Chapter 395: The Ring

The last dynasty was a chore, and the darkness was still the ruler of the land, and the members of the ruling group of Chang'an City were already on their way to Xingqing Palace. In order to arrive outside the Xingqing Palace on time, the courtiers had to leave the warm 'bed' couch and the soft 'jade' warm fragrance at the end of the day.

Last night, Li Huaitang was full of interest, and Liu Meiren fell asleep in the middle of the night, a beautiful dream was not over, but there was Liu Meiren's urging in his ears: "Li Lang, it's almost time, if Xi Xiaoniang said that Yin Shifang's 'door' is open, if you want to go to court, you have to get up and freshen up quickly." ”

Li Huaitang turned over and muttered: "This court official is really not made by people, the hibiscus tent is warm and short, and he has just received the favor of a perfect person, and he has to go to 'serve' the emperor." ”

Liu Meiren covered her mouth and snickered, twisted Li Huaitang's arm, and complained: "Others are not as insatiable as Li Lang, you are not enough." ”

As if he had been 'provoked' by a thorn, Li Huaitang turned over again, pressed Liu Meiren under him, and said viciously: "Do you want to eat the family law again?" ”

"No, don't, don't make trouble, Li Lang, it's too late." Liu Meiren hurriedly stopped her, if she let him continue, she didn't know how long she would toss again.

"Is the husband mighty?" Li Huaitang was still reluctant to give up, if it weren't for the damned Shang Dynasty, he would definitely have to fight again.

Liu Meiren ate and laughed, attached to Li Huaitang's ear, and said in a greasy voice: "Li Lang is like a wolf and a tiger, and the concubine can't bear it." ”

Tease, definitely teasing. However, the dull sound of drums from the direction of the imperial city was urgent, disturbing Li Huaitang's interest.

For a while, with the help of Liu Meiren, Li Huaitang hurriedly put on a military uniform, his identity in the last dynasty was General Ning Yuan, and he had two things to do today, one was to ask for canonization, and the other was to marry a princess.

In the middle of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the emperor was still diligent, the early dynasty was very punctual, and the time was right, and the ministers outside the palace were waiting for a long time to enter the court. Hundreds of courtiers entered the palace in order, and suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves galloped to the west of Jin 'Chun' Street.

"Which 'awesome' mallet is it?" The ministers looked suspiciously at the coming and rode and talked a lot. The officials who rushed to the early court all arrived outside the palace in advance to wait, and it was estimated that they were in a hurry.

In the night, no one could see the face of the comer, and when the knight stopped and dismounted, there was a commotion of pride, and the ministers found out that the 'stick' mallet in their mouth turned out to be Ning Yuan Li Huaitang!

Li Huaitang was very depressed, and after entering the palace, he was stopped outside the court, and he was treated equally with Ketu and Tuqishi's enemies, and they were told to wait for the announcement of the Holy Lord.

Outside the court, the three of them obviously have one thing in common: they are hostile, they are silent, and they look at each other coldly. Gu Si didn't dare to provoke Li Huaitang, the only thing left was Li Huaitang and Ke Tu Yu fighting, Ke Yu had been on the battlefield for a long time, killing people was not counted, and his eyes were aggressive 'forced' people to kill and 'dew', and Li Huaitang was also not far behind, the two used their eyes as sharp blades, and they didn't know how many times they pierced each other. The guards on duty watched curiously as the two motionless petrified bodies competed until the temple supervisor pronounced them into the face saint.

In the court, the hundred officials saw an interesting scene of the sacrament. Because the matter was urgent, the relevant officials of Honglu Temple had not had time to teach Li Huaitang etiquette in front of the saint, and Li Huaitang first hugged his fists at the emperor, and then saw the bone sip and can suddenly kneel on both knees, he knelt down again, but it was a strange one-knee kneeling salute, his left hand supported the ground, and his right hand pressed on the position of the heart, shouting long live.

"Bold! How dare you be rude to our emperor? "The 'waiter' Yushi Li Yuanfu, who was in charge of the etiquette of the hundred officials in the palace, shouted angrily.

Wu Zhong was unwilling to let go of this opportunity, and hit the snake with the stick: "Please treat Li Huaitang for the crime of bullying the king!" ”

Before Li Longji could say anything, Qi Jishan hurriedly came out to defend Li Huaitang: "The Holy Grace is here." ”

Li Longji laughed, interrupted Qi Jishan's speech, and said, "It's all flat." It was Li Huaitang who just knelt down on one knee? ”

Li Huaitang hugged his fists and replied: "Minister, Ning Yuan Li Huaitang." ”

"Oh, why is your kneeling so unusual?" Li Longji's curiosity is greater than his blame.

There is no China after Yashan. There is the Tang Dynasty, and even the Song Dynasty, the etiquette between the monarchs and ministers is not so strict, except for major occasions and the sun, most of the time the monarchs and ministers do not need to move on their knees when they see each other, not only that, but in terms of title, the self-title of the slave and the servant such as the adult and the lowly grass people is even more blank, but the later whip dynasty will take this to the extreme, and trample on the person's 'nature' self-esteem to the point of no return.

Li Huaitang said: "Go back to the saint." The son said, the boy has gold under his knees, and he kneels to the sky and kneels to his parents. The minister has a pair of knees, one kneels to the Son of Heaven, and the other kneels to his parents. ”

"Son? Zi said? Li Longji blinked, trying to remember which son had said this.

Knowing that Li Huaitang often talked nonsense, Qi Jishan hurriedly cleaned up the aftermath for Li Huaitang: "Holy Lord, Li Huaitang has lived in the Western Regions for a long time and does not know the etiquette of the Central Plains. When the minister was in Ningyuan City, he saw that in addition to the fist salute, it was this one-knee kneeling salute. ”

Li Longji's 'wave' took a lot of brain cells, and he didn't think of which son's 'fine' words, but he didn't care, nodded to Qi Jishan to show understanding, and then asked Li Huaitang: "Well said, the man has gold under his knees!" But what is the explanation of thy right hand guarding the heart? ”

"Allegiance." Li Huaitang's answer was very simple, but it was deeply appreciated by Li Longji.

"Well, one knee is a minister, and the heart is loyal. Interesting! Li Longji laughed. The opportunities that Wu Xin saw and the crises that Qi Jishan saw disappeared in this laughter.

After some complicated etiquette, Gao Lishi took out the holy decree to announce the emperor's will in public, and Li Huaitang and Ke Tuyu were both canonized.

After the ceremony. But suddenly the first one jumped up and said: "Holy Lord, the minister 'wants' to marry Princess Broken Leaves, please give it a favor from the Holy Lord." ”

Li Huaitang and Gu Si burst out at the same time, Li Huaitang said first: "Shengshang, the minister and Princess Broken Leaf are in love with each other, in my mind, Princess Broken Leaf is already my wife, and this time I escorted Princess Broken Leaf back to Chang'an to propose to the Holy Lord." ”

"Holy grace, Princess Broken Leaf was originally given to me by the Holy Lord. These two people are vexatious, and ask the Holy One to condemn them. Bone slurred with rage.

It's okay if he doesn't mention it, as soon as he finished speaking, Li Longji was furious, and fiercely reprimanded Sulu Khan, detained the prince, and was rude to the princess.

After Li Longji finished the thunder, he no longer paid attention to the bone sip on the side, and asked the ministers what their opinions were, after all, the two families asked to marry Princess Broken Leaf at the same time.

'Servant' Yushi Li Yuanfu said: "Shengshang, during the Kaiyuan period, our Tang Dynasty successively married Yan County, two princesses of Donghua and the Khitan king, Princess Donghua is the wife of the current Khitan king, but it is only a Khitan tooth official, and she is not qualified to marry the princess." If he marries the princess and goes back, where will he put the Khitan King and where will the Donghua princess be? ”

Hearing this, he suddenly became furious, and stared at Li Yuanfu with almost murderous eyes.

Wu Zhong came out and said: "Holy Lord, my Tang Dynasty did not stipulate that the princess should not marry if she is not a king, if it is based on this, Li Huaitang is not qualified." The minister thought that the chieftain of the Khitan was one of the thirty-six tribes, and there was no qualification problem. ”

Ke suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, I am a chief, I can marry a princess." ”

The controversy was very 'fierce', and Li Yuanfu's attitude of opposition was extremely resolute, and then there was the support of Song Jing, the right Shangshu, Yin Pei Youxian, Jingzhao, Pei Kuan, and Pei Kuan, a member of the Zhongshu She, and others; on the other hand, in addition to the two Wuzhong brothers, there were also officials of the Wu family, especially the officials of the Ministry of Officials, who were the loudest voices. The emperor was at a loss.

"Holy." Heavyweight Li Yi is on the list.

"The minister once heard that the custom of Hudi, whoever grabbed the 'woman' was the wife. Although the customs are bad, it also shows a truth, the strong can protect their wives well. Just imagine, if the person who asks to marry the princess does not have the strength to protect, how can the saint rest assured that he will marry the princess to him? ”

Li Yi's words caused an uproar, and Gu Si felt countless ridiculed glances, in his opinion, what Li Yi said was completely aimed at him.

However, no one paid attention to Gu Si, only listened to Li Yi continue: "Therefore, the minister thinks that these three families are interested in the princess, so it is better to set up a ring and let them compete, and the winner can propose to the saint." I wonder what you think? ”

Li Huaitang was never afraid of a heads-up duel, he could calmly fight for the sake of his sweetheart, but Li Yi's proposal was undoubtedly an insult to him, and Pei Xiaoniang became a reward in his mouth. He was angry, his eyes were on fire, and in the blazing firelight was Li Yi, who was talking eloquently, and he was a Khitan who jumped out and shouted in favor, but the expression of smugness, arrogance and confidence was deeply engraved in his mind. He was helpless, he had no right to object, and the emperor on the dragon chair actually agreed to Li Yi's suggestion. The supreme imperial power inadvertently knocked on his heart, and the desire to hold the supreme power appeared in his consciousness for the first time, although this was the Tang Dynasty.

Li Huaitang, who had retreated from the dynasty, had forgotten that from that moment on, his mind was all about how to have strong strength.

"General, wait!" Outside the court, Li Yi stopped Li Huaitang's footsteps.

"Hehe, the general is complaining about the old man, isn't he? In fact, the general doesn't have to be like this, even if there is no Li Yi of me, there is also Zhang Yi, or other Yi. Taking a step back, isn't it in line with the general's intentions to fight alone? The old man is convinced that the bravery of the above generals and the bloody bear cavalry of the Turks are not opponents, and the Khitans are naturally not a problem. ”

The anger on Li Huaitang's face was fully revealed, and he snorted coldly before saying, "What's the matter with Honglu Siqing?" ”

Li Yi still smiled, not caring about Li Huaitang's attitude at all, it was normal to be young and vigorous.

"Camel, the old man wants to discuss with the general about the camel." Li Yi is very straightforward, and for straightforward people, he knows that there is no need to bother with words. "Can the Admiral contribute some camels?" Not much, 2,000 heads are enough. ”

Li Huaitang was stunned for a moment, and said angrily: "No, there is no head." I lost my company, and I was going to buy a knife to go to the ring. ”

Li Yi laughed, grabbed Li Huaitang, who 'wanted' to leave, and said, "Don't worry, general, don't worry about the ring." Princess Broken Leaf is always yours, and the old man didn't say what princess the victor in the ring could marry, and the saint didn't say it. Hehe, the Holy One knows your sincerity and has high expectations for you, and two million catties of copper every year will not be thrown away easily, right? ”

Li Huaitang looked at Li Yi suspiciously, thinking about it carefully, it was indeed the case. Li Yi looked more and more like a fox in his eyes.

"That's it, who made me a sincere person. There was a lot of offense just now, and the prince and general Mo Ji were worried. "The tense muscles on Li Huaitang's face began to relax, and the face 'color' was no longer so ugly.

"Let's go, the East Market is open, let's go eat and chat." Li Yi didn't care whether Li Huaitang agreed or not, and pulled Li Huaitang to walk outside the palace.

Dongshi is outside Xingqing Palace, just separated by a golden 'spring' street. The early dynasty brought opportunities to the small food stalls in the eastern market, and the officials of the scattered dynasty stood for a long time, already hungry, and the first thing they did when they left the palace 'gate' was to hurry to the small stalls, or to serve a bowl of steaming minced 'meat' wheat porridge, or to serve a plate of pancake buns, and hurriedly ate and dropped a few copper coins and left in a hurry.

Li Yi pulled Li Huaitang to sit at a simple and shabby small square table, and casually ordered hot porridge and pancakes.

"I'll please, just eat it!" Li Yi's face was bold.

Li Huaitang was not polite, he had not eaten a grain of rice after a night of hard work, so he grabbed the pancakes and feasted on them.

"Hehe, how does it taste? As the saying goes, take people softly, eat soft mouths, since the general has eaten it, don't shirk my little request. Li Yi squinted his eyes and smiled.

"What request? Camel? No! Li Huaitang took the remaining half of the pancake and looked up at Li Yi vigilantly.

Li Yi said: "You can't eat for nothing? ”

"Huh? I recognize you, you are Ningyuan Li Huaitang! "The shopkeeper of the stall discovered the new world and was very excited.

"Eh, come and see, Li Huaitang is here, he ate my pancakes, and said they were delicious!" The shopkeeper has no shortage of business acumen and seizes the opportunity to sell advertisements.

"The general eats for free, all for free!" The shopkeeper stood in front of Li Huaitang, his eyes narrowed into a line, and his hands were rubbed together.

Li Huaitang laughed and said to Li Yi: "Did you hear it, it's free." ”

Li Yi glared at the shopkeeper fiercely. The shopkeeper knew the goods, and the person who stared at him was wearing a purple robe and hanging a goldfish bag around his waist, and his status was very noble, and he couldn't afford to offend, so he quickly slipped away.

"Well, then, how about leaving three thousand camels with you?" Li Yi's skin is not ordinarily thick, and it looks like he is helping Li Huaitang solve a problem.

Li Huaitang ignored it and continued to eat pancakes and drink 'meat' porridge.

"Two thousand? It couldn't be less. "At this moment, Li Yi is more like a merchant than a prince and a general.

Li Huaitang turned a deaf ear and remained indifferent, after all, he was not the wronged leader of the loser.

Seeing that there was no advantage to take advantage of, Li Yi opened the 'door' and saw the mountain: "Okay, you make a price." ”

If Li Huaitang didn't mean it, it would be impossible for him to spend it here boringly with Li Yi, which Li Yi knew very well in his heart. He didn't plan to waste time 'wasted', and directly invited Li Huaitang to make conditions.

"The prince general is really fast-talking, so I won't beat around the bush." I don't know whether it was sarcasm or appreciation, but in short, Li Huaitang said, "Two thousand camels for three thousand horned bows and two million arrows." ”

"Shhh So expensive! Li Yi couldn't help but be surprised. Keep in mind that a 'fine' horn bow is about the same as the price of a medium horse. Then after thinking about it, Li Yi understood that Li Huaitang was going to fight, and it was estimated that there was a shortage of weapons, and yesterday Mo He, the monarch of Shi Kingdom, asked the Tang Dynasty to send troops to help him quell the rebellion, and the saint comforted and encouraged a lot, but he did not plan to send troops, but opened his mouth, and the heavy responsibility fell on Li Huaitang's body.

Li Huaitang said: "It's not expensive, it's not expensive, camels are rarer than war horses, they have a large carrying capacity, and they are easy to feed." The price is very fair, and there is no deception. Li Yi knew Li Huaitang's thoughts, Li Huaitang also guessed Li Yi's intentions, just when he was immersed in eating pancakes, he had figured it out, Li Yi was nothing more than looking at the camel's strong carrying capacity, the Tang Dynasty is vast, it is not easy to transport materials to the front line, seeing his camel team perform a successful model, Li Yi, who has rich military experience, was naturally inspired.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said: "The horn bow is a forbidden thing for sale in the imperial court, and this matter requires the approval of the saint. As for the price, can the general think about it, hehe, sincerity is very important! ”

Li Huaitang shook his head and said, "I want the horses to run again, and I want the horses to not eat grass." Outrageous? In a few months, I will raise a large army to respond to the call of the saint to attack the stone country, but the saint has no intention of substantial support at all, I am also embarrassed, if it were not for the shortage of weapons, I would not use camels to 'trade' with you, you also know that I Ningyuan City is based on business, and camels are the second life of merchants. Originally, I was going to ask the Holy Lord for weapon support, but I was thin-skinned, and I didn't say anything after all, this price can't be lowered again, otherwise I'd rather ship food back. ”

Li Yi secretly calculated to himself, only 3,000 horn bows and 2 million arrows are not difficult for the Tang Dynasty, the reason why the price of the horn bow is high, half of it is because of the ban on sales by the imperial court, and now there should be a lot of inventory in the weapons warehouse, instead of being empty in the warehouse, it is better to use it to exchange the camels that the Tang army urgently needs, and the weapons to Li Huaitang's hands will also help the Tang Dynasty to recover the broken leaves in the future, it is estimated that the saint will not refuse.

"Well, it's a deal!" Li Yi felt that he would not suffer a loss and agreed to Li Huaitang's conditions.

"General Wangye, don't worry, I haven't finished talking yet." Li Huaitang smiled slightly, and continued to put forward conditions: "Ningyuan City is located in a remote area, and the population is mostly Hu people, if it is allowed to develop, I am afraid that it will be Hu in a few decades, and the previous achievements will be in vain, if this is the case, it will be a disaster for my descendants or for the Tang Dynasty." ”

As soon as Li Huaitang said this, Li Yi was quite surprised, he thought he was a fierce general, but he didn't expect his vision to look so far, and he couldn't help but be impressed.

"What does the Admiral want to say? Do you want me to move people to the Tang Dynasty? ”

"I don't know it's possible, but I'm wondering, can Ningyuan City be included in the exile of the Tang Dynasty, and add thousands of Han people to my Ningyuan City every year?"

"Haha, the general has a good plan, I'm afraid it was premeditated when he sent two million catties of copper, right?" Li Yi suddenly realized that Li Huaitang's tribute was not free.

Li Huaitang did not hide it and admitted with a smile.

Li Yi said: "Well, the general should find Gao Lishi in this matter, and with him operating from it, the general will be able to do what he wants." ”

"That's natural, but first the general Wang Ye proposed to the saint, General Gao, he will be that, hehe, hehe......" Li Huaitang couldn't help laughing, that Obama horse was not given for nothing......

"Haha, the old man said what did you send that horse to Gao Lishi, it turned out that there was a back......" Please remember the URL, if you like "War Owl in Tang" written by the wolf under the moon