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Volume 5: Broken Array, Chapter 60: Epilogue 1 (drama version)

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    "Peace in Chang'an"

    At dusk, the breeze blows slowly.

    There are all kinds of clouds floating in the sky, drifting with the wind and dying with the wind.  As the sun gradually sets, the colorful rays of light and the dazzling red light all shine on the white line connecting the water and the sky, like a miracle in the heavens.  Li Heng stood in casual clothes with his hands behind his back on the island in the middle of the lake in the North Garden of Daming Palace, looking at the rippling water in Taiye Pond from a distance.  (Note 1)

    "It's going to be windy. Your Majesty, please add some clothes." Wei Jiansu, the prince's grand master and right servant, walked up behind Li Heng at some point and put a thin shirt on the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

    Li Heng sighed deeply, and with the support of Wei Jiansu, he walked tremblingly towards the shore of Taiye Pond.

    "What important political affairs have been going on in the court recently? Did the prince handle them properly?" Li Heng walked to a long corridor built along the water, found a place to sit down at random, and breathed heavily.  Although he was only in his early fifties, his body was not as good as before. He would break out in profuse sweats after just taking a few steps.  Following the advice of the imperial doctor, Li Heng decided to recuperate quietly and moved to the Hanliang Hall in Beiyuan since last year.

    Although Li Heng now leaves all major affairs of the country to the prince, he will secretly order Wei Jiansu and other important ministers to come to Beiyuan every few days to report extremely important events to him.  Li Heng was still very satisfied with most of the things that Prince Li Yu handled.  But on a few issues, he and the prince would also have differences. In Li Heng's view, the prince was a little too immature when dealing with some issues.

    Wei Jiansu is now in his seventies, and his hair and hair are all gray.  When he saw the emperor asking a question, he hurriedly raised his hands and replied respectfully: "Reporting to your majesty, there haven't been any major events in the court recently. It's just the army's suppression of the rebellion. Thanks to you, it's all good news."

    Li Heng waved his hand and said, "Just tell me."

    Wei Jiansu nodded and replied slowly: "In March, there was internal strife among the rebels, and Shi Siming was killed by his son Shi Chaoyi. Guo Ziyi, deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, took advantage of the situation to pursue him and defeated the rebels. Shi Chaoyi fled north and collapsed. Pu Guhuai  Enling was ordered by the Holy Order to lead Shuofang's army to pursue him and besiege him in Weizhou."

    Li Heng sighed softly and said: "The rebels are unjust teachers. They often kill their fathers. How can I win the hearts of the people by killing my father? What should the prince say about this matter?"

    Wei Jiansu said in a harmonious voice: "After His Highness learned about this, he ordered to reward the three armies. He ordered Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huai'en to assign official positions below the fifth rank on their own. For the meritorious officers who should be canonized to the fifth rank and above, His Highness ordered  The two of them drew up a list and submitted it to the court for approval before the end of the year. As for the money, grain, cloth, and silk, they will be recorded temporarily and will be distributed after the rice, silk and satin from the Jianghuai River arrive in the capital next year."

    Li Heng nodded slightly and said, "He handled this matter properly, please continue."

    "In April, the rebel Tian Chengsi marched from Suiyang and fought fiercely with Pugu Huai'en. The army was defeated and retreated to Zhangshui. Seeing that the rebels had lost power, the Houtian rebels petitioned the court for submission. His Highness the Crown Prince judged the situation and accepted it.  He accepted his request and granted Tian Chengsi the title of Wei Bo's envoy."

    Wei Jiansu swallowed a mouthful of spit and said cautiously.  It is not a trivial matter to entrust a traitor to a general. The prince's move is considered to be overstepping his bounds, and based on Li Heng's standards, he may not be good at it.

    Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Li Heng nodded and praised: "Well done, well done! This Tian Chengsi has always been a serious problem for me in the Tang Dynasty. I have always been thinking about how to get rid of him, but I have never thought about it."  The prince actually persuaded him to surrender."

    After a pause, Li Heng said: "Well, let's handle this matter for now. By the way, how is the situation in Hexi and Anxi? Are the Tubo people still so arrogant?"

    Wei Jiansu cupped his hands and said, "The Tubo army took advantage of our Anxi soldiers to return to help suppress the rebellion, and invaded Anxi's hometown in a large scale. However, the soldiers resisted with their lives, and the thieves retreated slightly. Now the four towns of Longyou, Hexi Prefectures, and Anxi  The passage to Chang'an was cut off, but thanks to God's luck, the troops remaining in the four towns still defended each town."

    After hearing this, Li Heng couldn't help but feel a little lonely. He waved his hand and asked: "What about the Uighurs? I gave them so much silver and silk at the beginning. Don't they send troops to help the four towns resist the Tibetans?"

    Wei Jiansu only found it funny after hearing this.  The Uighurs are from the Tiele tribe and believe in the wolf. They are full of pride and respect for the strong.  Now that the Tang Dynasty is weak, it would be fine if they don't take the opportunity to add insult to injury. Do you still expect them to send troops to help?

    "Reporting to your majesty, the Uighurs have never sent troops to help us."

    Wei Jiansu sighed secretly in his heart and reported truthfully.

    "These white-eyed wolves!" Li Heng felt his blood rising and waved his arms angrily.  "I treat it like a brother and a foot, but it abandons me like a piece of clothing. I must avenge this hatred! Cough cough, cough cough."

    "Your Majesty, pay attention to the dragon body!" Wei Jiansu hurriedly leaned forward and patted Li Heng on the back, saying bitterly: "Now our Tang Dynasty does not have no soldiers to fight, but in fact, we do not have generals to lead the army.Generals such as Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were all extraordinary talents. How could they have time to go to Anxi to generals when they were focused on putting down the rebellion?  "

    Li Heng sighed deeply. Wei Jiansu was right. What the Tang Dynasty lacks most now is outstanding generals.  There is an old saying that it is easy to get a thousand armies but hard to find a general. Only now did he understand the meaning.

    "If that person was here, maybe the situation would not be like this." Li Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a self-deprecating smile.

    "Your Majesty" Wei Jiansu's heart ached when he heard Li Heng suddenly mention that person.  This person's name has always been taboo in the palace. No one dared to mention it. Today, His Majesty actually mentioned it himself.

    Yes, that person was once a genius who burned Fuqi City and flooded Jiuqu Prefecture. If he could stay and be used by the court, he might not be able to change the current situation in Anxi. It would be a pity.

    "Did I be a little too harsh in my treatment of him? If I didn't force him, wouldn't he resist?"

    Li Heng frowned and asked Wei Jiansu for an answer. This matter had been buried in his heart for too long, and it had been torturing him. He was eager to hear the result from Wei Jiansu's mouth.

    Once people get older, they naturally talk more. In this regard, there is no difference between the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty wearing a crowned dragon robe and Kuhaha in ragged clothes and not having enough to eat.

    Li Heng listened to the slander of the traitor Pei Mian and killed the man's brothers, forcing the man to lead nearly ten thousand Jianghuai army soldiers out of Yangguan in a rage.  This episode is so hard to look back on.

    "Why did your Majesty say this? Why did you say this!"

    Pei Mian felt pain in his heart and said in a deep voice: "As the saying goes, if you tell your minister to die, he has to die. Even if your majesty puts the horizontal knife to the man's neck, he should not utter the word "no". What's more, your majesty is just beheading.  He killed one of his subordinates, and he can only blame himself for all this!"

    "You, try your best to flatter me!" Li Heng shook his head helplessly, revealing Wei Jiansu's little thoughts.  How can a monarch and his subjects not understand each other's character after they have been together for many years?  After so many years, I have also reflected on what happened at that time. If it were me, I would probably do the same thing, right?

    "If I hadn't pushed too hard at that time, maybe this son would have become another Guo Linggong now."

    There was a hint of melancholy in Li Heng's tone.  There are always too many shortcomings in life, and even emperors and emperors cannot avoid them.

    He has been framed too much in his life, first by Li Linfu and later by Yang Guozhong.  Therefore, he treats everyone around him with care, and has the mentality of 'I would rather let the world down than let the world let me down'.  It was only in the end that he discovered that not everyone was interested in the dragon chair in the Daming Palace, and not everyone regarded interests as that important.

    But, he knew all this too late.

    Wei Jiansu couldn't say anything more, so he only said: "But your Majesty, don't worry too much. I heard that after this son left Yangguan in the west, he led his soldiers and attacked the Tibetans and Uighurs who looted villages and counties.  After a few battles, we drove those bullying Hulu back to their lair. Overtly and covertly, we helped the four towns a lot."

    "Oh? Is this happening?" Li Heng's dim and turbid eyes ignited a glimmer of light again, and asked: "That Jianghuai army is still so capable of fighting now?"

    It¡¯s no wonder that Li Heng asked this question. After all, most of the soldiers were in their thirties when he followed the imperial decree to go north to Yangzhou to fight against the enemy. But now, if you think about it carefully, they should be nearly forty, right?

    Wei Jiansu nodded and said: "I also find it strange that under the leadership of that man, the Jianghuai army became more and more courageous as it fought. People from Minfu Countryside joined the army from time to time along the way. Now it has 50,000 or 60,000 people.  "

    Li Heng frowned and said, "Wei Aiqing thinks that if I canonize him as the Protector of Anxi at this time, would he accept it?"

    "Your Majesty, this" Wei Jiansu didn't know how to answer when he heard this.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? You were the one who initially labeled that man as a traitor, and now you want to summon him to the court. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy, right?

    "That's it, that's all, I feel ashamed of him, I feel ashamed of him." Li Heng also knew that his idea was a bit unrealistic, so he sighed and waved his hands.

    "Your Majesty, in fact, I feel that this son is guarding the country for Your Majesty no matter where he is, whether he is in the court or not." Wei Jiansu couldn't bear Li Heng's sadness, so he added a sentence at every opportunity.

    "Oh, Ai Qing, what do you say?"

    "Your Majesty, does your Majesty know that this son has now retreated to the land of Gualiang? All eleven states in the Hexi region of the Tang Dynasty were originally divided up by the Tubo and Uighurs. However, since this son entered Hexi, he has taken the two states of Gua and Liang in succession.  Faintly forming a countervailing force with Tibet and Uighurs."

    After a short pause, Wei Jian Su Shi said casually: "If I don'tIf I remember wrongly, that person once said, "Wherever the rising sun rises, there is the Tang Dynasty." If this is the case, whether this son enters the dynasty or not, he is fighting for the Tang Dynasty!  "

    Where the rising sun rises is the Tang Dynasty

    Where the rising sun rises is the Tang Dynasty!

    Li Heng suddenly clenched his fists, his already stooped spine straightened up again, and an imperceptible light flashed in his eyes.

    Note 1: Taiye Pool is an artificial lake located in the North Garden of Daming Palace.

    ps: This epilogue "Taiping Chang'an" is the official historical version. If you don't like it, you can watch the fictional version.
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