Under the candlelight, Du Jin came closer and looked at Xue Bai's notes carefully, and suddenly said with some pride: "Oh, I can understand it."
Her clothes were smoked with styrax, and her hair was washed with hibiscus leaves and honey locust. When she got closer, Xue Bai could smell a faint fragrance.
He leaned back a little and said: "It's not difficult to understand. Wu Kangcheng's night patrol route is fixed. It passes through two houses and twenty-eight households. Among them, I cannot search carefully and have the ability to harbor the dead men of the East Palace.
Ten households."
Du Jin saw the two people's little moves and stepped forward to light a candlestick to brighten the light so that Du Jin didn't have to get so close.
Du Jin was engrossed in discussing with Xue Bai and did not pay attention to these small details. She pondered: "You just knocked on the door last night. Today, the East Palace has arranged your life experience for you. So it must be within these ten households?"
"How much do you know about these dead soldiers?"
"I have never seen these dead soldiers, but Li Heng is by no means as poor as he seems on the surface. He can often find ways for his people."
Xue Bai pondered and asked: "Where did the money come from? In the northwest farming?"
"I don't know about that." Du Jin replied while looking at Xue Bai's map and suddenly asked: "Are these names the officials who have villas in Changle and Daozheng?"
"Yeah."
"Yang Shenjin, Wang Wen, Xian Yuben, Lu Xuan... are all Li Linfu's people."
"I just wanted to ask you, who of these people is most likely to be exploited by the East Palace?"
Du Jin did not answer immediately, but smiled slightly and asked: "Do you know why the saint relied on Li Linfu?"
Xue Bai shook his head.
When he first arrived in this era, there were still too many things that needed her help to analyze.
Du Jin said: "Chang'an has a large population, and the natural dangers of Sanmenxia make it difficult to transport grain. Therefore, starting from Emperor Gaozong, the imperial court often went to Luoyang for food."
Xue Bai knew a little about this. Gaozong and Wu Zetian seemed to like to go to Luoyang. Gaozong changed Luoyang to the Eastern Capital and implemented the two-capital system. Wu Zetian even changed the Eastern Capital to the Divine Capital and moved the capital to Luoyang.
There are many reasons for this. One of them is that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal so that grain from the south of the Yangtze River could be transported to Luoyang.
In comparison, Li Longji doesn't seem to like Luoyang that much.
In this regard, Du Jin used one word - fear.
"The sage was afraid of the Eastern Capital, but Li Linfu knew what he wanted, so he sent grain to help the canal, and bought the method, so that the money and food in Guanzhong were sufficient. Since the 24th year of Kaiyuan, the sage has never been to the Eastern Capital again. He said to the emperor, 'I will not leave Chang'an.
"There will be no trouble in the country for ten years, so be proud of it."
Xue Bai was keenly aware that there was a lot going on here. He didn't have enough time tonight, so he could only ask: "What is the method of adding millet to water canals and purchasing methods?"
"The so-called 'paying millet to help water' means collecting more land tax from the people to make up for the emptiness in the national treasury caused by insufficient water transportation."
“Just overtax?”
"It's Li Linfu's ability to collect taxes."
Now that Du Jin's identity has changed, his evaluation of Suo Douji is slightly different.
Xue Bai nodded, knowing that collecting taxes is easy to say, but extremely difficult to do well.
"The so-called 'harmonious buying method' means that in good years, the court purchases grain at low prices and stores it to prepare for famine years." Du Jin said: "Li Linfu used these two methods to achieve great results in several years, so he was relied upon by the saints."<
/p>
Xue Bai frowned, realizing that these two methods seemed to enrich the national treasury, but in the long run, they would make the entire country and its people poorer and poorer.
To put it bluntly, it was nothing more than trying to make money for the emperor.
After explaining this background, Du Jin calmly brought the topic back.
"Although Li Linfu wanted to depose the crown prince, the officials on both sides were not clearly divided. For example, Wei Jian had a close relationship with Li Linfu. He presided over the construction of canals so that ships from the west of Tongguan could sail directly to Chang'an. The annual canal transportation increased by two million shi.
, This move pleased the saint, and gave him the possibility to replace Li Linfu. In the blink of an eye, the two of them changed from close friends to life-and-death enemies."
"That is to say, Wei Jian can also make money for the saint. If it is beneficial to him, he will join forces with Li Linfu, and if it is not beneficial, he will split."
"As for the northwest frontier army, although the two Jiedushi envoys were from the Donggong family, Li Linfu also led Hexi and Longyou Jiedu envoys. Since the imperial court recruited troops, he has raised countless military expenses every year. Therefore, the Longyou army also
Many generals are close to Li Linfu."
With that said, Du Jin pointed to Wang Wen's villa marked on Xue Bai's map.
"Just now we talked about the peace and purchase law. Wang Wen's brother, Wang Xian, was appointed as the peace and purchase envoy of He City to assist Li Linfu in presiding over the peace and purchase. This man has a close relationship with the border army generals."
"Because it provides military pay?"
"No." Du Jin said: "According to the custom in the army, border guards are replaced every six years, and they are exempted from rent when guarding the border. In order to make money for the saints, the king canceled this custom of exempting himself from rent. However, some border generals wanted to cover it up.
After a defeat, soldiers who died in battle were often not registered. Therefore, although these soldiers died, they were not deregistered. Wang Xian regarded these soldiers who died in battle as evading taxes and levied rent and taxes according to their registration. Many military households were imprisoned in one go.
Thirty years of levying rent taxes destroyed his family. However, he collected huge amounts of property every year and put it into the inner treasury. He gained the trust of the saints and rose to great heights, becoming Li Linfu's most capable general."
Du Mei frowned and said: "In this case, his relationship with the border army should be extremely bad?"
"The family members of the soldiers who died in the battle may hate him to the core, but many of the generals have interests in him. At the beginning of the year, Huangfu Weiming came to the capital. Although he knew that Li Linfu was powerful, he was determined to get rid of Li Linfu because he found out about this matter.
Du Jin said: "I heard him and the prince confessing."
Xue Bai understood what Du Jin meant.
The current political situation in the DPRK is not clearly divided. You are on one side and I am on the other side. They are incompatible with each other.
A saint wants to spend extravagantly and enjoy himself, but also wants to be a wise king for eternity, so he needs someone to amass wealth and someone to perform meritorious deeds.
Therefore, whether Li Linfu's family or Donggong's family, apart from fighting, the more important thing is to collect money and perform meritorious service for the saint together. In fact, they have an intricate relationship with each other.
It all depends on profit.
Xue Bai picked up the pen and marked Wang Weld's villa on the map.
Du Jin leaned close to his head and looked at it, then pointed at Yang Shenjin's villa.
"Yang Shenjin, the chief censor, was born in the Yang family of Hongnong. He was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. He had a distinguished family background and was famous for his style and talent. He was the type of person Li Linfu always hated the most."
Du Wei recalled the scene when she saw Yang Shenjin in Dali Temple that day, frowned slightly, and felt a little uncomfortable.
Xue Bai asked: "Why are you jealous?"
"Let me give you another example. The saint once watched music and dancing behind the curtain in the Qinzheng Building. Lu Xuan, the minister of the Ministry of War, did not know that the imperial chariot was there. He lowered his whip and pressed the bridle, passing downstairs. His graceful demeanor was praised by the saint. This matter was learned by Li Linfu, and Li Linfu was worried
Lu Xuan was favored by the saint, so he set up a trap and demoted him out of Chang'an."
"Why?"
"Suo Douji is such a person."
Xue Bai was speechless for a moment.
Du Jin continued: "Yang Shenjin was not Li Linfu's person, but Li Linfu wanted to control the Yushitai and suppressed him. Yang Shenjin then succumbed to Li Linfu, but they should be wary of each other."
Xue Bai nodded and marked Yang Shenjin's villa on the map.
Du Wei reminded: "You have to be more careful in the future."
"Ahem."
Qu Shui coughed twice outside.
~~
Jiaonu dragged his feet feebly back to the wing and overheard the conversation inside.
"Princess Yuzhen has internally designated Wang Mojie as the number one scholar?" Du Jin said, "I was afraid that Yang Zhao was spreading rumors about this matter, so I mentioned Zhang Jiugao. This man is the younger brother of Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling.
How could he take the exam together with Wang Mojie in the ninth year of Kaiyuan?"
"How do outsiders know whether various reasons are true or false?" Du Mei said: "But if Xue Bai wants to get the first place, he must be recommended by a powerful person..."
Jiaonu entered the room and sat down, listening to them still talking to Xue Bai about the imperial examination.
After only sitting for a moment, her expression changed again, she gave Xue Bai a hard look, and walked out again.
After Jiaonu left, Du Wei hesitated in the room and said: "I am not a lobbyist for the Du family in Jingzhao, but after thinking about it, I think you may not be able to rely on you for a long time. Sooner or later, you need to have an identity.
To settle down and settle down, although Xue Ling has no official status, I wonder how it compares to your original life experience?"
Xue Bai said: "If you really want to speculate, the possibility that I was originally an official slave is not low."
"What I'm more worried about is that you don't have the temperament of an ordinary child. If you can be reduced to an official slave, I'm afraid that after you become an official, you will probably have a grudge against Youxiang Mansion." Du Mei said: "After all, your surname is Xue.
, if you are not obsessed with finding your parents and family immediately, I think it is better to temporarily accept this identity and find a future for yourself. Otherwise, even if you help the Right Prime Minister's Mansion find the prince's dead man, Li Linfu will not grant you an official position, and I am afraid that in the future
I also want to put the blame on you."
"Sister, I know what she said from the bottom of her heart." Xue Bai said: "Everything we have done is just for the four words of 'settling down and settling down'. The conditions given by the East Palace today are indeed not bad. The difficulty is that Li Linfu will not let us go easily.
."
Du Jin was convinced and said: "Yes, the most important thing right now is how to deal with Li Linfu."
"..."
When Jiao Nu came back, the two sisters of the Du family finally stood up and left.
With a "dang" sound, Jiao Nu took out the dagger, inserted it on the table in front of Xue Bai, and cursed: "How dare you harm me!"
"It must be that the transparent rice cake is broken." Xue Bai asked back: "But who forced you to eat it?"
"Don't think I don't know your intentions. In order to get rid of me, you dared to drug me."
"You can make whatever assumptions you want, but you need to have evidence to accuse others. Otherwise, will you just talk like this in front of the right prime minister?"
"Heh. Let me see how you explain it to You Xiang."
~~
Early the next morning, Ji Wen arrived at the Youxiang Mansion in Pingkangfang.
He bowed and stood in the hall. Behind the screen, Li Linfu asked, "Have you found out Xue Bai's life experience?"
"Reporting to the right minister, we have some clues." Jiwen responded: "I have asked people to review the files on the official slave trade and the disappearance of the beautiful young man in the past six months. I have already found clues, and I am still ordering people to investigate them one by one."<
/p>
"This is Xue Bai's method of using files to investigate and handle cases. You can't learn it quickly."
"How can it be his method? It's a method that has existed since ancient times." Ji Wen said with a smile: "Looking into this matter, there is another gain."
"Say."
Ji Wen said: "The disappearance of the beautiful young man in Chang'an City does not seem to be the fault of Mrs. Guo. According to what a young man said, it may be that a noble lady named Da Xi Yingying put the blame on Mrs. Guo."
"Who?"
"I don't know whose wife or concubine it is."
Li Linfu originally planned to scold Ji Wen, but he didn't expect to hear such a strange news. He coughed twice and then said in a deep voice: "Idiot, you are just busying yourself with trivial things. The Eastern Palace has found out Xue Baizhi's life experience."<
/p>
"This?" Ji Wen was greatly surprised and said, "How is it possible?"
The maid has already stepped out of the screen and threw a piece of news in front of Ji Wen.
After Ji Wen read it, he thought about it and said: "It can be seen that Xue Bai and Du Youlin must have betrayed the right prime minister and defected to the East Palace. We should teach them a lesson. Ji Wen is willing to investigate Liu Ji's case again."<
/p>
Li Linfu said nothing.
"The right prime minister." Ji Wen said again: "If the East Palace has so attracted Xue Bai, how can he still do his best for the right prime minister?"
At this moment, the steward Cangbi arrived outside the hall and reported: "Alang, Xue Bai is here."
Ji Wen turned around and saw Xue Bai entering the hall. He couldn't help but sneered and said impatiently: "I heard that you have found your family background. I am very happy and congratulations."
"Right phase."
Xue Bai ignored him, crossed his hands and said to Li Linfu, "I just want to report this matter to your right minister today. It can be seen that I am already very close to those dead men in the East Palace. That's why Li Heng jumped over the wall in a hurry and hurriedly attracted Yu."
Me."
Ji Wen opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but was stunned again.
He had just realized that it was in Xue Bai's best interest to accept Dong Palace's conditions, but he didn't expect that Xue Bai would sell Dong Palace in the blink of an eye.
Behind the screen, Li Linfu's tone seemed less cold than before, and asked: "So, you are not Xue Ling's son?"
"I don't believe there is such a coincidence." Xue Bai responded: "I think the dead men of the East Palace are hidden in Daozheng and Changle, and there are several other houses that I have no right to search. Please send troops
Manhunt."
Perhaps this answer was beyond Li Linfu's expectation, and there was no movement behind the screen for a long time.
Xue Bai then added: "The dead soldiers raised in the East Palace are all fierce men. There may be dozens of them. I am afraid that the elite of the Sixteen Guards will have to be mobilized."
Li Linfu told people: "Bring Guo Qianli here."
"Here."
"Xue Bai, answer the truth honestly. The Xue family of Hedong, the Duke of Pingyang, with such a life experience, can you be tempted?"
"This must be Li Heng's plan to drive a wedge between me and the right prime minister." Xue Bai responded: "Although I have lost my memory, even if I am from a humble background, I only want to find my biological parents, rather than clinging to a high family and recognizing others as my father." "Okay, I'm ambitious."
When Li Linfu heard this, he slowly clapped his hands three times.
Afterwards, he said something that surprised both Xue Bai and Ji Wen.
"You, after all, have to have an identity. Find your family as soon as possible. Then ask your father to bring the betrothal gift to the Prime Minister's Mansion."
Xue Bai was stunned, and finally turned to look at the small window on the side wall.
Faintly, he could hear some rustling sounds, and there seemed to be very light footsteps, as if someone was running away.
After a brief moment of astonishment, he quickly reacted and said loudly: "Thank you, Prime Minister, for your kindness!"
Ji Wen was stunned.
Only then did he understand that Dong Gong's attempt to win over Xue Bai had also become a test for Xue Bai. Xue Bai had withstood it and received such a great reward.
