Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 119
In the early morning, Luo Xishi was about to leave the imperial city and went to Pingkangfang to meet the right minister.

He interrogated Xiao Fangzhi carefully, and was surprised to find that the mastermind behind the case was actually a censor under the right minister's family.

Was it someone who didn't hold his breath and acted without authorization?Or was it bought?Luo Xishi first suspected Yang Zhao.

Xiao Fangzhi didn't know the name of the other party, but the matter was simple, and he could call the censor to identify it, and he could find out soon.

"Luo Yushi!"

Before he went out to install the door, suddenly there were officials from the Ministry of punishment chasing after him in a hurry.

Luo Xishi reined in his horse, turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

"The human offender... the human offender, Xiao Fangzhi, is dead."

"What?" Luo Xixi asked in surprise, "How did you die?"

"Isn't it...wasn't it...you were tortured to death by Luo Yushi?"

"Nonsense!" Luo Xixi was furious, and shouted: "You know who I am, but dare to say that I can't handle the punishment?!"

……

Returning to the dark prison cell, under the light of the torch, Xiao Fangzhi hung on the torture rack with his head bowed, wounds all over his body.

Luo Xishi walked in, staring wide-eyed, watching this scene in disbelief.

"Luo Yushi, it is common for people to stumble and horses to stumble."

Luo Xixi picked up Xiao Fangzhi's hair, carefully observed the dead man's eyes, and murmured: "He was silenced. Who did it? Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Xiao Yinzhi? Check!"

"Luo Yushi..."

"You still call me? There is no way I will miss it!"

Footsteps sounded behind him, Luo Xixiu turned around and saw that it was Wang Ji who came, he quickly bent over, stepped forward, and said respectfully: "Zhongcheng actually came to such a filthy place in person..."

"What happened?"

"Ministry of Punishment, there is something wrong with the officials of the Ministry of Punishment, and they killed important witnesses."

"It's clear that Luo Yushi used the punishment too much!"

"Zhongcheng understands the next official..."

Not too unlucky, Wang Ji inspected the corpse himself, frowned in thought, and asked Pei Mian, "What do you think?"

Pei Mian stepped forward and whispered in his ear: "If the case is to be silenced, it will be of no benefit to the Right Prime Minister or the prince. It was originally a trivial matter caused by the failure of the marriage contract between Xiao and Xue, but it turned into a conspiracy and made people laugh."

"How to do?"

"Investigate. For example, in the case of Liu Ji, it was found that Xiao Fangzhi made a false accusation in the end, but everyone who should be killed has been killed, and the result that should have been achieved."

Wang Hao nodded, turned around, and walked out.

"Luo Xixi, leave this case alone and leave it to Pei Mian."

"Zhongcheng, I..."

Pei Mian patted Luo Xishi's back lightly, and softly comforted him: "Don't be impulsive, trial is not important, being an official is important. You are not an official, but an official."

After all, Pei Mian left the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment, recruited a few confidantes, and ordered: "Take Xiao Fang's family and take them to Dali Temple Prison, and I will interrogate them one by one."

"Well..."

~~
At the same time, Du Wulang was coming out of Xue's house, ready to go to Guozijian.

"Du Chuan!"

Looking up, there is a beautiful boy standing at the entrance of the alley, it is Xiao Fan.

Before Du Wulang could react, Xiao Fan rushed forward and grabbed his collar.

"Why did you frame my grandfather?!"

"Framed your grandpa? Us?" Du Wulang said in confusion, "I heard that your grandpa went to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, but I don't know why."

"My grandpa went to sue you, but was taken away. Didn't he be framed by you?!"

"Listen for yourself what this says."

Du Wulang sighed and shook his head endlessly.Xiao Fan followed behind him, scolding non-stop.

"It must be you who framed my grandpa in order to snatch the marriage, you let me go! Otherwise, I will never forgive you..."

Du Wulang just ignored the chatter and yawned all the way to Wubenfang. Anyway, Xiao Fan didn't have Lu Fengniang's nagging.

All the way to the Guozijian, I saw several officials in front of me escorting an old servant.

"Goro, run!"

"I found Xiao Wulang, take it!"

Xiao Fan was still in a daze, but Du Wulang suddenly thought of the conversation between Xue Bai and Wang Zhongsi he vaguely heard yesterday, and ran away as soon as he pulled Xiao Fan.

"Run!"

"stop!"

~~
"Huh...huh...you go, go to Yanshoufang...the Second Lane of West Street, ask General Wang to save you..."

"I will believe you?!"

"Let's go, your family is in trouble, something terrible... I'll lure them away..."

Panting, Du Wulang pushed Xiao Fan again, pushing the skinny fool into the alley, and suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Yunniang... Yunniang is mine!"

Xiao Fan was taken aback for a moment, then looked back at the ugly boy, hesitated for a moment, and ran away.

Du Wulang was panting there with his knees on his knees. Seeing the officer chasing him again, he made a strange cry and rushed into another alley.

Not long after, he was pinned to the ground.

"I got Xiao Fan!"

"I'm not Xiao Fan. The fifth son of Chunwei, Du Zhuan, have you heard of it?"

"Trust you? If it wasn't for Xiao Fan, why would you run away?"

"Goro, I'm Goro too. Hey, which yamen are you from? You look like a jailer at Dali Temple? Have you seen me?"

"It's really you kid, why are you protecting Xiao Fan?!"

"What did I do to protect him? You went to Jingzhao Mansion to inquire about it, and I filed a lawsuit with him. He came to revenge on me today. Hey, I thought you were his people, and you came to arrest me again."

~~
It's night, ten kings' house.

Li Jingzhong entered the hall with a tray, and saw Li Heng playing chess with Zhang Ting.

With Zhang Liangdi, the candles in the prince's residence were much brighter.

Putting the wine glass in front of Li Heng, Li Jingzhong hesitated to speak.

"Speak up if you have something to say." Li Heng said, "I will not hide anything from Liang Di."

Zhang Ting smiled slightly, and glanced at Li Jingzhong, showing the attitude of a hostess.

Li Jingzhong bent his back even lower, and said in a low voice: "Our people encountered trouble when cleaning up the mess, and the Xiao family was saved by General Wang."

"Why did the Yi brother protect the Xiao family? It was the Xiao family who dealt with the Yi brother, wasn't it?"

"The reason, this old slave doesn't know either."

Li Heng got up, went back to fetch a very old slingshot in person, handed it to Li Jingzhong, and said: "Try to tell Brother Yi, don't be soft-hearted, the Xiao family cannot be protected."

"Here."

Li Jingzhong withdrew, and the couple continued to play chess.

"I thought he was a decisive general, but it turns out that he has such a benevolent temperament like a woman?"

"Brother Yi has such a temperament that he is unwilling to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to storm Shibao City and make great contributions to himself."

Zhang Ting said, "I'm very surprised, why did Xue Bai help him?"

"Perhaps the cannon was built just for credit?"

"No, the trick this time is the same as last time, it must be to help Wang Zhongsi."

Li Heng pondered and said: "Li Cong also wants to win over my brother-in-law."

"Are you sure he is Xue Ru's son?"

"good."

"Li Niang is too stupid, she has no evidence at all, but she runs out and screams again and again."

"That's right." Li Heng stared at the chessboard, pondered, and murmured: "They are becoming more and more powerful, but they still don't know how to expose them."

Zhang Ting stretched out his hand, picked up a chess piece from Li Heng's chess basket, pressed it on the chessboard, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, as long as your highness doesn't make big mistakes, you can win to the end."

~~
Two days later, Xue's house.

Xue Bai came back from Mrs. Guo's mansion, visited Yan's house again, and finally returned home.

He was in Xue's residence recently, and he could almost be regarded as a rare visitor.

"You are back. I have something to tell you about Xiao Fan."

Du Wulang was mysterious, dragged Xue Bai to the guest room in the front yard, and explained in detail what he had seen and heard, but Xue Bai didn't say anything.

"Hey, what do you think?"

"General Wang is unwilling to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers for personal military exploits, so he will protect Xiao's family."

"Really?" Du Wulang was still worried, "It's one thing for me to fight for marriage with Xiao Fan, but it's another thing for him not to be murdered."

"If there is any news, we will let us know." Xue Bai said, and went back to the west backyard to study.

Du Wulang didn't understand what the news would be, so he stayed in the compound to talk to Xue Xin and others.

At noon, Guan Chongsi actually saw Xue Bai.

"The general promises to send someone to protect Xiao's family and settle down in Longyou. Xue Lang can rest assured."

"So, thank you, General Wang."

……

When the matter came to fruition, Xue Bai led his horse out immediately.

He headed east all the way to Qingmen, where he stopped under a watchtower.

Not long after, Tian Shengong and Tian Shenyu came down from the watchtower, without looking at Xue Bai, they walked into the alley.

Xue Bai smiled and waved, the Tian brothers were taken aback for a moment, and immediately stopped pretending not to know each other and greeted them.

"Lang Jun, aren't you afraid that people will know our relationship?"

"Go, have a drink."

"Haha, Mr. Lang really only drinks one cup."

Tian Shenyu laughed, but was kicked by her elder brother.

"If you can't talk, talk less..."

The three of them entered a restaurant, Xue Bai ordered wine and meat, and asked, "It's been a while, have you been promoted?"

"Lang Jun is joking." Tian Shengong said: "We have not been transferred for a long time, so there is no reason for promotion."

Tian Shenyu laughed and said: "Mr., I'm busy getting married and having a baby these days. Thanks to the money you gave me, I really want to invite you to have a glass of wedding wine, but brother won't let me. But this matter is It's interesting at first, but after a while, it's just like that, the real man still has to fight the enemy..."

"Listen to Mr. Lang."

Xue Bai said: "Time is running out, it's time for a promotion, there may be two choices right now."

Halfway through the conversation, the Tian brothers' eyes widened.

They knew that this gentleman was making progress, but they were still not used to such a fast promotion.

"The first option is that you can go to the four towns under the command of General Wang Zhongsi, the governor of the four towns. General Wang will first look at martial arts skills, or serve as team leader or brigade commander. The advantage is that there are many opportunities. Once you capture Shibao City, you will be promoted. It will be very fast, but it is very dangerous, and life and death are unpredictable. Right now, no one can say for sure how many people will survive this battle, maybe half of them, maybe a narrow escape..."

Tian Shenyu's eyes lit up, and she immediately said: "Thank you, sir! I would like to go! I will choose this one, thank you, sir!"

"Sit down for me and listen to the gentleman."

Tian Shengong grabbed his brother.

Originally he didn't want to join the frontier army, but he knew that Xue Bai had introduced him into the eyes of General Wang, making meritorious service as a team leader and brigade commander, which was completely different from ordinary soldiers.

"The second option, the Beiya Longwu Army, is transferred from the Nanya to the Beiya. You should be aware of the difference, so I don't need to say more."

In this matter, Xue Bai is sure that Chen Xuanli will sell him some face, and sometimes asking for help is also a way to increase connections.

Tian Shengong first stood up and saluted, then stood there thinking.

He knows what a great opportunity Longwujun is...

Tian Shenyu also stood up, moved closer to Tian Shengong, and said in a low voice: "Brother, Shibaocheng. We choose Shibaocheng, brother."

Xue Bai was not in a hurry, and took a sip of his wine.

"Lang Jun." Tian Shengong quickly made a decision, "Let's go to Longyou!"

"Why?"

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to follow a famous general in the world to fight a big battle."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements."

Tian Shengong immediately stated his position, saying: "I hope that Mr. Lang will be named on the gold list as soon as possible, and be appointed as an official, so that my two brothers can work under Mr. Lang's family."

Tian Shenyu hurriedly said, "Me too!"

"It's also what it is, can you get the title on the gold list?"

~~
The next day, Xue Bai was not in a hurry to introduce the Tian family brothers to Wang Zhongsi, but first introduced Yuan Zai to Yang Zhen.

Power is really a miraculous thing. Yang Zhen was originally the Minister of Honglu and the State of Shangzhu, but he had no real power. Now he also serves as the servant of the sect and the envoy of Salt and Iron. But in just a short period of time, his aura has changed.

He is still very enthusiastic towards Xue Bai.

"Nowadays Chang'an is saying that you are erudite and talented, you can compose poems, play dominoes, make delicious food, and make weapons. Xue Lang is talented and famous for a while."

"I should have talked to Uncle Guo long ago about the military weapons. Unfortunately, Brother Nu kept a close eye on him, so I played a trick with him to keep Chen Cang in the dark."

Yang Cheng laughed.

He didn't care about this little credit, but it still made him very happy that Xue Bai could say that.

"I understand, I understand, and I put brother and slave together again, haha. Don't be polite, you and I have forgotten our old friends. From now on, we will be called brothers. You can call me 'Brother'."

As he said that, Yang Li blinked, not looking like a serious person.

Xue Bai was also not polite, and immediately called out: "Brother."

"Hahaha, good."

"Come here to introduce my elder brother. This is Yuan Zai Yuan Gongfu, who is a great talent and knows how to work with money, food, salt and iron. He will definitely be your brother's arm."

After Xue Bai said so, Yang Cheng immediately raised his eyebrows and looked at Yuan Zai solemnly.

He had heard that Yuan Zai was Wang Zhongsi's son-in-law, and at this moment he looked really good-looking, but this identity made him afraid to reuse Yuan Zai.

After exchanging pleasantries, the three entered the hall and sat down.

Xue Bai seemed to have guessed what was going on in Yang Zhen's mind, and murmured: "Young Master has great talent, brother can use it with confidence, brother slave dares to bite me again, will we be able to build the East Palace?"

At this time, he was the mastermind of the Yang party, and his tone was different from usual, calling Yuanzai's name directly.

"For my brother, right now the power struggle is not important. Without the results of a year or two, let the sage see my brother's ability to rule the world, how can I let my brother worship the prime minister? Therefore, the talent is the most important thing in employing people, not the faction I mean, they are all working for the Great Tang Sheji, so why are you and me different?"

"Exactly." Yuan Zai said solemnly: "If I can serve my uncle like a dog and horse, I will never abolish the public for personal reasons, and only care about the country and the people."

Yang Li was in power, and Xue Bai was the easiest to persuade. Only these two sentences were enough, and he stepped forward to hold Yuan Zai's hands.

He didn't understand the practical affairs for the time being, he pondered for a while, and asked directly: "Gong Fu, what kind of official position can you take?"

This kind of courage to let his subordinates choose their own official positions has recently made Yang Zhen tame many capable people.

However, Yuan Zai was not so intimidated by him, and said calmly: "I would like to advise my uncle by his side, and it is enough to make judges for the transfer of salt and iron."

Yang Li was stunned.

Now the salt and iron transfer envoy is set up, and it is planned to be a third-rank official.The judge of salt and iron has not yet been set up, and it is ready to be set as the sixth rank.And Yuan Zai, a ninth-rank official, dared to ask for a sixth-rank official, which was "enough".

He definitely couldn't agree, but he already had a deep impression of this person in his heart.

Xue Bai smiled slightly, thinking that Yuan Zai is worthy of being Yuan Zai. This desire for fame and confidence in one's own ability is indeed an important quality for a successful official career.

However, if the bottom line cannot be kept, it is like a tall ladder without a foundation.

……

In fact, the friendship between Xue Bai and Yuan Zai is not that deep, it's just that Yuan Zai is good at building relationships, Wang Yunxiu is forthright and enthusiastic, and everyone's interests are temporarily aligned, it seems that they hit it off.

But Xue Bai was still willing to help Yuan Zai find officials.

For Wang Zhongsi.

He knew that the matter of Yuan Zai would reach Li Heng's ears sooner or later, and maybe Li Jingzhong would ask, "Your Highness, could it be that Wang Zhongsi has other thoughts?"

No rush, he can take his time...

~~
Wang Zhongsi was in a hurry and had to rush back to Longyou in three days.

Prince Li Heng did not come to see him off.

Due to his sensitive identity, Wang Zhongsi never met Li Heng when he returned to Chang'an this time.

However, Xue Bai was sent all the way to the ten-mile long pavilion outside Chang'an City. He stood beside Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu and his wife, not saying much.

When looking at Wang Zhongsi's team, he could see that there were craftsmen who could make giant stone cannons and stone lacquer fireballs, the Xiao family who had been saved, and the Tian family brothers.

Once met, these are enough.

"Okay, it's enough to send it here, don't pass."

Wang Zhongsi got on his horse, glanced at those who saw him off for the last time, reined in suddenly, and said loudly: "I have received a lot of gifts when I return to Beijing, but I am greedy. I?"

Xue Bai came back to his senses and said, "What's the meaning of the farewell poem? When General Wang breaks Shibao City, I will congratulate General Wang."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Wang Zhongsi laughed, pointed to Xue Bai, and rode away without saying much.

"drive!"

The horseshoes trampled on the ancient Chang'an road, raising dust and smoke.

Xue Bai raised his eyes and looked into the distance, the setting sun in the west was about to fall into Wanliguan Mountain.

On the other side of Guanshan is a completely different scene from the bustling Chang'an City, and it is precisely because there are people guarding there that Chang'an is like this.

(End of this chapter)