Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

Liangzhou City, Chengyu Hall.

Standing in front of the palace door, Zhou Jun looked at the plaque above his head, paused for a moment, then raised his legs and entered the palace door.

Compared with the last time I came here, the Chengyu Palace was obviously much more desolate.

Emerald green wall-creepers climbed up the palace courtyard, and weeds as tall as half a man broke through the bluestones. Everything looked decayed and neglected.

A tall chamberlain with gray hair came out and stopped not far in front of Zhou Jun.

Wang Hong, the leader of the team, and a group of his own soldiers saw the servant, and his face became wary. He put his hand on the weapon on his waist and protected Zhou Jun again.

Zhou Jun saw that the chamberlain was Gao Lishi and waved his hand to signal everyone to disperse.

Gao Lishi slowly knelt down towards Zhou Jun and said in a hoarse voice: "Please, Marshal Zhou, for the sake of Weng's son-in-law, please don't embarrass your Majesty again..."

Zhou Jun just glanced at Gao Lishi, said nothing, and walked directly into the central hall of the backyard.

After the tragedy that night in Liangcheng, in order to prevent the palace from colluding with the outside world, a large number of internal servants and maids were dismissed from Chengyu Palace.

Nowadays, the whole hall is deserted and not a single person is seen walking around.

Zhou Jun led his soldiers along the long corridor to the innermost villa and entered the emperor's residence.

When he came to Li Longji's bed, Zhou Jun looked at the old man with a withered face on the couch and was a little lost in thought for a moment.

The sage of the Tang Dynasty, who was high-spirited and vigorous in the court, was gone; replaced by a stroke patient who was lying on the hospital bed with the corners of his mouth crooked and unable to move.

Zhou Jun's appearance made Li Longji on the hospital bed roll his eyes.

When the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty saw the identity of the visitor clearly, although he could not speak, the anger flashed in his cloudy eyes made Zhou Jun clearly understand that Li Longji might still be conscious, but maybe he was just

He retains an unforgettable hatred for himself.

Zhou Jun waved his hand to Wang Hong and other soldiers, indicating that he and the emperor had something to say alone.

After the soldiers left the room, Zhou Jun looked at Li Longji and sighed softly: "I never thought that there would be a scene like today."

Li Longji stared at Zhou Jun, raised his throat vigorously, and tried to say something, but when he reached his mouth, there was only an indistinct growl.

Zhou Jun: "Ignorant? Ambitious? Worse than pigs and dogs? I can roughly guess what you want to scold. But to this day, Jun can tell you frankly that what I want is not power and fame.

"

Speaking of this, Zhou Jun sighed with emotion: "Above the court, the mountains are shouting long live. Can those who become emperors really live for tens of thousands of years? They are just flattering words that deceive themselves and others. How many years do people live in this world?

How many years? A hundred years old is a blessing. After a hundred years, even the emperors of Qin and Han will be nothing more than a handful of loess."

Zhou Jun looked at Li Longji: "After the Qin Dynasty unified the world, the longest period in the history of the dynasties was only three hundred years. Beyond this period, even the most powerful empire will turn into the dust of history. The reason for this, you

As the king of a country, after reading countless historical books, have you never thought about the secrets hidden in them?"

The original anger in Li Longji's eyes gradually darkened.

Zhou Jun continued: "Tang Long's coup, the Xiantian Qing Dynasty, and the founding of the Yuan Dynasty. Your Majesty, you have overcome difficulties and obstacles along the way, and finally cleared the clouds and maintained the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. This hard-earned foundation looks strong, but is actually weak. An Lu

The rebellion of An Lushan was originally just a simple disaster caused by the border troops. Why has it not subsided after more than three years of fighting? Even after An Lushan died, things did not get better. Instead, the rebels became stronger and stronger as they fought?

As an emperor, haven't you ever thought about the reasons behind this?"

When Li Longji heard this, his expression was solemn, and there was only confusion in his eyes.

Zhou Jun: "When you live your whole life, you can't think about how you can enjoy yourself. You must earn a certain amount of stability for your future descendants... If I don't take action in the chaos in Hebei, others may be able to calm it down. But the root of the disaster is the seed."

I'm afraid no one knows the truth behind it. In a few years, if the Tang Dynasty does not heal its wounds and remove the root causes, it will eventually usher in a more tragic and terrifying riot. And by that time, the Central Plains will

The earth will be completely pulled into a bottomless pit, rituals and music will collapse, and the world will end."

Having said this, Zhou Jun stopped talking.

For a moment, the whole room fell into silence.

Zhou Jun felt worried and began to think about other things.

I saw him walking to the side of the bedroom, turning his head and looking out the window, taking a long breath, seeming to be talking to himself: "I once read a book, which said - because of the lion

A prince cannot protect himself from a trap, and a fox cannot protect himself from a jackal. Therefore the prince must be a fox in order to recognize the trap, and a lion in order to frighten the jackals.”

"So if we don't know the location of the trap and the number of wolves, for the monarch, under the appearance of lions and foxes, is it better to be loved by others? Or to be feared? Many people think that it is best

It is both. But it is very difficult to combine the two. If you have to make a choice, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved..."

"However, lions will always grow old one day, and foxes will always be left alone. Fear can win subordinates for the monarch, but it cannot win loyalty. Between good and evil, how to balance the two evils?

Whichever comes first, this is my biggest headache right now."

Li Longji couldn't understand the profound meaning of Zhou Jun's words.

In fact, no one in the entire Tang Dynasty could understand these words.

But Zhou Jun knew in his heart that history could help him see the world trend clearly, but it could not help him understand the mentality of people.

For an empire at a fork in history, Zhou Jun had no precedent to refer to and could only groping forward step by step in the darkness.

After being silent for a long time, Zhou Jun looked at Li Longji, sighed softly, and planned to leave.

Li Longji hesitated for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth slightly.

Zhou Jun saw this and stopped, knowing that the other party had something to say.

Approaching the bed, Zhou Jun saw Li Longji turning his gaze to the desk.

Looking along the line of sight, Zhou Jun found a short chicken-spur pen dipped in ink.

After some questioning, Zhou Jun gradually understood what Li Longji meant.

Zhou Jun put the short pen into Li Longji's mouth, then took a piece of paper and placed it in front of the latter.

Li Longji held a short pen in his mouth and used all his strength to draw a crooked word "囡" on the paper.

After Zhou Jun saw this, he asked softly: "Do you want me to take good care of my mother-in-law?"

Li Longji blinked his eyes laboriously.

Faced with illness, frustration and regret, Tang Xuanzong at this time no longer had any pride as an emperor, and all he showed in his words and deeds was that he was a father who cared about his daughter.

Zhou Jun put down the paper and said to Li Longji: "Jun was born in Slave Ya, and Princess Meng did not give up on her, so we got married. We made a promise before marriage, and we should stay together through thick and thin. I am a passionate person, and as long as she does not let me down, I will

I won’t let her down either.”

When Li Longji heard this, his face calmed down, he slowly closed his eyes and stopped talking.

Zhou Jun looked at the old man on the bed, turned around and left the room without disturbing him again.