Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 94 The Art of Compromise (2)

"Mother, mother, oh, um, mother..."

In the bedroom of Yide Palace, the little princess Li Lingyue was wearing a pink single dress and naked with a pair of plump white arms, crawling excitedly on the wide beard bed, turning somersaults from time to time, with a smile in her mouth. He yelled vaguely, his fair little face blushed with excitement, as cute as a freshly ripe apple.

"Little Nier, be good, come, come to mother."

Empress Wu, who was sitting by the side of Hu's bed, looked lovingly at the noisy little thing, raised her hand lightly, and conjured a glowing red dried date like a magic trick, held it in her palm, shook it, smiled coaxing.

"Mother, mother, I want, I want..."

The one-and-a-half-year-old little Taiping has just had a few big teeth, and now he is grinding his teeth. His favorite thing is to eat red dates. When he saw Empress Wu took out the big red dates, his big black eyes immediately widened. He stared at the big red dates without blinking for a while, then let out a cheer suddenly, and then scrambled towards Empress Wu, shouting vaguely at the same time, don't look so small, the speed of getting up But it was surprisingly fast, and the urgent appearance made Empress Wu laugh out loud.

"My lady, Xu Xiang has arrived at Liangyi Hall, please show me my lady."

Just when Empress Wu and his wife were laughing, the eunuch Yan Desheng, the head of the Yide Palace, hurried in from outside the room. Seeing that Empress Wu was teasing Xiao Taiping, he couldn't help slowing down his pace, obviously hesitating for a while , still bit the bullet and leaned over, bowing down to report.

"Oh, I see."

Upon hearing that Xu Jinzong had arrived, Empress Wu didn't have any special reaction, and without looking back, she hugged Xiao Taiping who had crawled to her side into her arms, and hugged him affectionately. Stuffed the red dates into Little Taiping's hands.

"Wuuuu, mother, uh..."

As soon as Xiao Taiping got the red dates, he was so proud that he stuffed one mouthful into his mouth, he babbled and faltered while biting, that satisfied little look was extremely cute, it was in Empress Wu's heart There was something to do, but I still couldn't help staying for a long time, then took advantage of Xiao Taiping's inattention, quietly walked out of the bedroom, and led a group of eunuchs and court ladies to the Hall of Liangyi, but before Empress Wu left After exiting the apse of Yide Hall, there was the sound of Xiao Taiping's wailing from behind. Empress Wu couldn't help but pause in her footsteps, but in the end she didn't turn her head back, and led the crowd straight away. , only Little Taiping's sad crying echoed in the hall...Xu Jingzong did not arrive at the Liangyi Hall alone. In fact, there were two young officials in light purple robes in the hall at this time. , a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, tall and long arms, although he is wearing the robes of a fifth-rank civil servant, but he has the spirit of a military general. This man is Zhou Simao, one of the two leaders of the North Gate Scholars. As for the other The one with a handsome face is Liu Yizhi, who is as famous as Zhou Simao. Both of them were born in Hongwenguan. The upstart of Tang Dynasty.

The three people in the palace were said to be members of Empress Wu's party. Logically speaking, they should have a good relationship with each other, but in fact this is not the case. Among other things, you can tell by just looking at their positions. Strange thing—the old god Xu Jingzong stood on the ground in the frontmost position on the left hand side of the lower front, as if he was doing his part. Of course, with his status as Xu Jingzong's servant, it is only natural to stand in this position , but Liu and the people on Tuesday obviously didn't buy Xu Jingzong's account. They didn't stand behind Xu Jingzong, but ran to the right. The people on Tuesday gathered together and whispered in low voices. They clearly regarded Xu Jingzong as air. On Tuesday, people took a look at him, but the haze that flashed in the depths of his eyes from time to time revealed Xu Jingzong's original intention.

"The Empress is here!"

A high-pitched voice suddenly rang out, and the three people in the hall couldn't care less about playing with those narrow-mindedness, they hurriedly adjusted their official robes, stood bowed, and waited for the arrival of Empress Wu.

"Your Majesty welcomes the empress."

At the sound of footsteps, Empress Wu, surrounded by a group of eunuchs and maids, turned out of the apse, walked straight up the front wall, and sat on the dragon bed without any scruples—according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, only the emperor can hold the dragon bed. Sit down, it is a serious crime for others to be beheaded. Even if Empress Wu is a queen, she is not qualified to sit on the dragon bed, but Empress Wu just sat down like this, and she sat very relaxed. Everyone's eyes were filled with awe, but they didn't dare to show anything else, they could only bow down and greet each other.

"Excuse me, Ximei (Liu Yizhi's words), how are you doing with the things I told you?" Sitting on the dragon bed, Empress Wu no longer had a trace of the tenderness she had when she was in Yide Hall, but only a kind of tenderness. The palpitating majesty, although the three people in the palace are all extraordinary people, they can't help but be suppressed by this kind of coercion, and their hearts tremble. There was a chilling voice of questioning.

"Returning to Niangniang, Weichen has been discussing this matter with all his colleagues all night since he received Niangniang Yi's order. After three days of repeated deduction, Weichen and others generally agree that His Highness King Lu's Hegong zhezi is indeed impressive. After this trip, maybe we can really solve the problem of water transportation." Liu Yizhi was in a state of shock when he heard Empress Wu call his name, he couldn't help trembling slightly, hurriedly snatched it out, and answered with a bow.

"Well, what is the calculation?" Empress Wu did not express her opinion in a hurry, but frowned slightly, and after pondering for a moment, she asked a little more cautiously.

"Your Majesty Mingjian, the results of the deduction by the ministers are 500%, but I am afraid that the number needed is more than ten million. According to the estimates by the ministers, it is not difficult to accomplish the task if it is not [-] million." After such a question and answer, Liu Yizhi He had completely calmed down, and when Empress Wu asked about it, he cupped his hands in a calm manner, and replied with a firm tone.

"Five million? That's not too much. What do you think about this matter?" Empress Wu raised her brows, as if she didn't care about the extra 500 million. After a murmur, Immediately after asking about the decision of the Beimen scholars, "This..." Liu Yizhi obviously had reservations about the decision made by the Beimen scholars. After a slight change, he hesitated.

"I would like to report to the empress, after the ministers and others have discussed it, it is determined that this strategy is feasible, but His Royal Highness King Lu cannot carry it out. I suggest that the empress empress hand over this matter to the ministers, with the ability of the ministers and others, and the support of the empress. There is absolutely no reason why things won't happen!" While Liu Yizhi was still hesitating, Zhou Simao stood up boldly and reported loudly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Empress Wu raised her eyebrows, said noncommittally, looked sideways at Xu Jingzong, who was standing beside the old god, and asked very politely, "Xu Xiang, you are always right. What can I learn from this?"

Xu Jingzong bowed slightly, his long eyebrows trembled, and he said calmly: "Returning to your mother, the old minister once heard a joke, which was quite funny, and he didn't dare to hide it. The empress smiled—there is a rumor in the market that tiger teeth can cure impotence, because they are very expensive, a tooth is worth a thousand gold and it is hard to find. When someone heard about it, he was overjoyed and said that he would make a fortune. He persuaded him, saying: "Although tiger teeth are good, they must have life." He didn't believe it, thinking that others were jealous of his fortune, so he resolutely went up the mountain. When he met a tiger on the way, he shouted: "Keep the teeth!" It was a time when the tiger was hungry, and when he saw someone coming, he was overjoyed, bit it, and ate it, and the others sighed: "He really is the one who wants money but not life!"

"Pfft!"

Xu Jingzong spoke slowly, and his expression was very dull. It really didn't look like he was telling a joke, but no matter who was Empress Wu, he knew that Xu Jingzong was cursing Zhou Simao for asking for money just by hearing it. The desperate master couldn't help laughing.

"you……"

Zhou Simao has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child, and he is not a fuel-efficient lamp. How could he fail to hear Xu Jingzong scolding others, and he was so angry that his face turned livid immediately. Going down, I was extremely uncomfortable being suffocated.

"Xu Xiang is as funny as before. He is growing stronger and stronger when he is old. I have not been so happy in this palace for a long time." Empress Wu smiled and praised Xu Jingzong, and then waved to the embarrassing Liu and Zhou Zhou Said: "Your meaning is known to the palace. If we discuss this matter again, we will all step back."

"Yes, I will take my leave."

Liu and Zhou came here full of confidence, but they were beaten so dizzy by Xu Jingzong's sap stick. At this moment, they waved back after seeing Wu, dissatisfied in their hearts, and could only leave cautiously.

"Xu Xiang, young people are ignorant and have insufficient experience. Some arrogance is also normal. I hope that Xu Xiang will support the younger generation a lot." Empress Wu has a very delicate mind, and she knows that Xu Jingzong is using excuses to teach Liu, Zhou and others a lesson. , which was politely persuaded.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the old minister dare not miss official duties because of personal concerns." Xu Jingzong has always been a master who bears grudges, and he really can't stand the rampant behavior of those Beimen scholars. He has long wanted to teach them some lessons, even Empress Wu Even if he came forward to make peace, he would not change his mind, but his answer seemed extremely sincere.

"Xu Xiang's words, I can trust." Out of the needs of the emperor, Empress Wu did not want Xu Jingzong to be friendly with the Beimen scholars. After a lot of talking, he only mentioned one sentence, and then turned the topic to the main topic: "In Xu Xiang's opinion, how should I deal with this Hegong Zhezi matter?"

"His Royal Highness Lu Wang is talented, and the old minister is very impressed." Xu Jingzong did not answer Empress Wu's question directly, but stroked his white beard on his chest, and replied with a lot of emotion.

"Oh?"

Empress Wu frowned first, then raised her eyebrows again, and after a slight snort, her eyes gradually became sharper...

(End of this chapter)