Return to the Tang Dynasty to be a villain

Chapter 45 Li Linfu and Zhang Jiuling

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Lai Junchen in the secret room, Qin Yi followed him back to the main hall.

That night was filled with revelry and extravagance, and endless singing and dancing. It was not until around midnight that Qin Yi was supported by the Zhang brothers and taken home.

Hongwei and Luqi had never seen Qin Yi drunk like this, so they hurriedly cleaned him up and helped him to the couch.

The next morning, Qin Yi washed and dressed himself under the care of Hongwei and Luqi, changed into his eighth-rank robe, and after breakfast, he walked towards the Jishiyuan.

He knew that from today on, in his next life, he would live the life of a civil servant from dawn to dusk in another era.

After arriving at the Jishiyuan, he asked Niu Xianke and was told that the director of the courtyard had gone to the palace and was not in the courtyard at the moment.

So he sat in his own office, looking through the letters that had been collected in the wooden box yesterday.

There were not many letters submitted in the early days, only four or five, and they were all articles praising the achievements of the emperor.

After taking a quick look at them, Qin Yi put the letters aside in boredom, and then saw the "On the Malpractices of Officials" on the other side.

Qin Yi tapped his index finger on the table and thought for a moment, then called Niu Xianke in.

"Go to the Imperial College and find a student named Zhang Jiuling and bring him back."

"Master," Niu Xianke looked at Qin Yi with a puzzled expression, "I wonder what's wrong with this student named Zhang Jiuling? Why do we need to bring him back for your personal questioning?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yi handed the "On Official Malpractices" to Niu Xianke and said, "I have seen this person's handwriting by chance, and it is similar to this letter."

"I asked you to bring him here today because I wanted him to write a few words in front of me so we could compare them."

Although Niu Xianke was skeptical about Qin Yi's words, he was a cautious person who knew when to advance and when to retreat, and understood the hierarchy. He said no more, bowed, and turned away.

Watching Niu Xianke's departing back, Qin Yi knew that his trip would take at least one or two hours, so he stood up and prepared to go out to find some food.

When Qin Yigang stood up, he saw a man outside the door spying furtively into the government office.

Looking closely, the man turned out to be Zhang Yizhi. Qin Yi quickly stood up and walked towards him with a big laugh.

"Wulang, why are you here? You look so happy, but is there anything good?"

Zhang Yizhi looked at Qin Yi with a flattering smile on his face.

"Da Lang, a few days ago you asked me to find a few more people for our shop. I searched high and low these days and actually found a suitable candidate."

"This man is not only handsome, but also eloquent and quite knowledgeable."

"Liu Lang and I treated him to several drinks before he reluctantly agreed to try our shop."

"I am so happy that I have come to report to you."

Qin Yi sneered in his heart when he heard this.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and people flock together.

Zhang Yizhi was a scoundrel who came from a street background. Qin Yi really didn't believe that he could attract any good people for him.

However, Qin Yi had no intention of doing any serious business when he bought the shop.

Irregular business should be done by irregular people.

With a look of surprise on his face, Qin Yi patted Zhang Yizhi on the shoulder.

"Wu Lang, what kind of amazing talent is he that you admire him so much?"

"It just so happens that I'm planning to go out for lunch too. Let's go together, and you can talk to me while we eat."

After a stick of incense, Qin Yi and Zhang Yizhi arrived at the door of a restaurant in the West Market.

The owner of this restaurant is a Hu man in his fifties with a Han Chinese name called Bi Ankang. The restaurant specializes in water basin mutton and Hu cakes.

In Qin Yi's memory, the previous owner of his body loved their family's Shuipin mutton. As a Sogdian, one of the Nine Clans of Zhaowu, the mutton soup cooked by Bi Ankang was particularly delicious.

"Young Master, you are here. Please take a seat."

Seeing Qin Yi coming to his restaurant, Bi Ankang immediately led him to a table with a smile on his face and sat him down.

After Qin Yi and Zhang Yizhi sat down, Bi Ankang looked at them and asked with a smile.

"My dear gentlemen, what would you like to eat?"

Qin Yi looked up at Bi Ankang and ordered a serving of garlic lamb, a serving of mixed lamb intestines, two bowls of lamb soup and four Hu pancakes. He also asked him to heat up a pot of Huanggui thick wine.

When Bi Ankang brought the wine and food to the table, Qin Yi poured a bowl of thick wine for Zhang Yizhi and himself.
The two men raised their wine bowls and clinked them together. After each of them drank it all, Qin Yi looked at Zhang Yizhi with a smile and asked.

"Goro, tell me now, what kind of young talent did you find that made you so happy?"

"Da Lang," Zhang Yizhi put down the wine bowl in his hand, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"That man was a friend I knew in the marketplace. Although his family has fallen on hard times, back then, he was still a nobleman that was beyond the reach of people like me."

"It was a few years ago that his family fell into poverty, and that's why he ended up hanging out with people like us." "Oh?" Zhang Yizhi's words immediately aroused Qin Yi's interest.

Zhang Yizhi felt thirsty after walking for half a day, so he poured a bowl of thick wine for Qin Yi and himself. After drinking it all, he spoke proudly.

"Speaking of which, he was one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, along with Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty. He is a descendant of the Duke of Longxi and the great-grandson of the Prince of Changping."

"Are you talking about Li Linfu?" Qin Yi's face suddenly showed a strange look.

He didn't expect that Zhang Yizhi would bring him the most famous treacherous prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

What is the historical evaluation of Li Linfu? Sweet words, but a sharp knife in the heart!

What does it mean to be sweet-mouthed and have a sharp tongue?
Naturally, he is eloquent and can coax people with just his mouth, and he is also cruel and ruthless.

Although Li Linfu could be said to be the instigator of the Anshi Rebellion, having him under his command was in line with the business he wanted to do.

Zhang Yizhi was not surprised that Qin Yi knew Li Linfu.

After all, Qin Yi was the young master of the Licheng County Mansion, and Li Linfu was a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family. It was normal for Qin Yi to know Li Linfu.

"Well done," Qin Yi picked up the wine pot and poured another bowl of thick wine for Zhang Yizhi. Then he raised his own wine bowl and looked at him, "I toast Wulang with one bowl."

After the two finished their bowl of wine, Bi Ankang also brought up the mutton soup and Hu Bing.

Qin Yi and Zhang Yizhi broke the Hubing into pieces and soaked them in a bowl while eating side dishes and drinking wine.

After all the food and wine were gone, the two of them broke the Hu pancakes into pieces and soaked them in the mutton soup.

Picking up the bowl, Qin Yi scooped the soup-soaked Hu pancake into his mouth, and immediately felt filled with happiness all over his body.

After finishing the meal, Qin Yi and Zhang Yizhi said goodbye and prepared to stroll back to the Yishiyuan to digest the food.

As soon as he entered his own office, he saw Niu Xianke, accompanied by two clerks, escorting a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old standing outside his office door.

"Master," Niu Xianke saluted hastily upon seeing Qin Yi, "I have brought back Zhang Jiuling, a student of the Imperial College."

When the two clerks saw Qin Yi, they poked Zhang Jiuling on the knee with the short sticks in their hands, and Zhang Jiuling immediately knelt on the ground.

Qin Yi looked at the two clerks from the Yishi Court in front of him. The movements they had just made to knock Zhang Jiuling down were so smooth and fluid that it was obvious that they were used to doing this kind of thing.

"Who told you to treat Mr. Zhang like this?"

Qin Yi glared at him with anger on his face.

"You two bastards! I admire Mr. Zhang's literary talent, which is why I sent you to the Imperial College to invite him. How dare you bring back a distinguished student abducted?"

The two clerks looked at each other in confusion, and then looked to Niu Xianke for help.

It was Niu Xianke who asked them to kidnap people in the Imperial College. Besides, they had kidnapped not only small students but also high-ranking officials of the court and royal relatives.

Niu Xianke immediately realized that Qin Yi was trying to show goodwill to Zhang Jiuling, so he quickly stepped forward and untied Zhang Jiuling with his own hands, while constantly begging Qin Yi for mercy.

"Master, please don't be angry. It's all because of my stupidity that I didn't understand what you meant. I will untie Zhang Jiansheng right away. Please calm down, Master."

At this time, Zhang Jiuling was also frightened and confused by what he had experienced over the past few hours.

More than an hour ago, he was in the Imperial College, discussing academic matters with several classmates, when suddenly several people rushed in, tied him up and took away.

He originally thought that he was in the Imperial College, and that if these people wanted to abduct him, they would definitely be stopped by the officials and teachers in the college.

But when those people saw the robes of the Imperial Household Department on Niu Xianke and others, they immediately hid aside and dared not come out.

Even Pei Cui, the most upright Pei Jiancheng, only stepped forward to argue with Niu Xianke for a few words, and then could only watch himself being taken away with a guilty look.

Along the way, Zhang Jiuling had wondered why he was captured by the notorious Yishiyuan.

After thinking about it, I finally felt that it was probably the letter he wrote that caused the trouble.

When he thought of this, Zhang Jiuling couldn't help feeling a little regretful. He regretted that he shouldn't have written the article "On Official Malpractices" in a fit of anger, and he shouldn't have thrown it into the wooden box in the Ministry of Personnel.

At the same time, he felt even more disappointed with the court.

As the saying goes, it is harder to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against the river. I was convicted for quoting an article that criticized the current social ills. This is enough to show how incompetent the court was.

Just when Zhang Jiuling was daydreaming, a young man with extraordinary bearing walked in. From the attitude of Niu Xianke and the clerks towards him, it could be seen that although he was not very old, he should be the superior of these people.

Zhang Jiuling knew that he was probably the one who was captured by the man in front of him. He was about to argue with Qin Yi, but he didn't expect the other party to say such words.

Niu Xianke's initiative to untie the shackles for him eased Zhang Jiuling's anxiety a little. He also began to wonder whether what happened today was really a misunderstanding.

This is naturally the effect Qin Yi wants to achieve.

If the people from the Imperial Household Department were to invite Zhang Jiuling with courtesy, the other party might still put on airs and pretend to be polite.

But by first criticizing and then praising like this, the other party will naturally feel grateful and will obey your next proposal.

(End of this chapter)