That night, the Zhang brothers came up with an ingenious idea. They ordered people to use colored silk to cut green leaves and red flowers, and bamboo threads to make huge lotus flowers on top of the flowing water outside the Hall of Flying Fragrance. When everything was ready, the Zhang brothers and a group of beautiful youths from Fengchen Hall invited Wu Zetian to admire the flowers by the pond.
The flowing water in the curved pond was illuminated by lanterns everywhere. The starlight and lamplight were one and reflected in the water, rippling endlessly.
Although it was summer, the evening was still refreshing. This scene was like heaven on earth, making Wu Zetian very happy.
Immediately, the group of beautiful youths from Fengchen Hall disappeared without a trace. After a while, the sound of music started. In the melodious and elegant music, the huge lotus flowers bloomed, and in each lotus flower, there was a young man in colorful clothes dancing to the music. The one who appeared in the largest and most beautiful lotus flower in the middle was Zhang Changzong, who was known as' Lianhua Liulang '.
Wu Zetian applauded for their ingenuity. After enjoying the song and dance, Wu Zetian made an exception and drank a few more cups of wine. Taking advantage of the wine, she looked at the beautiful and charming Zhang brothers with her drunken eyes and said: "I am a little tired. The rest of you can leave. Wulang, Liulang, help me back to my bedroom."
Zhang Changzong and his brother happily stepped forward and helped Wu Zetian back to her bedroom. The other beautiful youths of Fengchen Hall knew that it was difficult to win against the two of them and returned to their residences with peace of mind. Wu Zetian said with a smile: "Every day, it is only the two of you who try your best to make me happy. It is really hard on you to actually come up with such an idea. "
Zhang Yizhi said obediently: "I am unable to share Your Majesty's worries in the affairs of the country. Serving Your Majesty well and making Your Majesty happy every day is considered to have done my part."
Wu Zetian smiled and glanced at him, saying: "I knew that today's show was also your idea. Liulang is honest and not as scheming as you. Liulang has taken so much trouble, you must have something to ask of me. Hehe, say it, what do you want from me! "
Zhang Yizhi hurriedly let go of Wu Zetian and took two steps back before turning around and kneeling down. He said with heartfelt admiration, "Your Majesty is wise and farsighted. Your subject's thoughts were indeed unable to hide from Your Majesty's discerning eyes. I do have something to ask of Your Majesty. It is neither an official position nor a reward, but I hope Your Majesty can dismiss your attendants because it involves a great deal of privacy and I am ashamed to say it in public. "
Wu Zetian's curiosity was piqued. She quickly waved her hand and ordered the palace eunuchs and guards to leave. She asked, "What's the matter?"
Only then did Zhang Yizhi tell Wu Zetian everything in detail. Hearing this, Wu Zetian frowned. Zhang Yizhi to Wu Zetian. Zhang. Zhang Yizhi then. Besides, Zhang Yizhi's mother was already a middle-aged woman, and Li Chongxiu was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, with wives and concubines. How could they be matchmakers? Breaking up a husband and a wife and forcing a mother to marry would damage her reputation.
This was different from her daughter's marriage. It was to reconcile the conflict between the Wu and Li families and to win the hearts of the people. But now, just to fulfill Zhang Yizhi's filial piety, she forced a minister to divorce his wife and marry someone else.
Wu Zetian thought unhappily: "This Mrs. Azang is too much. If you like that Li Changxiu, you can have a secret relationship with him. Why must you marry him openly?"
Zhang Yizhi saw her frowning and did not say anything. He quickly kowtowed and said, "Yizhi also knows that this matter is unreasonable, but … seeing Mother's concern, I cannot bear it. Looking at the whole world, only Your Majesty's golden mouth and jade jade words can help. During the previous review, I am indebted to Your Majesty for the promotion. I am willing to resign, I only ask Your Majesty to fulfill my wish. "
Zhang Changzong also quickly knelt down to help, saying, "Your Majesty, Wulang is filial to his mother, I beg Your Majesty to show mercy."
Wu Zetian was silent for a long time. She sighed softly and said, "Forget it! There is no morning court tomorrow, I will issue an imperial decree to summon Li Changxiu and her mother to the palace. I will have a chat with them first. Hmm … Wulang, go back tomorrow and bring your mother here. Let them get to know each other first. I will act according to the circumstances. "
Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong two brothers saw that she finally agreed. They were overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed to thank her.
…
The house that Wu Sansi built next to Ding Ding Street happened to be in the hot rental area. When the rich merchants and high-ranking officials returned to the capital, they all liked to rent this house. Not only the house was grand, because it belonged to the Liang Wang family, it could directly face the street and open the door, making it convenient to enter and exit.
In the past, when Tin Aino used his identity as a Dunhuang merchant to deceive Liu Junfan, he also rented this house. If Liu Junfan did not see that she rented such a luxurious house with so many servants, she would not have been so easily fooled. Now, this house had just been used and returned by the previous guest, and it was immediately rented again. The people who rented this house were a few Sichuan merchants.
During the Tang Dynasty, if one were to talk about economic development in the north, the area south of the Yangtze River had not yet become a land of fish and rice. The population was sparse and agriculture was backward. Politics, economy, culture, and technology were all far behind the north. The north was an agricultural area, but when it came to commerce, Guanzhong and Bashu were the most prosperous.
The Sichuan merchants had already become strong as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties. They opened up the thousand-mile plank road, the Tea Horse Road, the Shu cloth road, and the Silk Road in the south. For example, the widow Ah Qing of Bashu once helped Emperor Qin build the Great Wall and later provided a large amount of mercury for Emperor Qin's mausoleum. Emperor Qin even specially built the 'Huaiqing Platform' for her to commemorate her. Another example was Prince Zhuo's iron ruler, Linqiong.
Today, Bashu was still the most prosperous in commerce. Luoyang and Guanzhong took advantage of the imperial capital and had more Hu merchants. The emergence and prosperity of Jin merchants, Hui merchants, and other large merchant groups was after the Song and Ming Dynasties. At this time, the south only had Yangzhou and Quanzhou, which could be considered more developed in commerce.
There were more than ten of these Sichuan merchants. They dealt in salt, cloth, medicine, grain, and so on. Among them, there were two leaders. One was called Song Badi, the other Long Jiutao. The two of them were sleeping on the same bed. The bed was covered with a glossy, jade-like top quality mat. The two of them waved their palm-leaf fans and listened to the crickets whispering outside.
Song Badi asked in a thick Sichuan accent: "What did that Zhang Tongxiu say?"
Long Jiutao snorted and said, "First, we gave him a generous gift, and then promised him great benefits. What else could he say? Naturally, he was blinded by money and agreed to arrange for us to meet with Second Zhang as soon as possible."
Song Badi softly grunted: "Look at the long term, don't be stingy with money. Only by spending money can you earn more money. No one is willing to go against money. If five hundred strings of coins is not enough, then one thousand strings of coins. If one thousand strings of coins is not enough, then five thousand strings of coins.
Long Jiutao said: "There's no need to explain this. I don't care about the money spent. I just feel that Shen Mu is making a big fuss over a minor issue. It's just a mere Yang Fan who relied on good luck to climb up step by step. There's no need to be so cautious. This kind of person, won't he be reduced to ashes with just a little trick? "
Song Badi chuckled twice and said: "Good luck? Once or twice you can say it's good luck. Who can rely on good luck all the time? Xue Huaiyi has more than a thousand disciples and he has dozens of disciples close to him. Why didn't others stand out? He used his wits to repel the Turkic army of one hundred thousand. If it were you, would you be able to do it?
In his life, that Tubo God Lun Trinling defeated Xue Rengui, Li Jingxuan, Liu Shenli, Wang Xiaojie, Lou Shide, and many other famous generals. He only suffered a small loss at the hands of Blacktooth Changzhi. If not for the fact that both countries were exhausted from fighting and made peace, it would have been hard to say who would have won and who would have lost if the war had continued. It was this invincible and powerful general who had fallen to Yang Fan's schemes.
The ruthless officials of the Imperial Censorate moved unhindered throughout the court. How many princes and marquises of Xiang had fallen under their hands? Who was it that incited the southern frontier to exert external pressure and instigate the ministers to bring them to justice one by one? The Khitans rebelled in the north and wanted to ally with the Turks. If it were anyone else, would they be able to easily dissolve the enemy's alliance, turn the tide, and hasten the Khitans' swift defeat?
Old Ninth, if you attribute all the great things he has done to his luck and look down on his ability, you will certainly suffer a great loss at his hands. Not to mention anything else, just that proud act of his that allowed him to ascend to the position of the Prominent Sect Patriarch, if you were the assistant minister of the Heavenly Official, would you be able to think of a way to advance by retreating? "
Long Jiutao was silent for a moment before he said, "If he is truly a person of great wisdom, it does not seem to be a good idea to be enemies with him!"
Song Badi sighed and said, "Shen Mu is also in a difficult position. The human heart is not content and wants more than what they have. If we don't compete and determine who is superior, many of the leaders in the Hidden Sect will not be convinced. They will think that Shen Mu is giving up the authority and status that our Hidden Sect can easily obtain. Then, Shen Mu's position will not be stable."
Long Jiutao said, "En! Not to mention others, I will not be convinced either! Even if this person is incredible, I do not think that he has the ability to deal with us. Then let us compete with him. If he wants to win the status and authority that he deserves, then he will have to show us his abilities! "
Song Badi said, "That is why we have to win over Second Zhang. The Wu Clan is currently led by Wu Sansi, and we do not know how deep the relationship between Wu Sansi and Yang Fan is. If we hastily make contact, we will inadvertently alert the enemy. Furthermore, in the current imperial court, the Emperor's most favored person is Second Zhang. As long as we can win them over, we will be able to resist Yang Fan's advantage in the officialdom. "
Long Jiutao slapped his thigh and said, "Good! I will invite Zhang Tongxiu to a banquet tomorrow. We must get in touch with Second Zhang as soon as possible! "
This summer was very hot, and the battle between the Prominent Sect and Hidden Sect was also in full swing.
It was like a battle between two armies. On the surface, it looked like there was no substantial contact between the two sides. Right now, they were only at the stage of mobilizing troops, preparing rations, scouting the enemy's situation, and formulating a plan of action. The final victory was largely determined by these preparations before the official battle.
Under Yang Fan's unyielding orders, the 'Succession Hall' finally moved into Luoyang. With their massive influence, it was very easy for them to settle down. They used various identities to conceal themselves among the millions of people in Luoyang.
As long as the seven sects and five families had not made up their minds to abandon Yang Fan, they would not interfere in this matter. While the people of the Prominent Sect, who had lived in Chang 'an for a long time, were dissatisfied with moving into Luoyang, they were just dissatisfied. The sect master had already made up his mind. They also knew that the success or failure of this battle would determine their authority and status in the future, so they did their best to start preparing according to Yang Fan's orders.
The Hidden Sect had originally been a part of the Prominent Sect. It was the battle in Chang 'an that had completely established the Hidden Sect's status in the pugilistic world as equals with the Prominent Sect. What about the battle in Luoyang?
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