Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 354: Young Man of the Tang Dynasty

The Tang people loved horses, and every major mansion in Chang'an City had a very luxurious stable.

The stables in these people's homes are often larger than the houses of ordinary people.

Horses also eat better than humans, and are all fed with concentrated feed such as wheat and millet.

Among all the houses, the stables of the Wu Mansion were built particularly luxuriously because they contained three Anxi tribute horses given by Empress Wu.

One of the horses was a yellow horse with white hair on its head and a round shape like a full moon. It belonged to the Liangzhou horse and was also Helan Minzhi's favorite horse.

Among the thirty-three prefectures in Hexi and Longyou, Liangzhou is the largest, with fertile land, abundant resources and rich and happy people.

The Hexi Longyou area had a total of more than 400,000 horses, which was the supply base of fine horses for the Tang Dynasty. Every year, the ten best horses were selected from them and supplied to Chang'an.

This horse is one of them.

Helan Minzhi had been depressed recently due to Empress Wu's house arrest, and had rarely come to the stable. As soon as he came, the white-haired horse in the stable neighed continuously.

Helan Minzhi walked over quickly, rubbed his cheek against the yellow horse, and said with a smile: "Ah Huang, I haven't taken you for a ride recently. You must be bored, right?"

He ordered someone to bring a horse wash and wash the white-haired horse's hair first. Then he ordered someone to install his special saddle and led the horse to prepare to go out.

When passing through a courtyard, a young girl came over. It was Helan Minrou.

"Brother, you have just been released from house arrest. Be careful when you go out and don't get into conflicts with others." She followed beside him and whispered.

"Stop nagging me. Do I need a reminder from a little girl like you?" Helan Minzhi said unhappily.

Helan Minrou took out a jade pendant inlaid with green agate and hung it around his waist, saying, "How can I trust you if you forget to bring your jade pendant when you go out?"

Helan Minzhi took a look at the jade pendant and found it extremely gorgeous and beautiful, something he had never seen before. He asked, "Where did you get it from?"

"My aunt gave it to me when I accompanied her back to the palace yesterday." Helan Minrou replied.

Helan Minzhi was stunned for a moment, holding the jade pendant in his hand, and murmured: "Auntie really likes you."

"I'm a girl, and my aunt doesn't have the same expectations of me as she does of my brother, so she dotes on me a little more." Helan Minrou gently comforted.

After hearing this, Helan Minzhi felt much more relieved.

He tied the jade pendant into another knot on his belt, quickly went out of the second gate, jumped on his horse, and rode towards the street with two followers.

Helan Minrou shouted at his back: "Come back soon!"

Helan Minzhi raised his hand to indicate that he heard it.

The white horse hadn't been out of the house for several months and felt suffocated, so it started running wildly along the way.

Helan Minzhi's expression was solemn, and he did not feel the joy of escaping from the cage. He controlled the direction of the horse and headed straight for the Xiao Mansion.

As he was walking, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he saw that it was King Wu Li Ji who was riding a horse and chasing after him.

Helan Minzhi tightened the reins, stopped his horse and waited.

After a while, Li Ji caught up and panted, "Brother Helan rides really fast. I've been chasing him for a long time, but he's getting further and further away."

Helan Minzhi was stunned and asked, "Why are you chasing me?"

Li Ji said, "I heard you were released from confinement, so I came to visit you. I saw you on the road and called out to you twice, but you didn't hear me, so I followed you all the way."

Helan Minzhi frowned and said, "You come to visit me?"

His relationship with Li Ji is rather special, not just that of normal friends.

Between the two of them, he has always been the more proactive, while Li Ji responded passively and rarely visited Wu Mansion.

Li Ji glanced at the direction he was heading and asked, "Are you going to the Xiao Mansion?"

Helan Minzhi nodded in acknowledgment.

Li Ji said, "Can you please go to my mansion first? I have something to tell you."

Helan Minzhi stared at him for a while and said, "Okay."

The two of them immediately changed their route and soon arrived at Prince Wu's Mansion.

Li Ji brought him to the study, ordered someone to serve wine, poured two glasses of wine himself, and said, "I toast to Brother Helan."

Helan Minzhi raised his eyebrows and said, "Why are you so weird today?" He drank the wine in the glass.

Li Ji stared at him and said, "To be honest, Brother Helan, although I used to interact with Brother Helan, it was actually just a perfunctory courtesy."

"I figured it out." Helan Minzhi nodded, feeling puzzled as to why Li Ji wanted to bring this up.

Li Ji continued, "But after hearing that you were confined because of Xiao Siye, I finally understood what kind of person Brother Helan is, so I want to make a sincere friend of him."

Helan Minzhi's eyes lit up and he asked, "Do you also think Uncle Xiao was wronged?"

"Yes, at the beginning." Li Ji took a sip of wine.

"At the beginning?"

Li Ji continued to pour wine and said, "You know my eighth uncle. His Majesty has put him in charge of the Zongzheng Temple and the management of the royal family. He has always suspected that the assassination was done by the King of Han."

"However, as he continued his investigation, he could not find any more evidence of the King of Han's guilt. He had no choice but to change his approach and begin investigating Xiao Siye. As long as Xiao Siye was proven innocent, the King of Han would be the most likely suspect."

"I have also been helping Uncle Eight investigate this matter."

Helan Minzhi nodded and asked, "So what are the results of your investigation?"

Li Ji said, "Although we haven't found any conclusive evidence, we've discovered that many people involved in this case are missing. Neither the living nor the dead have been found."

Helan Minzhi was stunned for a moment, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

"Could it really be Uncle Xiao?" His eyes flickered with a faint mist.

Li Ji sighed, "We were also surprised. We couldn't understand why someone like him would do such a thing. Later, after looking up his experience, Uncle Ba finally understood."

"Experience?" Helan Minzhi repeated.

Li Ji patted his shoulder and said, "Do you know the relationship between Xiao Siye and Empress Xiao?"

Helan Minzhi said, "I heard from Xiao... Xiao Siye that after Yang Guang's death, he followed Empress Xiao and lived in the Turks for more than ten years."

Li Ji said, "We've checked. Xiao Siye was only thirteen years old when he went to the Turks. The most important ten years of his life were spent in the Turks."

"At that time, Empress Xiao must have been filled with resentment towards the Tang Dynasty. Xiao Siye stayed by her side, living in the Turkic region for over a decade. Do you think he would have remained unaffected?"

Helan Minzhi was stunned and speechless.

Xiao Siye told him almost everything, but he rarely mentioned his experience with the Turks.

After a long silence, he pounded the table and said angrily, "Aunt is right, I am so stupid. He approached me to use me, but I pleaded for him. How hateful!"

His expression gradually distorted.

Li Ji stared at him and said, "In my opinion, you are not stupid. He has decades more life experience than you and I. If he wanted to deceive me, I would be deceived by him just as well."

Helan Minzhi stared at him blankly and said, "Do you really think so?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "Of course. To be honest, I've been a eunuch in the palace for a few years and have seen a lot of intrigue and deception, as well as the fickleness of human nature."

"If ordinary people knew that His Majesty and the Empress suspected Xiao Siye, they would stay away from him and pretend not to know him."

"Xiao Siye has many friends in the court, but since he was demoted, who dares to speak a word for him? It's only Brother Helan who dares to argue with the Queen on his behalf. In my opinion, Brother Helan is not stupid, but a man of great loyalty and righteousness."

Helan Minzhi's throat moved and he looked at Li Ji closely.

"Do you really think so?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "If not, why would I come to you and stop you from going to the Xiao family?"

Helan Minzhi said: "Then I will tell you the truth. In fact, I am close to you because of my aunt's instructions."

"I noticed that, too."

The two smiled at each other, drank and talked, and said everything in their hearts.

Li Ji was so excited that he pulled him up and said with a smile: "Come on, I'll take you somewhere!"

On Pingkangfang North Street, a hundred steps away from Qingfeng Tower and Chunfeng Tower, a large restaurant called Mojiaxuan recently opened. This restaurant is different from other restaurants, with a mixture of Tang and Hu styles.

The entire hall on the first floor was opened up, with a five-foot-high circular platform in the middle, covered with a red carpet and surrounded by screens.

From morning till night, there will be dancers dancing on the round stage.

The guests sitting around could only see the dancers' graceful figures but could not see their appearance clearly.

This ambiguous and hazy state arouses endless imagination.

These dancers come from various countries, each with a unique charm and different dancing styles.

Not only is the lobby on the first floor unique, but the second floor also has a chess room, tea room, and music room, which are extremely elegant.

If the second floor is in Tang style, the third floor is full of Hu style.

Every five days, a treasure exchange meeting is held on the third floor. Every guest can take out his or her treasures and either auction them or barter them.

Helan Minzhi's eyes lit up when he heard this. He said, "Interesting! I never thought that after being confined to my house for several months, there would be such an interesting shop in Chang'an."

He was currently standing on the circular corridor on the second floor of Mojiaxuan, admiring the dance below.

Standing here, looking down from above, you can see the dancing figures behind the screen.

However, if you want to go to the second floor, you must book an expensive chess room or tea room on the second floor.

Simply put, the second floor is the VIP room.

Li Ji glanced at him and said with a smile, "This building was not opened by me, a Tang person, but by a Da Shi person named Wang Bu."

Helan Minzhi asked curiously, "The Arabs?"

Li Ji nodded and said, "When you entered the building just now, did you see the plaque of this building?"

"Of course I saw it. The name of the store is Mo Jia Xuan."

Li Ji said: "Actually, this is just a branch store. We also have a main store in the capital of the Arab Empire, called Moga Store."

Helan Minzhi said: "Mogadian? This name is quite strange."

Li Ji said: "Maka is the Tang language name. I heard the shopkeeper here say that in the Dashi language, Moka means holy land."

Helan Minzhi said, "I see. I've always heard people say that the Arab Empire is amazing. Now that I've seen this shop run by Arabs, it's truly extraordinary."

Li Ji sighed, "Although Chang'an is prosperous and wealthy, if you and I stay in this small world, we will never see the vastness of the world."

Helan Minzhi glanced at him and said, "Brother Li, you invited me to visit this Huren shop today. You must have other intentions, right?"

Li Ji turned around and said, "Let's go back to the house and talk."

The two returned to the tea room, and Li Ji poured Helan Minzhi a cup of tea.

"Brother Helan, in two years, you and I will be coming of age. When Huo Qubing, the cavalry general of the Han Dynasty, was our age, he was already leading 800 elite cavalrymen and galloping across the grasslands."

Helan Minzhi also showed a look of longing, and said: "Throughout history, there has only been one champion marquis."

Li Ji said, "You and I cannot compare to him, but as heroes of the Tang Dynasty, we should follow the example of our predecessors, break away from the extravagant life in Chang'an, and serve our country."

Helan Minzhi's heart was lifted, and he sighed: "While what you said makes sense, even if we are determined to join the army, I am afraid it will be difficult."

If he proposed to join the army, everyone in the Wu Mansion would definitely oppose it.

Li Ji said, "I know your situation. I'm in the same boat. I have so many brothers and sisters to take care of at home. I can't just ignore them."

Helan Minzhi said: "So what do you mean?"

Li Ji said, "Going to the battlefield doesn't necessarily mean taking risks. Brother Helan, what do you think of the current military threat to the imperial court?"

Helan Minzhi pondered for a while and pointed at the table with his finger.

"The first military threat is related to the Arabs. However, I heard that the Arabs are still attacking India. They shouldn't pose a threat to us in the short term."

Li Ji agreed: "Yes."

Helan Minzhi said: "The second military threat is naturally Baekje. Baekje is in civil strife, and we support Buyeo Bok-sin. But Buyeo Yi-ci has the Japanese backing him. We never know when we might have to fight the Japanese!"

Li Ji smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Brother Helan, even though he was under house arrest, still understood the situation in Chang'an so well."

Helan Minzhi smiled and said, "My younger sister told me all this. She was afraid that I would be bored, so she told me the news outside every day."

Li Ji nodded and said, "In other words, the place where war is most likely to break out right now is in the East China Sea. Also, I just heard a piece of news yesterday. I wonder if Brother Helan knows about it?"

Helan Minzhi asked: "What news?"

Li Ji said, "Your Majesty has just issued an edict to establish a military governor's office in Laizhou, with Sun Renshi, the chief of the Laizhou navy, as the military governor."

Helan Minzhi's eyes gleamed as he said, "Establishing the Governor's Office is probably just preparation for war."

Li Ji also showed an excited expression and said, "Yes, I think this is an opportunity. What do you think?"

Helan Minzhi said: "What do you want to do?"

Li Ji said, "If you and I join the army directly, your mother won't allow it, and neither will my eighth uncle. But we can be responsible for the rear deployment."

Helan Minzhi said thoughtfully: "Transporting food and grass?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "No, let's try to relocate to Laizhou! In previous years, when we deployed troops in Liaodong, Yingzhou was the main force, with Laizhou as a supplement. If we serve as officials in Laizhou, wouldn't we be able to participate in the war without any risk?"

Helan Minzhi slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, I said I'd go to Laizhou to be a county lieutenant, and my mother wouldn't find any reason to object!"

Li Ji reminded: "What's important is not the reaction of Helan's mother, but the reaction of Her Majesty the Queen."

Helan Minzhi was stunned and said, "You want me to ask my aunt for instructions?"

Li Ji nodded and said, "If you and I want to be transferred to Laizhou, it's not something we can do just because we want to. Someone must speak to His Majesty."

Helan Minzhi said: "This should be easy, right?"

Li Ji sighed, "It's not that easy. In fact, I have been communicating with the eldest prince. I also asked him to ask His Majesty to transfer me to Laizhou. Unfortunately..."

Helan Minzhi was surprised and asked, "Your Majesty didn't agree?"

Li Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty sent for my eighth uncle. I thought he would agree, but he was vehemently opposed."

King Li Zhen of Yue is currently Li Ji's orphan caregiver, similar to a guardian in later generations. Before Li Ji comes of age, most matters have to be decided by Li Zhen.

Helan Minzhi said: "It's just going to Laizhou, there's no danger, why wouldn't he let you go?"

Li Ji lowered his head and said, "My eighth uncle hopes that I will stay in Chang'an, by His Majesty's side, to avoid getting into any trouble."

Helan Minzhi immediately understood.

The King of Yue was afraid that Li Ji would be involved in some rebellion. Although the possibility was extremely low, he was a prince after all, and it was easy for him to be dragged into the water by other people with ulterior motives.

Helan Minzhi smiled and said, "I finally understand. You told me so much because you wanted me to ask my aunt to let you go to Laizhou!"

Li Ji poured him a cup of tea and said, "Your Majesty trusts Uncle Eight, but he trusts Her Majesty the Queen even more. Only Her Majesty the Queen can let you and me out."

Helan Minzhi took a sip of tea and fell silent.

Li Ji hurriedly asked, "Do you think Her Majesty the Queen won't agree?"

Helan Minzhi said: "That's not the case. My aunt's personality is not as nagging as other women. As long as she knows that I want to serve the country, she will definitely support me."

Li Ji said, "Isn't this great? Why do you look embarrassed?"

Helan Minzhi frowned and said, "My aunt just released me, and I can't enter the palace for the time being. How should I mention this to my aunt?"

Li Ji said, "Can't you ask someone else? For example, your third aunt?"

Helan Minzhi waved his hands and said, "No, no, Third Aunt will definitely tell Mother, and Mother will definitely interfere."

Li Ji's heart moved and he said, "Can you ask your sister for help?"

Helan Minzhi drank the tea in his cup in one gulp and said with a smile, "I almost forgot about her. She's been very popular with my aunt recently. She's the perfect candidate!"

(End of this chapter)