Someone was performing a fire-breathing performance, and there were exclamations and applause, and shouts and shouts in the market were heard one after another.
The din covered some confidential conversations.
A teahouse is located here, very close to the Royal Street, and provides a quiet place amidst the bustle.
In the attic of the teahouse, Liu Mengyan took out a silver cake from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Dr. Tea.
"Can we talk now?"
"Thank you, sir. What do you want to know?"
"Geling Villa."
Dr. Tea was slightly startled and whispered: "This is a big deal."
"You've already eaten the cake." Liu Mengyan took a sip of tea and said, "After the Geling Villa was confiscated, has Jia Sidao's wealth been collected into the national treasury?"
"For this matter, sir, one piece of cake may not be enough."
Another silver cake was pushed over.
"No, according to what the villain heard, all the treasures in Jia Sidao's Duobao Pavilion were divided up."
"who?"
"More than a month ago, six distinguished guests came to have tea. Five of them were merchants, and only one was the father-in-law of the court. The husband-in-law sold a treasure toy, and the merchant who bought the treasure came to this place.
price……"
Liu Mengyan looked up and asked: "Five hundred strings?"
"Fifty thousand strings."
This time, even Liu Mengyan looked shocked, leaned over and asked: "Which one?"
Dr. Cha obviously also read a lot of books. When he said this, he gave up and said: "I want you to read a sentence to your husband?"
"read."
"The mountains are high and the rivers are long, and there are millions of objects. How could it be so powerful without an old pen?"
Liu Mengyan sighed and murmured: "On the 18th, I will go to the balcony to read, Taibai."
"Does your husband also know the "Tie on the Balcony"?"
"That year, I saw with my own eyes that Jia Sidao put his "Qiuhe Book" behind the inscription and postscript of Emperor Huizong."
"My husband is so lucky! Li Taibai is ranked first in Qing Dynasty for his poetry and prose, but he is not famous for his calligraphy. However, this post is elegant and graceful, and he uses the pen freely... tsk tsk."
Dr. Tea was filled with emotion, shook his head, and asked: "My husband, you want to ask who bought this copybook?"
"That's all, I can't afford it." Liu Mengyan asked, "Who sold it?"
"The newly appointed ambassador to pacify the two Zhejiang provinces."
"Xie Tang?"
Dr. Tea nodded with a smile, turned the long-mouthed teapot in his hand, and poured a cup of tea for Liu Mengyan.
Liu Mengyan asked again: "Have you ever heard that there is a pure white lion cat in Xie Tang's house?"
"I don't know about this, but if your husband wants to ask Mr. Xie about his family affairs, he can go to see Granny Chao."
"Who is Chao Po?"
"Not long ago, she set up a bridge and found an outer room for Xie Xianggong. It is said that she is beautiful and fragrant, and is deeply loved by Xie Xianggong."
"Where to find her?"
"Beside the West Lake, east of Fengle Building, Yujiayuan."
Liu Mengyan nodded, got up and left.
"My husband, don't you want another drink?"
"No. Don't tell anyone else what I'm asking you today."
"Don't worry, Mr. Sir, I'm a very strict person."
Liu Mengyan didn't believe him at all, but actually didn't care much about him leaking secrets, so Shi Shiran left Zhongwazi.
As soon as I got on the sedan chair, a boy came to greet me.
"My lord, I have been summoned by the palace. It seems something big has happened."
Liu Mengyan asked back: "Tell me, when will there be no big event?"
"this……"
"same as usual."
"Yes, the villain said that he could not find his husband."
~~
By the time Liu Mengyan left Yujiayuan, it was already very dark.
When passing by Fengle Tower, he smelled the aroma wafting towards him, and then he remembered that he had not had dinner today, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
I only hurriedly filled in a few mouthfuls. When I returned to the house, I saw a group of eunuchs waiting anxiously outside the door.
"Right Prime Minister! Oh, Right Prime Minister, you are back! The Queen Mother and Ping Zhang Gong are still waiting for you in the palace."
"What happened? Because a few days ago some students from Taipei University inscribed Li Ni's words on the wall of West Lake, so I went to investigate the matter secretly today."
"I'm afraid that the Prime Minister doesn't know, the battle report from Zhenjiang Mansion has come back... Zhang Shijie was defeated."
Liu Mengyan thought, it is indeed so.
Then he thought of something rather ironic - maybe while he was looking for the cat, the Song Dynasty had already died.
"No."
He suddenly became nervous and realized that there was not much time left to find the cat by himself.
Once the Tang army breaks through Lin'an, why do those nobles still need to do it themselves?
Seeing Liu Mengyan frowning, several eunuchs couldn't help but secretly thought that the Prime Minister was indeed worried about the country and the people.
"Right Prime Minister, will you enter the palace now?"
"That's fine. Can Mr. Xie Xianggong, the ambassador of the two Zhejiang provinces, be in the palace?"
"..."
The eunuchs carried lanterns to send Liu Mengyan to the Xuande Hall. They saw that a map was finally placed in the hall, and standing next to the map was Xie Tang.
Since Empress Dowager Xie came to power, the Xie family's fortunes have been rising, and the older generation would be satisfied with being knighted. However, Xie Tang was in his prime, and in just six months he was promoted to a high position, and he was already ready to take part in politics.
Liu Mengyan didn't even bother to look at these relatives, but today he noticed Xie Tang as soon as he entered the palace.
He couldn't help but think to himself that Xie Tang was good at calligraphy and painting, and his paintings of orchids, bamboos, pine and stones were also quite elegant. He must have loved Li Taibai's calligraphy so much that he couldn't put it down. How could he sell it?
Could it be donated to the national treasury?
Immediately afterwards, Liu Mengyan said that he only thought this way because of Hu Tu. How could anyone sell Tan Mo's things to donate them back...
"Right phase? Right phase?"
When Liu Mengyan came to her senses, she heard the Queen Mother Xie ask: "What does the right minister think?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I still don't know the situation of the war."
Xie Daoqing then looked at Wang Yao.
Wang Yao's face was solemn, and he put his hands behind his hands and said nothing.
Xie Tang said: "The warships of the Tang army attacked with artillery. Zhang Shijie's navy was in disarray, and more than 10,000 people surrendered. Zhang Shijie had no choice but to flee to Luoshan and write a letter asking for help."
Liu Mengyan said: "How can the imperial court get the troops to support him again?"
"What does the Right Chancellor think?"
"What did Ping Zhanggong say?"
Wang Yao remained silent.
Liu Mengyan said: "It was Duke Pingzhang who strongly advocated the attack on Zhenjiang, and Zhang Shijie was also recommended by Duke Pingzhang. Now that the army has been defeated, Duke Pingzhang has not said a word. What does this mean?!"
Wang Yao was furious and said: "How can state affairs be more important than military affairs? However, when Zhang Shijie entered the army, one of the two prime ministers returned home, and the other refused to supervise the war. The ministers and ministers all discussed but could not make a decision, and the officers and soldiers had no commander. Zhang Shijie is now in trouble because of this.
Defeated, what else can I say?"
After hearing this, Liu Mengyan finally took part in the discussion seriously and said displeasedly: "Did Mr. Wang Pingzhang imply that I am responsible for the defeat?"
"Don't you know that the mouth of the Zhenjiang Canal is not far from Lin'an. When a powerful enemy is approaching, if Your Majesty is unable to personally conquer the army, there should be a Prime Minister to supervise the army. I would also like to personally supervise the army. I am unable to do so because of my old age. But you are unwilling to do so.
The country has exerted its strength, but how can the country be defeated?"
Xie Daoqing hurriedly said: "There is no reason for an official to conscript himself. Wang Qing, at this time of year, there is no need to find out who is at fault. Since Zhang Shijie has invited reinforcements, what should we do?"
Wang Yao was seen slowly lying down, taking off his official hat and putting it aside.
"Wang Qing? What does this mean?"
"I, as a minister, neither hold my position nor speak my mind...beg to be dismissed."
Wang Yao spoke in a sad tone, then kowtowed.
Xie Daoqing was so surprised that he quickly stood up and said: "How can this be done? How can this be done? Wang Qing cannot just dismiss him from office."
Liu Mengyan secretly sneered in her heart, not bothering to watch any of them want to leave or stay, her eyes fell on Xie Tang's face again, thinking about how to visit Xie Tang's other courtyard.
~~
"Brother Shengdao."
After leaving the palace, Liu Mengyan called to Xie Tang.
Xie Tang was hurriedly carrying his official robe and walking away. He turned around and asked in surprise: "What advice does the right minister have?"
"I have something to talk to Brother Shengdao, could you please take the time to meet me?"
Xie Tang originally seemed to have something urgent, but he was stunned at this moment, but it seemed that it was okay not to deal with the urgent matter, and said: "Your Prime Minister's words are serious, why don't we get together in a humble house?"
Liu Mengyan wanted to go to the other courtyard where he raised his wife. Hearing this, he couldn't help but be disappointed, but he still smiled and said: "That's great."
Arriving at the Xie residence in Wushan that night, Liu Mengyan turned around and looked around, saying: "This place seems to be... given by the late emperor..."
"Yes, it is the house where Li Ni lived in Lin'an back then." Xie Tang said.
Liu Mengyan said quickly: "This is not a place where ordinary people can live."
"Ha ha."
Xie Tang laughed and invited Liu Mengyan to sit in the lobby.
The utensils, calligraphy and paintings displayed in this hall are all extraordinary.
"Does the Right Prime Minister want to tell me about Mr. Wang Yao?" Xie Tang said before waiting for tea: "He himself was in trouble. He ignored the Queen Mother's peace talks and lost the war, but he blamed the Right Prime Minister.
, it’s simply unreasonable!”
"yes."
"What does the Right Chancellor think?"
Liu Mengyan pondered slightly and said: "Wang Yao wants to leave, so we might as well let him go. Zhang Shijie asks for help, but Lin'an is not suitable for deploying any more troops. We can reward Zhang Shijie to stabilize the morale of the army."
"The right prime minister is real." Xie Tang knew that Liu Mengyan had the same position as him, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed and said: "Wang Yao wants to escape, but my aunt still wants to keep him. Tonight, I want to say that it is better to dismiss him from office and recall him."
Prime Minister Zuo may still be able to negotiate peace with Li Ni."
Liu Mengyan asked: "The Queen Mother still wants to negotiate peace? How can the north agree?"
"In the worst case, I will become a minister, and my official title will be removed from the imperial family, and I will be demoted to the king of Jiangnan."
"I'm afraid it will be difficult."
"Have you heard about it, right minister? Princess Rui has now become Li Ni's concubine. Her aunt had been kind to her and wanted her to persuade Li Ni. After all, Li Ni was once a minister of the Song Dynasty and was favored by the late emperor.
Well, it would be unjust to take the Song Dynasty."
Liu Mengyan thought about it and asked: "But I don't know what gift to give to Princess Rui?"
"Does the Right Chancellor have any ideas?"
"When the late Emperor was here, he once told me that the princess liked cats and once raised a snow-white lion cat. What did Xie Xianggong think?"
He was observing Xie Tang's reaction as he spoke.
I saw Xie Tang being surprised at first, then thinking deeply, then being stunned, and finally nodding.
"Right Prime Minister, this is a good idea." Xie Tang raised his glass and said with a smile.
Liu Mengyan also smiled and said: "If the Queen Mother really decides to negotiate peace, I would like to be the envoy."
"The Prime Minister is truly loyal to the country..."
~~
After leaving Xie's house, the sedan went smoothly down Wushan. Liu Mengyan's eyes were full of excitement.
It took no effort to get there even after wearing iron shoes. He finally completed the errand assigned to him by the north. From now on, he had a backer in the new dynasty, so it was not difficult to keep his future.
It is true that the Tang army is invincible and the Public Opinion Department is all-pervasive, but a cat is fragile and not worth mobilizing the Public Opinion Department. Only he can find it.
Liu Mengyan slept peacefully that night. Although the Tang army had captured the mouth of the canal and was just around the corner to march south to Lin'an, all the dignitaries in the court were terrified.
After waking up after a full meal, I went to the Privy Council again, but I felt that the atmosphere was strange, and all the officials were whispering.
"What happened?"
"Your Majesty, there are newspapers from the north reaching Lin'an."
"show me."
"This... not even the lower officials."
Liu Mengyan turned cold and said, "Bring it here."
"yes."
A piece of paper was handed over from the sleeve.
Liu Mengyan returned to the public room and spread out the newspaper, only to see that it was written on it was "The Letter to Obedient Ministers".
He focused his eyes and looked at it carefully, and at the end, he murmured something.
"Self-denial and devotion to duty...isn't this what I am talking about?"