The Great Zhou Dynasty was established.
Wu Zetian was conferred posthumous titles for five generations, and her entire family, including chickens and dogs, ascended to heaven.
Since Wu Zetian was already sixty-seven years old, there were no longer any elders in the Wu Clan. Those of the same generation had all been killed by her, so she conferred the titles of Princes to her nephews and grandchildren. Wu Sansi was conferred the title of Prince Liang, Wu Chengsi was conferred the title of Prince Wei, Wu Youning was conferred the title of Prince Jianchang, Wu You was conferred the title of Prince Jiujiang, Wu Youwang was conferred the title of Prince Kuaiji, Wu Yizong was conferred the title of Prince Hanoi, and Wu Sizong was conferred the title of Prince Linchuan …
All the Wu sisters were conferred the title of Princess.
Establishing the Wu Clan's seven temples in the Divine Capital.
Exempting all the people with the surname Wu from all taxes …
Shanghai Wan 'er's foresight was very accurate. Just as she had said to Yang Fan, the person who took the lead in persuading would be able to change his position several times in a year, until he reached the peak of the court. That Imperial Messenger Fu Youyi, who was of the sixth rank, was promoted one after another. First, he was promoted by three ranks and became the Minister of Rites. Now, he was promoted to Luantai's Assistant Minister and Luantai's Minister of Peace, becoming the Prime Minister of the court.
The assistant minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, Zong Qinke, who had forced Li Xian to abdicate his throne, was promoted to the position of the Imperial Censor, the prime minister of the current dynasty. Di Renjie and Pei Xingben, the Assistant Minister of Winter and Pei Xingben of the Assistant Minister of Earth and Pei Xingben of the Assistant Minister of Winter, were also appointed as the Pingzhangshi of the Phoenix Pavilion's Luantai and became the Prime Ministers of the Tang dynasty.
After that, Wu Zetian announced to the world, "The ancients stopped killing by killing. Now, I will stop killing with kindness."
This news lifted the spirits of the civil and military officials. They thought that the new dynasty was finally going to put an end to the cruel politics. However, immediately after, the Right Guard General Li Anjing and a few other officials who refused to acknowledge the empress were imprisoned and executed for treason. This inevitably caused people to be anxious and did not know what the empress's intentions were.
…
At this time, on a mountain ridge in the Longxi Plains, a group of people and horses were trudging with difficulty.
The sky was dark and gloomy, and the clouds seemed to be hanging over the top of the mountain. It seemed that there would be a heavy rain soon.
The group was a large tribe. There were men and women, old and young. Most of them wore leather robes. There were not many ox-carts and carriages in the group. Most of the things were carried by horses. There were herds of oxen, sheep, and horses in the group. The mooing of oxen and neighing of horses mixed together. However, the people were strangely quiet. They just silently hurried on without any excitement.
Hussero reined in his warhorse and looked back at his tribesmen who were struggling on the mountain path. His face was dark. His cheeks were dark and thin, and his eyes were sunken and bloodshot. His sorry figure was completely different from his elegant demeanor in Luoyang. The mountain here was steep and dangerous, and the mountain path was winding and difficult to traverse. Tens of thousands of people, old, weak, women and children, cows, goats, mules and horses, they didn't know how long it would take for them to walk out. Once they walked out, they would be able to gallop across a wide expanse of flat land. But before that, the road was really difficult to walk on, and it looked like it was going to rain again.
"Khan!"
A burly man in leather robes rode up to Hussero's side. Seeing his gloomy face, he asked, "Khan, are you worried about the rain?"
This person's stature was abnormally tall and sturdy. He had a curly beard and a pair of spirited eyes. His appearance should have been extremely ferocious, but because of his square face, big ears, and plump face, he gave off a warm and generous feeling.
This man was one of Hussero's generals, the chief of the Tuqishi Tribe, Wushele.
Hussero said gravely, "That's right. The mountain path has always been difficult to traverse. Once the rain comes, it will be muddy, making it even more difficult to traverse. If we're not careful, we might even fall into the mountain stream."
Wushele said, "Then, why don't we let everyone set up camp and rest first?"
Hussero said, "The pursuers are right behind us. If we stop …"
Wushele said, "Khan, don't worry. Once the rain comes, we won't be able to leave, and they won't be able to catch up. I'll take some people to the back. If they really do give chase in the rain, I only need a hundred people to block off the main path in such heavy rain. They can forget about coming over! "
Hussero thought for a moment. "That's the safest way."
Wushele said, "Then I'll go now!"
Wushele turned his horse and was about to leave when Hussero suddenly called out to him. "Wushele!"
Wushele turned around. Hussero thought for a moment, then said, "After I leave with the old and weak, I'll go straight to Luoyang to ask for reinforcements. I'll leave the Wunu Shi Bi Tribe to you."
Wushele said, "Khan, don't worry! As long as Wushele still has a breath left in him, he won't abandon our tribe or our plains! "
Husero nodded heavily and said, "Go ahead!"
Wushele galloped up the mountain path. In a short while, he had met up with a few of his trusted aides and was at the back of the group.
A burly man asked, "Big Brother Wushele, when are we going back to the tribe?"
Wushele said, "We'll first cover the Khan and his tribesmen as they leave, then we'll take a detour back!"
"Alright!"
Another burly man carrying a three-pronged pitchfork beamed with joy. "Big Brother Wushele, once the Khan leaves, this place will be our world. At that time, we can …"
Wushele shot him a fierce glare, and the burly man immediately shut his mouth.
Wushele coldly snorted and beckoned over a thin man with a shrewd face. He whispered, "Have you gotten in touch with Shen Mu's men?"
The man nodded. "His men agreed, but they said that their reserves are limited and that they can only provide us with three months' worth of provisions. As for fighting against the Tubo and Gugulu, we'll have to rely on ourselves."
Wushele thought for a moment, then said, "Three months … is enough! The Gugulu and Tubo won't stay on the steppe for that long. Let our tribesmen get through the current crisis first. "
"Yes!"
As the group spoke, they gradually disappeared around the corner of the mountain peak.
… …
Longyou was in trouble.
Before Di Renjie, Shen Mu, Princess Taiping, and the others could make detailed arrangements for Longyou, the Tubo and Eastern Turkic Khaganate's Gugulu had begun to move.
Just as Shen Mu had predicted when persuading Di Renjie, the moment the Turks and Tubo learned of Blacktooth Changzhi's capture, they would take advantage of the fact that the Qingyuan Path commander-in-chief had been captured, the low morale of the armies, and the absence of a new commander-in-chief. This was even faster than Shen Mu had predicted, as the Eastern Turks and Tubo had many spies in the areas controlled by the Tang army.
Blacktooth Changzhi had been publicly captured and sent to Luoyang in a prison cart, so there was no need to spend too much effort in making inquiries. The Eastern Turkic spies had personally witnessed Blacktooth Changzhi being escorted to the capital. When this important news reached the Eastern Turks, Khagan Gugulu was overjoyed.
At this time, Gugulu was ill and could not personally go to battle, so he immediately ordered his younger brother, Moche, to lead an army to White Water Stream. At the same time, he informed the Tubo, who immediately launched an attack on the Western Turkic Khaganate that had submitted to the Tang dynasty.
The Western Turks were in dire straits under the attacks of the Eastern Turks and the Tubo, their territory and numbers dwindling by the day. How could they resist the ferocious Tubo army? Helpless, Huseruo could only disperse the ten tribes under his command and scatter them across the steppe. Then, he led the old, weak, women, and children back to the Tang encampment to avoid the brunt of the attack.
Smoke rose from the Western Regions as Tang messengers traveled day and night to deliver the news to Luoyang …
The divine capital, Luoyang, was still ignorant of the situation in Longyou and was still immersed in the celebratory atmosphere of a new dynasty.
On this day, Wu Zetian was holding a grand family banquet in the Wanxiang Divine Palace, gathering all the members of the imperial family to celebrate the peace.
The Wanxiang Divine Palace was also known as the Bright Hall.
The Bright Hall was where the Emperor would hold court and discuss the country's military and political affairs. Using it to hold a family banquet where people could sing and dance and the fragrance of wine and meat wafted through the air was a bit lacking, but Wu Zetian wanted to hold it here.
In the first year of the Founding Era, a year before the death of Gaozong Li Zhi, Wu Zetian wanted to hold a banquet in the Hall of Announcing Politics in the Bright Hall, but Professor Taichang led a group of civil and military officials in retorting: The Hall of Announcing Politics is the main hall, where the Emperor holds court. It is solemn and dignified, how can it be used to eat and drink?
Although Wu Zetian had already seized all the power at that time, Gaozong Li Zhi was still alive and Professor Taichang and the other officials were confident in their stance. She did not dare to act arbitrarily and could only suppress her anger and hold a banquet in the Hall of Announcing Politics.
She did not forget this matter. Nine years later, she became the Emperor. She insisted on holding the banquet in the Wanxiang Divine Palace, which was grander, more dignified, and more glorious than the Hall of Announcing Politics. No one dared to say anything!
The huge and magnificent Bright Hall was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and Yang Fan and Xie Xiaoman strolled around the palace.
Yang Fan now only had one enemy left, but he could not find a chance to make a move. Qiu Shenji was skilled in martial arts and slightly better than Yang Fan. He also had many servants around him, so it was too difficult for Yang Fan to get close to him. Now that Yang Fan had Wan'er to worry about, he could not risk exposing his identity, so he could only wait patiently.
That night in the "Drunken Spring House", he and Shen Mu talked until late. No one knew what they talked about. Yang Fan also completely buried the matter in his heart, as if it had never happened.
Recently, Xiaoman was a little distracted. She had already sent people to Guangzhou Prefecture according to the method Yang Fan taught her. According to the time, her people should have already arrived in Guangzhou Prefecture. Notices offering a great reward for finding her Elder Brother had been posted all over the streets and alleys of Guangzhou Prefecture. Xiaoman did not know when her people would come back, and when they came back, whether they would bring her Elder Brother back. So recently, her heart was full of worries, and she was always a little distracted.
Because the two of them had their own worries, they walked side by side for a long time without speaking.
When the two of them walked to a corridor in the side hall, a voice suddenly came from behind a screen, and the two of them could not help but stop. Today, Wu Zetian was holding a grand family banquet, and all the dance and music masters of the Left and Right Musical Houses and the Inner Musical Houses had come. Each of these masters had a large group of followers and disciples who needed to accompany the masters to perform, so they occupied the east and west side halls and corridors of the main hall for changing clothes, putting on makeup, and rehearsing.
The corridor that Yang Fan and Xie Xiaoman passed through also had a row of screens, which divided the extremely wide palace corridor into two halves. One half of the corridor was used as a changing room, and the voice came from behind the changing room.
It was a crisp and childish voice, "Fifth Brother, no matter whether the country is called Zhou or Tang, or whether our surname is Wu or Li, this world is fought for by our family. Now it is our grandmother who rules the world, and it is still our family, do you understand? Don't be listless, and let those Wu scoundrels look down on you! "
The voice was so loud that the eunuchs who were walking in the corridor and the people who were changing behind the screens all heard it, and the whole corridor suddenly became silent. Yang Fan and Xiaoman looked at each other and thought, "This child must be a member of Li Tang's royal family, and he still dares to speak like this at this moment. I don't know if he is young and ignorant, or if his courage is commendable."
At this time, the childish voice said again, "Alright, you get ready, I'll go take a look first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a small person ran out from behind the screen. Yang Fan was standing outside. That person didn't expect this and couldn't stop in time. She bumped into Yang Fan's thigh. She immediately cried out in pain and covered her nose with her hand. Tears welled up in her eyes. Yang Fan took a closer look and saw that it was a little girl dressed in colorful clothes. She had red lips, white teeth, and a delicate face.
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