Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 535: School Supervisor

Li Cong wanted to control the court before Xue Bai conquered Fan Yang, but the prerequisite was that Xue Bai would not suddenly overturn the table. After all, he did not have the confidence to deal with Xue Bai by force for the time being.

Although he was looking forward to holding power because of Dou Wenyang's planning during this period, he was actually very guilty. He was afraid of angering Xue Bai and intensifying the conflict, which would get out of control.

Therefore, once Yan Zhenqing showed a firm attitude, Li Cong immediately became frightened and hurriedly asked Dou Wenyang to apologize and told him to win back Yan Zhenqing.

But in fact, Dou Wenyang was already very panicked. He even thought that if Xue Bai came to Chang'an, he would definitely chop off his head.

This scene made his legs tremble, and he was unable to suppress the urge to urinate, which was already difficult to control.

"Go quickly." Li Cong urged.

Dou Wenyang finally came to his senses. Although he was reluctant, he rushed to Yan's house as soon as possible.

The Yan family would not allow a eunuch to enter the house.

In the past, when Yan Zhenqing was serving as prime minister, he still cared about the face of the court and was willing to speak to the eunuchs in a friendly manner. Now that he has submitted his resignation, he has returned to his original noble character.

Dou Wenyang had no choice but to wait outside Yan's house. The longer he waited, the more he hated Yan Zhenqing. Finally, he caught him in the evening.

"Prime Minister Yan, why didn't you come to the government office today? All the officials are waiting anxiously."

"I am not pretending, I have decided to resign."

When Dou Wenyang saw that Yan Zhenqing was determined to leave and did not seem to be faking it, he became even more panicked.

He begged bitterly and tugged at Yan Zhenqing's sleeve until Yan Zhenqing finally put forward a condition - not to change the official calendar.

Dou Wenyang rolled his eyes, thinking that Yan Zhenqing was indeed threatening the saint, but he actually still wanted to talk.

Since it has been confirmed that Prince Yong's line has no intention of going to war, there is nothing to be afraid of. Let's just bargain. The achievements of the saint must be highlighted, and Wei Shu will be punished for criticizing the imperial carriage in public.

After the two men discussed it to the end, they decided to move Wei Shu to Yangzhou instead, and Yan Zhenqing reluctantly agreed not to resign.

Dou Wenyang hurried back to the palace to report to Li Cong with an overjoyed tone.

"I have lived up to your majesty's trust and have accomplished it!"

"What has been accomplished?" Li Cong was surprised.

Dou Wenyang was overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty's order has been approved by Yan Zhenqing; demoting Wei Shu from the capital has been accomplished!"

"Really?"

Li Cong was overjoyed. It was the first time that he successfully issued an imperial decree to demote a minister. He immediately felt the pleasure of power, and a smile immediately broke out on his scarred face.

Dou Wenyang felt Li Cong's joy and was also very excited. He lifted up his robe and knelt down solemnly.

"Since the rebellion of the Hu rebels, Your Majesty has endured humiliation in order to revive the country and allowed powerful ministers to control the government. Now that you can finally punish the rebels, I will make Your Majesty proud!"

Li Cong was touched when he heard it, his eyes were sore, he stepped forward and helped Dou Wenyang up, and said with emotion: "Thanks to you!"

"Even if I die, I will never let these people who sell their integrity and fame humiliate Your Majesty!"

"Dou Qing is my most meritorious minister in the revival of the Tang Dynasty. I should appoint you as prime minister."

This was their first successful counterattack against Xue Bai's forces, so it naturally had a different significance. Both the king and his ministers were very excited.

Once this obstacle is cleared, they can continue planning their big plans.

A few days later, Li Cong issued his edict to change the era name.

The third year of Yingshun was changed to the first year of Shangyuan, with the eleventh month of the Xia calendar as the beginning of the year. The months were named after the twelve zodiac signs pointed to by the handle of the Big Dipper.

After the imperial edict was issued, Li Cong was looking forward to future generations using him as a legitimate official and remembering his contributions; at the same time, he was very nervous and worried about Xue Bai's reaction.

With this worry in mind, he was half asleep and half awake at night, always feeling excited. But every day when he opened his eyes, he would ask if there was any news about Fan Yang.

~~
Fan Yang.

Ever since Xue Bai received Yan Zhenqing's letter, he had been thinking about bringing his family to live with him. However, Hebei had just been settled and he was worried about the safety of the journey, so he was still struggling with his decision.

Two days later, Li Cong issued an edict to change the name of the year to Shangyuan, with November as the beginning of the year.

For such a big matter, the saint made a decision on his own while Xue Bai was in Fan Yang. It would inevitably make people think that the saint had already taken control of the court. Yan Zhuang was very surprised and asked to see Xue Bai immediately to discuss the matter.

"what is the relationship?"

Xue Bai's reaction was very calm, playing with the item Yan Yan sent him from Yangzhou. It was a small domino with a red bean inlaid inside. According to popular sayings, red beans represent lovesickness, so putting it in a domino means "lovesickness deep in the bones".

This made Xue Bai feel a little numb in his heart, and at the same time, his guilt deepened.

For two years, he placed Yan Yan in Yangzhou in order to quell the rebellion, and they never met. That would have been fine, but now that the rebellion has been quelled, he still can't bring her back, and he feels that he has let her down deeply.

"Lang Jun?"

A call pulled Xue Bai back from his thoughts. Yan Zhuang had actually already spoken a lot about the political impact after Li Cong changed the system, in response to Xue Bai's question, "What does it matter?"

Xue Bai was distracted just now and was too lazy to listen again. He said, "It is natural for a saint to establish his authority. Why are you so surprised?"

"But your ambition is..."

"Am I competing with the saint for the throne?"

Yan Zhuang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something, and a smile appeared in the corner of his eyes. He soon realized that Xue Bai was only in his twenties, but Li Cong was over fifty and not in good health.

Although Xue Bai has made great contributions now, his foundation is still shallow. It will be completely in time for him to wait for a few more years and outlast Li Cong.

By then, those stubborn old ministers in the court would have died or retreated. How could Li Qu and his brothers compete with Xue Bai?

Thinking in this way, Li Cong's various little actions at the moment are like floating clouds.

"Your Excellency is far-sighted." Yan Zhuang said, "Only Duke Wei's demotion will make some of our people waver?"

Xue Bai believed that the actual situation would be the opposite. Wei Shu's demotion would only make the knowledgeable people in the court dissatisfied with Li Cong's approach to eunuchs and suppression of virtuous people.

He was very curious about something and asked, "Was there really something strange in the stars that night?"

Yan Zhuang replied, "No one I asked has ever seen a comet. This matter was manipulated by powerful eunuchs. Such people will do anything to achieve their goals. It is very likely that this is a fabrication."

Xue Bai pondered and said, "Change the third year of Yingshun to the first year of Shangyuan... Change the year next year, so there are still four months."

"My dear, it's two months." Yan Zhuang reminded, "This year's lunar calendar is in November."

"I'm afraid that before the New Year arrives, the saint's prestige will have fallen to the bottom."

Since Xue Bai dared to stay in Fan Yang temporarily, he was mentally prepared for Li Cong to take power. However, judging only from the issue of changing the dynasty, he was somewhat disappointed with Li Cong's methods.

In fact, Li Cong could boldly dismiss officials and do whatever he wanted. As long as it did not cause irreparable serious consequences, Xue Bai would be unlikely to raise an army.

As a result, he took such a huge risk, made many wise ministers disheartened, and could only gain some false reputation.

"pitiful."

Xue Bai thought about it and finally made a decision.

He sent out the Diao brothers who had been guarding him, and personally selected the most elite soldiers to go to Yangzhou to bring his family to Fan Yang.

With his current status and position, his every move is closely watched by people with ulterior motives. By doing this, he will actually make those people think that he has the intention of establishing his own separatist regime in Fan Yang.

But he didn't care. After considering it, he rarely chose the private side over the public side. This was a very rare thing on his road to advancement.

~~
During these days, the Hebei officials promoted and appointed by Xue Bai have arrived one after another.

Among them, Du Fu was appointed as the Director of Educational Affairs.

Before this, Du Fu was still serving as a county magistrate in Hedong. Someone asked him, "I've always heard that you had a close relationship with Prince Yong. Now that Prince Yong is in his prime, why aren't you being used?"

Du Fu's reaction was calm. He said that Prince Yong had only cleared his name and restored his past, and had protected the country in times of crisis. He was not the prime minister, so how could he be in charge of the appointment of officials?

Others then said that the prime minister was Prince Yong's father-in-law.

"Lord Yan only appoints people based on their talents. How could he appoint me just because of my friendship with King Yong?"

Du Fu ignored these voices from the outside world and continued to care about the suffering of the people.

But sometimes he would wonder if he really had no talent, so he was not reused. After all, among the five candidates who passed the imperial examination, Yuan Jie and Huangfu Ran, who were good at managing money and grain, now hold high positions, while only the incompetent Du Wulang holds a lower position than him.

Du Fu also knew that he really didn't know how to manage accounts, so even though his salary was not low, he still lived a tight life, as if money was leaking through his fingers.

When he received the appointment, he was passing by a family under his jurisdiction. He asked for a bowl of water and saw an old woman holding her grandson without a complete set of clothes. He took out twenty coins from his sleeve and put them on the table.

Then, when he came out of a householder's house, his family members came running with the messenger and read out his appointment with great joy.

According to custom, Du Fu had to give some reward money to the messenger who had traveled all the way, but he felt around on his body and couldn't find a single penny.

Forget it, take office.

The innkeeper who was traveling with him saw that Du Fu was riding an inferior horse, so they lent him their own empty horse, and he finally arrived in Fan Yang.

Xue Bai and Du Fu had not seen each other for many years, so they were naturally happy to meet each other.

Compared to when he was in Chang'an, Du Fu looked much older, darker, thinner, and with sparse hair.

They are friends regardless of age and call each other brothers. Du Fu used to seem one generation older than Xue Bai, but now he seems two generations older.

"Brother Zimei, do you have any new works?"

"Have!"

Du Fu immediately took out a collection of poems, threw it to Xue Bai, and continued to drink and eat.

Xue Bai read the poems, and found that they were all good poems handed down from ancient times, but there were few poems that he was familiar with, so he asked, "When the government troops recovered Henan and Hebei, didn't you write a poem?"

“Why write poetry about this?”

"Not happy?"

"I am naturally happy. The people are living such a hard life. How can they be in the mood to write poetry about it?"

Du Fu responded casually and picked up a pot of wine to pour for himself.

Xue Bai then asked, "When the news came out that Jibei had been taken back, I burst into tears. Were you not so happy?"

Du Fu looked at him deeply, with a look of doubt in his eyes, as if he was exploring something.

"Prince Yong, do you want me to write some eulogies?"

Xue Bai was surprised, and couldn't help but smile and shook his hands repeatedly, saying: "No need, no need."

"Is there any follow-up to the poem that Prince Yong just said?"

"Have."

While chatting with his friends, Xue Bai recited the poem in its entirety without caring whether it was appropriate in the context.

Du Fu listened attentively, with a look of surprise on his face, and praised the poem. But for him, the An-Shi Rebellion, which was quelled in less than two years, did not make him so excited. He was more concerned about some major issues of people's livelihood.

"What a great line, 'Singing in the daytime means drinking'. Come, you take a drink too."

"I won't drink anymore. I have to discuss business later."

Xue Bai poured himself a glass of water. He looked so bored that he didn't look like someone who could write such a poem.

He observed Du Fu's reaction to these poems with great interest.

Du Fu was so excited when talking that he raised his hand to stroke his bun from time to time. Because the hair in the middle of his head was sparse, the bun was shaking and seemed to be about to fall off from time to time.

Xue Bai couldn't help but ask: "My white hair is getting shorter and shorter, and it's almost too short to hold a hairpin."

"wonderful!"

Du Fu drank another glass of wine, clapped his hands on the table, and said, "Mr. Xue actually wrote such a poem that fits the occasion. Is there a complete poem for this sentence?"

He was in such high spirits that he completely forgot that Xue Bai's name was now Li Qian, and he used the old name again.

Xue Bai burst into laughter. It seemed that this poem had become his again.

Anyway, since the war was over, Du Fu would never have to see the situation of "the country is destroyed but the mountains and rivers remain, and the city is overgrown with grass and trees in spring", so he accepted it with a smile.

There must be many more popular poems that need him to pass on for Du Fu.

And Du Fu will also write many other poems.

"Let's get down to business. Brother Zimei, do you know what this 'Teacher's Office' is?"

"As the name suggests, it is about rituals, music, schools, and examinations."

Du Fu was not happy with this official position and seemed a little disappointed. His ambition was still to govern the country and benefit the people and do practical things for the people.

"Does King Yong also think that I am only famous for my poetry but lack any talent?"

Xue Bai was not polite and said bluntly: "Brother Zimei is indeed not good at finance, taxation and economics, and he is not smooth in dealing with people. He is not the type to be an official."

Although Du Fu had realized this in his heart a long time ago, he still felt disappointed when he heard Xue Bai say it.

Just from the fact that he went to Fan Yang to take up the post, he had already committed many big taboos for officials.

Feeling lost, a look of sadness inevitably appeared on his thin face.

The next moment, Xue Bai asked, "Brother Zimei, do you know what rank this position is?"

Du Fu only wanted to serve the people and had not yet considered the question of rank. He could not answer, so he asked, "What rank?"

"From the fourth grade."

"what?!"

Du Fu was shocked. He stood up suddenly and waved his skinny arms, not knowing what to do.

He had never worn a red official robe before, but he didn't expect that he would jump up and be three levels higher than the red robe. How could he believe it?

Xue Bai said: "The court is trying to divide the power of the Jiedushi into four parts. Although the authority of the Xueshi Department is lower than that of the Transportation Department, the Criminal Justice Department, the Changping Department, and the Pacification Department, they are all high officials."

Du Fu had seen the words "Tiju Hebei Daoxueshisi" on official documents before, but he did not think it was such an important position. After all, this official position was very unfamiliar.

He unconsciously straightened his old clothes, stiffened his neck, and waited patiently for Xue Bai to entrust him with an important task.

Xue Bai paused, then said thoughtfully, "Hebei is a place where the Han and the Hu people live together, and there are a large number of Hu tribes that have surrendered to the Han people. They need to be taught the customs of the Han people and understand the teachings of the ancient sages. This is what makes the Hebei Education Office different from other places."

Du Fu nodded, feeling a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Xue Bai continued, "Since the imperial examination, the desire of children from poor families to enter the government through studying has become stronger, but there are still a lot of people in the court who are recommended by their relatives, and even local officials are passed down from father to son. Talented people have no way out, so they either seek refuge with the powerful or join the army. If the court wants to give poor scholars a way out, it must reform the system and improve the imperial examination, and even the entire official selection system. And improving the imperial examination is by no means something that can be done by the will of a saint, it must start from the local level. How to select talents as fairly as possible in county schools, state schools, and provincial schools is the responsibility of the Department of Education."

Du Fu felt the burden on his shoulders was heavier and nodded gloomily.

Xue Bai said: "I met Zhang Zhongzhi from Yingzhou a while ago. He was the governor of Pinglu appointed by the Pseudo-Yan. He was recommended by An Lushan as a good archer to serve as a guard in the palace. When An Lushan rebelled, he fled from Chang'an back to Fanyang. Now that we have successfully suppressed the rebellion, he has surrendered. What do you think of such a person, brother Zimei?"

"The barbarians have no loyalty and only seek profit, and they keep changing their ways."

"They say they don't know loyalty, but they also know how to be grateful and go with the flow." Xue Bai said: "When he was at his lowest and most miserable, it was An Lushan who recommended him, so he was most grateful and loyal to An Lushan. The local school officials have to do the same thing, recommending talents to the court. But school officials are not An Lushan, and recommending and selecting people is not to let them rebel, but on the contrary, to unite and prosper."

Hearing the last sentence, Du Fu couldn't help but look at Xue Bai with a complicated look.

He had long heard various rumors about Prince Yong and his intention to usurp the throne. At this moment, he could not help but wonder in his heart whether this was really an attempt to build up power and cultivate cliques.
Xue Bai really didn't have such thoughts. Since he was aiming to rule the entire Tang Dynasty, there was no need for him to form cliques or factions. In the future, everyone would be his subjects.

Facing Du Fu's suspicious eyes, he smiled faintly, without any explanation, and patted Du Fu's thin but stiff shoulders.

Du Fu reacted and thought to himself that it was inappropriate for him to speculate on Prince Yong's intentions before he could repay the prince's kindness in promoting him.

"I have been adrift all my life, and my ambitions are hard to achieve. Now that I have the trust of King Yong, I will not let him down, even if I die."

"They all work for the country and the people."

The two talked until late at night. At the end, Du Fu, still not satisfied, picked up the wine pot and toasted Xue Bai.

"In the past, I wandered the streets of Chang'an and didn't recognize the dignity of King Yong. I will drink the whole pot of wine to thank King Yong for his great kindness."

"Why should we talk about thanking each other?" Xue Bai said with a smile, "I have already received too many gifts from Brother Zimei."

Du Fu was stunned, not knowing what this meant.

He came with nothing, so how could he give any gifts?

"I have nothing to thank King Yong for..."

"Please don't be so polite. Although official business must be handled in an official manner, our private friendship remains unchanged. You call me 'Wujiu' and I will call you 'Brother Zimei'."

"No blame."

After Du Fu called out, he looked up at Xue Bai's face, which was as gentle as before, but shook his head again.

He seemed a little drunk, or had regained his former unrestrained and unruly self, even showing a crazy attitude.

"No, no, no, Prince Yong, you should just call me 'Du Tixue'."

"Duti Xue?"

"Hahaha." Du Fu laughed, "I haven't heard enough, I haven't heard enough!"

"Duti Xue, it's Duti Xue who's here!"

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of August. A group of teenagers were busy in the backyard of the provincial school. Some were piling up the classics, history books, and miscellaneous books, while others were slaughtering roosters. Suddenly, a schoolboy rushed over, shouting loudly.

"The school inspector is here, run, run."

After hearing this, the young people were not in a hurry. They packed their things with a smile and even waited there for a while until they saw a thin figure appear at the gate of the courtyard from afar.

"Zhang Weicheng, Zhang Weiyue!"

Du Fu had been chasing for a while and had to stop to rest, panting and leaning on his crutches. He shouted, "I know you are the leader. Why don't you come over and confess your crime?"

A teacher should be highly respected, and a fourth-rank educational official is even more prestigious. However, Du Fu had never held such a high position, and he did not show off his authority. After more than ten days in office, he was seen through by others, and everyone knew that he did not have a strong character.

In addition, the people of Fanyang were fierce and the rebellion had just been quelled, but their resentment towards the court had not yet dissipated, so they were naturally hostile to him who spoke well of the court.

Zhang Weicheng and Zhang Weiyue are brothers, both of whom are sons of Zhang Zhongzhi, the former governor of Pinglu in the pseudo-Yan Dynasty and currently the general of Guide in the Tang Dynasty.

After hearing the news of Shi Siming's death, Zhang Zhongzhi led his people to surrender. Many people in the court originally wanted to continue to appoint him as the governor of Pinglu and give him the title of inspecting minister of the Ministry of Works and Duke of Liao.

Xue Bai strongly opposed this matter, without any embellishment in his words.

"It is a grace to spare the life of a rebellious surrendered general and give him a chance to reform. How can the court promote and reward him after he rebelled?! If this continues, how can the country not collapse?"

Many officials were worried that such remarks would force Zhang Zhongzhi to rebel, and the rebellion that had been quelled with great difficulty would break out again.

When this remark reached Fan Yang, Xue Bai was furious and said that if Zhang Zhongzhi had any intention of rebellion, he would send troops to attack him now!
The result was beyond the expectations of the ministers. Zhang Zhongzhi personally rushed to Fan Yang to surrender to Xue Bai and resigned from the post of Jiedushi.

Although he resigned and surrendered, he still had great prestige in the Hebei army. Xue Bai treated him very well. As soon as the provincial school was established, he allowed Zhang Zhongzhi's three sons to enroll in the school, hoping to train them to become talents for the court.

The ancestors of the Zhang family were all barbarians, and they never had the idea of ​​teaching their children to read. Among them, the third son, Zhang Weijian, was young and had a lot of learning potential. Zhang Weicheng and Zhang Weiyue hated studying, and spent their days messing around with the sons of military families in the state school.

Today they slaughtered the rooster that crowed in the provincial school and prepared to roast the chicken to eat with the Classics, History, and Miscellaneous Works.

They had just plucked out their hair and let their blood when they saw Du Fu arriving and made a provocative face, and then they dispersed in a hurry.

"Wait!"

Du Fu shouted loudly, but he was talking to the officials and servants who had arrived behind him.

"They are still children, don't hurt them!"

Zhang Weiyue was not grateful at all. Instead, he turned around and shouted arrogantly, "Who can hurt me?!"

He was naughty and did not like to study, but he grew up in his father's army. He was familiar with archery and horse riding, and was also good at boxing and kicking, with a very strong body.

He despised Du Fu, the skinny educational official, and was unwilling to be protected by him, so he simply rushed back, smashed the dead rooster in his hand on the head of an official, and then beat up the others.

The screams continued, and Zhang Weicheng also returned with a group of his disciples.

He was holding a kitchen knife in his hand, and the school officials and clerks were so scared that they ran away with their heads in their hands, leaving only Du Fu standing there.

"Hahaha."

The naughty boys laughed, but did not dare to touch Du Fu. They picked up the dead chicken on the ground and ran away.

The pages of books were left scattered on the ground, blown up by the autumn wind at the end of August, with a sense of disorder and defiance.

Du Fu was extremely angry and continued to chase after him and shout to stop him. However, he could not chase him anymore before he even got out of the county government office and had to lean on his walking stick to rest.

When I want to curse something, everything I say sounds like poetry.

"The children in Hebei Province bullied me because I was old and weak. All the rules could not control me. They openly took the books and walked away. My lips were dry and my mouth was parched, but I could not say anything..."

At this moment, uniform shouts were heard in the distance.

I saw a group of soldiers escorting the students back, and the young general leading them was Hun Yu.

"The Duti School's discipline is too lenient. If you are unable to tame this bad student, I am willing to do it for you."

Du Fu turned around and saw Xue Bai standing there.

Xue Bai also heard Du Fu's poem, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

Although the poem is still a sad poem, the context is very different, and Du Fu's future and the Tang Dynasty's future will also be very different.

They teach now for the sake of security, for the sake of future rewards, and also to answer that question:

"How could I have thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor people in the world and make them happy?"

(End of this chapter)