Volume 1 Chapter 0 wedge
In August of the third year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang Dynasty, the weather was still very hot. Only at night could one feel the coolness. Outside the Chang'an Palace, rows of imperial guards stood solemnly guarding the main entrance to the palace. Under the moonlight, a horse came from afar. The rider seemed to have no time to dismount and report. He held up a jade plaque and shouted loudly, "Good news from the northwest! Good news! Get out of the way!"
As soon as the guards at the gate put away their halberds and moved aside, they heard the messenger riding his horse "whoosh" and rushing forward for more than ten feet, running straight into the palace. The regular sound of horse hooves shattered the tranquility of the Forbidden Palace, until the rider on horseback in front of the Imperial Palace where Emperor Taizong of Tang usually governed the country pulled the reins. The horse had been running wildly all the way and was already exhausted. Suddenly it was reined in, and it immediately raised its front hooves high, neighed for a long time, and then fell dead. The man jumped off the horse and hurriedly ran into the palace, but was stopped by two eunuchs on duty. The man was about to get angry, but he heard a calm but excited male voice inside: "Let him in!"
The two eunuchs quickly stepped aside, and the man immediately knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered the door, saying, "Long live the emperor!"
The person being worshipped stood behind the dragon desk, wearing a yellow dragon robe, with three long beards, and a very calm face, but his eyes revealed an anxious look. This person was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang. Although the war in the Central Plains had ended, the northwest border was unstable, especially the Eastern Turks, which had always been a major concern for the Tang Dynasty. He was anxiously looking forward to the victory news every day and night. Li Shimin sat back on the dragon chair and said in a deep voice: "Speak quickly!"
The special messenger said: "The Duke of Dai has defeated the Turks, beheaded more than 10,000 people, captured 100,000, and the escaped Jie Li was captured alive and is on his way to Chang'an!"
Li Shimin's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "The pharmacist really lived up to my expectations!"
The special messenger said again: "Lord Tang Jian and General An Xiuren have jointly sent a secret letter!" After saying that, he took out a letter from his chest and held it on his head.
The eunuch beside him quickly presented the letter. Li Shimin was stunned, and quickly opened the letter, took out the letter and read it carefully. His eyes slowly swept to the end of the letter, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his hand holding the letter became tighter and tighter, as if he wanted to crumple the letter into a ball of paper. After a long while, Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "You can go down. I will reward you for bringing me such a good news later!"
The special messenger kowtowed and thanked the emperor. Li Shimin unfolded the letter again. It clearly read: "Your Majesty, we two humble servants have learned that the bearded man is in the army of Li Jing, the Duke of Dai. According to the spy's investigation, the bearded man is now the ruler of Buyeo, a thousand miles away in the southeast sea. The Duke of Dai holds military power, so your majesty should not object to making friends with him. Your Majesty, I, Tang Jian, and An Xiuren, kowtow."
"He's back, but unfortunately..." The lights in the imperial hall were bright, but Li Shimin's face seemed to be shrouded in a shadow, his eyes were sometimes sharp and sometimes dim. After thinking for a while, Li Shimin waved his hand, and a eunuch bowed and walked over quickly. Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Send it to the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple."
At this time, in Li Jing's study at the Duke of Dai's mansion, a beautiful lady in palace dress was facing a man at the door with a look of surprise and joy. She was the wife of the Duke of Dai, Hong Fu. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "Third brother! How have you been these years? Why haven't you sent a single word to me and the pharmacist for so many years? We are just thinking about you and worrying about you day and night!"
The man was extraordinary, with a full beard on his face, full of domineering, but facing the beautiful woman in palace dress, his eyes revealed a rare tenderness. The bearded guest sighed and said, "Sister Yi, haven't we met yet? You know, I actually have high aspirations. When I left the Central Plains, how could I come back without creating a situation? Fortunately, God helped me succeed, so that I have a small situation in the southeast overseas..." After that, the bearded guest took out a square seal from his arms and handed it to Hong Fu. Hong Fu looked at it carefully and saw two kinds of fonts engraved on the seal: one was like a talisman, which she didn't recognize at all, and the other was the four characters "Buyu King" engraved in large seal script.
"Third brother, you finally realized your dream. I am so happy for you. With your wisdom and talent, governing the people there should be no problem, right? How long will you stay in the Central Plains this time? I just heard that the pharmacist won a victory. When he comes back, ask him to ask for leave from the emperor, and we will accompany you around!"
"First sister." The calm voice of the bearded guest broke Hongfu's excitement, "Third brother came back to the Central Plains this time mainly to visit you. The pharmacist was attacking the Turks, and I happened to hear some news that the Turks pretended to seek peace and wanted to harm the pharmacist, so I went to the Northwest Army before coming here." He paused and said, "I'm afraid someone has already noticed it and reported it to Li Shimin. I can't stay for long, and I will leave in the next few days!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone outside the door report: "Madam, Xu Shaoqing from the Honglu Temple is here to pay a visit!"
Hong Fu's expression suddenly changed. The bearded guest said with a smile, "I didn't expect Li Shimin to be so perceptive and send someone here so quickly. Don't worry, sister. Let him in!"
Hong Fu nodded and said loudly, "Please welcome the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple."
Xu Shaoqing bowed his head and walked in, his expression very respectful, holding a bright yellow gift list in his hand and said: "The emperor heard that the king of Buyeo was coming here, so he ordered me to prepare a small gift. I hope the king of Buyeo will accept it. In addition, there is a banquet in the palace. The emperor said that he and the king are friends from the common people, and he has missed him for many years. He hopes you can go and reminisce about the old times."
The bearded guest pondered for a moment, then raised his head and looked directly at Xu Shaoqing and said, "It is easy for ordinary people to share adversity, but difficult to share wealth. Moreover, your emperor and I are no longer commoners. We are each the ruler of a country, so it is inconvenient for us to meet."
Xu Shaoqing saw that he refused outright, and his face showed embarrassment. He smiled cautiously and said, " Since this is the case, how dare I force the king? May I ask where the king will stay tonight? The king has come from afar, and our Tang Dynasty must do its best to be a good host. If anything goes wrong, wouldn't it be a loss of friendship between our two countries?"
Hong Fu raised her eyebrows and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean, Xu Shaoqing?"
The bearded guest stood up, looked at Hong Fu with some worry and reluctance for a while, and then said: "Go back and report to your emperor, and tell him that I will leave immediately and will never set foot in the Central Plains again!"
Xu Shaoqing said: "This... I naturally cannot force the king to stay. I will report the king's intention to the emperor." After saying this, he bowed again with great respect and left.
Hongfu's face turned pale, and she said, "Third brother! Why... are you leaving again?" As soon as she finished speaking, two lines of tears rolled down.
Seeing her crying, the bearded guest was moved and said, "Sister Yi, I also want to spend a few days with you. Look, I just arrived in Chang'an and Li Shimin sent people here. If I don't leave, he will never be at ease! Living with the emperor is like living with a tiger. It's okay if he is suspicious of me, but if he is suspicious of the pharmacist, you will be in big trouble at any time!"
Hong Fu said: "Pharmacist is the emperor's founding hero, he won't be so ruthless."
The bearded guest shook his head and said, "Sister, people change. I gave up my great country to Li Shimin, and now I am just visiting my homeland again, but Li Shimin immediately sent people to test me. He is so suspicious of me who gave up my country. What's more, the pharmacist has only made some contributions to him in the field of war. How can I guarantee that I will never be suspected?"
Hearing this, Hong Fu's eyes widened, but she was speechless. The bearded guest comforted her, "Besides, how can he and I meet? We are each monarchs. He is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, so he will naturally not criticize me. Although our country is small, we are unwilling to pay homage to him!"
Hong Fu nodded and smiled, "Third brother, I was willful just now. Brother has always been arrogant, and I don't want you to be angry like this. I will immediately send someone to notify the pharmacist to send you back!"
On the coast of the East China Sea, a large ship was anchored at the shore. Someone on the flagpole kept looking into the distance and saw three horses slowly approaching from a distance. The flag bearer immediately shouted a few times and waved the command flag in his hand. After a moment, dozens of big men jumped off the boat and knelt down to greet the visitors.
The three people who came were none other than the bearded guest and Li Jing and his wife. Hongfu's eyes turned red, and she was reluctant to leave. The bearded guest and Li Jing were still talking and laughing, but they couldn't hide the sadness on their faces.
The sea breeze blew and the waves crashed against the shore. The three men came to the front of the boat and jumped off their horses. The men shouted loudly. The bearded guest saw the puzzled expressions on Li Jing and the other two and smiled and said, "They are all my guards. What they said just now was the language of Buyeo, which means to welcome the king."
Li Jing laughed and said, "Third brother can start a new business in a foreign land where people cannot speak the language. I'm afraid the emperor doesn't have this ability either!"
Hong Fu asked, "Why did you mention him? It's such a bummer! Third brother, when will you come back?"
The bearded guest said, "Sister, what I said to Xu Shaoqing that night was not just a formality. From now on, I will keep my promise and will never set foot in the Central Plains again." At this point, his face darkened and he said sadly, "After we part today, I'm afraid we can only meet in my dreams..." The bearded guest looked back at Li Jing and took out a jade plate from his arms. The jade plate was made of two jade pendants stuck together. The bearded guest gently broke one piece and handed it over, saying, "Pharmacist, this is something I found by chance when I was traveling around the world. You and I will each hold half. If you miss me, take a look at this jade pendant to comfort your lovesickness." After that, he stamped his feet and flew onto the boat. The men followed him, all very happy and shouting again.
The sails of the big ship were gradually hoisted. Hong Fu suddenly took a few steps forward and shouted, "Third brother, third brother!"
The bearded guest looked much calmer, and said slowly, "Yimei, do you have anything else to say?"
Hong Fu was in tears at this moment, and waved her hand and shouted: "Third brother, you must take care of yourself... I will always miss you here, third brother, don't forget your first sister..."
The bearded guest could no longer control himself, and tears fell down his cheeks. He said loudly: "Sister Yi, Pharmacist, we three hit it off right away. Although we are not biological children, we are better than biological children. How can this friendship be blocked by mountains and rivers? Even though we are far away, our brotherly love will never be broken!" After saying this, he resolutely waved his arm. Seeing his order, the men on the boat pulled up the huge sail together and steered the boat slowly into the sea.
Hong Fu stared at the boat that was getting farther and farther away on the sea, sobbing. Li Jing slowly put his arms around her thin shoulders from behind, placed the half jade pendant in her hand, slowly raised it, and looked up at the extremely high and clear sky.
The jade pendant had few patterns, but was densely engraved with a number of seal characters:
The grass is green and the water is flooding the island; we have been together for ten years and now we are separated in August;
Willow catkins are flying, but Hu is silent; I am guarding the Yellow Springs with a heart as hard as stone.
