Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 432 Looking back at the dog-licking show
In the imperial study room of the main building of Xingqing Palace, Brother Ji looked at the exaggeratedly thick stack of gift lists in front of him with a gloomy expression.

And Gao Lishi beside him didn't dare to show his anger. He hadn't seen Brother Ji so angry for a long time.

The Emperor of Chang'an, the sage of the Tang Dynasty, would often behave like this when he was extremely angry, which also meant that he might kill someone!

"Fang Guozhong said that he hasn't read the gift list, right?"

Brother Ji tapped his fingers on the desk and asked.

In fact, Fang Chongyong's words were a bit slippery, because the gift lists were all unsealed. Whether you read them or not, they were all Fang Chongyong's words.

However, at this time, one-sided words are quite meaningful.

In an era without electronic surveillance equipment, most of the time, it was just "one-sided words."

The emperor's mental skills are often helpless.

"Hui Sage, this is indeed the case."

There are so many excuses to make.

Li Lin actually gave it to Fang Chongyong as a generous gift for moving to a new office and getting promoted. The profound meaning makes people dare not think about it.

Gao Lishi answered honestly.

"Ask him to send the red coral to Taifu Temple. I won't ask about the rest. Just put the gift list away. I might need it in the future."

In the Tang Dynasty, many gifts had extremely strong symbolic meanings. For ordinary wealthy families, let alone giving it away to others, even if they collect it privately, they will be convicted after being reported.

Brother Ji said with a sneer on his face, feeling an uncontrollable murderous intention towards some of the people in the gift list.

Instead of trying to please an old emperor, it is better to win over a young upstart who controls the military and make a heavy investment to keep the family wealthy for the next few decades!
Brother Ji played this kind of game when Wu Zetian was still alive!

Gao Lishi thought for a while and replied: "Sage, Fang Guozhong is diligent in the king's affairs, and nothing will go wrong. There is no need to send it in such a hurry. But now there is a big thing, and I am about to repay the saint. Let the saint make a decision."

"Saint, Fang Guozhong is a bit cunning, but he is indeed loyal to the saint.

After all, Ji Ge doesn’t lack anything in the palace, right?

That's because this red coral was given to his brother, Emperor Li Xian (Kaiyuan Zhong had passed away) and his family.

This side of Tang brocade is large in area and extremely exquisite, but it cannot be said to be a "rare treasure". Tang Brocade, which is a mixture of Sogdian style, has been around for so many years, but it has already entered the homes of the rich and became popular even though every inch of cloth was rich.

It’s just the lesser of two evils!

No matter how much he pleases him, how many years can Brother Ji take care of their family?
Brother Ji has a very good relationship with Emperor Li Xian, but is the relationship between Brother Ji and Li Xian's son Li Lin that strong?

Fang Chongyong returned the gift list, on the one hand, to show his loyalty, and on the other hand, he quietly hinted: Look, there are so many potential rebels in Chang'an, so you, the old emperor, should take it easy.

But it's hard to say what these powerful men and women want to do and what they can do.

This is one of the reasons why Brother Ji has not dared to retaliate against the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army mutiny.

"How could I not know this!"

Just looking at the thickness of the gift sheet, one knows that the situation in Chang'an is far more complicated than imagined, and it would be safer for the saint to wait and see what happens. "

Why do you say that? Because Brother Ji is already over sixty years old!

Then why did Fang Chongyong send someone to send this red coral back?

Including the cost of fabric and labor, this Tang Brocade is only a few hundred pieces. The value of the item itself is very ordinary and cannot be considered a valuable item.

Brother Ji didn't know, and he wouldn't ask Li Lin, because there wouldn't be a clear answer if he asked.

"Speak quickly, I'm tired!"

Is this a matter of "no change", or does it have ulterior motives?

He actually guessed what Li Lin was thinking. Thinking about it carefully, it was just human nature.

Gao Lishi secretly lamented that both Ji Ge and Fang Chongyong were masters of maneuvering. Their routines were simple and sophisticated, and they could advance and retreat freely, very calmly.

Dogs are still dogs, but their importance in the heart has increased.

Time cannot be turned back, and old people cannot return to their youth. Brother Ji understands that in the future, more and more people will consider their options. He will not be as loyal as before.

The Silver Spear Xiaojie Army was just a little domineering and had no intention of changing the emperor's intentions. It’s hard to say about other people and other armies!
"Back then, Zheng Shuqing supervised the weaving of Tang brocade and showed me a beautiful Tang brocade. You sent someone to the Prince of Pingxi County and said it was a gift from me and asked him to watch over the beautiful mountains and rivers for me."

Brother Ji scolded in a low voice, unable to hide the shock in his heart.

Gao Lishi cautiously suggested that this stack of gifts was actually more terrifying than the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army's mutiny and forced the palace that day!
Those Qiu Ba made trouble, but in the end they did not dare to do anything to the saint.

Brother Ji urged with an unhappy expression.

Specifically, this red coral was the most expensive gift in Brother Ji's gift list when Li Xian's son Li Lin was canonized as Prince Ning after Li Xian passed away.

Without breaking each other's faces, in an atmosphere where the king is concerned about the death of his ministers and the king and his ministers get along with each other, they convey each other's bottom line and intentions. It can be said that they have met their opponents.

Brother Ji waved his hands a little tiredly.

But it is the first batch of Tang brocade, a gift from the emperor, and a "souvenir" of that year, so it is worth talking about.

"Why is Lux in such a daze? Why don't you go quickly?"

He has seen through this a long time ago, but there is nothing he can do now.

If Brother Ji and Fang Chongyong were really to be put on the same stage, and only one could be left in the end, then Li Lin would not hesitate to choose Fang Chongyong over Brother Ji, who was "deeply benevolent" to their family.

This means that Fang Chongyong can hang it up in his hall to show off! But other companies don’t even allow imitation!
Brother Ji's move also told Fang Chongyong: I have received your loyalty. Now I give you the unique privilege of continuing to be a loyal guard dog for me!

The impatient look on Brother Ji's face became even stronger, and he sighed.

"Hui Sage, Shuofang's military envoy Li Guozhen and Shuofang's camp envoy Zhang Qiqiu jointly submitted a letter, saying that in recent years the Tiele tribes have moved inward, and the Huihe family outside Hetao is the only one with more than 200,000 strings, which poses a great threat to Shuofang's army. big!

At present, the Uighur people have become increasingly arrogant and arrogant. If they are not restrained, they may become arrogant and arrogant.

They hoped that the imperial court would send troops to Shuofang to suppress the arrogance of the Huihe people. If the imperial court is unable to send troops, it hopes to increase the military resources of Shuofang's army and transport more silk and silk, which are in short supply in the northwest.

They can then recruit their own troops locally. Let the saints decide this matter. "

Gao Lishi reported carefully. If it were ordinary trivial matters, he would just take care of them.

Most of them just reply, such as: The governors of various places can make their own decisions.

some type of.

But on the side of Shuofang Army, Li Guozhen is currently the Jiedushi envoy and also the branch envoy, and together with Zhang Qiqiu, the envoy of the camp, it is equivalent to the unanimous opinion of the military and political leaders.

Gao Lishi didn't dare to make a decision on such a big matter in private.

"Are the Uighurs ready to make a move..."

Brother Ji was silent. In fact, there were clues to this matter back then. When Fang Youde pacified the grassland, there were Huihe Ye to protect the unruly people.

The tranquility in the Hetao area in recent years has also allowed the grassland people with the nine surnames of Tiele to rest and recuperate. Among them, the Uighur family is the most powerful, stronger than the other Tiele tribes combined!

There are also reports from time to time in the border towns that they fought with the Huihe people without defeat.

But Brother Ji doesn’t want to destroy the monument of alliance he established back then! This is related to his posthumous name.

"How about sending troops to Shuofang?"

Brother Ji asked Gao Lishi.

"Back to the saint, the Imperial Army is in the process of being reorganized. If you want people, you don't have anyone, and if you want money, you don't have money. There are a lot of soldiers in the treasury of Chang'an City, but we can't let soldiers go into battle to kill the enemy on their own, right?"

Gao Lishi explained helplessly.

"This matter is postponed for now. After Yan Zhenqing goes to Lianghuai and Jiangnan to collect military supplies, he will return to Guanzhong to discuss the matter. Send someone to Shuofang to labor the army and talk to Li Guozhen. Please bear with it for the time being."

Brother Ji waved his hand gently, indicating that Gao Lishi didn't need to say any more, feeling helpless about these nonsense.

Seeing that Gao Lishi still refused to leave, Brother Ji asked with a grimace, "What else can I do?"

"Back to the sage, when Li Shizhi was Prime Minister, he ordered that the financial rights of Lanzhou under the control of Hexi Jiedushi be taken back and returned to the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court, and the treasury was under the control of the central government.

Today, the Hexi Jiedu government reported that the shortage of food and wages in the northwest is serious. Lanzhou is an important tax area. If the ownership of the treasury is changed, the shortage of wages will be even worse. Zheng Xianggong said that this was not a government order issued by him, and he did not know how to deal with it, so he asked a saint to judge. "

Gao Lishi reported with a look of despair.

Zheng Shuqing, this old slippery man, is slipperier than a loach. He is just afraid of offending others, so he makes the excuse that it is not his own decree, but all saints have the final say!

Anyway, if you want to blame, then blame Li Shizhi!
This is the order that Li Shizhi gave you before. Now that others have hit the wall and committed suicide, what does it have to do with me, Mr. Zheng?
From this perspective, Zheng Shuqing's reasons are indeed quite serious.

Gao Lishi lamented that nowadays the imperial court is full of talented people. They talk nicely but don't do anything!

"That's right, Li Shizhi is dead. The previous imperial decree was indeed inappropriate. Let's talk about it later."

Brother Ji has become impatient, distracted, and angry. He is half angry to death by the arrogant and powerful soldiers in Hexi!

This wave of formation of the Forbidden Army lacks soldiers and needs to be drawn from the border armies. A lot of people were taken away from Hexi!
It stands to reason that Chang'an provides military pay and all expenses for these people. The military expenditure in Hexi has obviously been reduced. Is it too much to return Lanzhou's taxes to the court?
It is indeed not too much, because the people who receive military pay have already been taken over by the center.

But the reality is that it is helpless. Once wealth and power are thrown away, it is not easy to get it back. If we want to transfer benefits to local governments, local governments also have local difficulties.

When the Tubo people rushed down the plateau, it was Hexi and Longyou towns that blocked them to the west of Guanzhong. Aren’t the soldiers and horses in these feudal towns suffering?
Everyone has their own reasons.

In this situation, Bianjun's accounts are like a black box, and Ji Ge doesn't dare to check the accounts at all! As long as Qiu Ba on the Hexi side doesn't clamor for more military spending, then everything will be fine!

Those people are really going to bring troops to Guanzhong to "arm themselves to ask for pay." Brother Ji is really worried!
"Then the slave is fine. Let's go on errands."

Gao Lishi saluted Brother Ji and turned to leave.

After he left, Brother Ji let out a long sigh. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the Saint of Chang'an felt more tired than ever before.

He always felt that something was wrong with this country, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

……

In front of the Pingxi County Prince's Mansion, a table was placed. Next to the table was a flag that read, "Recruiting staff, generous remuneration."

Che Guangqian sat in front of the desk, spread out the roster, and was conducting the "primary selection" of the people who lined up to sign up.

Only those who pass his selection can enter the Pingxi County Prince's Mansion and participate in Fang Chongyong's interview!

And passing Fang Chongyong's interview is not the end. The list has to be sent to Xingqing Palace. Only after Brother Ji nods (albeit with a rubber stamp) can he be included in the palace establishment and become a serious official.

Otherwise, he would just be a "white man" with no identity around Fang Chongyong.

Today is a crisp autumn day, and there is a long queue of people who have come to apply for the palace. At a glance, the length of the queue is probably no less than a few hundred people. The establishment of the palace only consists of hiring a few staff members, so the competition is very fierce.

"Next!"

Che Guangqian shouted.

A young man who looked very confident sat down in front of Che Guangqian carelessly, looking familiar.

"Whose last name is who?"

Che Guangqian asked without raising her head.

"Wei Yingwu, Jingzhao Weishi."

The young man in front of him said with pride.

"Hmm, what are your specialties?"

Che Guangqian asked without pretense, making a record on the roster. Even those who are not admitted will be recorded, and Fang Chongyong will be observed afterwards.

"The shadow of the gate makes up for the thousand oxen on your right. Before that, you were a sage's attendant."

Wei Yingwu said loudly, deliberately letting the people in line behind him hear it.

Che Guangqian said nothing and kept waiting for Wei Yingwu's next words.

"and then?"

Finding that the other party had not spoken for a long time, Che Guangqian raised her head and asked with surprise as she looked at Wei Yingwu, who looked like he was from a wealthy family and was pampered and had fine skin and tender flesh.

"Isn't this enough? I am a person who has been on the emperor's side!"

Wei Ying said confidently that as a follower of Brother Ji, he came to serve as an aide in Prince Pingxi's Mansion, so he looked up to Fang Chongyong!
Jingzhao Weishi came from a famous family; he followed the saints and reached heaven to listen!
With such a status, what other specialties do you need?
Wei Yingwu felt that Che Guangqian was so pretentious! One’s own origin and status are strengths in themselves!

To put it bluntly, his lower body is extremely long, so what else can he do!
"Okay, go back and wait for the news, next one."

Che Guangqian waved her hand and said indifferently. He was born in the army and was discovered at the grassroots level. He was not interested in people like Wei Yingwu who were of noble birth and claimed to be noble.

But he still honestly wrote down the other party's situation. This was Fang Chongyong's instruction.

"Get out of here! Let's go and cool down!"

The crowd behind Wei Yingwu hooted and said that the social atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was assertive and confident, so they would not get used to a loser like Wei Yingwu who used his status to oppress others.

Wei Yingwu covered his face and left in despair, knowing that he was really blind this time!

"Who's next?"

Che Guangqian looked around and asked.

Soon, a middle-aged man in shabby clothes, with a strong smell of alcohol on his body, and an unshaven beard came forward and said to Che Guangqian: "Please tell me, Li Bai, is an old acquaintance of the Prince of Pingxi County. He was in the Hanlin Academy before. He is a bachelor of Hanlin Academy."

Li Bai.

Of course Che Guangqian knew this person, but he didn't catch a cold.

Because Fang Chongyong had confessed that he should recruit people with "real talent and practical knowledge."

And what about Li Bai's reputation... It seems that he is just a person who can only write poems and can't do anything else.

"Well, I've written it down. Let's go back and wait for the news."

Che Guangqian continued to immerse herself in recording and said in a cold tone.

"Hey, did you listen to me?

I am Li Bai, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and an old acquaintance of your Prince Pingxi!

You want me to go back and wait for news? "

Li Bai, smelling of alcohol and with undisguised pride and dissatisfaction on his face, questioned Che Guangqian.

"Yes, go back and wait for news."

Che Guangqian said calmly.

"Get out of here, get out of here! Besides writing poetry, what else do you want to do?"

Many people behind Li Bai cheered.

Those people wish that everyone in front of them could not even pass the primary election.

"next."

Che Guangqian asked in a routine manner.

"Li Sheng, a former Shence Army halberd man, is good at riding and shooting."

The young man in front of him said calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.

Che Guangqian looked at Li Sheng and asked doubtfully: "The Prince of Pingxi County is recruiting staff, are you suitable for joining the army..."

"I don't want to take it out."

Li Sheng sighed softly, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Che Guangqian. The envelope actually had the four characters "Wang Zhongsi Jian" written on it!
"Please come in, strong man!"

Che Guangqian immediately put away the careless expression on her face and made a gesture of invitation. He ignored the chatter of the people lining up behind him and led Li Sheng directly into Prince Pingxi's Mansion.

People with letters of recommendation are naturally not treated the same as people without letters of recommendation. Li Sheng's experience seemed to tell the people waiting in line at the scene: It is better to do the right thing than to follow the right person.

There are big bosses pushing behind you, and many difficult things are actually just that.

(End of this chapter)