Chapter 9 Section IX

What does Pei Qing mean by asking me to learn from Empress Lu?Empress Wu stared at Pei Yan with piercing eyes and said, would I abuse my power over my blood relatives like Empress Lu and disregard the safety of the country?The play of succession is just to build a temple to worship the ancestors.For me, it is also the way of filial piety, which is all in etiquette. I don't know what the intention of Pei Qing's words is?The humble minister had no other intentions, Pei Yan said, he just felt that once the construction of the seven ancestral temples was costly and laborious, and the imperial court was busy building construction when the treasury was empty, the court officials and the common people might complain.It's not that the court officials and the common people have complaints, but Pei Qing has complaints, right?Empress Wu laughed loudly and said, I don't blame Pei Qing for thinking about the national economy and the people's livelihood, but the Seven Temples of the Wu Clan are to be built, and the money needed to build the temples will not use the treasury. You don't have to be confused about this.Internal History Pei Yan was finally speechless, he noticed the sarcasm or smug smile on the corner of Wu Chengsi's mouth, it reminded Pei Yan that this contest ended in his failure, just like he once turned his hand into a cloud The glorious official career of the rain in the hand is now dimming day by day. The world of the Tang Dynasty is still twirling at will with the red sandalwood balls of Empress Wu, but the power in the hands of the courtiers is like terns that come and go in a hurry, moving south and north with the changing seasons.When Pei Yan left the palace that day, he was walking heavily. He saw Wu Chengsi walking almost provocatively while looking sideways at him. Pei Yan's skinny face was flushed red at first, and then turned pale with anger.A villain becomes rampant when he succeeds?He swallowed the words again, Pei Yan was angry and disappointed. He wanted to build Wu's ancestral temple, after all, it was a trivial matter, and it didn't hurt the overall situation if all the five generations of Empress Wu's ancestors honored them as princes and concubines. The crux of the problem was the living people inside and outside Luoyang Palace. The Wu family, what are they going to do?Are they about to start?

The fierce light of the comet in July may herald the Li Jingye rebellion in September.The grandson of Li Shi, a famous official in the old Tang Dynasty, inherited his grandfather's title of Duke of England, but he gathered a group of lower-level officials and raised the banner of rebellion in the predicament of frustration.The fire of the rebels ignited in Yangzhou Prefecture in the south, and soon it was in full swing.Li Jingye managed to open the arsenal of Yangzhou Prefecture to take out armor and weapons, and also opened the prison gate to call the prisoners under his command. Within ten days, he raised an army of 90,000.Opposing the empress dowager to monopolize the government or return the government to Li Zhe, the king of Luling, was the slogan of this rebellion, but from Yangzhou to Chang'an, what people were more eager to see was the poet Luo Binwang's "A Call to Arms for Li Jingye":

The Wu family of the false Lin Dynasty was not gentle in nature, and the land was cold and cold. He used to serve as Taizong's descendant and served as a servant in changing clothes.It's almost the evening festival, and the erotic palace is dirty and chaotic.Hiding the former emperor's selfishness, plotting the love of the back room.Seeing at the beginning, the eyebrows are unwilling to let people; Zhai, trapped my king in Juchen.With a lizard as his heart, a jackal by nature, close to evil and secluded, mutilating loyal and good people, killing sisters and brothers, killing kings and mothers, the envy of humans and gods, and the intolerance of heaven and earth.Still harboring evil intentions, stealing artifacts, the beloved son of the king, secluded in other palaces; the clan alliance of thieves, entrusting him with important tasks.Alas!If Huo Ziyu didn't do it, Zhu Xuhou was dead.Yan pecked at the emperor's grandson, knowing that Han Zuo was about to end, and after the Dragon Emperor, knowing the decline of Xia Ting.Dedicated, former minister of the Tang Dynasty, Duke Zhongzi, dedicated to the success of the first emperor, and the kindness of the Heben Dynasty.Song Weizi's joy and sorrow are well-founded.Yuan Junshan's runny nose is in vain!It is to use the anger of the situation, Zhian Sheji, because of the disappointment of the world, Shun Yunei's heart, raise the flag of righteousness, to clear the evildoers, connect Baiyue to the south, and mountains and rivers to the north, there are groups of iron cavalry, connected by jade axes.The red millet in Hailing, the accumulation of storage is exhausted, and the yellow flag in Jiangpu, how far is the contribution to recovery?The sound of the squad moves and the north wind rises, the sword energy rushes and the south fights flat, the sound of silence makes the mountains crumble, and the wind and clouds change color when it is powerful. With this, how can the enemy be invincible?How can we not succeed in this attempt?The public and others may live in the Han Dynasty, or Ye Zhou's relatives, or be reposted in the words, or be ordered by Gu in the proclamation room, the words are still in the ears, how can loyalty be forgotten?When the bad soil is still dry, what is the care of a six-foot solitary?If you can turn misfortunes into blessings and send them to the place where you live, you will be honored as the King of Diligence, and you will not be ordered to abandon the majesty. The queen will be punished!Please see who owns the world in today's city.

The poet Luo Binwang gambled and drank a lot all his life and was poor. He went to Li Jingye while wandering in Yangzhou, and was named a recorder to join the army.A piece of "Discussion of Wuzhao" surpassed Luo Binwang's countless poems and was praised by people. I don't know whether it is joy or sorrow for that poet.However, Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace exclaimed that King Luo Bin had great literary talent after reading the essay, and accused Pei Yan and other courtiers of misrepresenting talented officials. For Pei Yan and others, they didn't know whether the queen mother's words were sincere or just a kind of sarcasm.

In the territory of Yangzhou, where wars are raging everywhere, people heard anecdotes about Prince Xian who came back from the dead and sat in Li Jingye's camp. They heard that it was Prince Xian who raised troops to attack the Empress Dowager Wu Zhao. Only a few insiders knew this secret. Prince Xian is just a stand-in. He looks exactly like the late Prince Xian in appearance and body, but his real identity is a blacksmith.People also said that Xue Zhongzhang, one of the leaders of the rebel army, was the nephew of Pei Yan, the prime minister of the current dynasty. Many people therefore inferred that the Yangzhou Rebellion had an inexhaustibly complicated background.Is Pei Yan innocent in the Li Jingye incident?This was a mystery that was later disputed by the government and the opposition.Empress Dowager Wu Zhao's suspicion and guard against Pei Yan may have originated from the dispute over the construction of a martial arts temple, perhaps from Pei Yan's procrastinated and ambiguous attitude in conquering Li Jingye's rebels, or from Shangguan Wan'er telling Empress Wu a strange song earlier. Nursery rhyme: One piece of fire, two pieces of fire, the child in Feiyi sits in the hall.The target of the nursery rhyme is Pei Yan. It spread like a plague in Luoyang, Chang'an, making Pei Yan terrified and in a daze. Pei Yan once confessed to Empress Wu that the boring literati fabricated rumors to confuse the public, just to instigate chaos in the palace. Empress Wu said with a smile at the time, I don't believe in rumors, but I believe in God's will. If God wants to change the dynasty, I'm afraid it won't be Pei Qing's turn to sit in the palace, right?But Empress Wu's heart was also cast a heavy shadow by the two fires in the nursery rhyme.Empress Dowager Wu Zhao changed color when she heard that Pei Yan had delayed the crusade against Li Jingye. Demons gathered in Yangzhou and rebelled. Why did you keep procrastinating and not sending troops to crusade?Empress Wu finally scolded Pei Yan sharply, do you want to wait for Li Jingye to come to Chang'an Luoyang to help you sit in the Golden Palace?

The Empress Dowager wrongly blamed Wei Chen, and Wei Chen never had such delusions.So because your nephew Xue Zhongzhang is in the camp of the rebels, you dare to regard the safety of the country as a trifle for Xue Zhongzhang's life? I have been an official for more than ten years and have never bent the law for personal gain. Once the leader of the rebel army is captured, I will personally chop off Xue Zhongzhang's head and dedicate it to the Queen Mother. So are you old and confused, so astonishingly calm, what the hell are you up to?Pei Yan's sad expression at that time made the courtiers present never forget that as long as the queen mother returns to Ruizong, she will immediately order the world to revoke the queen mother's title and face the court without sending troops or guns. , the chaos in Yangzhou will naturally be put down.Pei Yan suddenly knelt down on the ground and yelled loudly, Empress Dowager, return the government to the Son of Heaven, this is the will of the people.

People said that Pei Yan was on the verge of madness at that time, and Empress Wu's body jumped in horror at Pei Yan's cry, and then the old woman threw the red sandalwood ball in her hand at Pei Yan's face, and her face became pale with rage. Pale and bleeding, I expected you to blackmail me, Empress Wu said sharply, let me give the government to you mediocre and idiots?That is wishful thinking.It is not difficult to find that Empress Wu's expression has shown a gloomy murderous intent.And Pei Yan was also sweating profusely after spit out the old words, as if he felt a sense of collapse.A generation of celebrities finally came to disaster.Empress Wu ordered Zuo Suzheng's doctor Qian Weiwei and Yu Shiyu Chengye to interrogate Pei Yan's rebellion. People thought that Empress Wu's selection of these two people who had a deep quarrel with Pei Yan as interrogators was a dangerous move in itself. Put Pei Yan to death.A few days later, Pei Yan was imprisoned for treason, and the former proud son of Luan turned into a prisoner behind bars, which is not uncommon in history.Someone persuaded Pei Yan to plead guilty and asked for pardon. Pei Yan sighed and said, serving a king is like a tiger.There is nothing greater than death, and Pei Yan, who was wearing a wooden shackle, kept silent until October when he was beheaded in public at Duting on the streets of Luoyang.The turmoil caused by the case of Pei Yan in the court and the public is also shocking. Prime Minister Liu Jingxian and Fengge servant Hu Yuanfan and others defended Pei Yan in front of Empress Wu and were imprisoned. On the day when Pei Yan asked to be killed, the people of Luoyang flocked to the capital pavilion. Seeing the blood of a generation of famous people splashing in the market, they remembered the nursery rhyme that was popular not long ago, "One piece of fire, two pieces of fire, and the little boy in Feiyi sits in the hall."Therefore, Pei Yan's death was covered with a layer of confusing mystery in the eyes of Luoyang people.The autumn wind slapped the densely packed houses and fallen leaves on the market in Luoyang, the capital of the gods. The autumn rain washed away the bloodstains on the ground of the capital pavilion. Fallen into mud in the autumn wind and autumn rain.No one guessed that the last spectator of Pei Yan's exposed corpse was the Empress Dowager in Luoyang Palace. The carriage was parked at the side of the capital pavilion, and a woman's tearful face was exposed where the curtain was lightly lifted.

Pei Yan's intelligence is unrivaled, and he is a natural good looks.Empress Dowager Wu Zhao behind the car curtain wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes with silk. She told the maid beside her, Shangguan Wan'er, that I valued Pei Yan the most among the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, but since his rebellion had already begun to show, I could only do it. Take precautions.The battle of Xia'axi caused Li Jingye's army to suffer heavy losses.The officers and soldiers seemed to have God's help that day, and the dry wind and withered grass in autumn just fulfilled the wonderful fire attack tactics. People say that Wei Yuanzhong's fire burned all Li Jingye's dreams, and more than 7,000 people were burned to death among the rebels. The remaining people jumped into the river and were drowned.Since then, Li Jingye's remnant soldiers have been devastated.At that time, it was only four months since Li Jingye raised the flag and joined the army in Yangzhou Prefecture. The people in Runzhou, Jiangdu, watched Li Jingye fleeing with his surviving tribesmen, and couldn't help but lament that the rebellion would eventually be anticlimactic. Traditional pattern.Li Jingye fled along the Yangtze River with his younger brothers Li Jingyou and Luo Binwang. They originally wanted to cross the sea from Hailing to Goguryeo to go far away, but the raging autumn wind and heavy rain that year continued to oppose him, and the wind always blew against his camp. The boat goes to sea.The soldiers began to regret their wrong choice. A general named Wang Naxiang sneaked into the camp while Li Jingye and the others were sleeping soundly drunk, and easily killed Li Jingye, Li Jingyou and Luo Binwang. The Li Jingye rebellion ended in a ridiculous ending Come to close.Wang Naxiang tied the heads of brothers Li Jingye and King Luo Bin to his horse, returned along the same escape route, and defected to the military camps of Li Xiaoyi and Wei Yuanzhong.Some people saw the head of the famous poet Luo Binwang, and said that his face still carried the lonely look of worrying about the country and the people.Although the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, there are still people who cast pitiful eyes on King Luo Bin's head. Why did that talented poet take refuge in Li Jingye's sect, and why he always bet on the wrong chips in his life of wandering ?

Four months later, Li Jingye's rebellion had become a false alarm, but Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace became irritable and suspicious because of it.A group of officials who had a close personal relationship with Pei Yan and Li Jingye were all demoted or killed, including Cheng Wuting, the great general Zuowuwei who had great military exploits.When receiving the report that Cheng Wuting had an affair with the rebels, Empress Wu's face was as pale as paper.Shangguan Wan'er reminded the Empress Dowager to inquire about the truth of the matter first, but Empress Wu shook her head and said, there is no need to inquire, these people will not admit their meritorious deeds, and anyone involved in rebellion, regardless of their merits, will be executed.Empress Wu summoned Pei Shaoye, Cheng Wuting's general, and ordered Pei Shaoye to kill Cheng Wuting in the barracks.Shangguan Wan'er was always puzzled by Empress Wu's act of inquiring and beheading Cheng Wuting. On a bright spring day, Empress Wu suddenly became interested in visiting the garden and watching flowers. After hearing about Cheng Wuting's death, Empress Wu said, you never understood why I didn't ask why I killed General Cheng indiscriminately. In fact, it doesn't matter whether he participated in the rebellion. Tell the world that no matter who he is, he must be loyal to the dynasty without a single heart.Empress Wu gently plucked a peony and inserted it obliquely on Shangguan Waner's high bun. The smile on her face was as bright as a girl's, and she was as bright as an old man. Empress Wu said, I want to tell all civil and military officials in the world that there is no Those I dare not kill, don't think that there are only orphans and widows left in Luoyang Palace, and anyone can make trouble.The eventful autumn has passed. In order to celebrate the pacification of Li Jingye's rebellion, Empress Wu in Luoyang Palace issued an amnesty order again and changed Guangzhai to Chuigong. detailed terms of compliance. "Chui Gong Ge" can be interpreted as the policy outline of the king as a whole, and it can also be interpreted as a magic spell for civil and military officials to be loyal to the royal family. But eager to try, waiting for the favor of the imperial court, other old and young survivors of the royal family surnamed Li discovered a grim reality. The Queen Mother's hand has stretched out of the purple tent, and she has begun to turn the Tang Dynasty's society step by step. .

The handsome and slovenly Feng Xiaobao has been selling medicine on the streets of Luoyang for nearly a year. In the market at the North Gate of Luoyang, people of all colors gathered in front of and behind the stalls, and the sound of buying and selling was noisy and chaotic. Feng Xiaobao only occupied a small corner. Dancing sticks and kung fu to attract pedestrians, what he sells is a plaster for treating bruises.In fact, no one noticed the beauty of this charlatan man before Qianjin Princess picked up the raw materials with her eyes.When Feng Xiaobao was selling medicine with sticks, he noticed a gorgeous carriage of a nobleman's family parked not far away. He didn't know that there was a noble woman behind the tent who was admiring his naked and strong upper body with hungry eyes.

Passers-by who were shopping came to buy his plaster, but Princess Qianjin came to buy his body. As soon as Feng Xiaobao entered the deep house of Princess Qianjin, he knew the desire in the heart of that noble and wealthy woman. It seems that this is a blessing from God, good wine and good food, and rich clothes, a woman who is beautiful but charming.In the summer of this year, Feng Xiaobao suddenly disappeared from the ranks of buskers in the market. He was fascinated by the brocade quilt on the embroidered bed of Princess Qianjin. He didn't know that a supreme woman in Luoyang Palace was moody because of inexplicable anxiety. Princess Qianjin is planning to present him to the Empress Dowager in Luoyang Palace as a precious gift. When Princess Qianjin told Feng Xiaobao all about her amazing deal, the panicked quack couldn't believe his ears.The charming and unrestrained beauty on Princess Qianjin's face has been replaced by a stern tone. The empress dowager is busy with state affairs all day long, and her jade body is out of balance. You are called into the palace for the sake of her health. Yin Qi of the body, do you understand?Feng Xiaobao said, I understand, but with the empress dowager, how dare I?Princess Qianjin tapped Feng Xiaobao's head with the handle of her fan, why dare?No one would dare to cut off your head, Princess Qianjin said, you are called into the palace to serve the Empress Dowager, just like serving me, but you have to be more careful and try your best.Feng Xiaobao finally understood that Princess Qianjin dedicated him to Empress Wu as a special good medicine. The sudden arrival of love luck was so strange and brilliant, ecstasy and confusion intertwined, which made Feng Xiaobao's breath almost suffocated.His face-to-face career was originally just to get something for nothing, but now it is undoubtedly another kind of dreamlike adventure. It's the princess who spends a lot of money to buy a romantic night, but the empress dowager Wu Zhao who is worshiped by people all over the world. People have secretly regarded her as an empress.Since he is a female emperor, he naturally needs a man as a concubine. Feng Xiaobao felt like scratching his heart when he thought that he was about to become the male concubine of the female emperor. Every time he relieved his hands, he had to wash them carefully. This was what Princess Qianjin ordered him to do, and it was something Feng Xiaobao dared not disobey.In the thick night, someone led Feng Xiaobao into Luoyang Palace. Feng Xiaobao remembered that he followed two eunuchs through the deep palace path with flowers and trees swaying on the high platform and Qionglou. But looking around this solemn and gorgeous emperor's home full of longing.Feng Xiaobao remembered that Empress Wu's bedroom was as bright as day, and a woman was reclining on the phoenix couch among the palace lanterns and silver candles. Feng Xiaobao couldn't believe his eyes, and couldn't believe that the beautiful woman with the wide forehead and Fang Yi was over fifty years old. Empress Dowager Wu Zhao.Empress Wu is using tea, or using medicine?Feng Xiaobao could only smell a strange fragrance wafting from the small cup, Empress Wu didn't seem to hear the eunuch's announcement, she didn't look at Feng Xiaobao.So Feng Xiaobao had no choice but to prostrate on the ground, Feng Xiaobao thought, since he called me to do such a good deed, why did he ignore me?He also thought how could such a good thing be done with so many court ladies and eunuchs around the bed? What did you say your name was?Empress Wu finally put down the porcelain cup in her hand, and slowly turned to look at Feng Xiaobao.Feng Xiaobao.Why did the seven-foot boy have such a name?Empress Wu burst out laughing, it's too funny, what's wrong with calling it Xiaobao?