Xue Shao now feels that the saying "I don't know that the official is young until Chang'an" is the truth. When he was in Lantian, he could almost call the wind and rain. In the army, relying on his solid foundation and connections, he seemed to have revealed some of his strengths after a period of hard work.

But once he returned to Chang'an again, Xue Shao found that he was still a lonely man without power. In the face of the political system of the Tang Dynasty, Xue Shao is still just a Zuo Fengwei Qianniu, and he has never even participated in the collective court meeting once.

Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, Xue Shao, as the emperor's nephew and the prince-consort, will have many opportunities to directly talk to the two saints. But in fact, unless the two saints take the initiative to ask Xue Shao, Xue Shao has no right to talk about any national affairs in front of the two saints.

In the face of real power, blood, identity and fame are all false things.

Not being in her position and not doing things is to violate it, which is a political taboo. Princess Taiping favors the world and is regarded as the pearl in her hand by the two saints. She is very cautious in this regard and never dares to talk nonsense about any political affairs in front of Wu Zetian.

At the beginning, Princess Taiping raised her courage to ask Xue Shao for a seventh-rank official, and was deeply rebuked by Wu Zetian. In normal times, Princess Taiping paid great attention to his character and did not dare to do political outrage. This time someone bullied Xue Shao in Lantian, and Princess Taiping endured and refused to take action. One important reason was that she did not want to interfere in politics and the law easily.

Nowadays, for "royal relatives" like Xue Shao, overcoming power and interfering in the country's military and political affairs is even more taboo among the taboos. Because when his son Li Zhi was the first to succeed to the throne, he suffered from Changsun Wuji's "rule to take over power". Since then, it has been difficult for Li Zhi to have real trust in the ministers, and he is also very taboo to participate in politics and take over power. Previously, Wu Zetian's family members Wu Chengsi and others were dismissed from office, and there is more or less the mentality of Li Zhi in it.

"Can I just sit and wait for death and leave it to fate?" Xue Shao thought about it, and the more he felt a sense of crisis.

No, you must find a way to convey your thoughts to the ears of the Two Saints. The Two Saints control the world by managing the prime minister and important officials and the center of the court. They live in the deep palace and are less aware of the real situation of the border and the northern grassland than the prime minister. If Pei Yan held his own heart and encouraged his lips and tongue to persuade the Two Saints to accept his proposal, it would be a major disaster!

Suddenly, a person's image appeared in Xue Shao's mind - Zhongshuling and Xue Yuanchao.

Xue Yuanchao is also one of the prime ministers, older than Pei Yan and more famous. Now that Pei Yan is becoming stronger and stronger, Xue Yuanchao cannot have no idea. Xue Yuanchao must have his own opinions on the aftermath of this Northern Expedition.

Xue Shao thought to himself that although I had some personal conflicts with him before, it was the same clan and clan that broke the bones and was connected to the muscles. It was always worth getting close to Pei Yan, an outsider. Furthermore, there were no eternal enemies and friends in the face of politics, only eternal interests. What if Xue Yuanchao and Pei Yan agreed with each other, could they help me?

It is better to act than to act. Xue Shao immediately moved to visit Xue Yuanchao's son and advised Xue Yao!

It was dusk, and Xue Yao strictly followed his life trajectory as usual, and left the official and returned home. When Xue Shao came to visit, he happened to be walking in the courtyard, enjoying leisurely admiring the autumn chrysanthemums planted by himself.

When Xue Shao was visiting, Xue Yao was quite happy and quickly invited Xue Shao to the flower garden and said, "Chengyu is coming just right. Look at how beautiful the autumn chrysanthemums in this garden are blooming. I have heard that Chengyu is extraordinary for a long time. Why do you write a poem about the scenery so that I can read it and experience it?"

Xue Shao smiled bitterly, "Brother, please forgive me for being rude. I am afraid I am not in the mood to recite poems and essays today."

"Oh?" Xue Yao blinked, "Chengyu came to me, is there something important?"

"Tell me in the house!"

"good."

Xue Yao quickly invited Xue Shao into the study and left the servants and sat opposite each other.

"There is something to say about the honor, so why not say it."

Xue Shao said: "I'm not hiding my brother. I have never settled since I returned to the court. I don't know what the court's attitude is about the general who returned from the Northern Expedition. In recent days, there have been many people asking me about the movements of the court. This shows that the court's delay in making statements may affect the stability of the generals in the army. Therefore, I can't help but ask me if my brother has heard any news?"

"Is this the matter?" Xue Yao's expression suddenly became serious.

As a counselor, Xue Yao did something like correcting the emperor's words and deeds, criticizing current ills, exposing ugliness and admonishing any unreasonable court decrees. What Xue Shao said can be regarded as a safety hazard in the army, and if it is not handled properly, it is likely to cause turmoil in the army. This can be regarded as a matter within Xue Yao's work scope.

"Did your brother know the inside story?" Xue Shao asked as he beat the snake and rode the stick, and he did not forget to emphasize his tone. "The soldiers who were on the same journey with me were all very angry. After returning from the victory, they were reluctant to see the imperial court rewards, and they were about to be unable to hold back. I didn't dare to go anywhere else to inquire. I had no choice but to come and ask my brothers for advice. I just wanted to get a letter or two to go back and comfort those brothers."

"So that's it..." Xue Yao nodded solemnly and said, "In theory, the court should issue a reward decree for soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army, but it has not been moved yet, and I also find it strange. However, since such military and national affairs have not been received at the meeting of the court meeting, it means that it is a military and state secret. Only the two saints and the prime minister of the cabinet have the right to know and decide. Although I am an official in the center, I have no right to participate in politics and make decisions, so I have no way to know!"

"Then Lingzun's Minister Lingzun, I must know that, right?" Xue Shao looked quite anxious and said, "Why would you like to invite my brother and lead me to visit Lord Lingzun, how about it?"

"Hey!..." Xue Yao sighed and smiled bitterly, saying, "Cheng Yu has just returned to Chang'an for a while, so he may not know many things yet, right?"

Xue Shao was slightly stunned, "What's your brother saying?"

"My father was already sick at home a month ago. He did not participate in the court meeting and ignored political affairs, but was just bedridden and recuperated." Xue Yao said, "The rewards for soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army are something that happened recently. How could my father know the inside story?"

When Xue Shao heard this, he suddenly realized that Xue Yuanchao was definitely pretending to be sick!

The reason is very simple. With Xue Yao's typical Confucian official character, if his father was really sick at home, he would not have the mood and courage to enjoy flowers and recite poems leisurely. He should carry tea and medicine before his father's sickbed to serve him day and night.

Otherwise, it is unfilial!

So Xue Shao asked, "I don't know why the Lord Xue Xianggong said he was sick?"

Xue Yao was slightly stunned. His expression was tacitly told Xue Shao that Xue Yuanchao had indeed left the political arena temporarily because of some special things, and he was definitely not really sick.

"This... is hard to say!" Xue Yao was very serious and rigorous after all, and said, "I have never known about my father and I dare not ask about some of the things I have done. If Cheng Yu is willing, he might as well go directly to ask my father, how about it?"

"It's just my wish." Xue Shao said, "I don't know when I can get the convenience, so I can visit Mr. Xue?"

Xue Yao thought for a while and said, "It's too late today. I'll have a lot of business in the palace tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I can go home early when the day after tomorrow. At noon the next day, I'll ask Cheng Yu to come to my house. You and my brother will go to visit my father together. How about it?"

"Very good." Xue Shao said, "Then I'll bother brother!"

After the agreement, he chatted for a while, and Xue Shao said goodbye and left.

This time, Xue Shao did not take Xue Yao back to the present like he did when he presented calligraphy and painting last time. In fact, Xue Shao could conclude that the reason why Xue Yao changed the meeting day to the day after tomorrow was due to a kind of caution. He had to ask his father Xue Yuanchao for advice first, and the father and son must have some discussion first, and they would truly agree to meet after they had a clear mind.

Xue Shao guessed in his heart that even the Prime Minister of the Secretariat, like Xue Yuanchao, could not get sick. It can be seen that there is a surging undercurrent in the court today. The greater the official position, the more cautious he is. What level of person can make the Secretariat Ling surrender?

Emperor? Queen? Pei Yan?

Or is it a political group with a strong force?

Thinking of this, Xue Shao let out a long sigh of relief... Compared with these people, I am really a very honest little shrimp. But I, a little shrimp, overestimated my ability, worry about military and national affairs that concern the country and the nation.

How did a Northern Expedition connect my personal destiny with the destiny of this dynasty and nation?

Is what I am doing now taking into account both public and private, or is it blindly stupid?

...

After returning home, it was dark, and Xue Shao, who had been running around all day, felt a little tired, so he planned to take a break early to nourish his energy, and would accompany Princess Taiping to visit the newly built mansion tomorrow.

Yuenu came to wash Xue Shao's feet as usual and waited for the evening bed.

"Young Master, I just chatted with Ai Yan for a while. She said, "I want to see you." Yue Nu said while wiping Xue Shao's feet.

"What's the matter?"

"It seems... nothing big happened." Yue Nu was stunned, "Maybe, she just wanted to chat with the young master?"

"I've been busy recently and I have no time to chat with me." Xue Shao threw out this sentence without hesitation.

"Yes..." Yue Nu hit a nail and found out that Xue Shao's mood didn't seem to be beautiful, so she didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore.

Xue Shao said again: "If you want to chat, go and accompany her. Tonight, you go and sleep with her!"

"yes……"

Yue Nu really wanted to slap herself, and finally got a chance to get close to the young master. Am I stupid?
Chapter completed!