Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 624 Everyone has their own concerns
"Your Majesty, Li Mi requests to see you."

"not see."

Xue Bai was actually a little surprised when he heard Li Mi's name, but he knew without thinking what Li Mi was here to do. He just wanted to persuade him to stop, so he immediately refused the summons.

After a while, Du Youlin came hurriedly and bowed down before Xue Bai.

"Your Majesty, minister..."

Xue Bai stopped Du Youlin from speaking and said, "If I guess correctly, Li Mi has come to you. Today I have made up my mind, you don't need to persuade me anymore."

"I have found that Li Qiyun is not among them. He must have gone to Chang'an long ago."

Du Youlin did not persuade Xue Bai to stop, but quickly uttered a word.

What he said sounded like something that someone had taught him. He was not calm and there was a sense of haste as if he was afraid that if he spoke slowly he would miss his chance. However, it still attracted Xue Bai's attention.

"so what?"

Du Youlin said, "I'm afraid they have joined forces with Guo Ziyi and are preparing to support Prince Yan."

Xue Bai said: "If this is the case, then it can be seen that these people are all rebels and should be killed."

Du Youlin hurriedly said, "I would like to ask Your Majesty to spare their lives for the time being."

"You said they wanted to support Li Yin, but you also wanted me to spare them." Xue Bai asked, "Are you threatening me?"

Du Youlin was stunned and quickly apologized.

Li Mi taught him to say these words, and he really wanted to use them as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Xue Bai, but if he didn't say them well, it would become a threat, and Du Youlin didn't have such a high level of speaking skills.

Cui Youfu saw this and said quickly, "Lord Du must be saying that if these criminals can be spared, perhaps they can explain the misunderstanding to Guo Ziyi and it won't have to come to that."

"Yes." Du Youlin said quickly: "This is just my guess. There is still room for maneuver."

No matter how they tried to persuade him, Xue Bai just turned a deaf ear to them and stood on the stone steps with his hands behind his back, watching the killing scene. Even his back looked cruel and ruthless.

Outside the palace, Li Mi was still waiting, becoming more and more anxious.

He stood in front of Du Youlin's carriage, pacing back and forth.

Sitting on the shaft of the carriage was Du Wulang. Seeing that Li Mi, the usually calm and composed Taoist priest, had become an ant on the hot pan, Du Wulang felt embarrassed and felt that he seemed more calm than Li Mi.

"Mr. Li, I'm actually very anxious too, but I just can't help, and there's no point in being anxious."

Li Mi stopped and looked at Du Wulang deeply.

Du Wulang was confused by what he saw, so he said, "Although I stand on your side, I also think that killing so many people is not good... It is against the harmony of nature."

"Wu Lang is kind-hearted," Li Mi said, "and he can help me."

He has the kind of temperament that makes asking for help seem like giving others an opportunity. When Du Wulang heard that he could help him, he subconsciously nodded.

"Okay, tell me."

"Go see His Majesty and convey another message for me," Li Mi said, "Mr. Yan has retired, Yuan Zai has betrayed, and I am willing to lead the reform for His Majesty."

"what?"

Du Wulang was surprised at first.

Anyway, given his friendship with Xue Bai, he couldn't say something like "I'll be your prime minister, and you just have to listen to my requests." Only Li Mi had such arrogance.

Only at this moment did Du Wulang deeply understand that it is better to read more, and he should urge his children to study harder in the future.

He never thought about making himself more diligent.

"I have some experience here, please give it to His Majesty."

"Why didn't Mr. Li say it earlier?"

"This method may not work, just give it a try."

At this time, the palace gate had been completely taken over by Lao Liang. The soldiers who came with the ministers to "serve the king" did not receive a clear order to rebel, nor did they make up their minds to rebel. When they saw that the emperor was serious, they either fled or surrendered.

Du Wulang walked to the palace gate and met Zhao Yuliang, a general under Lao Liang. He greeted him and wanted to enter the palace for an audience.

They were all familiar with each other, and he spoke in a normal tone, "My grandfather just came to see His Majesty, and I have something to report."

"What can happen to Wulang?" Zhao Yuliang was born into a peasant family, so he said whatever he wanted to say. "They are killing people in there, Wulang, don't be scared."

"I really have something important to do."

Du Wulang still had some face, and no one would really stop him. Zhao Yuliang then asked him to enter the palace from the west through the Xihua Gate, bypass the Qianyuan Gate Square, pass the Zhongshu Province, and then go through the Qiujing Gate to the Mingtang.

This route would not allow one to see the murder scene, but one could hear screams from across the palace wall. Du Wulang immediately felt compassion and quickened his pace.

After passing through Qiujing Gate, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. He was already jogging, rushing all the way to Xue Bai. He glanced at the situation at the bottom of the stairs, and his heart trembled. He hurriedly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, Li Mi asked me to say that he wants to preside over the reform for you."

This sentence shows that Du Wulang is different from others. When he came to deliver a message, the first thing he wanted to do was to let Xue Bai know what was going on, because he was standing on Xue Bai's side in his heart.

But Xue Bai didn't even turn his head, and just said: "Who does he think he is?"

In fact, he was not short of talents for reform. Now there were famous economic officials such as Yang Yan, Liu Yan and Diwu Qi in the court, so it could be said that there were many talents.

"I think he's crazy, too." Du Wulang said, "But he asked me to submit this, saying that he has some opinions on your majesty's new law."

As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve.

But Xue Bai didn't give any instructions, so no eunuch came to pick her up.

Du Youlin and Cui Youfu were anxious when they saw this and wanted to speak. Du Wulang was afraid that they would make things worse if they spoke too much, so he simply went over and handed over the scroll.

"Let's take a look, just in case it really works."

Perhaps it was because Du Wulang and Xue Bai had a different relationship. If it were someone else, they would never dare to do such a thing, for fear of being mistaken for an assassination.

Xue Bai then took the scroll, unfolded it, and read it slowly word by word, completely ignoring the screams in his ears.

In front of him, through a piece of paper, was a scene that looked like hell.

……

"Don't kill, don't kill!"

Yuan Zai was on the run and finally escaped to Qianyuan Sect.

However, there was a closed door in front of him.

"Open the door!"

Before this, it was Yuan Zai who ordered the door to be opened, but no matter how he shouted this time, he couldn't open it.

Many people around had already surrendered, raising their hands, squatting down crying and shouting. Seeing this, Yuan Zai hurriedly followed suit. After a while, soldiers came over and pinned him down without saying a word.

He thought he was going to die, but when he turned around, he suddenly realized that after killing many people, no one on the field was shouting against Xue Bai anymore, and everyone was crawling on the ground tremblingly.

Only Yuan Zai was escorted across the blood-soaked square and up the stairs.

After taking two steps up the stairs, he gradually calmed down and said, "I'll walk by myself."

The two soldiers ignored him, but Yuan Zai had regained his composure and said, "I am Yuan Zai, a loyal minister of the emperor. I was taken hostage by those rebels and brought into Qianyuan Gate."

After saying this, although he was still being held, he remained calm and had a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

When he saw Xue Bai, he quickly put away his discontented expression and said politely, "Your Majesty, I hope you are well. I almost didn't get to see you!"

"what happened?"

"I was ordered to appease the rebels. I don't know who opened the palace gate, and the bandits rushed in and took me hostage. They even claimed that I was their accomplice. It's ridiculous. I am in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and I have been investigating the world for Your Majesty. I have uncovered countless dirty deeds of theirs. How could I be in cahoots with them?!" Yuan Zai said sternly.

Today, including Du Youlin, all of Xue Bai's confidants thought that he was too harsh in killing people. Up to now, only Yuan Zai scolded the officials and supported Xue Bai's approach most firmly.

Xue Bai said nothing in response to Yuan Zai's remarks, but just threw the manuscript in his hand over.

"Du Wulang sent me some thoughts. Take a look and share your opinions."

Yuan Zai passed the test easily. The two soldiers behind him quickly let him go, allowing him to stretch his muscles and pick up the manuscript to read.

He read very quickly, but it was not in a hurry. It was because he had the ability to remember everything he saw.

It was precisely because of this talent that, although he came from a poor family and did not have very good study conditions, he was able to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, which can be said to be a genius.

After reading it, he immediately guessed that these thoughts must not have been written by Du Wulang.

In fact, the contents of the manuscript are generally similar to the current direction of reform, but few people can understand it so completely and can put forward some quite key new ideas.

Simply put, the reform was reorganized and summarized again, and on the surface it did not appear to be as sharp as the review of the equal distribution of land.

Clearly promote and demote officials, and enforce strict administration of officials; suppress family connections, and limit abuse of power; refine the imperial examinations, and optimize the selection of officials; select local officials with caution; support agriculture and use the harvest of fields as the content of the assessment of local officials; redistribute the official land, and start with the official land of officials. Officials are actually slightly different from nobles, and they really have jobs, so the court can easily control them. Moreover, by allocating official land, officials with ability and good character can feel grateful...

"Your Majesty, I think it is very appropriate. This manuscript not only understands the profound meaning of your majesty's reform, but also conforms to the actual situation in the court in detail." Yuan Zai pondered and commented: "It is very sophisticated."

He used the word "experienced and spicy" because he felt that Xue Bai's reforms were too drastic and sharp. The same content seemed less angular when put here, and it must have been written by someone who was well versed in officialdom.

Yuan Zai glanced and saw Du Jin standing behind Xue Bai. He couldn't help but wonder if this was her work, but it didn't seem like it.

He then felt a sense of crisis.

~~
It was already late at night when I left the palace.

The city of Luoyang is particularly dark tonight. Few families in the city dare to light candles. Only the rippling waves on the Luo River embellish this bloody night.

Li Mi had not left yet and was still waiting near the Du family's carriage.

"Mr. Li." Du Wulang stepped forward quickly and said, "His Majesty will surely summon you soon."

Du Youlin once served as prime minister with Li Mi in the Zhengshi Hall, and they had a good relationship. When they met, they were filled with emotion and sighed.

"I am incompetent after all. If it was you, Changyuan, who was in power, how could the state be in such a state?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Du. This matter is beyond human control..."

When Du Jin saw that her father and brothers were close to Li Mi, she seemed unhappy and her face was cold.

She was deliberately giving them a cold face, but they only saw it after they returned to the Du residence. Du Wulang then asked, "Second sister, what's wrong?"

"You associate with Li Mi, but forget that he is on the side of the opposition. My political views are contrary to his, and sooner or later we will become political enemies."

"I am doing this for the good of Your Majesty. Otherwise, killing people indiscriminately would only provoke rebellion..."

"If you don't have a brain, stop causing me trouble."

Du Youlin heard this and realized that Du Jin was openly scolding Du Wulang, but in fact she was scolding him. His old face showed embarrassment and he said, "Second Lady is talking about your Majesty's life experience."

Du Wulang was startled at once, his face changed and he asked, "Again?"

"Well." Du Jin said, "This matter has no end, and Your Majesty is tired of it. It is better to end it." "No." Du Youlin said immediately.

On this matter, he indeed held the same position as Li Mi, so he tried his best to persuade Du Jin.

"Don't be foolish. Do you know that if you continue, you will be killed. You must persuade His Majesty to put the overall situation first..."

Du Youlin hadn't finished speaking yet. Du Jin didn't want to hear it and turned around and walked away.

On this matter, she personally also has a position that is contrary to that of the Du family.

She firmly supported Xue Bai in restoring his name and changing the country's name. For her, it made her feel that she and Xue Bai had conspired to usurp the Tang Dynasty... She liked this feeling and was willing to do it regardless of the consequences.

When I returned to the house, Du Yan was already waiting there.

"I heard something big happened today."

"Yes." Du Jin said lightly, "Your Majesty has taught those opposition parties a lesson."

Du Yan said, "It's almost three o'clock in the morning, let's go to bed early."

Du Jin thought that the palace would hold another court meeting soon, and Xue Bai must still be busy at this time. She didn't want to rest, so she thought and said, "There is still one thing I haven't done."

"what?"

"Give orders to have someone secretly investigate Yuan Zai and see if he has betrayed Your Majesty."

"Yuan Zai?" Du Yan asked, "He is considered the earliest member of the Yang Party. He has followed Your Majesty for a long time and is very trusted. Why would he destroy his own future?"

Judging from Yuan Zai's demeanor today, he does not seem to have betrayed the emperor. But since it was rumored that he opened the palace gate, we still have to investigate thoroughly.

What Du Jin didn't expect was that the truth would be revealed to her the very next day.

"Second Madam, there is a young lady who wants to see you. She says she is here for Yuan Zai."

"Wang Yunxiu is here?" Du Jin asked, "Let her meet us in the flower hall."

"To answer Second Lady, it is not Lady Wang who is here."

"No?" Du Jin was surprised, "Then who is it?"

"She said her last name was Xue."

At this moment, Du Jin was thinking a lot, and even wondered whether it was related to Xue Bai's life experience.

Soon, a woman walked into the hall.

Du Jin looked over and narrowed her eyes unconsciously.

She hadn't seen such a beautiful girl for a while. She had a pretty face, skin as white as snow, and skin so tender that not even a pore could be seen. What was even more rare was the youthful aura that only belonged to a girl.

In comparison, these beauties are indeed getting old.

Du Jin has possessed a lot of things in her life, including supreme power, but at this moment, she admitted that she was a little jealous of the youth and beauty of the young woman in front of her.

"Your servant Xue Yaoying greets Second Madam."

"Who are you to Yuan Zai?"

"I am Yuan Zai's concubine."

Hearing this, Du Jin sneered slightly, thinking of the famous love between Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu in the past years.

At that time, the story Yuan Zai told most often was that Wang Yunxiu did not despise him because of his humble background and married him. She also resolutely broke up with her family and went to Beijing with him to take the imperial examination. The couple supported each other and got through the most difficult years.

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Zai was in power and the newcomer was smiling.

"I always thought Yuan Zai had no concubines."

"Ah Lang once served as a flower and bird envoy for Emperor Xuanzong for a period of time. That was when I first met him."

Du Jin knew that Emperor Xuanzong's flower and bird envoys were not collecting flowers and birds, but selecting beauties from all over the world. All the beautiful women, whether married or not, were summoned to the palace. She then looked at Xue Yaoying in front of her and asked, "How old are you?"

"I was born in the fourth year of Tianbao."

"How old were you when Yuan Zai was appointed Flower and Bird Envoy?"

"At that time, I was nine years old. Ah Lang saw that I was a beauty, so he kept me in the courtyard for future use."

"This is really a long-term consideration." Du Jin said.

Xue Yaoying said: "Alang is not interested in women. After Emperor Xuanzong passed away, Alang originally planned to offer me to His Majesty... but he was afraid of offending you, Second Mother, so he gave up."

"It's ridiculous." Du Jin said, "Who am I? Your Majesty has more than one or two women around him. Are you afraid of offending me?"

"Ah Lang said that the only person who has been with Your Majesty through thick and thin is Er Niang."

This may not be true, but it sounds nice. Du Jin's heart is like a mirror. After all, she is a woman, and she will be in a good mood because of some nice words. So she was too lazy to argue with Xue Yaoying and said, "It seems that I am a jealous person."

"It's not that Second Lady is jealous. Alang didn't offer me to him for other reasons." Xue Yaoying said, "I was raised by Alang and gradually fell in love with him. So Alang took me in..."

Du Jin looked at Xue Yaoying's pretty face. Through her dimples and the shyness in the corners of her eyes, she seemed to be able to see how seductive she was when she first experienced sex.

"You are a beauty. I'm sure Yuan Zai felt extremely satisfied when he had you."

"I don't want to be a slave."

Du Jin said to herself, "Originally, this was the woman that Yuan Zai was going to present to Your Majesty. He enjoyed her himself, and at that time, Your Majesty was no longer that important to him."

These words made Xue Yaoying very frightened, and she quickly lowered her head.

Du Jin waved and said, "Come here."

"Yes." Xue Yaoying stepped forward timidly.

"What kind of incense are you using? It smells nice."

"Replying to Second Madam, I don't wear perfume. My mother was once a singing girl of King Qi. She fed me spices since I was a child, so I have some perfume in my body."

Du Jin sneered again, took Xue Yaoying's hand, looked at the jade bracelet on her fair wrist, and said, "Nice jade."

"It's Hetian's mutton-fat jade."

"This red gauze material is nice."

"It is made of canary wool from Goguryeo."

Just looking at Xue Yaoying's outfit, I'm afraid that the lifetime savings of a hundred ordinary families would not be enough to cover it. Du Jin still couldn't figure it out, so she asked, "Did Yuan Zai ask you to come here to bribe me?"

Xue Yaoying was young and not very courageous, but seemed very smart. She knew that if she went to this station, it would mean that Yuan Zai's corruption and abuse of power had been exposed, and she didn't need to say more.

"Ah Lang asked me to tell Er Niang a message."

"Oh?"

"Ah Lang said that although he made some minor mistakes, he was loyal to Your Majesty and begged Second Lady to let him go."

"Ah."

"If Alang is dismissed, Li Mi will definitely take over the government. Li Mi seems to be working for the country and the people, but he has ulterior motives and wants to harm Your Majesty. Alang is willing to prevent Li Mi from becoming a prime minister and let Er Niang drive him around from now on."

After that, Xue Yaoying said, "Ah Lang, please leave me with Second Lady to show your sincerity in serving her."

This seems to be a useless approach, but Xue Yaoying came here wearing this outfit not only as a hostage, but also as evidence of Yuan Zai's guilt.

When Yuan Zai handed over the evidence of his crime to Du Jin, it was equivalent to handing his life over to Du Jin's hands.

It was obvious that he was completely panicked.

Since he was lost in power and beauty, he must have been caught by someone, which led to him helping the ministers to enter the palace. Now he probably knows that he is doomed and has no choice but to rely on Du Jin.

No matter how high the official position is, it is still difficult to change the wavering behavior at critical moments.

Although this person is smart, his problem is that he lacks a strong will.

Du Jin sneered and said, "What's the point of me using such a villain?"

"Alang is your Majesty's confidant after all. No matter whether your Majesty's surname is Li or Xue, he is firmly loyal to your Majesty. In this situation, Er Niang should deal with those who oppose your Majesty. How can she cut off her own arm?"

~~
Li Mi waited outside Qianyuan Gate for a long time, from dusk to dawn, and finally got a chance to meet the emperor.

He straightened his Taoist robe, walked across the square where the blood had not yet been swept away, and entered the hall with as relaxed an expression as possible.

"I have not seen Your Majesty for a long time. I wish Your Majesty good health."

Xue Bai was originally looking at a memorial solemnly. Feeling Li Mi's calmness, he looked up at him and said, "Brother Changyuan hasn't aged at all in these years."

Li Mi said: "I have been cultivating myself in the mountains and have not been confused by worldly affairs, so I have aged more slowly."

"You still claim to be my vassal? I have been exposed. I am not Li Qian. I usurped the Tang Dynasty under someone else's name."

Hearing this, Li Mi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. What matters is how people in the world live, not your Majesty's name."

This was an unexpected answer. Xue Bai looked at him and said, "You are trying to comfort me and persuade me to change my mind."

"I would like to support your majesty in restoring his name and changing the country's name to 'Qin'. What do you think?"

"Why Qin?"

"At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Western Qin Overlord Xue Ju proclaimed himself emperor in Lanzhou. Your Majesty, since your surname is Xue, you must be a descendant of the Western Qin. It is only natural that you are restoring your country now."

Xue Bai knew that Li Mi was speaking in a sarcastic way, and he was too lazy to play this kind of word game with Li Mi. He had no feelings for Xue Ju, the overlord of Western Qin. The stories he had heard since childhood were all about how Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, defeated Western Qin in the Battle of Qianshuiyuan.

"I'll think about it."

"In this way, when Your Majesty defeats Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, Feng Changqing and other Tang generals and establishes a new country, there will definitely be no one who opposes Your Majesty's new laws."

"Is this a sarcasm?"

"I don't dare."

Xue Bai said: "It doesn't matter if Guo Ziyi opposes me. I have already transferred the army from Fanyang to the south. What if I give the Hebei heroes a chance to make contributions to my founding of the country and severely strike at the Guanlong nobles?"

Li Mi sighed slightly, revealing his worry.

He no longer called himself a subject, but used the tone of friends in the past, saying: "The reason I came out is to maintain the stability of the world. I can support all your decisions and assist you with all my strength, but I only ask you to agree to one condition of mine."

"That's not necessary." Xue Bai said, "I don't necessarily need your assistance."

Li Mi said: "You think you are Xue Bai, but in the eyes of Crown Prince Li Zuo, you are a descendant of the Li family. You should judge others by yourself and not force him to change his perception. How do you do that?"

His tone was sincere, and he added: "With my help, what you want to do will go much more smoothly. I know what you want to do. Our goal is to make the world stronger and stronger, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)