Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 86 You are surrounded by me

Outside the city, Xiao Baoyin came to Li Shuang and others surrounded by a crowd of people.

"General Wuwei, you've made it so hard for me to find you!"

Li Shengui was quite flattered when he heard Xiao Baoyin say this.

"What does the king want from me?"

"The general has made great achievements in the northern borders, and his reputation has spread far and wide. This king has long wanted to meet him, but regretted that he was busy with official duties and had no chance to meet. Today, I learned that the general was on leave, so I came here specially to invite him to my palace for a gathering!"

Li Shengui was a little embarrassed and said:
"But I have to welcome my brother today!"

Xiao Baoyin glanced at Li Shuang, just one glance, but it was full of meaning.

Although Xiao Baoyin quickly looked away, Li Shuang felt Xiao Baoyin's excitement at that moment, just like a hunter finding prey.

"That's fine. I've already prepared wine, singing and dancing in my palace. It's the same if you go to my palace!"

Li Shengui couldn't refuse, so he took Li Shuang and others to the Prince Qi's Mansion.

Both the inner and outer city of Luoyang City are divided into lifang, that is, the city is divided into small areas, each with its own wall and separate management.

From now on, rape and theft will be banned!
Of course, there are differences between different places.

Some villages have hundreds of households, while others have only a few.

For example, where the Prince of Qi’s palace is located, there are only three households in one village, and all of them are high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Luoyang City is located at the starting point of the Silk Road. There are three markets in the city. There is an endless stream of foreign merchants coming and going, and there are also a wide variety of treasures.

What's more, the Northern Wei royal family also built a royal zoo, the White Elephant Pavilion and the Lion Pavilion, where they raised elephants and lions that were tributed from India and Persia.

But the biggest feature is undoubtedly the Buddhist temple.

When the group arrived outside the Prince Qi's mansion, they could see towering pagodas and the sound of Zen in the distance.

Du Mu once wrote "Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, many pavilions are in the mist and rain"!
But compared with Luoyang, it pales in comparison. Luoyang alone has over 1,300 temples!
Empress Hu's family all believed in Buddhism, and her aunt Hu Sengzhi was a famous nun.

At that time, Hu Sengzhi entered the palace to preach Buddhist principles and recommended his niece to enter the palace as well. This led to the later rise of Empress Hu to prominence.

Before Empress Hu was imprisoned, she spent a lot of money to build Buddhist temples and grottoes. She also built the Yongning Temple in Luoyang City and a nine-story pagoda in the temple, which was one hundred feet high!

Unfortunately, eternal peace is hard to come by.

The sound of flutes continued in Luoyang City, but outside the city smoke of war rose everywhere, the six towns were in rebellion, and the world was in turmoil.

Xiao Baoyin dismounted in front of the mansion and said something.

"please!"

In addition to Li Shengui and Li Shuang, the invitees also included several buddies brought by Li Shengui. Among them was one named Cao Ni, who kept following Li Shuang and looking around.

"Your Excellency, what is this?"

Li Shuang was puzzled, but heard Cao Ni say:
"Uncle Yunzhong, I feel like something is wrong!"

"what happened?"

"King Qi, this might be a Hongmen Banquet. You must be careful."

Li Shuang looked at this man, feeling a little surprised. They had just met, so why was he so open-hearted and didn't treat him as an outsider at all?
But Cao Ni whispered:
"I've long heard of your heroic deeds in the North. I've admired you for a long time and yearn for you. If I have the chance, I'd like to learn from you!"

Li Shuang looked at this guy.

You say he is smart, but he is also like a middle school student.

Although he was not smart, he could see that Xiao Baoyin had bad intentions.

Unlike Li Shengui, who seemed to be in a hurry to eat at this moment.

"Brother, how are you?"

Li Shengui and Xiao Baoyin were standing at the door, and he urged them.

"I'm coming!"

Before entering the palace, Li Shuang gave Hou Jing a look. The other party understood and gradually disappeared in the team.

Xiao Baoyin did prepare wine, singing and dancing.

Even everyone had arranged for a beautiful girl to accompany them for drinking.

These beauties were kept in the mansion, and their duty was to entertain the guests.

Even if a guest took a fancy to someone, with the host's permission, it was common for them to be taken away. The young men of the Imperial Guards who came with Li Shengui today were not qualified to sit in the hall of the Prince of Qi's mansion.

However, Xiao Baoyin didn't care.

The atmosphere at the banquet was lively. As they drank, the young men from the Imperial Guards took Meiji away and disappeared without a trace.

However, Li Shengui, who was sitting in the main seat, kept talking to Xiao Baoyin.

From beginning to end, Xiao Baoyin never looked at Li Shuang.

Near dusk, Li Shengui was almost drunk and fell into the arms of Meiji beside him.

"General Wuwei can really drink! He almost got me drunk!"

At Xiao Baoyin's signal, the two beauties on Li Shengui's left and right helped Li Shengui to the table and left.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Cao Ni fell drunk on the table early.

The singing and dancing stopped in the house and it became quiet.

Xiao Baoyin's face was flushed, but he was very conscious.

He finally looked at Li Shuang.

This person hasn't drunk much since he entered the mansion.

"Uncle Yunzhong, I've long heard of your great name!"

"I've heard of the name of King Qi before!"

The two looked at each other, and Xiao Baoyin smiled and said:
"I wonder where Yunzhongbo heard of my name?"

"Of course I heard it from Wei Langgen!"

"I'm afraid there's more!" Xiao Baoyin said with a smile. "I recently heard that after the rebels from the Six Garrisons crossed the Yellow River, the rebel leader Po Liu Han Baling disappeared. Could Earl Yunzhong explain this to me?"

"Your Majesty, you are joking. How would I know where this bandit leader has gone?"

"But why did I hear that when Yunzhong Bo was in charge of Shuozhou, he often interacted with the bandit leader?"

"Your Majesty, don't talk nonsense!"

After hearing this, Xiao Baoyin's expression changed.

"It seems that if I don't use some tricks, Yun Zhongbo will not tell the truth."

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the house, and dozens of young slaves holding weapons surrounded the house.

Seeing this, Li Shuang was not afraid at all.

"What does your Majesty mean?"

"Nothing special, just catching a thief who is colluding with the Six Towns rebels!"

"My brother Li Shengui is still here. Does the king really dare to take action?"

Xiao Baoyin just smiled, not seeming to care at all.

"Your brother's life is valuable, but yours is not. Even if you die, Li Chong can't do anything to me!"

Xiao Baoyin looked down at Li Shuang with a certain degree of impunity, as if he had already defeated him.

"Then it seems that I have no choice but to say it?"

"Just recognize it!"

"I did meet the envoy of Po Liu Han Baling, and I told her that if she couldn't hold on any longer, she could come to the king!"

Xiao Baoyin's face changed and he was filled with anger.

"Are you really not afraid of death?"

As the sun sets, the bells in the temple ring and the Buddhist music pleases the heart.

In the Prince of Qi's mansion, murderous intent was everywhere.

Li Shuang did not have any intention of begging for mercy, but instead smiled and said:
"My king, do you think you can deal with me with just these few dozen young slaves?"

For a moment, Xiao Baoyin seemed to have a feeling that he was the prey.

……

(End of this chapter)