In 888 A.D., that is, in June of the first year of Tang Zhaozong Wende, Li Xuanqing, the general of Tiance, defeated the Tubo army of 50,000 people in the Guyingling Ridge in Yuanzhou, and the good news reached Lingzhou, which instantly ignited the blood of the people of Lingzhou. These people on the border are really familiar with the Tibetan people, and since the Anshi Rebellion, the disaster of Tubo is especially better than the Central Plains Rebellion. Every invasion of Tibet is accompanied by boundless bloody rain, hundreds of people are ruined, wives and wives are separated, such as today's army defeated the Tubo people, and captured so many prisoners, all of a sudden this deep hatred to pick out, if it were not for the soldiers of the Tiance Army trying their best to protect these prisoners, it is estimated that they will be killed by those hateful people.

The lively labor and army conference was held in Lingzhou for three days, and the military and civilian family that Li Xuanqing worked hard to build was reflected this time. For the first time, the people of Lingzhou also felt that the soldiers of the Tiance Army were different from the troops of other feudal towns, they did not oppress the people and harm the township, but only the cordiality and truth of their own soldiers in front of the people. This victorious army behaved very ordinarily in front of their relatives, just like when they helped the people to cultivate farmland.

"The lord is very far-sighted, I can't wait." Cen Tianshi was the most direct feeler of this labor and army conference, and he sincerely admired the military-civilian relationship created by Li Xuanqing.

"Sir, don't praise me. It's my job to wait. The young army of the Tiance Army comes from the common people from head to toe, and what we want to protect is also the interests of the common people in the world. Li Xuanqing stood in the crowd and smiled at the scene of the people and the army having a party, turned his head and walked behind him.

Except for the first day when Li Xuanqing attended all the generals who went out to fight, the rest of the time was handed over to Wan Yi and Xue Wanli. It was the first time for these two people to encounter this kind of thing, and although they were a little flustered, they could see that the two of them were very excited, maybe they had found their previous years again.

"Sir, the Martyrs and Heroes Memorial Hall that the Ministry of Military Affairs is preparing to build has begun to coordinate with the Ministry of Civil Affairs." Li Xuanqing asked as he walked.

Cen Tianshi followed Li Xuanqing's steps and said with a smile: "Don't worry, the logistics department Tiancheng has already greeted me, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will build it according to the drawings of the logistics department, and the military department will be responsible for managing it after it is completed." It's just that the name still needs to be confirmed by the lord. ”

The two of them chatted while walking, and they had already arrived in Lingzhou City, Li Xuanqing waved his hand and said with a smile: "Sir, it's rare to have time today, how about we go to the restaurant in front of us for a drink?" ”

Cen Tianshi was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "The lord is talking about the Lingzhou branch of the Murong family's Heyun Restaurant?" It opened a few days ago, and we didn't have much heart to go to catch up with the lord's expedition, but today we made up for it. After speaking, he glanced at Li Xuanqing and said with a smile: "I said, lord, did you bring money for dinner?" Tianshi went out in a hurry today, but he didn't bring anything. ”

"Haha, don't worry, I've already asked Qiaoxi to order good food and wait for us. She pays, and the husband can eat with confidence. Li Xuanqing also smiled and walked into the newly opened restaurant. The two of them found a small servant and went straight to an independent box on the second floor, which was specially used by Heyun Restaurant to entertain special guests.

When Li Xuanqing walked in, he saw that Qiaoxi was already arranging the tableware, Li Xuanqing smiled at Cen Tianshi behind him: "Sir, I'm not wrong, Qiaoxi has already been cleaned up." ”

"Big brother, are you here, sir?" Qiaoxi walked up to Li Xuanqing and saluted Cen Tianshi, then prepared a tea set and began to make tea.

Cen Tianshi found a place to sit down and nodded, and suddenly remembered something: "Zhongshu Ling hasn't left yet?" When is the lord going to see him? He seems to be very interested in the lord, and he has been looking for the sky several times, but I have blocked him. ”

"Interested in me?" Li Xuanqing was a little inexplicable, and said with a wry smile: "Could it be that he has doubts about my identity?" It's also said that there are probably few people in the world who believe in my clan identity. ”

Cen Tianshi couldn't hold back his smile when he saw Li Xuanqing's appearance, shook his head and said: "I don't think it's like it, according to Tianshi, it is estimated that he wants to make a deal with the lord and find a way back for himself." ”

Li Xuanqing silently sorted out the current political situation in Chang'an and nodded: "What Mr. said is that now the Chang'an Imperial Court is all in the hands of Yang Fugong, and Wei Zhaodu, the Zhongshu Order, is a puppet to put it bluntly, and it is difficult to guarantee that he is not in this mind." It's just that I don't like Wei Zhaodu. ”

"The minister doesn't like it either, although this person is different from Yang Fugong, but he is not a person who is for the country and the people, in the end, he is thinking about his official position, thinking about how to snatch the power in Yang Fugong's hands." Cen Tianshi also looked disdainful when he mentioned Wei Zhaodu, but then said: "However, this Zhongshu Ling Lord heard that he said a fair word for the official position of the lord this time. Originally, Yang Fugong instigated the emperor to just recognize the identity of the clan, and then he was crowned the governor of Tiance Mansion. It was he who proposed to add the title of Tiance General to the lord, and only then did he have the rank of Sanpin Auxiliary General. These are still far from what Tianshi thinks. ”

Li Xuanqing didn't care much about these most important clan members, and the identity of the most important clan members had been settled, and the rest didn't matter, so when he saw Cen Tian, he also smiled slightly, suddenly swept the surroundings, and said, "Since Mr. said so, why don't you meet him here." ”

"Here?" Cen Tianshi was stunned for a moment, then reacted, stroked his palms and smiled: "The lord has a good plan." It's good here, haha, meet in private, you can say anything, you can't say anything. Haha, my lord, I will arrange for someone to invite him immediately. ”

Li Xuanqing ignored him, turned to Qiaoxi, who was sitting obediently next to him, and said, "Qiaoxi, are you ready for your hot pot?" Mr. Cen and I are waiting to see you today. ”

"Hot pot? What kind of pot is this? Cen Tianshi just went out to ask the guards to invite Wei Zhaodu, and when he walked in, he happened to hear Li Xuanqing's words, and said with a smile: "The lord and Qiaoxi have recently come up with a new dish?" ”

"It's not a new dish, it's a new variety, this is a clever invention, please join in today's sir." Li Xuanqing saw Qiaoxi with a few small servants carrying a typical mandarin duck pot hot pot in later generations, and then all kinds of fresh dishes were constantly served.

Li Xuanqing was not polite when he saw that the stove was served, and put the hot pot on the rack and said with a smile: "Come on, come on, sir, don't be polite, this is a pot of two to eat, on the left is a spicy pot with peppercorns, spicy horn vine and pepper, and on the right is a soup pot, what you want to eat by yourself." After that, he began to dial the charcoal fire, and said with a smile: "Your Ministry of Civil Affairs has made a lot of money from this honeycomb coal." ”

Cen Tianshi followed Li Xuanqing with great interest and put a piece of mutton slices in the spicy pot, and said with a smile: "The lord said that he was joking, it was only a few hundred thousand taels a year, mainly because the lord's territory was too small, and other military towns had recently increased the blockade of our Tiance Mansion a lot, otherwise it would not be a worry to have a few million taels of silver a year." ”

Li Xuanqing put the soaked mutton into the skillful bowl, patted her little head dotingly, and smiled at Cen Tianshi's expression that drilled into the eyes of the money: "So the army is still dragging down your civil affairs?" Sir, if you are heard by Tianxiang, they will probably fly to death with white eyes. Is it okay for the army to be constantly fighting all year round? ”

"Don't say it, lord, recently Murong said that the business community is encouraging him to make a statement to the lord and march into Guanzhong as soon as possible, and several merchants have said that they have power in all cities in Guanzhong, and they are waiting for the lord's army to arrive at any time, and when the time comes, the city gate will be opened, and the officials will be killed." Cen Tianshi took a bite of the mutton slices and praised them: "Lord, this invention of Qiaoxi is really good." I'll give you propaganda when I get back. He thought for a while and said, "Lord, is it appropriate for us to eat this book order before it arrives?" It's a bit of a faux pas. ”

Li Xuanqing glanced at his lips and said indifferently: "I didn't plan to invite him to dinner, if he comes, we will eat together, if he doesn't come, we will finish eating and wait for him." After speaking, he divided a little of the scalded cabbage into Qiaoxi and said with a smile: "Eat more, we will have an exclusive copy of this thing now, and even this pot is specially made." Go back and sell this invention to the girl of the Murong family and save some wife. ”

Cen Tianshi was amused by Li Xuanqing's funny look, but there was no ambiguity in his mouth, he grabbed a whole plate of mutton slices and said by himself: "I see, the lord's wife should have saved up quickly and led Tianxiang and them, some time ago I wanted to introduce a girl to him, but this guy ran away directly, so he was afraid that others would drip him, and he shouted in his mouth to wait for the lord to get married. ”

Originally, when the two were talking about business, Qiaoxi was sitting on the side and was in charge of serving the dishes, but at this time, he suddenly heard the two talking about this topic, and Cen Tianshi looked at himself while talking, and his pretty face suddenly turned red, and he didn't know whether he was eating hot pot or shy.

Li Xuanqing glanced at Qiaoxi hiding beside him, and said with a smile: "When I get down the pass, I will get married." When the time comes, my husband will give me a marriage certificate. It's all right. ”

Cen Tianshi laughed and was about to answer, when there was a sound of footsteps outside, and then the guards outside pushed the door in and came in with Wei Zhaodu.

Li Xuanqing and Cen Tianshi glanced at each other, stood up, and greeted them. Cen Tianshi walked up and saluted and said with a smile: "Lord Wei is fine, Tianshi is a little rude." After speaking, he introduced Li Xuanqing: "Lord, this is Lord Lingwei of the imperial court." Master Wei, this is my father-in-law, Li Xuanqing, the general of Tiance. ”

Li Xuanqing stepped forward and bowed his hand, and said with a smile: "Lord Wei is rude, Xuanqing was out on an expedition some time ago, so I made my lord wait for a long time, and I am here to make amends." "Zhongshu Ling is nominally a court position of Zhengyipin, so Li Xuanqing took the initiative to come forward and salute.

Wei Zhaodu originally thought that Li Xuanqing and Cen Tianshi invited him to come and talk about something, and he also planned to talk to Li Xuanqing when he stayed in Lingzhou for so many days. It's just that the two of them are eating, and there is a maid by their side, so they don't know what to say for a while? The other party obviously didn't invite himself to eat, and he really didn't know what to say. But Cen Tianshi laughed and said: "Lord Wei came to try it, the new dish newly invented by Miss Qiaoxi tastes very good." After speaking, he couldn't help but pull Wei Zhaodu to sit down, and Qiaoxi put the dishes and chopsticks that had been prepared in front of him.

"General Li, Lord Cen, this-" Wei Zhaodu, who was dozens of years old, was pressed into a chair by the two of them, and was about to speak, but was stunned by the strange style of dishes in front of him.

"Lord Wei might as well try it, this is the masterpiece of the future general's wife." Cen Tianshi glanced at Qiaoxi, who was staying by Li Xuanqing's side, and said with a smile. To tell the truth, as the future hostess of Tiance Mansion, Qiaoxi has grown a lot under Cen Tianshi's tutelage, but he didn't let her learn any rigid etiquette procedures, it can be seen that Li Xuanqing disdains these, Cen Tianshi also intends to follow Li Xuanqing's pragmatic path and drive a new atmosphere.

At this point, Wei Zhaodu could only pick up a piece of beef and learn from Li Xuanqing and the others to shabu it, try it, nod and smile; "Madame is good at craftsmanship, the style of this hot pot is very chic, and Madame can figure it out."

Li Xuanqing and Cen Tianshi looked at each other and smiled, ignoring whether what this guy said was true or false, and the two continued to eat. To be honest, this hot pot is really good, Li Xuanqing and Qiaoxi liked it very much in their previous lives, and they often went to eat it. This is the first time I've been here.

Wei Zhaodu saw that the two of them were eating by themselves, and they were talking about daily trivial matters, and Qiaoxi was also by his side, and he didn't find a chance to talk several times, so he didn't eat anything at this meal.

Finally, Li Xuanqing put down his chopsticks, and when he saw Wei Zhaodu staring at himself and wanted to speak, he smiled and said, "Does Master Wei have something to say to Ben General?" ”

Originally, Wei Zhaodu really wanted to talk to Li Xuanqing, but it was really difficult to say it when he asked at this moment, so after being slightly stunned, he could only talk about him left and right: "Zhengji (Wei Zhaodu) is very curious about General Li's life, the general's age and weak crown can lead a town, command thousands of troops and horses to gallop, and the northwest of the Tang Dynasty is in the hands of the general." Wouldn't it be a lifelong regret if such a character didn't see him? The big guys in Chang'an City are waiting for me to send back the news. ”

Cen Tianshi was secretly funny, but he didn't break it, and said with a smile: "What Lord Wei said is that my lord is indeed doing his best to stabilize the northwest, and he also led the army to a long-distance attack last time, thwarted the Tubo vain attempt to invade the Lingzhou army, and captured more than 10,000 people, who can be called a young talent." Tianshi can assist such people is the fortunate of Sansheng. ”

Li Xuanqing waved his hand and said with a smile: "I don't dare to be praised by Lord Wei and Mr. Wei, Xuanqing just did what he did." As a general of a border town, he should defend the country and guard the border, and he dare not slack off. can't be a young talent, it's just a chance to meet. ”

Wei Zhaodu saw that the two of them never answered their words, and all these words of praise for virtue were all these words, so he was a little anxious, and said directly: "Under the general's rule, the people are stable, and the agriculture and mulberry are rebuilt, and there seems to be a peaceful scene." Now the imperial court canonized the general as the general of Tiance, and received the iron coupon of Zongzheng Temple, a veritable royal clan of the Tang Dynasty. I wonder what the general plans to do next? ”

Cen Tianshi glanced at Li Xuanqing and said: "The Lingzhou generation is located on the border, and it has always been a frontier of reclamation, and the outer defense is forcibly captured outside the pass, and the inner Yongzhou is given military funds. If there is spare strength to march into Hexi, recover the Hexi Corridor, open up the passage with the Western Regions, and regain the old land for Datang. After speaking, he sighed and said: "Now that there has been a war in the Guannai for many years, I have long forgotten the old things of the Anxi Court. My Tiance Mansion is trying to find the descendants of Anxi to fight back and bring back all the Tang people scattered in the Western Regions. ”

Cen Tianshi's words were loud, and he said it was impassioned, so that Wei Zhaodu was speechless for a long time, and looking at Li Xuanqing's solemn face, he couldn't keep this guy thinking so. It's just that even if the current Tang Dynasty has the ability to fight Li Xuanqing to the Western Regions, what will he do to defend it? Without the support of the Central Plains, how could the vast Gobi in the Western Regions be defended?

Wei Zhaodu was about to speak, when hurried footsteps came from outside, and a sergeant in military uniform hurriedly walked in: "Lord Qi, Xuanying Wei is in a hurry." ”

Qiaoxi hurriedly stood up and took the information and handed it to Li Xuanqing, but saw that after the latter glanced at the information, his face suddenly became strange and abnormal.