In mid-May, Yang Qixuan and his wife escorted Li Tengkong and Li Jilan to Wangwushan and visited Princess Yuzhen before returning to Yanshi County.
At this time, the winter wheat is almost ripe, and the wheat fields along the river appear golden, giving people a sense of harvest.
Yang Qixuan was eager to return home, hoping to finish his errands and return to Chang'an as soon as possible. As soon as he entered the city, he went to the county office to meet Xue Bai. This time, Xue Bai did not keep him waiting for too long. After the announcement, he immediately invited him to meet at the flower hall.
In the flower hall, Xue Bai was found talking with two old men. None of them were wearing official uniforms, and their faces were very serious.
"You two, go down."
Yang Qixuan thought they were officials and waved his hand casually, wanting to talk to Xue Bai alone. Unexpectedly, both old men were unmoved, and he couldn't help but frown.
"Can't you hear me? Let you go out."
One of the old men opened his mouth and said: "I am the new Prime Minister of Yanshi County, Yan Chunqing."
"Is this arranged?" Yang Qixuan smiled proudly, ignored Yan Chunqing, and said to Xue Bai: "Look, the Right Prime Minister's Office can arrange whoever you want to be the county magistrate."
In one sentence, the three people in the flower hall did not answer. They all raised their lips with a slight smile, as if they thought it was funny.
"Please ask Yan County Cheng to go out first. Xue Bai and I have something important to discuss." Yang Qixuan looked at the other old man and said, "Yan County Cheng's staff, right? Please."
"Miao Jinqing, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
Yang Qi
There is a certain philistine look in Qing's eyes.
In order to prevent Yang Qixuan from making more embarrassments, Miao Jinqing continued: "I came here at the request of the Right Prime Minister."
"Are you following the wishes of your right prime minister? Then I..."
"Yang Lang, please sit down."
Obviously, the situation changed very quickly, and it was no longer something Yang Qixuan, a loser, could control, so Li Linfu sent Miao Jinqing to Yanshi County again.
Miao Jinqing and Xue Bai had met once in Tongguan. At that time, he had just got rid of the influence of "pulling Bai to be the number one scholar" and returned to the capital, while Xue Bai was preparing to go to Yanshi. He did not expect to see each other so soon.
In fact, he only arrived not long before Yang Qixuan, and the topic had just started.
"Xue Lang was selected as a Jinshi and awarded an official position as an official slave. He has received some kindness from his right minister. Now he is too ungrateful, isn't he?"
Yang Qixuan was confused when he heard this, but he nodded again and again.
Xue Bai said: "Why did Mr. Miao say this?"
"When you asked for an official position, you promised to thoroughly investigate the traitors in the court, but now you have colluded with the king, Zhao Fengzhang and others to slander the right prime minister with ulterior motives."
"..."
Yang Qixuan listened for a long time before he knew what happened.
Xue Bai proposed conditions to both parties and arranged for Yan Chunqing to be the magistrate of Yanshi County. As a result, Yan Chunqing's superior officer, Zhao Fengzhang, sued the right minister for more than 20 serious crimes.
So, no matter what the truth is, in the eyes of outsiders, Wang Zhi, Zhao Fengzhang, Yan Chunqing, and Xue Bai all seem to be colluding.
"Damn it!"
Yang Qixuan was filled with indignation when he heard this. He stood up and shouted angrily: "Xue Bai, you have gone too far!"
Faced with this accusation, Xue Bai didn't take it seriously. Since Li Linfu just sent someone to talk, we know that he didn't do anything too excessive, otherwise he wouldn't be so polite.
"The official position of Yanxian County Prime Minister was arranged by Wang He, and the complaint against Zhao Fengzhang was also done by Wang He. One of the purposes was to create the false impression that I had joined forces with him. If the right minister believed it, he would be fooled."
Xue Bai said this unhurriedly, turned to look at Yang Qixuan, and said: "I guess the right prime minister will not be so unwise."
Yang Qixuan was still acting angry and wanted to put pressure on Xue Bai, but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed after hearing this.
Miao Jinqing had no choice but to come to the rescue again and said: "Whether it's a false impression or not, the evidence will speak for itself."
As he spoke, he looked at Yan Chunqing.
"Before Zhao Fengzhang falsely accused the right prime minister, he forged several pieces of evidence and placed them in the warehouse of Danzhou Prefecture. However, when he was arrested, these forged evidence disappeared. On that day, only Yan County Prime Minister went to him
Farewell, I wonder if you know about this?"
Yan Chunqing was about to deny it.
Xue Bai already responded: "The Prime Minister of Yan County will cooperate with the search."
Yan Chunqing was a little surprised. He turned to look at Xue Bai and wanted to speak, but because of Xue Bai's determined look and strong aura, he did not object in person.
Miao Jinqing was quite satisfied to receive such a statement just after arriving, so he asked again: "By the way, what is the source of the Lishan case?"
Xue Bai waved his hands and said nothing, "Miao Gong and Brother Yang are tired from traveling and traveling, so they should take a rest first."
…
After seeing off the two people sent by Youxiang Mansion, the Yanshi County Magistrate, the County Lieutenant continued to sit in the flower hall.
Yan Chunqing observed Xue Bai's expression and thought that this young man was Yan Zhenqing's disciple and son-in-law, and his character must be trustworthy.
He then asked: "Why should we hand over the evidence left by Governor Zhao?"
Xue Bai was very calm and asked: "Is the evidence useful?"
Yan Chunqing said: "Others mentioned Zhao Fengzhang, the prefect of Danzhou, and said that he was Wang Xuan's confidant. Because he had gone too far in collecting the rent owed by the people in recent years, he also had uneasy conscience. This time he thought he had an opportunity to purge the officials.
, reorganized the imperial court, and just decided to file a complaint. The evidence was indeed given by Wang He, and only Wang He can have such evidence regarding the corruption records of the right ministers in these years."
"Yes, but what I'm asking is is it useful?"
Xue Bai's tone was a bit strong, and he had the confidence to do so. After all, he was the one who recommended Yan Chunqing to the official position, and he held the power of Yanshi County.
By dealing with a troublesome matter, it is the time when the relationship between the two people can be established. Xue Bai must take the initiative.
Yan Chunqing was proud, but had suffered setbacks in his life, so he didn't mind this matter. He muttered: "If this evidence is useless, Genu will not send a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to Yanshi, right?"
"Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, not Supervisory Censor." Xue Bai said: "Miao Jinqing came for me, and Li Linfu wanted my statement."
These words were crazy, and Yan Chunqing was stunned for a moment, but he didn't believe it. Since he entered the officialdom, he had only served as a local official, and he really didn't know much about the struggle at the court level.
Xue Bai said: "Li Linfu dared to order someone to kill Zhao Fengzhang directly with a stick. This is his confidence. He doesn't care at all about the evidence given by Wang Feng. Since it is useless, we might as well hand it over."
"But if you do this, you will miss a good opportunity to deal with the traitor." Yan Chunqing sighed.
When he said this, he didn't think Xue Bai could say anything that would convince him to hand over the evidence left by Zhao Fengzhang.
Xue Bai was not in a hurry to convince him, but instead pondered, and finally murmured: "Will Datang be better off if we deal with the traitor?"
"Of course..."
"Yan Gong thinks who can be replaced as prime minister in the court now to wipe out these bad policies?"
Yan Chunqing said: "It is precisely because Li Linfu got rid of all the virtuous people."
"But now that Li Linfu is getting rid of Li Linfu according to Wang's wish, it is Wang who will be the prime minister."
Yan Chunqing was speechless, but it was not because he was convinced by Xue Bai, but because he suddenly felt confused and began to think about some questions that he had never thought of before.
Xue Bai said: "This matter has nothing to do with justice. It's just a fight for power. We don't need to participate. Hand over the evidence and seize the time to govern Yanshi."
Yan Chunqing was silent for a long time, then finally nodded and obeyed Xue Bai's arrangement.
Xue Bai was very pleased with this and quickly chatted with him about business matters.
"This year is not going to be good. There may be some disasters after autumn, but all the food in the charity warehouses in Yanshi County has been stolen..."
~~
The next day, Miao Jinqing looked through the books handed over by Yan Chunqing and understood Xue Bai's attitude.
But he was still not satisfied and asked: "Xue Lang thinks that several cases in Yanshi are related to the transfer envoy?"
This is still to accuse Wang Zhi of treason.
Xue Bai was never interested in this matter and said: "As a humble official, I don't know much about this. But now Mr. Xing, the Minister of Household Affairs, is in Luoyang. Maybe Mr. Miao can go and ask him?"
Miao Jinqing saw that he was starting to play around with these twists and turns, but he said bluntly: "What I want here is very simple. I want to find out Wang Fei's crime of blaming Anlu Mountain."
Xue Bai said: "I remember that when Duke Miao selected Zhang Xi as the number one scholar, it was An Lushan who reported to the sage that Zhang Xi had no talent and learning, which caused Duke Miao to be demoted."
Miao Jinqing stroked his beard and said: "It can be seen from this that An Lushan is loyal and outspoken. How could he instruct the Gao brothers to do such nonsense?"
If a person has no personal ethics, no matter how famous he is, he will still be looked down upon. Xue Bai looked at Miao Jinqing again, with a slight contempt in his eyes that was not easy to detect.
"But the case has already been submitted to the imperial court. If you want to change it, my words will not count, and Miao Gong's words will not count either."
"The right Prime Minister only wants results."
"Then there must be a witness to lead the case of the Gao brothers to Wang Xian." Xue Bai pondered and said slowly: "Henan Shaoyin Linghu Tao, is the weight enough?"
"Linghu Tao?"
Xue Bai said: "Linghu Tao has a clan brother named Linghu Chao, and his daughter eloped with Gao Shang. Gao Shang secretly caused trouble in Henan Prefecture through this relationship."
Miao Jinqing asked: "Why aren't these in the files?"
"Gao Shang is from Anlushan. The yamen did not dare to make a big fuss, so they suppressed all the news in order to minimize the big issue."
These words made Miao Jinqing keenly aware that something was wrong.
As the Shaoyin of Henan Province, Linghu Tao, even if he was not considered to be the right prime minister, at least had to obey the official documents of the right prime minister, but he concealed this.
Xue Bai continued: "Miao Gong wants to frame the evidence of rebellion on Wang Fei. Instead of letting me do it, it is better to ask Linghu Tao. His confession is crucial."
"Oral confession?" Miao Jinqing said: "The dignified Shaoyin of Henan Prefecture is not a prisoner, how can he get an oral confession?"
Xue Bai did not answer immediately, as if he was thinking.
Miao Jinqing gradually became impatient and said: "To ask Linghu Tao to come forward to testify against Wang Fei is equivalent to asking him to plead guilty. How is it possible?"
Xue Bai said: "Yanshi County Magistrate Lu Linghao resold the charity warehouse grain. Linghu Tao obviously knew about this. In fact, Linghu Tao even resold the charity warehouse in Luoyang Mansion."
"What do you mean?"
"If Mr. Miao wants to force Linghu Tao, he can investigate the Henan government officials' resale of grain from the charity warehouse..."
In Yanshi County, and even in Henan Prefecture as a whole, things gradually became strange.
Miao Jinqing obviously came because of the power struggle, but for some unknown reason, he came forward to help Xue Bai investigate the rebellion.
~~
By June, Xue Bai was still in Yanshi County, managing it patiently.
Summer has arrived, and the weather is gradually getting hotter. There is still little rain in Henan Prefecture this year. Although it is not a severe drought, it will obviously have a big impact on the harvest.
By building canals and digging wells, Xue Bai tried his best to organize the entire county so that the people could keep more of their harvest.
In addition, he also relied on Miao Jinqing's prestige to investigate the resale of grain stored in the warehouse, so as to prepare for enough grain to help the people in the event of a disaster.
In Chang'an, the party struggle is still intensifying...
~~
Before the fourth watch, Yuan Zai opened his eyes and woke up.
He didn't sleep for two hours in total, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, so he stood up quietly, trying not to disturb Wang Yunxiu, who was still sleeping soundly.
Walking all the way to the study, there are several rosters on the desk in the study.
The roster was given to Yuan Zai by Wang Zhi, and it contained a list of the confidants of the Right Prime Minister, including their family backgrounds, official positions, and more information.
This list is of course very important. It can be used not only to disrupt the power of the right prime minister, but also to attract talents.
Yuan Zai could already think that if Li Linfu was overthrown, he would assist Yang Hao as prime minister, and at the same time take this opportunity to accumulate qualifications. Sooner or later, he would also be in charge of the Tang Dynasty.
With this idea, his mind was inexplicably excited, and he was studying these things in his sleep.
While he was busy, the door of the room was pushed open, and Wang Yunxiu came in with his clothes on, saying: "You haven't slept well for several nights, why are you working so hard?"
"I have great ambitions, but I can't sleep."
Yuan Zai is full of ambition, although his tone is sighing, but in fact he is full of enthusiasm and forge ahead.
Wang Yunxiu did not understand her husband's ambition, and said: "Now we have a luxurious house. At your age, you have a sixth-rank official position, hold many positions, and hold great power. What else can you be dissatisfied about? You would rather stay up at night. I’m not afraid of hurting myself either.”
"Sail against the current, and if you don't advance, you will retreat." Yuan Zai said, "The dispute between Li Linfu and the king is unavoidable, so it is better to take this opportunity to gain great wealth."
Wang Yunxiu wanted to persuade him, but he added another sentence.
"What you don't understand is how far I can go."
The candlelight was brightly lit in the study room. Wang Yunxiu looked at Yuan Zai and saw that his eyes were covered with red bloodshot eyes due to exhaustion, and his eyes were full of excitement.
He has come from a humble background to what he is today. All his experiences have made him feel that life will get better and better, so this is his chance to change into a red robe.
…
At dawn, Yuan Zai tidied up his appearance and rushed to Yang Wei's mansion early.
At this time, the morning drums in Chang'an City were just ringing, and the gate of Yang Mansion was already filled with officials waiting to meet. I don't know how they got here. Maybe they waited here all night during the curfew?
Yuan Zai did not have to wait and was taken directly to the meeting hall.
"Uncle Guo, I read the list overnight and think that as long as I win over a few more important ministers, I can bring down Li Linfu."
But Yang Wei waved his hand and said: "Abai's latest letter has arrived, saying that he shouldn't rush to get involved."
"The situation is no longer up to us." Yuan Zai responded.
He believes that whether it is a matter of blending or not, the considerations are reasonable and are just based on different choices. But one should not be indecisive. Once a choice is made, it should be implemented to the end.
"Xue Lang's recommendation of Yan Chunqing was used by Wang He and was implicated in the Zhao Fengzhang case. Many people have concluded that we are allied with Wang He to deal with Li Linfu. If we back down at this time, where will the prestige of the country be? Who else will be willing to serve the country in the future? Uncle serves?"
"Xue Lang is not in Chang'an, so his grasp of the situation will inevitably be biased. But things have priorities, and the affairs of Yanshi County should not be compared with the major events of my uncle..."
Yuan Zai talked eloquently, and finally convinced Yang Hao to let him win over the officials on the list.
In this way, he visited the DPRK and Chinese officials in the name of Yang Dang, promised his future, and gave generous gifts. Within a few days, his reputation soared.
He was finally able to represent the attitude of part of the Yang Party.
~~
On June 18, Wang Yunxiu entertained her close friends at home.
"When I talk about this, I get angry. I've obviously never been to Luoyang, but because of this, many people are saying that I went to have a tryst with him, and my reputation has been ruined. How can I get married in the future?"
"Don't worry, with the Zhang family's family status, the person who wants to marry you can be arranged to go to Luoyang in the long run."
"Look, even you said that they asked to marry me because of the Zhang family's family background."
Scholar Wang Yun realized that he had said the wrong thing.
She grew up in the frontier, and her temperament is like that of a man. She is really not good at all the little things that women need to deal with.
"open……"
Just as Wang Yunxiu was about to speak, suddenly there was a commotion in the courtyard.
She was a little unhappy, so she stood up and looked outside, and was surprised to see a group of officers striding in.
"I was ordered to search Yuan Zai's mansion!"
Wang Yunxiu frowned at the sudden change, but remained calm. He walked forward and shouted: "This is the judge who transports salt and iron..."
"The one being searched is Yuan Zai, take her back for questioning!"
"Who dares to touch me?!"
Although Wang Yunxiu was a woman, she was quite fierce. She showed the demeanor of Wang Zhongsi's daughter and drank to the point where the officials did not dare to come forward.
However, after she found out what happened, she realized that the court had really not wronged Yuan Zai when they came to investigate him.
It is only said that the house they live in now was indeed a gift from Yang Zheng; and in recent days, Yuan Zai has been making friends with officials in the DPRK and giving generous gifts, which has been reported by some of them.
The evidence is conclusive. If an official from a poor background behaves like this, if he says he did not get ill-gotten gains, who can believe it?
But in fact, Wang Yunxiu had already had a premonition of this outcome. Yuan Zai was so smart that he thought everything was in his own hands.
The more this happens, the easier it is to fall into trouble...
~~
It was already July when the news reached Yanshi. Xue Bai was worried about farmers' harvests, so he often took Yan Chunqing to the fields with him.
He was very tanned.
Since we are not in a time like Chang'an where we always have to cling to nepotism, it doesn't matter if we are darker.
"Young Master, news from Chang'an has arrived."
"explain."
"Yuan Zai was demoted to central Guizhou."
Xue Bai had no sympathy for this and said: "He should learn a lesson."
In fact, as a result, Yang Dang's reputation, which had been rising continuously, was set back, but Xue Bai thought it didn't matter. When the fight between Li Linfu and Wang Zhen became more intense, more good conditions would naturally be given.
"Young Master, Mrs. Guo Guo and my uncle still hope that you can return to Chang'an as soon as possible. The position of Wannian County Lieutenant is still retained. Now my uncle has no adviser who can make decisions for him..."
Xue Bai looked at Tianye again.
Compared to before, if he left now, he would be much more relieved. But autumn has not yet arrived, and what he is most worried about is the tax. If he does not make a rule, he will feel uneasy...
~~
Yang Hao has been feeling even more uneasy lately.
Yuan Zai's demotion made him feel Li Linfu's strength.
It has to be said that Wang Fei is still no match for Li Linfu. At least in the initial confrontation, Li Linfu hit back hard with all his methods.
After this incident, Yang Hao finally understood Xue Bai's plan and decided to hide his capabilities and bide his time for a while, waiting for the opportunity.
He was too excited because of Yuan Zai's instigation a while ago. Once he relaxed now, he suddenly felt tired.
I had no plans to meet any officials that day, but Yang Guozhong came, still with a questioning tone.
In other words, he suppressed Yang Wei's momentum from the moment he came.
"Brother, can you tell me why Yuan Zai acted like this?!"
"What else is there to say about this matter?" Yang Hao said: "Everyone has been demoted."
"Yuan Zai was greedy and fell into Wang Fei's trick." Yang Guozhong said: "But brother, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
This matter is indeed Yang Zheng's fault.
Although Yang Guozhong's status is inferior to him, he is now one of the officials most favored by the saint as he manages the internal funds for the saint, and is also the core cadre of Yang's party today.
Yuan Zai indeed had the intention of suppressing Yang Guozhong, and Yang Hao also understood that the reason why he agreed to Yuan Zai without telling Yang Guozhong was to balance the people under his command.
"Okay, it's over."
"Brother said it lightly, but I don't know how many important things have been missed for us! I still have to do my best to save it."
Yang Guozhong grinned, obviously much prouder than before in front of his brother.
As he spoke, he changed the topic and said: "The Right Prime Minister invited me to come over today to discuss matters. He promised me the position of Young Minister of the Taifu. Only in this way can I be in charge of the Taifu."
"What do you mean?"
"I probably understand Xue Bai's plan. It's just a matter of waiting and watching, hoping for the benefits. Now the time has come. Now that I have been appointed, I can help the right minister to get rid of the king. In this way, I can make up for the damage caused by Yuan Zai. loss."
"No!"
No matter how smart Yang Guo was, he fully understood that the so-called benefits of Yang Guozhong were only for him. He got the post of Taifu Shaoqing, but what about the rest of Yang's party? In other words, how did it improve the situation?
"The time has not yet come, so we will continue to sit on the sidelines and not give our position easily."
"Brother, what do you mean by this?!" Yang Guozhong said, "Yuan Zai wanted to help Wang Fei deal with the right prime minister, but he still used shady means. Instead, it's my turn, and brother wants to block my future?! "
"Ahem, cough, cough." Yang Hao coughed angrily, and finally said: "It's different, he is weak..."
Yang Guozhong was bound to win, but he did not come to discuss with Yang Wei. He said, "I came here today to tell my brother that I have decided to accept the official position offered by your right minister."
After that, he walked away.
"you……"
Seeing this situation, Yang Wei was furious and wanted to scold Yang Guozhong for being short-sighted and greedy, but he couldn't stop coughing once he started coughing.
After a long time, he took off the handkerchief covering his mouth, slowly opened it with trembling hands and took a look.
There was a pool of blood in the veil.
As he watched, Yang Hao's old eyes gradually became dull and dull, and then showed a look of unwillingness.
He sighed, called his confidants and ordered: "Go to Yanshi again and tell Xue Bai that it's time to return to Chang'an anyway..."