Chapter 455: The Pei Family’s Birthday (Premier)

When Li Qingan saw Pei Kuan again, he couldn't help but be surprised how change he changed. Pei Kuan was tall and burly at that time. Although he was old, he did not bother with old age. He walked with a swaying style. At this time, Pei Kuan was thin and small, which almost made people dare not recognize each other.

Li Qing'an sighed in his heart, and he could see that Pei Kuan had not had much time left, so he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Li Qing'an meets Mr. Pei!"

Pei Kuan met Li Qing'an in his Buddhist temple. He sat on a large soft chair, surrounded by dozens of grandchildren. Pei Kuan valued his grandchildren very much, and these descendants would all be the pillars of the prosperity of the Pei family. Mingzhu was also among the descendants of the Pei family. Beside her, Li Qing'an saw Pei Wan'er, the girl in the green skirt just now. She smiled slightly at Li Qing'an and lowered her head.

Although Pei Kuan was extremely weak, his thoughts were still clear, with a kindness and wisdom unique to the old man on his face. He waved his hand to Li Qing'an and smiled faintly, "It's General Li who is here, please sit down!"

Pei Yu took a pole and put it down, and whispered: "General, please sit down!"

"Then I'll thank you Mr. Pei."

Li Qing'an sat down and smiled and said, "Gei Lao's 75th birthday, I will come to celebrate the birthday of the old master, and I will do my best."

"How many Han people are there in Anxi?" Pei Kuan seemed not to hear Li Qing'an's words. His words had nothing to do with what Li Qing'an meant just now.

Li Qingan smiled and followed his words: "There are 295,400 households, and we are planning to move another 50,000 households back this year, and we have already started to do it."

"I remember telling the emperor in the 24th year of Kaiyuan that if you want to control it for a long time, the best way is to migrate the Han people and make the source of troops safe. After more than ten years, it has gradually been realized in your hands. It is not easy!"

Pei Kuan sighed and turned to his grandchildren and said, "Did you see that General Li is no older than you, and he can open up territory for my Tang Dynasty and lead hundreds of thousands of troops. You should take him as an example so that my Pei family can truly flourish."

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In the drizzle, Li Qing'an's carriage drove into Tongyifang and slowly stopped in front of a large mansion. This was the house of Lu Huan, the right chief of the Shangshu.

According to the division of labor of Pei Kuanshouli planning group, Li Qing'an took the initiative to take over the task of sending invitations to senior officials from third-rank or above Chang'an. Pei Yu was his assistant, but in fact, there were not many people, with a total of forty or fifty people, but not every Li Qing'an had to send them to him personally. Some families sent Pei Yu to deliver them, and accompanied them with a copy of his famous post, which was considered his face.

But some families want to come to the house in person, such as the Lu family. Although the Shangshu Youcheng is only in the fourth rank, Li Qingan still comes to the house in person.

The Lu family is a prominent family in Fanyang, Hebei, and one of the seven famous families in the early Tang Dynasty. The Right Chief of Shangshu Lu Huan was not Li Qing'an who met the prefect of Yangzhou in Yangzhou. Lu Huan was the eldest son of Lu Huan, the prime minister of the prime minister in the early Kaiyuan period. During the Tianbao period, he served as the prefect of Shanzhou. Last year, he was transferred back to the court and served as the right chief of Shangshu. Although the right chief of Shangshu was not very high, he had great power. The left chief was responsible for the three ministries of officials, households, rituals, the right chief was responsible for the three ministries of military, punishment, and work, and the six ministries of Shangshu Province had to go through the inspection of the left and right chief, and then the specific execution departments such as the Five Supervisors of the Nine Temples and the Five Supervisors were issued to be executed.

Since the Left Secretary Cui Qiao defected to Li Longji, the Left Chief's power was temporarily taken over by Lu Huan. The Lu family had a very good relationship with the Dugu family and the Pei family. Pei Min's wife was Lu Huan's sister, so Li Qing'an's arrival was treated with grand courtesy from the Lu family.

It was also coincidental that Lu Huan's brother, the chief censor Lu Yi, was also at his elder brother's house. He brought his wife and children to visit his elder brother's house. When he heard that Li Qing'an was coming, Lu Huan ordered his family to open the door to greet him to show his sincerity. This was the first time in the Lu family in several years. As the door opened, the Lu brothers came out of the door together.

"His Royal Highness Zhao personally visited the humble house, making the humble house full of glory. The Lu family welcomed it!"

Li Qingan bowed and smiled, "It's abrupt and I didn't inform you in advance, so I'll disturb you're resting."

"Where! Where! I can't even invite a distinguished guest like His Highness, King Zhao, so why bother?"

The two brothers quickly asked Li Qing'an to come in. Li Qing'an followed them into the door. As soon as they entered the door, a young man suddenly stepped forward from behind the door and bowed, "Boy asks the general!"

Lu Yi's face sank and shouted, "Qi'er must not be rude!"

Only then did Li Qingan see clearly what the boy in front of him looked like. He was only twelve or twelve years old, but he had a chicken breast and a hunchback, a blue face and a ghostly appearance. When Li Qingan heard Lu Huan call him "Qi'er", he knew who this was, Lu Qi, a famous ugly prime minister in the history of the Middle Tang Dynasty.

Lu Yi quickly apologized: "This is the dog son Lu Qi, the family tutoring is not strict and he is rude."

He shouted again, "Why don't you retreat quickly!"

Li Qingan knew that although Lu Qi was later called the traitor, all those who are traitorous and evil must have extraordinary points. He smiled and said, "It's better, just ask if you have any questions."

Although Lu Qi was young, he was diligent and studious, and read a lot of books at home. Recently, he was suddenly interested in Anxi and had been studying Anxi's strategic terrain. Unfortunately, he couldn't go check it out in person. He happened to hear that Li Qing'an was here, so he plucked up the courage to ask.

When he saw Li Qing'an asking, he couldn't help but feel happy and said quickly: "I saw the map of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty a few days ago. He said that Gaochang produces a lot of grain and it is produced in one year. But in other books, I saw that Gaochang was hot and windy, so I wondered, in such a hot place, where does the water source for irrigating farmland come from? How can I produce grain without water?"

Seeing that he was very interested in Anxi, Li Qing'an couldn't help but like it, and smiled and said, "Since the most important thing is to conduct on-site surveys. Even if the journey is long and cannot be reached, you should ask the local Gaochang businessmen to get first-hand detailed information. Although Gaochang is hot and the water evaporates rapidly, the underground is not hot. In addition, there is Bogda Mountain in the north of Gaochang and Karau Mountain in the west. Whenever a large amount of melting snow and rain flow into the basin, seeps into the Gobi, and converges into undercurrents, so the local wells are dug, crisscrossing and long for about a thousand miles. Even in the hot summer, there is gurgling clear water, water, plenty of sunshine and fertile land, so Gaochang is where Anxi produces grain. Now, you understand!"

Lu Qi slapped his forehead and then suddenly realized: "It turned out to be Jingqu, and there are also in Guanzhong. Why didn't I expect it?"

Seeing Li Qing'an's tall and mighty power, he couldn't help but feel inferior, so he bowed deeply to Li Qing'an and said sadly: "The general has a high position and a powerful position, but he is broad-minded and does not care that the boy is ugly. Lu Qi thanks the general for his teachings."

Li Qing'an nodded and said, "A real man should be proud of his contribution to the country. He does not have to consider his appearance. If you have great ambitions, you can travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. If you walk around, you will no longer underestimate yourself."

Lu Qi was excited, and his eyes also showed a look of yearning. Anxi, he must go and take a look.

Seeing Li Qing'an's short words aroused the great ambitions of the Lu family, a silent boy who had always been inferior and had a quiet heart. Both of them couldn't help but feel secretly moved. Yi Ye Zhiqiu, from this small thing, Li Qing'an's broad mind and sincerity in treating others.

Lu Huan hurriedly said, "General, please go to the study to speak."

Li Qing'an smiled and nodded to Lu Qi, and then followed the Lu brothers. Lu Qi looked at Li Qing'an's back and suddenly blurted out: "A man should learn from Li Qing'an, ride a horse and bring a sword into the Tianshan Mountains!"

After saying that, he turned around and left resolutely.

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In the study, the Lu brothers and Li Qing were separated from guests. A maid served them tea. Li Qing'an took out the invitation for Pei Kuan for her birthday and handed it to the two brothers. He apologized to Lu Yi: "I didn't expect Lu Zhongcheng to be here today. Lu Zhongcheng also has invitations. I will send someone to my door tomorrow and invite the two to go to the Pei family with their wives and children."

Lu Huan looked at the invitation. It was the invitation for Pei Kuan's 75th birthday, but what attracted him was the invitation below, with the names of the seven core figures of the Pei family written below. Li Qingan was actually among the seven people, ranking behind Pei Zunqing, and before Pei Min, and ranked second. He was secretly shocked. What does this mean?

His sister is Pei Min's wife. Of course, he knows the relationship between Li Qing'an and the Pei family. Li Qing'an is involved in Pei Kuan's birthday ceremony. This is completely reasonable in terms of human relationships and worldly affairs, but things cannot be thought of as simple as this invitation. I don't know how many people I will give to, and everyone will see the names of these seven people. This is actually a sign to the world that Li Qing'an and the Pei family have officially formed an alliance.

He slowly handed the invitation to his brothers, thinking about the impact of this incident on the Lu family. In fact, the famous families of Cui, Pei, Wei, Lu, and Zhang all have marriages. Although Cui and Pei families have a competitive situation, it is not incompatible. Everyone worships the same emperor and is under the same roof. There is harmony in the competition, conflicts and marriages.

But now the situation has changed drastically, and the Tang Dynasty has had a situation of two emperors in the north and south. To a certain extent, the two emperors in the north and south have also tore up the relationship between the aristocratic families. Not only that, local forces such as Li Qing'an, An Lushan, King Wu and King Jing also show signs of separatist rule by vassal states. The Tang Dynasty is facing a chaos that has never happened in the century of the founding of the country. In this case, where should the Lu family go?

Of course, Lu Huan also knew that Li Qing'an came to the door in person, not just as simply sending invitations. He was actually trying to win over the Lu family. In the factional struggle of that year, Lu Huan belonged to Li Linfu's Prime Minister Party. After Li Linfu's death, the Prime Minister Party was disbanded. Some of them defected to Wang Gong, and some of them belonged to the centrists. The Lu family belonged to one of the centrists and was the key target of the struggle of various factions. Now Li Qing'an has also come to win over them.

At this time, Lu Yi also finished reading the invitation. He exchanged glances with his elder brother. The two needed to discuss it. Lu Huan smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, King Zhao, for coming to deliver the invitation in person. I have received this favor. We will definitely attend the birthday of Mr. Pei Ge on time. In addition, I have something to discuss with Your Highness."

"Please tell me if you are the first to be Lu Youcheng!"

"That's right, Cui Qiao abandoned Zuo Cheng and went to Chengdu. His position had been empty for half a month. I will handle everything he left behind. The day before yesterday, Pei Xiangguo found me and was about to appoint me as Zuo Cheng. He asked me if there was a suitable candidate and recommended him as You Cheng. I recommended Wang Wei, the brother of the Minister of Justice Wang Jin, as You Cheng, but Wang Zuo Cheng firmly opposed it, so I hope Your Highness can support my recommendation."

Li Qingan was slightly stunned and asked, "But the Wang Mojie who wrote about his missing relatives more during the holidays?"

"It's this person!"

"But isn't he living in seclusion in Lantian? He is willing to come out to become an official?"

Lu Huan laughed and said, "That's why your highness doesn't understand Wang Mojie anymore. He can only be said to be half-hidden and half-official. He also serves as the junior minister of the Menxia Provincial Department. Because he has a bad relationship with Wang Zuo, he lives in seclusion in Lantian. He and I are close friends. A few days ago, I wrote a letter to ask me to help him transfer him from the Menxia Provincial Department. This shows that his desire for official positions is still there. Although this person is famous for writing poetry, he has great ambitions when he was young and has good abilities. I hope Your Highness can give him a chance."

Li Qing'an nodded and said, "I will discuss this with Pei Xiangguo. If he agrees, I will fully support it."

Li Qingan was going to send invitations elsewhere, so he stood up and smiled, "Okay, I won't bother Kun Zhong. I'll say goodbye first, and I'll visit you next time."

The Lu brothers quickly stood up and said, "Your Highness comes to deliver the invitation in person. We are very grateful. We will definitely attend Pei Ge Lao's birthday on time."

They sent Li Qing'an out of the gate, and the two returned to the study room and closed the door. At this time, Lu Huan said to his brother: "You should understand the true intention of Li Qing'an to come and send us invitations!"

Lu Yi nodded, "His intention is very obvious, to win over our Lu family."

Lu Huan sighed slightly, "Li Qing'an has always been a strong warlord. There are many people who are afraid of others and few people who respect others. But in the past two years, what he did is not simple! I issued Anxi silver dollars, controlled the coins of the Tang Dynasty, and privately helped the lower-level officials to win people's hearts. Then I sent troops to Guanzhong, defeated An Lushan, and even ascended to the right prime minister with a strong attitude of going to the city to kill people. In fact, I also understand his intention. He is the King of Zhao. After he became the crown prince, he should also want to complete the unfinished careers of his ancestors!"

"Brother means that he also wants to ascend the throne?"

Lu Huan nodded silently and said, "Although he has been hiding his ambitions, I think many people can see it, including the Pei family. Look at the importance of the Pei family betting on him. If it were just an ordinary powerful man, with the power background of the Pei family, would he be so cursing to him?"

When Lu Yi heard his brother use a slightly derogatory word like "ambition, curry favor", he couldn't help but worry: "Don't brother want to defect to him?"

"What do you think? I want to hear your opinion first?"

Lu Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, I felt that Li Qing'an was just a gentleman at the beginning. I always thought he was just a martial artist. But since Anxi introduced the slave restriction order and the land restriction order, I felt that this person was not simple anymore, especially the slave restriction order, which is what I advocated. He did a thorough job in Anxi, including himself. I heard that there was no slave in his mansion, only more than thirty servants, who paid monthly money every month. With this, I admire him very much. Especially today's reconciliation with Qi'er is definitely not intentionally pretending to be artificial in front of us, but a kind of sincerity from the bottom of my heart. To be honest, I am willing to defect to him and support his efforts to improve."
Chapter completed!