Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 80 Small Gifts

At the end of the first month, the weather is getting warmer.

At Chenshi, Du Wulang pushed the door out of the house and yawned big.

In the courtyard, there are several maidservants chattering while drying clothes, like magpies in spring.

"I think Qing Lan is more anxious to move out than Xue Langjun. She says she doesn't want to part with us, and she thinks that she is the housekeeper of the Xue family."

"If it were you, wouldn't you want to?"

"Don't say it, if you say it again, I will tear your mouth."

"Hey, what did I say, I just asked you if you want to be a housekeeper..."

Du Wulang rubbed his eyes and walked towards the front yard, only to see a thin figure standing under the eaves and looking up at the magpie nest above. It was Xue Sanniang who was boarding in Du's house.

Her cheeks were cracked from the cold in winter, and she is still not healed now. She is thin and thin, and she doesn't know how old she is. She usually doesn't like to talk, and he doesn't even know her name.

"Brother Du, look, there's another litter here."

"Oh."

Du Wulang lowered his head and left quickly, but he didn't understand why he was nervous.

Walking to the flower hall, Lu Fengniang was sitting there embroidering with Liu Xiangjun, while Xue Qiniang and Xue Jiuniang were playing beside them.

"Aniang." Du Wulang stepped forward to salute, "Aniang told me not to go to Fengweilou today, is there something wrong?"

"Xue Bai said that he had traveled far away, but he heard that he rescued Mrs. Guo Guo, and he has been at her house for several days. Why don't you go ask and see if he brought him back?"

"Me? Shall I pick it up?"

Lu Fengniang said: "Didn't you go there with your grandfather? Mrs. Guo's mansion also sent many gifts. No matter what others say about her, she still knows the famous people..."

Du Wulang scratched his head and walked to the second entrance, only to see the three brothers of the Xue family standing by the bamboo garden and desperately looking into the study, looking very excited.

He immediately ran forward and grabbed their heads, and said with a smile, "What are you looking at?"

"The general is here, so majestic!" Xue Xin's eyes lit up, and he didn't know where to stick his head, like a monkey, "My uncle is the general of Jinwuwei, but he never comes home."

"Let's go and have a look."

Du Wulang took the lead, and the four boys tiptoed to the study for a while.

You don't have to get too close, you can already hear someone talking loudly inside.

"..."

"Haha, in the second year of Tianbao, Li Taibai Hanlin was waiting for an edict, and I was guarding the palace. That day he was so drunk that he wanted to face the saint. I helped him, and he wrote this poem to me at that time!"

"Good poetry, really good poetry. 'The past is as powerful as a dream'. Could it be that General Guo has not been going well in recent years?"

"If it's going to go, it will go right away. Hahaha, just a few days ago, someone from the Qingmen Restaurant assassinated Mrs. Guoguo. I was the one who served as an escort and rescued Mrs. Guoguo. The reward just came out yesterday. Hou has been promoted to a guard officer from the sixth grade. But this case is determined to be a drunkard causing trouble, otherwise my credit will not be higher?"

After all, Du Youlin was a fifth-rank official before, and he couldn't compare to others, but his knowledge was higher than Guo Qianli's. He stroked his beard and said, "General Guo, you were promoted and rewarded just because you were convicted of being a drunkard. You shouldn't talk nonsense anymore. gone."

"What does that mean?"

"Sigh." Du Youlin was a little embarrassed, and said directly: "The imperial court is to appease you, so that you will not make this matter worse."

Guo Qianli suddenly realized, and shouted: "Mr. Du's advice! I came today to hire Xue Langjun as a guest, but I didn't expect him to be recuperating in Mrs. Guo's mansion. That's right. Ma'am, he hurt his leg and can't walk easily, he needs to take care of it for a while. Why don't I hire Mr. Du as a guest?"

"what?"

Du Youlin was immediately unhappy.

Guo Qianli didn't notice it, and said loudly: "I have inquired, it is very difficult to be an official now, many talented people can't be elected, and they can't keep the election. Then I will be recommended by Jiedu envoy. If Mr. Du and Mr. Xue Lang can come to plan for me and let me go out to fight a big victory, I will recommend you as officials later, of course, the hire money must be quite a lot!"

"The old man's legs and feet are inconvenient, and he is no longer able to work hard. General Guo, please go back..."

At the end of the chat, Guo Qianli was still cheerful.

When he came out of the study, he warmly clasped his fist at Du Wulang and praised him.

The three boys of Xue's family embraced him.

"The general is so majestic, I would like to join the army with the general!" Xue Xin said loudly.

"Hahaha, you can't, you are too young and too thin!"

Guo Qianli lifted Xue Balang and Xue Shishilang under his armpit to play with them, and said: "If you want to join the army, you have to be strong first, let your sixth brother come to be the guest of this general, you guys There is meat to eat."

~~
Du Wulang drove his horse into Xuanyangfang, and suddenly sucked his nose.

He smelled the smell of cooking, so he got off his horse and walked into Guo's restaurant at the intersection of the cross street.

There were a lot of people in the lobby, and it was difficult to squeeze in. Du Wulang was caught in the crowd and looked in. He saw a few plates of oily dishes on the table of a diner, which didn't look too good.

Sooner or later, cooking skills will be leaked out or be studied by others, so we have already prepared for it.He was about to leave, but he heard some diners talking.

"Have you heard? The handsome son lost by General Qianniuwei has been found, and he told me that he has been in Mrs. Guo's mansion all this time."

"It is said that the case has come to the imperial court, and the sage refuses to deal with Mrs. Guo Guo."

"This Xuanyangfang is becoming more and more unsafe..."

Du Wulang also became apprehensive when he heard the words, and went to pay a visit to Mrs. Guo Guo's mansion, which was far away from the concierge. After handing out the invitation, he had already retreated two steps.

~~
Mrs. Guo's mansion.

In the lobby, the steward handed out several contracts to Yang Yuyao.

"The small house in Qingmen was bought smoothly, and it was convenient to agree to the contract by paying three times the price. Xue's house in Changshoufang is a bit more troublesome. Back then, Xue Ling sold three houses, but fortunately, the villain lived up to his mission..."

Yang Yuyao didn't listen to these as long as the results came out, and ordered: "Go, get the house ready."

"Yes, the layout of Xue's house is still there. As long as the courtyard walls are demolished, it will be ready soon."

Yang Yuyao pursed her lips and smiled, took a few deeds and put them into a box, and was about to get up and go back to the backyard, when another maid rushed over.

"The lady has a greeting card, Du Zhuan asked to see him, saying that he came to look for Mr. Xue Lang."

"No. I said I was frightened and thanked the guests behind closed doors."

Back in the backyard, Yang Yuyao stopped, straightened her shawl, helped the ponytail on her head, and entered the boudoir, only to see Mingzhu tidying up.

"Is he up yet?"

"Yao Niang, Mr. Xue Lang has gone to the backyard."

"Ah."

Knowing Xue Bai's habit, Yang Yuyao used to put her arms around Mingzhu from behind, and whispered in her ear, "I've neglected you recently, are you unhappy?"

"I'm not unhappy. Xue Langjun is a man with great ambitions, and he is definitely not someone who can be jealous behind his back."

"Well, his heart is not with me."

"Yao Niang, I didn't mean that, he should still be affectionate..."

"You don't need to speak well of him." Yang Yuyao snorted softly, "I don't know him yet."

These few days Xue Bai got up late, and in the morning he often took a shower by himself, she was always unhappy not seeing him, but when she saw him, her anger disappeared.

After lunch, the handsome young man in a brocade robe sat down in the study again, taking up a pen to write a theory.

Yang Yuyao originally hated these articles, but she wanted to come forward.

Recently, she finds it interesting to write policy theories.

For example, a few days ago, Xue Bai wanted to read the tax records of the old years of the Tang Dynasty, including the records of Kuohu Kuotian's policy in the first year of Kaiyuan, so she came forward in person and took him to the archives of the Duzhi Division of the Ministry of Households. The reason was that Check the number of acres in her name.

Duzhisi is an important place where Li Linfu holds financial power, so it is naturally impossible to enter.But in order to appear more powerful than Li Genu, she had to use the relationship of the imperial concubine.

That day, the sun shone through the panes into the archives, and fine dust could be seen floating. He stood by the window and flipped through the files, with a serious expression and calm eyes.When she saw him, she felt that doing something for him was more satisfying than throwing a feast.

At that time, there was no one else in the file vault, only rows of shelves. She couldn't hold back, so she posted it to tease him... Looking back, she still finds it very interesting.

She still thinks about it often.

They couldn't read the dossier that day, and they went there a few more times later.

She also gradually understood what his unfinished policy was - changing the tax law into the two-tax law.

Even if she didn't understand it very well, she knew that this was a ground-breaking event, and she already regarded him as a great husband who was determined to revolutionize the world and was willing to revolutionize the world.This was not the type she liked originally, and she only recently realized that she had changed.

On the other hand, although Yang Yuyao is not very knowledgeable, she has extraordinary knowledge and does not think that Xue Bai can do it.

"No wonder, Yuhuan said that the sage originally had the ambition to reform the bad and create a new one, but his old age and strength have lost his will. In my opinion, no matter how good your strategy is, if you hand it over, you will not win the favor of the sage, but will offend many people. people……"

She dared to say such a thing, showing her trust in Xue Bai.

Xue Bai knew what she said was true. Li Longji was old, and even the prime minister was unwilling to change every three to five years like in the past. How could he have the courage and determination to change the tax law?

This strategy was originally intended to attract decent and knowledgeable officials like Yan Zhenqing. He will have his own faction in the future, and he should win over pragmatic people who are interested in the country.

Only people with the same ambition can form a group, otherwise they will be surrounded by selfish trash like Ji Wen and Yang Zhao, who will be separated sooner or later and die together.

On the other hand, the atmosphere of the Tianbao years is doomed to a difficult and difficult road of pragmatism.Xue Bai never intends to follow the steps, he must have the ability of a pragmatic person, and he must also have the means of a sycophant.In short, climb up by all means, but always remember the purpose of climbing up.

He is willing to rule the country with Yan Zhenqing and others, and he is willing to join forces with Yang Yuyao and others.

"Do you think the two-tax law in my policy theory won't work?"

"En." Yang Yuyao thought that Xue Bai's strategy was to be presented to the sage for reuse, and reminded again: "I know that you have spent all your hard work, and it is really good, but it will only bring you disaster."

"Then I won't pay it."

Xue Bai listened to her persuasion very much, and immediately folded all the collected materials and unfinished first drafts and put them away.

When Yang Yuyao saw her, she felt a little pity, but she was more happy that he listened to her persuasion, put her arms around his waist and comforted him: "You are still young, don't be in a hurry to seek an official, let me make arrangements for you in the future."

"I'm not in a hurry to ask for an official, but I want to repay Yuyao. This policy was originally intended to be handed over to your brother to make a great contribution to the Yang family, but it is indeed offending people, and I did not think about it." Xue Bai pondered. : "There is another policy."

Yang Yuyao knew very well that even if Xue Bai really handed over the policy that she had painstakingly written to her elder brother Yang Zhen, it was nothing more than taking advantage of the Yang family's power to show off her ambitions.

But she was interested and didn't expose it. She smiled and asked, "What?"

"Discuss the salt method."

"Salt?"

Xue Bai nodded, put away his theory of the two tax laws, and said, "Let me tell you what I think, if Yuyao thinks it's feasible, let's go see your brother."

"it is good."

"Compared to the Two Taxes Law, the Salt Discussion Law will not offend too many people, but it will definitely gather money for the saint and win the favor of the saint..."

For Xue Bai, the content in the high school textbook is actually simple.And they were all measures taken by the Tang Dynasty after the Anshi Rebellion, which should be in line with the current situation.

Of course, any system has its pros and cons, and it all comes down to the implementation level.Yanli once saved the Tang Dynasty, and eventually ruined it.

He talked for a long time, but Yang Yuyao sat there in a daze.

"what happened?"

"wait for me a while."

Yang Yuyao walked away suddenly, and came back after a while changing into a dress, with a sullen face, leaning over and whispering in Xue Bai's ear: "Here we are."

"It's okay." Xue Bai put his arms around her waist and stroked her shoulders.

"You are happy, you wish to leave early."

"I will go to the Imperial College in February."

Yang Yuyao was already willing to let him go, but seeing that he didn't leave because of this, she became happy and said: "I didn't listen carefully to the salt method you said just now, please say it again."

"Okay, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, following the old system of the Sui Dynasty, no tax has been collected on the salt industry for more than 130 years, but instead of taxing the people equally, it is better to discuss salt..."

After Xue Bai said it again, Yang Yuyao was not interested in specific government affairs, but thought about the risks and benefits involved.

She put her arms around Xue Bai's neck, and said in a low voice: "My Yang family has no shortage of holy family members. Yuhuan doesn't want to fight for the position of queen, and my elder brother is not talented enough. Although it is a great achievement to offer this method of salt to the saint, it will attract Li Linfu's jealousy hatred."

"That's my presumptuousness." Xue Bai said: "I originally thought about it this way... The saint forced the prince to reconcile twice, and after the prince ascends the throne, even if it's just to restore prestige, he should use the Yang family to establish his prestige."

Yang Yuyao was taken aback.

Originally, she ignored state affairs and never thought about this issue.At this moment, if someone forced me to throw away Xue Bai and Mingzhu and lose face, would I treat the person he loves the most kindly if I have a chance in the future?
"But Yuhuan has no children..."

"You don't have to think so far." Xue Bai said: "No one can touch the Yang family right now, it's just to save some self-protection power."

"I'll take you to see your elder brother, and then discuss whether to dedicate this method of salt to the saint."

"it is good."

Yang Yuyao was inconvenient today, but she still felt tender after being hugged by Xue Bai.

She felt that it was absurd to be such a small bird in the arms of a young man, but she didn't care about this absurdity.

"I'll go back later." Yang Yuyao looked up at him and said softly, "By the way, I have a little gift for you."

She originally thought it was a great favor to buy Xue's house in Changshoufang and give it to Xue Bai.

In the end, compared to his advice, this was only a small gift from her.

(End of this chapter)