"This is actually a common thing!" Cui Hongdu said in a low voice: "My subordinates have heard people say before that the guards in the east and west capitals often lend out their previous soldiers as slaves. Everyone in the capital is ashamed, and they often use the same words when quarreling with each other. 'Servant' is an insulting term! I originally thought it was an exaggeration, but I didn't expect it to be true!"
Wang Wenzuo's face was livid. He walked back and forth in the room a few times and suddenly stopped: "Hongdu, go and find out for me immediately who is the leader of the Eastern Palace! Damn it, the new official is the first to take office. Others I'm too lazy to take care of things, so I'll burn the weeds in front of my house first!"
At noon the next day, Cui Hongdu hurriedly came to Wang Wenzuo, his mouth full of unconcealable joy: "Sanlang, guess who has borrowed the most people?"
"Who can guess this?" Wang Wenzuo replied impatiently: "With so many noble people in the capital, I only know a dozen or twenty at most! Stop being so secretive and tell me!"
"Hehe!" Cui Hongdu laughed twice: "It's none other than the Duke of Zhou. He borrowed 1,200 people by himself. The other people combined are not as many as him!"
"Wu Minzhi, why did he borrow so many people? Build a house?"
"Not bad!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile: "It's just about building a house!"
"Forget it then!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "With 1,200 people, the size of the mansion must be over the limit. Do you want to sue him for this? I'm afraid it won't be of much use, given the way the two majesties treated him. Pampering, this little thing will not hurt him at all, but will annoy him!"
"Sanlang, you don't know!" Cui Hongdu's face was filled with a proud smile: "If this matter is reported to the top, I will shed a layer of my skin even if I don't die!"
"You have to shed a layer of skin even if you don't die?" Wang Wenzuo showed a curious look: "What's the matter?"
"Sanlang, do you know? Her Majesty the Queen's mother Yang passed away a few days ago, so Her Majesty the Queen spent a large sum of money to ask Duke Zhou to go to Ci'en Temple and let the monks in the temple build a separate courtyard to support the deceased. But this person took He received the Queen's money but did not give it to the temple. Instead, he borrowed 1,200 people from us to work in Ci'en Temple and built a separate courtyard for Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Is there such a thing?" Wang Wenzuo was surprised: "The queen is his sister-in-law, and the queen's mother is his grandmother. How can this guy be greedy for the support money of his own grandmother?"
"Hehe!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile: "So I said that if this matter is reported to the palace and the queen knows about it, this guy will definitely be in bad luck!"
Wang Wenzuo didn't say anything. He reviewed the relationship between Wu Minzhi, Queen Wu and Li Zhi in the past two days: due to the poisoning of Mrs. Wei by Queen Wu, the relationship between Wu Minzhi and the Queen had been completely destroyed. Wu Minzhi secretly resented the Wu family who killed his sister, but was unable to take revenge. The external manifestation was that he acted unscrupulously and abandoned himself;
After Empress Wu learned about Wu Minzhi's performance, she probably had murderous intentions in her heart, but she still maintained her love and support for her nephew on the surface. After all, the family scandal should not be publicized, unless she was given a sufficient reason, otherwise even if she was inwardly No matter how suspicious she is, she still has to pretend to be a happy aunt and nephew. As for Li Zhi, Wang Wenzuo really couldn't imagine what was wrapped under that cowardly and bully face. The only thing that was certain was that he should have some love for Wu Minzhi because of the relationship between his wife and Wu Minzhi's sister, but This feeling is limited.
So the question now is, if she brings this matter up, will Empress Wu take this opportunity to remove this thorn in her flesh, or will she feel that it is not important enough and just reprimand her and the matter will be over. If it was the former, then everyone would be happy, but if it was the latter, then he and that guy would completely break up. Although he was not afraid of him, Lu Zhaolin would definitely be in trouble.
"Don't tell anyone about this matter anymore!" Wang Wenzuo thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I have my own arrangements!"
"As you command!"
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Daming Palace, Hanyuan Hall.
"The situation in Longshang is very unfavorable. Losing the Hehuang Valley is a heavy blow to us!" The Queen said: "Wang Qing, there are not many ministers in the court who are good at military affairs. I want to hear your opinion first!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen!" Wang Wenzuo raised his body slightly from the brocade mat and cupped his hands forward: "Can you allow me to take a look at the map first?"
"Wang Qing, please help yourself!" The queen pushed the map on the table in the direction of Wang Wenzuo. Wang Wenzuo looked at it carefully for a moment and finally said: "I thought your majesty didn't need to worry too much!"
"Why do you say that? Does Wang Qing have any countermeasures?" The Queen looked happy when she heard this.
"There are no countermeasures yet!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "What I mean is that after the defeat of Dafeichuan last year, the loss of the Hehuang Valley is a foregone conclusion. Unless the reconstruction of the Longyou Army is completed, any attempt to regain it will The actions in the Hehuang Valley are a waste of soldiers’ lives!”
"Okay!" The queen sighed: "Pei Xingjian and you both think we should wait, but you two agree!"
"Pei Gong is thoughtful and has lived in Anxi, Longyou. It is beyond my reach!" Wang Wenzuo said.
"The Holy One plans to let him serve as Longyou to fight against Tibet. What do you think?" Empress Wu asked.
"This is the blessing of the country and the country!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile. This Pei Xingjian is the second son of Pei Renji, the doctor of Zuo Guanglu in the Sui Dynasty. He was born in the famous Wenxi Pei family in Hedong. He served successively as Cao Junjun of Zuotun Weicang and the governor of Xizhou. , Anxi Protector and other positions, and have a good understanding of the military situation in the northwest. Later he returned to the court and was promoted to Minister of Civil Affairs. He was a well-known and capable minister with both civil and military talents in the court.
"Really?" Empress Wu smiled nonchalantly: "I think you are a better candidate. Although Pei Xingjian once led troops in Anxi, the countries in the Western Regions have always been famous for their weak soldiers. His military exploits There's a lot of water in it, and the people we have to deal with now are the Tubo people; and he's been in Chang'an for ten years, and I'm afraid he can't even ride a horse!"
"This woman is playing the trick of killing three soldiers with two peaches again!" Wang Wenzuo cursed, but smiled on his face: "It's a pity that I was ordered to clean up the military affairs in Guanzhong. One body cannot be used as two people!"
"It is important to clean up the military affairs of the government, but it is not as important as resisting the Tibetans!" Empress Wu said with a smile: "If you want to go, I will tell the emperor to let you go and let Pei Xingjian take over your business!"
"Let Pei Xingjian take over my business? The queen shouldn't have any big grudge against this guy, right? Otherwise, how can I let him do such an offending job as mine?" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, and said: "I am a warrior. , the body is like an arrow, only shot by the two saints, whether it is Longyou or Guanzhong, it all obeys your will!"
"Okay! Saburo is indeed a model for the military ministers of this dynasty!" The queen smiled slightly. She stretched out her right hand and pulled back the map on the case: "Let's not talk about this matter anymore. It will take some time for you to be ordered to inventory the military affairs of Guanzhong Mansion. Yes, but what’s the result?”
Wang Wenzuo's heart pounded, he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "I have made some discoveries these days, but I don't know whether I should talk about it yet!"
"What shouldn't be said?" The queen said with a smile: "The soldiers are the foundation of the imperial court. The Holy Emperor asked you to investigate this matter, in order to clear up the shortcomings and recreate the grandeur of the soldiers during the Wude and Zhenguan years. You Don’t be afraid of offending anyone. Your Majesty is not feeling well today, so he asked me to come. Just say, no matter who it is, whoever is involved in the government’s military affairs must be investigated and dealt with strictly!”
"What your Majesty said is true!" Wang Wenzuo leaned down and bowed: "Then I boldly said it. A few days ago, I went to the East Palace to count the soldiers of the ten guards in the East Palace. It turned out that many of the guards were captured. I borrowed it, and at a rough count, there are more than 2,000 people."
"Borrowed it?" A cold light flashed in Queen Wu's eyes: "Who has borrowed it? Wang Qing, don't worry, tell them all, and I will definitely give them a good look!"
"This is the list of borrowers!" Wang Wenzuo took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and presented it to Empress Wu with both hands: "I thought it was very relevant, so I didn't let anyone else know!"
Empress Wu knew the elegant meaning after hearing the song. Wang Wenzuo emphasized that the list was not seen by others, which was obviously to sell it to herself. She smiled, took the list, and the joy on her face suddenly solidified: "This bastard!"
"I deserve to die!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly bowed down and said, "I didn't mean to embarrass the Duke of Zhou. I was just worried that others would know about it and spread it at will, which would ruin the reputation of the Duke of Zhou!"
"That's it! Get up, this is not your fault!" Empress Wu took a deep breath and sorted out her emotions: "If I know about this, I will teach that boy a lesson!"
"yes!"
"You should step back first!"
"I obey the decree!"
The queen was leaning on the brocade couch, holding the list in her hand, thinking about something on her mind. She has no doubt about the authenticity of this loan list - it is not difficult to verify, and the people on the list are all rich or noble. If Wang Wenzuo falsifies this, it will be easily exposed. He will not do this. Kind of stupid thing. And this behavior is quite similar to his nephew's recent behavior. Ever since he found out that his sister was poisoned, his whole person has completely changed, becoming gloomy, irritable, and acting recklessly and impulsively.
"Helan Minzhi, Helan Minzhi, can't you bear it because of such a trivial matter? When I entered the palace at the age of sixteen, I encountered ten thousand times more blows than you do now! Haven't you survived it all? The road to the supreme position is like this, steep, dangerous, and full of knives. How can someone as fragile as you be worthy of being my tool to lead the outer dynasty? If you really can't do it, then I will have to abandon you. Someone else is here!"
"Somebody come!"
"My servant is here!" A eunuch knelt on the ground.
"Go and verify it immediately!" The queen tore off the small piece of Wu Minzhi's name from the list: "Remember, find out the whole story and don't alert other people, otherwise you will be nice!"
"My slave obeys the order!"
Facts have proved that the eunuch's actions were very efficient. Queen Heiwu received the eunuch's report before dawn. After listening to the report, her face was full of self-deprecation and disappointment: "Sister, sister, how could you be born like this?" A son who had already assumed the title of Duke before he was thirty, became a regular attendant on horseback, served as a secretarial supervisor, and was a bachelor of Hongwen Palace. Every time he entered the palace, he was rewarded with hundreds of millions, and he was never allowed to go back empty-handed. But he actually Even the money for the construction of the temple that his grandmother donated was stuffed into his own pocket. How is this any different from an animal? No, no, an animal would not do such a thing. Fortunately, I still plan to let him accumulate reputation in Hongwen Hall. , I will go to the Political Affairs Hall in two years. It seems that I am really blind! If it weren’t for Wang Wenzuo, I would have kept him in the dark!"
"Come here!" the queen shouted, "bring this beast Wu Minzhi to the palace!"
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The rain wasn't heavy, but the spring night in Chang'an was bone-chilling, just like Wu Minzhi's heart at this time.
Just now, he was summoned into the Daming Palace by a decree. What awaited him was a scolding from the Queen's Aunt. At the end of the scolding, the Queen's Aunt said in a cold voice: "You have done such a thing, what are you doing with the beast?" Different? If you don't want to repent and change your past mistakes, don't think that I can't kill you! Please know that if I can make your surname Wu, I can also change your name to Helan!"
Wu Minzhi remembered that he instinctively knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and wriggled forward like a snake to repay the Queen's aunt's legs and pray for forgiveness. This only made the queen even more angry. She kicked Wu Minzhi to the ground, picked up the whip next to her and beat her while cursing: "You look like this, are you a man? Get out of here, don't stain my eyes." !”
Wu Minzhi couldn't remember exactly how he escaped from Hanyuan Palace. When he regained consciousness, he found that his face, hands and feet were covered with dirt and bruises. He didn't know those were injuries caused by falling. He was whipped by the queen's aunt. The rain fell on his head, first extinguishing the anger aroused by the pain, and then the utter fear.
"If I can change your surname to Wu, I can also change your name to Helan!"
Wu Minzhi knew very well the subtext of the Queen's aunt's words. Her surname was Wu, which meant that she was the only political representative of the Wu family left on the political stage in Chang'an. Since the Queen was a woman, her physical differences made it difficult for her to directly control the outer court, so She needs a man from her family to control the foreign court on her behalf, so no matter what trouble Wu Minzhi causes outside, her aunt will solve it for him and let him rise step by step. This is for Wu Minzhi and even more for herself. But if he is allowed to change his surname back to his original surname, although he is still the nephew of the queen, he will no longer have the identity of a male member of the Wu family. All the political resources originally given to him will be taken away and given to another person. In addition, considering that her sister was poisoned, the queen is likely to kill herself.
"Yes, she will definitely kill me, she will!" Wu Minzhi's body trembled violently, not knowing whether it was because of the cold or fear. Only now did he realize how fragile and helpless he was. The power that had given everything to him in the past and allowed him to do whatever he wanted had now become his enemy. This was really terrifying. (End of chapter)
