Around the beginning of the first year, there was a pair of famous monks in Tiantai Mountain, named "Hanshan" and "Shide", they sat in dry meditation, and one day they had a famous question and answer.

"What should I do if there are people in the world who slander me, deceive me, insult me, laugh at me, despise me, despise me, hate me, and deceive me?"

The answer to this Zen question is naturally very philosophical, but Gu Qing and Yang Guozhong are not high monks, they are just ordinary people, to be precise, they are not good people, and sometimes the things they do are not even human.

So if you ask Gu Qing this famous question, Gu Qing's answer is probably "Just scold him, scold him, scold him, scold him, scold him, scold him, scold him too much, I founded a newspaper and continued to scold him." ”

Gu Qing's hint gave Yang Guozhong inspiration, and he thought of a lot at that moment.

As the brother-in-law of the Son of Heaven, holding fifteen positions, does Yang Guozhong have political enemies?

Of course. How can there be a person in the world who is loved by everyone like the renminbi, even if he is the emperor of a country, he also has political enemies in the court, but he can't get rid of his straight name, so he can only pinch his nose and hold back his nausea.

There are too many people who look at Yang Guozhong's displeasure, it can be said that there are as many as carp crossing the river, if it is not illegal to kill people, the people who want to kill Yang Guozhong can be lined up from Xuanwu Gate to Chengtianmen.

Because Yang Guozhong is not a good person.

The first half of his life was muddy, he didn't read much, in order to be a little county lieutenant to accompany people with a smile, and then his cousin became a concubine inexplicably, and he became the emperor's brother-in-law, the original relative, and the Tang Dynasty didn't pay attention to what relatives couldn't interfere in politics, so he was given a lot of official positions by his old brother-in-law, and suddenly jumped to a high position, how could Yang Guozhong not float? Once a person with power floats up, how can he not do something that hurts nature and reason?

In fact, Yang Guozhong has really done a lot of bad things in Chang'an in recent years, enclosing land and encroaching on fields, forcibly seizing people's property, bullying men and women, etc., the supervisors of the Imperial History Observatory have participated in him countless times, but Yang Guozhong's position is still immovable, and no matter how fierce the impeachment is, it is just a tickle for him.

The feeling of being pampered by the Son of Heaven is so wonderful.

Gu Qing suddenly mentioned the word "political enemy", which immediately gave Yang Guozhong a lot of inspiration.

That's right, if the gossip newspaper can influence public opinion in Chang'an City, wouldn't it be beautiful to use it to deal with political enemies in the future? Use a joking and ridiculing tone to ruin the reputation of the political enemy, the truth and falsehood are transmitted to the people, the commoners and scholars do not care what is true or false, it is enough to have something to talk about, if you are ready to do something against the political opponent at the critical moment, give him a fierce blow in the gossip newspaper, the people's hearts and public opinion are instigated, and the political enemy collapses in the whole paragraph......

Thinking of this, Yang Guozhong's eyes fell on the gossip on the table again, and the meaning in his eyes was different.

Gu Qing smiled beside him: "Yang Taifu has probably figured it out?" ”

Yang Guozhong didn't answer, but said slowly: "This gossip is ...... Did the virtuous brother come up with it? ”

"Yes, it's just a pastime to talk about nothing."

"Is this a pastime? It's a knife that kills people. Yang Guozhong sighed.

"But in the eyes of scholars and civilians, it is just a pastime, before the knife is unsheathed, it is harmless to humans and animals, and others don't even know that it is a knife, they just think it's a toy."

Yang Guozhong said as if admiring and awe: "If each magazine only records some anecdotes about court officials and celebrities, this gossip newspaper looks really harmless, but in the eyes of shrewd people, sooner or later its effect will be seen. ”

Gu Qing blinked: "So the lower officials still need to pull the concubine into the gang, and at the same time, we must also work hard to convince the Son of Heaven that this thing is a plaything for recreation, and it is not worth paying too much attention to." ”

Yang Guozhong's face was cloudy, and after a long time, he gritted his teeth fiercely: "Okay, count me in!" But we have to say it in advance, if the Son of Heaven finds that this thing is inappropriate, and we can't convince the Son of Heaven, then the matter will be stopped and never mentioned again. The foolish brother is a courtier, and he cannot be disobeyed by the son of heaven. ”

"Of course, if the Son of Heaven objects, the lower officials will not dare to continue."

After finishing the business, Yang Guozhong was about to say goodbye, Gu Qing hesitated for a moment, and said, "If Yang Taifu wants to persuade the Son of Heaven, it is best to act quickly." ”

"Why the rush?"

Gu Qing sighed: "Today, Yang Taifu personally came to the door for this gossip report, does Taifu know if other magnates in Chang'an City will come to the door?" And how do the people who come to the door know whether the intention is good or evil? ”

Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment, glanced at Gu Qing deeply, then nodded, hurriedly stuffed the gossip report on the table into his arms, said goodbye and got into the carriage, and walked towards Xingqing Palace.

Looking at the back of the vanishing carriage, the corners of Gu Qing's mouth hooked.

Five-year layout, the first son fell on the chessboard.

No one has ever noticed that the foundation of the prosperous era has been crumbling, but Gu Qing's mood is becoming more and more urgent. Under the nest, there are no eggs, before the troubled times are coming, Gu Qing must be fully prepared, otherwise he will be a duckweed with the tide in the future, unable to protect himself or the people he cares about.

…………

After Yang Guozhong entered the palace, he first met Yang Guifei.

The gossip newspaper flipped through in Yang Guifei's hands, and the more she looked at it, the more interesting she felt, pointing to the incident of Yang Taifu falling into the water on the front page and laughing.

Yang Guozhong is a good-eyed person, and seeing that Yang Guifei seems to be very interested in it, he immediately said: "Niangniang likes this gossip newspaper?" ”

Yang Guifei smiled: "It's a little interesting, it's also fun to kill boredom." ”

"Don't hide it from Niangniang, this newspaper is jointly run by the minister and Gu Qing, in order to give it to the magnates and scholars of Chang'an City for daily entertainment."

Yang Guifei was stunned, and then smiled: "You guys...... are all ministers of the Son of Heaven, so many important affairs of the court and government are waiting for you to do, but you are partnering to do this kind of thing? ”

Yang Guozhong said with a smile: "Of course, it is to relieve the boredom of Your Majesty and Niangniang, Your Majesty and Niangniang rarely go out of the palace, take a look at this gossip every day, and see what the courtiers and scholars in Chang'an City have done to lose their morals or violate customs. ”

Yang Guifei shook her head and smiled: "That's it, you can play if you want to, it's not a big deal." ”

Yang Guozhong blinked, and said cautiously: "Niangniang, what do you mean by your little fellow countryman Gu Qing, can you ask Niangniang to also participate in this matter?" After all, this gossip newspaper is dedicated to the anecdotes and absurdities of some courtiers and celebrities, and the ministers are worried that those courtiers will be angry and will impeach us for not doing our job......"

Yang Guifei glared and feigned anger: "You are not doing your job, is it possible to be reasonable?" Gu Qing, what's the matter with that kid? Obviously he seems to be a child who knows how to measure and discipline, why is he messing around with you about this kind of thing? ”

Yang Guozhong said with a smile: "What Niangniang said is very true, but Gu Qing is a member of the Zuowei family's mansion to join the army, and there is not much official business to deal with on weekdays, it just so happened that the minister was killed by thieves and fell into the water, Gu Qing came up with the idea of running a gossip report to remember it, which is regarded as a pastime for the literati in Chang'an City, and in the future, he will praise His Majesty in the gossip newspaper for how wise he is, and praise Niangniang for her peerless appearance, so that everyone in the world knows His Majesty's holy name and Niangniang's good name......

Yang Guifei covered her mouth and smiled after hearing this: "This must be Gu Qing's idea, he praised people for being skinless and faceless, but it is rare for him to have this thought, so it's up to you, count the gossip report of the palace, but you are not allowed to use the name of the palace to bully and run rampant outside, and you are not allowed to do things that violate the law of the country, otherwise the palace will not protect you." ”

Yang Guozhong hurriedly bowed down and thanked him.

At this time, the shrill voice of the eunuch came from outside the calyx building, and the Son of Heaven arrived.

Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong hurriedly got up and stood in front of the palace gate to greet them, and it didn't take long for Li Longji, who was wearing a bright yellow suit, to walk slowly, first picked up Yang Guifei, and smiled softly: "I have been married for many years, why should the lady be polite." ”

Yang Guozhong said respectfully on the side: "Minister Yang Guozhong, please see Your Majesty." ”

Li Longji glanced at him, nodded with a smile, and signaled to be exempt.

In fact, in his heart, Li Longji doesn't look down on Yang Guozhong, what kind of character Yang Guozhong is, Li Longji has heard of it for a long time, but Yang Guozhong has an advantage that others can't reach, that is, he can be trusted.

Yang Guifei is Li Longji's only favorite concubine, Li Longji abolished the queen in the twelfth year of Kaiyuan because of the Fu disgust case, and since then it has not been established, Yang Guifei is in fact the master of the harem, although there is no name of the queen, but the queen is in fact, Yang Guozhong, as Yang Guifei's cousin, is also a clever person, and his knowledge is not very high, but he is much stronger than most of the courtiers, plus he is the identity of the brother-in-law, Li Longji decided to reuse him.

If Donggong and Li Linfu are the two major forces in the court, Li Longji must balance these two forces in order to be stable, then Yang Guozhong is an alternate force in Li Longji's heart, once one of the two major forces falls, Yang Guozhong can immediately fill the position, so that the situation in the court can quickly form a new balance overnight. That's why Li Longji gave Yang Guozhong fifteen official positions, and now the officials in the court who are talking to Yang Guozhong are not inferior to those who are talking to Li Linfu.

This is Li Longji's imperial mentality, the first half of his life was down-to-earth, so he created a prosperous era of Kaiyuan, and in the second half of his life, he only cared about seeking people, so he made the court and the monarchs and ministers intrigue from top to bottom, but Li Longji was still complacent, feeling that he played with the hearts of the people in the world.

No matter how bad Yang Guozhong is, no matter how bad he is, no matter how hard he learns, Li Longji thinks that he is useful, then he is the pillar of the country.

I couldn't look down on Yang Guozhong in my heart, Li Longji's surface kung fu was still very good, he smiled and signaled to give him a seat, and chatted with Yang Guozhong for a long time.

Immediately Li Longji glanced at it, and saw a piece of paper on the table in front of him, which was printed with the words "gossip newspaper", Li Longji picked it up and looked at it with curiosity, and the first thing he noticed was the article on the front page headline Yang Guozhong falling into the water, Li Longji laughed twice, and then flipped through other articles, most of which were some gossip anecdotes.

"It's interesting, who did it?" Li Longji said with a smile.

Yang Guozhong said: "Back to Your Majesty, it was done by the minister and Gu Qing, the secretary of the Zuo Wei Prince's Mansion who joined the army, and the concubine Niangniang also found it interesting, so she also joined a group of people. ”

Li Longji raised his eyebrows and looked at Yang Guifei, and said with a smile: "The lady is also interested in this thing?" ”

Yang Guifei had just agreed to Yang Guozhong, so she glared at him dissatisfiedly, and then said to Li Longji with a smile: "San Lang, the concubine thinks this thing is very interesting, Gu Qing They said that this newspaper does not involve court politics, and the stories are all rumors of some courtiers and celebrities in Chang'an City. ”

Li Longji looked at the gossip newspaper with a smile, and suddenly asked: "Although this thing is not involved in court politics, it is similar to the palace gate copy, can it be distributed in Chang'an?" ”

Yang Guozhong said aggrievedly: "This share in the hands of Your Majesty has been distributed more than 2,000 people, in recent days, the scholars and civilians of Chang'an City have been discussing the matter of the ministers falling into the water, and the streets and alleys are all discussing, and the ministers have earned enough laughing stock for the officials and scholars of Chang'an City......

Li Longji's smile gradually faded, and he frowned: "The streets and alleys are all talking? ”

"Yes."

Li Longji's eyes were a little cold: "If a newspaper can be known to everyone, if one day in the future it publishes some news that catches me or the courtiers off guard, and the people are boiling, how can the court and the courtiers deal with themselves?" ”

Yang Guifei didn't think so far, and hurriedly argued: "San Lang, the gossip newspaper is just an idle record of celebrities and miscellaneous news, and it never involves the government and politics, how can there be a stir in the uproar?" ”

Li Longji was noncommittal, stared at Yang Guozhong and said, "Is it your idea, or Gu Qing's idea?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it was Gu Qing's idea, the young man is happy and lively, and he is doing everything possible to make some movement and make people laugh." Yang Guozhong saw that Li Longji was displeased, so he quickly sold Gu Qing without changing his face.

Yang Guifei hurriedly said: "If San Lang doesn't like it, the concubine can ask Gu Qing to stop immediately, the young man doesn't know the danger of the court, and he has fun for a while, even if he gets into trouble, he is unintentional." ”

Li Longji had Gu Qing's appearance in his mind, and after thinking about it secretly, he also felt that with Gu Qing's age, it didn't seem to be an intentional move to run this newspaper, and the miscellaneous anecdotes described on it were not sensitive, it seemed that it was really the handwriting of the young man's unintentional joke, maybe even Gu Qing himself didn't expect that a newspaper could spread all over Chang'an, causing a lot of discussion among the scholars and civilians of Chang'an.

So Li Longji's expression relaxed, and said: "Although there is nothing wrong with this thing, it will eventually spread too widely, if it is used by someone with a heart to spread some news that is unfavorable to the monarch and ministers......

Yang Guozhong was anxious, although he sold Gu Qing without hesitation just now, it was just out of self-preservation instinct, from the bottom of his heart, he still hoped that the gossip newspaper could be done, Gu Qing's inspiration to him was very useful, and in the future, this thing may be used to deal with political enemies, and it may be able to play a big role.

So Yang Guozhong said softly: "Your Majesty, the gossip newspaper is just an innocuous gossip, Chang'an is at the feet of the Son of Heaven, and Gu Qing and his ministers are not indiscriminate people, how dare they arrange it indiscriminately in the newspaper?" If the ministers have the courage to send things indiscriminately, aren't they afraid of losing their heads? ”

Yang Guifei saw that Li Longji's expression had relaxed, and immediately sent a divine assist, pouting and tugging his sleeve from side to side: "San Lang is still hesitant about this little thing, but the concubine and brother Gu Qing are idle to get some boring gadgets, are San Lang still afraid that it will turn the sky upside down?" There are so many generals under Saburo who hold military power, and I don't see you suspicious, but we can't get this little gadget, Saburo ......"

Li Longji was immediately relieved.

Yes, so many generals with military power, I have arranged them clearly, compared to the sensitivity of military power, how much storm can this tabloid turn up? Thinking about it, I feel like I'm overthinking.

So Li Longji smiled heroically: "Then it's up to you to go, remember to be measured, don't make a disturbance, otherwise it will be difficult to calm down even if the court is me." ”

…………

Li Linfu's mansion.

The curtain guest half-knelt in front of Li Linfu's sickbed, looking at the old man in front of him, his heart was so sad that he almost burst into tears.

Holding the authority for half his life, after all, he can't escape birth, old age, sickness and death, and Xiangye's illness is getting heavier, and he doesn't know when he will die.

After a long time, Li Linfu woke up slowly, looked at the curtain guest with cloudy old eyes, and said, "Is there something wrong again?" ”

Mu Bin lowered his head and said: "Xiangye, the source of that gossip report has been found out in the late life." ”

"Say."

"I only found two businessmen from Shuzhou, and if I check further, I'm afraid I will have to interrogate people, and the gossip report was passed out by the two businessmen."

Li Linfu frowned: "The businessman has so much courage to dare to openly arrange courtiers? There must be someone behind them. ”

"Yes, but to know who is behind the scenes, you have to take down the two merchants, the current source is on them, and you can't ask if you don't take them. I didn't know how deep the water was in my later life, so I had to ask Xiangye first, and ask Xiangye to show me. ”

Li Linfu closed his eyes and recuperated, covering his mouth and coughing a few times from time to time, his mind spinning rapidly.

has been in charge of the court for many years, Li Linfu is already a prime minister under one person and above tens of thousands of people, in terms of authority, protégés, and court power, he is second to none in the Tang Dynasty, and even the prince of the East Palace is afraid of him.

It is said that a newspaper that records anecdotes and miscellaneous anecdotes does not need to make such a big move, mainly because Li Linfu has a far-sighted vision, and when he knew that this newspaper was known to everyone in the streets and alleys, he sensitively found that this newspaper was a sharp blade, and if it could be used by him, it could play a key role in the battle with the East Palace in the future.

So, who is the person behind the gossip report?

After thinking for a while, Li Linfu suddenly laughed.

It is impossible for the Son of Heaven to be so boring to do such idle things, so looking at the entire Tang Dynasty, who is he Li Linfu afraid of besides the Son of Heaven? A mere newspaper actually made the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty fearful, is he really old?

After coughing a few times, Li Linfu stretched out his trembling hand and waved it gently.

"Send someone to take down those two merchants under the Wannian County Order, interrogate them strictly, go ahead."

…………

It was already evening when the Wannian County Order sent a messenger to get people, and Hao Donglai and Shi Daxing were fighting for wine and wealth in a certain green building in Pingkangfang, Chang'an.

Pingkangfang is a famous gathering place of Fengyue in Chang'an, where there are many green buildings, hundreds of Leren teaching workshops, Hao Donglai and Shi Daxing are quite wealthy, and they have recently been super VIPs of major green buildings.

Without it, the two of them are just wronged.

The two wronged heads were drunk and slapped the table and scolded each other, the old past turned over one by one, crying bitterly for the hurried year, and also angry for the horizontal knife to snatch love, not long after, most of the Qinglou in Pingkangfang knew the two shopkeepers, and even better than the two parties knew the so-called grievances and hatreds of their Chen sesame rotten grains, every time as long as they drank, everyone stood aside with their arms around their chests and laughed and watched the two scolding each other.