After kicking away the chatty shopkeeper Zhu, Yang Guozhong decided to go to Mrs. Guo Guo's house tonight. However, he finally listened to part of shopkeeper Zhu's suggestions and deliberately sent two clever servants to Qujiang in advance.
Mrs. Guo Guo's villa in the square was notified so as not to encounter any special circumstances and embarrass the brother and sister.
Half an hour later, the young man hurried back from Mrs. Guo Guo's residence. He reported to Yang Guangzhong that Mrs. Guo Guo said that her house would entertain distinguished guests tonight. Please forgive me. If there is anything important, please come over after court tomorrow at noon.
A narrative.
When Yang Guozhong heard this, he immediately felt extremely uncomfortable. He frowned and asked in a deep voice: "What guest? Have you seen whose carriage?"
"No, as soon as I arrived at the door, I was blocked by the madam's personal maid Xiang Yin." The young servant Mo shook his head and answered with a little grievance.
"Trash!" Yang Guozhong knew without thinking that Shi Mo had stumbled over his sister's personal maid, Xiang Yin. He glared at him and cursed in a low voice.
Shi Mo lowered his head, only daring to look at the tips of his shoes. The other boy, Qing Xiao, was finally a little smarter. Seeing Yang Guozhong's face sinking, he quickly stepped forward and said with a smile: "I'm telling you, sir. I'm a sneaky kid."
I glanced inside the door a few times. There were lanterns lit from the main entrance to the main hall. It looked like we were hosting a big shot. I could smell the smell of beeswax even from a distance."
"Hmm!" Yang Guozhong murmured in a low voice, but his brows furrowed even more. Beeswax is a rare item sold from overseas. The entire wax body is made of beeswax and whale oil. When lit, it is bright and slightly tinged.
It smells like honey and is very popular in the capital. But corresponding to its taste and popularity, the price of this product is also first-class. Most wealthy families only order a few in the hall when entertaining guests, like my sister.
Generally, from the lanterns at the gate to the main room, there are not many people in the entire capital. But the more this happens, the more distinguished the guests are. I think of the rumors in the market about several sisters sleeping in the same tent.
, his heart suddenly tightened, he grabbed the tea cup on the table and threw it out hard.
"I realize my mistake, please forgive me!" The two young men were startled and quickly knelt down with their shoulders together. They did not have the experience of Master Zhu Qi to escape from Yang Guozhong's rage.
Xiao Ming. If you don't find a way to calm down the Lord quickly, you will be dragged out and beaten to death by the warriors who rush in. There won't even be a blister in the Yamen.
After a long while, Yang Guozhong was not heard calling the warriors to come in. Two clever young men peeked and saw Yang Guozhong sitting on the bed, gently rubbing his temples with his hands, his face turned black and purple.
"Sir!" The young boy walked a few steps on his knees, pressed his face against Yang Guozhong's thigh, and whispered coquettishly.
"Forget it, it's not your fault!" Feeling the tenderness and fear coming from his legs, Yang Guozhong waved his hand and ordered the two boys to retreat, "Inform Lao Zhao and let him unload the carriage. The accompanying warriors also went their separate ways.
Go back and rest. We will discuss the matter of going to Madam Guo’s Mansion tomorrow afternoon!”
"Yes, sir!" The two boys looked at each other, got up, and walked backwards. Squinting his eyes, looking at Shi Mo's back that looked very similar to a certain person, Yang Guozhong's heart surged again.
There was an inexplicable hatred, "Tonight I will stay in the study all night reviewing official documents. You two, then go together and serve me with pen and ink!"
"Yes, sir!" The two boys' shoulders shrank violently, and then they agreed lazily.
"Go ahead and call someone to pick up the pieces. They are a bunch of rubbish." Yang Guozhong ordered with a straight face through the gaps between his teeth.
He had long heard about his younger sister Yang Yuyao's famous reputation from relevant people, but he had never cared about it as much as he does now. To be honest, if it weren't for the high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the capital, many of the real powers would be lost.
If a character is robbed of the younger sister of a subordinate, his position in the court will never be as stable as it is now. To reach the level of peace and security, it is only a little sister Yuhuan Yuan who has become a concubine and is loved by three thousand people in the harem.
It is far from enough. No matter how much His Majesty loves Wujiwu, he still needs to take into account the feelings of the ministers in the court. And with the constant stream of secret information from Mrs. Guo, he has firmly taken the initiative in several power struggles.
What's even more rare is that my eldest sister is particularly good at taking advantage of men's protectiveness. Anyone who has ever had a relationship with her is very loyal to the Yang family. In addition to this one-on-one challenge against Li Linfu, in several other power struggles, including
The last time he expelled Jingzhao Yin Xiaojiong, when Li Linfu's attitude was unclear, there were still many powerful ministers who tolerated the friendship of Mrs. Guo Guo and secretly helped Yang Guozhong.
But sister Yuyao should never, never should, and the last thing she should not do is to provoke that man in the palace. According to seniority, that is the husband of another sister, Yuhuan. The brother-in-law sneaked out of the palace in the middle of the night and climbed on his wife's sister
Among the people, the bed is not tolerated by public opinion. It happened to the Li family. What do the clan members think? It would be fine if there was a tacit understanding between the sisters, but it just caused a rift between the sisters. What if there is someone else in the harem?
The woman took the opportunity to steal the favor of her younger sister Yuhuan. How should she settle this confusing debt with Yuyao?
Of course, Yang Guozhong knew very well that the responsibility did not entirely lie with his sister Yuyao. The brother-in-law Li Longji who lived in the palace, who was nearly forty years older than his sister, was indeed not very good in personal ethics. His sister Yuhuan was still him back then.
When he was his daughter-in-law, he was ordered by his father-in-law to become a Taoist priest, and then he was admitted into the palace as a matter of course. Now that he has ordered Mrs. Guo to sleep with him, does her sister Yuyao have the guts to refuse?
Precisely because he was unable to change the reality of what had happened, when the servants reported that the guests Mrs. Guo Guo was entertaining tonight might be extremely distinguished guests, Yang Guozhong was itching with hatred. He could not bring down the shameless Emperor.
He was expelled from his sister's home, and he could not enter the harem as an elder brother to seek justice for his little sister who was weeping secretly. The only thing he could do now was to find a servant who looked similar to His Majesty the Emperor.
He vented his anger on his body to relieve the hatred in his heart. And he couldn't tell anyone the reason, lest it bring disaster to his family.
"Sir, we have a distinguished visitor!" The concierge's announcement sounded outside, interrupting Yang Guozhong's chaotic thoughts.
"No!" Yang Guozhong answered simply without thinking. It was already past Xu hour, and the person who came to visit at this time must be another loser asking for an official vacancy. The old thief Li Linfu's eyes were watching closely, no matter who came.
No matter how much money you pay, it's not worth taking the risk of being caught by Li Linfu and selling him a few good jobs privately.
"Yes, it's Jiwen, Mr. Jiwen, the Minister of Household Affairs!" The concierge hesitated outside and revealed his identity as a visitor in a low voice.
"Well!" Yang Guozhong frowned and muttered. Ji Wen, why is he here at this critical moment? Aren't he afraid of being retaliated by Li Linfu? But then thinking of Ji Wen's character, Yang Guozhong immediately put on a smile and said, "Please, please quickly
He comes in. Hold the lamp, and I will go out to meet him myself!"
The porter pinched the red envelope in his pocket and happily went to meet Ji Wen. A moment later, Yang Guozhong personally greeted the second door and welcomed Ji Wen, the Minister of Household Affairs, into the main hall. As soon as the two parties finished greetings, Ji Wen immediately asked Yang Guozhong
He bowed his hands deeply and said, "Greetings to Mr. Yang, I will observe the sky tonight and found that your old star position has a good omen. So I came to my house to report the good news!"
"Really? Mr. Ji is really worthy of your surname!" Yang Guozhong quickly turned aside and returned the favor as a courtesy. Then he smiled and pulled Ji Wen's sleeve, and walked towards the window together.
The clever boy immediately opened the window, and a biting night wind blew in, biting the bones. The sky had changed, and the sky outside was filled with red clouds at some point. Not to mention the stars, not even the shadow of the moon could be seen.
The lie was exposed by the truth on the spot, but there was no trace of guilt on Shilang Ji's ugly face. He shook his head and said with a smile, "The sky was clear just now, but when the bright clouds suddenly appeared, they were able to cover the stars immediately. However,
, many people have seen that good omen, and I guess they will all express their congratulations to you tomorrow!"
Having already guessed that Ji Wen had another purpose, Yang Guozhong smiled and pretended not to see any dark clouds, "Really, if a good omen really comes, Yang will definitely not forget what your brother said today!"
Ordering the boy to close the doors and windows, the two returned to the table and sat across from each other to drink tea. After taking a few sips to moisten their throats, Ji Wen saw that Yang Guozhong refused to take the initiative to ask questions, so he had to lower his voice and said with a smile: "I'm here tonight.
When I went out to have a drink, I saw the car of Feng Changqing, the deputy envoy of the Anxi Fourth Town Zhidu Yingtian, an old subordinate of Gao Jiedu, who was blocked at the intersection. Li Guiren, the general of Fan Yang Jiedu, led a group of ruffians and made arrogant plans.
The horse rushed past, not taking into account the honor guard given to Feng Changqing by the imperial court."
"So what?" Yang Guozhong was shocked, and his eyebrows knitted tightly together.
Seeing that Yang Guozhong had been persuaded by him, Ji Wen was overjoyed and asked with a smile: "Does Mr. Yang know that Prime Minister Li has been in power for fifteen years and can still gain the upper hand even if he is against the prince? What is the reason for this?"
"It's nothing more than clever words and tricks, good at pleasing His Majesty. He talks sweetly and uses swords to attack his colleagues without mercy!" At this moment, the conflict between him and Li Linfu was already known to everyone, so Yang Guozhong did not hide his disdain, sneered a few times, and responded bitterly.
.
"No, no! What Yang Gong said seems reasonable, but in fact it is completely absurd! The key to why Prime Minister Li has been able to hold power alone for more than ten years is not that he is good at pleasing His Majesty, but that he is good at taking advantage of the situation!" Ji Wen shook his head,
Laughing in denial.
This attitude makes people feel very arrogant, but Yang Guozhong is in urgent need of help at the moment and does not resent Ji Wen's arrogance. He stood up and straightened his clothes, bowed his head to the ground, "Yang is stupid, please give me some advice from Minister Ji!"
"
"Is it just Minister Ji?" Ji Wen stood up, accepted Yang Guozhong's full salute unceremoniously, then raised his head and asked with his hands behind his back.
Although he had already heard about it, Ji Wen's shamelessness at this moment still made Yang Guozhong, a former gangster, secretly admire him. He smiled and promised in a low voice: "If this matter comes true, Lord Ji will like it."
No matter which position you are in, Yang will definitely try his best to fulfill your wishes. Why bother talking about it right now? If Li Linfu doesn’t fail, even if Yang wants to help you, you won’t be able to pass his test!"
"That's why the strategy in Ji's heart was sold to people who know the goods!" When Li Linfu was mentioned, Ji Wen was itching with hatred. He had been advising Li Linfu for more than ten years and had repeatedly made extraordinary achievements. But Li Linfu was "pure" because of his appearance.
"Qi", refused to give him any position higher than that of a minister. He also told people everywhere that Shilang Ji was good at maneuvering but weak in practical work. Being a minister was already a rush. If he had a position greater than that of a minister, he would definitely
It will cause trouble everywhere.
Ji Wen refused to accept it, but could only swallow his anger. After enduring it for so many years, he finally saw someone dare to stand up against Li Linfu. How could he not help him? So without waiting for Yang Guozhong to make more promises, he cleared his throat.
He said in a low voice: "The reason why the old thief's position in the court is as stable as Mount Tai is that he was favored by His Majesty in the first five years. But after the first year of Tianbao, his power became so powerful that even Your Majesty turned against him. Mr. Yang please
Think about it carefully, how many people in the four major border towns of the Tang Dynasty were promoted by Prime Minister Li, and how many of them only followed Prime Minister Li's lead?"
"This..." Yang Guozhong's face turned pale in an instant. As the saying goes, one word wakes up the dreamer. For so many years, he and Li Linfu have been fighting each other. He always felt that the other party was cunning and had countless minions in the court. But he didn't expect it.
The foundation has long been embedded in the border towns. Nowadays, there are four major border towns in the north of the Tang Dynasty: Fanyang, Shuofang, Anxi, and Longyou. Except for Shuofang, which is controlled by the direct lineage of Prince Li Heng, the Jiedushi of the other three towns, An Lushan
, veteran generals such as Gao Xianzhi and Ge Shuhan were all promoted by Li Linfu.
In this way, even if all the important generals in the border towns were loyal to the Tang Dynasty, if His Majesty the Emperor wanted to change the prime minister, he would have to consider the huge impact that Li Linfu would have on the border after Li Linfu stepped down. There were few Tang people in those places, and the imperial court relied on military deterrence.
Zhu Hu. Any turmoil in the army may cause evil thoughts among the Hu outside the Great Wall, and then raise troops to challenge the power of Tang Dynasty.
Thinking about this clearly, Yang Guozhong couldn't help but feel cold in his hands and feet. He also had the false title of Jiannan Jiedushi, but as a Jiedushi, except for the more than five hundred people in his mansion, he no longer had any military force. And the three controlled by Li Linfu
In Dabian Town, any general could uproot the Yang family with just a hand.
Seeing Yang Guozhong's head dripping with cold sweat, Ji Wen knew that his goal had been achieved. He laughed a few times, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Yang. The three major border towns will definitely not openly cause chaos in the capital. Even if
Following Prime Minister Li's private orders, not many troops could be mobilized. Moreover, now that Gao Xianzhi is vacant and Ge Shuhan is ill, what Prime Minister Li actually has in his hands is only An Lushan! That An Lushan man and horse
He is used to being domineering in the capital, and today he insulted Feng Changqing in public, which is tantamount to poaching Prime Minister Li!"
"How do you say this?" Yang Guozhong was overjoyed and asked for advice with a smile.
"Li Xiang had the kindness to know Gao Xianzhi, but Gao Xianzhi single-handedly promoted Feng Changqing. His relationship with Li Xiang was already at a disadvantage. Moreover, Feng Changqing came from a humble background, and there were no other high-ranking officials in his family.
He doesn't know how to form a party and build momentum, so in his heart, his loyalty to His Majesty must be more than a little bit higher than his loyalty to Prime Minister Li. This year, he went to Beijing to offer prisoners on Gao Xianzhi's order, and was summoned by His Majesty many times, and he was very popular.
.At this moment, he was suddenly insulted by An Lushan again. How could he swallow this bad breath easily? If Li Xiang could forcibly suppress An Lushan's people afterwards and order them to go to Feng Changqing to apologize, things would be better.
But Prime Minister Li is now using An Lushan's power to suppress you, so how could he fall into An Lushan's face so easily? In this way, after tonight, I'm afraid Feng Changqing will never be half grateful to Prime Minister Li again!"
"It makes sense, it makes sense. After hearing what you said, I suddenly understood. According to Yang, Brother Ji is Yang's lucky star." Yang Guozhong clapped his hands vigorously and applauded Ji Wen's analysis loudly. He has always been good at maneuvering, but so
Muduo is a shady trick. Like Ji Wen, he was able to pick out all the intricate things under Li Linfu's command one by one and find flaws in them, which was a level he could not possibly reach.
After being praised by Yang Guozhong, Ji Wen became even more excited. His two triangular eyes narrowed, and he looked like a poisonous snake staring at its prey. "The day before yesterday, His Majesty wanted to use Feng Changqing to train the Feilong Guards, but Li Xiangyi said "
He stopped Feng Changqing on the grounds of "incompatible with the system", which has already made Feng Changqing alienated. If he fails to act impartially today and seek justice for General Feng, I am afraid it will make him even colder. His Majesty is disgusted with Gao Xianzhi's killing of good people and taking merit, and wants to vigorously promote Feng Changqing.
Instead, if Mr. Yang can do a favor..."
He protracted his voice and looked at Yang Guozhong with sharp eyes. The latter immediately understood, nodded, and whispered: "Your Majesty's intention is the goal of our efforts as ministers. I will naturally contact you when the court meeting tomorrow morning
Several courtiers strongly expressed their support for General Feng. But it was a far-off place after all, and nothing could happen for a while. But now, Prime Minister Li and the king are working together..."
"Mr. Yang, don't forget that back then, Prime Minister Li broke off the left and right arms of His Royal Highness!" Ji Wen smiled and reminded in a low voice.
"But..." Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment, a little afraid to accept it. "At that time, although Yang did not take the initiative to be an enemy of the prince, he also contributed a lot."
"Mr. Yang thinks that now the prince is busy worrying about the old feud with Gong Yang. Or does he prefer to move Prime Minister Li away?" Ji Wen glanced at Yang Guozhong and asked with some hatred.
"Of course we must overthrow Prime Minister Li first!" The conclusion blurted out from Yang Guozhong's mouth. After finishing speaking, he realized where he had gone wrong, and bowed deeply to Ji Wen, "Thank you Brother Ji for teaching me. But one day I will succeed.
Yang will not forget today’s promise!”
"Ji just wants to eliminate traitors for the country!" Ji Wen clasped his hands behind his back, his face suddenly filled with aloofness, "Ji is greedy for power just to express his ambition, not for his own selfish interests. Prime Minister Li is in charge of the government alone.
, nepotism blocks the way for talented people to advance, and Ji will naturally not tolerate him. A real man will do something and not do something, and when things are done, Ji will naturally..."
"Yang will definitely remember what you said today!" Yang Guozhong was so disgusted that he almost vomited out, but he had to keep smiling and praised Ji Wen's noble character and integrity. After praising him, he ordered someone to fetch a plate of gold.
Put it directly in the bag and send it to Ji Wen's carriage.
After sending away this uninvited guest, Yang Guozhong's worries disappeared. He finally saw the hope of victory, although this hope was very small. But as long as he is willing to work hard, who says that small hope cannot turn into a bright light.
He raised his head and exhaled gently towards the gloomy sky. He just saw a few snowflakes falling slowly from the sky.
In Chang'an City, the first snow came really early this year.
