In the study, there was a somewhat stressful atmosphere.
Yan Liulang whispered:
"I heard people say that Lin Cheng has connections with the Wei family and Old General Qin, and has bypassed our palace. Now at the Jiangzhou Hall, Yuan Changshi can't control Lin Cheng, and he can't suppress the natural official position.
Wang Lengran has become a answering machine regarding the construction of Donglin Giant Buddha...
"I heard from the official gossip that at the Chinese Army camp on the front line, General Qin has sent the Chinese Army Commander Shi who is in charge of logistics to lead a group of officials in charge of food and grass back to Xunyang City. He will arrive soon and will meet with Wang Lengran.
, Lin Cheng renegotiated the logistics and cooperated with the Xingzifang statue."
Li Guo'er's pretty face looked a little solemn and said:
"If this continues, we will become birds in a cage again."
The study suddenly fell into silence.
Everyone turned their heads one by one and looked at Li Dalang.
Wei Mei frowned: "Look at the good things you have done!"
Li Dalang, whose purple circles under his eyes had just healed, bowed his head, looking like a dull eggplant.
It was Li Guoer who took the initiative to warm up the scene and come to the rescue for his brother:
"It's not entirely Da Lang's fault. Our royal family and the Qin family were married for profit from the beginning. We promised the Qin family the benefits of the Xunyang Grottoes. The Qin family reciprocated and left Qin Ying in Xunyang City to try to contact Da Lang.
…”
"Right now, the Xunyang Grottoes are suspended because we cannot hold on to our interests. Seeing this, the Qin family turned around and cooperated with the Wei family and Lin Cheng, who have mastered the Xingzifang statue project. It is blameless.
"After all, it is a connection of interests...we gather because of benefits, and we also disperse because of benefits..."
Li Baoer sighed and shook his head gently:
"It's just that I didn't expect that General Qin would turn around so quickly. It was different from what Ouyang Lianghan and Sister Xie said before. There was no human touch at all...
"But that's right. Isn't the purpose of leading troops on the front line this time is to accumulate military merit and improve the family's status... Of course, whoever pays the highest price will follow whoever has the future."
Ouyang Rong suddenly said: "But Qin Ying is still living in Jingyiting these days, and often socializes with the junior sister."
Li Guo'er thought for a while and said:
"Sister Qin's family is indeed loyal and a very kind person. She treats us very well. It's the elder man who failed to live up to expectations and let down the close attitude of the little girl. I don't blame her for contacting Wei Shaoqi, even though she still lives in Jingyi.
Ting has not left, maybe she still favors us in her heart...but family interests have always been placed above personal emotions."
Wei Mei frowned and said:
"Tan Lang, Bao'er, now it seems that General Qin's attitude is too important. What benefits can we offer to win over the Qin family? Why don't Qi Lang promise something? As long as we return to Luoyang, we will be rewarded generously...
…
"Hey, it really doesn't work... Then let Da Lang go and apologize to Miss Qin, coax her, and see if... can..."
Li Dalang glared: "Mom, how can a man bend his knees to a woman? Is it possible that he still needs a child to marry into his wife..."
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up slightly, as if they felt that it was not impossible to consider.
"..." Li Dalang.
Li Guoer squinted his eyes and analyzed calmly:
"Actually... it's not impossible. Let's just say that the daughter of the Qin family will never be wronged in the palace in the future. The elder man must listen to Miss Qin's advice. There are three chapters of the agreement, but... this requires our whole family to mobilize now and keep a low profile.
, just be low-key and marry Miss Qin first and then talk about it... But I'm afraid that General Qin won't accept this trick..."
Li Dalang was dejected.
I want to say something, but I don't have the guts to say it.
Li Xian sighed: "It's really uncomfortable to feel that the whole future is in the hands of others and depends on others taking sides at a whim."
Having said this, everyone couldn't help but look at Ouyang Rong, and Xie Lingjiang's eyes were filled with emotion:
"Elder brother's previous prediction was correct. Once the Xingzifang statue is established and Lin Cheng presides over it, we will be sidelined. Eldest brother is still detained in the position of Sima Jiangzhou and cannot intervene in important matters... If this continues, we
I really want to become the caged bird in sister Guo'er's mouth."
Ouyang Rong was silent for a long time, then suddenly said:
"Then let's get out of the cage and I'll go to the front line to meet Mr. Qin."
For a moment, everyone looked at him sideways.
"can not go!"
"You can't leave the city now."
Xie Lingjiang, Li Guo'er and his daughter stopped him almost in unison.
They turned back at the same time and looked at each other.
Xie Lingjiang first looked away and frowned:
"Wei is on guard against you right now. I know you are not convinced. Once you leave the city without permission, I will not send people to intercept and kill you on the road. Even if you don't, it will be hard to bear just to read you. For example, if you neglect your duties...then...
By extension, it would be a matter of resentment against His Majesty after being demoted, and then it would be unclear when he was put on the job.
"Thunder, rain, and dew are all the kindness of the king, and resentment by a minister is disloyalty. Senior brother, it is at the height of the storm now. In Xunyang City, Your Majesty, and all parties in the Wei family have countless pairs of eyes staring at you. You will never be seen again.
Changes come to pass and become reality."
"Sister Xie is right."
Li Baoer pinched his fingers in his sleeves and nodded gently:
"On the ninth day of the lunar month, if you are hiding a dragon, don't use it; on the 94th day, if you jump into the abyss, there is no fault... Now is the time when the dragon is hiding in the abyss, so don't act rashly.
"And what I am most afraid of is not the Wei family, but Qin Jingqin. If he is close to the Wei family, and you go to find him, it will be like a meat bun beating a dog, and the situation will be passive..."
The two daughters tried their best to dissuade him.
Ouyang Rong fell silent for a moment.
Wei Mei asked with some confusion:
"Is the official position of Tanlang really useless? Gao Bo is also a fifth- and sixth-grade state official..."
Li Guo'er shook his head and said:
"Just having a high official rank is of no use. This position has no real power. What does Jiangzhou Sima say?
"Initially, he was responsible for managing military tax and military and civil defense. In this dynasty, Zhechong Mansion was set up to take charge of this matter. The world has been at peace for a long time... Now it has lost its actual power and has become the adjutant of the governor, but it is far away.
It is not as good as the long history in charge of civil affairs. Just look at Yuan Huaimin before.
"There is a saying that goes like this... The well-being of the people of the state is not the fault of Sima. The bad governance of the county is not the fault of Sima. His words are irresponsible and his deeds are unintentional... In fact, it is just to let those who were demoted go to play alone and travel around.
It’s okay. Grandma can understand it.”
Wei Mei looked thoughtful.
Li Dalang asked:
"Yuan Huaimin took over Tan Lang's position as the chief historian. Didn't Yuan Huaimin have a good relationship with Tan Lang? Otherwise, let me and my father go out to win over Yuan Huaimin, join the palace, and help us..."
Ouyang Rong immediately shook his head: "No."
"Why?"
"Yuan Huaimin can't beat Lin Cheng. Bringing him in will harm him. Not to mention his unreliable temperament, just because of his bad habit of arriving late and leaving early, as long as Lin Cheng, Wang Lengran and the others are not stupid, they will definitely
There are too many reasons to give an accurate report.
"For Lin Cheng, Wei Shaoqi and others, if they don't obey, just change them."
Wei Mei asked again:
"What about Qi Lang and Da Lang? Qi Lang is the governor of the south of the Yangtze River appointed by His Majesty. If our palace has another Jiangzhou, will we still become birds trapped in an iron cage?"
"Jiangzhou Biejia is not much better than Jiangzhou Sima." Li Baoer pursed his lips and said:
"There are only a few powers in Xunyang City. In a sense, powers are administrative powers. The biggest things in Jiangzhou now are two, one is the statue of Xingzifang, and the other is to provide logistics and organization for the conquest army on the southwest front.
Grain transportation.
"The Xingzifang statue has been given a large package by Lin Cheng as the right envoy of Jiangnan Road.
"Logistics and supply matters on the southwest front were decided by regular wartime meetings held by the Chinese military camp of the conquering army and the local governments of Hejiang and Hongzhou. The only person who could participate in this meeting and hold the decision-making power was my father.
There are only a few people including Qin Jingqin, the chief military officer of Jiangnan Road, Wang Lengran, the governor of Jiangzhou, Shi, the commander of the Chinese army battalion, the governor of Jiangzhou, and the governor of Hong.
"Now, Ouyang Lianghan is no longer the governor of Jiang, Yuan Huaimin is the same as the governor, and the governor of Hong is similar to Wang Lengran, who was supported by the Wei family. As for the commander of the Chinese army's battalion, Mr. Qin
A general's person, one who is recommended to serve by him...
"Now the Wei family is wooing the Qin family. If this continues, soon, in the wartime meeting, only the father will be left alone. If there are any initiatives, the father will not be able to take the lead. He will be ignored directly. If you really want to be a
It’s a mascot.”
At this time, Ouyang Rong's soft voice came from the side:
"Power will not be vacuumed, it will only be transferred.
"What is the power on the surface now? To put it bluntly, it is the handle of the knife, the bag of money, and the barrel of the pen. Those are the three things."
"Your Majesty, Prince, looking at it this way, the situation in Jiangzhou is actually clear.
"For example, with the help of the Wei family and the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, Lin Cheng is equivalent to gaining the power of Xingzifang, and the Jiangzhou lobby must cooperate. This means he controls Jiangzhou's finances and gets the money bag.
"Contacting the Qin family privately, wooing Mr. Qin, gaining the initiative in the wartime meeting, and gaining support from the frontline troops. In a sense, it actually means getting the handle of the knife.
"As for the pen...that is, the public opinion in the market and Jiangzhou Shilin are still sympathetic to our palace. In fact, the reputation of the Wei family has always been bad, but it does not seem to affect their unscrupulousness...
"Now we only have some pens to hold on to, so that we don't have no channels to speak out, and we can control Wei to a certain extent.
"This is the situation now."
Ouyang Rong calmly analyzed:
"The bird in the cage that Her Royal Highness the little princess described is correct. If we want to break the situation, the most critical thing at the moment is the Qin family. The attitude of the Qin family is too important. The prince must win over Mr. Qin in order to break the iron cage under the Wei family.
A rat-throwing weapon..."
"That's it." Wei Mei and others suddenly realized.
Li Guoer turned around and said:
"Ouyang Lianghan said it well. The key to breaking the situation is the Qin family. We need to win over Qin Jingqin, but a veteran of this age will definitely not let go of the rabbit before it comes. Just like the letter we sent for help last time... Qin
Jingqin didn’t respond directly, so he must have been fooled.”
Ouyang Rong asked in confusion: "What do you mean? What did you say in the letter to General Qin?"
Hearing this, Li Xian felt a little depressed and said:
"It was about Tan Lang's refusal to obey the imperial edict last time. During this period, I was worried about Tan Lang, so I asked Xie Lingjiang's aunt Madam Xie to help me, and sent a letter to General Qin, mentioning it implicitly.
Ask him to help Tanlang speak for him, even if it's just a word.
"But the reply over there was a bit bland. I don't know if you understood what the king meant, or if you didn't understand it on purpose. Anyway, in the end, General Qin didn't write to the court to speak to Tan Lang. It seems he was unwilling..."
Ouyang Rong immediately turned his head and frowned slightly:
"Why didn't you discuss this with me in advance?"
Li Dalang explained in a low voice:
"The situation was urgent at that time. My father and everyone were very worried about something happening to Tan Lang. But Tan Lang was also angry at the time and let you know that he would probably not agree, so..."
Ouyang Rong wanted to speak, but when he saw the concerned and guilty faces of everyone, he stopped speaking and did not continue to blame.
Li Guoer turned around and asked seriously:
"Sister Xie, have you received any reply from Aunt Xie's family recently? Did Qin Jingqin reply later?"
Xie Lingjiang shook his head, nodded again and said:
"I don't know, my aunt didn't say anything, but this afternoon, my aunt, father, and the others passed by Xunyang City and had dinner at the senior brother's house. During the dinner, my aunt specifically told the senior brother that it is best to stay in the Sima position in Jiangzhou.
, recharge your batteries first, don’t cause any more trouble, wait for the opportunity..."
Everyone was silent, not knowing what to say.
The attitude there was very obvious. Like the Xie family of Chen County, they all advised Ouyang Rong to be honest and calm and not to continue to contradict the Empress of Zhou. Such head-on confrontation was too dangerous.
The study was quiet for a while, until Ouyang Rong raised his head and said:
"Then let me do it. I will convince General Qin. Even if, as Her Royal Highness the little princess said, Mr. Qin and the Qin family behind him are very profit-oriented and want to sell for a good price, helping the Wei family is just the icing on the cake. Helping us now,
This is the real help in times of need, which one is more important and which one is less important... I can let Mr. Qin think about it..."
The two women wanted to talk.
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "Don't worry, I won't leave the city... I'll ask a reliable person to pass the message."
"Okay, Tanlang, please be safe."
"Um."
Soon, a study meeting ended with everyone worried and dispersed.
Ouyang Rong returned to Yinbingzhai.
Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weila and other female relatives are still waiting for him in the hall.
Ouyang Rong had a meal with them, stayed with them for a while, then looked away and started doing their own business.
In the middle of the night, Yin Bingzhai's study is brightly lit.
From the outside window, one can vaguely see the figure of a slender man leaning over his desk.
From time to time he would lower his head and write something.
Didn't sleep all night...
The next day, early in the morning.
Ouyang Rong got ready and went out early.
There was nothing to do in the afternoon. He had already taken leave and left the Jiangzhou lobby early, preparing to go to Jingyiting.
But as soon as he walked out of the door, he saw the figure of Yan Liulang rushing over, clasping his fists to report.
The news disrupted his plans.
"Mingfu, there are people coming from the Hongzhou front line and they arrived at Xunyangdu today."
"who?"
"They are from Marshal Qin's side. Among them there seems to be the chief of the Chinese army camp and other important officials in charge of logistics. It should be that they were invited by the governor Wang Lengran and Jiangnan Superintendent Lin Cheng, who led the army's logistics and food supplies.
Officials, come to Xunyang City to attend the wartime meeting."
"Are they from Mr. Qin's side..."
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment, then got on the carriage again and ordered Ali:
"Let's go to the Governor's Mansion."
"Yes, sir."
In the car, Ouyang Rong was sitting upright.
He first took out a letter from his sleeve that he originally wanted to hand to Miss Qin, looked down at it, folded it again, stuffed it back into his sleeve, and sat down again.