"Old man, let's not talk about government affairs, let's talk about family affairs." Li Jiangyao picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth, and said with a smile.
Hu Yufei stroked his long beard and shook his head: "Hey, what's there to talk about at home? It's more fun to talk about government affairs. Protector-at-law, don't worry, you're an old man who's half dead, there's nothing to be afraid of! I'm still the same as before In that sentence, the emperor did something wrong!"
Li Jiangyao smiled and said: "I can't say it's completely wrong, I can only say it's not completely right."
"Hey, I've served emperors for several generations, what else can't you understand?" Hu Yufei said angrily: "To put it bluntly, he is just afraid that you will become the second Xie Guang. But the question is, is everyone Xie Guang? ?Aren’t there still good people like He Jingming and Xu Lie in this world? Being too suspicious is not a blessing for the country."
Li Jiangyao nodded and asked, "Did Mr. Hu hear something? Can you give me some advice for this junior?"
Hu Yufei leaned his head close to Li Jiangyao and whispered: "Wei Zixuan, Tian Mu, Gong Chengze, and Yin Chengyi, those bad guys are holding back their intentions to harm others. Didn't they arrest Shen Lie before? I don't know whether they are alive or not. Die. Alas, that is the person the late Emperor trusted the most."
"Mr. Hu also thinks Shen Lie was wronged?" Li Jiangyao asked, holding a wine glass.
"To be honest, when I was in power, I didn't like Shen Lie." Hu Yufei frowned and said, "Beiya Nilin Division is a place outside the law, and his style of conduct is too ruthless and unethical. However, whoever says that Shen Lie is unfaithful, Lao Chen is the first to not believe it. If he is unfaithful, then all civil and military officials in the dynasty will be traitors."
Li Jiangyao smiled helplessly and listened to Hu Yufei continue: "The emperor was suspicious of Shen Lie, and Tian Mu and others took advantage of him, so he died unjustly. The same goes for the Protectorate, you must not have any intention of harming others. , it’s essential to be on guard against others.”
Li Jiangyao spread his hands: "The imperial court asked me to return to the imperial capital. The streets are full of forbidden troops. I am like fish on the chopping board. What's the use of being defensive?"
Hu Yufei said: "That's why we have to find a way. To be honest, the Protector said that although I am no longer in the court, I still have some friends. I will go and talk to them tomorrow. Once there are more people, they will always have an effect. At least let the emperor have some scruples."
He paused and suddenly sighed: "I am really afraid that he will take the wrong path. That would be a disgrace to the late emperor."
Li Jiangyao smiled casually and raised his glass: "Come on, Mr. Hu, stop talking about those annoying things. I have wine today and I will get drunk today. Let's have a drink."
Hu Yufei nodded, touched Li Jiangyao, drank the wine in one gulp, then wiped his beard and asked: "Daduhu, did you just meet the princess?"
"Yes." Li Jiangyao responded: "This is my first time meeting this sister-in-law."
Hu Yufei said meaningfully: "In the 813th year of the Holy Tang Dynasty, I started to serve as a lecturer in the palace. I watched the princes and princesses grow up little by little. Among all the people, the seventh princess left the deepest impression on me. .”
Li Jiangyao asked curiously: "Oh? Is her homework the best?"
Hu Yufei shook his head: "No, no, no. In terms of literary talent, she is not as good as the third prince and the fourth princess; in terms of calligraphy, she is not as good as the sixth princess; in terms of poetry, she is far inferior to the seventh prince and the ninth prince. It can be said that her qualifications are mediocre, not Can’t get up or down.”
"Then why does it impress you the most?" Li Jiangyao was a little confused.
"What I'm talking about is the character of the heart." Hu Yufei said quietly: "With a strong heart and decisive methods, he can be called a husband among women. The seventh princess is not a man, otherwise...she might have rebelled earlier than Li Kuang."
Li Jiangyao was overjoyed when he heard this: "Mr. Hu, your words are really heartbreaking. How can anyone comment on a royal princess like this?"
Hu Yufei glanced at Li Jiangyao and said calmly: "Dadu protector, there are rumors in the market that you are resourceful and good at understanding people. What? You didn't see it? Or are you pretending to be confused with the old man on purpose?"
Li Jiangyao was told what was on his mind by the other party's words. He secretly praised the old man's sharpness and smiled sheepishly: "Since you have said so, I can only admit it obediently. Li Xi is indeed not simple. And as far as I know, The reason why Shen Lie is in trouble is because of her."
"As expected!" Hu Yufei slapped his thigh: "Let me just say, ever since Murong Xue and the Seventh Princess were given the marriage, the whole incident has been extraordinary! Look, before the wedding even took place, the princess committed suicide. Then he overthrew the former head of the Nilin Division. On the day of the wedding, there was another bloody tragedy that had not been seen in hundreds of years, and even the bridal chamber was delayed. From what I see, there will be fun later."
"What kind of attitude should I have towards Li Xi? Please ask Mr. Hu for advice." Li Jiangyao asked humbly.
Hu Yufei stroked his long beard and pondered: "The dispute between the Protector and Princess Fenyang is quite complicated. Firstly, you defeated her brother; secondly, she caused Shen Lie to be imprisoned; thirdly, She and Murong Xue have already worshiped each other, and are officially regarded as the wives of your sworn brothers. Therefore, the best move for the Protector is just eight words: state the bottom line and keep a respectful distance."
Li Jiangyao thought for a while, nodded and said: "I understand. What Mr. Hu means is for me to make it clear to Princess Fenyang that no one should offend anyone."
"That's right." Hu Yufei nodded slightly: "Let's talk about it earlier. We are neither enemies nor friends. Don't let the Seventh Princess get involved in the court's situation against you. Otherwise, the Chief Protector will never be polite to her. In this case, maybe It can avoid a lot of trouble and make Murong Xue less embarrassed."
Li Jiangyao responded happily: "Just listen to Mr. Hu, come, I'll toast you with another drink."
"Don't be too busy drinking," Hu Yufei raised his hand to cover the rim of the cup and warned: "There is one more important thing that I want to remind Da Duhu to pay attention to."
Seeing that he spoke solemnly, Li Jiangyao quickly put down his wine glass: "What's the matter?"
Hu Yufei said seriously: "Today most of the guards entered the city, and the people of the entire imperial capital lined the streets to welcome you. The scene was spectacular. Although this made the emperor worried and did not dare to deal with you easily, it also deepened the emperor and the court's fear of you. Therefore, , you must beware of hidden arrows."
"Mr. Hu, are you referring to Nilin Division?"
Hu Yufei nodded: "Although Shen Lie is no longer here, Nilin Division is still the same Nilin Division. They never follow any rules for those who offend Emperor Nilin."
Li Jiangyao smiled casually, nodded in agreement, and then toasted with Hu Yufei, as if he didn't take this matter to heart at all.
That night, the captain who stayed at the Prince Consort's Mansion came to report that there was a message from the palace asking Li Jiangyao to attend the morning court tomorrow.
This news was a bit beyond Li Jiangyao's expectation.
He originally guessed that Li Bing would probably summon him in private, and he didn't want too many people to know whether he was asking about Ashi's support or Shen Lie.
Unexpectedly, the other party actually informed him overnight to attend tomorrow's morning meeting. Apparently, they had just discussed a new countermeasure.
Not only that, the palace also specially sent a brand new official uniform.
Li Jiangyao's current official status, or in other words, the official status confirmed by the imperial court, is not the "Great Protector" as everyone usually calls him, but General Yunhui who also holds the title of Zhongdu Governor, with a rank between the third rank and the third rank.
The reason why this happened was that General Yunhui had a false title of third rank. When he was first rewarded and appointed, the court felt that it was unjustifiable to neglect Li Jiangyao so much, so he was given the title of a third-rank Central Commander-in-Chief. It was more or less raised a level.
But compared with the second-grade Dadu Protector, it is still far behind.
What the palace sent this time was a purple military attaché robe of the third rank. Made of silk material with rusty tiger pattern. In addition to the robes, he also wore black flippers on his head, a Qibao jade belt around his waist, long official boots and a green jade sword.
Well prepared and extra attentive.
Li Jiangyao smiled, immediately put on his official uniform, and experienced it seriously. Not to mention, both the purple robe and the boots are of the right size and fit perfectly, and there is a hint that he knows Li Jiangyao well.
Well, it seems that the opponent is really not easy.
He thought to himself, changed out of his official uniform one by one, sat back at the table, and ordered his subordinates: "We don't have to wait for tomorrow, we will send Mrs. Murong away tonight."
"Use the secret passage?"
"Yes, use the secret passage." Li Jiangyao nodded: "The situation has changed. I'm afraid there will be more dreams at night."
His subordinates bowed their hands in agreement, turned around and left quickly.
-
At Yin o'clock the next day, Li Jiangyao rode his horse to the outside of Zhuque Gate, preparing to attend the morning court for the first time in his life.
The time at this moment was equivalent to three o'clock in the morning, and it was still completely dark. However, the carriages, horses and sedan chairs of the imperial officials were already parked outside the Zhuque Gate.
According to the rules of the Shengtang Dynasty, the morning dynasty was divided into three categories: Dachaohui, Shuowang Chaoshen and Changcun.
The Great Court Meeting is only held on New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, and not only civil and military officials in Beijing, but also envoys from various states are invited to attend; while the Shuowang Court Meeting is held on the first and fifteenth day of each month, and is limited to officials from the Holy Tang Dynasty.
These two kinds of morning dynasties are grand in scale and solemn in ceremony, and usually have far more symbolic meaning than administrative significance.
The so-called regular participation refers to the daily morning court. Those who are qualified to participate are all senior officials of the fifth rank or above in the imperial capital, who mainly discuss politics and affairs. After the dynasty dispersed, they each returned to their official offices in the imperial city to work.
Today's morning meeting was an ordinary one, so the officials present were all heads of ministries and departments.
Li Jiangyao had no experience in this and was confused when he arrived at the place. He could only sit on the horse alone and observe everyone's actions.
Dong Tianxing had sharp eyes. As soon as he got off the sedan, he saw Li Jiangyao far away. He didn't care much, and waved his hands excitedly: "Dadu protector, Dadu protector!"
In today's Shengtang Dynasty, except for the one-armed general Yang Xingtai who is idle at home, there is no real guardian of the capital. When Old Dong shouted this, the officials around him immediately realized that the young general over there was none other than the world-famous head coach of the Zhenjiang Army, Li Jiangyao!
Suddenly, everyone gathered around and saluted Li Jiangyao who was sitting high on the horse. Their admiration was beyond words.
