"Wang Wei, I heard that you are good at writing poems. Look at this majestic Zhongnan Mountain. Do you have any good works?"
Li Longji ignored Zhang Jiuling, who was in a daze. Instead, he pointed to a snow-capped mountain peak in front of him and asked a middle-aged scholar next to him who seemed to have no energy.
In Fang Chongyong's previous life, Wang Wei was a famous poet in history.
But at this time, although he was well-known in Chang'an and Luoyang, his official career was not going well. Before last year, he was semi-idle. In order to resume his official career, he had to write a poem to Zhang Jiuling to ask for an official position.
Although Wang Wei appeared to be a talented man, he was now completely drained of energy and energy. Even if he went on a tour with the emperor, he showed no joy at all.
"Taiyi is close to the capital of heaven, with mountains and seas.
The white clouds look back and merge, and the green mist comes in to see nothing.
The peaks in the field change, and the clouds and sunshine are different.
If you want to stay somewhere, ask the woodcutter across the water. "
Wang Wei looked at the mountains in the distance and chanted directly.
This poem is amazing!
A poem in seven steps? Create on site?
How is it possible? A seven-step poem still needs seven steps. How can it be possible to blurt it out like Wang Wei?
This was written by Wang Wei two days in advance after Zhang Jiuling told him that Li Longji was going to take hundreds of officials on a trip to Zhongnan Mountain! In fact, he didn't want to dedicate it to Li Longji at all, but behind him was not a person, but a family.
There are many bad things that he can't do just because he wants to. If you fail to seize the opportunity, you will offend not only Li Longji, but also Zhang Jiuling, who supports you!
"What a poem!"
Li Longji applauded. His words came from the bottom of his heart and were not fake at all. As the emperor, he had no need to compliment Wang Wei.
Wang Wei bowed to Li Longji and said, "The saint is wrongly praised."
"It is indeed a good poem. You don't have to be humble."
Li Longji looked at Wang Wei with emotion, with mixed feelings in his heart.
Her younger sister, Princess Yuzhen, was very attracted to Wang Wei, but... she was destined but not meant to be. The main reason why Wang Wei was demoted from the capital official before was because Li Longji wanted to vent his anger on his sister.
It is simply unreasonable for Wang Wei to go back to his hometown to get married without saying hello!
Now that the anger is gone, there is no need to hold on to it. Even Princess Yuzhen no longer cares about this part. Li Longji feels that it is time to put an end to this matter.
Princess Yuzhen has already given birth to two sons to a certain man! There is indeed no need to hold on to Wang Wei.
"Nowadays, border towns need talents. Why don't you go to the Liangzhou Hexi Jiedu shogunate and become a supervisory censor and a Jiedu judge."
Li Longji sighed and said, he thought to himself that his sister's bad relationship should end here.
It is difficult to say whether this appointment is a promotion or a demotion.
Just as Fang Chongyong's scumbag father Fang Youde had previously served as a supervisory censor, this was actually an example of someone in the court not liking to see him and fearing that he would use his power as a close minister of the emperor to exclude him from the court.
Going to the Jiedushi envoy to serve as a supervisory censor and a Jiedushi magistrate actually meant that the emperor placed central airborne officials in the feudal town. The main purpose was to check the account books and see if the Jiedushi envoy was acting for public benefit.
This position may seem powerful, but it is not. Having a position and being assigned is one thing, but whether it can be effective is another matter entirely. Officials parachuted in from the central government do not understand local people's sentiments and want to meddle in government affairs rashly, and they will inevitably encounter strong resistance and backlash.
Not to mention that this person's daily whereabouts will be firmly controlled by Jiedushi's cronies.
This kind of work is really not something that a great poet and writer who can only write poetry can do well. To put it bluntly, Li Longji also knew the truth. What he did was to let Wang Wei go to the border town to fish, which was very interesting.
During the Kaiyuan period, the central government of the Tang Dynasty still had very tight control over the Jiedushi. Although the military rations had been entrusted to the local governments, weapons, money and silk were still controlled by the central government. This kind of control is systematic and will not be overturned by the absence of one or two mid-level supervisory officials.
Of course, in the final analysis, Wang Wei's talent only lies in poetry. There are not many amazing and outstanding achievements in politics, so he can live there.
Wang Wei went to Hexi Fanzhen to become an official. In fact, it may be that Li Longji didn't want to see him anymore, so he kicked him away by "promotion and external transfer", which also blocked Wang Wei's promotion path.
As for what the real reason is, who knows?
"Thank you saint for your grace."
Wang Wei's face showed neither sadness nor joy, and he bowed in salute. It seems respectful, but in fact it is distant.
"Mr. Zhang, what do you think of my appointment?"
Li Longji meaningfully asked Zhang Jiuling that it was Zhang Jiuling who had brought Wang Wei back to Chang'an from Luoyang and appointed him as a capital official.
"The sage makes his decision with his words, and the humble ministers have no objections."
Zhang Jiuling bowed and said with a slight frown on his face. He always felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Li Longji's words and deeds were different from usual.
"The Lantern Festival is coming soon. This year's Lantern Festival needs to be properly organized."
After Li Longji said this, he saw Chen Xuanli, the general of the "Left and Right Flying Cavalry" of the Beiya Forbidden Army, coming over and whispering in Li Longji's ear, and then stepped aside to wait for dispatch.
The left and right flying cavalry were Li Longji's personal bodyguards. During the Kaiyuan period, the Nanya Forbidden Army, which had close ties with foreign dynasties, had declined. Chen Xuanli, Li Longji's former Qianlong minister, had suddenly emerged as a new force, and his authority had grown stronger. At the beginning, Li Longji also asked Fang Youde if he was willing to serve as the commander of the flying cavalry, but Fang Youde refused.
"Go back to the palace."
Li Longji uttered two words from his mouth coldly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
…
The emperor came with all his officials to enjoy themselves, and the hurried trip to Zhongnan Mountain became a joke that all the ministers did not dare to laugh at.
Of course, it was impossible for Fang Chongyong, Zheng Shuqing and his party to know about this seemingly inexplicable thing. They were hurrying slowly through the Nanyang Basin and turned westward into Neixiang County, preparing to return to Chang'an via Wuguan Road.
However, when they arrived at Neixiang County, they found that there was no post house here!
You must know that this is the entrance to the "Shangshan Road" which is the only way to enter Wuguan. Regarding Shangshan Road, the poet Jia Dao of the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem to describe the precipitousness here: "One mountain does not end, another mountain welcomes it, and there is not even half a mile in a hundred miles." flat".
It’s a mountain road with uneven terrain and dense vegetation! Travelers always grit their teeth and walk more than a hundred miles of mountain roads. Whoever walks knows the feeling.
Because the road was not good, it was impossible to ride a horse or use a carriage, so the government simply laid it on the ground and did not even set up a post station. After walking through this hundred-mile mountain road, there are densely packed inns stretching all the way to Lam Tin!
It's a bit like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate.
The court's posture seems to be saying: It's a shortcut anyway, if you like, walk, don't walk! I want to be served at the inn, but there is no door!
Uncle Zheng, an upright official, suffered from hypocritical illness. He walked more than a hundred miles on the mountain road. What if he got sick from exhaustion?
He is a man who wants to join Chang'an and take charge of the court's accounts! The court is waiting for him to come to the rescue! Climbing and walking in the mountains are a lot of trouble. People who don’t know better think they are fleeing!
So Zheng Shuqing waved his hand and chose to directly take the carriage rented from the county town, go north from Nanyang to Luoyang, the eastern capital, then take a detour to board the official ship at the water station in Shaanzhou, and finally follow the official ship directly to Chang'an by water.
This is also the most important official road to Chang'an. Not only is the road flat, but you can also ride a horse-drawn carriage along the way.
The only problem is that the waterway from Luoyang to Chang'an seems not very easy to travel.
But Zheng Shuqing, who was eager to return home, felt that it would be faster to take the water route. At most, in Shaanzhou, the Yellow River flow is more rapid and a little more dangerous... At worst, he will switch to the land route.
It’s impossible to walk anyway!
As a result, after they arrived in Shaanzhou, it didn't take long for the Yellow River floods to come. The group of people watched as the river water was mixed with broken ice from upstream. Needless to say, the ice was small, but the larger ones were enough to knock over and sink ordinary ships, killing people and capsizing the ship.
They were delayed for some time at the post station in Shaanzhou, where Zheng Shuqing complained that they should have taken Wuguan Road in the first place. Of course, these are all things for later.
After a long journey, on the day of Shangyuan Festival, they went north from Nanyang to Luoyang and then took a carriage to Shaanzhou and rested at Gantangyi outside the county town. Not only Fang Chongyong and Fang Laique, who were children, but also Zheng Shuqing, who was an official and had no business doing production, and even Yan Zhuang, who had to go home to farm the fields on weekdays, were half dead from exhaustion after long hours of traveling and traveling.
Only A Duan, who was used to running in the mountains, didn't feel anything at all, and even felt so idle.
This journey was extremely difficult, but they had to listen to Zheng Shuqing.
Not only was Zheng Shuqing an adult and Fang Chongyong still a child, but there was also another factor that could not be ignored: Zheng Shuqing had official customs clearance documents and official identity certificates on his person.
Before Zheng Shuqing returned to Chang'an to report on his duties, he was still the nominal "Kuizhou Governor". This status is very useful when traveling. You can enjoy the convenience brought by the station without any scruples, without spending any money.
Fang Chongyong, whose soul comes from modern times, has naturally seen all the big scenes and feels that it doesn't matter. But Yan Zhuang, a small official working at the grassroots level, has finally seen the "arrogance" of the postmen in front of him, and the "respect" of Zheng Shuqing.
This dealt a huge blow to his self-esteem.
In Datang, if you don't have power, you have nothing!
This prosperous age only belongs to certain people. If you have power, you can play with them. Without power, this prosperous age does not belong to you!
At dusk of the Lantern Festival, Zheng Shuqing and his party came to the bank of the Yellow River. On one side, the post station behind them began to decorate with lights to celebrate the festival. On the other side, the Yellow River in front of them was frozen and everything was silent. Under the setting sun, the two formed a strong contrast, as if They are standing on the border between life and death.
Except for fools like Fang Laique and Aduan who don't need to think about anything, Zheng Shuqing and the others all have their own concerns and have no intention of admiring the moon by the river with the cold wind blowing.
So everyone returned to the lobby of the post station, gathered around a table, poured red lotus springs, and asked the post guards to bring cooked Yellow River carp, and they drank and chatted.
This carp was caught by farmers in the surrounding area by cutting through the ice of the Yellow River, and it was very expensive. Even in the inn, you can't get it without giving money. Shaanzhou is not far from Chang'an, and the inn here welcomes many dignitaries. Zheng Shuqing's status as governor is not very useful, and he cannot "free prostitute" delicious food that exceeds the officials' customized specifications.
Of course, if Zhang Jiuling or Li Linfu came, it would be a different story.
"Brother Yan is from Hebei. From what you said, it seems that the people in Hebei have quite a lot of complaints against the imperial court. I don't know why?"
Fang Chongyong asked while rubbing his hands and eating carp.
This Yellow River carp is cooked with a local flavor, rough and delicious, a bit heavy in taste, not as refined as the "Chang'an cuisine" that Zheng Shuqing treats guests to.
It’s just that the ingredients are fresh.
Yan Zhuang glanced at Zheng Shuqing, and the former governor sighed and said: "If you don't leave this room, it doesn't matter if you say it. It's better to defend the people than to defend the river. Even if we don't say it, there are many people in the world who will say it."
Hearing this, Yan Zhuang nodded and said: "In the first year of Wu Zhou's Long Live Tongtian (696 AD), Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong (both given Han names), the leaders of the Khitan tribe in Yingzhou, were dissatisfied with Zhao Wenhui, the governor of Yingzhou in Wuzhou. They mistreated them, killed Zhao Wenhui directly, and led his army into Hebei.
Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong did not expect that their fatal blow would trigger the spontaneous followers of hundreds of thousands of people in Hebei, and their troops would soon expand from a few thousand to tens of thousands.
With the help of the Turks and at great cost, it took Wu Zhou's army more than a year to wipe out this "invasion", and even the famous general Wang Xiaojie died in the battle.
Since the losses were so great, after the Wu and Zhou armies wiped out the "invasion" of Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong, the imperial court would naturally begin to settle accounts in the fall.
So Wu Yizong, the king of Hanei in Wuzhou who was responsible for "counterinsurgency", reported to the court and proposed to kill all the hundreds of thousands of people who participated in the "invasion of Hebei" including Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong.
Although Di Renjie and others tried their best to stop it, and the court did not give such an order... Wu Yizong did not relent. The people of Hebei suffered countless casualties. Anyone who was forced to become a thief and escaped was regarded as a traitor and was directly executed. Nine out of ten rooms are empty.
This happened more than thirty years ago. There is no need to mention the earlier ones. They are too numerous to count. "
Yan Zhuang drank all the Red Lotus Spring in the wine glass, and laughed at himself with red eyes: "I, a poor boy from Hebei, would never be able to drink this Red Lotus Spring if I didn't have the support of a noble man. Only Zheng Shijun can have such a fine wine. Only such a big shot deserves to enjoy it.”
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked, "Are these true?"
Zheng Shuqing hesitated for a moment, and finally let out a long sigh, nodded slightly and said, "There may be some discrepancies in the details, but it's generally good."
He is a court official and cannot explain many things clearly. What are the facts? As it stands, many people who experienced that incident are still alive. What can’t be said?
After listening to Yan Zhuang's introduction, Fang Chongyong felt that the Yingzhou Rebellion during the Wu and Zhou Dynasties looked like a "simplified version" of the Anshi Rebellion.
only:
At that time, land annexation had not completely destroyed the foundation of the army, and the imperial court's control over the army was still very firm.
At that time, except for Hebei, the rest of the world was generally stable, taxes were relatively light, and there was a lot of private savings.
At that time, Chang'an's population had not yet expanded to what it is today, and the importance of the canal was not as urgent as it is today.
At that time, the imperial army was handling things fairly well, without the outrageous tactics of Li Longji during the Anshi Rebellion.
It's just that the Yingzhou Rebellion has always had a particularly strong flavor of the Anshi Rebellion. It was all a rebellion in the border towns of Hebei, and the people of Hebei relied on it, growing like a snowball!
From the rebellion in Yingzhou to the time when most of Pei Yaoqing's seven million shi of food left Hebei, these things are just the tip of the iceberg. Hebei people's hatred for Tang Ting was deep in their bones, passed down from generation to generation, and became deeper and deeper year by year.
Hebei and the imperial court are disgusted with each other, which is the best ending now. And Li Longji and the imperial court are still thinking of squeezing Hebei as hard as they can. It would be weird if nothing happens!
"Zheng Shijun will be Du Zhi Lang in the future, so he should collect less taxes from Hebei."
Fang Chongyong said with a helpless smile.
"Are you stupid? Tuzhiro only cares about how the court's taxes are spent. It's not me who has the final say on how those taxes are collected. Besides, I'm not Tuzhiro now! You might as well tell the saint in person. "
Zheng Shuqing couldn't help but retorted.
