On the first day of September, not long after the morning drums started ringing, the door of the charnel house was pushed open.
The thin morning light was not enough to dispel the darkness and gloominess in the room, and the smell of putridity filled the air.
When I got closer to the torch, I saw a stump of a limb lying on the gray limestone, which had begun to turn black and shrivel.
"The wound cannot be recognized anymore, so Wang Zhongcheng can bury it."
"Thank you."
With a heavy expression on his face, Wang Fei walked to a head and personally wiped off the lime on Pei Mian's face.
He turned to the corpse stitchers behind him and said: "Sewing."
"Here."
Some of the stumps could not be recovered, so Wang He specially used precious wood for Pei Mian's bones and clay for his flesh. It took three hours of sewing to create a complete body.
The funeral procession brought the coffin.
Suddenly, a group of Beiya soldiers came over.
"Wang Zhongcheng actually held the funeral for Pei Mian himself?"
"Yes." Wang Zhi said: "Zhang Fu and I have known each other for many years. He died unexpectedly. I should collect his body for him."
"But I heard that Pei Mian is the person placed by the East Palace next to Wang Zhongcheng?"
"Those who serve the imperial court are all ministers of the saints." Wang Xian said: "Even if Zhang Fu was at fault, he should never have suffered such a cruel attack without being interrogated by a judge."
"What Wang Zhongcheng said is absolutely true. By the way, I heard from the Yushitai that the murderer was Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedu envoy An Lushan. Why do you make this assertion?"
Wang Fei's face was stern and he said solemnly: "I won't make a fuss about Zhang Fu's death. I'm just telling the truth."
"yes."
The coffin was lifted, the bell rang, and the funeral procession slowly moved towards the outskirts of the city.
Wang Fei was determined to move towards the position of imperial censor.
Today he is dressed in plain clothes, but tomorrow he will wear purple robes.
…
"When the soul comes back, it can't take longer. When the soul comes back, you are supreme!"
The paper was thrown high and fell all over the floor.
These are yellowed and poor bamboo papers, so brittle that they break when touched and are quickly trampled to pieces by people.
Someone watched the funeral procession go away, then turned around and reported the news.
"Wang Fei personally collected Pei Mian's body and buried it in the suburbs. Everyone said that Fan Yangjin killed him. I'm afraid this matter will never end."
"When this old dog dies, let's see who collects his body."
~~
Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
Li Linfu held important positions with one person and managed the government very efficiently. He almost didn't have to go to Taiwan Province to see things. He was in the mansion and all the officials were gathered together.
That afternoon, Yang Zhao came to play.
He used to serve Li Linfu as a spitting pot, but now he has become the backbone of the Yang Party, which is really annoying. However, he kept his attitude low and repeatedly explained that he had no choice but to be forced by his relatives. He even said, "I am in the uncle's house, but my heart is right."
"Xiang" and other shameless words.
In addition, Yang Zhao was a doctor in Duzhi, and concurrently served as Taifu Cheng, managing the internal government's storage and cashier, and became the saint's private money bag. Only then did Li Linfu tolerate him.
In particular, official affairs must be handed over well, and the saint's affairs must not be ruined.
"I have seen the right prime minister, and he has worked hard, so I am a little polite..."
"Talking about things."
Yang Zhao said: "Yang Shenjin suffered a huge loss when he was appointed Minister of the Taifu. Although the officials and others tried their best, the foundation of the Taifu was weak. Long live the Qianqiu Festival, and the royal banquet for the Mid-Autumn Festival was overrun..."
There was a lot of nonsense, and Li Linfu didn't need to hear that it was known that the saint was out of money, so he muttered: "Hu'er came to Beijing and presented many treasures."
Yang Zhao was respectful and said: "Right Prime Minister, what the saint has given to Hu'er is even more generous!"
Since he was an official in the Taifu, how could he say that An Lushan enriched the Taifu's treasury? Anyway, it was impossible to verify who had more generous gifts, the saint or Hu'er.
Li Linfu first read the official documents and accounts of the Taifu, raised his eyes, landed on the two rows of seals on the table, and selected two seals.
A batch of treasury was transferred from the Ministry of Household Affairs to the emperor's private property, and the Ministry of Finance directly approved it, so that Yang Zhao would not have to make another trip and delay the saint's use of money.
However, he did not hand over the official document directly, but gave Yang Zhao a few words.
"I heard that it was you who encouraged Wang Xian to sue Hu Er?"
"The right prime minister misunderstood. I can't explain this matter because the yellow mud fell into my crotch." Yang Zhao said hurriedly, "Wang Zhongcheng wanted to be promoted to imperial censor, and he had a dispute with Hu'er..."
"You still dare to quibble!" Li Linfu angrily shouted: "Do you think you are fanning the flames without knowing the truth?"
Yang Zhao bowed his head and confessed, his voice full of fear and uneasiness, and said: "It's Xue Bai. As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival was over, he asked Mrs. Guo Guo to invite me over and asked me to forward the petition to Wang Zhongcheng, but I didn't even read it.
look."
"A short-sighted loser who only focuses on a few official positions and fights against his own people? When the East Palace becomes powerful, will you get the whole corpse?"
"This official is so stupid!"
Yang Zhao said, giving himself a hard slap, and the "snap" sound was very loud.
He was so thick-skinned that Li Linfu's lectures were boring and he threw away official documents and told him to get out.
…
Not long after, An Lushan entered the meeting hall. At the same time, two maids held his big belly to prevent it from falling on the floor of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Hu'er salutes your right minister."
"No need to bother." Li Linfu waved the maid away and said, "Sit down."
An Lushan said: "Right Prime Minister, Hu'er saw the spitting pot when he came in."
"Um."
"Hu'er didn't offend him, but he always made things difficult for me. What's his intention? Wang Zhongcheng is the same. If he wants the post of imperial censor, just give it to Hu'er. How can he ruin the right minister's affairs?"
"Give up?" Li Linfu scolded: "He dares to reach out and snatch it away even though I haven't given him the real phase. Will he even want this phase in the future?!"
An Lushan's eyes rolled when he heard this, and he kept scratching his head.
"Let me ask you the truth for the last time. Didn't you send someone to kill Pei Mian?"
"The right prime minister is a fairy-like figure. He must have understood clearly that Hu'er would not do such a thing." An Lushan shook his head, "Someone framed Hu'er."
"What's the use of knowing only the true face? The key is that the saint can trust you?"
"In fact, the saint believes in Hu'er." An Lushan said: "But I can't stand Wang Zhongcheng. Yang Zhao keeps slandering him. This is three people becoming a tiger. Please ask the right minister to take action."
Li Linfu frowned and thought, how did something that was originally certain become such a mess in front of him?
The crumbling East Palace did not fall, Pei Kuan was promoted due to the salt tax, and Wang Zhongsi was afraid that he would be one step closer to capturing Shibao City.
It felt like swinging a knife that was sure to hit, but someone grabbed it and stabbed An Lushan instead... that is, An Lushan is fat and can withstand it.
"Wrong!" Li Linfu suddenly said: "You have been fooled."
An Lushan's eyes widened with an innocent look on his face.
Li Linfu said in a deep voice: "It is useless to argue with Wang Zhi and Yang Zhao. It will not prove your innocence. On the contrary, it will muddy the water and give the East Palace a chance to breathe."
"That's it." An Lushan clapped his hands and laughed, "The right prime minister is really a god, this will make it clear."
"You have been confused by these people. The key to this matter is to find the real culprit."
"Who is it?" An Lushan acted like a pig from beginning to end and only knew how to ask, "Who is it?"
Since meeting Yang Zhao just now, Li Linfu has been thinking about one problem - the spit pot has risen too fast recently.
In the Liu Ji case, Yang Zhao benefited and was moved to the post of censor; in the Yang Shenjin case, Yang Zhao entered the Taifu and initially took care of the saint's internal money; in the trial implementation of the Salt Tax Law, Yang Zhao became prosperous with the Yang Party and moved to several positions...the stories behind these things , there is a person in each.
"Xue Bai?"
Li Linfu had actually thought of Xue Bai for a long time. From the Imperial College fraud related to Zheng Qian's case to the Mid-Autumn Imperial Banquet when Xue Bai blocked An Lushan's future, that kid was very conspicuous.
But a young man shouldn't have the strength to instruct frontier soldiers to kill people in the capital, unless... Wang Zhongsi?
"Xue Bai."
"Is it my uncle?" An Lushan was shocked and shouted: "He looks innocent and kind, but is he so evil-minded?"
"In April, when Wang Zhongsi returned to the court, Xue Bai built huge stone cannons to help him attack Shibao City." Li Linfu said: "Wang Zhongsi must have left his old soldiers behind, and Xue Bai drove him to kill Pei Mian."
"However, the Uighurs under Dong Gong's command were also killed. Is this harming Dong Gong and Wang Zhongsi himself?"
"So it can be concluded that it was driven by Xue Bai, who harmed the East Palace with one hand, and framed you with the other, in order to gain profits for the Yang Party."
"So cunning?" An Lushan became more and more surprised and asked: "Right Prime Minister, how should we expose him?"
"Buying Jifang Xiao'er and Jin Wuwei, and inspiring Fan Yang's soldiers to kill people. This matter was jointly done by the East Palace and Yang Dang, and it will leave traces. The truth will order the officials of the third department to investigate, and your subordinates can cooperate..."
"Fortunately, the Right Prime Minister came forward for Hu'er." An Lushan was overjoyed. He stood up and saluted with his heavy body, and said to please: "Hu'er came today and brought some gifts to the Right Prime Minister."
Li Linfu was not short of money, but An Lushan's willingness to bring gifts every time he visited was rare.
After a while, more than ten beautiful maids came in, each holding a wooden box. They all had exotic styles and characteristics. They only wore a thin piece of silk cloth, and the house was filled with spring beauty.
"This is wisteria incense." An Lushan pointed to the wooden box and said, "I don't know whether it is good or bad. I only know that it is very expensive. It is the most expensive incense. This makes it worthy of the Prime Minister."
Li Linfu said: "The fragrance of wisteria is valuable because it is rare. When a vine in Nanhai is injured, it secretes glue to repair it. After thousands of years, the glue condenses into a heart as solid as iron, and the color is purple, so it is called 'wisteria fragrance'. The fragrance can penetrate the bone marrow."
, making people seem to blend into the heaven and earth, like flying immortals. They are the treasures of the immortal family. It is difficult for Hu'er to collect so many."
"The Right Prime Minister is really an immortal. It is useless to smell the fragrance of such vulgar things as Hu'er." An Lushan said with a smile: "These vulgar captives are also given to the Right Prime Minister."
"Hu'er is interested..."
After An Lushan left, the beautiful maid was taken into the backyard, and there was still a faint fragrance in the hall.
After talking about the intrigue, Li Linfu returned to practical work and looked at the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts with worry.
The imperial court's expenses were running low again, and it needed him, a capable and unparalleled prime minister in the world, to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
His eyes fell on the snow-white rattan paper on the case. He thought about it and came up with a solution.
Previously, he had allowed the court to reuse regular official documents every year, saving a lot of money on paper. However, rattan paper became increasingly expensive, and even the court's paper required local tribute.
He suddenly thought that his son-in-law Yuan Zhen had learned about the disappearance of the insider before, and used the public funds of Jingzhao Mansion to preemptively purchase Guanzhong rattan materials and make a fortune. Recently, he has been talking about sending people to the south of the Yangtze River to cut off hundreds of miles of vines in Shanxi River.
, you will definitely become rich.
Li Linfu was public-spirited and did not intend to pursue such personal gains. He only wanted to save money for the court. So, if he could buy all the rattan materials from the court like He Bian, he could save a small amount.
Don’t be afraid of cutting too much when cutting expenditures. Gather water to form a lake and gather sand to form a tower. If taxes increase little by little and expenses decrease little by little, the finances will be able to operate smoothly.
What would the Tang Dynasty do if there were no capable ministers like him?
…
A piece of wisteria incense was lit, refreshing the nose.
The snow-white rattan paper official document was cut in half to show that the Prime Minister took the lead in saving. One by one, the glorious Tianbao flourishing era was saved.
~~
A bamboo curtain was gently swayed in the pulp pool, and was quickly lifted up, filtering out many water droplets, leaving only a thin pulp film.
When viewed under the sunlight, the pulp film is very uniform and the bamboo tendons are no longer visible.
"not enough."
Xue Bai was still dissatisfied and said: "I have used sun-dried bamboo paper yesterday. Although it is good for writing, it is not durable. It needs to be improved. At least the quality cannot be inferior to rattan paper."
Jiang Cheng looked a little tired, but not as timid as before, and responded: "Yes, I have thought about it, maybe try cooking it for a longer time to make the bamboo softer?"
"Can."
Xue Bai didn't know the specific process. He felt that cooking paper pulp was like cooking rice. It was just a matter of boiling it till it becomes tender and sticky. If it's not tender enough, cook more, and if it's not sticky enough, add more ingredients.
"Any idea can be tried, as long as it can produce good paper at low cost."
"Here."
Du Wei was worried that Xue Bai's random promises of large rewards would disrupt her plans, so she smiled and pulled Xue Bai into the back hall to talk about the plans for the paper mill and bookstore.
Du Wulang also came with Xue Bai today. He was left alone in the courtyard, so he looked around curiously.
"Mr. Jiang, I heard that you tried using urine?"
"Not bad." Jiang Cheng carefully observed the difference between the two pulps and responded casually: "I have a vague feeling that urine has some effect?"
"Is that so? Wouldn't it be better if the boy peeed? I have it."
"Goro is funny."
Du Wulang was a good talker. He curiously talked about the scenery of Jiajiang and asked Jiang Cheng why he voluntarily sold himself.
"After decades of running the business, I have lost all my money. When I am over fifty, I still have to take the money from selling the shop and return to Jiajiang through the Qinling Mountains. Alas, I feel timid just thinking about it. There is no land in my hometown, and the rent is mediocre.
I don’t know how to pay.”
"It's not easy. How did the old gentleman lose all his money?"
Jiang Cheng sighed and said nothing, and there was movement in the front yard.
They rushed to the store and saw a handsome young man wearing a dark blue official robe with a short beard and his entourage rummaging through the counter, looking arrogant.
"Yuanhu Cao, what else are you doing today?"
"Jiang Cheng, you haven't paid your rent yet."
"I handed it over in early August..."
"You want to resist the labor force. The silk given to you is not enough, and it is of mixed colors. It is also mixed with the labor force. You haven't paid for the sex labor." Yuan Zhen laughed casually and said: "You haven't paid for the city tax either."
Jiang Cheng carefully apologized and said, "The customs tax was paid to the Dongshi Department at the beginning of the year."
Yuan Zhen took two steps forward and whispered in Jiang Cheng's ear: "You have been supplying official paper for decades. How could I not know how much wealth you have? Look at the people in Dongshi doing this business. Who is not standing behind you?"
No one knows good from evil."
With a bitter look on his face, Jiang Cheng responded: "How could Yuanhu Cao not know that the interview books are all false? I can't even afford to burn them to ashes..."
"That's enough, I don't have time to listen to you pretending."
"Then," Jiang Cheng had no choice but to bend down even lower and said cautiously, "Then I will teach Yuanhu Cao that I have sold myself into slavery, and my husband will take care of his own affairs.
"
"ha?"
Yuan Zhen thought it was ridiculous, and immediately raised his hand and slapped Jiang Cheng, causing the little old man to fall to the ground.
"Things that don't open their eyes would rather be with others than me, right?"
"stop!"
Suddenly someone shouted and stepped forward to help Jiang Cheng.
Yuan Zhen turned around and saw a young man wearing a robe, with a fat face and small eyes, and he looked lackluster.
"You are the one who dares to buy him, right? For covering up a fugitive, you fell into my hands."
"ah?"
Du Wulang was stunned and responded: "You can say that, what do you want?"
Yuan Zhen said angrily: "Did you know that I want this workshop to be of great use, and you dare to rob it?"
Du Wulang just helped Jiang Cheng up. He had not yet entered the state of arguing with others. His tone seemed a little weak, but his attitude was very direct.
"You want this workshop to be of great use? It's none of our business."
Chapter 2 is even later today. Don’t wait, because I go to bed late, wake up late, and get later every day. It’s sad~~ I’ll try my best to adjust it later~~