When Li Longji woke up, his old eyes were half-open, and he leaned there lazily, listening to Gao Lishi's talk about the latest news in Chang'an.
"Xue Bai is narrow-minded, and the Prime Minister wronged him once during Liu Ji's case. From then on, whenever this kid did anything, he always shouted to the Prime Minister, 'You will wrong me again'. This time, even Wang Zhongsi was implicated, and he was always a 'Jiao Structure' ', who never gets tired of hearing that?"
"Um."
Just listening to the results made Li Longji feel boring.
There had been a "Han Yu" incident before, and it happened again today. He had no patience to listen to the details.
"Wang Zhongsi's 'Jiaogou' Xue Bai, whose 'origin is unknown', is willing to attack Shibao City, saying that the weapons given by the saint may be useful. Let him think of a way to do it."
"Will you fight?"
Li Longji raised his hand and Gao Lishi lifted him up, his expression so enigmatic that no one knew what he was thinking.
Gao Lishi said: "If you are willing to fight, the whole court will say that he 'disobeys the holy orders', 'shows favors to subordinates' and 'raises his own troops'. But as soon as he heard that there was a way, he ignored the rules and went directly to the suburbs of the city to build a private factory" Arms' up."
"He regards strategy as more important than my will!" Li Longji still cursed.
But after hearing the word "strategy", Gao Lishi knew that the saint's anger towards Wang Zhongsi had subsided a lot.
Not attacking Shibao City due to strategic considerations and not wanting to attack because of some selfish motives are completely different things. The life of the general who is guarding the border is at stake, and it only depends on the saint's thoughts.
"After all, it is a child raised by a saint. How can a saint not understand his temper?"
"General Gao, you are talking nice to others again."
"The old slave must be Wang Zhongsi of 'Jiao Ge'."
"Hahaha."
Li Longji hadn't fully woken up yet, so he shook his head and wondered whether he should invite the imperial concubine to perform a dance in the Liyuan today, go boating with Concubine Mei, or invite the two nieces of the Zhang family to the palace to play cards.
Zhang Ting's eldest sister, Zhang Si, also has excellent poker skills.
Just as he was waking up, Gao Lishi had handed over several scrolls.
"Sage, General Chen has brought him back."
"Yeah." Li Longji was already used to reading stories to wake him up, and murmured, "We're going to Gao Laozhuang."
As if remembering it, Gao Lishi reminded: "Sage, the right minister is still waiting to see you."
Li Longji seemed as if he hadn't heard anything, and finally put the scroll away.
"The wording is too rough and has not been polished. I sent it back for rewriting."
"Here."
"Do things like making a fuss, work in a hurry, and report rough and inferior results. Are you fooling me?" Li Longji was slightly dissatisfied, "Let me go back and do my job well."
~~
"Why don't I explain it clearly to the saint? This matter has nothing to do with me at all."
"Explanation? The truth is that the prime minister of a country has been humiliated by his son again and again. Could it be that the saint wants to hear the prime minister say, 'Your Majesty, I was fooled by that young boy, I am so wronged.' This is what you want me to do Any explanation?!"
"But in this matter, I clearly didn't fall into the trap..."
"Crack!"
"How dare you talk too much."
Li Linfulin raised his hand and slapped Li Xiu.
"Trash! As a general supervisor, you don't know how to discipline your subordinates, but you discipline me instead?"
"My child doesn't dare." Li Xiudang fell to his knees on the ground, at a loss, "My child doesn't know..."
"check!"
Li Linfu scolded angrily: "If you don't know, why don't you go check it out? Are you going to stay with me and feed me for the rest of your life?!"
"Crack!"
Li Xiu raised his hand and slapped himself, then ran out in a panic.
In fact, this matter had nothing to do with him. It was just that the old man was angry. There were 20,000 people including the generals and craftsmen, and he didn't know Xiao Fangzhi at all...
~~
It's night, in the Xingbu Prison.
As the iron chains clanked, Xiao Fangzhi was tied to the torture rack, with a look of shock and disbelief on his face.
"Everyone, are you mistaken? It was I who exposed Wang Zhongsi and Xue Bai who secretly made weapons. They were good at making heavy artillery in the capital without any supervision. I investigated impartially and did not violate any laws. I am an official of the imperial court. What do you think? Charge me?!"
He shouted for a long time, but no one answered.
Until someone started talking outside the execution room.
"Do the officials in the Ministry of Punishment also know how to torture? It's better for me to do it."
"I have admired Luo Gong's name for a long time."
"Someone, bring my donkey's colt over here."
Xiao Fangzhi looked around, and when he saw a shadowy man wearing a light green official robe coming in, the hair all over his body stood up in an instant.
Because he knew who the person in front of him was, Luo Xishi, Luo Qian.
Standing behind Luo Qian were three purple-robed officials, who actually came to the execution room to watch the execution in person.
"No, no, you have no crime against me!"
"Xiao Fangzhi, you framed the general of Border Town, who instigated it?!"
Luo Xishi hadn't started yet, still asking people to move things.
Xiao Fangzhi couldn't bear it anymore, and said tremblingly: "Luo Yushi, I am one of my own, the right minister asked me to do this, it is really the right minister's order..."
"Now that things have happened, you still dare to quibble?"
"Really! Really! It was the censor like you who ordered me to do it with his right hand..."
"It doesn't matter." Luo Xishi smiled, "I was tough at first. I have plenty of time to ask you slowly."
"..."
Screams rang out, and even the torches on the wall swayed.
~~
Xue Bai has returned to the house in Changshoufang.
Qing Lan knew that he was afraid of mosquitoes, so he took a lot of mugwort and fumigated the house as soon as he came back, so he slept particularly soundly that night.
It seemed like he had a dream, in which he planted many fishing poles on the shore. The first one he pulled up was empty, and the second one had an unknown person hanging on the hook. It was miserable.
When he pulled the third one, he caught Princess Xianyi. She cried very sadly and said that he could punish her in any way. When Xue Bai took a closer look, he found that she had a body and a fish tail, and she turned out to be a mermaid...
What a strange dream.
"Lang Jun, are you dreaming?"
Xue Bai opened his eyes and saw Qing Lan squatting beside his bed.
The weather in late April was a bit hot and her spring shirt was not tied high, making her look very green.
"Um."
"Are you going to the teacher's house today?"
"Anyway, I got up late and will go to the county office to find the teacher later."
Xue Bai turned over and Qing Lan looked at him and felt that his bed looked very comfortable.
After staying in bed for a while, waiting for things to be tidied up, Xue Bai was practicing in the corridor, and then he vaguely heard someone knocking on the door in the inner courtyard.
After walking around the bamboo garden and opening the door, I saw Xue Shiyilang standing there, knocking on the door and sweating profusely.
"I'm so tired. Sixth brother, why don't you put a knocker on the courtyard door?"
…
Xue's house, front lobby.
Liu Xiangjun and Du Wulang are entertaining guests.
What came was a guard soldier under Wang Zhongsi named Guan Chongsi.
"There's no rush. The general didn't send a greeting card first, so I took the liberty of visiting. It doesn't hurt to wait a while."
Guan Chongsi was indeed willing to wait, but Xue Xin kept staring at him, making him a little uncomfortable.
"General Guan, how tall are you?"
"Don't call me General, just call me 'Chong Si'. I respect General Wang, so I changed my name. I am seven feet two inches tall."
"That's really high. Has the general ever killed an enemy on the battlefield?"
"There are nine thieves' heads in the tent."
"Wow." Xue Xin asked again, "Can I compete with the general?"
Just when he couldn't stand this talkative child, Xue Bai came. Guan Chongsi stood up quickly and said respectfully: "I have met Xue Lang. General Wang would like to invite you to meet him."
This attitude was not against anything else, but because he knew that if the giant stone cannon could save the Helong Army from killing a few people, it would be his comrades around him, or even himself, who would be saved.
"We have seen that General and General Wang went to Fenggu Prison and measured the distance of stone throwing. I remember that the general's name should be Guan Chongsi?"
"Xue Lang actually remembered this villain, I'm so honored." Guan Chongsi was overjoyed.
"Let's go."
"Xue Lang please."
Du Wulang deliberately got up early and came over. He combed his hair carefully and put on new clothes. He had something to say to Xue Bai. Unexpectedly, Xue Bai was invited away just after they met.
He had no choice but to follow.
~~
Yanshoufang, Wang Zhongsi's residence.
The courtyard is large and seems quite empty. There is a stack of arrows in the front yard. Two strong men wearing only their trousers are engaged in sumo wrestling, and a group of military men are surrounding them, shouting and watching the fun.
Guan Chongsi took Xue Bai and Du Wulang all the way inside, passed through the square and simple double courtyard, and went straight to the lobby.
"General, Xue Lang is here."
Wang Zhongsi was standing in front of a simple sand table. When he saw the guests coming, he just nodded and talked about business.
"Let's take a look at the terrain of Stone Castle City. Let's talk about how to use the giant stone cannon."
Xue Bai stepped forward and took a look. The sand table was made of clay, and he could clearly see the steepness of the Stone Fort City more intuitively than the map.
There is also a large map next to it, depicting the surrounding terrain. There is also a poem inscribed on the map, "Who opened the stone city gate, and even encouraged it to hear the wind fall. The white ridge of the boundary is better than the golden soup, and suppresses half of the southwestern sky."
Wang Zhongsi picked up a few small wooden frames and placed them in front of the sand table.
"If you can't throw a boulder weighing two to three hundred kilograms onto Stone Castle City, can you do it if it's twenty or thirty kilograms?"
Throwing an object of this weight would not be powerful enough to hit it. Xue Bai thought about it and asked, "General, do you want to attack with fire?"
Wang Zhongsi did not answer, but asked: "What do you think?"
"I have read in a book that when the Qin people built the Five-foot Road, they had a method of 'burning rocks with firewood', which can make the rocks burn red and then burst when exposed to cold. But I don't know what the terrain of Shibao City is like?"
The reason why Xue Bai built the huge stone cannon was because he had a little understanding of the history of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. He knew that the Mongolian army liked to use the cannon carts to throw fireballs when attacking the city and burn the city walls with corpse oil.
Wang Zhongsi nodded and replied: "It is called 'Stone Castle City', which means the stone city is strong."
"What does the general want to use to make the fireball?"
"Fast oil, what about you? What do you think?"
Xue Bai pondered and said: "To burn the rock, you need to burn it with a strong fire for a long time. You can use stone fat water, also called stone paint. I have seen it in the West Market. It is used to burn lamps and make inkstones."
Wang Zhongsi ordered Guan Chongsi to buy stone paint and come back.
He demonstrated on the sand table and told Xue Bai what kind of gun carriage he needed.
When Guan Chongsi came back from buying the stone fat, Xue Bai smelled it and felt a spicy smell.
Wang Zhongsi actually moved a stone directly into the courtyard, poured stone paint on it, and with a little fire, a raging fire burst into flames.
Du Wulang was startled. He felt the hot air blowing against his face. Looking around, he saw that the black smoke had made the yard a mess and a mess. The scene was very scary.
"Ah, this... is my home..."
Wang Zhongsi didn't seem to see it, and continued to talk to Xue Bai despite the raging fire.
"Xue Lang took action to save me this time. I can understand it and bear it in my heart. Unfortunately, the military situation is urgent and I cannot stay in Chang'an for long. I will seek repayment after taking Shibao City."
"General Wang is too polite." Xue Bai refused to be polite to him, "It's an honor for me to be able to contribute, and I also have selfish motives. I just hope that General Wang will not forget my request when he repays his merits."
"Okay, magnanimously." Wang Zhongsi said, "If you can't get a Jinshi, you can come to me and train under me, and I will recommend you to be an official."
"Thank you so much, general. If Chun Wei fails to ascend the throne, he will definitely join the general's service."
Wang Zhongsi has been in the border town for a long time and is used to speaking freely, but he is not completely unreasonable. He smiled and said: "Of course, with Xue Lang's talent, he will definitely be able to reach the top."
"Thank you General for your kind words." Xue Bai said: "By the way, there is one more thing. I wonder if I can invite General..."
"But it doesn't matter."
"Xiao Fang, the prison chief, reported that we were secretly manufacturing weapons. Regardless of the purpose, it did not really hurt us. I heard that he has been sent to the Ministry of Punishment Prison, but his family is innocent, and his son had an affair with his sister-in-law. engagement……"
"Okay!" Wang Zhongsi waved his hand and said, "I will protect the Xiao family."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank you. You have great magnanimity and a broad plan, so why should I be so petty? There is a fighting cock in the court. In recent years, you have often taken advantage of the whole family. I can't get used to it."
To Xue Bai, this was not a big deal.
He knew that it was Dong Gong who would silence Xiao Fang, so he asked Wang Zhongsi to protect his innocence and see if he and Li Heng were of the same mind in everything.
…
The fire wrapped the stone and made a "crackling" sound. Wang Zhongsi personally carried a bucket of water and stood aside to wait. The man was like a stone.
When the time was almost up, he poured a bucket of water down, and the heated stone suddenly became cold and exploded with a "bang".
"Stone paint can be used." Wang Zhongsi said, "Stone Castle City is hot during the day and cold at night, so this method may be feasible."
After the discussion was completed, the craftsman An Boboy was invited to make weapons according to this method, and Xue Bai just left.
~~
After leaving the king's house, Du Wulang breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel that he was suffocated by the murderous aura.
He was a little regretful that he could not talk to Wang Zhongsi and did not even greet him.
But thinking about it, the Jiedushi of the four towns was busy with important affairs, so how could he have time to think about a young man like him? On the contrary, he felt more and more that he was awesome.
"The general is indeed a general. He is different from the people in Chang'an City."
"Um."
"By the way, you also know about me, right?" Du Wulang said: "Sanniang and I... that..."
Xue Bai said: "It depends on Sanniang's wishes. If she is willing to marry you, we can discuss the marriage after you are appointed as an official in spring."
"real?!"
"It doesn't matter what I said. I'll ask your grandpa and Liu Niang."
"Hey, why do you keep calling your grandma 'Liu Niang'? What a shame." Du Wulang said, "I have to coax her for you every time to prevent her from getting bored."
Xue Bai was too lazy to talk to Du Wulang.
Now that his talents are gradually accumulating, even Li Linfu does not dare to trap him easily. If he waits until he is awarded an official position and his connections are spread... In short, with enough strength, he may be able to become Xue Pingzhao and seek for Hedong County.
Duke's title.
He doesn't care if it's true or not. Anyway, it's impossible to truly honor someone as his biological father or mother. What's important is whether he can accept this identity.
There's still a lot to go wrong at the moment, but I already have an idea.
~~
When we left Yanshoufang, it was already afternoon.
The two of them drove their horses back to Xue's house in Changshoufang, and saw a luxurious carriage parked at the door, but it was Mrs. Guo Guo who wanted to see Xue Bai.
Xue Bai had already expected it, and this time he brought Qing Lan with him.
…
"Is this your personal maid?" Yang Yuyao liked beauties. When she saw Qing Lan, she looked at her carefully for a while and said in surprise: "You haven't shown your face yet?"
"yes."
After hearing this, Qing Lan wished she could bury her face in her collar. Yang Yuyao felt more and more amused and said to Xue Bai: "If you don't touch her, don't say it's for me."
"In order to concentrate on my studies." Xue Bai said: "She is the granddaughter of Huangfu Deyi's mother's family, so some people accuse her and I of being Li Ying's remnants and colluding with each other."
"Yes, yes, it's amazing to focus on your official career." Yang Yuyao covered her mouth and laughed, and spat: "You monster, you want to take advantage of me again."
"It's not about taking advantage of her. I want to make a contribution to her so that I can redeem her citizenship and become a good citizen. I have entrusted Wang Zhongsi with this matter. I am worried that someone will make an article about it in the future, so I will tell you first."
"This little maid is lucky enough to meet such a master... Mingzhu, take her to play, eat some cakes, and get some new clothes made."
"yes."
After the maids retreated, Yang Yuyao picked up a cherry, threw it gently on Xue Bai's neck, and spat: "I haven't been here for many days. I have climbed up to Princess Yuzhen. I won't be needed in the future."
.”
"Want to know why I'm like this?"
"Come here and tell me." Yang Yuyao raised her foot and hooked Xue Bai.
"Princess Xianyi said that I am Xue Xiu's wife. I don't know whether it is true or not. But if I am framed again, I will definitely die. Please prepare more ways to protect yourself..."
"Don't be afraid, my sister will protect you."
After Yang Yuyao heard this, she lowered her head and bit off the cherry she had just thrown from Xue Bai's neck. She glanced at him with a look of flattery.
"I want to succumb to demons."
"Can it be lowered?"
Xue Bai made a move, forcing Yang Yuyao, with a look in his eyes teasing her for not being strong enough.
Not to be outdone, she snorted softly.
"I have a binding curse to tightly bind you, the big monster..."