Yan Jiming walked into the study and saw Yan Gaoqing looking at him with cold eyes.
"My child has met grandpa." He saluted quickly and pretended to be concerned: "My eldest brother sent a letter the day before yesterday and asked about grandpa's health."
Yan Gaoqing ignored him and said, "The imperial driver has left Yanmen and will arrive at Fanyang soon. What you have hidden from me cannot be hidden from a saint."
Yan Jiming disagreed with this and said with a smile: "What can I hide from grandpa?"
Yan Gaoqing took a deep look at his son, with a look of worry in his eyes.
Unlike Yan Quanming, who served as an official in Chang'an, Yan Jiming was not that motivated. Seeing that the world was peaceful these years, he gave up his promotion and found an opportunity to be transferred to Fanyang as a field envoy to serve Yan Gaoqing.
When people have nothing to do, it is easy to make friends with bad friends.
There are many religions and streams in Fanyang City, and most of those who were exiled were rangers who had killed people, criminals who were exiled, or barbarians who were attached to the army. As far as Yan Gaoqing knew, Yan Jiming gradually mixed with these people and became infected with the evil spirit.
The gangster spirit is in him.
It was precisely because of this gangster spirit that when some soldiers made trouble a while ago, Yan Jiming would draw his sword and kill people without giving orders, completely acting like a military leader.
"Don't give me that playful smile." Yan Gaoqing thought of this and shouted: "Since you arrived in Fanyang, you have been doing evil all day long, and you still don't know your fault?"
"When did I do anything wrong? Isn't it because I helped Grandpa suppress the mutiny before? Isn't it because I had good intentions but did something wrong?"
"If you kill soldiers without receiving military orders, are you suppressing them?"
"Otherwise, why don't we wait for Grandpa to tell them what justice is right for them?"
"Crack."
Yan Gaoqing slapped the case and shouted angrily: "Who taught you to contradict your elders?!"
The Yan family is a Confucian family, and Yan Jiming has been taught to know etiquette very well since he was a child. Indeed, it is only in the past few years that he has started to become a little rebellious. At this time, he was suddenly scolded, and he quickly bowed and said: "I know my fault, kid."
But he still didn't answer Yan Gaoqing's question about who was influencing him.
The communication between the father and son was not smooth. Until Yan Jiming withdrew, Yan Gaoqing was still not satisfied with his attitude. Thinking that the emperor would visit Fan Yang soon, Yan Gaoqing recruited a confidant around him.
He gave orders.
"Go and keep an eye on Twelve Lang and see who he associates with."
"Alang, Twelve Lang is not the kind of person who would go astray."
"I'll let you keep an eye on it and report back to me the truth no matter what you find."
"Here..."
Yan Jiming returned to the house and quickly turned off the lights.
He lay on the couch for half an hour, unable to sleep, so he simply got up and climbed out of the window. Then he climbed over the courtyard wall vigorously, left the house, and headed all the way to an abandoned temple in the north of the city.
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and you can vaguely see the sign hanging on the temple saying "Zhengjing Temple", but the door is nailed shut and there is a seal on it.
Yan Jiming went around the wall and climbed in. The construction style inside was very strange. What was carved on the brackets were not common auspicious animals, but ape-like monsters. Although the wall was dilapidated, it could be seen that it was not painted with red paint.
, but very bright colors, with a Western style.
The statues of gods enshrined in the main hall have been smashed to pieces, and half of the statues scattered on the ground have horns on their heads and are shaped like cows. They are Zoroastrian gods.
This place was the Zoroastrian Temple built when An Lushan was serving as Fan Yang's Jiedushi. After the rebels were defeated, it was converted into a Buddhist temple. Within a few years, the imperial court reduced the number of temples in the world, ordered the monks to return to secular life and farmed the land, and demolished all the stones and trees that could be demolished.
If you leave, this place will be deserted.
At first, there were still refugees or gangsters gathering here, but later, the government discovered that some people were worshiping Anlu Mountain here, so they sealed the place, and no one dared to come.
"Who?" someone in the side hall asked in a low voice.
"I."
Yan Jiming answered and went straight in. He saw a few men about to come out, so he drove them in and said: "Don't come out, it's said inside."
In the hall, a woman was sitting. When she saw him coming, she immediately asked: "We heard that Xue Bai is coming to Fan Yang. Is it true?"
"Um."
"In this case, you took me to see him and we made a break long ago."
"Don't worry, I will apologize to His Majesty first..."
Before he finished speaking, the man guarding the door suddenly turned around and said, "Madam, someone is coming."
The others were immediately shocked and said: "Yan Jiming, you betrayed us!"
Yan Jiming guessed that his family sent someone to keep an eye on him and comfort them, saying, "You guys wait here, I'll deal with it."
He then strode out and suddenly heard a "bang" sound, but it was the temple door being kicked open.
Dust continued to fall downwards, illuminated by the fire outside the door.
Those who came were not the people sent by Yan Gaoqing to keep an eye on him, but many soldiers. The leader was a middle-aged man with three long beards and an elegant appearance. When he saw Yan Jiming, he asked: "Yan Twelve Lang,
What's your purpose of sneaking into a place forbidden by the imperial court?"
"Pei Yi."
Yan Jiming cursed loudly and angrily: "You villain, you are trying to frame me again."
Following his shout, the people hiding in the hall quickly left through the back door.
Not long after, a soldier shouted: "Catch them!"
"The remnants of the traitors were discovered and they were escaping through the back door..."
Such shouts came one after another. After hearing this, Pei Huan had a hint of pride on his face. He stared at Yan Jiming, seemingly mockingly, and asked: "Yan Erlang, what else do you have to explain?"
Yan Jiming said: "You don't deserve to hear my explanation."
Pei Yi sneered and said, "Now that things have come to this, I still have to be stubborn."
He waved his hand and someone took Yan Jiming into custody and followed him to the back door to capture the remaining rebels. When they arrived, the soldiers had already captured two and killed one, but three others escaped.
As the shouts of killing faded away, a soldier presented a few bundles and said, "I found this."
"Open it and take a look."
With a "bang" sound, a spiritual tablet fell out.
Pei Yi stepped forward to pick it up, took a look at it, and then placed it in front of Yan Jiming for him to take a closer look.
This spiritual tablet is not big, has mottled paint, and is already a few years old. On it is clearly engraved the words "Xian Kao Shi Gong Tao Si Si Ming Fu Jun".
Yan Jiming pursed his lips and said nothing, as if he had admitted his guilt.
Pei Yi said: "These rebels are still worshiping Anlu Mountain and Shi Siming. Their intentions are worthy of death... Take them away."
A group of people walked out of the ruined temple. There were bursts of fire in front of them, but it was Yan Gaoqing who personally led them over.
Pei Yi then stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty."
"What happened?"
"The official was tracking down the remnants of the rebels who worshiped Anlu Mountain. They caught these people and seized evidence."
Pei Yi turned around and pointed at the three men and Yan Jiming, deliberately not mentioning Yan Jiming's name and only referring to them as "traitors".
Offering sacrifices to Anlu Mountain in the Zoroastrian Temple was something Yan Gaoqing could not tolerate. He had been urging the city's defenders to capture the traitors. But he never thought that his son would be involved.
At this time, he finally knew who Yan Jiming had been hanging out with in the past two years. No wonder he had fallen so fast.
"Take him down for careful interrogation." Yan Gaoqing ordered in a normal tone, as if the person being taken away was not his son.
Pei Yi understood Yan Gaoqing's character of not showing favoritism and responded: "Here!"
Then, he whispered: "Don't worry, Mr. Yan, I will definitely treat you well and help him clear his grievances."
"Your Majesty will do as he pleases." Yan Gaoqing said with a straight face, turned around and left.
Yan Jiming, however, did not open his mouth to cry out for injustice until he was taken away.
~~
Ten days later, the imperial chariot entered the territory of Fan Yang, and Yan Gaoqing led a group of civil and military officials out of the city to greet him.
Pei Yi stood in the team and looked around. The official factions in front were very complicated. There were Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian who followed the emperor to fight the enemy in Hebei; there were surrendered ministers like Yan Zhuang and Tian Chengsi;
There are various officials, such as Du Fu; there are Hu people, local soldiers in Fanyang, and generals who have been transferred... In short, there are many contradictions.
It was precisely because of these contradictions that Yan Gaoqing could not form a unified voice in Fan Yang, which made Pei Yi dare to report him.
Unexpectedly, the emperor came in person so soon. I don’t know if he came to support Yan Gaoqing or to investigate Yan Gaoqing?
"Give way, I'm late."
Someone hurried over and was cutting in the queue quietly from behind.
Pei Yi looked back and consciously stepped back several steps, letting Dugu Wensu, Li Shiyu, Du Fu and others line up in front of him.
"Pei Gong."
When an official named Wei Ling saw him, he asked Pei Hu to come in front of him, and the two started talking quietly.
"Isn't Mr. Pei worried?"
"What are you worried about?"
"The Yan family is the emperor's in-laws, but Mr. Pei went to court to report him, and even arrested Yan Jiming, who had a close relationship with His Majesty. Aren't you afraid of revenge?"
Pei Yi said: "I wholeheartedly serve the public, so why should I be afraid? You also know that there is no falsehood in my memorial. Everything is true. If a saint only talks about closeness and distance, whether it is right or wrong, he wants to vent his anger on the Yan family, even if he kills him.
Even if you lose me, I am willing to admit defeat."
These words were righteous and awe-inspiring, but Wei Ling keenly caught one of the words, gambling.
Maybe Pei Yi is gambling on his future?
"Does Mr. Pei think that the saint is afraid of the Yan family?" Wei Ling asked in a low voice, "At this time, no one dares to say anything about the Yan family. Mr. Pei is the first in the world, so he may be looked down upon by the saint.
"
"You guessed wrong." Pei Yi said calmly: "This matter is not profitable, but may lead to death. If it is not driven by righteousness, why should I take such a risk?"
In this way, Wei Ling somewhat believed it. After all, he could see in his eyes that Pei Yi did not lie to the court.
The team calmed down and the charioteer had arrived.
Pei Yi thought that the emperor would only talk to those close ministers today, but what he didn't expect was that Xue Bai asked several local dignitaries and immediately summoned him to meet him.
This made him feel relieved and realized that he had made the right bet.
At least the emperor did not bring the likes and dislikes of close relatives into official affairs, and could allow the real impeachment of close ministers.
"I pay my respects to the saint."
Pei Yi was very upright when he saluted, showing the character of a minister who dared to speak out and give advice.
"Pingsheng." Xue Bai looked at him and asked, "What is your relationship with the late prince and young master Pei Kuan?"
"Back to the saint, he is my uncle."
"Pei from Hedong." Xue Bai nodded and said, "Pei Kuan once served as the military governor of Fan Yang. Back then, Li Xian recommended you to Fan Yang as the army commander. But do you have this consideration?"
Pei Yi said seriously: "Pei Gong has been away from Fan Yang for a long time and has no old ties. I have not attached to Li Shijun, but moved to Fan Yang due to political achievements."
Due to the palace coup in the third year of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Xian had been dismissed as prime minister and appointed as the governor of Bozhou. Regardless of whether Pei Yi relied on Li Xian or not, he had no backer in the court. Under such circumstances, he dared to impeach Yan Gaoqing, which was at least quite obvious.
Courage.
Xue Bai nodded again and said: "Tell me about Fan Yang's situation."
Pei Yi thought to himself that so many officials and saints did not ask, but asked himself first. It was obviously because others were either surrendered ministers or ministers of Yuan Cong, so they were too scrupulous. Only he was transferred from the imperial court and had no stake.
Among them, it is worth believing.
He then expressed his opinion and believed that Fan Yang still had hidden dangers of rebellion. For example, some local generals were domineering. For example, the complicated situation could easily cause the military and political officials to grab hold of him and breed disobedience.
Having said this, he took a sneak peek at Xue Bai's face, but unfortunately he didn't see anything.
After only a slight hesitation, he made up his mind, betting that the saint might have become suspicious of the Yan family, so he told the story of Yan Jiming's collusion with the remnants of the traitors.
"Is there any evidence?" Xue Bai listened in a business-like tone.
"have."
"Why did Yan Jiming do this?"
"I venture to guess that perhaps Duke Yan ordered him to bribe the remnants of the traitors in order to establish his prestige in Fan Yang."
"Check and then report, then enter the city."
Although Xue Bai had a business-like attitude in this small confrontation, Pei Yi believed that this was leaning towards him.
Because his impeachment was a fact and he was seeking justice from a saint. Yan Gaoqing relied on the emperor's old friendship. He did not talk about old feelings when doing official business, which was of course beneficial to him.
Perhaps Yan Gaoqing thought so too. Seeing the emperor talking to Pei Yi, a look of worry appeared on his face again.
~~
Yan Jiming was not imprisoned with other traitors. Because of his special status, he still received courtesy from Pei Yi and was given a plain private room to stay in.
The door creaked open, and a soldier came in and said, "Yan Jiming, we're going to be interrogated."
Yan Jiming stood up obediently and followed him out, but was taken out of the government office.
Not long after, he saw Xue Bai.
The two hadn't seen each other for many years. His lips trembled for a few steps, and he said a little unaccustomedly: "Holy, holy man..."
"I come to see you as a friend."
Xue Bai was wearing an ordinary 襕robe, and he also set up wine and food. He raised his hand and said, "Let's sit down and talk, reminiscing about old times."
Yan Jiming said: "But I am a guilty person."
"It's not my turn to investigate your case personally." Xue Bai changed his tone and said: "Even the emperor has to get off work. Now I am off work and I just came to see you."
"Then I'm being presumptuous."
Yan Jiming immediately sat down, picked up a chicken drumstick and gnawed on it.
After taking a bite, he raised his eyes to peek at Xue Bai's reaction. When he saw a long-lost smile, he felt relieved and took big bites.
"After being locked up for so long, I'm really starving to death."
Xue Bai sat down opposite him and said, "They say you are hanging out with traitors and are treasonous. Should I believe you or them?"
Yan Jiming said: "Actually, the traitor is Shi Chaoying."
"Guessed it."
"Sure enough, I can't hide it from Your Majesty." Yan Jiming said: "But I am innocent of her. I am such an old man. I have a family and close friends. I dare not provoke her. The reason why I helped her is because of my past.
Loyalty."
Xue Bai said: "I believe it."
"Really." Yan Jiming said: "When Shi Siming and his son died, she was still a prisoner in Taiyuan. The court pardoned her because she did not participate in the rebellion and had promised to recruit Shi Siming, but her life was difficult.
He was always regarded as a traitor, so he planned to go north to defect to Yidijian of Huihe and confront the Tang Dynasty."
"How did she know that Exlocation would accept her?"
"After Shi Siming was overthrown, some Shi clan generals fled north. First they fled to the Xi tribe, and then they returned to Hehe to suppress civil strife and invaded the Xi people. Those Shi clan generals followed Yi Dijian.
"
Xue Bai said: "How do you know this?"
Yan Jiming said: "I didn't know it at first, but I caught her when she returned to Fanyang to search for her old troops. I advised her that instead of going to Huihe and suffering the hardships, it would be better to make contributions to the Tang Dynasty."
"She agreed?"
"After talking for a long time, I finally convinced her." Yan Jiming said: "I asked her to try to contact the generals in Huihe to serve as internal agents for the Tang Dynasty. Then I will ask my uncle to wait for an opportunity to send troops to destroy Huihe and transfer them.
The earth is so strong that it reaches the foot of Chang'an Palace."
"It's a good idea, can it be done?"
"It all depends on people. In this way, we can not only help Shi Chaoying, but also stabilize the border fortress for the Tang Dynasty. If the Uighurs can be pacified, the situation in Hebei will be much better."
Xue Bai took a look at Yan Jiming and found that he had not changed much over the years. He was still very simple, passionate and sincere, and it could be said that he had not made much progress.
But is this his true appearance?
"Why don't you tell Mr. Yan about this matter?"
"My grandfather definitely disagrees." Yan Jiming said, "He would not let me associate with Shi Chaoying in the first place. He thought she was a rude Hu girl. But without my constant persuasion, Shi Chaoying would not have done it.
The Tang Dynasty made meritorious deeds. Furthermore, the people around me are talkative. If the news leaks out, Shi Chaoying and her tribe will be killed before the matter is completed."
At this point, in order to prove that people around Yan Gaoqing could easily leak rumors if they talk too much, he added another sentence.
"The reason why I was caught and exposed is because my grandfather sent people to follow me. I was not noticed when I went out, but my grandfather sent people to look for me on the street, which made someone aware of me."
Xue Bai asked: "You mean, Pei Yi deliberately framed you?"
"Of course, he is a villain."
"Tell me, how did he frame you?"
Yan Jiming couldn't explain, so he only said: "Pei Huan came to power by relying on people to worship Anlu Mountain. Originally they were just some fire worshipers. He insisted on making a big show of it just to deal with my grandfather."
"His official position is not as good as yours, and he has no backer in the court. For what purpose does he want to deal with yours?"
Yan Jiming said: "Such villains are jealous and revengeful. They are profitable. They are instigated by others and have their own shady purposes."
Xue Bai said: "Is there any evidence for what you said?"
"No." Yan Jiming asked, "Does your Majesty believe me?"
In fact, Xue Bai felt very anxious when he heard that someone was offering sacrifices to Anlu Mountain. This incident would make him feel that people in Hebei were not in the Tang Dynasty. Could it be that there was something wrong with his governance over the years?
After all the hard work, he was no different from Li Heng, Li Chu and his son, which was difficult for him to accept. Almost all the officials sent by the imperial court to Fan Yang also had the same sentiment, and they all urgently suppressed him as soon as possible.
Under such circumstances, Yan Jiming went to the sealed Zoroastrian Temple. From some aspects, it was indeed a taboo.
For a moment, Xue Bai also thought about the possibility that Yan Gaoqing, Yan Jiming and his son really had other plans.
He had always had an established impression of them, thinking that they were loyal and martyrs. But loyalty was the old history's evaluation of the Yan family and his son who died heroically in the Anshi Rebellion. Now that everything has changed, how could he still look at the problem with the established impression.
And people can change, especially easily changed by power.
"Don't you think everything is too coincidental?" Xue Bai said.
Yan Jiming suddenly lost his appetite, put down the food in his hand, and sighed: "Yes, I also know that it will be difficult for me to clean myself up."
Xue Bai said: "So, I believe what you said, you were framed."
After that moment of doubt passed through his mind, he still believed in Yan Jiming.
Although people are easily changed, there are always those who remain steadfast.
Huge disasters will bring out the rock-like qualities of these people. As the saying goes, "The strong wind knows the strong grass, and the rough and turbulent times know the honest ministers." But if the disaster had not happened, the person would still be the same person.
"Your Majesty, just trust me." Yan Jiming said with a smile.
"But even though I am the emperor, I cannot say a word to release you unless I can prove that Shi Chaoying is not a traitor." Xue Bai said, "In addition, Pei Yi is an outside official, and he does not have the energy to frame you.
There must be someone else behind this matter, and it involves greater interests."
Xue Bai knew this before setting off from Luoyang.
He came to Fan Yang to investigate this matter.
~~
Regarding Pei Yi's dealings with Yan Gaoqing and his son, Xue Bai has three guesses. One is that Pei Yi is a person who dares to speak out, but what happened happened too coincidental; the other is that Pei Yi represents people like the Pei family in Hedong.
The attitude of the family towards the reform was most likely to show dissatisfaction by impeaching the Yan family who supported the emperor's changes; the third was the resistance of the local old forces in Hebei to the imperial court's increasing control, but after all, Pei Yi did not
I have interests in this group of forces.
In the few days after arriving in Fan Yang, Xue Bai did not do anything immediately, did not intervene in the military camp, and did not supervise various changes. He only sent people to secretly investigate the previous interests of Fan Yang's civil and military officials.
He often summoned Du Fu to ask about cultural and educational matters, and occasionally he could sense the attitude of the surrendered generals from anecdotes about the children of military generals.
It wasn't until a few days passed that progress was finally made.
"My subordinates found out that Pei Yi is not as fair and impartial as he seems on the surface. He has some quirks... He secretly likes to collect Silla maids."
"What?"
"Pei Yi secretly built a large mansion outside Fanyang City and collected more than a hundred Silla maids."
"He is in the slave trade?"
"I'm afraid not. He seems to be enjoying it himself."
Xue Bai was a little surprised, but some of his original doubts were eliminated and he murmured: "No wonder he was able to catch Yan Jiming. It was indeed intentional."