In the early morning, Luo Xishi was preparing to leave the imperial city and go to Pingkangfang to meet the right minister.
He carefully interrogated Xiao Fangzhi and was surprised to find that the person behind the case was actually a censor under the right prime minister's family.
Did someone fail to calm down and take action without permission? Or was he bribed? Luo Xishi first suspected Yang Zhao.
Xiao Fangzhi didn't know the other party's name, but the matter was simple. He could just summon the censors to identify him, and he could find out quickly.
"Luo Yushi!"
Before An came to the door, officials from the Ministry of Punishment suddenly came after him in a hurry.
Luo Xisolima turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"
"The criminal... the criminal Xiao Fangzhi died."
"What?" Luo Xishi said in surprise: "How did you die?"
"Isn't it... wasn't it... that he was tortured to death by Luo Yushi?"
"Nonsense!" Luo Xishi was furious and shouted: "You know who I am, and you dare to say that I can't use punishment appropriately?!"
…
Returning to the dark cell again, under the light of the torch, Xiao Fanzhi was hanging on the torture rack, his head lowered, with wounds all over his body.
Luo Xishi walked in, eyes widened, looking at this scene in disbelief.
"Luo Yushi, it is common for people to make mistakes and horses to stumble."
Luo Xishi picked up Xiao Fangzhi's hair, carefully looked at the dead man's eyes, and murmured: "He was silenced. Who did it? Xiao Yinzhi, the Minister of Punishment? Check!"
"Luo Yushi..."
"Still calling me? There's no way I'll miss it!"
There were footsteps behind him. Luo Xishi turned around and saw Wang Xi. He quickly bent at the waist, stepped forward and said respectfully: "Zhongcheng actually came to such a dirty place in person..."
"What happened?"
"The Ministry of Punishment, there is something wrong with the officials in the Ministry of Punishment, and important witnesses have been killed."
"It's clear that Yushi Luo used excessive torture!"
"Zhongcheng knows the official..."
Wang Fei did not mind the bad luck and personally inspected the body. He frowned in thought and asked Pei Mian, "What do you think?"
Pei Mian stepped forward and said, "If the case is determined to be silenced, it will be of no benefit to the right prime minister or the princes. It was originally a trivial matter caused by the failure of the engagement between the Xiao and Xue families, but it turned into a conspiracy and made people laugh."
"How?"
"Investigation, such as the Liu Ji case, found out that Xiao Fanzhi made a false accusation, but all those who should be killed with a stick were killed with a stick, and the expected results were achieved."
Wang Fei nodded, turned around, and walked out.
"Luo Xishi, don't worry about this case anymore. Leave it to Pei Mian."
"Zhongcheng, I..."
Pei Mian patted Luo Xishi's back gently and comforted him softly: "Don't be impulsive. Judging a case is not important, being an official is important. You are not a clerk, you are an official."
Having said that, Pei Mian left the Penal Department Prison, summoned a few confidants, and ordered: "Take Xiao Fang's family to the Dali Temple Prison, and I will interrogate them one by one."
"Here..."
~~
At the same time, Du Wulang was coming out of Xue's house and preparing to go to the Imperial College.
"Du Li!"
Looking up, there was a beautiful young man standing at the entrance of the alley, it was Xiao Fan.
Before Du Wulang could react, Xiao Fan rushed forward and grabbed him by the collar.
"Why did you frame my grandpa?!"
"Frame your grandpa? We?" Du Wulang said confusedly: "I heard that your grandpa is in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, but I don't know why."
"My grandfather went to sue you, but he was arrested instead. Wasn't he framed by you?!"
"Hear for yourself what this says."
Du Wulang sighed and shook his head. Xiao Fan followed him, scolding him.
"You must have framed my grandpa in order to steal the bride, please let me go! Otherwise I will never let you go..."
He kept talking, but Du Wulang just ignored him and yawned all the way to Wubenfang. Anyway, Xiao Fan didn't talk as much as Lu Fengniang.
All the way to the Imperial College, I saw several officials in front of me escorting an old servant.
"Goro, run!"
"We found Xiao Wulang, take it!"
Xiao Fan was still in a daze, and Du Wulang suddenly thought of the conversation between Xue Bai and Wang Zhongsi that he vaguely heard yesterday, so he pulled Xiao Fan and ran away.
"Run!"
"stop!"
~~
"Huh...huh...you go, go to Yanshoufang...West Street Alley 2, and ask General Wang to save you..."
"Would I believe you?!"
"Let's go, your family is in trouble, something serious... I'll lure them away..."
Du Wulang, who was out of breath, pushed Xiao Fan again and pushed the skinny fool into the alley. Suddenly he remembered something.
"By the way, Yun Niang... Yun Niang is mine!"
Xiao Fan was stunned, looked back at the ugly boy again, hesitated, and ran away.
Du Wulang was holding his knees and panting. Seeing the official catching up with him again, he screamed strangely and ran into another alley.
Not long after, he was pushed to the ground.
"I got Xiao Fan!"
"I'm not Xiao Fan. Have you ever heard of Du Qi, the fifth son of Chunwei?"
"Believe you? If it weren't for Xiao Fan, why would you run away?"
"Wu Lang, I am also Wu Lang. Hey, which yamen are you from? You look like a jailer from Dali Temple in your attire? Have you seen me?"
"You are really your kid, why are you protecting Xiao Fan?!"
"Why should I protect him? You went to Jingzhao Mansion to ask around, and then I started a lawsuit with him. He came to take revenge on me today. Hey, I thought you were his people and came to get me again."
~~
It's night at the Ten Kings' House.
Li Jingzhong entered the hall carrying a tray and saw Li Heng playing chess with Zhang Ting.
With Zhang Liangdi, the lights in the prince's residence became much brighter.
Putting the wine glass in front of Li Heng, Li Jingzhong stopped talking.
"Just tell me if you have anything to say." Li Heng said, "I won't hide anything from Liang Di."
Zhang Ting smiled slightly and glanced at Li Jingzhong, as if she were a hostess.
Li Jingzhong bent his back even lower and whispered: "Our people encountered trouble while cleaning up the mess, and the Xiao family was saved by General Wang."
"Why did my sworn brother protect the Xiao family? It was the Xiao family that dealt with my sworn brother, wasn't it?"
"This old slave doesn't know the reason."
Li Heng stood up and went back to get an old slingshot. He handed it to Li Jingzhong and said, "Try to tell your sworn brother that you must not be merciful. The Xiao family cannot be protected."
"Here."
Li Jingzhong withdrew, and the couple continued to play chess.
"I thought he was a decisive and decisive general, but he turned out to have such a womanly temperament?"
"My sworn brother has such a temper that he is unwilling to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to attack Shibao City and achieve great service for himself."
Zhang Ting said: "I'm very surprised, why did Xue Bai help him?"
"Maybe the cannon is built just for the credit?"
"No, the trick this time is the same as the last time. He must be willing to help Wang Zhongsi."
Li Heng muttered: "Li Cong also wants to win over my sworn brother."
"Are you sure he is Xue Xi's son?"
"good."
"Li Niang is so stupid. She has no evidence at all, but she comes out and screams again and again."
"Yes." Li Heng stared at the chessboard, thinking, and murmured: "Their power is getting bigger and bigger, but they still don't know how to expose it."
Zhang Ting stretched out his hand, picked up a chess piece from Li Heng's chess basket, pressed it on the chessboard, smiled and said, "Don't worry, your highness will win to the end as long as he doesn't make any big mistakes."
~~
Two days later, Xue Zhai.
Xue Bai came back from Mrs. Guo's house and visited Yan's house again before finally returning home.
He has been in Xue's house recently and can almost be regarded as a rare guest.
"You are finally back. I have something to tell you about Xiao Fan."
Du Wulang was mysterious and pulled Xue Bai to the guest room in the front yard and explained in detail what he saw and heard, but Xue Bai didn't say anything.
"Hey, what do you think?"
"General Wang is unwilling to sacrifice the lives of soldiers for personal military exploits, so he will protect the Xiao family."
"Really?" Du Wulang was still worried, "It's one thing for me to fight for marriage with Xiao Fan, but it's another thing for him to be harmed because he shouldn't be."
"If there is any news, we will be informed." Xue Bai said and went back to the west backyard to study.
Du Wulang didn't know what the news would be, so he stayed in the compound to talk to Xue Xin and others.
At noon, Guan Chongsi actually met Xue Bai.
"The general promised a large sum of money to protect the Xiao family and settle down in Longyou. Xue Lang can rest assured."
"Well, thank you very much, General Wang."
…
When the matter came to an end, Xue Bai immediately led his horse out.
He went all the way east and arrived at Qingmen, where he stationed his horse under a fire-watching tower.
Not long after, Tian Shengong and Tian Shenyu came down from the fire-watching tower and walked into the alley without looking at Xue Bai.
Xue Bai then smiled and waved. The Tian brothers were stunned, and immediately stopped pretending not to know each other and came over to greet him.
"Mr. Lang, are you not afraid that people will know about our relationship?"
"Let's go have a drink."
"Haha, Mr. Lang really only drinks one drink."
Tian Shenyu laughed, but was kicked by his brother.
"If you don't know how to speak, speak less..."
The three of them entered a restaurant. Xue Bai ordered wine and meat and asked, "It's been a while, have you been promoted?"
"Mr. Lang is joking." Tian Shengong said: "We have been transferred not long ago, so there is no reason for promotion."
Tian Shenyu chuckled and said: "Mr. Lang, I'm busy getting married and having children these days. Thanks to the money you gave me, I really want to invite you to have a wedding drink, but I won't let you. But that's all. It was interesting at first, but after a while it just became like that. A real man still has to go into battle to kill the enemy..."
"Listen to Mr. Lang."
Xue Bai said: "Time is running out. It's time for promotion. Now there may be two choices."
Halfway through the words, the Tian brothers' eyes widened.
They knew that this gentleman was highly motivated, but they still weren't used to such a fast promotion.
"The first option is that you can work under General Wang Zhongsi, the Jiedushi envoy of the Four Towns. General Wang will first look at your martial arts skills, and he will be appointed as team leader or brigade commander. The advantage is that there are many opportunities. Once you capture Shibao City, you will be promoted.
It's very fast, but it's very dangerous. Life or death is unpredictable. No one can tell how many people will survive this battle right now. Maybe half, maybe a narrow escape..."
Tian Shenyu's eyes lit up and she immediately said: "Thank you, Sir! I am willing to go! I will choose this one, thank you Sir!"
"Sit down and listen to what Mr. Lang has to say."
Tian Shengong grabbed his brother.
He originally did not want to join the frontier army, but he knew that General Wang had caught the eye of General Wang through his introduction by Xue Bai. He had made great achievements as a brigade commander with his team upright, which was a huge difference from ordinary soldiers.
"The second option is to transfer the Beiya Longwu Army from Nan Ya to Bei Ya. You should be aware of the difference. I don't need to say more."
In this matter, Xue Bai was confident that Chen Xuanli would give him face. Sometimes asking each other for help was also a way to increase connections.
Tian Shengong first stood up and bowed, then stood there thinking.
He knew what a great opportunity Long Wujun was...
Tian Shenyu also stood up, came to Tian Shengong's side, and whispered: "Brother, Stone Castle. We choose Stone Castle, brother."
Xue Bai was not in a hurry and took a sip of wine.
"Lang Jun." Tian Shengong quickly made a decision, "Let's go to Longyou!"
"Why?"
"Fighting a great war with a famous general in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements."
Tian Shengong immediately expressed his position and said: "I hope that Lang Jun will be named on the gold medal as soon as possible and be promoted to an official position, so that my two brothers can serve under Lang Jun's sect."
Tian Shenyu hurriedly said: "Me too!"
"What the hell, can you also be named on the gold medal list?"
~~
The next day, Xue Bai was not in a hurry to introduce the Tian brothers to Wang Zhongsi. Instead, he introduced Yuan Zai to Yang Wei first.
Power is really a magical thing. Yang Hao was originally the Honglu Qing, Shangzhu Kingdom, but he had no real power. Now he is also the servant of the sect and the salt and iron envoy. After a short period of time, his aura has changed.
He was still very enthusiastic towards Xue Bai.
"Now everyone in Chang'an is saying that you are learned and talented, you can compose poems, play dominoes, make delicious food, and build weapons. Xue Lang is so talented that he is famous for a while."
"I should have talked to my uncle about the weapons earlier. Unfortunately, Brother Nu kept a close eye on me, so I played a trick with him to infiltrate Chen Cang."
Yang Hao laughed.
He didn't care about this little credit, but it still made him very happy that Xue Bai could say this.
"I understand, I understand, I'm acting like a slave again, haha. Don't be polite, you and I have been friends for many years, and we will treat each other as brothers from now on. You can just call me 'Brother'."
As he said this, Yang Hao blinked, not quite like a serious person.
Xue Bai was not polite and called immediately: "Brother."
"Hahaha, okay."
"Come to introduce me to my brother. This is Duke Yuan of Yuan Zai. He has great talents and knows how to deal with money, food, salt and iron. He will definitely be my brother's arm."
After Xue Bai said this, Yang Hao immediately raised his eyebrows and looked at Yuan Zai solemnly.
He had heard that Yuan Zai was Wang Zhongsi's son-in-law, and it turned out that he looked good. However, this status made him a little afraid to reuse Yuan Zai.
After greetings, the three of them went into the hall and sat down.
Xue Bai seemed to have guessed what Yang Zhu was thinking, and mused: "My father-in-law has great talents, brother, you can use them with confidence, brother slave dares to bite me again, will we be able to build the East Palace?"
At this time, he was the leader of the Yang Party, and his tone was different from usual, calling Yuan Zai directly.
"For my brother, the struggle for power is not important at the moment. Without the results of one or two years, how can I let the saint see my brother's ability to rule the world? Therefore, we should focus on talents rather than factions. They are all working for the Tang Dynasty, so how can we differentiate between you and me?"
"That's exactly it." Yuan Zai said solemnly: "If I can serve my uncle as a dog and horse, I will never abandon public service for personal reasons. I will only care about the country and the people."
Yang Zheng was in power and was most easily persuaded by Xue Bai. These two sentences were enough. Dang Ji stepped forward and took Yuan Zai's hands.
He didn't understand practical matters for the time being, so he pondered for a long time, and then simply asked: "Gongfu, what official position can you take?"
This kind of courage to let his subordinates choose their own official positions has recently allowed Yang Hao to conquer many capable people.
However, Yuan Zai was not intimidated by him and said calmly: "I would like to stay with my uncle and make suggestions for the transshipment of salt and iron. That's enough."
Yang Wei was stunned.
Nowadays, the salt and iron transfer envoys are set up, and they are planned to be officials of the third rank. The judges of salt and iron have not yet been set up, and they are planned to be lower than the sixth rank. But Yuan Zai, a ninth-rank official, dared to ask for a sixth-rank official, and he was "sufficient" "That's right." It can't be said that he's not bold, and he can't be said that he's not conceited.
He definitely couldn't agree, but he already had a deep impression on this person in his heart.
Xue Bai smiled slightly and thought that Yuan Zai was worthy of being Yuan Zai. This desire for fame and confidence in his own abilities are indeed important qualities for career advancement.
However, if the bottom line cannot be maintained, it is like the tallest ladder without a foundation.
…
In fact, Xue Bai and Yuan Zai did not have a close friendship. It was just that Yuan Zai was good at building relationships, Wang Yunxiu was generous and enthusiastic, and their interests were temporarily aligned, so they seemed to hit it off.
But Xue Bai was still willing to help Yuan Zai seek an official position.
For Wang Zhongsi.
He knew that the incident about Yuan Zai would reach Li Heng's ears sooner or later, and maybe Li Jingzhong would ask, "Your Highness, could it be that Wang Zhongsi has other thoughts?"
There's no rush, he can take his time...
~~
Wang Zhongsi was in a hurry and had to rush back to Longyou in three days.
Prince Li Heng did not come to see him off.
Due to his sensitive identity, Wang Zhongsi returned to Chang'an this time and never met Li Heng from the beginning to the end.
However, Xue Bai went all the way to Shili Changting outside Chang'an City. He stood beside Yuan Zai and Wang Yunxiu and his wife, saying little.
When he looked at Wang Zhongsi's team, he could see that there were craftsmen who could make huge stone cannons and stone paint fireballs, the Xiao family who had been saved, and the Tian family brothers.
Meeting once was enough.
"Okay, it's enough to send it here, don't leave."
Wang Zhongsi got on his horse, glanced at the people seeing him off for the last time, suddenly reined in the reins, and said loudly: "I have received many gifts from you when I returned to the capital, but I am greedy. I heard that Xue Lang is very talented, can you give me some poems?" I?"
Xue Bai came back to his senses and said: "What is the meaning of the farewell poem? When General Wang conquers Shibao City, I will congratulate the general."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Wang Zhongsi laughed, pointed at Xue Bai, and rode away without saying much.
"drive!"
Horse hooves tread on the ancient road of Chang'an, raising dust and smoke.
Xue Bai raised his eyes and looked into the distance. The setting sun in the west was about to fall into Wanliguan Mountain.
On the other side of Guanshan Mountain is a completely different scene from the prosperous Chang'an City, and it is precisely because there are people guarding there that Chang'an is like this.