Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 401 Playing Chess
The Tao River is a tributary of the Yellow River. It is called "Luqu" in Tubo, which means the water of the God of Lu. It was also called "Lushui" in ancient times.

In the Mohuanchuan of the Tao River, a camp rose from the ground and became the garrison of the Shence Army.

It was freezing cold and snowing heavily, making it extremely difficult to drive stakes into the ground, and the low wind could easily blow down the tent. The soldiers who were tired after a day of resting in the tent had to get up and set up the tent again, but they always slipped on the ice and snow.

This border defense force, which guards the northwest, has been tempered by the wind and frost outside the Great Wall since its founding.

Ge Shuhan and Cheng Ruqiu were walking in the wind and snow, inspecting the situation in the military camp.

"This year I established eight new armies in Chuihe and Taoyang counties: Ningbian, Weisheng, Jintian, Wuning, Yaowu, Tiancheng, Zhenwei, and Shence. Do you know why?"

"Without the garrison, our victory over Tibet will only be temporary." Cheng Ruqiu said, "Jie Commander hopes that the border defense will be stable and end the back-and-forth situation with Tibet."

Ge Shuhan sighed: "I am old and in poor health. I can't stay in the frontier for a few more years. I really don't hope that after I leave, the nine bends of the Yellow River that I have finally recovered over the years will return to the hands of Tubo."

"No." Cheng Ruqiu said: "If what Yan Zhenggong is doing is successful, the border stability will be guaranteed for at least ten years."

"If you want stability, you can't expect the enemy to chaos. You must train this army well and become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty's frontier."

The metaphor of using the world as a chessboard and names as pawns sounds very majestic, but it is not easy to do. At least Xue Bai, who is from Zhongshu, is not yet qualified to be a chess player. Many times, he coaxes Yang Guozhong to play chess for him.

Because the recommendation of Li Guangbi as the deputy envoy of Hedong Jiedu failed, Xue Bai was very disappointed and had been thinking about other candidates.

He is going to play chess with Yang Guozhong again.

There was a knock on the door outside the study. Xue Bai came back from his thoughts, picked up the dossier recording Gao Xianzhi's resume and stood up.

"This...seems arbitrary."

"Commander Jie, don't worry. Although the Shence Army has few soldiers and horses now, each of its soldiers and generals are personally selected by me. They will become a brave army."

"There are too many people talking, so let's let them all go down." Xue Bai once again rejected the kindness, saying that the air was too turbid with too many people.

He originally paid attention to Wang Sili, the military envoy to Guanxi and the army to Heyuan, but Wang Sili was Ge Shuhan's confidant and favorite general and relied on him as his arm. He was burdened with many military affairs, so Ge ​​Shuhan refused to let him go.

Soon, Ge Shuhan wrote a letter, directly recruited two soldiers, and ordered: "You change horses but not people. Use the post station along the way to hurry up and send this letter to Chang'an to Xue, the man of Zhongshushe." white."

A repeated sentence has a different meaning because of his solemn expression.

The weather was getting colder and colder, and charcoal fires were set up in many places in Yang's house, but there was no stove in the lobby. Because Yang Guozhong didn't like to smell the smoke, he added many fat maids to keep warm, and he enthusiastically asked them to surround Xue Bai as well. Keep warm.

He can't even look down on his own people.

"Hey, you just think of them as a screen. How can the screen reveal our conversation?"

"Yes." Ge Shuhan took a sip of wine and asked seriously: "Why do you need to make trouble to the point of pretending to be sick and resigning?"

Xue Bai had already guessed that it was Yang Guozhong who reminded him of this matter.

"Here!"

~~
Changan.

"If things are not done secretly, there will be nothing to talk about."

Cheng Ruqiu is Ge Shuhan's absolute confidant, but to be fair to him, he also feels that Ge Shuhan has wronged An Sishun, because the two have had a feud a long time ago, and An Sishun's connivance will shake Ge Shuhan. In order to gain the prestige, Ge Shuhan killed An Sishun's generals, so they always had a grudge against each other.

He flipped through it and saw Li Guangbi's letter. He picked it up immediately. After reading it carefully, his face gradually darkened.

He made his own judgment and paced, thinking about how to deal with the matter. He believed that Li Guangbi must not be allowed to stay in Shuofang and that he should try to rescue him. However, he and An Sishun have always had issues, so he came forward rashly, but it made An Sishun wary.

Ge Shuhan did not like to deal with documents, and mostly left the responsibility to his staff. Therefore, he was very interested in recruiting staff. He once hoped to invite Xue Bai and Gao Shi to the Longyou shogunate. Of course, his staff are not bad now, and they have arranged many military affairs very properly. As for some personal letters, Ge Shuhan needs to read them personally.

Cheng Ruqiu suppressed the smile on her face, thought for a while, and said, "What does Jie Shuai mean?"

"What's the relationship between brother and Gao Xianzhi?"

In this case, just because Li Guangbi pretended to be ill and resigned to reject An Sishun's marriage, it was more like accusing An Sishun of having different intentions.

"Lang Jun, Yang Guozhong has sent someone to summon you again."

"Everyone else, please step aside and bring us a jug of wine."

"Jie Shuai, what happened?"

"That's true." Cheng Ruqiu suddenly felt funny and said, "If you don't want to marry, you won't marry. Does such a trivial matter require you to pretend to be sick and resign?"

Ge Shuhan was still satisfied with Cheng Ruqiu's ability in military training. He looked at it for a while and then turned it back to his account.

Xue Bai also focused on another candidate, Gao Xianzhi, who had just been defeated in the Battle of Talos.

While thinking, he suddenly thought of someone and said, "Bring a pen and paper."

But there are other difficulties. For example, given Gao Xianzhi's qualifications, it is obviously impossible to appoint only one deputy envoy to Hedong Jiedu; for example, Gao Xianzhi has not yet returned to Chang'an; for example, how effective can he be if he takes up the post in a hurry? It's something to think about and consider.

"I have long said that An Sishun appears to be loyal and kind, but actually has ulterior motives." Ge Shuhan did not hide his disgust and said: "The An brothers are both traitors and loyal people. Now Li Guangbi finally sees it. ”

A young general immediately stepped forward and reported, "Commander Jie, the official document from Shanzhou has arrived."

Yang Guozhong had no choice but to drive everyone out. He put on a snow-white mink cloak and looked very graceful and noble. He said casually: "Eating dog intestines, damn it. I checked, and sure enough I found Zhang Bian and Chen Xilie." Two old beasts teamed up to take my position!"

"Arbitrary?" Ge Shuhan was very sure, saying: "Li Guangbi must have felt threatened, so he pretended to be ill and asked me for help."

Regarding the defeat of Talos, Xue Bai's view was somewhat different from that of others in the DPRK. He did not think that this was a battle that would have a great impact on the situation, nor did he underestimate Gao Xianzhi's combat ability. Of course, as Wang Zhongsi said a long time ago, Gao Xianzhi's long-term fraudulent methods have indeed greatly affected his prestige in Anxi, so the northeastern border, which is full of fraud, is actually a place suitable for Gao Xianzhi to make a comeback.

After taking the letter, the two fast horses quickly disappeared into the wind and snow and ran towards Chang'an.

Ge Shuhan trusted Cheng Ruqiu very much. After everyone else had retreated, he said after careful consideration: "Li Guangbi arrived at Shuofang, and An Sishun wanted to marry his daughter to him. He couldn't refuse, so he had to pretend to be sick and resign."

He was not Yang Guozhong's adviser. This reminder was a gift from him, but he was not responsible for solving the problem and only asked for a gift in return.

"Not good." Yang Guozhong replied simply: "That Gaolin slave is not easy to get along with."

There were many Hu generals in the Tang Dynasty, including Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi, but Yang Guozhong would not call them contemptuous names. Gao Xianzhi is a Goguryeo aristocratic family. His family has served the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. It can be called a family of generals. Naturally, he is not a Goguryeo slave. However, he is often scolded by officials and colleagues, which obviously has a lot to do with his character. .

Xue Bai was not familiar with Gao Xianzhi, so he could only figure it out from some of the deeds he heard. For example, after wiping out the Xiaobolu Kingdom, he bypassed his immediate superior, Fumeng Lingcha, and reported his merits directly. This was a taboo in officialdom. Not only did Gao Xianzhi not feel ashamed, he also took away Fumeng Lingcha's four-town military governors. for example, he did not get along well with many of his colleagues in the Anxi Army and called the Deputy Governor Cheng Qianli a bitch; for example, he had no credibility and deceived his generals, deceived King Xiaobolu, and deceived King Shi. .

Speaking of which, Yang Guozhong also has a very bad personality. It would be strange if these two people could get along well.

"That Gao Linu is just like you and me." It was rare that Yang Guozhong actually praised Gao Xianzhi first and said, "Do you know how he is the same as us?"

"Love to lie?" Xue Bai replied casually.

"Move forward."

Yang Guozhong snorted coldly and said: "Golinu is obsessed with fame and will do anything to achieve merit. That's all, but he is not like us who know how to consider others. He is very arrogant and arrogant."

After that, he complained endlessly, saying that when Gao Xianzhi had just destroyed the Xiaobolu Kingdom and returned to the court to pay tribute, he looked down upon others and did not give him a good look. He also said that after he became the prime minister, he sent people to win over Gao Xianzhi, but was ridiculed. A meal and so on.

Xue Bai still put forward his idea and said: "Some people appear to be harmless, but in fact they are wild and ambitious. Some people appear to be arrogant and unruly, but in fact they are temperamental. Who is our enemy at the moment, and who can be exploited?" Allies, brother will not be confused."

"I just can't tell the difference!" Yang Guozhong said loudly in a rogue tone: "I am also a temperamental person, and there is no reason to support my mortal enemy."

Xue Bai said: "An Lushan has promised to go back to pay homage to the prime minister and is about to leave. So, regardless of whether the saint wants to remove him from the post of Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi, he is obviously going to leave now. My brother proposed a The choice to succeed him is reasonable.”

"It's not that I haven't thought about it." Yang Guozhong touched his chin and said slowly: "But wouldn't this go against the saint's wish to leave a mixed beard in Fan Yang's office?"

Xue Bai said: "General Gao and Zhang Bian know the saint's thoughts, but they have not told you. How can you know?"

"No matter how good the reason is, what's the use? If the saint is dissatisfied with me, why should I care about this?"

It has to be said that Yang Guozhong was very dedicated in serving Li Longji and thought extremely thoughtfully.

But he also knew that what Xue Bai said made sense, and it was worth taking some risks at the moment to recommend someone to replace Fan Yang and Pinglu Jiedushi.

So, before Xue Bai could speak again to persuade him, he already said: "Okay, I will follow your wishes and give advice to the saint."

~~
After this move was made, Xue Bai felt a little more at ease.

After leaving Yang's house, he stood on the steps and looked at the snowflakes that were flying all over the sky. He knew that after the heavy snow passed, An Lushan might leave for Chang'an, and there would be too many variables in the future.

Therefore, at a time when everyone else is looking forward to the warmth of spring and the blooming of flowers, he is the only one who hopes that this cold winter can last longer.

~~
In the cold winter weather, Li Longji didn't like to take care of government affairs even more.

He has been managing the Tang Dynasty for his whole life. When he gets old, he can naturally wrap himself up in a bed as warm as spring and listen to operas or read stories. In short, he will not be bored.

But even if most of the government affairs were handed over to Yang Guozhong, there were still some state affairs that he, the emperor, could not avoid.

For example, the twelfth lunar month is coming soon, and he has to climb the tower of Danfeng Tower in Daming Palace to announce the seasonal orders for the next year to the people of the world. Seasonal orders are also called monthly orders, and there are orders for each of the four seasons, which refers to the formulation of political orders related to farming according to the seasons. In the month of Jidong, the emperor and the ministers and officials jointly prepared the laws of the country and discussed the seasons in anticipation of the coming year.

This is a national priority.

"Sage, Master Si Tian is here."

"Call."

Li Longji has been suffering from colds recently, mainly due to nasal congestion, heavy head, and drowsiness. At his age, headaches and fever can be life-threatening if not dealt with properly, and it is also a serious matter.

Not long after, Qu Tan, the young eunuch of Sitian, walked into the hall. He was very old, wearing a simple Taoist robe, and his face was a little worried.

"Sage, I have been observing the sky for days and nights. I am afraid that there will be severe floods in Guanzhong in the coming year."

Li Longji frowned upon hearing this.

There were droughts in various provinces in the past few years. The year he was assassinated in Lishan, he personally prayed for rain. Flooding after a long drought is the most annoying thing. After listening to Qu Tan speak slowly for a while, Li Longji finally spoke and asked: "How do you know there will be a flood in the coming year?"

"I have no other talents but am good at astronomy...cough cough cough cough." Qu Tan said and suddenly coughed a few times.

Li Longji's already frowning brows became even more furrowed.

When Gao Lishi saw it, he understood that the saint was worried that his vitality would be absorbed by Qu Tan, and he quickly said: "Young Master Qu, you have given me the order, and you can go and have a rest."

"Old minister, I obey."

After Qu Tan retired, a eunuch came to report, and Yang Guozhong asked to see him.

Li Longji was tired today and originally did not want to see his ministers again, but thinking that Yang Guozhong was strong and might have plenty of energy, he ordered to summon him. He thought to himself that Yang Guozhong was the most considerate anyway, so he wouldn't come and tell him something that would bother him.

really.

"I just sighed when I saw Qu Tan leaving. I wonder if it's because I have state affairs that I haven't handled well?"

"He watched the sky at night and thought there would be severe floods in the coming year."

Yang Guozhong said: "Qu Tan? A saint doesn't have to worry. His fortune-telling is always inaccurate."

"Isn't it accurate?" Li Longji became interested and asked, "Why is it not accurate?"

"As far as I know, Qu Tan once secretly checked the wedding pulses of the families of officials in the DPRK. When it was a boy or a girl, he counted with his fingers. The correct and incorrect calculations were divided into half."

Gao Lishi asked: "So, what he said about the flood was also a false alarm?"

Yang Guozhong said firmly: "I have seen this kind of tactics many times in the market. It is nothing more than catching someone and saying there is a bloody disaster, and then giving a way to resolve it. If nothing happens, it is his credit. If it really happens, It’s just that the money given to him was not enough to completely resolve the issue.”

"Hahaha."

Li Longji rarely laughed heartily, thinking that he had read Yang Guozhong correctly.

However, Yang Guozhong contradicted his thoughts before he said a few words.

"I think that since An Lushan is willing to return the state affairs of Pingzhang, the candidate to replace the Jiedu envoy of the second town should be prepared."

"Cough cough cough cough."

Gao Lishi said quickly: "Right Prime Minister, the saint is occasionally unwell today. Can we discuss this matter later?"

Yang Guozhong actually did not plead guilty immediately. He stood there, thinking about what Xue Bai said, "The saint's will is known to General Gao and Zhang Bian knows it." His eyes flickered slightly and he asked in a low voice.

"I dare to ask whether the Holy Will will return Anlu Mountain to Fan Yang, and add his left servant to shoot?"

Li Longji's sleepy eyes suddenly flashed with light. He glanced at Gao Lishi first, and Gao Lishi looked surprised. He was obviously shocked at how Yang Guozhong could utter such a sentence. Even Zuo Pushe's official position was Clearly.

"How did you know?" Li Longji did not deny it, but asked calmly.

"minister……"

Yang Guozhong hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and replied, "Zhang Bian told me."

Li Longji had been half-lying there. Hearing this, he immediately sat up and asked, "Why did Zhang Bian tell you?"

"He reassured me, saying that An Lushan would return to Fan Yang as long as he was given the title of Zuopushe, and he asked me to just do nothing..."

Yang Guozhong was very good at slandering people. Once a simple matter came into his mouth, he quickly described Zhang Bian as a scheming villain.

Moreover, he knew very well what saints were most taboo about, and deliberately combined the characteristics of Zhang Bian and his father Zhang Shuo in his words.

"Zhang Bian also said that I was mistaken. It was not that An Lushan was his 'backer' as others said, but he was An Lushan's backer."

In one sentence, Li Longji immediately thought of the "power of Mount Tai" that Zhang said back then, and a burst of anger burst out involuntarily.

He was wise throughout his life, but he did not realize that in his later years, an unlearned fool like Yang Guozhong could accurately grasp his emotions. He also believed that he appointed Yang Guozhong because of his loyalty and simplicity.

"I don't really believe Zhang Bian and suspect that he is lying to me. When An Lushan returns to pay homage to the prime minister, and there are no candidates for Jiedushi in Fanyang and Pinglu towns, it will be my dereliction of duty, so today... …”

"Pass the message." Li Longji suddenly spoke, interrupting his chatter, "I will demote Zhang Bian out of Chang'an."

Gao Lishi was a little surprised, feeling that the saint had lost patience as he got older.

In the past, Li Linfu also framed his colleagues, but after concocting evidence and completing a major case, he was sentenced to exile or beheading, a serious crime, and then the saint changed his sentence to a lighter sentence. But now, Yang Guozhong demoted an important official of the country out of the capital with just a few words.

It can be seen that not only the saint's temperament determines the choice of prime minister, but Yang Guozhong's impetuousness also affects the saint's temperament.

"Not only will Zhang Bian be demoted, but their brothers will also be demoted!" Li Longji added.

"According to the order."

Yang Guozhong was ecstatic, but he didn't show it right away. His face showed surprise that things would become such a big deal.

After receiving the imperial decree, he, the minister, immediately went to Zhongshu's province in person.

~~
In the morning, Xue Bai heard that Yang Guozhong had entered the court, and had gone to the province under Zhongshu's door to wait. In the hope that something might happen, he prepared to draft an order for Gao Xianzhi to temporarily replace Fan Yang and Pinglu as envoys.

If he could accomplish this, his post as a scholar would not be in vain.

In winter, there is a slack time for farming, and there are few state and military affairs. It can be regarded as the most leisurely period of the year in Zhongshu Menxia Province. Then some officials moved tables and chairs, and Chen Xilie and Chen Xilie were enjoying the snow and playing chess on the porch.

Xue Bai was interested in Chen Xilie, so he stood behind him and watched. He realized that his chess skills were very good, and he was especially good at concealing his true purpose.

However, before Chen Xilie could win the game, an official rushed over and said, "The right prime minister is here."

Xue Bai was condescending, and you could see the corner of his mouth slightly curled up with a rather contemptuous expression, obviously looking down on the spit pot.

Who can be convinced when Shihu becomes prime minister? Who wouldn’t want to replace it?
Soon, Yang Guozhong entered the official residence without hesitation. Faced with Chen Xilie's pretentious greeting, he ignored him at all and even patted his old face with Zhongzhi.

This was a very rude move. Chen Xilie was stunned for a moment, blowing his beard and staring, ready to have a serious showdown with Yang Guozhong.

However, before he could speak, Yang Guozhong already said domineeringly: "Look at this!"

The edict was unfolded, and there was not much content. There were only three columns. The other contents needed to be written down when the edict was made.

Chen Xilie squinted his eyes and saw that it said "Zhang Bianqian was promoted to the Sima of Luxi; Zhang Junqian was promoted to the Prefect of Jian'an; Zhang Chu was promoted to the Sima of Yichun".

"this!"

This surprise was no small matter for Chen Xilie.

He knew how much the saint liked Zhang Bian in the past. He always expressed his love for Zhang Bian as "loving his son-in-law". He allowed Zhang Bian to build a palace in the imperial city and often rewarded Zhang Bian with treasures. He jokingly said that these were gifts from his father-in-law to his son-in-law, not from the emperor to his ministers.

It's this kind of kindness, but it turns out to be so heartless when you fall out?

Thinking about it again, a saint is a person who can even kill his own son. How can there be any friendship? At that time, it was just a matter of fun with Zhang Bian.

Thinking of this, cold sweat started flowing down Chen Xilie's armpits, and the hand holding the imperial decree was trembling slightly.

"Why are you shaking?!"

Yang Guozhong scolded and laughed proudly.

He was reminded by Xue Bai, but he did not follow Xue Bai's suggestions to deal with military and state affairs. Instead, he used his ideas to eliminate dissidents, and he really gained a lot. Fu rebelled against the Sacred Heart, but put all the blame on Zhang Bian.

The next step is to use Zhang Bian's serious crime to scare the timid Chen Xilie.

"Still shaking? What are you afraid of if you didn't conspire with Zhang Bian? Or are you colluding?"

"No...no."

Chen Xilie didn't even know why Zhang Bian was demoted. He only saw that the three brothers were demoted at the same time, and thought it was a major case with solid evidence like Li Linfu's case against Wei Jian. But he did cooperate with Zhang Bian, and he felt guilty.

"No?" Yang Guozhong sneered and said, "I'm still asking you today. In the future, Zhang Bian will recruit you, but others will judge you."

"Right Prime Minister..."

"What are you still waiting for? Make an edict."

Chen Xilie also wanted to pretend to be calm, but his timid character was clearly exposed at this moment. He turned to look at Xue Bai, handed over the imperial edict, and said: "Follow the instructions of your right prime minister and prepare the imperial edict."

Xue Bai couldn't help but sigh.

What he sighed was that there were only so many mediocre and incompetent people left in this temple.

Hearing this sigh, Chen Xilie thought that Xue Bai was pitying him. He was like a camel that was crushed by the last straw. He could no longer keep his guard up, turned to Yang Guozhong, and couldn't wait to give in.

"Right Prime Minister, how about I resign?!"

"what?"

Although Yang Guozhong wanted to scare Chen Xilie, he didn't expect to defeat him so easily.

"I am resigning. I am old and unable to carry out state affairs. I sincerely ask the Right Prime Minister to nominate a strong person to take over the position of Left Prime Minister. I would like to submit my resignation today."

"..."

The left prime minister had been in a low position for more than ten years, enduring the strong Li Linfu, and he seemed to be the Yue King Gou Jian, who was waiting for the day when he would dominate the world and express his ambition. But in the end, he was defeated by the ignorant Yang Guozhong, who was even worse than a spitting pot.

How can he have the guts to do so? Cowardice is cowardice.

(End of this chapter)