Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 693 Liliyuan Shangcao

It was already late at night, in a small building near Penglai Port in Dengzhou, Fang Chongyong was still standing by the second-floor window looking at the ships in the harbor.

These huge ships are like lurking monsters; the dotted fishing lights are like the eyes of the monsters.

Mysterious, with an indescribable wildness.

Fang Chongyong thought about the development trajectory of maritime trade.

The economic potential of maritime trade is enormous. During the Southern Song Dynasty, it even supported huge fiscal expenditures.

With the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty as the dividing line, private commerce began to flourish, and with the intensification of land privatization, the "official fields" eventually disappeared during the Song Dynasty.

A large number of idle laborers were liberated, even if they did not do so voluntarily.

Although the Song Dynasty did not handle this problem well, it is undeniable that with the development of agriculture and the increase in population, the unemployed population was liberated from farmland, which is an inevitable trend of historical development.

It will not change depending on whether some people like it or not.

This problem must be faced. Otherwise, in every historical cycle, a large number of people will be killed by natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Because the task is heavy and the road is long, those who cannot see clearly or understand are actually happy.

The joy of ignorance.

"The Crane Control Army has finally become a thing of the past."

Looking at the bright moon reflected on the sea, Fang Zhongyong couldn't help but sigh. He wondered what Fang Youde would think after knowing this.

At this moment, Dacongming pushed the door open and came in with a slim young lady wearing a veil. Dacongming then stepped back obediently and closed the door.

"The journey from Bianzhou to Dengzhou is long enough. Why bother to go there in person?"

Fang Zhongyong discovered that the person coming was Jiang Wuyan, and asked with a worried look on his face.

"Have I ruined your happiness? You are not surrounded by beauties, are you?"

Jiang Wuyan took off his veil and said sarcastically with a half-smile.

"Sit down, let's get down to business."

Fang Zhongyong took her to a seat and poured her a glass of wine. He didn't want to chat any more. If he continued to chat, he probably wouldn't be able to finish it all night.

"That day, I took Anaye to your concubine's place. This was your second baby. You hid it very well. The queen was very angry."

Jiang Wuyan covered her mouth and laughed.

"You came to Dengzhou just to tell me this?"

Fang Chongyong's face was filled with black lines, and he decided not to talk about his own trivial matters.

"That's not the case, but there's something very funny. If I don't tell it, I'll feel like a cat is scratching me."

Jiang Wuyan looked mysterious, and came over and whispered, "There's some very explosive news coming from Guanzhong, do you want to hear it, Alang?"

"Say something quickly!"

Fang Zhongyong scolded with a fierce look on his face and pinched Jiang Wuyan's pretty face.

"Li Baochen has been cultivating for almost three years. I heard that he has been abstinent and has eaten very little meat, not to mention women. Is that true?"

Jiang Wuyan asked with a gossipy look on her face.

Fang Zhongyong nodded and said, "This is not a secret. Li Baochen even dismissed some of his concubines. It is not false that he has not been interested in women in recent years."

"Ah Lang, do you know that Li Baochen's current wife is that princess?

Shortly after he went to war, that is, a few days ago, he gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, and raised them secretly in Xijing Temple in Chang'an.

Don’t you think this is interesting?”

ha?
Fang Chongyong was speechless. He sent many secret spies to lurk in Chang'an. These people were all managed by Lu Mai and affiliated with the Privy Council.

As a result, these people found out all this bullshit in Chang'an?
“The general went to war and did not return for three years.

After returning home, he discovered that his wife had given birth to a pair of one-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. Do you think it's funny?"

Jiang Wuyan held her stomach and laughed out loud, pounding the table as she laughed.

"That adulterer, is that Wei Jian?"

Fang Zhongyong suddenly asked in a deep voice.

Now it was Jiang Wuyan's turn to be surprised. She asked in disbelief, "You know all this? It was only by chance that the Privy Council found out about Wei Jian's affair with the princess. How did Alang know about it?"

"Humph, Li Baochen's wife is Li Ying's biological sister. She was married before. Because of Wei Sanniang, Wei Jian is very familiar with Li Ying's family.

Now that Li Baochen has become an immortal, the princess has no hope anymore, so of course she has to find a backer.

Wei Jian holds great power and is very close to the Li family. What's so strange about him exchanging information with Li Ying's sister?
This is just a matter of mutual benefit. Wei Jian has many beautiful wives around him, and the princess will not lack male lovers. What they want is an alliance!"

Fang Zhongyong said in a cold voice.

After analyzing it, it was as if he had seen it with his own eyes. In fact, the whole context of the incident was indeed very similar to what Fang Zhongyong described.

The circle of Tianlong people in Guanzhong is very chaotic, not to mention those nearby, but those far away.

At the time of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu, they had countless girlfriends, heirlooms between father and son, and silver parties held in temples.

As for the time of Ji Ge, the emperors were all like this, and the people below followed suit, so we can imagine what kind of morals the Tianlong nobles were like. In front of the door of Lady Guoguo's family, there was a long line of nobles who wanted to get close to her.

Wei Jian's affair with Li Baochen's wife may seem strange, but it is actually quite common. On the surface, it is just a matter of the lower body, but in fact it is closely related to politics.

"Yes, Li Baochen has been cultivating immortality and doesn't like women. Li was born a princess, how could she stand this?"

Jiang Wuyan sighed and said that Fang Chongyong was too smart and not fun at all.

Then she seemed to remember something, took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"This is from Che Guangqian. He is going to attack Luoyang. The messenger is still on the way. I brought the letter with me. Please read it first."

Che Guangqian wanted to take action against Li Baochen. Although it was a decision he made after careful consideration and assessment of the situation, he did not think of telling Fang Chongyong after the matter was over, so a notification was still necessary.

"I knew he couldn't sit still."

Fang Zhongyong nodded and took the thick envelope.

He opened the letter and saw that Che Guangqian had analyzed the current war situation in detail and summarized three favorable conditions for launching a war.

First, he promised Huaizhou and the three cities of Heyang as bait, which could split Li Guiren and Liu Longxian. The two had previously huddled together for warmth due to the pressure of survival, and their relationship was extraordinary. Even in the face of Shi Siming's coercion and inducement, Liu Longxian did not waver.

Giving Liu Longxian a high position and generous salary seemed to be a benefit to Li Guiren, but in fact his power was weakened, and the relationship between him and Liu Longxian became more subtle.

After all, killing these generals was not the original intention, but to eliminate the power of the feudal lords. Attacking the hearts of the people was the first priority, and killing people was the second.

Second, they won over the local wealthy families in Luoyang, paving the way for the Bianzhou Army to take over Luoyang. Killing Li Baochen and seizing Luoyang and taking root there are two different things.

The latter is more important, because the Bianzhou court will have to govern Luoyang sooner or later, and it is important to win the hearts of the local people in Luoyang.

The nature of us sending troops on our own initiative and the wealthy families in Luoyang inviting us to send troops are different.

The reason why Li Baochen looted Luoyang so extensively was because his base was now in Guanzhong and Chang'an, so he didn't care at all about how the people in Luoyang felt about him.

Since Li Baochen doesn't fight for these people, we have to fight for them.

Third, after several major battles, Li Baochen's army suffered serious casualties.

His reinforcements were still in Guanzhong, in Puzhou, and had not joined Li Baochen in Luoyang. This was an important time window. If we missed it, it would be difficult to capture Luoyang. This battle was a battle that determined the ownership of the Central Plains. If we won, the Bianzhou Army would have the opportunity to enter Guanzhong next. If we didn't take action, we would definitely encounter unnecessary troubles in the future.

In the letter, Che Guangqian pleaded with Fang Chongyong not to hesitate, saying that now was the time to fight at the risk of his life!
"He's really anxious."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said.

Che Guangqian was really anxious. He was from Guanzhong Wugong, just a little distance away from Chang'an. Judging from his identity, he could be said to be a genuine Tianlong person.

Of course, since his family had fallen into poverty and was on the verge of falling down the social ladder, he was not worthy of the surname Zhao.

In the eyes of the Guanzhong dignitaries, Che Guangqian is a traitor. Of course, Fang Zhongyong is even more of a traitor, a bad boy who betrayed them, the Guanzhong Tianlong people.

More hateful than those Hebei rebels!

Although Che Guangqian had no intention of standing beside those people, he was anxious to prove himself. He wanted to prove that he was the one who did things for the right path, and that those powerful people were nothing but scoundrels.

This time, the punishment for Li Baochen can actually be seen as a punishment for a traitor among the Guanzhong Tianlong people, and they are punishing their genuine lackey.

It is not only a fight for dominance in the world, but also a fight for who is the orthodox one!

"What on earth do you think, Alang? I have to hurry back to deliver the letter. Now is a matter of life and death, and you are such a man, but you are still so fussy!"

Jiang Wuyan asked with dissatisfaction on her face. She has always been a down-to-earth person, always straightforward and frank.

"In a few days, the Dengzhou ship will set sail, taking the soldiers of the tax police corps to Bohai State. I still have some things to deal with. After that, I will return to Bianzhou.

You should go back to Bianzhou first. There is no need to write a letter. Just bring my message to me.

Just let Che Guangqian do what he wants. When we return to Bianzhou, I will give him a celebration banquet."

Fang Chongyong said this calmly, not seeming to be in a hurry at all.

"Ah Lang, you have such a big heart..."

Jiang Wuyan muttered.

But she did not hesitate, nor did she say anything about going to the bed first. Instead, she gave Fang Zhongyong a light kiss on the face, then saluted like a soldier, turned around and left.

Very refreshing.

The thing that women like her fear the most is being "useless." But finding something to do makes her look radiant.

Since coming to Dengzhou, many ship owners have presented beauties of all kinds to Fang Chongyong, even dark-skinned "black girls".

Fang Chongyong gave all of them to his officers and soldiers, leaving none behind.

It’s not that he has no feeling in his lower body, but that men have to restrain themselves from women during the struggle.

The current situation is the most critical step on the road to success. Any small mistake may cause unnecessary trouble.

"Marshal Baochen was actually captured by the Minotaur. How tragic! It turns out that cultivating immortals comes at a price."

After Jiang Wuyan left, Fang Zhongyong couldn't help but complain.

……

Almost at the same moment.

In a house in Luoyang city, the eldest son Li Weiyue, with an indignant look on his face, was describing to Li Baochen how Li Heng's sister, the Tang princess whom Li Baochen had married for a political alliance after entering Chang'an, had an affair with Wei Jian in a temple.

The scene was described so vividly that it seemed as if he were there.

The affair didn't matter. In fact, Marshal Baochen didn't care much. It was he who ordered the princess to divorce and he took her into the bridal chamber that day.

It's really hard to describe its glory.

So it’s no big deal that the princess is cuckolding him.

But giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl, is wrong, after all, this involves the issue of inheritance of the family business.

"I have been in the Taoist temple for more than two years, and something like this happened."

Li Baochen shook his head helplessly. He was not very angry in his heart, but he felt that the world was a little absurd and ridiculous.

These hypocritical Chang'an Tianlong people are even more extravagant than him.

"Father, please indulge that whore, or else kill her with a knife..."

Li Weiyue made a chopping gesture. The twins, boy and girl, posed the greatest threat to him!
But it is obvious that Li Baochen had no intention of killing his wife. So what if she was Li Ying's sister? She was just a tool for marriage.

Because Li Baochen chose to practice Taoism, this tool also betrayed him.

"What are you doing in Luoyang? Didn't I tell you to stay in Chang'an?"

Li Baochen scolded Li Weiyue with dissatisfaction on his face.

"Father, I saw that you needed help in Luoyang."

Li Weiyue rubbed his hands. The reason why he came to Luoyang was very simple. He just wanted to gain some military merit in the army.

Or maybe he was afraid that his eldest son, that is, his elder brother Li Weicheng, would make too many contributions and threaten his future inheritance of the family business.

The so-called eldest son does not naturally get to sit in that position, and there will be competition within the family.

In Li Baochen's family, neither his wife nor his concubines were very powerful, so who would inherit the family business depended on the actual situation.

"Well, now that you are here, you can take some soldiers and go to Huaizhou for garrison."

Li Baochen waved his hands helplessly. It was obvious that Li Weiyue couldn't be of much help here, so it would be fine as long as he didn't make things worse.

As expected, the matter of his wife, Mrs. Li, still made Li Baochen feel bad.

After Li Weiyue left, Li Baochen began to feel suspicious.

Wei Jian had an affair with the princess. With Wei Jian's status and family background, how could he lack women?

It can't be!

It was true that Li Ying's sister was quite pretty, but she was no longer young. Among Li Baochen's former concubines, there were many women who were prettier than her. How could Wei Jian be so hungry?
Can't?

Li Baochen smelled a conspiracy.

Of course, it would take another ten months for the child to be born. So when Wei Jian made this arrangement, Li Baochen was actually still cultivating immortality, and perhaps Wei Jian also thought that Li Baochen would cultivate immortality for the rest of his life.

The other side's deployment was designed to target Li Baochen's withdrawal from politics and giving up his military power.

If Wei Jian knew that Li Baochen would come out later.

He probably didn't have the courage to have an affair with Li Heng's sister.

"After returning to Chang'an, Wei Jian won't resort to knife attack on me, right?"

Li Baochen murmured to himself, thinking of a bad thing. He had just won a great victory, and the crisis in Guanzhong was temporarily resolved.

This also means that his importance as a head coach has been greatly reduced.

It's not that Guanzhong didn't have talented generals, for example Ma Lin was a very capable fighter, but these generals didn't have prestige yet, and couldn't scare people like Fang Qing.

So Wei Jian needs time.

Li Baochen felt that someone had set up a tight net and was waiting for him to return!

He can't sit still and wait for death!
(End of this chapter)