Chapter 497 The Dead Shadow

Author: Chris Webber

"Oh!" Li Hong sighed: "Although the enemy country is destroyed, it has become old and withered. By the way, I heard that the governor of the King was the first to pacify Goguryeo this time. Have you ever seen him when you were in Pyongyang? How can he be safe?"

Hearing Li Hong asks him about Wang Wenzuo’s recent situation, Li Jingye couldn’t help but feel jealous in his heart. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice: “Your Highness asked Wang Wenzuo? He is very good. In fact, this time, the two brothers, Quangai Manjian and Quangai Manchan, were not in the city at that time. King Goguryeo launched a coup in the city, and then opened the city to surrender!”

"Well, I heard of it too!" Li Hong smiled and said, "Avoiding the real and attacking the virtual, this is the beauty of military strategy! It's a pity that the governor of the king refused to serve as a military strategy in the East Palace, but this is not surprising. If I had the ability of him, I would also think about going to the frontier to make achievements and keep a name in history, rather than wasting my time in the East Palace!"

When Li Jingye heard the prince’s words, his heart became more and more like a fly bite, and he felt extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but say, “Your Highness the Crown Prince is the crown prince of the country. It is the main business to serve Your Highness in the Eastern Palace. How can he waste his time?”

The prince's face changed slightly and he said coldly: "Whether Wang Wenzuo is in the Eastern Palace or in the border, he is for me, father and Tang Dynasty. No one can tell the right or wrong!"

As soon as Li Jingye said, he knew that he had said the wrong thing. Before he could recover it, he heard the prince’s scolding and had to apologize: “Jingye made a mistake, please atone for his sins!”

The prince snorted coldly and signaled Li Jingye to get up. After this, the atmosphere in the field had undergone a subtle change. The prince walked to the coffin and leaned over to check Li Ji's body. He noticed that the corners of the corpse's mouth were slightly raised, as if he was smiling blankly. This strange expression made Li Hong suddenly feel chill. He subconsciously shivered and took a step back.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" asked the accompanying Eastern Palace official in a low voice.

"It's nothing, it's just that the British Duke's expression is a bit strange, as if he is laughing!" Li Hong whispered.

"Smiling?" The official of the Eastern Palace looked over and whispered: "It's a bit, but it's nothing. Your Highness, there will always be some strange changes after a person dies. The time is almost over, so you can set off!"

Li Hong nodded and walked towards his horse. Perhaps it was a psychological effect. He felt that there was a scent of salted fish under the aroma of the air, which made him less want to stay by the coffin.

With a command, the drum music sounded again, and the yellow umbrella moved again on the Suzaku Street, but this time it was from Mingde Gate to the Suzaku Gate. The pedestrians next to the road saw the Eastern Palace opening the way for the British Duke's coffin. Following the coffin were hundreds of people in undyed coats, including men, women, and even children. They were all the nobles of the captive Goguryeo, and they would follow the coffin of the great general to the cemetery.

Tai Chi Palace, Lingyan Pavilion.

At dusk, the rain outside had stopped, and the hall was dark and quiet. The last ray of sunset shot into the window, covering the walls with a layer of red light. The incense burner candles beside it swayed, leaving layers of black shadows on the walls, which slowly and firmly descended to the floor.

With a slight creaking, the door was pushed open. The emperor Li Zhi came in. He waved his hand, and the eunuch following behind him was like an agile old dog. He silently left the door and carefully brought it to the door, leaving only Li Zhi.

The emperor walked to the wall, raised the candlestick in his hand, and saw the murals on the wall clearly: the wall was painted with the late emperor's favorite imperial horse. He rode these war horses to destroy Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and conquered thousands of miles of rivers and mountains. Then there were portraits of figures, which were the "Twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion" famous in later generations. The emperor stopped before the first portrait, his body trembled slightly, and his familiar eyes were glancing at him, as if he was about to give advice!

"Uncle!" The emperor moaned. He felt his back hurt. An invisible hand was pushing him. The next second he would kneel down.

"I know Xu Jingzong said that your rebellion is a false accusation, but as long as you stay in Chang'an for one day, I and Mei Niang will not be able to live in peace. So I planned to let you live in the southwest for two years. When it is stable, I will let you come back. But I didn't expect you to die like this! Alas, why couldn't you give in and let me change Yi Mei Niang to the queen?" Li Zhi sighed. He thought everything had been forgotten, but when facing the portrait in this Lingyan Pavilion, all the lies and excuses were gone. Shame and helplessness were chasing themselves like beasts, biting their hearts.

Standing in front of Changsun Wuji's portrait for a long time, Li Zhi began to walk through the portraits: Li Xiaogong, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yuchi Jingde... Finally, he stayed in front of the penultimate portrait, stared for a long time and sighed: "Duke of England, you are the last person to come here. Please rest assured that no matter what your future life is, your portrait will remain here forever. As long as there is a day in the Tang Dynasty, your reputation will not fade away!"

When he walked out of Lingyan Pavilion, it was completely dark. The eunuch who was accompanying him stepped forward with a gentle heart and took the candlestick from the emperor's hand. He raised his ears and followed silently about a step and a half behind Li Zhi, trying his best not to let the emperor pay attention to his existence.

"Where is the prince now?" Li Zhi asked suddenly.

"I have already returned to the Eastern Palace!" The eunuch replied: "The prince welcomed the British Duke's coffin today. He was wet with some rain. After the matter was finished, he felt a little uncomfortable. He went back to rest!"

"Oh? Have you seen it?" Li Zhi stopped.

"I have already asked the doctor from the East Palace to see it!"

"Let the imperial physician go and see it. In addition, I will take a hundred pieces of Shu brocade, candied fruit and butter paste from me, so that the prince can rest well and get better soon!"

"Abide by the order!"

Li Zhi was still very satisfied with the prince Li Hong. He would not mention benevolent and filial. The most important thing is that he was quite calm in his actions. In him, Li Zhi saw the shadow of his childhood. Although he was in poor health, he had such a prince and the queen's assistance. Even if there was a situation, there would be no problem.

When Li Zhi returned to the Daming Palace, Wu was already waiting for him at the dining table. She stepped forward to greet him and said angrily: "Your Majesty, aren't you sick? Why are you going out again?"

"Oh, I'm going to Lingyan Pavilion!" Li Zhi smiled and sat down on the brocade bed: "I feel something, so I went to see the portrait!"

"Lingyan Pavilion?" Wu's eyes flashed: "The heroes of the late emperor have also passed away!"

"Yes, the British Duke is the last one!" Li Zhi sighed, covering his face with both hands. After a while, he sighed slowly: "Until today, I feel that the late emperor has truly left!"

Wu did not speak, but gently stroked her husband's hand. Perhaps only she could understand the profound meaning hidden behind Li Zhi's stupid words. As the actual founding emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin was famous for treating meritorious officials well in history books, and the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion were representatives. Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident in the ninth year of Wude, in the following decades, the center of the Tang Dynasty's political stage was occupied by Emperor Taizong and his meritorious officials.

After Li Shimin's death in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, this group of heroes did not withdraw immediately. Changsun Wuji, Li Ji and others continued to take charge of the government after Li Zhi ascended the throne. Not long after, they took the opportunity of "Fang Yiai's rebellion case" to carry out a major purge on the court, almost sweeping away the talents with talent and talent among the royal family and the relatives.

Among them, there was Li Ke, the King of Wu who had competed for the throne with Li Zhi, but more of them were people who had rifts with Changsun Wuji on weekdays. After the "Fang Yiai Rebellion Case", the court was empty, and the people who stayed behind were all following Changsun Wuji and others. While Li Zhi praised him on the surface, he became afraid in his heart. He was familiar with history books and would not forget what those heroes did after the deaths of Liu Bang and Empress Lu.

With the close relationship between Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi's nephew and uncle, if it were not for the later "destroying the king and establishing Wu", Changsun Wuji and others would not have ended up like that. But even so, after Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were exiled and died one after another, the heroes of Zhenguan did not completely withdraw from the political stage. Li Ji was the last of them. It was not until 668 AD that the late emperor had passed away for nearly twenty years, and he passed away after establishing a great achievement like destroying Goguryeo. Only then could Li Zhi get rid of the shadows left behind by those giants, so he said what he said just now.

After a long time, Li Zhi opened his eyes again, picked up the cup, took a sip of butterfly, and said, "Awu, the British Duke asked Wang Wenzuo to be the chief of the marching in the Anton Protectorate. What do you think?"

"Isn't this good?" asked the queen, "Goguryeo Xinping, Wang Wenzuo is very resourceful and good at fighting, and wins Rong Di's heart. Is he a good candidate?"

"Wang Wenzuo is indeed very suitable to be the chief of the marching army! But should he be transferred back and stayed with Honger in the East Palace for two years?"

"Have Hong'er for two years?" Wu asked, "Your Majesty is this for-?"

"Add a hand to Hong'er!" Li Zhi said: "It also adds some affection to the Tian family. Moreover, he has not yet married. It will not be too late to marry in Chang'an, give birth to a child, and go out to lead troops!"

"That's true! But he has just taken office as the chief of the marching, so it's best to transfer back to Chang'an in two years!" Wu nodded. She already understood what her husband meant. Wang Wenzuo is only in his early thirties now. If nothing unexpected happens, he can be at least a general for twenty years and be deeply trusted by the prince. He is a very good person to be entrusted. Talents like this should be included in the ruling group through marriage and the noble life of Chang'an, so that they can be used with great confidence.

"Yes, then let's go in two years!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "There is another thing that Xue Rengui has arrived in Longyou. He replied to the letter two days ago. The letter said that the Tubo people should not be taken quickly, and they must be slowed down! I didn't expect that this flying general who went down to Tianshan with three arrows would be so cautious!"

"General Xue knows to be cautious, this is also a blessing for the country!" Wu said with a smile: "But your Majesty, do you really plan to use troops against the Tubo people?"

"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded: "If Qinghai does not defend, Longyou is unstable; if Longyou does not defend, not only will Guanzhong be in turmoil and Anxi lose its connection, but the Northern Di and Xirong are connected, and the Tang Dynasty will have no peace. In the third year of Longshuo, I did not send troops, but because there is something wrong with Liaodong and it is not enough to catch them. Now that Goguryeo has been destroyed, the court can draw an arm from the east, so naturally, they will launch a large number of troops to give the Tubo people a little color!"

"Yes, although the Tubo people are still obedient in the past few years, they are very active in Xichuan and Qinghai, and they are sure to be underestimated!"

"No matter how powerful it is, it's just a group of barbarians!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "By the way, the peony flowering period will be in a few days. How about I go to Luoyang?"

"Luoyang?" Wu's eyes lit up and he smiled, "That's great. I still want to go to Luoyang Temple to give charity, but I didn't expect that your Majesty would say it first!"

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Yangzhou.

Before sunrise, the dog wakes up from the rooftop hut shared by his companions.

The dog is always the first to wake up, and squeezes under the blanket with his companions to warm and comfortable. He can hear their slight breathing. He turns over and sits up to grop. The cat complains in a sleepy way, and then wraps it around on the blanket. The cold outside makes the dog's naked body get goose bumps. He quickly puts on his clothes in the dark. While tying his belt, he hears the cat's voice: "Go, do a favor and give me my clothes!"

The dog took the clothes, and the cat twisted under the blanket and crawled out of the blanket. The companions who were still sleeping were dazed and threatened the two guys who disturbed their sleep.

When the two of them climbed down the ladder connecting the roof loft, the adults had already gotten up the boat in the canal behind the house. Like every morning, the adults shouted and made the teenagers move faster. The dog's task was to untie the ropes on the pillars, throw the ropes to the cats on the boat, and then push the boat away from the dock with force, while the adults worked hard to hold the oar. When the boat left the dock, the dog jumped hard and jumped onto the deck.

For a long time after that, the teenagers were all idle. Their strength was too small to paddle and pole, so they could only sit on the deck and beat Hache. Allow the boat to advance in the darkness before dawn, through small and intricate canals. The sky before dawn showed pink and blue, and the air had a pungent salty smell (Yangzhou was very close to the coastline at that time), which indicates that it would be a good weather in the future.
Chapter completed!