Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Even if you are married to an ordinary farmer, you still have to say a few nice words to please your husband. What's more, you are marrying a ninety-five-year-old Supreme, who has many women. How can you talk like this without a wink? It is an unreasonable disaster to take your anger out on me without offending your husband!" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, he didn't bother to pay attention to the queen, he just picked up the wine pot and filled it for Li Hong, then filled himself up, picked up the wine glass and said: "Here, drink again One cup!”

When the queen saw this, she was furious and rushed out of the house with a flick of her sleeves. Immediately, scolding and slapping sounds came from the corridor. It was obvious that the queen was venting her anger on the maids and eunuchs outside.

"Sanlang, you have seen it too!" Li Hong put down his wine glass: "The queen has an arrogant temperament, and she is favored by everyone but has no children. Her words are rude and she is not suitable for the queen. The queen wants to abolish her. What do you think?"

"This is His Majesty's family matter, and no one can comment on it!" Wang Wenzuo said solemnly: "But has Your Majesty ever thought about who will be re-established after the abolition of the empress?"

"This -" Li Hong pondered for a moment, but said nothing.

"The queen's position cannot be vacant for a long time. If your majesty wants to depose the queen, it is better to think clearly before marrying the daughter of any family!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Also, the queen's father is a servant. If your majesty is to depose the queen, I'm afraid Shizhong Pei is also leaving, who will succeed him?"

"Then Sanlang, you can take over for the time being!" Li Hong said.

"I already have the military power in Chang'an, how can I take over the position of Pei Shizhong again?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you should choose someone wiser!"

Li Hong picked up the wine glass and thought for a moment: "What about Yang Sijian?"

"Yang Sijian?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned. He originally thought that the emperor would choose a replacement from the group of photos in the Political Affairs Hall, but he didn't expect that the other party suddenly mentioned Yang Sijian. Could it be that he had no lingering feelings for the young lady of the Yang family?Isn't this too much of a child's play?
"It's not impossible, but I think it's a bit too hasty. After all, Yang Sijian has no experience in Taige. If he takes up the post of political affairs hall all of a sudden, I'm afraid outsiders will be shocked!"

Li Hong nodded. It seemed that he was not too determined about making Yang Sijian the prime minister. He picked up the wine glass and drank a few drinks, then he became drunk and felt a little sleepy.Wang Wenzuo called the maid Li Hong to lie down, and then came out.As soon as he left the side hall, he saw the queen standing by the door. He quickly bowed and said, "I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen!"

"General, you finally came out? How is your majesty?"

"Your Majesty is already asleep!" Wang Wenzuo said.

"Then what did you say to His Majesty after I left?" the queen asked.

Facing the Queen's questioning, Wang Wenzuo frowned and said with a smile: "This is a forbidden language, I dare not reveal it!"

"Can't even I do it?" The queen looked angry.

"Your Majesty the Queen, speaking forbidden Chinese is a capital crime!" Wang Wenzuo said: "If you want to know, you can ask Your Majesty directly. Don't expose me to injustice!" At this point, Wang Wenzuo bowed and bowed, then went straight Go outside.

"You——" Looking at Wang Wenzuo's back, the queen stamped her feet suddenly. She was extremely angry, but she did not dare to explode.It turns out that the "forbidden Chinese language" mentioned by Wang Wenzuo is a unique vocabulary in ancient Chinese politics. It refers to the private words spoken by the emperor and those close to him in the palace. The leak of the forbidden Chinese language was a term used by close officials in the ancient palace. It is a serious crime and the offender will be executed.

After leaving the emperor's palace, Wang Wenzuo fell into deep thoughts. Just now, the emperor mentioned the matter of deposing the queen and establishing Yang Sijian as prime minister, which was a bit beyond his expectation. Of course, he knew that the emperor did not like Empress Pei very much. Of course, with this Li Hong would not be too satisfied with Queen Pei's temper and appearance. However, not long after the emperor ascended the throne, he immediately placed Pei Judao at the head of the group of prime ministers. If the queen was deposed, Pei Judao would definitely be the most important person in the political affairs hall. At that time, the distribution of power and the advancement and retreat of personnel would also take a lot of thought, so I reminded the emperor at that time that if he wanted to depose the queen, he must first think clearly about his successor.And the emperor suddenly said that Yang Sijian should be the prime minister, but Yang Sijian was Wei Shaoqing and had no previous experience of serving in the three provinces. How could he be the prime minister directly?Is there something going on around the emperor that he doesn't know about?
"Captain Murong!"

"The general is here!" Murong Miao responded quickly.

"In addition to the palace and the court, where else has the emperor been to these days, places that he has never been to before?" Wang Wenzuo felt something was wrong as soon as he said the words, and was about to add a few words to show that he did not want to peep. Murong Miao had already answered without hesitation: "The emperor's whereabouts these days are no different from those on ordinary days, except that every few days he will go to Yang Sijian and Yang Shaoqing's house to stay for a while!"

"In Yang Sijian's house?" Wang Wenzuo frowned, thinking to himself that Yang's house could be regarded as Li Hong's sad place. Why would he go there if he had nothing to do?Murong Moo quickly replied: "The first time the Emperor went to Yang Shaoqing was to visit the Lishan Palace with the Queen. However, when he came back halfway, he turned around and went to the Yang Mansion. From then on, he went there every few days. I heard that the Queen was... He was very unhappy and lost his temper several times, but the Emperor remained the same!" From his look, there was no consciousness of revealing anything about the Emperor.

"It's probably that the emperor and the queen got into trouble on their way to the Lishan Palace. On the way back, they thought of the fiancée who died early, so they went to the Yang Mansion to see things and miss her. By the way, I killed Helan Minzhi that night. Of course, the emperor didn't know about his fiancée running away at night. In his mind, the young lady of the Yang family was forced to rape and died by He Lan Minzhi, so he visited the Yang Mansion. Forget it once, why do you have to go there again every few days? Is the tomb so beautiful? And you won’t let Yang Sijian become prime minister just for the sake of a tomb, right? "

"Captain Murong, do you know what the emperor did in the Yang Mansion?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"This -" Murong Miao showed a hesitant look. Wang Wenzuo immediately knew there must be something hidden inside: "There are only you and me here. The words come from your mouth and enter my ears. There will never be a third person. I know! Don’t you still believe me?”

"Yes!" Murong Miao smiled bitterly: "Of course my subordinates can trust what the general said, but I have only heard about it. I can't be sure whether it is true or not. I am afraid that I might say something wrong and mislead the general. !”

"Just tell me whether it's true or false, and I can tell it myself!"

"Yes, yes!" Murong Mu lowered his voice, with a mysterious look on his face: "I heard that Yang Shaoqing had a niece who was similar in age to his daughter who died young, and her appearance was somewhat imaginary, but she was more It was a little more colorful. When the emperor came back from Lishan to Yang's house, the niece happened to be a guest at Yang Shaoqing's house. After that day, she stayed at Yang Shaoqing's house for a long time. Yang Shaoqing even raised her as his own daughter. People don’t know anything anymore!”

"I've asked you to finish everything, and you still say you don't know anything?" Wang Wenzuo snorted coldly and glared at Murong Nao so frightened that Murong Nao lowered his head and did not dare to say a word. After a moment, He heard Wang Wenzuo's voice: "How many people besides you know about this matter?"

"Reporting to the general, the emperor always has a guard of honor when he goes to the Yang Mansion. This kind of thing can only be repaid once or twice. How many people can he hide from it if he goes more often?"

"Should I say that the emperor is too pure, or that he doesn't care at all? I am the only one in the whole city of Chang'an who doesn't know about feelings!" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In fact, this matter is big or small, speaking from a big perspective. After she was deposed, she told her that at most she would be brought into the palace and give the daughter of the Yang family a concubine.It was probably because of this that Pei Judao didn't take it to heart at all. After all, what the palace wanted was for a mother to be courteous to the world, not to compete for favor. The most important thing for his daughter now was not to prevent these endless beautiful women from climbing into the emperor's bed, but to give birth to her herself. Come son.To put it bluntly, monogamy was not a system in ancient times, and prevention was impossible. Having a son was the last word.But what Pei Judao didn't expect was that his daughter was a fool with a bad temper. Even a husband like Li Hong, who had a very good personality, couldn't coax her, which made Li Hong want to become a queen. "Pei Judao was really smart all his life, but in the end he was unlucky with this idiot daughter. It's really hard for a man to protect his wife, his virtuous son, and his filial piety!" Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but feel a little gloating in his heart. Although this old man was dealing with him perfunctorily on the surface, But they also fought several times behind the scenes.If Li Hong really wants to depose the queen, then Pei Judao will definitely fall out of his position. And with his previous power and monopoly, there will definitely be many villains who will add insult to injury after he gets down. Being able to do everything is a blessing from his ancestors.

"General!"

"Huh?" Murong Mu's voice interrupted Wang Wenzuo's thoughts, and he turned around: "What's wrong?"

"Are you going back home now or -?" Murong Miao asked: "There will always be an explanation for the affairs of the Supreme Emperor, Supreme Queen, and Eldest Princess after dawn. Now there will only be one or two hours before dawn at most, so - —”

"You're right!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Now go to the Political Affairs Hall, who is on duty tonight?"

"It seems to be Liu Shilang from the Ministry of Finance!"

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political affairs hall.

Liu Peiji wiped his face with water from the copper basin next to the couch and squatted on the toilet slowly. The night air made goosebumps appear on his exposed skin. "Damn it, I ate too much for dinner!" Liu Peiji tried his best to clear his stomach and intestines while thinking about how to smooth out several groups of numbers on the account book. This is an extremely profound knowledge that cannot be mastered by only the smartest people.

"The general has arrived. He asked you to go see him immediately!" The servant's voice came from behind the screen. Liu Peiji was stunned and almost thought he heard wrongly: "General? Why is he here at this time?"

"The general said there is an emergency in the palace! I want you to see him immediately!" The servant emphasized the word "immediately".Liu Peiji shivered, and quickly wiped his buttocks with a bamboo chip, washed it with water in a wooden bucket, straightened his clothes, and walked quickly outside.

Wang Wenzuo was pacing next to the extinguished brazier. He was wearing a purple robe. On the gold belt around his waist was a horizontal knife and a wrist-tipped knife. There was no decoration on the handle. "General!" Liu Peiji came towards him with small steps: "I am unable to greet you from afar, please forgive me!"

"Liu Shilang, I should be the one who is rude when you come to visit late at night!" Wang Wenzuo turned around and pointed to the cushions beside him: "Time is running out, let's sit down and talk!"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Peiji sat down carefully: "The servant who heard the message said there is something going on in the palace?"

"Well, the Supreme Empress has passed away. The Supreme Emperor was too grieved and unconscious. Although an imperial doctor has been invited, the situation is not good. The eldest princess has also passed away from a serious illness!"

Liu Peiji was stunned by the sudden news. He finally recovered from the shock: "Then, your Majesty -"

"Your Majesty is in inexplicable grief, but the dragon's body is fine!"

"Oh, oh, thank God!" Liu Peiji sighed twice, but his wandering eyes showed that he was not as sad as he said, but was thinking about the authenticity of the news and Wang Wenzuo's true purpose of coming to the Political Affairs Hall late at night.

"I have been stationed at the border for a long time, and this is the first time I have encountered this kind of thing. Can you teach me, Mr. Liu?"

"Don't dare!" Liu Peiji said: "I am the Minister of the Ministry of Husband and I am good at managing money. This kind of thing should be done by the Ministry of Rites. Also, it is best to invite Minister Pei to come!"

"Well, that's good, then let's ask Shizhong Pei to come over!"

Liu Peiji was completely awake at this time. While he sent someone to invite Shizhong Pei, he asked the servant to get tea and chatted with Wang Wenzuo: "General, I have something unclear. Why did the Queen and the eldest princess spend the same night together?" If they died at the same time, is there any connection between them?"

"Relationship?" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "How do I know so much about things in the palace? I just say what the palace says!"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Peiji felt a layer of sweat on his forehead, and quickly lowered his head. The general's meaning was very clear: you will believe whatever I say, and it will not benefit you if I continue to ask.

Now that Liu Peiji understood the rules, he stopped asking about the palace change and just talked about interesting gossip to please Wang Wenzuo.Wang Wenzuo listened for a while and found that Liu Shilang was not only eloquent, but also had a very good understanding of accounting and numbers, so he casually asked a few questions about household taxes and labor. Liu Peiji also answered fluently, making Wang Wenzuo couldn't help but nod secretly.

"So, do you think there is still a lot to be done for the finance and taxation of Jiangxi, eastern Zhejiang, and Jiangnan?"

"Exactly!" Liu Peiji also knew that this was a rare opportunity to show off: "Although Hebei Province currently ranks first in finance and taxation, if it is really fully developed and there is no spare field, then Jiangxi, Jiangnan, and Eastern Zhejiang will be the largest provinces. Number one in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty’s treasury will still rely on the southeastern region in the future!”

"The southeastern land?" Wang Wenzuo smiled and said, "Why do you say that?"

"Because the fields in the southeast are not only fertile, but rice can be grown twice a year, and the rivers and lakes are crisscrossed, which is conducive to boat transportation. This is not comparable to Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong. If it is well maintained, 200 grains and rice can be transported to the capital every year. Thousands of stones and millions of pieces of cloth are no big deal. How can we defeat the Tibetan, Pingmohe, and Silla bandits with this army?"