"Duke Zhou, my father said that as long as the Emperor of the Great Tang is willing to send troops to help us, we will definitely help you deal with Silla and Baekje after we take back our royal city. Moreover, we will forever respect the Emperor of the Great Tang as our king, and we will naturally present our treasures to His Majesty every year, and of course, you, Duke Zhou, will also get your share."
"Okay, okay. But..." Helan Minzhi sat at the top, his expression filled with a hint of worry.
"Just what? Duke Zhou, why don't you just say it directly?" Quan Xiancheng asked hurriedly.
"It's just that you came at an inopportune time. His Majesty and the Queen are not in Chang'an these days, but have gone to Luoyang. So for the time being, I'm afraid I can't help you. Prince Quan might as well stay in Chang'an City for a few days. When His Majesty comes back, I will report to him." Helan Minzhi just looked at him and said.
"But... I have already submitted the memorial to the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple today. Since the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is not here, isn't there still the Crown Prince who can make the decision? By the way, Duke Zhou, you should be very familiar with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right? Can we go directly to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for this matter? After all, my father's situation there is very critical now. If it's too late, I'm afraid..." Quan Xiancheng said after thinking for a while.
At this time, another person sitting next to him, Li Sizhen, said, "Prince Quan, although your memorial has been submitted to the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites, I am afraid it will be difficult for you to borrow troops from the Tang Dynasty for your father without the mediation of Duke Zhou. You are also tired from the journey, why not take a few days to rest temporarily, and when His Majesty comes back, I will definitely help you convince His Majesty to agree to send troops to Goryeo, how do you think?"
Helan Minzhi looked at Li Sizhen and smiled. This guy is now the Secretary of the Honglu Temple. He is in his thirties and almost forty years old. He has always hoped to be promoted to the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, so he has been in close contact with Li Zhongchang and himself in the past few years.
Both of them have high attainments in calligraphy, which is much better than mine. Many of the calligraphy and paintings that I presented to Your Majesty were actually from the hands of these two people.
"Can't Duke Zhou ask the Crown Prince to mediate?" Quan Xiancheng seemed to be going against the people present. The more they didn't want to mention someone, the more he had to mention them.
...
...
Helan Minzhi smiled silently and looked at Wu Jing on the other side, so Wu Jing immediately smiled mysteriously at Quan Xiancheng and said in a low voice: "This is a secret of the Tang Dynasty. I will tell you today. After you leave the house, you must remember to forget what I just said."
Quan Xiancheng opened his confused eyes and thought for a while, as if he realized something, and immediately leaned over and said, "Oh, Brother Wu, why don't you just speak frankly."
Wu Jing smiled mysteriously again and said, "The Crown Prince has always been at odds with Duke Zhou. The two are enemies. If you ask Duke Zhou to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, wouldn't that be embarrassing for Duke Zhou? Wouldn't Duke Zhou have to lower himself..."
"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is older than Duke Zhou, right?" Quan Xiancheng asked stupidly again.
"You don't know this, right? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has always been uneducated and unlettered. He is very jealous of Duke Zhou's favor in front of Your Majesty, so he will never agree to anything related to Duke Zhou." Wu Jing spoke mysteriously, and his words almost made Li Sizhen and Li Zhongchang believe it.
"So His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a fool? Then why doesn't His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty change the Crown Prince? Wouldn't this ruin the destiny of the Tang Dynasty?" Quan Xiancheng thought very carefully and cared about these parasites that might be parasites of the Tang Dynasty.
"Alas, the Tang Dynasty has always had the eldest son as the crown prince. Even if this crown prince is deposed, the other three are more stupid than the other. The Prince of Pei, Li Xian, knows how to play cockfighting with the Prince of Ying every day, and Li Dan is only four years old now. So, in the eyes of Your Majesty, the sum of the two is always more stupid than the other one, so..."
In the other room, originally only Li Hong had a gloomy face. Li Xian and Li Zhe were about to burst into laughter. They whispered to Li Hong, "Fifth brother, did you hear that? You are uneducated, unlettered, a complete idiot... a... a... haha, you should learn something quickly, otherwise father will... haha..."
Li Xian and Li Zhe were laughing unscrupulously, while Li Sujie and Li Shangjin were also shrugging their shoulders, their stomachs were almost cramped from laughing.
At this time, after hearing Wu Jing's next words, Li Xian and Li Zhe immediately turned bitter. Especially the sentence "No matter how you look at it, those two combined are more stupid than the other one", Li Xian and Li Zhe immediately prepared to go over to argue with them.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Listen to me again." Li Hong's face was dark. He actually became unlearned. Okay, I'll remember you!
At this time, he heard the other side continue to speak: "So, compared with Duke Zhou, those princes are simply a world of difference. Duke Zhou is a dragon among men. What if His Majesty thinks it through one day... Do you understand? So, in your case, only Duke Zhou can speak in front of His Majesty. If you go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I think it will take another month or two, and you may not be able to go back, let alone borrow troops."
While Wu Jing was speaking, Helan Minzhi kept a faint smile on his handsome face. He raised his eyelids from time to time to look at Li Zhongchang and Li Sizhen. So after Wu Jing finished speaking, the two of them hurriedly nodded in agreement.
"Old Five, you're not going to just sit there, are you? That's what they're doing over there." Li Sujie asked Li Hong, who was calm and composed.
Li Hong picked up the cup and rinsed his mouth with Xia Zhi's help. Then he slowly said, "He was not killed by the Cuiwei Palace incident. Now, what if he is caught based on these few words? Besides, it was not from his mouth."
"We can't just let it go like this, can we? What do you mean, no matter how I look at it, I feel that the other two combined are dumber than that one? Are the three of us that dumb?" Li Zhe snorted in dissatisfaction.
"He was just talking. You don't really think you're an idiot, do you?" Li Xian was also full of complaints.
Li Hong thought about it, and suddenly said to Xia Zhi: "Go ask Helan Minzhi, who is hosting today?"
Xia Zhi nodded, then slowly left the room and ran downstairs to ask the shopkeeper if he knew.
The other four people in the room looked at Li Hong in confusion, and Li Xian said, "What do you mean? Who pays the bill?"
"Since we can't do anything to him now, it would be a good idea to scare him. Let Helan Minzhi pay for our meal today. This will also help Yi Yang and Gao An make more money." Li Hong sat upright and said calmly.
"How can I make money? I can't eat anymore. It would be a waste to serve more dishes. And look, our table is not as expensive as those of the rich businessmen." Li Zhe pouted, feeling that he had suffered a loss. He should have ordered more delicious dishes earlier.
"It's not too late for you now." Li Hong said indifferently.
"But we can't eat anymore. Do you want to fill us to death?" Li Shangjin took a sip of water and said with a frown.
"I told you guys you're stupid but you just won't admit it. You're all full, but are the people in your house full? Even if they are all full...then go find the hungry people in Chang'an City, the beggars on the street, and send them portions tomorrow in your own names!"
"The food will go bad if left overnight. You are the prince, so you naturally don't know this..."
"You are the only one who talks too much nonsense. Who told you to distribute it now? Why don't you let the guys at Yang'an Building distribute it tomorrow, or let the common people and beggars come to collect it?" Li Hong slapped Li Zhe on the back of the head, and his hat fell to the ground.
Hua Meng behind him hurriedly picked it up and handed it to Li Zhe. Li Zhe was not angry. He took the futou and put it on his head. After thinking for a while, he said, "What shall we order?"
"Whatever is more expensive." Li Xian figured it out and said excitedly.
Li Sujie also gradually came to his senses and said excitedly, "How about this, come on, let's divide the area. I'll send people to the streets tomorrow morning. How about the southern part of the East Market belong to me?"
"Okay, I'll come to the north side of East Market." Li Shangjin said, tapping the table lightly.
"Then I will come to the south side of West Market, and you come to the north side of West Market." Li Zhe took off his fu hat again, put it on straight again and said.
"Okay, the four of you have just divided up Chang'an City, leaving nothing for me. How about this, I will issue an order in the name of the crown prince..."
“No!”
"That's right, can't you just let us have it for once!"
"..." The four of them were extremely resolute and opposed in unison.
"This is my idea. Shouldn't you leave some for me?" Li Hong asked, staring at the four people with wide eyes.
"The area outside Chang'an city is yours now. Find a poor county and give it to it...haha." Li Xian couldn't stop laughing halfway through his words.
At this time, Xia Zhi pushed the door open and walked in slowly. He came behind Li Hong and said in a crisp voice, "Master, this time Quan Xiancheng is the host and invited Helan Minzhi, not Helan Minzhi..."
"What should we do now?"
"I thought of a good idea. Are you stupid now?"
"You're still cheating him now? He's not the one paying the bill."
"It's over, it's over, it's over. I have already thought about who to send to the north of West Market tomorrow to inform the people and beggars. I even planned to inform the monks in the temple." Li Zhe's face wrinkled into a ball, watching the fun things go down the drain.
Li Hong remained silent, watching the men's desperate behavior with a sneer, as if the sky had fallen.
"Just now you looked so chivalrous, as if you wanted to rob the rich and help the poor like a knight, but how come you don't know what to do when you encounter a little setback? What's wrong with him treating us? Is this difficult? Wouldn't it be better to let him treat us? He said so many bad things about me just now, so just let him treat us." Li Hong finally spoke out when he saw these people lying on the table in pain.
As they slowly raised their heads from the table, Li Hong said to Xia Zhi, "Xia Zhi, go tell the shopkeeper that Helan Minzhi must treat us today, and the total cost of the meal is five thousand taels of silver."
After hearing what Li Hong said, Li Xian and the other three were so scared that their jaws almost dropped to the ground. How cruel! He was worthy of being the prince. He dared to charge five thousand taels of silver for a meal. How happy will the people of Chang'an be tomorrow?
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