In the hundreds of years since the rebellion of the two Jin Dynasty, both Chang'an and Luoyang have become places of four wars.

Therefore, those who want to survive either move their families to the south with their clothes, or even their clans to put themselves on the border.

For the people of Guanzhong, Hexi, where the water and grass are abundant, is the first choice.

Therefore, in the past hundred years, Liangzhou has no longer been bitter and cold, and there is a trend of prosperity.

But no matter how prosperous he is, the food is still not as fine as Chang'an, so when he was in Liangzhou, Pei Xingjian was already talking about returning to Kyoto to have a big meal.

But now that he is seated at the banquet, Pei Xingjian is absent-minded.

Delicacies and wine, lamb aging, cooking cattle and slaughtering dolphins.

There are all kinds of staple foods, and no desserts are left behind.

Yulu group, seven back cakes, concubine red, and giant victory slaves compete to display.

Transparent flower cakes, sweet dumplings, deer cake buns, and Lingsha Zhenjun can be taken by themselves.

(饆饠音 is the same as Bi Luo, 臛音 is the same as Huo)

But at this time, these delicacies were difficult to enter Pei Xingjian's eyes, and he almost couldn't wait to come to Li Jing's side and whispered:

"Scholarly ...... Master, can Your Majesty's secret map in the palace be true? ”

But then another more concerned question came to the question:

"Master, are you really going to lead the sea division?"

This is quite incomprehensible in Pei Xingjian's opinion.

Of course, he knew that the wind was howling and the clouds were treacherous, the huge waves were monstrous and unpredictable, and the coastal people were both in awe and awe.

And Master is now an old bone...... No, Fang Cai seems to have said that he still has more than ten years to live?

Pei Xingjian felt that there were more and more doubts in his head.

Li Jinghun didn't care, and when the banquet was held, he raised a wine and accepted the congratulations of the guests on the grounds of exhaustion, so he was at peace at the moment.

Under Pei Xingjian's anxious gaze, the old general danced his chopsticks to pick up the small steamer in front of him, and the tip of the chopsticks gently twisted the gluttonous skin in the steamer and spread it out in front of him.

At the same time, with his left hand, he took a few spoonfuls of the pulp from the open cherry clay can next to him, rubbed it on the dumpling skin, and then picked up a few grapes from the plate next to him.

After laying out, move the chopsticks, pick up the dumpling skin back and forth in several directions, wrap it completely, and finally use the chopsticks to pick it up and send it to the mouth.

Feeling the pulp and sucrose tumbling in his mouth, supplemented by the pancake to make the aftertaste more long, Li Jing squinted his eyes intoxicated and sighed:

"If you want to taste delicacies, you should be in Chang'an!"

This sentence was heard clearly by Li Shimin, and he could only raise his glass from afar and nod at Li Jing, surrounded by civil and military honors.

The old general laughed and raised his glass as well.

Putting down the wine glass, seeing that Pei Xingjian was so anxious that he seemed to be about to jump on the table in a blink of an eye, Li Jing also shook his head and said:

"The map in the palace is true, otherwise where did the Qinghai sand table of the Guozijian come from? Where did the map of Qinghai come from during the Liangzhou Parliamentary Strategy? ”

Although Pei Xingjian had a conjecture in his heart, he was still a little distracted for a while when he heard his master's confirmation:

"Then my Tang territory is only two or three in the world?"

For him, Tang Chengqin, Han and Han came to China and raised Siyi, which is a matter of course for him since he was a child.

But now looking at the map, the land of Zhuxia is only located in the eastern corner of the world, which is completely different from the words of the sages in the classics.

Li Jing looked at his disciple, picked up a piece of sticky rice and bean paste with chopsticks, and after tasting it with taste, he shook his head and said:

"Two or three in the world? When you know the scenery of the earth, you can understand the vastness of the universe, and the place where we stand, I Tang has received less than one-tenth. ”

Pei Xingjian felt that his thoughts were unprecedentedly confused, but he still followed his instinct and subconsciously asked:

"This is the reason why the master wants to lead the sea master to the South China Sea?"

Li Jing nodded calmly, full of ease:

"Tuyuhun is dead, even if there is Tubo peeping in the west, but I, Tang Jian'er, can go straight to the Western Regions without worry."

"Your Majesty erected a monument at Kaiyuan Gate, wanting to make the West Pole Road 9,900 miles, but now it is only 3,000 miles."

"The thirty-six countries leaped on their horses and raised their whips, and the Turkic Khanates weed and herded sheep, and they should be encouraged to keep their promises."

Pei Xingjian felt that he still had a lot of problems, but what the master said at this time was enough for him to digest for a while.

In the battle of Tuyuhun, he could see the power of the gunpowder clearly, and a cannon was enough to reach a fierce general, and with this help, it was foreseeable that it would not be difficult to grasp the Western Regions.

Maybe for a person like the master, who uses soldiers like a god, it is indeed a bit of a bully to conquer the Western Regions like this, then the sea master ...... Shaking his head, Pei Xingjian chose not to think about it for the time being.

He had a hunch that his confusion might be answered within this year.

So he simply changed the question in another direction:

"Master really has seventeen years to live?"

Li Jing looked at the gourd chicken that was said to be newly made in the imperial dining room and was very interested, got up and tore a piece directly and put it in his mouth to taste it, while scolding with a smile:

"What's the matter, I think the master may become a hindrance to your leadership in the future?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of sniffing, and when he turned around, he saw Pei Xingjian hanging his head, and a drop of water fell from the tip of his nose, leaving a mark on the floor.

Li Jing dared to march in the rain and attack the danger, and he could also attack the enemy's tent on a snowy night, or he could brave the miasma and chase the north without sleeping all night.

But the scene in front of him was something he had never faced, and the dignified military god was a little hurried for a while, and the gourd chicken in his mouth couldn't care about being hot and hurriedly swallowed it, and then took out a handkerchief to try to remedy it:

"Eh, Master, I'm just amusing you...... Others who are sixty years old and want to live for more than ten years can't do it...... Look at that Your Majesty...... Wrong, wrong, oops..."

"Why cry?"

Taking the handkerchief that still smelled of blood from Li Jing's hand, Pei Xingjian wiped the tears on his face, and then said in a low voice:

"My mother and my father and brother died in my mother's womb, and I don't have a master for thirty, how can I bear it?"

So Li Jing was also silent.

It is no secret that Pei Xingjian is the widow of Pei Renji.

The posthumous son does not think that his father is not visible in his heart, he does not dream of being invisible in his eyes, and his biological father is almost nothing.

The battle of Tuyuhun in Qinghai Province, thinking that His Majesty was too fast and quite young, and he was afraid that the battlefield would have an accident, so he took care of it.

Now it seems that the two get along, although they are teachers, they are close to their fathers.

So Li Jing could only put away his previous amusement and said seriously:

"Seventeen years of life is the original know, now there is a king of Sun Yao in Kyoto, and Master and I now pay attention to self-cultivation, or not only seventeen years."

This statement finally made Pei Xingjian stop his sadness, and Li Jing introduced him to two more dishes, and finally turned his attention to the banquet in front of him.

After a storm, Pei Xingjian patted his little belly with a satisfied face:

You can't eat this kind of food in Liangzhou!

The stomach is full, the mood is good, and the bold idea takes hold again.

After carefully glancing at His Majesty, who was still being flattered by Xungui, Pei Xingjian asked cautiously:

"Master, when you said that you still have seventeen years to live, why do I seem to be quite displeased when I see Your Majesty?"

There are no other civil and military nobles around the two of them at the moment, or they are happy to eat, or they have drunk three or five more wines, Li Jing also lost two points of reserve, bowed his head and smiled:

Or is it because...... Your Majesty thought of him, and he must have lived seventeen years. ”

Pei Xingjian suddenly wanted to slap himself!

It's okay to ask what this is for?

He didn't doubt the truth of this statement at all, after all, this was the master, and it was neither necessary nor possible to lie to himself.

Although Zi Bu is silent, but from the state of continuous battles and successes, and the accuracy of the map, I am afraid that Your Majesty and Master really have a lot of things that are inconvenient to say?

And the casual question to the master, until the next day, Pei Xingjian got up and washed up and went to Hongwen Pavilion to regret it.

After all, even if you know about this thing, it is useless, and you are frightened out of thin air, and according to what the master said, it is not accurate.

But if I didn't keep my mouth shut, it reached His Majesty's ears...... Pei Xingjian felt that the old Pei family was afraid that it would not be in his generation.

With such a trance, he almost didn't step on the threshold and stumbled, but at the critical moment, an arm supported him.

patted his chest, Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned his head to thank him, but he saw a face that was not unfamiliar, and he couldn't help but say:

"I didn't say Your Majesty ......"

Faster than his head was Pei Xingjian's hand, pinching his lips precisely and then smiling awkwardly at Li Chengqian in front of him.

Li Chengqian didn't care, and said with a smile:

"It seems that the celebration of the covenant was quite enjoyable yesterday."

Pei Xingjian rubbed his face and went down the slope to the donkey:

"Taking advantage of the victory of the Duke of the country to roll call in front of His Majesty is quite dissolute, and it is appropriate to introspect."

Li Chengqian understood, so he simply pointed to the corridor beside him:

"The widow heard that he was thirteen years old and went to Qinghai to fight for the country, and he hated to go together."

"Now that we have seen each other, why don't you tell the widow a thing or two?"

Pei Xingjian is very familiar with Hongwen Pavilion, and knows that there is a small garden there, and usually the grandchildren and grandchildren here will go over to play and play to relax when they are tired of studying.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also nominally a student of the Hongwen Pavilion, so he will come over from time to time, at that time Pei Xingjian was quite famous in the Hongwen Pavilion because he could write a good calligraphy, so although he was not familiar with the prince, he was by no means unfamiliar.

It is inevitable for the prince to invite him, Pei Xingjian nodded and accompanied Li Chengqian and said about the previous battle.

first talked about how he couldn't tolerate the embarrassment of the cold in Liangzhou, and then said that the food in Liangzhou was difficult to swallow, the scenery of Qinghai, the cunning of the mixed beard, and the strength of the Tang army each chose some to talk about.

Li Chengqian listened carefully, nodded from time to time, and occasionally asked how this Tuyuhun was different from the Turks, which caused Pei Xingjian to be a little curious:

"Your Highness is so interested in the Hu people?"

Li Chengqian nodded with a smile, there was some smugness and some unconcealable expectations in his smile:

"After all, the Turks are the enemies of our Tang Dynasty, and only by knowing oneself and knowing the other side can we survive a hundred battles."

Pei Xingjian nodded silently, and after talking to the prince for a while, they separated.

He was going to look for some ancient books in the Hongwen Library's collection to see if there was anything that could correspond to the map in the Manna Hall that he had glimpsed yesterday.

The other is to focus on looking for the word "earth" to see if there is a record.

These two casual words suddenly came to mind when I got up today, but unfortunately the master has closed the door in the name of tiredness, and it will be half a month before I want to see him again.

Before turning around and leaving, Pei Xingjian still subconsciously wrinkled his brows and glanced at the girl behind His Royal Highness the Prince.

Seeing that her outfit seemed to be a female companion of the same age in the East Palace, Pei Xingjian faintly felt that although this girl had not said a word, she understood everything she had just talked about, and she seemed to be thoughtful and quite intelligent.

Well, after all, he was also known as a prodigy, and he can't be wrong about that.

Now, when you look at it from a distance, you don't think it's like a person...... But what's your business?

Shaking his head, he thought habitually as he turned around and walked.

The Prince's Inquiry...... The look of excitement on his face that was hard to hide...... The undisguised curiosity about the Western Regions between the words...... and yesterday's sudden decision by Master, and......

"Thirty-six countries leaping horses and whipping, Turkic khanates shepherd sheep"

Pei Xingjian shook his head and came up with a consciously bold guess:

"Your Majesty wants to order the crown prince to lead the army and conquer the Western Regions?"

was taken aback by his own thoughts, but the more Pei Xingjian thought about it, the more likely it was.

The general Jinghai, the green general will open the side, this is a situation that is very obvious now.

And now the Tang Dynasty has horsemen, warriors, indestructible gunpowder ordnance, supplemented by fierce generals such as Xue Su, the only enemy in the Western Regions is the Western Turks.

On the battlefield in Qinghai, Pei Xingjian couldn't be in battle, but he could hear it clearly from the soldiers' relays.

Xue Rengui's courage in the bow and horse is quite similar to the saint and has a royal treasure bow.

Su Dingfang rushed into the formation and attacked like a ghost, and commanded Xiao Cai skillfully like a master.

It's no wonder that after the master destroyed Tuyuhun, he invited the master of the sea to town the South China Sea, and I am afraid that he also felt that this Western Regions was not interesting......

In such a situation, it is not too much to compare the Western Regions to the hunting ground of the Forbidden Garden, and letting His Majesty's sons and daughters go in and ride ponies to cut people may also be a way to cultivate the prince.

But the biggest problem is that now that the crown prince is the same age as him, His Majesty's move is inevitably suspected of being in a hurry, is it because he is afraid that he will not change his remaining seventeen years...... Phew!

Pei Xingjian tried to throw this thought out of his mind, and then remembered that the prince was the same age as himself.

Wait, I opened the Tang Dynasty unprecedentedly, and at the age of twelve or thirteen, I went to Qinghai with the army, could it be that it was also a part of His Majesty's cultivation of the crown prince?

Pei Xingjian suddenly wanted to report to the master, and let Zhu Ya go to the same town as Nanhai......

In the Western Regions, he had to squeeze together with Xue Su and the crown prince, and for the first time in his life, Pei Xingjian felt that the Western Regions were a little too small.

After Li Chengqian and Pei Xingjian separated, the pace along the way was a little brisk.

After entering the palace, the maid behind him stepped forward, from two positions behind the prince to half a shoulder behind, and the chamberlain next to him was not surprised, but the woman asked crisply:

"Your Highness is really going to the Western Regions?"

Li Chengqian tried to suppress the smile on his face and said:

"Your Majesty's decision is up to you, but ......"

After saying this, Li Chengqian's face had a little more longing:

"Father is right, he is going to set the world right away, and now he wants to cast a prosperous Tang Dynasty, how can a monarch be afraid of war and be at ease?"

"My father is the king of the world, and I am also the young man of the world."

The girl's face was a little tangled:

"Yes...... If you go to the Western Regions, will you have to die a lot of people? His Highness will also be in danger. ”

Now that he is talking about this undecided matter, Li Chengqian's face is a little less excited and two more firm:

"How can there be a bloodless world?"

"What a danger, Tang has both my father-like general, and he also has a brave prince!"

(End of chapter)