Tibet

Ten more days passed, and in the blink of an eye it was late July. Since the last summons, the imperial concubine had never summoned Li Ye again, and Gao Lishi had never called for Li Ye. The days were extremely peaceful, and nothing happened.

That morning, the camel team that had traveled thousands of miles from Suiye finally arrived in Chang'an. They also traveled day and night, which is why they walked so quickly. It only took more than fifty days to complete the entire journey.

The Ministry of War had received special instructions from the emperor to prepare a camp outside the East City for the Qianhezhong Army who was coming from afar. Li Ye also rushed outside the East City to welcome the arrival of his men.

All the goods were unloaded, of course, the three million gold coins were the top priority. A total of 600 large boxes were packed and placed in a special tent, surrounded by barracks and soldiers standing guard.

At noon, Gao Lishi brought Longwu Army General Chen Xuanli and 500 soldiers to the camp. They brought a hundred ox carts to welcome three million gold coins.

Li Ye patted the box and said to Gao Lishi: "There are six hundred boxes in total. Each box contains five thousand gold coins. There is my seal on the box. Gao Weng, would you like to open the box and take a look?"

Gao Lishi said calmly: "The emperor requires me to open every box for inspection!"

Li Ye nodded and asked the soldiers to pry open all the lids of the boxes. The lids of the boxes were pried open. Inside was a large leather bag. When the rope was untied, there were all shining gold coins. These were all from Bandar City. The seized leather bags still had the marks of the Khazar Turks on them.

After confirming that they were all gold coins, the soldiers tied the straps and nailed the lid back on.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to inspect the goods, Gao Lishi pulled Li Ye aside and asked in a low voice: "What did the imperial concubine say to you last time?"

Li Ye felt a little relieved, it seemed that nothing happened.

"They are all kinds of complaints!" Li Ye said calmly.

"What are you complaining about?" Gao Lishi continued to ask.

"Women's complaints are all similar, just like my mother's complaints. I have experience. Don't talk too much at this time, just listen."

"Tell me specifically what you are complaining about so that I can correct the shortcomings."

"She complained a lot. She said that the palace was like a prison, with no freedom at all. She complained that there were too many rules in the palace, which entangled her like a spider web. She also complained that she was smiling all day long and couldn't even find anyone to talk to. Pretty much. That’s it, I can’t remember the details.”

Gao Lishi nodded, "She really wants to find someone to talk to. These days, she calls Dugu Xinyue into the palace every day to talk to her."

Gao Lishi glanced at Li Ye again, "I think she has something to do with you, but you didn't tell me."

Li Ye said helplessly, "I gave Mrs. Guo a top-quality emerald that I found in the Western Regions. The imperial concubine was very unhappy and asked me why I gave it to Mrs. Guo? Gao Weng, I don't quite understand. , they are obviously sisters, but at that moment, I felt that the imperial concubine was very hostile to Mrs. Guo Guo."

Gao Lishi nodded, "Let me tell you! She must be looking for trouble for something. It turned out to be about the gems. Alas! Their relationship has indeed not been very good in the past few years. How did you answer it to make the imperial concubine calm down?"

Li Ye smiled bitterly, "What else can I say? I can only tell the truth. Mrs. Guo Guo threatened me with the safety of my parents. I dare not refuse to agree. This is the fact."

Gao Lishi sighed and said: "The imperial concubine's mood is very unstable during this period. I was very worried that day. There was only the Twelve Stone Girl following her. What must she want to say to you? I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to control it. Fortunately, nothing happened. I will have to be careful in the future and not let you see her when she is emotionally unstable."

"What does Stone Girl mean?" Li Ye asked in confusion.

"Didn't you notice something unusual about them? They all walk at exactly the same pace. They have been trained since childhood to be able to close their ears and eyes. This is also to protect the privacy of the emperor and the imperial concubine."

Li Ye was silent for a moment and said: "Mr. Gao, I'm going to get married soon. After I get married, I don't want to go to the palace anymore. If I always go to the palace, Xinyue will be unhappy."

Gao Lishi smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, I will make arrangements for you two to enter the palace together."

Li Ye shook his head, "Actually, I don't have time. I have to leave in early September. If it's later, I won't be able to return to Suiye before the heavy snow comes."

Gao Lishi nodded, "I understand. The emperor will summon you tomorrow morning. It may be to report on your duties. Please prepare yourself! He may ask about Juzhanti and Tubo."

After a pause, Gao Lishi whispered again: "The emperor knows very well what happened in the battle of Juzhanti!"

Li Ye nodded. Gao Lishi's last words were a hint, which convinced Li Ye that he really had the emperor's spy.

Three million gold coins entered the inner treasury, which made Li Longji very happy. It can be said that he was elated. He had not been so happy for several years.

In recent years, the imperial court's finances have become increasingly difficult, and the share allocated to the emperor has become smaller and smaller. Even private imperial merchants have been unable to support Li Longji's extravagant spending. The money accumulated in the inner treasury has become less and less, and the remaining precious treasures Also reluctant to sell.

Li Longji began to worry about the lack of money. At this critical moment, Li Ye, the governor of the river, suddenly sent three million gold coins. How could Li Longji not be overjoyed.

The next morning, Emperor Li Longji summoned Li Ye in the study room of Linde Hall. This summons was a formal summons and was equivalent to a report on his duties.

Five prime ministers, including Yang Guozhong and Wei Jiansu, also participated in the debriefing. The Jiedushi envoy and the governor's debriefing were actually similar, but the similarity was only in form, and the difference was in substance. The Jiedushi envoy reported his duties to the emperor, and the power of decision-making rested with the emperor. The governor reported his duties to the Political Affairs Hall, and the decision-making power rested with the Political Affairs Hall.

The prime ministers can question and inquire, but they cannot make a conclusion for the emperor.

The Linde Hall is very large, and the emperor only uses a small part of it. In the side hall, several prime ministers were talking in low voices about the gold coins yesterday. The paper could not contain the fire, but the news about Li Ye bringing three million gold coins spread. .

It's just that all three million gold coins were donated to the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed, but many people were unhappy. First of all, the political hall was unhappy, the court was in financial difficulties, and the ministers were almost unable to pay their salaries. Why not donate part of it to the court? ?

Secondly, other foreign vassals were not happy either. Li Ye donated three million gold coins, so what should they do?

The prime ministers were not very happy either. Gao Xianzhi spent a large sum of money to honor them every year, but Li Ye didn't give them a penny.

At this time, Li Ye followed a eunuch in. Yang Guozhong couldn't help but ask: "Captain Li, is the river so rich? You can easily get millions of gold coins. Have you also made a fortune?"

No need to be surprised, this is Yang Guozhong's true nature. He comes from a gangster background, and he doesn't know what it means to be reserved.

Li Ye smiled and said: "When I came back from the river this time, I brought some small gifts to the Prime Ministers. Please accept them."

He took out several lapis lazuli stones from the bag, placed one on each prime minister's table, and finally placed the largest piece on the emperor's imperial case.

All the prime ministers looked at each other. It was the first time they encountered this situation. They gave gifts in person when debriefing. Is this an open bribery?

Gao Lishi also walked in and said with a smile: "Everyone, please accept it! This is a souvenir from the Battle of Juzhanti. The quantity is small but the quality is good. Governor Li also gave me a piece. I like it very much."

Only then did everyone realize that asking for help from talented people is called bribery. It is just a war souvenir and everyone has a share. This is not called bribery.

Everyone looked at the lapis lazuli one after another. Everyone was a knowledgeable person, and they couldn't help but be surprised and happy. The quality of the lapis lazuli stone was so high that even if it cost tens of thousands of dollars, you might not be able to buy it. This was not an ordinary treasure!

Wei Jiansu asked with a smile: "Captain Li's actions are extraordinary. Is the lapis lazuli that Ju Zhan raised so cheap?"

Li Ye smiled and said: "Lapis lazuli is produced in Tochara. It is indeed cheap in the Juzhanti market, but the lapis lazuli in your hands is not something you can buy on the market. It is a royal collection of Bushi Kingdom for hundreds of years." , was plundered by the Eastern Legion of the Great Eater, I captured them all, and these lapis lazuli stones became trophies, a total of thirty pieces. I still have two or three pieces on hand, and the rest are distributed to Suiye's senior officials, generals and everyone. Prime Minister."