In August, it seems that the entire Chang'an City is busy for the saint's birthday.

However, Li Longji himself was a little unhappy, he was already 67 years old, and every time this so-called "long live the thousand autumns," the fear of death deepened even more.

He used to learn Taoism and cultivation with "Bai Yunzi" Sima Chengzhen, Sima Chengzhen lived to be ninety-six years old and ascended to immortality, Li Longji always thought that he should at least live longer than Sima Chengzhen, so he was ordained and worshipped "Xuan Jingzi" Li Hanguang as a teacher. A few years ago, Li Hanguang observed his qi for him, saying that his body was ten years younger than his actual age, but unfortunately not long after, Li Hanguang asked to return to the mountain on the grounds that the Maoshan scriptures were scattered.

These efforts did not stop him from aging, in fact, his energy was not as good as before, but he pretended to be diligent, which made Li Hanguang mistakenly think that he was still full of physical strength.

Of course, emperors will also have this pretense, and emperors are the least free people.

Especially in the past few days, Feng Changqing's recital came, detailing the battle between Anxi and the black-clothed food, and the news that was originally hard for Li Longji to believe was confirmed.

After Gao Xianzhi rebelled and destroyed the Shi Kingdom, the prince of Shi contacted Zhuhu and the black-clothed Dashi to prepare to attack the four towns of Anxi. Gao Xianzhi decided to take offense as defense and led 30,000 soldiers and horses to attack Dashi. After a three-month trek, he reached the city of Talas and began the siege.

The city of Talas is the second largest city in the Stone Kingdom, and Samarkand, not far from it, is the garrison of the Great Food. After learning the news of the Tang Army, Da Shi immediately organized an army of 100,000 to support the city of Talas. After a five-day confrontation at the decisive battle of the Talas River, the Great Cannibal bought off the Gelulu troops in the Tang army with a large amount of money, and Gelulu suddenly rebelled and fought back and forth with the Great Eclipse Army, resulting in the defeat of Gao Xianzhi.

On the other hand, Feng Changqing also described the battle situation in detail, and it was not as tragic as the impeachment of some officials in the four towns of Anxi.

The 30,000 people led by Gao Xianzhi consisted of 8,000 Tang troops, and more than 23,000 Gelulu troops and Bahanna troops. The betrayal of the Qarluqs led to the surrender and rout of part of the Palkhanate army, which constituted the greatest loss of the battle. And after the defeat, Gao Xianzhi returned to Anxi with nearly four thousand Tang troops.

This level of defeat did not make the Anxi Army lose its strength to control the Western Regions.

However, Qarluq's rebellion revealed that the Tang Dynasty's deterrent effect on Zhuhu was decreasing, and it should be noted that after Absi defected, he defected to Qarluq.

Continue to think about it, Ge Lulu has always been controlled by Hui Hui, although Hui Hui did not betray the Tang Dynasty, but failed to control Ge Lulu in a timely and effective manner, and there is a faint tendency to deviate from morality.

Thinking of this, Li Longji was not very angry with Gao Xianzhi, but he had to consider rewards and punishments, as well as the change of strategy towards the Western Regions and Tubo after this battle, and he couldn't help but have a headache.

Continuing to look down, Feng Changqing mentioned the soldiers who made meritorious contributions in this battle.

"The matter is urgent, Li Siye galloped to Baishi, the road was narrow, and he rode forward. Will pull the Khan to return the army, the baggage is blocked and the road cannot be driven, the heirs are struck with their hands, the men and horses kill hundreds of servants, the captives are gone, and the army has to be returned ......"

Li Longji suddenly felt a headache, closed his eyes, and drank all the palace people out.

"Get out!"

When the figure of the last palace lady left the main hall, he slammed the fold in his hand out.

There were few times when he was so angry, not just because of defeat, but because the feeling of losing control occasionally surfaced.

The hall was quiet for a long time, but someone still came in lightly, it was Gao Lishi.

Colliers is tall and strong, but he can walk through the hall without making a sound, which looks a little weird. When I arrived at the royal couch, I saw Li Longji sitting in a depressed posture, his gray hair was not combed, and it was messy.

When all the disguises are removed, this is just an old man in his seventies.

"Sage."

"Why do I think everything is so bad when I come back from Lishan?"

"There will always be times when you're in a bad mood." Colliers leaned over and picked up the folds on the ground, glanced at them quickly, and did not make a fuss, but said in a calm voice: "It's the saint's bad mood, not the bad state of affairs." When the saint is in a good mood, everything will be fine. ”

Li Longji deeply agrees with this sentence, he is the Son of Heaven, and everything in the world will naturally be affected by his mood.

Gao Lishi said: "The sage has never seen the wind and waves? At present, we have encountered ordinary problems, and we have solved them in ordinary ways. ”

"Therefore, I can't live without you."

"The saint is going to summon a few important ministers to discuss the matter?" Gao Lishi put the fold back on the royal case, ready to comb Li Longji's hair.

"Nope."

Li Longji shook his head and said, "Let's take it first, and then discuss it after the Qianqiu Festival." ”

After that, he also felt a little dull, and tried to make a wiser decision, but the tiredness made him hate to deal with this complicated government affairs immediately.

It is a good decision to deal with it calmly after the holiday.

Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment, did not open his mouth, and asked, "What about the Thousand Autumn Festival?" ”

"Business as usual." Li Longji muttered: "I dreamed of Sima Chengzhen, and he warned me to retreat for two days before my birthday and not see my ministers. ”

"Back to the saint, Xue Bai is asking to see him outside the palace, saying that there is something important, and the old slave is going to drive him away?"

~~

On the fourth day of the eighth month, it was Yuan Siyi's turn to take up his post in the palace, and as soon as the morning drum sounded, he immediately rushed to Xingqing Palace.

The genius was bright, and Chang'an City had just woken up from its slumber, and everyone's movements seemed sluggish. Only Yuan Siyi inadvertently showed anxiety, he didn't wait for the horse to stop, turned over and dismounted, dropped the whip and stepped into the palace gate that had just opened.

Colliers was resting in the room of the side hall, sleeping very lightly, and woke up when he heard the slightest movement.

"How did you get so early?"

"I have something important to report to the saints." Yuan Siyi said: "Can you disturb the saint? ”

Colliers shook his head slightly, and signaled with his eyes that the saint was not in a good mood.

The two have worked together for many years and have a tacit understanding, and in the past, Yuan Siyi knew what to do with just one look. But today he actually paced two steps and said, "It's really a hundred thousand urgent things, and the stakes are very high. ”

Seeing that Yuan Siyi didn't confide in him, Gao Lishi sighed: "Wait for the saint to wake up." ”

When the saint woke up, it was Yuan Siyi's turn to serve, so he naturally didn't have to get involved in this matter. Without a word of prevarication, he was out of the way.

Yuan Siyi nodded, he didn't pull Gao Lishi to share the responsibility, and it was possible that he didn't trust him.

However, from early morning until the afternoon, when the sun turned west, the shadows of the trees on the ground were very long, and the saint never got up.

A little eunuch hurried over and said, "Eunuch, the fireworks have begun to be transported into the city." ”

"Send more people to keep an eye on it."

Yuan Siyi frowned, hesitated whether to try to wake up the saint, thought about it, and asked, "Where is Chen Xuanli?" ”

"General Chen doesn't seem to be in the palace today."

"I'm asking where he is?!"

"Slaves and maids should be damned, I don't know."

In a few hours, Chang'an will have another curfew, thinking that tomorrow will be the Thousand Autumn Festival. Yuan Siyi finally gritted his teeth, entered the apse, and said cautiously through the guards: "Sage? ”

After calling twice in a row, there was movement on the couch, and Li Longji asked lightly, "What's the matter?" ”

"The old slave didn't dare to disturb the saint, but the stakes were high." Yuan Siyi pondered and said slowly: "The minister suspects that Xue Bai is suspected of assassinating the saint by using fireworks. ”

He didn't immediately throw out his suspicions about Xue Bai's background, and in the absence of sufficient evidence, this matter was very taboo, and it would not benefit him.

So, he tried to tell the ins and outs as much as possible that had nothing to do with him.

"Yang Xuan, the son of the right minister, and Xue Bai were classmates, and he went to the fireworks workshop two days ago, and one of his entourages inadvertently bumped into the raw materials of the fireworks mixed with arrows, and reported the matter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The old slave didn't dare to imagine what would happen if those arrows were shot at people along with fireworks. The old slave is ignorant, and only cares about the safety of the saint. ”

Li Longji sat up on the royal couch, meditated cross-legged, listened with his eyes closed, and at the end, asked, "According to your wishes, how to deal with it?" ”

"The old slave dares to ask for the cancellation of the fireworks ceremony and investigate the matter in detail." Yuan Siyi said, added, and said, "The old slave doesn't want to be bad to the sage Yaxing, this matter is ...... There are risks. ”

To his surprise, the saint was very calm when he heard about such a rebellious case.

"There is no curfew on the three days of Chang'an on the Shangyuan Festival, and the courtiers are always worried about causing fires and thefts, and they don't understand the meaning of having fun with the people." Li Longji said slowly: "The fireworks ceremony cannot be canceled. ”

"But ......"

"Tomorrow night, I'm going to climb the Calyx Tower to watch the fireworks. This matter has been announced to the public, and it must not be changed. Li Longji said: "You are in charge of my hand, secret investigation." ”

The secret investigation is obviously more difficult, which means that he can only probe without affecting the smooth progress of the fireworks ceremony, and there are too many constraints.

Yuan Siyi wanted to persuade again, but faintly heard the sound of drums coming from the palace wall, the dusk drum had already begun to sound, and the sage had made up his mind, he had no more time, so he had to receive the decree.

But he felt a little strange in his heart, could the saint not care about his own safety?

Then, he thought of the sentence that the sage said, "Climb the Calyx Tower to watch the fireworks", and immediately understood that the sage would naturally not stand under the dangerous wall.

In this way, as long as it is confirmed that Xue Bai really wants to use fireworks to assassinate, he will already have a great achievement.

~~

The fifth day of the eighth month, the Thousand Autumn Festival.

The morning light only spilled into Chang'an City, and someone had already found that the big red carpet had been laid out on the big square in front of Xingqing Palace.

Preparations for the ceremony can only be carried out until noon, because the Qianqiu Festival is different from the Shangyuan Festival, and many performances are carried out during the day.

The musicians set up various musical instruments under the calyx building early, and while they were debugging, the sound of silk and bamboo gradually rose. The song they played and sang repeatedly was called "Thousand Autumn Music", also known as "Long Live the Thousand Autumns", which was specially composed by the Jiaofang for the birthday of the saint.

The sound of this song drifted throughout Chang'an, immersing people in the beautiful expectations of the saint.

Li Longji had already gotten up, and after deliberately avoiding state affairs for two days of rest, his spirit was much better, and he was sitting in front of the bronze mirror Gong'e combing his hair.

Gong E's slender fingers smeared black beans from a porcelain vase, smeared them on the comb, and then gently combed Li Longji's white hair, which was gradually dyed black. This process took a lot of time, but the effect was excellent, and the black-haired Li Longji did look more than ten years younger.

After that, Gong E picked out some grease with a jade chopstick, and carefully applied his wrinkles...... When the crown robe was draped on Li Longji's shoulders, a majestic and merry image of the Son of Heaven appeared in the Xingqing Hall again.

"Haha."

Li Longji looked in the mirror and smiled heartily.

He seemed to have regained the wisdom and decisiveness of his prime, and his originally chaotic thoughts were opened, and even the disposition of the generals of the four towns of Anxi after the defeat of Talas was much clearer.

Although he still loves Gao Xianzhi, the commander of the defeated army must be disposed of, and Gao Xianzhi can be summoned back to the dynasty to replace Anxi with Wang Zhengjian, Wang Zhengjian's merits are mediocre, so in the future, there will be a chance for Gao Xianzhi to go out of Anxi again and save the situation;

Feng Changqing can be appointed as the deputy envoy of the camp field of the four towns and the marching Sima, and his people have assisted Gao Xianzhi for many years and are familiar with the four towns of Anxi, which can help Wang Zhengjian stabilize the situation and reassure the soldiers of Anxi;

Li Siye had to be rewarded to show that the Son of Heaven still supported the Anxi army;

In addition, he strictly ordered Hexi and Shuofang Jiedu to make An Sishun quell Absi's rebellion as soon as possible, and severely deter those Fan chieftains who dared to betray the Tang Dynasty.

As Colliers said, what matters is the mood of the Son of Heaven, as long as he is in a good mood, everything else can be changed for the better because of his mood.

"Get on the road."

The hour soon came, and Li Longji got up and went to the Calyx Tower, with the momentum of dominating the world. Many Jin Wuwei led the holy car, and the four armies of the Northern Ya were displayed, raising the flag, and wearing gold armor, which added endless momentum to him.

In front of the Calyx Tower, three hundred girls were lining up.

Each of them was only fifteen years old, tall, short, fat and thin, and beautiful as flowers. The first dance will be performed after the arrival of the saint, the "Neon Dress and Feather Song".

This song was originally danced by Yang Yuhuan, but if the imperial banquet every year let the concubine dance to the ministers to see it after all, it was inappropriate, and then changed to Zhang Yunrong and Xie Aman's double dance, these two girls are older, they are all over 20 years old, so they changed to such a large dance team.

Every year, three hundred maidens were changed, and the saint was one year old, and the maidens who danced for him were fifteen years old year after year.

"Beautiful!"

Even the well-informed Yang Guozhong couldn't help but sigh when he saw it, beckoned Yuan Zai, poured a glass of wine and handed it to him to show his weight.

"You flower and bird envoy, you are doing a good job, very good."

"It's all right-phase cultivation."

Yuan Jae pretended to be flattered, but he didn't think so.

When he was drinking, he looked to the other side, and saw Xue Bai saluting in the direction where the saint was, took a sip, said something to the person next to him, got up and walked out of the calyx building, looked at the shape of his mouth, and said, "I have to arrange fireworks."

Yuan Zai thought to himself, as long as Xue Bai was there, he was afraid that he would never be able to steal his limelight.

~~

Xue Bai wore a red robe at a young age, and he was an extremely dazzling existence among the children of the Han Sect. People simply can't believe that someone can climb to such a high position in such a short time.

But today, he is not conspicuous, because there are many princes and grandsons who are born to be high-ranking officials in red robes, and even purple robes are not uncommon.

Li Li, King of Guangping, Li Qi, King of Jianning, Li Chenghong, King of Guangwu, Li Chenghuan, King of Dunhuang, and Li Yan, King of Xinping...... Xue Bai was just standing with these people chatting, and he seemed very harmonious.

He was not incompatible with these emperors and nobles because of his background as a lowly slave.

Walking down the calyx building, the girls in front of them just threw the long sleeves in their hands high at the same time, and raised their slender upper bodies, forming an indescribable grand scene. In the past, six or seven beauties stood in one place, and people didn't know where to look, let alone three hundred.

Xue Bai shook his head, avoided his gaze, and walked towards the palace gate. Along the way, you can see the various performers waiting for the show.

Roller coasters, dry boats, rope walks, maru swords, acrobatics, horn arrivals, and hundred operas, these programs are obviously enough to keep the royal feast going until night, when it is his turn to fireworks.

No, there is also the grandest performance - the horse dance.

Li Longji ordered people to teach 400 dancing horses, and they danced under the calyx downstairs every Qianqiu Festival, which was the climax of the imperial banquet in previous years, but now the horses have not yet entered. In addition, before the horse dance, there are performances of elephants and rhinoceros.

"Xue Lang!"

Suddenly, someone called, and it was a crisp voice. Xue Bai turned his head and saw Li Twelve Niang who was holding the sword again.

He stopped, waited for her to step forward, and asked, "You also want to dance with a sword today." ”

"Well, Master has recovered from his illness, and she will lead the dance, why doesn't Xue Lang watch from the Calyx Tower, and run to the place where we Youling jugglers stay?"

"I'm just like you." Xue Bai said with a smile.

He thought that at the wedding banquet when Li Heng married Zhang Ting, he sat with Gongsun Auntie and others, and he didn't want to be a retainer at that time, thinking that he should get rid of the state of being regarded as a servant. Now I can see it, who is more noble than whom?

Li Twelve Niang was puzzled and asked, "Where are you the same as me?" ”

"You performed the sword dance first, and then watched me perform the fireworks."

"Okay."

As he spoke, there was a dispute at the palace gate.

Xue Bai didn't even look over there, and walked over directly.

At the palace gate, sure enough, the carriage carrying the fireworks was stopped, but the quarrel was not fierce. Although I could hear the guard's drinking order, the response to the drinking order was a statement that made me feel weak just by listening to the voice.

"I'm entering the palace for the first time, so I don't know this, forgive me. But I have a sign, and I was ordered to enter the palace to place fireworks. ”

"The items entering the palace must be checked, and they must be disassembled!"

"Huh? The fireworks will be broken when they are disassembled, yes, if I send a roast chicken into the palace, it should not be taken apart, right? The dismantled chicken may still be edible, but the dismantled fireworks will definitely not be released. ”

"I don't care about that, I just do what I am told!"

"It's a ......"

Du Wulang was talking dryly, scratching his head to take a look, and when he saw Xue Bai coming out of the palace, he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Here, we can't enter the palace." ”

Xue Bai didn't have a good way to deal with this, but he stepped forward and said to those guards: "I also understand your difficulties, and we are all doing things for the saints. If this matter is difficult to decide, why not ask for instructions? ”

"Wait!"

"Okay."

On the palace wall not far away, Yuan Siyi was squinting at this scene.

He didn't expect that Xue Bai and Du Wulang could be so polite when they encountered difficulties for the saint. There is really no fire at all, and without fire, those fireworks will naturally not be ignited.

"Eunuch, Xue Bai proposed to ask for instructions, I don't know who to ask for?"

"Fu Linglin, let's go."

"Whoa."

Fu Zhuolin looked at Xue Bai's polite appearance from the palace wall, but in her heart she thought of the five subordinates she sent out and never returned, and secretly scolded this ruthless traitor for really pretending.

He deliberately went around and rushed to the palace gate, and asked from a distance, "What happened?" Yikes! It's Xue Lang here, but who is making it difficult for you? ”

"I don't dare to say that I am embarrassed." Xue Bai said: "I want to enter the palace to arrange fireworks, but according to the rules of the palace, we have to disassemble them, but if they are opened, the fireworks cannot be released." ”

"I see." Fu Zhaolin smiled: "What is the difficulty of disassembling it and putting it back together?" Bagatelle. ”

"I can't put it back."

"This, Xue Lang, please forgive the slave and maid for their shallow knowledge, and they can't understand why they can't be put back if they are dismantled."

“……”

Time passed little by little, a high platform had been erected in front of the Calyx Tower, and the figure of the rope walker had appeared in the air.

Yuan Siyi looked at the performance from afar for a while, and looked down, Xue Bai and the others were still talking to Fu Baolin unhurriedly.

And the time to set up the fireworks is clearly about to be too late.

Yuan Siyi couldn't help but think suspiciously, why can a traitor who wants to assassinate him be so calm in the face of this situation?

He finally wavered a little, suspecting that he had guessed wrong.

He wasn't trying to stop the fireworks from entering the palace. Since the saint had taken precautions and was safe, and ordered the fireworks ceremony to be carried out as scheduled, he did not dare to really stop the fireworks from the palace gate. The reason why he deliberately embarrassed Xue Bai was nothing more than to test his attitude.

"Eunuch. Xue Bai said that it would be too late for him to be too late, and when the sage asked, he could only tell the truth. ”

"No hurry, wait a little longer."

Yuan Siyi thought for a while and ordered: "You go and inform him that the saint has canceled the fireworks ceremony." ”

"This ......"

"Go."

"Whoa."

Yuan Siyi continued to stare and saw that the eunuch hurried to the palace gate and conveyed that sentence.

Xue Bai listened, his reaction was very flat, he raised his head and looked around, and then looked in the direction where he was.

After looking at it for a while, Xue Bai raised his hand and beckoned. Yuan Siyi frowned, and finally decided to show up in person.

~~

"Eunuch Yuan is here."

When Xue Bai saw Yuan Siyi, he showed a puzzled expression for a moment, and said: "Just now, I thought that 'there is no basis for what I said', but Yuan Eunuch actually came in person, it seems that the saint has indeed canceled the fireworks ceremony...... It's rude. ”

The last three words, he said to the guards, and after that, he greeted Du Wulang and left.

"Xue Lang." Yuan Siyi called him and said, "You'd rather leave than disassemble the fireworks." But what's the secret? ”

"Secrets?"

Xue Bai's eyebrows raised slightly.

This action is so subtle that ordinary people can't observe it at all.

Yuan Siyi was a master of observing faces, and once again confirmed Xue Bai's conjecture that he wanted to assassinate. It was enough to try it here, he got the answer he wanted, and he won the first game of the encounter.

Next, you can let them into the palace and keep an eye on where they place the fireworks to find out more exactly how to expose them.

Yuan Siyi smiled on his face and said: "I'm joking, things in the palace, it is inevitable to be more careful, fireworks can not be dismantled, so I tried Xue Lang, don't care." ”

"Don't dare."

"Then please."

Yuan Siyi turned around and was about to walk away.

"Eunuch Yuan." Xue Bai stopped him and said, "The eunuch just said that there is some hidden secret. ”

"What do you mean?"

Yuan Siyi was unexpected, stopped, thinking about what Xue Bai was doing, and tried to dispel his doubts.

Xue Bai said: "Can I talk to Yuan Dajian alone." ”

"Please."

With doubts, Yuan Siyi led Xue Bai to the palace wall and stopped at a section of uninhabited battlements.

From here, you can see the performance on the side of the Calyx Tower, Xue Bai seemed to be attracted by the performance, and stood for a while without speaking, but after that, he slowly asked, "Can I trust Eunuch Yuan?" ”

Yuan Siyi said: "It depends on what it is." ”

"Can I trust Eunuch Yuan's loyalty to the saint?"

"That's nature."

"What if the saint is in danger, and there will be a new king in the world?" Xue Bai said: "When the time comes, can I still trust your loyalty to the saint?" ”

Yuan Siyi's face froze because of his first half of the sentence, and he said word by word: "My loyalty to the saint cannot be doubted at all!" ”

"Okay." Xue Bai said: "Then I will risk my death and tell the eunuch...... I have been held hostage, and someone wants to use me to assassinate the saints. ”

"What?"

Yuan Siyi didn't expect to hear such a sentence, only to feel shocked.

He was stunned for a moment, didn't have time to think about it, and immediately opened his mouth to ask the question he was most concerned about at the moment.

"Who?"

~~

Back in late July, in the cemetery of Jinchenggou, three men sat in the moonlight and talked.

"You don't believe me." Li Xiu said: "The person I serve now is my grandfather's past enemy, but he is the one who has always been kind to the soldiers of Longyou. ”

"Who?"

Li Xiu hugged his fist to the east and said slowly but forcefully: "Be the crown prince." ”

Wang Tian's expression moved, and he remembered the situation when he entered the court with Huangfu Weiming.

He was a calm person, but at this time, he couldn't hide the excitement in his heart and asked, "What does the prince want to do?" ”

"The saint is old and faint, and if he continues like this, there will be a big mess in the society." Li Xiu sighed, and said casually but naturally: "The prince wants to help Sheji." ”

"Okay." Wang rarely hesitated and resolutely responded.

Li Xiu asked: "The general is deeply favored by Jun, so simply, he doesn't feel like he lives up to the saint?" ”

"When the saint was young, he was unparalleled, and he once saved the Tang Dynasty from fire and water, punished the Wei clan and destroyed the Wu clan, and now we are just emulating the heroes and helping the Ming Lord, how can we be ashamed?"

Li Xiu saw that it was rare for Wang to be so arrogant, and knew that he was a credible person, so he spit out the next secret.

"Presumably, General Wang also knows Xue Bai's name, right?"

Wang rarely said: "I know. ”

"After Wang Jieshuai's accident, Xue Lang also put aside his prejudices and joined hands with the prince to work together with Kuangsheji."

"Great." Li Sheng's eyes lit up.

Li Xiu took out a blood letter from his bosom and said, "If the two generals are willing to work together to do great things, please write your names here tonight, and promise to keep this matter secret, or you can take my head." ”

Wang Rare and Li Sheng glanced at each other and took out the dagger directly. They snapped their fingers and wrote their names in a fluttering manner.

Long You is mostly such a person who is inclined to the East Palace.

After the name was written, Li Xiu put away the blood book, raised the wine bag, and said, "Okay, in the future, we will be brothers who live and die together and share weal and woe." ”

(End of chapter)