Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 206 Leaving the Que

Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Basins of ice cubes were placed beside the table, and the maids were fanning themselves to remove the slightest bit of cool breeze from Li Linfu.

He was too old to build a rain pavilion or a Qingliang Hall, but was accustomed to this simple and simple method of cooling down.

"The saint will visit Huaqing Palace soon."

"In this way, the government will be completely managed by the right prime minister. It is really hard."

In fact, even if the saint is in Chang'an, he does not take care of the government affairs very much, but there are still some differences for Li Linfu... At least he is not afraid that some lucky ministers will ask for the saint's will again.

For example, when Wang Changling was demoted a while ago, if the saint was in Huaqing Palace at that time, then no matter how cunning Xue Bai was, he would not be able to let the saint send people to recall Wang Changling because of this trivial matter.

"It is the most annoying thing for a minister to interfere in government affairs!" Li Linfu thought.

He recovered his mind, looked at Chen Xilie, and said, "When the saint arrives at Huaqing Palace, he still wants to read the Di Bao and Wen Cui Bao. Do you have control over the newspaper publishing house?"

Chen Xilie hesitated slightly and did not answer immediately.

Li Linfu added: "If everything goes well, the Prime Minister plans to propose the establishment of various official positions in the Journalist Academy next month."

"Back to the right minister...this matter is not going well." Chen Xilie replied slowly.

He knew that "successfully" meant that by transferring Xue Bai and letting someone else publish the newspaper, the newspaper could still be published smoothly.

But he really can't do it yet.

The first is craftsmanship. Although it is known that engraving and movable type are used for printing, many details are still unknown, and a large amount of bamboo paper is in the hands of Yang Dang; the second is manpower, from officials to craftsmen and handymen. The benefits that Yang Wei gave privately were that even if Xue Bai was not around, he could still do things in an orderly manner, and even if Chen Xilie had been in the past, he could only be shelved; the third was ability, if Xue Bai and Wang Changling were missing, the drafted newspaper would probably not have that flavor.

In addition, even if it was printed, Xue Bai's method of distributing the newspaper was quite mysterious. If Chen Xilie was to do it, he could only ask the Nanya patrol to distribute it.

Although he was not good at doing things, Chen Xilie was good at answering, and responded: "Xue Bai is cunning, Yang Dang is domineering, and he is always on guard. I think if this matter is going to go smoothly, we have to let them compromise."

"Do you want to negotiate terms with Yang Zhen and Xue Bai?" Li Linfu asked.

He was reluctant, not only because he couldn't let go of his lofty prime ministerial style, but also because Yang Dang broke his words time and time again. They promised to only win over Wang Zhongsi, but stopped him from getting rid of Wang Zhongsi; they promised to popularize bamboo paper, but they launched newspapers; they promised not to interfere in the affairs of Zhongshu's family, but they told the subjects directly about the imperial edicts, and seized the people of Hanlin and Zhongshu. power.

"Do you want the truth to negotiate terms with these villains?"

"Then... should I ask?" Chen Xilie glanced at Li Linfu with some probing intent.

In an instant, Li Linfu's eyes flashed with light, and he stared at him fiercely.

Chen Xilie was so shocked that chills ran down his spine, and he did not dare to bully Li Linfu for the time being.

Just at this moment, a female envoy came in and delivered a message.

"Tai Le Cheng Xue Bai will accompany the Holy Emperor to Huaqing Palace."

Li Linfu was not surprised and said, "Did you hear that?"

"Yes."

"When Xue Bai is not around, is it possible that the Publishing House can handle this small matter well? If not, let someone else do it."

"It's done."

Finally, the Secretary Superintendent had some power. Chen Xilie would not let it go and immediately agreed...

But after leaving the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, he thought about it and felt that whether Xue Bai went to Huaqing Palace or not, it would not be easy to seize power. The best way was for both parties to reach an agreement.

The most important thing in officialdom is compromise.

"I asked you to keep an eye on Xue Bai. Where is he?"

"Back to Prime Minister Zuo, he is at Mrs. Guo's house again and hasn't come out all day."

Chen Xilie cursed secretly in his heart, feeling that such a handsome man clinging to his nepotism was too mean.

"Go back to the staff department."

~~

When he arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, Chen Xilie took a piece of tea cake and went to the public room of the doctor in the examination department.

In the public house, Du Youlin was holding a book in his hand, leaning there and sleeping soundly. He heard the sound, and when he saw that the minister was coming, he did not panic. He bowed and smiled bitterly: "Let Mr. Zuo laugh."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I must be too tired because of my busy schedule. I understand that very well."

"Yes."

"Look at this tea." Chen Xilie sat down and arranged for someone to make tea.

Du Youlin hoped that he would speak directly and asked: "I dare to ask the left minister, but do you have any official orders?"

Chen Xilie waved his hand and ordered his entourage to go out, and Du Youlin quickly took the tea set.

"Wen Cui Bao scolded the entire court. Even Xue Lang was scolded. We can't go on like this. How did he think about the wise way of protecting himself that I gave him last time?"

"Yes, I have asked Xue Bai... He said that Chang'an County Lieutenant Wang Zhixian is well versed in classics and history and is talented. He can be admitted to the Secretary's Department. He is just worried that no one will fill the position of Chang'an County Lieutenant."

Chen Xilie shook his head when he heard this, because this was impossible.

What is "Chi County" and "Ji County"?

The capital is governed by Chi County, Chang'an County and Wannian County in the west; Henan County and Luoyang County in the east; Taiyuan County and Jinyang County in Taiyuan.

The cities next to the capital are Ji counties, such as Zhaoying County, Liquan County, Weinan County, and Lantian County. If the division is more detailed, Zhaoying County and Liquan County still belong to Cichi County; Weinan County and Lantian County are Ji County. Of course, the general appointment of officials is not so detailed. Some people divide the counties in the world into ten grades, and some divide them into seven grades.

The difference between Ji County and Chi County is nothing more than that, but the natural chasm between Ji County and Chi County cannot be ignored. For example, when Yan Zhenqing returned from observing his filial piety, he was already more famous than before. He was elected twice by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and entered the Bo Xue Hong Ci Department. He was first appointed as the Lieutenant of Liquan County and then as the Lieutenant of Chang'an County. This is how he accumulated his strength from Ji County to Chi County. He became a censor and became a middle-level official.

"Captain of Chang'an County, he doesn't even have to think about it."

Chen Xilie didn't expect that Yang Dangshi would open his mouth so loudly that the conditions he originally wanted to give were a bit difficult to raise. He muttered: "I am concerned about Xue Lang's future and paid special attention to where there are problems. What do you think?"

Du Youlin said: "Please give me some advice, Prime Minister Zuo."

"Longbiao County Lieutenant happens to have a high salary." Chen Xilie joked first and then said after a moment: "Jiangning County Magistrate, how do you think?"

This was the condition that he was sure to get Li Linfu's approval.

Du Youlin shook his head repeatedly.

Chen Xilie smiled and said: "Although Xue Lang is young, he is the number one scholar after all. Now he is appointed as Tai Le Cheng, the eighth rank, and the Jiangning County Magistrate is also the eighth rank. Jinshi first entered the officialdom, and most of them were county captains. How can I make an exception and be the county magistrate? Not good? Please note that unless he is a Chixian Lieutenant, he will have to be demoted no matter where he goes."

"You can have the title of Chengwu Lang, concurrently as Tai Le Cheng, and be appointed as Chang'an County Lieutenant."

"Whimsical."

Du Youlin apologized and said with a smile: "After all, this matter has nothing to do with Xianguan. Xianguan just relayed it."

"Then you tell him, except for Jiang Ningcheng, there are no other officials."

Although it was a bargain, neither party would open up and give in first, so the conversation was put on hold for the time being.

Du Youlin thought that Xue Bai was not in a hurry at all. If he just entered the official career, he would probably stay in the position of school secretary for one more year.

Chen Xilie is not in a hurry. As the secretary and young supervisor, he can always gradually control the newspaper office, and then the initiative will no longer be in Xue Bai's hands.

~~

Xue Bai and Qing Lan packed their luggage and placed Qing Lan at Madam Guo's Mansion, preparing to leave for Huaqing Palace in two days.

On the pretext of going to Shengpingfang to see Du Wulang, he went to Yan's house in Dunhuafang to talk to Yan Yan.

"I'll be back in a month or two."

"I don't care where you go."

Xue Bai then handed over some story drafts and said, "Then this is for you to relieve your boredom."

"That's pretty much it." Yan Yanzheng turned her anger into joy and glared at Xue Bai again.

She still looked calm when facing him, but she seemed to have not yet realized the change in their relationship... This made Xue Bai a little unsure of how to deal with himself.

You can't talk for too long, it's not polite. If you say a few words secretly, Xue Bai retreats.

~~

Du Wulang was waiting outside Yanzhai with his horse, watching people playing Go on the street.

Xue Bai came out and asked, "Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea?"

"That's the Yan family's mansion, a Confucian family. If I go in and meet someone, I'll test my knowledge. What should I do?"

"Makes sense."

"Hey, did you know?" Du Wulang whispered: "I can also go to the bamboo paper shop to pee."

"Ok?"

"Although we are married, Yun Niang can stay with Xue Ling for three months instead of three years. And as you said, next year, when she and I are both eighteen years old, it will be okay to have children. "Coping with it."     "You don't seek an official position, so what do you do every day after you get married?"

"We are so happy." Du Wulang became excited and was about to talk endlessly.

Xue Baidang said even if it was a basin of cold water, "Find something serious to do, otherwise you will soon get tired of it."

"Hey, you are really... we have a lot to do."

"What's Xue Sanniang's personality like?"

"You don't know? She was your sister for a time." Du Wulang said: "She is very gentle and careful. After we got married, she gradually became bolder..."

The two arrived at Shengpingfang and said goodbye in front of the square gate. Du Wulang returned home alone.

I saw Quan Rui lingering at the door. When he saw him coming back, he stepped forward and asked, "Where is Xue Lang? Alang has something urgent to ask him."

"He went...he went home. If anything happens, I'll go tell him."

"Please Wulang go to the study to meet Alang first."

Du Wulang hurried to the study and saw Du Youlin pacing.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

"Someone wants to recommend you as an official." Du Youlin frowned and thought deeply.

"Ah?" Du Wulang was displeased and asked, "Why?"

"Of course I have asked for help from Uncle Guo and Xue Lang. Is it because you, an ignorant and ignorant person, are talented?" Du Youlin scolded.

"What's going on? I'll go talk to Xue Bai."

"Wei Weiqing, Secretary Supervisor, and the heir, King Li Guan, fell ill, and someone wants his position."

~~

"Who are they? Which position do you want?"

"Huh? What does that mean?"

When Du Wulang rushed to Xuanyangfang and told Xue Bai what had happened, Xue Bai was confused.

"Li Guan has three positions that are up for grabs, the title of King Xu, the title of Wei Weiqing, and the position of Secretary and Supervisor. Who is looking for your grandpa? Which position do you want?"

The officialdom of the Tang Dynasty was like this. Li Guan was not dead yet, but he was old and sick, but there were already many people surrounding him like wolves, waiting for the official to be released after his death.

Du Wulang said: "He is a member of Prince Qing's palace, and he wants to find a secretary for Prince Qing's son..."

Xue Bai immediately turned cold and said, "He is so bold."

"No, my grandpa said... the secretary supervisor is a saint and has promised long ago that when King Si Xu dies, oh, he dies, he will give it to King Qing's son."

"Promised?" Xue Bai's attitude softened.

This incident happened suddenly. He understood the situation and did not want to get involved. He said: "This is a troublesome matter. Don't pay attention to it. You also need to be patient and don't be tempted by this official position. Just wait."

"Okay! I'm very patient and I'm not in a hurry to become an official."

Du Wulang came worriedly and left happily.

~~

The next day, before dawn, Xue Bai was still asleep, but was woken up by Mingzhu.

"Mr.

"I go now."

"What's wrong?" Yang Yuyao asked.

"Ms. Yao, Mr. Xue must go back to his house first and meet the people sent by Prince Xu's house at his house. You must hurry up."

"Is that Li Guan? Have we accepted his gift? I can't help him." Yang Yuyao said in a daze.

Xue Bai couldn't help but ask: "What are you busy with?"

"He wanted to give the title to his youngest son, but after asking, the saint said privately that the age difference was too big and he didn't look alike, so he had to give it to his nephew Yisi."

"What about the position of secretary-supervisor?"

"It seems that I have promised it to Prince Qing's son a long time ago."

After receiving the confirmation, Xue Bai hurriedly put on his clothes, walked through the long street in the night, returned to his house, put on a sad look, and rushed to the main hall.

"Supervisor Li, is he...really?"

"My condolences to the school secretary, please go with me."

"it is good……"

When I arrived at Prince Xu's Mansion, I heard Chen Xilie crying from a distance.

"Prince Xu, Supervisor Li!"

"You are the Taishi of Lantai... you want to build a huge compilation for the country. Such a big undertaking is in the ascendant, how can you die on the right path?! What a shame!"

Xue Bai looked around, accidentally looking, and found that Li Guan's two youngest sons were indeed still young, the older one was less than ten years old, and Li Guan was at least over sixty years old when he died. Some things are really difficult to say.

Chen Xilie kept crying.

Xue Bai's mood was getting worse. He and Li Guan had only met a few times, but Li Guan's death caused him a lot of unnecessary trouble. In addition to his subordinates who are secretaries and superintendents coming to express their condolences, he is also Tai Lecheng and has to arrange some rituals and music for the funeral.

However, having one more errand is not necessarily a bad thing. After showing up at Prince Xu's Mansion, Xue Bai left with an excuse and went to Taichang Temple... There was no need to listen to Chen Xilie's ghost cry.

It was already bright when we arrived at the Imperial City. Before entering the door, Xue Bai found a stall and ordered a soup cake and a mutton.

"Hey, Xue Lang?"

Suddenly someone called him, and Xue Bai secretly cried out that he was unlucky. When he turned around, he saw that the person who came was the consort Zhang Bian.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Bian was the immediate boss of Taichang Qing, Xue Bai. This incident is not a coincidence, but Xue Bai is now dealing with the most prominent people in the Tang Dynasty, and he has acquaintances in any yamen where he works.

"Zhang Siqing, how can you eat these?"

"King Si Xu passed away." Zhang Bian sighed: "I also have to go to Taichang Temple to take care of things."

Xue Bai said: "It seems that many people are concerned about the position left by King Si Xu?"

"Isn't it because of you?" Zhang Bian said: "Secretary supervisor was just a fictitious position with no power, but because of your three actions, it has now become an important position with great authority. It's troublesome."

"It has nothing to do with me, the Prime Minister left the letter."

"Ah."

The two of them talked about Li Guan as if chatting. Finally, the topic returned to Li Cong.

"The King of Qing loved his son Li Qiu and wanted to make him his heir, so he asked the saint for a third-rank official position for Li Qiu. The saint indeed promised to appoint Li Qiu as his secretary and supervisor as soon as King Xu dies. This matter It was normal at first, but now it has changed." Zhang Bian said: "I will give you an opinion, you can make up your own mind."

"Release it as soon as possible?"

"Yeah." Zhang Bian nodded and sighed: "Don't get involved with those people."

Xue Bai also made up his mind.

He was an orphan adopted by the consort Xue Xiu and trained to help the prince Li Ying. No one knew what thoughts Xue Xiu had instilled in him back then.

And Li Qiu was the son of Li Ying. Once Xue Bai helped Li Qiu in this matter, it would inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion. However, Li Cong was smart enough to send someone to Du's house to contact him. I don’t know whether he sought medical treatment due to a sudden illness or because he was deceived by others.

As far as Xue Bai is concerned, it is better to draw a clear line and seek to release it as soon as possible.

But he couldn't act too anxious.

Li Linfu and Chen Xilie are both good people. Once they see that he is anxious, Ji County will not think about it. Maybe even for the benefit of the newspaper, he was pushed into the whirlpool.

What you need to do is to pay attention to the conspiracy against him, get rid of the influence of this matter, and even use this matter to get the next official position.

All the way into Taichang Temple, Xue Bai found that the usually very quiet ceremonial courtyard was full of people coming and going. They were going to perform their duties and prepare a posthumous title for the emperor.

"It's time to get busy."

Xue Bai walked into the Taiyue Department. Soon, the musicians started playing sad music, and Taichang Temple became busy.

When this level of mournful music is played, it means that a big official has appeared in the court, and everyone will begin to compete for official positions like hyenas competing for food...

　I also wrote 9 words today, please vote for me~~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)