After the imperial chariot arrived at the palace, those clan members who were not close to the saint were sent away first, and they went home to plan their future. Those who were left behind were the ones who were favored by the saint.
"The sage said, 'Now that he has returned to Chang'an, let Xue play cards for a round.'"
Xue Bai was summoned away like this in front of Yan Yan, which can be regarded as confirming the reputation of the gambling family.
All the way into the Forbidden Garden, Li Longji was watching An Lushan's subordinate Zhang Lizhen present the tribute.
"An Dafu has always told the craftsmen that the saint likes wine vessels, and is looking forward to celebrating the saint's birthday during the Long Live Qianqiu Festival."
"Hu'er is determined. If he is determined, when he arrives, he will naturally see the 'Dancing Horse'."
Li Longji laughed.
Xue Bai followed the chamberlain and stood aside, his eyes fell on the silver pot that Li Longji was rubbing in his hand, and he was in a daze for a moment.
Thousands of years have passed, and he has seen it before. At that time, it was called "gilt leather bag style silver kettle with dancing horse bit and cup pattern".
The dancing horse holding a cup in its mouth is another grand scene of the Tang Dynasty. Whenever a saint has a birthday banquet, the dancing horse will dance and hold a wine cup in its mouth to toast the saint's birthday.
This scene is gilded and embossed on the leather bag pot. The leather bag pot is in the Khitan style. It is unique from design to production and is completely different from the Central Plains wine vessels.
Others don't understand, but after thinking about it carefully, they realize the power of An Lushan's gifts.
You have to understand that saints have the habit of collecting drinking utensils; you have to understand that horse dancing is one of the saints' favorite things; and then you should quietly mention that you care about the saint's birthday.
Xue Bai felt ashamed.
Compared with An Lushan's ability to please the saint, he is far inferior.
When is the saint’s birthday? The fifth day of August.
During the Long Live Qianqiu Festival, Anlushan regarded it as the biggest event of the year, and even fought in order to sacrifice prisoners in the autumn.
This is just a small gift, and there are so many gifts like this in the box.
And it has just begun. An Lushan's gift-giving convoy has not yet completed its journey. More captives, cattle, sheep, camels, horses, rare birds and animals, and jewelry and foreign objects are on the way.
After Zhang Lizhen presented several more tributes, Li Longji finally noticed Xue Bai and scolded him again.
"Xue playing cards, why do you look so reluctant?!"
"Replying to the sage, I'm going to take the annual exam soon." Xue Bai said: "I always play cards all night, and I have no energy for several days after that."
Li Longji laughed.
There were countless people who wanted to play cards with him, but he was not as interesting as he could not force others to do.
"I don't feel tired, how old are you?" Li Longji put down the gold cup in his hand, with a proud look on his face, "Here, serve."
On the side, Zhang Lizhen, who had just picked up the next piece of gold and was about to introduce it, was stunned.
In the past, when he came to deliver tributes, the saint would listen to his explanation of each artifact and sometimes ask a few questions. This has never been the case today.
Xue playing cards?
After a year of absence, a person like this who can steal the Sacred Heart has appeared in Chang'an City.
~~
The people playing cards together this time are Yang Yuhuan and Zhang Ting.
As the crown prince Liangdi, Zhang Ting often went to the palace to play cards, so no one was worried that Li Longji would steal another daughter-in-law.
Because there are actually too many beauties around Li Longji, and there are dozens of them who are well-known in both the government and the public, and all of them have a romantic story. He is now in his sixties, and what he needs more is a playmate.
Here we are playing cards together, and over there Li Guinian is strumming the strings and singing, which is completely different from Xu Hezi.
"The fragrance of red lotus root lingers in the jade mat in autumn..."
Yang Yuhuan pushed a card and hummed softly along, but his singing method was completely different from Li Guinian's. He had actually mastered Xue Bai's singing method.
Li Longji continued to sing, becoming more and more proud. He glanced at Xue Bai contemptuously and asked, "How does it compare to you?"
Xue Bai was surprised and said: "I sing like that... How can a saint compare with me?"
"Haha, Shuzi, you can't even hear the same singing method?"
"Music is an elegant thing, I can only play cards."
Li Longji smiled and said: "I am good at both music and dominoes. It can be seen that dominoes are as elegant as music."
Although Zhang Ting had no idea what they were talking about, the emperor told a joke and she immediately laughed along with him.
"Thanks to the saint's great blessing, I have become elegant."
After that, she knocked down the dominoes in front of her.
"What a fool."
Li Longji laughed brightly and rewarded Zhang Ting with a tribute.
When the ladies in charge of the palace came forward to make cards, Zhang Ting said: "When I came, I happened to meet Ah Tu coming back. He talked about his trip to Zhongnan Mountain and couldn't help but talk about how rare it was that he met Xue Lang, who was famous in Chang'an."
"In the blink of an eye, Ah Tu was too old to have a hairpin."
"In my daughter's house, it's inevitable to be curious when seeing new things. There are so many stories and new words that I can't finish them."
Li Longji could sense Zhang Ting's intention and looked at Xue Bai.
Xue Bai lowered his head and took a sip of water.
"Shuzi, I'm talking about you, what are you avoiding?"
What are you avoiding? Even the servants on the side know clearly. In this Tang Dynasty, who wants to marry a daughter of the clan? There are many saints, princesses and princesses, and all of them are worried about getting married.
Suddenly, Yang Yuhuan smiled and said: "The young man has been praised and still knows how to be humble."
She waved and called Zhang Yunrong to bring over the golden bowl with lotus petals that she received today.
This golden bowl was made by Anlu Mountain. The lotus petal pattern is beaten on the wall of the bowl, which is extremely delicate.
The craftsmanship of hammered relief is not something that Central Plains craftsmen are good at. It can be seen that An Lushan is definitely a master of gift giving.
"You gave those good things, and the saint promised you a future when you grow up, but I haven't rewarded you yet, so I will use this golden bowl to give you a good fortune of 'food and clothing'... provided that you win today's card game.
.”
"Thank you, Concubine, for your kindness."
When you have a golden rice bowl, why bother with the princess?
When Li Longji heard this, he laughed and said: "The golden bowl given by Taizhen can hold ten dendrobiums of wine. Can you drink it?"
"If a saint is reluctant to give, if he wins over this kid..."
Zhang Ting was disappointed when she saw that the saint refused to talk about the marriage.
After saying something like a joke, Yang Yuhuan turned her beautiful eyes and glared at Xue Bai with a hint of reminder and warning.
——I will help you out this time, and see if you dare to cause trouble in the future.
~~
The sun shines through the paper window and shines brightly on the golden bowl on the table.
"So beautiful!"
Qinglan had been lying there staring at it for a long time, even her eyes were flashing with golden light.
But she was reluctant to pour water from the golden bowl. She wiped it clean and put it away carefully, as if offering it to her for nourishment.
Xue Bai was not interested in gold or silver at all, he thought porcelain was just fine.
He stared at Qinglan's back for a while, and suddenly thought that the last time he asked her "Do you want to be my concubine" was so uninspiring... He had these messy thoughts every time he woke up.
Chang'an City is not as quiet as Zhongnan Mountain. Before I wake up, there are already guests coming to see me.
…
In the hall, Pei Chen was chatting with Du Wulang. He looked calm, but there was anxiety in his eyes. When he saw Xue Bai, he stood up.
"Xue Lang is finally back. Did Zhong Nanshan and his party gain anything?"
"I learned the method of breathing and breathing from Master Qixuan and gained many enlightenments."
Pei Chen said with a smile: "In the past, Lu Zang lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain and was awarded a high official position. However, those who only focus on business will find it difficult to succeed in officialdom."
Xue Bai understood, led Pei Chen into the study, and asked, "Is Mr. Pei in trouble again?"
"An Lushan is going to Beijing to pay tribute soon." Pei Chen said: "This Hu is a disciple of Ge Nu, and he has already promised that he wants the position of imperial censor, so he will definitely deal with my father."
"So arrogant?"
"Hu'er is so favored by the saint that he will definitely frame my father in front of the saint. I'm afraid he will have to ask his uncle Guo and Xue Lang to help him."
Pei Chen's face was solemn, and the fact that he came to discuss with Xue Bai in white showed that his prediction of the situation was not optimistic.
Xue Bai asked, "Since there is a frame-up, there must be a crime. Brother Nu, Hu'er can't kill Duke Pei out of thin air, right?"
Pei Chen knew that he was asking about Pei Kuan's details and didn't want to tell him. However, after hesitating, he still chose to trust the ally in front of him.
"When my father was appointed as the Jiedu Envoy of Fan Yang, he allowed the border troops to kidnap Khitan slaves, sell and distribute the spoils privately, and lie about their military exploits. Of course, this was the custom of the border troops."
"Since it is a common practice, can they use this to deal with Mr. Pei?"
"Does Mr. Xue know about the Khitan?"
"Appreciate further details."
"At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in the third year of Zhenguan, the Dahe clan of Khitan attached itself to the Tang Dynasty and was given the surname Li. For the next seventy years, the Dahe clan governed the eight Khitan tribes as the governor of Songmo until the internal strife between the Yaonan clan and the Dahe clan.
Rebel against the Tang Dynasty and seek refuge with the Turks..."
Pei Chen roughly told the origin of the Khitan Rebellion.
To put it simply, the Dahe clan was loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and the Yaonian clan was traitorous to the Tang Dynasty.
"During the Kaiyuan period, the sage appointed Zhang Shougui as the military governor of Fan Yang, who repeatedly defeated the Khitans. Later, he used Li Guozhe of the Dahe family to get rid of Ke Tuyu of the Yaonan family. The imperial court granted Li Guozhe the title of Prince of Beiping County, Songmo
The governor, who led the Khitan, seemed to have ended the Khitan rebellion. The saint believed that Zhang Shougui had made great achievements and wanted to reward him heavily, and even made him prime minister. But does Xue Lang know why Zhang Jiuling opposed this?"
Xue Bai said: "Is the credit false?"
"Getting rid of one Ketuyu will not solve the Khitan rebellion at all. In the second year, the leader of the Yaonian clan killed Li Guozhe and started the rebellion again. Therefore, Zhang Jiuling believed that Zhang Shougui's merits were not enough to become the prime minister.
,'If the Khitan is defeated only by guarding Gui, Your Majesty will be considered the prime minister. If Xi Jue is completely destroyed, what official will reward him?'"
"This is Zhang Shougui, the former military governor of Fanyang before my father. Let's talk about the successor Anlushan. This man is Zhang Shougui's adopted son. He is good at nonsense, cunning, and has the ability to fight. But Zhang Shougui and Anlushan both have one
The main thing is to lie about your military exploits."
At this point, Pei Chen felt a little embarrassed and asked, "Do you understand what I mean? When my father was appointed as the envoy of Fan Yang, he improved military discipline and showed concern for the people. He believed that if you want to destroy the Khitan, you should have a long-term plan."
Xue Bai instead dared to speak directly, saying: "The sage prefers ministers like Zhang Shougui and An Lushan who can do things."
From these things, we can see Li Longji's perfunctory governance.
Zhang Jiuling is obviously more far-sighted in his view of the Khitan situation. As for Li Longji, he is not so much short-sighted as he is overjoyed and impatient. He may not be unable to see the root of the Khitan rebellion, but he just finds it annoying and delays his enjoyment.
Therefore, Zhang Shougui won a battle and boasted about his military exploits, which was to pacify the Khitan. His achievements were outstanding, comparable to those of Wei Huo. In the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, there were many good things.
Complacency, complacency, selfishness.
This emperor showed his arrogance as early as the Kaiyuan period, but at that time there were still many famous ministers and good ministers to restrain him.
Nowadays, no one can check and balance this solemn emperor.
"My father was the best at controlling the bad habits of the frontier army when he was in office, but it does exist." Pei Chen said: "How to say this... An Lushan was in Fan Yang, sending troops every year, and had victories and defeats with the Khitan.
In my eyes, it is a great achievement. When my father was in office, he had no victories or defeats, but he was about to get evidence of his crimes."
Such was the atmosphere in the court during the Tianbao period.
Those who know how to work hard can brag about 10% of their achievements as 10%; those who are too conscientious can frame half of their omissions as 10%.
The problem lies at the root, and Xue Bai can't do anything about it.
"I am just a white man. I have no right to advise the saints on such important military and state affairs. My uncle doesn't know anything about it." Xue Bai said, "How does Brother Pei want me to help?"
Pei Chen asked slowly: "The one who is qualified to discuss the affairs of the Northeast in front of the saints, and the one who can speak fair words, should be the northwest general?"
He wanted to ask the East Palace to reconcile. Of course not all the northwest generals were close to the East Palace, but at the moment, the one who had more say in border affairs than An Lushan could not avoid Wang Zhongsi, the military governor of the four towns.
I came here today not only to relax, but also to make friends with Wang Zhongsi through Xue Bai. Maybe Wang Zhongsi will capture Shibao City within a month or two, and then a word of advice can protect Pei Kuan.
Xue Bai understood and shook his head.
But when he thought about it again, Pei Kuan was helpless.
At present, in the court controlled by Ge Nu, except for Wang Zhongsi, there is really no other important minister who dares to come forward to discuss side issues with An Lushan.
"Pei Gong wants to get close to the East Palace, and I have no objection. Now that I'm just a white man, and the annual exams are coming soon, I won't get involved in this matter and concentrate on my studies." Xue Bai thought to the end and spoke slowly.
Pei Chen was stunned and asked: "What does this mean?"
"Draw a clear line."
"Can……"
"We are all ministers of the saint, and everything should be discussed based on the facts." Xue Bai said sternly: "Otherwise, are we the cliques of the DPRK and China?"
Pei Chen's eyes flickered, and he vaguely understood.
He smiled bitterly and said: "I came here today but I have something else to do... I wanted to discuss marriage with you."
"This joint right now? This matter can only be left alone."
~~
Xue Baicai didn't want to marry a daughter of the Pei family.
Now that he has set his ambition, he also has the standards for marrying a wife.
She must be neither Princess Li nor a daughter of a family with deep roots. Her family status must not be too high or too low. She must be able to support him but not dominate him. It is best to be famous and talented. Her character and talents must also be good.
, he is persuasive and generous, and his character is admirable.
After all, it is the family, the country, and the world, only in this way can we be stable...
Thinking too far, he shook his head to dispel these boring thoughts, picked up the post and a large bag of Western Region jujubes, and went to Yan's house.
~~
"A big watermelon..."
"Brother, what is watermelon?"
"Hangua, go on, a big watermelon, cut it in half with one knife, and give one half to you..."
In the yard, the cicadas chirped for a while, but it was not noisy. The trees beside the yard were blooming with small white flowers, giving people a sense of leisure.
Xue Bai and Yan Yan, one behind the other, slowly finished a set of punches, closed their fists, and exhaled.
"Remember?"
"How can I remember it so quickly?"
"oh."
"Brother, come over and teach me tomorrow. Also, there are too few stories today, right?"
Yan Yan does look better recently.
She used to have low blood energy and her face was a little pale, but today after the boxing, her cheeks were quite rosy.
"The annual examination mainly tests scriptures, not stories." Xue Bai said.
"I have Ji Lanzi's play to read. She is much more diligent than my brother. By the way, can she go directly to my brother's home to visit him? She has to show him the play."
"I'll go there tomorrow." Xue Bai didn't want to let Li Jilan come home.
Nowadays, the most popular foods in Yanzhai are Salvia miltiorrhiza and Astragalus membranaceus. Recently, Xue Bai comes here every day. When Yan Yan drinks Astragalus membranaceus soup, Wei Yun will cook a bowl of Salvia miltiorrhiza for him to drink.
After the fight, the two of them sat at the stone table in the courtyard, holding bowls and drinking.
"It's so bitter. There's a lot of angelica in the astragalus soup."
Yan Yan sighed and saw that Xue Bai had already drank the salvia soup, so she had to continue pouring the medicine.
"Brother, are there any benefits to drinking this?"
"I don't know, oh, Master Niang said that it strengthens Qi and nourishes Yuan."
~~
That night, Xue Bai had a dream.
I dreamed that he was between two boulders. He was staying well. Suddenly, a big fat man ran to the left, and several people, both male and female Taoist priests, ran to the left. They started pushing the boulders on both sides.
Xue Bai thought he was going to die... Fortunately, the boulder seemed to have turned into something else and was soft, so it didn't squeeze him to death.
After the dream, it turned out that things had changed.
After he woke up, he sat there in a daze for a while, knowing that he was thinking about it during the day and dreaming about it at night.
The big fat man was about to come, and the Pei family was so frightened that they fled to the East Palace. Where would they go?
Suddenly I regretted not being able to slap each of these people in the dream.
"Let you push."
…
Went to Yuzhen Temple in the afternoon.
Walking through the alleys of Fuxingfang, this time I actually saw Li Chu, the king of Guangping.
"Xue Bai? What a coincidence."
Li Chu's eyes lit up and he stepped forward to chat enthusiastically, saying, "I'm here to visit my great-aunt, how about you?"
"Isn't King Guangping banned? Oh, it's so rude of me to ask."
"It doesn't matter, my uncle will be returning to Wangwushan soon, so I asked to come to see her." Li Chu asked again: "What are you doing here?"
“Meet friends through literature.”
"Xue Lang is talented and can make friends with his literary skills. He is so elegant."
Li Chu smiled warmly, like Xue Bai's best friend, and took him aside to talk cordially.
"I already know about the matter between you and the Seventeenth Mother of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, or it may be the unspeakable secret you told me. Unfortunately, things in this world are not up to others and cannot be forced."
"Yes." Xue Bai said: "You can't force it."
"Be more open-minded." Li Chu said: "You will meet a wife who is more suitable for you in the future. After getting married, a man should still regulate his words and deeds and treat his wife well, right?"
"What King Guangping said is true. You should treat your wife well."
Li Chu became more and more cordial and said: "I regard you as a confidant, so we have a simple and deep relationship with you, so don't be surprised."
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words before saying goodbye.
Xue Bai walked into Yuzhen Temple and looked back at Li Chu's back. Thinking of Zhang Ting's words in front of the saint, he frowned slightly.
He felt that the emperor's grandson had been a little too free recently.
Chapter 2 is still being written, don’t wait~~ I’ll make some adjustments and try my best to be on time~~ Please give me monthly votes, please give me monthly votes, please give me votes at the beginning of the month, thank you all~~