Tibet

Chapter 464 Debriefing

Another ten days passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of July. Since the last summoning, the imperial concubine had never summoned Li Ye, and Gao Lishi had never called Li Ye. The days were extremely peaceful, and nothing happened.

This morning, the camel caravan that trekked from Suiye Wanli finally arrived in Chang'an. They also traveled day and night, which is why they traveled so quickly. They actually completed the journey in just over fifty days.

The Ministry of War has received a special order from the emperor to prepare a large camp outside the east city for the Yiqianhe Chinese Army who came from afar. Li Ye also rushed outside the east city to welcome the arrival of his subordinates.

All the goods were unloaded. Of course, the 300 million gold coins were the top priority. A total of [-] large boxes were packed and placed in a special tent surrounded by fences and soldiers standing guard.

At noon, Gao Lishi brought Chen Xuanli, the general of the Longwu Army, and 300 soldiers to the camp. They brought [-] ox carts to welcome [-] million gold coins.

Li Ye patted the box and said to Gao Lishi: "There are six hundred boxes in total. Each box contains five thousand gold coins. There is my seal on the box. Gao Weng, do you want to open the box and take a look?"

Gao Lishi said calmly: "The emperor asked me to open every box for inspection!"

Li Ye nodded and asked the soldiers to pry open all the lids of the boxes. The lids of the boxes were pried open. Inside was a large leather bag. When the rope was untied, there were all shining gold coins. These were all from Bandar City. The seized leather bags still had the marks of the Khazar Turks on them.

After confirming that they were all gold coins, the soldiers tied the straps again and nailed the lid on again.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of inspecting the goods, Gao Lishi pulled Li Ye aside and asked in a low voice, "What did the imperial concubine tell you last time?"

Li Ye breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that nothing happened.

"It's all kinds of complaints!" Li Ye said calmly.

"What are you complaining about?" Gao Lishi continued to ask.

"Women's complaints are similar, just like my mother's complaints. I have experience. Don't talk too much at this time, just listen."

"Tell me specifically, what is your empress complaining about, so that I can correct the deficiencies."

"She complained a lot. She said that the palace was like a prison, with no freedom at all. She complained that there were too many rules in the palace, which entangled her like a spider web. She also complained that she was smiling all day long and couldn't even find anyone to talk to. Pretty much. That’s it, I can’t remember the details.”

Gao Lishi nodded, "She really wants to talk to someone. These days, she calls Dugu Xinyue into the palace every day to talk to her."

Gao Lishi glanced at Li Ye again, "I think she has something to do with you, but you didn't tell me."

Li Ye said helplessly, "I gave Mrs. Guo a top-quality emerald, which I found in the Western Regions. The imperial concubine was very upset and asked me why I gave it to Mrs. Guo. Gao Weng, I don't quite understand." , They are obviously sisters, but at that moment, I felt that the imperial concubine hated Mrs. Guo Guo very much."

Gao Lishi nodded, "Let me tell you! She must have something to look for you. It turned out to be about gems. Hey! The relationship between them has not been very good in recent years. How did you answer and let the imperial concubine calm down?"

Li Ye smiled bitterly, "What else can I say, I can only tell the truth, Mrs. Guo Guo threatened me with the safety of my parents, I dare not refuse, this is the truth."

Gao Lishi sighed and said: "During this period, the imperial concubine's mood was very unstable. I was very worried that day. She was only accompanied by twelve stone girls. She must have something to say to you? I was afraid that you would not be able to control yourself. Fortunately, nothing happened, I will pay attention to it in the future, and I cannot let you see her when she is emotionally unstable."

"What does Shi Nu mean?" Li Ye asked puzzled.

"Didn't you notice their abnormality? They all walk in exactly the same way. They have been trained since childhood to be able to close their ears and eyes. This is also to protect the privacy of the emperor and the imperial concubine." Li Ye was silent for a moment: "Gao Weng, I'm going to get married soon, after I get married, I don't want to enter the palace anymore, if I always enter the palace, Xinyue will be unhappy."

Gao Lishi smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I will make arrangements for the two of you to enter the palace together."

Li Ye shook his head, "Actually, I don't have time. I have to leave in early September. If it's later, I won't be able to return to Suiye before the heavy snow comes."

Gao Lishi nodded, "I see, the emperor will summon you tomorrow morning, maybe for a job report, you should prepare! He may ask about Juzhanti and Tubo."

After a pause, Gao Lishi whispered again: "The emperor is very clear about the battle of Juzhanti!"

Li Ye nodded, Gao Lishi's last words were a hint, which made Li Ye feel that he really had the emperor's eyeliner.

The 300 million gold coins entered the internal treasury and made Li Longji very happy. It can be said that he was very happy, and he hadn't been this happy for several years.

In the past few years, the imperial court's finances have become more and more difficult, and the share allocated to the emperor has become less and less. Even if there are private imperial merchants, it is difficult to support Li Longji's extravagance. Also reluctant to sell.

Li Longji began to worry about the lack of money. At this critical moment, Li Ye, the governor of Hezhong, suddenly sent 300 million gold coins, so how could Li Longji not be overjoyed.

The next morning, in the study room in the Linde Hall, Emperor Li Longji summoned Li Ye. This summoning was a formal summoning, which was equivalent to a debriefing.

Five prime ministers, including Yang Guozhong and Wei Jiansu, also participated in the debriefing. The Jiedushi and the governor's debriefing are actually similar, but the similarity is only in form, and the difference is in substance. The governor reports to the political affairs hall, and the ruling power rests with the political affairs hall.

The prime ministers can question and inquire, but they can't make a conclusion for the emperor.

The Linde Hall was very large, and the emperor used only a small part of it. In the side hall, several prime ministers were whispering about yesterday's gold coins. The fire could not be covered with paper, but word spread that Li Ye had brought 300 million gold coins.

It’s just that all the 300 million gold coins were donated to the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed, but many people were unhappy. First of all, the Zhengshitang was not happy.
Secondly, the other foreign vassals were also not happy. Li Ye donated 300 million gold coins, so what should they do?
The prime ministers were not very happy either. Gao Xianzhi spent a large sum of money to honor them every year, but Li Ye didn't give them a penny.

At this time, Li Ye came in with an eunuch, and Yang Guozhong couldn't help but asked, "Dudu Li, is Hezhong so rich? You got millions of gold coins easily. Have you also made a fortune?"

Don't be surprised, this is Yang Guozhong's true nature. He was born as a gangster in the city, and he doesn't know what it means to be reserved.

Li Ye said with a smile: "This time I came back from the river, I brought a little gift for all Xiangguo, please accept it with a smile."

He took out several lapis lazuli stones from the bag, placed one on each prime minister's table, and finally placed the largest piece on the emperor's imperial case.

Zhong Xiangguo looked at each other, it was the first time they encountered such a situation, and they gave gifts face-to-face during the job report. Is this public bribery?
Gao Lishi also walked in and said with a smile: "Everyone accept it! This is a souvenir from the Battle of Juzhanti. The quantity is not large and the quality is good. Dudu Li also gave me a piece. I like it very much."

It was only then that everyone realized that asking someone for something is called bribery, but it is just a war souvenir, and everyone has a share, so it is not called bribery.

Everyone looked at the lapis lazuli, everyone was a knowledgeable person, they couldn't help being surprised and delighted, the quality of the lapis lazuli is so high that it may not be available for tens of thousands of guan, it is not ordinary precious!
Wei Jiansu asked with a smile: "Li Dudu's skills are extraordinary, is the lapis lazuli that Juzhan mentioned very cheap?"

Li Ye smiled and said: "The lapis lazuli is produced by Tucharo, and it is indeed cheap in the market, but the lapis lazuli in your hands is not available in the market, it is a treasure of the royal family of the Bushi Kingdom for hundreds of years , was robbed by the Dashi Eastern Army, I captured Juzhanti, and these lapis lazuli became trophies, a total of 30 yuan, I still have two or three pieces in my hand, and the rest will be distributed to the high-ranking officials, generals and ministers of Suiye gone."

(End of this chapter)