Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 274 Return

Wangzhai, from the rain pavilion.

In mid-September, the weather was still a little hot. When Xing Xuan arrived, sweat broke out on his forehead, but Wang Xuan was already waiting in the pavilion.

"sit."

As soon as the two of them sat down, a curtain of water poured down from the eaves of the pavilion, making people feel as if they were in the middle of a waterfall, feeling cool and refreshing.

"The saint doesn't want the court to change." Wang Zhi said with a stern face, "Ge Nu can't deal with me, but it's hard for me to get rid of him."

Xing Xuan said: "So, only major treason cases can shake Ge Nu?"

"Yes, Ge Nu colluded with Hu'er, intending to raise troops to prevent the crown prince from ascending the throne." Wang Xian said: "They coveted Luoyang, smuggling, minting coins, and winning over Henan officials, all of which are proven."

His idea of ​​dealing with Li Linfu was actually clear. He instigated Zhao Shouzhang, the prefect of Danzhou, to accuse Li Linfu of more than 20 major crimes, and instigated Yuan Zai to come forward to disrupt the right minister's party members. These were all deceptions, and the purpose was to tie Xue Bai to the same front.

"Looking at the court, only Xue Bai relied on the imperial concubine and dared to offend Ge Nu and Hu Er. However, it is not so much that Hu Er was recommended by Ge Nu, but actually appointed by the saint. This evidence alone cannot shake Hu Er. I need Xue Bai I’ll help you with all my strength, do you understand?”

"Yes." Xing Xuan said: "I went to Luoyang this time just to adhere to the prince's intention and try my best to win over Xue Bai. However, he did not cooperate and refused to break up with Li Linfu."

What happened in Luoyang was unclear in the letter, so Wang Xian listened patiently and listened to Xing Xuan's explanation in person.

"Miao Jinqing personally went to Yanshi County to investigate the case. Xue Bai taught him to obtain the confession of Henan Shaoyin Linghu Tao. If I hadn't been in Henan and put pressure on Linghu Tao at the same time, Miao Jinqing would have overturned the case. At that time, we used the excuse of investigating the Yicang matter... As it turned out, Linghu Tao was as cunning as a fox and made up for the shortfall of the Yicang, drawing a clear line between Gao Shang and Hu Er, and not allowing us to get any evidence. "

After hearing this, Wang Xi closed his eyes and a picture emerged in his mind - two purple-robed officials tried to win over Xue Bai at the same time, but were ordered around by Xue Bai. The fox pretended to be the tiger's power, which taught Linghu Tao a lesson.

After talking about Luoyang, the topic turned back to Chang'an. Wang Xian said in a gloomy tone: "Similarly to win over Yang Dang, Genu has given up on Xue Bai, a tough nut that cannot be chewed, and has conquered the spittle."

Xing Huan sighed: "Shu Hu is short-sighted, greedy, and the easiest to bribe. This is expected. But I didn't expect that now that Yang Sui is dead, Yang Dang has almost sided with Ge Nu. This matter is troublesome."

They originally thought that the core of Yang's party was Xue Bai, so their focus was always on Xue Bai. Unexpectedly, Xue Bai lost his head and refused to come back from Yanshi, and Yang Guozhong stole the benefits.

Even Wang Zhi was confused about the purpose of Xue Bai's actions. What could Yanshi be more important than Yang Dang? Can’t we really care about the people?

"He is a close official of the saint. If he is allowed to indulge in greedy talk for a long time, it may be detrimental to us."

"I will never sit still and wait for death." Wang Xuan twisted his beard and pondered, his eyes flashed with a bit of ruthlessness.

In the past, he was respectful and respectful to Li Linfu, giving people a sense of weakness, but how could a man who dared to collect debts from the families of soldiers who died in battle lack courage?

If things don't work out, he would rather assassinate Li Linfu and destroy both the jade and the stone!

The water curtain falls from the eaves all the time. Outside the water curtain is an extremely luxurious mansion, with carved railings and jade columns, row after row... No one can give up this wealth easily.

Wang Zhun walked over from outside the courtyard gate, stood outside Ziyu Pavilion, and said, "Master, there is some news."

The two people in the pavilion then stood up, the rain curtain stopped, Wang Zhun stepped in, took out a volume of the newspaper from his arms, and said: "Master, look at it quickly."

Wang Fei took the newspaper and took a look at it. He saw that it was the latest list of official transfers from the Ministry of Personnel. He glanced at it and found that almost all of them were officials below the seventh rank.

The saint has almost no control over the transfer at this level, and it is all decided by Li Linfu.

"It can't be that Ge Nu has deposed our people again..."

In the middle of his words, Wang Fei suddenly stopped because he had seen the series of changes. Wang Zhixian, who was moved to Chang'an County, was appointed Secretary and Provincial Secretary Lang; Xue Bai, who was moved to Yanshi County, was appointed Chang'an County Lieutenant; Yin Liang was granted the title of Yanshi Lieutenant.

"How could this happen?!"

He was deeply worried for a moment, worried that Miao Jinqing had persuaded Xue Bai and made Li Linfu promote Xue Bai.

It can be seen that although Xue Bai is only a small official, he is enough to make all parties fear him.

~~

At the same time, in the residence of the right prime minister, Li Linfu threw an official document on the ground with a cold face and scolded: "Zhuzi is so brave."

Miao Jinqing hurriedly leaned over and said, "I don't know if my subordinates know this. Could it be Wang Fei's doing?"

"Wang Fei was involved in the major assassination case of Lishan, and Xue Bai actually dared to get involved and seek death."

Li Linfu's voice was not loud, but his words were full of murderous intent, and what he said was also true. What Wang Fei had done had already made people angry. Once he lost his Sacred Heart, his family and family would be destroyed. Xue Bai dared to stand up this time. Wang Fei's side...that's not right.

He sent someone to pick up the official documents on the ground, looked at them again, and found that there were seals from the Ministry of Personnel, Zhongshu Menxia Province, and the Emperor of Heaven on the documents.

"Give me the examination papers from the Ministry of Civil Affairs."

"Here."

When the file was brought up and spread out, Li Linfu quickly found Xue Bai's test results. One of the best and four good ones were the best.

"What's going on?!"

The file was thrown in front of Miao Jinqing's eyes. He picked it up in a hurry and looked at it. He was a little panicked and said hurriedly: "I'm not a lower official..."

At this moment, Cang Bi rushed to the door and said, "Alang, Chen Xilie would like to see you."

"Chen Xilie?"

Li Linfu was stunned for a moment and had almost forgotten about this person.

~~

Today, Yang Guozhong is writing in front of a directory. The directory is a relic of Yang Wei and records the status of Yang Party officials.

Several names among them were circled by Yang Guozhong, such as Du Youlin, Yuan Jie, Huangfu Ran, Du Fu, etc. They were all people close to Xue Bai, either in charge of water transportation or in charge of salt management in the Jiechi area. It is the most lucrative official position in Yang's party.

But now that Yang Zheng is dead, the Yang Party must follow the leadership of Yang Guozhong. He has written letters to these people, but has not received a satisfactory reply. In this way, Yang Guozhong planned to promote his own confidants to these fat jobs.

"Uncle Guo, Yang Guangfeng is here."

"Enter."

After a while, a man in his fifties wearing a blue official uniform came in. He bowed his back and saluted, with a feminine face and a flattering tone. He said, "Congratulations to my uncle on his promotion. I wish you good health."

Yang Guozhong had always felt comfortable being served by Yang Guanghui, so he said, "I plan to promote you to the position left by Yuan Zai. Do you have confidence?"

Yuan Zai was originally the judge of the Salt and Iron Envoy, and was the core figure of the Yang Party in charge of the salt affairs. Because of his presence, the salt affairs were always in order and there were no major troubles.

Yang Guanghui was overjoyed to be able to reap such benefits. He knelt on the ground and said, "Don't worry, uncle, I will definitely not let you down."

"For a long time, the income from the salt has been too little. This is the reason why my brother has never been trusted by the saints." Yang Guozhong said, "Don't be lazy and go to Jiechi yourself. The income must be higher than last year." Three times more.”

"Even if it's five times as much, I'll still do my best!"

It is hard to imagine that these are the words that two important ministers of the country can say. But Yang Guozhong doesn't play with hypocrisy. In his opinion, the most important thing right now is to make money, not only for the saint, but also for himself.

This will also be Yang's party's next code of conduct. It will completely abandon its original ideas of making paper, publishing newspapers, and reforming the tax system, and abandon the route of courting poor families.

At this time, someone outside reported: "Alang, someone from the Right Prime Minister's Office is here."

Yang Guangdi hurriedly helped open the door. Yang Guozhong asked: "But the right minister called me over?"

"The right minister sent someone to deliver this."

Yang Guozhong took the official document and only glanced at it. Various emotions appeared in his eyes, including shock, fear, and a hint of hostility.

"How could this be? How is it possible? Who did it?!"

~~

Chen Xilie walked through the corridor of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, not noticing the old details here at all. What he felt was still the majesty of Li Linfu.

He took a deep breath and entered the hall, with a look of fear and uneasiness on his face.

"Your right minister is in good health..."

"Chen Xilie, you want to govern the country, don't you?"

"Don't dare." Chen Xilie responded hurriedly, "You Xiangruo was talking about Xue Bai's matter. This matter... came from the saint's intention. The saint wanted to recruit Xue Bai to play cards and return to Beijing. I thought that the right minister knew about this, so he didn't advance it. Asked the right minister."

"Oh!"

The desk was slapped hard.

But Li Linfu didn't let him go yet, and shouted: "You colluded with Xue Bai, and I don't know what your intentions are when you take it as the truth?!"

Chen Xilie wiped his forehead, but he was still arrogant and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. If you don't want Xue Bai to be appointed as the captain of Chang'an County, then... should you report it to the saint?"

He has always been weak, but today he was hardened for a rare moment.

Li Linfu still had a cold face, but did not continue to scold.

Chen Xilie breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't get any oral advice at all, but he dared to bet that Li Linfu couldn't ask the saint.

He stood there with his hands down and felt the atmosphere of Youxiang's Mansion. Gradually, he was no longer so afraid of Li Linfu.

Xue Bai was right. Ge Nu is currently facing a powerful enemy and is in trouble. It is when he needs support the most, and he will not break up with him easily. Aren't you afraid of forcing him to Wang Fei's side?

After the hall was quiet for a while, Li Linfu said: "That's all, it's just a small matter. I asked you to come here today because I want to ask your opinion on the He Bian matter."

Chen Xilie didn't show it on his face, but he was overjoyed in his heart.

He knew that Li Linfu was trying to win over him, and when he defeated Wang Xian, he gave him the concurrent posts of Heshi and Bianshi. This was an important position with great power and lucrative benefits.

"To be honest, Wang Xian has made many mistakes in his tenure as He Bianshi over the years..."

By the time Chen Xilie left the Prime Minister's Mansion, he was already full of ambition.

Li Linfu's reaction was completely expected by him, and he had some scruples about him, so he had to show respect that he had not had before, because after Yang Sui's death, he was the one who received Xue Bai's refuge and support.

Regardless of Xue Bai's ability and luck, he also represents the goodwill of the imperial concubine and Mrs. Guo Guo. How difficult is it to help a prime minister take power?

It should be noted that both Li Linfu and Wang Zhi are now trying to win over Xue Bai, but in the end it is only him, Chen Xilie, who succeeds.

He will become a real prime minister.

~~

Over there, although Li Linfu could not ask the saint directly, he could inquire from the eunuchs about the saint's attitude towards Xue Bai.

He then sent someone to inquire about Wu Huaishi, but the answer he received surprised him.

"General Wu thought that the sage had never given this oral edict."

"Why?"

"A few times during the ride, General Wu noticed that the imperial concubine never spoke for Xue Bai. How could the saint summon her if it wasn't the imperial concubine who reminded her."

Having said that, Li Linfu still doesn't plan to do anything to Chen Xilie for the time being. At least he can wait until he has dealt with Wang Xian before talking. He can first write down Chen Xilie's name in the book.

"By the way, General Wu has always had a guess, but I don't know if it is accurate."

"Please speak, officer."

"It was after the Lishan case that the saint seemed a little unhappy that Xue Bai was getting too close to the imperial concubine..."

~~

In late September, two appointment documents were sent from Chang'an to the Yanshi County Office.

Xue Bai's face remained calm after seeing it. He would follow the original plan and serve as the captain of Chang'an County.

"Mr. Yin, let's take a look too."

"Young Master, this is..."

"From now on, you will be Yanshi Lieutenant. Manage this place well and don't let me down."

Yin Liang nodded, with mixed feelings in his heart.

It should be noted that in the Tang Dynasty, an important way to become an official was to serve as an aide to the Jiedushi envoy in a border town, and then be recommended as an official by the Jiedushi envoy. The same seems to be true between him and Xue Bai, but you must know that Xue Bai is not yet the Jiedushi, so his ability and sincerity are even more impressive.

"Young Master, don't worry. I will never forget your great kindness."

Xue Bai sighed slightly and did not continue to talk about these personal favors. Instead, he said: "The time to leave Yanshi is still earlier than I expected. I wanted to wait until the spring of next year. Winter will come soon. How to prevent the refugees in the county from freezing to death is another problem. I can’t rest assured that I will send people back to the county from time to time to check.”

"I must be walking on thin ice." Yin Liang responded with a courtesy and said: "There are difficulties in winter. When spring comes, the young master will have to worry about spring plowing again."

"If you have any problems, feel free to send someone to Chang'an to come to me for help. Don't worry."

"Yes." What can be explained has actually been explained repeatedly. Xue Bai has left a lot of power in Yanshi anyway, so nothing major can happen. After he made the arrangements, he was ready to set off.

Exactly one year has passed since he took up the post of Yanshi and left. Some things have changed, but before he can do more, he has already reached the next step in officialdom.

Life is fleeting and the world is long-lasting. Faced with all the changes in the world, one's own strength is like a small boat following the waves thousands of miles away, but the river is still endless. So, did he change Yanshi, or did Yanshi change him?

It was still dark when he left, so Xue Bai did not disturb the people. He walked through the pre-dawn night and boarded the boat at Luohe Pier.

He only brought his family members Qinglan, Du Wulang and his wife, the Diao brothers and their men, Aunt Gongsun and her disciples. The Du sisters will return to Chang'an after arranging their trip to Fenghui.

Xue Xin was also left in Yanshi, training with Lao Liang and Jiang Hai...

"Ha, I'm going back to Chang'an, and my grandfather is still in Luoyang." Du Wulang let out a sigh of relief after boarding the ship, and said with joy: "Then Yun Niang and I will live alone at home?"

"You are going to be elected and awarded soon. Do you want to go to Luoyang?"

"No, just think of me as begging you..."

As he was standing on the bow of the ship talking, the sun slowly rose from the east and the morning light fell on the earth. Xue Bai was stunned for a moment.

Because he saw many people coming towards him, old and young, in the distance. He didn't know who had leaked the news. They waved their hands and wanted to send him off as a county captain.

"Let's sail the boat," Xue Bai said.

He felt that he had not done enough, felt ashamed of this kind of farewell, and felt that it was too formal.

The trackers pulled the rope and the boat slowly left the dock, but the villagers had already chased it, waving and shouting at the riverside.

"County Lieutenant, let us see you off..."

For these villagers, since Captain Xue took office, there has been less corruption, the land has been divided, taxes have been reduced, and life has become easier. Those who would have sold their sons and daughters can continue to be reunited as a family, and those who would have gone bankrupt can If you continue to live, you will become a rare and good official. Why don't you come and give me a gift?

They chased the boat along the river for a mile or two. The number of people did not decrease, but increased.

People on the shore shouted "Xue Xianwei" from all over the sky, forming a spectacular scene.

~~

Sacks of specialty products are piled in the cabin.

A dagger stabbed out of the sack, glowing slightly coldly in the darkness, and cut through the sack. A figure emerged from it, stood up, and stood in the cabin listening to the cheers outside.

"I can't bear to see Lieutenant Xue County."

Ren Mulan muttered, turned around, cut another sack, and put the basin out of it.

"Let's go and see Chang'an together."

"Chang'an!"

Pen'er nodded vigorously, just these two words made him excited...

The boat went up the Luo River and anchored in Luoyang. Only then did Xue Bai discover the two little guys who had secretly followed them.

Ren Mulan then shouted without shame: "I am here to protect the county captain!"

Xue Bai thought she had convinced them and did not send them back to Yanshi. Ren Mulan couldn't help but be overjoyed and immediately went to play with Li Twelve Niang.

Leaving Luoyang, we took the overland route westward, the same way we came.

This time, we passed through Tongguan and planned to spend the night at Tongguan Yi.

In the evening, there were no more complicated county affairs and no officials running back and forth to deliver news. Xue Bai was not used to it, so he walked by the Yellow River for a while and then sat down.

A sunset hangs in the west, casting thousands of gorgeous sunset glows. At the same time, it slowly falls towards the mountains in the sky. It seems that like the Tang Dynasty, it is about to fall at the moment when it does not change. Is there anything it can do? But in ancient times, there was a Kuafu chasing the sun.

Turning around and looking to the east, the water of the Yellow River flows away without looking back.

This situation and scene are exactly like "the sun disappears behind the mountains and the Yellow River flows into the sea."

In the distance, there are fishing boats drifting on the river.

He then thought of the few fishermen who drowned in the river when he arrived, and realized that even if he did better in Yanshi County, he could not change the situation of the remaining fishermen. As long as they were forced to pay excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, they would one day be They will also drown in the Yellow River.

To change all this, we have to go to Chang'an and start the change from the court.

Xue Bai thought about this in his mind and whispered a poem.

"If you want to see a thousand miles away, go to the next level."

This time when he returns to Chang'an, he must reach a higher level.

~~

Chang'an, Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

A pair of plain embroidered shoes stepped on the stairs, and Yang Yuyao supported the wall and climbed to the seventh floor.

She came today to place Yang Wei's spiritual tablet in the pagoda and ask the eminent monks to pray for it. After doing this, she inexplicably wanted to climb up and take a look.

Looking from the east window, she first saw a corner of Qujiang Pool, and further away was the city wall of Chang'an... But the rivers and mountains beyond the city wall were too far for her.

This glance changed Yang Yuyao's mood greatly.

In the past, she always thought highly of herself, thinking that she was the one who made Xue Bai successful, but now it seems that she doesn't dare to venture into the vast world that Xue Bai longs for. She only dares to shrink in this city of Chang'an, delicate and charming. , unable to change any changes.

It's not called a "male fox".

While she was thinking about this, someone hurried to the foot of the pagoda and handed a bag of money to the young monk guarding the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

The young monk looked around and saw no one else around, so he put the money bag away and ran to see the guards of Mrs. Guo's Mansion. He started gesticulating and talking. Soon, there were guards coming. Here comes the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Mingzhu had realized something, went to the stairs to receive the news, and then waved excitedly.

"Yao Niang, Xue Lang is back! He has arrived at the mansion."

"So what?" Yang Yuyao said lightly, "He has to go see Yan first."

She didn't look good, not at all as happy as Mingzhu expected.

However, Mingzhu thought that there was nothing wrong with Xue Lang coming to see Yao Niang first. They were brother and sister, and her brother had recently passed away, so no one could say anything.

However, a figure has already ridden his horse to the outside of Da Ci'en Temple, got off his horse, and walked straight this way.

"It's Xue Lang!"

Mingzhu stood on tiptoes and looked outside the tower, looking intoxicated at the figure that was getting closer and closer.

Yang Yuyao, on the other hand, still didn't react much and didn't get off the tower. She just stood there, not knowing what she was thinking.

Xue Bai had already entered the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and climbed up the steps. The steps became narrower and steeper as they went up. Just now, Yang Yuyao was carefully holding on to the wall when she climbed up, but Xue Bai was still three feet tall. Take two steps at a time.

"Slow down, Xue Lang, slow down." Mingzhu quickly reminded gently.

Yang Yuyao turned around, but Xue Bai was already in front of her.

Before she could speak, she was hugged tightly by him.

He patted her back gently and said, "I know, you are sad."

After not seeing each other for a year, he actually grew taller. Yang Yuyao was already very tall, but now he only reached his mouth. He was also much stronger, and his chest was as broad as a big bed. But he was also darker. A bit dirty, with the smell of dust, horse manure and sweat.

Yang Yuyao lay in Xue Bai's arms for a while, then suddenly pushed him away and cursed: "If you don't want to come back, don't come back! My brother is dead, what's the use of coming back?!"

Xue Bai didn't explain, and let her vent. Finally, he hugged her hard again, kissed her forehead and comforted her softly, letting her cry.

"Wuwu...you still want to come back...you are finally willing to come back..."

~~

"Xue Bai is back? So soon?"

Yang Guozhong had been sending people to keep an eye on Mrs. Guo's house, so he got the news immediately.

When he learned that Xue Bai went directly to Da Ci'en Temple to see Yang Yuyao, he couldn't help but have a look of worry on his face.

Yang Guanghui also arrived. When he heard the news, he rolled his eyes and said: "Uncle Guo, I think Xue Bai didn't come back because of the dispute between Li and Wang, otherwise he would have come back long ago. He came back suddenly at this time of year, I'm afraid I just want to compete with my uncle."

"Of course I know." Yang Guozhong looked proud and said, "What I'm thinking about is how I should face him."

"My uncle manages the internal funds and has the trust of the saints. Why should he be afraid of Xue Bai?"

Yang Guozhong didn't believe such stupid words. He gave Yang Guanghui a faint look and told him to concentrate on making money.

To deal with Xue Bai's matter, it would be safer to discuss it with the Right Prime Minister, so Yang Guozhong went to the You Prime Minister's Mansion to see him.

Li Linfu also learned that Xue Bai was back, but his reaction was very dull.

For him, it would be fine as long as Xue Bai would not join forces with Wang Fei. He knew that Xue Bai also knew how to measure, so he would rather ask Chen Xilie to help with the transfer. Otherwise, the appointment of a Chang'an county lieutenant would not be blocked by the right minister.

"What's all the fuss about? It's expected."

As soon as Yang Guozhong heard this, he realized that the positions of the two sides were not consistent.

At the moment, the conflict between him and Xue Bai is greater than that of Li Linfu.

He was also a scoundrel, and he had made up his mind that if Li Linfu didn't help him deal with Xue Bai, he would not help him deal with Wang Fei, but he said he was thinking about Li Linfu.

"I'm afraid that when Xue Bai comes back, he joins forces with Chen Xilie and Wang Xian, and he clings to An Lushan. If he colludes with Wang Zhongsi again, he has the support of Mrs. Guo Guo and Yang Guifei, and it will be detrimental to the right prime minister."

Li Linfu sneered slightly, looking down on Yang Guozhong more and more.

"Instead of staring at Chen Xilie, it is better to look at the saint's attitude towards Xue Bai. If the saint doesn't like him, the closer he is to Chang'an, the closer he is to death."

"What does this mean?"

Li Linfu waved his hand and motioned Yang Guozhong to lean down.

This action reminded Yang Guozhong of the scene when he was a spitting pot. He was a little reluctant, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

"The truth is that Xue Bai and the imperial concubine are too close..."

Yang Guozhong was stunned and opened his mouth to refute, but after a moment he realized that this was really possible and murmured: "It seems that the saint doesn't like Xue Bai. No wonder he refused to come back before."

With this sentence, many things suddenly became clear.

Thinking about it more carefully, Yang Guozhong gradually had an idea in his mind about how to deal with Xue Bai.

However, not long after, Cang Bi hurried over and said: "Alang, the sage has spoken."

"Please."

Soon, a eunuch arrived at the Right Prime Minister's Mansion and stood in front of Li Linfu.

"The sage ordered that the Duke of Jin, the right prime minister, and the minister Zuo Pu shot Li Linfu to receive the order... Haha, Xue has returned to the capital after playing cards, and there must be many interesting things. There will be a banquet at Huaqelou tomorrow night, Shiro, come with us."

"Sir, obey the order."

Li Linfu was a little confused when he received the sage's oral instructions, thinking that he might have guessed wrong.

However, when he thought about the name "Xue Bai", he soon realized that Xue Bai had been away from Beijing for a year, which was enough for the saint to eliminate his doubts and grudges.

What's more, the fragrance is far away and the smell is close. Now that he is fighting fiercely with Wang Zhi, how can he compare to Xue who just came back and play cards to please the saint?

Can a saint hold grudge against a young man for a year? At least not for the time being.

From this point of view, Xue Baiyuan was still on the right track after a year of walking.

(End of this chapter)