Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 393 Next step

Chunmingmen Street is bustling with activity.

Because the fireworks a few days ago were set off at Xingqing Palace, this is one of the best places to watch the fireworks. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion in the wine shops about the gorgeous scene on the night of Tianchang Festival.

Regular customers know more about this matter and can boast about it.

"Why didn't I see it clearly? The 'violet red' star exploded on my head, and then something hit my head. Guess what? I covered it with my hand and picked this up."

It was a golden Kaiyuan Tongbao. When the strangers saw it, they were all very envious. They surrounded the regular customers with envy and asked for more details. As a result, the business of the wine shop became better and more prosperous.

Kaiyuan Tongbao is actually not a year-name coin, but was minted when Emperor Gaozu founded the country. It means the founding of the emperor and long rule. Nowadays, saints like to sprinkle money down the calyx building every festival. In the past, only officials of fifth rank and above who were qualified to attend banquets could grab the money. This time, they were brought outside the palace wall by fireworks.

The Huaxe Tower is different from the deep palaces of previous dynasties. Outside the walls are the streets and alleys. The saint watched the fireworks in the Huaxe Tower, and the common people could see him from a distance. Therefore, it is said that he was enjoying himself with the people, inheriting Emperor Taizong's "carrying a boat and overturning the boat". The people-friendly idea of ​​​​"boat".

In August, in the calyx building, everyone will enjoy themselves together for a long time.

In this atmosphere, two young men left their horses to the entourage, and under the guidance of Hu Ji, they entered Kang's store and asked for a private room upstairs. The individual guests in the lobby couldn't help but look sideways, admiring the fact that these two young men were equally tall and tall, and had extraordinary bearing.

He was so shocked that he couldn't turn his head around for a moment, so he laughed at himself and asked, "Are you kidding?"

The premise of all this is that he has to accept the current situation. Li Heng has lost his reserve position. He must let go of his resentment, let go of all personal emotions, and make the next decision in the most calm and rational manner.

"If you marry Yue Tu, all these things will be solved."

"Drinking depends on sincerity." Xue Bai said: "Although I have a light capacity for drinking, taking the risk of getting drunk to have a drink with you is my sincerity."

Li Tanjue did not expect to hear such a sentence. In his opinion, Xue Bai had now assisted Li Cong to become the crown prince and became the number one hero. The next thing to do is to concentrate on helping Li Cong accumulate strength.

When the wine was served, he poured himself three glasses in a row, drank it all in one gulp, turned the glass over to indicate that he was done drinking, glanced at Xue Bai deliberately provocatively, and said: "Although King Qing is long, but If you have poor appearance and mediocre talents, how can you be a crown prince? Just like your ability to drink."

"But what if you side with him?"

"I'm not used to betraying my grandpa so quickly." Li Tan said, "I'm afraid the edict of his abolition has not yet warmed up in my hands. You want me to turn around and recognize someone else as my father?"

"what."

Xue Bai shook his head and said, "It's too late to talk about this now. I don't believe Li Heng, but maybe I can believe you?"

"The least valuable thing in the world of power is human nature. Only by learning to abandon propriety, justice and shame and become monster-like politicians can we survive in the current court."

Li Tan took a sip of wine, shook his head with a smile, and said, "You people who are steeped in power."

"Oh?"

Xue Bai waited patiently, because it was very worthwhile to cooperate with Li Tan at the moment. He was the only emperor's grandson in Tianchang Festival who cared about the safety of the saint. He was favored by the saint. He was also the biggest pillar of the East Palace and had good friendship with the generals of the East Palace. shallow.

"Yeah. I know."

"I don't believe it. How can the foundation of the country be shaken so easily?! If this news is true, I will be the spitting image of you."

Li Cong was only established as the prince at this age, and he had no time to establish authority and accumulate strength. He urgently needed more support from the clan and officials; and his father-in-law was deposed and his brother was implicated in a major case. His situation was precarious. If he relied on Li Cong Cong can also get out of this unfavorable situation.

More than ten years have passed since the case of the three common people, and people began to think that saints would abide by the rules again and "the foundation of the country must not be tampered with."

"I have a grudge against your grandpa, and with the incident involving Jin Niang, he will definitely kill me if he ascends the throne." Xue Bai asked, "Niang Niang, do you know who she is?"

As they walked through the corridor on the second floor, they could occasionally hear people talking loudly in other private rooms.

Thinking about it this way, Li Tan could understand why Xue Bai said he could assist him.

Xue Bai said: "Can't accept it?"

"You don't drink well, but you like to imitate others in serving wine." Li Tan made a pun and said, "Don't you think you are overestimating your own abilities?"

"Then putting aside the high-sounding things I just said, I have very good personal reasons for dealing with your grandfather. Can you understand it?"

"I don't believe it either..."

"What do you believe in me?" Li Tan was surprised, wondering what Xue Bai meant.

Xue Bai asked, "Can't you? Think again."

The reason why he wanted to talk to Xue Bai was to test. He really wanted to know the reason why Xue Bai plotted against his grandfather, whether it was because of revenge, political speculation, or other hidden reasons.

"Sincerity cannot be the only thing in state affairs." Li Tan sighed with emotion.

Li Tan didn't answer, he was still weighing.

He held the wine glass without drinking, and said in deep thought: "Prince Qing is my last resort."

Li Tan turned around and took a look. Through the curtain, he couldn't see clearly who was speaking. He must be a student from the Imperial College. Young people always feel that there should be certain principles for things in the world, but in fact, those in power can always trample on their understanding at will.

"No, I have thought about it for a long time. King Qing is not talented enough, and his adopted sons are just submissive and have no talents. With the saint, he can be the crown prince in peace, but if something goes wrong, can he control the situation?"

Li Tan lowered his head, took a sip of wine, thinking about this proposal, and unexpectedly discovered that he and Li Cong actually really needed each other.

As far as the immediate situation is concerned, none of Li Cong's four adopted sons are talented. With the help of "Little Li Sanlang", they can make up for the shortcomings of both parties; in the long run, when the two parties finish taking advantage of each other, they will most likely fall out. They even drew their swords against each other, but by that time, the right time and place were in the hands of the younger one.

Li Tan immediately sneered: "How could I be on his side?"

"No." Li Tan said, "Don't talk about the future. Even if the saint is still here, King Qing may not be convinced by everyone."

"Want to drink?" Xue Bai sat down, ordered two plates of dishes, and asked, "Would you like a small pot of green plum wine?"

Xue Bai's attitude was somewhat unexpected.

"Suppose." Xue Bai first stated a condition, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "If I help you ascend the throne one day, will you kill me?"

"No." Li Tan finally shook his head.

"Would you rather return the throne to the bloodline of the deposed prince than put down your face?"

"I don't care about the throne that much." Li Tan said, "Really."

Xue Bai stared at him deeply, judging whether he wanted to bargain, and then said: "Let's eat the food first."

Li Tan took two bites of food and realized that the rhythm of the conversation had been controlled by Xue Bai. Many of the questions he originally wanted to test had not been asked yet.

The suspicion that Xue Bai might be Li Ying's son has also faded. If this matter is true, how could Xue Bai be so unfeeling towards Li Cong and his four brothers?
"The current situation is that you ordered two dishes for Prince Qing, and as soon as they were served, you planned to eat them all." Li Tan said.

Xue Bai smiled and said: "Am I not sharing it with you?"

"Why me?"

"You are sincere." Xue Bai said: "We were rivals when we were fighting for power in the DPRK, but we all hope that the Tang Dynasty will be good. In the face of troubles, we should join hands. At present, the situation is getting worse and worse, and Yang Guozhong flatters the Holy Will. , there is An Lushan wolf ambition outside, as the grandson of the emperor, you should bear some responsibilities."

Li Tan sneered: "So, you are going to deal with my grandpa?"

The topic came back again, but this time, Xue Bai had a different answer.

"After Yi Chu, we can stabilize Anlu Mountain. Over the years, Li Linfu and his family have repeatedly failed to deal with the East Palace, and they have accumulated too much fear. Do you know the consequences of this fear?"

"Li Linfu's family? Where are they now?"

"Everywhere." Xue Bai said: "Do you think that as soon as Li Linfu died, his followers would be wiped out? You saw many people clamoring to crush him to ashes, thinking that they were all his enemies. You are wrong. Yang Guozhong, Chen Xilie , Miao Jinqing, Li Daosui, Song Yao, and An Lushan, which one was not a person who once served under Li Linfu and had a deep friendship with the East Palace?"

"A treacherous minister naturally loves to obey the holy will and suppress the crown prince." Li Tan said. Over the years, he had seen with his own eyes how these mad dogs desperately wanted to bite his grandfather.

As he spoke, he sighed: "There are not many loyal ministers left."

"In order to please the saint, An Lushan once said bluntly, 'I don't know what a prince is.' He was afraid that your grandfather would succeed to the throne, and he would definitely raise an army when the time came." Xue Bai said, "Now that your grandfather has been deposed, we can Be gentle with him, after all, An Qingzong married the adopted daughter of King Qing."

Li Tan looked thoughtful and said, "What next?"

"This approach treats the symptoms but not the root cause, and can only temporarily postpone the crisis. Fortunately, you and I are still young and will become more powerful as time goes by. We can work together to resolve the internal and external troubles of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Tan finally became interested, put down the chopsticks in his hands, and asked, "How to resolve it?"

Xue Bai said: "If Yang Guozhong wants to subdue Anlu Mountain, he must obtain the support of the four towns of Hexi, Hedong, Longyou, and Shuofang. In the past, the saints were afraid of Li Heng and did not want the East Palace to get too close to the border towns, but now King Qing is the prince." , when there are no such concerns. As long as King Jianning is willing to express his support for the new crown prince, some generals who originally wanted to go to the East Palace will naturally side with King Qing."

Li Tan raised his hand, refusing to listen to these lies, and asked directly: "Can I look at a military governor from afar?"

"I will tell His Highness that I will fight for you."

"Who is your 'His Royal Highness'?"

Xue Bai smiled and said, "Agreed?"

At this point, Li Tan was almost convinced, but he asked: "Even if I promise not to forget the past, do you really believe that I will not kill you in the future? This is very important, and it affects whether you and I can cooperate sincerely. .”

He has already thought about it. If one day he ascends the throne, it will be difficult not to kill Xue Bai. This matter is very unavoidable. He thinks Xue Bai should understand. In this case, it is inevitable to doubt Xue Bai's sincerity.

"At least for a long time, we will be mutually trusting allies, and that's enough." Xue Bai said: "We are still young and there is still a long time. You may not be able to kill me by then."

"So brave." Li Tan raised his glass. The matter was settled, Xue Bai also raised his wine glass and touched it with him.

"You see, as long as you have sincerity, one drink is enough."

~~
Several Jinwu guards in robes entered Kang's store and looked around, looking for Li Tan.

Now is the critical time for Yichu, and Li Heng's family and children have to be monitored. For example, Li Chu was involved in Li Qiwu's case, and they are still in Yinggoufang. Only Li Tan was worried about the saint's safety, so no one watched him after leaving the palace.

But when the family commander at Baisun Court saw that he hadn't returned for a long time, he couldn't help but worry that he would do something inappropriate, so he quickly reported to the palace and sent someone to look for him.

"Is King Jianning here?!"

"I don't know, I don't know." The boy in the shop replied. He was stunned when he saw Jin Wuwei taking out a portrait, and quickly led them to the private room on the second floor.

When he opened the door and took a look, he saw an extraordinary young man standing by the window with his hands behind his hands, looking at the street scene of Chang'an, with a deep look in his eyes, concerned about the country and the people.

"King Jianning, please follow me back to Baisun Courtyard."

"This person, I have admitted the wrong person. I am not King Jianning, but Xue Bai from Zhongshushe."

After persuading Li Tan to support Li Cong, Xue Bai was not worried about being known to others, so he responded generously, raised his hand and said, "King Jianning has left."

"Yes, farewell."

The Jinwu Guard turned around and walked away, muttering to himself: "Didn't you say that he was born as a lowly slave? He looks more majestic than the emperor's grandson."

"If you admit your mistake, you will admit it. Why are you trying to make up for it?"

"real……"

Du Wulang, who passed by them, entered Kang's store, looked up, and went upstairs with a bang. When he opened the door, he saw that there were only some leftovers on the table.

Du Wulang felt very regretful and said, "Why don't you order fish dumplings?"

"I told you, I don't eat raw food."

"I'm going to eat." Du Wulang said, "I haven't eaten yet. I came here specially."

"Why are you so late?"

"It's not too late. We agreed to come at three quarters at noon, but I was only a moment late. You don't know how hard it is to be a father for the first time. How about it, have you convinced King Jianning?"

"Ah."

"Look, if you hadn't already convinced him, he would have been there when I came, and I could have convinced him. How can you say I came late?"

"Even if you are eloquent," Xue Bai said, "But I didn't lie to you. It was really for his own good to ask you to pass the message to him. Do you believe it now?"

Du Wulang shook his head and said, "If you don't believe me, can you guess how he made his decision?"

"I guess I guessed it, let's go."

Du Wulang did not leave immediately, but looked at Xue Bai carefully for a while, and suddenly said: "Why do I feel that you are a little different now."

"What's different?"

"I can't tell. It seems like I got promoted again, but you didn't get promoted either."

"Promoted." Xue Bai said: "What is promoted is not the official position, but the power."

"I gave birth to a little girl..."

The two of them left Qingmen Restaurant, but first returned to Du's house in Shengpingfang.

Logically speaking, Xue Bai was detained in the palace for a few days. He should go home as soon as possible after he was released. He should not go out to eat and drink and then run to other people's houses. But he had to discuss things with Du Mei and Du Jin sisters, and Yan Yan was actually used to him being arrested at every turn, so there was no harm in waiting a little longer.

Entering the familiar house, the servants looked at him with concern, still treating Xue Bai as the husband of the Du family.

"You're here, I'll go to the main hall to see the girl later. Did you bring a gift?"

Lu Fengniang was still nagging, and because she was familiar with Xue Bai, she was jokingly asking for gifts.

Du Wei and Du Jin stood behind her, with smiles on their faces, silently celebrating the hard-won progress with Xue Bai.

Du Youlin didn't know what progress this time, with a worried look on his face, he interrupted Lu Fengniang's chatter, sighed and reminded: "You, how can you not take up the important job of being a fireworks artist? What happened? Cause chaos.”

He was present when the elephant ran out that night, and was so frightened that he froze. Fortunately, he was at the back, so even if Chen Xilie was trampled to death first, he wouldn't be trampled to death. In short, in his opinion, Xue Bai was negligent and guilty this time.

"What my uncle taught me is that I have been a little arrogant recently and I should reflect on it." Xue Bai responded to Du Youlin's unreasonable accusation as a nephew or son-in-law.

So, the Du sisters smiled again, feeling the secret joy of knowing.

It was not easy for Xue Bai to accept Du Youlin's teachings, see Du Wulang's little daughter, and have a family dinner. Only then did they find an opportunity to gather together and chat secretly.

"Li Cong wants to see you." Du Jin said, "He sent the message through our secret wire. It's very safe."

"not see."

Xue Bai decisively refused. He didn't need Li Cong to do anything. He just needed the eldest son of the emperor to be there and become his name.

Du Jin asked: "You have convinced Li Tan, don't you need to bring them to meet him?"

Xue Bai asked back: "What are we going to do after meeting? Sign an alliance? As long as Li Tan openly supports Li Cong as the crown prince, Li Longji will be satisfied with Li Tan's attitude. Li Cong can only accept the rest."

This is the situation. Li Cong really has no choice. He is just at his mercy. This is also the reason why he was selected by Li Longji. In the past, due to the consideration of the image of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Cong could not be a prince with this appearance, but now his inferiority has become his greatest advantage.

"Okay, let's send someone to answer him and ask him to be patient." Du Wei was the most stable character and supported Xue Bai's view, saying: "I am afraid that the matter of Yi Chu will cause an uproar in the court, so it is not appropriate to act rashly at the moment. .”

"But we must tell him... to win An Lushan's support."

This may be another advantage for Li Cong to become the crown prince this time. Princess Rongyi is his adopted daughter and married to the Anqing clan.

Xue Bai hoped that An Lushan could temporarily slow down his rebellion plans, at least until Li Cong came to the throne and An Qingzong became the prince-in-law. If there is such a relatively peaceful period, he can win the support of various military towns and complete the accumulation of strength.

Du Jin smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, even if we don't tell him, he will forget his in-laws. Maybe the more we ignore him, the closer he will get to An Lushan."

"An Lushan is not easy to fool. I am afraid that if he only looks at the actual benefits, he will definitely want to serve Li Congti as the governor of Hedong."

"Is there any way to deal with it?"

Xue Bai thought deeply and asked, "Is Ji Wen still in prison? I'm thinking about subduing him and letting him return to Fanyang to work for me."

Du Wei frowned, thinking about the situation when she was caught in Jingzhao Mansion Prison, and she was a little unhappy. However, she was more concerned about Xue Bai's affairs. She said nothing and only said: "We sent someone to inquire."

"I know that Madam hates this person, why should you put important things first?" Xue Bai comforted him softly.

Du Jin was much more straightforward and said: "Just kill him later."

The three of them were planning their next move, which was nothing more than using the names of Li Cong and Li Tan to gain more support and at the same time delay An Lushan's attack.

Looking back, they have had countless secret discussions since the Du You Neighbor case. From the crisis at the beginning, they have finally made initial progress.

At the end, Du Jin stretched out her hand to gently caress Xue Bai's cheek, and said softly: "Seeing you today, do you feel something is different?"

"Wuro said the same thing."

"What does he know?"

Although there was no risk of being heard by others in the room, Du Jin still leaned into Xue Bai's ear and whispered: "I see that you are now in the state of a hidden dragon."

"Maybe we can get back what you lost?"

"I don't care anymore."

Du Jin shook her head. She no longer cared about the loss of the crown prince Liangdi's position in the past. She was able to realize the plot to depose the crown prince. This was her own strength.

She lazily buried her head on Xue Bai's shoulder, sniffed his breath, kissed his neck gently, and gently rubbed his throat with the tip of her nose... What she was obsessed with now was him and his identity. It doesn’t matter either.

Whether Xue Bai could become a prince or an emperor, she couldn't be more excited. She was already very excited because she had succeeded together with him.

The tips of her hair gently brushed Xue Bai's neck, and his breathing became heavier.

At this point, they can move on to the next step.

……

The situation in Chang'an City was turbulent because of the easy storage, but it had nothing to do with Xue Bai.

He returned to the hut where he lay down when he first came to the Tang Dynasty, thinking that he had changed some things. Although he didn't know whether the result was good or bad, fortunately, there was someone who was always with him.

(End of this chapter)