Realm of Power

Li Long's big red robe, which represents the status of the Minister of Central and Eastern Bia, is like a red flag. Facing the river wind, he stands on a slope on the side of the river. The ground in front of him is the large river full of people. , standing at a high place, looking at it, there was no end in sight. Li Long's blood-red pupils scanned the scene in front of him, which was like a real sea of ​​​​people. Countless people crowded forward, but he felt bitter in his heart.

The release of all the Zhongbia people under the control of the Yelu family is naturally a great good thing for the whole of Zhongbia. However, if such a good thing comes slowly over a few years, even if Zhongbia dynasty No matter how difficult the situation is, all the materials will be squeezed out to settle these released people. However, if such releases are concentrated in a period of more than ten days, it will be a disaster.

As the front line of the war between the Yelu family and Zhongbia for several years, all the bridges on the river have been demolished long ago. Even the countless boats that originally gathered on both sides of the river were all burned when the Yelu family went south half a year ago. , now everyone is just relying on these temporary pontoons, except those who have gathered on the big river. In addition to the nearly one million people in the direction, there are more people driven by the Yelu family, moving towards the river that is more than a hundred miles long. Yelu can still be seen on the mounds on the side of the river. The family's cavalry were lined up in a line, standing on the nearby slope, with cold eyes, as if they were looking at a herd of herds of cattle and sheep.

Li Long heard a burst of footsteps behind him and took a deep breath. He knew that the situation he least wanted to face had come. He turned around and saw a Chinese official wearing a dark purple official uniform. The young man came up from behind, glanced at the sea of ​​people in front of him with an arrogant expression, then looked at Li Long and said coldly

"Lord Li Long, what is going on? With so many refugees gathered here, as the special envoy to China, there is nothing we can do. Lord Li Long should understand that a country cannot be without a king for a day. How will it be for His Majesty to return? How can a major event be delayed because of these refugees? If word of this spreads, the prairie people will laugh out loud."

"Sir Fenglong, if you have a way, just do it. There is no need to hide and squeeze me. This time, when we take His Majesty back to the court, our Li family only fulfilled our responsibilities as ministers and did not compete with Your Majesty for any credit." It means "Li Long's eyes flashed with disdain. Along the way, Li Long's face was cold, and the hand holding the riding crop was even pale.

"Master Li Long, what are you talking about? His Majesty the Emperor's return to the south is such a big deal. We are just a little anxious. After all, you, Master Li Long, are the person in charge of China and Bia in the north of the river. I and I Your Majesty is still waiting for the good news from your lord." The minister of China and Bibia, known as Fenglong, twitched his eyebrows and spoke in an unpleasant tone. Shan Tian swung his sleeves and walked away, no way, this is not a joke on him, so many refugees are crowded here, not even God can do anything, not to mention he is a mortal, the reason why he came to urge Li Long to make a decision again and again, Isn't it just to shift the main responsibility to Li Long? If Li Long really lets it go, it will be worse.

"Sir, it's no wonder that the court is controlled by such a person. ..." A guard behind Li Long couldn't bear to look at it. As soon as he said something, he was glared at by Li Long and had to shut up.

"Remember, the court has nothing to do with my Li family anymore. We can just ignore what they say and do. As for how these people treat my Li family, there will be times when they regret it!" Li Long took a deep breath. He took a breath and continued to look forward. In addition to being disheartened about the court, his meeting with the emperor also made him determined to completely abandon the Zhongbia court.

Compared to China and Bia, which are already in twilight and still fighting among themselves, Li Long is obviously more optimistic about the cooperation between the empire and the Li family.

Moreover, Li Long also understood that the emperor had integrated the Yelu family with the grassland people, so the next target must be Zhongbia, otherwise the emperor would not have told him in front of him that the empire would appoint The daughter of the Li family, Li Yuehua, is in charge of the empire's affairs in Central and Biya. This news is currently blocked, but Li Long believes that soon, the news will spread throughout Central and Biya.

It must have been a scene like an earthquake. The corners of Li Long's mouth were slightly raised, and his eyes flashed with a rather playful smile. Who would have thought that the woman who was scolded by the entire Central Asian court and left? At this moment, it has returned with such a shocking identity. The empire's influence in Central Asia The person with full authority, holding a hundred thousand imperial troops, pressed north on the grassland, suppressed Longjia in the west, from the northwest of Zhongbia, Yanzhou to the west of Dijing Road, which almost occupied the military and political affairs of the central and northern third of Zhongbia, completely It was decided by his words. It can be seen from this how much the emperor trusted Li Yuehua.

Li Long had to admire how wise the old patriarch Li Tai was when he ordered Li Yuehua to be completely removed from the Li family tree.

The emperor would not be at ease unless the Li family's concern was cut off. The old prime minister, who had experienced the ups and downs of the court for decades, naturally knew that the emperor's heart was clear that the Li family's hope was not in Zhongbia, so he decisively left. Push, with the empire as a big tree in the sky, who will embrace the roots of the old tree in China and Bia that has been hollowed out by countless moths?

For more than a year, despite the chaos and humiliation in the court, the Li family just closed the door and thanked guests.

Those who don't know it make people think that the Li family is already a thing of the past and they can only shrink their heads and hide. But they don't know that the worse the Li family is, the more trust Li Yuehua will gain in the empire, and the emperor will truly be willing to support the Li family again. , because only the Li family that has truly lost power is worthy of the empire’s olive branch. Otherwise, it will just be a cooperation of interests, rather than a complete symbiosis.

For more than half a year, Li Long also watched with cold eyes, allowing himself to be promoted and demoted. From the head of the dignified military ministry to the top of the cabinet, his decline was almost at an alarming rate. Li Long looked at these so-called ministers. When the emperor disappeared, every one of them Shrink your neck and pretend to be a fool Turtle, the Song people praised the Song people when they came to power, and the Long family praised the Long family when they came to power. Now that the emperor was about to return to the south, he immediately rushed towards him crying and shouting, trying his best to show how loyal he was, especially the one just now. Former Minister of Rites Yu Fenglong was the most enthusiastic

At the beginning, he was a man of great renown. With the support of the royal family, he repeatedly refused the Southern Song people to come to the imperial capital to participate in sacrifices in the name of the Ministry of Rites. After the Song people took control of the court, they naturally suppressed them vigorously. This Minister of Rites He simply hid at home and pretended to be sick. When the Song clan was defeated and the Long family took over the court, he thought that The Long family is a military minister, and they are completely blind to all aspects of the court and are easy to mess with. The former minister of rites came to the Long family again and wanted to join the Long family camp, but was blocked by Long Poshengsheng. Not only The Song clan looked down upon the former Minister of Rites, Long Po, who was a military official, and even more looked down upon the Minister of Rites.

The reason is very simple. When Long Yang, the former head of the Long family, died in the battle in Yanzhou, the person who scolded Long Yang the most in the court was the Minister of Rites. Even when the Long family finally proposed to ban the title, the former Minister of Rites said that he was rebellious. How could it be possible? He was dismissed because of his title. Now Lord Fenglong wanted to switch to the Long family. Long Po didn’t directly order him to be killed, so it was considered He has a good temper, but he will definitely not be allowed to stay as the Minister of Rites anymore. In this way, Yu Fenglong stayed in the court controlled by the Long family for another month. He thought he would never have a chance again, and he was already prepared to be depressed. Master Yu Fenglong, who returned to his hometown, suddenly heard the news that the emperor was in the imperial capital, and immediately grasped the huge opportunity keenly.

Other ministers are still hesitant, afraid of offending the Long family and dare not send people to the Imperial Capital. What else does Yu Fenlong have to be afraid of! Although he heard that the grassland people and the areas controlled by the empire were in chaos, and that the empire area was very rude to the Central Asian nobles, the former minister of rites still went straight to the imperial capital with all his strength. He was robbed by bandits along the way and was scared to death. Finally, he was He was the first to come to the emperor before the ministers could react. Seeing such a loyal minister coming from the south of the river, the emperor also had mixed feelings. He immediately appointed him as the Minister of Rites again, responsible for presiding over this return to the south.

The power of his holy family is still higher than that of Li Long, the first person to welcome the emperor back.

"Lord Yu Fenglong is back!"

In a compound ten miles away from the river, more than a dozen ministers wearing Sino-Biya court uniforms were walking back and forth anxiously. Some people raised their heads from time to time to look at the sun above their heads and muttered something. At this time When he saw Yu Fenglong in a purple robe walking in from outside, he immediately felt anxious.

"How is it? Does that despicable Li family have a solution?" someone asked eagerly

"What else can he do? I just went to the river to take a look." Yu Fenlong paused deliberately in his voice.

"How's it going? What's the situation on the river? How many refugees are there? I've heard that the length of the river that the refugees have crossed has extended to Xiajiang City, which is more than 20 miles away. Such a long river crossing, after walking this long I'm afraid it will be over in a few days! The ministers who gathered around have become anxious.

""almost? Haha, Yu Fenlong smiled and described the scene he saw to the ministers who gathered around him. "Don't say three or five days, I'm afraid it won't last ten days! Everyone is relieved. Li Jiazi thought he was welcoming back The emperor's first person, but he didn't know that the emperor had begun to hate him."

"Haha, that's good. It's okay if you can't get through!" Hearing that there were still so many people on the river, some people immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"If the Li family is allowed to take His Majesty back easily like this, how can it appear that we are not willing to put ourselves in danger in order to welcome His Majesty back south!" Yu Fenlong's eyes flashed with a sharp chill, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and he looked at the other ministers They waved their hands and said, "Your Majesty has already called you three times a day. Just this morning, there was an attendant from the Li clan. Wei said something about the river being impassable for three to five days, and the emperor angrily dragged him down, beat him thirty times, and threw him to Li Jiazi like a dead dog. As long as he was dragged for a while, even if he was Li Jiazi, No matter how long Long was the first official to welcome him, the emperor would angrily order him to be punished. As long as such news was spread back to the south, it would be enough."

"Your Excellency, you are so wise. It's ridiculous that the Li family thought that he had made great achievements. You just used a trick to make everything go to waste."

"It's ridiculous that now the whole south thinks that when the emperor returns, he must re-employ the Li family. All forces are once again enthusiastic about the Li family. The gate of the Li family, which has been deserted for several years, is already a scene of traffic jams. There is no way to stop it. I would have thought that His Majesty is not willing to see the Li family recover." A minister said excitedly, his eyes bright.

"Who says it's not the case? Li Long's contribution to welcoming the emperor back this time is too great. Although His Majesty has not yet returned to the court, everyone can see when the news comes back that the Li clan is going to resurrect this time. rise, and the limelight is probably even greater, because there were still four major clans in the past, but now, the Zhang clan is destroyed, the Tang clan is almost extinct, and the remaining Song clan has shrunk. When we came to the south, the Li family was already the only one left among the four great clans. If we let one more share rise to the sky, would we have to raise another Long family? "Yu Fenglong had a smile on his face. He has been the minister of etiquette for so many years. What he needs most is what he has done. Just observing the emperor's words and demeanor, how could he not realize that the emperor didn't seem to be very grateful to Li Long, and even looked a little embarrassed in his eyes?

But think about it

It is impossible for the emperor to suddenly appear in the imperial capital out of thin air. He has been silent about his whereabouts for more than half a year. However, there are only two possibilities. Either the emperor was captured by the Yelu family and secretly detained, or he was detained for some reason. For some reason, he was taken to the imperial capital as a slave by the Yelu family.

Only when he saw Li Long on certain occasions did he dare to reveal his identity, but Li Long took a big advantage.

How could the emperor live a good life as a slave in the grassland people's area? The ministers had long heard that the Zhongbia people were not even as good as livestock in the grassland people's area. One can imagine how embarrassed the emperor was at that time. , the scene of desolation, that is, Li Long saw it, such as If the emperor had no chance to go back, then this matter would be like that, but it is different now. Zhiji is about to return south, and the reputation of being extremely embarrassed at the beginning was also because of the peace talks with the Yelu family, forcing Yelu to release so many Central Asians. Rapidly reaching unattainable heights

"Holy King"

This is what all parties in China and Bia call the emperor now. Once the emperor's situation is leaked by Li Long, the name of this eternal holy king may be hanging. As the first person to welcome the emperor back, Li Long has this The credit was too great. The Li clan once again took control of the court. The emperor who had taken control was not willing to see such a thing, nor were the ministers who had just gained power.

It took a lot of effort to catch Li Yuehua. The emperor and the ministers worked together to remove the Li clan from the position of the head of the civil service. How could the Li clan be allowed to climb up easily now? Since no one wants to see the Li clan If the clan is resurrected, then the best way is to make a fuss about the "return to the south".

Although I don't dare to blatantly exclude Li Long, I have deliberately put pressure on Li Long like this more than once or twice. I just want to put a hat on Li Long's head that delays the emperor's return to the south. Only In this way, we can show our loyalty to the north of the great river where the south talks about changing faces, even at the risk of risking life and death, so that the emperor can return south.

To welcome the emperor back to the south, there was an uproar everywhere. Whether it was the court or the provinces, they all urged to take back the Holy King. This was an unstoppable trend. Even the Long family, which had always been stubborn about this matter, was so worried. The emperor, who had no choice but to compromise and assumed the halo of the Holy King, had an extremely irritating attitude towards Li Long, who had seen him in a miserable state that day.

Others don't know how the emperor appeared in the imperial capital, but Li Long doesn't know? I'm afraid only the emperor and Li Long know what happened in the past six months. This is the fatal part.

Yu Fenglong thought that if he were in the same situation as the emperor, he would be eager to send Li Long, a man who knew everything, to a place where he would never see it. Since the emperor thinks so, what should he worry about? Just throw dirty water on Li Long. The harder you throw it, the happier the emperor will be. That's enough. I believe that when the emperor returns to the court, he will be the first person to do it. I didn't see the emperor appoint the person responsible for returning to the south. It was him, not Li Long. This meant that the emperor had no intention of letting Li Long follow him back.

(To be continued...)