Tibet

After going south from Lizhou, there are two ways to enter Shu. One is to go directly south and cross the Dajian Mountain, that is, take the famous dangerous Jianmen Ancient Road. The other is to continue south along the Jialing River Valley to reach Bazhong. The famous city of Langzhong County, from Langzhong to capture Chengdu, also has a dangerous pass, Jiameng Pass.

Both Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass are heavily garrisoned, and they have been battlegrounds for military strategists since ancient times. However, Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass are also commercial thoroughfares. Caravans have been going back and forth for thousands of years, and they have been prosperous. After the Anshi Rebellion, they were once deserted. But in the past two years, it has gradually revived, and caravans continue to arrive from morning to night every day.

About thirty miles south of Jianmen Pass is Jianmen County. On the county wall, you can vaguely see Jianmen Pass on the mountainside in the distance. Jianmen County is a middle county with a circumference of more than twenty miles and is surrounded by rivers. Surrounded by a small local population, the foreign population far exceeds the local population.

Thanks to Jianmen Pass, most caravans will rest in Jianmen County before and after passing Jianmen Pass to replenish food and water. Therefore, there are many taverns, inns and brothels in the city. At the same time, people from all walks of life often visit the Jianmen Pass. Haunted here.

That afternoon, a caravan came from the north, passed Jianmen Pass, and came to stay in Jianmen County.

The team is not small, with a total of more than 20 people and more than 300 livestock, loaded with various goods. Such caravans occur almost every day. It is so common that no one will notice it.

The leading businessman is about thirty years old. He is tall and burly, with keen eyesight and a square face. He is Zhang Dian, the leader of the scouts of the Helong Army. He has been promoted to General Hu Ben Lang due to his merits. This time he has been given an important task and arrived early. Jianmen County is undercover.

Of course, it is impossible for the Helong Army to march across mountains and rivers dragging siege weapons, and it is unrealistic, so deploying in advance is the best way.

Zhang Dian led the caravan into the city and found the Wantong Inn at the east gate. This was their gathering place. The Wantong Inn had been purchased by the Chengdu Intelligence Point in advance and was waiting for the arrival of Zhang Dian and his men.

Zhang Dian saw a middle-aged man hanging a sign at the door of the inn, which read: 'The inn is undergoing internal repairs and will be closed for a month! "

Zhang Dian then stepped forward and asked tentatively: "Excuse me, are you the shopkeeper Mo?"

The middle-aged shopkeeper looked back at Zhang Dian, then at the team behind him, then nodded and said with a smile, "I'm Mo Qingtian!"

Zhang Dian was overjoyed, that's right. He took out the silver medal and waved it in front of him. Shopkeeper Mo quickly looked to both sides and whispered: "Come in first!"

Shopkeeper Mo and Mo Qingtian are just contact codes. In fact, his surname has never been Mo. His real name is Miao Qi. He is the director of the Chengdu Intelligence Station. In Bashu, his alias is Zhang Ping. Everyone calls him Shopkeeper Zhang. Only the scout of the Helong Army can I'll call him Shopkeeper Mo.

He answered that his name was Mo Qingtian, and Zhang Dian was able to confirm his identity.

The innkeeper Miao Qi brought them into the inn and asked several clerks to help unload the goods and arrange the livestock. He invited Zhang Dian to the room.

Zhang Dian looked at the inn as he walked and asked, "How big is the inn?"

"It covers an area of ​​about three acres and can accommodate hundreds of guests."

"But I'm afraid I have three hundred men."

"We are all our own people, so it won't be a big problem if we crowd in."

The two of them sat down in the living room. Miao Qi served him tea and said with a smile: "The general is the first batch of guests. Are the other brothers coming from Jianmen?"

Zhang Dian shook his head and said, "Half and half are coming from Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass. I'm worried that too many people will arouse suspicion among the defenders."

"That's true. The Supreme Emperor is seriously ill. The Chengdu side is facing a formidable enemy. The inspection when entering the city is particularly strict. Moreover, the checkpoints along the way are very strict. The Jianmen Pass should also be very strict!"

Zhang Dian nodded silently and said with a wry smile: "All goods must be opened and inspected in advance. Swords and swords are not allowed to be carried. Other merchants said that they were very lax in the past, but now they are suddenly strictly inspected. Fortunately, we do not carry weapons."

Speaking of this, Zhang Dian looked at Miao Qi and asked, "Mr. Miao, are there any problems in getting weapons?"

Miao Qi stood up and lifted up a wooden board under his seat. Zhang Dian was startled and quickly stood up to take a closer look.

I saw that the wooden boards were covered with various weapons, including crossbows, spears, swords, shields and armor, and even gunpowder arrows wrapped in oil paper.

Zhang Dian was overjoyed and asked quickly: "How many are there?"

Miao Qi smiled slightly and said: "Equipment for five hundred people!"

Zhang Dian was stunned, "Didn't you say that the checkpoints coming from Chengdu are very strict?"

"It's very strict now, but it used to be very lax and we never checked."

Miao Qi said calmly: "In fact, we bought this inn last year."

Tongtian Temple at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain was surrounded by thousands of soldiers. The soldiers enforced strict martial law and no one was allowed to approach.

The courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with officials, headed by Cui Yuan, the governor of Yizhou.

There were also dozens of Taoist Taoists invited from various Taoist temples in Qingcheng Mountain. They all sat cross-legged in various Taoist temples and silently recited scriptures.

In the middle of the night, in the quiet room of the Taoist temple, the Supreme Emperor Li Longji was already on his deathbed. He would not have been so miserable. Although his body was very weak, he could at least survive until this time next year.

But Li Longji became obsessed with listening to the immortal way. In addition to listening to the immortal way, he also secretly took the elixir. Something happened after taking the fifth elixir a month ago. His urine was full of blood. The imperial doctor made an emergency diagnosis and found that he was seriously ill. Chronic poisoning caused all the organs in the body to fail. The doctors tried all kinds of methods, but nothing could be done to save it.

The situation has become more serious in the past two days. Li Longji's breathing began to fail, which was tantamount to announcing that death was imminent.

The Supreme Emperor Li Longji was lying on the couch, his face was yellow and without a trace of blood, and his breathing was rapid. His son Li Lin and several imperial grandchildren were kneeling beside him. At this time, Li Longji's breathing slowly stopped.

Gao Lishi touched his nose, his voice trembled, and he cried with tears: "The Emperor. The Emperor has gone."

"Father!"

Li Lin fell on his father's body and cried loudly, and everyone knelt down and cried.

The Taoist temple bell rang, and all the officials in the courtyard knelt down and cried out in grief, "Your Majesty."

On the last day of April in the first year of Baoying, Emperor Li Longji passed away at the Tongtian Temple in Qingcheng Mountain at the age of seventy-five.

Every household in Chengdu hung up white flags to mourn the death of the Supreme Emperor. Thousands of cavalry were guarding a huge carriage with the Emperor's coffin on it. They slowly walked into the city. Li Lin and his children and grandchildren wore sackcloth and mourning, supporting the coffin. On foot, followed by a large group of officials wearing sackcloth and mourning, as well as a large group of maids and eunuchs serving the Supreme Emperor, followed by several carriages loaded with the Emperor's relics.

Gao Lishi was also sitting on the carriage, looking at the coffin without any emotion. All the ambitions and ambitions of the Emperor in his early years and the struggles in his later years had gone with him. It was ridiculous that the Emperor was thinking so hard about his restoration last year, but he was completely laid to rest this year.

There was no one on both sides of the street, and every house was closed. People were supposed to be burning incense and worshiping along the street, but Li Lin, considering her own safety, ordered a ban on all of them. On the pretext of protecting the spirit of the Supreme Emperor from being harassed by villains, Li Lin punished everyone. The city was under martial law.

But martial law cannot stop the activities of those who care. In a yard near Xicheng, a man threw a flying eagle high into the air. The eagle spread its wings and flew into the sky, circled twice, and flew to the northwest.

At the same time, several pigeons also flew into the sky, carrying the news of the death of the Supreme Emperor, and flew towards Chang'an.