In late February of the fourth year of Guangqi, the dispute between the Crown Prince and the younger brother became increasingly fierce.
The bodies of people who died suddenly often appeared on the streets of Chang'an. These people were either dressed in luxurious clothes or had fierce looks.
According to speculation by some people, these people who died suddenly were either high-ranking officials in the court or assassins roaming in the dark.
In early March, the eunuchs and court officials actually simultaneously sent out invitations to the vassal states all over the world. The two sides actually joined hands to carry out a grand spring search activity in Kunming Lake.
At that time, the fate of the Crown Prince will be decided at the Spring Festival Gala; who will be the Prince of Ji, Li Bao, or the Prince of Shou, Li Jie
In fact, in real history, after Li Xuan's death, the one who took the throne was Prince Shou Li Jie, who later became Emperor Zhaozong of Tang.
Some people say, wasn’t Emperor Zhaozong of Tang called Li Ye
Prince Shou Li Jie changed his name to Li Min when he first came to power, and later changed his name to Li Ye. There is no doubt that Li Jie is the later Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Li Ye.
But now, there are obviously not many people supporting him.
There were only Lulong Jiedushi Yuchi Jin, Henan Li Quanzhong, Ning Wang Chongying, Jizhou Wang, and Cangzhou Wang Chucun.
And there are many people who support Prince Ji Li Bao.
In addition to Wang Yueyao, the governor of Jiangnan West Road, there were also Li Keyong of Hedong, Wang Jian of Xichuan, Gu Yanlang of Dongchuan, Zhu Mei of Yan, Liu Hanhong of Yisheng, the Zhu brothers, and Yang Shouliang of Xingyuan, etc.
The situation was obviously unfavorable to Li Jie, but Zhu Li, the most powerful warlord in the world, remained silent at this time.
His silence caused Han Zhi of Xuzhou and Guan Yu of Yaozhou to fall silent as well.
This time, the imperial court gathered all the warlords in the country to hold a spring search event. The purpose was naturally not as simple as it seemed on the surface; it might have been intended to intensify the conflicts between the warlords.
Zhu Li would never make a decision before knowing the enemy's true intentions.
So what is spring search
Spring hunting refers to hunting activities carried out in spring.
Hunting has existed since ancient times. In primitive society, it was a very grand production activity.
Since the Xia Dynasty, rulers of all dynasties have divided hunting activities into four seasons: spring search, summer seedling search, autumn hunting, and winter hunting.
During the Tang Dynasty, hunting was particularly popular in all seasons.
Emperor Taizong Li Shimin once said: "There are three things that a true man should enjoy in this world: peace in the world and a well-fed family is the first; the grass is shallow and the animals are fat, and hunting is done with propriety, so that the bow never misses and the arrow never hits the target. The third is the world being united and all the people are celebrating, and the upper and lower classes are in harmony. "
Even Emperor Taizong, the ruler of the Tang Dynasty, listed hunting as one of the three greatest pleasures in life, which shows how popular hunting was in the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, King Qi Li Yuanji once said: "I would rather go without food for three days than go without hunting for a day." All signs indicate that the upper class of the Tang Dynasty preferred hunting activities.
It is said that what the superiors do leads to what the subordinates do. This has been the case since ancient times. How could hunting not be popular in the Tang Dynasty
Spring search is an activity of the royal family and also a popular activity throughout the country. Moreover, this spring search is also related to the selection of the crown prince. Even the local vassal states dare not underestimate it.
All of a sudden, all the warlords in the country set out, bringing their trusted aides and rushing to Chang'an on horseback; even the two sides that were at war with each other stopped fighting, gathered their troops, and rushed to the capital.
Zhu Li from Shuozhou is naturally no exception.
The Crown Prince is very likely to be the next emperor. No one dares to take such a person who is related to the future trend lightly, and Zhu Li naturally does not dare to neglect it either.
Before Zhu Li left, Yi Jiangnan and Li Gufeng led thousands of ghost guards and headed south first.
They had to arrive in Chang'an before Zhu Li. In addition to clearing dangerous obstacles for Zhu Li, they were also responsible for gathering information from all sides for Zhu Li's reference and prediction.
Not long after the Ghost Guards set out, Zhu Li took Zhu Ya, Yue Pengju, Gao Yuan, Yue Yun, Qian Muran, Qing Ruo and others and immediately headed south.
The spring search will be held as scheduled in late March. How dare they delay after the deadline? In addition, there are three thousand elite cavalry and three thousand tiger guards who will follow Zhu Li and go to Chang'an together.
It was rare for a vassal state to come to the capital without bringing troops with him, and Zhu Li was no exception.
Everyone pretended to be ignorant even though they knew the truth. There must be something fishy about this spring search, and no one would take their own life lightly.
The grand event was ordered by the imperial court, and all the commanders along the way did not dare to make things difficult for them. Of course, this was the case when they were leaving, but as for whether anything would happen on the way back, only God knew.
When passing through Hedong, Li Keyong had already left. The general Li Siyuan stationed in Hedong did not make things difficult for Zhu Li and others. However, he, together with a group of Hedong warriors, looked at Zhu Li and others with particularly unfriendly eyes.
Taiyuan was originally Li Keyong's old nest, but now it has become Zhu Li's ruling place. It is impossible to say that these Shatuo generals have no thoughts in their minds.
However, they can only hate but dare not act rashly.
If their recklessness disrupts Hedong's existing plans, even if we lend them ten heads, they will not be enough to chop off; not to mention, Zhu Li is now ordered to go to the capital, and for the sake of justice, who dares to stop him
This trip to the capital is bound to be full of twists and turns, with undercurrents surging; Zhu Li and others turned a blind eye to the hatred of the Hedong generals and had no intention of getting entangled with them.
The group set out at the beginning of the month and arrived in Chang'an in mid-March; it was already evening at that time.
Looking ahead, I saw the majestic Chang'an, the ancient capital of the Qin and Han dynasties, facing the evening glow, like an old man lamenting the sudden changes in the world.
This ancient city, rich in culture and having experienced many hardships, seems to have lost its grandeur with the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
Since the first year of Zhonghe, the magnificent ancient city of Chang'an was first conquered by Huang Chao and then recaptured by Zhu Li; when the eunuch Tian Lingzi was competing with Wang Chongrong for the benefits of the Salt Lake, Chang'an was captured again by Li Keyong.
After falling several times, this famous city has long lost its majestic power. It is like an old beast struggling to survive, lying lazily on the land of Shaanxi.
As soon as they entered Chang'an, Zhu Li and others encountered something unusual.
Liu Hanhong, the governor of Yisheng Army, openly challenged Gu Yanlang, the governor of Dongchuan Army, in Chang'an City.
In the official history, Liu Hanhong, the governor of Yisheng Army who should have died in the second year of Guangqi, is still alive and well.
It's no wonder that he is still alive. Ever since Zhu Li, the little butterfly, came to this era, he killed Gao Pian with the first shot, making Yang Xingmi of Yangzhou rise to prominence in Yangzhou several years earlier than in history.
Liu Hanhong, who controlled the eastern part of Jiangnan, was intimidated by the crouching tiger Yang Xingmi, and did not recklessly attack Dong Chang, who was based in Hangzhou, as had been done in history.
Naturally, he did not suffer a series of defeats at the hands of Qian Miu, a general under Dong Chang, so he lived well.
It was precisely because of Yang Xingmi's deterrence that Liu Hanhong focused most of his attention on Yang Xingmi; his tragedy did not happen again in this time and space.
Liu Hanhong and Gu Yanlang, these two people met each other for some unknown reason. Was it a coincidence, or was someone instigating them
However, one of these two men was arrogant and ambitious by nature; the other had lost his son and had no successor, so he became even more unscrupulous. It was understandable that they confronted each other as soon as they met.
Liu Hanhong dominated Jiangdong and fought against Yang Xingmi in the north, so he was naturally not an easy person to deal with; and Gu Yanlang, who was able to snatch food from Wang Jian's mouth and occupy Dongchuan, was also not a good person.
Although the two faced off, they did not engage in combat.
As heroes of their generation, they knew clearly in their minds that the spring search had not yet begun. If the two of them fought to the death at this time, the final result would only be that others would benefit.
However, as a local vassal, he could not lose face. He could not swallow the anger in his heart, so he had to find a way to vent it.
So the two of them had an unprecedented contest.
Most people can't do this kind of fighting, because their competition is about wealth.
At the city gate of Chang'an, Liu Hanhong occupied the left side of the street, built stoves with gold and jade, and used silk and satin as firewood. He bought bear paws, bird's nests and other delicacies at high prices, cooked them on the spot, and entertained all the merchants and travelers passing by.
It is euphemistically called: Don’t miss it if you pass by, the free bear paws and bird’s nests, one bite can strengthen your yang, two bites can nourish your yin, and three bites will bring you many children and grandchildren.
The blatant display of wealth is jaw-dropping.
You know, nowadays in the world, more than 70% of the people do not have enough to eat and sleep well.
This guy Liu Hanhong actually gave away such precious delicacies as bear paws and bird's nests for free and forced people to eat them as if they were cabbages. He was so ostentatious.
What's more, there are silks and satins.
Even if a well-off family had to spend several years' savings to be able to buy one; usually they would only indulge in this luxury when their son or daughter got married.
But Liu Hanhong used it as firewood, which is a blatant sin.
Looking at Gu Yanlang again, this guy occupied the right side of the street and built a silver platform on the spot near the gate of Chang'an City.
The entire silver platform looked like a small hill glittering with silver. No one knew how much silver had been used to build it.
Not only that, Gu Yanlang also bought sixteen beautiful ladies from brothels and embroidery workshops in Chang'an at high prices, and placed them all on the silver platform.
Each of these ladies had a golden bucket made of pure gold next to her. The glittering golden bucket was filled with white silver coins.
The sixteen ladies did nothing else but one thing, which was to continuously throw handfuls of silver coins from the bucket onto the stage and the road.
It is euphemistically called: Don’t miss it if you pass by; there is a reward for passers-by, one or two ounces of silver; instead of praying for a golden pie to fall from the sky, it is better to stop and take it.
As soon as they saw this scene, Zhu Li and others were stunned and drooling, just like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
The world is so big that there are all kinds of strange things.
Even in the last days of the Tang Dynasty, good things like money being thrown everywhere are happening. Many people feel that they have not woken up yet.
After the surprise, there was contemplation, but of course, he would not forget to rob the money.
Even Zhu Li, the great general of Huaihua, asked for a handkerchief from Qing Ruo, covered his face with it, and immediately joined the ranks of picking up money.
The crowd was surging and there was no way to get through. Zhu Li, Yue Pengju, Qian Muran and others, relying on their great skills, robbed people as if they had never seen money in their eight lives.
As the saying goes, one should be grateful to those who have eaten his food and be lenient to those who have received his gifts.
But Zhu Li and his group not only ate and drank to their heart's content, but also ate the bear paws and bird's nests distributed by Liu Hanhong, and snatched the countless silver coins thrown by Gu Yanlang.
Even so, in his heart, he had already secretly listed Liu Hanhong and Gu Yanlang as the cancer of the Central Plains that must be eliminated.
These two people are extremely extravagant and greedy, and they must not be allowed to stay.