Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 537 Self-improvement
In the pear orchard, the fallen snow looks like pear blossoms on the branches.

In the cold weather, Jiang Caiping and Fan Nu on the stage were wearing thin costumes, dancing with their long sleeves, and singing a new song written by Li Longji.

An incident changed their lives. They lived in seclusion in the palace, and only folk art could comfort them.

Li Longji held a cup of warm wine in his hand, his eyes were lonely, and the sadness in his heart could only be expressed through poetry and opera. He has liked these all his life, and now is the peak of his creation.

He gradually realized that his previous poems were mediocre works of whining without any real reason.

Gao Lishi was sitting nearby. When he saw Dou Wenyang coming over, he stood up and asked a few questions. When he came back, his face looked a little unhappy. He said to Li Longji, "Grand Emperor, the Saint is here to pay his respects to you."

Li Longji didn't want to see Li Cong's ugly face, but he also hoped that Li Cong would pay him respects often. Otherwise, those powerful people in the palace would think that the emperor was not valued and would deduct his food, clothing and other expenses.

He also noticed Gao Lishi's unhappiness. With Gao Lishi's shrewdness, as long as he didn't show it, no one would notice. At this time, it was obvious that he was very dissatisfied with Dou Wenyang.

Both the master and the servant were unhappy, but they had no choice but to cheer up and deal with it.

After the greetings, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Since Li Cong issued an order to change the calendar to the year and re-establish the calendar, he had already denied Li Longji's achievements and boasted that his own contributions were even greater than his.

But in Li Longji's eyes, this son was nothing but an incompetent waste who was held hostage by foreign officials.

They were fed up with each other and were speechless.

Finally, Dou Wenyang spoke first: "Grand Emperor, the left treasury is now empty, and the counties should be asked to pay tribute to the palace for expenses. However, the county governors are unwilling to obey the emperor's order, and it will only work if the Grand Emperor gives the order."

Li Longji waved his hands and said in a dull tone, "Who else can I order to come?"

This was an excuse. It had been less than two years since Li Cong ascended the throne, and Li Longji must still have a great influence on all the counties in the world.

Dou Wenyang said, "When the Emperor was in Shu County, he sent many princes and important officials to various regions..."

"Are you, a slave, qualified to talk to the Emperor?!"

Gao Lishi suddenly opened his mouth and scolded Dou Wenyang.

Dou Wenyang's face suddenly turned ugly, and the light in his eyes was uncertain. Finally, he said, "I am asking for the saint."

"If the saint has something to ask, he will ask it himself. Between father and son, do you still need a eunuch like you to help?!"

Dou Wenyang was furious.

He is now only the Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and his actual power is much greater than that of Gao Lishi. How could he allow Gao Lishi to humiliate him like this?

"Has Mr. Gao never delivered a message for the Emperor? If so, who knows if Mr. Gao's next words are from the Emperor?"

Li Cong quickly tried to smooth things over, asking Dou Wenyang to shut up, and said to Gao Lishi, "All of you go down, I will talk to my father."

In the past, when Gao Lishi was in power, he called him "Aweng", but now he naturally would not address him like that anymore, as he was just a slave.

After the two servants left, Li Cong glanced at Li Longji but still said nothing.

Li Longji just couldn't stand his incompetence, so he spoke first, saying: "I have been thinking back on the past and I regret that I shouldn't have killed Li Ying."

Li Cong felt that this was a mockery of him being far inferior to Li Ying, and he felt unhappy.

Li Longji continued, "Now that Li Ying has been rehabilitated, his spirit in heaven has finally forgiven me. A few days ago, he appeared in my dream and told me that he still has a wronged soul and has nowhere to go. He needs his descendants to observe mourning at the mausoleum for three years and pray to God sincerely."

All of Li Ying's descendants were adopted by Li Cong, and the grace of raising them could not be severed, so now only Prince Yong could observe the mourning period.

This was the purpose of Li Longji recognizing Xue Bai's identity as soon as he arrived in Chang'an. Once his identity as the emperor's grandson was confirmed, he had too many ways to restrict Xue Bai.

Unfortunately, his eldest son was stupid and didn't know how to give up power to him. He took the little power he had left and handed it over to a eunuch.

It was not until this time, when Li Cong asked him for help, that he was willing to reveal his method.

If this had been said before, Xue Bai would have used Shi Siming's rebellion as an excuse to refuse. But now that the rebellion has been quelled and the world is at peace, it is a perfect opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Li Cong agreed that this was a good idea. His next thought was that Li Longji was still very skilled, so he could not help but feel a little apprehensive, but he did not show it on his face. Instead, he said, "Great idea, father."

Li Longji nodded as a matter of course and said, "You can't let that brat stay in Fanyang for too long, he will become too powerful to be eliminated."

"How did the emperor know he was in Fanyang?"

"If not for this, would Dou Wenyang be so domineering?"

This was said by Dou Wenyang, but he was mocking Li Cong for taking advantage of Xue Bai's absence to change the dynasty, and he was full of contempt for him.

Li Cong spoke frankly, saying, "Father knows that he can only control the government when I am not around, so how can we let him return to the capital too early?"

"Humph, his foundation is shallow. Once the war is over, people's hearts will naturally be with you."

Li Cong refused to listen to these words, thinking that Li Longji said these words because he was angry and ashamed because Xue Bai had robbed Yang Yuhuan. The path Dou Wenyang pointed out to him was very correct, and what he lacked now was the money to win people's hearts.

He then asked Li Longji to issue an edict again, allowing all counties to resume tribute and recreate the grand occasion of "Sanlang obtaining the treasure" that year.

In fact, Li Longji was very willing to do this. Letting him give orders to local officials would allow him to participate in state affairs and regain some power. Gao Lishi deliberately scolded Dou Wenyang just now to avoid Li Cong's vigilance.

So he agreed reluctantly and sighed helplessly.

Li Cong was overjoyed, and he looked forward to having money to pave the way for everything.

In the past, Li Longji's behavior of squandering money and rewarding officials had actually left a deep impression on him. Although he was not aware of it, he thought in his heart that this was the most powerful means of political intrigue.

~~
Dou Wenyang talked to Li Cong several times about taking money from the treasury in order to win people's hearts. He then accepted bribes from officials and placed them in official positions, causing more and more officials with poor abilities in the court to show their loyalty to the emperor.

It can be said to kill two birds with one stone, getting two prices for one thing.

He grew up in poverty and had a greedy desire for money. The scene that impressed him the most was the powerful people competing with each other and competing for wealth.

That was indeed a grand scene in Chang'an during the Tianbao period. Whenever Yang Yuyao saw someone's house was more luxurious than hers, she would tear down her own house and rebuild it. However, there were countless mansions in Chang'an, so how could she be the first? Apart from other things, Wang Yu's Ziyu Pavilion was exquisitely crafted and expensive.

Dou Wenyang can now finally participate in this kind of luxurious behavior.

Although he has no shortage of money, he will never be satisfied.

Besides, there are many things in this world that money is not enough for.

On this day, Dou Wenyang was bullied by Gao Lishi in the palace. When he returned home, he saw his son Dou Yu squatting on the threshold of the hall, crying with snot and tears.

Dou Yu was not his biological son, but his nephew, who was only seven years old this year. He was white, plump, and chubby, and very cute. Dou Wenyang had long envied his brother for having such a son, and adopted him after he gained power.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Grandpa!" Dou Yu cried, "My son was bullied in the Imperial College. They...they pulled my son's vitals."

Dou Wenyang watched as a snot bubble emerged from Dou Yu's nostrils and then burst with a "pop". Hearing what Dou Yu said later, he became shocked and angry.

"What? You bastards dare!"

Dou Wenyang cursed and hurried forward to untie Dou Yu's belt. He saw that the little thing was still there.

He then breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the lifeblood of his family line was not lost.

But he was narrow-minded and still angry, and kept cursing with gnashing teeth.

"Let's go! Go to the Imperial College and find out whoever dared to bully you!"

Since Xue Bai, who was far away in Fan Yang, attached great importance to education, Dou Wenyang, as his lifelong rival, was not willing to be outdone and decided to teach his students a severe lesson.

However, when he arrived at the Imperial College, he was stopped by Zheng Qian, Su Yuanming and others, who did not allow the eunuch to enter the gate of the Imperial College.

Dou Wenyang was now a third-rank eunuch supervisor. He was proud of his high rank and looked down upon these two minor officials. He stood on the steps in a domineering manner, pointing at them and cursing at them.

However, this was not the palace, and no one tolerated him. Instead, there was a round of boos.

"Eunuch, take a piss and look at yourself. You dare to break into the Imperial College."

"Oh, he has to squat to pee."

Everybody burst into laughter. Dou Wenyang stood there furious. He wished he could order the imperial guards to capture all these scholars. However, among the imperial guards were generals like Guo Qianli and Zhang Xiaojing who were close to Xue Bai, and they firmly controlled the defense of Chang'an.

Unable to scold him enough, nor to kill him, Dou Wenyang could only stamp his feet in hatred and go back home in anger.

Afterwards, he passed on the emperor's decree to banish Zheng Qian and Su Yuanming, hoping to kill them on the way. However, when the decree reached the Secretariat, Yan Zhenqing immediately rejected it and accused Dou Wen of being arrogant.

"I'm domineering? I'm still domineering even though I've been bullied like this?!"

Dou Wenyang was finally so angry at Yan Zhenqing that he cried.

This was a head-on conflict between him and the forces of Prince Yong. It was like kicking a stone; the other party did not move at all, but he kicked it so hard that it hurt.

But if he gave up here, he would not only be unable to swallow his anger, but also could not afford to lose face as this person.

After all, he now has many officials serving him. If he is bullied like this and cannot fight back, who will listen to him in the future?

He couldn't sleep all night thinking about it. The next morning, Dou Wenyang suddenly had an idea.

He called the servants over, whispered a few instructions, and said, "Go and do it quickly."

Later, when Dou Yu was about to go to the Imperial College again, he waved for others to come to him and said, "You don't have to go to study anymore."

"Really, Grandpa? That's great!" Dou Yu was overjoyed.

Dou Wenyang said: "Why do we study? Isn't it to become an official? But Grandpa tells you that you can become an official without studying. Grandpa will also give you a red robe to make those bastards who dare to bully you jealous and make them angry to death."

"That's great!" Dou Yu clapped his hands happily.

But he had studied at the Imperial College after all, and knew some things. After a while, he couldn't help but ask, "But my son is only seven years old, can he become an official?"

"You can't carry on the family line at the age of seven, but you can be an official. Come on, I will take you to see the saint."

Today, Jinwu Guard General Zhang Xiaojing was on duty outside the Daming Palace. He was standing on the palace wall chewing a dried persimmon. When he saw Dou Wenyang's carriage approaching, he looked over and spat, "Why did you bring a little brat with you?"

"It should be his son." A soldier said, "Dou is trying so hard to make money, and everything will belong to his son in the future."

"Dear?"

"How can that be possible? Adoption is also a form of inheritance. In fact, he might as well let me be his son. I'm very fertile." The soldier said with a grin.

Zhang Xiaojing sneered twice and muttered to himself: "Adoption is also inheritance, why can Li Qu inherit it, but Prince Yong can't?"

On the other side, Dou Wenyang took Dou Yu by the hand and led him into the palace to meet Li Cong.

Li Cong was naturally curious about why he brought his son here today, so Dou Wenyang told him about his experience and finally burst into tears. "Yan Zhenqing is too much of a bully. If he continues like this, I'm afraid he will bully your Majesty."

Li Cong said: "I have been thinking recently, why not pardon Chen Xilie, Zhang Yi and other old ministers, appoint them as prime ministers, and share Yan Zhenqing's power."

Dou Wenyang was crying and complaining attentively. He was greatly surprised when he heard this and asked, "Who gave Your Majesty this idea?"

He had only been away from duty in the palace for one day, but Li Cong suddenly had such an idea. When he recalled that he had gone to Taiji Palace yesterday to pay his respects to the retired emperor, he was shocked.

"Could it be that the Emperor Retired told Your Majesty this? If these senior officials are allowed to be Prime Ministers again, wouldn't Your Majesty be afraid that the Emperor Retired would regain power?"

Li Cong waved his hand and said, "I thought of it myself."

"That must be the Emperor's suggestion." Dou Wenyang quickly tried to dissuade Li Cong from this idea.

Fortunately, Li Cong was not determined for the time being, and seeing that he objected, he didn't say anything else.

Dou Wenyang then quickly brought the topic back to Dou Yu's affairs.

"They hit me in the face, but it's your majesty's dignity that is damaged. After repeated consideration, I think there is only one way to make amends."

"What's the solution?"

Dou Wenyang led Dou Yu forward and said, "Your Majesty, please grant him a fifth-rank official position."

Li Cong was stunned, his eyes fixed on Dou Yu's lips.

He saw traces of dried snot and Dou Yu's eyes that were so pure that they seemed a little stupid.

How can such a young boy become an official?
However, while Li Cong was still thinking about how to tactfully reject Dou Wenyang, Dou Wenyang had already spoken again.

"You still don't want to thank your majesty for his grace?"

These words were spoken to Dou Yu, who obeyed and immediately knelt down in front of Li Cong. Although his movements were clumsy, his words were very experienced.

"I thank your majesty for your grace."

Seeing this, Li Cong opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Dou Wenyang was very considerate, fearing that the emperor's edict would be rejected by Yan Zhenqing after being passed on to the Secretariat, so he prepared his official robe, seal, certificate and other necessary documents, ready to send them directly to the Chancellery.

The matter has been settled, and there is nothing Yan Zhenqing can do about it.

He hurriedly waved for someone to bring the altered red official robe and put it on Dou Yu in front of Li Cong.

After a busy period, Dou Yu touched his belly, tied his belt, looked around, and muttered proudly: "See who dares to grab my little baby."

"How can you talk like that?" Dou Wenyang lectured, "You and I, father and son, are working for His Majesty, so let's see who dares to defy His Majesty."

Seeing the father and son bowing again, Li Cong could only say awkwardly, "This child is quite adorable in his official robes."

"hey-hey."

Dou Yu smiled foolishly, looking naive and adorable.

~~
"General, look at your godson."

At the palace gate, Zhang Xiaojing looked and saw that the child that Dou Wenyang was leading out of the palace had changed into a red official robe, and he couldn't help but exclaimed.

"This powerful eunuch has made Chang'an a mess, why is the general still laughing?"

Zhang Xiaojing said, "As for child prodigies, there is always a shortage of them in Chang'an City."

In fact, the first thing that came to his mind was that people in the past always said that Prince Yong was too young to take on important responsibilities. But now, with a seven-year-old fifth-rank official, who could still blame Prince Yong?

As for Dou Wenyang causing chaos in Chang'an, he had some different opinions.

Prince Yong asked to guard Fan Yang, perhaps deliberately allowing this powerful eunuch to offend the public, so he kept trying to stop him. On the contrary, he felt that Yan Zhenqing was truly considering Li Cong when he stopped Dou Wenyang's evil deeds several times.

Unfortunately, the truth that even he, a warrior, understood was not understood by the saint.

At this moment, Li Cong was still standing in the hall in a daze.

It was not until today that he suddenly realized that he seemed to have never rejected any proposal from Dou Wenyang.

So, after relying on Dou Wenyang to get rid of Xue Bai, will Dou Wenyang become the next Xue Bai?
It is like using the power of the retired emperor to control the local area. Will the retired emperor take control of the power in turn?
Thinking about this, Li Cong was confused. He really didn't know what he should do to avoid being held hostage...

Jiangling.

The Yangtze River flows forward for thousands of miles. Although the city along the river is not big, it appears majestic and magnificent because of the vast Yangtze River.

In front of the city gate, a group of knights rode their horses at full speed.

"Shut up!"

Li Lin, who was in the front, pulled the reins hard and stopped the horse abruptly.

A guard came up and tried to help Li Lin, but he had already nimbly jumped off the horse, touched the horse's neck, and threw out the whip without sweating, saying, "Take it for another run. There's too much water here, so it's not fun to run."

He was not yet accustomed to life here and preferred the flat and open Guanzhong Plain.

He got on his luxurious and flat carriage and returned to the mansion, where his aide Yang Xu soon came to meet him.

"Prince Yong, there is a letter from home from Chang'an."

It is said to be a family letter, but since Li Lin was a prince, the person who wrote to him was either the emperor or the emperor emeritus.

He was not in a hurry to read the letter. He sat down and ate some fruits first, then said with a smile, "The only good thing about the south is the abundance of fruits. No wonder my father spent so much effort to carve out the Shu Road."

"Yes, it's almost New Year's Day, and I can still eat these. I couldn't even think about it when I was in Chang'an."

"The New Year is coming soon." Li Lin sneered, "My brother really thinks he is as accomplished as Yao and Shun. If he changes the beginning of the new year, I will wait and see him make a fool of himself."

Yang Xu still had the so-called family letter in his hand, and a smile appeared on his face. He said, "Everyone in the world hates Dou Wenyang for abusing his power. He said that there was no abnormal movement in the celestial phenomena, but he made such a ridiculous thing. I am afraid that before next year, the prestige of the saint will fall to the bottom."

Li Lin then took the letter and unfolded it to read. He frowned, pondered, and seemed to understand something.

After a while, he raised his head and murmured, "My father asked me to present treasures."

Yang Xu said: "The emperor is now living in seclusion in the deep palace, how could he issue such an order? I'm afraid it was instructed by the saint."

"Ah."

If Li Lin was somewhat respectful to Li Heng, he always looked down on his elder brother Li Cong, who was disfigured and childless.

Naturally, he was extremely reluctant to present treasures to Li Cong.

Yang Xu also knew what he was thinking, so he complained a few words about it, and tactfully stated that Li Cong's behavior was simply unrealistic.

Li Lin pushed the letter over, his smile growing thicker, and then he said, "Do you know why my father wrote this letter to me?"

"Is it because of the saint's request?"

Li Lin shook his head with a mysterious expression on his face. After keeping everyone in suspense for a while, he slowly said, "Father wants me to inherit the throne."

Yang Xu was stunned and read the letter again, but he could not find such instructions in the letter.

But he didn't dare to show that he didn't see it, so he nodded pretentiously, pretending to understand something. He was still wondering in his heart, which sentence was the one that instructed Prince Yong to succeed to the throne?
Li Lin was full of pride and muttered to himself, "Li Cong is a waste. What if he loses our ancestors' foundation to outsiders? My second brother is also incompetent. He led the people of Anxi and Shuofang but failed to quell the rebellion and made my father captured. Now the traitor Xue has evil intentions. Looking at all my father's sons, I am the only one who can help the country."

"Of course, Prince Yong is gifted by heaven. He stands out among all the princes and is unrivaled." Yang Xu flattered him in a matter-of-fact tone.

Most of Li Lin's capable brothers were killed, but his mother had a slightly higher status and was indeed more favored by Li Longji, which is why she was sent to be in charge of the transportation of money and grain in times of crisis.

He has always been so confident, and he said thoughtfully: "This letter must be my father looking for an opportunity to contact me."

Yang Xu thought, "So that's how it is." He nodded and agreed, "Then Prince Yong should send someone to Chang'an to try to contact the emperor."

This sentence finally hit the nail on the head, making Li Lin feel that he had not kept this aide in vain.

But it was easy to send envoys to Chang'an, but it was difficult to contact the emperor in the palace. After all, they were thousands of miles away and they didn't even know what was happening in Chang'an.

Yang Xu then went to call the messenger over for questioning.

The messenger started talking incessantly, starting from how the unfair rewards for surrendering captives had caused resentment among the people of Chang'an, and went on to talk about how Dou Wenyang's appointment of an official title to his seven-year-old son had angered the ministers.

After hearing this, Li Lin clapped his hands and laughed.

"Li Cong will surely lose the support of the people if he relies so heavily on powerful eunuchs. If you don't take what God has given you, you will be blamed. I will take over this world!"

Yang Xu said politely, "Dou Wenyang is greedy and nepotism. If I bring a lot of gifts to Chang'an, I will be able to gain his trust. Then I can contact the emperor and ask him to give a secret order, and Prince Yong can be summoned to the capital."

"Hurry up." Li Lin said, "I don't need to observe the celestial phenomena, just by looking at the situation, I know that the day when the throne will be shaken is not far away."

After the important matters were settled, Yang Xu thought of another problem.

"Prince Yong, if the traitor Xue leads his troops south, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with."

Li Lin smiled faintly and said, "When my father fled, I was kidnapped by Xue Bai and taken back to Chang'an. But do you know why he let me go to Shu County?"

~~
It was snowing heavily in Fanyang that day.

Xue Bai has received the envoys from Khitan and has reached a preliminary agreement on mutual trade.

On this day, a messenger came from the south and handed Xue Bai an intelligence.

To elaborate, what is said above is that the emperor has ordered Xue Bai to observe mourning for Li Ying to comfort his wronged soul.

With the word "filial piety" pressed down, even Yan Zhenqing could not refute the imperial edict.

It was Xue Bai who had someone stationed in the Secretariat who sent a fast horse to deliver the news in advance.

Li Longji's move seemed to have no solution.

In fact, with Shi Siming's rebellion put down, Xue Bai's position as the Grand Marshal of the Army was bound to be resigned.

If you accept a mission in a time of crisis and do not keep the enemy at bay, you will inevitably face the fate of having your bow put away after all the birds are killed.

Xue Bai read the message, but he didn't show any difficulty, as if he had expected it. He calmly picked up a pen and wrote a letter, handed it to the messenger, and gave instructions.

"Send to Jiangling."

(End of this chapter)