"Urgent matter? What can make Mr. Xiaoyao take it so seriously?"
Fan Ji explained while following His Majesty into the palace:
"In the final analysis, Pindao is also a Taoist cultivator. There are several festivals in a year that he must personally host in a Taoist temple.
It's just a day of celestial beings today. Pindao has ordered the people in the temple to offer sacrifices and pray for blessings, so there is no need to personally host it.
But the day of the Great Yuan Dynasty is the Christmas Day of Emperor Tiangong and the birthday of Zhang Tianshi. On such a day, the poor Taoist must be in the Taoist temple. "
"Oh? I haven't thought about this much.
It's just that there are still more than ten days before Shangyuan, and it's only two days' walk from Qingcheng Mountain. Xiaoyao Gong doesn't need to be so anxious, right?
Could it be that Mr. Xiaoyao is tired of me and doesn't want to stay in Chengdu for a few more days? "
"What did your Majesty say? How could I be bored with your Majesty's close friendship?"
It's just that the first day of the first lunar month is the day when the heavenly palace bestows blessings. Poor Taoists need to prepare in advance and go to the altar in person to pray for blessings and welcome good luck.
If you go back too late or in a hurry, you are afraid of being disrespectful to the Emperor of Heaven and losing your merits, then the gain will outweigh the loss..."
Li Shimin thought to himself that with Fan Ji's temperament, he would not use this kind of thing as an excuse to excuse himself.
"Now that we've said that, Mr. Xiaoyao wants to have a few drinks with me tonight.
It would be nice for me to show my friendship as a landlord and catch up with Xiaoyao Gong by the way.
Tomorrow morning, I will personally send Xiaoyao Gong out of Chengdu! "
During the conversation, Huang Hao had already placed the banquet, and Li Shimin led Fan Ji to the table before he returned to the main seat.
"Today, without inviting anyone else, Mr. Xiaoyao will be dining with my bodyguards and attendants.
The three of them worked hard all night at the banquet yesterday, and I will reward them tonight. "
After saying this, Li Shimin motioned for Zhang Yan, Chen Zhong and Huang Hao to sit down.
The three of them took the order and sat down on their knees after eating their respective dishes.
"Pindao originally intended to rush back to Qingcheng Mountain overnight after bidding farewell to His Majesty.
Since Your Majesty intends to stay and reminisce about old times, I have no choice but to thank Your Majesty for your hospitality and not bother me for another day. "
When Li Shimin saw that Huang Hao and others were already seated, he smiled and said to Fan Ji:
"If Mr. Xiaoyao is willing to reward you, that would be great!"
Then he picked up the wine glass, looked around at the people in the hall and said:
"Today is a reward banquet and a 'family banquet'. You don't have to be formal, just talk and drink.
I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your hard work and loyal assistance. "
After saying that, he clinked glasses with a few people from a distance and drank them all in one gulp.
After putting down the wine glass, Li Shimin said to Fan Ji:
"If Mr. Xiaoyao doesn't come to see me today, I will go to see Mr. Xiaoyao tomorrow at the latest."
"Oh? Could it be that His Majesty encountered something that he couldn't figure out again, or a knot that he couldn't resolve?"
"It's not that serious. It's just that I have some issues that I want to discuss with Mr. Xiaoyao."
Fan Ji couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart when he heard this.
I'm worried that His Majesty will have some strange ideas and ask me to provide advice or help.
"Strange to say, every time I hear that Your Majesty wants to discuss something with me, I can't help but tremble in my heart.
I hope Your Majesty will not ask anything that would make things too difficult for me this time..."
"Hahaha! Duke Xiaoyao is actually so afraid of me? Don't worry, this matter is not as difficult to handle as Duke Xiaoyao imagined."
With that said, Li Shimin raised his glass and toasted to everyone again, and then said to Fan Ji:
"When we met outside the palace in the past, I mentioned that we would implement a new policy in Shu.
Now that I have gradually trained my personal guards and confidants, it is time to start implementing the new policy.
It's just that I know very little about the Yizhou gentry, and I don't know where to start before implementing it.
Since Xiaoyao Gong is a native of Yizhou, I believe this problem is not too difficult for Xiaoyao Gong, right? "
Fan Ji closed her eyes and supported her beard as she listened to His Majesty's words, but in her mind she began to weigh what His Majesty had asked.
I remember His Majesty once mentioned that the New Deal is related to the land and the people.
Now His Majesty only says that he "doesn't understand the Yizhou gentry" and asks himself where to start...
It seems that His Majesty wants to learn from himself about the private land hidden by the nobles.
After confirming His Majesty's intention, Fan Ji slowly opened his eyes, wondering:
"Since Pindao has chosen to side with His Majesty, he also has a very close relationship with His Majesty.
Ordinarily, I should tell His Majesty everything I know, but my knowledge of this matter is very limited.
I’m afraid it won’t be easy to advise His Majesty…”
Li Shimin had long thought that Fan Ji would not dare to say anything on this issue easily.
But among all the Yizhou nobles who have taken refuge in him, Fan Ji is the most suitable person to discuss this issue.
The rest of Wang Li, Yang Xi, Zhang Yi, Ma Zhong and others were all officials in the court.
Although he could serve the court, when the interests of the nobles were involved, he would inevitably hesitate or be hindered by the entanglements of interests among officials.
You may not be able to get the answer you want by asking them. If the words are too serious, it may affect their loyalty.
I still have to work harder on Fan Ji and think about how to learn from Fan Ji's words...
"Hey, Mr. Xiaoyao's words are wrong!
Xiaoyao Gong was not only a member of a prominent family in Bajun, but also a direct descendant of the family.
Isn't it possible that Duke Xiaoyao doesn't understand the situation in your own family?
Xiaoyao Gongda can take his own family as an example to talk about where I should start to prepare for the implementation of the New Deal. "
Hearing this, Fan Ji felt regretful. If he had known, he would have returned directly to Qingcheng Mountain today.
His Majesty is also cunning enough, deliberately distracting himself with "rewarding personal guards and personal attendants", and ignoring the real reason why His Majesty invited him to drink.
Now that I have promised to accompany His Majesty to drink and chat, His Majesty has trapped me again. I am afraid that if I don't reveal the truth, I won't be able to pass His Majesty's test tonight...
"Alas! Poor people have such a hard life!"
Xiaoyao Gong sighed, and then said helplessly:
"Pindao will only use his own family as an example. Can you explain the matter clearly? Will Your Majesty be satisfied?"
When Li Shimin heard this, he knew that Fan Ji wanted to let go, but he still had a glimmer of hope and wanted to test his bottom line.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin said expressionlessly:
"I never like to force others to make things difficult for me, but I'm also a persistent person. If some things don't come to light, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep for many days."
"I don't want your majesty to be unable to sleep peacefully because of what happened tonight.
Anyway, there are only a few of us present tonight, and I believe that you will not easily spread what was said during the dinner.
Now that His Majesty is asking urgently, I have no choice but to tell you everything I know. "
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel happy when he saw that Fan Ji had made his attitude clear. He raised his glass and said:
"Mr. Xiaoyao still feels sorry for me. I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Xiaoyao for clearing up my doubts."
Fan Ji smiled bitterly and shook his head. He drank the wine in one gulp and then said seriously:
"Pindao thinks that your Majesty's concern is simply not knowing the details of the Yizhou nobles.
However, this 'bottom' involves a wide range of things, and we cannot forcefully investigate it.
Regarding this matter, the only thing Pindao can do to help His Majesty is to tell His Majesty how to conduct a secret investigation. "
"Hmm! It's interesting. I also thought that I couldn't make a big deal about it and could only investigate it secretly.
It's just that the Yizhou gentry had a serious xenophobia and secretly communicated with each other, making it difficult for ordinary people to get to the core of it.
If you blindly explore the periphery and if you are not lucky, you may not be able to find out clearly even in ten or eight years.
Can the strategy provided by Xiaoyao Gong solve this problem? "
After Fan Jin understood what His Majesty was worried about, he smiled and said profoundly:
"If Your Majesty asked others, I'm afraid it would be difficult to solve this problem.
For Pindao, this matter seems much simpler. "
"Very good. Since Mr. Xiaoyao has a good idea, I should listen to it!"
Fan Ji picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, then stood up and walked to the main hall, put his hands behind his hands and said:
“Since ancient times, every time there was a war, the nobles would take the opportunity to gather the refugees and seize the land.
Our Han Dynasty also adheres to the inspection and recruitment system, and the power to appoint and select officials is mostly in the hands of bureaucrats and gentry.
Therefore, in our Han Dynasty, most of the people who serve as officials are the children of the gentry, and it is extremely difficult for people without roots and talents to become officials.
Even in times of peace, the gentry were still at odds with the court and hiding their selfish motives.
Nowadays, the world is in turmoil for a long time, and the nobles are only looking for their own interests, regardless of the safety of the imperial court.
What's more, in the past, the late emperor raised troops from the north and traveled all the way into Shu. In the eyes of the Yizhou nobles, he was the master of "doves occupying the magpie's nest".
Under such circumstances, officials at all levels must lie and conceal local affairs from bottom to top.
Naturally, the land resources and information obtained by the imperial court were far from the actual situation in Sichuan. "
Speaking of this, Fan Ji did not go on to tell the solution, but returned to the table to pour himself a glass of wine, raised the glass in front of him and looked at it.
When Li Shimin saw this, he was not in a hurry. He stood up and came to Fan Ji's side.
"I didn't expect that people from the Qing Dynasty outside Xiaoyao Gongfang would be so understanding of such common things.
It seems that Xiaoyao Gong is not indifferent to family affairs! "
"Although Pindao lives in seclusion and cultivates, he is from a noble family after all, so he naturally knows a little about these things.
When he was in Qingcheng Mountain, Pindao would often be concerned about the affairs of his family and would often write letters to his family to learn about the situation. "
When Li Shimin heard this, he looked like "I knew it".
In my mind, how many people among all living beings can completely cut off worldly entanglements?
Even if a person like Xiaoyao Gong is free and uninhibited, he will inevitably be unruly when it comes to family interests.
After thinking about it, Li Shimin said in a deep voice:
"I also have the same view on what Xiaoyao Gong said about officials concealing information.
These should only be the first half of Xiaoyaogong's "good strategies", right? "
Fan Ji raised his eyebrows and drank the wine in one gulp.
"That's true. It's just that Pindao suddenly foresees that His Majesty's new policy will have a serious impact on the nobles.
At that time, there will inevitably be a bloody storm in Sichuan.
This second half of the words made Pindao feel uncertain, but he did not dare to say any more. "
