Ouyang Rong squatted in front of the small wooden fish and stared at the green-gold font on it for a while.
Just during the time he was looking at it, this string of blue-gold numbers would jump from time to time, increasing slightly.
At the same time, the crisp sound of wooden fish followed, echoing in the white and empty tower one after another.
Ouyang Rong's face was expressionless.
After a while, he frowned slightly, stood up, walked around twice in the merit tower, and his consciousness left the merit tower...
Drinking Bingzhai, on the bed in the bedroom, Ouyang Rong opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
It was a little dark in front of the bed, there was no light in the bedroom, and from time to time there was the sound of early spring insects outside the closed window.
It's the darkness before dawn.
Now that spring has just begun, there is a saying that "living near the Huanjiang River is low and humid", and Xunyang City is located on the bank of the river.
The Xunyang River wind that can stir thousands of sails makes the temperature in the city quite low in the morning.
Naturally, it makes people want to stay in bed, unwilling to leave the quilt that is as warm as the mother's breast.
Ouyang Rong was lying on the thick quilt, with his lower abdomen pressed by the short legs of a white-haired girl sleeping on her side.
In the darkness inside the bed at this moment, apart from Ye Weilai's rhythmic breathing and breathing with her eyes closed, Ouyang Rong's open eyes were staring at the curtain above.
His face seemed to be in a trance.
He woke up a little early today.
In other words, I didn't sleep much at all last night. I only slept for two hours, then I woke up and wandered around in the tower of merit in my mind.
If it weren't for the fear that the action of getting up would wake up Ye Weilai and cause the little girl to make a fuss, she would run to report her worries to her aunt and junior sister.
Ouyang Rong got up early and went to work at his desk.
From the past few days, the crisp sound of wooden fish sounded in his ears from time to time, making Ouyang Rong toss and turn a little at night.
He had never thought before that his answers to the scholars in Jiangzhou Prefecture at the Temple of the Holy Master would be spread throughout the world of scholars, and he would once again become famous all over the world.
Now that things have happened, Ouyang Rong is frowning and confused.
As of this morning, he has gained more than 4,000 merit points.
Moreover, the rising momentum of merit seems to be continuing, and the little wooden fish shows no sign of stopping at all. It just passed the first few days and the momentum has slowed down a bit.
"If it hadn't been for the incident at the Temple of the Supreme Saint in Jiangzhou, wouldn't there have been many bloody conflicts between scholars and the government that would have happened as scheduled, but they have only subsided a little now?
"Otherwise, another tragedy similar to the one among Liuzhou scholars will happen?"
Ouyang Rong muttered to himself.
He felt this was not a good sign.
"It seems that the construction of the Song De Center and the four Buddha statues has a greater impact than I previously expected.
"The prosperous and prosperous times promoted by the imperial court are probably only the prosperous times for the people of the two capitals in Guanhai. The southeastern Jianghuai area, as a tax-rich area, is still relatively wealthy, but other than that, other places are more like silent big cities.
most.
"I hope that the promulgation of the new imperial edict and the return of Master can alleviate some of the situation..."
Ouyang Rong rubbed his dry eyes.
He raised his hand to brush away the long, itchy white hair on his neck. He turned over and got up, crossing Ye Weilai.
He got out of bed and washed his face with cold water.
No matter what, the sun still rises and it’s time to go on duty.
Today is another busy day, and he cannot escape this hard life.
"Get up, the sun is shining on your butt."
Ouyang Rong suddenly lifted the quilt embroidered with red and green mandarin ducks, patted it casually, and said.
"Uh-huh, master, where is the sun?"
The white-haired girl had a bunch of crooked hair on her head. She rubbed her pink buttocks in confusion and looked around and asked.
Ouyang Rong laughed and strode out...
"Tanlang, the latest decree issued by the Queen Mother suddenly granted relief to all states... What do you think of this matter?"
It's night, in the study room of Juxian Garden, Prince Xunyang's Mansion.
A group of familiar figures gathered together, and Li Xian couldn't wait to ask.
What does he think?
The corners of Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched slightly.
The provisions of the new imperial edict promulgated this time to provide relief to the states are almost similar to the opinions he proposed.
"Uncle, actually the senior brother has already expected..."
Xie Ling Jiang looked at his senior brother steadily, with a look of admiration in his eyes, and told Li Xian and others about the memorial.
After hearing this, the latter looked at Ouyang Rong, who had a calm face, with somewhat shocked and complicated eyes.
"Actually, His Majesty issued this imperial edict. In addition to me and the other ministers cooperating with each other to pass the ladder, it was more of a gesture to the Master who complained of illness and could not go to court, and to take a step back."
Ouyang Rong explained softly.
Li Xian suddenly realized: "That's it."
He continued his calm analysis:
"In terms of weakening the civil servants of the Liberation faction, the interests of Your Majesty and the two kings of the Wei family are the same. However, it is also the tacit and tacit attitude of Master and Your Majesty to beat the two kings of the Wei family and restrict them from running wild.
"Master, I still have the overall situation in mind. Now that I have returned to the court, it means that this round of reshuffle is temporarily over. Your Majesty will probably not go to war with the court anymore. The situation in Luoyang has tended to be balanced...
"Now, just wait for the next round of shuffling to begin."
Li Dalang couldn't help but ask:
"What about Lord Ji who was deposed, Governor Li who was demoted, and Governor Wei? How to deal with it?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head and remained silent.
Li Guo'er, who had been listening quietly, sat at the far end, lowered his head and petted the cat, and whispered:
"Of course they are the victims. Grandma naturally wants to eliminate the most disobedient ones."
In the study room, it suddenly became quiet.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and said to Li Dalang, who looked regretful and sympathetic:
"The Prime Minister's Palace and us, who are gradually improving, are the fundamental interests of the Baoli faction led by Master, and they are also the core of the faction. They are status and righteousness, and they cannot be lost.
"As long as we can keep these two, many of them can be sacrificed temporarily."
"Here." Xie Lingjiang handed a peeled pear to his senior brother, turned around and sighed softly:
"As my father said in his letter, I met my master in Luoyang a few days ago. The old man's temples were much whiter with frost. My father once said before that as long as he still chooses to play on the chessboard in Shendu, there are many rules that must be followed..."
Everyone was silent for a while, Ouyang Rong turned his head and said to Li Xian and Li Dalang:
"Uncle, instead of worrying and fearing, it is better to do what you are doing right now. We are only one step away. This step is both close at hand and like a chasm in the sky."
He raised his index finger: "Only when we reach that level can we change these things."
Li Guoer put down the cat, pinched his fingers and whispered:
"On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, if you overpower the dragon, you will regret it. On the ninth day of the lunar month, if you use the hidden dragon, don't use it, so now is..."
Ouyang Rong took a bite of pear meat and lowered his eyes:
"In ninety-four, you may jump into the abyss, and there will be no blame."
Seeing the two people with calm faces, no exchange of glances but a tacit understanding of the conversation, everyone looked at each other.
Xie Lingjiang suddenly stretched out his hand, took the remaining half of the pear in his senior brother's hand, and took a bite without hesitation.
Everyone was stunned...
The end of the court turmoil in the spring world has calmed down the minds of local officials and many concerned people around the world.
As his fame spread far and wide, Ouyang Rong discovered some of the troubles of being a celebrity.
Perhaps it was a mention at the end of Her Majesty the Queen's latest imperial edict, praising Jiangzhou Hall for delaying 20,000 yuan of cosmetics money.
Maybe I smelled something special.
Yangzhou, Taiyuan, Guizhou and other three states of statues sent people to Jiangzhou Hall to visit Ouyang Changshi and observe his experience.
In the following days, envoys from these three states arrived one after another. Ouyang Rong was helpless and received them.
However, it is worth mentioning that it is different from Yangzhou and Taiyuan, two wealthy prefectures that only sent some low-level officials to study.
Over in Guizhou, an unexpected person came.
One of the protagonists of the Guizhou tragedy that happened not long ago is Lan Changhao, the governor of Guizhou.
When Ouyang Rong heard Chen Canjun reporting this matter, he couldn't help but put down the document in his hand and raised his eyebrows.
He had heard of this man, not just in the Guizhou tragedy.
Lan Changhao, a native of Yangzhou, was admitted as a Jinshi in the second year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign, seven years earlier than Ouyang Rong.
When he was admitted to the imperial examination in the second year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign, he was also very young, only two years older than Ouyang Rong when he was admitted.
At this time, most of the imperial examinations were monopolized by wealthy families, and there were very few Jinshi from poor families in the south, only a few every year.
Lan Changhao was a relatively famous person before Ouyang Rong, the youngest Southern Jinshi, was born.
However, the first thing that made him famous happened not long after he was admitted as a Jinshi.
Lan Changhao believed that he was overqualified for his talent and inferior in position, so he directly wrote to a prime minister from the same hometown at that time, and his words were not shocking and he would die:
"The people are starving to death, so why don't you give up your throne and please return?"
Although Qian, among all the subjects in the Zhou and Zhou dynasties, the Jinshi subject was the most glorious and was known as the "first-grade white shirt", a Jinshi who had just entered the officialdom was extremely crazy to say such a thing to the prime minister of the current dynasty.
It's over.
At that time, the old prime minister was naturally worried, laughed it off, and ignored it.
But this matter was also regarded as a joke by the Luoyang scholars at that time.
However, this Lan Changhao still has some talents, otherwise he would not have reached the position of Guizhou Governor at a young age.
Of course, if compared with a guy like Ouyang Rong, who is weak in talent and has an official position in a wealthy and prosperous city, he will naturally be far behind.
Comparing people with each other makes people angry...
The previous tragedy in Guizhou was quite a big deal.
However, Lan Changshi was not affected too much and was only fined three years.
This may be related to the special situation of Guizhou.
Guizhou is located in the west corner of Lingnan Road. It is very remote. It is adjacent to many Jizhou states, which are border states where barbarian chieftains gather. The public security is not very good, and there are many Han family men hoarding land and garrisoning troops.
The current governor of Guizhou was deposed for committing crimes, and the governor, Lan Changhao, who was familiar with local affairs, was temporarily in charge of state affairs.
Although the Guizhou tragedy had a bad impact, it can be considered that the local government has always had a strong style.
It can only be said that Guizhou was in the limelight that time, and the public opinion was accidentally aroused. If it were normal, if a few people died in the border state capital, as long as they did not report it to heaven, the central government would not pursue anything.
At this moment, I don't know whether it was the two kings of the Wei family who wanted to buy horse bones for a large sum of money, or whether Lan Changshi had given up his arrogant temper and hugged Chaozhong's thigh.
He was not dismissed from his post, he was only criticized and fined, and then kept a low profile.
"Why did Lan Changshi come to Jiangzhou?"
"He said he came to visit Master Chang Shi and ask for his experience in making statues."
Ouyang Rong sighed, but still got up and went to pick up the person.
At Xunyangdu Wharf, we quickly met people from Guizhou.
Ouyang Rong discovered that Lan Changshi was a tall and thin young man.
He is about the same height as Ouyang Rong, and his lips are as thin as paper. Although he is a man, he has a pair of pink and phoenix eyes, which are shining brightly when he looks around.
He looked a little haughty when he got off the boat.
No wonder the Guizhou government had been so aggressive in their actions before, and this person was not easy to get along with at first sight... Ouyang Rong thought to himself, the first feeling he had when they first met.
"Master Lan."
"Master Ouyang."
Lan Changhao stepped off the boat and immediately saw the young figure in fox-white fur who stood out from the crowd. His expression was a little surprised, and his pair of slender red phoenix eyes carefully looked up and down at the outstanding appearance of this young celebrity.
Lan Changhao's arrogant expression calmed down a little, and he bowed his hand politely towards Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong kept smiling, leading him to enter the city, and treated him seriously.
During the luncheon, Lan Changhao asked a few things about the Temple of the Holy Master not long ago, and then toasted and praised him. However, Ouyang Rong found that he frequently looked at the sun outside the window, as if he was a little absent-minded.
After the banquet, Ouyang Rong was busy with official duties, so he apologized and left first.
He took the initiative and promised to entertain him tomorrow and show him around the Jiangzhou lobby.
Unexpectedly, Blue Trombone waved his hand and refused.
He politely informed Ouyang Rong that he would only stay for two days and there was no need for him to accompany him.
"I'm sorry to welcome you today, so I won't disturb Ouyang Changshi."
"That's fine, Lan Changshi has a good rest."
Ouyang Rong nodded calmly and looked at the back of Lan Changhao and others as they returned to the official residence.
The next day, morning.
In Jiangzhou lobby, Yan Liulang walked into the main hall and said directly to someone who was immersed in papers:
"Mingfu guessed it right. Lan Changshi took people out early this morning to visit people in the city."
Ouyang Rong didn't raise his head: "Who are you visiting?"
"Our great governor."
Ouyang Rong immediately put down his pen, with a vigilant look on his face: "What is he looking for Wang Lengran for, a routine visit?"
"I don't know." Yan Liulang shook his head.
After a pause, he revealed:
"Ming Mansion, last night I specially drank and chatted with some Guizhou officials he brought with him. I found out that when Lan Changshi passed through Hongzhou Mansion, he also stayed for a few days to meet with Governor Zhu of Hongzhou."
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful: "Are you looking for the governors of the two governors continuously..."
At this moment Chen Canjun walked in and respectfully said:
"Sir Chang Shi, today Mr. Wang suddenly came to the official office and ordered his subordinates to issue an order to summon the generals from Zhechong Prefecture in Jiangzhou to enter the city to discuss military affairs."
Ouyang Rong took a deep look at Chen Canjun, who began to show his affection towards King Xunyang after he became the governor of Jiangnan by the emperor's favor, and nodded:
"I know, thank you very much Chen Canjun."
Chen Canjun waved his hand quickly: "You're welcome, sir, it's just a minor matter."
Ouyang Rong touched his chin with his finger and muttered:
"Lan Changhao visited Hongzhou and Jiangzhou one after another, and Wang Lengran summoned the soldiers of Zhechong Mansion. Is there something involving military affairs?"
But he really couldn't figure out how Guizhou on Lingnan Road, which was thousands of miles away, was related to Hongzhou and Jiangzhou in the middle of Jiangnan Road.
It doesn't seem like it was the Wei family who was involved in the connection. After all, it would be too obvious to come here with such a big fanfare.
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
Wang Lengran single-handedly controlled Jiangzhou's military affairs and guarded them tightly, never allowing him to interfere.
Before, he was unwilling to intervene blatantly and was worried about alerting others, so now his eyesight is dark.
At the moment, it seems that we can no longer sit still and wait for death.
What if the safety of Prince Xunyang's palace is involved?