"This jar contains my uncle's ashes. He once said that he didn't need a coffin after he passed away, and a wine jar would suffice." Liang Zhenlian hugged the jar tightly, looked up at Li Qishen, and quickly lowered her eyes, saying softly, "I wanted my uncle's soul to return to his hometown, so I brought it to Chang'an."
The person who had drunk with him on the hillside looking at the bonfire in the distance and talked about the past and the future while drunk, and who had lost his memory and slept on the grass, had now become a jar of ashes, brought thousands of miles to Chang'an, and could not rest in peace even after death. It was said that the soul had returned to its hometown, but the mountains and rivers trampled by the rebels were littered with corpses and blood, and there was no such thing as the vast scenery that Li Rongjin had mentioned.
Li Qishen just thought it was funny: "I thought you knew that Prince Ning was from Lingzhou and had served as the governor of Lingzhou."
Liang Zhenlian's face turned pale instantly, her hands holding the jar tightened, her lips trembled, and in the end she said nothing.
Fortunately, Li Qishen did not force her and asked about Li Shutan: "Where is Jialuo? She should be the one to support the group, right?"
"Princess..." Liang Zhenlian obviously didn't intend to speak, and she really couldn't say it. Gao Chang had no choice but to speak for her, "The princess was with the army and disappeared during the battle."
The battlefield was changing rapidly, and "disappearing" was another way of saying "death". Even if she was lucky enough to survive and not die in the chaos of arrows, since the Tiande Army didn't find her, she would be in the hands of the rebels. What could be the fate of a 15-year-old girl? With Li Shutan's fierce temper, she would probably think of a way to end her life.
Li Qishen felt dizzy for a while, barely stood up, and asked Gao Chang in a hoarse voice: "Have you gone back to look for it?"
"I went to look for her." The one who answered was Liang Zhenlian. She looked at Gao Chang, then at Li Qishen, and seemed to find it difficult to speak. She said in a low voice, "Actually...someone saw Jialuo. It was said that she was with the rebels' military advisor..."
"My lady, be careful with your words!" Gao Chang interrupted her immediately. He was unusually anxious when he spoke, his face tense and hardened. "Your Majesty, I am talking nonsense. The princess has a strong character, just like the general. She would never surrender to the enemy. This is nonsense. The Tiande Army has been searching for her for more than ten days and has not found her. Even the token is missing. I am afraid that the princess..."
He didn't say anything more, and Li Qishen didn't ask any more questions: "The past is over, there's no need to talk about it again. Order the troops from Pinglu and Hedong to attack us, and then look for us. You've come a long way, please set up your tents in Chang'an, rest for a while, and then return to Fengzhou."
"As for Prince Ning, let's follow his last wish." He glanced at the jar in Liang Zhenlian's arms and said to Chang Zu who had been waiting by the side since early morning, "Send someone to Lingyan Pavilion to tell them."
Chang Zu responded and just as he turned around to tell the clever eunuch about this matter, another eunuch came running over in a hurry. He ran too fast and stumbled when he arrived in front of Li Qishen, knocking his head directly to the ground, which was actually a not-so-standard salute to the emperor.
The eunuch's head was so painful that he gasped for air and stammered in panic, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong? Can you speak human language?!" Chang Zu was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. Prince Ning had passed away, and the princess's life and death were unknown. Li Qishen was not the kind of person who showed his emotions, but he was in a bad mood, and this little eunuch came to join in the fun. Chang Zu wanted to kick him in the ass, and his voice became shrill, "Have you learned the rules?!"
"What happened?" Li Qishen didn't say anything, so Xie Wangzhi quickly spoke up, "Get up first and catch your breath. Don't be in a hurry, Master."
The Queen spoke, so Chang Zu could only respond, lowering his head and glaring at the eunuch: "Did you hear that?"
"I heard it, I heard it. Thank you, Queen." The eunuch nodded hurriedly, stood up hastily, and took a deep breath, "Your Majesty, Shuzhou... has rebelled!"
Xie Wangzhi was shocked and saw the same expression on Gao Chang's face. Li Qishen still didn't respond, so she had to ask, "What happened in Shuzhou?"
"It's Prime Minister An... No, that's not right. It's the An thief who rebelled!" The eunuch struggled over how to address An Guangxing, and repeated what Ye Jian had said at the time, "He held the retired emperor and the young prince hostage, saying that the world had just been settled, and he wanted to discuss with Your Majesty what to do next."
This move was really unexpected. Kang Lie was the one who was in charge of the defense of the rebellion, and no one thought of Shuzhou at all. First, there were not many troops deployed in Chengdu, and the defense of the city was just relying on the geographical advantage; second, An Guangxing has always been despised as a dog-like person who is not smart enough to be a dog. I really didn't expect that he would come up with this trick in the end. No matter how cruel Li Qishen is, he is always afraid of the spit of the world. He has to think about the ethics and can't just leave his father and nephew alone.
Xie Wangzhi never got involved in political affairs, so he didn't know how to respond and could only turn around and look at Li Qishen.
Li Qishen still had no expression on his face. He glanced at the eunuch calmly and said, "What if I don't agree?"
"An Ze sent someone to pass on the message, saying that if Your Majesty doesn't respond, doesn't answer," the eunuch swallowed, "he would, would... kill the person on hand."
Li Qishen suddenly smiled. He was good-looking, and looked good when he wasn't smiling. He looked even better when he smiled. This smile concealed a myriad of emotions, like contempt and sarcasm, and a bit of the malice of a cat teasing a mouse, as if he had finally found a place to vent the anger and resentment that had been pent up in his heart.
"Okay." He said softly, "I'll go myself."
**
"… Changsheng." The light armor covered the outside of his clothes, and there were always some wrinkles at the joints. Xie Wangzhi helped him dress up, making him a beautiful little general. When smoothing out the wrinkles, he couldn't help but ask him again, "Do you have to go?"
"An Guangxing has asked to talk to me by name. I can't just hide in Chang'an and let the world laugh at me." Going there in person certainly has risks, but Li Qishen is not panicking at all and doesn't take the other party seriously at all. "With An Guangxing's ability, although he has ambitions, he is timid at heart. How dare a dog bark at passers-by? It's just because he has a master behind him."
Xie Wangzhi probably understood: "You mean, he has connections with the rebels?"
"There is probably a group of them near Shuzhou, making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, or attacking Wei to save Zhao. It's definitely this strategy."
It was fine if An Guangxing was alone, but when the rebels were mentioned, Xie Wangzhi became more worried and bit his lip: "Since the rebels are here... isn't that even more unsafe?"
"I am not leading the Jinwu Guards, but the elite troops of the Tiande Army and the Shuofang Army. If we don't even have this little chance of winning, Chang'an City would have been lost long ago." Li Qishen smiled, "Besides, he is threatening me now. Think about it, what is the biggest bargaining chip in his hand?"
What else could it be? It was nothing more than a Li Chengjing and a Li Cangbi. Li Qishen didn't dislike this nephew, but Li Cangbi was born a man, and was the legitimate blood of the former crown prince, and his name was so disgusting. No matter how generous he was, he couldn't treat him without any grudges; as for Li Chengjing, it was better not to say anything.
It was a bad move for An Guangxing to use these two people to threaten Li Qishen. Li Qishen didn't care at all, it was just because of ethical principles. To be honest, it was the threats that made him furious. If An Guangxing went crazy and killed these two people, Li Qishen would probably be happy to give him a reason to attack without any scruples.
"He has nothing to threaten me. I do have to take the people in Chengdu into consideration, but I don't think he has the guts to threaten me by massacring the city." If all else fails, Li Qishen can just give up on Chengdu, but that was too harsh, so he couldn't bear to tell Xie Wangzhi. He just said something milder, "As for the people in his hands, if we can save them, we will. If we can't, Le Yan is accompanying the army this time, and he can cover up anything with just a pen. Don't worry."
He spoke so confidently and in a gentle tone that Xie Wangzhi felt relieved, but still a little reluctant: "How long will it take for you to come back?"
"I will definitely be back before the Qixi Festival."
The timing was well chosen. Xie Wang was stunned, but Li Qishen continued talking and arranged things for her.
"While I'm away, the affairs of the court will not stop. The memorials will come up as usual. If you want to read them, you can look through them at will. If you don't want to read them, that's fine. Just leave them there and Fanzhi and the others will deal with them. But Fanzhi is a slow person and I'm afraid the memorials will pile up like a mountain. You don't have to rush him. If he asks you what you think, just tell the truth without any scruples. The memorials he has picked out will be placed in the Changsheng Palace and I will read them when I come back." Li Qishen continued, "General Gao will stay in Chang'an City until I come back. He and several young generals of the Huo family will deal with military affairs, so you don't need to worry about them."
Xie Wangzhi responded: "I remember."
"I issued an order a few days ago to move the concubines of the previous dynasty to the palace and to send the concubines home. If they make a fuss, ignore them. There are rules to restrain them. Don't bother you. Liang Zhenlian is also here." Political affairs are easy to arrange, but household affairs are troublesome. Li Qishen gets annoyed when he mentions her, but he has to be patient and say, "She lives in the post house. Someone has been sent to look after her. If she hands you a note, ignore her and don't let her go out."
"What's going on?" Xie Wangzhi was confused.
"She said that about Jialuo in front of everyone that day. No matter how Jialuo is now, people's words are scary." Li Qishen frowned, "Besides, I had some disagreements with her when I was in Fengzhou. Just treat it as a personal grudge."
Husband and wife are one, so Xie Wangzhi naturally stands on Li Qishen's side. Besides, he has a good temper and is not a reckless person. When he said that, she did not ask any more questions and nodded seriously: "I remember everything. Is there anything else you want to explain?"
Li Qishen thought about it carefully and was silent for a moment: "Yes."
He always looked serious when he was talking about serious matters. Xie Wangzhi also became nervous, and his palms were sweating unconsciously: "What's the matter? Is it in the palace or outside? Do you want me to go find my brother..."
"No need." Li Qishen was still dignified and solemn when he spoke. After saying these two words, his expression suddenly relaxed, and a relaxed smile appeared between his eyebrows, as if he was chatting before bed. Wearing light armor, it was inconvenient to bend down, so he just lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Remember to think of me."
Xie Wangzhi couldn't help but smiled, then stood on tiptoe and gently kissed him on the lips.
The author has something to say: I will wait for Changsheng to come back to the end, I am tired, bye (.)