Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 69
190,

In the south of Lintong, Chang'an, there is a branch of the Qinling Mountains.It is composed of east and west beautiful Ling, the mountain is winding, and it looks like a horse in the distance, so it is named Lishan.Because of its verdant trees and beautiful scenery, it is also known as "Xiuling".Whenever the sun sets, Lishan Mountain is reflected in the golden sunset glow, and the scenery is extraordinarily beautiful, which is amazing.

In the age of emperors, all the beautiful things in the world were for the emperor to enjoy, and the beautiful Lishan Mountain was of course no exception.In the early years, King Zhou You built the Li Palace here; until Emperor Qinshihuang, because the hot springs in the Li Palace can heal his sores, he liked it the most, so he changed the Li Palace to "Lishan Tang" and used the Lishan Hot Spring all the year round. Bathing his yellow skin; during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because Liu Che and his beloved cousin Chen Ajiao did not want to live in the palace forever, they expanded the "Lishan Tang" into a palace, and often took Ajiao to Yunyu for fun; and then Tang Li Shimin , I still like the hot springs in Lishan the most. After the Emperor Wu's palace was greatly expanded, it was renamed "Tangquan Palace".One day, Li Shimin and Concubine Xu Xian were enjoying themselves in the palace, and they were suddenly inspired to write a poem, which said: "Cuiwei cherishes no trace, and the sound of wild streams in the south valley. Sitting alone under the parasol tree, I can't understand the love of Phoenix." So "Tangquan Palace" It was changed to "Cuiwei Palace".

Since returning from the battle in Liaodong, Li Shimin's body has not recovered due to the "wind disease". He was plagued by minor illnesses, which made his body extremely weak.In addition, before the battle in Liaodong, the unhappiness caused by the rebellion of the prince and the prince has been accumulated in Li Shimin's heart, and he can't get rid of it.At this time, Li Shimin seemed to be about to collapse, both physically and mentally.Under such circumstances, Li Shimin, who had been passionate about power all his life, had no choice but to temporarily hand over the government affairs to Prince Li Zhi, and brought several beauties including Concubine Xu Xian to Cuiwei Palace to recuperate.

Among the women who accompanied Li Shimin to Cuiwei Palace, there was a talented woman named Wu Mei, and now people call her Mei Niang.Although she is young, she is very understanding, well-behaved and capable. After Li Shimin had sex with her once, he didn't have any thoughts about her anymore, but he liked her very much if he stayed by his side to take care of him.

In a blink of an eye, Li Shimin lived in Cuiwei Palace for five months.When the sun was setting that day, the scenery outside was very beautiful, and Li Shimin's limbs were sore again. He didn't want Concubine Xu Xian to see his pain, so he asked her to go out with several other beauties to watch the beautiful sunset.In the dormitory, Wu Mei was left alone to wait on him.The soreness was like a ghost, wandering in Li Shimin's body. Sometimes it felt uncomfortable in the thighs, and sometimes it was the back. Li Shimin frowned tightly and gritted his teeth to hold on.

"The concubine came to massage for His Majesty?" Wu Mei came to Li Shimin respectfully and asked with staring eyes.Li Shimin nodded slightly, and she went to rub Li Shimin's back for her.As soon as he stretched out his hand, he rubbed the sore place, and Li Shimin felt much better for a while.Her slender fingers were about to slide down, Li Shimin couldn't help but said:
"There you go, keep kneading."

She rubbed it very seriously, although she was very tired, she was very happy. "Left shoulder." Li Shimin ordered, and she rubbed her left shoulder again. "Right shoulder." She rubbed her right shoulder again.Following Li Shimin's voice, she seemed to rub Li Shimin's whole body.Already sweating and panting.Li Shimin's soreness eased a lot, he closed his eyes, and gradually fell into a dream.She heard his heavy snoring for the first time.The last time Li Shimin visited her, he left after finishing, which made her feel very lost and empty.This time she heard Li Shimin's snoring. Although she knew that he had fallen asleep and she was very tired, she didn't dare to stop. She just didn't try so hard and gently rubbed Li Shimin's fat legs.She seemed to hear someone coming in, but she didn't dare to look back, and was waiting nervously, when she suddenly heard a call:
"Meiniang!" The voice was very sweet, it was the voice of Prince Li Zhi.She turned her head and looked at the prince happily.

Because of illness, although Li Shimin asked Li Zhi to take care of the affairs of the court temporarily, he couldn't rest assured, and secretly confessed: Li Zhi needs to come to Cuiwei Palace once in three days at most. How to deal with it, what ideas, etc., etc., it is convenient for Li Shimin to give advice from many sources.Li Zhi obeyed his father's order, and Li Shimin came to the mountain to report on time on the third day after he went to Cuiwei Palace. As soon as he entered the palace gate, he saw Meiniang at a glance.There are many things that this man has about women that he can't explain at all. Perhaps, like his father, he fell in love with Mei Niang's eyes?In short, from the first time the prince saw Mei Niang, he fell in love with this talented man of his father from the bottom of his heart.From then on, he would come to Cuiwei Palace almost every day, superficially to report the situation in the court to his father, but actually to see his favorite Mei Niang.

With a sweet call, Meiniang's heart was intoxicated, her star-like eyes flickered for a while, and she looked towards his father.Li Zhi approached Meiniang lightly, looked at his father, and gave her a look, clearly wanting her to follow him and gently leave the bedroom.Meiniang shook her head.These days, she has been serving Li Shimin, knowing that he is very awakened, maybe he has already woken up at this time, and is eavesdropping on what the prince said.So not only shook his head, but also made a look at the prince, telling him not to speak again.At this moment, Li Shimin really opened his eyes.

Thanks to Meiniang's cleverness and carefulness, in Cuiwei Palace, under Li Shimin's eyes, the crown prince had feelings for Meiniang, and Meiniang had feelings for the prince.This kind of affection, you come and go until Li Shimin's death, but they didn't find out about their affair.So shortly after Li Zhi ascended the throne as Emperor Gaozong, he managed to make Mei Niang Zhaoyi, and soon became queen.In 683, Emperor Gaozong died, Li Xian succeeded to the throne as Zhongzong, respected Mei Niang as the empress dowager, and Mei Niang was in charge of the government.The following year, Meiniang abolished Li Xian as King of Luling and made Li Dan Ruizong, taking control of the real power of the Tang Dynasty.In 690, Mei Niang simply abolished Li Dan, a descendant of the Li family, and established herself as the emperor of Zetian, changed the name of the country to Zhou, and changed it to Yuan Tianshou.This is something.

19
Seeing his father waking up, Li Zhi hurriedly stepped forward to bow down.When Li Shimin woke up, the soreness in his limbs eased a lot. He asked the prince to stand in front of him and asked him one by one about the court affairs.Knowing that everything was running normally, Li Shimin changed the subject and asked the prince about his studies.

"I don't know if you still remember my "Emperor Capital Chapter"?"

"My son remembers."

"Come back and listen."

"Fengchuan Xiongdi's residence, Hangu Zhuanghuang's residence; Qidian Qianxun, leaving the palace with more than a hundred pheasants. Connecting Han from afar..."

"Okay, you recite the last six sentences."

"Humanity is evil and high-risk, be modest and refrain from excesses; accept kindness and observe loyalty and advice, Mingke is cautious about punishment and reward; worship God wholeheartedly, and be close to the people and think of caring for them."

Listening carefully to the prince reciting the last six sentences, Li Shimin slightly opened his eyes, and said to the prince appreciatively: "You must firmly remember the last six sentences of my "Emperor Capital Chapter". If a king does not govern the country well, he will It is possible to endanger the country or even be destroyed. Therefore, the king must keep a clear head at all times, and guard against political complacency and unruly life. The king should not only work hard to govern, choose good words, but also clarify legal provisions, rewards and punishments Clear. In the end, you have to rely on the mandate of heaven to respect the heaven and the people, and you can only be called a wise king if you have integrity."

"Yes, I would like to obey my father's order." Li Zhi replied respectfully.

"Okay!" Li Shimin nodded, and asked again: "In my "Looking at the Sea in Spring", there are two lines that I like the most. Do you know which two lines are?"

Li Zhicheng shook his head in fear.Li Shimin glanced at his son with some displeasure, and then patiently recited: "Huaibei has profound luck, and is full of guardianship."

"Huaibei fortune is profound and broad, and the spirit is full of wisdom." The prince followed up and recited.

"Do you know what these two sentences mean?"

"That is to say, when governing, you must be modest, far-sighted, and guard against arrogance. Only in this way can you make the country permanent." At this time, the prince remembered the poem written by his father, and remembered Fang Xuanling's explanation for him at that time. So the answer is very straightforward.

Li Shimin smiled happily, and nodded with satisfaction: "Since you understand the meaning, let's do it well. We must try our best to manage the government affairs well, and don't let me down."

"My son must work hard."

"Okay, let's go."

Watching his son leave, Li Shimin felt limp and exhausted, and could not help but sigh and lean on Longta.Just as she was about to close her eyes and rest for a while, Concubine Xu Xian returned with several beauties.They enjoyed the beauty of the sunset on Lishan Mountain, and came back with a smile on their faces. They all wanted to share their beauty harvest with Li Shimin, but what they saw was Li Shimin's tired expression.Concubine Xu Xian waved her hand to stop everyone's laughter, walked up to Li Shimin lightly, and called out sweetly:
"His Majesty!"

Li Shimin glanced at these beauties of his, and suddenly found that they were more beautiful than before, and there was a hint of desire hidden in his heart, but his body was completely lifeless.Suddenly, Li Shimin felt very disturbed, waved his hands and said:

"You all go out!"

How great it would be if I were in better health!After Concubine Xu and the beauties left, Li Shimin thought silently: I have so many beauties, such a big country, and so many subjects, and endless magnificent rivers and mountains...why, my body can no longer Better to enjoy it all?That's not asking too much!Not all people are like this: when you are sick, you will miss the days when you were not sick; when you are seriously ill, you will miss the days when you were not sick.For many beautiful things, it doesn't matter when you have them, and you cherish them when you lose them. This is the case for ordinary people.Their hearts are filled with all kinds of desires, and they even feel restless because of this, let alone me?As an emperor, it is too uncomfortable to lose so much enjoyment due to illness!Li Shimin was very disturbed when the imperial doctor Chen Liangfu came.Li Shimin didn't want to look at them, so he closed his eyes and asked solemnly:
"How long will it take for my illness to recover?"

"This kind of disease needs treatment and maintenance, and it will gradually recover." Chen Liangfu replied.

"Gradually, gradually until when? I have been gradually gradually for almost half a year, and I still cannot leave this Cuiwei Palace."

"It will take some time to return to His Majesty, and the specific time, I can't say for sure. In short, as long as Your Majesty calms down..."

"Okay, I can't calm down anymore! Let's go." Li Shimin finished speaking bluntly and shouted loudly: "Talk to Naluoer Saha!"

Meiniang had just sent the crown prince back at this time, when she heard the shout from a distance, she was startled, held her breath, and quickly rushed back to Li Shimin's bedroom, only to hear the imperial doctor shouting:
"Your Majesty, golden stone elixirs and the like are really harmful things. Your Majesty must not trust them lightly."

"If you don't believe in gold and stone pills, just trust you? Not only do I need to recover faster, but I also need a strong, immortal body."

"His Majesty……"

"Shut up, don't go down!"

Chen Liangfu had no choice but to withdraw with a bitter face.When I first arrived at the gate, I happened to meet Na Luo Er Sa Po who was showing his might.The two looked at each other with hatred, and after a while, they snorted again, flicked their long sleeves, went in and out, and went where they should go at this time.

19
The fat and fat Naluoer Suopo entered the bedroom, stared at Li Shimin with small and shiny eyes, and spoke blunt Chinese:
"Long live the Emperor!"

Li Shimin looked at him seriously, only to see his round, strong figure, light brown, elastic skin, and rough, dirty cassock.On the huge head of Na Luo Er Sa Po, although the hair is also dirty, it is very dense and very black.Did this guy really live to be two hundred years old?Li Shimin asked himself in his heart, turned his eyes to Hao Chujun, the servant of Dongtai, and Xuance, the commander of the right guard, who came in together, and asked:
"Is this Naluoer Saha?"

"Your Majesty, this person is the Indian monk Naluoer Sapo." Hao Chujun replied.

"Two hundred years old?" Li Shimin seemed to be talking to himself.Both Hao Chujun and Wang Xuance understood Li Shimin's question, only Na Luo Er Sa Po stood there in a daze.

"Your Majesty, I don't think this monk can be two hundred years old." Hao Chujun said.

"I also think so. He himself is deceiving His Majesty by saying that he has lived to be two hundred years old." Wang Xuance said.

"No, I did live to be two hundred years old." Na Luo Er Sa Po understood this time, and when he was anxiously arguing, he couldn't help but look at Wang Xuance timidly again.

Last year, Zuo Wei led Shi Wang Xuance to visit India at the order of Li Shimin.After going through many hardships to reach the country of Makada in India, who knows that the original king Siladitiya is dead, and the throne is usurped by General Arjuna, and the whole Makada country and the whole of India are in war.Wang Xuanwei and a group of more than 7000 envoys from the Tang Dynasty were all locked in a dark cell by Arjuna, and all the tributes from the Tang Dynasty were robbed.The brave Wang Xuance did not wait for the rebels to execute them in despair, but thought of a clever way to escape from the prison.After a thrilling escape from Makada, Wang Xuance crossed the Gandes River, crossed the Sindustan Plain, and arrived at Nibo.Relying on his three-inch tongue, Wang Xuance finally persuaded the old Nepalese king who respected the Tang Dynasty to borrow 200 elite soldiers, and then borrowed another 2 from Songtsen Gampo, the daughter of the Tang Dynasty.Leading these [-] soldiers, Wang Xuance returned to the country of Mama Kada, defeated the nearly [-] troops of the rebel Arjuna in one fell swoop, and captured Arjuna and his tens of thousands of soldiers and followers. This Indian monk who claims to have lived [-] years old is Naluo Ershapo.When asking Li Shimin for instructions on how to deal with the funeral, the emperor issued an order to execute the general Aljuna who had usurped the throne, but ordered to bring the [-]-year-old Indian monk to the Tang Dynasty.

Several days have passed, but Li Shimin did not expect that he would summon this monk again today.Hearing Luo Ersha's argument, Li Shimin's eyes covered him again. "Is it possible?" Li Shimin asked himself again in his heart.

Li Shimin's health has always been very good, and he has always thought it ridiculous that Qi begged for immortals and hoped for his longevity. He was defrauded by alchemists." When he became emperor, Li Shimin also resolutely opposed the prophecy, saying, "This is an honest thing, and you can't love the sound of flying." Until February of the 11th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin He also said: "The man who lives is the great virtue of the world, and the man who lives is the constant of the short life. He is born with a shape of seven feet, and his life span is limited to a hundred years. It cannot be divided into foreign companies. Although he regains the power of turning the sky and turning the sun, it is wonderful. The wisdom of the poor gods, life must have an end, and nothing can be avoided.” Regarding life and death, this is such a profound and incisive insight.But now, Li Shimin is already sick. After being sick for so long, he feels the troubles that he can't enjoy and the threat of death.As an emperor, he really has too much and can enjoy too much. He is reluctant and can't figure it out, so he forgets the incisive insights he had before.With a fluke mentality, even if there is a glimmer of hope, he will give it a try.Long before this, Li Shimin had sent people all over the country to search for alchemists, and placed them in the palace, providing them with delicious food and wine, and even beautiful maids, hoping that they could make the emperors of the Tang Dynasty who can strengthen their bodies and live forever. the elixir.Soon, the elixir was refined and Li Shimin took it, but it still didn't work.For this, Fang Shigao always had reasons of one kind or another, so Li Shimin did not punish them, and gradually he no longer believed them.At this moment, Li Shimin heard that Wang Xuance had captured an Indian monk who had lived for 200 years.Since the monk was brought to Datang, Li Shimin has been learning about him.Due to the constant attacks on him by domestic alchemists, Li Shimin almost lost confidence in this foreign monk.However, the torment of the disease, the chronicity of traditional Chinese medicine, the ineffectiveness of the elixir refined by the alchemists around him, and so on, finally reminded the wise and great Tang emperor once again of the Indian monk who claimed to have lived [-] years.

"I really lived to be two hundred years old." Seeing that the emperor and his courtiers did not speak, Luo Ersha was a little anxious. He saw Wang Xuance execute the general Arjuna with his own eyes, and he was worried that he would execute himself again. He wanted to try his best. Do your best to keep yourself alive. "When I was three years old, I met the ancestor Bodhidharma. Since then, I have been with the ancestor and studied the art of immortality. Ten years ago, when the ancestor lived to be a thousand years old, he went to the Heavenly Palace to be a fairy I went. I had already learned how to make elixirs. The elixirs I made, the emperor would surely live forever if he took them."

When Naluoer Sapo was speaking, Li Shimin listened very attentively. After he finished speaking, he asked:

"How long will it take you to refine the alchemy?"

"All kinds of materials are ready, and it can be made in three months."

"What if it doesn't work if I eat it?"

"You cut off my head." Naluoer Sapo replied.

Li Shimin laughed haha: "I don't want your head, I want the elixir you made."

Hao Chujun and Wang Xuance were shocked when they heard this: Li Shimin actually believed this monk's nonsense!Thinking of this, the two were about to speak, but Li Shimin seemed to have expected that they would speak at this time, and after speaking to Naluoer Sapo, he waved to them and said:
"You go back."

After Hao Chujun and Wang Xuance left, Li Shimin summoned the eunuch and said: "Arrange this Indian monk for me, choose a luxurious palace, five hundred servants, fine clothes and fine food, don't neglect!"

After hearing this, Luo Er Sa Po was overjoyed and knelt down to thank her.Li Shimin looked at him solemnly and said:

"Don't rush to thank you, I still want to tell you: if the pill cannot be refined, or if it has no effect, I will deal with it strictly according to the law."

"Strictly deal with it according to the law?" Naluoer Sapo didn't quite understand these four words, and looked at Li Shimin in confusion.

"Tell him about it." Li Shimin said to the attendants beside him.

"Strictly deal with the law, that is, according to the laws of my Tang Dynasty. According to the laws of my Tang Dynasty, if you promise to the emperor but fail to do it, it is a crime of deceiving the emperor and you will be beheaded." The attendant explained patiently. .

"I know, I won't be beheaded, I didn't deceive the emperor." Na Luo Er Sa Po said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

19
As soon as Li Shimin left Concubine Xu Xian's hotbed, Chen Liangfu came.This was specially arranged by Concubine Xu Xian, who carefully checked Li Shimin's pulse, Chen Liangfu said:
"I think His Majesty must be feeling much better."

Li Shimin nodded.

"I implore the emperor to continue to take the medicine prescribed by you, and your majesty's illness will gradually recover." Chen Liangfu said earnestly.

Li Shimin still nodded.After Chen Liangfu left and went out, Li Shimin smiled secretly at Concubine Xu Xian, and said, "Look, the Indian monk has just arrived, and I haven't eaten his elixir, so my illness is much lighter."

Concubine Xu Xian was shocked when she heard this: "Your Majesty, don't you take the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctors?"

"Eat, it's just that after the elixir is refined, I won't take those medicines anymore."

"His Majesty……"

"Stop talking." Li Shimin interrupted Concubine Xu Xian, and said to his attendants, "Let that Indian monk come in."

(End of this chapter)