It was cold, the ground was freezing, the snow was blowing, and the wind was blowing. A city stood tall in the wind and snow.
The knights, wrapped in thick sheep furs, drove their horses out of the city gate and galloped south.
In the city, many people were busy preparing for their trip at the gate of Jiedu Envoy's Mansion, while in a lobby deep in the mansion, a fire was burning brightly and smoke filled the air.
An Lushan was wearing a Sogdian costume, a green robe with left lapels, triangular lapels and rimmed cuffs. He was sitting on a high bed, like a mountain of meat.
What was placed in front of him was another mountain of gold, silver and jewels, which were smuggled by the caravans he sent to do business in various places. Every year they came back to offer treasures, and he would personally preside over the sacrifices.
The wizards beat drums, sang and danced, while the barbarians prostrated themselves in front of Anlu Mountain and shouted "God of Light".
An Lushan is known as the "Yingzhou bastard" in Chang'an. He is a bastard Hu. His biological father is a Sogdian named Kang; his mother-in-law is a witch from the Turkic Ashina clan; his adoptive father's surname is An, so his surname is also An.
.
But his original name is "Galuoshan", which means "light" in the Sogdian language. He is the incarnation of the Zoroastrian god of light.
The generals who worshiped in front of him at this time, including Kang Jie, An Taiqing, An Shouzhong, An Wuchen, He Qianqian and others, were all enthusiastic confidants who believed in Zoroastrianism and regarded him as the god of light.
"The God of Light will lead us to wash away all the filth in the first half of our lives and build a new Kingdom of Light..."
The murmurs in Sogdian continued until the fire swallowed up the sacrifices. With the help of believers, An Lushan stood up and walked out slowly.
All the way to the front hall, there were many staff and generals waiting there.
A Kongmu official stepped forward. This man was less than forty years old, with a thin appearance and deep eyes. He was a scholar from Hebei recruited by Anlu Mountain, and his name was Yan Zhuang.
"Dafu, do you want to set off?"
"Let's go." An Lushan said with a smile: "There is a villain in Chang'an who falsely accuses Hu'er of rebelling. Go to Chang'an and let the saint understand Hu'er's loyalty."
Before setting off, he had already started performing and looked very much looking forward to the trip to Chang'an.
No one in the hall laughed, only solemnity was felt.
The castrated attendant Li Zhuer hurried outside into the cold wind and stood next to a tall horse. He slightly bent his legs, lowered his head, and supported An Lushan's belly to help him get on the horse.
At this time, Gao Miao hurried over and reported: "Dafu, Gao Shang and Ah Hao are back."
Only then did An Lushan rein in the reins. Hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the wind and snow in the distance.
Gao Shang was ordered to go south to deal with Xue Bai. Now Xue Bai has returned to Chang'an and is using Wang Wen to plot a rebellion to frame him, but Gao Shang has just returned to Fan Yang? What a coincidence that he arrived just when he was about to leave?
I'm afraid that I know I have committed a serious crime, so I hide and wait and see what happens.
Thinking of this, An Lushan showed a surprised smile on his face and shouted: "A Shang, A Hao is still alive?! That's great!"
In a hurry, he turned over and dismounted, causing everyone around him to scramble. Li Zhuer was even pressed into the snow, and his femur was almost broken, causing severe pain.
"Quick, I want to see them."
Soon, two people were brought over by the sergeants. They should be Gao Shang and Tian Qianzhen.
An Lushan no longer recognized Gao Gao. The once handsome man was now burned into an ugly ghost-like creature, which was shocking.
"Master, I'm so ashamed..."
"A Shang! Is that you?" An Lushan held Gao Shang's scarred face and shouted, "Who harmed you like this? I'm going to kill him!"
"Be careful, the government. I am now a wanted criminal by the imperial court. I hid my identity all the way and finally rushed back to Fan Yang. I was afraid that I would not be able to persuade the government in time." Gao Shang said: "Going to Chang'an is full of dangers."
"I know."
"No, we underestimated Xue Bai. He is a ruthless man. He must be ready to get rid of the big man in Chang'an. We have to guard against him."
An Lushan said: "That's why I want to get rid of him and avenge you."
"The time has not come yet, so I have to endure it temporarily." Gao Shang said: "Please ask the palace to hand me over to the court in exchange for the saint's trust."
"No!"
Now that Gao Shang is back, An Lushan has no reason to send him away again, saying: "Go to Xiongwu City and wait for me to come back with Xue Bai's head."
Hearing this arrangement, Gao Shang breathed a sigh of relief and gratefully knelt down in front of An Lushan.
An Lushan helped him up and said: "The God of Light has washed away the filth of your first half of life, and we will do great things in the future."
"yes."
Gao Shang couldn't help but have tears in his eyes when he thought of his humble origins and now he was reborn from the ashes.
An Lushan laughed, patted him and Tian Qianzhen, and got on the horse again with the help of the servants.
"My sons, return to Chang'an!"
~~
Chang'an, Imperial City.
The Yushitai is just south of the Secretary's Department. Xue Bai came over today and first went to visit his former colleagues.
Xiao Yingshi, Li Hua and others had already arrived at the government office and were working meticulously. When Li Hua saw Xue Bai, he hesitated to speak, but he still started talking about national affairs.
At the newspaper office, Wang Changling has not yet arrived. According to the officials, he is very willful and comes very late every day. When everyone else has left the office, he stays to work, then drinks with friends and criticizes the current affairs.
Xue Bai read the newspaper in Chang'an City and learned that Wang Changling had recently written a new poem, in which the sentence "Suddenly saw the color of willows on the street, regretting teaching my husband to find a prince", which seemed to be similar to the past attitude of "Unless Loulan is destroyed, it will never be returned" After seeing some differences, I originally wanted to chat with him, but I had to give up today.
After leaving the Secretary's Office and crossing the street, there is the Yushitai.
The gate of Yushitai faces north and has a rather solemn atmosphere. There are three courtyards inside, Chaoyuan, Dianyuan and Taiyuan. The three courtyards are separated and have different duties. Taiyuan is in the middle and in the back, Chaoyuan and Dianyuan are arranged on the left and right.
Xue Bai was the supervisory censor and served in the procuratorate, while his teacher Yan Zhenqing was the imperial censor and served in the palace courtyard.
The supervisory censor can only be of the eighth rank, but people in the Tang Dynasty do not judge the official position based on rank. The censor is one of the most noble official positions. He is in charge of the wind and constitution, and is the eyes and ears of the saint. It is said that "the censor worships Chi Qixia and receives Wu Kuilong. If there is a court meeting, Yan Zhenqing, the imperial censor, will stand next to the saint.
The Procuratorate has two front and back halls, the capital hall and the main hall. The capital hall is where the supervisory censors work, and the main hall is the official residence of the president of the procuratorate and the supervisory envoy.
Xue Bai had been here several times, but he had always come here to litigate cases, and this was his first time serving here. When he arrived at the capital hall, he saw more than ten supervisory censors already standing on both sides, so he stood at the end.
After waiting for a while, the supervisor Mao Ruoxu came out and sat upright on his seat.
Mao Ruoxu was over fifty years old. His beard and hair were all white, and his eyebrows were very long, covering his eyes. He looked very serious. He took out a name book in no hurry and started to do it. This was what Xue Bai did in the Tang Dynasty. This is the first time I have seen it since becoming an official.
"Xue Bai."
It wasn't until the name was sung that Mao Ruoxu raised his head.
Xue Bai then came out of the queue and saluted: "I've seen the supervisory envoy."
Mao Ruoxu put down the name book in his hand and said calmly: "Inspector Xue is well-known in Chang'an. Now that he is serving in the Yushitai Procuratorate, I wonder if he will be arrogant and unruly because of his talent?"
Normally, when you encounter such inquiries from officials when you first take office, most people have to be humble.
Xue Bai did not answer immediately, because he knew that Mao Ruoxu was Li Linfu's man, so he obviously had bad intentions in asking this question, and he was probably going to set up a trap soon.
He then responded: "Of course you won't be arrogant because of your talents, but I think you will have reasons and evidence."
Mao Ruoxu remained calm and nodded slowly, saying: "The Supervisory Censor has the responsibility of patrolling the prefectures and counties. Now someone in Yishi County, Puzhou has reported that the county magistrate is corrupt and perverting the law. Supervisor Xue should go and push for a judiciary."
Xue Bai said: "I first came to the Yushitai, and I'm afraid I won't be qualified to take on such a big case."
"Inspector Xue has made outstanding achievements in the Secretary Province, Yanshi County, and Chang'an County. He has moved three times in two years. I believe you can handle it."
"Inspector, the road to Puzhou is far and difficult, and I am weak. Can this case be handed over to someone else?"
This was Cui Youfu's answer when he was conferring an official position in the Ministry of Personnel. Xue Bai did not expect that one day he would be able to use it.
Mao Ruoxu paused for a moment, and where he looked, Xue Bai's figure was upright and full of energy. Didn't he look weak at all?
His face was serious, and just as he was about to shout, a burst of laughter sounded outside the capital hall, and then, Yang Guozhong, who was also the censor Zhongcheng, walked in.
"The Procuratorate is so lively today." Although Yang Guozhong is already a purple-robed official, he still can't hide his rogue temperament, as if he is just visiting. "Hey, Abai is here too. Let's go to the Taiyuan. I have an errand for you to handle." .”
"Zhongcheng." Mao Ruoxu stood up and said with a salute: "I have an important case to hand over to Supervisor Xue."
Since he was tit for tat, he was not afraid of Yang Guozhong at all.
The Yushitai has been under the control of Wang He for these years. In fact, it was to eliminate dissidents for Li Linfu. To be honest, in Mao Ruoxu's eyes, Wang He and Yang Guozhong were the traitors of the Right Prime Minister lineage.
"You and I both have cases to handle." Yang Guozhong said, "Which one is your official, or mine?"
"Inspector Xue is under the direct supervision of the lower official. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for Zhongcheng to bypass the lower official and give him errands."
"You impeach me."
Yang Guozhong snorted coldly, lifted the jade belt around his waist, greeted Xue Bai and left. He would not stay and quarrel with Mao Ruoxu. No matter what the outcome of the quarrel, he would be the one who suffered.
After leaving the capital hall, he spat on the ground and said, "You old man who eats dog intestines."
Xue Bai asked: "You can't control the Yushitai?"
"I was promoted too quickly." Yang Guozhong said, "I have only been in office for a short time, and the chief officials of the three academies are not mine yet."
He was not ashamed of this, but showed a very righteous attitude, put his arm around Xue Bai's shoulders, and said: "But don't worry, as long as I am here, no one can take you out of Chang'an."
"Gone."
"Where to go?"
"Look for my teacher."
Yang Guozhong's time as censor Zhongcheng may not be long, but in fact it is not short. He failed to establish his prestige. In the final analysis, it was because he was incompetent and had no other talents except recruitment.
Where does prestige come from?
In the long run, it all comes down to performance.
Yan Zhenqing served as the censor for only one year. He went to Hexi and Longyou and vindicated a large number of unjust imprisonments. At that time, there was a drought in Wuyuan, and officials were lazy in government affairs. When Yan Zhenqing clarified the backlog of cases in the county, it rained heavily, and the people of Wuyuan called him "
"Yu Shi Yu", there is of course no such magical thing in the world, it is just that the people are grateful for him and are willing to give him a good name.
When he arrived in Shuofang County, he found that the county magistrate Zheng Yanzuo and his three brothers had blamed each other after their mother's death and refused to organize the funeral. They left the coffin in the monk's house for twenty-nine years. He then impeached the court and ended the official careers of the Zheng brothers. This case
It doesn't matter, but in the Tang Dynasty there were many officials who refused to observe filial piety and secretly concealed the death of their parents in order to protect their future. For example, Da Xifu concealed the death of his mother, and was finally deceived by Da Xifu on the grounds of enshrining relics. Can Yan Zhenqing
The completion of the case has actually shocked the world.
How much an official is capable is known to others when they see it, but most of the time they don't say it. When Yan Zhenqing returned to Chang'an, there were naturally like-minded officials approaching him in Yushitai.
If he really wanted to do something, it would actually be more useful for Xue Bai to find a teacher than to go to Yang Guozhong, the censor Zhongcheng.
After coming out of the Procuratorate and going to the capital hall of the palace, I saw several officials in green robes talking and walking out. The one surrounded by them was Yan Zhenqing.
"Teacher." Xue Bai stepped forward and called.
"Don't call me teacher." Yan Zhenqing waved his hand and said, "When we serve at Yushitai, you and I will only get along with each other as colleagues."
Another censor beside him joked: "Don't call me teacher, call me 'father-in-law'."
Xue Bai was a little confused when he was told this.
Yan Zhenqing, on the other hand, was much more magnanimous and said: "When discussing business matters, don't talk about family matters."
After that, he waved to Xue Bai to follow them and murmured: "After the New Year, it's time to give you a name."
"Thank you, teacher."
When Xue Bai saw that the teacher had something to discuss with the imperial censors, he was not in a hurry to talk about his own affairs and followed them.
The group of people left the Censor's Platform and went to the Magistrate's Court to the west to find a meeting hall to sit down.
"We are not afraid that Luo Xishi will send people to eavesdrop here. Can Yushi Yan tell you?"
"good."
Yan Zhenqing pondered for a moment and then said: "When we returned from Longyou, we noticed that Jinwu General Li Yanye entertained the Tibetan people in a private banquet. In order to avoid being interrogated by the Jingzhao Mansion and other people, he picked them up according to the rituals of the palace."
"Does Censor Yan have any evidence?"
"Not yet, but I am sure it is true."
"Li Yanye is a close servant of the emperor, trusted by the saint, and has a close relationship with the right minister. We must think clearly about this matter."
"We can't wait." Yan Zhenqing said, "Li Yanye has been appointed as General Jinwu and in charge of the capital's guards. This matter cannot be ignored, in case something changes if it is delayed."
Xue Bai looked around and saw that some of these people were hesitant and some were determined, so he spoke first: "I will follow the teacher to impeach."
"good."
"What do we have to fear if we also impeach Li Yanye?!"
They worked quickly, and after reaching an agreement, everyone signed their names and went back to write the memorial.
After everyone retreated, Yan Zhenqing twisted his beard and thought about the case. His eyes were slightly worried, but he quickly calmed down.
He turned to look at Xue Bai and said, "I came here on the first day after taking office. Is there something wrong?"
"It's not difficult, but I do have something I would like to ask the teacher for help with."
Xue Bai took out a list from his sleeve and said: "This is the list that Ge Nu wants to recommend to replace the vacancies of Wang He, Wang Wen and others. Presumably some of them can be impeached."
Yan Zhenqing took it and looked at it, and said: "Not only that, there are many. For example, they want to recommend Song Hun as the land and water transport envoy."
Xue Bai said: "Song Hun is the son of a famous prime minister."
This is talking about Prime Minister Song Jing, and Song Hun is Song Jing's fourth son.
"That's right." Yan Zhenqing frowned slightly and said, "I have been friends with the Song family for generations. Song Hun is the only one in the Song family who is unfaithful. He drinks and plays around and is fond of prostitutes. He is close to Ge Nu and was recommended by Ge Nu to be the governor of Pingyuan. As a result, Song Hun
Due to his greedy nature in office, he levied an extra year's headcount tax on the people. He was only accused of this a few months ago."
Xue Bai said: "I have a letter here, maybe it can be used as evidence?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Given it to another unscrupulous man."
"Just in time to catch Ge Nu off guard."
The master and apprentice looked at each other and quickly developed a tacit understanding.
Although impeachment is not a very powerful method, as long as it is accurate and ruthless, it will make Li Linfu tired of dealing with it, and it will also be a huge blow to the reputation of the Right Prime Minister's Office.
~~
The tenth day of November is the winter solstice.
This year's winter seems to be colder than last year, but the saints also have to go to the Yuanqiu in the southern suburbs of Chang'an City to offer sacrifices to heaven. This is a custom made by Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty.
After offering sacrifices to heaven, there was a banquet for the ministers. This was Li Longji's favorite thing in the past, but this year, perhaps because of Wang Fei's death, he was less able to spend extravagantly, or because he was occasionally unwell, so the banquet was not too grand.
Each minister who attended the banquet was rewarded with a few pairs of leather boots and cotton socks.
After the royal banquet, there are three days of rest.
The Youxiang Mansion has been preparing for a family banquet early. There are hundreds of people in the family, so it is very lively.
Seeing that everything had been arranged, Li Xiu sent someone to invite Li Linfu to the table.
After finishing all this work, Li Shiniang rushed over to hold him and said with a smile: "It's different this year, but my brother is running the house."
"Stop talking sarcastically, it would be nice if you could help me."
"I haven't been able to help my brother enough? By the way, my husband is about to move to another official position. Is my brother ready to handle it?"
Li Xiu was still smirking at others just a moment ago. When he heard this sentence, his face changed slightly and he whispered: "Yang Qixuan raped a daughter of the people and left a housewife behind. He was impeached. Have you heard?"
"What?"
Li Xiu was stunned for a moment. Seeing that Li Shiniang hadn't heard anything, he raised his hand to show that he didn't want to talk to her and turned around to walk away.
On the surface, he was still learning to support the family, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart.
He turned around and saw his wife walking from the corridor. After that, his thirteenth brother Li Er walked over, called "Sister-in-law" and whispered a few words.
"I heard that my sister-in-law wants my brother to move to another official position..."
Li Xiu, who was behind, couldn't hear her very well, so she just strode over. When he arrived, Li Er had already walked away, so he took his wife's wrist and asked, "What did Shisan tell you?"
"I'm ridiculing you, you can't even get an official position."
Lu's voice was very soft, with a decent smile on her face. After that, she went to the female relatives and sat down next to Li Tengkong.
Li Tengkong obviously didn't like this kind of occasion and seemed out of place among the sisters and sisters-in-law.
After a while, Li Linfu finally came over, and more than a hundred of his descendants in Chang'an stood up one after another, calling "Grandpa" or "Ahweng".
"sit."
Li Linfu waved his hand, asked for a crutch, and said: "Winter Solstice is a festival, but fortunately it is not the Lantern Festival yet. There are some things that can be done in time... Juro."
"The child is here."
"My father asked you to draw up a list of replacements. Have you submitted it to the Ministry of Personnel?"
"Not yet." Li Xiu said, "I want to intimidate Chen Xilie first."
Everyone in the Li family was puzzled and didn't understand why Li Linfu wanted to talk about these official matters in public.
"In other words, the list of replacements has not been released to the Right Prime Minister's Office?"
"yes."
"Who leaked it?"
Li Xiu was stunned for a moment, raised his head and looked at his grandfather, feeling extremely confused.
Cangbi came over with a stack of memorials, handed them to him, and whispered: "Juro, you can read it yourself, I'm afraid..."
Li Xiu took it, spread it out and glanced at it for a few times, his pupils trembled in surprise.
The memorials were all officials who had been impeached by the censor, and without exception, they were all officials he wanted to recommend to make up for the impeachment.
"this……"
"Trash." Li Linfu said, "How long do I want to see you make a fool of yourself?"
Li Xiu was ashamed and angry. He turned to look at the bustling crowd in the mansion and said, "Master, someone has tipped off the news."
"who?!"
With a scolding, almost everyone turned their heads and looked at the same person.
When Li Tengkong saw the whole family looking at him, he simply stood up and looked at Li Linfu.
"Seventeenth Mother, did you do this?"
"no."
"You met Xue Bai a few days ago, and he followed you all the way to the door of the house."
Li Tengkong was a little frightened by his grandfather's fierce gaze, but he still shook his head and said, "I haven't spoken to him at all."
Jiaonu said: "Alang..."
"Shut up, you bitch."
Li Linfu scolded, looked deeply at Li Tengkong, and said warmly: "Sit down."
"Grandpa?" Li Shiniang said with some dissatisfaction: "You believe her words?"
"Is that you?"
"Of course not."
Li Linfu looked sternly and stared at Li Xiu's wife, Lu. He took a few steps closer and said, "Is that you?"
Mrs. Lu was so frightened that she immediately took the two younger sons beside her and almost fell to her knees on the ground, saying: "Ah...Grandpa, no...it's not me..."
"You know how to call me 'Grandpa' now?"
"I...I..."
Li Linfu said: "Shiro, what do you think?"
In an instant, Li Xiu's face turned pale and his spine felt cold.
Where he looked, his two young sons were so frightened that they cried silently, and his wife's hands were trembling, and she was still holding her son's thin wrist tightly.
"Juro, who do you think leaked the news?"
Li Xiu didn't know what to do. He couldn't break up with his wife and children under the watchful eyes of the whole family, because he couldn't face the days of losing face after that.
But Li Linfu seems to want to deliberately peel off his face and use it as a fighting cock, a meat loin knife, and a deer prime minister... It seems that the real strength is to be able to endure the ridicule of the world.
Li Xiu couldn't do it.
He sniffed, feeling that he could no longer support the Li family.
"Grandpa, I don't...I can't do it..."
"Take it down."
Li Linfu gave an order, and the two maids came forward and asked Mrs. Lu to follow them to ask questions.
Mrs. Lu was so frightened that she lost her mind. She held on to her two children and refused to let go. She cried loudly for a while.
"Aniang!"
"Aweng...don't let them pull my mother-in-law..."
"That's enough." Li Tengkong couldn't stand it anymore and said, "I leaked the news!"
"It's her! Did you hear it? Let go of my child, she leaked it, let go!"
Li Linfu still didn't let anyone stop him. He glanced at these children coldly. He really didn't understand why he couldn't pick out even one outstanding child among his fifty children.
Is it really because he chose to rule the world for twenty years and exhausted all his blessings?
The next moment, a maid came over and reported in a low voice.
"Alang, we found it..."
After hearing this, Li Linfu said nothing and walked among his children on crutches.
"Bang!"
There was a loud noise, and even Mrs. Lu forgot to cry. She turned her head and saw Li Linfu himself raising his crutch and slamming it into the face of the thirteenth son, Li Wei.
Li Er was caught off guard and was knocked to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood and three of his teeth fell to the ground.
"The traitor!"
"Grandpa, I...was wronged!"
"Your meeting with Xue Bai was witnessed by others, and you still dare to make excuses?!"
"I didn't." Li Wei was completely panicked, "I just want to help Grandpa, recruit Xue Bai as the son-in-law of the prime minister's house, and facilitate his marriage to Shi Qi."
Before he finished speaking, Li Linfu struck down with his stick again.
There was a "pop" sound, and the crutch broke into two pieces.
"Take it down and lock it up, let's have a banquet."
Everyone was stunned again.
Li Linfu threw away half of the crutch in his hand, regained his composure, and said calmly: "During the winter solstice, don't let an unworthy person ruin the happiness of the whole family."
After his anger subsided, he remembered that he still had to maintain the majesty of the Prime Minister...
~~
At night, Li Xiu walked through the west courtyard and walked all the way to the private cell of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
"My grandpa asked me to interrogate Thirteenth Lang."
"Here."
The cell door creaked open, and Li Xiu entered with a bowl of wontons. He walked over and placed the bowl in front of Li Er.
"Winter Solstice, eat a bowl of wontons."
"Do you have any wine?" Li Er's voice was vague.
Li Xiu felt around in his arms and took out a small pot of wine, threw it over and said, "I'll give it all to you."
"Don't spread the word about today's incident. I am an official after all."
"How dare you?"
Li Er said: "You didn't teach me?"
"I?"
"You said a long time ago that I have offended so many people, what will we do in the future? Now that Wang Fei dies, I feel that the day is not far away... I am getting old, and I have to make plans for myself."
"So you took refuge in Xue Bai?"
"It's just cooperation, there's no shame in it." Li Er said, "How old is he? Even if he reaches this position, I still want to marry Shi Qi to him. He also has the support of a noble concubine. In short, it is not easy. I will make a bet with him. I can't go wrong. "
"that's all?"
"Not enough?"
Li Xiu scolded: "You are my father's son!"
"Just because I am my grandfather's son, when one day my grandfather can't protect me, you will see how the world will treat me!" Li Wei suddenly threw away the wonton bowl in his hand and shouted: "I am scared even in my dreams, and I am also afraid. I’m almost 40 years old, and I have a wife and children.”
"This is not the reason for you to betray the family. My disciples are all over the world, and I am supporting you..."
"My disciples are all old? I have killed all those who have any brains. Brother, you are a waste. Admit it, you are not good. Don't stop me. I just want to curry favor with Party Yang and get an official position."
Li Xiu was furious, pointed at Li Wei and cursed: "You weakling with no ambition, betraying your family, you will be poked in the back by others for the rest of your life!"
He stretched out his hand, grabbed the small pot of wine from Li Er's hand, walked out of the cell, raised his head, and drank the rest of the wine.
With a "bang" sound, the wine bottle was smashed to the ground.
~~
"It's the beginning of the winter, and it's the middle of the third winter. The festival is in time, and it's time to talk and reflect. There are no treasures in the competition, just waiting for Xue Lang. Empty wine and wontons, I am fortunate to visit you, and I would like to express my gratitude."
The handwriting on the invitation was elegant. Xue Bai took it and read it. He thought about it for a long time, and finally got up and went out.
He walked through the snowy long street to Guangfufang and knocked on the door knocker in front of a small house.
After a while, the door opened and Li Mi opened it.
"Now that you're here, aren't you afraid that the saint will doubt your presence in the East Palace?"
"Scared, but I finally got the next step."
"I heard that you prevented the Right Prime Minister's Office from recommending officials to fill the gap."
"Yes, the Li family has lost confidence." Xue Bai said, "Let's divide the spoils. I have drawn up a list of young capable ministers. In recent years, the old thieves have controlled the court, and it is the turn of the young people to take the lead.
"
"The Li family has no confidence in the future, but now Li Linfu is still here." Li Mi took the list and looked at it, frowned, and said: "We don't have much time, we have to get these places rated before An Lushan arrives.
Come down."
"I don't have a big appetite."
"Then I have to find someone to discuss it with." Li Mi smiled and led Xue Bai inside.
He wasn't lying, it was really just wine and wontons.
"By the way, there's good news." Li Mi handed the chopsticks to him and said, "Zhang Bian is tempted."
"He is quite well informed."
Xue Bai was not surprised at all, after all, he had persuaded the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
The world's confidence in the Prime Minister's Office is crumbling bit by bit...