui Fan, is he short of money again......

"Nope!" Mrs. Wei wiped his face with his hand and shook his head slightly, "His money is actually obtained from lending money through the White Horse Temple. The money we bribed the officials at the beginning was also borrowed by Hui Fan from the White Horse Temple. The White Horse Temple in the whole world, headed by the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, is actually all one family. Most of the property of Buddhism is handed over to the White Horse Sect. It is inevitable that there will be dead branches when the tree is big, and the White Horse Sect handles tens of thousands of dollars every month, and individual monks will inevitably move their hearts. ”

"They shouldn't have assassinated my officials!" Finally understood what his wife meant, Li Xian felt that his heart was clammy and cold. Gently holding the other party's shoulder, his face became extremely solemn again, "Queen, this country is mine, and it is yours." I promised you that if I could return to the throne, everything would be shared with you. I have never repented. However, we have to leave this country to our descendants, not the group of monks outside, no matter how much kindness we owe them at the beginning. ”

"They really shouldn't have assassinated officials. But what if just a few monks made a mistake? Holy Lord, we can't let the whole Buddhism bear it. After all, Buddhism does shelter our whole family! Empress Wei raised her head, tears on her face, but her expression was equally solemn, "Although you don't believe this, but after the concubine begged the Buddha, it didn't take long for you to come and go." Concubine, concubine is afraid, you have done too hard this time, there is really a Buddha in the dark who has brought great calamity......"

"This ......" Li Xian's scalp was faint, he didn't dare to say that he didn't believe in the existence of the Buddha at all, and he didn't want to succumb to unconfirmed threats, and for a while, he was in a dilemma.

At this moment, a bright light suddenly passed through the gap in the curtain. Immediately after, gongs and screams came through the window. "Walk the water, go out of the water, put out the fire, put out the fire......"

"Where is the water, such a big movement?" The husband and wife didn't care about continuing to argue, put on their clothes, and ran to the window one after another.

Pulling back the thick curtains, I looked through the pale thick glass inlaid in the center of the lattice, and saw a huge flame rising in the southwest of the palace.

"Don't be surprised, the White Horse Shande Temple in the west of the city is on the water! It's far from the palace, and on a rainy day, the fire can't spread! Gao Yanfu's voice always came in time, and quickly resolved the panic in Li Xian's heart.

"How did the fire start with such heavy rain?" Empress Wei was suspicious, stared at a pair of phoenix eyes, and asked outside the door.

"The old slave doesn't know, the old slave will arrange for someone to investigate, please forgive the old slave for his slow movements!" Gao Yanfu responded in a low voice, and then left in a hurry.

"Holy?" Empress Wei was shocked and turned her gaze to Li Xian, pitiful.

"Alas-" Li Xian took her hand, sighed and shook his head, and in an instant, it seemed that he was several years older.

Fire that is not afraid of rain, he has really seen it, and not so long ago.

Those added gunpowder (alcohol), sprayed on the masonry arrow tower, can burn the target. What's more, most of the materials are wooden Buddhist temples?!