Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 557 New official takes office
In fact, it was already winter, but there was no stove lit in the Xuanzheng Hall that day.

Xue Bai was in good health and did not feel cold. Du Youlin, Yan Zhenqing and others were dressed warmly. Only Li Mi acted as if it was still August and continued to wear a thin Taoist robe, which looked cold.

After Li Xian finished his two reports, Xue Bai nodded repeatedly, wishing he could approve it directly. But if he wanted to implement it, he had to go through the Secretariat, so he had to ask for their opinions.

"I second the proposal."

Du Youlin, as always, serves as Xue Bai's mouthpiece.

Although this answer seems very mediocre, it actually contains some careful thoughts. He only said that he seconded the proposal, which naturally meant that he agreed with Li Xian's two suggestions.

Yang Wan was a well-known child prodigy with noble character and was highly regarded by the people. He was the perfect candidate for the Jingzhao Yin. Du Youlin agreed to this matter, which invisibly brought the matter of restoring the old calendar to the same reasonable level.

Unfortunately, others did not buy his tricks. Wei Jiansu spoke first and said, "Yang Wan can be transferred to Jingzhao Yin, but the calendar should not be changed lightly."

After saying that, Wei Jiansu immediately closed his eyes and sat there to rest, to show that he would not change his mind today, no matter what others said.

Du Youlin then glanced at Yan Zhenqing and Li Mi respectively, thinking that whether this matter could be accomplished depended on Yan Zhenqing's reaction, because Li Mi often opposed Xue Bai just for the sake of opposing him.

He was very confused as to why Xue Bai wanted to appoint Li Mi as prime minister. He was simply making things difficult for himself.

"Mr. Yan, what do you mean?"

"Changing the imperial decree will damage the prestige of the court." Yan Zhenqing still insisted on his original opinion, saying: "Your Highness is the regent for the saint, and you should put loyalty and filial piety first. How can you change the calendar without authorization?"

Du Youlin wanted to persuade Yan Zhenqing again, but Xue Bai had already looked at Li Mi and asked, "What does Changyuan think?"

Since Li Mi became the prime minister, he has been like a decoration most of the time, neither happy nor sad. If he is asked about something, he will oppose Xue Bai, but sometimes Xue Bai will deliberately express the opposite attitude to test him and compete with him in wits and courage.

Usually, this kind of contest would result in a win or loss, but this time Xue Bai's attitude was very clear, so Li Mi said, "Mr. Yan and I share the same view."

Xue Bai asked, "So, the emperor's birthday is coming up in a few days, should the Taichang Temple prepare some dance music?"

As he spoke, he took a few steps and looked outside the palace gate.

It has started snowing lightly today.

The reason why Du Wulang chose to hold the performance yesterday despite the tight schedule was that he was worried that it would snow heavily in the next few days. An experienced farmer could tell this from the clouds.

"It snows in the eighth month of August in Hutian." Xue Bai murmured, "It snows in the eighth month of August in Chang'an, too."

Looking at the light snowflakes falling, Li Mi tightened his Taoist robe and smiled bitterly, as if he had lost all hope in life.

In previous years, the Tianchang Festival was held in the cool autumn weather, but this year the festival will be held in the snow? And then there is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The grand song and dance that the emperor likes has already been performed among the people. If Xue Bai celebrates his birthday again, he will be fooled and make the emperor lose face. It is better not to do it.

Thinking further, the emperor and the saint were all held hostage by Xue Bai. If Xue Bai wanted to make them suffer, it would be easy. If he considered them, he might as well agree to restore the old calendar.

In fact, Yan Zhenqing opposed this matter for Xue Bai's sake, fearing that he would be labeled as a powerful official. If it was really for the good of the emperor, he might as well agree to it.

"I've thought it through. There's no need to hold the Tianchang Festival." Li Mi finally changed his mind.

If it were someone else, they would inevitably have to say a few words to save face, but he didn't care about these unimportant things. After saying that, he bowed to Xue Bai and left.

This is quite right, he seems very unhappy.

Wei Jiansu couldn't help but sigh, knowing that the matter was a foregone conclusion and he could no longer stop it.

Soon, before the fifth day of August, the imperial court issued an edict to abolish the calendar established by the sage and continue to use the old calendar.

The people were not used to calendar changes, so they naturally applauded this.

The various items that were secretly prepared for the New Year and Lantern Festival can now be taken out. As for the Mid-Autumn Festival, they had already secretly celebrated it.

As a result, the atmosphere in Chang'an City suddenly became lively, and soon there were more and more materials for making lanterns on the streets, and the scene of the Kaiyuan period could be vaguely seen.

But for the court officials, the deeper significance of this incident was that the Crown Prince Regent denied the sage's time and achievements, and established his own authority.

~~
The first year of Shangyuan, early December.

A man in his forties, dressed simply and with a calm temperament, walked across Qingmen Street.

He was Yang Wan, who had just been recalled to Chang'an to serve as Jingzhao Yin.

Yang Wan was born in the Yuanwu branch of the Hongnong Yang family. He was born intelligent. When he was four years old, he had a dinner at home. During the banquet, they played a drinking game in which the guests were asked to read out the four tones of the utensils present. When everyone else was stumped, Yang Wan pointed to the candlestick and said the four words "the handle of the lamp is curved", so he was regarded as a child prodigy.

There is a saying among the people that Liu Yan, Yang Wan, Li Mi and Xue Bai are the four child prodigies during the Tianbao period.

On this day, Yang Wan returned to Beijing and passed by the East Market, where he saw a bustling crowd. Among them was an old woman with white hair, still selling lanterns with her grandson.

"My dear, please buy two lanterns. The New Year is coming soon."

Yang Wan looked at the old woman and couldn't help but think of his mother.

Although he had a good family background, his grandfather was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial College, and his father was the Magistrate of Liquan County, but his father died early and his family fell into poverty. He was very filial to his mother, and it was precisely to ensure that his mother had enough food and clothing that he took the imperial examination and passed the exam.

If not, some of the children of famous families like him would disdain the imperial examination, believing that the right path was to rely on family connections. However, the imperial examination began with the entrance examination, and one had to let those lowly officials search one's body, which made one's dignity fall into the hands of inferiors. How could a real man do that?

The difference between Yang Wan and these people is that he has endured poverty and acts frugally and pragmatically.

He took a few steps towards the old woman selling lanterns, reached into his sleeves with his hands, but found that he had no money, so he stopped with a wry smile.

At this moment, a handsome man in his thirties came over and walked straight to the stall.

"My dear, do you want to buy some lanterns? Take a look."

Yang Wan was about to leave when she heard the thirty-year-old man say, "The workmanship and materials of your lanterns are good, but the patterns on the lantern paper are too ugly."

Hearing him dislike the old woman's lanterns, Yang Wan couldn't help but stop, thinking that he was not buying anything but becoming picky.

Then the thirty-year-old man took out a brush from his sleeve and said to the old woman, "Do you have any paint? I'll add some paint to your paintings. I guarantee you'll sell them well."

The old woman couldn't help but hesitate.

"Don't worry, if the painting is not good, I will buy all your lanterns."

So the old woman hurriedly took out the paint and asked the man in his thirties to paint.

Yang Wan became more and more interested and just watched from the side. He saw the other party writing smoothly and quickly sketching a pine tree, rock and landscape painting on the lantern.

Although the painting was done with only a few strokes, it seemed as if the real scenery of the mountains was transferred into the painting. It is truly the work of a famous artist.

The thirty-year-old man painted four lanterns in succession, representing the four scenes of spring, summer, autumn and winter. After he finished, he put down his brush and said to the old woman, "How do you think it looks?"

"My dear, you are truly amazing. Really amazing."

Yang Wan liked the paintings very much and was ready to buy them. Although he did not bring any money, he planned to make an agreement with the old woman and then ask his family to get money.

But just as he walked to the front, the thirty-year-old man asked the old woman, "Do you know how much this lantern costs?"

"If it's this good, I'm afraid it can be sold for ten cents?"

"One is ten strings of cash, and four are fifty strings of cash."

The old woman was stunned, her eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if she couldn't count or if she had heard it wrong. If someone bought four, wouldn't the price be 40 strings of cash cheaper? No, how could this lantern be sold for 10 strings of cash?

After hearing this, Yang Wan's original intention to buy the painting immediately disappeared. He smiled bitterly silently, took two steps back and was about to leave.

Although the thirty-year-old man had never looked at Yang Wan, he was keeping an eye on him. When he saw that Yang Wan was about to leave, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes, as if he was considering how to keep him.

"Don't worry, my paintings are definitely worth the price."

suddenly.

"what."

A shrill voice sounded, saying, "What a beautiful painting of pine trees, rocks and landscapes!"

The man who came was a middle-aged man with a white face and no beard, who was obviously a eunuch. He was so attracted by the painting on the lantern that he couldn't let it go and asked the old woman hurriedly about the price.

"I love painting. I just saw this handsome man painting from afar and came over. I didn't expect that he could paint so well. Tell me, how much? Don't worry, this is not a palace purchase. I have plenty of money."

"How many does this...this person want to buy?"

"Of course I want all four."

"Five... five... fifty strings of cash."

The old woman didn't dare to say anything, but she thought she could still bargain if she asked for a high price, so she stammered and gave her price.

Unexpectedly, the eunuch was very happy and said, "So cheap?! Hahaha, I'll take them all."

After saying that, he held the handsome man in his thirties with both hands.

"I am Huang Ruzhi, the eunuch. May I ask your name, sir?"

"Yang Yan, courtesy name Gongnan."

Over there, Yang Wan walked a few steps, looked back, and remembered the name Yang Yan. He thought to himself that Yang Yan's paintings were good, he was indeed a talented person, and he was also very scheming, and he would surely rise to the top sooner or later.

Normally, when Yang Wan met a person like Yang Yan, he would inevitably go up to him to make friends with him. But today, he realized that the other party seemed to want to make friends with him, so he deliberately came out to paint. He didn't like such ambitious people, so he deliberately ignored him.

He just returned to Chang'an and planned to visit the Jingzhao government office.

Strolling along the streets of Chang'an, I slowly came to Guangdefang, where Jingzhao Prefecture was located, but encountered another small incident at the gate of the square.

Ahead, a large group of horse-drawn carriages were coming out of the town, blocking the streets.

"Get out of my way!"

However, Yang Wan did not give way. He stood there, craning his neck to look like an ignorant countryman. He discovered that there were more than a hundred carriages.

The leading driver raised his whip and shouted again, "Get out of the way!"

"You're blocking the road, come here." With this shout, someone pulled Yang Wan and pulled him to the side of the street.

Yang Wan turned around and saw a bearded criminal. He asked, "Whose carriages are these? Why are they so grand?"

"Look at what you said. When a dignified Jingzhao Shaoyin travels, what's wrong with bringing more followers and carriages?"

"Jingzhao Shaoyin? Is it Li Gan or Cui Su?"

Since Yang Wan was the Jingzhao Yin, he naturally had a detailed understanding of the situation in Jingzhao Prefecture. The two Jingzhao Shaoyin were appointed when the emperor favored Dou Wenyang. They were both of extraordinary birth and wealthy families. Obviously, they got their positions by bribing Dou Wenyang with large sums of money, but their political achievements were not bad.

Li Gan governed the capital with strict laws and regulations, and paid attention to the city's public security. After the Yongwang Rebellion, Chang'an quickly stabilized and won the hearts of the people. However, he was extravagant and spent a lot of money. He often did not work properly and was always thinking about currying favor with new backers to get promoted. He was a man with both advantages and disadvantages. Cui Su was more like a businessman. His family had many businesses. After he spent a lot of money to get an official position, he saw that the Yongwang became the regent prince, and he was worried about losing his job. He often donated grain to govern Chang'an.

Yang Wan knew very well that the current Crown Prince who was acting as regent would not tolerate two such people continuing to serve as Jingzhao Shaoyin, but until a suitable Jingzhao Yin was appointed, he had no choice but to keep them.

Now, it depends on whether he is competent as the Jingzhao Yin.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you address Shao Yin by his first name?!"

A shout pulled Yang Wan back from his thoughts. He raised his head and saw a continuous line of luxurious carriages ahead that had not yet passed through the gate.

After thinking about it, he simply strode forward.

"Step aside!"

The driver of a carriage saw that Yang Wan was dressed simply and was not a wealthy person, so he immediately looked down on her. He swung the whip in his hand and hit Yang Wan directly, and also cursed at her.

"Can't you wait any longer? Come on over there."

Yang Wan was whipped, and calmly took out his certificate, and said in a deep voice: "Where is Shao Yin Li? You treat me like this when you travel by car, how do you treat the people under your rule?!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, the air of poverty that he had was swept away, and his authority as an official was immediately displayed.

Li Gan was sitting in a carriage at the back, enjoying the massage of his legs and shoulders by his beautiful maid, when he suddenly heard this shout. He was so surprised that he quickly lifted the curtain to look.

"This... could it be Yang Jingyin?"

Li Gan naturally knew that Yang Wan had been appointed as the Jingzhao Yin, and he specially sent people to the Daming Palace, the Council of State Affairs, and the door of Li Xian's house to keep an eye on them, because he believed that Yang Wan would definitely go to these places as soon as he arrived in Chang'an.

But he never expected to meet Yang Wan here.

If he just traveled in a grand manner and lived a luxurious life, these would be minor matters. Although the Crown Prince Regent advocated frugality, he spent his own money and did not break the law, so the Crown Prince could do nothing about it.

However, the servant whipped Yang Wan, which was by no means a minor crime.

Li Gan cried out in bad luck, and quickly jumped off the carriage, rushed to Yang Wan, bowed deeply, and said, "Greetings to the governor of Beijing. I am an incompetent official, and I apologize to you."

As he said this, he forced the driver to drink the wine and threw him under the shaft, and was about to punish him severely.

Yang Wan asked, "If the master wasn't so arrogant, how could a servant dare to whip people in the street? I heard that Li Shaoyin is very popular among the people. Did he get the public support by whipping him?!"

He originally had the aura of an honest man, he was not dressed badly and his expression was not fierce, he seemed easy to bully. But now when he opened his mouth to scold, he was so righteous and awe-inspiring that he had the power of a god.

The driver was so frightened that he fell to his knees, shaking like a sieve.

Li Gan also wanted to kneel down to Yang Wan, but his status was not appropriate. How could an adjutant kneel down to his chief officer?

Just when he was at a loss as to what to do, a eunuch came hurriedly.

"Is Yang Wan, the Jingzhao Yin, here? His Highness summons him."

When Li Gan heard this, his face turned pale.

He has already offended Yang Wan, and the matter hasn't been settled yet. If Yang Wan complains to His Highness, he will definitely be finished.

~~
Xuanzheng Hall.

Yang Wan walked into the hall, unable to tell what impression she had of Xue Bai.

In fact, he was promoted by Xue Bai twice. The first time was when he was still the Prince's Secretary. In order to increase the power of the Yang Party, Xue Bai promoted a large number of officials. The second time was after Xue Bai recaptured Chang'an and put him in the position of Hedong Salt Monopoly.

This return to Beijing was the third time Xue Bai had helped him.

Being able to serve as Jingzhao Yin at the age of less than 40, a high-ranking official of the third rank, and suddenly becoming one of the Three Assistants, he had the hope of becoming a prime minister before the age of 45 and realizing his ambitions.

No matter what, this is a great favor from Xue Bai to him.

But on the other hand, Yang Wan had also heard of Xue Bai's many bad reputations. As a person with moral obsession, he was actually unable to accept it in his heart, and often felt dilemma about it.

Therefore, he had to put aside the struggles for power and focus on specific practical matters.

"I have met His Highness."

"Now that you are here, let me first tell you about your achievements in the salt monopoly in Hedong."

Xue Bai didn't seem to have any intention of winning Yang Wan over as his confidant, and he started talking about specific practical matters as soon as they met.

Yang Wan breathed a sigh of relief and soon began to talk freely.

There were many talented people among this group of officials who went to Hedong, such as Wang Jin, Yuan Jie, Diwu Qi, and Liu Yan. Under such circumstances, there would definitely be some results, and it also paved the way for Xue Bai to promulgate the salt monopoly law throughout the country.

However, Yang Wan said that Diwu Qi and Liu Yan had some differences on the issue of salt monopoly. Diwu Qi believed that the court should completely monopolize the profits of salt monopoly, while Liu Yan attached importance to the profits of merchants and thought that officials and merchants should share the profits, giving private salt dealers a way to make a living and letting them help the court make profits.

Xue Bai then asked Yang Wan whose idea was better.

Yang Wan said frankly that he was inclined to Liu Yan's opinion, but the salt monopoly law was only being piloted in Hedong, so he suggested adding another pilot, with Diwu Qi and Liu Yan in charge respectively, to observe the situation.

He could see that Xue Bai was very cautious about the changes.

"I really don't dare to rush for success." Xue Bai said, "The northwest has been on guard every year, and we have been in a long war with Tubo. Military funds are in short supply, the treasury is empty, farmland annexation is serious, and the rent and labor system is in tatters. If we don't change, we will not survive. But now the government is corrupt and people's livelihood is difficult. I dare not change the law easily, otherwise the people will bear a heavier burden if I am not careful."

"Yes." Yang Wan said, "Before, there were many rebellions and the court was helpless. This is not the time to make drastic changes. Just like a person who has just recovered from a serious illness should first take care of himself slowly and then take tonic medicine. We should change the customs, make officials honest, and enforce the law. Then, we should set the number of troops in each state, clean up the military and government, weaken the powerful vassal states, and disperse the plots of gathering people. After a few years, there will be peace at home and no external troubles. The world will be in order, and we can change the tax law."

"That's a good point, but there are problems right now."

Yang Wan said, "Your Highness just said that we are in a long war with Tubo and military funds are in short supply. But I heard that this autumn Guo Ziyi was in Longyou and Li Guangbi was in Jiannan, and they both blocked Tubo's offensive."

Since the Yongwang Rebellion, Guanzhong has been quite peaceful. The court has been talking about preparing for the fall, but there has been no news of the Tibetan invasion, and most people have only received the information that Yang Wan knows.

But Xue Bai was in a bad mood recently because of the war with Tubo.

He walked to the map, pointed to Longyou and Jiannan, and said, "For Tubo, these two directions are its eastern front. This year, thanks to the presence of Generals Guo and Li, Tubo did not gain much advantage on the eastern front."

Changing the subject, Xue Bai said, "However, what the world does not know is that the Tubo on its western front has taken advantage of the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty to completely occupy the Hexi Corridor and cut off our connection with the four towns of Anxi."

Yang Wan looked at the map and saw that at the other end of the narrow Hexi Corridor was a territory almost as large as the Sixteen Roads to the east.

It would be a pity to abandon it, but if we want to take it back, we must fight some real tough battles with Tubo instead of retreating and defending like we are doing now.

He was here to take up the post of Jingzhao Yin, and it was certainly not his responsibility to open up the road to Anxi. Xue Bai told him all this for only one reason, and that was money.

If a country is poor, it will be beaten.

If you want to avoid being beaten, you must first make your country rich.

And as I said just now, in order to enrich the country without harming the people, we must change customs and habits, honest officials, and strict laws and regulations. Otherwise, the court will be full of ministers who are willing to line their own pockets. No matter how the system is reformed, the burden on the people will be increased, and taxes will still flow into the pockets of corrupt officials.

Yang Wan then said: "Your Highness, please be patient for the time being and send an envoy to pass through Huihe to comfort the generals of Anxi. When the Tang Dynasty recovers its national strength, we will fight against Tubo again."

"I just don't know when the country's strength will be restored."

Xue Bai sighed rarely, putting pressure on Yang Wan.

In fact, he was not only urging Yang Wan, but also every official he met recently was often urged in this way.

Only then did they talk about the problems in Jingzhao Prefecture.

"I have long wanted to dismiss Li Gan, Cui Su and others. They are not the only officials I want to dismiss in the world." Xue Bai said, "But if you punish people without teaching them, the punishments will be numerous and the evil will not be defeated. There are too many officials like them now. How to deal with them? I'll see what you can do."

"Don't worry, Your Highness." Yang Wan said politely.

Xue Bai asked: "If you have any requests, just ask."

Yang Wan responded: "I have no more requests."

Xue Bai had actually heard about the conflict between Yang Wan and Li Gan, and was ready to dismiss Li Gan and even punish him, so he couldn't help being a little surprised when he heard this.

He decided to follow Yang Wan's lead and see what Yang Wan was capable of.

~~
Yang Wan left the Daming Palace.

I saw Li Gan and Cui Su waiting outside the door.

"Meet Jingyin."

The two men stepped forward and saluted. It was a very cold day, but Li Gan was still sweating profusely.

In fact, he has always known that the prince disliked him, but he did not think the reason was because of his extravagant lifestyle, and he had long been accustomed to such ostentation. The problem was that Yang Wan must have reported him today, wanting him to be dismissed from office or even exiled. Of course, he was sad and unwilling.

However, Yang Wan did not produce any official documents to dismiss him, but simply said, "Go back to the government office."

"The mayor of Beijing went to the government office as soon as he arrived in Chang'an. He is truly a role model for our generation." Cui Su flattered hurriedly.

Li Gan came back to his senses and, unwilling to be left behind, quickly led Yang Wan to his carriage and said, "Jing Yin, please get in."

Yang Wan said calmly, "I have a horse."

He raised his hand and pointed. Li Gan, Cui Su and others looked in that direction and saw a poor horse tied under a willow tree.

The dignified Jingzhao Yin rode a short, dull horse, while the Jingzhao Shaoyin had hundreds of luxurious carriages. No matter how stupid Li Gan was, he finally knew what to do.

Cui Su was also secretly frightened as he followed behind, thinking that he would have to release most of the hundreds of singers he kept at home as soon as he returned... No, only a dozen would be enough.

(End of this chapter)