Chapter 2638: Meeting in the East Palace
His Majesty Li Er waved his hands and said calmly: "I have my own concerns about this matter. There is no need for you to argue anymore. Please step back quickly and each can perform his duties. Vigorously publicize the Jiahe incident and boost the civilian military. The morale of the people must be ensured this winter, and the important events of the Eastern Expedition in the spring of next year must not be delayed!”
He was already anxious about the Eastern Expedition.
This spring, we were supposed to lead a personal expedition to Liaodong to destroy Goguryeo. However, an inexplicable serious illness delayed the entire plan and had to be postponed for a year.
Although his health has improved slightly this year, the symptoms of lack of energy have become more and more serious. If this continues, His Majesty Li Er does not know how much time he has left. If he cannot destroy Goguryeo in his lifetime and achieve the grand ambition of becoming an emperor for eternity, he will I will never die with my eyes in peace.
What's more, hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed in Liaodong, ready to prepare their troops and horses. They spend countless money and food every day, and the morale of the army is weakening day by day. If this continues, the morale will fall to the bottom before the war comes.
If the Eastern Expedition next spring still cannot be carried out, these elite soldiers drawn from all over the world will have to return to their respective bases. If we want to assemble such a huge army again, the power required will be even more difficult than this time. Double...
Therefore, even if the sky falls, the Eastern Expedition next spring is inevitable.
The three of them felt His Majesty Li Er's ambition and determination, and their hearts trembled, and they quickly said in unison: "I will obey the emperor's order!"
All three of them knew that His Majesty Li Er's obsession with the Eastern Expedition had reached a point where it could not be changed. Whoever dared to delay the Eastern Expedition would be Li Er's enemy and a stumbling block to his achievement of hegemony, even if it was his own son. And absolutely can’t let it go!
*****
In the evening, Fang Jun, surrounded by his troops, returned to Chang'an from Lishan. After entering the city, he went directly to the East Palace to ask for an audience with Prince Li Chengqian.
After waiting at the door for a short time, a chamberlain hurried out from the palace and took Fang Jun to Yiqiu Palace.
The East Palace occupies a very large area. Although it is not as grand and majestic as the Taiji Palace, it is still magnificent. Entering from the main entrance, Jiafu Gate, you will find Chongming Gate, Jiade Gate, and Xiande Hall. This hall is the first main hall of the East Palace. It is the place where the crown prince meets with ministers and holds major political activities. On August 9, the ninth year of Takeori, Prince Li Shimin held an enthronement ceremony in this hall after Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan abdicated.
At that time, His Majesty Li Er was listening to politics in this palace. It was not until April of the third year of Zhenguan that Emperor Li Yuan moved from Taiji Palace to Da'an Palace that His Majesty Li Er went to Taiji Hall in Taiji Palace to listen to politics.
On both sides of the Xiande Hall are the left and right Chunfang, which take charge of all government affairs in the East Palace.
From the Chongjiao Gate behind the Xiande Hall to the north, there is the Chongjiao Hall where the East Palace receives guests and holds banquets, songs and dances. After the Chongjiao Hall, it is the Lizheng Hall where the prince lives daily. It was here that His Majesty Li Er met with Queen Wende has lived there for many years...
To the west of Li Zheng Hall is the Chongwen Hall.
Separated from the Chongwen Hall by a wall is the Wude Hall built by Tai Chi Palace...
However, the prince was not at Li Zheng Hall today. Fang Jun followed the chamberlain around Li Zheng Hall and Guangtian Hall, then followed the path on the side of Guangtian Hall to the west, turned behind Chongwen Hall and headed north, passing through the inner square. Then we arrived at Yiqiu Palace.
This is already the back garden of the East Palace. Although it is late autumn, it is surrounded by flowers and trees and the scenery is pleasant. There are yellow leaves falling gracefully, and green pines and cypresses standing proudly. It is in the flower garden in front of the Yiqiu Palace. Among them, Prince Li Chengqian was sitting on a mat under the shade of a tree, accompanied by the graceful Princess Su. Three or four children were playing on the grass in front of the flower garden.
Two bamboo poles were erected in the distance, and a net was stretched between them. A leather ball was kicked around by the children. They aimed at the net between the two bamboo poles but could not kick it in. The children also He didn't take it seriously, but a burst of cheerful laughter sounded from time to time.
Fang Jun's mouth twitched. It seems that the tradition of "stinky feet" has been passed down since the Tang Dynasty...
As the chamberlain came forward, Fang Jun bowed his arms to the ground and said respectfully: "I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess."
The prince and his wife did not put on any airs at all, and both stood up to return the courtesy. The prince stepped forward and took Fang Jun's hand, smiling and saying: "We are all members of our own family, so why should we be so vulgar? Come, come, sit down together, and taste the highland barley from Tubo." Wine has a different flavor.”
Crown Princess Su smiled softly and said softly: "Fang Shaobao, please take a seat. I will personally prepare some side dishes for you and have a few drinks."
Fang Jun bowed and said: "Thank you very much, Princess."
When the Crown Princess turned and walked away, Li Chengqian shouted to several children: "Come here and pay homage to Fang Shaobao!"
Several children dropped their footballs and ran over happily, saluting in a decent manner: "I have seen Fang Shaobao."
The prince Shaobao is the official of the East Palace, and Lunli is the prince's retainer. However, his position is important after all, and Fang Jun has a great reputation and prestige, especially as the reputation of a playboy and "bully" is resounding throughout Chang'an. Several young princes dare not do anything. Disrespectful.
Fang Jun also returned the courtesy and said: "I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
These are all children of Li Chengqian. The eldest Li Xiang is only ten years old, and Li Jue is only six years old. They are handsome, thick eyebrows and big eyes. Looking at the pink and tender young lady, they are very cute.
The youngest one was a little girl. Fang Jun didn't know her maiden name. He only knew that she had just been conferred the title of Princess Lantian by His Majesty Li Er. Lantian is an important place in Guanzhong, with many people and rich people, but looking at this title, we know that His Majesty Li Er is very fond of this eldest princess.
It is a pity that Li Chengqian rebelled and died in history, which affected his children. After all, his sons still had a royal blood status. Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi did not dare to kill them all no matter how cruel he was, but his daughters were unlucky and hurriedly married off. Visiting ordinary people everywhere, Jade Disk was removed from the name, not even the name or title was left...
Li Xiang has an out-of-character personality. He had met Fang Jun before, so he raised his neck and asked, "Fang Shaobao, can you play Cuju?"
Fang Jun glanced at the leather ball on the ground and smiled: "I understand a little bit."
Li Xiang pointed to the net between two Xiuzhu in the distance and said, "My brothers and sisters and I have been kicking it in for a long time but we couldn't kick it in. Can you kick it in?"
Fang Jun looked up and saw that the distance between the two bamboos was no more than one foot. The net was halfway up the bamboo, about one meter above the ground. He knew that this thing was called Fengliu Eye, which was used for palace banquets. The gameplay of Cuju in China is somewhat different from that of the folk. It only has a single goal and is slightly less competitive. Children are not strong enough to kick the ball.
He took two steps forward and placed the ball on the grass. Fang Jun took two steps back, moved his ankles, and shouted: "Watch it!" He took two steps forward and kicked the lower half of the ball with force. "Bang" With a sound, the ball flew straight out and hit Feng Liuyan squarely.
"Wow! Fang Shaobao is so awesome!"
"It's so accurate! I feel more powerful than the guards!"
He immediately gained the admiration of the crown prince, the princesses, and a lot of shouting.
Fang Jun laughed, patted Li Xiang on the shoulder, and said encouragingly: "Professional skills come from hard work, but waste comes from play. The same is true for Cuju. If you treat it as a game and entertain it occasionally, how can you play well? When If you think hard and practice hard, you will definitely improve. If you are a man, you must do your best if you don’t do it. Don’t do it in vain.”
Li Jue blinked and asked curiously: "Fang Shaobao, why do you mean killing a chicken in vain?"
Before Fang Jun could answer, Li Chengqian had already scolded: "Why do children have so many problems? Fang Shaobao is amazingly talented. You must remember his words. Okay, I still have things to do as a father and Fang Shaobao." Bao Tan, just go and have some fun.”
"Oh."
Several princes ran over, picked up the ball, and kicked it with a bang.
On the other hand, the Princess of Lantian stretched out her short legs, snuggled up to her father, tugged on her father's robe, and said coquettishly: "Father, my daughter is so tired, her legs are so sore..."
Li Chengqian immediately put away his stern expression, sat on the floor with a doting look on his face, directly wrapped Princess Lantian on his lap, and said softly: "I told you not to play wildly with your brothers, but you just didn't listen. Now I know Are you feeling uncomfortable? Come on, let me rub it for you.”
Position the girl's legs and massage them gently.
Fang Jun burst out laughing. This prince is actually a daughter slave...
Li Chengqian massaged him for a few times, which made his daughter smile. It wasn't until Fang Jun knelt down in front of him that he finally came to his senses. He felt a little embarrassed and said with a smile: "Jiao Erlang is just laughing. He is a prince alone, but he is willing to bend down for his children. The crown prince lost his majesty..."
Fang Jun waved his hand to stop him and said sternly: "Being ruthless does not necessarily make you a hero. How can you not be a husband if you pity your son? Do you know that those who stir up the wind and howl will look back at Tutu. Your Highness is truly affectionate and sincere, and the humble ministers can only admire you. Why should you be embarrassed?" (End of this chapter) )