Ten years later

Li Lian held back his breath until he walked outside the Hall of Yanying and ensured that the people inside could not hear the sound, then asked Zhao Nuo with a sullen expression, "On purpose?"

Zhao Nuo replied without any surprise or fear: "Your Majesty asked the minister to inquire, and naturally the minister will choose the faster method."

Li Lian snorted coldly, obviously displeased and said: "Very good."

I tried my best to think how to hide it, but you told everything without saying a word.

Zhao Nuo couldn't hold back, chuckled lightly, and was glared at by Li Lian, who quickly bowed to apologize.Zhao Nuo knew that Li Lian was not really angry at this time, so he got up and asked Li Lian: "How does the Lord hear?"

Li Lian shook his head: "I didn't hear any flaws, and the more I heard it, the more I looked like my brother, but I still have to investigate more, after all, these can be imitated."

Having said that, Zhao Nuo could no longer accept it, so he had no choice but to propose to Li Lian: "The master has been out for a long time, if you don't go back to the Wude Hall, I'm afraid you will be scolded by the admonishing doctor tomorrow."

The Hall of Yanying already belonged to the category of the harem, although there were no concubines in the harem, otherwise he would not have followed Li Lian in so casually.But staying in the harem for a long time in broad daylight is not a good thing after all. If the admonisher knows about it, he will have to go to the table to persuade him.

Li Lian smiled, and said slowly: "I'm doing my best to be filial, who can use this matter to persuade me or not?"

He waved his hand at Zhao Nuo: "I'll stay a little longer, you can go down, after the edict is drafted, hand it over to the Zhengshi Tang and the subordinates. For the affairs of Yuzhou, it is still necessary to draw up a charter earlier, at the latest the next big day." Towards the front."

Zhao Nuo solemnly bowed down and said, "I accept the decree and leave."

He took a few steps back, and as if remembering something, he said to Li Lian: "Since the Lord is still suspicious, why don't you go in and have a look for yourself. After all, you also said that you want to be filial. The person inside is seriously injured. It will endanger you. Speaking of which, there is no one in this world who is more familiar with King Yan than you."

Li Lian made an expression of "you are right, what you said is very reasonable", and said to Zhao Nuo: "Of course I will go to see it." He and Zhao Nuo have some personal friendships apart from their status as monarchs and ministers. Yes, that's why he dared to bring Zhao Nuo here, and therefore, Zhao Nuo dared to say these words at this time.

Zhao Nuo asked again: "Then why doesn't the lord go in?"

"Why don't you go down?" Li Lian raised his eyebrows, obviously not wanting to answer this question.

Zhao Nuo hurriedly retreated.Li Lian let out a sigh of relief when he saw the back of the person gradually going away.

Why didn't I go in... The same face and voice, the fish talisman armor that once belonged to my brother, and the flawless reply, everything seemed to prove the identity of the person inside.This was something he was looking forward to, but never dared to hope for.But he was really afraid in his heart, afraid that all of this was fabricated by people with ulterior motives, which dashed the little hope he had just had.

Not only that, but at the same time, he really didn't know how to face his elder brother who had been away for ten years. The ancients said that being close to the hometown is more timid, I'm afraid that's what it is.

But no matter how afraid I am, I can't escape forever.Li Lian turned around and took a few steps forward, ready to enter the hall, but before he crossed the threshold, he suddenly took a step back, and after repeated attempts, he failed to enter the hall.

Li Lian closed his eyes and smiled self-deprecatingly. He was not afraid of life and death, so there was nothing terrible about it.After opening his eyes again, he finally pushed the door and walked in.

Li Yuan obviously didn't expect to see Li Lian here. Compared with what he remembered, Li Lian's face had changed a little. He looked less arrogant and immature, and more majestic.That's right, ten years have passed, and the young people who were Fang and weak at that time have now reached their thirties.Although he was wearing casual clothes, his demeanor could not be ignored.

No wonder that Zhao Nuo left in such a hurry just now that he wanted Li Lian to speak out the words to persuade him to surrender?After all, no matter what, I have to take care of my only young brother.

He hesitated and called out, "Jiulang?"

As soon as he saw someone, Li Lian was sure that the person in front of him was indeed his elder brother, and he said in his heart, he could really tell from the first test.

He nodded and replied, "It's me, brother."

He kept looking at Li Yuan, but answered very calmly.Before he came in, he thought that he would be too excited to contain himself, but when he really saw his "resurrected" brother, it was the same as greeting him every day, no different.

Some people, no matter how long they haven't seen each other, will never feel strange when they see each other again.

Li Yuan wanted to ask him why he was here, wanted to ask him but forgot the way of monarch and minister, wanted to ask him how he has been these years.But in the end, he didn't ask anything, just looked Li Lian up and down with a smile on his face, as if he wanted to keep all the changes in him in his heart over the years.

Li Lian knelt in front of the couch, and said to Li Yuan: "Zhao Sheren said, brother is here, let me take a look. Everyone thought you were gone ten years ago, but today you can... He paused, then deliberately asked again, "Is it really you?"

As soon as Li Yuan heard this, he knew that Li Lian was still doubting himself. He sighed and said, "If I say yes, can you just believe me like this? If I say no, how can you expose me? Clues, silent investigations... There are so many ways to verify the identity, why did you choose the stupidest one."

After hearing this, Li Lian smiled and said, "That's it. Except for you, no one will ever say I'm stupid like this."

Li Yuan also showed a smile: "I don't even know if I am my elder brother, so I am not stupid. Besides, who would pretend to be an important minister of the former court and lead him to death?"

Li Lian immediately changed his expression after hearing this, and solemnly promised, "Brother will be fine."

Since the heavens are merciful and can make his elder brother come to him again, no matter what, he will let his elder brother have an accident.What's more, he now has the confidence to dare to say that.

Li Yuan obviously misunderstood what he meant, and asked mockingly: "You want to persuade me to surrender too?"

Li Lian immediately bowed his head and apologized, saying, "Don't dare. Since my brother doesn't want to listen, Lian just doesn't say anything."

Let alone surrendering now, Li Lian didn't even dare to mention it, for fear that his elder brother's sentence of "rebellious officials and thieves" would handicap him.He thought a little resentfully that only his elder brother could make him like this, if it was someone else...

He asked Li Yuan again: "What do you want to know, brother, Lian will tell you."

Li Yuan looked around at the palace servants standing around, knowing that all the conversations he had with Li Lian would eventually be heard by the emperor. Will not get into trouble.

He was silent for a long time before he asked Li Lian, "Is everything all right?"

Li Lian shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It's not very good."

It was almost a pleasant question, but Li Yuan was at a loss for words when he didn't hear the expected answer.Before he could ask further what was wrong, Li Lian said, "My mother is gone, my sister-in-law is gone, and my cousin's room is gone."

Hearing the news of the death of his mother and his wife's relatives all of a sudden, Li Yuan couldn't help but lose his mind, and murmured: "They're all gone...how could they be so depressed? How come?"

Li Yuan is not completely unprepared, he can guess one or two.Under the overthrow of the government and the opposition, the Li family has no one who can immediately support the mainstay, and it may be difficult to regain its former glory for a while.But before seeing Li Lian enter the palace in casual clothes, I always felt that things would not be too bad, but I never thought that it would end up with the death of all relatives.

Li Lian kowtowed and said slowly: "The battle in the Western Realm was not my brother's fault. The court of the previous Zhou Dynasty was afraid of my brother's prestige and military power, and did not dare to take back the military power in a fair manner. Things. The fact that the reinforcements did not arrive on schedule was simply because they accepted the decree issued by the previous Zhou court, strictly ordering them not to send troops, nor to provide food and grass.

"After my brother 'died in battle', my sister-in-law was going to Lingzhou, but she was killed by bandits on the way. Not only that, even the second room in Beijing was killed by bandits. At the foot of the emperor, the huge Chengguo mansion, unexpectedly Not a single one was left alive, but Habayashi Guard was dispatched that night."

Speaking of the latter part, Li Lian's voice involuntarily raised his voice, as if he was arguing for Li Yuan: "My brother devoted himself to the court of the previous Zhou Dynasty, but he ended up like this in the end."

Li Yuan sighed and didn't know how to make an evaluation. He never thought that one day he would be so suspicious by the king he served, and even stabbed in the back by his own people when he went out to fight.At the beginning, he led the military power of the Lingzhou camp, which was a helpless move to restore the decline of the Li family because of the defeat of the Li family.If the emperor takes back the military power by obvious means, even if he is unwilling, he will give the military power with both hands, so why is this!

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that Li Lian is unwilling to be loyal to Da Zhou.

"There's more," Li Lian paused, but didn't stop talking.Ten years ago, when his elder brother was still alive, Da Zhou was just on the eve of decline.Although there are many hidden dangers, there is prosperity on the whole.But after his elder brother "passed away", soon after, Dianfu invaded the south, the court was in turmoil, the vassals and towns were separated, and the refugees rebelled... In just a few years, the former Great Zhou came to an end.

"Shortly after my brother's accident, about eight or nine years ago, Dianfu once crossed Qijiang and approached Lingzhou. The northern border that my brother had guarded for 20 years was easily taken by Dianfu people. Fortunately, Qizhou was taken back in the end. The peace talks with them five years ago took Qijiang as the boundary. Today's border has retreated more than [-] miles to the south than when my brother was there."

Li Yuan frowned and asked him: "Peace talks?"

According to his own thinking, if he has been bullied so far, he must fight back, how can he negotiate peace.

Li Lian nodded, and replied: "Yes, the court was in turmoil at that time, and it was good to have General Shen as support in Ningyuan, but other than that, there was no one who could lead the army. It's not that he didn't think about counterattack, but the previous court had The Northern Territory lost more than a dozen generals in a row. They couldn’t hold back, so they had to retreat again and again. Unfortunately, Guanzhong and Jiangnan suffered disasters for several years, and the treasury was so empty that the army’s food and grass could not be prepared. There was really no way. To fight back, we can only negotiate peace."

No wonder, Li Yuan said to himself in his heart, turmoil in the court, catastrophe in Guanzhong, no one to lead the army, and the treasury is empty, so we can only negotiate a peace—however it sounds like the scene before the chaos.No wonder the country changed hands in just ten years.

Li Lian said that he did not dare to persuade him to surrender, but what he said clearly meant surrender.

Zhao Nuo, who came in before, once said that it is now the fourth year of Jiaping, which means that the new dynasty has been established for at least four years.Although there was chaos before, this speed is really faster, and I don't know if the places other than the capital have calmed down.

"Let me ask you, what is the current situation inside and outside the court hall? Is the border between the north and the south still safe?" After asking this sentence, Li Yuan glanced at the people in the hall again.In my current capacity, I'm afraid it's inappropriate to inquire about the situation so blatantly.However, the servants and attendants in the palace all lowered their heads and remained silent, as if they didn't hear his words.

Li Lian didn't shy away from anything, and replied directly: "It's good. The four borders of the middle school have already been subdued, and the northern border is still stable because of the agreement signed with the Dianfu people before. Submit troops."

He couldn't help but think about Yuzhou again.The local tyrants colluded with the officials to invade and occupy the military settlements.If it weren't for the people from the Yuzhou garrison who leapfrogged to the capital to report this matter, everyone in the court would still be in the dark.

When he heard about this, he was not without anger, that's why he had the idea of ​​beheading all the relevant officials in the state.

Most of the Central Plains surrendered after he entered Chang'an, so the local officials did not change much.He thought that these people were more familiar with the treatment, but he didn't expect that they would continue the habits of the previous dynasty to the present.

It is not wrong to say that it is killing chickens to warn monkeys, but in short, it is to tell the people in the world that there is no law that does not blame the people. As long as it violates the law, no matter how many people you have, you will kill them without mercy.Anyway, most of the world was brought down by him bit by bit. He has prestige, military power, and people who can work, and it doesn't matter what reputation he has.

He had already thought about the matter of Yuzhou in his heart, and Li Lian was also afraid of his brother's further temptation, so he said to Li Yuan: "Lian still has something to do, so I will leave first."

"Go," Li Yuan nodded.

Li Lian kowtowed again and said, "I only hope that my brother will cherish it."