Chapter 408: Meet in a restaurant

The Dashi Guards were waiting outside the castle. Ibrahim and a dozen followers were taken into the castle. Ibrahim went in a hurry. He did not expect that the Supreme Military Chief of the Tang Dynasty in Anxi would be here, which made him have more expectations for today's talks.

The entire Yulong Castle is integrated and extremely solid. It has no city gate itself, so it can only go up to the next wall to enter the castle. When walking through the wall, Ibrahim suddenly heard a low voice, as if the throats of hundreds of people were coming out. Ibrahim couldn't help but slow down and looked to both sides in surprise, hoping to find out the source of this strange sound.

"Entertainment, look at it!" Atney pointed his hand to the northeast and whispered.

Through a clump of green trees, Ibrahim suddenly saw a scene that shocked him. He saw hundreds of steps away, thousands of people dragging a long mine cart and slowly walking towards several huge houses. Dozens of fully armed Tang soldiers stood beside them. Due to the stuffy weather, these thousands of people were almost naked, with their oily black skin flashing in the sun. The mine cart was heavy. They were moving forward extremely hard, and low horns kept coming out of their throats. Ibrahim suddenly realized something. He asked the Tang army who guided them, "Are they the big food soldiers?"

He was speaking a big cheesy language, fast and anxious. The Tang Bing in front of him didn't understand and ignored him. Atney next to him quickly translated it into Chinese. Tang Bing turned around and glanced at them coldly, "They are no longer soldiers, but my prisoners of war in the Tang Dynasty!"

"What did he say?" Ibrahim asked, and Atney shrugged and spread his hands to show that he couldn't understand either. Ibrahim frowned, and he couldn't help looking at the team of workers again. Suddenly, he found that someone walked out of the house and was shouting to the team. Although he couldn't see his face clearly, his voice seemed familiar. Ibrahim looked at the man's burly figure again, and he suddenly remembered someone, "Moria", was it him?

The group walked into the castle along the city wall. In contrast to the sultry outside, the castle was very cool, with a faint smell of mold that was unique to the castle. When Ibrahim walked to a few dark corridors, Ibrahim was taken to a house full of guard posts. Tang Jun reported it, then walked out of an officer and said in a skillful verbal verbal, "Please go in, the rest are waiting outside."

Ibrahim walked into the room with a little nervous mood. It seemed to be a room for meetings. It was very spacious and bright. The room was simply decorated. There was a large, rough wooden table with more than a dozen wooden benches on both sides. Seven or eight soldiers stood against the wall and stared at him vigilantly. A Tang army general was already sitting in front of the table. He was about thirty years old, dark skin, bright armor on his body, and a silver helmet on his head, with a serious expression. But Ibrahim noticed another Tang army general standing in front of the window. He was extremely tall, half a head taller than ordinary people, and was also wearing a

He was in a military uniform, but the uniform was clean and crisp, without a trace of wrinkles. He wore military boots and looked slender and well-proportioned. Ibrahim was not only concerned with his proud temperament, but also with a golden helmet on his head, which was enough to show the nobleness of his identity. After hearing the movement behind him, the general turned around slowly and looked at Ibrahim, but it made Ibrahim's heart tremble. This general was not as tough and rough as other Tang army generals, with a very handsome appearance, and even had a rare spiritual aura, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife, penetrated his heart.

"I am the champion general of the Tang Dynasty and the governor of Anxi Jiedu, Wang Siyu, welcome you to Yulong Castle."

Now there is no longer a need for translation of Atney, who is half-baked in Chinese. The officer next to him accurately and fluently translated his words into great etiquette. Ibrahim immediately saluted respectfully, "The great minister of His Majesty the Caliph, Ibrahim, Deputy Governor of Damascus, met with His Excellency the Governor of Ansi, the Great Tang Dynasty."

Wang Siyu smiled slightly, revealing a row of white teeth. He waved his hand, "Please sit down with the envoy!"

Wang Siyu's kind attitude slowly made Ibrahim's inner anxiety disappear. He sat down and a soldier served tea to everyone. Wang Siyu slowly walked forward. He pointed to the seated general of the Tang army and introduced: "This is Cao Hanchen, the governor of the Tang Dynasty. He should be the one you visit today."

The translator said quickly, and Ibrahim couldn't help but feel awe. He quickly stood up and saluted Cao Hanchen, "See General Cao!"

Cao Hanchen stood up and bowed to him with a smile, but said nothing. At this time, Wang Siyu also sat down. He picked up the tea and took a sip and asked, "The special envoy said that on his way back to China, he made a special trip to change the road. I wonder what he would like to teach me?"

After hearing the translation, Ibrahim pointed out the window and asked, "I want to ask first, are those who work hard laborers our big food soldiers?"

"There are no Dashi soldiers here. If you are asking about Dashi prisoners of war, then they are them." Wang Siyu said with a faint smile.

Ibrahim was speechless. Those people were indeed the Great Food Army captured by the Tang army. After a while, he sighed and said, "I have changed my way to Saiye this time to make the Great Food prisoners of war. The Caliph hopes that your country can release them back. You can put forward conditions."

Wang Siyu glanced at him and shook her head in confusion and said, "I don't understand what your caliphs are thinking. Half a year ago, our emperor specially sent an envoy to Baghdad to resolve the matter of the prisoners of war in the Great Food, but your caliphs flatly refused. Now they come to ask for them to be released. If we had known today, why would we have to be there?"

"There was no choice but to refuse at the beginning. He had difficulties and hope your country could understand."

Wang Siyu walked a few steps in the room with her hands behind her back, pondering for a long time, and he slowly said, "I'm sorry, I can't make the decision on this matter. I must ask our Emperor. If the peace talks were not completed last time, all the conditions have been invalidated. If you, the Caliph, are really sincere in solving the problem of prisoners of war, you can only go to Chang'an to meet our Emperor of Tang."

Ibrahim's mission on this trip was to sign a secret agreement with the Uighurs. Prisoners of war were just his additional mission. He went to Chang'an thousands of miles away. Of course, he would not delay his real mission for additional missions. He would not go to Chang'an, so he could only go back to Baghdad to meet the Caliph first, and then talk about the prisoners of war.

Thinking of this, he stood up and begged Wang Siyu and said, "Going to Chang'an to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is not within my jurisdiction. I will go back and ask the Caliph for instructions, but before leaving, I want to visit these prisoners of war. I wonder if the Governor can allow it?"

Wang Siyu and Cao Hanchen looked at each other, and Wang Siyu nodded and agreed, "Yes, but we need to do it with our companion."

After saying that, he winked at the translator and ordered him to accompany Ibrahim to visit. When the envoy of the Great Food went away, Cao Hanchen, who had been silent all the time, finally spoke: "Master, their caliphs are inconsistent, which is really puzzling."

"What's so puzzling about this? At the beginning, he wanted to directly resolve the prisoners of war by war, so he tore up the agreement, but now he found that it was unrealistic to start a war directly, so he wanted to negotiate conditions and release the prisoners of war. Humph! He turned his hands into clouds and turned his hands into rain. How could such a cheap thing be in the world?"

Wang Siyu smiled coldly, and he leaned out the window. Ibrahim had crossed the simple wooden bridge on the Broken Leaf River. He walked through a pile of rocks with difficulty, heading towards the mine. Nearly a hundred Tang soldiers followed him closely. Wang Siyu pondered for a moment and said to Cao Hanchen: "The refined silver ingots and gold must be sent to Chang'an immediately. I also happened to send someone to Chang'an to report to the governor about Anxi. You can go with you and set off tomorrow!"

In Chang'an, the time is gradually approaching August, the heat has subsided and the weather has begun to cool down. With the arrival of early autumn, two important exams will be held in Chang'an City. One is the official position examination. Officials from the ninth rank and above must participate. They are held in Chang'an in three batches. The first batch of official exams will be held at the end of August, mainly for officials from Hedong, Guannei, Longyou and Central Plains. "Those who do not pass the exam will not be allowed to serve as officials." The ultimatum issued by the Ministry of Personnel has spread to all prefectures and counties across the country.

In addition, a few days earlier than the official examination, that is, on August 25, the first examination for the Tang Dynasty since the Emperor ascended the throne will be held. It has been less than twenty days. The entire Chang'an City is filled with more than 200,000 scholars from all over the country. Due to the lack of age and identity restrictions, applicants range from 60 to 11 or 12 years old to 11 or 12 years old. It is said that even Cui Yuan's twelve-year-old grandson Cui Yao will participate in this imperial examination.

All the poor children put great hopes for this imperial examination. Many people still remember that when the imperial court expanded its doors, the only opponent was His Majesty the current Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. His achievements in the past two months of ascension to the throne were outstanding, and the changes in the control and checks and balances of power were too far away from the lives of ordinary people. Except for some people who care about current affairs, ordinary people cannot feel it and do not care about it.

But in the past few months, everyone has clearly felt the three changes in the Tang Dynasty. First, the stability of the country. With the killing of the last separatist warlord Li Xilie, the war in the Central Plains finally ended. Although there were troops stationed in various places, the military discipline was strict and never harassed the local area. Without war, the people of the Tang Dynasty first got the chance to survive.

In fact, it was the decline in rice prices. During the summer harvest in June, it seemed like God’s kindness to the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the Central Plains and Hebei being affected by wars and the drought in Shandong, the restoration of grain in Jianghuai, Jiangnan, Shannan, Bashu, Hedong, Longyou, Guannei and other regions were ripe for food. At the same time, the recovery of canal transportation brought about a large amount of transportation from the Jianghuai food, making the most expensive Bianzhou area only 100 coins of rice. Chang'an, which has always been known for its trend in grain prices, fell below 60 coins and 55 coins of rice for the first time in eight years. As the price of rice fell, the prices of various daily necessities also fell one after another, oil, tea, cloth, etc., and the prices fell to the level of the tenth year of Qingzhi.

Another significant change was that the land granted in the early Tang Dynasty appeared again. The imperial court began to grant land in Runzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Huzhou, Hangzhou, Tuzhou, Luzhou, Hezhou in the Jiangnan region, as well as Tan, Yue, E, Jiang, Hong, Han, Mian, Zi, Jian, Mei in Bashu in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The land granted area was 1.2 million hectares. All the people of the Tang Dynasty, regardless of their status or their household registration, could receive land without land. According to the standards of 30 acres of grain fields of Ding and 15 acres of mulberry and hemp fields of Ding, and the military fields that have been obtained were not included. For a time, people from all over the country rushed to Jiangnan.

It is these three major changes that have finally shown signs of great governance in the war-torn Tang Dynasty. The society is stable and people are excited, which is reflected in the unprecedented enthusiasm in the imperial examination.

Now not only is Pingkangfang where inns gather, but Chongrenfang is full, but the inns in other yards are also crowded. Those who come late have to live in temples, Taoist temples, and other counties in Chang'an. For this reason, the imperial court specially allowed ordinary people to accept scholars for a fee to board, which barely solved the problem of scholars' accommodation.

At noon that day, Li Mi took a leisurely walk in Chongrenfang as usual. Chongrenfang is his favorite yard, especially Xifang near the imperial city. There are huge buildings in the Imperial College, with green trees and bookshops everywhere, full of tranquility and humanistic atmosphere. Li Mi's residence also chose to stay near the Imperial College. For several months, walking to the "Jinshi Restaurant" in Dongfang for lunch every day has become his unshakable habit.

Moreover, the emperor also asked him to look for wise men when he had time. Living in Chongrenfang was considered a "public and private" relationship. He could also get a fee for seeking talents from the emperor and subsidize the rent and wine money.

Compared with the tranquility of Xifang, Dongfang in Chongrenfang is very lively. There are a large number of inns and restaurants gathered here, and it is also the location of Jinzouyuan in various states. In addition, it is also the most developed place in the entire Tang Dynasty printing industry. There are more than 100 large and small printing workshops, printing various Buddhist scriptures and books, and also undertakes the printing of documents from the court. The business is booming, and it keeps going day and night.

Jinshi Restaurant is in the southeast corner of Chongrenfang, and can only be considered a medium-sized restaurant. However, because of its good name, it has become one of the most popular restaurants during the imperial examination period. It has also attracted competition from its peers. Since the previous year, countless restaurants that have picked up its Yahui have appeared around it like bamboo shoots, such as "Zhuangyuan Building", "Jinbang Jidi Restaurant", "Tanhua Building", etc., but no restaurant can compare with its business.

Li Mi walked into the Jinshi Building with his hands behind his back. The guy standing at the door saw him from a distance. Although the old man ordered the cheapest wine and dishes every day, the Jinshi Building valued credibility. Just by visiting the shop every day, he was much more important than those customers who spent tens of thousands of dollars but only came once.

The guy greeted him with a smile on his face, "Master Li is here, I'm just thinking about why the Taoist priest is late today."

"Is my seat still there?" Li Mi asked with a smile.

"This." The guy was a little hesitant. There were many customers today and the seats were very tight. Of course, it was impossible to leave a seat for Li Mi. "How about I see if they have eaten?"

"No need to worry, I just asked casually." Li Mi waved his hand and smiled: "Actually it's the same when sitting there."

"Thank you, Master Li, please follow me." The guy invited Li Mi to the second floor. The second floor was filled with young scholars, very noisy and lively, with smiling faces full of youth and enthusiasm everywhere.

After searching for a long time, Li Mi found an empty space in a corner against the wall. This was a small table for two people. A very young scholar sat opposite him, about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a half-old white Confucian robe, a flat scarf, and a plate of buns and a pot of sake in front of him. It was obvious that his family was not well-off. Although he was simple in food and clothing, he looked handsome and youthful and energetic. He held a wine glass in one hand and a book in the other, and was leaning against the wall and reading intently. Seeing Li Mi sitting down opposite him, he put down the book and smiled, saying hello.

Li Mi also nodded to him kindly. At this moment, a fierce applause suddenly sounded from the side. An older scholar stood up and smiled at everyone, "Since I want me to say it, I will say one or two."

He cleared his throat and said loudly: "I think the destruction of the government soldiers during the Tianbao period was not just land annexation. Various reasons caused soldiers to be unwilling to serve. One very important reason was that the status of soldiers was extremely low. The wealthy and nobles could not find people with labor, so they asked soldiers to make up for their numbers. The government had no one to use labor to serve, and they also found soldiers to replace them. Over time, this made soldiers a synonym for hard labor. The various honorary officials who had made meritorious service and were granted the title of court. What?

Flying cavalry, brigade cavalry, cloud cavalry, etc. were originally symbols of honor and status, but in fact they became a sign of low status. When it comes to someone being a Flying cavalry lieutenant, the listener showed disdain, just a hard labor. In this way, who would still be willing to join the army? Those who have joined the army would also try to break away from their military status. So I thought that the Tang Dynasty wanted to be strong in military affairs, and the first thing was to improve the status of soldiers and make them envious to everyone. Those who joined the army were naturally enthusiastic, and even our scholars were willing to wear military uniforms to guard the border for the country."

His speech won warm applause. When Li Mi heard that he had unique insights, he was a little interested, so he curiously asked the young man opposite him, "Who is this speaker?"

The young man put down the book and looked back, then smiled and said, "This person is Guo Mu, from Fenyang, Hedong. He may not believe it. This person is still a Jinshi in the third year of Xuanren."

"Oh?" Li Mi became even more interested, "Why are Jinshi still here to participate in the system department?"

"What can he do if he doesn't participate?" The young man shook his head gently and said, "In the past few years, the prevalent family prevailed. Most of the Jinshi who passed the exam every year were rejected by the Ministry of Personnel. Those who had a way to be a high-ranking official and aides, may find a way to advance, while those who had no way to go back to their hometown to work as farming. He was depressed all his life. Guo Mu was the kind who had no way to join the army and was extremely filial. He heard that he had planned to join the army in Anxi, but his mother was seriously ill, so he stayed at home to take care of his mother. After his mother passed away, he built a hut in front of the tomb to stay mourn for three years. This year, he started a course in Chang'an again to apply for the exam, and he also wanted to take advantage of a future in the new dynasty."

"Filial piety is the first of all virtues. Today, the most respectful and filial piety person may have a good ending." Li Mi sighed and silently remembered the name "Guo Mu".

At this time, the young man opposite picked up the book again, but accidentally fell from the book, which fell right at Li Mi's feet. Li Mi picked up the book and saw a poem written on it. He read it twice, with a look of surprise on his face and asked the young man, "Is this the poem you wrote?"

The young man nodded and said modestly: "It's what I wrote below."

"Good poem!" Li Mi praised sincerely, and he couldn't help but pick up the notebook and read aloud: "The grass on the Liliyuan is withering and flourishing every year.
Chapter completed!