Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 611 Framed
Yan Jiming walked into the study and saw Yan Gaoqing looking at him with a stern gaze.

"My son greets Grandpa." He bowed quickly and pretended to be concerned, "My eldest brother wrote to me the other day and asked about Grandpa's health."

Yan Gaoqing ignored him and said, "The emperor has already left Yanmen Pass and will soon arrive in Fanyang. You can't hide the things you have hidden from me from the saint."

Yan Jiming didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "What can I hide from you, Grandpa?"

Yan Gaoqing looked at his son deeply, with some worry in his eyes.

Unlike Yan Quanming who was an official in Chang'an, Yan Jiming was not so ambitious. Seeing that the world was pacified in recent years, he gave up promotion and found an opportunity to be transferred to Fan Yang to serve as a military farm envoy, serving Yan Gaoqing.

When people don't have a proper job, they are likely to make bad friends.

There were many people from all walks of life in Fanyang City, and most of the exiles were knights who had killed people, criminals who had been exiled, or Hu people who had surrendered. As far as Yan Gaoqing knew, Yan Jiming gradually mixed with these people and became infected with the spirit of banditry.

It was precisely because of this banditry that when soldiers were causing trouble a while ago, Yan Jiming drew his sword and killed people without Yan Jiming's orders, acting like a complete military leader.

"Don't give me such a frivolous smile." Yan Gaoqing thought to himself and shouted, "Since you came to Fanyang, you have been doing evil all day long. Don't you know you are wrong?"

"When did I do anything wrong? I just helped Grandpa suppress the mutiny. Wasn't it wrong to have good intentions?"

"You killed soldiers without orders, are you suppressing them?"

"Otherwise, are we still waiting for Grandpa to explain the righteousness to them?"

"Snapped."

Yan Gaoqing slammed the table and angrily shouted, "Who taught you to talk back to your elders?!"

The Yan family is a Confucian family. Yan Jiming was taught to be very polite since he was a child. It was indeed in recent years that he began to be a little rebellious. When he was suddenly scolded, he quickly said politely, "I know I am wrong."

But he still did not answer Yan Gaoqing's question, who was influencing him.

The communication between father and son was not smooth. Even after Yan Jiming left, Yan Gaoqing was still not satisfied with his attitude. Thinking that the emperor would visit Fan Yang soon, Yan Gaoqing called over a trusted confidant and gave him instructions.

"Go and secretly keep an eye on Shi Er Lang and see who he associates with."

"Ah Lang, Shi Er Lang is not the kind of person who would go astray."

"I'll ask you to keep an eye on it. Whatever you find, report it to me."

"Here..."

Yan Jiming returned to the house and quickly turned off the lights.

He lay on the couch for half an hour but couldn't fall asleep, so he simply got up, climbed out of the window, then nimbly climbed over the wall, left the house, and headed towards an abandoned temple in the north of the city.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. I could vaguely see a sign hanging on the temple that read "Zhengjing Temple", but the door was nailed shut and there was a seal on it.

Yan Jiming went around the wall and climbed in. The building style inside was very strange. The carvings on the brackets were not the common auspicious beasts, but monkey-like monsters. Although the wall was broken, it could be seen that it was not painted red, but various bright colors, with a Western style.

The statue enshrined in the main hall had been smashed to pieces. The half of the statue scattered on the ground had horns on its head and was shaped like a bull. It was a Zoroastrian god.

This place was a Zoroastrian temple built when An Lushan was the governor of Fanyang. It was converted into a Buddhist temple after the rebels were defeated. A few years later, the imperial court reduced the number of temples in the country, ordered monks to return to secular life and cultivate the land, and removed all the stones and wood that could be removed, so this place became abandoned.

At the beginning, there were refugees and gangsters gathering here, but later, the government discovered that some people were worshiping An Lushan here, so they sealed off the place and no one dared to come.

"Who?" someone in the side hall asked in a low voice.

"I."

Yan Jiming answered and went straight inside. He saw a few men about to come out to greet him, so he drove them inside and said, "Don't come out. Let's talk inside."

There was a woman sitting in the hall. When she saw him coming, she asked, "We heard that Xue Bai was coming to Fanyang. Is that true?"

"Ah."

"In that case, you can take me to see him and end it early."

"Don't worry, I will apologize to His Majesty first..."

Before she finished speaking, the man guarding the door suddenly turned around and said, "Madam, someone is coming."

The others were immediately shocked and said, "Yan Jiming, you betrayed us!"

Yan Jiming guessed that his family had sent someone to keep an eye on him, so he calmed them down and said, "You guys wait here, I'll deal with it."

He then strode out and suddenly heard a "bang" sound. It turned out that the temple door was kicked open by someone.

Dust continued to fall, illuminated by the fire outside the door.

The people who came were not those sent by Yan Gaoqing to watch him, but many soldiers, led by a middle-aged man with three long beards and elegant appearance. When he saw Yan Jiming, he asked, "Yan Shierlang, what is your purpose in sneaking into the forbidden area of ​​the imperial court?"

"Pei Xu."

Yan Jiming shouted angrily, "You villain, you are trying to frame me again."

Following his shout, the people hiding in the hall hurriedly left through the back door.

Soon, a soldier shouted, "Catch them!"

"We found the remnants of the rebels, escaping through the back door..."

Such shouts came one after another. Pei Xian listened to them with a hint of smugness on his face. He stared at Yan Jiming, as if mocking him, and asked, "Yan Ershilang, do you have anything else to explain?"

Yan Jiming said: "You don't deserve to hear my explanation."

Pei Xian sneered, "At this point, you are still stubborn."

He waved his hand, and someone escorted Yan Jiming to the back door to capture the remnants of the rebels. When they arrived, the soldiers had already captured two and killed one, but the other three had escaped.

As the shouting and killing faded away, a soldier came up with a few bundles and said, "We found this."

"open to take a look."

With a "bang", a spirit tablet fell out.

Pei Xie personally went forward to pick it up, took a look at it, and then placed it in front of Yan Jiming for him to take a closer look.

The tablet is not big, the paint surface is mottled, and it is quite old. The words "The throne of the late father, Shi Gong, whose name is Siming Fujun" are clearly engraved on it.

Yan Jiming pursed his lips and said nothing, as if he had admitted his guilt.

Pei Xian said: "These rebels are still worshipping An Lushan and Shi Siming. They deserve to be killed... Take them away."

As the group left the abandoned temple, they saw flames in front of them. It turned out that Yan Gaoqing was leading the group personally.

Pei Xi then stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your Excellency."

"What happened?"

"I am currently tracking down the remnants of the rebels who worship An Lushan. I have captured them and seized evidence."

Pei Xie turned around and pointed at the three men and Yan Jiming, deliberately not mentioning Yan Jiming's name, only calling him a "traitor."

Yan Gaoqing could not tolerate the worship of An Lushan in the Zoroastrian temple, and he had been urging the city's garrison to capture the rebels. But he never expected that his son would be involved.

At this moment, he finally knew who Yan Jiming had been hanging out with in the past two years. No wonder he had fallen so quickly.

"Take him away for careful interrogation." Yan Gaoqing gave the order in a normal tone, as if the person being taken away was not his son.

Pei Xian was sure that Yan Gaoqing would not show partiality, so he replied, "Yes!"

Then, he whispered, "Don't worry, Mr. Yan, I will treat your son well and help him clear his name."

"Just do your job." Yan Gaoqing said with a stern face, turned around and left.

Yan Jiming did not even cry out for justice until he was taken away.

~~
Ten days later, the imperial carriage entered Fan Yang, and Yan Gaoqing led a group of civil and military officials out of the city to welcome him.

Pei Xian stood in the team and looked around. The officials in front were composed of very complicated factions. There were people like Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian who had followed the emperor to fight against the enemy in Hebei; there were surrendered ministers like Yan Zhuang and Tian Chengsi; there were various officials appointed by the court in recent years, such as Du Fu; there were Hu people, local soldiers from Fan Yang, and generals who were transferred here... In short, there were many contradictions.

It was precisely because of these contradictions that Yan Gaoqing could not have the final say in Fan Yang, which made Pei Xie dare to report him.

Unexpectedly, the emperor came in person so soon. I wonder if he came to support Yan Gaoqing or to investigate Yan Gaoqing?

"Make way, I'm late."

Someone hurried over and was quietly cutting in line from behind.

Pei Xie looked back and consciously stepped back several steps to let Dugu Wensu, Li Shiyu, Du Fu and others line up in front of him.

"Mr. Pei."

An official named Wei Ling saw this and asked Pei Xie to come in front of him, and the two began to chat in a low voice.

"Isn't Pei Gong worried?"

"worry about what?"

"The Yan family is the emperor's in-law, but Lord Pei reported him and arrested Yan Jiming, who is very close to your majesty. Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Pei Xi said, "I am dedicated to the public good, so what do I have to fear? You also know that there is not a single falsehood in my memorial, and everything I said is true. If the saint only considers the closeness of the relationship, regardless of right or wrong, and wants to vent the anger of the Yan family, even if he kills me, I am willing to accept the defeat."

These words sounded righteous, but Wei Ling keenly caught one word in it: gambling.

Maybe Pei Xian is gambling on his future?
"Does Lord Pei think that the Saint is afraid of the Yan family?" Wei Ling asked in a low voice, "At this time, others dare not say anything about the Yan family. Lord Pei is the first in the world, and he may be looked up to by the Saint."

"You guessed wrong." Pei Xian said calmly: "This matter is not profitable, but may even lead to my death. If it weren't for the greater good, why would I take such a risk?"

After hearing this, Wei Ling believed it to some extent. After all, he saw with his own eyes that Pei Xie did not lie to the court.

The team quieted down; the royal carriage had arrived.

Pei Xie originally thought that the emperor would only speak to those close ministers today, but he did not expect that Xue Bai would question several local officials and then immediately summon him to meet him.

This made him feel relieved and he realized that he had made the right bet.

At least the emperor did not bring his personal likes and dislikes into public affairs, and was able to allow real impeachment against close ministers. "I pay my respects to the saint."

Pei Xie performed the ceremony in a very upright manner, showing the character of a minister who dared to speak out and give honest advice.

"Stand up." Xue Bai looked him over and asked, "What is your relationship with the former Prince's tutor Pei Kuan?"

"Your Majesty, he is my uncle."

"The Pei family of Hedong." Xue Bai nodded and said, "Pei Kuan was once the governor of Fanyang. When Li Xian recommended you to Fanyang as the military commander, did he have this in mind?"

Pei Xi said sternly, "Mr. Pei has been away from Fanyang for a long time and has no old friends here. I have not tried to curry favor with Lord Li, but was moved to Fanyang because of my achievements in government."

Because of the palace coup in the third year of Shangyuan, Li Xian had been dismissed from his post and appointed governor of Bozhou. Regardless of whether Pei Xie was attached to Li Xian or not, he had no support in the court. Under such circumstances, he dared to impeach Yan Gaoqing, which at least showed his courage.

Xue Bai nodded again and said, "Tell me about the situation in Fan Yang."

Pei Xie thought, the saint did not ask so many officials, but asked himself first. Obviously, it was because others were either surrendered officials or meritorious officials of Yuancong, and they all had too many concerns. Only he was transferred from afar by the court, had no vested interests in it, and was worthy of trust.

He then expressed his opinion that Fan Yang still had the hidden danger of rebellion, such as the domineering nature of some local generals and the complex situation that could easily lead to the chief officer taking charge of both military and political affairs, which would breed disloyalty.

Having said that, he glanced at Xue Bai's face, but unfortunately he couldn't see anything.

After a slight hesitation, he made up his mind. He bet that the Saint might have become suspicious of the Yan family, so he told them about Yan Jiming's collusion with the remnants of the rebels.

"Do you have any evidence?" Xue Bai asked in a businesslike tone.

"Have."

"Why did Yan Jiming do this?"

"I dare to speculate that perhaps Lord Yan instructed him to bribe the remnants of the rebels in order to establish his prestige in Fanyang."

"Investigate and report again, then enter the city."

Although Xue Bai treated this small memorial with a businesslike attitude, Pei Xie thought that this was a sign of favoring him.

Because his impeachment was based on facts and he was seeking the fairness of the sage, Yan Gaoqing relied on the emperor's old friendship. He believed that impartiality was not important in handling official matters, which was of course beneficial to him.

Perhaps Yan Gaoqing also thought so. When he saw the emperor talking with Pei Xie, a look of worry appeared on his face again.

~~
Yan Jiming was not imprisoned with other rebels. Due to his special status, he was treated with courtesy by Pei Xian and was given a simple room to stay in.

The door creaked open, and a soldier came in and said, "Yan Jiming, he's here for questioning."

Yan Jiming stood up obediently and followed the other party out, but was taken out of the government office.

Soon, he saw Xue Bai.

The two hadn't seen each other for many years. His lips trembled for a few steps, and he said with some discomfort: "Saint, Saint..."

"I'm here to see you as a friend."

Xue Bai was wearing an ordinary robe, and there were also wine and food on the table. He raised his hand and said, "Sit down and chat, reminisce about the past."

Yan Jiming said: "But I am a criminal."

"It's not my turn to investigate your case." Xue Bai changed the subject and said, "Even an emperor has to go off work sometimes. Now I'm off work, and I just came to see you."

"Then I am being presumptuous."

Yan Jiming sat down immediately, picked up a chicken leg and started to eat it.

He took a bite, then glanced up at Xue Bai's reaction. Seeing a long-lost smile, he felt relieved and took big bites.

"I'm starving after being locked up for so long."

Xue Bai sat down opposite him and said, "They all say that you are hanging out with the rebels and are a traitor. Should I believe you or them?"

Yan Jiming said: "Actually, the traitor is Shi Chaoying."

"guessed."

"Your Majesty, I can't hide it from you." Yan Jiming said, "But she and I are innocent. I am already an adult, with a family and friends. I dare not provoke her. The reason I help her is out of loyalty."

Xue Bai said: "I believe it."

"Really." Yan Jiming said, "When Shi Siming and his son died, she was still a captive in Taiyuan. The court pardoned her because she did not participate in the rebellion and had promised to recruit Shi Siming. But she had a hard time and was always regarded as a traitor. So she planned to go north to join Yidijian of the Huihe and oppose the Tang Dynasty."

"How did she know that Yidijian would accept her?"

"After Shi Siming was defeated, some of the Shi clan members fled north, first to the Xi tribe. Later, when the Huihe people were in turmoil, Yidijian invaded the Xi people, and those Shi clan members followed Yidijian."

Xue Bai asked: "How do you know this?"

Yan Jiming said: "I didn't know it at first, but I caught her when she went back to Fanyang to gather her old followers. I advised her that it would be better to make contributions to the Tang Dynasty than to suffer in Huihe."

"She agreed?"

"It took a long time to convince her." Yan Jiming said, "I asked her to contact the generals in Huihe to help the Tang Dynasty. Then I will let my grandfather seize the opportunity to send troops to destroy Huihe and offer Yidijian to the gate of Chang'an."

"That's a good idea, but can it be done?"

"Everything depends on human efforts. This way, we can not only help Shi Chaoying, but also stabilize the border for the Tang Dynasty. If we can pacify the Huihe, the situation in Hebei will be much better."

Xue Bai took a look at Yan Jiming and found that he didn't seem to have changed much over the years. He was still very simple, passionate, and sincere. It could be said that he had not made much progress.

But is this what he really looks like?

"Why didn't you tell Mr. Yan about this?"

"My grandfather would definitely not agree." Yan Jiming said, "First of all, he would not allow me to associate with Shi Chaoying, thinking that she is a rough Hu woman. But if I hadn't kept persuading her, Shi Chaoying would not be willing to make contributions to the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, there are many people around my grandfather who are gossipy. If the news leaked, Shi Chaoying and her tribe would be killed before the matter was accomplished."

At this point, he added another sentence to prove that there were many people around Yan Gaoqing who were gossipy and could easily leak the news.

"The reason why I was caught was because Grandpa sent someone to follow me. I wasn't followed when I went out, but the people sent by Grandpa were looking for me on the street, so someone with ulterior motives noticed it."

Xue Bai asked, "Are you saying that Pei Xian deliberately framed you?"

"Of course, he is a villain."

"Tell me, how did he frame you?"

Yan Jiming was unable to explain, and only said, "Pei Xie is using the fact that someone is worshipping An Lushan to seize power. Originally, they were just some Zoroastrians, but he insisted on making a big fuss in order to use it to deal with my grandfather."

"He is not as high up as your grandfather, and he has no support in the court. Why would he want to deal with your grandfather?"

Yan Jiming said: "This kind of villain, jealous and vindictive, profit-seeking, and being instructed by others, has his own shameful purpose."

Xue Bai said: "Do you have any evidence for what you said?"

"No." Yan Jiming asked, "Does Your Majesty believe me?"

In fact, Xue Bai was also very anxious when he heard that someone was offering sacrifices to An Lushan. This incident made him feel that the people of Hebei were not loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and whether there was something wrong with his governance over the years.

If he had gone through so much hardship but was not much different from Li Heng and Li Chu, he would find it hard to accept. Almost all the officials sent by the court to Fanyang shared this sentiment and they all suppressed it immediately.

In this situation, Yan Jiming's going to the closed Zoroastrian temple was indeed a big taboo in some ways.

For a moment, Xue Bai also thought that there might be a possibility that Yan Gaoqing and Yan Jiming, father and son, really had other intentions.

He had always had a fixed impression of them, thinking that they were loyal and brave. But loyal and brave was the old history's evaluation of the father and son of the Yan family who died heroically in the An Lushan Rebellion. Now that everything has changed, how can he still look at things with the fixed impression?

But people change, and are especially easily changed by power.

"Don't you think this is all just a coincidence?" Xue Bai said.

Yan Jiming immediately lost his appetite, put down the food in his hand, and sighed: "Yes, I also know that it is difficult for me to clean myself up."

Xue Bai said: "So, I believe what you said, you were framed."

After a moment of doubt passed through his mind, he still believed in Yan Jiming.

Although people are easily changed, there are always those who remain steadfast.

A huge disaster will bring out the rock-like qualities of these people, as the saying goes, "Strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers." But if the disaster does not happen, the person will still be the same person.

"As long as Your Majesty trusts me," Yan Jiming said with a smile.

"But even though I am the emperor, I cannot just let you go without saying a word, unless you can prove that Shi Chaoying is not a traitor." Xue Bai said, "Besides, Pei Xie is an official from outside. He does not have the power to frame you. There must be someone else behind this, and it involves greater interests."

Xue Bai knew all this before he set out from Luoyang.

He came to Fan Yang to investigate this matter.

~~
Xue Bai has three guesses about how Pei Xie dealt with Yan Gaoqing and his son. The first is that Pei Xie was a man who dared to speak out, but the incident happened too coincidentally. The second is that Pei Xie represented the attitude of aristocratic families like the Pei family in Hedong towards the reform, and he expressed his dissatisfaction by impeaching the Yan family who supported the emperor's changes. This is the most likely possibility. The third is that the old local forces in Hebei resisted the court's increasing control, but Pei Xie had no interest in this force after all.

During the few days after arriving in Fan Yang, Xue Bai did not do anything immediately. He did not interfere with the military settlements, nor did he urge various reforms. He only sent people to secretly investigate the interest relationships between the civil and military officials of Fan Yang.

He often summoned Du Fu to ask him about matters of culture and education, and occasionally he could get a sense of the attitudes of the surrendered generals from the anecdotes of the sons of military generals.

After several days, there was finally progress.

"I have found out that Pei Xi is not as impartial as he appears to be. He has some quirks... He likes to collect Silla maids in private."

"what?"

"Pei Xian secretly bought a large mansion outside Fanyang City and collected more than a hundred Silla maids."

"He's in the slave business?"

"I'm afraid not. He seems to be enjoying it himself."

Xue Bai was a little surprised, but his original doubts were gone. He murmured, "No wonder he was able to capture Yan Jiming. It turned out to be intentional."

In this way, his three guesses came to fruition.

(End of this chapter)