Chapter 26 Chapter 25 Arrives at Yongdu

Chapter 25, The First Southern Chu Champion, Arriving at Yongdu On November 2nd in the 23rd year of Wuwei in Dayong (the first year of Zhihua in Southern Chu), King Yong returned to the court after victory. Offer prisoners Taimiao. - "Yong History.Taizong Benji" I didn't see the grand occasion when King Yong was welcomed into the city gate by all the officials, because my current status can be said to be a guest, or a prisoner to say the least. Gou Lian and I entered the city by car long after the army entered the city.Passing through the Mingde Gate, I opened the window of the carriage I was riding in. What I saw was a 40-foot-wide Imperial Street avenue lined with two rows of locust trees, but it was already winter and there were no green trees anymore. In Chengyin, there are drainage ditches as wide as small rivers on both sides of the road. At the intersection with the drainage ditches of other main roads, stone bridges are laid. Although it is cold winter, the water in the ditch is steaming and flowing. However, the snow and ice hung on the locust trees, fully showing the desolation of the severe winter.

I whispered: "A country with thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, and nine gates in the city. If you don't see the emperor's residence, you will know the emperor's dignity." Gou Lian laughed and said: "Qinzhong has been the emperor's state since ancient times. Chang'an has a collection of cultural relics. The terrain is dangerous. There are mountains in the middle of the Qinling Mountains in the south, and there are many mountains in the north. They echo the Qinling Mountains in the distance. Chang'an is surrounded by eight rivers such as Jing and Wei. Qinchuan has been the capital of emperors since ancient times. Dayong took Chang'an as the capital, which is just like a king. Dayong ruled the world, and its momentum is unstoppable. Declines from one generation to the next."

I just smiled and said nothing, I am very aware of the weakness of Southern Chu, and I am also very aware of the prosperity of Dayong, but this is not the reason why I must take refuge in King Yong.A trace of confusion flashed in Gou Lian's eyes. He had never had such a headache. No matter how he persuaded him, the young man either agreed or smiled and said nothing, but he still couldn't make him agree to join King Yong. Gou Lian felt that he was too anxious, but if I can't convince him. If King Yong can't stand it anymore and decides to execute this person, wouldn't it be a pity? Gou Lian once proposed to temporarily put Jiang Zhe under house arrest and persuaded him slowly. Unfortunately, King Yong just smiled wryly and said nothing, as if time was running out. What is this for?

I pointed out the window and said to Xiao Shunzi: "Look, this is Zhuque Avenue, the first long street that runs through the north and south of Chang'an City. The northern end of Zhuque Street is the palace city and the imperial city. The six official offices in the city are also in the palace city, and the place we are now is called Guocheng. Chang'an Guocheng guards the palace city and the imperial city from the left, right and south. Chang'an Guocheng has eleven north-south streets and fourteen east-west streets. Streets criss-crossingly divide the interior of Guocheng into one hundred and ten squares. Among them, three north-south streets and three east-west streets running through the city gate constitute the traffic backbone in Chang'an City, and the Zhuque Avenue where we are now is the most important street in Chang'an. The street in the center. At the end of Suzaku Street is the Suzaku Gate, from which you can enter Miyagi."

Gou Lian smiled and said, "Hearing what Mr. Jiang said, I feel as if you are the landlord of Chang'an?" I said lightly: "If you talk about Jianye's situation, I'm afraid brother Yongquan knows better than me." Gou Lian smiled wryly again. I looked at the bustling crowd outside the window, the prosperity here is a little bit better than that of Jianye, but Jianye is full of luxury and money, scholars and ladies, but here are impassioned Confucian scholars, heroic warriors, showing prosperity everywhere meteorological.I laughed, this is real joy, although Jiangnan is good, it is also my hometown, but I will not dislike it because of this, Nanchu, that is what I remember.

The carriage arrived at Suzaku Gate very quickly, Gou Lian lifted the curtain, and in his hand was a badge of Prince Yong's Mansion, the imperial guard guarding the gate glanced at it, and retreated respectfully, Gou Lian was about to order to move on.A hearty laugh came from the front and said: "Mr. Gou, the carriage is the honored guest of the Emperor." Gou Lian looked up, but saw a luxurious carriage driving in front, the curtains were all made of brocade embroidered with golden dragons , behind the tall car curtain, a handsome and handsome young man was half leaning and half sitting under the service of two beautiful concubines, waving to himself.Gou Lian was very surprised and said, "His Royal Highness, why didn't you go to the celebration banquet, instead of going out of the city?"

With the help of his concubine, Li Xian stepped out of the carriage, and said: "The celebration banquet, it hasn't started yet, it will not be held until after the emperor's father has offered sacrifices to the Taimiao. When the honored guest came back, he thought it should be an old acquaintance of this king, so he had to come to greet him anyway, but Mr. Jiang? This king is Li Xian." I was a little helpless, although I knew that this person would come to disturb the situation, but the urgency was beyond my expectation, I poked my head out and said with a smile: "It turns out that it is His Royal Highness Qi, why are you laughing at me as a prisoner?"

Li Xian walked up to him, and said loudly: "What are you talking about, Mr. Jiang is a peerless talent, not to mention the emperor, even my father would not let him go to prison, even though the booklet submitted by the emperor has his name on it. , but after the father read it, he crossed out the name of the lord, and said that the emperor should treat the lord well. Your Excellency is willing, my Prince Qi Mansion is waiting for your arrival." Gou Lian frowned, thinking to himself, no wonder His Highness has a hard heart, so he knew that someone would rob His Highness, so he hurriedly said: "Your Highness, His Highness Yong Wang has long ordered Wansheng to receive him well, King Qi can't rob him Be the master."

Li Xian said domineeringly: "Even if the emperor is here, he will not make things difficult for this king. Mr. Jiang, you were ordered to entertain this king in Southern Chu. This time it is my turn to be the landlord." Then he stretched out his hand Pull to me.Then Li Xian felt his wrist was held by a cold hand, and then he saw Xiao Shunzi's cold smile.Li Xian withdrew his hand knowingly, and said briskly: "Since Mr. Gou is so persistent, I have no choice but to forget about it. In a few days, Mr. Jiang must come to my residence for a short stay." I smiled slightly, nodded and said, "If there is a chance, I will bother you." Gou Lian looked at me worriedly, hesitant to speak.

At this moment, the Golden Palace of Dayong is a scene of the emperor and his ministers rejoicing together. After offering prisoners to the Ancestral Temple today, Li Yuan completed the red tapes such as dust sweeping, amnesty, acceptance of worship by officials, and military parade in accordance with the celebrations stipulated by the Ministry of Rites. Finally, he arrived at the Golden Palace During the celebration, after Li Yuan held a banquet, Zhao Jia and Princess Changle were ordered to go to the palace, Li Yuan just said a few words to Zhao Jia who kept pleading guilty, "there is a deep bond between the son-in-law and we will not "Add more guilt", so Zhao Jia was asked to live in the post house temporarily. As for Princess Changle, Li Yuan burst into tears when he saw her. It is not as innocent as it was at the beginning, but it hurts even more, and he said to Changle: "My son, you have suffered, my father is sorry for you, your mother and the others are waiting for you in the harem, you go to see you first, father later I'll see you again." Princess Changle went to the harem surrounded by a group of court ladies and eunuchs.

Only then did Li Yuan raise his wine glass, and said loudly: "King Yong returned home in victory today. Although I am happy that King Yong has made great achievements in conquest of crimes, I am even more happy that he took back his beloved daughter Changle. I am overwhelmed by wine, and all the gentlemen will replace me. Respect King Yong for a few cups. Today, the monarch and ministers will have a feast, and if you don’t get drunk, you will never return.” The officials in the hall shouted long live, held the golden cup together, and smiled happily. King Yong and Li Zhi have washed away the dust, and they are in the next chief seat of Prince Li An. Accepting the toast from all the officials, Li An, who was sitting at the top, kept laughing and talking, but the cold light in his eyes was flickering again and again. He hated him to the extreme. He originally arranged for Qi Wang Li Xian to go to Southern Chu, but he lost his troops and generals, so he had no choice but to let Yong Wang Lizhi went to gnaw on this hard bone, but unexpectedly, King Yong attacked Jianye and captured the monarchs and ministers of Southern Chu. Li Yuan was ecstatic, but Li An was furious. What Li An especially hated was that he managed to get the attachment of Liang Wan, the person in charge of the Southern Chu Secret Intelligence Network. Ang Lee was frustrated and resentful.Looking at the proud Li Zhi, Li An thought viciously: "If this king doesn't get the throne, you, Li Zhi, don't want to be successful either." When Li An was gnashing his teeth, there was chaos in the harem. Empress Dou was the biological mother of Prince Li An, the eldest grandson was Princess Changle's biological mother, King Qi's biological mother Yan Guifei, and Ji Guifei gathered together. In the Queen's Palace, not long ago, Princess Changle's incense car entered the imperial city, and several people were waiting here eagerly.Concubine Changsun almost cried to tears these years, and none of her sons were kept. Her only daughter married to Nanchu. With the sound of footsteps, several eunuchs and court ladies came in to report that the princess was already waiting outside the palace.Empress Dou said quickly: "What are you waiting for? Don't let the children come in." But after a while, Princess Changle in plain clothes came in, held back tears to meet the queen, and then fell into the arms of her mother and concubine and burst into tears. The eldest grandson Guifei cried heartbrokenly. She looked at Princess Changle's haggard face , sadly said: "My Zhen'er, you married Nanchu when you were fifteen years old. For six years, your mother burned incense and prayed every day. She not only hoped for the harmony between my son and my husband, but also worried that the war between the two countries would harm the child. Now you have finally returned safely. Mother's heart has settled down, Zhen'er, don't worry, your father promised to find another good son-in-law for you, this time mother is in charge of you, and she will always find a man who suits you well." Empress Dou also shed tears and said: "My good boy, you are suffering in Southern Chu, and the Ai family is also restless because of you. This time, the Ai family has already told the emperor that you have sacrificed a lot for Dayong, and no one will allow it." Let's make up your mind again, this time if you fancy someone, Aijia will make the decision for you." Princess Changle covered her face and said: "Mother, mother concubine, Changle obeyed the emperor's order to marry Nanchu far away. Although she is back now, she is always the queen of Nanchu. The child has no sense of shame. How can he marry someone else while his husband is still alive? Please ask a few empresses to make decisions for the child, let the child stay with the mother and concubine, stay quietly for a few years, and be filial to the father, the queen and the concubine." The empresses looked at each other, and it was really difficult to think about it. No matter what their own people said, Changle was married to the Lord of Southern Chu after all, so they couldn’t arrange for him to remarry like this. The concubine Changsun thought of her two princes who died in succession. It was such a hard life, and I cried bitterly.At this time, Concubine Ji walked up to Chang Le, and softly comforted her: "Princess, don't be sad, the emperor will naturally arrange it properly, and will never embarrass the princess." Several empresses knew that Concubine Ji had always been involved in military affairs, so seeing her say this Don't worry, the ladies are all women in the harem, and I haven't seen anything sinister and vicious. Since the emperor has his heart, Zhao Jia will not live long.Princess Changle couldn't help but feel tender after hearing this. Although she didn't have much affection for Zhao Jia, Zhao Jia was always respectful to her. Now that she has become a vicious woman who framed her husband, she couldn't help crying Yongquan. Concubine Ji was cheerful and talked and laughed repeatedly, finally making Princess Changle relieve her sorrow, and Concubine Changsun also said with a smile on her face: "Zhen'er, mother has reorganized the Cuiluan Palace where you used to live, come, talk to the queen and the others. Your Majesty kneels down, let's go and see your residence." The queen and the others also smiled and told Concubine Changsun to quickly settle down in Changle. Concubine Ji said, "Oh, let my sister do the work alone. It seems like we don't care about Changle. Sister, I am young, so let me go and make a move." Bar." Concubine Ji was originally the most arrogant. Seeing her deliberately flattering her, Concubine Changsun would naturally not refuse. The three of them bid farewell to the queen and walked towards Cuiluan Hall. The interior of Cuiluan Hall has been completely renewed. Just waiting for the arrival of the master, Princess Changle's luggage has already moved over, and the capable maid who accompanied Princess Changle in Southern Chu has already arranged everything. While doing things, the mother and daughter share the family happiness together.Concubine Ji Gui was also at the side, she would say a few words of comfort from time to time, she was good at words, but it didn't make the mother and daughter feel uncomfortable with outsiders around. After a while, Concubine Changsun was a few years old, and she was so happy that she couldn't help feeling tired. Princess Changle was worried about her mother's health and wanted to send her mother back to the palace. Concubine Changsun sympathized with her daughter's hard work and asked her to take a good rest and go back to the palace to rest by herself However, Concubine Ji made an excuse to stay. Princess Changle was a little puzzled, but she had been in Southern Chu for many years. show the truth.Sure enough, not long after, Concubine Ji dismissed her servants and asked solemnly: "Princess, Liang Wan has served the princess for many years, why did she come back like this this time, my niece has been traveling around for many years, and ended up like this, why don't I feel sad. " Princess Changle's heart moved, and the imperial brother Li Zhi asked herself about Liang Wan for a long time. She had heard that Concubine Ji was born in the Jianghu, and vaguely knew that Liang Wan was recommended by Concubine Ji, so she didn't hide it and told her about her experience. I said it again. Concubine Ji listened very carefully. When she heard that Liang Wan attacked the man in black and was captured, she had a strange look on her face and asked, "Princess, you mean that Liang Wan has no room to fight back." Princess Changle said apologetically, "I don't understand it either, I just feel that the man restrained Sister Liang as soon as he stretched out his hand." Concubine Ji asked, "Then what are the characteristics of this man in black?" Princess Changle fell into memories. She watched Liang Wan being captured in horror that day, and then one by one the spies were ordered to restrain themselves. The man in black walked up to her, and with every gesture, she killed the maid who was trying to assassinate him, and stood in front of her. At that time, I was holding my hairpin tightly, and was about to kill myself if this person offended me even slightly, but I heard that soft voice said faintly: "Queen, don't worry, we are not from Nanchu, please come with us to a place, Afterwards, we will send the queen to see King Yong." As he said that, he came to help himself. At that time, his eyes were full of the scene of the maid being killed, and his daughter's body had never been touched by an irrelevant man, so he was very scared. That The voice sounded like a devil to me. I trembled and wanted to stab the golden hairpin into my throat, but was stopped by that person. It will blaspheme the queen's innocence." He touched his acupuncture points, covered his eyes, and then lost consciousness.When she was under house arrest in the dark room, the man in black came to take care of her. Princess Changle was sure that that man was indeed an eunuch, and she could even know from his familiarity with etiquette that this man was a palace official of Nanchu.So she didn't believe that she could be free, until that day, when she saw those spies protecting her, they knelt on the ground and pleaded guilty to her, and next to them was Liang Wan whose intelligence had become a child, Under their protection, I saw the emperor's brother, and watched them commit suicide, blood staining the golden palace red. And she still didn't know what happened. During the process of escorting herself, no matter how she asked, they were just pleading guilty. Gradually, she understood that their suicide must be the request of those men in black. She agreed, logically speaking, she should hate those men in black, but strangely enough, she didn't hate her at all, because those people never treated her with the slightest bit of frivolity, and it was a risky thing for them to leave their lives behind. As for the matter, at least she had heard their voices and knew that one was an eunuch, but she didn't tell the emperor brother, because although the other party didn't ask for her at all, she was given the grace not to kill after all. Seeing that Princess Changle was engrossed in her thoughts, Concubine Ji was a little impatient, but she knew that it might remind the princess of something, so she waited patiently for a long time, and the princess said in a sleepy voice: "I only remember that they acted like an army. Orderly, strict discipline, strict etiquette to me, other things are nothing special, the man in black is not tall, his eyes are cold, that's all." Concubine Ji asked lightly: "Are those people from Dayong or Southern Chu?" Princess Changle gave Concubine Ji a strange look, and said: "They should not be from Dayong, because the few people I met are not as tall as Dayong." Concubine Ji showed a cold smile and said: "Princess has worked hard all the way, please have a good rest, I will take my leave first."