The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 19: The Beast Out of the Cage
Binzhou, Macheng.

This has long been a dead city.

A skinny man wrapped in rags touched his messy hair and was squatting on a corner with his butt sticking out, digging and picking desperately... He just saw a mouse crawling into a hole. As long as he caught the mouse, he would be able to have some meat today.

The man who was laughing for a mouse was none other than "Qishai" Li Maozhen.

He had been trapped in this tiny earthen city by Wang Xingyu for more than half a month. After all his subordinates left him, the only thing he could do was to survive. To this end, he ate everything edible in the earthen city.

Including the bark of the only small tree.

Including the only personal soldier who was loyal, filial, and righteous to him, Sanlang.

Now, Li Maozhen has set his sights on this unlucky rat again.

With Li Maozhen's unremitting efforts, the hole was soon dug wider and wider, and the mouse's head could be seen. Its pointed, mung bean-sized eyes rolled around, revealing fear, perhaps realizing that it was about to die.

"Hoo ho ho ho ho..."

"Got you."

Li Maozhen sat down on the ground and reached into the hole.

With a low squeak, the poor mouse's neck was broken without any resistance.

There was no one living in the earthen city, and even the mice were skin and bones.

But having something to eat is better than going hungry.

Li Maozhen brushed off the dust on the mouse with his rough and dirty hands.

then.

Throw a handful into your mouth.

The taste is very crisp, just like chewing chicken bones.

However, Li Maozhen did not have that kind of patience. He chewed a few bites with his big mouth and swallowed the red, white and black mass down his throat.

A mouse is not enough for a strong man like him. In the past, he could eat seven or eight bowls of rice and drink two or three kilograms of wine in one meal.

Recalling the wonderful memories of eating delicious food, having beautiful women flatter him, and having his butt wiped with silk cloth, this powerful thief who was once feared throughout Guanzhong could not help but burst into tears.

If one were to fall into such a miserable situation, even the strongest person would probably howl and get angry.

At this time, Li Maozhen had already vented all his emotions, and now he just strolled around Tucheng with his hands behind his back all day.

He ate tree bark, bird, grass root, mouse, whatever he could get his hands on, and even robbed insects and ant nests in dark and dirty places. It was because of this that he was able to survive to this day.

After cleaning the residue in his teeth and eating everything, Li Maozhen shrank back, leaning against the wall tiredly, ready to take a nap, but when he looked up and saw the gloomy sky, and listened to the silence around him, he stood up again with the help of the wall. Stepping on a stone, he lay on the earthen wall with both hands, then carefully popped his head out, but was shocked when he took a look. The Bingzhou soldiers who were there yesterday were gone!

The originally densely packed soldiers disappeared, leaving only a bare patch of grass that had been trampled bare.

"Did Wang Xingyu retreat? No, there is no way he would let me go."

Li Maozhen could hardly believe his eyes. He muttered like a madman, and his dead will to survive suddenly revived.

However, he became unsteady after a while. The long period of hunger made his body extremely weak, and a gust of wind could knock him over. He even felt like vomiting. Fortunately, he had just eaten a mouse, and after a while, he felt better.

He leaned against the wall to steady his body.

He suppressed the hunger that was so strong that it was about to consume him, raised his head, and looked outside the earth wall again, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Still alive, look, the old guy is not dead yet..."

"You're still alive after being hungry for half a month?"

"Just go in and kill him!"

A burst of laughter suddenly came from the wind. Li Maozhen quickly shrank his body, but he stepped on a stone and fell to the ground.

He was already weak and fell down, and his eyes went dark and he passed out. When he opened his eyes again, he was woken by the cold. The earthen city was filled with flying sand and rocks, and the violent north wind made his face hurt.

Li Maozhen crawled back into the house and sat there for a long time before he remembered the scene he saw outside the earthen wall during the day.

The great banner of the Bin army had disappeared.

The military formation that covered the sky and the sun also disappeared.

It must be that villain Wang Xingyu who took the army somewhere else.

Once the fire of survival is ignited, it quickly becomes extremely strong and unstoppable.

Li Maozhen grabbed the sword and slipped under the earth wall again. This time he was doubly careful and vowed not to be discovered again.

Fortunately, the night is dark enough.

He slowly stuck his head out and looked around. Not far away in the snowy night, there were only a few small flames.

Li Maozhen's breathing became rapid.

escape!
Must escape!
Even if it is a trap set by the Bin people.

Even if he was discovered, he would be pierced to death by arrows on the spot.

He didn't want to stay in this devil's cave even for a moment!
Just do it.

Li Maozhen threw down his Qingqing sword first, and then jumped down without a care in the world. He was already weaker than ever before, and this fall made him dizzy. Fearing to alert the soldiers on guard, he did not run away in a hurry, but lay there motionless.

The wind roared louder and louder, making the mountains and forests rumble.

It was unknown how long he had persisted, but Li Maozhen finally stood up with his sword, and then stumbled towards the south. In his mind, he had run at a speed he had never run before, but in fact, he had not left Tucheng very far, and the firelight of the several regiments' camps was getting smaller very slowly. But Qi Shuai did not despair. There was a maple forest in his blurred vision, and as long as he got into it, he would be halfway to success.

"Huh...huh..."

Li Maozhen's breathing became heavier and heavier, like a consumptive patient.

The maple forest was clearly very close, but no matter how hard I ran, it seemed like I couldn't reach it.

"Don't... run." He even stretched out his hand to keep Fenglin.

His feet became lighter and lighter, and every step he took felt like he was stepping on cotton. He felt like he was about to take off.

……

The Tang Palace was unprecedented in its size.

From the northernmost part of Daming Palace, enter Feilongyuan where horses are raised, pass through Jiacheng which is built to prevent floods, fires and riots, and then you will reach Xuanwu Gate.

Entering the palace, on the left are the Dafu, Sanqing, Chengxiang, Changsheng, Zilan Halls, as well as religious places of worship such as the Huguo Tianwang Temple and the Liesheng Emperor Temple. Continuing forward are the palaces where the emperors carried out daily activities, such as the Linde, Jinluan, Taihe, Penglai, Yanying, and Zichen Halls. Due to their special nature, the Hanlin Academy and the Academy of Scholars also have their offices in the inner court. During the An-Shi Rebellion and the half century that followed, the Tang Dynasty regime was in turmoil, and the emperor and his subjects needed to keep in touch at all times so that any urgent matters could be dealt with and executed quickly.

After the Ganlu Palace Incident, the eunuchs were furious and prepared to depose Emperor Wenzong overnight. They went all the way from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Hanlin Academy and used force to force the officials on duty in the Hanlin Academy to draft an imperial edict. The Hanlin Academy said: "We will not do this even if we die."

Qiu Shiliang had no choice but to let Emperor Wenzong go.

After passing through Zichen Gate and going further south, you will reach Xuanzheng Hall, which is the area of Zhongchao.

The so-called imperial court is centered on the Xuanzheng Hall. In the hall, the Neisheng, Mingfuyuan, Jixianyuan, Zhongshusheng, Yushitai, Menxiasheng, Hongwenguan, Daizhiyuan, and Guoshiguan are lined up in a row. Further out is the Hanyuan Hall, the center of the outer court.

Today, the saint who has not been seen for a month finally came to the outer court.

The emperor didn't want to come out. In the morning, he was watching the craftsmen forging weapons and armor at Yintai Gate with great interest, and even exchanged ideas with them on the ironmaking process. But somehow, a rumor spread in the inner court that the saint was playing in the mud at Yintai Gate. This made Ximen Chongsui furious, and he brought a group of people to scold the saint, saying: You want me to be hated by the world!
In fact, rumors were not only circulating in the inner court, but officials in the outer court were also secretly discussing: Was the saint imprisoned by the eunuchs?

Ximen Chongsui was frightened.

The emperor was already weak, if something happened to him, wouldn't it be like yellow mud stuck in his crotch? So he asked Li Ye to go out of the palace for a walk...

(End of this chapter)