Since the emperor has decreed that there can be no delay, I will come to visit the general another day. The smile was still the same, but a strong suspicion flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but look at the noble, meaning to ask him, this person who made the decree came so coincidentally, could it be.

Gao Shang knew what he meant, and hurriedly stopped An Lushan with his gaze, so that his doubts could not be exposed.

Li Qing glanced at them, and only smiled faintly: "I'm really sorry. The emperor has a decree. Even if the sky falls, I have to rush there immediately. ”

After that, he humbly helped An Lushan out of the gate, and said to a few eunuchs who were announcing the decree from a distance: "Please wait a while, father-in-law, I will enter the palace immediately after sending off the guests." ”

At this time, dozens of horsemen and guards surrounded An Lushan's carriage slowly stopped in front of the steps, and several strong soldiers supported An Lushan into the carriage, and Gao Shang also went in, but at the moment when his body was about to enter, he suddenly slowed down, turned back to Li Qing and smiled: "Can the blood on Yan Qing's head be stopped?" ”

"Yan Qing?" Li Qing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and said with a slight smile: "Mr. Gao said that the surname Yan joined the army!" I have driven this man away, and this man is soft-spoken, but he dares to say that the general of the DPRK has the intention of rebellion.

Speaking of this, Li Qing suddenly smiled ambiguously, and said slowly to An Lushan, who was looking at him: "An Shuai, do you think I will believe it?" ”

"Yes! Be! An Lushan snorted, his face was full of troubled expressions, he shook his head again and again and said: "The general really shouldn't let him go, this person is ruining my reputation everywhere, I can't wait to eat the meat and sleep the skin, too!" Just cheap him once. ”

With a long breath of turbidity, An Lushan waved his hand and said, "Open up!" ”

The door closed, the carriage started slowly, Li Qing stood on the steps and said goodbye to them with a smile, and he sneered lightly when the carriage went away. 'Noble. What a great character! He silently recited the name several times in his heart, remembered it, and then smiled at the few bitter-faced eunuchs next to him: "Let the father-in-law wait for a long time, let's go!" ”.

An Lushan's carriage rumbled on Suzaku Street under the escort of more than a thousand cavalry, and the soaring murderous aura spread out unconsciously, and the pedestrians were frightened by their momentum, and they were so frightened that they desperately dodged to both sides, and the woman covered the child's mouth with a frightened face.

It was quiet in the carriage. An Lushan kept his head up and closed his eyes silently, and Gao Shang sat in the front row, his eyes flickered, I don't know what he was thinking, for a long time, An Lushan's eyes opened slightly, and suddenly said: "Mr. is right." This Li Qing, I underestimated him. ”

He straightened up, sat up straight, stared at Gao Shang and asked slowly, "You said, what he said is the truth." Will he not believe it? ”

Gao Shang smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Don't ask me, I really don't know." At this time, there was a strong sense of ominousness in his heart, this Li Qing will definitely become a fierce rival in An Lushan, he glanced at An Lushan with the corner of his eye, and saw him lie down with his eyes closed. The killing machine was born suddenly, and for the sake of great things, Li Qing must not be allowed to live in the world again.

Although the scale of accepting the Hajj of Fanguo was large, and the preparation time took two months, Li Longji's appearance was only a moment's time, and even if he heard a few shouts of mountains and tsunamis, he was already nearly seventy years old, and he could not withstand that toss. However, he asked his eldest son Li Cong to preside over the subsequent state banquet, which was nothing in the eyes of the Hu people. But in Chang'an, this will undoubtedly set off another stormy wave.

But the afternoon was very quiet, the window opened a crack, the bright sun and the fresh and cold wind squeezed in through the window crack, the faint fragrance wafted in the imperial study, and a string of sparks burst out from time to time in the carbon basin, sending out 'crackling!' Li Longji has woken up from a nap, the sweet deep sleep makes him extraordinarily energetic, it stands to reason that when he is in good spirits, he will definitely accompany his most beloved woman, but today is an exception, the magnificent pilgrimage outside the Chengtian Gate in the morning made his heart stir, and it made him have a dream of swallowing thousands of miles.

Li Longji has been sitting in front of the imperial case for almost half an hour, he didn't have the heart to read a book on the table, he kept standing up and walked next door to carefully watch his 'Western Regions Mountains and Rivers' sand table, which was made by Li Qing with hundreds of craftsmen, it took nearly a year to make, and it was presented to Li Longji as a birthday gift half a year ago, this sand table is larger and thinner than the combat sand table he used himself, and it takes up two rooms, it not only includes the two river basins, the Great Food Empire, the Tianzhu Dynasty, but also includes the remnants of the white-clothed Great Food and the Byzantine Empire. Compared with the combat sand table, this sand table pays more attention to the performance of the city, each city has its style, the size of each city like a chessboard, a variety of characteristic buildings are exquisite and realistic, the white palace and mosque of Damascus, the Byzantine building site is splendid, the majestic pyramids, especially those who use clay sculptures, plump and bewitching Caucasian women, sturdy and dark Kunlun slaves, fat and greedy food merchants, all of them are lifelike, breathtaking, this is Li Longji's favorite birthday gift, He placed it in his own study, and sometimes even went to the study to see it, and today, the ambition that has been born little by little for half a year has finally been stimulated by the spectacular momentum of the pilgrimage.

"Why hasn't Li Qing come yet, send someone to urge him again!" Li Longji finally began to get impatient.

Gao Lishi next to him hurriedly and carefully explained for Li Qing: "Your Majesty, today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and every family has gone out to pay New Year's greetings, I'm afraid Li Qing has also gone out." ”

He had already seen Li Longji's anxiety in his eyes, not only secretly happy for Li Qing, but also worried about the national strength of the Tang Dynasty, as Li Longji got older, he became more and more like a child in some aspects, many ideas began to be unrealistic, even the military and poor soldiers, and the implementation was a disaster for the people of the Tang Dynasty, such as the Lychee Road built this year to please the concubine, Yizhou Governor Shi Yang Guozhong and Jiannan Jiedu made Xian Yu Zhongtong almost exhausted all the treasury of Shu and Hanzhong, and the Lychee Road was repaired to facilitate transportation, which is still good. But in the summer, the ice palace was built twice, the first time it collapsed, the second time it melted, it cost nearly one million yuan, and finally Yang Guifei couldn't bear the cold, only admired it from a distance, and the millions of dollars were wasted, and now, he obviously has a strong interest in the vast West, and Li Qing's work report, where is looking back on what he has done in the past year, it is clearly a detailed plan for westward expansion.

If you want to expand the army and go west, it will cost money, but where can the imperial court afford it, unless he asks Li Longji to cut the palace expenses by half. But that's not possible. Gao Lishi sighed secretly, walked to the door quickly, and was about to send someone to urge again, but saw a little eunuch hurriedly running to report: "Ah Weng, Li Qing is here, waiting for the decree outside!" ”

"Go and let him in!"

After Gao Lishi finished giving the order, he immediately turned back to Li Longji and said, "Your Majesty, Li Qing is here." ”

Li Longji

Zhen, find Li Qing's debriefing report from the desk. Although it was only the fifth day of the first month, Li Longji couldn't wait.

After a while, Li Qing walked quickly into the imperial study under the guidance of the two eunuchs, and immediately knelt down and saluted Li Longji, "Minister Li Qing sees His Majesty the Emperor, may my emperor live long live, long live, long live!" ”

"Excuse me! Excuse me! ”

Li Longji's eyes smiled into a slit, and he hurriedly stepped forward to help Li Qing up. Tsai looked at him carefully and exclaimed: "I haven't seen him for three years, and the squire is getting more and more promising." ”

Hearing the old name of 'Shilang', Li Qing's nose suddenly felt a trace of sourness. He bowed his head and said softly, "Your Majesty is old. ”

Everyone flattered the emperor that he was getting younger and younger, for fear of mentioning the word 'old' in Li Longji, but Li Qing's five words from the bottom of his heart made Li Longji realize his sincerity, he nodded silently, squeezed him heavily on his shoulder, let him go and slowly returned to the front of the imperial case.

It was quiet in the room. The slight breathing of the two could be heard, and it took a long time for Li Longji to divert the topic and say, "Tell me about the Grolu people!" I am under a lot of pressure on this matter, you say that they will be bought by the big cannibals, and I also believe that this is very likely, but after all, it did not happen, and I cannot convince the public, and I am afraid that when you report on your work, someone will use this to attack you. You have to be prepared yourself. ”

Although he did not name names, Li Qing knew that he was talking about Yang Guozhong. He had been prepared for this matter, and only smiled faintly and said: "Please rest assured, the minister has evidence that will convince the accusers of the minister, but the minister has caused a lot of trouble for His Majesty, and His Majesty not only blames it, but also tries his best to add an official to the minister, and the minister will be engraved in his heart,"

"If you're prepared!"

Li Longji saw that he didn't want to say more, so he didn't ask anymore, waved his hand and ordered him to sit down first, he also knew that the Grolu people had a bad reputation, and they had always acted as the vanguard of the Uighurs' external expansion, and they were famous for slaughtering cities and plundering wealth, Gao Xianzhi attracted them to be allies, and he also took a fancy to their combat strength, but he didn't expect the possibility that the Grolu people would betray, this is actually the bias in the strategy of the Tang Dynasty's rule over the Western Regions, and the defect of the state system of the state of the Tang Dynasty, which makes the countries of the Western Regions excessively independent, and nominally they are subject countries of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, the Tang Dynasty has no binding force on them, and they have no sense of identity with the Tang Dynasty, and when it comes to the time of the Great War, it is difficult to guarantee that the acts of betrayal, defection to the enemy, etc., will not happen.

He opened Li Qing's work report, turned the second page, and the entry of setting up prefectures and counties to the west of the Green Ridge was impressive, and this was actually an effective way to solve the problem of the landless and displaced people in the Central Plains, so that the displaced people could go to the west to develop, so that the problem of land annexation, which had been plaguing the imperial court for many years, was solved.

Thinking of this, Li Longji's gaze gradually became hot, and he couldn't hide his inner excitement and said to Li Qing: "In your report to me, you proposed to extensively resettle the displaced people in the Central Plains in the Western Regions, and I would like to hear the details of your consideration.

"Obey the order!"

Li Qing straightened his waist and said loudly: "The minister thinks that in order to make the plan of the displaced people move westward can be realized, the key is two points, one is to attract them to the past, and the other is to ensure their safety, it is simple to say, but the implementation is cumbersome and huge, the first is to attract them, the minister intends to continue to implement the uniform field system of my Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, the land west of the Green Ridge is vast and sparsely populated, and the land around the big lake and the big river basin is very fertile, so that every family of displaced people who come to the Western Regions can have their own land, and the area of the land will be enough to make them excited, so that They can come to the Western Regions from thousands of miles, of course, taxes can be exempted, and the condition for tax exemption is that they must go out to join the army. ”

"Wait!" Li Longji suddenly stopped his words, and asked in surprise: "If you go out to join the army and are exempt from taxes, aren't you talking about the military household system?" ”

"It's a little similar, but it's not the same." Li Qing smiled slightly, and continued: "The military household system is inherited from generation to generation, their identity has been determined, there is no choice, and the minister did not consider limiting their identity, they are still self-cultivated farmers, of course, they don't want to join the army, but they must bear taxes, the minister thought." In order to obtain tax exemptions, in order to defend their homeland. They will volunteer to join the army, so that the conditions to attract them to the land will be there, and the security will be guaranteed, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone. ”

"What about the state officials and county officials? Do you want to choose from them? "One pick, two sharp eyes pierced Li Qing, the right talent and land system is the fundamental land system of the Tang Dynasty, Guangping Wang talked about it when he returned to Beijing to report on his work, and Li Long was also inclined to this plan. This has been agreed at the cabinet meeting, and as for the military service, it is originally a military household system, and there is no need to repeat it.

Li Longji is concerned about the officials, who will appoint those who are in charge of people and land, this is the core issue, if Li Qing makes an excuse to set by the immigrants. That means that this person has a rebellious heart and is not available.

As a matter of fact, Li Longji also gave deep thought to the issue of dismissing Li Linfu and appointing Li Qing as the protector of Xindi Anxi. Li Qing is an official he watched grow up, from the master of Yibin County to today, he can be regarded as his confidant, and he can rest assured in his loyalty, but more importantly, his prestige in the Western Regions and his own ability, he defeated the big cannibal in Rus. The Hu people did not dare to look up, he ordered the countries of the Western Regions to make a pilgrimage to Chang'an, but none of them were absent, and secondly, he served as a household servant, and in three years the court tax increased by two times, which was fruitful.

Li Longji thought about it and also listed many candidates. He finally found that only Li Qing could thoroughly implement his intentions, and even planted the dragon flag of the Tang Dynasty on the head of Damascus.

Of course. Li Longji also has ways to contain Li Qingdi, one is that he will still send King Guangping to be stationed in the Western Regions as the Xuanfu envoy of Anxi, and handle the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the countries in the Western Regions on behalf of the imperial court, so that Li Qingzhi can not only be suspicious, but also effectively monitor him; The other is that the appointment of state and county officials must be appointed by the imperial court, and there is no room for bargaining.

Of course, Li Qing understood what Li Longji was referring to, he was a person who had been rolling in the officialdom for nearly ten years, what should be wanted, what should not be wanted, what should be fought for, and what should be taken the initiative to give up, he knew very well in his heart that this personnel power was something that should not be wanted, or even given up on his own initiative, seeing Li Longji's sharp eyes, Li Qing bowed slightly and replied: "There is no difference between the newly established prefectures and counties and the Central Plains, and outstanding scholars should also be selected from the imperial examinations, but the ministers are more inclined to the Ming Classics and Ming Laws, Your Majesty is requested to give priority in the appointment of officials. And this is something that must be fought for, the harder you work hard, the more you can dispel the doubts of the superiors, since ancient times, officialdom and the workplace are all like this.

Li Longji smiled and readily agreed, "Although I am biased towards Jinshike, it is just that the squire is in charge of Anxi, and I have allowed this matter." ”

After Li Longji's most concerned land personnel rights were implemented, the atmosphere in the imperial study room began to liven

Li Longji remembered that he still had an important doubt on the sand table, beckoned, and led Li Qing into the side room, he walked to the westernmost part of the sand table, pointed to Damascus, the capital of Dashi, and pointed to Constantinople, the capital of Great Qin, with a wooden pole, and asked Li Qing with a smile: "The two places are so close, can one mountain accommodate two tigers?" ”

Li Qingyi smiled slightly: "The enmity between these two empires is deep, and it is precisely because Da Shi wants to concentrate his forces to attack Daqin that he will give in to us, if His Majesty is interested, the minister can send an envoy to Constantinople, so that my Tang Dynasty will be from the east, and Daqin will be from the west, and the two countries will attack the Abbasids, so that Persia and Khorasan will all belong to my Tang territory." ”

After speaking, Li Longji stroked his palms and laughed, and he patted Li Qing's shoulder again and again and praised: "Not bad!" Not bad! I didn't misread the wrong person, the last time I asked Yang Guozhong, he actually thought that I was going to bypass the Great Food and directly open up the trade route to the Great Qin Land. ”

mentioned the business route, but immediately reminded Li Qing, and he hurriedly said to Li Longji: "Your Majesty, the minister still has two things to ask Your Majesty to agree!" ”

Li Longji was in high spirits, and he immediately smiled and said, "You say! ”

"First, the trade in gunpowder is strictly prohibited, and the minister used black powder in the battle of Rus', which is very powerful, and must not be mastered by Da Shi."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Longji was surprised: "I heard what the King of Guangping said, you used a rolling stone that sounded like a huge thunder in the Battle of Rus, is it gunpowder?" ”

"Yes! The minister has always kept this matter strictly confidential, but he is afraid that the big food merchant will inquire in many ways and get gunpowder, so he hopes that this matter can be taken precautions and prevented. ”

Li Longji nodded, "Since the squire is worried, I will order the prison to confiscate the gunpowder from the whole country, and it will not be circulated among the people, let alone traded, you can rest assured." ”

After a pause, he saw Li Qing's face embarrassed, and he couldn't help but be slightly stunned in his heart, so he said, "What is another thing about that waiter?" ”

Another thing Li Qing wanted to say was really embarrassing for him, but it was about immigration, and he had to say it. "Horse bandits are rampant in the Hexi Corridor. It will seriously threaten the safety of immigrants, and the minister has sent several notes to An Sishun, the envoy of Hexi Jiedu, and wants to join forces with him to suppress bandits, but he ignores them, so the minister wants to ask His Majesty to allow my Anxi army to cross the border to suppress bandits. ”

"Cross-border banditry?" He also knew that Li Qing was cautious. This shouldn't be so simple, he didn't agree, but smiled faintly and said: "I am ordered to cooperate with you!" ”

Li Qing saw that Li Longji's answer was ambiguous, and knew that he was also suspicious of his words, so he simply said frankly: "Your Majesty! I am afraid that if His Majesty wills, the horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor will disappear, and most of the westward migrants will probably have to live in Hexi. ”

Talking to this. Li Qingdi's meaning is already very clear, the horse bandits in the Hexi Corridor are An Sishun sent people to pretend, if he Li Qing does not send troops to guard, most of these immigrants will be intercepted by An Sishun. What the Western Regions lacks most is people, he Li Qing wants to expand his power, so why not want An Sishun.

Li Longji understood what Li Qingdi meant, and his face slowly became gloomy, "This matter, let me think about it again." ”

Let's talk about it. Li Longji walked back to the imperial study with his hands behind his back, he stood in front of the window and pondered for a long time before he said slowly: "Li Qing, the immigrants who moved westward will send troops to protect their safety, but the border generals are all people I trust, and I have high expectations for you, and I don't want you to get involved in the court struggle again." ”

At this point, he turned his head slightly. Glancing at Li Qing, he said, "You have been away for many years, and the opportunity to return to Beijing to report on work is not easy. Or spend more time with your wife and children at home, do you understand what I mean? ”

Li Longji's words came out of the air and made Li Qing stunned, what does this mean? Don't get involved in the court struggle, do you mean An Lushan or whip Yang Guozhong? His mind was spinning rapidly, he had only been home for three days, and he should not have any handle, suddenly, he remembered something, and cold sweat suddenly soaked his back, 'Li Linfu! He must have sent someone to spy on Li Linfu, and he knew about his visit to Li Linfu yesterday morning, so Li Linfu must have also reported the matter of An Lushan to Li Longji, and Li Longji actually regarded it as a court struggle.

No way! An Lushan's ambition has been exposed, and he must not let him calmly raise troops after he is fully prepared, thinking of this, Li Qing's heart is down, he slowly knelt down, held his head high, and said to Li Longji with a resolute attitude: "Your Majesty, Weichen only wants to open up the country for Your Majesty now, and never wants to participate in any court struggle, and the minister has no grievances with An Lushan, but the minister has the evidence of An Lushan's ambitions, so he went to discuss with Taishi Li, please Your Majesty Mingjian!" ”

"What evidence?"

Li Longji asked coldly, he did send someone to spy on Li Linfu, Li Qing went to visit him yesterday morning, and in the afternoon Li Linfu sent a note of impeachment of An Lushan's ambitions for rebellion, in which he felt bitter about his own previous ignorance, but Li Longji was not angry about this incident, but Li Linfu went into the wilderness, so he pushed the past mistakes so lightly, saying that An Lushan had rebel ambitions, but he couldn't produce any evidence, he sneered in his heart and said to Li Qing: "You must not tell me, An Lushan wanted to rebel because he heard someone say, and I heard such things more than ten years ago. ”

Li Qing shook his head and said: "There is a person in the minister's mansion, this person is Fan Yang Cangcao to join the military, he abandoned his post and returned to Beijing, and also took away a lot of account books that record military rations, the grain in and out of the account book is completely different from the report that the minister saw when he was a household servant, and the grain storage in Hebei grain depot is enough to support the consumption of 300,000 troops for three years. ”

"What! Three hundred thousand troops were consumed for three years. Li Longji was stunned, he sat down weakly for a long time, and his voice seemed to be ten years old all of a sudden, "Li Qing, you go!" Send me those ledgers again, I want to see them! ”