Jiuxi

Chapter 421 Chapter 419 [One Leaf Knows Autumn]

For countless literati in Daqi, the closest official office to the northeast of the imperial palace was their dream place.

It is customary to call it Zhongshu, but the official name is Zhongshu Sheng. It is in charge of the court affairs and responds to government affairs. Together with the Privy Council, it is called the two houses.

During the reign of the first emperor, this place was called Zhengshitang. After Li Duan ascended the throne, he was the first to reorganize it. Following the old rules of the previous dynasty, Zhongshu Province was established to assist the emperor in managing government affairs.

The chief officials of the Zhongshu Province are the two ministers on the left and right. The subordinate officials include Zhongshu Sheren, Living Room Sheren, General Secretary, Chief Secretary, Chief Minister, Lingshi, etc.

The two prime ministers have direct jurisdiction over the six ministries, and at the same time have the power to supervise the five prisons of the nine temples. They have deep authority and high status.

In the early years, Li Daoyan would come here every day to be on duty. After all, Xue Nanting at that time did not have the prestige to coordinate the overall situation. In recent years, Li Daoyan has been on duty less and less often due to his health, and has given up part of his authority to give Xue Nanting more space.

In the duty room in the northeast, Xue Nanting sat in front of the case, with a thick file in front of him.

This is the result of his hard work day and night with a group of capable ministers and officials. It records the problems existing in the Sixth Army of Beiya and the Eleventh Army of the three Beijing Camps.

Empty pay, corruption, vacancies, bribery, private fights, disturbing the people, etc., are all numerous and numerous, and these are only problems on the books and with the lower-level officers. Under Xue Nanting's intentional control, the tentacles of their investigation did not involve the school. Generals above the rank of lieutenant.

There is the duty room of Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan.

The coachman responded quickly, feeling surprised in his heart.

After walking more than ten steps, he suddenly turned his head and looked northwest.

Xue Nanting nodded and said: "Step by step, start from Wuwei Camp."

As for the degree of penetration of the Jiangnan clan into the Beijing army, although it is not clearly listed in this file, Xue Nanting already has a rough estimate in his mind.

A calm voice came from the carriage: "Go to Prime Minister Li's house."

The Minister of Justice has always stood under the brilliance of his father. He has always been inconspicuous. It seems that apart from his good background, he doesn't have much to boast about, but Xue Nanting will not be so superficial.

Everyone knows that the two prime ministers of Daqi and Daqi cooperated quite well in government affairs. Li Daoyan was mature and prudent, and Xue Nanting was enterprising and kept the court in order.

At the first moment of the ceremony, Xue Nanting stood up slowly, said a few words to the officials waiting outside, and then left the duty room surrounded by several personal followers.

Not long after, the middle door of Li's house opened wide. Li Shizhi, who was recovering at home due to illness, led a group of people to greet him in person. He said with a smile: "The right prime minister is here. I am sorry that I have been far away to welcome you. I apologize for my sin."

When the right minister's carriage entered Pingnanfang and stopped smoothly in front of the Li family's mansion, the Li family's doormen were also surprised. While letting people in to inform them, they hurriedly came forward to greet him.

Xue Nanting walked out of the official office and boarded the carriage. The coachman asked respectfully: "Prime Minister, do you want to go back to the house directly?"

Xue Nanting got off the carriage and stood on the flat and wide street. He slightly raised his head and looked at the gatehouse of the main house. There was no wave in the ancient well in front of him.

Standing next to him was an official who was nearly forty years old. He was Nangong Ji from Zhongshushe. Hearing this, he came closer and whispered: "What do you mean, Prime Minister, to start investigating those middle and upper-level generals now?"

The coachman never thought that one day he would hear the words "Go to Prime Minister Li's Mansion" from his own master, and this was the first time in history that he did not post the message in advance.

He looked at the open file and said slowly: "Let's continue checking."

Xue Nanting closed the file and put it aside, and then began to deal with today's government affairs. He did not leave this major case for nearly two hours. There were dozens of official documents approved by him, involving various aspects of the court. yamen.

However, privately, the two people had almost no friendship at all, even though the Jinlin Li family and the Qingyuan Xue family were both well-known families in Jiangnan.

"Yes."

He looked into Li Shizhi's eyes and said calmly: "Li Shilang said something serious. I have some government affairs that I want to consult with the old prime minister. Therefore, I have to be an unwelcome guest. Don't blame me."

Nangong Ji said understandingly: "I understand."

Li Shizhi said humbly: "It's an honor for me to have your Prime Minister come to visit me. How dare I take it personally? My father is in the main hall, Prime Minister. Please come."

"please."

Li Shizhi personally introduced him, while Xue Nanting lagged behind slightly.

When they arrived at Jinlin Hall, they naturally exchanged greetings and greetings again. After the servants served tea and Li Shizhi took them to leave, the hall immediately became quiet.

Apart from the two prime ministers, only Li Daoyan's young grandson Li Gongxu stood aside to serve him.

In the past few years, Li and Xue had sat and talked countless times, but the location was limited to Zhongshu's official office. Once they walked out of the navy blue building, they basically did not have much communication in front of outsiders.

"Brother Zhang Xian is a rare visitor."

Li Daoyan narrowed his eyes slightly and said with emotion: "Old man once had an idea, I am afraid that only on the day that old man dies, you, Xue Zhangxian, will step into the door of the Li family."

Zhang Xian is Xue Nanting's cousin. When Li Daoyan used this title, the closeness was self-evident. Xue Nanting had always been a serious person, so many courtiers were afraid of his solemn face. At this moment, in front of Li Daoyan, he smiled lightly and said: "The old prime minister has not posted a message, how can I dare to visit him?"

Li Daoyan laughed dumbly and said, "But you still came today."

Xue Nanting sighed and said calmly: "There is something very difficult. Although I have made up my mind, I feel a little uneasy, so I want to ask the old prime minister for advice."

Li Gongxu stood respectfully, looking at his eyes, nose, nose, and heart. There was nothing wrong with him, but he was extremely curious in his heart.

Li Gongxu often received guidance from Li Daoyan through words and deeds, and his vision was not that of a twelve-year-old boy. He certainly knew what a rare opportunity it was to be able to sit in on the hearing. Even his uncle, who was recognized as the next head of the Li family, did not have this treatment.

He pricked up his ears, hoping to remember every word of the conversation between his grandfather and the right minister.

The two prime ministers who stood at the core of Daqi's power did not deliberately pay attention to the young man next to them. Li Daoyan took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly: "Since your Majesty wants to investigate, I, as ministers, will naturally do it." If we continue to investigate, why should you feel anxious?"

Although Xue Nanting had not explained yet, Li Daoyan knew very well what had made this person feel embarrassed.

Xue Nanting was not surprised. He nodded and said: "What the old prime minister said is absolutely true. It's just that the Beijing army is deeply entrenched, and there is a thick book just about the problems of the soldiers at the bottom. It is said that you can know the whole leopard when you peek at a spot, and if you continue to investigate, it will definitely involve you. Those captains and commanders.”

A smile appeared on Li Daoyan's old face, and he said: "They are just a bunch of stupid people who don't know whether to live or die, so there is no need to worry too much."

"Having said that, if there are too many people involved, there will ultimately be some risks."

Xue Nanting was able to secure the second position among ministers despite the opposition and rejection of many people. Of course, he was not just a yes man. In fact, this was one of the reasons why he and Li Daoyan had no personal relationship.

Li Daoyan looked at the right prime minister's steady eyes and said calmly: "Everything you do has risks. But in Lao Cao's view, the risks in this matter are not high and are still within the controllable range."

Xue Nanting felt relieved and said: "Actually, I mentioned to Your Majesty that if the Beijing Army's investigation continues, it will inevitably touch the interests of many people. If the old prime minister can come forward to take charge, the people below will be quieter. Any one of the commanders and captains of the Beijing army can have connections with various powerful people, and no one is more suitable to preside over this matter than the old prime minister. "

"It's not your style to look forward and backward."

Li Daoyan smiled, waved his hand and said: "To be honest, I am old, frail and lacking in energy. I am preparing to present the beggar's bones to Your Majesty, so that I can return home and enjoy family happiness while I still have two years left to live. This He is my grandson, Zhi Yuer, whose name is Li Gongxu. Although he is young, he is quite smart. Brother Zhang Xian, why not take a look and see if he can become a talented person in the future?"

Xue Nanting looked at the young man and did not ask the usual test questions. He just looked at the young man's clear and calm eyes and said with a smile: "If this boy can get the advice of the old prime minister, he will definitely be a pillar of the great Qi in the future."

"I accept your good words."

Li Daoyan spoke in a gentle tone, and then said: "But he is still young after all and cannot compare to your eldest son. If you hadn't suppressed him back then, Ruogu would definitely have been the youngest number one scholar in the history of Da Qi for more than a hundred years. This surprised the old man even more. What's more, he had no regrets afterwards and was studying history in the Hanlin Academy in a down-to-earth manner. It shows that you are much better than the old man in teaching your children."

He is talking about Xue Ruogu, the eldest son of Xue Nanting, who is currently editing and writing for the Hanlin Academy.

Xue Nanting lowered his head slightly and said: "The old prime minister is full of praise."

Although Li Gongxu tried hard to remember these words in his mind, his mind was a mess.

He didn't understand why his grandfather and right minister suddenly changed the subject. One moment they were talking about court affairs, and the next moment they turned into family affairs, which made him feel confused.

After chatting for a while about the merits and demerits of each other's children, the relationship between the two prime ministers seemed to have become closer invisibly. Xue Nanting looked at Li Gongxu again with a little more understanding, and then said to Li Daoyan: "Old Prime Minister, Your Majesty will definitely not agree with you begging for bones. The imperial court cannot handle the overall situation without you. My colleagues and I also need your guidance, so I would like to ask the old Prime Minister to temporarily suspend this thought."

"Ugh……"

Li Daoyan sighed softly, and then said: "I have to leave after all. Today is the first time you visit, and I can't refute your kindness. In this case, let's not mention it for the time being. It's just that the autumn weather has been dry recently, and the doctor He said that I need to rest for a while, and I hope you can take more care of the government affairs of the court. I am very grateful. "

Xue Nanting said respectfully: "How dare you disobey your orders."

It was getting late, so he immediately stood up and said goodbye, and Li Daoyan personally escorted him to the atrium.

The old man stood on the corridor and looked at Xue Nanting's leaving figure, his eyes deep and distant.

Fallen leaves fell in the courtyard and swayed gently in the wind.

Even though Li Gongxu had a lot of confusion in his heart, he still stood by the side honestly.

Li Daoyan turned to look at his young grandson, raised his hand and touched the back of his head, and said kindly: "Don't worry if you don't understand. You can figure it out when something happens in the future."

Li Gongxu lowered his head and responded: "Yes, grandfather."

"This Xue Zhangxian... Your Majesty really did not misjudge the person."

The old man sighed, then turned around and walked into the house, while giving Li Gongxu a warning.

"Young fish, it's getting cold. Remember to put on some clothes. Don't catch a cold."

(End of this chapter)