Xue Bai dismounted from his horse in front of Yang Zheng's house in Xuanyangfang. A servant immediately came up to hold an umbrella for him.
All the way inside, there are Jinwu guards standing on both sides of the stone steps guarding the door. The courtyard is magnificently decorated, no less than the Youxiang Mansion.
When he entered the meeting hall, he was greeted by a warm feeling. Two beautiful maids obediently stepped forward, took off his brocade coat, and led him around the screen.
"Xue Lang is here." Everyone sitting in the hall stood up one after another.
Looking at the past, most of these Yang Party officials wore light green official robes without patterns. There were only a few green-robed officials in the front row, including Du Youlin and Yuan Zai. The only red-robed official was Yang Zhao.
Immediately, loud laughter came from behind the soft wall, and Yang Hao came out from the back and invited Xue Bai to sit on the side seat at the top.
"I heard that Ah Bai is going to take a concubine in the near future. I am very happy and congratulatory. I have prepared some small gifts for my brother and will deliver them to my house later."
"Thank you very much, brother, for caring about me."
Now that Xue Bai is both a saint and a useful person, not to mention taking concubines, even if he stumbles on the road, others can come up with reasons to give him gifts.
What everyone in the Yang Party is discussing today is not a big deal. They are just discussing how to popularize bamboo paper.
"After winter comes spring. Now many tributes from the countryside have arrived in Chang'an in advance with the autumn grain shipment to prepare for the exam. Some of them are from poor families and we can recruit them."
"These are all talents who are likely to become officials. They should know that they should submit their papers to the uncle's house."
"It is common to form societies, donate books, and raise children to form poetry societies. We can guide poor families to join together and distribute bamboo paper and books. Many of these people from poor backgrounds have been trapped because of the price of paper, and we and others We have the same ambition..."
Yuan Zai was born into a poor family and was very emotional about these things. Most of the time, he agreed with Xue Bai and put forward substantive suggestions.
Yang Hao ignored these small details and sat there like a statue, waiting for the outcome of the discussion and happily agreeing. After that, he participated in the more important struggle for power.
He promised to find Du Youlin a doctor in the Civil Service Examination Department, so that there would be one more red-robed official among the party members. After the Spring Festival, it would be convenient to find officials for the Yang party's Jinshi.
While still talking about this matter, Yang Zhao took advantage of the opportunity and said: "Brother, if I can find a position as Yushi Zhongcheng, I can participate in the drafting of the list of Jinshi in the spring, and I can do more for my brother."
Yang Zheng said: "Yes, Mr. Pei will soon be transferred to Dr. Guanglu, but..."
He pondered and glanced at Xue Bai.
Xue Bai said: "If Wang Zhi can free up the post of Yushi Zhongcheng, it will be natural."
"That's right." Yang Hao said, "When there is a vacancy, I can help you as a brother."
"Thank you very much, brother." Yang Zhao was overjoyed and obviously prepared to give some big gifts.
The brocade fur worn by Xue Bai was given by Yang Zhao.
He sometimes thought that if he was not surrounded by treacherous ministers like Yang Zhao or Yuan Zai, he was probably not a loyal minister.
…
At the end of the day, Yang Hao left only Xue Bai and Yuan Zai to discuss more confidential matters.
"I'm afraid I've disgraced my mission this time." Yuan Zai smiled bitterly and said, "My father-in-law has always disliked me. It's up to me to persuade him, but I'm afraid it will be counterproductive."
Yang Wei actually comforted Yuan Zai first and said: "My father-in-law is both talented and handsome. Although he comes from a poor family, he is still young and is in the sixth rank. He is really a great man. Not to mention he is deeply affectionate and considerate to Wang. He is such a good son-in-law. Wang How can a loyal heir have any reason to dislike you?"
"My uncle is overly praised, and Yuan Zai is ashamed. After all, he failed to convince his father-in-law. What does Xue Lang think?"
"It doesn't matter." Xue Bai said: "He has been friends with Li Heng for more than thirty years, so it is impossible for him to agree easily. Brother Yuan can just let him know the pros and cons."
"Xue Lang still has a backup plan?" Yuan Zai asked, "Is there anyone I can help with?"
"How has General Wang reacted recently?"
Although Yuan Zai did not convince Wang Zhongsi, he had convinced Wang Yunxiu, so he knew Wang Zhongsi's whereabouts quite well. He said: "My father-in-law has not yet been summoned by the saint, but instead went to the East Palace first. After returning home, he inquired about Fang Guan's whereabouts. , I learned that Fang Guan had been demoted, but Li Mi wanted to see him..."
Xue Bai noticed a detail. Wang Zhongsi did not know the news about Fang Guan being released, which shows that he was not deeply involved in the affairs of the East Palace.
In other words, it is true that Wang Zhongsi was close to Li Heng, but the reason why they became righteous brothers was first of all because he was Li Longji's adopted son.
Listening further, he learned that Wang Zhongsi wanted to see Li Mi. Xue Bai nodded and said: "So, things have gone smoothly. Let's not move next and give Donggong a chance to save himself."
When Yuan Zai heard this, he suddenly understood and smiled slightly.
Yang Wei was confused and asked: "What does this mean?"
Xue Bai was silent for a moment and explained: "This is the same as winning a beautiful woman back. If the uncle wants Wang Zhongsi to return, he must first make sure that no other way will work."
"Haha." Yang Hao laughed and said, "I understood it when Abai said it like this. It's easy to understand."
This is a simple way of saying it. To put it more complicatedly, Donggong and Li Heng are actually two concepts.
The scope of the East Palace is very wide, including the influence of the prince's wife's family, brothers and sisters of the prince's mother, subordinate officials serving in the East Palace, and even some people who simply hope that the country can be stable.
Sometimes Li Heng could represent the interests of these people, but sometimes he could not. Occasionally, his personal interests would conflict with those of the East Palace.
Why did Li Jingzhong trap and kill Xue Bai? Because the interests of his wife's family harmed the interests of the prince himself.
The wife clan does not represent the relationship between husband and wife, but a family's bet on the prince. It belongs to the power of the East Palace; while the eunuchs have no family and no industry, and everything is dependent on the prince, and they represent the interests of the prince himself.
In the same way, when the prince's own interests harm the interests of the East Palace, someone will naturally come forward and ask the prince to give up something.
This was Xue Bai's first revenge for the trap, using the same cause and effect, he put the same dilemma in front of the East Palace.
~~
Chongrenfang, Yingxiang Temple.
Wang Zhongsi sat alone in the veranda, looking at Xiaoxue outside the pavilion, holding a wine bag and drinking wine.
Li Mi walked over wearing a thin Taoist robe.
"Why did Mr. Li invite me here?" Wang Zhongsi sighed: "Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming met here and died as a result."
"I am not the one who invited General Wang to come." Li Bi said, "I was also invited by others."
"That is?"
Suddenly there was a noise, and the two people turned around and saw a woman in costume being introduced into the backyard of the Taoist temple. It was none other than Prince Liangdi Zhang Ting.
"General Wang, Mr. Li, I'm sorry."
Zhang Ting entered the veranda, bowed Yingying, and then got down to the topic, saying: "Today I take the liberty of asking you to please help me to save the East Palace in order to stabilize the country."
In recent years, He Zhizhang became an official, Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming and others died, Li Shizhi, Li Qiwu, Han Chaozong, and Fang Guan were exiled one after another, Du Zhixiang, and Xue Hui gradually became ambiguous... There were fewer and fewer people assisting the East Palace.
Of the three people here today, Wang Zhongsi has been in the border town for many years and has not been involved in court disputes; Li Mi was suddenly appointed to the Imperial Academy at a young age; Zhang Ting was not even twenty and became a wife for the first time. In fact, they were all dismissed suddenly.
He has reached the position where he has to bear the fate of the East Palace.
However, the conflict of interests cannot be avoided, so this time they have no choice but to represent the interests of the East Palace.
"Your Highness asked General Wang to find out the truth. Can General Wang check it out?" Zhang Ting spoke first and started the topic.
"I am a rough man who only knows how to fight. He cannot do such a delicate thing." Wang Zhongsi said: "What His Highness said is true. However, we don't care about the truth of the matter. I have been in office for a long time and have unified the four towns.
It is always wrong for Your Highness to be too close to you."
Li Mi nodded slightly after hearing this.
Being able to admit this mistake shows that Wang Zhongsi knew the saint's will in his heart and was willing to obey the saint.
Of course, the prince's unwillingness to admit his mistakes had its own difficulties, because if he admitted his mistakes, he would not get any favor from the saints, and would only be used by the saints to restrict his power and kill him whenever he wanted. Li Bi could understand this difficulty, but he could not empathize with him.
"The fault is not General Wang's." Zhang Ting said: "The reason why the saint is suspicious of His Highness is not only Ge Nu's frame-up, but also because some people around His Highness acted without authorization."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Wang Zhongsi and Li Bi fell silent.
Zhang Ting could only say: "When Liu Ji's case happened, Li Jingzhong did take it upon himself to kill Xue Bai and create a grudge for the East Palace. Unexpectedly, Xue Bai became the favorite of Mrs. Guo Guo and started to oppose the East Palace."
Li Mi pondered: "Your Highness was ordered to investigate Pei Mian's case, but only one Li Jingzhong was found, which may not be enough to appease the wrath of the saint."
"I am also guilty." Wang Zhongsi said: "I introduced the Uighur caravan to earn some money for Your Highness. I will plead guilty to Your Majesty."
"No."
Li Mi walked to the door, took a look outside, and said: "If the border town uses the barbarians' tactics, the positions of the military governors of the four towns will not be retained. But the general should at least retain the position of military governor of Hedong."
Wang Zhongsi was silent.
Zhang Ting asked: "Why?"
"Why does Zhang Liangdi think that the Right Prime Minister promoted General Hu?"
"Suo Douji is narrow-minded, and he is afraid that famous ministers will become generals and take his place."
"How about thinking about it a little more?"
"What do you mean, Mr. Li?"
Li Mi frowned slightly, because he did not want to speculate on people's hearts, but the matter was so important that he had to mention it, and said: "The right prime minister has offended the prince to an irreparable point. If the prince inherits the throne ten thousand years later, I am afraid that the right prime minister will intervene.
Your Highness will be stopped by force."
Zhang Ting's beautiful eyes widened in shock, and she said in surprise: "Mr. Li, are you talking about... miscellaneous nonsense?"
Wang Zhongsi nodded gloomily.
He said that An Lushan had different intentions. In fact, it was not because Zhang Jiuling could see that "the appearance has been reversed and there are many evils in the liver and gallbladder", but the reason why Li Linfu supported An Lushan was not difficult to guess.
Since you have offended Dong Gong to death, how can you not leave any backup plan behind?
Li Bi said: "At present, An Lushan is stranded in Chang'an and has not returned. On the surface, he is fighting for the imperial censor, but in fact he is the governor of Hedong."
"The saint may not give it to him."
"But once General Wang leaves office, no one will be able to restrain him. The general must not confess his sins to the saint."
Having said this, he turned to Zhang Ting and said: "It is appropriate for His Highness to report this matter to the saint. He blames himself for being lax in his command, and please kill Li Jingzhong. Then His Highness will testify against General Wang's dispatch of the caravan back to He, and seize General Wang's four
It is the duty of the Zhenjiedushi."
"So, the position of prince?"
"Don't worry, Zhang Liangdi." Li Bi said: "A saint will not depose a prince."
He didn't say anything. The new prince would not be as easy to control as the prince who had lost all his prestige.
Zhang Ting asked again: "In this case, can the position of Hedong Jiedushi be retained? Mr. Cai just said that no bastards should be allowed to get to Hedong."
She is growing up rapidly in the intrigues, and she has learned a lot today... Li Heng may not be in charge of the East Palace; Li Jingzhong's interests are inconsistent with hers; military power must not be lost;
"If so, can someone help me to plead for mercy?" Li Mi asked Wang Zhongsi with a somewhat questioning tone.
Wang Zhongsi had a look of embarrassment on his serious face. Finally, he nodded and said, "I'll give it a try. Even if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter. If I can recommend Shuo Fang, Hedong Jiedushi will be selected.
There can be no chaos."
"What I'm afraid of is that in the future, with Anlu Mountain's holy family members around me, I will end up being different from others."
"I'll try my best."
Wang Zhongsi gave the promise.
Let Li Heng testify against him. He will not have any grudges in his heart, but he can give the illusion of discord, so that Yang Dang can help him speak and the saint can eliminate his suspicion.
"So, now there is only one difficulty."
They both stood up at the same time and said solemnly to Zhang Ting: "Please Zhang Liangdi persuade His Highness again to report Li Jingzhong's crime to the saint."
~~
At night, Li Jingzhong brought hot water into the hall and saw Li Heng sitting there with a gloomy expression.
"Why are you sitting up, Your Highness? In case anyone sees you, you'd better lie down quickly."
Li Heng did not answer, but stared at the old eunuch, his eyes flashing with complicated expressions.
Li Jingzhong was so stared at that he felt frightened and had a bad premonition... He recalled that the prince had the same look before Webster was ordained as a nun.
"Your Highness? What did this old slave do wrong?"
"What can you do wrong?" Li Heng said lightly.
He knew very well that if he reconciled with his wife and separated, others would know that his wife's family was guilty; but in the eyes of others, if the eunuchs who were close to him were guilty, how could it be that they had made their own decisions?
"The old slave is scared." Li Jingzhong knelt down quickly and placed the basin at Li Heng's feet. His hands were shaking, trying to wash his feet.
Li Heng stopped him and suddenly asked: "How many years have you served me?"
"This old slave has been serving His Highness for thirty-three years since he was ten years old."
Li Heng sighed sadly and murmured: "My prince is considered weak and incompetent, and he can't protect the people around him many times. Now, they force me to get rid of you, what should I do?"
Li Jingzhong was so horrified that he knew he was going to die. He knelt down and cried loudly, saying: "Your Highness... If this humble life of this slave can eliminate the trouble for Your Highness, I will be willing to die... Please take good care of yourself in the future..."
"Get up." Li Heng murmured: "I will never do such a heartless thing. I am asking you tonight to let you understand that time is running out."
"Your Highness!" Li Jingzhong was still crying, "I wish to die..."
"Close the case." Li Xiang said: "I didn't do this case, just close it."
"Yes, the old slave has found the 'truth'. Your Highness, please remember that in early March, when Henan Yin Pei Dunfu came back from fetching thieves in the East China Sea to report his merits, his subordinate Cao Jian drunkenly broke into a house and killed four members of his family. Pei Kuan executed them according to the law.
Cao Jian offended Pei Dunfu precisely because of this."
"You mean?"
"Although Cao Jian died, some of his soldiers fled and killed the Uighur caravan and Pei Mian." Li Jingzhong said: "Maybe the case is that simple?"
It is very sloppy to find such a result in a case, but it is the result that most officials in the DPRK and China want to see. The case should be closed as soon as possible and let the matter go.
Those who know the truth and guess the Sacred Heart are often very few people. Li Heng can ignore their opinions. He has given the best results and only needs to win the prestige in the hearts of the majority of people.
The saint will be angry, so what? Can he please the saint by confessing his sin? He will only be caught and imprisoned.
He will not be deposed even if he does not plead guilty. The opponent of the saint has never been Li Heng, but the power given to the prince of a country since the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
The saint had long realized that killing three common people would not change the threat posed by the crown prince. It was the wings of the Eastern Palace that needed to be cut off.
~~
In the evening, Xue Bai returned home.
"Mr. Lang, we have a visitor. I must wait for you to come back."
"Yeah?"
Xue Bai looked at the footprints in the courtyard. The footprints were covered with snow. The visitor must have been waiting for a while.
Among them were very large footprints, which were not seen by ordinary people... Sure enough, Wang Zhongsi's tall personal soldier Guan Chongsi, who was seven feet two inches tall, was standing under the eaves, as if he was holding up the door frame.
When I entered the hall, I saw Wang Zhongsi sitting there.
"Why is General Wang here?"
Wang Zhongsi would rather talk frankly with Xue Bai than contact Yang Sui through Yuan Zai, so he went straight to the point: "I heard that Xue Lang has magical powers. Do you think An Lushan will rebel?"
"This Li Changyuan can't keep any secrets."
"Don't worry, I'm someone who can keep secrets." Wang Zhongsi said, "Can you help me keep my position as Hedong Jiedushi?"
"No one else can save General Wang, you can only save yourself."
Wang Zhongsi said: "We will ask His Highness to plead guilty to the saint and testify that Pei Mian was killed by someone sent by Li Jingzhong. Can you breathe a sigh of relief..."
"not my business."
Xue Bai interrupted without hesitation.
What he wanted was for Wang Zhongsi to sue Li Jingzhong, not because Li Heng had a grudge against Wang Zhongsi and turned against him, but not to give Li Heng a chance. There was no possibility of bargaining.
Wang Zhongsi frowned slightly and said: "I am not saying this because I am obsessed with power. I am actually worried about the border town..."
Xue Bai asked: "If General Wang is worried about border towns, why would he regret a vicious eunuch?"
"But what's the truth?" Wang Zhongsi said: "I have verified the secrets you mentioned, and I found out that you sent people to kill Pei Mian."
"Okay, it's me." Xue Bai said indifferently: "No matter what Li Heng said, I can admit that I am Xue Xi's son, and I recruited the old soldiers of Longyou to kill people. Now that General Wang knows it, I can admit it. Speak clearly to the sage."
He adopted a completely different attitude from Li Heng.
Wang Zhongsi looked at him deeply, without bothering about the so-called truth at all, and said: "I can see that Xue Lang has the common people and the country in his heart, can you give in?"
Xue Bai showed a hint of impatience and said: "This is the only time. If the prince is willing to confess to the saint to show repentance, I will ask the uncle to take action. But what if the prince is unwilling to take responsibility in the end?"
Wang Zhongsi said: "I will state my interests to His Highness, and he will agree."
"Okay." Xue Bai said, "Then we'll see."
"Li Linfu, An Lushan and others are even ready to use force to prevent the prince from ascending to the throne and defend their vested interests." This is not something I made up, it is one of the opinions in the information. Of course, no one knows anything about ancient times. Got it, this is a way of saying it~~ [I’m writing very slowly today, the second chapter won’t be out for a while, it’s later than usual, everyone really shouldn’t wait]
