Chang'an, the crowds on Zhuque Street are endless all year round. The New Year is approaching, and Zhuque Street is more lively. Merchants busy preparing stocks and citizens purchasing New Year's goods exchanged boring greetings every year and in a hurry, but this year there are many strange Hu people. They are dressed luxuriously and have a large number of servants. Almost every newcomer is full of admiration and admiration for the magnificent Chang'an City. Most of these Hu people are envoys sent to Chang'an by small Western countries. Li Qing set laws for all countries that they must send envoys to Chang'an every year to pay tribute to the Tiankang Khan, and order them to leave, and all countries dare not refuse to obey.

Just outside the Zhuque Gate, a middle-aged man with a melancholy face was squatting under a century-old willow tree. The man was named Wang Tao. He was formerly the judge of Anxi Army. He has always been Gao Xianzhi's confidant and in charge of the military's court. However, after the Battle of Talas, the governor Li Qing was demoted to the military's warrior to the Kucha Town Cangcai on the grounds of the chaos of the document and removed him from the military system. The position of Anxi Army was taken over by Zhang Xun. Seeing that the New Year was approaching, Wang Tao took a leave to visit his family and returned to Chang'an, but his real purpose was to find his old boss to seek a new job in Chang'an. Unfortunately, Gao Xianzhi went to Taiyuan to rectify the Northern Capital Imperial Army. Wang Tao was defeated. In desperation, he had to guard the Zhuque Gate every day to see if he could meet his luck and be appreciated by a powerful man.

In three days, it will be the eleventh year of Tianbao. It is almost the weekend, and the hearts of all officials have been dissipated. From morning to now, there are very few officials who have entered the Zhuque Gate. Wang Tao looked through and saw no one who looked like a high-ranking official coming. His legs were sore and he helped Lao Liu stand up, and spat hatefully, "Bah! A bunch of turtles, I'm bleeding and sweating on the front line. When is it now, I'm still sleeping in the quilt with a hug of a woman."

As soon as he finished scolding, a large and luxurious carriage came towards him. The four horses were all pure white in color and were in agile posture. Wang Tao was an expert in identifying goods. When he saw the horse, he knew that the car was definitely not an ordinary official. He ignored his legs and rushed forward in two steps, waving and calling, "Sir, please listen to me!"

Unfortunately, the horse couldn't understand people's words, ignored him, wiped his clothes and rushed over, "Mom."

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Before he could say the word ’, Wang Tao’s face turned from anger to joy. A dozen steps away, the carriage stopped, slowly unfolding, revealing a sleepy face, but it was Yang Guozhong, the nobleman of the dynasty.

Yang Guozhong had just returned from Yizhou for half a year. During his tenure as the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, he still served as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Taifu Temple. This was like later generations who went to the grassroots for training. After a layer of gold, he returned to Chang'an and was promoted to Minister of War. He was promoted to Minister of War. He was in the same position as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, but he felt that the Minister of the Minister of Personnel was leisurely, so he held the real power of the Minister of Personnel and refused to let go.

As the official gradually grew bigger, Yang Guozhong began to be friendly to others, and his signature smile like Li Linfu was often hung on his face. He changed his previous image of lazy work and was diligent in government affairs every day. Now, everyone was drunk and he was alone. He came to the court to handle official duties. Just now when Wang Tao called him, he was playing chess with Zhou Gong and had no time to split up. Finally, Zhou Gong said goodbye, and he stopped the carriage in time and almost lost the opportunity to treat wise men.

"Who are you? What's the matter with me?"

Yang Guozhong looked up and down at Wang Tao. He looked thick and black and had a low grade. He was displeased, but he still smiled and joked: "Is it because he was short of money and had no money to celebrate the New Year, so he would be able to fight the autumn wind that was the true face?"

Wang Tao's nose felt sour, like a handful of ginger powder was blown into his eyes. When did he see such an approachable high-ranking official? Fortunately, his mind was not emotional. He heard that the other party claimed to be true, and he saw the word "Yang" engraved on his carriage through his tearful eyes. His mind immediately turned around, "Is this the legendary uncle Yang Guojiu?"

In the face of opportunity, the most important thing is to take action and grab it. Wang Tao immediately took out a brocade box from his arms, bounced it open, held it on his head with both hands, and said humbly: "This is the intention of the humble profession to Yang Xiang."

Inside the brocade box is a pearl as big as a chicken egg. The pearls are light green all over, and a layer of green light is shining. This is when Gao Xianzhi led his army to rob the city of Zhecheng, Wang Tao obtained it from the treasure house of the Shi Kingdom and used it as a step to advance.

Just as the rooster ascended to heaven and became the star official of the Pleiades, Yang Guozhong could not change some habits he developed since he was a teenager. He immediately shone in his eyes, which shone brightly with this pearl. In addition, the surrounding environment was already clear, and there was no one. Dozens of gatekeepers faced their faces, without looking sideways, and even if they looked sideways, they could not see them, and there was a carriage blocking them!

"Haha! Recently, there are still no accessories on the head of the imperial concubine, so I will present this pearl to her for you."

Yang Guozhong took it with a smile, then put it into a secret box in the carriage, taking money and eliminating disasters for others. This is a famous saying, just like a dog should be grateful for eating a bone. Yang Guozhong said softly: "What are the difficulties you have to help me?"

"Xiaguan was originally the judge of the Anxi Army, and was attacked by the new Jiedushi......"

"Wait!" Yang Guozhong suddenly interrupted his words, and another light appeared in his eyes. This was from the heart of interest. Isn't the New Jiedushi of Anxi Li Qing? Well! Retaliation and attack, Yang Guozhong's unique official mind immediately outlined a roadmap: "The subordinate found the handle of his superiors, but failed to report it, and was promoted openly and surrendered by his superiors or directly rejected'.

He immediately opened the car door and said with a smile: "Come on! Come on the car, let's talk about this slowly."

If we must describe a person as rejuvenation, then this person is Li Longji, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He is nearly seventy years old. The old man spots that were born to work hard for the world in the past few years have now miraculously disappeared. His skin is smooth and tender, and his hair is black and shiny. This is related to the health preservation chapter presented to him by Chen Xilie. He is free from thinking and doing nothing, and he is naturally at will. Of course, more importantly, the nourishment of love is more important.

It is precisely because of this that he valued his throne more and could not tolerate anyone being disobedient. The position of crown prince is still empty. Not to mention the ministers in the court, even the people in the market can see that the Emperor of Tang, who had been emperor for 41 years, did not want to have successors at all.

Because Yang Yuhuan's eldest sister, Mrs. Qin, suddenly passed away, Yang Yuhuan wanted to attend her funeral. Li Longji, who originally planned to return from the Hot Spring Palace after the New Year, had to return early. In the past two days, Yang Yuhuan was busy with family affairs and had no time to accompany Li Longji. When he was bored, Li Longji stepped into the imperial study room that had not been in several months, looked through the memorials of each border to report the memorials at the end of the year, and listened to the good news of the peaceful and peaceful states in the world. This was also something he loved to see and hear.

This year, the most heartbreaking victory made him happy, which made him happy for a month. Although many people attacked Li Qing for killing Geluo people, Li Longji still opposed the opinions and appointed Li Qing as the Minister of Shangshu Zuo Pushe. This made him particularly relieved that Li Qing had insight into the holy intentions and ordered the Hu Hu of the Western Regions to come to Chang'an to pay tribute every year. It seemed that the strategy of letting him replace Gao Xianzhi was completely correct.

Li Longji was in a happy mood. He picked up a memorial and read it carefully, but before he knew it, his face gradually became solemn.

"Your Majesty, Bian Lingcheng is back yesterday, do you want to see him?" Gao Lishi stood at the door and asked in a low voice, while secretly scanning the memorials in Li Longji's hand. Li Longji had not come to the imperial study for several months, and he reviewed all memorials on his behalf. He had already dealt with memorials about financial difficulties and difficulties in people's livelihood. He only picked up some joy and put them on the desk. However, at this time, he was a little unfamiliar with memorials in Li Longji's hand, as if he had never read them.

Gao Lishi's eyes swept back quickly, Yu Chaoen's head immediately lowered unnaturally, Gao Lishi sneered slightly in his heart, and this statement was true. Once he was negligent, someone took advantage of the loophole, and he was the successor he deliberately trained.

With a 'bang!', the teacup on the table jumped up in shock. The lid fell to the ground, but it was not broken, and it was rolling around on the ground, turning around in circles.

"Gao Lishi!" Li Longji suddenly shouted sternly.

"I'm here!" Gao Lishi's vest suddenly became wet, and his fear came from his ignorance of the memorial.

"You dare to hide such a big thing from me." Li Longji threw the memorial over and knocked the table with his middle knuckle in anger: "Look at it yourself! Look at it!"

Gao Lishi picked up the memorial tremblingly, and the first thing he saw was the memorial of this memorial: An Lushan, he turned another page and saw the three words "Li Xianzhong". He heard a buzzing sound in his mind. The thing he was most afraid of in the past few months was finally revealed.

Li Xianzhong, whose original name was Abus, was the leader of the nine surnames of Tiele (not the nine surnames of Zhaowu). In the early Kaiyuan year, he was defeated by the Turkic Mochu Khan and attached to the Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Tianbao, he officially surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. With the full recommendation of Li Linfu, he was named Deputy Envoy of Shuofang Jiedu. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Li Long basically wanted to promote him to the Jiedushi of Hedong, but was squeezed out by An Lushan and became enemies with An Lushan. Two months ago, he was ordered to fight against Khitan with An Lushan, but An Lushan remained unmoved. Li Xianzhong was defeated without help. Because he was afraid of the court's criticism, he fled to the north of the desert. Tens of thousands of fleeing elite soldiers under his command were all incorporated by An Lushan.

Although Li Xianzhong defected, the matter was serious, but it was not enough to let Gao Lishi suppress it. The key was that the right prime minister Li Linfu involved. Li Linfu not only recommended him fully, but also had a close personal relationship. Li Linfu's son was also an official under his command. If Li Longji pursued the case, Li Linfu's handle would come out.

Gao Lishi knew Li Longji's thoughts well. In the eighth year of Tianbao, Li Linfu was able to turn the tables in a desperate situation. In addition to Yang Guozhong's own inappropriate actions, there is another very important point. Li Longji was not caught with his real handle, but this time it was different. When Li Shizhi was demoted, wasn't it because Li Linfu caught Liu Sheng's case and refused to let go, and first led to the Jingzhao Yin Han Chaozong, and then used Han Chaozong to defeat Li Shizhi? At that time, Li Linfu was still shouting in the court, "How can the court officials be punished? How can the recommender be apart from it!"

Now, Li Linfu's handle has come out, and Li Longji, who has been watching coldly, can let him go, especially now, when Yang Guozhong has returned from the prefectures and counties, when Li Longji wanted to touch Li Linfu, An Lushan brought a pillow intrigue.

Sure enough, Li Longji's anger suddenly subsided. He seemed to have thought of something, his eyes flashed, and a smug smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth. He turned around and ordered Yu Chaoen: "Go! Call Yang Guozhong for me."

After pausing for a moment, Li Longji put the matter down for the time being. Thinking of Gao Lishi's words just now, Bian Lingcheng came back. This was also the person he was eager to see. He glanced at Gao Lishi and said coldly: "Go and find Bian Lingcheng for me!"

When Gao Lishi saw Li Longji go to find Yang Guozhong, he sighed in his heart. Li Linfu was sad at this gate, but he had already concealed the report first, so he could not grow his hands any longer. He lowered his head and responded and hurried away.

The room was very quiet. Li Longji frowned, supported his right elbow on the dragon table, and gently pressed and rubbed his temples. Over the past year, he had heard too much good news. The Western Regions won the Great Win and the Salt Tax was full of the treasury, but today's sudden news suddenly woke him up. The world was not peaceful. Many people and many things were hiding from him, even Gao Lishi, whom he trusted the most.

Li Longji suddenly felt upset. In fact, he also knew that the world was not always peaceful. He had been the emperor for 41 years. How could he not know the difficulty of governing the country? A land problem has troubled him for decades. I don’t know how much edict has been issued, but it has become a waste of paper and military expenses. How much military expenses he has approved in his hands in recent years can count them.

The key is that he does not have so much energy to manage politics. What he cares more about is his throne. The later years he is, the higher his vigilance. Gaozu, Taizong, Gaozong, Zhongzong, or even his father, who would not have any trouble in his later years? This seemed to be the fate of his Li royal family. Most of his energy was on Yang Guifei, and the remaining energy could only be guarded on how to prevent the fate from happening again.

Not only did he have to prevent his descendants from seizing the throne, but now he also had to consider usurping the throne by powerful ministers, especially those who hold military power, and he had to double the precautions. He thought everything was in control, but today Li Xianzhong's affairs unexpectedly made him expect. It seemed that he was too careless and had to keep more gods. Li Longji secretly made up his mind.

As for Li Xianzhong who fled north, his crime was unforgivable and he had to send a suitable general to capture him. Li Longji thought for a moment and then wrote the three words "Cheng Qianli" on An Lushan's memorial.

"Your Majesty, I'm here!"

The gentle response interrupted Li Longji's thoughts. He raised his head and saw a dark and thin face, with rough and cracked skin, as if it was dried eggplant. Li Longji was shocked. He could not believe what he saw and rubbed his eyes involuntarily. It took him a long time to see a little bit of Bian Lingcheng's former shadow on his face.

After not seeing him for several years, he became like this. His anger towards him disappeared for a while. After all, he was his own slave, and loyalty to him was the most important thing. As for the trivial matters of greed for money and fear of death, they all seemed insignificant.

Li Longji looked at him silently and asked with a long time of day, "I'm here to ask you, what do you think of Gao Xianzhi and Li Qing?"

Bian Lingcheng was stunned. He thought the emperor would be furious because he hid behind the back in the two battles. He was nervous and anxious. Unexpectedly, the emperor did not seem to be planning to hold him accountable. He was extremely moved and slowly knelt down to the ground and cried in a low voice: "I am so sorry for the holy grace, so I will take the crime!"

Li Longji waved his hand and said a little impatiently: "I know whether you are guilty or not, so I will answer the question first."

"Yes!" Bian Lingcheng wiped his tears. He thought for a while and said, "In the eyes of Lao Nu, there is no difference in the methods of acting. Gao Xianzhi slaughtered Tuozhecheng, and Li Qing killed all the people of Gelulu. They were all decisive and cruel. They treated their subordinates with kindness and power to win their hearts, but the two were indeed very different in two aspects."

“What two aspects?”

"On the one hand, it is his attitude towards the countries of the Western Regions and the Great Food. Gao Xianzhi treats the countries of the Western Regions as the master and looks downward in the attitude of a conqueror, but never considers their feelings. The old slave stayed with him for many years and knew him very well. He always despised the Great Food. In his eyes, the Great Food was just another Kang or Shi Kingdom."

Speaking of this, a hint of admiration flashed in Bian Lingcheng's eyes, and he said, "Li Qing's vision was farther than him. From the beginning, he knew very clearly what kind of opponent he was fighting against. He seemed to be very clear about the details of Dashi. Lao Nu had seen a sand table in his tent a few months ago. The distance between Dashi and Talas, and who is Dashi's current main target or opponent? The characteristics of Dashi's combat in the Dashi army are clearly marked on the sand table, so he prepared for war very well. He built 500,000 arrows alone, knowing himself and his enemy. Lao Nu thought this was the most important reason why Li Qing could defeat the Dashi people with less and finally defeat the Dashi people."

Li Longji nodded slightly and smiled: "It's right. It seems that you still have some insights. So what's the other difference between them?"

"Another different..."

Bian Lingcheng suddenly hesitated a little. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes and swept to both sides. Except for Gao Lishi sitting down and grinding ink, there was no one else. He gritted his teeth and approached Li Longji and whispered: "The other difference between these two people is their attitude towards the emperor."

"Oh!" Li Longji suddenly became very interested. He glanced at Gao Lishi slightly, suddenly remembered the memorial just now, and said to him: "Go and say to the concubine, and I will not go back for lunch and accompany her tonight."

"Yes! I'll go now." Gao Lishi glanced at Bian Lingcheng deeply and slowly left the room.

"Tell me! How do they have different attitudes towards me?"

Bian Lingcheng took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "On the surface, Gao Xianzhi was arrogant and domineering and accepted tribute from small countries in Kucha without authorization, but Li Qing restrained everything and ordered small countries in the Western Regions to come to Chang'an every year to pay tribute to His Majesty. It seems clear who is loyal and traitorous, but the old slave and he have a deep relationship with them, but they have their own different views."

"Speak!" Li Longji's eyes gradually became cold.

"The reason why Lao Nu thought the two performed very differently was that their respective experiences were different. Gao Xianzhi had been stationed in the border for a long time and had never been an official in the court. He didn't know much about the tricks in the officialdom, so he didn't pay attention to many minor issues and acted out in a straightforward manner, which made people criticize him. Li Qing was different. From the prince's servant to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he was a person who rolled in the officialdom. How could he not know whether to do it or not? So Lao Nu thought that Gao Xianzhi was actually clear at a glance, but the old Nu still couldn't see through the true thoughts in Li Qing's heart. This is the terrible thing."

"Are you saying that Li Qing is inconsistent?" Li Longji asked a little disbelief. After all, Li Qing has been by his side for many years, and he still knows him one or two, otherwise he would not have been allowed to be the governor of Anxi.

"I don't mean that!" Bian Lingcheng sensitively noticed that Li Longji's tone was a little bad, and hurriedly explained further: "The emperor only asked me to compare Li Qing and Gao Xianzhi, so I just compared the two of them. Both of them were actually good, but if they had to compare their loyalty to the court and to Your Majesty, Lao Nu personally prefers Gao Xianzhi."

Bian Lingcheng's words made Li Longji feel an ominous premonition. Although he did not fully agree with Bian Lingcheng's evaluation of Li Qing or Gao Xianzhi, his conversation with Bian Lingcheng today reminded him from another perspective, that is, to look at people, you should not just look at the surface. He remembered Li Xianzhong's defection, and there was no sign at all before, but it suddenly happened.

Li Longji slowly walked to the window and stared at the distant sky. He thought of the generals holding heavy army: An Lushan, Geshuhan, An Sishun, Li Qing, Feng Changqing. Will they suddenly do something he completely unexpected like Li Xianzhong?

After a long time, he asked Bian Lingcheng quietly: "You have been in the border for many years. Have you ever thought of any way to prevent the rebellion of the border generals?"

"I can't say anything about old slave."

"Say!" Li Longji turned around suddenly, staring at Bian Lingcheng tightly and sternly said: "If you don't say it now, when will you wait?"

Bian Lingcheng sighed and said helplessly: "Actually, I think the best way is to implement a rotation system. The border general will change his position in another place for three years. You must not let him work in a certain place for too long."

When Li Longji was stunned, he suddenly remembered An Lushan. He had been the governor of Fan Yang for more than ten years before he knew it.

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Chapter completed!