Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Unfortunately, the situation no longer gave Wang Wenzuo time. Pei Judao, who had sent his daughter to the emperor's bed, was no longer willing to be the number two figure and began to attempt to stir up another disturbance in the palace and increase his influence on the emperor.The return of sisters Li Xiayu and Li Suwen to Chang'an added another variable to the already precarious situation, which made Wang Wenzuo feel overwhelmed and confused.

At this time, there were only two ways in front of Wang Wenzuo: either kill Pei Judao, frighten potential opponents, and monopolize power; or make concessions and hand over the leadership of the Political Hall to Pei Judao, while he only retains control of the North and South Yamen Imperial Guards.But the first way is to abolish the queen. After all, the queen is Pei Judao's daughter. You can't drive your father out of politics but leave a daughter lying on the emperor's bed.

There is also a big risk in doing this, that is, no one knows whether the queen is pregnant now. If the queen is deposed and it is discovered that the other party is pregnant, it will be embarrassing.What's even more terrible is that since Queen Pei has been deposed, a new queen must be established. Who can guarantee that the family behind the new queen will be easier to get along with than Pei Judao?Even if we don't take into account the political resources and a lot of troubles consumed by deposing the queen, the devastating blow to the trust between the monarch and his ministers is enough to make Wang Wenzuo tied up.

As for the problem of the second path, no one knows whether Pei Judao will push his limits. After all, the Imperial Guards of the Northern and Southern Governments of the Tang Dynasty are not fuel-efficient. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Imperial Guards have always played a very important role in the high-level political struggles of the Tang Empire. Important role. When Wang Wenzuo was able to push Li Hong to the throne, it was inseparable from the support of the ten leaders of the East Palace and the acquiescence of the Beiya Imperial Army.After Li Hong ascended the throne, Wang Wenzuo took charge of the Imperial Army as General Zuo Wuhou, and let Cui Hongdu and Murong Mu take charge of Beiya respectively, taking over the military power of Chang'an.But after all, he started from the frontier army. He did not have enough contacts in the Forbidden Army, nor did he have the experience to work from the grassroots level up. It was fine under normal circumstances. Once he made concessions to Pei Judao, some people in the Forbidden Army would Will you feel that the wind has changed and choose to jump ship?After all, Pei Judao, who was born in the Pei family in Hedong, has deep roots in Chang'an and has served as General Zuojinwuwei. If he wanted to play tricks in the Forbidden Army, it would be extremely easy.

Faced with such an embarrassing situation, Wang Wenzuo could not help but feel fear despite his great ability.In the final analysis, on the surface, he seems to be a very popular minister and majestic in Chang'an, but after all, he is just a hollow boss. All his power comes from the trust of the emperor, which is far inferior to being the only one in Baekje. .If it weren't for Li Hong who was on the throne, he would have found a way to go back to separate the country and become the local emperor.Now that we have embarked on this road, no matter how difficult it is, we have to bite the bullet and go on. Otherwise, we will not only harm others, but also make the country a mess, destroy all lives, and make the people miserable.Therefore, all that can be done at this time is to make excuses in the Chang'an court and try to maintain the situation, while secretly preparing backup plans in case of emergencies.

And Yijilianbode's canal transport envoy is a very good back-up man: first of all, he is located in Shaanzhou, close enough to Chang'an, and is in a strategic location. Once there are changes in Chang'an, he will be able to respond quickly; secondly, as a canal transport transporter, he will naturally There is a large amount of food, property, and a large number of young and strong laborers hoarded, and large-scale labor requires the organization and discipline of the conscripted labor. Therefore, as long as there is a little training in peacetime, weapons can be distributed and a certain number of weapons can be deployed at critical times. With officers and veterans, an army can be organized immediately.Wang Wenzuo himself has the power to rectify the Guanzhong military mansion. Although these military mansions can no longer produce too many decent soldiers, they still have a lot of soldiers and armor in the arsenal. Some old soldiers and armor can be obtained from these arsenals, and then It is a very simple matter to get some veteran officers as the backbone and secretly send them to Yiji Lianbode in Shaanzhou.This kind of temporarily recruited army may not be good enough for fighting in field battles with elite frontier troops, but it is still enough to use it as a secret chess move.

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Chang'an, Political Affairs Hall.

"Shizhong Pei, it's almost time!"

Pei Judao raised his head from the document. Standing in front of him was Liu Peiji, the Minister of Household Affairs. He pointed furtively to the right: "Mr. Pei, have you seen that it's already this time, General?" But it’s not here yet!”

"Oh!" Pei Judao responded casually: "Liu Shilang is very free! It's the end of autumn soon, and the grain gifts from various states to Beijing and Guanzhong are about to arrive. You have nothing else to do, so you have nothing to do. Is it too late to start caring about your colleagues?"

"No, no, no!" Liu Peiji said: "Isn't a humble position an injustice? You are much older than the general, and you are also the father-in-law of the emperor, but you can go to the political hall no matter whether it rains or snows. But he is a barbarian from Guandong. How can it be unworthy to squeeze into the Political Hall without force, and not be a good errand after entering, working one day early and one day late?"

"Liu Shilang!" Pei Judao put down the brush in his hand and interrupted the other party's complaint: "If you feel that Wang Wenzuo has done something wrong, you can write a memorial to impeach him. There is no need to say more here. Although I am a minister, but I have no right to deal with colleagues who are late!”

"What did Mr. Pei say?" Liu Peiji looked embarrassed and shook his head quickly: "I just said it casually and had no intention of impeaching the general. You said it too seriously!"

"Liu Shilang, you have quick hands and feet. You have already finished handling the official duties on hand. If you have time, come here and have a chat. I don't have such fast hands and feet. There are still many official duties on hand!" Pei Judao raised his voice a bit. , he pointed at the thick documents on several cases: "How about, Mr. Liu, you go back to your place and wait until you, this old man, have finished handling your official duties, and then come and have a casual chat with you?"

Liu Peiji's face turned red when Pei Judao said this, like a cooked crab. He muttered a few words, lowered his head and returned to his seat. The mocking glances from all around fell on him. It was as if he was naked.He lowered his head, sat down, picked up a document, and pretended to read it, but cursed in his heart: "You pretentious old dog, don't fall into Naigong's hands, or I will kill you!"

"General, General, you are here!"

With a warm greeting, Wang Wenzuo walked into the political hall.While returning the greeting to the person who greeted him, he smiled bitterly and said: "There was something going on in the palace last night. The Holy Spirit summoned me. It was almost dawn when I got home. I didn't sleep for half the night, so I came late. My colleagues, please forgive me!"

"If that's the case, then the general can just send someone to inform him, and he can just rest at home. Why bother working so hard!" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile.

"Yes! The general had official business last night and has a day off today. This is human nature!"

"Yes, it doesn't matter if you come to the political hall for a day. At most, we can just copy an abbreviation and send it to the house for the general to see!"

Liu Peiji was even more angry when he saw his colleagues approaching him one after another with smiling faces. These colleagues were usually sanctimonious and upright, but when they met Wang Wenzuo, they all approached him one by one. It was really disgusting.Especially that Pei Judao, who obviously hates Wang Wenzuo very much in his heart, but still has to pretend to be harmonious on the surface. When others say something bad about Wang Wenzuo, he will keep a straight face and say useless nonsense.Damn it, aren’t you the one who hates Wang Wenzuo the most here?After all, I don't want to compete with Wang Wenzuo for power. You are the only one who is thinking about squeezing Wang Wenzuo away from the emperor and replacing him yourself.You want to die in your heart, but you don't want it in your mouth at the same time. This kind of hypocrite is the most disgusting. Even Wang Wenzuo, a soldier, is much better than you.

Liu Peiji was cursing Pei Judao in his heart when he saw Wang Wenzuo walking towards him. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over: "Liu Shilang, this is a request for food from the Shaanzhou Water and Land Transport Envoy." Please take a look at the document. If there is no problem, just accept it!" "Oh, oh!" Liu Peiji stretched out his hands to take the piece of paper from Wang Wenzuo. After reading two lines, his mouth opened wide: "20 shi of grain, five Ten thousand pieces of cloth will be used from the Luoyang granary first!"

"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "The grain harvest will be finished soon, and labor can be levied. It is also the dry season, which is perfect for building towpaths and straightening rivers. This grain and cloth are used for this!"

"20 stones of grain, [-] pieces of cloth, so much?" Pei Judao's voice came from behind: "The general is kidding, right?"

"Of course not! This is official business, how dare Wang make such a joke!" Wang Wenzuo laughed and said: "There are tens of thousands of people, and all the expenses for food and drink are spent on it, and salt, straw sandals and so on are not included!"

"General!" Pei Judao took a step forward and had already separated Wang Wenzuo and Liu Peiji. "As far as I know, the laborers sent by this dynasty have to provide their own rations. At most, they can subsidize a little pickle money. Where is it used? Carrying so much food and cloth?"

"It is true that you can prepare your own rations for short-term labor, but this water transportation cannot be completed in ten and a half months, so I plan to distribute rations to the civilian laborers!"

"Short-term is short-term. Every time a prefecture or county is requisitioned, don't they just take turns?" Pei Ju said: "This is not a precedent! General, if you give rations this time, it won't matter if someone else does it next time." I can get food from the Luoyang granary!"

"How can it be done? If you change a group of people in ten days, isn't it like replacing a group of new people with just used ones? How can you do this well?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "This water transport is related to the foundation of the country. No delay!"

"General, please don't use water transportation to suppress me!" Pei Judao sneered: "What matter in this political hall is not related to the foundation of the country? If it is according to your statement, then there are no rules. Besides, the grain warehouses on both sides of Luoyang are all It has a purpose and a purpose. If you take out 20 dan at once, won't it delay other things? Who will take on this responsibility at that time? You or me?"

"Of course I am!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Since I got the food from you, I naturally bear the responsibility!"

Pei Judao was speechless. After a while, he said: "This is not a matter of taking responsibility. There are rules for getting food. You can't just take 20 stone grain and [-] pieces of cloth with a piece of paper like you." Let’s go, if we want to move the granary in Luoyang, the Ministry of Revenue must first come up with a charter, take it to the Political Hall and discuss it again, and then report it to His Majesty when everything is in order, and then we can do it!”

"This old thing!" Wang Wenzuo cursed in his heart. Apparently Pei Judao was playing the delaying tactic in the end. How much grain is there in the granaries near Luoyang? Which granary is in which granary? Only the officials in the Ministry of Revenue knew.If you have to wait for the Ministry of Household Affairs to come up with the regulations, there are ten thousand ways to prevent you from taking away a grain of grain in the next few years. However, the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs are clearly following Pei Judao. Without their cooperation, you will not be able to take away a grain of grain. Can't even take it away.

Just as Wang Wenzuo was thinking about how to get Pei Judao to let go, he heard someone next to him say: "Actually, out of these 20 stones of grain, [-] pieces of cloth can still be extracted!"

"Liu Shilang, don't say this nonsense!" Pei Judao said coldly.

Everyone's eyes suddenly focused on Liu Peiji's face. He stretched out his finger and tapped the piece of paper: "Mr. Pei, I am the Minister of Household Affairs. How could I talk nonsense? Let's put it this way, just Luo He, The seven or eight granaries on the south bank of the Yellow River can produce at least 50 shi of grain!"

"Wouldn't taking away these grains affect other uses?" Pei Judao's face became darker.

"No!" Liu Peiji answered firmly: "Everyone knows that Luoyang is surrounded by rivers and canals. It is very convenient to transport food from all parties. Every year, millions of shi of tribute rice are transported from the Huaihe River and Jiangnan. These All grains have to be replaced with old ones. It would be a good thing to free up all the old rice from previous years and replace it with new rice!"

"This bitch turned his back after being offended by this thing just now!" Pei Judao didn't know why Liu Peiji suddenly jumped out, but he couldn't explain it in front of Wang Wenzuo, so he could only say coldly: "Liu Shilang, the granary is a major matter related to the foundation of the country, and it cannot be taken lightly!"

"Servant, didn't you just say that there is nothing in this political hall that is not related to the foundation of the country? If we follow your words, we can't do anything!" Liu Peiji said with a smile: "Please don't worry, I will leave this matter to you. If there is anything wrong in the hands of an official, ask Peiji for it!"

As the saying goes, retribution in this world is repaid quickly. Pei Judao did not expect that the words he had just used to attack Wang Wenzuo would be slapped on his face by Liu Peiji in the blink of an eye, almost spurting out a mouthful of old blood.Wang Wenzuo, who was nearby, had already seen that Liu Peiji was deliberately disgusting Pei Judao. Although he was gloating in his heart, he did not forget to get the matter done first. He quickly interjected: "Liu Shilang, in that case, I leave it all to you!"

"General, please rest assured. It will take at least five days, or at least three days. There will be a notice from the Ministry of Household Affairs. When the situation is bad, just ask the people from the Shaanzhou Water and Land Transport Envoy to go to Luoyang to get grain and cloth!"