In the fifth year of Taihe, September Xinyou, Sizheng.

Jingzhao Province, Chang'an, Miyagi, Shangshu Province.

Chang'an Shangshu Province is located in the southernmost part of the first block in the southeast of Miyagi, outside the south wall is the East Gate Street of the Imperial City, Shunyi Gate in the west, and Jingfeng Gate in the east. Outside the west wall is Chengtianmen Street, which leads directly to the Suzaku Gate, the south gate of Miyagi. Officials, rites, workers, soldiers, households, and criminal departments, except for the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Rites, and the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites, which are located in Shangshu Province, the remaining six departments and 24 divisions and courts are located here.

There were bursts of drums from the drum tower of the imperial city, knowing that the time had come, and more than 100 officials in Beijing had already completed the train in the Shangshu Provincial Hall, and after waiting for a long time, the ministers in purple and scarlet robes followed the prime minister in two lines.

Li Zongmin, holding an elephant wat made of Lingnan ivory, straightened his waist and stood at the front of the line on the left. And three steps away from him, a middle-aged man of the same age, the military department Shangshu, Tongping Zhangshi, and the prime minister Niu Sidian, with bright eyes, a heroic face, a drooping goatee on his chin, and a dark purple wide-sleeved round-necked robe, wearing a goldfish bag at his waist, calm and relaxed, and standing with his hands down.

Li Zongmin looked at the red sandalwood jade screen in the council hall, there was a high platform in front of the screen, several steps higher than the ground of the council hall, and the throne of the Son of Heaven was placed on it.

Everyone is waiting for the Son of Heaven to ride the province of Shangshu.

"The saint has arrived!"

The eunuch's loud voice resounded from behind the screen, and the ministers immediately fell to the ground in the direction of the sound. The master of the voice, the privy envoy Yu Hongzhi, led several green-robed low-ranking eunuchs from the back of the council hall in an extremely neat stream, bending down and lining up on both sides.

After another breath, the Tang Dynasty Son of Heaven stepped into the hall with light steps.

The beard on the upper lip of the young man has a carefully groomed mustache, the beard on the upper lip is slightly upturned with the corners of the mouth, the resolute eyes are filled with a tenacity that is not easy to be noticed, there are fine wrinkles squeezed out of thought between the eyebrows, and the beard on the lower jaw hangs neatly and naturally to the golden round neckline.

The Son of Heaven Xiao Xiao is solemn and refreshing. Dressed in a red-gold narrow-sleeved round-necked robe made of high-quality cotton, wearing a hood, wearing a nine-ring belt at the waist, stepping on gold-rimmed six-fold boots, and a faint fragrance floating on his body, it must be the best incense shop in Chang'an Shanhefang.

After the Son of Heaven sat down on the throne, he signaled Yu Hongzhi to let the ministers calm down, and after the ministers thanked him, he had to sit down.

The Son of Heaven opened his mouth lightly, and said softly: "Today's court visit is postponed, just because Xichuan is playing a military and important matter, involving Xirong, I dare not take it lightly, so I ...... Gather the secretaries in Shangshu Province, I hope that the six departments present can do their best, and the secretaries don't have to be polite, whether it is played from Xichuan or other plans, they can be played......"

The Son of Heaven paused, and hurriedly glanced at the meeting hall, "Li Deyu's recital, I guess the prime minister has already let the princes see it, especially in the end, I remember...... Li Deyu wanted to send 3,000 Qiang soldiers, burn the thirteen bridges, and smash Xirong's heart to wash away the shame for a long time, but Wei Gao's long-cherished wish, I don't know what the ministers think about this? ”

As expected, since most people felt that it was none of their business, and that the attitude of the DPRK and China towards the reconquest of the lost territories had been active in the use of troops for decades, the ministers basically expressed their approval.

The Son of Heaven was noncommittal, Li Zongmin hated itchy, Yang Yuqing was silent, and Niu Sidian seemed to stay out of the matter.

Due to Yu Hongzhi's presence, Li Zongmin did not dare to easily express opinions unfavorable to Li Deyu.

Without Li Zhi's confession, the court and the central government are not all Niu Sidian and Li Zongmin's henchmen, and there are still some courtiers who are close to Li Deyu. Coupled with the surrender of the city and the reconquest of the lost land, no matter how you look at it, it should be that the comers do not refuse, and it is difficult to refute it, presumably Li Deyu also grasped this point, so he dared to write such a text as "straight to the heart" in the song, and even mentioned the late Wei Linggong, the king of Nankang County, at the end of the article, and won over many courtiers who had reverence for Wei Gao. For a while, the situation was developing in a direction that Li Zongmin did not want.

However, Li Zongmin settled down, and after thinking about it, things may have a turn for the better.

Because the Son of Heaven did not clearly express his opinion on this matter, this must be the "ambiguous attitude" implied by Yu Hongzhi. Moreover, with the temperament of today's son, if his intention has already been decided, he often will not choose to go to Shangshu Province. And since the Son of Heaven summoned hundreds of officials to discuss this matter, he can only explain one point......

The Son of Heaven is confused......

What Li Zongmin needs is an introduction, an introduction that can make Li Zongmin's henchmen understand the prime minister's meaning quietly.

The problem, however, was that most of the courtiers were ignorant of the prime minister's attitude.

Just when Li Zongmin was secretly thinking about how to prevent Li Deyu from succeeding, Yang Sifu, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites and Shangshu Zuocheng, had already got up from the seat on the left side, faced the Son of Heaven, and bowed his hand.

"The surrender of Victoria shows that the generals of the Tibetan army are all interested in the king, and now they have taken Victoria, and they will definitely be able to surprise and attack them unprepared. Xichuan Jiedu made Li Deyu play, and the ministers thought that maybe they could do ......"

Yang Sifu was halfway through speaking, but Yu Guang "coincidentally" swept the fierce gaze of Li Zongmin from the front, which made him shiver for a while.

Yang Sifu was born in the same family as Niu Sidian and Li Zongmin, and without saying more, he instantly understood what the prime minister meant. He raised his hand to wipe the beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, and quickly changed his words in a panic: "Uh...... But if you think about it, you can already take Victoria and send troops...... However, there is a suspicion of restarting the war, and it must not be done. ”

Like Li Zongmin, Yang Yuqing in the quiet seat was also waiting for this introduction.

No matter how clumsy Yang Sifu said, the role of the introduction is enough. Yang Yuqing took advantage of the situation to get up and added from the side: "I made an alliance with Emperor Muzong during the Changqing period, and what Li Deyu did this time is not only suspected of abandoning the alliance and breaking the contract. Besides, since he has occupied the state city, sending troops is to restart the war with the captives, dare to ask him Li Deyu, if the smoke rises again, Xichuan lives will be ruined, can he Li Deyu bear this responsibility? ”

For a while, as soon as Yang Yuqing's voice fell, the ministers in the Shangshu Provincial Council Hall all nodded their heads more or less, and some even got up to second. It was only after half the incense was burned that the imperial court's opinion on Li Deyu's performance fell to the other side, and it seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Just when Li Zongmin was smug on the seat, a voice that was neither humble nor arrogant came from behind.

"Yang Yuqing is a sinister villain, he should be killed!"

Everyone looked back, and sure enough, it was Zheng Qin, a waiter of the Ministry of Works who had a good personal relationship with Li Deyu, who said this.

"Victoria is based on the top of the high mountains, facing the river on three sides, and it is the road to the Han army in the rush of the Ronglu Pingchuan. Emperor Dezong Zhenyuan, Wei Gao wanted to pass through the river and Huang, and this city must be the beginning. Ten thousand brigades are sharp, rushing to attack for several years, although the capture is reckless and hot, the city is strong, and now its deputy envoy leads the people to surrender, how can it be unreasonable? Just because Li Xianggong looked around, the princes changed their words one after another, I don't know who is so powerful in the Tang Dynasty? ”

This last sentence provoked Li Zongmin to grit his teeth.

Because Zheng Qin has always been familiar with ancient classics, and he loves to read when he is a lover of reading, he was appointed as a bachelor of Hanlin two years ago, and often let him accompany him at the Hanlin Academy all day long, lecturing on scriptures and classics. And Zheng Qin also took this opportunity to refute the rumors against Li Deyu spread by Li Zongmin in front of the Son of Heaven.

Li Zongmin knew that the debate against Soshu was just a wedge.

From the moment Li Zongmin hinted at Yang Sifu, the focus of the debate was no longer Li Deyu's recital, but the continuation of the party struggle, and the spearhead would be aimed at himself sooner or later. Zheng Qin took the lead in attacking, which was the beginning of the confrontation between the court. In the council hall, the Son of Heaven was looking at Li Zongmin, the eunuchs were looking at Li Zongmin, and the ministers were looking at Li Zongmin left and right. Zheng Qin's words have pushed Li Zongmin to the forefront, and as the prime minister, he can no longer be silent.

"Zheng Shilang, don't speculate because the princes have a little left political views with you," Li Zongmin has long been unaccustomed to seeing Zheng Qin being able to rely on his talent and learning to often approach the Son of Heaven, his eyes were full of contempt, and he sneered at each other: "On the contrary, it is Zheng Gong, who has always been friendly with Li Deyu, but all the princes present this time are just expressing their own opinions, and the holy drive is here, you are not conducive to Li Deyu for a while, and you actually jumped out and talked nonsense, I don't know if you have already colluded with the marshal of the feudal town outside, intending to form a party for personal gain, and plot against you?" ”

After Li Zongmin finished speaking, he looked at the Son of Heaven again, solemnly arched his hand, withdrew the aggressiveness of Fang Cai's momentum, and added: "Your Majesty ordered the princes to discuss here, not to argue noisy and noisy, what Zheng Shilang said is ......."

"Li Xianggong is so excited, I don't know if Zheng Shilang said something?"

Before Li Zongmin finished speaking, on the front row on the right, Langzhong of the Ministry of Officials and Chen Yixing, a scholar of Hanlin, took the initiative to stand up and interrupt the prime minister's words, blocking the gun for Zheng Qin, and the back faced the Son of Heaven and bowed his hand very respectfully.

"The minister thinks that Xi Tan plotted to lead the army to surrender, but the heart is to the king, which is understandable, this is the image of the death of the country, indicating that its border town generals have long been separated from Germany. This is a great opportunity, we should take advantage of the unstable assembly of Xirong's generals, quickly send troops, go straight to Huanglong, recover the lost territory of Xichuan, and take Wei Gao's long-cherished wish. In order to recover the river in the future, forge ahead in Longyou, become Your Majesty's immortal achievement, and create a good opportunity! ”

The truth at the end of this passage is heartwarming. At the end of Chen Yixing's words, he smiled slightly, glanced at the expression of the Son of Heaven, and found that the Son of Heaven really seemed to have a trace of temptation.

And this is obviously not only noticed by Chen Yixing, but Li Zongmin, who is not leaking from his appearance and color, is also panicking at this moment. Chen Yixing's last sentence is too tempting, opening up the territory and becoming an immortal achievement, it is really the dream of every monarch, not to mention that today's son has worked hard since he ascended the throne, often reading "Zhenguan Political Leaders", and being diligent in political affairs. Li Zongmin leaned over slightly, holding a wat board, and before he knew it, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and he was racking his brains to think about how to fight back.

"Who wouldn't talk on paper?"

Prime Minister Niu Sidian, who had not said a word from the beginning, finally spoke.

I saw Niu Sidian get up slowly, salute the Son of Heaven respectfully, and didn't look at Chen Yixing, and arched his hand to the Son of Heaven word by word: "The minister thinks that not only can this soldier not come out, but this Victoria should also be returned to Rongkou!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the audience was in an uproar.

"Oh?" The Son of Heaven raised his eyebrows, held the throne in his hand, and leaned forward slightly, Niu Sidian's words obviously aroused the interest of the Son of Heaven, "Why did Niu Xianggong say this?" ”

"Son of Heaven...... When the arch is all right, protect the land and the people! Niu Sidian arched his hand again, facing the Son of Heaven, and talked eloquently, his tone full of confidence: "The realm of Tibet, thousands of miles on all sides, losing a Victorian state, why damage its momentum?" During the Changqing period, the two countries reconciled and agreed to strike the army. To take Victoria today is to abandon the alliance and break the covenant! China's Yurong, trustworthiness first. If Sijon is sent to blame: Why is it untrustworthy? Then send a million troops, drive straight in, Chen soldiers are calm, and the soldiers are in Chang'an......"

Niu Sidian paused, then looked at Chen Yixing, Zheng Qin and other people close to Li Deyu in the court behind him, and continued in a rather mocking tone: "...... At this time, thousands of miles to the southwest, what is the use of getting a hundred Victorians? The gains outweigh the losses, and the harm is not profitable. If you don't do it, what about the heavens? ”

“…… Besides, this Victoria, and the states of the West Mountains, but a few barren mountains on the border, are like chicken ribs, the food is tasteless, and the gains are useless, and it makes His Majesty lose his trust in Rong Di, how can it be reasonable? ”

The Son of Heaven quietly listened to Niu Sidian's clever rebuttal, and was silent for a long time, his expression changed quite subtly, and the hall was silent.

"What does Lee Sang-gong mean?"

Li Zongmin really didn't expect Niu Sidian to be able to say so wonderfully, accurately grasp the point of dishonesty, and argue with reason. Seeing the Son of Heaven asking, Li Zongmin couldn't hide the excitement in his heart, and hurriedly echoed: "The minister thinks that Niu Xiangyi said what the minister thinks fairly, and what he says is extremely true!" There are a lot of Qiang people in Victoria, which are not owned by China, so it is not a big problem to lose them. However, it is dishonest to lose trust, which leads to chaos in Guanzhong, and Hebei is difficult to control, which is the trouble of the heart! ”

The Son of Heaven listened quietly, stroked his jawbeard, the dragon's eyebrows frowned slightly, and he was silent for a long time. Finally, he silently looked at the ministers, as if scanning the council hall.

However, Li Zongmin keenly noticed that the gaze of the Son of Heaven seemed to be condensed on someone in the back row.

When Li Zongmin was about to look back, the Son of Heaven had already relieved his face and made a decision.