One

After Empress Dowager Wu led the crowd back to the court, she handed Zhang Su over to Wu Sansi for treatment.

In the evening, Empress Dowager Wu specially set up a celebration banquet on the stargazing tower, inviting Annie, Kang Tai, Princess Taiping, Shangguan Wan'er, Zixia, Shang An and other ministers to the banquet to celebrate her immortality.

Why did she hold a celebration banquet in the stargazing tower? Couldn't it be set up anywhere else?

Of course not. Readers may know that Wu Zetian was drinking with Princess Taiping in the warm pavilion in the cold winter season, and when he was appreciating the snow, he found that the plum blossomed in the snow, and in order to help him drink, the story of a hundred flowers blooming in the sky, right?

You know, it wasn't the only time she had it, there was one more time before her, and that was tonight.

The main reason why she held a banquet in the Stargazing Tower was to send an order to heaven to prove that her authority was still unmatched. It was definitely not just a whim of her, but a supernatural force that was constantly dominating her mind, making her old body full of vitality, and her gradually decadent domineering spirit was sublimated again.

After everyone took the throne, Empress Dowager Wu recognized Anne as her goddaughter in public, and was crowned Princess Jin Yao, giving a palace mansion, 100 maidservants, 1,000 silk horses, etc., and the pomp was not under Princess Taiping. Then, she was promoted to the third level of Kangtai in public, and was crowned as a first-class inspector in the world. Later, she took advantage of the situation to recruit Kang Tai as her godson-in-law, and prepared to choose an auspicious day to hold a big wedding for the two of them. In the end, I also want to crown Zixia and Shang An as the female generals of the left and right double flowers, and the official rank is the same as the second grade, and they are allowed to carry weapons in and out of the palace, specifically responsible for protecting her safety. Such a reward is rare in the history of the Tang Dynasty, and no one will say a word if they change it. But Zixia and Shang An said something like "I'm used to being idle and wild cranes, and I don't like to be restrained" to prevaricate her.

Empress Dowager Wu knew very well that the two of them were not ordinary people, and if they were forced to accept their imperial seals by disobeying the decree, it might backfire, and everyone would be unhappy, so in order not to affect the harmonious atmosphere, they could only do it.

Empress Dowager Wu's marriage made Anne and Kang Tai very happy. They once again felt incomparable warmth and happiness from the bottom of their hearts, but all this came too suddenly, and it was difficult for people to fully adapt to it for a while. So they couldn't say a word excitedly, and in the end they could only express their joy in another way, that is, hugging.

However, Princess Taiping was very unhappy because of the marriage between Anne and Kang Tai, and even withdrew early on the grounds that she was not feeling well. It seems that the princess really likes Kang Tai, otherwise how could she be so jealous? Of course, the two of them also saw the princess's thoughts, and both knew that this palace could not stay for a long time.

The banquet continued, and after a few glasses of wine, the ministers all shouted in unison, "Princess Jin Yao, Chitose Chitose, congratulations to the Empress Dowager for getting this righteous daughter" and other flattering words.

Empress Dowager Wu was so happy that she picked up her wine glass and shouted to the sky: "The son of the Holy Heaven is helped, and I have a special order to go to heaven and follow the Holy Order, that is, to send meteor showers to prove the monarch's might." ”

When everyone heard this, they were in an uproar, and no one could have expected that she would stupidly give an order to the sky. Some very superstitious ministers know that the common name of the meteor "broom star" is a symbol of bad luck, is a precursor to death, if the heavens really follow the will of the Empress Dowager Wu, the whole group of meteors will fall into the night sky, then it is really going to change the dynasty, not to mention that such a thing cannot happen. Although they knew this, no one dared to question anything, and they were just flattering and saying high-sounding things. But Anne and Kang Tai were not committed, the two of them did not think about whether the meteor was auspicious, nor did they think about whether the meteor could fall into the night sky, but kept staring at the Empress Dowager Wu and pondering, admiring her old man's majesty and pride in their hearts.

Half an hour later, a miracle really appeared, and several meteors fell from the sky with their long tails in tow, and soon entered everyone's eyes. In an instant, several more meteors followed closely behind with long tails until they disappeared in front of everyone's eyes. Soon, a large swarm of meteors fell into the sky like a downpour, and the spectacle amazed everyone. Even Wu Zetian herself was surprised.

"Wow! What a spectacular! beautiful meteor shower!" Anne said again in Kang Tai's arms, "Kang Tai, let's make a wish for this meteor in the sky together!"

"Good!" he replied, clasping his hands to his chest and making two wishes.

Anne glanced at him, closed her eyes as well, and made two wishes. Coincidentally, the two wishes they made were surprisingly similar, both of them first hoped that they could be with each other forever and live happily wherever they were. The second is that I hope to return to the modern era as soon as possible, back to the past. It seems that they still want to leave, after all, this is not their ideal world.

Two

Zixia and Shang An sat beside Anne, looking up, and the meteors falling all over the sky kept sighing, as if something big was going to happen.

"Hey, it seems that the world is going to have a lot of trouble from now on. ”

"Yes! The stars are falling, and there will be war. Hey!"

Anne, who was beside her, overheard their sighs and felt very strange, so she took Shang An's hand and asked, "Second sister, what are you and the eldest sister sighing for?

"Not really. Shang An took Anne's hand and replied, "They are beautiful and beautiful, but their appearance is not a good omen!"

"I see!" said Anne, "it's second sister, you're just prejudiced against meteors." In fact, meteors are just some stars with different minerals that flow in the universe. Larger meteors, the parts that are not completely burned up when passing through the Earth's atmosphere, fall to the ground, and are called meteorites. Those with a lot of stones are called meteorites, and those with a lot of iron are called meteorites. How can it have anything to do with good fortune and bad luck?"

"Okay, let's not talk about that. Zixia picked up the wine glass and said, "Come, third sister, how about the third brother-in-law have a drink with the eldest sister?"

"I want it too. Shang An also picked up his wine glass and said.

Empress Dowager Wu saw that Zixia, Shang An, Anne and Kang Tai were drinking in a good atmosphere, so she also got up from the main table and came to them, holding a wine glass and saying, "Come to Jin Yao, mother toasts you." ”

When Anne, Kang Tai, Zixia and Shang An saw that the Queen Mother had come to toast in person, they all stood up to greet them, especially Anne.

"Queen Mother!"

"What?Jin Yao, what do you call me?Queen Mother?" asked Empress Dowager Wu with some displeasure.

"Oh, no, it's not right, it's time to call it godmother. ”

"It's so dry and wet! It's awkward, call me mother from now on! It's the same as Taiping. Empress Dowager Wu said slowly.

"Yes, Mother. She saw that the Empress Dowager Nawu was very amiable, much like her biological mother, so she couldn't help but cry out. It seems that Anne has begun to miss her parents on the other side of the plane. Of course, Kang Tai is no exception.

Empress Dowager Wu felt very relieved when she heard Anne call herself "mother" so dryly. Because Princess Taiping hadn't called her so well for a long time, even if she called it reluctantly, it wasn't from the bottom of her heart, so when she heard Anne call her mother from the bottom of her heart, she couldn't help laughing.

With the laughter of Empress Dowager Wu, the meteor shower pulled down the curtain and disappeared into the desert-like night sky. But the banquet was still going on------

More than a month later, the fearsome thing is finally about to happen. Because Empress Dowager Wu blindly pampered the Wu brothers and poisoned the descendants of the Li family, she angered Xu Dudu, the grandson of the British Duke Xu Tao. Soon, he and Luo Binwang, one of the four heroes of the early Tang Dynasty, made a "war against the martial arts" and prepared to proclaim the world as the governor of Yangzhou, and raised troops to crusade against the Empress Dowager Wu in the name of this. Not only that, but they also secretly gathered many heroes and heroes in the name of recruiting relatives in martial arts, and are now discussing anti-Zhou plans in the mansion of Governor Xu of Yangzhou.

At the same time, Fang Dongsheng, who escaped from the Black Mountain Ridge, and his thieves' subordinates, came to Yangzhou at the instigation of those thieves and prepared to defect to Xu Dudu.

"I'll tell you!" one of the thieves said as he walked, "Brother Fang, if you are looking for a backer, you still have to find the British Duke Xu Dudu. ”

"Really?" Fang Dongsheng asked with a slight smile, "Is this Xu Dudu in your mouth really as good as you say?"

"Of course. Another thief hall master replied, "Hall Master Fang, Xu Guogong is a real hero!"

"Hmph! Heroes may not necessarily be able to succeed. Fang Dongsheng said, "However, now we have no choice, it's getting dark, let's go into the city!"

Fang Dongsheng had long known that Xu Dudu's tragic future was just a desperate choice to defect to him.

After dinner, Fang Dongsheng and his thieves' subordinates, under the guidance of those thieves, walked to the mouth of the alley fifty meters away from the gate of Xufu, and suddenly stopped. The reason is that they found that the front of the Xu Mansion was full of heavily armed soldiers, and the guards were very tight, as if something big was going to happen, and it was not easy to approach. In addition, the moonlight illuminated the soldiers' faces, armor, and spears in their hands, as if covered with a thin layer of frost, giving people a very uncomfortable feeling.

Three

At this time, Fang Dongsheng's gang of thieves still decided to defect to Xu Dudu after discussing for a while at the mouth of the alley, but before they could approach Xu's mansion, they were blocked by a general named Wang Naxiang.

This Wang Naxiang is the deputy general of Xu Dudu, although he has a kind face and a jade tree in the wind, but in his bones he is a guy who sees the wind and makes the rudder and hides a knife in his smile. But he never showed his dirty side in front of Xu Dudu, which is also one of the important reasons why he can be a lieutenant general by Xu Dudu's side.

"Stop. Wang Naxiang stepped forward and asked, "Who are you? Dare to break into the governor's mansion at night, don't you want to live? Get out." ”

When Fang Dongsheng heard this, he was very angry, and was about to pull out his gun and kill Wang Naxiang, but fortunately he was stopped by those thieves, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. One of the thieves saluted and said, "I just want to meet Xu Guogong here, and I don't have the intention of breaking in, and I also ask this general to make it convenient to pass it on." ”

Wang Naxiang began to be a little impatient, his eyes were horizontal, and he reprimanded: "Hmph! The governor of our family is discussing matters in the palace, and he doesn't see outsiders, so please go back!"

"What? What are you talking about, let's go back," Fang Dongsheng said angrily, "It's impossible, quickly tell your governor to come out to see me, otherwise Lao Tzu will rush in." ”

These words angered the king, and he ordered all the swords and spears to be aimed at Fang Dongsheng's chest.

"I want to see the governor of our family, dreaming. Wang Naxiang said with his eyebrows crossed.

"Hmph! Even with you broken pieces of iron, you can stop Lao Tzu. ”

As soon as Fang Dongsheng's words fell, his thieves all drew their pistols and prepared to rush into the Xu Mansion. Wang Naxiang didn't know what kind of weapon they were holding in their hands, and how powerful it was, so he didn't dare to act rashly. Besides, if there was a real fight and Xu Dudu was alarmed, it would not be beneficial to anyone, and the situation was stalemate for a while.

At this time, beside Fang Dongsheng, a thief hall master with a full beard and a hateful face stepped forward to dissuade him with a hippie smile: "Calm down! Calm down! Don't hurt your peace! This general, we are old friends of Xu Guogong, although it is presumptuous to visit overnight, but it is really helpless, if there is any offense, please bear with the general." ”

When Wang Naxiang heard that they were old friends of Xu Dudu, he suddenly changed his temperament and immediately ordered his men to withdraw their sharp weapons. He knew that Xu Dudu was a very nostalgic person, so these people could not be offended, so he said with a pleasant face: "Oh! This is really a big flood that washed the Dragon King Temple, and my family doesn't know my own family! If you have offended, please Haihan." ”

"Oh! no! The general was serious. The bearded thief hall master said, "I have come here for a reason, and I have no choice but to do so!" I also asked the general to pass the word on my behalf, and said that the six hall masters of the dragon, tiger, eagle, leopard, wolf, and snake of the 36 villages of the Black Mountain Ridge led all the brothers to ask for a meeting. ”

Wang Naxiang took ten taels of snowflake silver, checked it in his hand, returned it, and said with a smile: "You're welcome! Please wait a moment." ”

Wang Naxiang walked into the door, passed through the courtyard and living room, entered the inner room, and came to a landscape painting. He knocked on the door three times, indicating that he had something to tell. At this time, Xu Dudu and Luo Bin Wang were discussing anti-Zhou plans with some heroes and heroes and anti-Zhou generals in the dark pavilion, and they were suddenly disturbed by three violent knocks on the door. Xu Dudu thought that something big had happened outside, so he asked loudly, "What's wrong?"

"Governor Yudu, the dragon, tiger, eagle, leopard, wolf, and snake of the thirty-six villages of the Black Mountain Ridge are asking to see each other outside. Wang Naxiang replied.

Four

When Xu Dudu and King Luo Bin learned that the brothers from Montenegro were coming, they were very happy, so they ordered Wang Naxiang to invite the brothers from Montenegro Ridge into the mansion.

After receiving the order, Wang Naxiang walked out of the inner room and living room, walked through the courtyard, came to the gate of the mansion, and said respectfully: "Ladies and gentlemen, most of our family governors are invited. ”

At this time, Fang Dongsheng and his subordinates and the five thief hall masters, under the leadership of Wang Naxiangdi, swaggered into the Xu Mansion.

Wang Naxiang had just come out of the mansion, and before he could gain a firm foothold, he actually met Tang Ao, the sworn brother of Xu Dudu.

"You, you're Tang ------ Tang Ao, Brother Tang, right?" Wang asked, looking at Tang Ao with a face.

"Yes, it's Tang. ”

"Oh, this is really rare!" Wang Naxiang said with a sigh, "I remember that since we parted ways in the capital, I am afraid that we haven't seen each other for nearly ten years!"

"yes! It's been almost ten years. Tang Ao said with emotion, "Hey, I'm afraid, even if they meet now, the two brothers may not be able to recognize Tang!"

"Brother Tang, this is a bad statement!" Wang Naxiang said pretendly, "Although he has been busy with military affairs over the years, he has no time to ask about other things, but if he has free time, he will always miss some old friends, especially Brother Tang, you can see this very clearly." ”

Tang understood. Tang Ao looked around and asked, "With such a tight guard, could it be that something happened in the mansion?"

"Well!" Wang Naxiang said in a flickering tone, "Little brother is not easy to speak bluntly, Brother Tang should go and ask the governor in person!"

"Okay!" Tang Ao responded, tidied up his clothes again, and walked into the mansion door side by side with Wang Naxiang, also through the courtyard and the living room, entered the inner room, and came to the door of the dark pavilion. But the difference is that this time, Nawang Naxiang did not knock on the door in advance to inform him, but directly took Tang Ao to break in. Their intrusion made Xu Dudu very annoyed, and at the same time, it also made everyone present a little frightened. Everyone thought that the matter was exposed, and the court sent troops to suppress it, so they all took the case and interrogated Wang Naxiang about the situation outside.

"What are you anxious about?" Xu Dudu frowned and asked, "What's going on outside?"

"It's the subordinates who are too reckless. Wang Naxiang hurriedly replied, "Please calm your anger, in fact, everything is normal outside." ”

"If everything is normal, why are you acting so recklessly?" Xu Dudu glared at him and asked, "Have you even forgotten the rule of knocking on the door before entering the Dark Pavilion?"

"It's no wonder that the governor is not strange, how dare his subordinates forget the rules. Wang Naxiang suddenly let go of his body, revealing Tang Aolai behind him, and asked with two faces, "Who do you think he is?"

"Brother Tang ------ Tang Xian, is it really you?"

"It's me, big brother!"

Xu Dudu looked at Tang Ao excitedly, and found that except for a few more gray hairs, the rest were still the same, still with long hair hanging down to both shoulders, a towering bun, a white Confucian scarf tied between the buns, a Chinese character face, slightly dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, under the high nose bridge, with a lips surrounded by a short beard, wearing a light green robe, lined with a white robe, and black cloth boots, handsome and chic, and extraordinary.

Tang Ao also looked at Xu Dudu with the same expression, and found that except for some more gray hair and wrinkles, the rest were still the same, still with a towering bun, a relatively thick golden hairpin inserted between the buns, a Chinese character face, slightly red skin, eyebrows and blazing eyes, under the flat nose bridge, there was a lip surrounded by a black and white beard, a satin robe, lined with a yellow robe, and black official boots.

"Brother Xian, it's been nearly ten years, where have you been?" Xu Dudu asked again, "Why have you not heard from you since you left the capital?" Have you forgotten my brothers?"

"Yes, third brother, how can you not come and go without making a sound!" Luo Bingwang stroked the beard of his lower cheeks with his hand, and stepped forward with a smile and said, "You are so elusive, it is really incomprehensible!"

"Oops! Tang Ao hurriedly apologized and said, "It's just because the younger brother likes to sail to sea and travel around the world, so after saying goodbye to the capital, the younger brother went overseas with his brother-in-law Lin Zhiyang and Yu Weng Duo Jiugong, and he didn't return until yesterday, so he couldn't come to visit immediately, and invited the two elder brother Haihan." ”

"That being the case, how can we not understand it as brothers? Xu Dudu smiled and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this, come, please come inside the virtuous brother." ”

Five

Tang Ao, accompanied by Xu Luo, sat in the crowd. Then Xu Dudu introduced him to everyone, and of course introduced everyone to him, and then began to discuss the anti-Zhou plan in full swing.

At this time, Xu Dudu told Tang Ao the original battle plan, attack route, attack target, and the distribution of troops of each department without any worries.

"I don't know what kind of opinion the virtuous brother has, so that our army can capture Xuzhou with the least casualties?"

"Hey, the younger brother originally came to visit the two elder brothers, but unexpectedly he was involved in such a matter. Tang Ao sighed and said, "Hey! Since things have come to such a field, how can the younger brother watch the fire from the other side and stand by and watch!

"Why does Brother Xian always sigh?" Xu Dudu asked with a frown, "Does Brother Xian think that there is something wrong with our original plan?"

"No, it was well planned and there were no problems. Tang Ao replied, "What the younger brother wants to say is that although the two elder brothers' plans are very thorough, and with the help of many heroes, it is not difficult to capture a Xuzhou, but according to the original offensive route of the eldest brother, one state and one county will enter Chang'an City, the battle line is too long, and it is easy to lose a large number of troops, and the younger brother thinks that it is impossible." ”

"Oh, third brother, you will say that the plan is very thorough and there is no problem, and then you will say that you do not approve of the original offensive line, such a contradiction is really incomprehensible to us!" Luo Bingwang interjected.

"Yes, Brother Xian, you think that our original line of attack is wrong. Xu Dudu asked again, "Then in your opinion, how should we attack?"

"In my younger brother's opinion, it is best to use lightning tactics to attack Chang'an directly, which can not only achieve the ultimate goal, but also reduce unnecessary casualties, why not!"

Although Tang Ao's thoughts and Xu Luo's thoughts are conflicting, the three of them are very good brothers with different surnames after all, and Xu Dudu is a very nostalgic person, so he will not hurt the harmony between the brothers because of some different ideas.

"Oh! What Brother Xian said is not unreasonable, but in order to prevent the enemy from being attacked from both sides, I think it is more appropriate to follow the original strategy and fight steadily. Xu Dudu said again.

"In that case, the little brother has no choice but to say goodbye first. ”

Tang Ao got up from the crowd, gave a fist salute, turned around and was about to leave, but he was stopped by Xu Luo and the others before he could take a few steps away. Such a scene made all the heroes present very angry, and they all stared at Tang Ao with horizontal eyebrows, eager to step forward and pick his skin.

"Oh, how can the virtuous brother just come and leave? The eldest brother has a lot to say to you, you can't just leave. Xu Dudu dissuaded.

"Yes, third brother, you can't just abandon me and other brothers!" Luo Bingwang said, "It's been nearly ten years, and it has been difficult for our three brothers to get together again, how can we be separated again without a few drinks? ”

"The two elder brothers are serious, it's not that the younger brother is angry with the two elder brothers. Tang Ao explained, "It's that the younger brother really doesn't want to get involved in such a bloody storm, and I ask the two brothers and all the heroes to forgive me." ”

Tang Ao said goodbye to Xu Luo and the others with a very conflicted mood, and then turned around and walked out of the dark pavilion. Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing armor, holding a steel knife, and eyebrows flashed out from behind him, and stopped him again. This middle-aged man's name is Yang Jin, and he is the eldest son of Yang Zhong, the former envoy of Hedong Jiedu. He was dissatisfied with what Wu Zetian had done, so he resigned from his official position as General Morning Glory Wei Zhonglang and secretly moved out of the capital. Then he heard that the British Duke Xu Dudu was a great hero who was not afraid of power, so he took his family and his cousin Yang Kun to defect to Xu Guogong.

Six

Yang Jin glared at Tang Ao viciously, making the atmosphere around him very tense.

"I don't know how to lift, do you think this Xu Mansion is a place where you can come and go whenever you want?" Yang Jin said angrily, "Besides, you also learned about our plan, so it's not so easy to just leave." Either stay alive and stay with the governor, or die here, you choose!"

He quickly swung the big knife in his hand, and it didn't stop until Tang Ao's neck. Xu Luo and the others saw that Tang Ao had no reaction in the face of the deadly steel knife, and then looked at Yang Jin, who was full of anger, was very unstable, and he could kill people with a knife at any time. Xu Dudu hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Okay, that's enough! Everyone calm down, Yang Jin, you put away the knife for me, this steel knife is used to kill the enemy, not to kill each other, even if I am different from Tang Xian's brother Dao, he is always my good brother." You don't understand what happened between our three brothers, let him go!"

Although the short-tempered Yang Jin was still angry, he couldn't help but listen to Xu Dudu's words, so he had no choice but to put away the big knife and retreat to the side.

After hearing this, Tang Ao was very moved, and at the same time knew that he had broken the hearts of the two elder brothers, so he turned around and explained: "Hey, two elder brothers, it's not that the younger brother doesn't want to be in the same boat with you, it's just that the younger brother really doesn't want to see the forest devastated and the people suffer. If the eldest brother is determined to fight, the younger brother thinks that it is better to fight quickly. In fact, whoever is the emperor in this world is the same. ”

As soon as these words came out, they angered Yang Jin's cousin Yang Kun, who was also a short-tempered and narrow-minded guy.

"Bastard, the governor is so magnanimous to you, and you are so ignorant of what to do, it's really hateful, today Lao Tzu has to teach you a good lesson, look at the tricks. ”

After saying that, Yang Kun raised the two big hammers in his hands and slammed them into Tang Ao's head. Suddenly, Tang Ao turned around and dodged this blow, which made Yang Kun very angry. Immediately afterward, he shouted and killed again, this time with even more ferocity and death.

At this time, Tang Ao dodged back and forth, left and right, and was forced to be helpless, so he pulled out the long sword from his belt, shook it violently, and the sword body made a crisp sound. Then he turned his body around again, and took advantage of the situation to swing his long sword and meet Yang Kun's two sledgehammers. In a matter of moments, the two weapons collided together, producing golden sparks. Then Yang Kun quickly retracted the two big hammers, raised them high above his head, separated his legs in a big figure-eight shape, and began to use internal force.

Although Yang Kun's age is not very old, he has developed a good internal skill. He first forced several strands of true qi in his body out of the dantian, quickly gathered in the atrium acupoint, and then directly merged into the Shenque acupoint through the atrium acupoint, and after staying for a while, the true qi quickly moved downward, until the points of Jiexi, Chongyang, Trap Valley, Inner Court, and Yongquan. Suddenly, with a force on his feet, he slammed down, and the floor tiles were crushed with a "click". This scene amazed everyone, and they couldn't help but say something like "good internal strength, amazing".

Soon, he picked up the two big hammers and struck at Tang Ao's face, and the attack strength was stronger and stronger each time. forced Tang Ao to dodge left and right, and there was no way to fight back. Tang Ao was forced to be anxious, so he put the long sword across his chest, and his feet flew up in the air with his feet, and at the top beam of the living room, he quickly and dashingly swung the long sword in his hand again, hitting his Yintang acupoint, but he was blocked by the two big hammers. Immediately afterwards, Tang Ao pressed his wrist down violently, and suddenly his face was flushed, and his arms trembled, obviously unable to withstand it. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the invincible Yang Kun to be defeated.

Yang Kun knew that he had lost the battle, and his face inside and outside was lost, but in order not to lose his grace in front of everyone, he saluted Tang Ao against his will and said: "Your Excellency is really excellent in martial arts, and you admit defeat in the next place." ”

After Tang Ao put away his long sword, he said goodbye to everyone again and left the Xu Mansion.