Chapter 299 An Lushan's Flames Jump
With Yang Yuhuan's comfort, Li Longji calmed down. He ordered his officials to set off for Cuiyun Pavilion on Mount Li.

Huaqing Palace was built on the halfway point of Mount Li, while Cuiyun Pavilion was built on the top of Mount Li.

The mountain road is built with corridors and wooden steps.

This staircase goes through many platforms and leads directly to Cuiyun Pavilion at the top.

For example, Chaoyuan Pavilion is on the third peak of Xixiuling Ridge of Mount Li, and Cuiyun Pavilion is on the peak next to Chaoyuan Pavilion.

This peak not only has Cuiyun Pavilion, but also Jiegu Tower, Bell Tower, Beacon Tower and other buildings.

When a saint goes up the mountain, he is not like an ordinary person.

Four strong men carried a specially made seat from front and back and lifted Li Longji steadily to the top of the mountain.

The same is true for Yang Yuhuan and the Yang sisters.

Civil and military officials had to climb the stairs.

Li Xuan was behind, walking slowly, and every step seemed to be down to earth.

"what……"

After walking for a while, a scream broke the night sky.

Li Longji in front heard it and stopped.

"what happened?"

Li Xuan asked the Yu Lin Lang beside him.

"Reporting to Prime Minister Li, General An slipped and suddenly rolled down the stairs, rolling several feet or so."

After Yu Lin Lang found out the news, he replied to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan frowned. The steps were not very steep. How could Fatty An be so careless? What if he fell to his death?
Although Li Xuan had been trying to make things difficult for An Lushan, such as refusing to allocate horses to him, he never wanted An Lushan to die now.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan prepared to go down and see how An Lushan was doing.

"Ouch..."

At this time, An Lushan was groaning on the rest platform between the steps. He hugged his legs and his fat body swayed from side to side.

Obviously, this time the fall hit An Lushan's leg.

"Help General An up quickly?"

Li Xuan ordered the Imperial Guards to help An Lushan up.

Many officials were surrounding him.

"Yang Zhao is trying to murder me!"

An Lushan, who was helped up, screamed out in pain.

I was walking just fine, but was tripped by Yang Zhao. I was caught off guard and fell down the stairs.

Since the last incident in which his personal guards "robbed merchants", An Lushan endured humiliation and only returned to Chang'an during the Chinese New Year. In addition to presenting treasures, he also wanted to please Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji.

He knew what he needed to maintain his power.

He had tried his best to avoid Li Xuan and Yang Zhao. When he went to court, he said nothing.

When he had nothing to do, he would run to the palace.

I was on guard against everything, but I didn't expect that Yang Zhao would trick me this time.

Although An Lushan was a fierce general, he was no longer able to fight in the battlefield, while Yang Zhao was young, strong and tall.

He also didn't expect that Yang Zhao was so cruel and wanted to kill him.

When he saw Li Xuan for the first time, he thought that it was Li Xuan who instructed Yang Zhao to do this.

But he didn't dare to call Li Xuan's name directly, so he could only shout Yang Zhao.

At the same time, he wished he could tear Li Xuan and Yang Zhao into pieces.

"General An, please stop slandering me. It was obviously you who slipped down. If you can't climb up the mountain with your fat body, don't try to be brave."

Yang Zhao immediately became unwilling and jumped out to blame An Lushan.

Of course he wouldn't admit it.

Damn Fatty An, he’s quite thick-skinned and didn’t die from the fall.

"You are talking nonsense. I will report this to the saint and ask for justice."

An Lushan refused to accept the decision and insisted on explaining the situation to Li Longji.

He thought this was a blatant attempt to murder him. If he did not resist, Li Xuan and Yang Zhao would become even more aggressive in the future.

An Lushan was furious at this time, and one day he would skin Yang Zhao alive.

This also strengthened his determination to steal the artifact.

If he continues like this, he will be killed by Li Xuan and others before Crown Prince Li Heng ascends the throne.

"The imperial physician will check General An's injuries first. I will report to His Majesty."

Li Xuan knew that An Lushan's fall was related to Yang Zhao, and he was very unhappy.

This kind of disappointing thing happened before the Lantern Festival even started.

Fortunately, An Lushan did not die, otherwise Li Xuan would have skinned Yang Zhao alive.

There was an imperial physician accompanying him, and Li Xuan ordered someone to summon the imperial physician to examine An Lushan.

He then stepped forward in person and told Li Longji about the matter.

"Lushan said that he was tripped by Yang Zhao and fell down the stairs?"

Li Longji breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that his good son An Lushan was not in danger of his life.

But An Lushan's words made Li Longji furious.

"Your Majesty, it's dark and crowded, so it's hard to tell. Maybe Yang Zhongcheng accidentally pushed General An..."

Li Xuan didn't want to see Yang Zhao fall out of favor, so she excused him.

"Order the imperial guards to carry Lushan back to recover from his injuries, and instruct the imperial physician to treat him well."

After hearing what Li Xuan said, Li Longji thought it made sense.

He felt that Yang Zhao was not someone who would intentionally harm Lushan.

Lushan is fat and might fall if he is pushed accidentally.

If I had known this earlier, I would have asked strong men to carry An Lushan to Cuiyun Pavilion.

"According to the order!"

Li Xuan nodded, then waved his hand, asking the strong men carrying Li Longji to continue moving forward. An Lushan did not see Li Longji, and he knew what Li Xuan had said to Li Longji, and he felt extremely aggrieved.

The imperial physician told Li Xuan that An Lushan only had a slight fracture in his left leg and would slowly recover after the bone was set.

Li Xuan was also relieved and ordered the imperial guards to carry An Lushan back for recuperation.

As he was carried down the stairs, An Lushan clenched his fists, not because of pain, but because of anger.

He hated Li Xuan's hypocritical appearance.

Perhaps it is just as Gao Shang said: A real man would rather die in battle than live chewing grass roots!

If he had Li Longji's status, he would not have suffered the humiliation he is experiencing today.

It was not until he returned home and the imperial physician set his bones, applied medicine, and fixed his leg that An Lushan loosened his fist...

The feeling in my heart became stronger and stronger.

……

On the other side, Li Longji had already traveled halfway.

He saw an open space with several stoves.

Some guards were gathered around the stove, and a raging flame could be seen.

"what is that?"

Li Longji asked Gao Lishi.

"Prime Minister Li said that the Lantern Festival performances would be held in these furnaces, so he asked people to build them here."

Gao Lishi replied to Li Longji.

It was only when the Lantern Festival was approaching that Li Xuan told Gao Lishi that otherwise it would be impossible to set up the place.

"There's a blast furnace next to it. Aren't these only used for iron smelting?"

Li Longji was still knowledgeable. When he saw the imperial guards pushing the big bellows, he thought they were smelting iron.

"It's smelting iron! Shichiro brought a lot of iron to the mountain."

Gao Lishi replied to Li Longji.

He was sure of this, but Li Xuan did not say what the final outcome would be.

"Interesting! I want to see what Shichiro is going to do!"

This isn't the only melting pot out there.

There are several platforms going upwards, and even a furnace is built on the platform near Cuiwei Pavilion. There are also many sheds, and they are two-story.

Li Longji was used to seeing luxurious things, so this novel thing made him feel refreshed.

Soon, Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan arrived at Cuiyun Pavilion.

When Li Longji was resting, Yang Yuhuan came to the railing beside Cuiyun Pavilion. Her eyes were as bright as stars and full of expectation.

At this time, Yang Yuhuan was wearing a heavy brocade robe, which was embroidered with exquisite flower and bird patterns, with bright and gorgeous colors. The collar and cuffs of the robe were trimmed with mink fur.

The inner garment is a silk undershirt, which is soft and close fitting, and the outer garment is a gorgeous cape, the edges of which are often decorated with delicate tassels and jewels.

She stood in front of Cuiyun Pavilion, looking noble and dignified. The lights in Huaqing Palace were brighter than usual, but Yang Yuhuan still looked at the civil and military officials coming up the corridor.

Gao Lishi had previously sent a message saying that he wanted to give her a surprise.

She had seen the gorgeous and bright lanterns and lantern towers in Chang'an. If it was a surprise, it must not be these.

In this regard, Li Xuan never disappoints.

When Li Xuan climbed Cuiyun Pavilion, he went to the platform of Green Pavilion to see Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao and others.

Some of the nobles' family members were here. Originally, they could enjoy the lights of Huaqing Palace from here, but now there was no sign of the Lantern Festival, which inevitably caused a lot of criticism.

Even Pei Lingxi and the others heard it.

But they believed in Li Xuan's arrangement, pretended not to hear, and waited for the Lantern Festival that Qilang mentioned.

"Tell the craftsmen to start the first stage at 3:45 pm at 12:00... the second stage at 4:45 pm... the third stage at 5:45 pm... the fourth stage at 6:45 pm... the fifth stage at 7:45 pm... the square in front of Cuiyun Pavilion will start at 8:45 pm..."

Li Xuan called over several imperial guards and gave them instructions.

What he arranged was the iron flower making.

Fireworks involve gunpowder, which Li Xuan had never thought about.

As for making iron flowers, Li Xuan had seen it in his previous life and knew the detailed process.

Moreover, Queshan iron flowers are as gorgeous as fireworks. If they are made to perfection, the sensory experience will not be much worse than ordinary fireworks.

What’s more, it was the first time that people of this era saw iron flowers blooming.

During the Tang Dynasty, Taoist priests performed activities similar to making iron flowers during sacrifices.

It was only for warding off disasters and evil spirits, and only a little molten iron was refined, which was scattered as it went along. There was nothing magnificent about it.

The iron flowers arranged by Li Xuan are a mature iron flower technique of later generations.

Dozens of miles east of Mount Li, Li Xuan selected hundreds of Jinwu Guards, all of whom were brave and delicate strong men, and they practiced making iron flowers day and night.

And let them develop their own way of making iron flowers, and make sure it is gorgeous.

During the iron flower performance, a two-meter-high double-layer flower shed is built in an open space, and a two-meter-high old pole is erected in the middle of the shed, making the total height of the flower shed more than four meters. A melting furnace is set up next to it to melt the iron liquid. More than ten performers take turns to use flower sticks to hit the iron liquid with a temperature of more than a thousand degrees onto the shed.

The imperial guards are now skilled enough to create iron flowers with a diameter of more than ten feet.

Although pig iron is also a valuable commodity, compared to the construction of towering lamp towers and lighthouses, the total amount of iron required is only a few hundred strings of coins.

The remaining trivialities are not worth mentioning.

After these imperial guards left, Li Xuan finally arrived at Cuiyun Pavilion.

At this time, there was less than half a quarter of an hour left until the third quarter of the evening.

Civil and military officials also arrived at the open space on Cuiyun Pavilion one after another.

There was a breeze in the cold night, and many officials huddled up.

At least until now, they have not felt the atmosphere of Lantern Festival.

Conservatives such as Li Linfu were waiting to see Li Xuan make a fool of himself.

They couldn't understand Li Xuan's presentation.

It is believed that even if it is novel, it is not as magnificent as the lantern towers and lantern wheels, and the saints may not be satisfied.

(End of this chapter)