Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 114
Today's saints built a narrow road along the east wall of Chang'an City for the convenience of visiting Qujiang.

The intervening wall is the same height as the outer city wall, isolating the royal road from the outside world. It starts from Daming Palace in the north, passes through Xingqing Palace, and ends in Furong Garden in the south.

Xue Bai and others are not qualified to see this royal road, so they have to bypass Qixia Gate from Shengpingfang, and then turn to Qujiang.

The carriages and horses moved slowly, and the female relatives were behind.

Du Wulang didn't know where he went, leaving Xue Bai and Du Youlin walking side by side, listening to him say some naive remarks about power tactics.

"Wang Yu used Yushi Zhongcheng and Hubu Langzhong, and Pei Gong used Yushi Dafu and Hubu Shangshu to overwhelm him. The old man was originally a five-rank praise, but now he is restored to the sixth rank Yuanwailang. Presumably Pei Gong meant to wait Get rid of Wang Chi, let me be promoted to a fifth-rank doctor, and wear a red robe again..."

There were cicadas singing in the distance, and it was a little noisy.

Xue Bai sighed slightly in his heart, turned his head to look at Du Youlin, and saw that he was personable and kind, in short, he was trustworthy and not pedantic in his dealings.

Right now, after all, he is the one with the highest family background, seniority, and future among Xue Bai's inner circle, and the degree of binding interests between them is far from comparable to that of Yan Zhenqing and Yang Cheng.

In other words, Yang Tong is just the leader of the Yang Party, and Du Youlin is the current face of Xue Party, so he should spend more effort in supporting and cultivating him patiently.

"In my nephew's opinion, rank is the least important thing to care about. A sage only needs one sentence to bestow a red robe and a golden fish charm. Power and position are important."

"good."

Du Youlin nodded repeatedly, knowing that Xue's vision must be different if he could win the holy family by playing cards, so he was very convinced.

Xue Bai said: "Struggling for power and power is actually asking the power giver to choose who to give power to after he has done his job well. Then uncle is in the household department, and he should do his own business."

"Could it be possible for the old man to assist Wang Chi?"

"Of course, the so-called 'Yuan Wai Lang' is added to the fixed number of people, and he is the assistant of the Lang Guan. The uncle's duty is to assist Wang Yu. To advance in the officialdom, you should first do your job well. For example, although people in the world scold brother slaves, they are actually He never delays the sage's order..."

Du Youlin could not help but look at Xue Bai a few more times, but he sighed.

He used to live a noble life, waiting for his son-in-law to let the Du family thrive, but the two daughters were useless and could no longer be counted on.It is better to ask for others than to ask for yourself, you have to fight for yourself.

From false position to real power, there is a lot to learn, without Xue Bai's help, I always feel guilty.

But how to get closer to each other?Originally it was a good idea to adopt a foster son, but it was a pity that the bad-tempered daughter ruined it. In the blink of an eye, Xue Bai had a good reputation, and he had already missed the opportunity.

"Ugh."

Du Youlin sighed in his heart, and when he turned his head and saw a scene, he suddenly had an idea.

But I saw Du Wulang riding a horse beside Lu Fengniang's carriage and talking through the curtain, handing in a wild flower, and it was Xue Sanniang who stretched out his hand to pick it up...

~~
Qujiang Pond has beautiful scenery, the east bank is the Royal Hibiscus Garden, and ordinary people play on the west bank.

In April, the weather is bright and clear, the willow trees by the water are blown by the wind, and the catkins are like snow.

The group got out of the carriage, Lu Fengniang sat down with Liu Xiangjun, watched the young children chasing after them, and continued to mutter about the topic just now, but Du Youlin waved to her.

"What's the matter, sir?"

"What do you think, let Wulang marry Sanniang Xue's family?"

Even in the current situation, Du Youlin's first consideration is still his family status, he pondered and said slowly: "Hedong Xue, the great-granddaughter of the Duke of Pingyang County, her family status is not bad."

Lu Fengniang was stunned for a moment, and said: "Mr. Lang is confused, Xue Sanniang has a marriage contract, my concubine said so."

"Yi Lu, the man regrets the marriage and will not refund the dowry. Let the Xue family take a step back, return the dowry, and settle the matter."

"Ms. Liu was talking about this just now. Originally, the other party accused Xue's family of cheating on the marriage and insisted on paying the dowry; now she wants to pay back the dowry, but the other party refuses to call off the engagement."

Du Youlin frowned, according to the law, the woman would have to stick sixty if she repented of the marriage, and continue to fulfill the engagement, there was nothing he could do about it.

For this matter, even if he or Xue Bai can't do it, I'm afraid Xue Ling will have to be brought back to deal with it.

But thinking of getting Xue Ling back, the thoughts of marriage suddenly faded again.

Du Youlin looked at Du Wulang again, and saw his son and Xue Shishilang playing by the pool, looking foolish.

He couldn't help thinking, could it be that he guessed wrong?

How could it be possible that others didn't notice it, but was noticed by myself, who didn't care about housework at all?
~~
Xue Bai and the Du sisters were walking along the banks of the Qujiang River.

Looking sideways, the wind blows their skirts, showing beautiful curves.

"I already have a general idea about the offering of military weapons." Xue Bai said, "I happened to know Wang Wei from the Department of Treasury Department of the Ministry of War, and I met Li Hua, the head of the Ministry of Industry through the division. .”

"A craftsman from the Ministry of Employment?"

"I'm afraid it's not enough. A better choice would be the group of people who built a new house for Wang Yu. I'll inquire later."

Du Jin said: "That's it, things can be done, if you can really make the huge stone cannon you want, just present it to the saint?"

"There is still a reason missing." Xue Bai said, "We can't say that we collected information on Longyou in the dark room of Fengwei Tower. Whoever reminded us to build the giant stone cannon is also a credit."

"You still want to share the credit with Wang Zhongsi?"

"Well, leave friendship like this."

Du Yu said: "But it's very dangerous. Lord Yan has already reminded you not to make friends with side generals."

Xue Bai turned his head and looked at Du Yi.

Her eyes were like autumn water, always filled with tenderness and concern; but when he looked at her, he never looked like a boy with curly hair.

In his eyes, she was always a little girl in her 20s, but her life was too hard.

Du Ti lowered his head under his gaze.

"I'm thinking." Xue Bai said, "Is there a way to make Wang Zhongsi think of me, but others don't know that I have this friendship with Wang Zhongsi."

When Du Jin heard it, she immediately felt that his words had a double meaning, so she refused to speak any more, and just walked away holding Du Jin's hand.

She was dressed very neatly, without any makeup, and she usually regulated herself according to the words and deeds of a little widow who didn't interact with others.

"Do you have a clue?" Du Jin asked, and relieved her sister.

Xue Bai said: "I heard that when your great uncle was in Longyou, he recommended Wang Zhongsi?"

"Have."

Du Jin nodded and talked about the friendship between the two families.

……

When Du hoped to be appointed as the Hexi Jiedu envoy, Wang Zhongsi was relegated, so Du hoped to recruit him to Hexi as Zuoweiweilang general to attack Silla City in Tubo.

It is said that Tubo also dispatched a large army to retaliate. Wang Zhongsi rode into the enemy's position alone, galloping left and right, killing hundreds of people alone, causing chaos in the enemy army.

It was also this recommendation that enabled Wang Zhongsi to make great military exploits again, and then shocked the frontiers...

~~
Anrenfang, the Du family mansion.

Hearing that there was a visitor, Du Wei rushed to the front yard to greet him. When he saw the visitor, he couldn't help laughing.

"Brother Gongfu, Wang Shierniang, it's rare to see me."

"Knowing that you are going to be the prime minister's son-in-law soon, and the wedding banquet is complicated, I came here to see if there is anything I can help you with."

While talking, Yuan Zai presented a gift, and the brocade box contained a pair of jade ruyis, which was quite decent.

He is about thirty years old, with a handsome appearance, a dignified appearance, a fair and square face, piercing eyes, a straight nose, two slanting eyebrows, a well-groomed beard, and a good appearance .

If people guess, they will think that this is a child of an aristocratic family, and they will definitely not guess that his family is actually poor.

Yuan Zai also came with his wife Wang Yunxiu.

Wang Yunxiu was 22 years old at the time. She was the No. 12 daughter of Wang Zhongsi, the Jiedu envoy of the Four Towns, and she really had the style of a tiger girl.

She is tall and tall, not as fair and plump as the women in Chang'an. The wind and sand in the northwest made her skin a little rough, and she has the heroic spirit of a woman.

Before she came out of the pavilion, she was famous for being "violent", but in fact she has a strong temperament and some rebellious habits.

Du Wei used to stay with his father in Hexi, so he knew Wang Yunxiu very well, and knew that although she had a tough temper, she had the same loyalty and pride as a man.

As a friend, Du Wei knew that Yuan Zai had received a lot of cold eyes in Wang's house, so he left a poem to say goodbye, while Wang Yunxiu gave a poem in return, sharing weal and woe with her husband and son-in-law, and leaving together.

"The road sweeps away the traces of hunger and cold, and the sky mourns and irritates people. Xiu Ling parted with tears and entered the Western Qin Dynasty hand in hand."

It was Wang Yunxiu's courage to run around at night, which inspired Du Wei to marry the fourteenth wife of the Li family.

Therefore, he still addresses her as "Wang Twelve Niangs" to show his respect for her.

The three sat down and talked.

"I'm going back to Beijing to guard the election, and I've been to the Ministry of Officials to inquire, and there's a person who is a great judge of affairs." Yuan Zai said: "If I can find it, I can stay in Chang'an for a while."

"You have been released for two appointments, you should seek an official in the capital." Du Wei pondered.

He intends to help his friend, but in this way, it is inevitable that he will use the relationship of the right minister's mansion, which is not what he wants.

Yuan Zai didn't force it, and said: "My official status is small, and my father-in-law has returned to Chang'an, but it is very embarrassing."

Wang Yunxiu said: "It's not that my grandfather doesn't want to attack Shibao City, but he intends to take it slowly. However, the saint listens to the words of the villain. I don't know if Du Gong can persuade him?"

Du Wei smiled wryly, looked at the couple, and said, "I'm afraid there is no room for maneuver in the matter of Shibao City."

Hearing this, Wang Yunxiu was really disappointed.

She really cared about this matter, and felt sorry for the tens of thousands of soldiers on Grandpa's behalf.

Yuan Zai just frowned slightly.

The relationship between each other has always been good, and Du Wei felt a little sorry for not being able to help with major matters, so he wanted to help Yuan Zai in seeking officials, and said in a deep voice: "Brother Gongfu's seeking officials, I can try to ask Li Siqing about it." ?”

He is not familiar with Dali Temple Minister Li Daosui, this matter is embarrassing.

"Misunderstood." Yuan Zai shook his head and said, "Don't dare to disturb each other with such mundane things."

Du Wei's heart moved, and then thinking of Yuan Zai's eloquent and insightful talk about the salt method before, he couldn't help saying: "If you want to be a member, it is not only Dali Temple?"

"You mean, salt officer?"

"Brother Gongfu is here today, would you like to go to Qujiang for an outing?"

……

12-year-old Du You just poked his head out from behind the screen, but someone grabbed him by the collar.

When he looked back, he saw that Du Hope had brought someone here.

"Grandpa, brother was coaxed by Yuan Zai to go to Qujiang."

Du hoped to hear the word "coax", and his frowning eased a little, and he said with a straight face, "Go and study."

"Why does my brother go for an outing, but I want to study?" Du You immediately grimaced.

"There is no reason, let you read it and you will read it."

~~
Qujiang pool.

The horse's hooves stepped across the grass, Du Wei looked around, and suddenly said, "There they are."

After all, he led Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu to see Du Youlin.

When he got closer, Yuan Zai looked over and saw a 16-year-old boy fluttering at butterflies, with small eyes and a lack of energy.He couldn't help but wondered, this could not be Xue Bai who is known as a beautiful boy, could it be the well-known Du Quan?

It's really Du Wulang.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yuan Zai unexpectedly discovered that Du Wulang's vision was quite good. He was not surprised to learn that he came from a poor background and was a Jinshi before the age of 30. When talking about the imperial examination, he inadvertently mentioned geniuses such as Zheng Qian and Xiao Yingshi. general character.

"Brother Gongfu, you are also motivated, and you will definitely be able to talk to Xue Bai."

"It would be a great honor to discuss salt with Xue Lang."

"Huh." Du Wulang turned his head to look, and only then did he realize, "Where did Xue Bai go?"

"..."

They asked Qing Lan and Qu Shui to find them.

The two little maidservants ran along the Qujiang River for a while, shouting all the way, and Du Erniang came out to meet them.

"What's the rush?"

"Da Lang from Anrenfang brought friends here, and wants to get to know Lang Jun."

"Which friend?"

"It seems to be Brother Gongfu."

Du Jin said: "Understood, you go first, I will take them back together."

After driving away the two maidservants, she waited by the pool for Xue Bai and Du Yu to come over after talking, and the three of them walked back naturally.

"Du Wei is easy to talk to. He has many friends and treats people with sincerity. In my opinion, he wants to find an employee for his friends."

"Now that Yang Li has just taken power, it's time to recruit troops and buy horses. The most indispensable thing is the lack of personnel." Xue Bai said: "As long as people can use them."

Du Jin said: "Yuan Zai Yuan Gongfu is Wang Zhongsi's son-in-law, so you just dozed off and someone gave you a pillow."

"Yeah, he wanted to go with me."

After walking for a while, the sisters of the Du family stopped and asked Xue Bai to go out alone.

Looking at his back, Du Jin whispered something in Du Jin's ear.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Du Jin turned to leave, but Du Jin put an arm around her waist.

In this beautiful scenery of Qujiang, the two sisters chased and fought like they were children, with their skirts flying.

~~
Xue Bai thinks that Yuan Zai came here is not a coincidence, but because he is a very smart person.

Wang Zhongsi, the righteous brother of the crown prince and Jiedushi of the four towns, is far less imposing than he looks at the moment, and even looks like he is being roasted on the fire.

Wearing the seals of the commanders of the four towns, controlling thousands of miles of soldiers, and controlling all the important towns of the Northwest's powerful troops, this is something that has never happened in the more than one hundred years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

If Li Longji passed away, Wang Zhongsi would be the greatest guarantee for Li Heng to successfully succeed to the throne and take power. Li Heng would have to rely on him and appease him for a long time until his wings were full.

The problem is that Li Longji doesn't look like a dying person, and he thinks he can live for a long time.

Smart people can see that Wang Zhongsi has become a thorn in the throat of a saint.

Stone Castle City, is it really a question of border wars?

To fight or not to fight, to win or not to win, how does Wang Zhongsi choose?
Yuan Zai must have understood this, and perhaps he has already figured out a way out, but the birth of Yang Tong's party can become a better way out for him.

"Xue Lang face to face. Although I have only been back in Chang'an for a short time, I have already heard many things about you. When I see you today, I know that Xue Lang's demeanor is better than the rumors."

"Brother Gongfu is too polite. I have long admired Brother Gongfu's name."

"Oh? When did you hear about me?"

"I've heard good stories about Gongfu brother and brother-in-law."

Yuan Zai and his wife looked at each other and smiled.

"Good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles." Wang Yunxiu glared at Yuan Zai, showing a sense of boldness, and smiled generously towards Xue Bai: "You call me sister-in-law, and in the future, if you have something to do, just open your mouth."

Xue Bai was not polite, and replied: "There must be something to ask for brother and sister-in-law."

Everyone applauded and laughed, and Yuan Zai talked with Xue Bai about salt, iron and taxes.

After he became an official, he first served as Xinping county lieutenant, and then served as the supervisor and judge of Qianzhong. He knew the people's livelihood very well, and he was really talented.

"In addition to the fixed salt tax collected by the imperial court, the salt industry is actually in the hands of big households. Maybe Xue Lang thinks that those who work in the salt field are all hired people? Otherwise. Farming, pond repairing, and watering are all hard labor, and the laborers are all slaves of big households. Discussing the salt law of "mining by the people, collecting by the government, and peddling" means that the poor will collect salt, and the court will earn part of the profits and sell it to the peddlers. In fact, it will interfere with the big salt industry and collect taxes from the rich merchants. It will skyrocket, and in the end it will still be ordinary people who buy salt who suffer..."

Yuan Zai talked eloquently, citing a few examples of the small local saltworks when he was a foreign official, and at the same time observing Xue Bai's reaction.

When he saw that Xue Bai kept nodding his head and deeply agreed with his opinion, he began to put forward his opinion.

"I think that if the key to discussing salt is only to collect taxes with salt, although it will have great results in the short term, if it is not controlled, if the price of salt rises and private salt runs rampant, it will be chaotic. Therefore, the key lies in the court's ability to control The price of salt. Although I am not talented, I also have my humble opinion. Xue Lang might as well take a look."

Speaking of this, Yuan Zai actually took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

Xue Bai took it, looked at it carefully, couldn't stop nodding, and murmured: "Brother Gongfu, I have a good opinion."

His face became serious, and he took a deep look at Yuan Zai, hesitating a little.

Yuan Zai sat cross-legged on the grass, with a straight body and confidence in his eyes.

He didn't know why Xue Bai was still hesitating, but he knew that he was a talent who could help Yang Li handle the matter of asking for salt.

a long time.

Xue Bai seemed to have glanced at Wang Yunxiu and made up his mind, and said, "Brother Gongfu, can you leave this letter to me? I would like to ask Uncle Guo to read it."

Yuan Zai was overjoyed.

He was already a Jinshi, and he was stepping up to become an eighth-rank official when he was appointed as a ninth-rank official, but what he did today was to invest in a bank account for a white boy.

But it's worth it. With Xue Bai's words, his future has become clear...

(End of this chapter)