boyutpedia Page 8
Page 8
These days, people are used to sleeping on hard pillows, which are mostly made of wood, planed smooth, or square, or with a slightly concave shape at the top to hold the back of the head. In addition, wealthy families may wrap the wood core with fabric, cloth or silk, but it is always a thin layer with not much filling—in short, it is still hard.
Li Ji was not used to sleeping on a hard pillow, but this discomfort was purely mental. As for his physical body... he had been sleeping on one for almost twenty years!
Because it was a hard pillow, it was like a brick, making it quite easy to throw at someone. Li Ji was talking with Li Bi inside the room. His body was in the prime of his youth, and having practiced martial arts for many years, his senses were very sharp. He couldn't say his eyesight was perfect (because he was a little nearsighted), but his hearing was absolutely keen. He vaguely heard a faint breathing sound coming from the wall outside the window—someone must be eavesdropping!
His conversation with Li Bi involved state affairs and mentioned senior officials in the court. These were things that absolutely could not be discussed openly and recklessly in public. How could he allow anyone to overhear him? Therefore, he immediately grabbed a wooden pillow and threw it hard out the window in the direction of the breathing sounds.
A cry of "Oh dear!" was heard, followed by hurried footsteps fading into the distance.
Li Ji thought to himself: This is a warning!
He then opened the door and went outside, retrieved the wooden pillow from under the window, and returned inside. By the candlelight, he noticed a faint trace of blood on one of the sharp corners... Recalling the direction he had thrown it, he realized it must have hit his head.
But nothing was said that night. When he got up the next day, he carefully observed the three young eunuchs who had been sent to serve him. None of them had any injuries on their faces. Of course, they might have been hit on the back of the head, but with their headscarves, at least their hair would have protected them. Even if they were hit, they probably wouldn't have left bloodstains on the wooden pillow.
Could it be that the person eavesdropping outside the window last night was not the eunuch sent to serve?
Or did Li Fuguo replace them immediately after realizing the plot had been exposed? They only arrived last night, and Li Ji hadn't had time to carefully examine their faces. Who knows if they'd been switched...
What a lapse! But it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.
So he summoned the three eunuchs to him, examined them one by one, and asked them their names and positions.
Most of the eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty belonged to the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau. The chief official was the Director, the deputy official was the Junior Director, and the subordinate officials included Inner Attendants, Inner Regular Attendants, Inner Attendants, Inner Attendants, Inner Attendants, Inner Attendants, etc. It is said that there were more than a thousand officials, while there were nearly three thousand unranked commoners. Of course, most of them stayed in Chang'an City and were captured by rebels. Only a very few stayed with the retired emperor and the emperor.
As for these three eunuchs, since they were only responsible for serving the Li brothers' daily lives, their status was naturally low. Two of them were ninth-rank officials, and one was of no rank. The two officials, who looked slightly older, were probably in their twenties or under thirty. They introduced themselves as Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming.
As for the one in white—though he also wore a green robe—he was actually only half a child. Although his height was basically complete, his face was extremely youthful. Sure enough, upon inquiry, he was only fifteen years old. When asked his name, he replied, "This humble servant is called Ran Mao'er."
This common name was completely different from his two companions. Li Ji looked him over carefully and saw that he had a round face, narrow eyes, a slightly flat nose, a deep philtrum, and slightly upturned corners of his mouth... He really did look like a big cat, and the name was indeed well-deserved.
The eunuchs were very diligent. After giving their names, they asked, "Would you two gentlemen like to wash up before eating? We have already prepared everything." As soon as Li Ji agreed, they immediately turned around and ran off with small, shuffling steps to bring hot water, towels, and salt to help the two Lis wash their faces and brush their teeth.
Then breakfast was served, which was quite simple: a thin porridge sprinkled with sesame seeds, mutton flatbread, and a few dishes of pickled vegetables. Li Bi seemed to have had enough of the two pears from last night to last the whole day, and didn't touch them. Li Ji, on the other hand, devoured both of their meals in a flash.
In his previous life, Li Ji worked a typical 9-to-5 job, but because he lived in a dormitory right next to his workplace, and because the humanities research department was relatively lenient, he often stayed up until midnight scrolling through his phone. He would then hurriedly get up at 8:45 the next morning, wash his face, brush his teeth, and grab breakfast to eat at work. Now, with no nightlife, he was forced to follow his body's biological clock, going to bed shortly after dark—last night he ate barbecue with the Emperor and the others, which was considered a relatively late night, but it was only around 9 or 10 pm—and then he naturally woke up just as dawn was breaking.
Around 9 a.m. – in the past, Li Ji would not have even gotten out of bed yet – Li Fuguo personally came to invite Li Bi, saying, “The Sage invites Mr. Changyuan to go together to inspect the newly arrived army.”
Li Heng temporarily stationed himself in Ding'an County, the capital of Pengyuan Prefecture, and summoned troops from all directions to come to his aid. At that time, the main border troubles of the Tang Dynasty were in the northeast, namely the Xi and Khitan, and in the west, namely the Tubo. Therefore, the main military forces were concentrated in these directions. Now that the three northeastern towns were in rebellion, it was natural to summon troops from the west to come to the rescue.
Therefore, the Shuofang Army of Guannei Road was the main force, and the prefectures and counties of Taiyuan, Xihe, and Hezhong in Hedong Road, and Tianshui, Ningsai, and Wuwei in Longyou Road all sent troops to join them one after another. Due to the varying distances and the difficulty of the roads, it was impossible for them to arrive at the same time.
Whenever a new army arrived, Emperor Li Heng would personally inspect it and reward the generals leading it, thus winning over the hearts and minds of the people.
This also serves to demonstrate the authority of the new emperor. Those who came today are said to be soldiers from Dunhuang County, numbering approximately two thousand.
Li Ji, who was listening nearby, thought to himself, "I'm familiar with the name 'Dunhuang'..."
Li Bi straightened his clothes and asked Li Fuguo to lead the way so he could follow the emperor. Li Ji also wanted to go, but Li Fuguo stopped him with a gesture of his hand—"The emperor has not summoned you."
Li Bi turned to Li Ji and said, "I know you want to protect your brother, but how could there be any danger on this journey with the Emperor? Just wait for my return—within the palace, do not speak or act recklessly, and absolutely do not leave this courtyard!" As he spoke, he kept giving Li Ji meaningful glances, as if to say: You don't trust me, but I don't trust you either. You mustn't cause any trouble.
After Li Bi left, Li Ji wandered around the courtyard twice, feeling quite bored. However, he dared not disobey Li Bi's orders and went outside.
Theoretically speaking, this is the innermost palace. Besides the emperor, his brothers, and the princes and grandsons, I and Li Bi are probably the only two men—eunuchs certainly don't count as men. What if I were to venture out and bump into a princess or concubine? I might violate the rules of etiquette—the ancients may not have been logical, but they were certainly bound by propriety!
Back in Fengtian County, when I first broke my leg, I had no choice but to stay indoors. Then, once my legs recovered, I'd run out to observe the streets, even spying on the young soldiers training – at least I could find something to do. Now, however, I'm confined to this tiny space… Oh, to be honest, the courtyard is actually quite large, but even in such a large place, without a cell phone, a computer, or even books, how am I supposed to pass the time?!
After pacing around for a while, I decided I should just start exercising. The world is already in chaos; without a healthy body, forget about conquering, even survival is difficult. Besides, since Li Ji in this life has left me with a great body and immense strength, it would be such a waste to waste it.
So he followed his memory and practiced the boxing techniques taught by the immortal master surnamed Xu in the courtyard.
To Li Ji, who now considers him a reclusive old Taoist priest living deep in the mountains, who looks to be around fifty or sixty years old, Li Bi claims he lived during the reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, making him nearly one hundred and fifty... How could that be?! He's probably a fraud.
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However, the set of boxing techniques he taught seemed quite interesting. It was different from the one Li Ji often practiced in his youth. It emphasized using intention to control qi and using qi to perform boxing, which had a bit of the flavor of later internal martial arts.
After finishing a round of boxing as a warm-up, Li Ji felt a slight sheen of sweat on his nose. Then it was time to "lift weights," but unfortunately, he had no equipment… so he asked the eunuch Ran Mao'er for a small wooden table. He started with 100 incline push-ups, then 100 decline push-ups, followed by 80 bench dips…
The courtyard also had some flowers and plants, as well as two large trees that were so thick they required two people to hug them. Li Ji walked to a tree, picked a branch that looked almost as thin as his arm, and leaped up, grabbing it firmly with both hands. The next exercise was pull-ups, twenty per set, three sets, then hanging leg raises…
But after only four pull-ups, he heard a "crack" sound beside his ear. Knowing something was wrong, Li Ji quickly let go and landed, but the branch still broke in half, hitting him squarely on the shoulder…
Why is this happening? This body shouldn't be that heavy... I'm not Xue Jingyou.
Li Ji bent down to pick up the branch that had fallen from his shoulder, examined it for a few moments, and suddenly had a completely new idea. So he went back inside, got a broadsword, went back to the courtyard, sat on a wooden table, and began to chop.
The broadsword was too long and somewhat difficult to wield. He concentrated, holding his breath, and focused on hacking and slashing, thus becoming unaware of the footsteps behind him—
What are you doing?
Li Ji was startled, nearly grabbing his hand with his sword. He quickly turned around to look—"I thought it was that cat, but it's you... Your Highness. Does Your Highness always walk so quietly without making a sound?"
The visitor was none other than Li Shi, the eldest grandson of the emperor and Prince of Fengjie, whom he had met yesterday. Li Shi had been watching Li Ji's hand movements, but upon hearing his words, his eyes lit up: "There's a cat in this courtyard?"
Li Ji stood up, put down the tree branch and sword in his hand, clasped his hands in a salute, and then gestured to the side with his lip: "There's a eunuch over there named Ran Mao'er."
Li Shi was somewhat disappointed: "So it's a person's name, not a real cat." He then pressed further: "What are you whittling the wood for?"
Li Ji didn't hide anything from him and casually replied, "A slingshot."
Li Shi stared at the branch that the other person had picked up again and frowned: "How can this be used to make a slingshot?"
Li Ji was just examining the branch when he unexpectedly recalled the slingshot he used to play with as a child in his previous life. He thought to himself that even in this forbidden palace, danger seemed to lurk everywhere, and without any long-range weapon, he felt really uncertain. But he didn't know how to shoot arrows, and he couldn't find an opportunity to learn for the time being. Why not try making a slingshot? Although it wouldn't go very far, he was much more skilled with a slingshot than with a bow, and he could probably aim more accurately.
I don't think there will be any more mutinies for the time being. No fully armored soldiers will come to attack. If it's just one or two assassins, or other petty scoundrels, my slingshot will be enough to take them down.
Since I have nothing to do anyway, I might as well do some crafts.
however
Chapter Seventeen: The Great Revenge Achieved
Li Ji turned his head and his expression changed drastically—what exactly did he see?
Actually, it was just that a pigeon happened to land on the steps in front of the house...
However, Li Ji's death in his previous life and his misfortune in this life were all caused by pigeons. Therefore, when he saw pigeons again, his expression changed as if by conditioned reflex, and his whole body involuntarily trembled.
He heard Li Shi lower his voice and command, "Shoot those pigeons!"
Upon hearing this, Li Ji almost instinctively drew back his bowstring, aimed at the pigeon, and shot it. The shot missed, but the pigeon was startled and immediately cooed and took flight.
Although Li Ji was taken aback when he first saw pigeons, he was not so afraid of them that he would tremble like a leaf and run away in fear whenever he saw them... When he missed his first shot, his memories from his previous life and his reaction in this life worked together. He immediately moved his right hand like a rabbit and took out a mud ball from the brocade pouch hanging at his waist. He put it in his pocket, tapped the bowstring, and fired the second shot swiftly.
The movement was so fast that Li Shi seemed to see a blur of his arm...
With a "whoosh," the pigeon, which had only taken flight a little over two feet, was shot and fell to the ground. Li Ji felt a surge of heat flow from his heart straight through his internal organs and even his limbs, an indescribable feeling of complete comfort—he had finally avenged his lifelong grudge.
—I told you not to stop or fly around haphazardly, and you scared me so much that I fell off a building and off a cliff. You deserve it!
Li Shi was overjoyed and cried out in delight. He immediately ran over and picked up the pigeon's carcass, but then exclaimed, "Ouch!" Li Ji asked what was wrong. Li Shi, holding the pigeon by the neck, turned around with a troubled expression—"It wasn't a wild one, it was a homing pigeon..."
Li Ji took two steps forward and looked closely. Sure enough, there was a small bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's left leg, about the thickness of his index finger and less than two inches long. His heart immediately skipped a beat—even staying in the yard and not running outside had caused trouble... Sure enough, seeing a pigeon was never a good thing!
His tongue trembled slightly as he spoke: "This...this is a carrier pigeon from the palace?"
Li Shi shook his head: "There is no such item in the palace."
"Could it be used for relaying messages within the military?"
Li Shi shook his head again: "As far as I know, the military doesn't use it either."
Li Ji was slightly relieved: "So, it was privately kept. How did it end up here? Could it have been raised by someone in the palace, or... did this mansion originally belong to its owner?"
Li Shi frowned slightly: "That's unknown, and I don't know who it should be returned to..."
Li Ji glanced at the bamboo tube on the dead pigeon's leg, then looked at Li Shi, swallowed hard, and tried to persuade him, "Why don't we open the bamboo tube and take a look? Maybe there will be some clues."
Li Shi raised his eyebrows, his eyes widened, and he said, "Private letters should not be opened without permission!" But judging from his expression, he seemed quite interested in secretly opening other people's mail, only—"What if it belongs to my uncles or great-uncles..."
Li Shi knew that his grandfather, the emperor, certainly didn't keep carrier pigeons, nor did his own father; otherwise, he wouldn't have refused to let him play with them. But now, besides the brothers Li Bi and Li Ji, there was a large group of royal uncles and great-uncles crammed into the mansion. If one of them owned a carrier pigeon and it ended up being killed by him... no, by Li Ji with a single bullet, and he even opened the pigeon's mail without permission, he would most likely be implicated and punished as well.
Li Ji carefully considered his words and slowly said, "If we don't open it, we'll never find its owner... But if we open it and discover that its owner is us... I can't afford to offend him..." He then focused his attention on Li Shi's expression and asked, "Your Highness, do you know that carrier pigeons are faster than galloping horses? Why don't they use them in the palace or the army?"
Li Shi casually replied, "Because they are not reliable. Even the most well-trained pigeons will inevitably have one out of ten get lost in the wind and rain, or be snatched away by a falcon..."
Having said that, without Li Ji needing to explain, he already understood the other party's intention. He hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the pigeons, then looking around. The eunuchs were nowhere to be seen—Li Shi had instructed them to stay away and not disturb him when he entered—and finally made up his mind.
"Li Ji".
"The straw man is here."
"It was your idea, so you take apart the bamboo tube."
Li Ji thought to himself, "No matter what, we're accomplices. Is there any point in you burying your head in the sand like this?" He immediately stood at attention, crossed his hands, and said, "I obey your command!" He then went up and quickly untied the bamboo tube from the pigeon's leg, pinched open the wax seal at the mouth of the tube, tilted it slightly, and then used his little fingernail to pick at it, pulling out a roll of plain silk as thin as a cicada's wing.
Gently shake it open, and you'll see it's no bigger than the palm of your hand, densely covered with tiny characters—
"A report has been sent that on the day of Yiyou, Guo Li and the Uyghur Geluozhi will jointly march eastward..."
Because the characters were written so small, and Li Ji wasn't used to reading classical Chinese without commas, his reading speed was very slow. So, he had only just finished silently reading one line when Li Shi, who had leaned over to look at it, had already read ten lines at a glance, understood the meaning of the whole passage, and immediately explained:
"It's a military report. Generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi have defeated the rebel forces of Tongluo and others, not only securing Shuofang but also completely pacifying Hequ. The rebel general Ashina Congli has escaped alone on horseback."
Li Ji was taken aback: "This is a military carrier pigeon!"
Li Shi shook his head and said, "Impossible. There's no heading or signature; a formal military report wouldn't have this format." The military is extremely particular about hierarchy.
Even non-classified information requires access control; it's not something every soldier can see. Therefore, it always has a heading indicating the recipient. Furthermore, the specific agency and even the issuing person must be clearly stated at the end of the document, and it may even require a signature or monogram. This text only contains content, lacks formatting, and doesn't even include the recipient or writer's name, so it's definitely not an official document.
Then the young prince, carrying the dead pigeon, put his hands behind his back and paced a few steps with an air of old age. He slowly analyzed, "If this pigeon wasn't just stopping over temporarily, and its destination was indeed the palace, then it means that someone in the palace is secretly raising pigeons to transmit military intelligence from the front lines... What is their intention?"
Li Ji interjected, "Perhaps some sorcerer wants to use this opportunity to report his victory to the Sage ahead of time, falsely claiming that he can predict the future?"
Li Shi sneered, "What sorcerer is there in the palace? Although our Tang Dynasty reveres Taoism, since the fall of Xijing, all the Taoist priests who originally served the Emperor have scattered. Now, there are only..."
At this point, he couldn't help but raise his head and glance at Li Ji. At the same time, Li Ji also realized that there might only be one Taoist priest in the palace at present, and that was—Li Bi.
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"Impossible. My brother only arrived in Ding'an yesterday. How could pigeons come knocking on his door?"
He understood the basic principles of carrier pigeons. They weren't drones; you couldn't remotely control them or set a destination for them to fly there on their own. Carrier pigeons were always first raised in a certain place to familiarize themselves with the local environment and... perhaps the Earth's magnetic field, before being taken elsewhere and then flown back.
However, if we calculate it this way, the emperor has been visiting Pengyuan and staying at this residence for almost half a month now. If someone were to send a few carrier pigeons by fast horse to the vicinity of Lingwu, receive the news, and then release them back, it would probably be in time...
Then Li Shi said, "The will of Heaven is unpredictable, but if one can foresee fortune and misfortune and anticipate the Emperor's will, then that person will surely gain the Emperor's favor!"
This guess is much more plausible than the "demon" theory.
Li Ji said, "There are people in the palace who raise carrier pigeons, but Your Highness is unaware of it. Who could it be?"
Li Shi's body trembled slightly: "If it's not my uncles or great-uncles, it must be a powerful eunuch!" I can't afford to offend the former, and I don't want to offend the latter either. What should I do?
Then he looked at Li Ji again: "You shot down this pigeon. I can keep it a secret for you, but you must keep your mouth shut and not reveal this matter—not even to Mr. Changyuan!"
Li Ji stood at attention again: "Yes, Your Highness. This straw effigy will guard this secret for Your Highness, and will not reveal it even if it means my death!"
The two were actually shifting blame onto each other, but pretending not to understand the implied meaning in each other's words. Li Shi then held up the dead pigeon and said, "You dig a hole and quickly bury this thing to destroy the evidence!"
Li Ji glanced at the dead pigeon in Li Shi's hand, rubbed his chin, stroked his beard, and slowly said, "Although this thing is not very fat..." His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a fierce glint—"It would be a pity to bury it, so why not—eat it? Its bones will be gone, and that would be the cleanest thing ever!"
Hmph, as the saying goes, revenge should be taken to the very end, and one should see a Buddha off to the Western Paradise!
Without thinking for a moment, Li Shi said, "Alright, I'll take it to the kitchen..." Just as he was about to take a step, Li Ji quickly stopped him, saying, "No, although this pigeon is not big, I believe Your Highness can't carry it in your bosom, but if you leave this courtyard, what if someone sees you? It's better to cook it in the courtyard."