Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 143 The world is like paper
On the first day of September, not long after the morning drum sounded, the door of the corpse room was pushed open.

The thin morning light was not enough to dispel the darkness and gloom in the room, and the rancid smell was permeating.

The torch moved closer, only to see a stump lying on the gray lime, which had begun to turn black and shrink.

"The wound can no longer be identified, it can be collected by Wang Zhongcheng."

"Thank you."

Wang Ji's face was heavy, he walked up to a head, and wiped off the limestone on Pei Mian's face himself.

He turned to the seamstresses behind him and said, "Sew."

"Here."

Some of the stumps could not be retrieved. Wang Ji specially used precious wood for bones and clay for flesh for Pei Mian. It took three hours to sew a complete corpse.

The funeral procession carried the coffin.

Suddenly, a group of Beiya soldiers came over.

"Wang Zhongcheng personally held the funeral for Pei Mian?"

"Yes." Wang Ji said: "Zhang Fu and I have known each other for many years, he died unexpectedly, I should collect his body."

"But I heard that Pei Mian is the person placed by the East Palace next to Wang Zhongcheng?"

"Serving the imperial court, they are all ministers of the sages." Wang Ji said, "Even if Zhang Fu is wrong, he should never have been subjected to such a murderous hand without being interrogated by a judge."

"What Wang Zhongcheng said is very true. By the way, I heard that Yushitai said that the murderers were Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedu envoy An Lushan. Why do you make such an assertion?"

Wang Ji's face was stern, and he said solemnly: "I won't make a fuss about Zhang Fu's death, I'm just telling the truth."

"Yes."

The coffin was lifted, the bell of the soul rang, and the funeral procession slowly walked towards the outskirts of the city.

Wang Yu is determined to go to the position of doctor censor.

He is dressed in plain clothes today, but he will wear a purple robe in the future.

……

"The soul is back, it can't be longer. The soul is back, the king is supreme!"

The ghost paper was thrown high and fell all over the ground.

These are yellowed and rough bamboo papers, so brittle that they shatter when touched, and are quickly crushed by people.

Someone watched the funeral procession go away, turned around and reported the news.

"Wang Yu personally collected Pei Mian's body and buried it in the suburbs. It is said everywhere that Fan Yang killed him. I am afraid this matter will never end."

"When the old dog dies, let's see who collects his body."

~~
Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Li Linfu held an important position with one person, and his efficiency in managing the government was extremely high. He almost didn't have to go to Taiwan to inspect affairs.

This afternoon, Yang Zhao came to play.

He used to serve Li Linfu with a spit pot, but now he has become the backbone of the Yang Party, which is really annoying.But he kept his posture low, repeatedly explaining that he was helpless because of persecution by his relatives, and even said such shameless words as "I am in the uncle's house, but my heart is in the right side".

In addition, Yang Zhao lived in Duzhi Langzhong and concurrently served as the Taifu Cheng, managing the cashier of the inner palace, and became the saint's private pocket.Li Linfu was willing to bear him.

In particular, the official affairs must be handed over well, and the work of the saint must not be spoiled.

"I have seen the right minister, the right minister has worked hard, I have a little courtesy..."

"Say something."

Yang Zhaodao: "Yang Shenjin ran out of treasury when he was appointed Minister of the Taifu. Although the officials and others tried their best to do things, the foundation of the Taifu was weak. The imperial banquets for the Long Live Qianqiu Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival were all over budget..."

There was a lot of nonsense, Li Linfu didn't have to listen to the money that was known to be a sage, and said in a deep thought: "Hu'er came to Beijing and presented many treasures."

Yang Zhao had a respectful attitude and said, "Your Honor, the sage bestows on Hu'er even more generously!"

Since he is an official in the Taifu, how could he say that Anlu Mountain has enriched the treasury of the Taifu?Anyway, it is impossible to really verify whether the saint or Hu'er has more gifts.

Li Linfu first looked at the official documents and accounts of the Taifu, raised his eyes, landed on the two rows of seals on the table, and chose two seals.

A batch of treasuries were transferred from the Ministry of Households to the emperor's private funds, and the Minister of Finance directly approved the documents, so that Yang Zhao would not have to make another trip and delay the saint's money.

He didn't hand over the official document directly, but beat Yang Zhao a few words.

"The truth is that you encouraged Wang Ji to sue Hu'er?"

"Your Prime Minister misunderstood this matter. I can't explain it because the yellow mud fell into his crotch." Yang Zhao hurriedly said, "It was Wang Zhongcheng who wanted to be promoted to Doctor Censor and had a dispute with Hu Er..."

"How dare you argue!" Li Linfu scolded angrily, "When you don't know the truth, you are fanning the flames?"

Yang Zhao pleaded guilty, his voice full of fear and uneasiness, and said: "It's Xue Bai. As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival is over, he asked Mrs. Guo Guo to invite me over, and asked me to submit the pleadings to Wang Zhongcheng, but I didn't even read it." look."

"Short-sighted trash, just staring at a little official position, fighting against his own people? When the East Palace gains power, will you get the whole body?"

"Your officer is too stupid!"

As Yang Zhao said, he slapped himself hard, and the "slap" was extremely loud.

He was so thick-skinned that Li Linfu's lectures were boring, and he threw away the official documents and told him to leave.

……

Not long after, An Lushan entered the meeting hall, and at the same time, two maids were holding his belly so that it would not fall on the ground of the right minister's mansion.

"Hu'er salutes Prime Minister Right."

"No need to bother." Li Linfu waved the maid back, "Sit down."

An Lushan said: "Your Honor, Hu'er saw the spit pot when he came in."

"Ah."

"Hu'er didn't offend him, but he made things difficult for me everywhere. What's his intention? Wang Zhongcheng is the same. If he wants the position of doctor censor, Hu'er will let him do it. How can he spoil the right chancellor's affairs?"

"Give it?" Li Linfu scolded: "If he didn't give the truth, he dared to grab it. Will he even want this phase in the future?!"

An Lushan's eyes rolled and he scratched his head.

"Ask you the truth one last time, didn't you send someone to kill Pei Mian?"

"The Prime Minister on the right is a fairy-like figure, and he must be able to see clearly that Hu'er would not do such a thing." An Lushan shook his head loudly, "Someone framed Hu'er."

"What's the use of knowing the truth? The key is that the sage can trust you?"

"Actually, the sage believes in Hu'er." An Lushan said: "But Wang Zhongcheng and Yang Zhao have been slandering him all the time. This is three people becoming a tiger. Please help me."

Li Linfu frowned and thought, how did something that was so certain become the mess before him?
The crumbling East Palace did not fall, Pei Kuan was promoted because of the salt tax, Wang Zhongsi was probably one step closer to capturing Shibao City.

It felt like swiping a knife that was sure to hit, but someone grabbed it and stabbed An Lushan...that is, An Lushan was thick and could withstand it.

"Wrong!" Li Linfu said suddenly, "You have been tricked."

An Lushan's eyes widened with an innocent expression on his face.

Li Linfu said in a deep voice: "It's useless to argue with Wang Ji and Yang Zhao. It won't prove your innocence, but it will muddy the water and give Donggong a chance to breathe."

"So that's how it is." An Lushan clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Your Prime Minister is really a god, and it will become clear after a few clicks."

"You have been confused by these people. The key to this matter is to find out the real culprit."

"Who is it?" An Lushan looked like a pig from the beginning to the end, only knowing how to ask, "Who is it?"

Ever since he met Yang Zhao just now, Li Linfu has been thinking about a problem-the spit pot has risen too fast recently.

In the case of Liu Ji, Yang Zhao was benefited and moved to be the censor; in the case of Yang Shenjin, Yang Zhao entered the Taifu to take care of the sage's internal funds; the salt tax law was tried out, and Yang Zhao followed Yang Dang to make a fortune and moved to several positions... Behind them, there is a figure of a person.

"Xue Bai?"

In fact, Li Linfu had thought of Xue Bai a long time ago. From the fraud in the Guozijian related to the Zheng Qian case, to the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet where Xue Bai hindered An Lushan's future, that kid was very conspicuous.

But a young man shouldn't have the strength to instruct frontier soldiers to kill people in the capital, unless... Wang Zhongsi?

"Xue Bai."

"Is it little uncle?" An Lushan was taken aback, and shouted, "He looks innocent and kind, why is he so wicked?"

"In April, when Wang Zhongsi returned to the court, Xue Bai built a huge stone cannon to help him attack Shibao City." Li Linfu said: "Wang Zhongsi must have left behind old soldiers, driven by Xue Bai, to kill Pei Mian."

"However, the Huihe people under Donggong's subordinates also died. This is harming Donggong and Wang Zhongsi himself?"

"Therefore, it can be concluded that Xue Bai drove him to harm the East Palace and plant you, thinking that the Yang party was fighting for profit."

"So cunning?" An Lushan became more and more surprised, and asked, "Your Honor, how can we expose him?"

"Buying Jifang Xiaoer and Jinwuwei, and motivating Fan Yang's soldiers to kill people. This matter is a joint effort between Donggong and Yang Dang, and there will be traces. The truth will order the officials of the third department to investigate, and your subordinates can cooperate..."

"Fortunately, there is a right-hand minister for Hu'er." An Lushan was overjoyed, propped up his fat body and got up to salute, flattering him: "Hu'er came today and brought some gifts for the right-hander."

Li Linfu is not short of money, but it is rare for An Lushan to bring gifts every time he visits.

After a while, more than a dozen beautiful maidservants came in with wooden boxes in their hands. They all had exotic styles and their own characteristics. They only wore a thin silk, and the house was full of spring.

"This is wisteria incense." An Lushan pointed to the wooden box and said, "I don't know whether it is good or bad, I only know that it is very expensive, and it is the most expensive incense, which makes it look good on the right."

Li Linfu said: "The fragrance of wisteria is rare. The vines in the South China Sea were injured and repaired with self-secreting glue. After thousands of years, the glue was as hard as iron, and the color was purple, so it was named 'Wisteria fragrance'. The fragrance can penetrate the bone marrow. , making people seem to blend into the heaven and earth, like flying immortals, and they are the treasures of the immortal family's learning. It's hard for Hu'er to collect so many."

"Your Prime Minister is really a fairy. A vulgar thing like Hu'er is useless even if you smell it." An Lushan laughed and said, "These vulgar captives are also given to Right Prime Minister."

"Hu'er has a heart..."

After An Lushan left, the beautiful maid was brought into the backyard, and there was still a faint fragrance in the hall.

After talking about the intrigue, Li Linfu returned to practice, worrying about the accounts of the household department.

The imperial court's expenses were insufficient again, and he, a talented and unparalleled prime minister in the world, was needed to increase income and reduce expenditure.

His eyes fell on the snow-white rattan paper on the case, he thought about it and found a way.

Previously, he had reused the court's regular official documents every year, saving a lot of paper costs.Rattan paper is so expensive that even imperial court paper needs local tribute.

It suddenly occurred to him that his son-in-law Yuan Ying had learned that the inside story had disappeared, borrowed Jingzhao government funds to pre-empt the purchase of rattan materials in Guanzhong, and made a fortune. , will be able to get rich.

Li Linfu has a public heart and does not intend to seek such self-interest, but only wants to save money for the court.Then, if the imperial court can buy all the rattan materials like the Hebu method, it can save a small amount.

Throttling is not afraid of saving less, gather water to form a lake, gather sand to form a tower.With a little increase in taxes and a little reduction in expenses, the finances can run smoothly.

What would Datang do without a capable minister like him?
……

A piece of wisteria incense was lit, refreshing.

The snow-white rattan paper official document was cut in half to show that the right minister took the lead in thrift.One by one, save the glorious Tianbao prosperity.

~~
A bamboo curtain swayed gently in the pulp pool, and was quickly picked up, filtering out many water droplets, leaving only a thin layer of pulp film.

Looking at it under the sunlight, I can see that the pulp film is very uniform, and the bamboo tendons can no longer be seen.

"not enough."

Xue Bai was still dissatisfied, and said: "I have used the dried bamboo paper yesterday. Although it is good for writing, it is not durable yet. It needs to be improved, at least the quality cannot be inferior to rattan paper."

Jiang Cheng looked a little tired, but he was not as cautious as before, and replied, "Yes, I have thought about it, maybe you can try to cook it for a longer time to make the bamboo softer?"

"can."

Xue Bai didn't know the specific process, and felt that cooking pulp was like cooking rice.

"Any idea can be tried, as long as it can produce good paper with low cost."

"Here."

Du Wei was worried that Xue Bai's random promise of rewards would disrupt her plans, so she smiled and dragged Xue Bai to the back hall, and talked about the plans for the paper workshop and bookstore.

Du Wulang also came with Xue Bai today and was left alone in the courtyard, so he looked around curiously.

"Mr. Jiang, I heard that you have tried using urine?"

"That's right." Jiang Cheng carefully observed the difference between the two pieces of paper pulp, and replied casually, "I vaguely think that urine has some effect?"

"Is that so? Would it be better for a boy to pee? I have."

"Goro is funny."

Du Wulang is someone who can talk, and he talked about the scenery of Jiajiang curiously, and asked Jiang Cheng why he voluntarily sold himself.

"After dozens of years of business, the family has lost their wealth. After fifty years of age, they have to cross the Qinling Mountains and return to Jiajiang with the money from selling shops. Alas, I am timid just thinking about it. There are no acres in my hometown, and the rent is mediocre. I don't know how to pay."

"It's not easy. How did the old man lose his fortune?"

Jiang Cheng sighed and said nothing, but there was movement in the front yard.

They hurried to the shop, only to see a handsome young man with a short beard in a dark blue official robe and his attendants rummaging through the counter with an arrogant look on his face.

"Yuanhu Cao, what are you doing today?"

"Jiang Cheng, you haven't paid your rent yet."

"I handed it over at the beginning of August..."

"You want to resist forced labor, and the silk you are given is not enough, and there are mottled ones, and you haven't made up for miscellaneous corvees and sex labor." Yuan Kang said with a casual smile: "You haven't made up for the customs tax either."

Jiang Cheng carefully apologized, "The customs tax was paid to the East City Administration at the beginning of the year."

Yuan Ji took two steps forward, and whispered in Jiang Cheng's ear, "How can I not know how much money you have been supplying official documents for decades? Look at the Dongshi businessmen, which ones are not standing behind you?" People don't know good from bad."

Jiang Cheng's face was filled with bitterness, and he replied, "Cao Yuanhu doesn't know that the interview books are all false, and I can't afford to give it to ashes..."

"That's enough, I don't have time to listen to your pretense."

"Then," Jiang Cheng had no choice but to bend even lower, and said cautiously, "Then it's easy to teach Yuanhu Cao to know that I have already sold myself as a slave, and my lord has his own disposal. "

"what?"

Yuan Kang felt it was ridiculous, so he immediately raised his hand and slapped Jiang Cheng, causing the little old man to fall to the ground.

"Things that don't open your eyes are better with others than with me, right?"

"stop!"

Suddenly a person shouted and stepped forward to support Jiang Cheng.

Yuan Mo turned his head to look, and saw a young man in a robe, with a fat face and small eyes, he looked listless.

"It's because you dare to buy him, right? Covering the fugitive, your kid has fallen into my hands."

"what?"

Du Wulang was taken aback for a moment, and replied: "You can say that if you want, what do you want?"

Yuan Mo said angrily: "You know I want this workshop to be of great use, and you dare to snatch it."

Du Wulang had just helped Jiang Cheng up, and he hadn't entered the state of arguing with others, his tone seemed a little weak, but his attitude was very direct.

"You want this workshop to be of great use? It's none of our business."

　Today Chapter 2 is even later, please don’t wait, because I go to bed late, wake up late, every day is getting late, sad~~I will try my best to adjust later~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)