Still in the Chengbi Palace, the festival banquet that was interrupted last time was resumed.
The singing and dancing are harmonious, and the hall is filled with fragrance.
There were no other civil and military ministers, only Li Xia and Jia Sidao were there.
Because Li Xia was already reporting his work to the Privy Council, there was no need for too many important ministers to come to see him, and Ding Daquan had just resigned as prime minister, so the courtiers were very busy.
After taking the seat, Jia Sidao didn't say anything, rubbed his face and squeezed several times before he forced out a cynical smile.
He is also tired.
Not only did he have to deal with heavy state affairs, but he also had to laugh and have fun with the emperor, and he had to remain calm and relaxed.
Li Xia held the wine glass but did not drink. Looking at the swaying figures of the dancers, she already missed Hanzhong.
I don’t know how far Kublai Khan and Ali Buge fought...
"Your Majesty is here!"
"I have met your Majesty."
"Shi Xian and Fei Yu are both close ministers of mine. We are just having a feast tonight, there is no need to be constrained by etiquette."
"I obey the decree."
"The officials have made up a new dance?" Jia Sidao asked with a smile: "I just saw this dance. The sleeves of the hands are the face, the feet are the knots, and the big music is slow and wonderful."
Zhao Yun was proud, stroking his beard and smiling: "It was indeed arranged by me and Lady Ji yesterday, but there are only a few missing lyrics, Shi Xian can fill in..."
Li Xia suddenly felt something. He turned around and saw Yan Rong looking at him.
Three years ago, Li Xia had seen Yan Rong's jade hand through the curtain. At this moment, he could really see her face clearly.
This woman seemed to be only in her twenties. Her skin was as smooth as that of a newborn baby, but her whole body carried a rare charm and charm.
All the singers in the palace were beautiful, but none of them were as beautiful as her.
She was looking at Li Xia with her charming eyes and a smile on her red lips, as if she wanted to seduce his soul.
Extraordinarily coquettish.
At that time, everyone called Yan Fei the evil concubine, and what she said was true.
She doesn't have that kind of dignified posture, only extremely gorgeous.
The smiling red lips pursed lightly...
It may not be intentional, maybe it's just her natural charm.
Li Xia, on the other hand, has rich experience and is not easily fooled by women, but... he feels that his blood has begun to gather.
Yan Rongsui glanced at Li Xia, feeling a little proud. His eyes seemed to be slightly bent with a smile.
Li Xia sat down first, and then met Yan Rong's striking gaze to show his calmness.
Then he turned his head and continued watching the song and dance.
"The willows beside the swallow building are new, and the thrush leaves the mirror to produce dust. In the coming year, I will be ashamed and dream of an empty bed, and I will spend the spring playing the pipa."
"Ha, you, Jia Shixian, only write poems about crickets. How do you write such beautiful poems these days?"
"The officials are making fun of me. I recently met a confidante..."
Zhao Yun smiled leisurely and said, "I've heard of it."
"The officials actually knew?"
"Li Huiniang?"
"I feel ashamed." Jia Sidao said with a bitter smile: "I wanted to take her as my concubine after listening to her pipa song, but she refused..."
"Interesting, interesting, there are still people who dare to reject you, Mr. Jia..."
The monarch and his ministers chatted about these romantic affairs, which set the tone for today's banquet.
Without Wu Qian and with ministers like Rao Huchen around, Zhao Yun felt much more at ease, and couldn't help but laugh and curse.
"Wu Qian, an old man, was also very romantic when he was young. 'The clouds scattered like clouds, and the light green and residual red are like spring.' However, he did not expect that he would live to be old, but he became a stubborn man, which is very abominable."
"Ha, 'Spring, Spring, I'm afraid the cuckoos will wake me up', the right minister...oh, the left minister, the left minister is just chanting spring."
Zhao Yun patted his knees, smiled, and asked, "There is something in Shi Xian's words."
"I don't dare."
Jia Sidao understands officialdom. Officials don't like to talk about political affairs at banquets. They hate to waste time on political matters.
For example, the public land law certainly cannot be introduced now.
It is okay and unavoidable to mention light political matters.
He can grasp the sense of proportion in this.
Zhao Yun was not angry as expected. He pointed at Jia Sidao and already knew what was going on. He turned to look at Li Xia.
"Feiyu is in Lin'an, are you used to it?"
Li Xia was looking at a little singer. She didn't know what to think after hearing those words, and her face turned slightly red. It was quite interesting to watch.
He quickly turned around and responded: "Your Majesty, I'm used to it."
Zhao Yun raised his finger and pointed, smiling: "Mr. Mo stared at one person and saw that the person made two wrong dance moves. Can you imitate Zhou Lang's Gu Qu?"
Li Xia neither saw the mistake in the dance nor understood the joke, so he responded: "I am stupid."
Jia Sidao then laughed and said: "If you want to get Zhou Lang's attention, you always play the string by mistake... Officials still pay attention to it, but Feiyu doesn't study, so he will be punished."
"Ha, one drink as a penalty."
The dancing music over there had just stopped, and the leading singer had already bowed her head. Protecting the little singer, she said with an angry smile: "The slave family clearly wants to ask Your Majesty to Gu Wu. Your Majesty knows how to sing and dance. You can see the mistake at a glance. Please, Your Majesty."
Punishment.”
Because of her soft and soft voice, the atmosphere in the hall became much more cheerful.
Zhao Yunlongyan was delighted and rewarded her with a glass of wine.
Li Xia could feel that Zhao Yun was actually very easy to get along with.
However, the emperor and all living beings in the world are like a giant and ants.
Sometimes the emperor didn't really want to kill someone, but just stepped on it or pressed his hand, and he might kill a group of ants.
To the Li family, Prince Rong was like the emperor's foot and hand that crushed the Li family's anthill.
Now, Li Xia, the ant, has climbed onto the emperor's shoulders, and what he sees is that he is easy-going and tolerant.
As long as the hand hadn't brushed him off the emperor's shoulders.
…
Li Xia didn't want to be dusted off, and was already making calculations in her mind.
He had only been in Lin'an for six or seven days. Counting the time, Jiang Wanli had just entered Shu. He must have seen the people moving down from the mountain cities one after another.
It is still early for Jiang Wanli to stabilize the situation in Sichuan and Shu and send the memorial back to Lin'an.
Before that, Zhao Yun would not let go of him as the commander-in-chief of Shu.
"I am used to being in Lin'an, but I have some leisure time." Li Xia then said, "I am brave, please give me a mission."
A sneer appeared on Jia Sidao's face again, clearly seeing his tactic of retreating in order to advance.
Sure enough, Zhao Yun smiled and scolded: "You just go back to the court to report on your duties. After you report on your duties, you still have to guard Sichuan and Shu for me. Why do you still ask for dispatch?"
Jia Sidao guessed what the officials were thinking, and it was just that Jiang Wanli hadn't arrived yet, so he didn't want to let Li Xia go.
As for continuing to serve as the commander-in-chief of Shu? Just talk about it.
We are about to make King Zhong the crown prince. How can we rest assured when we let this enemy of King Zhong lead an army?
Li Xia said: "I don't know how to govern, but I am good at espionage. Now that the battle for the throne in the north is in full swing, why not let me spy on this matter? Report the enemy's information to your majesty at any time..."
Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and felt Li Xia's sincerity.
It seems that I don't want to go to the poor and remote areas of Sichuan and Sichuan anymore, and I want to stay in the prosperous Lin'an.
The wine glass was placed on the table and he began to think about it.
The intelligence of the Song Dynasty was divided into several agencies. The Imperial City Department monitored the officials and people of the Song Dynasty and was directly under the emperor. It was not suitable for Li Xia to join the Imperial City Department;
The person who spied on military intelligence on the front line of the battlefield was first the Jiyi Department, and later it was changed to the Xuanfu Department. The Governor's Office was in charge, and there were side offices under it, including the Zhiji Office in charge of spies, and there was no need to transfer them again;
Only the central control room controls espionage.
But, the Privy Council...
"Do you want to enter the Privy Council Computer Room?"
"I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty."
"Shi Xian, you are the prime minister." Zhao Yun asked somewhat casually, "What do you think of letting Feiyu serve as the planning officer of the machine speed room concurrently?"
Jia Sidao glanced at Li Xia and sneered slightly.
The machine speed room is under the control of the prime minister, and the court officials take turns to take charge of it, which shows its importance.
The planners meet with important ministers of the country every day, and all they discuss are confidential matters.
Everyone can imagine that if Li Xia is allowed to enter the Privy Council, he will swing back and forth between Wu Qian and Rao Huchen at any time.
"I think it is inappropriate, and the library positions must be filled with scholars. Although the official position is not high, the planning and consultation officer has to consult a large number of documents. Dr. Taichang is often appointed as the official. There is no old example of the local commander-in-chief serving concurrently."
The reason is not important, what is important is that there is a reason.
Zhao Yun then looked at Li Xia and said, "Did you hear that?"
"I would like to resign from being sent by Commander Shu."
Zhao Yun laughed, raised his hand and pointed, saying: "You are still young and don't study, how can you do it? I still hope to use you as my chief minister in the future."
"I am terrified."
"Don't be afraid." Zhao Yun showed approval and said: "Shi Jun said that there are still some shortcomings in your garrison in Hanzhong. For example, you only need to build the Baohui Canal first, cultivate a number of fertile fields, recruit the refugees, and pay them with work.
Rent the land and build the Liubian Weir. This step-by-step process can attract more refugees to return home, and can also divide the money and grain earned in Hanzhong into five years of expenses..."
Li Xia listened carefully, nodded in agreement, and benefited a lot.
It was his first time to govern such a large place in Hanzhong, and he had few civil servants, so he must have done a very poor job.
The general direction is correct, but too many problems will inevitably arise.
The reason why Han Qi'an kept urging him with the account books every day was because Li Xia didn't know how to arrange things.
The word "dispatch" is too detailed. It only refers to acres of land. The annual output of land in Shanyang and Shanyin is very different. How to distribute it to satisfy the people depends on the regulations.
Li Xia had to learn all the details from scratch, and like other civil servants, he divided a penny into ten cents to do things.
Zhao Yun then kept talking about Li Xia for a long time.
If he only discusses political affairs in documents, this emperor can be said to be extremely knowledgeable about politics.
"Shi Jun has listed more than 70 mistakes and omissions in your administration, large and small." Zhao Yun finally said: "But I think that what you did is not bad, but the details are slightly inappropriate and you are immature."
"I feel ashamed to have placed such great trust in Your Majesty."
"No, you are still young. I have high hopes for you and regard you as a prime minister. Let's do this... Since you don't want to be idle in Lin'an reporting on your duties, you don't have to go to Taixue to study.
Someone will teach you."
"I thank your Majesty for your kindness."
…
Li Xia knew that this was Wu Qian's handiwork.
For a loyal and capable minister like Shi Jun, it was never difficult to guess his position. At first glance, it seemed that Wu Qian could not be persuaded and started to use tricks.
At this point, the attitudes of all parties towards him have gradually been settled.
Zhao Yun wanted to keep him in Lin'an and raise him, but only waited for Jiang Wanli to stabilize Sichuan and Shu;
Zhao Yurui wants to kill him, and with the establishment of the crown prince, his murderous intention will become more intense;
Jia Sidao wanted to use him as a knife to cut off the evils of the Song Dynasty;
Wu Qian wanted him to sneak away, study, and rebuild his loyalty to the country.
No one wanted him to return to Sichuan.
But it doesn't matter, tonight's exchange has dispelled part of the officials' wariness... After all, Li Xia wants to stay in Lin'an.
After some more planning, there are just a few final steps left.
Li Xia then turned around and glanced at Yan Rong sitting there.
Yan Rong never spoke, but she seemed to have been looking at Li Xia.
Therefore, as soon as his eyes fell over, she discovered it.
She lowered her head, picked up the golden cup, took a sip, then put it down again, gently twirling the golden cup with her fingers.
The golden cup was turned around, showing a little rouge.
Even this rouge had a sense of coquettishness. It was gently shaken and pointed in one direction...