The Tao River is a tributary of the Yellow River. It is called "Luqu" in Tubo, which means the water of the God of Lu. It was also called "Lushui" in ancient times.
In the Mohuanchuan of the Tao River, a camp rose from the ground and became the garrison of the Shence Army.
It was cold and freezing, with heavy snowfall, making it extremely difficult to drive wooden stakes into the ground, and the low wind could easily blow down the tent. The soldiers who were tired and rested in the tent after a long day had no choice but to get up and set up the tent again, but they always failed.
Slip and fall on icy ground.
This border defense force, which guards the northwest, has been tempered by the wind and frost outside the Great Wall since its founding.
Ge Shuhan and Cheng Ruqiu were walking in the wind and snow, inspecting the situation in the military camp.
"This year I established eight new armies in Chuihe and Taoyang counties: Ningbian, Weisheng, Jintian, Wuning, Yaowu, Tiancheng, Zhenwei, Shence, and so on. Do you know why?"
"Without the garrison, our victory over Tibet will only be temporary." Cheng Ruqiu said, "Jie Commander hopes that the border defense will be stable and end the back-and-forth situation with Tibet."
Ge Shuhan sighed: "I am old and in poor health. I can't stay in the frontier for a few more years. I really don't hope that after I leave, the nine bends of the Yellow River that I have finally recovered over the years will return to the hands of Tubo."
"No." Cheng Ruqiu said: "If what Yan Zhenggong is doing is successful, the border stability will be guaranteed for at least ten years."
"If you want stability, you can't expect the enemy to chaos. You must train this army well and become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty's frontier."
"Commander Jie, don't worry. Although the Shence Army has few soldiers and horses, each of its soldiers and generals has been personally selected by me. They will become a brave army."
Ge Shuhan was still satisfied with Cheng Ruqiu's ability in military training. He looked at it for a while and turned it back to his account.
A young general immediately stepped forward and reported, "Commander Jie, the official document from Shanzhou has arrived."
Ge Shuhan didn't like to deal with documents, and most of them were left to his staff. Therefore, he was very interested in recruiting staff. He once hoped to invite Xue Bai and Gao Shi to the Longyou shogunate. Of course, his staff are not bad now.
Many military affairs were arranged very properly. As for some personal letters, Ge Shuhan needed to read them in person.
He flipped through it and saw Li Guangbi's letter. He picked it up immediately. After reading it carefully, his face gradually darkened.
"Jie Shuai, what happened?"
"Everyone else, please step aside and bring us a jug of wine."
Ge Shuhan trusted Cheng Ruqiu very much. After everyone else had left, he said after careful consideration: "Li Guangbi arrived at Shuofang, and An Sishun wanted to marry his daughter to him. He couldn't refuse, so he had to pretend to be ill and resign."
"That's true." Cheng Ruqiu suddenly felt funny and said, "If you don't want to marry, you won't marry. Does such a trivial matter need to go so far as to pretend to be sick and resign?"
"Yes." Ge Shuhan took a sip of wine and asked seriously: "Why do you need to make trouble to the point of pretending to be sick and resigning?"
A repeated sentence has a different meaning because of his solemn expression.
Cheng Ruqiu suppressed the smile on her face, thought for a while, and said, "What does Jie Shuai mean?"
"I have long said that An Sishun appears to be loyal and kind, but actually has ulterior motives." Ge Shuhan did not hide his disgust and said: "The An brothers are both treacherous and loyal people, and now Li Guangbi finally sees it.
Already."
"This...seems arbitrary."
Cheng Ruqiu is Ge Shuhan's absolute confidant, but to be fair to him, he also feels that Ge Shuhan has wronged An Sishun, because the two have had a feud a long time ago, and An Sishun's connivance will shake Ge Shuhan.
In order to gain the prestige, Ge Shuhan killed An Sishun's generals, so they always had a grudge against each other.
In this case, just because Li Guangbi pretended to be ill and resigned to reject An Sishun's marriage, it was more like accusing An Sishun of having different intentions.
He can't even look down on his own people.
"Arbitrary?" Ge Shuhan was very sure, saying: "Li Guangbi must have felt threatened, so he pretended to be ill and asked me for help."
He made his own judgment and paced, thinking about how to deal with the matter. He thought that Li Guangbi must not be allowed to stay in Shuofang and that he should try to rescue him. However, he had always had a problem with An Sishun, so he rashly came forward.
, but An Sishun should be alert.
While thinking, he suddenly thought of someone and said, "Bring a pen and paper."
Soon, Ge Shuhan wrote a letter and went straight to recruit two soldiers and ordered: "You change horses but not people. Use the post stations along the way to hurry up and send this letter to Chang'an to Xue, the man of Zhongshushe."
white."
"Here!"
After taking the letter, the two fast horses quickly disappeared into the wind and snow and ran towards Chang'an.
~~
Chang'an.
Because the recommendation of Li Guangbi as the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu failed, Xue Bai was very disappointed and had been thinking about other candidates.
He originally paid attention to Wang Sili, the military envoy to Guanxi and the army to Heyuan, but Wang Sili was Ge Shuhan's confidant and favorite general. He leaned on his arm and was burdened with many military affairs. Ge Shuhan refused to let him go.
Xue Bai also had his eye on another candidate, Gao Xianzhi, who had just been defeated in the Battle of Talos.
Regarding the defeat of Talos, Xue Bai's view was somewhat different from that of others in the court. He did not think that this was a battle that had a great impact on the situation, nor did he underestimate Gao Xianzhi's combat ability. Of course, such as Wang Zhongsi
As I said a long time ago, Gao Xianzhi's long-term fraudulent methods have indeed greatly affected his prestige in Anxi. The northeastern border, which is full of fraud, is actually a suitable place for Gao Xianzhi to make a comeback.
But there are other difficulties. For example, with Gao Xianzhi's qualifications, it is obviously impossible to appoint only one deputy envoy to Hedong Jiedu; for example, Gao Xianzhi has not yet returned to Chang'an; for example, how much effect can he have by taking the post in a hurry?
It's something to think about and consider.
Using the world as a chessboard and names as chess pieces sounds very majestic, but it is not easy to do. At least Xue Bai, a member of the Zhongshu family, is not yet qualified to be a chess player. Many times, he even coaxes
He deceived Yang Guozhong into playing chess for him.
"Lang Jun, Yang Guozhong has sent someone to summon you again."
There was a knock on the door outside the study. Xue Bai came back from his thoughts, picked up the dossier recording Gao Xianzhi's resume and stood up.
He is going to play chess under Yang Guozhong's hand again.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and charcoal fires were set up in many places in Yang's house, but there was no stove in the lobby. Because Yang Guozhong didn't like to smell the smoke, he added many fat maids to keep warm, and enthusiastically asked them to surround Xue Bai as well.
Warming.
"There are too many people talking, so let's let them all go down." Xue Bai once again rejected the offer, because he thought the air was too turbid with too many people.
"Hey, you just think of them as a screen. How can the screen reveal our conversation?"
"If things are not done secretly, there will be nothing to talk about."
Yang Guozhong had no choice but to drive everyone out. He put on a snow-white mink cloak and looked very graceful and noble. He said casually: "God damn it, eating dog intestines. I checked, and sure enough I found Zhang Bian and Chen Xilie."
Two old beasts teamed up to take my position!"
Xue Bai had already guessed that it was Yang Guozhong who reminded him of this matter.
He was not Yang Guozhong's adviser. This reminder was a gift from him, but he was not responsible for solving the problem and only asked for a gift in return.
"What's the relationship between brother and Gao Xianzhi?"
"Not good." Yang Guozhong replied simply: "The Korean slaves are not easy to get along with."
There were many Hu generals in the Tang Dynasty. Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi were also Hu generals, but Yang Guozhong would not call them contemptuous names. Gao Xianzhi was an aristocratic family in Goguryeo. His family had served the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. It can be called a family of generals.
, naturally he is not a Korean slave, but he is often scolded by officials and colleagues, which obviously has a lot to do with his character.
Xue Bai was not familiar with Gao Xianzhi, so he could figure it out from some of the deeds he heard. For example, after wiping out the Xiaobolu Kingdom, he bypassed his immediate superior, Fu Meng Lingcha, and directly reported his merits. This was a big deal in officialdom.
Gao Xianzhi was not only unashamed, but also took away the post of military governor of the four towns from Fumeng Lingcha; for example, he did not get along well with many of his colleagues in the Anxi army, and called the deputy governor Cheng Qianli a bitch;
For example, he had no credibility and deceived his generals, King Xiaobolu, and King Shi.
Speaking of which, Yang Guozhong also has a very bad personal character. It would be strange if these two people could get along well.
"That Gao Linu is just like you and me." It was rare that Yang Guozhong actually praised Gao Xianzhi first and said, "Do you know how he is the same as us?"
"Love to lie?" Xue Bai replied casually.
"Move forward."
Yang Guozhong snorted coldly and said: "Korinu is obsessed with fame and will do anything to achieve merit. That's all, but he is not like us who know how to consider others. He is very arrogant and arrogant."
After that, he complained endlessly, saying that when Gao Xianzhi had just destroyed the Xiaobolu Kingdom and returned to the court to pay tribute, he looked down upon others and did not give him a good look. He also said that after he became the prime minister, he sent people to win over Gao Xianzhi, but was ridiculed.
A meal like this.
Xue Bai still put forward his idea, saying: "Some people appear to be harmless, but in reality they are wild and ambitious. Some people appear to be arrogant and untamed, but in reality they are temperamental. Who is our enemy at the moment, and who can be exploited?
Allies, brother will not be confused."
"I just can't tell the difference!" Yang Guozhong said loudly in a rogue tone: "I am also a temperamental person, and there is no reason to support my mortal enemy."
Xue Bai said: "An Lushan has promised to go back to pay homage to the prime minister and is about to leave. So, no matter whether the saint wants to replace him as Fan Yang or Pinglu Jiedushi, he will leave his post now. My brother proposed a
The candidate to succeed him is reasonable."
"It's not that I haven't thought about it." Yang Guozhong touched his chin and said slowly: "But wouldn't this go against the saint's wish to leave a mixed beard in Fan Yang's office?"
Xue Bai said: "General Gao knows the saint's thoughts, and Zhang Bian knows them, but they haven't told you. How can you know them?"
"No matter how good the reason is, what's the use? If the saint is dissatisfied with me, why should I care about this?"
It has to be said that Yang Guozhong was very dedicated in serving Li Longji and thought extremely thoughtfully.
But he also knew that what Xue Bai said was reasonable, and now it was worth taking some risks and recommending someone to replace Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi.
So, before Xue Bai could speak again to persuade him, he already said: "Okay, I will go and give advice to the saint according to your wishes."
~~
After this move was made, Xue Bai felt a little more at ease.
After leaving Yang's house, he stood on the steps and looked at the snowflakes that were flying all over the sky. He knew that after the heavy snow passed, An Lushan might leave for Chang'an, and there would be too many variables in the future.
Therefore, when everyone else is looking forward to the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers, he is the only one who hopes that this cold winter can last longer.
~~
In the cold winter weather, Li Longji didn't like to take care of government affairs even more.
He has been managing the Tang Dynasty for his entire life. When he grows old, he can naturally wrap himself up in a bed as warm as spring and listen to operas or read stories. In short, he will not be bored.
But even if most of the government affairs were handed over to Yang Guozhong, there were still some state affairs that he, the emperor, could not avoid.
For example, the twelfth lunar month is coming soon, and he has to climb the tower of Danfeng Tower in Daming Palace to issue the seasonal orders for the next year to the people of the world. Seasonal orders are also called monthly orders, and there are orders for each of the four seasons, which refers to the formulation of agricultural affairs according to the seasons.
Government decrees. In the winter months, the emperor and his ministers and ministers jointly prepare the laws of the country, discuss the seasons, and prepare for the coming year.
This is a major national event.
"Sage, Master Si Tian is here."
"Call."
Li Longji has been suffering from some colds recently, mainly due to nasal congestion, heavy head, and drowsiness. At his age, headache and brain fever may be life-threatening if not treated well, and it is also a first-rate matter.
Not long after, Qu Tan, the young eunuch of Sitian, walked into the palace. He was very old, wearing a simple Taoist robe, and his face was a little worried.
"Sage, I have been observing the sky for days and nights. I am afraid that there will be severe floods in Guanzhong in the coming year."
Li Longji frowned upon hearing this.
There have been droughts in various provinces in the past few years. The year he was assassinated in Lishan, he personally prayed for rain. After a long drought, encountering severe floods is the most annoying thing.
After listening to Qu Tan speak slowly for a while, Li Longji finally spoke and asked: "How do you know there will be a flood in the coming year?"
"I have no other talents, I am only good at astronomy...cough cough cough cough." Qu Tan said and suddenly coughed a few times.
Li Longji's already frowning brows became even more furrowed.
When Gao Lishi saw it, he understood that the saint was worried that his vitality would be absorbed by Qu Tan, so he quickly said: "Young Master Qu, you have given me the order, and you can go and have a rest."
"Old minister, I obey the order."
After Qu Tan retired, a eunuch came to report and Yang Guozhong asked to see him.
Li Longji was tired today and originally didn't want to see his ministers again, but thinking that Yang Guozhong was strong and might have plenty of energy, he ordered to summon him. He thought that Yang Guozhong was the most considerate anyway and wouldn't come to tell him anything that would bother him.
really.
"I just sighed when I saw Qu Tan leaving. I wonder if it's because I have state affairs that I haven't handled well?"
"He watched the sky at night and thought there would be severe floods in the coming year."
Yang Guozhong said: "Qu Tan? The saint doesn't need to worry. His fortune-telling is always inaccurate."
"Not sure?" Li Longji became interested and asked: "Why not?"
"As far as I know, Qu Tan once secretly checked the fortunes of the families of officials and officials in the DPRK. When it was a boy or a girl, he counted them with his fingers. The ones who were right and the ones who were wrong were each half."
Gao Lishi asked: "So, what he said about the flood was also a false alarm?"
Yang Guozhong said firmly: "I have seen this kind of tactics many times in the market. It is nothing more than catching someone and saying there is a bloody disaster, and then giving a way to resolve it. If nothing happens, it is his credit. If it really happens,
It's just that the money given to him was not enough to completely resolve the issue."
"Hahaha."
Li Longji rarely laughed heartily, thinking that he had read Yang Guozhong correctly.
However, Yang Guozhong overturned his thoughts before he said a few words.
"I think that since An Lushan is willing to return the state affairs of Pingzhang, the candidate to replace the Jiedu envoy of the second town should be prepared."
"Cough cough cough cough."
Gao Lishi quickly said: "Right Prime Minister, the saint is occasionally unwell today. Can we discuss this matter later?"
Yang Guozhong did not confess immediately. He stood there, thinking about what Xue Bai said, "General Gao knows the saint's will, and Zhang Bian knows it." His eyes flickered slightly, and he asked in a low voice.
"I am bold and dare to ask whether the Holy Will will return Anlu Mountain to Fan Yang and add Zuopu She?"
Li Longji's sleepy eyes suddenly flashed with light. He glanced at Gao Lishi first, and Gao Lishi looked surprised. He was obviously shocked at how Yang Guozhong could utter such a sentence. Even Zuo Pushe's official position was so low.
Clearly.
"How did you know?" Li Longji did not deny it, but asked calmly.
"minister……"
Yang Guozhong hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and responded: "Zhang Bian told me."
Li Longji had been half-lying there. Hearing this, he immediately sat up and asked, "Why did Zhang Bian tell you?"
"He reassured me, saying that An Lushan would return to Fan Yang as long as he was given the title of Zuopushe, and asked me to just do nothing..."
Yang Guozhong was very good at slandering people. Once a simple matter came into his mouth, he soon described Zhang Bian as a scheming villain.
Moreover, he knew very well what saints were most taboo about, and deliberately combined the characteristics of Zhang Bian and his father Zhang Shuo in his words.
"Zhang Bian also said that I was mistaken. It was not that An Lushan was his 'backer' as others said, but he was An Lushan's backer."
With one sentence, Li Longji immediately thought of the "power of Mount Tai" that Zhang said back then, and a burst of anger burst out involuntarily.
He was wise throughout his life, but he did not realize that in his later years, an unlearned fool like Yang Guozhong could accurately grasp his emotions. He also believed that he appointed Yang Guozhong because of his loyalty and simplicity.
"I don't really believe Zhang Bian and suspect that he is lying to me. When An Lushan returns to pay homage to the prime minister, and there are no candidates for Jiedushi in Fanyang and Pinglu towns, it will be my dereliction of duty, so today...
…”
"Pass the decree." Li Longji suddenly spoke, interrupting his chatter, "I will demote Zhang Bian out of Chang'an."
Gao Lishi was a little surprised, feeling that the saint had lost patience as he got older.
In the past, Li Linfu also framed his colleagues, but he always concocted evidence. After completing a major case, he sentenced him to exile or beheading, a serious crime, and then changed the sentence to a lighter sentence from a saint. But now, Yang Guozhong just said a few words and dismissed an important minister of the country.
Demoted from the capital.
It can be seen that not only the saint's temperament determines the choice of prime minister, but Yang Guozhong's impetuousness also affects the saint's temperament.
"Not only will Zhang Bian be demoted, but their brothers will also be demoted!" Li Longji added.
"According to the decree."
Yang Guozhong was ecstatic, but he didn't show it right away. His face showed surprise that things would become such a big deal.
After receiving the edict, he, the minister, immediately went to Zhongshu's province in person.
~~
In the morning, Xue Bai heard that Yang Guozhong had entered the court, and had gone to Zhongshu's lower province to wait. In the hope of an eventuality, he prepared to draft an order for Gao Xianzhi to temporarily replace Fan Yang and serve as Pinglu Jiedu envoy.
If he can accomplish this, his post as a scholar in Zhongshushe will not be in vain.
In the winter, when there is less farming and less state and military affairs, it can be regarded as the most leisurely period of the year in Zhongshu's province. Some officials moved tables and chairs and enjoyed the snow and played chess with Chen Xilie on the porch.
Xue Bai was interested in Chen Xilie, so he stood behind him and watched. He realized that his chess skills were very good, and he was especially good at concealing his true purpose.
However, before Chen Xilie could win the game, an official rushed over and said: "The right prime minister is here."
Xue Bai was condescending, and you could see the corner of his mouth slightly curled up with a rather contemptuous expression, obviously looking down on the spit pot.
Who can be convinced when Shihu becomes prime minister? Who doesn't want to replace him?
Soon, Yang Guozhong entered the official residence without hesitation. Facing Chen Xilie's pretentious greeting, he ignored him at all and even patted his old face with Zhongzhi.
This was a very rude move. Chen Xilie was stunned for a moment, puffed his beard and glared, preparing to have a serious showdown with Yang Guozhong.
However, before he could speak, Yang Guozhong already said domineeringly: "Look at this!"
The edict was unfolded, and there was not much content. There were only three columns. The other contents needed to be written down when the edict was prepared.
Chen Xilie squinted his eyes and saw that it read "Zhang Bianqian became the Sima of Luxi; Zhang Junqian became the prefect of Jian'an; Zhang Chuqian became the Sima of Yichun".
"this!"
This surprise was no small matter for Chen Xilie.
He knew how much the saint liked Zhang Bian in the past. He always expressed his love for Zhang Bian as "loving his son-in-law". He allowed Zhang Bian to build a palace in the imperial city and often rewarded Zhang Bian with treasures. He jokingly said that these were gifts from his father-in-law to his son-in-law, not from the emperor to his ministers.
It's this kind of kindness, but it turns out to be so merciless when you fall out?
Thinking about it again, the saint is a person who can even kill his own son, how can there be any friendship? At that time, it was just a joke with Zhang Bian.
Thinking of this, cold sweat started flowing down Chen Xilie's armpits, and the hand holding the imperial decree was trembling slightly.
"Why are you shaking?!"
Yang Guozhong scolded and laughed proudly.
He was reminded by Xue Bai, but he did not follow Xue Bai's suggestions to deal with military and state affairs. Instead, he used his ideas to eliminate dissidents, and indeed he achieved great results. He rebelled against the Sacred Heart, but put all the blame on Zhang Bian.
The next step is to use Zhang Bian's serious crime to scare Chen Xilie, who is as timid as a mouse.
"Still shaking? What are you afraid of if you didn't conspire with Zhang Bian? Or are you colluding?"
"No...no."
Chen Xilie didn't even know why Zhang Bian was demoted. He only saw that the three brothers were demoted at the same time, and thought it was a major case with solid evidence like Li Linfu's case against Wei Jian. But he did cooperate with Zhang Bian, and he felt guilty.
.
"No?" Yang Guozhong sneered and said, "I'm still asking you today. In the future, Zhang Bian will recruit you, but others will judge you."
"Right Prime Minister..."
"What are you still doing? Let's make an edict."
Chen Xilie also wanted to pretend to be calm, but his timid character was clearly exposed at this moment. He turned to look at Xue Bai, handed over the imperial edict, and said: "I will prepare the imperial edict according to the instructions of your right minister."
Xue Bai couldn't help but sigh.
What he lamented was that there were only so many mediocre and incompetent people left in this temple.
When Chen Xilie heard this sigh, he thought Xue Bai was pitying him. He was like a camel that was crushed by the last straw. He could no longer keep his guard up, turned to Yang Guozhong, and couldn't wait to give in.
"Right Chancellor, how about I resign?!"
"ha?"
Although Yang Guozhong wanted to scare Chen Xilie, he did not expect to defeat him so easily.
"I am resigning. I am old and unable to manage the affairs of the country. I would like to ask the Right Prime Minister to recommend a strong person to replace the Left Prime Minister. I want to submit my resignation today."
"..."
The left prime minister had been a child for more than ten years, enduring the strong Li Linfu. He was like the Yue King Gou Jian, who was waiting for the day to dominate the world and express his ambition. But in the end he was defeated by the ignorant Yang Guozhong.
, not even a spitting pot.
How can he have the guts to do so? Cowardice is cowardice.