Tibet

The next morning, Gao Lishi came to visit Li Ye early in the morning. Li Ye personally went to the gate of the government to greet him, giving Gao Lishi enough face.

Li Ye invited Gao Lishi into his official room, asked Gao Lishi to sit down, and asked his men to serve tea.

"The last time I saw Gao Weng was in Xiangyang. Three years have passed in a blink of an eye."

Gao Lishi also sighed: "Yes! It only took His Highness three years to secure Helong and expel Tubo. It is so amazing."

Li Ye smiled and changed the subject: "Is the journey going north this time going well?"

"The road is not bad. The plank road from Hanzhong to Longyou has been repaired, so it is relatively smooth."

"What I mean is, Gao Weng should stop running away next time. Gao Wen is old and is no longer suitable for long journeys. Let the young people do it!"

Gao Lishi was moved and nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I really won't be able to run anymore."

"Let's get down to business! Why did Gao Weng do this?"

Gao Lishi quickly took out a box from his bag and put it on the table, "This is given to you by the Emperor."

"What is this?" Li Ye asked curiously.

Gao Lishi opened it with a smile, and inside there was a jade seal with a dragon as a button. Li Ye was surprised, picked it up and looked at it carefully, "Is this the emperor's trustworthy treasure?"

Gao Lishi nodded, "This is the Emperor's Xingbao, one of the Eight Treasures of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Among the eight treasures, there is also the Emperor's Xingbao which is in the hands of the emperor today, and the other six treasures are all in the hands of the Supreme Emperor."

"What's the point of giving me this?"

Li Ye said lightly: "I remember this is the jade seal for external canonization!"

"This actually just represents the sincerity of the Supreme Emperor. If His Highness is willing to cooperate with the Supreme Emperor and help the Supreme Emperor to restore his throne, then the Supreme Emperor promises to canonize His Highness as the great grandson of the Emperor."

Li Ye smiled and said: "This suggestion is quite tempting."

Gao Lishi was refreshed and said quickly: "Your Highness has the strength, but lacks the status, and the Supreme Emperor has the status, but does not have the strength. You can complement each other perfectly. If His Highness can send troops to seize Guanzhong and welcome the Supreme Emperor back to Chang'an for his restoration, then the Supreme Emperor will definitely Will you make His Highness your heir?"

"What about the Emperor's brother?"

Li Ye said calmly: "He is holding the Emperor captive and not letting him return to Chang'an. What does it mean if I capture Chang'an?"

Gao Lishi was silent for a moment and said: "Li Lin will definitely take the Supreme Emperor back to Chang'an. This will require His Highness to defeat King Yong's army again."

Li Ye smiled and said: "In fact, it is not reality, right? Li Lin is not a person who eats fasts and chants Buddha's name. Once he finds out that the Supreme Emperor is contacting me in private, he will definitely take action against the Supreme Emperor, put the Supreme Emperor under complete house arrest, and firmly control him. It’s in my hands, so even if I agree, it won’t be the Emperor’s turn to be restored in the end.”

"Don't worry about this. The Emperor Li Lin has a way to deal with it. His Highness just considers my suggestion. Are you willing to cooperate?"

Li Ye pushed Xinbao to Gao Lishi again and shook his head, "Xinbao's sincerity is not enough!"

"Then what does Your Highness want?" Gao Lishi asked in a deep voice.

"I want to pass on the national sacred treasure. If the sacred treasure is not enough, the ordained treasure will be too!"

The sacred treasure of the Chuan Guo is the Chuan Guo Seal. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Empress Xiao took her to the Turks. Li Shimin did not get the real Chuan Guo Jade Seal, so he carved a piece of Tang Dynasty's Chuan Guo Jade Seal. Later, Li Jing defeated the Turks and brought Empress Xiao and Chuan Guo together. Bring all the jade seals back.

Therefore, the jade seal carved by Li Shimin is also called the Mandate Treasure. It was used to pass down the throne to the emperors of the Tang Dynasty, and its status is second only to the sacred treasure of the country.

Seeing that Li Ye was serious, Gao Lishi hesitated and said, "I can't guarantee it, but I will try my best to persuade the Supreme Emperor to at least take out the ordered treasure."

Li Ye nodded, "If the Supreme Emperor is willing to hand over the Mandate Treasure to me, I will definitely consider cooperating with him!"

Gao Lishi pushed Xinbao back again, "You keep this first!"

"Weng Gao has not reached an agreement. If you don't take the Xinbao back, I'm afraid the Supreme Emperor will blame you."

Gao Lishi smiled bitterly, "What else can he do to me? The most he can do is scold me and say I'm incompetent. But giving you the Xinbao will be of great use to you. You can use it to exchange benefits with Li Heng." .”

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said, "Do you need my help, Mr. Gao?"

"I do need your help with something."

"Gao Weng, please tell me, as long as I can do it, I will not refuse."

Gao Lishi sighed and said: "Your Highness also knows that I also have a lot of wealth collection. After Chang'an was recovered, I transported a small part back. Unexpectedly, it was swallowed up by Emperor Li Heng. Fortunately, most of them are in Chengdu, but now they are They are being watched by Li Lin, I want to transfer them to Longyou, please keep them for me."

Li Ye readily agreed, "It's a small matter, I can definitely keep it safe for Aweng!"

"But the problem is that I can't transport it out myself. Your Highness must send someone to Chengdu. It will take at least 500 people and thousands of camels to transport this wealth out."

Li Ye nodded, "I will send the inner guards to Bashu, and they will find a way to transport it out for Gao Weng. Is Gao Weng anxious about this?"

Gao Lishi hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "I will tell you the truth, Feilong once said that the Emperor's lifespan is seven to seven. Although we don't believe it, the imperial doctor recently told me that the Emperor's body may not survive next year. Next year I happen to be seventy-seven years old, so Feilong is probably right, I have to find a way out for myself, time is very tight."

"Does the Supreme Emperor know his physical condition?" Li Ye asked again.

"He could feel it a little bit, but he thought he could live to be at least eighty years old, so he was very eager to reset. He wanted to arrange his posthumous reputation. He was not willing to bear the responsibility for the decline of the Tang Dynasty and went to see Lieutenant General Ancestors."

Li Ye nodded, "I will make arrangements immediately to bring Uncle Feng to Longyou together!"

Gao Lishi sighed and said: "Your Highness, to be honest, if you really cooperate with the Supreme Emperor, I cannot guarantee that he will pass the throne to you."

"I understand that I have never believed in his promises, but I still thank Gao Weng for his honesty."

Gao Lishi then said slowly: "No matter what, I will get the national treasure or the destiny treasure for your highness. It will be the last thing I do for your highness. I don't want them to fall into the hands of Li Lin."

Li Ye folded his hands and was silent for a moment, saying: "If Gao Weng can get me another imperial edict from the Supreme Emperor to pass the throne to me, I will ensure that Gao Weng's family will be prosperous for a hundred years!"

Gao Lishi sighed softly and did not agree, but he did not refuse either.

Gao Lishi said goodbye and left, and Li Ye immediately invited Li Mi and Liu Yan.

"Let me show you something!"

Li Ye smiled and opened the rosewood box and took out a jade seal carved from beautiful jade.

"Ah! This is..."

Li Mi had seen the Eight Treasures of the Emperor, and he recognized them at a glance, "This is the Emperor's Trust Treasure. It is specially used to ennoble small subordinate countries. With it, His Highness can directly ennoble the Great Chief Tuyuhun."

Li Ye smiled and said, "It is better to be canonized by the imperial court. I can even give it to the emperor in exchange for the resources I want, such as Yanzhou!"

Li Ye didn't care about this emperor's trust treasure, it didn't mean much to him. What he really wanted was a sacred treasure passed down to the country or a mandated treasure.

Li Mi gave a thumbs up, "This idea is very pragmatic!"

Liu Yan took the letter and looked at it for a moment and asked, "Is this what Gao Lishi gave to His Highness?"

Li Ye nodded, "The Emperor wanted to cooperate with me, so to show his sincerity, he gave me the Emperor's Xinbao."

Liu Yan smiled and said: "Speaking of it this way, the Emperor is really sincere in cooperating. Has His Highness agreed to him?"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "This is not a question of whether I want to cooperate, but whether cooperation is realistic. The Supreme Emperor is actually controlled by Yongwang Li Lin. Because they are father and son, Li Lin gave the Supreme Emperor a little freedom. If Li Lin finds out that Gao Lishi has come to Longyou, and he will definitely put the Supreme Emperor under house arrest again."

Li Mi nodded lightly, "Your Highness is right. If the Supreme Emperor wants to cooperate with His Highness, he must pass Li Lin's test unless Your Highness sends troops to destroy Li Lin."

Li Ye took a few steps with his hands behind his back, "What will happen if the Emperor dies?"

Liu Yan asked curiously: "Does His Highness know any news?"

"Gao Lishi told me that the Supreme Emperor may not survive next year!"

Li Mi said slowly: "If the emperor dies, the first thing the emperor will do is to abolish the emperor's younger brother, which means the outbreak of civil war."

Liu Yan smiled and said: "Then let me go to the court! Exchange Yanzhou back for His Highness, and by the way, I can give the Emperor some air."

Gao Lishi took his men and set off back to Bashu in the afternoon.

Li Ye immediately summoned Xie Sen, the deputy commander of the internal defense, and ordered him to sneak into Bashu in batches with 500 people to find a way to transport Gao Lishi's wealth.

But what Li Ye thought about was not just Gao Lishi's wealth. He also wanted to bring the national sacred treasure or the ordered treasure back to Longyou. It would be even better if he could get the imperial edict written by the Supreme Emperor. Since Gao Lishi has agreed to help He, he was going to make the most of this opportunity.