Tibet

At the same moment when Guo Zhen was hunted, the residence of the Minister of Punishment and Zhang Jun, the Shangshu of the Punishment Department, were also in shock.

The shock came from the news brought by his son Zhang Yan. Li Ye actually revealed that he would replace Yu Wenjing as prime minister.

This news not only shocked Zhang Jun, but after the shock gradually subsided, he had mixed feelings. Of course, it could not be Li Linfu who recommended him, it could only be the Yang family.

However, Li Ye knew that the Yang family would recommend him to become the prime minister, which meant that the Yang family had fallen into the hands of Li Linfu, and Li Linfu used the Yang family to recommend him to the political affairs hall.

Although it was a good thing to join the political affairs hall as prime minister, Zhang Jun was not happy at all.

"Father, what happened?" Zhang Yan saw his father's anxiety.

Zhang Jun was silent for a moment and said: "What can I do? Because Li Linfu has caught my handle, which is enough to kill our entire army."

"Ah!" Zhang Yan was stunned.

Zhang Jun said with a bitter look on his face: "Don't ever provoke Li Ye in the future. This man is just as sinister and vicious as his grandfather, or even more ruthless. If you piss him off, he will never let it go. I've read one of his battle reports. It’s horrifying to think that Albus and hundreds of his men were all killed by him alone.”

"My child understands, does the father want to accept the phase?"

Zhang Jun nodded, "After all, we are the Prime Minister! Without the struggle between Li Linfu and the Yang family, where would my turn be? I will try to be neutral as much as possible, and I will not offend either party!"

Xuandu Temple is located in Chongyefang. It and Xingshan Temple in Jingshanfang are located on both sides of Zhuque Street, the central axis of Chang'an City. These two places are where the longan of the entire Chang'an City is located, but it is not convenient to build an imperial palace here. The Sui Dynasty was responsible for the construction of Daxingcheng Yu Wenkai, the general's supervisor, built a Taoist temple and a temple in these two places, Xuandu Temple and Xingshan Temple.

Xuandu Temple covers an area of ​​hundreds of acres and is a majestic royal Taoist temple. After Li Tang established it, he has always advocated Taoism. After several repairs, Xuandu Temple has now become the number one Taoist temple in the world with thousands of Taoist priests. Every new temple Lords are all appointed by the emperor himself.

The old temple leader, Master Mingye, became an evanescent person last month. According to the usual practice, the second-ranked abbot of Laojun Hall, Master Mingsong, naturally took over as the new temple master. Emperor Li Longji had issued an edict ten days ago to confer Master Mingsong as the first temple leader in Xuandu. Thirteen viewers.

Master Mingsong was actually a eunuch, but the status of eunuchs in the Tang and Song Dynasties was not humble. There were many eunuchs who served as generals, became marquises, and became prime ministers.

Master Mingsong was originally a small eunuch beside the Supreme Emperor. After the Supreme Emperor became a monk as Master Feilong, he was sent by Master Feilong to become a monk in Xuanduguan in the 25th year of Kaiyuan. Although he was not Master Feilong’s disciple, he was Master Feilong’s most trusted person. One of them, the other one is Lie Feng.

Today is the big day for Master Mingsong to officially take over as the master of Xuandu Temple. Tens of thousands of believers from all walks of life in Chang'an also came to attend today's viewing ceremony.

In the morning, Li Ye took an ox cart to Xuandu Temple, but was shocked. Xuandu Temple was crowded with people inside and outside. Not to mention attending the viewing ceremony, he couldn't even get in through the gate.

Of course he would not do such a thing as climbing over the wall. Li Ye walked around Xuandu and finally found a back door. Two little Taoist priests were sitting on the threshold playing grass and playing.

"Two little Taoist priests!"

Li Ye stepped forward and said with a smile: "I came to watch the ceremony, but there are too many people and the door is blocked. I can't get in. Can you let me in from here?"

"This is the kitchen!"

"What does it have to do with the kitchen? The two little Taoist priests can help me!"

The two little Taoist priests looked at each other, hesitated and said, "As long as you have an invitation, if you bring someone into the kitchen without an invitation, we will be punished by our senior brother!"

"Yes! There is an invitation!"

Li Ye quickly handed the invitation to the two little Taoist priests. The little Taoist priest suddenly jumped up in fright, "Golden invitation, you are a distinguished guest! There is Uncle Zhike next to the gate. Show the invitation to him, and he will take you away as a distinguished guest." aisle."

"Just go in this way! I'm too lazy to run anymore."

"Okay! Master, please come with me."

A young Taoist priest bowed and led Li Ye into the Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple is very big. After walking for a long time, I was still in the kitchen area. There were more than a hundred Taoist priests in the kitchen area alone, but it was very quiet. Basically, the Taoist priests lined up to watch the ceremony.

Walking to a very tall hall, suddenly someone from behind shouted: "Ah Ye!"

When Li Ye turned around, he saw two tall men standing not far behind him. Li Ye immediately recognized one of them as Li Yu, the king of Hanzhong County. When he met an acquaintance, Li Ye took out a handful of money and gave it to the boy. Taoist priest, the little Taoist priest left happily.

"Aye, why are you here?" Li Yu walked up and asked with a smile.

"The door was blocked by believers and we couldn't get in, so we had to come in through the back door."

Li Yu chuckled and said, "We also came in through the side door. By the way, let me introduce to you. This is Gao Shijun, the military commander of Anxi!"

Li Ye was shocked that he would meet Gao Xianzhi here. He quickly clasped his fists and saluted, "Junior Li Ye, see Gao Shuai!"

Gao Xianzhi is about thirty-five or sixteen years old, nearly 1.9 meters tall, with strong muscles and powerful strength. He has a long face and dark skin. Although he is wearing court clothes, he still cannot stop the powerful aura exuding from his body. , a pair of eagle eyes are as sharp as a knife.

Gao Xianzhi looked Li Ye up and down and asked in a deep voice: "Are you the successor of your mentor?"

Gao Xianzhi also stayed in the palace for several years when he was a boy. He became Feilong's disciple and became Feilong's third apprentice. Today, Mingsong became the master of the temple. Gao Xianzhi happened to be in Chang'an to report on his duties, so of course he had to come to watch the ceremony.

Li Ye could feel that Gao Xianzhi didn't take him seriously as his successor, but he could also understand that except for Feilong Liefeng who looked at him high, none of their disciples took him seriously, including Master Mingsong from Xuanduguan. Last year After handing over the Taipingfang house to him, he never contacted him again, which showed that he didn't take himself seriously at all.

Li Ye said lightly: "I am not someone's descendant. Doesn't it mean anything when your master looks up to me? Gao Shuai should go to Wutingchuan when he has time to commemorate his master!"

Gao Xianzhi nodded, "Thank you Mr. Li for the reminder. I was there yesterday."

Gao Xianzhi smiled again and said: "Cheng Qianli admires you very much. He specially recommended me to come to Chang'an to meet you, saying that you are extraordinary!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "So I disappointed Gao Shuai and found out that I am a very ordinary person!"

"That's not necessarily true. I heard from the prince that you studied the languages ​​and customs of the Western Regions at Taixue?"

"That's right! It's relatively lonely."

"Have you learned Persian?"

Li Ye hesitated and said, "Not yet, but I am ready to start. I went to the Persian Temple in Buzhengfang the day before yesterday and had some contact with them. I felt that Persian and Sogdian are very similar."

Gao Xianzhi laughed, "I'm actually testing you. When you get to the west of Congling, you will find that the Persian there is different from the Persian in Chang'an. In fact, you don't need to learn the Persian in Chang'an. Just learn Sogdian well. Sogdian is originally a branch of Persian. They have been communicating and merging for decades, and their languages ​​​​are all connected. On the contrary, the Persians in Chang'an have been away from the mainland for too long, and their language is not the same as the current Persian. There’s a bit of a disconnect.”

Li Ye was overjoyed and bowed: "Thank you, Marshal Gao, for the timely reminder!"

Gao Xianzhi smiled again and said: "No matter what your relationship is with my mentor, I very much welcome you to Anxi."

Li Ye nodded, "I'm going to travel to Anxi next month. Is Gao Shuai still in Chang'an at that time?"

Gao Xianzhi shook his head, "I'm going back tomorrow, but it doesn't matter, you go to Qiuci City to find me!"

Gao Xianzhi took out another bronze medal and handed it to Li Ye, and said with a smile: "This is the Anxi Pass Plate. With this plate, you can travel around Anxi without any hindrance. I give it to you!"

"Thank you Gao Shuai for your thoughtful consideration!"

At this time, a Taoist priest from the front came hurriedly and saluted: "The ceremony has begun. Please come and take a seat with me, the three distinguished guests!"

When Gao Xianzhi appears, the protagonist's journey to the west officially begins.

This volume is called Journey to the West.