"This wine has a lot of stamina, and I don't feel it when I drink it."

Late at night, in the bedroom of the old mansion in Shazhou, Fang Chongyong squinted at the map of the Western Regions while complaining to Anaye, who was serving tea and pouring water beside him.

This small mansion was lived in when Fang Youde was a child, and now it is considered the "former residence of celebrities" in Shazhou. Fang Chongyong politely declined the invitation of Wang Huailiang, the assassin of Shazhou, and insisted on living in this mansion with very simple conditions, experiencing Fang Youde's state of mind when he suddenly returned from the late Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

In order to introspect, Fang Youde deliberately gave himself a table called "Quan Zhong", which shows the depth of resentment towards Zhu Wen who destroyed the Tang Dynasty!

What was Ah Lang thinking, with a heavy face. The Tubo people didn't do this when they besieged Shazhou, right? ”

Anaye stroked Fang Chongyong's face with her rough calloused little hands, and asked with a concerned expression.

"How many things in ancient and modern times are laughing and talking, don't mention it."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Nowadays, the problem of too many troops in the border towns and too much financial expenditure has caused heated discussions in the imperial court, and it seems that the problems are all brought about by the border town areas, and the issue of disarmament is only afraid that it will be put on the agenda.

But what Fang Chongyong knows, at least during the Tianbao period, the border towns of the Tang Dynasty, including the northern edge of Hebei controlled by An Lushan, were places where the imperial court's policies were better implemented and people's livelihood was better governed.

Use the simplest logic to push back, if the people under An Lushan's rule are really boring, then when he wants to "clear the monarch's side", he is afraid that he will be tied up by the locals and sent to Chang'an, and he will make a Mao anti!

What really went wrong was the "demilitarized zone" directly ruled by the Tang court. Including but not limited to Henan with Luoyang as the core, the southern region of Hebei with Beizhou, Bozhou and Weizhou as the core, and Guanzhong with Chang'an as the core!

The burden of people's livelihood in these places is extremely heavy, and the people are extremely resentful of the imperial court, and they are all extremely densely populated areas.

In the final analysis, the ultimate contradiction of Datang is caused by the fact that there are too many people and too little land to feed so many people, which is the core of the problem.

These three places, after the Anshi Rebellion, formed a defensive feudal town group headed by Xuanwu Town, the three towns of Heshuo headed by Wei Bo, and the "Eunuch Domain Town Group" after the Zhenzhen of the Shence Military Domain in Guanzhong.

Isn't the militarization of the "demilitarized zone" a disguised suppression of a possible outbreak of civil unrest? The transformation of the military pattern has always been closely related to the economic foundation and political ecology!

A similar situation is the same as the homicidal cause of diabetes.

Too much sugar in the body may seem like a big problem, but in fact, it causes some dysfunction, and people with diabetes die of complications, not diabetes itself.

In short, the turbulent waves that the Tang Dynasty will face are all under the water surface seen by the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military vision, and no one really sees where the problem is! Since you don't even know where the problem is, let alone prescribe the right medicine, the future chaos is inevitable, and no one can stop it, thinking about these are useless.

Headaches can't just be treated for the head, and foot pain can't be treated only for the feet.

How to clean up the situation in the future and how to survive in the troubled times is the question that Fang Chongyong is thinking about now.

This kind of thing, don't say that Anaye is just a young woman who understands medical skills. Even if she is an official in the court, Fang Chongyong will only think that this is alarmist when she expresses her worries.

It is a very difficult thing for a person to be out of his power and yet have a clear mind.

"Those who know me say that I am worried. Those who do not know me say what I want. ”

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh again and said.

"What do you want?

Aren't you just staring at those sassy and charming orchids!

I don't care about you, who do you like! ”

Anaye slapped Fang Chongyong's shoulder fiercely, turned his head and left, but was grabbed by the other party's arm.

"What's the tantrum, I'm worried about state affairs."

Fang Chongyong let Anaye sit on his lap and speak.

"Well, you don't need to coax me like that. Men, they're all like that, and concubines know it.

Ah Lang was still worried about state affairs a moment ago, and at this moment his hand reached into the concubine's clothes. ”

Anaya glared at Fang Chongyong with a resentful look in his eyes and complained.

"It seems that you really can't teach you a lesson."

Fang Chongyong asked Anaye to kneel beside him, spread out a large piece of paper on the table, and asked the other party to help polish the ink.

When everything was ready, he wrote on paper: Difficult times make brave men.

"This is when the Tang Dynasty was founded, Emperor Taizong swept the world, and even dared to kill his brother to seize the throne, if he was not brave and could not endure hardship, he would die.

The so-called survival of the fittest, but that's it. ”

Fang Chongyong's eyes were very serious, and Anaya was shocked by his momentum, so she had to nod lightly, no longer thinking about those things that men and women love.

Then, Fang Chongyong continued to write on the paper: The brave create a comfortable era.

"Taizong created the rule of Zhenguan, although there is controversy after Gaozong Wuhou, but the overall strength of the Tang Dynasty is upward, the country is prosperous, and the society is stable, there is no problem with this, right?"

Anaye nodded slightly, although she didn't know much about these, she felt that Fang Chongyong was so powerful now, full of the charm of a man's strength and wisdom.

"However, the good times can make people weak.

Nowadays, the magnates of Chang'an love handsome and beautiful young men, are good at literature and evil, and indulge in pleasure.

Officialdom is gradually corrupting, and incompetent people abound, isn't that exactly the case? ”

Fang Chongyong wrote on the paper again: The era of comfort produces the weak.

"Is there another sentence?"

I have never eaten pork and have seen pigs run, Anaye knows that most of the poems of the Tang Dynasty are four, eight, sixteen and so on, and four sentences are at least one paragraph.

Fang Chongyong didn't speak, but just wrote on the paper: The weak return to the difficult era.

The current Datang is probably in the middle of the third and fourth sentences. The third sentence has been completed and the fourth has not yet begun.

But that's also a matter of time.

This is what I am concerned about. ”

Hearing this, Anaye not only did not frown, but laughed. She laughed so hard that tears came out, and finally she restrained her smile and asked:

"Ah Lang, the concubine has always been by your side for many years.

I don't know what the future holds, but at least you're happy, aren't you? What do you want to do if you make your daughter a wife to you?

Isn't it the same with the concubine body, if you haven't met Ah Lang, now the concubine body is not tired of working in the field during the day, and she will be played to death at night.

Now this kind of life, in the past, concubines didn't dare to think about it.

In the future, Ah Lang's heirs will be old, and they will fight for the family property, and all kinds of bad things are indispensable. The concubine will be old and decrepit at that time, and she will not be able to serve Ah Lang, how will she deal with herself at that time? Isn't that annoying?

But what's the point of thinking about it now?

As long as the concubine is doing well now, wouldn't it be good if she was comfortable?

Anyway, when the world is in turmoil, I'm not the only one who is unlucky, and it's a big deal to work hard together.

Even if the concubine is a peasant woman, if I can see the concubines of the emperor and the prince reduced to the fans of the brothel of the Qinglou to sleep with others, then I feel comfortable.

Happiness is all about comparing it to others. Even if I'm unlucky enough to die, am I the only one who dies? So many people died with me, how can it be enough, what is there to worry about now? ”

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that Anaye grew up in Liangzhou. She has been collecting medicine everywhere since she was a child, working in the medical hall, and she has a strong habit in a border town, which is not the thinking of those delicate ladies in Chang'an at all.

It's not so much that she wants to live well herself, but that she feels more comfortable when she sees others doing badly. Anyway, it's not that I haven't suffered hardship, and I didn't feel bitter at that time!

"I'm really scared of you."

Fang Chongyong lamented, in fact, Anaye's thoughts represent the thoughts of a large part of ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty.

The life is good, the mentality is relatively heroic, and I don't worry about what tomorrow will be, which is very in line with the mainstream spiritual outlook of this era.

In a word: Tomorrow's death is tomorrow's thing, Lao Tzu has to be cool enough today!

"Jie Shuai, the Zhang family sent someone to wait in the hall. Would you like to meet it? ”

At this moment, He Changqi's voice came from outside the door.

"Let them wait in the hall, and Ben Jie Shuai will go when he wakes up."

Fang Chongyong coped impatiently.

After saying that, he directly blew out the candle on the table, picked up Anaye by the waist and put him on the bed.

He Changqi, who was outside the door, understood and retreated quietly.

"Don't go...... Could it be, well, not so good? ”

In the darkness, Anaye muttered as she gasped in bed.

"Zhang Mi is something, delay Lao Tzu's sister, let him blow the cold wind in the hall all night."

Fang Chongyong scolded with a smile, and pounced on Anaye like a hungry wolf, biting the other party's slender neck.

……

"Why are you only 500?"

Looking at Gao Shi who bowed in front of him, Brother Ji's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he asked in an unkind tone.

When he forcibly seized military power and led the Shence Army to Jingyang County, he found that the Shence Army camp north of Jingyang County was an empty camp.

Although many people were busy going in and out, cutting trees and building rafts, they looked like they were in full swing, but there were really only 500 soldiers.

"Back to the saint, General Fang led his troops to make a detour and sneak attack the rear of Pizhou from the trail. The subordinate officer here is just a suspicious soldier to confuse the rebels' scouts.

This place is not very safe, if there is a flash flood, the camp is prone to flooding, and the saint is asked to move to Jingyang County for temporary shelter. ”

Gao Shi, who is in charge of taking care of the camp, said with a low brow and a very humble attitude.

Brother Ji was very satisfied with his attitude, nodded slightly noncommittal, and his face softened slightly.

After his enthusiasm is over, all that remains now is worry and fear. Let him lead his troops north to attack Pizhou, the son of his daughter can't sit down, how can the Son of Heaven be in danger?

It's impossible to go, at most pretend!

After learning that Fang Youde led his troops to make a detour to attack Pizhou, the anger in Ji Ge's heart also disappeared. At least, things didn't evolve out of control, but Fang Youde kept the news tightly sealed in order to keep it secret, and even he, the emperor, didn't know!

Of course, if the emperor knows, it means that the eunuchs around him also know. And the eunuchs around Brother Ji, who dares to guarantee that they will not quietly collude with the prince?

Fang Youde's prudence is not groundless, but closely related to his personal experience.

At this moment, Ji Ge's dizzy old eyes suddenly saw that something seemed to be floating on the Jing River, flowing down the turbulent river.

It's too far away to see what it is!

"Gao Shi, I ordered you to take someone to see what it was."

Kego said, gesturing to an object on the river in the distance.

In fact, there is no need for him to say that the soldiers in charge of guarding the river have already moved that "thing" to the shore. This is a corpse swollen by blisters, with tattered clothes and braided hair on its head, which does not look like a Central Plains style.

"This is a Khitan young man."

When Brother Ji led people over to observe, Gao Shi pointed to the braids on the other party's head and said. He is a native of Hebei and is no stranger to Khitan hairstyles.

The hairstyle of Khitan men usually consisted of shaving the hair on the top of the head and leaving a small amount of hair on the temples or forehead as decoration. These hairs can hang freely or be braided into braids.

It is completely different from the hairstyle of ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty, and it is almost recognizable at a glance.

Brother Ji nodded slightly, quietly relieved. He was most afraid that this corpse belonged to the Shence sergeant, and that would be a bad thing.

Soon, a second, third, and fourth bodies appeared on Jingshui...... A terrifying picture appeared, accompanied by the turbulent water flow of Jingshui, one after another Khitan young corpses flowed downstream.

In less than half an hour, it has already reached hundreds! There is no doubt that the corpses of these Khitans appeared in Jingshui, and they could only be the group of rebellious Khitan slaves in Pizhou. Because some of them have arrows stuck in their backs.

But many more people don't have many scars on their bodies!

What's going on with this Nima?

Ji Ge frowned, he vaguely felt that Fang Youde should have won the rebels. But why do rebel corpses appear in large numbers in Jingshui?

"Sage, there's someone over there rowing a raft! Wearing the uniform of the Tang Army, he is gesturing with us not to release arrows! ”

Gao Shi pointed to the Jingshui River not far away and said, his tone could not hide his excitement.

In this section of Jingshui flowing through Pizhou to Jingyang, the water flow is quite dangerous in several places. "Drifting" more than 100 miles south on a raft from Pizhou is really not something ordinary people do. Even in the elite Shence Army, it is also a white stripe in the waves with excellent water nature. Ordinary people would not dare to do such crazy things.

The two people on the raft saw that the emperor's umbrella cover was also there, and hurriedly jumped off the boat, ignoring the wet clothes on their bodies, and stepped forward to salute Brother Ji and said, "Sage, the lowly position is a scout of the Divine Army. Got the order of General Fang, and came to report the military situation. Our army has conquered Xinping County, Pizhou, and when he left, General Fang had just conquered Sanshui County and was finishing, so please don't worry about it. ”

After speaking, he handed over a bamboo tube hanging from his waist to Yu Chaoen, which was a handwritten letter that Fang Youde asked the two of them to pass on to Brother Ji.

It's over!

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, the war ended without entering the war, and there was nothing better than this.

Gao Shi suppressed the joy in his heart, he knew that he couldn't run away from his share of credit.

And Ji Ge's face was even more cloudy and clear, and he smiled for the first time in the past few days. He opened the fire paint on the bamboo tube, read the words on the letter paper in ten lines at a glance, and finally fell back into his stomach with a hanging heart.

Fang Youde told him that Pizhou had been basically taken, some Khitan prisoners had fled, and he was taking the Shence army around to arrest people, so he must leave no hidden dangers.

"Listen to my orders, pull out the camp and start the village, and the whole army will return to Chang'an."

Kego laughed and ordered.

A day later, thousands of Shence troops returned to Chang'an without danger and camped in Xuanwumen, taking over the defense of Chang'an's important places. And Brother Ji returned to Xingqing Palace and saw Gao Lishi, and both of them were embarrassed.

Brother Ji took Gao Lishi to the imperial study of the diligent government building, and couldn't help but ask the other party: During the time that he, the son of the Tang Dynasty, was not in Chang'an, did anything major happen in the city.

However, Colliers' answer surprised Keigos!

Nothing happened in Chang'an City! It's even calmer than when Brother Kee was there!

There is no prince rebellion, no officials are flustered like ants in a hot pot, and there is no government affairs stagnant and the country will not be a country! Everything is working as it should! Even Jin Wuwei deliberately opened the Golden Light Gate and allowed Hu Shang from the Western Regions to take the caravan out of the city.

Only in and out, everything is in order, but the inspection is particularly strict.

To put it simply, in addition to Brother Ji and Gao Lishi, who are more worried about the political situation, from the powerful to the hundred officials to the small people in Chang'an City, they should eat, drink, and do what they should do.

There is no big tandem of princes and courtiers at all, and there are no bad things like a big conspiracy to subvert the Tang Dynasty, and many people don't even know that Brother Ji has left Chang'an!

At first, Brother Kei was very pleased with this. The matter of the rebellion in Pizhou has been passed without danger, which can be described as the good of the good.

But after thinking about it carefully, Ji Ge felt a strange fear from the bottom of his heart!

The counterinsurgency does not need to be worried about him, the daily government affairs of Chang'an, and the military affairs of the border towns do not need to be worried about by him. Even the princes don't come to make trouble, and the powerful and hundreds of officials are even more divided into their own duties, and I haven't heard of anyone who wants to do it against him, the son of heaven.

is so "stable and peaceful", doesn't that mean that he, the son of heaven, has no sense of existence at all, and he is the same as the Tang Dynasty?

How that should be! It's horrible!

Brother Ji suddenly discovered that now Datang has become useless and is the Son of Heaven! The existence of the Son of Heaven seems to be only a name! He doesn't need to do anything at all!

So how should he, as the emperor and the supreme ruler of the Tang Dynasty, deal with himself?

This matter is like an impenetrable dark cloud, which began to shroud Ji Ge's heart and lingered for a long time.

(End of chapter)