"I know that the Marquis is loyal to the imperial court, and General Black Feather is also loyal to the imperial court." Pei Shiqing shook his head gently and sighed: "But not all the civil and military officials in the court are in awe of the general. Marquis
Although we are far away in the west, we should be aware of the situation in Kyoto."
"Don't dare!" Fan Ziqi's eyebrows showed worry.
Seeing this, Shiqing Pei still said calmly: "Commander Tantai has a resolute temperament, so he offended some people in the capital, and General Heiyu is the sworn brother of Commander Tantai, so those people will naturally regard the general as a partisan of the commander-in-chief.
The general has already obtained the military power of Xiling, and now he can easily obtain hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the Xiling family. Mr. Marquis, with this combination of military power and financial power, do you think the people in the court will remain indifferent?"
Fan Ziqi smiled bitterly and said, "I was confused for a moment. I didn't think so much at the time." He stood up, walked to the chair next to Pei Shiqing, sat down, and said softly: "Your Excellency, do you think this matter will cause a disturbance?"
"Once a storm breaks out, the Fan family will suffer." Pei Shiqing said solemnly: "No matter how many people in the court participate in the impeachment of the general, he is a hero of the empire after all, and the commander-in-chief of Tantai must also work hard to protect General Black Feather's prestige in the army.
Extremely high. If the court punishes the general for this matter, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers. In addition, the saint still trusts the general, so no matter how big the trouble is, the general can still escape unscathed."
"But my Fan family may be in for a disaster." Fan Ziqi smiled bitterly and said: "I was the one who facilitated the donation of five hundred thousand taels of silver to the general as military supplies. I was the one who arranged it before and after. This money was not sent to the capital.
Instead of protecting the mansion, it was given directly to Zhonglang General Su Changyu. If it were handed over directly to the general, this... this is indeed a huge negligence."
Pei Shiqing whispered: "Master Hou, King Fenyang and the commander-in-chief have always been at odds with each other. He also regards the general as a thorn. You should know at this time, right?"
"Yes." Fan Ziqi said: "The throne of Fenyang is very powerful. If...if the anger of Commander Tantai comes here, the Fan family will definitely be in danger."
Pei Shiqing's eyes flashed and he whispered: "With all due respect, if King Fenyang really wants to attack the Marquis, given the current situation, the Marquis will really be in trouble."
"Your Excellency, is there...is there any way to help the Fan family survive this disaster?" Fan Ziqi couldn't help but grab Pei Shiqing's arm from behind, as if thinking of the power of the Fenyang King, he was not without fear: "If it can be saved,
After this disaster, the Fan family must be grateful for your great kindness and virtue."
Pei Shiqing shook his head and sighed: "Master Hou, I am just a minister in Beiyuan District. In front of King Fenyang, I am like an insect. If he moves a finger, I will be shattered to pieces."
Fan Ziqi sighed: "So, is the Fan family really going to be in disaster?"
"That's not necessarily the case." Pei Shiqing chuckled and said, "Master Hou, please don't forget that although King Fenyang has a high and powerful position, he cannot cover the sky with one hand. There is at least one person in the court who can turn things around and protect the Fan family."
"Your Majesty, are you talking about... Your Highness the Princess?" Fan Ziqi's eyes lit up.
Pei Shiqing nodded slightly: "Yes, it is His Highness."
Fan Ziqi said: "If King Fenyang really launches an attack and Your Highness steps in to protect him, the Fan family will naturally be able to turn the danger into disaster. But... Sir, can Your Highness the Princess protect you?"
"I have said before that the princess is very satisfied with the loyalty of the Fan family." Pei Shiqing said: "She even advised the sage to issue an order to select outstanding children from the Fan family to serve as officials in the court. The princess still cares about the Fan family. If the court
Someone in Zhongzhen intends to use the five hundred thousand taels of silver to attack the Fan family. Naturally, His Highness will not sit idly by." He pondered for a moment before saying, "Master Marquis, Your Highness will help you, but if you really want to save the Fan family, you still have to do it.
It depends on the Marquis himself."
There were no lights in the house yet, and Fan Ziqi seemed to have forgotten to let people light them, so the surroundings were quite dim.
"Your Excellency, it's okay to speak directly if you have anything to say." Fan Ziqi said: "If Your Highness can use the Fan family in any place, the Fan family will not hesitate to do anything."
Pei Shiqing smiled and said: "Your Highness wants to protect the Fan family, how can he let the Fan family die?" After a pause, his body turned slightly, one arm rested on the case, he came closer to Fan Ziqi, and whispered: "Master Hou, Your Highness wants to be a saint.
Do you know about the construction of the royal temple?"
Fan Ziqi said: "I have heard a little about it, but I don't know whether it is true or false."
"Of course it is absolutely true." Pei Shiqing immediately said: "In order to celebrate the saint's birthday, His Highness is filial and plans to build a royal temple after the beginning of the new year. Just as the Marquis congratulated the old lady on her birthday, His Highness also wanted to show his filial piety.
.”
"The saint's birthday is celebrated by the whole world. Your Highness's filial piety is commendable and admirable."
Pei Shiqing said: "To build the royal temple, at least three to four million taels of silver are needed. I came to Xiling this time to raise some silver for the princess. You also know that the national treasury is tight, and the saint is a saint of his generation, so naturally he will not
In order to build the royal temple, the treasury was emptied. His Highness shared the saint's worries because he thought that if he could raise money outside, he would raise it outside, and it was best not to touch the treasury." He smiled softly and said: "The assets of the Yuwen family must be transported back to Kyoto.
, the Zhen family will also be quarreled, and the money confiscated by these two families can solve His Highness's urgent needs."
"Sir, I wonder if we can collect the required expenses?" Fan Ziqi asked immediately.
Pei Shiqing said: "If you include the confiscation of the Zhen family's property, it's almost the same. However, His Highness plans to spend three to four million taels of silver, which is a province after province, and many buildings will even be cancelled. But children want to give their parents
The best, His Highness naturally has the same thoughts. If you have enough money, Your Highness will certainly hope to build the Royal Temple into a magnificent place. After all, this is not only His Highness's filial piety, but also the face of the empire."
Fan Ziqi said: "What the Lord Minister said is absolutely true. The royal temple is related to the face of the empire, so we must not be careless. I am a minister of the Tang Dynasty. The Lord is worried. As a minister, of course, I must share the worries of the Lord."
"Your Highness knows that the Marquis has this intention, and he must be happy." Pei Shiqing raised his brows and said with a smile, "I will report to Your Highness as soon as possible and inform His Highness of the Marquis's loyalty to the country."
"My lord, I don't know how much I should give out?" Fan Ziqi asked cautiously.
Pei Shiqing flicked the dust on his sleeves and said with a faint smile: "Master Hou, this is not a decision I can make. It depends on Master Hou's thoughts."
"I'll take out two...three hundred thousand taels here, is it okay?" Fan Ziqi asked in a low voice.
Pei Shiqing glanced sideways at Fan Ziqi, smiled slightly, and said nothing.
"Five hundred thousand taels!" Fan Ziqi gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, I have lost all my fortune, and I will donate the five hundred thousand taels of silver to the court to build the royal temple."
Pei Shiqing said softly: "Master Hou, I know that you are sincere in offering five hundred thousand taels, but... the mistake is that you should not have given five hundred thousand taels to General Heiyu last time.
If there is no such thing, let alone five hundred thousand taels, even if you give out two or three hundred thousand taels, His Highness will definitely be overjoyed. You gave General Black Feather five hundred thousand taels, and now you are giving him five hundred thousand taels.
, can General Black Feather's status be compared with His Highness?" He picked up the teacup and said slowly: "The five hundred thousand taels here are military pay, and the donation to Your Highness is to build the royal temple. Lord Marquis, those military pay for the soldiers can also be
Comparable to the royal temple of a saint?”
Fan Ziqi's body trembled and he said hurriedly: "Thank you for reminding me, sir, please wait a moment!" He stood up and left in a hurry. After a while, Fan Ziqi left and came back again, holding a black box in his hand and placing it on the case.
He said in a voice: "Your Majesty, this is 230,000 taels of silver notes, which are available in the house. Please give me some more time. Within half a month, I will donate another 370,000 taels to you, so that I can make up at least six hundred thousand taels."
One hundred thousand taels, this is all I can do."
Pei Shiqing raised his hand and stroked the wooden box, thought for a while, and said: "Six hundred thousand taels, although it is not too much, but His Highness has an explanation. Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will try my best to help you with this matter."
Okay, Your Highness, you should rest assured that even if King Fenyang really wants to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble, as long as Your Highness is there, the Fan family will be safe and sound."
"Thank you, sir." Fan Ziqi took out another stack of banknotes from his sleeve: "Sir, this is thirty thousand taels of banknotes. You will have to worry about many things later, so you must accept it."
"Master Hou, this is impossible." Pei Shiqing pushed over and said: "In this way, Master Hou will regard me as a greedy person. You must not do it. I am just running errands for His Highness. The money donated by Master Hou also hopes to be able to
Use money to eliminate disasters and help the Marquis find a way out of trouble. You can take this money back, but you must not accept it."
"Sir, if you don't accept it, you really don't look down on me." Fan Ziqi said: "I know that when doing things in the capital, everything needs to be managed. This amount of money is not enough for the minister to manage. I
I can't let you have to spend money on my behalf even if you are burdened. You have to accept it no matter what." He stuffed it into Pei Shiqing's hand.
Pei Shiqing smiled and said: "Master Hou, if I don't accept your thoughts, you won't feel at ease. Whatever, I will accept it first." He put away the 30,000 taels of silver notes and then said: "Master Marquis, don't worry.
, although I have a humble status, thanks to His Highness's favor, I can still say a few words in front of His Highness. You can keep your heart in your heart, no matter how many people in the court want to make things difficult for you, Your Highness and I will do our best to protect you.
In addition, if it is convenient for you, please give me a list in the past two days. Your Fan family has outstanding children. Although it is written in the list, the Yuwen family can only be a commoner after entering the customs, but the Fan family has just started. When the time comes to see Fan
If the family's children are sent to the capital to become officials, they can still revive the family."
Fan Ziqi cupped his hands and said, "I'll leave everything to you, Your Majesty. By the way, I'll have people clean up the yard in the mansion, and you'll live in the mansion."
"That's not necessary." Pei Shiqing said, "I'll just go and stay at the post house. When you're out, keep everything simple and don't cause too much trouble to the Marquis. The day after tomorrow is the old lady's birthday, so you don't need to send anyone to invite her.
Sometimes I’ll come to your door to ask for a drink.”
"Yes, I wonder if Yao Duhu will come to the banquet?"
"He has official business in hand and is one day behind me. He will arrive tomorrow." Pei Shiqing said: "General Heiyu has been in Fan County for more than ten days. I wonder where he is now?"
"After the general arrived, I wanted to host a banquet, but the general did not enter the city." Fan Ziqi said: "General Zhonglang has reorganized his troops. I heard that the general has been surveying the terrain with his night crows these days.
, very hard work.”
Pei Shiqing nodded and said: "General, he is still devoted to the country. What about the old lady's birthday...?"
"The general has sent someone to reply. He will definitely come to the banquet when the time comes." Fan Ziqi said with a smile: "I invited the general and his night crows. The general is kind-hearted and agreed to attend the banquet. He also wanted to see me off."