The brilliant lights will reflect the Luoyang Palace City as bright as day, the colorful lights make the queen's palace look like a sea of clouds, and the dressed palace maids are quite like fairies walking in the clouds, both temperament and appearance are rare in the world. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

In contrast, the atmosphere in the temple was too heavy, abrupt and incongruous.

On the floor covered with fox fur, Li Congjing frowned slightly, looking at Ren Wanru, who was kneeling in front of him to ask for sin, and was silent.

"The concubine has been in the palace for a long time, and she knows very little about things outside the palace, and when her father has such a thing, she blames the concubine for not investigating it earlier, otherwise she will never let her father make this mistake." Ren Wanru lowered her head, her voice inevitably trembling.

Li Congjing pondered for a moment, motioned for Ren Wanru to get up, and looked at the Tang Dynasty Empress who was standing in front of her at a loss, Li Congjing, who had always been very kind, didn't even let her sit down, "In the past, when I was in Weizhou, the Ren family was a big family, and many people had official status, not to mention that over the years, the power has become more and more huge. If the clan rules are strict, it is also the mainstay of the empire, and if the clan rules are not strict, once it is a disaster, it will be a big disaster. Although Ren Gong did not bend the law for personal gain, but the Ren family is powerful, and it is a descendant, and there are many people in the court who look at Ren Gong's eyes, Ren Gong did not show his attitude, that is, he connived at the clansmen to move around, and the final result also confirmed this. Ren Gong has been working in the center for many years, and he is wise and wise, but this time he was confused for a while and made such a mistake - doesn't Ren Gong know that my Datang Criminal Department and Dali Temple have a pair of eyes that can't rub sand? ”

Ren Wanru's face was pale, and she didn't know what to say.

Li Congjing sighed, "People are floating in things, no one can avoid the words 'human feelings and sophistication', although the world has long been without the family gate, but the clan has never disappeared and will not disappear." It is indeed the law of survival in the world to form interest groups based on the clan, to help each other and interdependence, and on top of this, it is also a moral rule, if the clan is in trouble and does not help, not only will it not be allowed in the clan, but it will also be shameful for the people of the world. But the law of the clan should not be greater than the law of the state - ordinary people should have this awareness, let alone Ren Gong, who was once the prime minister? ”

After saying this, Li Congjing stood up, saw that Ren Wanru was still standing in place, her eyes were dull and she didn't say a word, paused, and asked, "Don't you ask me to intercede for Ren Gong?" ”

Ren Wanru smiled sadly, her face seemed to be withered, and then she knelt on the ground again, "My father is not allowed to obey the law of the country, and the concubine does not dare to intercede." The clansmen are worried about His Majesty, and the concubine has no face to see His Majesty. ”

Li Congjing glanced at Ren Wanru meaningfully, didn't say anything, and left with his feet up.

The next day, Li Congjing summoned the crown prince Li Chongzheng in the Guangxian Palace.

Li Chongzheng is twelve years old, standing in the center of the hall with his hands tied, but he is also quite heroic.

Li Congjing recruited Li Chongzheng to his side, showed him the battle report of Xia Luqi, Li Yanrao and Khitan in Yikun Prefecture, and then took him to the side hall, the two sat opposite each other on the collapse, Li Congjing said: "The Khitan also made artillery, hand-grenades and other things, and now the war in the north is stalemate, and the two armies take Yikun Prefecture as the core, and on the battlefield within a radius of dozens of miles, they fight for days, and there are soldiers and soldiers landing on the ground every day. Although my Datang army has won many victories, it is difficult to determine the victory after all, but the war is not good for my Datang, you can talk about it, how can I win this war? ”

Li Chongzheng's expression was solemn, and there was a childlike voice in his voice, but he was already not arrogant or impatient, "The child has not gone to Yikun Prefecture to see the battle with his own eyes, and he does not dare to talk about victory or defeat lightly, but according to the military newspaper, the child also has some ideas." At present, the strength of the Khitan lies in the large number of soldiers and horses, the large number of horse troops, and the proximity to the West Building, and the convenient transfer of grain and grass, so it can stalemate with our army regardless of losses, and not be defeated quickly; The commander of our army, in the armor of the strong soldiers, in the strong bow and crossbow ......"

"The reason why our army was unable to win a quick victory this time was because of a lack of strategy. Before the war, the army thought that after the defeat of Shi Jingjiao, Yao Luo Ge Diyin, and Du Nonlujia, the Khitan was bound to retreat, so the strategy was mainly defensive, and there was no force to attack and win......"

Li Chongzheng said a lot, and Li Congjing also nodded from time to time, and the conversation lasted all afternoon.

When it was over, Li Congjing suddenly said: "I want you to go to Yikun Prefecture to supervise the battle, are you willing to go?" ”

Li Chongzheng was stunned at first, and then he was overjoyed, and hurriedly left his seat to bow, "I can share my father's worries, but the child can't ask for it!" ”

"Get up." Li Congjing smiled, "Since you are willing to go, this matter is decided." ”

After Li Chongzheng retreated, Li Congjing did not leave in the Guangxian Palace, and in the evening, Li Yongning came to visit the palace, and Li Congjing walked with her in the palace.

Speaking of Ren Yuan's matter, Li Yongning was surprised, "Ren Gong is the father of the queen, and he is the head of the descendants, if Ren Gong is imprisoned for crimes, the descendants will inevitably suffer a heavy setback, and they will inevitably implicate the queen." Even if you don't want to anger the queen, the queen's reputation will also be damaged, and not only will the queen of the world be in jeopardy, but the crown prince will also be stained, and even the foundation of the prince's position will be shaken, which will cause great turmoil in the government and the opposition. ”

Li Congjing said as he walked: "This is nature. ”

Li Yongning said strangely: "The queen didn't intercede for Ren Gong? ”

Li Congjing shook his head, "I didn't say a word." ”

After thinking silently for a moment, Li Yongning stared at Li Congjing's side face, half expectant and half uneasy, and asked, "How do you plan to deal with this matter?" ”

Li Congjing slowly responded: "I plan to let Zheng'er go to Yikun Prefecture to supervise the battle. ”

"You want to protect the prince?" Li Yongning immediately understood Li Congjing's intentions, "Let the prince go to Yikun Prefecture, then the army will repel the Khitan invasion, and the prince will make a great contribution." Use the prince's work to block Youyou's mouth, showing your position of protecting the prince and focusing on the overall situation, if so, Ren Gong's crime will naturally not need to be treated. ”

Li Congjing was noncommittal, Li Yongning saw this, and said tentatively: "You still have to treat Ren Gong's crime?" Also, as long as the prince makes meritorious deeds, he will be able to gain prestige, and the position of the prince will be stable. ”

Li Congjing shook his head, and said with a deep gaze: "Let the prince go to Yikun Prefecture, not to let him pick up credit, but to use the battle of Yikun Prefecture to observe his mental talent." If he is up to the task, I don't mind sacrificing some principles and dealing with some troubles for him to maintain the stability of the overall situation of the government and the opposition; If he can't afford it...... Among my many sons, are there no virtuous people? ”

Li Yongning was silent, and after a while, he comforted Li Congjing and said: "The prince has a good temperament and is talented in learning, and this trip to the north will definitely not disappoint you - but in this way, Su Yuqi is afraid that he will nag you for a long time." ”

Li Congjing sighed and said: "Compared to the overall situation of the empire in the future, there is a generation of Ming monarchs in the future, what is Su Yuqi's little nagging, he wants to ask for a batch of noble heads for the "Tang Law", there are so many heads in the government and the opposition, let him take it, and there is no need to stare at the head of Ren Gong." ”

"Aren't you afraid that if you act like this, you will let the general trend of the implementation of the "Tang Law" collapse in the anthill?" Li Yongning asked meaningfully.

Li Congjing looked at the distant sky, "If this matter does not involve the crown prince, I don't need to hesitate, but since the matter has happened, I can only choose the lesser of two evils...... How many things in the world can be black and white? If everything can be done as long as it can be divided into black and white, things in the world are too simple. ”

Sighing, Li Congjing was not without amazement, "The current world is not the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and I can't learn from Qin Xiaogong." After speaking, he restrained his expression, "What is the matter, and let's see the prince's performance in Yikun Prefecture." ”

Li Yongning nodded, thinking in his heart: In the world, there are few black and white, and there are many pros and cons. Whether the prince wants to be guaranteed or not, to get to the bottom of it, still depends on whether he is worth protecting. His Majesty will only choose Prince Bao if he thinks that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This "benefit" requires at least the prince to have the potential to become a generation of Ming monarchs.

......

Soon after the end of the battle of Suzhou, the Shuofang army rushed over, but Li Shaocheng led not many troops, after all, in the previous months of fierce battles, the Shuofang army suffered a lot of losses, this time Li Shaocheng brought the Shuofang army to participate in the war, the political significance is greater than the military significance, and the military significance is greater than the significance of the conquest.

Liang, Gansu, Su three states, and Liangzhou south of Hui, Shanxi and other states, have been conquered by the forbidden army, the land of Longyou into the Tang Dynasty, it is inevitable to reshape the local security, military defense system, and Longyou location is special, connecting the Western Regions and the Central Plains, adjacent to Tubo, is to garrison and border guards, not casually can be arranged - in this battle, Longyou is also responsible for the army of the Western Regions, guarantee logistics, transfer of grain and straw, so it can be called the top priority.

Fortunately, the imperial court had already planned that after the forbidden army captured Hexi, Li Yanchao led a group of soldiers and horses to be stationed on the spot to rebuild the Longyou military town. Li Yanchao has the experience of serving as the envoy of Youzhou Jiedu, and has dealt with the Khitan, Bohai and grassland departments, and this time he is in charge of Longyou, and there should be no problem in dealing with various internal and external situations.

"To rebuild Longyou Military Town, there are two important things at the moment. First, to restore stability and order in the prefectures and counties, to purge the thieves in the prefectures and counties, and at the same time to guard against the possible invasion of Tibet; Second, to ensure the transfer of various grains, straw, equipment, and medicines for the king's division marching westward, so that the forbidden army would have no worries about marching into the Western Regions. In the tent, it was Sang Weihan who said this to Li Yanchao, he was left in Longyou by Li Congjing, temporarily assisting Li Yanchao to rebuild the military town, and at the same time ensuring the logistics and transfer of the forbidden army, "This is a military business, in addition, all the important civil affairs of the state and county, with Zhang Yilou and others to deal with, there is no need for General Li to be distracted." ”

The special location of Longyou is fundamentally the hub connecting the Western Regions and the Central Plains. In the early years, the Shuofang army and the Lu Long army, the relationship with the imperial court was close or far, but in the matter of protecting the territory and the people, resisting the invasion of foreign invaders, they have made a lot of achievements, which can be called the barrier of the Central Plains. At present, the imperial court has a strong forbidden army in the center, as the main force of the imperial standing army, at the border gates, it is also necessary to reorganize the military towns and reshape the imperial border defense system.

100,000 forbidden troops of the Western Expedition, in addition to the wounded, left 30 commanders in Longyou, as the basic military force to rebuild the Longyou military town, if the war in the Western Regions goes smoothly in the future, the Guiyi Army, Shuofang Army, and Longyou Army will also usher in a complete reshuffle.

After discussing the matter in front of him with Li Yanchao, Sang Weihan returned to the official office and met with Zhang Yilou and others.

"This time, Longyou Province was established, with He Chenguang as the political envoy, Jiang Wenwei as the transit envoy, and Zhu Yuan as the commander, and the Criminal Department and the Yushitai also sent officials down to build the prefecture and county lower-level official offices...... At present, the main officials are all in place, although everything is under the control of you and me, but there is a program in the major politics, there is no need to bother much, the key is still in the implementation of the branch, and the following things are the most important. Longyou is not compared to the Central Plains, all ethnic groups live together, the folk customs are different from the Central Plains, and the previous official system is also different from the Central Plains, and there will inevitably be many problems in the specific implementation of various things, and it is the most troublesome to solve these problems......"

When Sang Weihan talked to Zhang Yilou about these things, he seemed orderly, "The main responsibility of a certain is to assist General Li in rebuilding the military formation, coordinating the affairs of the province and the military town, and ensuring the transfer of materials for the army...... The affairs of the provincial civil affairs have to be dealt with by Brother Zhang. ”

Zhang Yilou arched his hand and smiled: "You are a busy person, and you have a responsibility to do provincial things." ”

At the end of the meeting, the officials dispersed, and only Sang Weihan and Zhang Yilou were left in the room, waiting for the waiter to serve tea and pastries, and the former sighed: "Rebuild the Longyou military town, and the dynasty has one more important town, how can the border army and the forbidden army cooperate with each other and restrain each other?" ”

"In wartime, the forbidden army is always strong, once the world is peaceful, it is the border army that is stronger than the forbidden army - for no other reason, the border army always has sporadic border wars, and the forbidden army enjoys peace and becomes a pampered lady." Zhang Yilou drank tea and said, "But for the dynasty, there is no need to worry too much about such a thing. First, according to His Majesty's will, the border army and the forbidden army will change guards regularly, and the so-called border army is actually the forbidden army on the border, and there will not be much difference; Second, the imperial dynasty expanded its territory, and there will always be wars overseas, but it is not afraid that the soldiers will be lazy. ”

Sang Weihan nodded slightly: "Your Majesty also intends to abandon the conscription system and implement the so-called 'compulsory military service system', although I don't know the details, I have also heard Your Majesty mention it, if this is the case, multi-pronged, the disaster of the feudal town will not recur, and the peace of the world can be guaranteed." ”

......

When Li Shaocheng led his troops to Suzhou, Chai Kehong and Liu Renzhen were on his side, Wu Sheng went to see the latter two, and it took a lot of effort to finally "resurrect" himself from the list of the dead, which is not because Chai Kehong and Liu Renzhen remember him deeply, but because he saw Wu Chun who accompanied the army.

When there was nothing to do, the two made an appointment to find a wine shop in the city, ordered a table full of wine and food, and sat in front of the window to drink heartily.

The streets of Suzhou City are not paved with stone slabs or stone bricks, but are all muddy, and the fine dust undulates in the sunlight and hits pedestrians. These pedestrians, with different skin tones and facial features, and different looks, were serious or joyful, indifferent or indifferent, and they all kept to themselves in front of the patrolling armor who passed from time to time.

"You are alive, uncle I don't know how happy I am, you don't know, uncle has long since quit drinking, and the last time I saw him, he was still in the field tending to the crops, tired and sweating...... There is also Yu Niang, she often sits alone by the river to wipe her tears, blows the Qiang flute for a long time, and when she leaves, she asks me to find you...... Who would have thought that before I could go to you, you came to the door by yourself, this is really providential......"

Wu Chun's excitement was beyond words, and he drank a lot of wine and talked a lot, which was extremely inconsistent with his usual taciturnity, but Wu Sheng didn't have a chance to interject, and he couldn't stop listening to him. However, Wu Sheng didn't mean anything immediately, what Wu Chun said was enough for him to lose his mind for a long time.

The meal lasted for a long time, and it wasn't until the curfew was about to break that the two left the wine shop unsatisfied. During this period, Wu Sheng knew what he should know, and Wu Chun also figured out what he should know.

"I really can't imagine that after you arrived in Hexi, you would have so many experiences." Walking on the streets where there were fewer pedestrians and the sun was setting, Wu Chun sighed deeply, "So, you don't plan to return to the army now?" ”

Wu Sheng was silent for a moment and then nodded, "The political envoy has already asked the envoy to take me over, even if I want to return to the army, I'm afraid there is no way...... In the land west of the river, all ethnic groups live together, on the battlefield, you die and I die, but it is simple, after the war to live with each other, but it is a big trouble, although I have no political experience, but in this matter, I can always make a contribution. ”

Wu Chun patted Wu Sheng's shoulder and encouraged: "You can't be so stunned, you have the ambition to rule the country and level the world when you are young, and you entered the army for the sake of your uncle's wishes, now that the uncle's knot has been untied, you can take this opportunity to go your own way." ”

Wu Sheng nodded, and suddenly smiled: "In the future, I can no longer be taken care of by the Wu Chief, and it is a great pity to kill the enemy side by side with the Wu Chief." ”

"I'm on the right side now!" Wu Chun puffed up his chest, not without pride, and sighed: "Serve the country, no one else, although you and I can no longer kill the enemy side by side, but we are still fighting together for the country." ”

In any case, these two young people, who were partners when they were young, and who had previously fought together to kill the enemy together, finally parted ways. Although Wu Sheng is quite reluctant, he does not have too many regrets, life is nothing more than parting and reunion, but the road of life has to be taken by himself, even if he is lonely, he is constantly meeting a new self.

After separating from Wu Chun, Wu Sheng rushed back to the official office, halfway through, suddenly saw a corner of the street, several patrol armor soldiers gathered in one place, shouting at the middle of the person, he looked at it twice, did not see the reason, was about to leave, heard a familiar voice in his ears, with an anxious cry, so that he involuntarily stopped.

The voice spoke in Uighur dialect, and the patrol soldiers were all soldiers of the forbidden army, so naturally they could not understand it, and now that it was on the eve of the curfew, conflicts were inevitable. Wu Sheng walked over, through the armor, saw an extraordinarily thin figure, holding a rag package, curled up in the corner, looking at the armor's eyes, full of tears, her face was full of fear, panic, helplessness and panic, she kept talking, eager to express something, but the bull's head was not in the horse's mouth, which could only make the armor frown.

"Yueduo, why are you here?" Wu Sheng identified himself with the soldier, and then asked the girl in front of him suspiciously.

Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly cried out, and the cat threw herself in front of Wu Sheng, hugging his legs tightly.

Wu Sheng was stunned, at a loss. He didn't know what the girl had experienced, how she had come from a distant tribe to find or wander here, and he didn't know what she was thinking when she was bullied by the wicked and embarrassed by the armor, but he heard the extreme sorrow and hope from the flood cry.

Just like the one he heard not far away, the sound that stopped him.

It was this ragged girl shouting in despair, Wu Lang......