During the reign of Empress Wu, the eunuchs were always weak.

Forbidden in the province of internal servants, now called Sigongtai, the rank of the chief internal servant supervisor from the third grade, but the fourth grade or above the middle official is not set, and the inner permanent servant under the fifth grade is the chief of the Sigongtai.

The middle official is inferior in rank, and even if it is a fifth-grade official, he is not qualified to serve the scarf. For example, Yang Xu, who was given internally, was originally a Zhongguan from the five grades, but after entering the internal teaching workshop, the Taile Department directly sent a canon of the five grades outside, and the humble style of the Zhongguan can be seen.

Yang Xu's godfather Yang Chong can actually serve the scarlet, which means that he is not only a regular servant of the five grades, but also a great eunuch who judges the affairs of the palace.

There is no authority in his hands, and he naturally has no confidence to speak. This Yang Chong is more than sixty years old, although he has become one of the few bigwigs in Sigongtai, but because his godson Yang Xu offended the young king, he still has to give up his old face and even climb the story many years ago, hoping to ask the young king for forgiveness.

Li Tong didn't mean to pursue Yang Xu, but when he heard that this Yang Chong was actually an old man in the East Palace, he couldn't help but feel a sense of intimacy, so he invited the old eunuch to sit down and talk about the story by the way.

Yang Chong's eyes were a little dizzy, he squinted at the three kings for a moment, I don't know if it was a gesture or really a feeling, looking at Li Tong was a little teary-eyed: "The king's appearance, a few kings, the old servant is honored, and he can see the style again......"

After Li Tong heard this, his face suddenly darkened, he really didn't want to continue this topic, and he almost died because of this not long ago. If he had a choice, he really didn't want to look like his father.

However, this Yang Chong's old affairs in the East Palace can still be exempted from implication, and he is not shocked to mix into the position of a permanent attendant in the palace in the forbidden, so he is naturally an old man and will not go into too sensitive topics.

He was very good at figuring out what the three kings were interested in, and after sitting down, he talked about some trivial matters in the East Palace in the old days. But Li Tong was more curious about Yang Chong's own experience, and occasionally asked, and the life of an old eunuch quickly understood.

According to this Yang Chong Zi Chen, he has already entered the palace during the Zhenguan period, starting from the miscellaneous envoys of the inner palace, and serving the prince's inner fang bureau during the Yifeng period. If nothing else, there is a high probability that this Yang Chong will also be affected by Li Xian's abolition, either death or punishment, or despicable miscellaneous servitude.

But this Yang Chong is a little special, according to his own words: "The old servant is a savage in Luli, the old dynasty was built, there were Luoyang eagle craftsmen scattered, into the neighbors, because of the practice of raising eagles, in the old years, General Pei went to attack the Turks, the emperor because of the summoner with the army to capture the fierce birds to fill the eagle workshop, the old servant because of the army ......"

Hearing this, Li Tong couldn't help but be impressed by this Yang Chong, no wonder he was able to avoid the impact of the abolished prince, this old eunuch actually knew how to play big birds! It can be seen that people should have a skill, and they can survive in a desperate situation.

This old eunuch has a rich resume, not just in the forbidden qualifications, first as a hawk and miscellaneous envoy to follow Pei Xingjian's army to the Turks, and then simply stayed in the border for several years and served as a pastoral officer. After raising horses in the frontier for a few years, he accumulated a lot of achievements, and then returned to the forbidden middle school of the god capital during the Guangzhai year, and was awarded the permanent servant of the inner palace, and became the red-robed boss of the Sigongtai.

After listening to Yang Chong's self-description of his life experience, not to mention the amazement of Li Guangshun and Li Shouli, Li Tong only felt that his mentality had collapsed. He is a traverser, and when it comes to the excitement of life, he is not even as good as an indigenous eunuch!

Look at people, hunting eagles and playing birds, farming and herding horses, bows and knives to build things, although there is no sign that a man should have, but this is the life that a man should have!

Putting aside these gimmicks, Li Tong only felt that this old eunuch Yang Chong was really a big treasure, not to mention what his authority was, just his life history and experience, if he could understand all of them and satisfy his curiosity, it would also be of great benefit to him.

"Chang Shi has experienced both inside and outside, and has done all kinds of work, accumulating merit in the country, which can be called an elder! Xiao Wang and others are disrespectful and ignorant, and it is inevitable to visit in the future, so please do not resign. ”

Li Tong has always been respectful of people with skills, and he is also very polite to this old eunuch, moving to the nearest table, and said with a smile.

Yang Chong was also flattered by the young king's politeness, and half-avoided the banquet and said again and again: "Humble slave, how dare you accept the courtesy." The king is not tired of being mean, and the old servant is waiting to be called. ”

Seeing this Yang Chong's attitude, regardless of the reputation of the eunuch group, Li Tong has a good impression of him.

Those courtiers in the outer court have many political prospects and ways, and they are mostly respectful of King Li Tangzong, and the personnel of the outer court are complicated and involve a lot, even if Li Tong wants to flirt, he still has a lot of scruples, and he may not be able to provoke, far less convenient and easy to get started than the palace officials of the inner court.

Yang Xu was completely relieved to see that his godfather was talking happily with the young king, so he stepped forward again and said: "The king has a noble physique, has great ambitions, or is tired of daily trivial nuisances, and he can order his servants to do chores, and it is also an honor for his servants to sponsor Qingqu." ”

Hearing Yang Xu say this, and seeing that his father-in-law Yang Chong also nodded in agreement, Li Tong felt more and more at the loss and humility of the eunuch group in the power distribution pattern before and after the Wu Zhou Dynasty.

This is probably God starving to death, Wu Zetian, a person with a strong desire for power and superb means, after all, cannot distribute power in all aspects, forcing the eunuch group to risk their lives to carry out revolution, and also makes her children and grandchildren have some room for tossing.

He could probably think of why Yang Chong asked to see him, in addition to admitting his mistake for his godson, he probably also had the idea of taking the line of his family. And he really needs such a person to gradually realize the so-called holy favor obtained from his grandmother into a tangible and controllable force, which can be accumulated and ready to be moved.

After a little silence, Li Tong quickly thought of giving an explanation, and then said with a smile: "Recently, there happened to be something to ask for the Tuosi Palace, and there are people named Su Yansi and others in the middle office. ”

"The king's order, the old servant remembers, as soon as there is news, he will immediately go to the court."

After Yang Chong heard this, he hurriedly responded.

He came to see the three kings today, and it was indeed just as King Yong'an thought, apologizing for his godson was secondary, and the main thing was to marry the three kings.

The Li Tang clan withered, and today's saints are difficult to see in seclusion, and the meaning of their existence is to cling to the Lord, and the three kings, especially the King of Yong'an, are deeply appreciated by His Majesty the Emperor on the day of the Great Ceremony, and it can be regarded as a peek at the intention to form a good relationship with them.

Yang Chong himself mixed into the position of a permanent attendant in the palace, and his life can be said to have reached a peak, and there is no visible room for improvement.

But there are many righteous sons like Yang Xu under his knees, and the relationship between them can be said to be the incense of the relatives, and it is also a subordinate of the upper and lower layers, both of them are forbidden eagle dogs and lackeys, with and without masters, the feelings are different, and the cohesion within the gang is also different.

Perhaps the other leaders of the banned Zhongguan are still hesitating, and the future of King Yong's family is still unclear, but Yang Chong himself has the decisiveness of the military to follow Rong, and he is loyal to the Li Tang legal system, coupled with the friendship of the East Palace in the old years, of course, it is indispensable for his godson Yang Xu's persuasion of many praises to King Yong'an, so he decisively came forward to show goodwill.

Li Tong confessed that these eunuchs were the lieutenants who were present when he clashed with Wu Sansi earlier, and he had already told Xue Huaiyi to take care of him, but he expected that Xue Huaiyi would not care about such a trivial matter, and now that he has this level of convenience, it is better to summon people to his side to listen to them, so that they will not be retaliated by Wu Sansi.

He didn't explain much about this reason. An old eunuch like Yang Chong is naturally cautious in doing things for others, and he will definitely inquire carefully at that time.

This matter is not big, after all, they have just come into contact with each other, and they are far from having any tacit understanding and friendship, and it is difficult to trust each other's lives. The so-called old people in the East Palace are just a reason to open the topic, and they should not be taken seriously. Through such a thing, Li Tong also expressed his benevolence and nostalgia, benefited his subordinates, and lived up to others.

After chatting about these topics, Li Tong's eyes couldn't help but fall on the young eunuch who followed Yang Chong into the hall, which was too burly and impressive.

A few people visited him just now, Li Tong was surprised by Yang Chong's self-presentation, and did not notice the name of this eunuch, and now he raised his hand and pointed at the young eunuch standing behind Yang Chong's banquet, and said with a smile: "This Jianli is really rare and heroic." ”

Yang Chong smiled when he heard this, his face also showed a little pride, and he raised his hand to signal the young man to step forward, and the young eunuch stepped forward and bowed and said, "Servant name Yang Siqiao, thank you for your praise." ”

Yang, Yang Siqiao?

When Li Tong heard this, his eyes widened suddenly, and his body couldn't help but stand up from the middle of the seat, and when he saw a few suspicious people, he smiled dryly: "The old guards in the family are also famous, and the fate is ingenious, which makes people lose their temper." ”

Although his demeanor was as calm as possible, his mood was by no means calm, and his eyes frequently looked at the burly Yang Siqiao, and the urge to recruit him was even stronger than when he met Zhong Shaojing last year.

"The child is clumsy and demented, and he can actually have a relationship with the king."

The old eunuch Yang Chong took the change in King Yong'an's demeanor into his eyes, his mouth was snoring, but he was thinking in his heart, he looked at his godson, and after a while, he got up again and said: "This child is stupid and slow, all skills are not successful, and those who can boast are a little bit weaker, and he often suffers from being unable to support himself. ”

When Li Tong heard this, his heart was really happy, and he was praised by his grandmother as a good grandson in the Mingtang Hall earlier, but he only felt that these eunuchs were the most loyal domestic slaves of their Li Tang, and the courtiers who were indifferent to their brothers outside were all bullshit!

He also stood up from the seat, stepped forward and patted Yang Chong's arm, and said with a smile: "Not to mention that I already like to be brave and young, the old man can be deeply rooted in the old righteousness, and go to worship the old court Shaolang, the recommended manpower, how can there be a reason to excuse it." ”

When Yang Chong heard this, he patted his godson Yang Siqiao on the shoulder and said, "The inferior slave is not ready to thank the king for taking him in!" ”