During the long chat, Fang Yizhi frequently asked about the details of the Shandong war. He was the older of the descendants of the Prince of Qin. Although his father Fang Xuanling did not have a prominent position, he was Li Shimin's most trusted confidant. Being invited was obviously not just for him.
It was to cleanse Li Shan from the dust.
However, about the details of the Hebei war, which ones can be said and which ones cannot be said, which ones can be exaggerated and which ones need to be brushed off... Li Shan had already had a dialogue with Li Kai, and Li Kai's trip to Hebei was done in secret. Fang Xuanling knew it, but
Fang Yizhi definitely didn't know.
After a while, Fang Yi sighed and said, "Over the past month or so, I have received many letters from elderly people from my hometown. My father praised Huairen's abilities, but also lamented that Huairen was too strong."
There is no doubt that this refers to the execution of Cui Bo in Qinghe County.
The room that had been noisy just now suddenly became quiet. After Li Shan returned to Beijing, he met so many old friends in two days, as close as Li Kai and Wang Renbiao, and as high-ranking as Yuwen Shijie. But this was the first time anyone asked about this matter directly.
.
After thinking for a while, Li Shan said seriously: "What Mr. Xuan Ling said is true. If it is too strong, it will easily break."
"But if I go through this again, I will still be able to kill Cui Bo with a sword."
There was silence in the room. After a while, Fang Yizhi asked with great interest: "Please Huairen please elaborate."
"First, it seems that brother Daoxuan has regained Shandong and there is no war. Wei Xuancheng inspected Shandong and promised outside Wei County that he would be punished regardless of guilt and allowed him to return home and reunite with his family."
"Since then, many deserters have captured their leaders and surrendered, and the situation in Shandong has stabilized."
"Fang Silang's family was ruined, and Cui Bo, as a member of a prominent family, seized his family property and kidnapped his wife... What's more, Fang Silang complained, and Cui Bo killed his wife and silenced her. This behavior is outrageous."
Although the Qinghe incident has been reported to the capital, the details are naturally vague and vague, mainly pointing out Li Shan's evil deeds of killing the Cui family's children in Qinghe.
Everyone present changed their expressions after hearing this, Gao Xingyi shouted: "Cui family of Qinghe, a famous family in the world, too... too..."
A wealthy family always wants to keep face. The implication of Gao Jiji's words is that even if he wants to do something dirty, he has to cover it up. It's too shameless to kill people and seize property so straightforwardly.
As a group, the powerful family must be ashamed.
But when it comes to each person, it may not be shameful.
"Qinghe ordered Cui Qian to make peace with Fang Silang..." Li Shan opened his lips slightly, and continued after a while: "But then Fang Silang was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured until...until civil riots occurred in several places in Beizhou and passed through the city.
After the mutiny, Xingzhou and Jizhou also showed signs of instability."
Fang Yizhi frowned tightly. He found that what he learned from those letters was quite different from what Li Shan said.
There was actually a civil uprising at that time?
"At that time, the King of Huaiyang had already divided his troops to Luozhou, Weizhou, and Xiangzhou..." Li Shan glanced at Fang Yizhi, "Fang Silang died of his injuries. The rebels were so excited that they beheaded Cui Bo..."
Fang Yizhi couldn't help but ask: "The people are in chaos and the rebellion has been decided?"
Li Shan nodded slightly and said, "Hurry up and the summons will be announced on the second day."
After a long silence, Li Shan added: "I didn't think so much that day. I was so angry when I saw Fang Silang in such a situation..."
"Liu Heitai swept through Hebei twice. The Tang army was defeated first and then won. If there is another war..."
Li Shan suddenly poured a glass of wine and drank it down. He was slightly tipsy and said with a wry smile: "Although people are different in status, they are ultimately raised by their father and mother, and they have grown up after twenty years..."
"By beheading Cui Bo, I naturally offended the Qinghe Cui family...but after seeing Fang Silang's bloody flesh, I have no regrets."
Li Shan, who was drunk and was put on a carriage and sent back to Zhujiagou, thought to himself, whether his words would get a passing grade?
Of course, Fang Yizhi was not qualified to give scores. The examiner in Li Shan's imagination was his father, Fang Xuanling, who was known as the best prime minister in later generations.
It was already dark, so Fang Yi walked quietly to the study door and bowed to say hello.
The old servant opened the door, and Fang Yi walked in slowly, closed the door carefully, and spoke in a low voice briefly and clearly what he had said during today's dinner. Basically, he spoke in a straightforward manner without adding his own comments.
Fang Xuanling kept waving the brush in her hand, doing two things at once.
"Father, what Li Huairen said is very different from what people in Qinghe Township mentioned in their letters. I don't know what is true and what is false."
Fang Xuanling had always been gentle and elegant in front of outsiders, but at home he acted like a strict father and said with a smile: "Weixian won a great victory, captured and killed Liu Heita, and regained Shandong. Many old friends wrote letters praising Li Shan's abilities and praising Li Shan."
In the name of benevolence and righteousness.”
"After Li Shan beheaded Cui Bo, he frequently sent letters saying that this person was cruel and contradictory... Li Huairen, although he has not yet been crowned, is very powerful. Doesn't he know the consequences of beheading the Cui family's children in Qinghe?"
Fang Yizhi asked cautiously: "So, what Li Huairen said today should be true?"
Fang Xuanling put down his brush and sighed. The King of Qin and several of his close advisors were all insiders of this matter. Some praised it, some criticized it, some expressed it passionately, and some were silent. Their attitudes varied.
"The Cui family of Qinghe is a famous family in the world. It has deep roots and luxuriant branches, but it is inevitable that there will be a few unworthy descendants." Fang Xuanling shook his head, "Dalang, do you remember the words of your grandfather?"
Fang Yizhi was excited, straightened his body, and said loudly: "Everyone is rich because of his salary, but my grandfather was only poor because of his official position. The descendants he left behind are because of his pure ears."
"People in many places in Beizhou rebelled. The rebels did not dare to attack the city and looted outside the city." Fang Xuanling chuckled and said: "Outside Wucheng County, hundreds of thieves attacked the village. When they heard about Fang's ancestral home, they marched around the village.
And leave."
The Fang family of Qinghe County has its ancestral home in Wucheng County. Although it is a thousand-year-old family, its reputation in Qinghe County is actually much better than that of the Cui family, but its reputation is not as great as that of the Cui family.
This was mainly due to the fact that Fang Xuanling's father, Fang Yanqian, was upright, honest in his official duties, very famous, and very strict with his clan members... This time, Shandong's powerful family wanted to annex fertile land, and the Fang clan did not participate at all.
Fang Xuanling picked up the pen again. He had received instructions from the King of Qin to secretly revise the law. This matter could not be made public. He could only say casually at home: "Da Lang, in your opinion, what does Li Huairen look like?"
"Although he is young, he has learned a lot. He puts benevolence and righteousness first, is friendly to others, and is humble." Fang Yizhi said this without thinking. After hesitating for a while, he whispered: "Is Li Huairen really not a descendant of the Li family in Longxi? His father and ancestors are
...It has not been stated clearly yet.”
Fang Xuanling frowned and looked at his eldest son, with criticism in his eyes, "Be friendly to others? Are you humble?"
"This child is round on the outside and square on the inside. He looks gentle, but in fact he is arrogant."
"Be more aware of the current situation, have good vision, and be good at understanding people's strengths and weaknesses."
Fang Yizhi listened silently to his father's tirade, and had turned from Li Shan to teaching his son, but he never responded to the last sentence.