After the banquet, the steward who stayed behind in the mansion whispered in Li Yuan's ear that it was Zhou Zong who invited him to see him.
Li Yuan didn't think much about it, he just thought that he was the elder so that he could make friends with the younger generation. After all, the banquet was full of guests, mostly young people. He asked Luo Erhu to wait for a while and followed the steward to the back hall.
As soon as he stepped into the room, he saw Zhou Zong already standing waiting, looking uneasy. He took the initiative to meet Li Yuan and gave him a big gift in person: "I was so negligent just now. I apologize to Li Yuhou!"
Li Yuan hurriedly picked it up and murmured in his heart, could it be because I was asked to wait in front of the house for half an hour? Immediately he asked with some confusion: "Mr. Zhou, what do you mean by this? You are a man of the same age, wouldn't you be hurting me by doing this?"
Zhou Zong stood up, his beard trembling slightly, stroking his palms and smiling: "Li Yuhou is a rare all-rounder. Now that your majesty can reuse him, we have hope for the revival of the Tang Dynasty!"
Although Li Yuan had heard too many compliments just now, he still calmly raised his hands and said: "Thanks to your majesty's wrong love, Mr. Zhou is so complimentary!"
Helping Zhou Zong to sit down together, the two looked at each other silently for a moment. Zhou Zong suddenly lowered his old head and let out a long sigh.
Li Yuan understood that Zhou Zong met him alone because he must have something to discuss, so he asked, "Why are you sighing?"
"Alas! I won't hide it from Li Yuhou!" Zhou Zong had a hard-to-speak expression, then he groped in his sleeves repeatedly, and finally took out an unsealed letter: "This is the letter I sent to you at my home in Jinling recently. Yu Hou might as well read the letter you received."
Li Yuan took the letter suspiciously, opened it and took a quick look. It was a letter home from Jinling Zhou Mansion. According to the tone, it should have been written by someone in charge. The content probably recorded that Li Yuan passed through the palace. On Liu Shaojian's recommendation, he bought Zhou's mansion in the west of the city. The price was very high, but there was nothing else.
Then Li Yuan looked at Zhou Zong and saw that his old face was a bit troubled. He thought for a while, did he regret selling the house?
But with this kind of family background, there should be no shortage of a yard! And even if he wanted to redeem it, it would be over if he just sent someone to negotiate. With his status as an old minister of Tuogu, how could Li Yuan afford to offend him? Why go out of your way to talk about it in person?
After thinking about it, he said truthfully: "What is said in this letter is indeed true. Your Majesty is very kind. I got an errand in Jinling, so I naturally want to find a place to live. But there is no familiar doorway in Jinling City. After all, We were unfamiliar with the place, so I had no choice but to ask Shaojian Liu for help. At any rate, I returned to Beijing with him and had some interactions. As for the price, it was Miss Zhou who proposed it, and I didn’t counter-offer it, but Mr. Zhou wants to return to this house? "
Zhou Zong shook his head solemnly: "What's a house? Li Yuhou, forgive me for having the courage to ask, how about that?"
"Mr. Zhou treats me sincerely and will report the truth truthfully."
Zhou Zong paused while holding his long beard, staring elsewhere, and began to ask: "Did you know that Liu Shaojian has a close relationship with Chen Shixiang?"
Why is it Chen Jue again... Li Yuan's heart stirred, this has spread to Yangzhou! It seems that no matter how big this backer is, he cannot ask for it. Even if Chen Jue does not fall in the future, he will suffer disaster sooner or later just because he is labeled as a comrade. What's more, who is Zhou Zong? He is one of the rare veterans in the court. If he thinks that he is part of Chen Jue's party, then Li Yuan will never think about Emperor Zhou E's affairs in his life...
Li Yuan replied calmly: "I am the first to set foot in the court, so I don't know."
Zhou Zong still refused to give up and asked directly: "Are you close to Ambassador Chen?"
Li Yuan was well prepared and replied with a blank look on his face: "Getting close? Where do you start talking about this! I was born in a poor family, but if I hadn't been lucky enough to get it in Tanzhou City, I would have made a great contribution to this day. He is a nobody in the army. Who is Minister Chen? How could he be related to such a lowly person like me?"
These words were said sincerely, and Zhou Zong also showed a confused look. Then he closed his eyes and thought for a while, and replied: "Li Yuhou does not need to be too modest. What you did in Chu Land shocked the country! This is comparable to Liuhou Hou." The plan to pacify Chu is just around the corner, how can we say it is neither big nor small?"
After confirming Li Yuan, he couldn't help but say what he was thinking: "But this is strange! If Li Yuhou has no relationship with Ambassador Chen, why did he praise your achievements in the memorial? Your Majesty For this reason, the ministers were summoned to the court for discussion. Li Yuhou, haven't you ever thought about it carefully? A month ago you were just a pawn, but now you have this situation..."
Li Yuan was secretly shocked in his heart. As expected of the founding father of the country, Jiang was still very old. Although he would have to get rid of Chen Jue sooner or later, in the final analysis, if he had not used Chen Jue at that time, how could he have the official robes he has today? But he suppressed his expression and smiled coldly: "What Mr. Zhou meant is that my current official status and rewards were all obtained by Ambassador Chen for me, right?"
Then Li Yuan suddenly stood up, raised his hands and faced south, and said angrily: "Although I am from a poor background, I know how to be loyal to you and serve the country. When I rode into the city with my two brothers and three horses that day, I never thought about coming back alive! Now, thanks to you Your Majesty fell in love with you by mistake, and promised you a heavy responsibility. I have nothing to offer you in return. I can only be loyal to you and help your Majesty regain the prosperous Tang Dynasty as soon as possible! But Mr. Zhou thinks of me as the kind of villain who is flattering. It is really It’s chilling! I’ve been so reckless today, so I won’t offend you. Farewell!”
When Zhou Zong saw this posture, he panicked for a moment. The man in front of him spoke so loyally and uprightly. Could it be that I really lost my mind? He quickly stopped him and said: "Hey, hey! Don't get angry, Li Yuhou! I didn't mean this, please don't misunderstand Li Yuhou!"
Li Yuan did not give him any face, but still raised his head and said coldly: "How do you call it a misunderstanding? What Mr. Zhou means, isn't it that I, the Marquis of Yu, were given to me by Chen Jue? I immediately returned to Jinling to ask for an audience with the emperor, and resigned. Come to the countryside to prove your innocence!”
The self-certification of my resignation has come out...
Zhou Zong was already intimidated by Li Yuan. He gritted his teeth, bent over Li Yuan, and persuaded Li Yuan very earnestly: "Li Yuhou must not do it! You have a good plan and you are a soldier." If a man born in the military, with both civil and military skills, hides in the mountains because of my few words, then I will be a sinner of the country! Please also ask Li Yuhou not to think of resigning, I apologize to you!"
Li Yuan tilted his head slightly, frowned and sighed: "Alas! What trouble does Mr. Zhou have to do this? But as long as you have advice, I will accept it! You are an old minister who served the late emperor, and I have always admired you. , so when I arrived in Yangzhou Mansion today, I took the liberty to come to see you. How could I have expected that I would be so unhappy!"
Zhou Zong leaned on the chair with his hands, tried to get closer to Li Yuan, and said thoughtfully: "Is it true that Li Yuhou has no relationship with Chen Jue?"
Li Yuan showed a look of disdain, and then said calmly: "When it comes to dating, it was in the main hall of the Chu Palace, when he and Marshal Bian interrogated me in public!"
Zhou Zong seemed to have learned something terrible and quickly asked: "Oh? Can you tell me about it?"
It was not convenient for Li Yuan to hide it. After all, even if he hid the incident at the Chu Palace that day, there were more than ten generals present, so it would surely spread sooner or later. Then he roughly narrated the whole story to Zhou Zong, from the time when he offered advice to Bian Hao to when he went to the palace for interrogation.
As for the specific content of the conversation with Chen Jue, Li Yuan also evaded the important points and changed his rhetoric. He only said that he was trying to avoid being guilty, and he also offered a clever plan to pacify the Chu land.
When Zhou Zong heard this, he was so angry that he raised his beard, slapped the table hard and shouted: "That's ridiculous! After all, Hao Hao followed the late emperor, but he also lost his head? He actually followed Chen Juehan, and he didn't have any merit. Instead of rewarding him, he wronged his loyal ministers! So, the clever plan to control Chu in the name of Ma also came from Li Yuhou?"
Li Yuan remained calm, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I'm aware of this! I didn't have any other thoughts at that time. I only thought that I, the Tang Dynasty, would pacify the Chu land as soon as possible and restore peace to the people!"
"I knew that villains like Chen Jue were jealous of talents, but I didn't expect to be so shameless! He turned other people's strategies into his own just for the sake of greed. It's really hateful! A treacherous official is harming the country!"
At this time, Zhou Zong not only scolded Chen Jue, but also felt regretful. This Li Yuan was obviously an upright person, but he had wronged him because of his temporary suspicion! How old!
When Li Yuan saw Zhou Zong shaking his head constantly and beating his chest and feet, he understood that the knot in his heart had gradually been untied. Now that he had passed this test, he sat down and persuaded him: "Sir, don't get so angry! After all, Chen Jue is our privy envoy, and your majesty trusts him very much. He has a high position and has no choice!"
Zhou Zongzong had been in the imperial court for more than 40 years, and he boasted that he was very accurate in judging people. But now his house collapsed. He could only hold up his hands in shame and said: "Alas! Li Yuhou, you are an upright man! This time, I am blind. I apologize to you again! After all, I have lived for a long time, and there are times when I feel dizzy. I just hope that Yu Hou will not take it to heart and continue to be loyal to His Majesty and to the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Yuan patted his chest and said with a heroic face: "This is natural! Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world! Now that I have an official status, it is even more important!"
These words directly hit Zhou Zong's heart! Zhou Zong showed his uncontrollable admiration again and couldn't help but applaud: "What a 'Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world'! In the Tang Dynasty, we have loyal ministers and good generals like Li Yuhou, so why worry about not being able to restore the prosperous age of our great ancestor Taizong!" "
"Mr. Zhou is too complimentary!"
Now that the atmosphere has calmed down, Zhou Zong greeted happily: "Come here, serve tea!"
