Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 612
After the spy left, it was already getting late. Xue Bai thought about it and decided to summon Yan Zhuang.

Yan Zhuang is no longer the poor candidate who went to Chang'an to take the exam. He looks much more mature, and his every move is calm and dignified.

He bowed to meet Xue Bai, his eyes filled with joy of meeting an old friend after a long separation, as well as deep admiration and awe.

"I summoned you so late. I intend to add more responsibilities to you." Xue Bai said, "What do you think of the new policy of the court?"

"it is good!"

Yan Zhuang's eyes were filled with excitement and he responded impatiently.

Then, his expression calmed down, and he said solemnly: "The new policy improves the fate of people like me who come from humble backgrounds. For a long time, the noble families have annexed land and concealed people, causing the court's taxes to be borne more and more by ordinary households. Hebei has suffered the most, with many turmoil, heavy taxes, and few opportunities for advancement. Now that Your Majesty has changed the system and personally supervised it, it is a blessing for the people of Hebei."

Xue Bai nodded and said, "I am very pleased that you can see this."

"Since the new policy was issued, I have been pondering it day and night and have not dared to neglect it."

"Pei Xian impeached Yan Gaoqing for occupying military land and exploiting soldiers. What do you think?"

"It is true that Lord Yan could not deter the arrogant and fierce generals in Hebei." Yan Zhuang said, "There are inevitably some arrogant generals in the army. They took advantage of the military settlements to occupy more of the land of their soldiers and refused to hand over the grain. Lord Yan forced them to do so and was sued."

"Who do you think can calm it down?"

Yan Zhuang hesitated for a moment, and said, "If we can get Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to Fanyang, and I can assist them, everything will go smoothly."

"I understand."

"In addition, Pei Xi's impeachment was out of speculation." Yan Zhuang added: "Prime Minister Yan is in charge of the new policy in the court, which may have touched the interests of some aristocratic families, so he instructed him to deal with the Yan family... I think this is possible."

"That's how you see it."

Xue Bai nodded without making any comment, but issued an edict to appoint Yan Zhuang as the Hebei Agricultural Promotion Envoy, and ordered him to be responsible for reorganizing Hebei's land registers and household registrations, and to ensure accurate figures.

Yan Zhuang accepted the order, thanked the emperor, and left.

~~
The night fell over the city of Fanyang, and it was very peaceful.

Pei Xian leaned on the recliner with his eyes closed, his face showing a look of worry for the country and the people.

By his legs, two lovely Silla maids were massaging his legs, one on the left and one on the right. From time to time, their fair and delicate hands would reach into his lower body, trying to arouse his interest.

"Don't tease me."

Pei Xie snorted lightly, his tone carrying a sense of alienation from exhaustion.

"Lust is like a sword hanging over your head." He murmured to himself and reminded himself: "The saint is in Fanyang now, I have to be careful."

When the beautiful maid tried to tease him again, he waved his hand gloomily, asked them to leave, and called a confidant over, saying, "Send them out of the city tomorrow, and don't draw anyone's attention."

"Hey, Alang, someone is here to visit, claiming to be Wei Ling."

"Let him meet me in the hall."

Pei Xian straightened his clothes, picked up a book, and walked out slowly. When he saw Wei Ling, he asked arrogantly, "General Wei, why are you here to visit me?"

Wei Ling had a rather flattering look on his face, probably because he had seen the emperor value Pei Xie a few days ago, and Yan Jiming had not been released from prison, which made him realize that the wind direction in Fan Yang was about to change.

After praising Pei Xie for a while, Wei Ling said, "I have something I want to give to Sima Pei."

"I don't accept gifts. Please go back."

"Sima Pei." Wei Ling leaned forward and whispered in Pei Xie's ear.

Pei Xian was quite surprised when he heard this. He looked Wei Ling up and down and asked, "Did he ask you to come?"

"Yes."

Pei Xian then changed his attitude and said, "Then he is one of our own, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Wei Ling smiled and said, "Brother Pei, why don't you take a look at the gift I brought? It's a Silla maid, and she's stunningly beautiful."

"Stunning?"

Pei Xian raised his eyebrows and immediately became interested.

In fact, he already had more than a hundred beautiful Silla maids in his house, but he always felt unsatisfied. It was not that he was gifted and could handle those hundred people, but that the one he loved most in his heart was always the next one.

This kind of tireless search for beautiful maids can no longer be described as lustful, but rather like some kind of addiction.

At this moment, Pei Xian forgot what he had just said about lust being a sword above one's head, the emperor was in Fanyang, and he had to be more cautious, and he couldn't wait to ask, "Where is the person?"

Wei Ling was stunned, surprised that Pei Xian's serious appearance concealed such an impatient temper, and also surprised that his true colors were revealed so quickly, and quickly replied: "He is outside."

"Call me to have a look."

After a while, a slim woman was brought in. She was said to be stunningly beautiful, and there were actually quite a few such beauties in Pei's mansion. But he was still very excited, rubbing his hands and saying, "Okay, okay, with her, I have collected one hundred and eight... What's your name?"

"Slave, Li Ji."

Wei Ling smiled and said, "I spent a lot of money to buy this Li Ji, and I specially gave it to Brother Pei."

Pei Xian knew that he had something to ask for, so he raised his hand and asked him to sit down and talk. At the same time, he waved his hand and asked the servant to bring Li Ji to his room to wash her and wait for him.

He stared at her walking away slowly, raised his chin slightly, and signaled Wei Ling to speak up if she had anything to say.

"That's right." Wei Ling said, "My ancestors settled in Fanyang at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. They bought some small fields, soldiers, and slaves. Now the court has changed its laws, collecting taxes and releasing slaves. I am afraid it will be difficult to continue in the future."

Pei Xian understood immediately and clapped his hands, saying, "Let me reassure you first. Your Majesty's new law will not work, or it can only work halfway."

"I wonder what this means?"

"I'll tell you what will happen in the future. The tax law will change from rent and labor service to land tax, which can be collected once or twice a year. The court can do this. But it is impossible to find out the hidden farmland and households, and it is impossible to distribute the land equally and release the slaves. This is like bargaining. Now the court has given the price, and it is time for you people to bargain."

Wei Ling understood, but still looked confused.

Pei Xi laughed and said, "You don't know how to bargain?"

"That's right, Brother Pei, please give me some advice."

"It's just that you dare to speak." Pei Xi said, "You spoke first and then bit back at the court."

Wei Ling seemed to understand something and asked, "Qing Yan Gao?"

"That's right." Pei Xian waved his hand and asked him to lean closer to his ear, saying, "First, you divide the clan's land among different clan members, find Yan Gaoqing, and verbally promise to donate all your land. I will find an opportunity to impeach him again for occupying the people's land and confusing the situation."

“Can these fields be recovered?”

"Defeat Yan Gaoqing, and it will be yours once the emperor leaves. Why? You don't hand it over under the emperor's nose. Do you want to die?"

"Will it be too eye-catching?"

"Do you think you're the only one?"

Wei Ling said: "So the military settlements are also like this."

Pei Xian smiled faintly and nodded.

Wei Ling asked again: "What about Yan Jiming?"

Pei Xi said, "I have long known that Yan Jiming had had dealings with Shi Siming's daughter. Among their remnants, there was one who was originally a slave trader for the Shi family. I once bought a few Silla maids from him. I waited for many days, especially until Yan Jiming passed by, before I gave the order to arrest him."

"Great! This way, the Yan family can't clear themselves from the blame, and the water becomes even muddier." Wei Ling said, "But what good is there for Brother Pei to do this?"

This time, Pei Xian did not answer again. Instead, he glanced at Wei Ling coldly, thinking that he asked too many questions.

Wei Ling quickly apologized and left soon after.

"Too careless."

Pei Xie looked down on Wei Ling and shook his head, thinking that if it weren't for that person's relationship, he would not help Wei Ling at this time.

Thinking of Li Ji just now, his heart became hot again and he quickened his pace to rush into the house.

This is very strange. He had clearly planned not to touch women for a while, but when he met a new beauty, he still couldn't help himself, especially when he pushed the door open and smelled that strange yet pleasant fragrance.

"Where are you, beauty?"

A slim figure appeared behind the screen, but Li Ji did not respond. She leaned over to look at him, looked timid, and quickly hid behind the screen again.

Pei Xian rushed over quickly, but unfortunately he missed. Li Ji made a "嘤" sound and turned to the other side, her skirt fluttering and a fragrant breeze wafting in the air.

"What are you hiding from, pretty girl?"

"My dear, you look so serious. I am scared."

"Haha, don't underestimate me because I look so righteous. I'm actually very easy-going. Come here and give me a hug."

Li Ji hid again and asked, "My dear, you just said that there are 107 beauties. Why do you still like me?"

The more she acted like this, the more interesting Pei Xian found it. He said, "You're wrong. You're the one I like the most. The others are boring."

"In my opinion, you are ill, my dear. If you can't get it, you will go crazy."

"You are right. I am ill. It is a mental illness." Pei Xie laughed. "My illness needs a cure from a beautiful lady like you."

"Oh, that's disgusting."

Li Ji hid behind the screen and soon she was panting heavily, which made Pei Xian even more excited.

He even deliberately slowed down his pace, enjoying the pleasure of letting her escape but not being able to escape from his grasp. Because he was old and his health was not as good as before, what he liked most was the process of collecting.

"Hahaha."

Pei Xian gradually forgot himself and became unrestrained. He calmly stretched out his hand, caught Li Ji's colorful ribbon, and pulled it, scaring her so much that she turned pale.

At this moment, his emotions reached their highest point. He simply untied his belt and threw it aside, then opened his clothes, showing his excitement.

Li Ji screamed, dropped the colorful ribbon and ran out the door.

Pei Xian chased after him with a sinister smile, opened his arms and tried to hug him.

"what!"

Li Ji suddenly crouched down.

Pei Xian felt that he was hugging a body, and then he smelled a smell of sweat and blood. When he looked carefully, he found that he was hugging a strong man.

He was startled and quickly took a few steps back, only to find that there were many people standing in front of him. The evil man in the lead looked familiar, and seemed like... the guards around the emperor.

"Sima Pei, you are in such a good mood. Are you having a great time? His Majesty wants to see you."

Pei Xie's body trembled, and his excitement instantly waned. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning and lost all hope.

An indescribable feeling of regret welled up in his heart. He clearly knew the consequences and reminded himself again and again, but he just couldn't hold it back and finally made a big mistake.

~~
It was late at night, and Xue Bai had not slept yet. He walked to the hall and saw Pei Xie, who was tied up, and Wei Ling standing beside him. "Your Majesty, he confessed everything." Wei Ling said, "Pei Xie once admitted to me that he framed Yan Gaoqing and Yan Jiming."

Xue Bai was not surprised because he was the one who asked Wei Ling to find out Pei Xie's intentions.

"Your Majesty, I am aware of my guilt!"

Pei Xie kowtowed repeatedly, weeping bitterly, and howled, "I wanted to make merit so badly that I submitted a petition to impeach the generals as soon as I heard that they were causing trouble. I was bewitched by beauty and lost my mind, committing a serious crime. I only ask Your Majesty to give me a chance to reform myself."

Xue Bai looked at his red eyes from crying, unmoved, and said, "You have also made contributions to the Tang Dynasty, why are you doing this?"

"I...I am ill. I am lustful. I will definitely change my ways..."

"I want to ask you why you want to frame Yan Gaoqing and go against me."

Pei Xian was stunned for a long time before hesitantly answering: "I would never dare to disobey Your Majesty. I just... just think... that doing this will give me a chance..."

"What kind of opportunity?"

Pei Xie kowtowed and said, "I deserve to die."

"I ask you, what kind of chance will there be?"

"I mistakenly thought that I could step on Yan Gaoqing and rise to the top."

"Okay, I understand. You are certain that I will be wary of the power of my relatives and that my new laws will not work. You are not against me, but you are not optimistic about my national policy and bet on the other side."

"I deserve death for my crime!"

Xue Bai asked, "Tell me, how did Yan Zhuang drive you?"

Hearing this name, Pei Xian finally reacted and said quickly: "Your Majesty, it is all Yan Zhuang who is behind this! He has figured out my weakness of lust and designed a plan to deal with me. He asked me to deal with Yan Gaoqing and wanted to take over Yan Gaoqing's position..."

~~
"Today I met with His Majesty, who entrusted me with an important task and ordered me to sort out the land registers and household registrations in Hebei."

Yan Zhuang sat in the darkness, speaking slowly to a few people, and then said: "When you go back, you can tell your master, don't worry, His Majesty is not coming for us. His Majesty is busy with reforms, as long as we show our support, this time we can be safe."

"Yes." The people opposite him agreed.

These are the messengers sent by the surrendered generals of Fanyang.

With the various policies implemented by the new monarch after he ascended the throne, these people gradually felt uneasy.

After all, during the Tianbao period, the court delegated great autonomy to Fanyang, and the military, politics, finance and taxation were all controlled by the Jiedushi, just like a country of its own. Now, with the military settlement, the soldiers have gradually settled down. Once the reform is carried out, the court can directly control the soldiers through the land, which means that the right to tax is taken back. If this continues, these people will have no value. Who knows whether the court will settle accounts with them in the future.

Considering this, they were dissatisfied with the new policy and sent people to ask Yan Zhuang when they were undecided. At that time, Yan Zhuang assured them that he would make arrangements.

The arrangement was not complicated. He bribed Pei Xian and instructed Pei Xian to continue framing Yan Gaoqing.

If the emperor did not come in person, but only read the memorials in Dongdu, there would be two possible opinions: one would think that the Yan family was arrogant because of the favor, or that the aristocratic families were dealing with the Yan family. Then, either Yan Gaoqing's loyalty or his ability would be doubted, and Yan Zhuang might take the opportunity to ascend to the throne.

At least he thought this matter was absolutely safe, because once the new law came out, the court would be overwhelmed and would not be able to take care of Fan Yang.

The only thing he didn't expect was that Xue Bai would come to Fan Yang in person. Fortunately, when he met the emperor today, Xue Bai still believed in him.

"Also, no matter what they want to do, they should be obedient and wait until His Majesty returns to the south."

"But I wonder how long it will take?"

"It won't be long." Yan Zhuang said, "It is impossible for all the prefectures and counties in the world to not have troubles. Perhaps the news is already on the way. Your Majesty is most worried about Hebei, but we want him to know that Hebei is the least of his worries..."

As he was speaking, someone rushed to the door, as if he had something urgent to say. Yan Zhuang took a look and saw that it was the person he had sent to keep an eye on Pei Xie, so he immediately asked him to report to the side hall.

"what happened?"

"Ah Lang, Pei Xie has been taken away."

"Why?"

"I don't know why, I only know that Wei Ling went to see him, and not long after, a group of people broke into the mansion and took him away."

"Break?" Yan Zhuang felt uneasy and frowned in thought.

He paced back and forth, thinking about various possibilities, and his expression gradually became solemn.

Finally, he looked down and found that his hands were shaking badly.

"Snapped."

Yan Zhuang put his hands on the table, suppressed the fear in his heart, gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and asked someone to call Tian Chengsi's envoy over first.

"I'm going to meet Tian Chengsi and leave the city with you."

"Leaving the city tomorrow?"

"No." Yan Zhuang said, "Leave the city tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant came in from outside and said, "Ah Lang, the Saint is summoning you..."

"what?!"

Yan Zhuang showed fear in his eyes, and hurriedly whispered to the messenger: "Go and tell Tian Chengsi quickly that when the time comes, the bow will be put away. If anything happens to me, he will not have a good ending either."

After hearing these words, the messenger became a little flustered and turned around to leave.

Yan Zhuang pulled the man back and said, "Go from the back."

If possible, he would also like to escape together, but he knew that he could not leave anymore, and could only hope to pass it again tonight.

~~
When he saw Xue Bai, Yan Zhuang felt a little more at ease, because there was no tense atmosphere in the hall. It was as if the emperor couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and wanted to find someone to chat with.

"I remember the first time I saw you was in a tavern in Chang'an. You talked a lot, scolding Li Linfu for being treacherous and talking about the long-standing problems of the Tang Dynasty."

"Yes, I was young and ignorant at that time, and I am sorry to have made Your Majesty laugh at me."

"Back then, you helped me capture Luoyang and get rid of An Lushan. I asked you why, and you said you assisted An Lushan in the rebellion in order to change the world. It turned out that you were wrong. Is this true?"

"Your Majesty, it is the truth."

Xue Bai said: "But now it has changed."

Yan Zhuang paused for a moment, sensing something was wrong, and continued to cover it up, replying, "I have become slow and lazy."

Xue Bai looked at him deeply and said, "I originally thought that what you did was to resist injustice, but gradually I realized that you were just being selfish."

"I don't know what your Majesty means by this."

"After finally pacifying the country, some people wanted to benefit the people, but you only wanted to gain personal gain, so you persecuted the loyal and good people and incited the soldiers to cause trouble, right?"

"I am terrified. I don't know where these rumors came from. I have always adhered to the principles of..."

"You still dare to quibble?!"

Xue Bai suddenly shouted, and immediately the guards pushed the door open and brought Pei Xie up.

"Yan Zhuang villain!"

As soon as Pei Xian came in, he started cursing Yan Zhuang.

"How dare you deny it in front of His Majesty?! If you hadn't been so ambitious and plotted against me, how could I have ended up like this? A shameless beggar, a slave, a maid, gave birth to a child, and yet a villain like you could hold a high position and bring disaster to the people!"

He probably knew that he could not escape death, so he just vented his anger and cursed harshly.

Yan Zhuang knelt down before Xue Bai but remained silent.

After Pei Xian finished testifying, Xue Bai asked, "Yan Zhuang, do you plead guilty?"

"Pei Xian has wronged me. I beg Your Majesty to understand my mistake."

"Your Majesty, I have evidence of his crime." Pei Xian said, "He embezzled the rebels' spoils, bribed generals, made friends with the Hu people, and committed all kinds of evil deeds. I have evidence of his crimes. He can't escape!"

Yan Zhuang still refused to plead guilty and asked, "Pei Xian, you have wronged Yan Gaoqing and you want to frame me. What is your intention?"

Pei Xian was furious and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, Yan Zhuang refused to confess his guilt, he must be stalling for time... He made friends with the rebels and wanted to rebel. I ask that you execute him to deter the generals in Hebei."

Yan Zhuang's expression changed slightly, and he quickly bowed his head and said, "The innocent will be innocent."

Xue Bai became more disappointed. He waved his hand and ordered them to be dragged away.

The reason Xue Bai met Yan Zhuang was not because he needed his confession, but because he thought that Yan Zhuang came from a humble background and should have supported the new policy, so he wanted to give him a chance to repent.

But since Yan Zhuang wanted to delay, Xue Bai could just wait and see whether those surrendered generals from Hebei really dared to rebel again.

~~
The next day, when the officials in Fanyang heard that the emperor had captured Yan Zhuang, they were worried that the generals in Hebei would rebel. However, Xue Bai did not take it seriously and went out incognito again to meet Du Fu.

Du Fu was the director of Hebei Province's Education Office and had his own large office in Fanyang City. However, when he was free, he would go outside the city to personally teach the children of poor families, as a kind of guidance to others by example.

Over time, people built a thatched cottage in Yanjiao for them to teach, and named it "Huanhua Thatched Cottage".

Xue Bai came in plain clothes and did not alarm others. That day, he sat with Du Fu in the thatched cottage and talked about solemn matters.

"Although Yan Zhuang suffered from being born in poverty, he never thought of protecting other people from suffering the same pain. This shows that compassion is not something that everyone is born with, but needs to be taught," Du Fu sighed.

Xue Bai smiled and said, "Du Zimei has gained experience from teaching."

Du Fu suddenly frowned and said, "With such a big incident happening, how can Your Majesty leave the city? What if Yan Zhuang's accomplices rebel? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"You have been in Fanyang for a long time. Tell me who are Yan Zhuang's accomplices? Who will rebel again?"

"It's because of those domineering generals and the Hu people who surrendered to the country," Du Fu said. "The complexity of the situation in Hebei is due to these unruly people who are ready to draw their swords at any time."

"Then I will see if they dare to draw their swords against me."

Du Fu was still uneasy and hesitated to send Xue Bai into the city as soon as possible.

Xue Bai was calm and drank his tea.

He didn't show it, but he was a little disappointed in his heart. The incident with Yan Zhuang made him realize that in today's Tang Dynasty, not so many people wanted to change the huge gap between classes like he did.

Those commoners and poor families fought desperately not to change the world, but to become high-ranking nobles and turn around to bully others.

This made him feel that the ideal he wanted to achieve was out of reach, and no matter how many changes he made, in the end nothing changed.

Thinking of this, Xue Bai looked out the window and saw a young man holding a book and teaching a group of ragged children to read.

"The sky and earth are dark yellow, the universe is vast and boundless. The sun and the moon wax and wane, and the stars are lined up..."

The sound of reading came, Xue Bai put down his teacup and asked, "Could it be the son of the surrendered general Zhang Zhongzhi?"

Du Fu was surprised and asked, "Your Majesty actually knows him?"

Xue Bai felt relieved and smiled, "After all, it was Brother Zimei who changed the Tang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)