In the latrine, a brocade bag was taken off from the crotch.
Li Xiu felt that his waist was no longer so tight, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But seeing that the yellow stains on the silk cloth were getting deeper, he picked up the kit and smelled it. There was a bitter smell, so he planned to throw it away.
Just as he stretched out his hand, he suddenly hesitated, recalling and wondering in his mind whether it had any effect... It was probably a little bit, I couldn't say for sure, after all, it was only a day or two.
"Juro, Juro." An urging voice sounded outside, "Alang wants to see you immediately."
"coming."
In a hurry, Li Xiu finally stopped hesitating, put the kit into his arms, arranged his clothes and walked out.
Regardless of whether it has any effect or not, he is psychologically inseparable from this Xingyang Centipede Bag.
The atmosphere in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion was solemn. On the way to the meeting hall, you could see two or three beautiful maids standing in wait not far away, with slim figures and fair faces, calling Juro respectfully with sweet and crisp voices.
Li Xiu had long since passed the time when he wanted to get his hands on beautiful maids every day. He had been abstinent for many years, only thinking about appeasing his good wives and concubines to maintain harmony and dignity. Especially today, when he saw these beauties, the first thing that came to his mind was the scene of Wang Wen standing on the city wall.
"Alang, Juro is here."
In the meeting hall, Li Linfu said a dull "hmm", making the atmosphere quickly become tense.
Li Xiu stepped forward to greet him and said: "Master, the situation is under control. Wang Wenfu has been executed, Xing Wei has been captured, and the fire in the imperial city has been extinguished..."
Later, he stopped unconsciously and said with some difficulty: "But there is one more thing, which may be a bit troublesome. Before Wang Wen died, he made a lot of nonsense. How should I put it? He exposed it in front of everyone..."
Li Linfu did not pursue the question, but asked: "Can the rumors be suppressed?"
"This matter," Li Xiu muttered, thinking not of ways to suppress the matter, but of rhetoric, "there were too many people present at the time, so I'm afraid we couldn't..."
"When the emperor is angry, millions of corpses will be buried. Can't you suppress it? Can you bear the wrath of the saint?!"
Li Linfu initially had a serious look on his face, but when he spoke later, his tone became stern.
In Tianbao's five years, he has solved one major conspiracy case after another, involving countless innocent souls. The corpses killed by sticks in Dali Temple piled up like mountains, and none of those rebellious officials and traitors really dared to commit trouble. But this time, he actually let The rebels invaded the imperial city and insulted the saint in public. How many lives must be taken?
Li Xiu couldn't answer this question. He thought it was ridiculous and thought that only a madman could answer the difficult questions raised by a madman.
After a long moment of silence, Li Linfu said: "Let Shihu... no, let Xue Bai come to see me."
In the process of giving this sentence, he considered that in the whole matter, the person with the least responsibility, the most credit, and the ability to influence the holy will was the young and humble Xue Bai.
"That kid?"
"Go away! Trash!"
Li Xiuwei sighed and bowed to leave. After leaving the meeting hall and walking into the courtyard, he kicked down a pot of flowers placed by the path. He thought to himself that he was almost forty years old, but he was still living such a useless life.
When I took a closer look, I saw that the ground where the fallen flowers were originally covered was covered with centipedes and squirming maggots, which made my scalp numb.
~~
Youxiang's Mansion is still luxurious, but compared to the time when Xue Tianbao came here five years ago, it has begun to look a bit old.
Although the carved railings and painted buildings in the mansion have been repainted, serious signs of wear and tear can still be seen on the thresholds of several courtyard doors. Even a powerful man like Li Linfu could not prevent the luxurious mansion from becoming old after living there for more than ten years.
No matter how many slaves you buy, it's useless. There are so many slaves in the Prime Minister's Mansion that it has become bloated and redundant.
When Xue Bai came this time, he noticed some details. For example, Cang Bi, the steward, was fat and had red spots on his neck caused by excessive drinking. When passing by the atrium, a beautiful maid wearing a gold hairpin and tacky eyes gave Cang Bi a meaningful smile.
"Alang, Xue Bai is here."
Entering the hall, Xue Bai was surprised to find that Li Linfu was not heavily guarded this time. Perhaps after getting familiar with each other, he thought they had friendship.
"In the Zuo Prime Minister's Mansion and Zhang Gong's Mansion, the servants don't even call them by their first names." Xue Bai said: "Maybe it's time to change the stewards in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion?"
He said this not because he was angry, but simply as a kind reminder. After the New Year, Li Linfu will have served as prime minister for sixteen years, and many things really need to be rectified.
"The truth is that I will go to the palace soon to report the treason case, and I don't have time to chat with you." Li Linfu said, "I'll make a long story short and tell you my opinion."
"I went to Yanshi on behalf of the saint to find out why the people of the Tang Dynasty rebelled with the demon thieves. It turns out that there is someone behind this conspiracy."
"Wang Fei."
"Wang Fei, An Lushan."
Li Linfu said: "Involving Hu'er won't help. You can't get rid of two of the saint's most trusted people at once."
"I don't care, I just care that what I tell the saint is the truth." Xue Bai said, "This is the foundation for me to become an official. I am a pure minister and a straight minister."
"If Wang Zhi takes the blame alone, this matter can be settled as quickly as possible. If something goes wrong, once the saint's thunderous anger spreads, he will be burned..."
Li Linfu's words of "using all barbarians in border towns" are still in my ears. It was even him who supported An Lushan to use force to prevent Li Heng from ascending the throne. Of course, he was afraid of getting burned.
Xue Bai, on the other hand, has pointed his sword at Anlu Mountain. This is his position in the court and the foundation of his career. Therefore, when he heard the end, a disdainful smile appeared on his lips.
"The truth will never allow you to mess around!" As he spoke, Li Linfu saw the look on his face and immediately decided, "This case will end with the king!"
"Wang Fei, An Lushan."
Li Linfu stood up and shouted: "How dare you be an enemy of me?!"
The two of them originally had a lot to talk about. Gao Lishi, Chen Xilie, Yang Guozhong... could all be manipulated like chess pieces by them in the conversation, and they could also talk about official positions and interests.
But they were so familiar with each other that they simply bypassed these, stated their basic positions, and confronted each other tit for tat.
Li Linfu rarely encountered this kind of situation, so he assumed the strongest attitude and shouted with the majesty of dominating the Tang Dynasty.
Anyone else would have been immediately intimidated by him, but Xue Bai was not. Xue Bai was not his only son, son-in-law, or subordinate.
"dare."
Xue Bai responded clearly in one word.
Li Linfu was a little surprised, so he wanted to persuade Xue Bai with a stronger attitude.
"If the truth wants to kill you, you will die a hundred times."
"The Gao brothers wanted to kill me when we were in Yanshi." Xue Bai said, "But I killed them."
"Don't think this is your political achievement, this is your evidence of crime!" Li Linfu angrily scolded.
Those strong beards were pointing at Xue Bai like thousands of arrows ready to be fired.
"You are doing random things in Yanshi and stirring up trouble. If the Seventeenth Mother hadn't interceded for you, you would have been exiled immediately! Your political performance is a mess, and it is not an exaggeration to demote Lingnan."
This is actually to the point. The most important rule in the Tang Dynasty today is to compare who can collect taxes better. This is proof of loyalty and ability. Xue Bai is not as loyal and capable as Wang Xian and An Lushan, but he wants to accuse them of treason. , and at the same time he accused him of being very arrogant and rude.
After Li Linfu finished speaking, he slapped the table angrily.
"A loser who can't even collect taxes dares to frame Anlu Mountain in front of a saint? Go back and be your face!"
"Ge Nu, don't forget that you are the one who made his fortune by clinging to your skirt!"
"you……"
Li Linfu seemed to think he heard wrongly.
I don’t know what happened today, but everyone was speechless and kept swearing.
But what he said is true. When he was young, Li Linfu did have an affair with Wu Fengniang, the daughter of Wu Sansi. After Wu Fengniang's husband died, she even asked Gao Lishi to let him take over her husband's official position. Gao Lishi was born in the Wu family, but he did not dare to agree and gave He learned some news about Wu Fengniang, which made Li Linfu fawn on Prime Minister Han Xiu.
It was also Wu Fengniang who introduced Li Linfu to Concubine Wu Hui, paving a path for him to achieve success.
Compared with the brother-sister relationship between Xue Bai and the Yang sisters, there are many more secrets between Li Linfu and the Wu sisters.
"How dare you, Shuzi, to tell the truth..."
"Ge Nu, why don't you think I'm afraid? I was named on the gold medal list and ranked number one, what about you? If you can only collect taxes and can't collect taxes more reasonably, then go back and be your face!"
Faced with Li Linfu's pressure, Xue Bai did not give in at all. He could only fight back with more force.
"The Tang Dynasty you govern is like this carpet under our feet. It looks gorgeous, but in fact it is densely crawling with lice. You dare not lift it to take a look. You would rather watch it gnaw at your home, because you You are just a weak coward, you have rotted away. You don’t even have the most basic character of a courtier. You only hold the anointed blood of the people in the world to worship the saints, and you dare to call yourself ‘Xiang’ in front of me. Don’t you have any shame at all?”
"Come here, come here...kill him for the truth!"
"You think that serving as prime minister for fifteen years is enough for you, but you are just a poor guy with a small belly who can't even sleep for thinking about a little bit of power. The less talented you are, the more you are afraid that others will replace you. A wise man who takes the world as his own responsibility The intellectuals are being squeezed and suppressed by you, and I can smell the rotten stench of your body from across Tongguan."
"Come here, kill him..."
The door to the hall was finally pushed open, and Cang Bi rushed in with a few servants.
Without hesitation, Xue Bai picked up a vase and smashed it on a pillar. With a "bang" sound, there were only fragments left in his hand.
When it came to taking action, he was about to attack Li Linfu.
Today, there are many lunatics in Chang'an City.
"That's enough!" Li Linfu shouted, "Everyone, step back."
Cang Bi was stunned.
"Back off!"
Li Linfu coughed, pointed at Xue Bai, and after breathing hard, said: "You...you made Zhang Quyi angry to death, and you still want to make me angry to death?"
"No, I am not the one who made Mr. Zhang mad." Even at this moment, Xue Bai refused to admit it, "It was An Lushan who scared him to death."
…
The servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion retreated, Xue Bai also threw away the broken porcelain in his hand, and Li Linfu did not avoid it for safety.
They may not be really impulsive, they are just trying to show off their attitude and compete with others to see who is stronger.
"Ha ha."
After a long time, Li Linfu smiled. The first time he laughed was a little unnatural. He smiled twice in succession, and then he lost his majestic attitude and showed a little bit of the suave and charming youth.
This Suo Dou Cock, who had always been famous for his narrow-mindedness, might have become so angry that he became more open-minded. He patted his knees freely and said with a smile: "I remember, I was here three years ago, and you just You were tricked by the prince, and you came here crying and begging me to give you a chance. Now that I have grown up, I dare to contradict you."
"Yes, it's been three years since you governed the world, and it's getting worse and worse."
"Are you healing well?!"
Li Linfu scolded him quickly, even waved his hand involuntarily, and then maintained his demeanor.
He sat there, as if he thought it was still three years ago, when he could crush Xue Bai to death like an ant with just a move of his fingers.
"Given you a chance at last, will you do something for your true nature, or will you seek your own death?"
"Farewell."
Xue Bai opened the door, walked out of the hall, and made a different choice from three years ago.
Although he just expressed his stance, he actually said something sincere.
But Li Linfu disappointed him. Li Linfu didn't even realize that it was time to no longer contact An Lushan to consolidate power, but to prepare for his death and delegate power to young people.
Just like this Right Prime Minister's Mansion, those old and dilapidated ones should be replaced.
In the past three years, the only thing that has remained unchanged is the relationship between them - they have different paths and do not work together.
~~
"Shuzi."
Li Linfu cursed in a low voice, feeling dizzy due to anger.
But he couldn't rest yet. He had to go to the palace and report the results of Wang Wen's rebellion to the saint.
The failure to agree with Xue Bai made the situation a bit tricky. When he was sorting out the situation in the court, he suddenly discovered that Chen Xilie, Yang Guozhong, Wang Xie, Xue Bai... these people used to be part of the Right Prime Minister's family, but for some reason, they all drifted away, and even came to the opposite side of the Right Prime Minister's Office. .
Faintly, there is a feeling of isolation.
Fortunately, the position of the right prime minister is still stable.
Li Linfu suddenly felt vaguely that he seemed to have lost too many other things for the position of right prime minister.
"Enter the palace."
Soon, King Wu was walking in a quiet street, and his right minister was traveling.
When he arrived at Xingqing Palace, all the officials who participated in the suppression of the rebellion today were also waiting in the palace, but the saint only saw him, and the others were just waiting as if they were being punished.
"Xuan, the Duke of Jin, Shangshu Zuopushe, and Zhongshu ordered Li Linfu to come to see you!"
Today's Xingqing Palace seemed more solemn than usual. Li Linfu walked around the Huaxianhui Building and walked towards the Qinzheng Affairs Building. His steps were not as calm as usual.
At this time, the sunset completely set, Chang'an dusk drums sounded, and lights lit up one by one, lighting up the Calyx Building and Qinzheng Building in turn, showing a gorgeous scene and highlighting the power of the Tang Dynasty.
People looked up at the grand scene in front of them, but some of Wang Welding's words couldn't help but come to mind.
"Ai Que."
…
Chen Xilie, Yang Guozhong, Xiao Yinzhi, Li Xiu, Liu Ze, Jia Jilin, Feng Yongzhi, Guo Qianli, Cui Youfu, Xue Bai and others were waiting outside the calyx building.
No one knew what the saint was saying to the right minister, and many of them failed to report what happened carefully, which meant they had no chance to explain.
The merits and demerits can only be narrated by Li Linfu first, so how can we not be nervous?
Yang Guozhong was originally standing in the front, but he rubbed his hands and stamped his feet from time to time. After moving a few times, he retreated to the back, wearing a purple robe mixed with the red robe.
"The right minister was not present at that time. How could the saint only listen to the right minister's report?"
Feng Yongzhi originally wanted to answer, but turned his head away and saw Jia Jilin quietly moving to the side. He immediately felt shuddered, kept silent, and retreated, farther away from Yang Guozhong.
Yang Guozhong was already tall, but with nothing on both sides, he suddenly looked dazzling.
He couldn't help but cursed "eating dog intestines" and retreated to Xue Bai, who was as tall as him, wearing a purple robe and a green robe.
"What do you think the right minister will do..."
"Silence."
The etiquette officer in front suddenly shouted and scolded him, his attitude was not polite.
After waiting for a long time, a eunuch came from the front and stood in front of these officials. He looked at them back and forth for a while before speaking.
"Xuan, Tai Le Cheng and Chang'an County Lieutenant Xue Bai are here to see you!"
"I obey the order."
Xue Bai knew very well why he was summoned first, because of his honesty.
With a straight look on his face, he followed the eunuch towards the main building of Qinzhengfu. He whispered on the way: "I just came back from Yanshi not long ago, and I am a little unfamiliar with the internal officials."
"Yuan Siyi, a native of Huazhou, was promoted to General of the Left Prison Gate Guard just four months ago. Xue Lang was not in Chang'an at that time, so we did not have the honor to meet him."
"I see."
Yuan Siyi stopped talking and led Xue Bai outside the hall.
The atmosphere in the hall was tense, and Li Linfu obviously did not cheer up the saint.
"Your Majesty, Xue Bai, may the saint be well."
Li Longji on the imperial couch did not speak. Instead, Gao Lishi said: "Report it."
"I believe that the series of rebellion cases are caused by Wang He and An Lushan colluding, and they have been preparing for rebellion for many years. However, Wang Wen's lack of brains exposed their conspiracy..."
Xue Bai didn't know what Li Linfu said just now. In short, he insisted on his opinion and talked eloquently.
It is not that he has no evidence, but he has evidence, including what the Gao brothers did in Yanshi, and the Liu Luogu people who took the stolen goods, so he has the confidence that everything is true.
While he was talking, he occasionally glanced at Li Longji secretly. Different from every previous meeting, this saint's face was hidden where the candlelight could not reach, looking mysterious and terrifying.
When Xue Bai finished speaking, Li Longji remained noncommittal for a long time, and finally said lightly.
"You interrogate and investigate the case with the right minister."
"I obey the order."
After that, there was another long silence, as if anger was accumulating, and it was also like the calm before a rainstorm.
In the winter weather, a slight sweat broke out on Li Linfu's forehead.
"Wang Welding's conspiracy."
Li Longji finally spoke. After questioning the prime minister and direct ministers, he revealed the Sacred Heart and let them know how to investigate the case.
When the emperor is angry, I don’t know how many people will die.
"It's just a ridiculous misunderstanding. A fool accidentally broke into the imperial city..."
Li Linfu and Xue Bai were immediately stunned.
They really thought that when things got to this point, the saint was so angry that he would shake the court and even sweep away the current situation. They had just had a big quarrel over this.
But no, there was no expected heavy rain, no thunderous fury. This time, Li Longji showed an emperor's mind and did not lose his composure because of Wang Weld's words.
He is an emperor, how can it be speculated by ordinary people?
"We must prevent the people from being deceived by evil words. Xue Bai, I order you to concurrently serve as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper."
Li Longji's tone revealed deliberation and embarrassment. At this point, he stopped.
Gao Lishi then continued: "Public public opinion cannot turn a misunderstanding into a major conspiracy, do you understand?"
"My minister, I will definitely live up to my mission." Xue Bai accepted the order with ceremony.
He vaguely felt that Li Longji did not have an attack not because of his ambition, but because of fear and not wanting to face it.
There is also a thick and gorgeous carpet on the floor of this hall, but after lifting it up, I wonder if it is covered with lice?
Li Linfu obviously mispredicted the saint's reaction, so he had to ask: "If this is the case... Wang Fei failed to discipline his brothers well, can he be demoted to the governor of Yazhou?"
He wanted to take Wang's life secretly. For example, Yu Wenrong was assassinated on the way to Yazhou. Since the saint did not want to publicize Wang He's rebellion, Wang He could only die in assassination.
The death of Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming was also like this. Li Linfu knew that the saint acquiesced in his heart.
However, he was wrong again.
"No, let's check first." Li Longji said slowly, "If Wang Zhen really doesn't know anything about Wang Welding, then he will be dismissed as the imperial censor, and he will still be used as the household registration envoy, the deposed envoy for interviews in the Gyeonggi Pass, and the city and purchase envoy. .”
"this……"
Li Linfu was so surprised that he lost his composure.
Ren Xiang for nearly sixteen years, he thought he knew the saint very well, but unexpectedly, he had misjudged the saint's reaction one after another today.
What about the saint’s temper? The generation of British masters who killed Empress Wei in the Tang Long coup and forced their father to abdicate in a congenital coup actually chose to forgive Wang X today? How can it be?
"Senior, I must find out the truth."
"There is a Tang Dynasty in the Zhao Dynasty, and God provides it to all countries." Li Longji stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Can I not tolerate even a fool? Retreat."
He still showed the freedom and ease of a romantic emperor, but there were only four monarchs and ministers in the palace having secret conversations, and there was no waiter except Gao Lishi. The loud laughter echoed in the empty palace, which was a bit weird.
"I'll take my leave."
They didn't mention anything else, and they didn't mention Wang Welding's words from beginning to end.
It was like a silent afternoon with dark clouds over the city, and the thunder that should have struck never struck, which was depressing.
Xue Bai thought everything was so crazy. In his eyes, Li Longji's reaction was even crazier than Wang Wean's.
As the emperor, he does not severely punish those who conspire to rebel to warn the world, but instead fantasizes about covering up an impossible truth. How weak is it? How powerless?
In terms of courage, he is not as good as Wang Welding.
~~
After leaving Qinzheng Building, Li Linfu didn't speak to Xue Bai for a long time.
There was only one thought in his mind - the saint was old.
Along with this thought, various distracting thoughts came one after another, for example, he realized that he was getting old too.
When he arrived near the Hua Calyx Tower, Li Linfu remembered it, turned to Xue Bai and said, "There is no need to say too much about the Holy Will to others."
"I see."
"Shuzi wants to get rid of Wang Xie and An Lushan at the same time, but even Wang Xie may not be eliminated."
"Is the right minister complaining?" Xue Bai asked.
Li Linfu glanced sideways at him, suppressed his anger, and threw down his sleeves and walked away.
This scene fell in the eyes of the officials waiting outside, making them even more worried.
The saint also gave instructions to these officials. Yuan Siyi stepped forward and read the oral instructions, asking them to perform their duties and control the situation...except Yang Guozhong.
"The Saint sympathizes with Yang Shaoqing's hard work and allows you to return home to rest."
"General Yuan, can I see the saint?" Yang Guozhong stepped forward and quietly handed something into Yuan Siyi's hand.
"Masters, please come back."
Yang Guozhong couldn't help but become more and more anxious. He turned around and hurried to Li Linfu's car, saying: "Your Excellency, wait a moment, I want to..."
"Yang Shaoqing, please go back home and rest. Alang still has to clean up the mess you left."
"Right Prime Minister!"
Yang Guozhong failed to stop Li Linfu. He turned around and saw Guo Qianli talking to Xue Bai.
"Xue Lang, tell me, I deserve a lot of credit for shooting Wang Wean, right?"
"Silence, why don't you go comfort General Chen?"
Xue Bai reminded him, got on his horse, and chased Li Linfu's car to Jingzhao Mansion to interrogate Wang Xing and Xing Wei.
Such a big thing as rebellion, even Chen Xuanli's son died, how could it be easily suppressed? Even if the emperor wants to suppress it.
~~
Qinzheng Building.
In the palace, only Gao Lishi was still standing beside Li Longji. Even he didn't quite understand the saint's decision today.
"Bang."
Suddenly a muffled sound broke the silence.
Li Longji couldn't bear it anymore and slammed the wine vessel in his hand on the carpet.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!"
Gao Lishi quickly knelt down and said: "Sage, calm down, Wang Wen is dead..."
"I know."
Li Longji kicked the wine vessel away and made no more moves. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
"Now that he is dead, what can I do? I have understood since I was young that I cannot let my anger get to my head. I will never lose my sense of proportion because of a few false words from a fool. He slanders me. He slanders me. Instead, I should Live better... deserve to live better.”
"Yes, the saint is truly a wise king through the ages."
"Really?" Li Longji smiled and said: "I have thought about it calmly. Wang He can't stir up trouble. It's up to Ge Nu to find out whether others are treasonous. Wang He... I believe and understand Wang He. He It is true that I protect my brother, but I must not know it. If I kill him, I will have to do a lot of things myself, but the most important thing is that I live well and live a long and healthy life. This is the most important thing."
"The sage's clear guidance."
Gao Lishi felt that this theory seemed to be correct, but there seemed to be something wrong that he couldn't explain.
"In this prosperous age that has never been seen in a thousand years, how can anyone successfully conspire to rebel against Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty for ten thousand years? A madman accidentally hits him. The calmer I am, the more I can offset his influence." Li Longji said with a calm smile: "I You can take it easy and rest early tonight."
"Do you want to invite the imperial concubine to come?"
Li Longji nodded first, then thought that Yang Yuhuan was a bit straightforward, and said, "Call Fan Nu."
He sniffed, then thought of some personal matters, and his anger towards Yang Guozhong immediately rose. He reached out to take off the Xingyang Centipede bag on his body. After hesitating again, he ordered: "Summon Li Xiazhou into the palace."
"In accordance with the order, Li Xiazhou, the real person of Xuandu, is here to pay an audience!"
Although the palace had been banned, Gao Lishi was not afraid of trouble and quickly sent someone to open the palace door.
The boots stepped on the thick and luxurious carpet, and no one noticed that there were a few small lice crawling under the carpet...
(End of chapter)
