Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 424 Gift
Yin Ming was overjoyed when he heard the words. Chang'an was under the jurisdiction of two counties, Chang'an and Wannian, but the area outside the two counties also belonged to the capital, breaking through the restrictions of other places' outer cities and extending to the rural areas in the suburbs, west to Fengshui, east to Lantian County, and south to Zhongnan Mountain; Chang'an City and the villages around the city were all under the jurisdiction of the county.

The bad guys in Chang'an County were also in charge of the bad guys in the surrounding villages, and the same was true for Wannian County.

There were no Bad Leaders in the surrounding villages. The Bad Leaders in all directions were mainly from Chang'an and Wannian counties. However, there were two Bad Leaders in Chang'an. It was always worth discussing whether Yin Ming, the Bad Leader of Chang'an County, or the Bad Leader of Wannian County was more respected.

Anyway, for their own interests, Yin Ming and Wei Dong, the two bad generals, have been competing with each other. Both sides have won and lost, and neither can do anything to the other.

Now Chen Qingsi's appointment directly puts him above Wei Dong. Before the Fengshan ceremony is over, all the bad people in the capital will be under his rule.

This established his position in the hearts of the bad guys, and Wei Dong could no longer fight against him.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen!"

Yin Ming stood up and thanked him.

Chen Qingsi said casually: "This is what you deserve." He then said: "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me or ask Sima Zhang for help."

Zhang Da'an, the Sima of Yongzhou, is the top official of the Bad People.

Yin Ming felt more confident after hearing this.

Chen Qingsi suddenly straightened his face and said, "I don't mind Brother Yin taking advantage of the situation, but there is one thing Brother Yin must know. Everything must abide by the rules. Without rules, there will be no order. If you cross the line and take advantage of the situation to do something against your conscience, don't blame me for not respecting our friendship today."

It has not been easy for Chen Qingsi to get to where he is today, but he does not want to ruin his future because of some trivial matters.

If Yin Ming really wants to take advantage of the situation, he must be taken down, even if it means cutting off one's arm to stop the loss.

Yin Ming said solemnly, "Don't worry, sir. I can't say that what I did was righteous, but in Chang'an, where all kinds of people come together, I have been able to survive until now because of the two words 'faithfulness'. I am not using the two words 'faithfulness' to gain your trust, sir. But for people like us, if we lose our faith, we will lose the foundation of our lives and will not be tolerated by the people. We will definitely not do things that will bring about our own destruction."

Chen Qingsi nodded, not surprised.

For every dog-slaughtering person who is righteous, there are many scholars who are unfaithful.

There is some truth in what the ancients said. If people in the market want to survive, they have to abide by the rules to a certain extent.

If a bad general like Yin Ming was really a lawless person, he would have been out of Chang'an long ago.

Chen Qingsi asked Zhou Kui to send Yin Ming and Zhang Chengxiang away, thinking about how to convince his future father-in-law.

Judging from the information Zhang Chengxiang had gathered, his future father-in-law must be an ambitious man, who was able to do such things. It was only because he lost everything and became self-destructive that he is in his current situation.

Chen Qingsi has seen many people like this in later generations.

In addition to one's own abilities and family background, another key character trait is the ability to withstand stress.

Chen Qingsi worked his way up from the grassroots level and had nothing to begin with, so even if he was reduced to his original form, he would just be starting over again.

But there is a type of person who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, has a smooth career, and is so talented and capable that God almost rushes to feed him.

Because everything was too perfect and smooth, it led to a weak ability to withstand pressure and could not fight against the wind. Therefore, the ability to withstand pressure is not good, and once frustrated, it will be devastated.

Li Dejian is probably like this...

If he could be given a chance to be reinstated, to resume his career and to realize his ambitions, would he agree to it?
Chen Qingsi pondered inwardly.

Li Dejian’s case might have been very serious a dozen years ago.

After all, it involved the prince's rebellion, but now Li Chengqian has long turned into dust, and Li Tai also died in an unclear manner.

Li Zhi, the ultimate beneficiary, had been the emperor for more than ten years. How could it be possible that Li Dejian, who was only close to Li Chengqian and did not participate in the rebellion, would be held accountable until now?

Most of them are forgotten in Jiangnan and become insignificant passers-by.

Chen Qingsi secretly thought that it would not be difficult to rescue Li Dejian with his current status and position.

What's more, there is a ready-made opportunity now.

Fengshan.

As an envoy of Fengshan, Chen Qingsi naturally knew that there were rules for Fengshan in every dynasty.

After the Fengshan ceremony, the emperor would grant amnesty to the entire country to demonstrate his great grace.

By then, most people would be pardoned, and Li Dejian was not eligible for pardon because he did not participate in the treason.

Chen Qingsi suddenly sighed secretly. The reason why he thought of Fengshan first was that after he was the Fengshan envoy and learned about the custom of granting amnesty to the whole country, he thought of his real father-in-law and mother-in-law.

If we could pass an amnesty and rescue them from Lingnan, we would thank them for giving birth to such an outstanding daughter.

However, there are people who are not pardoned even in a general amnesty. Empress Wu was too cruel. She charged Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao with the crime of plotting to poison.

This is a crime of regicide, and family members are not included in the amnesty.

Chen Qingsi does not have the ability to rescue them now, so he can only write a letter himself and ask the governor of Xunzhou in Lingnan to pass it to Xiao Miaochen's parents.

The content of the letter is not important; what is important is the attitude.

That day, Chen Qingsi received a gift sent from Qinghai Lake.

When school was over, Jingjing jumped from the outer hall into the inner courtyard. Seeing Chen Qingsi and Xiao Miaochen were there, she shouted happily, "Father, mother!"

Chen Qingsi lifted his precious son high up and said, "Do you remember that Aye said he would give you a treasure?"

Jingjing's big eyes were filled with joy as she said, "So Aye didn't forget. Jingjing thought Aye had forgotten. Aye was busy with work, so Jingjing didn't tell him."

He said this with a hint of grievance.

Chen Qingsi said: "It's Aye's fault. I didn't expect that the gift wouldn't arrive in a while."

As he spoke, he covered Jingjing's eyes and asked someone to bring the gift.

Jingjing cooperated by closing her eyes and guessed, "Aye said the gift couldn't arrive, so it must be somewhere far away. Is it the pearl from the South China Sea?"

"wrong!"

"Jade from the Western Regions? It must be jade. The teacher said that a gentleman is like jade. Jingjing also wants a jade waist pendant."

Chen Qingsi said: "We'll talk about this later..."

"That's impossible to guess!"

Jingjing pouted.

Chen Qingsi released his hand that was covering his eyes.

Jingjing looked at the snow-white pony in front of her unexpectedly, jumped up in surprise and said, "Horse, horse, horse! It's a horse..."

The foal was a purebred Qinghai colt that Chen Qingsi bought for Xi Jun in a letter, asking him to find one for him.

Xi Junmai was deeply grateful to Chen Qingsi and spared no effort in choosing a gift. He took great pains to pick out this pony without a single spot of color.

The Qinghai Cong is already majestic, and its appearance is one in a million, so the foal looks extremely energetic and adorable.

Jingjing walked forward cautiously, stretched out her white and tender hand, wanting to touch the foal.

The pony snorted loudly, and Jingjing was so scared that he quickly retracted his hand.

"Don't be afraid, this will be a friend you grow up with."

Chen Qingsi encouraged softly.

Chen Qingsi wants his son to become a successful person, but he does not reject both civil and military studies, and will not interfere with whether his son studies civil or military studies in the future.

But one thing is that no matter whether you are studying literature or practicing martial arts, you should not be too biased.

He didn't want his son to be a reckless man, and even less did he want his son to be a weak scholar who couldn't even tie a chicken.

You need to have some ability to protect yourself, and riding a horse is a necessary skill.

Giving him a foal to grow up with him is what he hopes for his own child.

Jingjing met her parents' encouraging eyes and touched the foal's mane with her little hand.

The foal has actually been here for nearly half a month. It was the first time for it to leave its mother and was transported to a strange place. The foal was a little stressed and very aggressive.

After half a month of feeding and familiarization, the foal has adapted to the environment here.

Facing his future master, he did not make any extra movements. He just tilted his head back and snorted, which made Jingjing giggle.

"Aye, that's great. Jingjing likes this gift so much..."

Chen Qingsi said, "It's good that you like it. Promise Aye that you will learn to take care of it, feed it, brush its fur and bathe it. It will become your most loyal partner in the future."

"Okay, Jingjing will feed Xiaobai delicious food and sleep with him."

Jingjing clapped her hands and cheered.

Chen Qingsi was thinking about Xiaobai, which should be its name, just like Gou'er.

Xiao Miaochen glared at the side and said, "How dare you!"

From then on, Jingjing had to take care of Xiaobai and ride Xiaobai for a stroll in the yard every day.

However, Jingjing is not able to master riding skills yet and needs someone to help her.

Maybe it's new, maybe it's true love.

Jingjing developed a strong interest in horse riding. When Chen Qingsi was on vacation, Jingjing often pestered him to ride a horse and take him out for a stroll, or even to the suburbs for a gallop.

"Aye! I want to watch polo! There is a polo match the day after tomorrow. Aye, can you take me to watch it?"

Jingjing pulled Chen Qingsi's sleeve pitifully.

Chen Qingsi loved his son the most. He picked him up and asked, "Why do you want to watch polo? How did you know about the polo match the day after tomorrow?"

"Xianfu said so..."

Chen Qingsi knew that Jingjing was talking about Yan Xianfu, the son of Yan Qinli of the Yan family and Jingjing's best friend. The two were of similar age and were very good friends.

Almost every day when he came back, he would always mention Yan Xianfu when talking about school matters.

"Let Aye think about it!"

Chen Qingsi did not agree immediately. He didn't know what kind of polo match the day after tomorrow would be or where it would be held.

Polo is the most popular sport of this era. In a prosperous and affluent place like Luoyang, there are polo matches of all sizes every day.

With Chen Qingsi's identity, he naturally couldn't just go to an unknown place to watch a polo match, especially with his son.

Chen Qingsi also didn't want to disappoint the child and wanted to know some details.

Jingjing only gave a general idea, "I heard from Xianfu that I was playing Cuju with my classmates in the school, and I said I wanted to grow up quickly so that I could ride Xiaobai and play polo. Xianfu said there would be a particularly exciting polo match the day after tomorrow, and that since I like polo so much, I could go and watch it..."

Chen Qingsi kissed his son and said, "Father, give Jingjing an answer tomorrow."

Jingjing didn't care about the short beard on Chen Qingsi's face. She kissed him several times and said, "Then Jingjing will wait for news from Father Ye."

Chen Qingsi made him laugh so hard that the little guy learned how to bribe.

Chen Qingsi asked Zhou Kui to find out some information about the polo match.

That night, when Chen Qingsi was reading in the study, Zhou Kui came back.

Chen Qingsi asked Zhou Kui to take a seat, and then asked, "What's going on? Why is my kid so obsessed with you?"

Zhou Kui smiled and said, "What a coincidence, the rumors are all around, they are all students of Master Lang."

This made Chen Qingsi look surprised. What was going on?

"It's the young master of the Wu family, and the young master of the Cheng family..."

Chen Qingsi was surprised and asked, "Wu Minzhi and Cheng Boxian? Are they having a conflict?"

Zhou Kui said: "Even if it's them... it's not that they are in conflict. This matter is a bit long to explain. The real conflict is between Wu Yian and a man named Zhai Chengxiu."

Chen Qingsi had never heard of Wu Yian, but he knew Zhai Chengxiu, who was a descendant of Zhai Changsun and also a childhood friend of Cheng Boxian.

After Cheng Boxian followed him into the official career, Zhai Chengxiu also relied on the help of the Cheng family to get a small position in the Qianniu Guard, which was considered as his entry into the official career.

Zhou Kui said: "My Lord, you should know that the young master of the Cheng family likes polo and has established a polo team in Chang'an."

Chen Qingsi nodded and said, "Several sons of Cheng Yaojing are fond of this. Their Cheng family's polo team is considered the best polo team in Chang'an. In the early years, it was said that the team of Hejian County Prince Li Xiaogong was comparable, but later it was no longer as good."

Zhou Kui said: "That's true. The Cheng family polo team has always been strong, but in the past two years, it has been overshadowed by the Wu family polo team."

Chen Qingsi's mouth corners twitched suddenly, thinking of Wu Minzhi when he was in the East Palace. When he had nothing to do, he used money to bribe the prince's personal guards and asked them to perform polo.

So the prince's guards may not be very good in combat, but their ball skills are top-notch.

Especially the future Wu Zhou general named Han Sizhong. In Chen Qingsi's eyes, his ball skills were just like those of the alien Daluo. He could dribble past other players and hit the ball as if he was in an empty field.

Chen Qingsi was greatly impressed by the high riding skills and excellent ball playing techniques.

Would this kid form the East Palace’s personal guards into a polo team for fun?
Chen Qingsi thought about Wu Minzhi's character and realized that he was capable of doing such a thing.

Zhou Kui continued, "Wu Yian is a member of the Wu family polo team. More than a month ago, he led the Wu family polo team to invite matches everywhere. Several main players of the Cheng family followed His Majesty to Luoyang. The Wu family polo team was invincible. Wu Yian mocked the Cheng family in front of Zhai Chengxiu, which made him angry, and the two of them started fighting. Both sides were injured... The Cheng family members are all hot-tempered. After hearing about it, they couldn't bear it and set up this grudge match. The location is in Xiushanfang, Luoyang. This matter has caused a sensation among the people and everyone in the market knows about it. I just asked a few people casually and found out the cause and effect."

"Is that so?" Chen Qingsi nodded and said, "Then go to Cheng's house tomorrow and look for Boxian. Tell him that I am taking Jingjing to watch their game and ask him to make arrangements and prepare four good seats for us."

Zhou Kui said: "Okay!"

Chen Qingsi said, "Call your son as well. He is my student in Qingxi County and is both good in character and in study. It won't arouse suspicion if a teacher takes his students to watch the game."

Zhou Kui was even more excited and nodded heavily.

(End of this chapter)