The Romance of the West Chamber: The Bells are Ringing

The man in black sneered: "Li Shi, have you, the dog emperor, done the three things we agreed on?"

"We have all done it," Li Shi said in a trembling voice, "I have posthumously awarded Liu Gong Ri'an the title of governor of Zhengzhou, and also made him a Situ, to vindicate Liu Gong Ri'an."

The man in black snorted coldly and said, "The donkey cart order has been abolished?"

"It has been abolished a long time ago and has not been implemented. Other methods of exploiting the people have also been stopped." Li Shi said.

The man in black stared at Li Shi with a sharp light in his eyes, as if he wanted to see through him.

He said coldly: "You are a dog emperor. You promised to gradually dismantle the power of the noble clans, but you have not yet taken any actual action. It has been many days since you were the top student in high school, and you have not been promoted to an official position."

Li Shi lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the man in black. He was panic-stricken, as if a mess was lingering in his mind, and said in a trembling voice: "The dignitaries in the court and General Du Que have strongly recommended Zhang Junrui, the new top scholar, to be the governor of Hezhong. However, I am afraid that following them too much will backfire. It only fuels the arrogance of the noble clans and fails to demonstrate my authority as the emperor."

The man in black snorted and said, "Really? As the Dog Emperor, can't you make a decisive decision?"

"This, this, this needs time to be done slowly." Li Shi stammered, "The situation between North Korea and China is complicated now, and the various factions are intertwined and need to be dealt with slowly."

After hearing this, the man in black became furious and shouted sternly: "If you can't even appoint the new top scholar to an official position in time, why are you talking about gradual disintegration? You are stalling for time and deceiving the people of the world!"

Li Shi was overwhelmed by the aura of the man in black and couldn't help but tremble. He was anxious, but helpless. He knew that the man in black was right, but his heart was full of contradictions and struggles.

The man in black saw Li Shi's hesitation, and he snorted coldly: "Tomorrow you will decree to make Zhang Junrui the governor of Hezhong, otherwise don't blame me for cutting off the head of your dog emperor!"

Li Shi was shocked. He was frightened by the threat of the man in black and nodded in agreement. He thought in his mind: "Who is this man in black? His power is so great that even I can't resist it. How should I deal with it?"

Seeing that Li Shi was frightened, the man in black took advantage of the situation and pursued him. He sneered and said: "You emperor is quite sensible! But how is the war in Tubo?"

When Li Shi was asked about the war in Tubo, he was shocked again. He said tremblingly: "Thank you sir for defeating the Tubo army with the Chixiao Sword. Wei Gao, the envoy of Jiannan Jiedu, reported a great victory in setting up an ambush and captured Lun Mang, the Tibetan Prime Minister and the Qunmu Ambassador of the Military and Horse Command of Dongbi Wudao. Hot, actually I know, it’s all thanks to you, sir, holding the Chixia Sword.”

The man in black was silent for a moment after hearing this, with a complicated expression flashing in his eyes. He thought in his heart: "Although this Li Shi is forced to do nothing at this time and seems to be cowardly and incompetent, he can clearly understand the battle of Weizhou. I think it comes from a spy who has a secret report, which can be regarded as having merit."

So he nodded and said: "Well, that's right, I will do what I promised you immediately. Now Tubo doesn't dare to go to war with the Tang Dynasty anymore, right?"

Li Shi pondered for a moment and considered: "After the Battle of Weizhou, Tubo's strength was severely damaged, so the threat to our Tang Dynasty has been greatly reduced. From now on, Tubo will surely begin to decline. They will continue to decline. There will be no strength to launch a large-scale attack on the Tang Dynasty like before. Moreover, Tubo's control over the original territory is gradually weakening. Although there are still some small-scale military frictions between Tang and Tibet occasionally, But that kind of large-scale war will never happen again."

The man in black nodded slightly, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said, "Well, the people can finally live in peace for a few decades. It's not in vain for me to go all the way."

Then he stared at Li Shi and said: "You are a dog emperor. Now that there are no foreign troubles, you must cherish it even more and disintegrate the power of the noble clan as soon as possible!"

Li Shi nodded hurriedly and said: "Yes! Yes! I will never forget it in the ten dynasties!"

At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the hall, as if someone had broken into the hall. The man in black's expression changed upon hearing the sound, and he instantly disappeared into the darkness. Li Shi breathed a sigh of relief, but felt even more confused and uneasy.

Several guards rushed to the bed and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I heard a strange noise. Is your Majesty okay?"

"I'm fine!" Li Shi frowned, waved his hand impatiently, and said, "You all should step back! Quickly pass the message to the Shushe people!"

The guard said: "Your Majesty, do you want to prepare an edict for the people in the bookstore?"

"No need to say more, go quickly!" Li Shi said calmly.

Early the next morning, the rooster's crow was still ringing in his ears, and the piano boy was awakened from his sleep by a rapid knock on the door. He put on his coat and walked to the door. Through the crack in the door, he saw the eunuch of the palace, with a unique arrogance and arrogance on his face.

When the door opened, the piano boy bowed slightly and greeted the eunuch, "Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law. I wonder what important matters you are here for today?"

The eunuch said in a sharp voice: "Where is your family's number one scholar? The emperor has a decree, and we are here to announce it."

Zhang Gong hurriedly ran out, grabbed the piano boy and knelt down quickly, saying: "I accept the order, Zhang Gong! Long live the saint! Long live! Long live!"

But I was extremely uneasy, thinking that I had been sick and asked for leave for many days, instead of going to the Hanlin Academy to compile the history of the country. Now that the emperor's decree has come down, I don't know whether it is a disaster or a blessing.

The eunuch held the imperial decree and stood in front of Zhang Gong, smiling and speaking slightly arrogantly.

The imperial edict was unfolded, and the eunuch began to read: "Haotian has a destiny, and the emperor accepts it. The number one scholar in the new imperial examination, Zhang Junrui of Xiluo, has outstanding talents and learning, is a loyal man, and is decisive in dealing with things. I have named him the governor of Hezhong and will take office today. I hereby express my gratitude." "

After the reading was completed, the eunuch handed the imperial edict to Zhang Gong and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Number One Scholar!".

Zhang Gong was shocked and overjoyed. He never expected that his efforts would finally be recognized by the emperor, and he would be given such an important official position as Hezhong Fu Yin.

"Thank you saint for your grace! Long live the saint! Long live! Long live!!" He said excitedly, with tears of joy shining in his eyes.

The eunuch helped Zhang Gong up and said, "Master Zhuangyuan, hurry up and enter the palace to express your gratitude!"

"Yes, father-in-law, I would like to trouble you to go back and report to His Majesty. Zhang Gong will enter the palace immediately to express his gratitude." Zhang Gong took advantage of the situation and stood up, stuffing a gold ingot into the eunuch's hand.

The eunuch remained calm, put the gold ingot in his sleeve, nodded, turned and left. Zhang Gong watched his back disappear from sight, his heart filled with anticipation and excitement.

Zhang Gong immediately bathed and changed clothes, put on brand-new official uniforms, put on a jade crown to tie his hair, ordered the piano boy to lead the white horse, and headed to the palace in high spirits. He was full of ambition, and the joy in his heart was beyond words.

When he arrived at the palace, Zhang Gong dismounted and ordered the piano boy to wait outside.

He entered the palace and walked towards Tai Chi Hall with steady steps. The hall is filled with fragrance and the splendid decorations are dazzling. Walking to the center of the hall, he saw Tang Dezong and Li Shi sitting on the dragon chair, looking at him with a smile.

"My humble minister, Zhang Gong, comes to see Your Majesty." He knelt down and kowtowed.

"Junrui, you have indeed lived up to my expectations." Li Shi's tone revealed deep relief, "It is your honor and your responsibility to be named the governor of Hezhong. You must do your best to serve the court. Do things for the benefit of the people.”

"Wei Chen will definitely live up to His Majesty's expectations." Zhang Gong kowtowed again, "Wei Chen will definitely do his best for the court and benefit the people."

Li Shi smiled and nodded and said, "Okay, go down."

Zhang Gong kowtowed again and then slowly exited the hall.

Li Shi looked at Zhang Junrui's retreating back, his face turned from sunny to gloomy, his brows were slightly wrinkled, and the circles under his eyes were slightly dark. It was obvious that he had not slept well all night.