Wang Yinglin still failed to resist the abduction of King Yan, and accepted the mission of promoting the Propaganda Department.
By the way, Liu Mengyan and Xie Changyuan were also sent to work part-time in the Cultural Propaganda Department. Anyway, their original yamen were relatively quiet, so they had nothing to do, so they might as well make some contributions to cultural undertakings.
Being able to enter King Yan's system was exactly what the two of them dreamed of, and compiling books was considered a major national event in the feudal dynasty. Doing this job was a sign of being important.
How could they imagine that Zhao Mengqi just had the mentality of using waste.
After the matter was agreed upon, Zhao Mengqi started operations vigorously and resolutely. Three days later, the imperial court issued an edict establishing the Cultural Propaganda Department.
The government office is located in Qinghefang. The original Bazuo Si here has been moved to the new city area, and the vacant house and courtyard can be used by the Cultural Propaganda Department.
Bazuoji is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the palaces outside the capital. He specializes in construction. His house is naturally spacious and beautiful. It can be moved in with a little tidying up. There is also enough space to house a newspaper printing shop.
The reason why I chose this place, in addition to the hardware conditions, is also because it is relatively close to the Secretariat Province and the Taishi Bureau.
The Ministry of Secretaries is the highest agency in charge of national books, collections, collation and compilation of books, while the Taishi Bureau is responsible for compiling history books. Both of them have a large amount of documents and materials, which can be convenient for the Propaganda Department.
Diagonally opposite the Cultural and Propaganda Department is the palace of Prince Zhang Xun, which is also the home of Zhang Shu.
Zhang Shu returned home in a luxurious four-wheeled carriage. Through the car window, he looked at the newly hung sign of 'Da Song Culture Publicity and Promotion Department', his face full of gloom.
Every time a new yamen was established, King Yan's tentacles were extended a little more, and their influence on the government became greater and greater, and the good days of the Zhang family became shorter and shorter.
Pretending to be worried, Zhang Shu entered the house and came to the back hall, where he saw his father Zhang Ru and son Zhang Yan there.
Zhang Ru just finished testing Zhang Yan's knowledge and commented, "Your new words are not bad, but the words need to be refined and refined before they can be elegant and harmonious..."
"My grandson will work hard to strengthen the study of phonology after being taught."
Nine-year-old Zhang Yan has a clear voice, looks very handsome and elegant, and is a handsome young man.
Zhang Shu walked into the hall, greeted his son and sent him away, "Brother Yan, go and study."
My son is still too young and there are some things that are not suitable for him to hear.
After Zhang Yan left, Zhang Ru spoke first, "Are you sure you want to start?"
"Yes, time waits for no one. We can't wait any longer, otherwise we will just sit back and wait for death, handing over our family's century-old foundation to others." Zhang Shu replied in a deep voice.
Zhang Ru held on to the handle of the seat, slowly leaned back on the chair, and sighed heavily, "But if we make a slight mistake, we will lose more than just our foundation..."
"Don't worry, father, my son has a perfect plan this time. Even if he makes a mistake, our family will not be implicated." Zhang Shu promised.
Zhang Ru looked up at the beams and said disapprovingly, "Oh, you said the same thing last time, but why are there so many hawks and dogs staring at our house?"
Without waiting for his son to defend himself, Zhang Ru continued, "I know you are meticulous and leave no traces, but this kind of thing, without any evidence, can make people think of our family. Who makes our family the largest landowner in the world?" Woolen cloth."
"Last time, my son was eager for success and acted recklessly." Zhang Shu lowered his head slightly, "But he also learned a lesson and acted with absolute caution. This time, our people will not do anything except beating the drums in the court."
Zhang Ru nodded slightly, "It's not just our family whose interests have been harmed. We are anxious, and there are people who are more anxious than us. We can't take the lead every time. They sit back and enjoy the benefits. Let's let those Fujianese people do the hard work this time."
"What the father said is true, and the son thinks so too. By taking advantage of their troubles, we also took the opportunity to promote the original plan. If they can come up with something good, we will help and nail the coffin board, and they will be considered a failure. , we will not gain nothing..."
"Okay, I'll do as you say." After saying that, Zhang Ru squinted his eyes, as if he was very tired.
The undercurrent was just surging quietly, and Lin'an was still singing and dancing. In addition to the establishment of the new Cultural and Propaganda Department, the bigger thing in the court was that Li Zengbo entered the court.
In March, Li Zengbo, who was working as a firefighter in Sichuan, wrote to the court.
The general idea is that the crisis in Sichuan has been resolved. I have done all the things that need to be done and arranged all the affairs. There are also dedicated ministers responsible for all aspects. In fact, there is no need to set up the Sichuan Xuanfu Department. I myself He was old and frail, so he applied to the court for retirement.
After Dong Huai read it, he felt from the lines that Li Zengbo seemed to be somewhat resentful, so he discussed it with Zhao Guan's family and appointed Pu Zhezhi as the envoy of Sichuan Xuanfu and Zhizhi, who also knew Chongqing, to succeed Li Zengbo.
At the same time, he called Li Zengbo back to the court to find out the specific situation and comfort him.
In fact, the central officials can probably guess why Li Zengbo was dissatisfied.
Last year, King Yan first killed his grandson Xu Tianyi, and then destroyed the entire Xu family. Xu Mian was dismissed from office, Xu Xueqian was imprisoned because of an old lawsuit, and the Xu family was ruined and had nothing. Then Li Zengbo My daughter took her husband Xu Song to Sichuan to cry.
When Li Zengbo saw his daughter's misery, he naturally felt extremely uncomfortable.
Well, I have been fighting for your Zhao family everywhere, but your old Zhao family has ruined my daughter's family in the rear. Isn't this bullying an honest person? I won't do it anymore!
In early April, Pu Zezhi arrived in Sichuan to take over, but Li Zengbo delayed his return to Lin'an, as if to show his anger in this way.
It was not until the sixth day of June that Li Zengbo arrived in Lin'an.
But the ministers knew that he was angry, and they were unwilling to greet him, so as not to get into trouble, so they pushed and pushed, and finally the blame was placed on the instigator.
Your Highness King Yan, please go and pick him up...
Zhao Mengqi didn't refuse and just went. Could it be that the old man could still eat me?
After arriving at the busy canal terminal, someone cleared a special trestle. Zhao Mengqi and his men waited on the trestle for Li Zengbo's boat.
Geng Zhi carried a bundle of thorny thorns and placed it at Zhao Mengqi's feet, "Your Highness, this is what you want."
What do I want?
How could I use such an old-fashioned method...
Zhao Mengqi rolled his eyes and looked at Zhou Mi and Fang Lu beside him, "Isn't there a better and more clever way?"
Fang Lu frowned, "What matters is sincerity, regardless of method!"
Zhou Mi sneered, "Although the trick is old, it is absolutely practical... Li Xiang is the pillar of the country, and his hard work has made great achievements. It is worth it for His Highness to suffer a little grievance."
Zhao Mengqi was speechless. Obviously he had done nothing wrong, but things in the world were not as simple as right and wrong.
Not to mention Li Zengbo's outstanding achievements, the current situation does require him to sit in the southwest to resist the threat from Dali.
Between national defense security and his own face, Zhao Mengqi naturally chose the former, so he took off his robe himself and tied the thorn sticks to his back.
Having so many sharp thorns pierced into the flesh would not be easy for anyone, but Zhao Mengqi stood there upright without even frowning, as if he were a statue.
People coming and going on the pier couldn't help but stand outside the warning circle and watch this strange scene.
"Hey, which song is this song from?"
"Begging for forgiveness while carrying a thorn bush? That seems to be His Highness King Yan..."
"It's King Yan. The person he wants to pick up today is Prime Minister Li."
"Oh...I see. Speaking of which, Prime Minister Li has been working hard to protect the country, but his family cannot be taken care of by the court. I couldn't accept it if it were me. I can only say that King Yan is too unkind."
"You can't say that. No matter how much care you take, there is a limit. Li Xiang's grandson and his in-laws really deserve their punishment. King Yan cannot be blamed."
"I can't blame King Yan, so why does he still have to plead guilty!?"
"You know what the heck, this is His Highness Prince Yan bearing the humiliation for the sake of national affairs!"
"Haha, let me see if Li Xiangzhen wants to beat him, how can he bear it?"
After waiting for less than half an hour, the pilot led a large official ship to dock on the trestle. The people on board were shocked when they saw the scene on the trestle.
Then, with the support of a lady, an old man slowly walked down the gangway and came to Zhao Mengqi.
Zhao Mengqi clasped his hands and bowed deeply, "On behalf of my father and the imperial court, Xiao Wang welcomes Mr. Li back to the court."
The old man's face was elegant, but he was not angry or intimidating. He looked at the naked young King Yan in front of him, with a hint of complexity in his sharp eyes.
"I don't dare to treat His Highness with such a great gift, and I don't know what His Highness means by doing this."
The woman who supported him was his daughter Li Xi, muttering, "Hypocritical..."
Li Zengbo turned his face and glared at his daughter.
Zhao Mengqi still bowed, "Xiao Wang is not doing this to plead guilty, because Xiao Wang feels innocent and can plead guilty..."
Hearing this, Li Zengbo's face darkened. If you don't apologize, you are probably here to play tricks on the old man! ?
Zhao Mengqi kept talking, "Thanks to Prime Minister Li these years, I have been able to live in peace in the southwest. Your contribution does not need to be described in detail. You are a person that Xiao Wang respects very much, both emotionally and rationally."
"Prime Minister Li lived an upright life and worked hard for the country and the people. His name will surely go down in history and be praised for eternity. If you use your achievements to atone for the crimes of others, wouldn't that be the greatest insult to you?"
"Of course, humans are not grass and trees, and how can we be ruthless? Xiao Wang has deeply hurt your feelings under unavoidable circumstances. Xiao Wang is deeply sorry. I don't ask for anything else today. I will fight and kill you as I wish. I just want to make you feel happy." Be more comfortable.”
After saying that, Zhao Mengqi straightened up and looked at Uncle Li Zeng sincerely.
Li Zengbo was very surprised by King Yan's performance. So he could apologize so confidently?
"Is it true that anyone can be beaten and killed!?"
"Really! More real than pearls!" Zhao Mengqi said calmly.
"Okay, you said it yourself."
Then Li Zengbo took out a dagger from his sleeve pocket and approached Zhao Mengqi.
Zhao Mengqi stood still, his expression did not change at all, and he did not blink his eyelids.
Seeing Li Zengbo raising his dagger and stabbing Zhao Mengqi in the heart, Wu Qiong and other guards panicked. However, due to King Yan's previous strict order, no one was allowed to interfere no matter what Li Zengbo did, so they could only act in a hurry.
The biting edge of the cold light was pressed against Zhao Mengqi's heart, but Li Zengbo found that his eyes were still clear, as if he really ignored life and death.
Then Li Zengbo raised the dagger and cut the rope that bound the thorns.
A bundle of wattle branches fell to the ground. Li Zengbo walked around and sighed when he saw the blood on Zhao Mengqi's back and was covered with small wounds.
"I do have anger in my heart, but it has dissipated now. Your Highness, what you said and done today makes me admire you very much, but please don't take such risks in the future!"
After saying that, he stepped towards the car. Seeing this, Li Xi shouted anxiously, "Dad, did Tianyi die in vain..."
"Shut up!"
Li Zengbo didn't even look back.
