Just after Xue Bai saw off Li Tan, Yang Guozhong came to visit. As soon as they met, Yang Guozhong said with a smile: "I'm here for something great. Why don't you take a guess?"
"If you have to give me tens of thousands of gold, then I will be appointed as an official?"
"As expected of you, your guess is accurate."
Both of them are power-hungry people, and when they talk about being appointed officials, they can't help but smile knowingly.
Yang Guozhong was not in a hurry to make an announcement. Instead, he sat down in the front hall and asked, "I heard that you have not been to the Prime Minister's Mansion recently, and you are only at home preparing gifts for the concubine's birthday?"
Xue Bai asked back: "Brother, how come you know so well what I am doing at home?"
Yang Guozhong was stunned and said: "Of course I'm inquiring. You are a very popular figure in Chang'an City. Recently, craftsmen in the house have been coming in and out, and they are all guessing that you are going to present something interesting to the saint this time."
"I see." Xue Bai had just sent Li Tan out. He really felt that there were many more stalls outside the door, as if his house was a market entrance with a perfect location.
Yang Guozhong mysteriously took out the official document from his sleeve, neither unfolding it nor giving it to Xue Bai. He held it there in one hand and asked with a smile: "Guess again, what kind of official position is this?"
Now that he has a high status, he likes to make things difficult for his officials. He thinks he is amusing, but in fact he is quite annoying. Facing Xue Bai, although he didn't mean to do so, he showed a bit of greasiness.
"I really hope it can be Zuo Shiyi, or even a member of the Sixth Department." Xue Bai said: "But it must not be possible?"
"You don't understand this." Yang Guozhong shook his head, shook the official document in his hand, and said in a teaching tone: "If you have done this job well, what does it mean to be a Yuanwailang?"
"Then this is?"
"See for yourself." Yang Guozhong then handed over the official document in a pretentious manner and said, "They say I am looking for an official position for my relatives, but they don't know that I am really dedicated to you."
Xue Bai took it and unfolded it. When he first saw the word "imperial order", he felt dissatisfied because it meant that it was a direct decree from the saint. It was said to be an official appointment, but in fact it was a temporary assignment and did not belong to the official order of the imperial court.
Looking at the following content, it is nothing more than setting up a game envoy who is responsible for thinking up fun literary games and following Xue Bai's activities.
Li Longji always liked to bypass the court and assign such temporary official positions. For example, Yao Siyi, who died a while ago, was the food envoy, specializing in collecting delicacies outside the palace for Li Longji; Yang Guozhong held dozens of envoy positions, many of which were directly serving the saint. There are also charcoal charms, flower and bird charms, lychee charms, etc., which are dazzling.
There was even a time when he suddenly wanted to eat sugar crabs from Pingyuan County, so he easily set up a sugar crab transfer envoy.
Xue Bai's good imperial censor was replaced by such a job, just as Yan Yan said yesterday, he turned into an apex minister.
He did not hide his disappointment and rolled up the official document.
"Isn't Abai dissatisfied?" Yang Guozhong was surprised and said with a smile: "Don't underestimate this entertainer. Do you know how I was promoted to a third-level official in just a few years? I was just doing things for the saint. Once the things were done, the saint returned. Can I treat you badly? This is the appointment of a saint. Who dares to disobey the officials? How much profit is there? You don’t know how many people fight for it every time a mission is sent. "
The deal was done, and it was impossible for Xue Bai to refuse. It was just a gesture, and he responded: "Thank you very much, brother, for your words of gold."
Yang Guozhong didn't see him being overjoyed, and said: "You still don't understand how beneficial this mission is, so. I'll personally teach you how to implement this game to give it authority."
Usually one or two words from him are worth tens of thousands of dollars, but today his words and deeds are of course worth a lot of money.
"Abai, please tell me first, what kind of gift do you plan to give to the imperial concubine on her birthday this time?" Yang Guozhong said: "I heard that that bastard from Anlu Mountain has sent envoys to Beijing to give gifts again. You and my brothers must not be He competed. Oh, don’t worry, tell me, I will never be greedy for your merit."
Xue Bai responded generously: "There is no merit, it is just some games that cannot be refined..."
Even if he said it, Yang Guozhong couldn't understand it.
But it doesn't matter, just like writing a story, as long as Xue Bai starts, he can follow suit. Of course he is smart if he can come up with ideas. Xue Bai deserves to be famous all over the world, but being able to persist in serving a good saint is the credit. What Yang Guozhong wants is the latter credit.
"Just tell me, in order to accomplish this, which government offices need to cooperate?"
"I've hired craftsmen to make a rough outline so that the saint can see it. It won't be a problem."
"No." Yang Guozhong said: "If we want to do it, we have to be the most outstanding."
"In this case, the General Supervisor and the Palace Supervisor can help create the scene, and the Jiaofang and the Ministry of Internal Affairs can allocate some personnel..."
Before Xue Bai finished speaking, Yang Guozhong stood up and said, "Follow me."
"Where to go?"
Without looking back, Yang Guozhong spread his arms and raised them upwards, saying with great vigor, "Let me see how much power you have now."
~~
The two of them were riding tall horses and accompanied by a group of followers. When they arrived at the imperial city, Yang Guozhong raised his whip and led Xue Bai directly to Shangshu Province and entered the Hubu in the east of Tai Province.
"Where is Doctor Duzhi?!"
Yang Guozhong had also held this official position before, and was in charge of the financial statistics and expenditures of the Tang Dynasty. At this moment, an official came up to him and led Yang Guozhong to the palace he was most familiar with, nodding and bowing.
"Whenever my uncle has an errand, he just sends someone to tell him, and he comes in person."
"I'll take Xue Lang to get acquainted..."
Having said this, Yang Guozhong turned to look at Xue Bai and said with emotion: "Look, you are still a junior official of the seventh rank. Let me take you to handle these small things."
Xue Bai just smiled faintly, not knowing what he was laughing at.
Arriving in front of a public house, a red-robed official came to greet him. He was smiling and saluting: "The door is filled with purple energy. My uncle is here in person today."
Yang Guozhong was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so he said "check it out" to Xue Bai, and asked him to take out the entertainment envoy's order to withdraw 500 guans from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Doctor Duzhi didn't dare to shirk the blame, so he quickly sent someone to arrange for grain and silk to be transported to Xue Bai's house.
Xue Bai frowned.
Not long ago, he helped Li Xiu review documents in the Youxiang Mansion, and he understood the imperial government's funding system and the expenses of each government office for a whole year. At the beginning of the year, the household department would make a budget based on previous years' expenses and the money on the account. Si and Jinsi are responsible for cashiering, and the left and right Tibetan offices are responsible for dividing money and grain. There are also officials responsible for inspection. Occasionally, there are censors to inspect to see if there is any corruption or misappropriation.
This is also a very proud part of Li Linfu's so-called "increase revenue and reduce expenditure".
Officials of the imperial court are doing things. If they want to withdraw money and food, they don't know how long it will take to approve each official document. But this game only takes two sentences to get things done.
In addition to the entertainment envoys, Li Longji also sent out countless missions. These envoys used state money and food, but they were outside the court order. The amount of expenditure was not planned by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the actual amount spent was not supervised by the censor. It belonged directly to the emperor. , no one can control...
"Walk."
Yang Guozhong urged Xue Bai again and took him to the Youzang Department.
The Youzang Department belongs to Taifu Temple and is in charge of the storage of gold, silver, jewelry, and tributes from various states.
Before Xue Bai could wonder what he was doing here again, Yang Guozhong had already summoned the chief minister and once again asked Xue Bai to take out the entertainment envoy's order and withdraw the money.
"Take another look. There may be useful items in the warehouse. As long as they are not too valuable, you can get a few."
Xue Bai asked: "Didn't you just withdraw the fee from the Household Department?"
"What?" Yang Guozhong asked disapprovingly: "Can they still compare the accounts?"
After saying this, he smiled slightly and said seriously: "Remember, you are a game envoy, and you only need to play against the saints in order to carry out your duties. As long as you can present novel games to the saints, it is enough."
Thinking about it this way, he had dozens of jobs, so he didn't know how much wealth he had accumulated from this.
After going to these two government offices, Xue Bai probably learned how to run errands, and then went to the Jiangzuo Prison, the Palace Garden Prison, and the Jiaofang. Of course, he had to make this gift as brilliant and large-scale as Yang Guozhong said. It must be bigger than Xue Bai expected.
In this way, the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot be bypassed.
~~
"General, the new entertainer is asking for an audience outside the palace."
"Entertainer?"
That day, several eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were pushing dominoes. When they heard the announcement, Li Dayi, who was on duty, turned his head and asked, "But Jia Chang?"
"It's not the chicken prodigy, it's Xue Bai."
"I'll go see him right away."
Li Dayi responded like this, but did not get up. Instead, he looked back at his cards, hesitating on how to play the cards, and moved one hand above the dominoes.
Feng Shenwei, who was sitting opposite him, urged, and then said: "How about I go see Xue Bai?"
Before Li Dayi could agree, he had already summoned the eunuchs accompanying him and said, "Leave Ambassador Li to think about it slowly. You are here to play for me. Do you understand my cards?"
"understood."
Feng Shenwei smiled, secretly thinking that no one in this room could understand his cards.
He Shi Shiran left the palace and met Xue Bai in the Dailu Courtyard.
"Congratulations to Xue Lang for getting a good assignment. It can be said that you have lost everything and gained something. General Gao is accompanying the saint in the palace today, so I have to come to see Xue Lang."
Xue Bai looked at Feng Shenwei's smiling face and thought of Wu Huaishi.
And because Yang Yuhuan also mentioned Feng Shenwei in his name, he hoped to have a different result from Feng Shenwei.
"I passed the examination and went to the local area to practice. I didn't expect that I would still be an entertainment envoy when I came back." Xue Bai still did not hide his disappointment, waving his hand and saying: "Not worthy of the general's congratulations."
"Xue Lang, you don't have to be too persistent. The official who issued the order is also an official. The absence of the regulations of the three provinces and six ministries is not necessarily a bad thing." Feng Shenwei smiled and said, "I wonder if Xue Lang is here today?"
"I plan to present a new game to the saint on the birthday of the noble concubine, called secret room escape. It was just a small game at first. Now that I have accepted this job, I am thinking about renovating a house in the palace."
"Understood." Feng Shenwei nodded immediately and said: "This matter must be no problem, but let me report it to General Gao and let the saint know."
"Well, thank you General Feng."
The two discussed the matter in a very harmonious atmosphere.
After Xue Bai left, Feng Shenwei went to report the matter to Gao Lishi.
What surprised him was that after hearing this, Gao Lishi did not agree immediately. Instead, he very cautiously summoned the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ordered them to keep an eye on the matter and make sure nothing went wrong.
In a word, the safety of the saint is the most important thing.
Although this reaction was normal, Feng Shenwei had some other speculations in his mind, but now he became confused again, secretly guessing what Gao Lishi thought of Xue Bai.
…
That night, Li Longji heard about this and asked Feng Shenwei, "What do you think of Xue Bai?"
"My servant thinks that Xue Baibai is popular. Wang Zhongsi has recently begged for his favor, and King Jianning also wants to make friends with him. The strange thing is that General Gao sent people to watch his every move."
"Yeah?"
Feng Shenwei said quickly: "I dare not hide anything."
After hearing this, Li Longji suddenly asked: "Do you know what Wu Huai actually reported to Xue Bai?"
"Slave...knows."
"How do you know?"
"General Gao asked me to check on King Shou. King Shou once mentioned it."
Li Longji asked: "Do you believe it?"
"I don't believe it." Feng Shenwei said: "If this matter is true, unless General Gao has lied, I don't believe it."
"On Taizhen's birthday, keep an eye on me. Let me see if Xue Baixian's game is interesting."
"According to the order."
After Feng Shenwei withdrew, Li Longji successively recruited several chamberlains and guards to give similar instructions.
He allowed Xue Bai to play games for him for fun, and at the same time, he also sent people to keep an eye on him secretly. To put it bluntly, I still believe in Gao Lishi's loyalty, but there are some vague doubts...
~~
Two days later, Xue Bai, the entertainment envoy, had recruited manpower to renovate a row of verandas to the west of Taiye Pool in Daming Palace.
The birthday of the imperial concubine was very close, and they were pressed for time. Fortunately, Xue Bai had already prepared many puzzles and props in advance. Now it was just about creating an atmosphere.
To the north of this row of verandas is the canal dug by Wei Jian, which can transport treasures from the south of the Yangtze River directly into the palace. To the southwest, there is a warehouse in the palace on the right, which is specially used to store treasures.
On May 26, Xue Bai was teaching a group of actors how to play their roles when he suddenly heard a scene of mirth in the distance.
"Coming! The ship is coming!"
Everyone turned around and saw a ship sailing along the canal towards Taiye Pond. It was obvious that the cabin had a very deep draft.
There was a eunuch in purple robes leading his people to greet him. Xue Bai saw that the eunuch in purple robes did not look like Gao Lishi. He should be Yuan Siyi.
At that time, Wang Weng was in rebellion. Xue Bai had heard An Lushan's secret stake in the capital mentioning a "General Yuan". He guessed that it might be Yuan Siyi, but how could he be bribed so easily and exposed so easily when he was serving as a provincial supervisor?
This matter is more like the news that An Lushan's people deliberately revealed to force them to rebel against Yuan Siyi?
On the Taiye Pond, the ships slowly docked, and the eunuchs in the palace took the gift lists and began to count the treasures.
Gradually, many people working on Xue Bai's side began to become distracted and murmured quietly.
"It's a gift from Fan Yang Jiedushi."
"Who can watch this battle without saying a word of loyalty..."
Everyone originally thought that if they got Xue Bai's glory this time, if they could make the saint and the noble concubine happy, they would be rewarded. At this time, when he saw that he had been compared with others, some people could not help but feel discouraged.
Xue Bai then encouraged them a few words.
"An Lushan's gift is good. It makes the saint happy. When the time comes, the saint will also have treasures to reward me. Why don't you hurry up and get to work?"
Saying this really boosted morale.
On the other hand, as the first day of June gets closer, this year's lychees have not yet been delivered, and there is an increasing sense of urgency in Chang'an City.
…
In the early morning of May 28th, Xue Bai left home on horseback for the Daming Palace, but was stopped by someone sent by Li Linfu and brought to the residence of the right prime minister.
They hadn't seen each other for a few days, and Li Linfu's face looked much uglier, and the sternness in his eyes had disappeared a lot.
This time, Li Xiu and Li Tengkong were not present, only two people, an old man and a young man, were alone in Yanyue Hall, talking secretly.
"I didn't expect you to be safe and sound."
"I didn't expect it either." Xue Bai said: "This matter is unreasonable. Maybe I have God's blessing."
Li Linfu was silent for a moment and ignored this sentence.
Although he suffered from hysteria, he had not forgotten the previous conversation with Xue Bai, but it was difficult to mention it.
"Zhang Bian has become a lot more honest recently, but does it have anything to do with you?"
"Princess Ningqin calls me his illegitimate son."
Li Linfu was speechless again. He seemed to pause a lot, and then said: "I called you here today because the saint gave Taiwan Province an edict. It is on the desk. Take a look."
Xue Bai had already noticed the scroll on the desk and knew that it was definitely not a good thing. If things were easy to handle, Li Linfu would definitely not ask him to give advice to Li Xiu.
He slowly unfolded the scroll.
The beginning is "Those who show great respect will be held in high esteem, and those with high honors will receive generous gifts." It is obvious that someone is going to be rewarded, and the standards are very high. When Li Longji granted him the title of entertainment envoy, he only had the word "imperial order".
What follows is a series of official positions, which makes people irritated.
"Kaifu Yitong is the third division, and he is also the general of Zuo Yulin. He is also the official of Tongzheng. He is the censor, the governor of Fanyang, the governor of Liucheng County, and the commander of Fanyang. , land transportation, the disposal of the four prefectures of Liangbo, Bohai, and Heishui, as well as the transportation of Pinglu Army and Hebei and camp field interview envoys, Shangzhu State, the founding father of Liucheng County."
After the official position, there is a name, An Lushan.
Behind it were a lot of words praising Anlu Mountain, such as "its prestige is as strong as the desert, and its defense is better than that of the Great Wall." They praised it for winning battles and conquering. At the end, Xue Bai saw the sentence "Containment like a battlefield. "We can't use Wei Huo's merits; the soil and earth are wide open, so we should practice Han Peng's order." He closed his eyes and calmed his mind.
In short, Anlushan's contribution to the expansion of territory has exceeded that of Wei Qing, Huo Yunbing, Han Xin, and Peng Yue.
Therefore, Li Longji gave a reward, "You can be granted the title of Prince of Dongping County, and you will be granted the title of 200 households, and the first 500 households will remain as before."
Xue Bai looked over it over and over again, and carefully recalled the wars of the past two years. He really didn't know what kind of victory An Lushan had won this time, so he asked: "The Khitan was destroyed?"
Li Linfu shook his head.
"Are you ridiculed?"
Li Linfu was too lazy to pay attention to these boring questions and asked: "What do you think?"
Xue Bai threw the scroll away, clapped his hands, and said: "I guess An Lushan destroyed Tubo or Nanzhao. Wang Zhongsi can skip this battle."
Li Linfu sighed, but what he sighed was nothing else, but his deep disappointment in Xue Bai.
He should have regretted giving up An Lushan in order to gain Xue Bai's support.
One has just been appointed as the envoy of entertainment, and the other has been granted the title of Prince of Dongping County; one has passed the No. 1 exam but can only serve as an official, and the other is powerful in the north... There is a huge difference.
"An Qingzong is about to marry the princess, and An Lushan is also preparing to send troops to destroy the Khitan." Li Linfu finally said: "I want to ask you, what is the strength of King Qing?"
Being able to ask such a question shows that he is still very afraid.
On the contrary, Xue Bai, although he made a few sarcastic remarks, was actually calm and composed, and asked: "Don't you remember that there are still Wang Zhongsi and Ge Shuhan in the world?"
No matter how capable Li Linfu is, he is essentially a sycophant who obeys the emperor in everything. Xue Bai never expected such an ally to remain firm in the face of setbacks, so he was too lazy to say more and left the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
~~
On the way to the Daming Palace, Xue Bai thought a lot. The words "Prince Dongping" gave him a strong sense of urgency.
In the past few years, it can be said that he has been very successful. He has a high official position at a young age, and his secret power has also begun to take shape. But compared to An Lushan, the gap is indeed too big.
Xue Bai actually didn't care about official rank as much as he said. He knew that on Yang Yuhuan's birthday this time, as long as the gift was good, he could ask Li Longji for an official position.
What kind of official job are you asking for?
In the past, I always hoped to be able to hold the position of chief minister or military envoy. This is the official position that can best gain power and quickly increase strength. However, if this is too slow, then we should make up for our shortcomings as soon as possible.
The shortcomings are also obvious, military power.
The civil and military positions in the Tang Dynasty were not clearly differentiated. There were opportunities to make meritorious deeds when going to Longyou or Nanzhao.
But with his current qualifications, he would not be able to hold much military power in the army, which would only increase the danger. In addition, if you skip the most convenient promotion path, if you encounter setbacks, you may never be able to move up again...
While thinking about this all the way, Xue Bai happened to meet Li Tan again when passing Yongxingfang.
"Xue Lang."
"King Jianning."
Xue Bai looked around and saw Li Tan riding his horse out of the west gate. He was wearing a military robe and carrying a bow and arrow on his back. He should be preparing to go out for hunting in the city. He looked heroic.
Thinking about it, if An Lushan's rebellion could not be stopped and the world was in chaos, an emperor's grandson like Li Tan would have the opportunity to lead the army and take power.
Xue Bai had to admit that he was a little envious.
At this moment, he thought that if he pretended to be the emperor's grandson first, he might get a similar opportunity later. For example, when giving a congratulatory gift this time, Li Longji accidentally exposed his life experience when he was happy, and saved his life with Gao Lishi's plea. After all, Wu Huaishi's cunning tactics didn't kill him. Maybe he could find someone else to complain to, such as Feng Shenwei.
This is another way, a shortcut, with huge risks and huge benefits... It was only after being frightened by An Lushan's title that he disrupted his rhythm that he could do this recklessly.
Xue Bai shook his head, thinking that if this was true, it meant that he was panicking.
At this time, Li Tance immediately stepped forward and said: "We are preparing to go out to the city to hunt for a good fur to celebrate the birthday of the noble concubine. Xue Lang wants to go with us."
"I'm not good at riding and shooting, so I won't show my shame in front of King Jianning." Xue Bai politely refused.
Li Tan was different from his brother Li Chu in this regard. Seeing Xue Bai's refusal, he did not force it. He sat on the horse and said goodbye with fists in his hands, and left with his companions.
Xue Bai turned around and could still faintly hear their conversation.
"It's a pity that he is still detained. It would be better if he could be further away from Chang'an."
"The family order is worried about the safety of King Jianning."
Li Tan looked at the sky outside Chang'an City and said, "A man should have more experience..."
Xue Bai looked at Li Tan's energetic back for a while, then withdrew his gaze and continued to gallop towards the Daming Palace.
The magnificent palace city appeared in front of him again. He took out the edict of the entertainment envoy and walked through the long corridor under the guidance of the palace servants who nodded and bowed. He saw that the treasures were still being counted by the Taiye Pond.
"The entertainer is here, let's listen to the soundtrack."
Soon, the sound of Mi Mi sounded.
Xue Bai listened to the music and thought about his setbacks in the post of censor, his authority in the post of envoy, the edict of Prince Dongping, and the dynamism of Prince Jianning.
He asked himself in his heart, how can we maintain the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty?
~~
This day passed quickly, and there was only the last day left before Yang Yuhuan's birthday.
Fortunately, when Xue Bai left Daming Palace, he suddenly heard the sound of rapid horse hooves coming from the other end of the long street.
He looked back and saw the heroic and tired knight running towards Miyagi.
Cheers also sounded from above the palace.
"Finally caught up!"
"The lychees have arrived, the lychees have arrived..."
(End of chapter)
