It was actually winter, but no stove was lit in the Xuanzheng Hall that day.
Xue Bai was in good health and did not feel cold. Du Youlin, Yan Zhenqing and others wore thick clothes. Only Li Bizhen pretended that it was still August and still wore a thin Taoist robe and felt cold just looking at it.
After Li Xian's two matters were finished, Xue Bai nodded repeatedly, wishing he could approve it directly. But if he wanted to implement it, he had to go through Zhongshu's disciples, so he had to ask for their opinions.
"I second the proposal."
Du Youlin was Xue Bai's mouthpiece as always.
Although this answer seemed very mediocre, it actually had some careful thoughts. He only said that he seconded it, which naturally meant that he agreed with Li Xian's two suggestions.
Yang Wan is a well-known child prodigy with noble character and high reputation. She is the right candidate for Jing Zhaoyin. Du Youlin agreed to this matter, which invisibly brought the matter of restoring the old calendar to the same reasonable level.
It's a pity that others didn't agree with him at all. Wei Jiansu was the first to speak up and said: "Yang Wan can move to Beijing Zhaoyin, but the calendar cannot be changed easily."
After saying that, Wei Jiansu immediately closed his eyes and sat there to rest, to show that he would not change his mind again today, no matter what others said, it would be useless.
Du Youlin then glanced at Yan Zhenqing and Li Mi respectively, thinking whether this thing can be done depends on Yan Zhenqing's reaction, because Li Mi often opposed Xue Bai.
He was very puzzled as to why Xue Bai wanted to introduce Li Bi as prime minister. He was simply making himself uncomfortable and increasing difficulties.
"Mr. Yan, what do you mean?"
"Changes in the imperial decree will damage the prestige of the imperial court." Yan Zhenqing still insisted on his original opinion and said: "Your Highness is acting as a saint to supervise the country. Loyalty and filial piety should be the first priority. How can you change the calendar without authorization?"
Du Youlin then wanted to persuade Yan Zhenqing again, but Xue Bai had already looked at Li Mi and asked, "What does Chang Yuan think?"
Since Li Bi became prime minister, he has been like a decoration most of the time, neither happy nor sad. If he is asked about something, he will oppose Xue Bai, but sometimes Xue Bai will deliberately express his opposite attitude to test him and argue with him.
A battle of wits and courage.
Normally this kind of contest would result in a winner or a loser, but this time Xue Bai's attitude was very clear. Li Bi then said: "I have the same view as Mr. Yan."
Xue Bai asked: "So, it will be the Emperor's birthday in a few days. Should Taichang Temple prepare some dance music?"
As he spoke, he walked a few steps and looked outside the palace door.
It has started to snow lightly today.
The reason why Du Wulang chose to hold the performance yesterday despite being in a hurry was that he was worried that it would snow heavily in the next few days. An experienced farmer could tell this by looking at the clouds.
"It's snowing in August in Hu Tian." Xue Bai murmured, "It's also snowing in August in Chang'an."
Watching the light snowflakes falling, Li Bi tightened his tight-fitting Taoist robe and showed a wry smile that was hopeless.
In previous years, the Tianchang Festival was held in clear autumn weather, but this year the celebration will be held in heavy snow? And then there will be the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The grand songs and dances that the Supreme Emperor likes have already been performed among the people. If he celebrates his birthday again, Xue Bai will definitely fool him at will, making the Supreme Emperor lose his face. Rather than doing this, it is better not to do it.
Thinking more deeply, the Supreme Emperor and the saints were all held hostage by Xue Bai. It would be very easy for Xue Bai to want them to suffer a little. If he considered it for them, it would be better to agree to restore the old calendar.
In fact, Yan Zhenqing objected to this matter for Xue Bai's own good, fearing that he would gain the reputation of a powerful official. But if he was really the Supreme Emperor and a saint, he might as well agree to it.
"I've figured it out, it's better not to have to celebrate Tianchang Festival." Li Mi finally changed his mind.
If it were someone else, he would inevitably have to add a few words to save face, but he didn't care about these insignificant things. After that, he bowed to Xue Bai and left directly.
The prime minister was quite worthy, but he seemed very unhappy.
Wei Jiansu couldn't help but sigh, knowing that the matter was a foregone conclusion and could not be stopped by him.
Soon, before the fifth day of August, the imperial court issued an edict to abolish the calendar established by the saints and still use the old calendar.
The people were not accustomed to changing the calendar, so they applauded it.
The various New Year and Lantern Festival items that were originally prepared secretly can now be taken out. As for the Mid-Autumn Festival, they have already celebrated it secretly.
As a result, the atmosphere in Chang'an City suddenly became lively, and more materials for lanterns were quickly available in the street market, and the scene during the Kaiyuan Period was vaguely visible.
But for the court officials, the more profound significance of this incident was that the Prince of the Supervisory State denied the saint's calendar, thereby denying the saint's achievements and establishing his own authority.
~~
In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty, early December.
A man about forty years old, plainly dressed and with a calm temperament walked through Qingmen Street.
He was Yang Wan who had just been recalled to Chang'an to serve as Jing Zhaoyin.
Yang Wan was born in the former martial arts studio of the Yang family in Hongnong. He was born with intelligence. When he was four years old, there was a dinner party at home. During the dinner, the guests were asked to read out the utensils present in four tones of music. When everyone else was stumped, Yang Wan pointed out
He said the four words "lamp handle crooked" while holding a candlestick, so he was regarded as a child prodigy.
There is a folk saying that Liu Yan, Yang Wan, Li Mi, and Xue Bai were the four great prodigies during the Tianbao period.
That day when Yang Wan returned to Beijing, she passed by the East Market and saw that it was very busy. Among them was an old woman with white hair who was selling lanterns with her little grandson.
"Hero, Lang Guan, please buy two lanterns. The Chinese New Year is coming soon."
Yang Wan and the old woman looked at each other and couldn't help but think of their mother.
Although he came from a good background, his grandfather was a minister of household affairs, and his father was the magistrate of Liquan County. However, his father died early and the family fell into decline. He served his mother extremely filially, just to provide her with food and clothing.
There was no shortage, so I took the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in high school.
If not, some of the children of famous families like him disdain the imperial examination, thinking that the right way is to take the imperial examination. Starting from the entrance examination, the imperial examination will let those lowly officials search their bodies, which will cause their dignity to be lost.
How could it be the work of a man at the hands of an inferior person?
The difference between Yang Wan and these people is that he has endured poverty and acted frugally and pragmatically.
He took a few steps towards the old woman selling lanterns, dug his hands into his sleeves, but found that he didn't have any money with him, so he had to stop with a wry smile.
At this moment, a handsome man in his thirties came from the side and walked straight to the stall.
"Mr. Sir, do you want to buy lanterns? You can take your pick."
Yang Wan was about to walk away when she heard the thirty-year-old man say: "The materials used in these lanterns are quite good, but the patterns on the lantern paper are too ugly."
Hearing that he disliked the old woman's lanterns, Yang Wan couldn't help but stop, secretly thinking that if he didn't buy anything, he would become picky.
Then I saw the thirty-year-old man take out a writing brush from his sleeve and said to the old woman: "If you have any paint, I will add a few paintings for you to make sure you sell well."
The old woman couldn't help but hesitate.
"Don't worry, if the painting is not good, I will buy all your lanterns."
So, the old woman quickly took out the paint and asked the thirty-year-old man to paint.
Yang Wan became more and more interested, and watched from the sidelines. She saw the other party writing smoothly and quickly sketching a turquoise landscape painting on the lantern.
Although the painting only contains a few strokes, it is as if the real scenery of the mountains has been transferred to the painting. It is indeed the work of a famous artist.
And this thirty-year-old man spent four lanterns one after another, which were exactly the four scenes of spring, summer, autumn and winter. After painting, he put down his pen and said to the old woman: "How about let's see?"
"Mr. Lang is really amazing, amazing."
Yang Wan liked those paintings very much and was going to buy them. Although he didn't bring any money, he planned to make an agreement with the old woman and then ask his family to get the money.
But just as he walked to the front, the man in his thirties asked the old woman: "Do you know how much this lantern should cost?"
"If it's so good, I'm afraid it can be sold for ten yuan?"
"One ten-gun, four fifty-gun."
The old woman was stunned, her eyes widened, and she couldn't believe it. She wondered whether she didn't know how to count or had heard wrongly. If someone bought four, wouldn't the price of forty guan be cheaper? No, how could this lantern be used? Sold for ten dollars.
After hearing this, Yang Wan's original intention of buying a painting disappeared immediately. She smiled silently and took two steps back before leaving.
Although the man in his thirties had not looked at Yang Wan, he was paying attention to him out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that he was about to leave, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes, as if he was considering how to keep him.
"Don't worry, my painting will definitely be worth the price."
suddenly.
"Eh."
A high-pitched voice sounded, saying: "What a turquoise landscape painting!"
What came was a middle-aged man with a fair face and no beard. He looked like a eunuch at first glance. He couldn't put it down when he saw the paintings on the lanterns, and he hurriedly asked the old woman for the price.
"I am a person who loves painting. I just saw this beautiful man painting from a distance and came here. I didn't expect that he could paint so well. Tell me, how much does it cost? Don't worry, this is not a purchase from the palace market. I have more. money."
"This... this... how many do you want to buy?"
"Of course I want all four."
"Five...five...fifty strings."
The old woman didn't dare to say anything at all, but she thought she could bargain if she bid too high, so she stammered and quoted the price.
Unexpectedly, the eunuch was very happy and said: "So cheap?! Hahaha, I want it all."
After saying that, he held the handsome man in his thirties with both hands.
"I am Huang Ruzhi, the chamberlain's minister, Sheng Dian, may I ask Mr. Lang what his name is?"
"Yang Yan, courtesy name Gongnan."
Over there, Yang Wan, who had walked a few steps, looked back and remembered the name Yang Yan. She thought to herself that Yang Yan's paintings were good, and that Yang Yan was indeed a talented person with a deep scheming mind. Sooner or later, he would rise to the top.
.
In normal times, when Yang Wan met a person like Yang Yan, he would inevitably approach him to get acquainted. But today, he realized that the other person seemed to want to make friends with him, so he deliberately ran out to paint. He didn't like such ambitious people, so he deliberately didn't
Pay attention to the other person.
He just returned to Chang'an and planned to visit Jingzhao Mansion Office.
Wandering on the streets of Chang'an, I slowly arrived at Guangde Square, where Jingzhao Mansion is located, but I encountered another small incident at the gate of the square.
Ahead, a large group of carriages were coming out of the square, blocking the streets in the square.
"Everyone get out of the way!"
Yang Wan did not give in, and stood there craning his neck to watch, like an ignorant countryman. He discovered that there were more than a hundred carriages.
The leading coachman had already raised his whip and shouted again: "Everyone, get out of the way!"
"You're blocking the road, come here."
Following this shout, someone grabbed Yang Wan and pulled him to the street.
Yang Wan looked back and saw a bearded bad guy, so she asked: "Whose carriage are these? There is such a large array?"
"Look what you said, what's wrong with the dignified Jingzhao Shaoyin traveling with more followers, carriages and horses?"
"Jingzhao Shaoyin? Is it Li Qian or Cui Su?"
Since Yang Wan serves as Jingzhao Yin, she naturally has a careful understanding of the situation in Jingzhao Mansion. These two Jingzhao Shaoyin were both appointed when the saint favored Dou Wenyang.
They bribed Dou Wenyang heavily to get the official position, but their political achievements were not bad.
Li Qian governed the capital with strict laws and disciplines, and attached great importance to public security in the city. After the Yongwang Rebellion, Chang'an quickly settled down and was quite popular among the people. However, he was sensual, spent a lot of money, and often neglected his job, always trying to curry favor with new patrons and get promoted.
, can be regarded as a person with both advantages and disadvantages; Cui Suze is more like a businessman, with a lot of property in his family. After spending a lot of money to get an official position, when he saw King Yong becoming the prince of the country, he was worried about losing his official position, so he often donated food and provided relief.
Governing Chang'an.
Yang Wan knew very well that the current prince who oversees the country would not be able to accommodate such two people to continue to serve as Jingzhao Shaoyin, but until there is a suitable Jingzhao Yin, he can only keep them.
Now, it depends on whether he, Jing Zhaoyin, is qualified for his job.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you call Shaoyin by his first name?!"
A shout pulled Yang Wan out of his thoughts. He raised his head and saw a steady stream of luxurious carriages in front of him, which had not yet passed through the gate.
After thinking about it, he simply strode forward.
"Get out of the way!"
The driver on a carriage saw that Yang Wan was wearing simple clothes and was not a wealthy person. He immediately felt contempt for her. He swung his whip and hit Yang Wan directly. He also yelled at Yang Wan.
"Can't you wait now? It's not time to go aside."
Yang Wan was whipped, and he calmly took out his bodyguard and said in a deep voice: "Where is Li Shaoyin? You travel by carriage and horse, and if you treat me like this, how about you treat the people under your rule?!
"
As soon as he opened his mouth, the air of poverty swept away from his body, and his official authority was immediately revealed.
Li Qian was sitting in a carriage at the back, enjoying his beautiful maid beating his legs and pressing his shoulders. When he suddenly heard this shout, he was suddenly surprised and quickly opened the curtain to look.
"This...could it be Yang Jingyin?"
Li Qian naturally knew about Yang Wan's appointment as Jing Zhaoyin, and sent people to Daming Palace, Zhengshi Hall, and the door of Li Xian's house to keep an eye on it, because he believed that Yang Wan would definitely go to these places as soon as he arrived in Chang'an.
But he never expected to meet Yang Wan here.
If it were just that he traveled a little more and lived a more luxurious life, it would be a trivial matter. Although the Prince of the Supervisory State advocated frugality, he spent his own money and did not violate the law, so the Prince had nothing to do with him.
However, the servant whipped Yang Wan. This was by no means a small crime.
Li Qian shouted that he was unlucky. He quickly jumped off the carriage and rushed to Yang Wan. He bowed deeply and said, "I have seen Jing Yin. I am a low-ranking official and I have no way to control my subordinates. I will apologize to Jing Yin."
Saying this, he drank the coachman from the shaft of the carriage and treated him as if he was going to be punished for a serious crime.
Yang Wan asked, "If the master hadn't always been arrogant, how could a slave dare to whip anyone he saw in the street? I heard that Li Shaoyin was very popular among the people. Is the whip the reason for the people's popularity?!"
He used to have an aura of an honest man, he was neither well-dressed nor fierce-looking, and seemed easy to bully. But now when he opened his mouth to yell at someone, he was so righteous and upright that he actually had the power of a god.
The driver was so frightened that he fell to his knees, his body shaking like a sieve.
Li Gan also wanted to kneel down to Yang Wan, but his status was inappropriate. How could an adjutant kneel down to the chief officer?
Just when he was at a loss, a eunuch came in a hurry.
"Can Mr. Yang Wan and Yang Wan of Jingzhao be summoned by His Highness?"
When Li Gan heard this, his face turned pale.
Yang Wan has been offended, and now that the matter has not been settled, Yang Wan will complain to His Highness, and he will definitely be doomed.
~~
Xuanzheng Hall.
When Yang Wan walked into the palace, she couldn't tell what impression she had of Xue Bai.
He was actually promoted by Xue Bai twice. Once when he was still the crown prince, Xue Bai promoted a large number of officials in order to increase the power of the Yang Party; the second time was when Xue Bai regained Chang'an and released him.
Arrive at the location of Hedong Yanyan.
In total, this return to Beijing is the third time Xue Bai has promoted him.
If he can serve as Jing Zhaoyin at the age of less than forty years old, and suddenly wear this robe from a third-grade official to become one of the three assistants, he is expected to become the prime minister before the age of forty-five and show his ambition.
No matter what, this was considered a great kindness from Xue Bai to him.
But on the other hand, Yang Wan had also heard about Xue Bai's bad reputation. As a person with moral hygiene, he was not able to accept it calmly in his own heart, and often felt in a dilemma.
Therefore, he could only put aside those struggles for power and position and focus on specific practical matters.
"I have met His Highness."
"Here we are, let's talk about your achievements in salt exploration in Hedong in person."
Xue Bai didn't seem to intend to win over Yang Wan as a confidant, and he discussed specific practical matters as soon as they met.
Yang Wan breathed a sigh of relief and soon started talking.
Among the officials who came to Hedong, there were many talented people, including Wang Jin, Yuan Jie, Wu Qi, and Liu Yan. In this case, there must be results, and Xue Bai wanted to promulgate the method of salt removal to
The world has paved its way.
However, Yang Wan said that Fifth Qi and Liu Yan had some differences on the matter of collecting salt. Fifth Qi believed that the imperial court should completely monopolize the benefits of salt, while Liu Yan valued the interests of merchants and believed that the government should be divided between business and government.
Profit, giving private salt traders a way to survive and allowing them to help the court make profits.
Xue Bai asked Yang Wan who he thought had a better idea.
Yang Wan bluntly said that his heart was leaning towards Liu Yan, but the method of salt removal was only tried in Hedong. He suggested that another trial could be added, with Wu Qi and Liu Yan in charge respectively to observe the situation.
He could see that Xue Bai was very cautious about changes.
"I really don't dare to rush for success." Xue Bai said: "The northwest is prepared for autumn every year, and it is locked in a long war with Tubo. Military expenditures are in short supply, the national treasury is empty, land annexation is serious, and rents and regulations are ruined. If you don't change, you will not survive.
But now the government is corrupt and the people's livelihood is difficult, and we dare not change the law easily, otherwise the people will bear a heavier burden if we are not careful."
"Yes." Yang Wan said: "There have been repeated rebellions before, and the court was helpless. It is not an opportunity to take drastic measures. Just like a person who has just recovered from a serious illness should first take care of himself slowly and then take strong tonic medicine. It is necessary to change customs, clean officials, and strictly enforce laws and disciplines.
. Then determine the number of soldiers in each state, suppress the military and political affairs, weaken the powerful vassals, and disperse the masses. After a few years, there will be internal peace and no external troubles, the world will be in order, and the tax law can be changed."
"That's a good point, but there is a problem now."
Yang Wan said: "Your Highness just said that we are locked in a long war with Tibet and military expenditures are in short supply. But I heard that this autumn Guo Ziyi was in Longyou and Li Guangbi was in Jiannan, both of which blocked the Tubo offensive."
Since the Yongwang Rebellion, Guanzhong has been quite peaceful. The imperial court has been talking about guarding against the autumn, but there has never been any news about Tibet's entry. Most people have only the information that Yang Wan knows.
But Xue Bai was in a bad mood this time, precisely because of the war with Tubo.
He walked to the map, pointed at Longyou and Jiannan, and said: "As far as Tubo is concerned, these two directions are its eastern front. This year, thanks to General Guo and Li Er, Tubo has not been on the eastern front.
It’s too much of a bargain.”
Changing the topic, Xue Bai said: "However, what the world doesn't know is that Tubo on its western front has taken advantage of the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty to fully occupy the Hexi Corridor and cut off our communication with the four towns in Anxi."
Yang Wan looked at the map and saw that at the other end of the narrow Hexi Corridor was a territory almost as big as the Sixteenth Road to the east.
It's a pity to abandon it, but if you want to get it back, you will definitely have to fight some real tough battles with Tibet, instead of being so defensive as it is now.
He came to take up the post of Jing Zhaoyin, and it was certainly not his responsibility to open the road to Anxi. The reason why Xue Bai told him this was for one reason only, and that was money.
If the country is poor, it will be beaten.
If you want to avoid being beaten, you must first make the country rich.
And as mentioned just now, if you want to enrich the country without hurting the people, you must change customs, clean officials, and enforce strict laws and disciplines. Otherwise, the Manchu Dynasty will be full of officials who enrich themselves. No matter how the system is implemented, it will increase the burden on the people and increase taxes.
It also went into the pockets of corrupt officials.
Yang Wan then said: "Your Highness, please be patient for the time being and send envoys back to Hehe via the road to comfort the generals in Anxi. After the Tang Dynasty recovers its national strength, we can then fight against Tubo."
“We just don’t know when our national strength will be restored.”
Xue Bai gave a rare sigh and put pressure on Yang Wan.
In fact, not only Yang Wan, but also every official he met recently, he often urged them like this.
After that, they talked about the issue of Jingzhao Mansion.
"I have wanted to abolish Li Qian, Cui Su and others for a long time. Are they the only officials in the world that I want to abolish?" Xue Bai said, "But if you punish them without teaching, then the punishment will be complicated and the evil will be overwhelming. Now they are like that
There are too many ordinary officials, how to deal with them depends on your method."
"Your Highness, don't worry." Yang Wan said with a salute.
Xue Bai asked, "If you have any requests, just ask."
Yang Wan responded: "I don't have any requests anymore."
Xue Bai had actually heard about the conflict between Yang Wan and Li Gan, and was ready to remove Li Gan or even punish him. He was a little surprised when he heard this.
He decided to follow what Yang Wan did and see what Yang Wan was capable of.
~~
Yang Wan left the Daming Palace.
I saw Li Gan and Cui Su waiting outside the door.
"I've met Jingyin."
The two of them stepped forward to salute. In the cold weather, the cold sweat on Li Gan's head was still breaking out.
In fact, he has always known that His Highness dislikes him, but he does not think that the reason is that he lives a luxurious life, and he has long been accustomed to showing off like this. The problem is that Yang Wan must have sued him today to make him
Losing one's official position or even being exiled is, of course, sad and unwilling.
However, Yang Wan did not produce any official document to remove him. He just said: "Go back to the Yamen Office."
"Jing Yin went to the government office just after arriving in Chang'an. He is a role model for our generation." Cui Su flattered him quickly.
Li Gan came to his senses and, unwilling to lag behind, quickly led Yang Wan to his carriage and said: "Jing Yin, please get in the carriage."
Yang Wanyun said calmly: "I have a horse."
He raised his hand and pointed. Li Gan, Cui Su and others looked in that direction and saw only a rogue horse tied under a willow tree.
The dignified Jingzhao Yin rides a low horse, but Jingzhao Shaoyin drives hundreds of luxurious cars. No matter how stupid Li Gan is, he finally knows what to do.
Cui Su was secretly frightened as he followed, thinking that after returning home, he would have to let go of most of the hundreds of singers he raised at home... No, leaving only a dozen of them would be enough.