Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 799 Second Bridge
"Then, why did the general give Cui, Li, Wang, and each of our families the position of governor of the state?" Lu Zhaolin asked.

"Hey!" Luzhenji sighed: "This is his brilliance. Think about it, no matter how clever his tricks are, it is inevitable that some of us will be able to see through them. If he defeats all fifteen people , which means that all the Hebei nobles have been pushed to the enemy. But now that he has given Cui, Li, Wang, and each of our families a state governor position, it will be difficult for the Hebei nobles to unite again!"

"That's true. Some people don't have it, and some people have it. Naturally, people's hearts will be scattered!" Lu Zhaolin suddenly realized: "The general has even considered this, how amazing!"

"He was born in the military and has no reputation from his ancestors. He has come to this day on his own. He is naturally very powerful!" Lu Renji sighed: "Besides, his first wife is the Cui family of Qinghe, and the Li family and the Wang family are Zhaojun and Zhongshan respectively. As the county magistrate, our family probably took advantage of you. Besides, the one he gave was the governor of the Andong Protectorate. Even if it wasn't from a border area, it was still very different from the governor of Hebei Province. It was equal to He is asking our Qianliju to help him, but he is really not willing to suffer any losses!"

"I didn't think so much!" Lu Zhaolin lowered his head in shame.

"If you can think so much, I'm afraid he won't regard you as his confidant!" Lu Renji sighed.

"Then, what should we do?" Lu Zhaolin asked.

"What else can we do? Of course we have to submit!" Luzhenji said with a wry smile: "This is the general's toast. If we don't eat it, then we will be fined wine!"

"That's true!" Lu Zhaolin couldn't help but shudder when he thought of the past. He thought for a while and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, do you regret what happened back then?"

"Regret? How could you regret it?" Lu Renji said with a smile: "Although the recommendation of the governor of the state was not successful, the general is still much stronger than the Chang'an court. If nothing else, his foundation is at least in our Hebei province. Guanxi, my wife is also from Hebei, as long as this is the case, we won’t be able to suffer too much!”

"Well, that's right!" Lu Renji said with a smile: "His foundations are not only in Hebei, but also in Haidong, the Three Kingdoms of the Peninsula, and the Japanese Kingdom. In these places, the land route is not as convenient as the sea route. If you want to develop industry and commerce and operate trade, you must first A port must be built; salt is the foundation of a country. He pays attention to these two things, which shows that he sincerely manages Hebei and does not treat this place as a place to collect taxes. This is a good thing!"

Soon, Wang Wenzuo responded. He did not continue to recommend the governor as many Hebei scholars expected, but immediately wrote to the court to plead guilty for his unidentified conduct and recommending inhuman things, and said that he would definitely pursue this matter. We must strictly investigate these guys who recommend unscrupulous people, deceive themselves, and cause the court to lose face. At the same time, he also expressed his gratitude to Liu Peiji, the Minister of Household Affairs. It was he who pointed out these unscrupulous people that prevented the people of Hebei Being tortured by them. At the end of the memorial, Wang Wenzuo also asked for self-demotion by two levels, in order to show the world that the court's laws were strict and fair, and to serve as a warning to those who would come after him.

"Brother Lu, you watched your nephew grow up, and you don't know what his talent and moral character are?" The old man in Jinyi retorted: "As for what you said, you can't blame him, right? That woman has no son. If you don't want to adopt another one, can you just cut off that house? In any case, the family assets and land in this house were all divided by the Feng family in Hebei. They can't just be lost in vain. Of course they have to be taken back. !”

"Brother Lu, Brother Lu! Your family is fine. At least there is a provincial governor. My family is unlucky. All the hard work in the past has been in vain. I don't know how much trouble there will be in the future. Hey, why am I so unlucky? ?" An old man in brocade clothes sighed to Lu Renji.

"How dare you!" Lu Zhaolin said hurriedly: "Auntie is also worried about your health, uncle. It's all out of good intentions!"

"That's true!" Lu Zhaolin nodded: "But he has been running back and forth in Cangzhou during this period. I heard that it was for the construction of the port and the salt industry!"

"Well, then be careful on the road!" Lu Renji got off the couch to see each other off and sighed: "Don't take what your aunt just said to heart. She is a woman and doesn't know the seriousness of things. I will teach her a lesson later. !”

"This -" Lu Zhaolin didn't expect Lu Renji to say that. He didn't know what to say for a moment, so he had to bow to his uncle and walked out quickly. Luzhenji looked at his nephew's retreating back, sighed, and went back to the house.

"Hey!" Luzhenji sighed: "That's all, let's not talk about this. After you go back, you must be as loyal and conscientious to the general as you were in the past. Remember, if you can always do things by the general's side, you are doing us a favor. The biggest advantage of the Lu family is that you shouldn’t have even rushed back today, it’s a small gain but a big gain!”

Lu Mansion.

The news that Wang Wenzuo's recommendation to be the governor of Hebei Province was rejected by the Chang'an court gradually spread in Hebei Province a few days later. In order to prevent Lu Zhaolin from being implicated, Lu Renji didn't even tell anyone. He pretended to be surprised and angry until the news from the outside came. (Fanyang is in the northeast of Hebei Province. If the news comes from Chang'an, Fanyang should be one of the last places to know about it in the entire Hebei Province.) It is not difficult to imagine the disappointment and anger of the Hebei gentry. Liu Peiji's name has been mentioned countless times. Mentioned and cursed, he became the public enemy of Hebei scholars. Of course, those who were smarter and more thoughtful saw something more behind the surface. They cautiously closed their mouths, opened their eyes and ears, and paid attention to the next development of the matter.

"You can't say that!" Lu Renji said: "The general said well before that the recommended person must be talented and of good moral character, but the person recommended by your family actually forced the widow's sister-in-law to get married to devour the deceased brother. How can this be achieved if we have a family fortune?”

"That's what uncle said!" After hearing this, Lu Zhaolin's mood improved a lot. He stood up and said, "Uncle, I came back privately this time. If the general wants to recruit me and I'm not here, I'm afraid there will be some trouble. So I went back first!”

This series of operations by Wang Wenzuo caused the Hebei scholars to fall into a dead silence. Obviously, the recommendation of Hebei scholars to serve as governors has been ruined. What is even more frightening is that this matter is not over yet. Wang Wenzuo found out for himself in the memorial. If the person is unknown, he recommends someone who is not a person and pleads guilty, and even asks to be demoted two levels. It is not clear what those who caused this consequence will do. Originally, everyone was fighting for it, fearing that it would be missing a portion, but now it has become a big cesspool that everyone is afraid of avoiding. The rapid changes in the world are really unexpected.

"That's what I said! But at this critical moment, if someone grasps the handle and puts the matter in the court, there is nothing we can do. In the end, if this matter is just an ordinary commoner's family, it will be nothing. , but if you want to be a parent, you will inevitably be criticized!"

"Yes!" The old man in Jinyi sighed: "It's all my fault that Liu Peiji caused trouble for no reason and ruined our good deeds! If there is a chance, I must cut him into pieces to avenge this humiliation! "

Lu Renji laughed twice. Naturally, he would not be stupid enough to tell the truth for the other party. Maybe it would be better for him not to know anything. After he was sent out, Lu Renji sneered: "You have a brain like yours and you still want a junior to be the governor? Even if you do become the governor, I'm afraid you won't know how you died in the end!"—————— ————————————————————

In Chang'an, under the Toad Tomb, there is a courtyard somewhere.

"This must be Liu Langjun! Come in quickly, Murong Langjun has already arrived and has been waiting inside for a long time!" The Madam opened the courtyard door enthusiastically and made an invitation gesture. She is a A fat little woman who is no longer young, with a round face painted with makeup. She had obviously been drinking, and her protruding goldfish eyes were a little red. She half-covered her lips with a small handkerchief, looking back at Liu Peiji from time to time, and kept talking, both from the court and from the people, and all kinds of anecdotes. Liu Peiji pretended to listen carefully, nodding from time to time and answering once or twice, but his mind was already thinking about tonight's meeting.

"Liu Langjun, you are a learned man. I have something to ask you, and I would like you to help the little girl clear up her doubts!"

Liu Peiji looked at the middle-aged woman in front of him and smiled nonchalantly: "I don't dare to be knowledgeable. If you have anything you don't understand, just tell me and I can explain it!"

"I heard that General Wang of Hebei recommended a dozen governors of Hebei Province a few days ago, but they were rejected by the court. Do you think that General Wang will get angry and lead troops to fight, just like last time? You have to pay a thousand dollars for a fight in Chang'an City, but the people can't make a living?" the old bustard asked nervously.

"Hahaha!" Liu Peiji laughed when he heard this: "No!"

"No?" The old bustard couldn't stand because of Liu Peiji's certainty: "Seriously? This time the court has refuted him, which is a huge honor!"

"No!" Liu Peiji said with a smile: "Last time was last time, this time is this time, the general is still a loyal minister of the imperial court. He has already written to the imperial court to apologize for the inhumane thing of recommending him, and he also asked himself to be demoted two levels. The imperial court has allowed him to remain in his original position, and this matter is over!"

"Is it over like this?" The Madam blinked her eyes, as if she hadn't fully understood the huge amount of information contained in Liu Peiji's words. After a while, she returned to her usual cleverness typical of middle-aged women: "Well, since he himself Please demote him, then why doesn’t the imperial court just go with the flow and take away his military power, so as not to keep him in Hebei and make us worried all day long?”

"Haha!" Liu Peiji couldn't help but shook his head and laughed at the madam's ignorance: "Madam, you think things are too simple. This is a double act between the general and the court. Do you understand?"

"Double act?" The madam blinked her goldfish eyes.

"Yes!" Liu Peiji said with a smile: "General Wang wrote to the court to plead guilty and demote himself. This shows his respect for the court, not that he is really guilty. The court agreed to his request and demoted him two levels. This shows the court's laws. Sen Yan does not really want to punish him, so let him stay in his original position. Soon, he will find a reason to reinstate him. If you really want to take away his military power as you said, then that is So stupid."

"So that's what happened!" The old bustard sighed: "I really don't understand, that's all. The front is Feiran Pavilion, and Murong Langjun is inside. Please, please!"

Liu Peiji took a look and found that Feiranxuan was a small two-story building, but it was very exquisitely decorated, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into it. In front of the house, there is an old plum tree with gnarled branches, two tall and straight sycamore trees, and on the right side there are about a dozen green bamboo poles that are very thick and dense. Oranges shine through the cracked ice windows lined up on the second floor. The yellow warm light gives people a sense of comfort. Three figures were cast on the window, seeming to be saying something.

"Daughters, Mr. Liu is here, come out to greet the distinguished guest!" the madam shouted in a sharp voice.

The conversation on the second floor stopped, and then there was the sound of footsteps going down the stairs. The warm curtain was lifted, and a young girl with long hair came out first. She saluted her guests, turned away, and raised the curtain with both hands. After a while, a tall and beautiful woman walked out slowly, followed by the burly Murong Parrot.

When the beauty saw Liu Peiji, she folded her sleeves at her waist, leaned sideways, lightly opened her red lips, and said in a sweet voice: "Happy sir! I didn't know that my husband was coming, please forgive me for not being welcomed!"

Liu Peiji nodded to Murong Miao, and then looked at the beauty through the light from the curtain. He felt more and more that she was beautiful and fair, with a clear air. He smiled and praised: "I have heard about my lady's reputation for a long time, and I can see her today." , Only then do you know that there are no empty ones under the great reputation!"

"Mr. Lang is laughing! I'm just a woman, how dare I take it!" The beauty smiled slightly: "It's windy outside, how about we go upstairs together?"

"Okay!" Liu Peiji nodded, and everyone went upstairs together. The guests and hosts sat down, and Murong Moo introduced Liu Peiji. Only then did he know that this tall and beautiful beauty was her sister, named Daqiao, and the other was her sister. , this year is only fourteen, but it is called Xiaoqiao, obviously in order to echo the theory of Da Qiao Xiaoqiao during the Three Kingdoms period.

"It's not that we sisters are arrogant!" Daqiao explained: "It's just that there is a small pond where I used to live. You have to cross the bridge to get there, and my surname is Qiao, so the guests coming and going started screaming like this. , but it made you both laugh!"

"Young lady, you don't have to be too modest!" Murong Miao said with a smile: "In my opinion, the Da Qiao and Er Qiao sisters at the time may not be as good as your sisters. It's just that the history books and commentaries of later generations have said a lot, and the world knows about it. Thinking too high!”

(End of this chapter)