The pear garden is like a fairyland.
After many days, Xue Bai finally stood in front of Li Longji again, and their feelings for each other were different from the past.
"I heard that you were slandering me in private."
"I didn't." Xue Bai said: "I met a saint when I was young. I was as humble as an ant and became the number one scholar for a time. Your kindness is so profound and your kindness is so great. I regard the saint as my closest relative and elder. If I am not sincere, I will be punished by heaven and earth... …”
"enough."
Li Longji had heard too many flattery words and had no patience to listen to them for too long.
But he also knew that what Xue Bai said was the truth, and he had the feeling that this was the minister he had watched grow up.
He looked at Xue Bai a little more favorably, and felt a little emotional.
"Among my ministers, only you and Hu'er have the humblest backgrounds. They are also the most devoted to me. They always think of me when there are delicious food and fun things to do, and they also receive the most criticism."
"I'm so grateful."
Xue Bai was actually unhappy.
Remember https://m in one second.
It was originally a good start for the emperor and his ministers to get along with each other, but Li Longji insisted on mixing him up with An Lushan.
But in Li Longji's heart, this is really the case. He feels that classifying these two people into the same category today is recognition of Xue Bai's ability. After all, loyal, capable, considerate and holy ministers like An Lushan were his favorite.
"However, the saint treated me like this, but I concealed my life experience from the saint." Xue Bai said: "I can't compare with An Lu."
"You still know?!"
Li Long basically kept his emotions and anger secret, but now that he had an outlet to vent his anger, he didn't have to hold it in front of Xue Bai'er and scold him a few times.
"I gave you recognition, but you changed it without authorization, plotted the plan, and rebelled against me in public. In your eyes, is your status as the number one scholar more important than the emperor's face?! Is this what you mean by tears of gratitude and gratitude?!"
"I was wrong." Xue Bai said: "The reason why I did this is because those people knew my life experience but pretended to be so. I can't stand it."
"You still dare to quibble?"
"Back to the saint, this is not sophistry. From the moment Cui Qiao asked that question, he was teasing me. He knew that I was alive, but he wanted to show me a 'Xiang Ling drum harp' to see if I violated taboos or admitted that I was a rebellious slave. I It's a lie. The saint gets free coins. Even if he kills me, I am willing to do so. This is what I deserve. But who is he, playing tricks on me?
Gao Lishi had no choice but to shout: "You are so outrageous, how can you speak in front of the emperor?!"
Li Longji shook his head and said: "Continue.
"Old thief Cui Qiao, he said that I deceived the emperor, what is unclear in his heart? Finally, he showed off the demeanor of a famous family and said that he has tolerated me enough. How can I, a rebellious and lowly slave, become famous in Chang'an? How can I become famous in Chang'an? How can I be the top scorer in high school? I don’t know what is good and what is good. I only focused on writing stories for the saint. I forgot to submit poems and essays to him, the great uncle, and refused his good intention to marry his granddaughter to me!
"You are such a sharp-tongued person, but your crime of deceiving the emperor was framed by others in the end."
"Back to Saint, I didn't think about overturning the case, I just wanted to take Cui Qiao to finish it. In fact, I also know that he is not the only one who harmed me. There are others who are using Cui Qiao behind the scenes. Uncle Guo is supervising the two projects of salt and paper making. They all want to get their hands on the errands. I can't help it. This time, the cause of the trouble is not to keep the No. 1 pick, but to slap them in the face."
Xue Bai said it, thought about it, and added another sentence.
"I still have another crime. I often hide my clumsiness in front of saints. In fact, I asked my teacher and Dr. Zheng to help me, summoned scholars, and used some shameful methods. The right prime minister's previous accusations were not wrong. I was very scheming and vicious. "
"hehe."
Li Longji couldn't help but laugh.
When Gao Lishi saw the saint smiling, he couldn't help but laugh too.
"Vicious methods?"
Li Longji felt more and more amused, raised his finger and pointed at the palace garden, and said something off-topic.
"Taizhen has a Haizhou cat, which is quite funny and rolls around on weekdays. It looks very innocent. But whenever it goes out, it catches birds and mice without being seen by others, and kills them with its claws. , torturing these little things to death and taking pleasure in it. Do you think I really don’t know what it has done? Are the methods vicious? Just what you did."
Xue Bai said: "Nothing I do can be hidden from the eyes of the saint. The saint looks at me like a cat, like the gods in the sky looking at the people on the earth."
"That's enough. There's no point in saying good things."
"I want to say that it's my fault for hiding it from the saint. I'm actually not a Haizhou cat, just a civet cat."
"I don't care what kind of cat you are." Li Longji scolded and asked casually: "Since you feel bullied, why don't you intercede with your sworn sisters and sworn brothers? Do you think I can't cure them?
"This... I am ashamed of the saint and have no shame to speak." Xue Bai said: "I am also afraid of causing trouble to the saint."
"Do you have this loyalty?
"Yes, students from poor families are dissatisfied with the family's control of the imperial examination for a long time. We took this opportunity to create momentum and dampen their spirit.
That's fine. There is no need to alarm the saint with anything. "
Li Longji was a little surprised that he had this intention.
Of course, this matter is indeed different from the previous intrigues, and there is very little the emperor can change.
"You are so arrogant. From what I can see, your momentum is going to be dampened by them. What are your plans?"
"Don't be afraid." Xue Bai said: "They have managed the papermaking workshop that will serve as the supervisor, but they cannot block the papermaking process. I have given the latest papermaking process to all like-minded people who left Chang'an. Although they do not have mature workshops, One day, we will definitely be able to bring down the price of paper. We also need to spread the story of Jinke Chunwei, a boy from a poor family, and spread the articles of my teacher."
"Can it be spread?
"We have an idea called 'movable type printing'. Different from woodblock printing, each character is a separate piece and can be arranged freely. It can print new articles very flexibly and quickly. The children of the aristocratic family want to block Our voices are difficult.”
The principle is simple. Li Longji understood it as soon as he heard it and said: "How dare common people control public opinion? How many sets of movable type plates can you make? Where can you find so many literate craftsmen? This is not a craft that common people can have. , but it’s up to the imperial court to handle it.”
"The sage clearly shows me that I didn't think carefully." Xue Bai said: "This matter is difficult to achieve, but the children from poor families are willing to spend decades fighting for a place in the imperial examination. I come from a humble background, and I am willing to do my best for them."
This is not something that can be achieved overnight. Li Longji wants to change, but he does not want to really extensively touch the interests of the family and affect his enjoyment. Xue Bai's attitude is just right. If you have a little way, take your time.
Xue Bai finally showed a little bit of his talents as a state minister, and he also learned to recommend talents.
"I did this not only to vent my anger, but also because it was too difficult for a poor family to get ahead in Chang'an, so I had no choice but to seek refuge in the border towns. Just like the right prime minister used barbarians as border towns, these people had no one to rely on and could only rely on the saints. Loyalty. For example, Gao Shi, although he wrote poems like "Yan Ge Xing", he was actually dissatisfied because someone prevented him from serving the king. In fact, he was more loyal to the king than others. A saint would know it as soon as he saw him...
"Cui Qiao, the Minister of Rites, is summoned to see you.
"I have met the saint, and I would like to wish the saint a happy spring."
Cui Qiao was a little haggard. He was not having an easy time these days.
Although everyone familiar with the matter understood that he was being coerced, the fact was that his name had been used to advocate for the imperial examination to support more poor scholars. Therefore, some officials from aristocratic families believe that if Cui Qiao is not punished, it will only encourage the arrogance of those despicable people... It is simply ridiculous.
"I love you, you don't have to be polite. I've been keeping a memorial in Zhongshu. I've summoned you to ask."
"yes.
Li Longji lowered his head and drank.
Gao Lishi asked: "I dare to ask Cui Shangshu, the prince-in-law Zhang Po admitted that he asked you to teach Xue Bai a lesson, but you made him break the taboo because of this?"
"It's the old minister who is confused."
"There is no one else around in the Liyuan. Cui Shangshu cannot speak fluently. If your Majesty asks, just answer."
"Yes, that's what Prince Consort Zhang said."
"What does Prince Consort Zhang want from you?
Cui Qiao didn't dare to answer, but still said: "He said that Xue Bai deceived the emperor. He couldn't really give him the top prize. Whether he gave up the exam or failed to win, we couldn't let him succeed.
If that's the case, why did you select him as the top pick again?
"It's... the right minister ordered it." Cui Qiao said: "The right minister said that this is what the saint wants."
"To put it this way, Prince Consort Zhang is right, and so is the Prime Minister." Gao Lishi said: "You listen to Prince Consort Zhang first, then listen to the Prime Minister. You are also right."
"The old minister is guilty." Cui Qiao said, "The old minister is guilty."
Li Longji then became interested and asked: "Where is your crime?
"The old minister presided over the spring palace and failed to handle these matters properly. Please ask the saint to punish you."
Li Longji smiled.
Although he is the emperor, he really can't find anything wrong with Cui Qiao. If he is wrong, it is also the emperor's fault. After all, everything is done according to the emperor's wishes.
"Give me a seat."
"Old minister, thank you for your grace."
Li Longji said: "I heard that I love you to recruit scholars for the country, and only those who are qualified can be selected. I think that the number of candidates from poor families should be increased. Why haven't I seen the memorial?"
"Your Majesty has misunderstood, old minister...
"My beloved, why don't you write the last memorial and propose to add ten more Jinshi places, specifically for poor candidates whose ancestors have never been officials for three generations."
Chance.
"Your Majesty, that's not possible. The country values fairness the most in selecting scholars. If you do this, you will give people with ulterior motives the opportunity to engage in fraud." My dear, you don't want to submit a memorial? "
Cui Qiao did not dare to sit down anymore. She stood up quickly, bowed deeply and said, "Perhaps these unruly acts are causing trouble wantonly, which makes some officials in the court think that they can just indulge and appease them, but they don't know that they are resentful and greedy." Power loves wealth, and once you become an official, you cannot be lenient to the people below and cannot be loyal to the king above, so you are definitely not a good person."
At this point, he became excited and began to list out the various rhetoric he had prepared.
"I don't know whether Xue Bai is the son of a gambler or a traitor. But he must have learned some rogue tricks and even treasonous tricks since he was a child. Whenever this boy doesn't go his way at all, he will stir up public opinion against the imperial court. In the sixth year of Tianbao, there were troubles in the spring and fraud in the autumn. Now they are besieging the Ministry of Rites and holding important officials hostage with knives. Such wild ambitions are no different from rebellion. No wonder they look like Xue Xiu."
"Those who gathered around Xue Bai were all people who were resentful of the imperial court. Du Youlin was very good at plotting. He first speculated on the East Palace and was involved in major treason cases; his son Du Li was a villain who repeatedly committed major crimes. , Xue Baimei used his power to cover up; and Gao Shi, who wrote more than one or two poems of resentment, and has been dissatisfied with the imperial court for a long time. These people incite public opinion, and if they are not punished severely, they will not be enough to serve as a warning to others..."
Cui Qiao has evidence.
A crumpled poem was taken out and handed to the saint.
Li Longji looked at it, a little surprised.
He thought it was white rattan paper at first, but when he took a closer look, he saw that the material was different. He then looked at Gao Lishi and asked with his eyes, could bamboo paper craftsmanship be so flexible?
Gao Lishi nodded and said in a low voice: "It's bamboo paper. After taking over as the supervisor, the paper quality improved very quickly. The key lies in the soaking of the pulp. It is said that some of them need to be soaked for half a year. I didn't expect it."
Li Longji then opened it and looked at the poem.
Cui Qiao didn't hear Gao Lishi's whisper. She glanced over and saw the saint frowning. She lost no time and added a few words: "The poems written by Gao Shi in Jinke are also full of resentment. I dare not show them to the saint..."
After hearing this, Li Longji was indeed displeased and said: "Ai Qing has been wronged, please step back.
"Old minister, I retire.
After leaving the palace, Cui Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and thought, first let the saint not find his fault, and then use those unruly scholars to divert the saint's anger, then he should be able to deal with it.
He didn't ask for much, just a sinecure to stay in Dongdu.
After returning home, two days later, Cui Qiao was in the study when he heard an old servant at home preaching: "Qi Lang, Da Lang and Er Lang are here, and Duke Du is here too.
"I'll meet you in the hall."
Although Cui Qiao has a high official position, in such a large family, official positions that are promoted and demoted are not that important. The amount of power sometimes depends on the influence on the government and the opposition.
His elder brother was named Cui Yuxi. He was a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. In the middle period of Kaiyuan, he served as a member of the Zhongshushe. He reviewed memorials, drafted imperial edicts, and was in charge of secrets. His authority was not comparable to that of today's Minister of Rites.
Now Cui Yuxi is old and has gray hair. He is sitting in the hall talking to Du Hope.
"Qi Lang has been confused since he was a child. Don't blame him, brother-in-law. He also said at that time that he wanted to recruit Xue Bai as his grandson-in-law. This young man didn't like our Cui family, so there was nothing we could do.
The mother of the Cui brothers was born in the Du family in Jingzhao and was Du Xixi's cousin, so they called him "brother-in-law".
Du Xixi smiled and said: "I heard about this. It was my nephew who failed to build a bridge and caused many things to happen later."
Cui Qiao listened to this conversation and knew that her brother was saying that Xue Bai did not know etiquette in front of the Du family, so she smiled and stepped forward to salute.
"Brother-in-law, brother.
"Here we come." Cui Yuxi pointed at Cui Qiao and said: "Today, in front of my uncle, I will teach this confused brother a lesson... Don't be the Minister of Rites.
Cui Qiao thought to herself, it's finally here.
He was already ready to go to Luoyang and his luggage was packed.
But Cui Yuxi said: "Let's demote him to the position of chief historian of Jiangling."
"What? Jiangling?"
Cui Qiao was surprised and said in shock: "Brother, I am so confused, how can I still go to Jiangling..."
Du Xixi also said quickly: "Da Lang is too cruel, he has been demoted too far."
"He deserves it. I just hope that my uncle can come forward to help calm the situation." Cui Yuxi said: "After all, it is inevitable that some people will gloat and take advantage of the situation.
The whole matter has nothing to do with Du Hope, and this statement is not for Du Hope. Instead, the Cui family took a stand and asked Du Xiang to be a peacemaker, say hello to all parties and quell the dispute.
"Well, I'll just show off my old face and visit more places."
When Du Hope left, Cui Qiao was stunned for a long time before she realized what she was doing.
Brother, what's going on? How can you demote me to Jiangling? ! "
"Am I in charge of this matter? Just ask Ge Nu."
Cui Qiao was surprised: "How can he belittle me?"
"Why else? You have made the saint unhappy." Cui Yuxi sighed, "I tried my best to protect you, and I have already asked Brother Nu. You failed to do the job well, but you put the blame on a few white bodies in front of the emperor. , can they bear it? Gao Shi? You are an ant who suffers from being unable to become an official. If the saint does not demote you, how can you demote him?
"On what crime can a saint belittle me? I have done nothing wrong!"
Cui Yuxi shook his head and said: "The saint can't get you guilty, can the slave not get it? Do you know how many people have exposed you for personal grudges to prevent Xue Bai from taking the exam?
"You guys are like this?!"
Cui Qiao was shocked and angry, and reacted instantly.
He was sold.
The saint did not need evidence to punish him, so Genu consulted with several aristocratic families and had to give in and demote one person to vent his anger on the saint.
The first people to abandon him like worn out shoes were his relatives, friends and in-laws.
This family said they wanted the number one scholar, that family said they wanted the first scholar, this family said they wanted bamboo paper, that family said they wanted to publish books, Zhang Po said the saint regretted giving Xue Bai the number one scholar, Li Linfu said he still had to give him the number one scholar... He was in this whirlpool Here, they get the benefits they want for everyone.
When something went wrong, he was the only one to bear the responsibility.
"You treat me like this?!"
Cui Qiao was so angry that she was shaking, pointing at her brother, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Cui Yuxi stood up slowly on crutches and said: "Calm down right away. I am already old. Is it for myself? For the sake of the Cui family, including your five sons."
In one sentence, Cui Qiao could only suppress the anger in her heart.
He doesn't even have the right to be angry.
The memorial to banish Cui Qiao came down quickly. It took less than a day and was delivered to Cui's house in the evening.
Although a minister of the Ministry of Rites was killed, it did not harm the Cui family.
Cui Qiao has seven brothers and five sons. His branch is the only one with the most outstanding talents in the Tang Dynasty. However, they are only a small branch of the Qinghe Cui family's Nanzu Wushuifang, and Nanzufang belongs to the Qinghe Cui family. One of the six rooms is reserved.
He is just a drop in the bucket of aristocratic talents. If he is demoted, he will be demoted. There is no pity. Tianbao's eight-year imperial examination would not be unable to find a suitable examiner.
Without him, the Yu family's control over the academic field and officialdom has not changed in any way.
The initial change came from another news that day - Cui Qiao's memorial to depose the number one scholar was dismissed, and Xue Bai was still the number one scholar in Tianbao for seven years.
Many people thought that this result was just because Cui Qiao had guessed the Holy Will wrongly, and they had not thought about what this meant and what changes it would bring.
On the day Cui Qiao left Chang'an, Xue Bai was seeing Gao Shi off to Hedong.
"Actually, there is another reason why the saint was angry with Cui Qiao. He learned that Brother Gao failed in his official career and switched to General Wang. He felt the brain drain most intuitively."
Xue Bai reminded Gao Shi one last time and said: "It can be seen that the saint appreciates brother Gao's talent. If he stays in Chang'an, he may be able to be promoted to an official."
Gao Shi shook his head and Fu Er said something to Xue Bai.
"I don't want to stay. The saint's questions are all in vain. It seems that if you grant me an official position, you can solve the long-standing disadvantages of joining an official from a poor family. And General Wang needs me more, so I ask for practical advice."
Xue Bai felt that Gao Shi was stubborn most of the time, but occasionally he could be tactful, as if he had not fully learned to be worldly after decades of study, and he might still have to learn for a few more years, or he might never learn it.
"What Brother Gao said, I hope that one day we can resolve it in your hands."
Xue Bai is willing to slowly do things that Li Longji is unwilling to solve and cannot solve...
