Before leaving, Li Yuan deliberately took out the two hundred taels of silver he had been rewarded before, and just put it into a quaint box, and after thinking for a while, he took it out again.

I went to the street, found a shop that was still open, bought some exquisite porcelain calligraphy and paintings, and instructed the shopkeeper to carefully pack them tightly and divide them into two parts.

One of them was handed over to Liu Jiangsheng and Luo Erhu, and they were asked to go to Bian Hao with gifts and the military badges of the two of them to say goodbye, and they took the other one and went straight to Chen Jue's residence......

In the evening, the car back to Beijing set off.

Out of Tanzhou Mansion, all the way to the east, into the territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty. And just after passing Jiangzhou, you can walk on the spacious official road.

After the founding of the country by Li Yu, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty, he carried out the policy of resting with the people, from Jiangzhou and Chizhou to Jinling, as the main transportation route, the Yangtze River waterway needless to say, and the official road on land was also repaired to accommodate four horses in parallel, which was extremely smooth.

In the past half a month, he has followed the palace celebrity Liu Shaojian, but he has urged the horse to step up. Xu is young eunuch Liu is like an arrow, Li Yuan and others had to follow honestly, and they had no spare time to travel around.

On October 27, the three brothers of Li Yuan finally came to Jiangning Mansion (Jinling), the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, with great excitement.

The carriage and horses bypassed the Bailuzhou in the west, which was lush with forests and bamboos, and the three brothers followed Liu Shaojian through Jubao Mountain, crossed the Changgan Bridge, and entered the city from the south gate.

In October, the imperial capital of Jinling, the leaves are falling, and the eyes are full of autumn. Xu is the noisy and prosperous everywhere, erasing the coolness of autumn, the palace pavilion, the deep courtyard of the flower line, the small bridge and flowing water, the water tune song head of Qingxi Fang, the Buddha chanting of Qingliang Temple, with the breeze gently caressing the soul of the visitor.

This ancient capital of the Ten Dynasties, which is an outstanding person, has always flowed with the reverie of ancient and modern literati and writers. As soon as Li Yuan stepped on the Zhenhuai Bridge, he was poetic: "The wild grass and flowers by the Vermilion Bird Bridge, the sunset at the mouth of Wuyi Alley. "The ancients did not deceive me!

Liu Shaojian and other old people in Jinling covered their mouths and laughed, only Luo Erhu and Liu Jiangsheng, two men who had never seen the world, were shy like children at this time and didn't dare to say much, but just probed their brains excitedly.

After the Zhenhuai Bridge, it is the Imperial Fang, which is located in the center point of the north-south axis of Jinling City, on both sides is the official place of all kinds of official affairs such as the Yamen of the Division, the Guozijian, the money line, etc., the north is close to the Southern Tang Palace, and the east and west are large and small residential areas and commercial areas.

The car stopped in front of the Zhusi Yamen, just as Li Yuan was immersed in the hustle and bustle of the market, and had a feeling of being in a different world, Liu Shaojian laughed lightly and said to the dazed young man: "General Li, now we are going back to the palace to resume our lives, and you have the right to rest here in the Zhusi Yamen." In a while, if Your Majesty has a will, someone will reach you. ”

Li Yuan came back to his senses, and then quietly took out a silver ingot and handed it over: "This way, there is a young prisoner!" I hope that the young prison will take more care in the future! ”

Young Eunuch Liu is a reasonable person, quickly tugged into his cuffs, and said with an oily smile: "It's a matter of my own business." ”

Li Yuan led the two brothers, and under the guidance of several young officials in Tsing Yi, they entered the Yamen of the Empire, where the machinery was the busiest.

Liu Jiangsheng, who has always been honest, has been following closely behind Li Yuan since he entered Jinling City, but Luo Erhu thought that his eldest brother was going to be an official now, and he had already let go of his mind, if it wasn't for Li Yuan's presence, I was afraid that he would have caught a few officials who were in a hurry on the spot, and asked questions about the east and west, north and south.

The waiting time was long and apprehensive, Li Yuan was still wearing the shiny armor, while sipping the West Lake Longjing purchased from Wu Yueguo, while exploring his own vision in this era.

Finally, a long cry came from outside the door.

"Which one is Master Li Yuanli! Your Majesty has a will! ”

The three Li Yuan brothers hurriedly got up and greeted them respectfully.

But I only saw a little yellow door with a shrunken head, looked at the door for a while, and saw Li Yuan coming towards him, so he bowed down and came in.

Li Yuan arched his hand and said seriously: "Li Yuan took the order." ”

But this little yellow door was unexpected, and he directly stuffed a satin book into Li Yuan's hand.

The imaginary rigorous occasion was shattered in an instant, and Li Yuan was embarrassed and at a loss: "This ......"

Xiao Huangmen smiled naturally, and whispered very kindly: "It's okay, my lord!" The villain is Liu Shaojian's person, there are no outsiders here, and the adults themselves don't care. ”

Li Yuan slowly opened the edict suspiciously, and carefully swept it a few times, except for the previous description of Li Yuan's deeds of descending to the king of Chu, there were some beautiful words, and then the main event, if he really sealed Li Yuan as the palace Zhidu Yu Hou, and also received a four-grade Xuanwei general's military officer. But this General Xuanwei is just a miscellaneous name, just a little more, and he knows this in his heart.

Seeing that Li Yuan's brows gradually relaxed, Xiao Huangmen also praised it with interest: "Master Li is really a heroic boy!" The villain congratulates Master Li! Your Majesty also ordered you to enter the palace to face the saint, hurry up and follow us into the palace! Don't let the Holy Driver wait! ”

The old rules, Li Yuan is to thank him. Xiao Huang said at the door, "Ah, adults don't have to be like this! Then, without thinking, he pocketed a silver ingot.

Li Yuan said humbly: "Please lead the way!" ”

Before going out, I didn't forget to instruct: "Erhu, Jiang Sheng, you two will wait here for a while, and I will come when I go!" ”

The two brothers already knew that now that Li Yuan was a big official, they were cheering, Luo Erhu patted his chest, put one hand around Liu Jiangsheng, who was also happy, and laughed loudly: "Big brother, you can rest assured!" I will take care of my second brother! ”

Liu Jiangsheng glanced at the black man's uneasy big hand, sighed, and then glanced at Li Yuan: "Don't worry, Brother Yuan, I won't let him cause trouble." ”

The emperor ordered that Li Yuan should be seen in the study.

"General Xuanwei and Dianzhi are waiting for Li Yuan to see him!"

Unsheathed his saber and stepped into the study, Li Yuan beat a drum in his heart. In the ancient times of this family, we must be cautious and cautious, after all, the Son of Heaven is angry, and the corpse is a hundred miles.

In his memory, Tang Yuanzong Li Jing was a sighing emperor, who wanted to inherit the glory of his father and revive the glory of the Tang Dynasty all his life, which can be seen from the first era name "Baoda". But after all, he couldn't play with a group of powerful ministers, let alone Chai Rong of Zhou Shizong, and ended up disillusioned and ruined, and finally ended up depressed.

Li Yuan didn't dare to look up directly, hurriedly stepped forward and took a few steps, thought about it and immediately stopped, arched his hand and bent to the extreme in the corner of his eye, and said loudly: "Weichen Li Yuan to see Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Long live!" (Note: In this era, it is not necessary to kneel on most occasions to see the emperor, let alone kneel three times and bow nine times, and the emperor will sometimes give a seat when he is in a good mood.) In short, the Tang Dynasty sits, the Song Dynasty stands, and the Ming and Qing dynasties kneel. ）

A gentle voice came: "Give the seat." ”

Li Yuan hurriedly continued: "Thank you, Your Majesty! ”

After a eunuch guided Li Yuan to sit down, he finally got to see the true face of this emperor.

At this time, Tang Yuanzong Li Jing was not old, only thirty-five years old, wearing a standard Tang-style bright yellow round-necked robe, lazily leaning on a cushion made of Hangzhou silk. At first glance, the figure is already blessed, but the height is not much different from the average of men in later generations, and the facial features are upright, but the face is a little pale.

Then there was a set of standardized processes, the eunuch loudly rewarded Li Yuan for his miraculous achievements, and after three long live calls, Li Jing issued an order to give Li Yuan a purple robe, a sword, three hundred taels of gold, and one thousand taels of silver. Then let Li Yuan put on a purple robe in public and turn around in place to show his favor. (Note: In the Southern Tang Dynasty, purple robes were the clothing of officials above the third grade, but if the officials and emperors below the third rank were favored, they could also be given to show dignity, which was known as "giving purple" in history)

When Li Yuan thanked him, a slightly cold voice came from in front of him: "Li Yuhou, Your Majesty loves talents, you are young and promising, don't be short-sighted, form a party for personal gain, and be loyal to your duties to repay Your Majesty's grace!" ”

Looking for prestige, he saw a middle-aged man in a purple robe sitting next to Li Jing, staring at him impartially with drooping cold eyes.

Li Yuan knew that he had something to say, but at the moment, he was afraid that he would not be able to get rid of it for a while, so he had to complain secretly, so he responded with a straight face: "Lord Xie mentions!" If you have the love of Your Majesty, you will repay it with your life! ”

Xu had a good impression of Li Yuan, and Li Jing greeted with a smile: "Li Yuan, I heard that you are from Chuzhou." ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister grew up in Chuzhou since he was a child."

Li Jing nodded and asked, "Who else is in the family?" ”

Li Yuan originally said the truth: "The minister's parents have died since he was a child, and it was the minister's nurse who raised the minister. In addition to his stepmother, there is also a brother in the family, although they are not connected by blood, but they are like brothers. ”

After listening to Li Yuan's answer, Li Jing frowned, seemed to be quite touched, and sighed: "But it's so difficult. Li Yuan, since your stepmother is kind to you, you should be filial. ”

"Back to Your Majesty, loyalty and filial piety are the foundation of a minister's life. Remember Your Majesty's words! ”

On the occasion of the acquaintance of the monarch and the ministers, Li Yuan saw that the emperor's expression was very friendly, so he got up and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the ministers have words and progress. ”

Seeing that Li Jing nodded in approval, Li Yuan continued: "The minister's stepmother lives alone in Chuzhou, and since the minister and his brother have been in the army, there is no one to support them. ”

"The minister has the courage to ask Your Majesty, the quasi-minister will take a few days off, go back to Chuzhou, and take his stepmother to Jinling to live and raise!"

These words seemed to enter the emperor's soft heart, and he raised his hand at Li Yuan very majestically and said: "Well, since you are the son of man, it is reasonable. I'm right! ”

Li Yuan was overjoyed, and hurriedly replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" ”

Li Jing still looked at Li Yuan with a smile, his eyes were full of admiration, and he continued: "Li Qing still has a request, you can say it together." ”

Since the emperor was so generous, Li Yuan paused for a moment to organize his words, and then he couldn't wait to say what he wanted in his heart: "Back to Your Majesty, this time the minister entered the city to say that he would surrender to the king of Chu, and among the three horsemen who traveled with him, the other two are also my loyal and brave sons of the Tang Dynasty." But now only the minister has been rewarded, and the minister is ashamed in his heart. ”

Before Li Jing could speak, the purple-robed man was not happy, and stopped with an angry face: "Li Yuhou, how can you repeatedly ask Your Majesty——"

"It doesn't matter! Although Li Yuan is still young, he has the style of a general. Loyal and sincere and filial, high merit and self-humility, such a high style and bright festival, it is really commendable! I rejoiced! ”

In the end, it is the emperor, and now it is the time of the great victory of the Tang Kingdom, and Li Jing, who is already overjoyed, is constantly gracious to the courtiers he admires: "The other two have merit, how can I not reward them?" Let them be on duty under you! You are now the Marquis of Duyu, and these two are under your control, and you will report to the Privy Council. Aiqing, what do you think? ”

As soon as these words came out, Li Yuan secretly exclaimed in his heart, this emperor is an emperor after all, and his language art and political ability are innate! Not only allowed Liu Jiangsheng and Luo Erhu to be transferred to Beijing, but also ate imperial grain under him, which was equivalent to giving himself this kindness, and allowing him to set official positions for the two brothers, by the way, he inspected his attitude and ability to do things. This trick is really clever!

"The ministers thank Your Majesty Long En for the two robes!"

After Li Yuan, who had palpitations, withdrew from the main hall, he looked for Young Eunuch Liu who was walking towards him: "Young Eunuch Liu is well!" ”

Young Eunuch Liu was overjoyed when he saw this Li Lang Li Yuhou, who was quite good at doing things: "What is Lord Li going to teach?" ”

Li Yuan pondered for a moment, revealing a look of embarrassment: "I have just arrived here, and there is no place to stay in Jinling City right now. I thought that Liu Shaojian must have a way......"

Young Eunuch Liu looked earnest, and hurriedly said, "What's so difficult about this? Does Master Li have a favorite house? ”

"But no. His Majesty ordered me to enter the palace, and the road was a little tighter, but I had never seen it. ”

Young Eunuch Liu crossed his hands and stroked the back of his hand, and replied unhurriedly: "Hmm...... However, there is a courtyard, the west of the city is over the Hongqiao, the location is very good, there are fewer people around, and it is comfortable to live, if Lord Li likes it, let's——"

Li Yuan didn't ask for anything else, he only thought about finding a place to live in Jinling, and responded directly: "If you have a place to stay, it doesn't matter how much money you spend!" ”

Seeing that Li Yuan accepted his affection, Young Eunuch Liu said with a smile: "Hey, we also know that Lord Li is His Majesty's celebrity now, and he is very broad. Then we'll let Wednesday take you there! ”

"Thank you, young eunuch!"

Seeing that Li Yuan bowed his hand and wanted to take something out of his sleeve, Young Eunuch Liu understood the matter this time, gritted his teeth and replied: "I can't afford this gift!" Master Li, don't forget, we are now our own family......"

Li Yuan also put it away, straightened up and smiled: "I should thank you!" ”