Youxiang Mansion has a water feature that is rare in northern gardens.
The small pond is like a crescent moon, surrounding Yanyue Hall, and the scenery is like Xiaoqu River.
In the past, Li Linfu made plans here to destroy families and families, and he never failed. But since he met Xue Bai, it was like the feng shui was broken.
"We failed to get rid of Pei Kuan before. We must not make any more mistakes in dealing with Wang Zhongsi this time."
Li Linfu sighed and murmured: "Otherwise, if the saint wants to relieve Wang Zhongsi's military power, there is only one way..."
He didn't say it, as if he was afraid that if he said those two words, it would come true.
——Enter the phase.
The placement of generals and prime ministers was one of the most appropriate ways to place the great military generals of the Tang Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, don't worry."
The person answering here today is Wang Fei.
"After all, to get rid of Pei Kuan, we have to rely on the Holy Will. Wang Zhongsi has to deal with him only if he obeys the Holy Man's will. He is absolutely foolproof. Who makes him the sworn brother of the Crown Prince?"
"good."
Wang Xidao said: "On the contrary, Pei Kuan, an old dog, is targeting the lower officials. He tried to seize power from me when he was at the Yushitai, and now that he is at the Ministry of Revenue, he can no longer restrain himself."
After hearing this, Li Linfu had a sneer in his eyes.
He really didn't notice the shabby methods of the prominent family who had risen through the ranks step by step.
"If you can't hold yourself back, you are seeking your own death." Li Linfu said: "The original fool has become wiser and understands what kind of prime minister a saint wants. Now it seems that someone just reminded Pei Kuan at that time. How long has it been since he finally revealed his true form?
Are you exposed and want to investigate corruption? The sage appointed him as the Minister of Household Affairs and asked him to collect taxes from Hedong instead of letting him meddle in others' affairs."
"This is exactly the reason that fools will never understand." Wang Zhi said: "I deliberately leaked the flaw to Yang Zhao and let the spitting pot lead these pigs into the trap to lure them into investigating my building a new house."
The house was given by the saint, and the money was the saint's reward. Even the Ziyu Pavilion was to be rebuilt in the palace city and Huaqing Palace.
If Pei Kuan attacked the king as soon as he was appointed as the Ministry of Household Affairs, what kind of attitude would he have in the eyes of a saint?
…
After the two of them had discussed it, Wang Xi took his leave. Li Linfu thought about it again, walked over to Cangbi again, and asked, "What has Xue Bai been doing recently?"
Anyone who is interested knows that Xue Bai is already a core figure in the Yang Party. Cangbi knew that Alang had been very concerned about this person recently, so he was well prepared and responded: "When I return to Alang, I still make friends with officials every day."
"You still dare? If you don't know how to restrain yourself, you will die sooner or later."
~~
Taipingfang.
In front of the gate of the diplomatic compound next to Wang's residence, officials holding official documents came and went, and there were even queues.
Today, in the imperial hall, the provincial gate of the Imperial City Terrace is deserted, and no one is working. Only Left Prime Minister Chen Xilie is sleeping inside. Officials who want to do business either go to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion or come to the Wang's Residence.
When Wang Xian came back and saw this situation, he couldn't help but think that Pei Kuan had placed many officials in the household department. At this time, he was probably still in a daze in the deserted government office, and no officials would tell them what to do.
Because, the real household department is here...
"Alang, there is a green-robed official asking to see you. He calls himself Wailang Du, a newly arrived member of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"Du has a neighbor?"
Wang Zhi was rarely surprised. He entered the ambassador's courtyard, sat down on a stool made of agarwood, and said, "Call him to see you."
Du Youlin has been in the position of a fifth-rank doctor for a long time, and has cultivated his official aura very well. He walked here with his long beard fluttering. Although he was dressed in green robe, he had the aura of a high-ranking official in red robe.
"The new Yuanwai Lang Du has a neighbor and has met Wang Langzhong."
"What's the matter?"
"When the assistant officer takes office, he should pay a visit to the senior officer. If he has anything to do, please ask the senior officer to give instructions."
Wang Fei narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Du Youlin carefully, realizing that he had underestimated him before.
"I have no assignments yet. You are familiar with the department."
"Here."
Du Youlin still refused to retreat and started chatting with Wang Fei.
"The wood of Lang Guan's bar stool is really good. The bar stool in Fengweilou has a backrest and armrests. Can I ask a craftsman to make one for Lang Guan?"
"No need."
Wang Fei frowned.
He is so powerful that he has been the censor. Since he became the censor, he will destroy his family whenever he takes action. Many people in the court are deeply afraid of him, and there are not many people who dare to be so noisy in front of him.
Come to think of it, could it be that Du Youlin has been in vain for too many years and has become stupid and does not know his reputation as a king?
"Speaking of the Fengwei Building, someone in Xiaguan's family happens to be taking care of the property for Mrs. Guo Guo, and they are opening a branch recently. There is a serious shortage of craftsmen. I heard that there is a Ziyu Pavilion in Lang Guan's new house, which was built by craftsmen from Fulin State? "
"good."
"Can I also ask these craftsmen to make some objects?"
Wang Fei narrowed his eyes and glanced at Du Youlin again, feeling suddenly enlightened.
Sure enough, they were here to investigate him. Pei Kuan, Yang Zhao, and Du Youlin were all mixed together, and they only had this trick.
It doesn't hurt to let them check.
Wang Xing did not intend to let Du Youlin know that the craftsmen were rebuilding the Qingliang Hall for the saint to prepare for the heat, which would delay the progress. He simply wrote a document and asked Du Youlin to be the supervisor.
"Thank you sir."
Du Youlin got the paperwork and finally resigned.
Wang Fei looked at his back, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that he had nothing but no money.
…
"It's polite. Du, a member of the household department, is a neighbor. From now on, we will all be colleagues and look after each other."
"Did Guan Du Lang meet the prince?"
"Exactly, the prince asked me to do something. I didn't expect that he would be so kind to me despite being so trusted by the saint."
Du Youlin walked out of the embassy. Whenever he saw an official, regardless of the color of his official robe, he would hold the letter he had received and salute with a smile on his face.
Everyone then thought that the newly arrived Yuanwai Lang had won the trust of the prince, so they started talking enthusiastically.
Du Youlin has no other purpose anyway, he just wants to be good to others.
Xue Bai has already reminded him that if he doesn't care, he will leave a good impression on his colleagues and his green robe will be replaced by a red robe in two or three years.
~~
The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was inseparable from craftsmen.
Nowadays, the imperial court has a fairly complete management system for craftsmen. The Ministry of Industry is nominally in charge of all kinds of craftsmen in the world, focusing on large projects such as farming and water conservancy. Under it, there are also Shaofu supervisors, general supervisors, military equipment supervisors, etc.
Nowadays, there are 20,000 craftsmen in the Shaofu prison alone, and 15,000 craftsmen in the general prison. They are well paid and attract talents from among the people, including a large number of foreign craftsmen.
It was for this reason that An Bobo came to the Tang Dynasty.
His real name was Bo Abo, and he was a native of Fulin. Since he had heard about the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty since he was a child, he traveled thousands of miles with his fellow villagers.
But in terms of craftsmanship, he actually studied under Mao Shun, a famous craftsman in Luoyang. After completing his studies, he thought of the hot weather in his hometown and often used water trucks to water the roofs. He began to build summer pavilions for the rich and powerful, and gradually became a famous craftsman.
This time, he and eleven craftsmen were taken out to serve as a prisoner. Before leaving, An Bobo got an explanation. "If they check the cost of Wang Zhongcheng's new house, you can tell them directly, but the construction of the Qingliang Hall for the saint is a secret. Anyone who leaks it will die." .”
He thought to himself, Wang Zhongcheng was willing to pay him to build a great craft, so why would a young man come to investigate?
The carriage carried the craftsmen southward, out of Mingde Gate, and arrived at a large lumber mill on the outskirts of Chang'an.
What he saw was not the bad guy he expected. The person in charge was a handsome young man who seemed to have something to build, so he handed over a blueprint.
"This is... a catapult?"
"Not bad, boulder cannon."
"Which end do you use to throw stones?"
"The small end of the tip pole, I drew this is the net bag."
"Net bag?"
An Bobo repeated it in his fluent Tang Dynasty Mandarin, turned over the drawing in his hand, and shook his head.
"Oh, young man, why don't you take the talisman and seal you drew and ask a Taoist priest to change it for you? I'm still busy, so why don't you let us go back to prison?"
Xue Bai did not expect the curly-haired Roman to speak like this, so he smiled bitterly and said: "Master An, please see, ordinary trebuchet soldiers pull hard and the stone bullets fly out, but after all, the strength is limited. And I It's a counterweighted boulder cannon, and the big end of the tip pole hangs a counterweight basket..."
An Bobo frowned and looked at the drawing carefully.
He originally thought that this thing couldn't be made, but now he heard it and probably understood the principle.
It is nothing more than adding a huge weight to the other end of the tip pole of an ordinary catapult, the force is much greater than the pulling force of the soldiers, and then trying to jam the tip pole, and when used, the heavy object will suddenly fall and throw out the huge rocks.
This is the so-called "counterweight" of this young man. As long as he is smart enough, he can understand many unfamiliar Tang Dynasty Mandarin.
But just because it was possible to create it, Amber Bo shook his head even more.
"This is a weapon. You want me to make it? Don't fool me. I am a foreigner. I am very familiar with the rules of generals."
Xue Bai turned sideways, raised his hand, and led out a middle-aged man with a pale face and a good temperament, and said: "I would like to introduce you to the master craftsman. This is Wang Wei, a member of the Treasury Department, who is responsible for the arsenal of the Ministry of War."
Wang Wei took out his official talisman and gave An Bobo a look, and nodded lightly, appearing distant and distant.
He didn't want to get involved in this matter, but it seemed that he was eager to get credit. But Xue Bai was really annoying. He said he was talking about poetry, but he kept trying to persuade him that if this thing was built, it might save the lives of Helong soldiers. .
"Even if only one person dies less, it is a merit. You call yourself the 'Poetry Buddha', but you only want to practice in poetry?"
After everyone said this, Shifo had no choice but to take the decision on his own and moved a catapult from the Ministry of War to this place, and then stepped forward to take on some responsibilities.
Xue Bai introduced another person to An Bobo.
"This is Li Hua, the director of the Ministry of Industry. This is the lumberyard of the Ministry of Industry. The woodcutter can cut down as much wood as the craftsman needs."
The large trees in the forest areas in Guanzhong cannot be cut down at will. As for this huge stone cannon, Xue Bai planned to build it very big, and it would not be possible without a document from the Ministry of Industry.
Li Hua also expected that this matter would be a great achievement, so he dared to take the initiative privately and arrange for them to build the cannon in the material yard of the Ministry of Industry.
But An Bobo still hesitated and said: "But the general was the prisoner but he didn't let the young man make weapons..."
"It involves military aircraft, who are you talking to?" Xue Bai suddenly shouted.
Previously, Xue Bai was polite, and An Bobo dared to take advantage of it. Suddenly, he was scolded, and he quickly accepted it.
The three people I met today all had a noble air. Wang Bingbu and Li Gongbu looked like high-ranking officials, but the young man didn't say what kind of officials they were. Could they be some royal family member?
Build it up.
When he started doing craftsmanship, An Bobo's temperament changed. First of all, he hired craftsmen to redraw the drawings.
How to clamp the tip pole and pull it suddenly, how big and high the base is, how long the tip pole is, etc., all need to be carefully calculated when building. It cannot be easily made with a ghost painting like a talisman.
~~
The capital's annual construction and shipbuilding, coupled with its large population, require a huge amount of wood, which is shipped from all over Guanzhong. In comparison, this is just a small lumberyard, called Fenggujian.
Fenggu Supervisor has a row of small houses built in the middle of the stockyard.
At this time, Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu were standing aside and watched for a while. When they saw the craftsmen starting to be busy, Wang Yunxiu asked: "Can it really be made?"
"Can make."
"Then I'll go back to Beijing and talk to Grandpa about this." Wang Yunxiu said.
In fact, it doesn't make much sense whether you tell Wang Zhongsi or not. After all, with the giant stone cannon, Stone Castle is still difficult to defeat. Wang Zhongsi is unlikely to change the grand strategy just because of one more weapon.
The purpose of this huge stone cannon was to provide comfort when Wang Zhongsi had to fight.
Xue Bai thought about it for a while and said, "There's no rush. We'll talk about it in two days."
Wang Yunxiu was actually anxious, but still nodded.
"Brother and sister-in-law said that if I ask for anything, just ask."
"good."
Xue Bai called over Qinglan and asked her to present to Yuan Zai and his wife, saying: "Qinglan is the maiden family of Huangfu Deyi, the biological mother of the King of Hubei. She was involved in the case of three common people and was relegated to a lowly status for her treason. She has to have great merit to be a good person. She is In the early years of the Anding family, I heard from my family that there was a counterweighted catapult in the northwest, so he helped me come up with such a weapon. When the time comes to contribute to the saint, I want to show my merit for her, but this is not enough..."
In Yuan Zai, Wang Yunxiu immediately handed over his hand.
Wang Yunxiu said: "I understand that when I report my merits after the Stone Fort City is captured, I will definitely mention the giant stone cannon to show my merit for Miss Qinglan."
"Thank you."
Xue Bai agreed simply, and the matter was settled.
Qing Lan listened very panicked.
What she has cared about since she was a child in the Du family is what style of bun the lady will wear today, what color of clothes will she wear, and when did she ever hear about the giant stone cannon?
She had never thought about such things as the Helong army attacking Tibet, tens of thousands of people killing each other, the artillery carts smashing people to death, and then reporting their merits. onto her head.
She also wants to deceive the emperor and ask her to redeem herself from her treason. The thought of it makes her scared...
"Mr. Lang."
At some point, Qing Lan held Xue Bai's hand and said, "Otherwise, I don't have to redeem my membership, just in case someone finds out."
"You're a coward again." Xue Bai smiled, "You also have to make progress, get rid of lowliness and become a good person, and live a better life in the future. How can you run away every time you encounter something?"
"I'm afraid that I will harm my husband."
Xue Bai said: "Then I might as well tell you a secret."
The two walked into the small house where they were staying temporarily in Fenggu Prison.
He whispered in her ear that he might be Xue Pingzhao.
In the past, he had always kept this matter secret, but recently he didn't care so much because he knew that even if the matter leaked out, he already had some ability to protect himself.
Letting Qinglan redeem her citizenship first is the first step.
"Mr. Lang?"
"Don't back down from now on." Xue Bai said with a smile: "I told you before, I won't run away."
Qing Lan still raised her head and stared at him closely.
"Um?"
"It turns out that Mr. Lang may be just like me."
"Whether I am Xue Pingzhao or not, we will all live upright."
Qinglan said: "Lang Jun and I are very destined."
Xue Bai couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing this.
He just didn't have much in common with this teenage girl.
~~
There is no sound of dusk drums in the suburbs, only the sound of beatings.
At night, the beating sound stopped, leaving only the chirping of birds.
Away from the hustle and bustle of Chang'an city for a while, Wang Wei and Li Hua sat under the moon, drinking wine and talking about poetry.
"People are idle, the osmanthus flowers are falling, the night is quiet in the spring sky in the mountains. The moonrise scares the birds, and they sing in the spring streams."
An Bobo also liked poetry very much. He sat behind them and listened, and said in surprise: "So this poem was written by you. Are you Mr. Mojie?"
Xue Bai wanted to talk to the craftsman about the giant stone cannon, but An Bobo said instead: "What can I say to Xiao Langzi? You don't understand."
Yuan Zai, on the other hand, could have a few words with anyone.
Everyone chatted until late at night before they dispersed.
…
The environment in Fenggu Supervisor's residence was quite bad. Even though Qinglan tried hard to tidy up the house, there was nothing she could do.
When Xue Bai returned to the house, he saw her standing there with her hands behind her back. He glanced at the only bed in the house and whispered: "Mr. Lang, are you sleeping on the inside?"
"good."
Xue Bai yawned and lay down.
Qinglan had been thinking a lot about this bed when she was cleaning up the house. Seeing his reaction at this time, she was stunned for a while, extinguished the candle, and lay down next to him lightly, thinking that their relationship would get better. One step forward.
Just as I was about to say something, there was a snoring sound from next door.
"Lang Jun, this is a wooden wall..."
"Um."
Xue Bai has fallen asleep.
Qing Lan was tossing and turning, and after an unknown amount of time, she fell into a deep sleep.
I vaguely dreamed of some things that would happen in the future, but the sound of beating wood while building a cannon sounded in the distance again.
"Bang."
"Bang."
Qing Lan opened her eyes and found that she was hugging Xue Bai and pressing against his back.
She wanted to turn around quietly, but she hesitated and closed her eyes again.
She listened quietly to the sound of "bang bang bang bang", feeling that every time she hammered, she was getting closer to redemption, and closer to Xue Bai...
When I posted the last chapter, I thought it would be finished right away, but I didn’t say anything, but it ended up taking half an hour. I’m sorry~~ Please give me a monthly pass, please subscribe~~