Chapter 38 Section VIII

In the summer of the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, Emperor Xianzong launched the final battle to cut down the vassal: to capture Pinglu. In the twelfth year of Yuanhe, Li Yan sent a surprise army into Caizhou in the snowy night and wiped out Wu Yuanji in Huaixi.Chengde Jiedu made Wang Chengzong send his son to Chang'an as a hostage to show his surrender.Huaixi, Chengde and Pinglu, the three towns of Heshuo who once colluded with each other to assassinate Wu Yuanheng, have always been the most rebellious among the feudal clans, and now only Pinglu and Li Shidao are left alone. At first, Li Shidao made a petition to cede the three prefectures, and sent his son to Beijing as a servant.The emperor made a living for the people and accepted his peace proposal.Unexpectedly, Li Shidao turned his back on what he said, and openly repented when the imperial court sent envoys to Pinglu to declare the imperial edict to accept the surrender. Let us conquer Pinglu together.

Ever since Emperor Xianzong abolished the vassals, this crusade has been rare and smooth.The hearts of the feudal towns that participated in the battle had already been subdued, so the battle was fought very hard, especially the Wei Bo army led by Tian Hongzheng was the leader.At the time of the Frost's Fall in the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, Emperor Xianzong adopted Pei Du's suggestion and ordered Tian Hongzheng to cross the Yellow River via Yang Liu.After Tian Hongzheng was ordered to lead his army across the river, he went straight to Yunzhou and defeated General Liu Wu of Pinglu in one fell swoop.Soon, the imperial court sent Li Yun, Li Guangyan and Tian Hongzheng to form a three-army encirclement of Yunzhou, and Li Shidao forced Liu Wu to send troops to fight.Liu Wu knew that Tian Hongzheng was powerful, and he didn't want to attack and die rashly, so Li Shidao suspected that he had a heart of betrayal.Under internal and external difficulties, Liu Wu was determined to turn against him, and returned to Yunzhou to behead Li Shidao and his son, and begged Tian Hongzheng to surrender with two heads.

So far, Pinglu Fanzhen has been settled down.Emperor Xianzong's war to cut down the vassals launched from the beginning of his accession to the throne has finally achieved a comprehensive victory. After the Anshi Rebellion, the separatist rule of feudal towns became the biggest chronic disease of the Tang Empire.In the vassal towns outside Wang Hua, the folk customs are becoming more and more wild and unruly. This is a big setback from the peak of the civilization of the Tang Dynasty, and it is also a great loss of the support of the Tang Dynasty.The Tang Dynasty, where the vassal town was divided, seemed to be covered with cancerous tumors, festering and failing everywhere. If it was allowed to develop, the court would be passive and waiting for death.However, the war to eliminate the vassals will consume the already extremely weak reserves of national power, and the people in Jiangnan and other tax-heavy areas will be exploited completely, and public grievances will abound.A careless move may even drag Datang back into the terrible situation of full-scale war and disintegration.

Precisely because of the many disadvantages faced by the reduction of feudal vassals, several generations of emperors from Daizong, Dezong to Shunzong all had more than enough energy, and finally put this burden on the shoulders of Emperor Xianzong. Yuan and the emperor and his ministers never disgrace their mission.After nearly 15 years of arduous efforts, many feudal towns that have dominated Henan and Hebei for more than 30 states for 60 years have all obeyed the imperial court since then.It is true that good generals and ministers such as Wu Yuanheng, Pei Du, and Li Yan made great contributions to the reduction of feudal clans, but without Emperor Xianzong's "being generous and cautious, able to use loyalty, and not to confuse the crowd", everything would still be impossible.

After the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Xianzong was definitely the most wise and promising monarch in the Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion. In the evening of midsummer, the heat in Chang'an City refused to subside for a long time, and the sound of rolling thunder loomed in the sky, making it even more sultry.The field outside the Chunming Gate in the east of the city was also covered with dark clouds, and there was not even a breath of wind. It was not even half cooler than inside the city. The gate of the city was not yet closed, and there were still horses and chariots rushing into the city, but due to the thunderstorm that was about to fall, there were obviously fewer horses and chariots than usual.Under the shadow of Zhongnan Mountain, a large number of simple houses are crammed together, and every family has their doors and windows open for ventilation.It's not like in the city where there are Jinwu guards patrolling the streets, many people simply sit outside the door to enjoy the shade, regardless of gender, age or age.

There was only one courtyard whose gate was locked tightly from morning to night, and everyone knew that no one lived there for a long time.The twilight deepened, and when the first muffled thunder sounded in the air, a black figure leaped in from the courtyard wall. Cui Miao immediately greeted her: "Why have you been here for so long?" While wiping the sweat from her forehead, Nie Yinniang replied: "It's rare to meet up with an old friend, and I was supposed to stay for a night of drinking and reminiscing about the past. I was afraid that you would be impatient, so I found an excuse to leave, which is already impolite." She stared at Cui Miao again. , "When did Cui Lang become so restless?"

Cui Miao didn't answer, but raised her face to the northeast.One after another lightning bolts tore through the night sky, thunder billowed, the air was almost stagnant, but there was no rain. "The first time I saw Jingniang was on such a thunderstorm night." He said. Nie Yinniang also looked up at the sky: "I went to Jia Chang's courtyard just now, and there is only a white pagoda left there, nothing else." With the dark clouds rolling in the sky, every time a thunderbolt flashes by, the outline of the Daming Palace will instantly stand out on the Longshouyuan, carrying a mighty majesty.

Nie Yinniang said: "This rain has been holding back for a long time, and I don't know if it will come down." Cui Miao looked at her and asked, "Is everything settled?" "It's settled." Nie Yinniang replied, "Tian Hongzheng made the first contribution to the pacification of Pinlu, and the Holy Majesty has appointed him as the inspector Sikong, and he will be able to wear purple robes from now on. There is a banquet in the Linde Hall, and I summon him in person." Finally, she couldn't help but hum, "I really didn't expect Wei Bo to have the glory he has today."

"The trend of the times, Yinniang should be delighted." Nie Yinniang sneered: "When Tian Ji'an was in command of Wei Bo, he was licentious and immoral. Tian Hongzheng couldn't understand his evil deeds. He once connected with me in private, hoping that my husband and I could help him get rid of Tian Ji'an and seize the position of Jiedushi. I Although I hate Tian Ji'an's behavior, I feel that the imperial court is staring at Wei Bo, and we should not fight among ourselves, so I took the opportunity when Tian Ji'an sent me to assassinate Liu Changyi, and switched to Liu Shuai's command. Soon after hearing that Tian Ji'an died suddenly, Tian Hongzheng took advantage of it Zitian Huaijian was young, seized the position of Jiedu envoy, and surrendered to Pei Du, the special envoy sent by the imperial court. Since then, Wei Bo has transformed from a fierce tiger into a loyal dog of the imperial court. He was also rewarded for serving the imperial court and destroying other feudal towns. Does Cui Lang really think that I will be happy for this?"

Cui Miao asked back: "Could it be that Yinniang doesn't want to see the situation where the world returns to the heart and the world is one family?" "I don't want to." Nie Yinniang replied bluntly, "I was born in a military town, and I would rather see a thriving and independent Wei Bo." "But that's no longer possible." "Really? We'll see." "Let's not talk about that." Cui Miao changed the subject, "Isn't Tian Hongzheng suspicious when he saw Yinniang's sudden visit?" "No. We grew up together. Although I didn't help him back then, I didn't report him to Tian Ji'an, so he still trusted me." Nie Yinniang smiled, "What's more, what he said to me very passionate about it.”

"Oh? I'm afraid he won't believe that Du Qiuniang is in our hands." "He knows that I'm not a joking person." Nie Yinniang looked directly at Cui Miao and said, "I have made an agreement with Tian Hongzheng that when he enters the Linde Palace tomorrow, he will present Du Qiuniang to the emperor." This is the plan Cui Miao has been planning for a year. Nie Yinniang said again: "Not only did Tian Hongzheng have no doubts, but he was overjoyed. It's because he had heard that before the emperor succeeded in cutting down the vassals, and when the family members of the rebels were not in the palace, among them there were some outstanding ones who were favored by the emperor and gave birth to princes." .Tian Hongzheng is now in the royal family, and he only wants to make the icing on the cake so that he can win more favor from the emperor. We are presenting Du Qiuniang at this time, which is in his favor." The key to the success of this strategy is that the vassals set up eyeliners all over Chang'an's Jinzuo Academy, grasping all kinds of movements from the emperor to the officials and nobles, and their accuracy and detail even surpassed that of Chang'an locals.When Nie Yinniang and Cui Miao were discussing this plan, what worried Tian Hongzheng most was that he didn't understand Du Qiuniang's importance to the emperor, and if he explained more, it would be cumbersome and suspicious.Unexpectedly, as soon as Nie Yinniang mentioned Du Qiuniang today, Tian Hongzheng already knew that she had been the number one singing girl in Chang'an, even the emperor secretly favored her.So Nie Yinniang casually told Tian Hongzheng that after Du Qiuniang feigned death and left Chang'an in the 11th year of Yuanhe, life was not going well, so she felt remorseful and wanted to return to the capital to see the emperor and confess her mistake to him.It happened that the two daughters met by chance on the way, and Nie Yinniang escorted her to Chang'an. Nie Yinniang told Tian Hongzheng that this would be an excellent opportunity for Wei Bo to flatter the emperor again.And I have been away from Wei Bo for many years, and I have always felt that I owe Wei Shuai, and I want to use this to make up for it.Tian Hongzheng can pretend to be ignorant of the emperor's privacy, just presenting an excellent singer.In this way, even the emperor's face was taken into consideration, but he paid the most perfect flattery.For the emperor, the beautiful woman who used to be soft and fragrant came all the way to plead guilty to him, even if he had a heart of stone, he might be melted. Speaking of this, Tian Hong, who had just been promoted to a third-rank member, was stroking Nie Yinniang with great joy: "Such a beautiful thing, there is no reason why it cannot be done." So they hit it off. Suddenly there was a loud "bang" overhead, and the heavy rain that had been holding back for a whole day poured down. When Nie Yinniang and Cui Miao rushed into the room, Du Qiuniang on the couch looked at them with piercing eyes. Cui Miao said: "It's fixed, it will be tomorrow." Du Qiuniang was silent. Cui Miao came to the bed, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Are you... willing?" "Hmph, now that I think about it, do you want to ask me?" Du Qiuniang said, "I have worked so hard to bring me back to Chang'an from Chengdu, even if I don't want to, is it still useful?" Cui Miao said: "Qiu Niang, I have explained the whole point to you, and I don't want to repeat it now. I know it's unfair to you, but there is no other way. Thanks Cui. .” He gave her a deep bow. Du Qiuniang still had a long face: "Don't thank me in a hurry. After seeing the emperor tomorrow, I will still be alive or dead." "I'm not afraid of that." Cui Miao smiled, "I believe in Qiuniang's charm, no one can resist it." "Forget it. What charm do I have? Master Pei Lian can make Cui Lang live and die together, that's the real charm of a woman. It's a pity that I, Du Qiuniang, have a good time, but in the end I don't even have a sincere person." It was Cui Miao's turn to be silent. After a while, Du Qiuniang said again: "Master Pei Lian and Cui Lang have saved my life. Although Du Qiuniang is a firework woman, she also understands the word loyalty. Now that the two of you are in trouble, I should give up my life to help each other. There is nothing to say. There is just one thing, even if I enter the palace tomorrow and see Pei Lianshi, I can only bring her a word. Otherwise, I really can't do anything." "I don't need Qiuniang to do anything else, as long as Qiuniang tells her—I'm still alive." Cui Miao's voice trembled uncontrollably, "Please tell her that I'm at the old place outside Chunming Gate Wait for her, I will wait forever." "You are stupid! Even if I tell you, she may not be willing to leave the palace!" "She will. Only I know why she wants to enter Daming Palace. So I have to ask Qiuniang to tell her that there is no need to get to the bottom of it. I don't want to know anything, as long as she returns safely." "But how can she get out?" "It's okay, I'll just wait." "You—" Du Qiuniang was stunned for a moment, and then said bitterly, "Although without your help, I might have been in the palace a long time ago. Now I have been free and easy for three years, and it is not a loss. But since I have been free, now I buried it with my own hands just to spread a word for you, no matter how I think about it, I don't think it's worth it!" "I think it's worth it." Du Qiuniang bit her cherry lips, "Are you not afraid that I will report you to the emperor?" Cui Miao smiled: "If that's the case, maybe I can see her before I die. This life is enough!" "You..." Du Qiuniang had nothing to say, and got off the couch in a fit of anger. "Where are you going?" Nie Yinniang blocked her. "Go outside and get some air!" "It's raining heavily outside." Nie Yinniang stopped, "Go to bed early. When you see the emperor tomorrow, you must have a good face." "Can't sleep!" Nie Yinniang tugged Du Qiuniang back on the couch: "If you can't sleep, dress up well, and I will take you into the city as soon as the morning bell rings." There was endless thunder, and one after another, sharp lightning flashed outside the window.Suddenly, a cold light hit directly in front of her eyes, which shocked Du Qiuniang.Taking a closer look, it turned out that Nie Yinniang pulled out a dagger from the boot, pulled the knife out of its sheath, and the dark room suddenly lit up. Nie Yinniang said thoughtfully: "When I enter the palace tomorrow, I can't carry weapons. I still have to keep this pure hook." "About this dagger, I also found out some inside information." Nie Yinniang said to Cui Miao, "Jingniang once said that Chungou was a token of love given to her by Li Changji, but I discovered that it actually came from the palace. " "The dagger in the palace?" Du Qiuniang looked at Chungou curiously. "Changji was taken from the palace?" Cui Miao thought, "As far as I know, Li Changji was a Fengli Lang for a period of time and had the opportunity to enter and leave the palace. But with his official position and status, it should be compared with such a treasure. The blade has nothing to do with it." "As far as I can deduce, Chungou was brought out of the palace by someone and then handed over to Changji." "Who?" Nie Yinniang said: "The great eunuch Ju Wenzhen of the former dynasty. During Emperor Dezong's time, Ju Wenzhen was a powerful eunuch. During the Yongzhen period, he tried his best to recommend the prince to supervise the country on the grounds that the late emperor was seriously ill. The edict for the emperor's throne was drawn up by Ju Wenzhen summoning a group of imperial officials, so as soon as the current emperor came to the throne, he appointed Ju Wenzhen as the general of the right guard of the Shence Army. But then for some reason, Ju Wenzhen suddenly fell out of favor, and was attacked by other eunuchs headed by Tutu Chengcui. Ju Wenzhen could only leave the palace voluntarily, claiming to be ill, and soon died of illness outside. What is particularly strange is that Ju Wenzhen Although he had no children, and had cut off contact with relatives in the clan, he would be able to live comfortably in his later years with the savings he had spent as an eunuch all his life. However, he died in the Chongyi Square in Chang'an City, a dilapidated rented house Inside. Coincidentally, Changji was very poor when he was an official in Chang'an, and he also rented in the same house." "Is there such a thing?" Cui Miao was originally full of thoughts, but was also attracted by the story Nie Yinniang told. "I went to that place in Chongyifang, and I was almost plotted against. Remember? It was the night when I originally wanted to send her out of the city." Nie Yinniang pointed at Du Qiuniang. "I heard from Han Xiang that you met a Kunlun dwarf slave who knows magic." "Hmph, it means that the emperor has found it there too." Nie Yinniang sneered, "You think the emperor doesn't care about Li Changji, does he?" Cui Miao said: "Is it possible... that Ju Wenzhen lived in Chongyi Square precisely to avoid the emperor's pursuit?" "It's very possible." Du Qiuniang interrupted, "A person of status like him must hide in the poorest place, so as not to be easily discovered." "Then why didn't he leave Chang'an?" "Maybe he is really sick and can't go far, so he has to temporarily settle down in Chongyifang." Cui Miao nodded and said, "That makes sense. But Ju Wenzhen never expected that there would be a court official living in that dilapidated place." Nie Yinniang said: "Who would have thought that Chang Ji would be in such a difficult situation? What's worse, Chang Ji must have recognized Ju Wenzhen!" "Yes!" Cui Miao listened more and more enthusiastically, and even his dim eyes regained some of the brightness of the past, "So if Ju Wenzhen wants to continue hiding, he must ask Chang Ji to help him hide it. In order to achieve this goal, maybe he asked Chang Ji Ji revealed some secrets about the palace, and maybe he was counting on Chang Ji to help him escape from Chang'an. However, with poverty, illness, and fear, he died soon after." "So..." Nie Yinniang's eyes fell on Chungou, "He left this dagger to Changji." Cui Miao cried out in a low voice: "I understand! At the beginning, Wu Yuanheng came to Jingniang, probably because he found out that Chang Ji had obtained the pure hook! But... what is so strange about this pure hook?" "I couldn't figure this out before." Nie Yinniang said slowly, "Pure Gou is indeed a rare treasured sword. As an assassin, I can see its value at a glance, and I want to get it at any cost. But This is only an assassin's desire. For ordinary people, all the gems on the pure hook have been stripped, and it is not worth much. There are more than ten million treasures in the palace, and there are many famous swords handed down from generation to generation. What's the big deal about losing a pure hook, and you have to do everything possible to find it?" She took out a piece of paper from her bosom and gently placed it on the table: "Until today, when I saw this at Tian Hongzheng, I probably guessed the reason for it." Du Qiuniang snatched it from her hand first, and said: "Xin Gonggong is a fairy... Hey, what does this mean?" Cui Miao moved the candle closer, and the two read together.After a while, Cui Miao said in surprise, "This is about assassinating the emperor! Who dares to make up such a story?" Nie Yinniang answered the question: "The dagger mentioned here is as wide as the front and back, and has a strange shape like a ruler. Don't you think it looks familiar?" Unanimously, Cui Miao and Du Qiuniang stared at Chungou lying under the candlelight. Its cold light was brighter than candlelight and lightning, as if it could illuminate all evils in the world. "I heard from them that the story of "Xin Gong Shangxian" was spread from several prayer lamps during the Lantern Festival this year. Later, the imperial court sent Jinwu Guards to search around, and the people couldn't help being frightened, and they picked up Some of them were handed over, and some were secretly torn up or burned. In short, no one dared to hide them privately." Speaking of this, Nie Yinniang smiled slightly, "But Wei Bo is not afraid of entering the Zouyuan. When I went to see Tian Hongzheng today, he showed me I found this. I thought it was interesting, so I took it out while he was unaware, and it opened your eyes." Cui Miao's eyes flashed: "Why did Shuai Tian show Yinniang this?" "Recently, there are so many rumors in the capital that there are all kinds of rumors. There is a saying that the "Xin Fair Shangxian" that fell from the sky during the Shangyuan Festival is a bad omen. That's why Tian Shuai showed it to me. Apart from this, let me not be abrupt when I see the Holy Majesty tomorrow." Du Qiuniang hurriedly asked: "Is the emperor not in good health? What's wrong?" "I don't know about that." Nie Yinniang glanced at her, "Tomorrow Qiuniang will see the emperor, so just ask yourself." Du Qiuniang blushed immediately. Cui Miao nodded and said: "It seems so interesting. Regardless of who produced "Xin Gong's Shangxian", at least one thing is very clear, pure hook should be a murder weapon to assassinate the emperor!" Nie Yinniang asked, "Has he already been killed, or is he about to be killed?" Her tone made Du Qiuniang shiver uncontrollably. Cui Miao said, "Maybe... both of them." "Unfortunately, this will become an eternal mystery." Nie Yinniang sneered.