Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 118 Palace Banquet
The sun sets and twilight falls.

Li Zhi was walking in the Donghai Pool when Wang Fusheng came over to remind him that the banquet in Chengqing Hall was about to begin.

Li Zhi changed his clothes and went to Chengqing Palace.

The banquet had already been set up in the hall, and the tables were piled high with fine wine and delicious food.

By the time the You bell rang, almost all the ministers had arrived.

Li Zhi entered the hall, accepted the greetings of the crowd, stood up, raised his glass and said, "A great victory at the front. Please join me in toasting to the brave soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

All the ministers stood up and drank a cup with Li Zhi.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "The banquet has begun. No need to be restrained, just drink and have fun."

The sound of stringed instruments suddenly rang out, from low to high, from light to heavy. At the end, the sound of powerful drums was heard, as if one was on a battlefield.

Following the music, a group of dancers from the folk art stage entered the hall, swaying their graceful bodies to the beat of drums.

Although they were a group of women, they were dancing to "The Qin King's Battle Song". Their graceful movements exuded a strong and vigorous spirit.

The melody incorporates the tones of Kucha, which are gentle and pleasant, high-pitched and very appealing.

On both sides of the hall, the accompanying court bands were full of passion, the drums were deafening, and the momentum was majestic.

Everyone danced with all their strength. As Tang people, they were all excited for the great victory on the front line!
Di Renjie was sitting at the second table on the right. This was the first time he heard the Qin King's Breaking Formation Song. He felt his blood boiling as if it was about to gush out of his body.

He was surrounded by officials of the third and fourth ranks, all of whom were over 40 years old. They often attended the emperor's banquets and were accustomed to it. They toasted each other and talked and laughed happily.

As the performance of "Qin Wang Po Zhen Qu" ended, the next court music was called "Taiping Yue".

Taiping Music, also known as the Five-Directions Lion Dance, is performed by male dancers.

The dancers were covered in fur and imitated the movements of bending and bending.

There are five lions, each with a different color, standing on each side. There are also two people disguised as Kunlun slaves, holding ropes and whisks, leading and playing with them.

As the atmosphere of the banquet became more and more cheerful, the ministers left their seats one after another. Some danced in the hall, while others found familiar officials to drink and chat.

Li Zhi was originally leaning on the dragon throne. Seeing that all the ministers were dancing wildly, he was afraid that they would pull him to dance with them, so he prepared to leave.

At this moment, Wang Fusheng came over and said, "Your Majesty, General Bu Zhen and General Mixe are waiting in the side hall. They said they want to see Your Majesty on important matters."

Li Zhi frowned.

The two men must have come to persuade the Western Turkic tribe to surrender. How should we refuse them?
Li Zhi quickly came up with an idea after glancing around the main hall. He said to Wang Fusheng, "Please ask Duke Ying to come over and follow me to the side hall."

In the side hall, two Turkic generals sat on each side, staring at each other.

Bu Zhen and Mishe were both members of the Western Turkic royal family. Bu Zhen was Mishe's cousin, but the two were enemies.

In the sixth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong appointed Mishe as the Khan of Western Turkestan. Buzhen was dissatisfied and killed more than 20 members of Mishe's tribe.

The two fought each other for seven years, and finally Mishe was defeated and defected to the Tang Dynasty.

Bu Zhen did not end up well. His tribe suffered heavy losses, and other tribes did not submit to him. In the end, he had no choice but to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

If the two had not been fighting internally, Helu would not have been the Khan of the Turks.

Now that Helu was defeated, both of them wanted to become the Khan of Western Turkestan, so they urgently asked to see the emperor.

Soon, Li Zhi came out from the corner gate, accompanied by Li Ji.

Bu Zhen and the other two saluted Li Zhi together. Bu Zhen rushed to say, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Rehai and gather all the Helu people without a single soldier, and bring them under the wing of the Tang Dynasty!"

Mishe hurriedly said, "I am willing to go too!"

Bu Zhen angrily said, "You lack prestige, how can you persuade the Ten Surnames Tribe to surrender?"

Mishe sneered, "It's better than you. Who was it that was driven out of the territory by his people and had no choice but to come and submit to the Tang Dynasty?"

The two were about to argue again, but Li Ji said coldly, "Have you two come here to quarrel in front of His Majesty?"

The Turks worship the strong, and both of them admired Li Ji, a powerful general who destroyed the Eastern Turks, very much, so they lowered their heads and stopped arguing.

Li Zhi walked over to a chair and sat down, saying, "I understand why you two came to see me. Lord Li, you are a veteran of the battlefield. In your opinion, is now the time to surrender the Western Turks?"

Li Ji said solemnly: "Your Majesty, now is not the right time to surrender the Western Turks!"

Li Zhi nodded secretly. Just as he guessed, Li Ji would definitely oppose this matter.

Li Ji originally followed Li Jing to attack the Eastern Turks.

Li Jing led a lone cavalry of 3,000 deep into the enemy's territory and defeated the Eastern Turks. Li Ji also defeated the Turks in Baidao.

The situation at that time was very similar to the present one, and even the losses of the Eastern Turks were even greater. Jie Li Khan was at the end of his rope.

Jie Li Khan sent envoys to surrender, expressing his willingness to submit his entire country to the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Taizong of Tang also agreed to Jie Li Khan's request and sent people to comfort him.

However, Li Jing and Li Ji did not obey Taizong's order. They hurried at night and raided the tent of Jie Li Khan.

In this battle, the Tang army killed more than 10,000 enemies, captured hundreds of thousands, seized hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, captured Jie Li's son Dieluoshi, and killed Princess Yicheng of Sui.

This battle completely brought the Eastern Turks to their knees. Over the years, the Western Turks had frequently rebelled, but the Eastern Turks were very docile, and their occasional rebellions were easily suppressed. This was the result of this battle.

Bu Zhen said anxiously: "Now that Helu has been badly defeated, his prestige must have been completely lost. As long as I hold the imperial seal and call for surrender, the ten tribes will surely come and surrender!"

Mishe said, "Your Majesty, please let me go. The Wunushibi tribe has always supported me. If Your Majesty lets me go, I will surely be able to persuade them to surrender."

Bu Zhen said: "It's useless for you to go. The Wudulu tribe only supports me and will not listen to you."

Li Ji said loudly, "Both generals are of Turkic descent and should know the temperament of the Turks. Although General Su broke through the king's tent, he did not inflict heavy damage on the main Turkic force. It is impossible for them to truly surrender."

Bu Zhen and Mi She looked at each other and fell silent.

Li Ji said sternly, "Don't forget, you two are now generals of the Tang Dynasty. You must consider the Great Tang, not just your own interests."

Bu Zhen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the Tang army to severely defeat the Nushipi tribe."

Mishe hurriedly said, "I am also willing to lead the army and strike hard at the Dulu tribe."

Li Zhi said, "Generals, please be patient. General Su and General Xue have fought well, so leave the front lines to them. Once Helu is defeated, it won't be too late for you to go and pacify the Turkic tribes."

The two of them had no choice but to bow and say, "Your Majesty, I accept your command."

……

Inside the main hall, Di Renjie was sitting alone at his desk, listening to music, appreciating singing and dancing, and felt that he had broadened his horizons.

At this moment, a laugh came from the side: "Di Shaoqing, do you mind sitting at the table with me?"

Di Renjie turned around and saw that the person who spoke was Xue Yuanchao, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat. He had met this person several times when he went to see Liu Rengui.

Di Renjie smiled and said, "Mr. Xue, please take a seat."

Xue Yuanchao sat down next to Di Renjie and said with a smile, "Among my peers, besides Pei Yan, Di Shaoqing is the only one I admire. I'd like to offer you a toast."

Di Renjie raised his glass and drank with him.

The two drank for a while, and Xue Yuanchao invited Di Renjie to dance with him. Di Renjie couldn't refuse, so he went.

When Di Renjie was dancing happily, he noticed that Xue Yuanchao beside him suddenly laughed and danced upside down, attracting everyone's attention.

The atmosphere around them suddenly became more cheerful, and Cheng Zhijie and Yuchi Gong actually started playing thumb war (finger-guessing games).

Di Renjie looked up at the throne and found that the saint had left the hall at some point.

After a while, he and Xue Yuanchao returned to the table together.

Xue Yuanchao poured a glass of wine for each of them and said with a smile: "Brother Huaiying, let me toast you another glass."

Just as Di Renjie was about to raise his glass, he was suddenly startled. He found that the direction of the cup was slightly different from when he left.

Just as he was secretly wondering, a general suddenly walked over. It was Li Jin.

Li Jin whispered in Di Renjie's ear: "Someone touched your wine glass just now." Then he strode away.

Xue Yuanchao asked curiously, "Brother Huaiying, who was that person just now?"

Di Renjie smiled and said, "He's a friend of mine."

He thought anxiously, "Sure enough, the cup was moved. Who moved it? Is this related to Xue Yuanchao?"

Xue Yuanchao was stunned and asked, "Brother Huaiying, why don't you raise your glass?"

Di Renjie pressed his forehead and said, "I suddenly feel a little dizzy. I'm afraid I can't handle the alcohol."

Xue Yuanchao laughed and said, "You can't drink much. You need to practice more when you go back!" After finishing his own glass, he picked up Di Renjie's glass and drank it all.

Di Renjie thought to himself, "It seems it's not Xue Yuanchao."

After a while, Xue Yuanchao's face suddenly turned red and he kept shaking his clothes.

Di Renjie asked, "Brother Xue, what's wrong with you?"

Xue Yuanchao said, "I feel a bit hot. I guess I drank too much."

After a while, Xue Yuanchao stood up and said to Di Renjie, "Brother Huaiying, I'm going to go out and sober up. You drink it yourself." Then he left quickly.

Di Renjie looked around and found Li Jin standing next to a palace pillar, with his arms folded across his chest and a grim look on his face.

Di Renjie came up to him and said, "Brother Yuan Fang, who touched my wine glass?"

Li Jin didn't seem to like him very much. He still looked straight ahead and said calmly, "I don't know him."

Di Renjie said no more, left the hall, and quietly followed Xue Yuanchao.

Soon, Xue Yuanchao came to a small pond behind Chengqing Hall and scooped water from the pond and splashed it on his face.

Just then, a woman came out of the darkness and came to Xue Yuanchao.

No one knew what the two said, but not long after, Xue Yuanchao hugged the woman and turned over to his side.

A low groan soon came from the grass.

(End of this chapter)