Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 375 Private grudge

At this time when the court was full of smoke and smoke, Wang Zhongsi returned to Chang'an, which really made Xue Bai feel more at ease.

But in comparison, when Xianyu Zhongtong returned to the court, Yuan Siyi, the third-rank eunuch of the Internal Affairs Ministry and the hussar general, came out of the city to greet Wang Zhongsi. However, only Xue Bai, a member of the fifth-rank middle school room, greeted Wang Zhongsi. The ranking was much worse.

Yuan Zai, on the other hand, had been promoted quickly after joining Yang Guozhong. He had just been appointed as the fifth-rank Dongdu left-behind judge and would soon take up his post in Luoyang. It happened that the trip had not yet taken place on that day, so he took his wife Wang Yunxiu and Xue Bai out of the city together.

Along the way, Yuan Zai did not talk about official matters, but only asked some personal questions about Xue Bai.

"I heard that Xue Lang wants to take a concubine?"

"Ok?"

Xue Bai was surprised when he heard this and said, "I don't know about this yet. Where did Brother Gongfu hear about it?"

Yuan Zai said: "The news has spread all over Chang'an City. Your story of rescuing Ge Nu's daughter has been made into a story, saying that you two lovers will eventually get married."

"I also want to get married eventually, but I haven't had time to plan for a concubine." Xue Bai has been really busy recently. He spends every day in Zhongshu's department trying to find a way to gain a foothold. After rescuing the Li family, he couldn't even meet Li Tengkong. Several sides.

"what?!"

"Much better," Guan Chongsi said, "Since I changed doctors in Liangzhou, at least my condition has not gotten worse."

Xue Bai said: "An Lushan and Li Linfu have been thinking about harming Wang Jieshuai. They have known this for a long time. An Lushan even sent people to Yizhou before, so I became a little suspicious."

It was already dark when the two sides met, so they rested at a posthouse outside Chang'an City and prepared to enter Chang'an the next day.

In the guest room, Wang Zhongsi had already sat up from the couch, feeling slightly better than in the evening.

Xue Bai did not expect to put Yan Yan in such a situation, and fell silent after hearing this.

"I drank several bottles of wine from you, and I passed out drunk." Wang Yunxiu said: "Did you do this on purpose? What's the matter that you didn't want him to know about?"

"Grandpa, are you seriously ill?"

Wang Yunxiu calmed down, said a thousand blessings to Xue Bai, and asked in a low voice: "How can Mr. Xue find out the doctor who wants to harm my grandpa?"

Guan Chongsi said, seeing Xue Bai arriving, he stepped forward to welcome him and closed the courtyard door with his own hands, saying in a low voice: "Xue Lang is here. Commander Jie is still awake and is waiting for you."

At night, while he was sleeping alone in the house, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"He is now clinging to powerful people, and for the sake of saving the commander's life, it is better not to let him know about many things."

"To make a long story short, the miasma Jieshuai contracted in Nanzhao was not serious at first. After returning to Yizhou and seeing a few doctors, the symptoms gradually worsened. At first, we thought it was caused by the fatigue of the pommel horse. When we arrived in Liangzhou, We stopped. Fortunately, Xue Lang arrived later and found out that some of the doctors deliberately harmed Jieshuai."

Still Wang Yunxiu had a sharp eye, and suddenly recognized Wang Zhongsi's soldiers on the official road where people were coming and going. He quickly stepped forward, opened the curtain and saw Wang Zhongsi leaning in the carriage, with a weak and haggard face, as bright as gold paper.

"How is Wang Jieshuai doing lately?"

Xue Bai said: "An Sishun has also served as Shuofang's military envoy. What does Wang Jieshuai think of this person?"

When he opened the door, he saw a soldier of Wang Zhongsi standing outside the door, turning his head and looking around from time to time, looking furtive.

After traveling ten miles south, they paid attention to groups of caravans on the road. Because Wang Zhongsi did not follow many soldiers when he returned, only Guan Chongsi took more than ten people. The size of the team was no different from that of ordinary people, so it was easy to miss him.

Wang Zhongsi was too weak and could not remember many things clearly. His eyes were full of memories and he said slowly: "He is ten years older than me and has been in the Longyou Army much longer than me. Remember, When my grandfather followed Xue Na to attack Tibet, An Sishun was in the army. Later, when I controlled Helong, I saw that he had great achievements and qualifications, so I appointed him as the military envoy of the great battle."

"We're almost reaching balance." Xue Bai said with a hint of ridicule.

"Brother Gongfu said it is true." Xue Bai responded casually.

With that said, they entered the guest room. Guan Chongsi was too tall and had to lower his head when crossing the threshold.

This was the same inn where Xue Bai and Du Mei lived together. When he revisited the old place, he could still clearly recall the first time he and Du Mei hugged each other in the dark. Therefore, when allocating rooms, he still chose that one. between.

After that, because Wang Yun Xiuce came immediately, the two stopped talking about this topic and only discussed the affairs of the court.

Wang Zhongsi felt worried when he heard this, and sighed: "The sage was wary of the prince, and used Yang Guozhong and An Lushan as a check and balance. However, the East Palace was suppressed too much, and Yang Guozhong was unable to bear the heavy responsibility. The situation seemed to be balanced, but it may be unbalanced."

Yuan Zai said: "Xue Lang had better accept it as soon as possible."

When we arrived at the courtyard, in front of us, Wang Yunxiu had just arrived and was talking to Guan Chongsi.

"Thanks to Xue Lang." Guan Chongsi said, "Otherwise, if Commander Jie was killed, the world would just think that he died of illness."

"Be gentle, little lady."

He probably didn't consider personal matters. When he met Xue Bai, he immediately asked: "How is the situation in the DPRK and China?"

Xue Bai asked: "If I say that An Lushan will rebel sooner or later, does Commander Jie think that An Sishun will be his accomplice?"

"An Sishun was once under my command."

"Xue Lang doesn't have to hesitate. Only when he stands out and has a group of wives and concubines can he be a real man."

The strange thing is that it was Yuan Zai who sighed first and looked at the Qinling Mountains in the distance, feeling envious that General Xue Bai would take in his beautiful concubine.

"Why?"

Wang Yunxiu didn't know what happened in Liangzhou. Hearing this, he couldn't help but be confused and asked: "The doctor has been changed? What does this mean?"

The two of them went to the house where Wang Zhongsi was in tacit agreement without saying anything.

"If you don't accept her as your concubine, it won't be long before there will be new stories in Chang'an City, saying that your wife is jealous and preventing you two lovers from getting married. If the stories are spread, she will be said to be a villain. "

Wang Zhongsi was feeling dizzy from the jolt. He shook his head and was too lazy to speak.

"Grandma!"

"Don't you know Yuan Zai?"

"It's hard for me to believe that the generals and paoze who fought side by side with the Tubo in Helong would rebel." Wang Zhongsi said: "I saw with my own eyes the construction of cities and troops in Anlu Mountain in Fanyang, but An Sishun gave people a different impression. An Lushan is very different.”

Xue Bai said: "I also asked my teacher this question. He just came back from Longyou and said that Ge Shuhan had determined that An Sishun had a rebellious intention."

"The two of them have never dealt with each other. When An Sishun was appointed as the envoy of the Dadou Army, Ge Shuhan was the deputy envoy. At that time, I ordered the Dadou Army to go to Xincheng to conquer Tubo. An Sishun sent a trusted lieutenant to fight with Ge Shuhan. The Tibetan army, the deputy general repeatedly humiliated Ge Shuhan with words, Ge Shuhan beat him to death to establish his prestige, and then defeated three Tibetan armies in succession in Gahai. This was the battle that made him famous, but between him and An Sishun The hatred was sown."

"Wang Jieshuai means that Brother Shuhan is biased against An Sishun due to personal grudges?"

Wang Zhongsi shook his head and said: "This matter can be used as one of the basis for judgment. In addition, Li Linfu also knew that they had personal grudges, so he just asked Ge Shuhan to visit Longyou and An Sishun to Hexi, in order to check and balance each other."

After saying that, he rested for a while, thought about it, and said: "Military and state affairs cannot be careless. It is not appropriate for An Sishun to take charge of Hexi and Shuofang towns at the same time... The court can be persuaded to remove him from the post of Hexi Jiedushi. Gao Xianzhi takes on the concurrent role."

Xue Baishen thought so.

No matter what kind of person An Sishun was, the court should not allow the two brothers to concurrently serve as Jiedu of the Four Towns. It is the safest way to give Shuofang back to Hexi, which Anshunsi has been running for a long time.

Wang Yunxiu watched from the side and saw that Wang Zhongsi was getting weaker and weaker, as if the vitality in his body was leaking out after talking too much. He quickly advised: "Master, don't worry about this. Can you take a rest?"

But in fact, the real business of tonight's meeting has not yet been discussed.

Guan Chongsi said: "Xue Lang left early when we were in Liangzhou. I'm afraid he doesn't know yet. I have already interrogated the doctor who wanted to harm Jieshuai. He admitted that it was someone from An Lushan who arranged for him to do this."

"Do you have the confession? Show it to me."

"Have."

A confession was handed to Xue Bai, describing how the doctor was arranged to go to Yizhou to murder Wang Zhongsi, involving several figures in the Anlushan shogunate.

"What are Wang Jieshuai's plans?"

"Show it directly to the saint." Wang Zhongsi said: "I have become so ill and want to see if the saint can believe me this time."

Xue Bai thought that it was unlikely that Li Longji would deal with An Lushan for Wang Zhongsi, but after hearing this, he looked at Wang Zhongsi's sick face, nodded, and said, "That's fine."

He thought of the incident a few days ago when Aunt Gongsun was unable to perform in the palace due to occasional illness.

In fact, since Li Linfu's death, the saint cherished his vitality and no longer saw any sick ministers.

~~

The next day, the team returned to Chang'an. The first thing Wang Zhongsi did was to deliver a memorial to Xingqing Palace and request an audience.

Li Longji was preparing to move to Lishan. Hearing the report, he shook his head and complained to Gao Lishi privately: "This Xue Bai doesn't know my thoughts at all."

He asked Xue Bai to go out of the city to greet him. Although he did not say it clearly, his attitude of not wanting to see Wang Zhongsi was obvious. He was afraid that if the seriously ill person absorbed too much vitality, or the illness brought by Nanzhao would be passed on to him.

This idea is absurd, but it is related to his longevity and health, and no amount of caution can be overdue.

This time, even Gao Lishi realized something was wrong. The saint disappeared before Li Linfu died. It was because some Taoist priests told people that it was unlucky to see Li Linfu. But if things go on like this and a sick minister is no longer received, it will inevitably delay important military and state affairs.

"Saint, Wang Zhongsi is the adopted son of a saint after all." Gao Lishi thought about it again and again, and said: "What's more, he conquered Nanzhao and returned with great achievements. If the saint is missing..."

"I sympathize with him." Li Longji sighed before Gao Lishi finished speaking and said, "Don't you understand his temperament? It's like an ox that just pulls a plow forward. If I see him, he will He will be agitated and worry a lot, which is not conducive to his recovery."

After hearing this, Gao Lishi lamented: "What the sage said is absolutely true."

Li Longji's words indeed described Wang Zhongsi's temperament correctly, as if he knew Wang Zhongsi's loyalty and stubbornness. Although these words are just perfunctory and excuses for Li Longji.

Maybe, he can see through everything, but these are not important to him, the only important thing is himself.

"Pass the decree to reward Wang Zhongsi generously and encourage him to rest in peace and recuperate. When he recovers, let him come to Lishan Mountain and I will give him a bath in the hot springs."

"According to the order."

"Let's leave as soon as possible."

……

On June 15th, the emperor once again rode on Mount Li, and the procession out of the city was spectacular.

This was Xue Bai's second visit to Huaqing Palace. He also brought his family members with him, and planned to let Yan Yan go to Yang Yuyao's villa to bathe in the hot springs. He hoped that the minerals contained in the spring water would also be good for Yan Yan.

Li Tengkong was also brought with her. She encountered a catastrophe, and her relationship with Xue Bai was very different from the past. The more she liked to stay with Xue Bai, but in fact, Yan Yan and Li Jilan accompanied her most of the time. Today's trip, They gathered in the carriage and chatted.

Lifting the curtain and looking outside, I could occasionally see Xue Bai sitting astride a horse, chatting with several important ministers.

"He's been very busy lately, right?" Li Tengkong finally couldn't help but ask, "What are you busy with?"

"Husband? He was mysterious when he came back from a trip out of the city." Yan Yan glanced outside, leaned into Li Tengkong's ear, and whispered: "He must be planning something shameful again, we don't want to Just make it public.”

"it is good."

Yan Yan had something to say. Looking at Li Tengkong's profile, she hesitated for a while but still didn't know how to say it. He simply put his face close to her, and then hugged Li Tengkong in a very dependent movement. "Huh? What's wrong?" Li Tengkong was a little embarrassed.

"I'm tired before we set off," Yan Yan said, "I'll just wait for you for a while."

She actually thought about the rumors that Xue Bai wanted to recruit Li Tengkong. Although she didn't say anything about it, she used her actions to make Li Tengkong understand her attitude.

And right behind this carriage were Xue Bai's followers.

No one noticed that Li Xiu was also in the retinue. He was dressed like a tent clerk, his face was brushed yellow with ginger juice, and he had a long beard all over his face. His crotch was pressed above his eyebrows, his head lowered. Hidden traces.

Li Xiu was still under the supervision of the imperial court and would be sent to Longyou to be exiled to the army in a few days. When he was secretly picked up this time, he discovered that Xue Bai had hidden a huge power in the market.

An inconspicuous walker on the street might be working for Xue Bai as long as he had something to do with Fengwei House, Fenghui House, or the bamboo paper business. It was these people, despite their humble status, who were able to quietly send him here.

"set off!"

With a loud shout, the flags in front waved, and the team set off for Lishan.

The saint walked this road once or twice a year, and the people who accompanied him were already very familiar with it. We set off early in the morning and arrived at Lishan in the evening.

When the outline of Xixiuling appears in the sunset, gradually, Wangxian Bridge is in sight.

Someone walked up to Li Xiu and asked in a low voice: "Where are those documents hidden?"

"Xiaoyao Hall over there." Li Xiu responded. Looking back, he felt that the other party looked familiar.

He thought for a while and asked in a low voice: "Are you the steward next to Da Xi Yingying? I heard someone call you steward Shi."

"Shi Zhong."

Li Xiu thought for a while and guessed that Shi Zhong had been with Xue Bai for a long time and his status was not low, so he couldn't help but ask: "It's just a few documents, why should Mr. Shi come in person?"

"Let's go." Shi Zhong kept looking up and saw that Xue Bai and Mrs. Guo Guo had already passed to Xiaoyao Hall, and quickly called for Li Xiu to follow.

Although Xiaoyao Hall is called "the Hall", it is actually a Taoist temple outside Huaqing Palace, and it was built under the leadership of Li Linfu. Therefore, Li Linfu rested here after meeting the saints before his death.

Li Xiu remembered very clearly that Li Linfu said that Xue Bai had a different life experience and wanted to read the documents. When the documents arrived, he was in the wing at the back of Xiaoyao Hall, but he fainted before he could read them. Everyone hurriedly sent him to another place, and the documents were Dropped into a box on the side.

That wing was Li Linfu's permanent residence, and no one else dared to touch the objects in the room, so there was no risk of losing anything.

With a "squeak" sound, the door was pushed open. Li Xiu looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the layout of the wing had not changed. He was also worried that after being questioned, the items left here would also be confiscated, but fortunately they were not.

"That's great. They didn't touch this place. The paperwork is right there."

Shi Zhong stepped forward quickly and opened the mahogany box next to the couch. He saw some clothes, bedding, and medicine inside. It turned out to be Li Linfu's luggage when he came to Lishan.

But after rummaging through the entire box, I didn't see any paperwork.

"No, think about where you are."

Li Xiu was surprised. He stepped forward and saw that everything was there. I also had some doubts as to whether I had remembered it wrong, and murmured while recalling: "That's right, I was lying on the couch at that time. There were thirteen scrolls in total, wrapped in a square of yellow cloth. I didn't have time to unravel it." Open it and throw it in this box..."

"Remember correctly?"

"I remember correctly."

Shi Zhong looked suspicious and asked, "Maybe you and your grandfather have the same disease?"

"Impossible." Li Xiu said, "I remember it clearly."

He leaned over to look for it.

Shi Zhong quickly stopped his movements, squinted at the dust on the box, and then looked around the room.

"Do you suspect it was taken away?" Li Xiu was very surprised.

If someone only took those documents, why? Like grandpa, do you doubt Xue Bai's life experience?

~~

Xue Bai burned incense in Xiaoyao Hall. He looked around and saw Shi Zhong had come out. He shook his head and made a gesture to indicate that he could not find the document and that it was taken away.

Although he was confused about who had taken the document, Xue Bai was not worried. After all, he wanted to pretend to be the emperor's grandson. Since he had not started pretending yet, others could not tell anything.

What is more likely is that someone was paying attention to Li Linfu's every move before his death.

Gao Lishi and Yuan Siyi, the eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were the most convenient to monitor Li Linfu. In addition, Yang Guozhong is also very suspicious.

It is said that on the day of Li Linfu's death, Yang Guozhong arrived and vowed to protect the safety and prosperity of the Li family in exchange for Li Linfu's promise to recommend him as his successor. Then, Yang Guozhong is likely to determine what other matters Li Linfu handled before his death and whether he recommended others.

With this suspicion, the first thing Xue Bai did after moving into Lishan was to go find Yang Guozhong.

Yang Guozhong is meeting Xian Yuhao.

Xian Yuhao was the eldest son of Xian Yu Zhongtong. Because of Xian Yu Zhongtong's victory in pacifying Nanzhao, he was assigned the post of General Zuo Jinwu, and he also accompanied him as a guard this time.

"Right Prime Minister, something happened."

"explain."

"Ge Luofeng's skull has been stolen." Xian Yuhao whispered, "This matter has not been spread out yet, but the Jinwu Guards on duty discovered it. Because I have a good relationship with the Right Prime Minister, I was asked to intercede with the Right Prime Minister. .”

Yang Guozhong was stunned and asked: "Who can steal Ge Luofeng's skull? What can it be used for?"

In order to deter those who dared to betray the Tang Dynasty, after Ge Luofeng was beheaded, his head has been hanging on the tower of Mingde Gate. Now it has been dried and only the skull is left, which is no different from other people's skulls. Yang Guozhong couldn't figure out what the use of stealing this thing was.

Xian Yuhao heard some rumors and said: "Right Prime Minister, many people in the Jinwu Guard said that dead soldiers from Nanzhao have arrived in Chang'an."

"Bullshit."

Yang Guozhong immediately scolded: "Others don't know, how can you not know? How far is it from Nanzhao to Chang'an? We have guides and maps to get there. How do those Nanzhao barbarians pass through the many checkpoints to reach Chang'an."

"The general also thinks so, but many people in the Jinwu Guard say so. Someone from the Nanzhao royal family came to Chang'an disguised as a business traveler, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge." Xian Yuhao said worriedly, "I am very worried about Grandpa."

"Make trouble out of nothing." Yang Guozhong has learned a lot of idioms recently and scolded him again: "You don't think you are busy enough, so stop using false rumors to scare people and disturb people's hearts."

"What about Ge Luofeng's skull?"

"Do you need the truth to teach you about such a simple thing? If you lose it, just find it again." Yang Guozhong asked: "Can you still recognize it?"

Xian Yuhao understood immediately, it was just the most convenient thing to find someone else's skull to replace it, and responded: "I can recognize it."

At this time Xue Bai came, and Xian Yuhao said goodbye and left.

When Xue Bai entered the other industry and saw Yang Guozhong, he asked: "Is that General Xianyu Lang of Jinwu Guard just now?"

"Abai, you recognize him."

"I met him once at Longweiguan." Xue Bai asked as if chatting: "Why did he come here?"

"Nothing serious, just asking about the defense of Huaqing Palace."

"You should be cautious." Xue Bai said: "We must never have a major case like that."

After hearing this, Yang Guozhong finally felt uneasy and asked tentatively: "Abai, haven't you heard about it too?"

"What did you hear?"

Yang Guozhong lowered his voice and said, "It is said that some dead soldiers from Nanzhao arrived in Chang'an."

Xue Bai was a little surprised and said: "Shouldn't it?"

"Have you never heard of it?"

"Where did the news come from?"

"Jinwuwei." Yang Guozhong said, "As the prime minister, this is the first time I have heard of it today. It must be nonsense."

Xue Bai looked around and discovered by chance that Yang Guozhong had been practicing calligraphy before. What he wrote were all idioms or uncommon characters, probably because he didn't want to become a "deer prime minister" like Li Linfu.

He took his thoughts back and wondered why there were dead soldiers from Nanzhao coming to Chang'an? Or, why would someone release such a rumor?

~~

After returning to Chang'an, Wang Zhongsi always wanted to meet the saint and talk about his views on Shuofang and Hedong.

After several generations of hard work, the Tang Dynasty had solved the Turkic problem, but now Abusi defected. Shuofang must send troops again to quell the rebellion. An Sishun serves as the governor of both towns, so his power must be considerable.

Viewed individually, this is not a problem, but if the position of Hedong Jiedushi falls into the hands of An Lushan again, the situation will become very serious.

Wang Zhongsi knew that he would never be able to return to Hedong, but he wanted to sincerely analyze the candidates for the governor of Hedong for the saint. Among the generals under his command, there are several candidates he pays close attention to, such as Li Guangbi, who is currently in the Longyou Army.

After finally resting for a few days and relieving the fatigue caused by the hard work of traveling and horseback riding, Wang Zhongsi decided to go to Lishan Mountain to pay an audience.

Wang Yunxiu was strongly opposed to this.

"Grandma is so sick, why don't you listen to the advice and take a good rest?!"

Wang Zhongsi had always faced her with a straight face since she was a child, but this time, he showed a very rare and flattering smile.

"Take me to my father. The saint's grace will give me a hot spring bath, which will be good for my injuries."

Wang Yunxiu rarely heard her grandfather beg him like this, so she agreed.

The next day it happened that Yuan Zai was going to Luoyang to take up his post, so they prepared their carriage and drove slowly to Lishan Mountain.

When the team arrived at Baqiao, there was a large group of caravans crossing the bridge in front of them, with people raising their heads and horses neighing.

The Wang family's team had no choice but to follow them, wait to cross the bridge, and move forward little by little.

"."

The carriage carried Wang Zhongsi, and the driver drove his horse across the bridge. Suddenly I heard the sound of horse hoofbeats from behind. I turned around and saw another group of merchants arriving.

However, this caravan did not bring any goods, and they quickly arrived behind them. Together with the caravan in front, they trapped Wang Zhongsi's team on the bridge.

"wrong."

After all, Wang Yunxiu was a general's daughter, and she soon realized something was wrong. She immediately drove her horse forward and shouted: "Those in front, get out of the way!"

Someone turned around and showed a pair of vicious eyes.

Immediately afterwards, there was a "crack" sound, and the businessmen had drawn their swords.

"Avenge the king!"

(End of this chapter)