Chapter 397 Mingyuan returns

At noon, it was the hottest time of the day, and the streets and alleys were empty without a single pedestrian. At this time, the Danfeng Gate of the Daming Palace suddenly opened. A cavalry team of 3,000 people escorted Zhang Huan's dragon chariot out of the palace, without the need for soldiers to lead the way. The cavalry brigade ran quickly in the empty street.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, the large group of people turned around and entered Kaimingfang. Kaimingfang was just a small house, with less than a thousand households, mostly ordinary civilians and some middle- and low-level officials. The sudden arrival of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty obviously became the most explosive news in this house. Moreover, this was the first time the emperor left the palace after ascending the throne. It was not a sacrifice to heaven and earth and ancestors, but a most ordinary residential house in Chang'an. In just an instant, the news of the emperor's arrival spread throughout the house. Although martial law was on both sides of Fang Street, there were still groups of people watching from a distance in the scorching sun.

"Your Majesty, this is Wu Yuanheng's home."

The large group of people stopped in front of an extremely narrow house, which was no different from ordinary houses in Chang'an. There were several tiled houses in front and four or five main houses in the back. There were a small yard in front and behind. Perhaps because I felt the tense atmosphere outside, the dog in the yard suddenly started to bark fiercely.

Wu Yuanheng is Wu Zetian's great nephew. His family was already in decline when his father was alive. He and his mother depended on each other and lived in poverty. After passing the imperial examination five years ago, they were elected to the Ministry of War as the head of the Ministry of War because of their family background. It was not until two months ago that they had been promoted to Yuanwailang. Unexpectedly, they were beaten by Pei Mingyao yesterday morning and had a rib broken.

The person who brought Zhang Huan to Wu Yuanheng's house was Duan Shengyun, the Minister of War. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty actually came to visit a little man. He restrained his shock and went forward to call the door. Perhaps because the dog in the yard was barking violently, he patted it twice, and the door opened with a squeak. Inside the door was an old woman with gray hair, holding a three or four-year-old naughty boy in his hand.

The grand occasion outside scared the old woman. She hurriedly closed the door, but Duan Shengyun pressed the door down and lowered his voice and said evilly: "You must not be rude, Your Emperor is coming down."

Although the old woman was poor, the Wu family was once a wealthy family, so she was only a little stunned. She immediately reacted and saw Zhang Huan at a glance. She hurriedly pulled her grandson to Zhang Huan to kneel down, "The Uncle Wu, come to see His Majesty the Emperor."

"You're welcome!" Zhang Huan waved his hand gently and asked, "Is Wu Yuanheng at home?"

"He is lying on the couch, injured, he cannot come to greet His Majesty. I hope His Majesty will forgive him."

"I'm just watching his injury." Zhang Huan walked into the yard with his hands behind his back. The dog in the yard had been taken away by Wu Yuanheng's wife. Although the house was simple, it was very clean and tidy. The house was small and there were not many people entering. Dozens of personal guards surrounded Zhang Huan and entered the inner house. There was a small patio between the outer room and the inner house. A ginkgo was planted. The tree was five meters tall and lush with branches and leaves. The thick shade of the tree covered the entire inner house. There were some stone tables and benches in the courtyard. The stone table was carved with scriptures. It could be seen that Wu Yuanheng had been studying since childhood.

At this time, Wu Yuanheng's choked voice came from a room in the middle, "Your Majesty, how dare I work for Your Majesty to visit him personally, I can't repay you if I'm broken!"

Zhang Huan smiled slightly and walked into Wu Yuanheng's ward. The room was not big, full of strong medicinal smell. There was a circle of bookshelf all around. It was obvious that this was Wu Yuanheng's study, and the tables and stools had been moved away. There was a bed in the middle. Wu Yuanheng was lying on the couch with a lot of gauze wrapped around him. He was struggling to sit up, but Duan Shengyun pressed him firmly.

"I heard that Pei Mingyao injured my Ministry of War Supervision, but I was so angry that I came to see my dear." Zhang Huan walked up to him and sat down, asking with concern: "How is the injury? When will the doctor be cured?"

Wu Yuanheng is about 30 years old this year. He looks very white and gentle, gentle and calm, and never gets angry. But today he is deeply moved. The emperor has not forgotten that he is the supervisor of the Ministry of War. He said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you for your care, I just broke a rib. The doctor said that as long as you are going to take care of it for one month, you will be cured. The rest are all flesh and blood wounds, and it is not serious."

Zhang Huan nodded slightly, "I asked you to supervise the Ministry of War at that time, but out of a moment of anger. The supervision of the Ministry of War was just a temporary service set up, and there was no salary of one penny or one meter, and it was easy to offend people. I have forgotten this matter, and it is difficult for you to persist until now, and you are not afraid of the powerful. Such an official is the backbone of my Tang Dynasty. Heal my wounds well and I will use it for you in the future."

Duan Shengyun next to him was full of envy and wished he could have broken a few ribs. He quickly smiled and said, "Our Ministry of War has two bones, one is Niu Sengru, the doctor of the Ministry of Veterans, and the other is Wu Yuanheng. They are both upright people, and their poems are very well written."

Duan Shengyun originally wanted to use Niu Sengru to highlight Wu Yuanheng, but suddenly reminded Zhang Huan that he had been worried about reading Si Gu's enrollment during this period and was about to find a clerk to deal with it. Isn't Niu Sengru the most suitable person?

At that moment, he didn't say much, so he comforted Wu Yuanheng a few more words, and then left his home and climbed the dragon chariot to return to the palace. The people of Kaimingfang had already crossed the road and sent off His Majesty the Emperor's departure lively.

Three thousand troops galloped on the empty Zhuque Street. Zhang Huan suddenly ordered the team to stop. After a moment, Duan Shengyun immediately stepped forward and said, "Please give me the order!"

Zhang Huan opened the curtain and smiled and said, "I asked you for two, are you willing to give it to me?"

"Does Your Majesty want Wu Yuanheng and Niu Sengru?"

Zhang Huan nodded, "It's them who give them to me. I can choose the Ministry of War for the August Science and Technology Examination."

Duan Shengyun bowed and said, "It is their fate to be favored by Your Majesty. Your Majesty has the will, and I should obey it."

The carriage continued to move forward and reached the Zhuque Gate. Zhang Huan looked at the soldiers guarding the four trunks from afar. Suddenly, he saw a person and immediately ordered: "Stop!"

The brigade of cavalry immediately stopped in front of Zhuque Gate, and Zhang Huan pointed at a person from afar and said to the guards: "Go and bring him to my place."

Several guards rushed forward and took the man Zhang Huan pointed to to the dragon chariot. He was wearing a somewhat worn official uniform. Seeing that Zhang Huan was very restrained, he knelt down for a long time and said, "My minister, Li Suhe, see His Majesty the Emperor."

Li Suhe was the Chinese Japanese who suggested that Zhang Huan set up four pots. He followed Pei Mingyuan on a mission to Dashi last year, and his appearance meant Pei Mingyuan's return. When he went there, Zhang Huan was just the Minister of War and led a large army to fight in Anxi. However, when he came back, Zhang Huan became the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Suhe seemed to be dreaming.

"When did you arrive? Have Pei Mingyuan returned?" Zhang Huan asked excitedly.

"Report to Your Majesty, I have only returned to Chang'an an hour ago. Pei Sima returned to the mansion to worship his father. I am worried about the four knots, so I will come and take a look."

Zhang Huanjian stood four gray-bearded men from afar, as if they were people with Li Suha. There was an inexplicable excitement in their eyes. Zhang Huan was slightly surprised and asked, "Did you have been in the Dashi? Have you seen their caliph?"

Li Xuhe looked sad and whispered: "First it went smoothly, but there was a throne fight within the Dashi, and the situation changed drastically. We were dead for a lifetime. Thanks to the help of the Tang people, we were able to return to the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty can directly ask Pei Sima for the specific situation."

After saying that, Li Suhe pointed to the four men in the distance, "Just get their help. These people are all Tang soldiers captured in the Battle of Talas."

Zhang Huan was stunned and immediately ordered his left and right, "Thank you four of them to see me quickly."

After a moment, four middle-aged men were taken to Zhang Huan. The four veterans were captured from Tianbao in the tenth year of the year and went to Dashi. They had been away from their hometown for nearly 30 years. They were all from Jingzhao. It was less than an hour after returning to Chang'an. Looking at their hometown, which had been away for more than 30 years, they could not calm down, but they happened to meet the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty at the Zhuque Gate.

The guards had already told them Zhang Huan's identity. The four of them heard that the emperor was going to summon them. They were even more incredible when they were excited. The four of them stepped forward and knelt down to worship together, "Those who lost their country will meet with His Majesty the Emperor."

"Four nobles, please get up quickly!"

Zhang Huan looked at four old men who were nearly sixty years old and remembered the tragic battle in Talas that year. Because he personally directed the battle of Anxi, he was able to deeply understand the loneliness of these soldiers away from their homeland. He couldn't help but feel sad, waved his hand and said, "May I ask the names of the four righteous men, any position in those days?"

One of them was tall and old man who took the lead in politely and said, "In Yang Ming, the former Anxi Army, the Mo Daozhe."

The other two slightly young old men also bowed immediately: "In the lower house, Fan Shu, Liu Li, and the former Anxi Army's infantry."

One of them had a slightly elegant temperament and said at the end: "At Xia Du Huan (Note 1), General Gao, the former general, recorded the military officers and joined the army."

At this time, Li Xuhe next to him also sighed: "There are nearly 100 veterans who returned to China with us. Some of them have died on their way back to China. Some of them stayed in Anxi. Finally, they returned to Longyou, with a total of 36 people. They all returned home and were eager to return home. We made an appointment to gather in Chang'an in two months."

Zhang Huan nodded silently. After a long time, he sighed and said to the four people: "I have also gone to Shule to fight against Dashi. I will never forget the countless soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country. I have ordered people to build a temple of Martyrs in Leyouyuan to worship all soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country, including those in the Battle of Talas, which will be completed soon. I will pay homage to myself."

After saying that, he ordered his subordinates to say, "Take these four veterans to rest well, and their requirements should be met as much as possible."

The carriage started, drove into the imperial city in a row, and rushed towards the direction of the Daming Palace.

Zhang Huan officially met Pei Mingyuan in the afternoon, and he brought extremely unfavorable news.

In the imperial study room, Zhang Huan listened to Pei Mingyuan's report on his mission to Dashi: "I went west and arrived in Baghdad in December. Because of the tens of thousands of prisoners of war and Prince Agush in our hands, their caliphs were very polite to us and met us in the palace. He immediately admitted that Shaye was the city of our Tang Dynasty and agreed to maintain the status quo. The two sides strengthened trade exchanges and agreed to His Majesty's request at that time. He exchanged prisoners of war with the surviving Tang army. He signed a series of related agreements with the prime minister of Dashi. However, since it took time to exchange prisoners of war, I went to Damascus to visit the prisoners of the Tang Dynasty.

The papermaking workshop that I got up, met Du Huan, who was working in the Great Firefighting Bureau in Damascus. He learned from him that a palace coup had occurred in Baghdad. The new caliph came to power. Soon, news came from Baghdad that the new caliph tore up all the agreements I signed with my former caliph and ordered the governor of Damascus to arrest us. Thanks to the help of many veterans such as Du Huan, we escaped the arrest of the cannibals, boarded a Persian merchant ship, and fled from the sea, but soon the ship was damaged by the storm. Chen and others had no choice but to go ashore from Persia, and walked eastward for more than three months before they entered Shule from Tochar, and then went east for two months. Chen finally returned to Chang'an."

After Pei Mingyuan said that, he shook his head in great frustration. He went on a mission to Dashi for half a year, but ended in failure, leaving him with no face to see his lord. However, Zhang Huan did not blame him, but paced back and forth in the imperial study with his hands behind his back. He suddenly turned around and asked, "Where are their prince Agush and the 30,000 Dashi Army now? Have they returned to Dashi?"

Pei Mingyuan immediately shook his head and said, "No! They are still mining gold and silver mines in Shattered Leaf, and Agush is still Shattered Leaf. He was already released back to his country, but when he arrived in Samarkand, he fled back to Shattered Leaf."

"Why?" Zhang Huan asked in surprise.

"In order to consolidate the throne, the current Caliph has announced that Prince Agush has died in the East, and he will undoubtedly die when he returns."

Speaking of Samarkand, Pei Mingyuan suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said to Zhang Huan: "When I was in Samarkand, I heard a news that the new caliph of Dashi had sent envoys to the Uighurs, which is said to be to reconcile the relationship between the Gelu and the Uighurs. I have a bad feeling."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I think the Great Cannibal tear up the agreement obviously means not admitting that the Thunder Leaf was taken back by us and that she was unwilling to accept the defeat in Anxi. The Great Cannibal still has strong power in the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu and the Tochari region. Therefore, I think it sent a heavy envoy to the Uighurs, and I am afraid that their war sword alliance refers to our Tang Dynasty."
Chapter completed!